Glass,
Book.
I.
Napoleon crossing the Alps.
Ruins of Hongomont — Battle Ground of Waterloo.
Birth Place of Sir Isaac Newton
Richard III.
A Soldi* r of
Henry VIII.
Lady and Gentleman I Lady and Gentleman in dress
in time of Henry VI. | of Queen Mary's reign.
Sea Captain in time I Lady during the I A Cavalier.
of Charles I. Commonwealth. |
Charles II. and his Queen.
Gentleman in time I Pikeman and Musketeer of Officer and Sergeant in reign of
of William III. | 17th century. George I.
Lady Hansdon. | Queen Anne, of Denmark. | Gentleman and Lady in time of Charles J.
Arabia — View of Mount Ararat.
Arabia — View of Palmyra, or Tadmor in the Desert.
CM
Cy POPULAR
f CYCLOPEDIA OF HISTORY,
ANCIENT AND MODERN,
FORMING
A COPIOUS HISTORICAL DICTIONARY
OF
CELEBRATED INSTITUTIONS, PERSONS, PLACES AND THINGS;
WITH NOTICES OF THE
PRESENT STATE OF THE PRINCIPAL CITIES, COUNTRIES AND KINGDOMS
OF THE KNOWN WORLD:
TO WHICH IS ADDED
A CHRONOLOGICAL VIEW
OF
MEMORABLE EVENTS,
EARTHQUAKES, VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS, STORMS, CONFLAGRATIONS, DISEASES
FAMINES, INVENTIONS, DISCOVERIES, EATTLES, TREATIES, SET-
TLEMENTS, ORIGINS OF RELIGIOUS SECTS, ETC.
by f: a. durivage#
ILLUSTRATED BY ENGRAVINGS.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1835, by F. A. Durivaof,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts.
BOSTON:
PUBLISHED BY EDWARD R. BROADERS,
NEW YORK, FREEMAN HUNT & CO. — PHILADELPHIA, CONRAD
& PARSONS — BALTIMORE, J. ANDERSON.
1835.
* *• ^- « -■*«■•- kw
t * tf»,\ , * Quo *> JKx . „V\ ' ">
fi.2 />•
tO6*
PREFACE.
Every general reader, has frequent occasion to consult some
authority, for historical, and , biographical dates and facts. The
only works, suitable for such a purpose, are the Encyclopedia of
Lieber, Rees, Brewster, and others, of a similar kind. These
are costly and extensive works, and are therefore in the hands
of comparatively few persons ; beside, they are too cumbrous for
easy and frequent reference. The importance then, of a volume
like the present, that may lie familiarly upon the table, or the
shelf ; ready at call to answer the thousand questions that arise on
historical points, is too plain to require discussion. Its utility, at
all events its convenience, even to those who possess ample libra-
ries, and whose minds are stored with historical data, appears to
the writer to be great. But it is more especially designed for
family use, and for the young.
The author considers the matter in this point of view. Every
reader of a book, a magazine, or newspaper, meets with frequent
references to historical subjects, which he knows nothing about,
or obscurely remembers, or but partially understands. If he has
at hand, a volume which will readily answer any inquiries which
arise in his mind, he will turn to it, and thus remove his igno-
rance, or clear away the doubt and obscurity which rest upon his
PREFACE.
2
understanding. If he has no such work at easy command, he
will in most cases let the matter pass.
The present volume, is particularly designed to supply to every
general reader, such a book of reference as is here alluded to.
It is believed, that if tolerably well executed, it cannot fail of
being acceptable. It is particularly commended to the attention
of parents, that in the absence of any other suitable work, this
may be placed within the reach of their children, and that the
habit of consulting it as a dictionary of history, and historical
biography, whenever curiosity, doubt, or question may suggest,
be inculcated upon them. The store of precise practical know-
ledge that will thus be laid up, will be of incalculable value.
It is not however, as a mere book of reference, that this volume
is offered to the public. The materials, are, it is true, extracted
to a great extent, from books familiar to the public. The author,
however, has gathered many traits, anecdotes and adventures,
from less common sources, and interspersing throughout its pages,
these and other illustrative sketches, he has sought to enliven the
work, and thus render it more amusing, attractive, and readable,
than mere books of reference usually are. Many of the articles
are more extensive than in the voluminous Encyclopedias, before
mentioned. Many interesting topics, not found in them, are also
introduced. The history of our own country, will be found fully
treated of, under different heads. The lives of eminent political
characters in all ages, as well as the lives of those, whose great-
ness in science or literature inscribed their names upon the ages in
which they flourished, are given ; some of them at considerable
PREFACE.
length. Many characteristic anecdotes of these persons are intro-
duced. Several topics, as Druids, El Dorado, Knighthood, Chiv-
alry, Faries, &c. &c, which are frequently alluded to in books,
are treated of with particularity.
The Chronological View at the end of the volume, will be found
to contain a great amount of interesting and valuable knowledge.
In some instances, from the nature of the case, facts are repeated
here, which have appeared in other parts of the volume. They
are, however, given, with the view of rendering this portion of the
work as complete in itself, as possible.
The reader by running his eye over the pages of the Chrono-
logical View, will easily see the plan upon which it is arranged.
He will find it to contain, beside many other things, the chro-
nology of the following topics.
Abdications,.
Ambassadors,
Agriculture,
Alliances,
Architecture,
Astronomy from the earliest times,
Balloons,
Battles, Sieges, &c,
Bible,
Cholera,
C ircumnavigators ,
Commerce,
Congress,
Conspiracies,
Councils,
Discoveries, geographical, in modern
times,
Founding of Cities, Towns, King-
doms, and States,
Earthquakes,
Eminent Persons, in all ages ; ancient
and modern,
Engraving,
Eras,
Famines in all parts of the world,
Fires in different places,
Frosts in various places,
Fruits — introduction of,
Gardening,
Hieroglyphicks,
4 PREFACE.
Hurricanes in different countries, Poet Laureats,
Labor, price of at various times, Popes,
Laws, Courts of Justices, Oaths, Rain, violent,
Taxes, &c. Rebellions,
Libraries, Religious Orders, Sects, &c
Living Characters of eminence, Revolutions,
Longevity, instances of ancient and Sculpture,
modern, Sea Fights,
Manufactures, Ships and Ship Building,
Massacres in all ages, Silk, manufacture of,
Meteors and Meteoric Stones, Slave trade,
Military and Religious Knights and Sovereigns of different countries,
Titles of Honor, Storms in different countries,
Mount Auburn, Taxation,
Painting, Treaties in modern times,
Pedestrians, Wars.
Beside the above topics, there are many others, exhibiting the
dates of important inventions, discoveries, and improvements in
arts and sciences, and remarkable and interesting events, generally.
The work is arranged with a view to compress a great amount of
matter into the smallest compass, that the bulk of the volume
may not render it inconvenient, and that its expense may not
hinder its general circulation.
In preparing so extensive a publication for the press, the author
cannot hope that he has wholly escaped error, or that some omis-
sions may not be noticed. But he trusts that the volume may be
found sufficiently accurate and complete, to fulfil the proper design
of such a work, and that it may prove a valuable accession to the
means of diffusing useful knowledge.
A POPULAR
CYCLOPEDIA OF HISTORY.
AAR
AARON, the first high-priest of the Jews,
son of Amram and Jochebed, was the brother of
Moses, and three years his elder, being born
about 1574 B. C. When God had determined
to free the Israelites from the cruel bondage of
the Egyptians, he sent Aaron and Moses to the
court of Pharaoh to announce his will. The
awful annunciation served only to confirm the
obduracy of the Egyptian tyrant, and he would
not yield his faith, until miracles were shown
him. Then, at the command of God, Aaron
changed his rod into a serpent, but the magi-
cians of the court did likewise, each of their
rods becoming a serpent. Aaron's rod swal-
lowed up those of the sorcerers, but still the
heart of the king was hardened. On the refu-
sal of the monarch to permit the departure of
the Israelites, and at the command of the Lord,
the waters of Egypt were changed into blood;
the plague of frogs, the murrain of beasts, the
plague of hail, locusts, and other calamities,
bore witness to the power and just indignation
of God. The angel of the Lord smote the first-
born of the Egyptians, but those of the Israelites
were spared. Aaron was gifted with great
eloquence which was displayed upon various
occasions, when he manifested his zeal in his
mission. The departure of the Israelites, and
their miraculous preservation, are too well
known to require particular notice here. Moses,
when he went to receive the laws from God on
mount Sinai, was accompanied by Aaron, Na-
dab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel,
to whom God showed himself; but Moses alone
remained forty days. Giving way to the cla-
mors of the people, Aaron made them an idol
out of the ornaments and trinkets furnished by
the women and children, the image being in
the form of a calf, like the ox' Apis worshipped
by the Egyptians.
When Moses returned from the mount, he
reproached Aaron, whose fault appears to have
been want of firmness, for he was terrified at
AAR
the threats of the idolaters. The punishment
Oi" those who rebelled was exemplary, 23,000
being slain in one day. Aaron and his four
sons became priests of the Lord, and the cere-
mony of their assumption of the holy office was
as august as the occasion demanded. Aaron
never entered the land of promise, a punish-
ment for his disbelief in the power of God to
produce water from the rock. When the Is-
raelites arrived at Mount Hor, Moses, Aaron,
and Eleazar, his son, ascended it in obedience
to the commands of the Lord. There, in the
sight of the people, Moses unrobed the high-
priest, and clad Eleazar in his garments. Aaron
then sank into the arms of his brother, and died,
aged one hundred and twenty-three years, forty
of which he passed as priest, the office being
made hereditary in his family.
AARON, or Haroun a! Raschid, was one of
the most celebrated of the Saracenic caliphs,
and the territories which he governed extended
from Egypt to Khorassan. He was no less
distinguished for his taste, and the encourage-
ment he afforded to literature and the arts, than
for his power. He was the second son of the
caliph Mahadi,and succeeded his elder brother,
Hadi, A. D. 786. He differed, in so many re-
spects, from the despots of the east, that he
obtained the name of al Raschid, the Just, al-
though many of his deeds would seem to destroy
his claims to the title. The caliph was fond
of personally ascertaining the condition of his
people, when, divested of the dazzling attributes
of rank, he feared no concealment on their
part. Many instances of the wisdom and jus-
tice of his decisions have comedown to us, and,
among others, the following. A merchant,
having lost a purse containing a large sum of
money, caused the loss to be proclaimed, with
an accurate description of the purse and the
value of its contents, offering a large reward to
the person who should find and restore it to the
owner. After some days had elapsed, a poor
AAR
ABB
laborer presented himself before a magistrate
with the purse, and claimed of the merchant
(who was summoned) the reward which belong-
ed to him. The merchant, rejoiced at finding
his money, thought to avoid payment of the
reward, by declaring that the purse contained,
in addition to the money, an emerald of great
value, which the finder must be compelled to
restore. The poor laborer was overwhelmed
by this assertion, and the magistrate appeared
at a loss, but the caliph, who was present
in disguise, advanced and decided the case.
" Since," said he,, " the merchant declares that
the purse which he lost, contained a sum of
money and an emerald, and since the finder
of this purse swears, and the seal upon the
purse proves, that he has taken no precious
gem, this cannot be the purse which the mer-
chant has lost. Let then its present holder
endeavor to discover the real owner, and, failing
to do so, appropriate the prrae ; and let the mer-
chant make diligent search for the money and
the emerald which he has lost ; the present pro-
perty being, as he has proved, none of his."
Haroun was an ardent lover of learning, and
caused it to be disseminated throughout his
realms. He was a warm admirer of the an-
cient classics, and translations of the Iliad and
Odyssey, with other works of antiquity, made
his people acquainted with the beauties of
Greek and Roman literature. He invaded the
Greek empire no fewer than eight times, con-
quering in 802, the emperor Nicephorus, who
had refused to pay him the customary tribute.
The Greek monarch was compelled to pay a
heavier tribute to the caliph, and promise not to
rebuild the frontier towns which had been ruin-
ed and plundered. The caliph's destruction of
the family of the Barmecides displays the stern
resolution of a despot. He had experienced
the cares of Yahia, the head of the Barmecide
family, who had superintended his education,
and the eldest of Yahia's sons was a general
who had served his country well ; the second
was Giaffer, the caliph's prime vizier, and the
two other sons were in responsible and digni-
fied stations. The Barmecides were in favor
with all classes, and Giaffer stood high in the
graces of the caliph. Indeed, so warmly at-
tached was the latter to his vizier, that, for the
sake of enjoying his company with that of his
beloved sister Abassa, he united them in mar-
riage, but placed capricious restrictions upon
their intimacy. On the disobedience of the pair,
all the violent passions of the caliph were aroused.
He publicly sacrificed Giaffer to his resentment,
and impoverished the whole family. Haroun, at
the height of splendor and fam«>, sent an embas-
sy to the emperor Charlemagne, bearing, among
other presents, a water-clock, an elephant, and
the keys of the holy sepulchre at Jerusalem.
The caliph was seized with a mortal illness
while preparing to depart upon a military ex-
pedition, and died at Tous, in Khorassan, in
the 47th year of his age, and the 23d of his
reign. None of the caliphs of the Saracens ever
attained the height of power and popularity
which Haroun al Rasohid gained, and, although
some of his acts are inexcusable, yet, consid-
ering the examples furnished by his age, and
the preceding, we cannot withhold from him
a Targe share of praise. Haroun is one of those
characters, which are equally the delight of his-
tory and romance, and while the graver acts of
his reign employ the pen of the rigid annalist,
his varied adventures are themes for the gay
eloquence of such works as the Arabian Nights
Entertainments.
ABAUZIT, Firmin, a Protestant author of
celebrity and learning, was born in Languedoc,
1679, and died in 1707, having for a long time
filled the office of public librarian at Geneva.
His writings are principally upon theological
subjects, and he was distinguished for accuracy
and penetration. His knowledge was great and
embraced the whole circle of the sciences.
Wise and modest, he was pronounced a " great
man" by Voltaire, himself as learned as Abauzit,
although destitute of that unaffected piety which
formed so bright an ornament to the character
of the latter.
ABBAS, Shah, the Great, ascended the
throne of Persia in 1589, and distinguished him-
self in arms, wresting Ormus from the Portu-
guese in 1622, aided, however, by the British.
During his reign, Ispahan became the capital of
Persia. His death took place in 1629.
ABBASSIDES. The caliphs, who, during
the 8th and 9th centuries, made Bagdad their
capital, are distinguished in history as the Jlbas-
sides. Their sway extended over Persia, Arabia,
and Syria. The caliph Al-Mansur, in 702, built
Bagdad, and raised the Saracenic empire to its
highest point of splendor and fame. Al-Modi,
to whom the empire was transmitted, did not
permit its reputation to wane, and, under Ha-
roun al Raschid, the dignity of the Caliphate
was preserved and adorned. After Haroun,
reigned Al-Amin, and Al-Mamun. Under Al-
Motasser the governors of several provinces as-
serted their independence, and Bagdad alone
was governed by the caliph.
ABB 7
ABBEY, or monastery, is a house erected for
the dwelling of males or females who have taken
the monastic vow, which binds them to relinquish
all worldlv interests, and devote themselves to
the performance of religious duties, living in a
state of celibacy. St. Anthony, in the 4th cen-
tury instituted the monastic life, and, in the
same century, St. Pachomius founded regular
communities of religious professors. A monas-
tery receives its title from that of the ecclesi-
astic governing it. An abbey is governed by
an abbot, or abbess, a priory, by a prior, or prior-
ess, &c. The term nunnery, is applied to a re-
ligious house inhabited by females.
The buildings inhabited by different religious
communities, were originally of the plainest
kind, but increased in extent and splendor with
their revenues, until, from the humble dwellings
of unpretending ecclesiastics, they became the
abodes of luxury, brilliant with costly architec-
tural decorations, and hiding, within their lofty
walls, the revels of men whose piety was but a
cloak for unlimited indulgence. The buildings
constituting an Abbey or monastery, consisted
principally of churches, cloisters, refectories,
chapters, parlors, dormitories, courts, gardens,
&c. The choir and interior buildings of con-
vents were, and are still, fenced in by grates,
and inaccessible to visiters. The churches
consisted of the choir, an altar, a nave, isles,
chapels, and a tower. The cloister comprehends
the galleries or covered porticoes of a monastery
in which the monks take their exercise, and
surrounds an open space, which is generally
devoted to the cultivation of flowers, neatly
distributed in parterres, interspersed with grass-
plots, and refreshed by careful irrigation. The
cloisters were sometimes adorned with valua-
ble paintings, and were generally finished spe-
cimens of art. The refectory of an abbey, is
the hall in which the fathers eat. The refectory
furnished at first frugal fare, and the holy fa-
thers did not tarry long in it, but with the
declension of ecclesiastical simplicity, the cha-
racter of their meals was changed, and they
made the walls of their eating-room ring with
the merriment created by high living and rich
wines. The refectory of the Abbey of Saint
Dennis at Paris, has been celebiated for its
architectural beauty.
The chapter is a place of greater or less ex-
tent, built for the reception of assemblies to
discuss the private affairs of the house, and
provided with seats, and a great table. The
chapters are ordinarily ornamented with splen-
did pictures. The parlor is a kind of cabinet,
ABB
where visitors converse with the monks or nuns
throuo-h a kind of grated window. Formerly
convents contained parlors, in which novices
were allowed the privilege of conversing to-
gether, at hours of recreation, but even then
they were overheard by their superiors, who
were provided with places for eaves-dropping.
The dormitories are wings in the building,
which contain the cells of its inhabitants. They
are generally commodious, and have broad and
well -lighted staircases, from regard to the weak-
ness of the aged, and are situated in the second
story, in order to render them airy and healthy.
Here the monks enjoy their brief repose, from
which they are awakened to acts of devotion,
or to bend in solitude before the crucifix, with
its accompanying mementoes of mortality, ap-
pearing lost in the reveries of religious enthusi-
asm. "The gardens of monasteries, generally
exhibit neatness, and are not the least favorite
appendage to the dwellings of the monks.
The monks, in the ages of general darkness,
that is from 600 to 1500, preserved in their
monasteries many valuable volumes, and kept
alive the spark of learning, which, but for their
exertions, would have been extinguished. Re-
ligious houses were, for ages, the sole deposi-
tories of literature and science, and their inhab-
itants were actively employed in the duties of
education. In England, one person or more
in each convent, was appointed to instruct
pupils, and these were the children of those
neighbors who chose to send them. They were
instructed in grammar and church music, free
of expense. In the nunneries, females were
taught to read and work, and the daughters of
noblemen and gentlemen, as well as of the
poorer people, were indebted to the nuns for a
large part of whatever knowledge they possess-
ed." Many poor descendants of noble families
looked to monasteries for refuge, and having
taken the vow, made use of the influence of
friends, to gain high ecclesiastical offices. Ma-
ny of the monks were men driven to enter reli-
gious houses by the pangs of remorse, and who
hoped to expiate a career of crimes, by seclu-
sion from the world, and the observance of the
most austere rites of the church. These as well
as some who were unaffectedly pious, lived a
blameless life, but there were others whose
profligacy was unrepressed, because hidden by
that veil of hypocrisy which they closely drew
around them. Many monks were skilful paint-
ers, as the richly illuminated manuscripts of
other days prove, and numerous were the le-
gends of saints, gorgeously blazoned upon pages
ABB
8
ABB
of vellum, that filled the shelves of the holy
fathers. Living a life of undisturbed seclusion,
those who possessed a literary turn, had ample
time to indulge their propensity, though very
few literary works of any merit have issued
from the monasteries.
The year 306 is that in which the eailiest
monasteries were established in Egypt, under
the conduct of St. Anthony, and hence sprang
shortly afterwards, many others in various pla-
ces. In 360, the earliest, monastery in France,
that of Saint Martin, was established. In the
beginning monasteries were inhabited by lay-
men. For more than six centuries all the
eastern monasteries were independent of each
other, and governed by abbots who were an-
swerable to their bishops only. In the ninth
century under Louis the Mild, many monasteries
were united under the government of St. Ben-
edict, but on the death of this abbot, the houses
again separated, and remained independent of
each other. In the tenth century St. Odo,
bishop of Cluny, united to this abbey many
monasteries, placing them under the conduct
of the abbot of Cluny. The first monasteries,
in times of trouble and darkness, preserved the
spirit of religion, and were sanctuaries in which
piety and learning sought refuge from the ig-
norance, irreligion and persecutions of the world.
A mild light, denied to the rest of mankind,
was shed upon those who took upon themselves
the fulfilment of monastic vows. The con-
duct of the monks was regulated by the plain
commands of the Scriptures, and antiquity was
followed in the celebration of religious ceremo-
nies, and the practice of Christian virtues. The
monks, as remarked above, were, for many cen-
turies, the preservers of literature, many valua-
ble works of the present day having been rescued
from destruction by monastic libraries.
Since the revival of letters, and the triumph of
the Reformation, monasteries have ceased to be
aught but burdensome to the Catholic countries
in which they still exist. A comparative glance
at a Catholic and a Protestant country, will at
once expose the evil effects of these establish-
ments at present. The enormous abuses of the
monastic system in England, called loudly for
reform, when Henry VIII applied himself to
the work with an unsparing hand, and in 1534
destroyed all the monasteries in England. At
this time the hospitality of the monks was un-
limited, and a multitude of idle gentry subsisted
wholly upon it, passing their lives in going
from one religious house to another. The
change made by Henry, proved of incalculable
advantage to the state and the country in gen-
eral. The suppression of the greater houses
produced the king a yearly income of 100,000^.,
in addition to an immense treasure in plate and
jewels. Before their dissolution, the monks had
a greater revenue than that seized by the king,
part of which, accruing from pensions, he did
not immediately secure. The number of monks
at this time in England, in the monasteries, and
in chapels and hospitals belonging to them, was
computed at 50,000.
The council of Castile, in the project for re-
form, which was presented to Philip III in
1619, supplicated the king to obtain from the
pope a diminution of the number of religious
orders aud monasteries which were daily in-
creasing, and producing the most mischievous
results. They encouraged idleness, said the
council, because the majority sought the monas-
teries less as a pious retreat, than as affording
opportunity for idleness, and a shelter from
want. The strength and preservation of the
kingdom depended on the number of useful and
industrious men, which was diminished by the
monastic institutions. Meanwhile the expenses
of state fell wholly upon secular shoulders, while
the monks were exempt from taxes, and retain-
ed with a firm grasp the immense wealth which
they accumulated. The destruction of monas-
teries, was felt at the time as a serious evil, but
every nation which has converted them to the
use of the public, has been a gainer, and at the
expense of temporary evil, has enjoyed a lasting
good. " It is an undeniable fact," says Vol-
taire, " that there is no catholic kingdom in
which a proposal has not been often made to
restore to the state a portion of those citizens
of which monasteries have deprived it, but
statesmen are rarely struck with a distant uti-
lity, sensible though it may be, particularly
when the future advantage is balanced by pre-
sent difficulty." At thisenlightened period there
is but one opinion with regard to the destruc-
tion of monasteries, and that is, that they were
unworthy of approbation in the beginning, and
that their continuance would have been a very
serious obstacle to the improvement and pros-
perity of those countries, which have risen to
opulence and happiness since their downfall.
The age for the admission into the monastic
state, was fixed at sixteen years, by the Council
of Trent, the decrees of which were issued, in
successive sessions, from 1545 to 1563. The
diminution of the papal power, and the enlight-
ened spirit of the age, in the 18th century , exert-
ed a strong influence upon the public mind with
ABB
ABD
regard to monasteries in Catholic countries, and
they lost many of their privileges and much of
the protection previously given them by law.
Joseph II. of Austria, in 1781, abolished some
orders of monasteries, and limited the number
of inmates in others. In France they were
all abolished in 17D0. During the reign of
Napoleon, all the states incorporated with
France, as well as other Catholic countries of
Europe, abolished them, with the exception of
Spain, Portugal, Naples, Austria, Poland, and
Russia. Recent events have contributed to
improve their condition in Italy, and Pius VII.
procured means for the maintenance of old, and
the foundation of new ones in France, Bavaria,
and Naples, while in Austria they have become
extinct.
ABBOT. The word abbot is derived from
the Hebrew ab, father, and signifies the Supe-
rior of a monastery erected into an abbey. The
abbots were one degree above the laymen.
They were originally subject to the bishops,
but attempting to obtain independence, were
punished by the enactment of some severe laws
by the council of Chalcedon. They were not,
however, wholly unsuccessful, many of them
obtaining the title of lord, the privilege of wear-
ing the mitre, and other badges of distinction.
The different classes are thus named, — Abbots,
mitred and not mitred ; croziered and not
croziered ; oecumenical, cardinal, &c. The mi-
tred abbots were ordered by Pope Clement IV.
to wear only a mitre adorned with gold, leaving
jewels to the bishops. The croziered abbots
bear the crozier, or pastoral staff*. The oecum-
enical, or universal abbots are known only to
the Greeks. At present, abbots are distinguish-
ed into regular and commendatory, the former
of whom are actual monks, while the-latter are
seculars who have previously undergone the ton-
sure, or shaving of the crown of the head, and
bind themselves to take orders when they come
of age. The monks under his jurisdiction pay
unconditional obedience to the abbot, whose
office requires him to manage the affairs of the
abbey, regulate the conduct of the brotherhood,
and see that the rules of the order are not in-
fringed. From the 6th century the bishops were
priests, and from the year 787, had the power
of conferring the lower orders of priesthood.
ABBOT,George,bornin 1562, and made arch-
bishop of Canterbury in 1610. He strenuously
opposed some measures of King James, thereby
disproving the assertion that he owed his rise
to acts more worthy of a courtier than an
ecclesiastic. Having the misfortune to kill a
game-keeper of lord Zouch, he ever afterwards
fasted upon Tuesday, the day on which the
unhappy event took place. Though deprived
of his office by Charles I. in consequence of his
opposition to a project of the king, he was re-
stored to it by parliament, and died at the age
of seventy-one in 1033.
ABBOT, Charles, viscount Colchester, a man
of considerable talent as an author and orator,
was speaker of the British House of Commons,
from 1802 to 1817. He was born in 1775, and
died in 1829.
ABBESS. An abbess is the superior of a
convent of nuns, and has the authority of an
abbot. The abbesses are incapacitated from
performing the spiritual functions of the priest-
hood, although some abbesses, in former times,
confessed their nuns, a privilege which they are
said to have forfeited by the unwarrantable
curiosity which they displayed. The institution
of abbots was prior to that of abbesses, since
the first virgins who devoted themselves to the
service of God, remained in their paternal
dwellings. In the 4th century they assembled
in monasteries, but it was not until the time of
Pope Gregory that they had buildings appro-
priated exclusively to them. The abbess was
anciently chosen by the community from among
the oldest and most talented nuns : she received
the blessing of the bishop, and her authority was
perpetual. Some abbesses enjoyed the privilege
of selecting a priest to perform the spiritual
duties, the exercise of which was denied to
themselves. These were the power of ordain-
ing, the administration of the sacraments, bap-
tism, confirmation, the eucharist or Lord's
supper, penance, extreme unction, and matri-
mony. Extreme unction In cases of mortal
disease, is performed by anointing the head,
hands, and feet with consecrated oil, at the
same time offering up prayers for the soul of
the dying.
ABBT, Thomas, a German philosophical
writer, of great merit, born at Ulrn in Suabia,
1738, and died in 1766.
ABDALLEE, Shah, emperor of Eastern
Persia, was the determined opponent of the
Great Mogul, and victorious at Panniput in
1761.
ABDALONIMUS, a descendant of the Sido-
nian kings, but so poor as to be compelled to cul-
tivate the soil for subsistence. The excellence
of his character and conduct, induced Alexan-
der, on taking Sidon, to place him upon the
throne, from which Strato was banished, and
extend his dominions.
ABE
10
ABE
ABEL, the twin brother of Cain and the se-
cond son of Adam. The character and occu-
pations of the brothers were different. Abel
was keeper of a flock of sheep, while Cain
was a husbandman, and tilled the earth for a
support. In process of time Abel brought to
the Lord an offering of the firstlings of his flock,
which proved acceptable in his eyes. Cain's
offering of the fruit of the ground was displeas-
ing to his Maker, and his anger at being re-
jected, was unrepressed. It was not without
cause that the Lord slighted the offering of
Cain, for, observing his displeasure, he said;
" Why art thou wroth, and why is thy counte-
nance fallen ? If thou doest well, shalt thou
not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin
lieth at the door." From the moment of his
rejection, a dark project occupied the mind of
Cain, and he regarded his brother with eyes of
hatred and menace. When they were in the
field together, the fierce Cain sprang upon his
gentler brother, and slew him. This was the
first murder committed on the earth. A mo-
ment after the commission of the evil deed, fear
fell upon the murderer, and the voice of God,
asking for his brother Abel, smote upon his
heart, like a tone of thunder. He endeavored
to evade the inquiry, but drew down upon his
head the just denunciation of the offended
Deity. For the sake of Cain, the earth was
cursed, and forbidden to yield him its fiuits
without intense labor, and the criminal was
made a fugitive and vagabond on the face of the
earth. Yet, that his life might be spared, a
mark was fixed upon him, and the Lord said,
" Whosoever slayeth Cain vengeance shall be
taken on him sevenfold.'
The belief of some of the fathers of the
Christian church that Abel died unmarried,
gave rise to the sect of Abelites, Abelians, or
Abelonians, who remained single, but adopted
children and educated them after their own
manner and in their own principles. Near
Hippo, in Africa, this society flourished in the
latter part of the 4th century, and their follow-
ers at the present day, are found in the persons
of the Shakers.
ABEL, son of Valdimir II. king of Den-
mark, gained the sceptre by assassinating his
brother Eric in 1250. A revolt of the Frisons
caused the loss of his life. His appellation was
certainly a misnomer.
ABELARD, Peter, properly Abailard, a
monk who was famous for his learning and his
unfortunate love for the beautiful Heloise. He
was born in 1079, in the village of Palais, near
Nantes. He early relinquished his claims to
his father's estates, in favor of his brothers, and
devoted himself to the study of literature and
the sciences. At Paris his fame was great, and
here he established a school, lecturing on rhet-
oric and other subjects to large and admiring
audiences. When his fame was greatest, he
forgot his duty and his character in the society
of Heloise, the niece of Fulbert, a canon of the
city. He atoned for his misconduct by marry
ing the object of his affections; but her removal
to the convent of Argenteuil, exasperated Ful-
bert and drew down upon Abelard, his fierce
vengeance. Heloise finally took the veil at
Argenteuil, a ceremony by which a nun renoun-
ces the world, and pledges herself to the obser-
vance of religious vows. She afterwards be-
came abbess of the Paraclete, a religious house
founded by Abelard. Abelard was accused by
his enemies of promulgating heretical doctrines,
but succeeded in vindicating himself. After
his refutation of the charges of his adversaries,
he lived in strict seclusion, when the pangs
of grief, acting upon a constitution broken by
injury and the severity of monastic discipline,
put an end to his existence. He died at the ab-
bey of San Marcel at Chalons-Sur-Saone, at the
age of G3, in 1142. His body, at the request of
Heloise, was buried in the Paraclete, where she
contemplated being laid by his side in death.
She survived him many years, and a popular
tradition asserts that when she was removed
into the funeral vault the dead monk unclosed
his arms, and received her in their gaunt em-
brace. The ashes of the unhappy pair repose,
at present, in a chapel at Paris, where they
were deposited in 1817.
ABENSBERG,a district and town in Bava-
ria, situated on the Abens, 83 miles from Ratis-
bon ; population, 1 ,080. Here Napoleon gained
a brilliant victory over the Austrians, in 1809,
which led to the affairs of Landshut and Eck
muhl, and the taking of Ratisbon.
ABERCROMBIE, Sir Ralph, a British offi-
cer of distinction, born in 1738, at Tillibodie in
Clackmannanshire. His military talents raised
him from a cornetcy, to the rank of General.
In the battle of Cateau he led the advanced
guard. His masterly retreat from Holland has
been highly commended by military men. In
I7!).r) he was appointed to the chief command
of the forces in the West Indies, and took
Demerara, Essequibo, St. Lucia, St. Vincent,
and Trinidad. He met his death at Alexan-
dria in 1801, while engaged in repelling the
French. In that action, fatal for him, he dis-
ABO
11
ABO
played the chivalric valor of a knight of the
olden time. Dismounted and suffering from
two mortal wounds, Sir Ralph disarmed his
adversary, and gave the sword into the hands
of Sir Sydney Smith. He survived about a
week. His memory was honored by his coun-
trymen, and a costly monument erected in St.
Paul's, a public token of the respect of England
for as brave and true a soldier as ever fought
beneath her banner.
ABERDEEN, the most important of the
northern cities of Scotland. Its latitude is about
57° north. Population is estimated at about
40,000. It contains two universities ; the cotton
manufacture and salmon fisheries afford sub-
sistence and wealth to numbers of its inhabitants.
ABIPONIANS, a warlike nation of South
American Indians on the banks of the Rio de
la Plata, frequently engaged in war with the
Spaniards. They appear to despise the arts
of agriculture, and subsist by hunting and fish-
in o\° Their arms are iron-headed lances and
arrows. They feed on tiger's flesh, imagining
that it gives them indomitable courage and fe-
rocity. Their women are described as pretty,
and having complexions but a shade darker
than those of the Spanish ladies. They are
governed by Caciques, whose authority is mere-
ly nominal, since the tribes renounce it, when-
ever the opinions of their rulers are at variance
with their own.
ABO, until 1817, the capital of Finland,
the chief place of export from Finland to Swe-
den, and containing a population of 12,500 in-
habitants. Its sugar-works, and manufactures
of leather, linen, sail-cloth, cordage, &c. are
successful. As a ship-building place, it pos-
sesses considerable importance. The univer-
sity was liberally endowed by the Emperor
Alexander, but it has since been transferred to
Helsingfors. In 1827 the whole city was
burnt down, but the Russian government la-
bored to repair the loss. In history Abo is not-
ed for several treaties concluded within its
walls.
ABOUKIR, formerly called Canopus, is an
Arabian village containing but about 100 in-
habitants. Its bay is spacious, and has, upon
the western side, a castle of considerable
strength. It is 10 miles from Alexandria, upon
the coast of Egypt. In modern history, Abou-
kir is rendered famous by the important naval
battle fought here between the French and
English fleets, the latter commanded by Admi-
ral Nelson , on the first of August, 1708. Buona-
parte's army was conveyed to Egypt by the
French fleet which sailed from the harbor
of Toulon, on the 19th of May, 1798. As
soon as intelligence of this reached the Eng-
lish fleet before Cadiz, admiral St. Vincent
despatched rear-admiral Nelson, with 14 ships
of the line, to the Mediterranean, with or-
ders to find and attack the French fleet.
Nelson, burning for fame, and eager to meet
the enemy, at length found the fleet in the
road of Aboukir, August 1. The signal for
battle was immediately given. The French
captains, who had been assembled on board the
admiral's ship, hastened to their posts, and an
English ship instantly commenced the attack.
The French fleet was disposed in the form of a
crescent, following the curve of the bay, and
anchored as close as possible to an island on
which was erected a powerful battery of can-
non and mortars. Nelson ordered a part of his
fleet to break through between the island and
the French line of battle, and to coast along
until they gained the enemy's rear, while the
remainder of the English fleet approached the
enemy's front, and anchored within pistol-shot.
These orders were executed with skill and dar-
ing, and, at half past six in the evening, the
battle began, just as the setting sun threw a
fiery hue upon the fearful scene. The fire of
the English was well directed, and deadly. At
the end of one hour, five French ships were
disabled and captured. Admiral Brueys was
shot as he was directing the fight from his ship
L'Orient. After the admiral was shot, Capt.
Casabianca and crew, determined to maintain
the honor of the flag-ship, fought her with
great spirit. The captain was mortally wound-
ed and carried below, while his son, a youth
of 12 years old, remained at his post, notwith-
standing the vessel took fire. Although the hot
flames rolled over head, and the powder-maga-
zine was momentarily expected to take fire,
the gallant boy would not leave his post, but
shared the fate of the splendid vessel, which
was blown to atoms. The fate of Casabianca
has been made the subject of a beautiful poem
by one of the most talented poetesses of the
present day ; Mrs. Hemans. The concluding
lines of ' Casabianca ' are very forcible.
There came a burst of thundering sound —
The boy — oh! where was he"?
Ask of the winds that far around
With fragments strewed the sea. —
With mast, and helm, and pennon fair,
That well had borne their part —
But the noblest thing that perished there,
Was that young and faithful heart.
ABR
12
ABR
L'Orient blew up after having been fought for
four hours. She was a superb vessel — a 120
gun ship, with a crew of 1000 men, out of
whom but 80 or 90 were saved from destruc-
tion. The scene of the combat must have been
awfully sublime, for the cannonading continued
all night, and day dawned upon a scene of de-
struction and dismay. The French suffered
severely, and their naval power was annihilat-
ed. Only two ships of the line, and two frig-
ates got off clear. Nine ships of the line were
taken, one blown up, and one frigate sunk.
The French themselves set fire to and burned
a ship of the line and a frigate. The success
of the British was a severe blow to Buonaparte,
as it cut off his communication with France,
and inspired his enemies with fresh hope and
resolution, giving spirit to the coalition formed
against the power which had so suddenly at-
tained a giant strength.
ABRADATES, a king of Susa. His wife,
Panthea, having been taken prisoner by Cyrus,
was well treated, in consequence of which her
husband joined the troops of the conqueror,
but was killed in the very first battle which he
fought for him. His wife, in despair at his
death, killed herself upon his corpse. They
were both honored and lamented by Cyrus.
ABRAHAM, the Patriarch of the Jews, was
born at Ur, in Chaldasa, 2000 years before the
birth of Christ. He was descended from Shem,
the eldest son of Noah, but was kept from
idolatry, and passed the early part of his life in
the house of his father Terali. Abraham found
favor in the eyes of the Lord who revealed to
him the good fortunes for which he was destin-
ed, and commanded him, with his wife Sarah,
his father, and his nephew, to leave his early
abode, and settle in Haran, in Mesopotamia.
Following in all things the direct commands of
God, Abraham, after the death of his father,
led a wandering life, visiting a variety of places.
While he remained at Mamre, Lot, between
whom and Abraham there was a rupture, settled
at Gomorrah. In spite of this separation, the
heart of Abraham was not estranged from his
nephew, for when he learned that Gomorrah
had been entered by the Arabs, who carried off
Lot, his family, and property, he pursued the
robbers and succeeded in rescuing his nephew
and all that was his. The Lord displayed to
Abraham the blessings which he designed for
him, and assured him of the birth of a son.
This event, however ardently desired, appeared
unlikely to take place, on account of the years
of Abraham and Sarah.
The enormous crimes of Sodom and Gomor-
rah, having excited the indignation of God, he
sent three angels to destroy the rebellious cities.
They visited Abraham and his wife, and assured
them that the promise made by the Lord would
be fulfilled, and that, upon their return, they
would be parents. At the time decreed by the
Lord, Sarah, then ninety years old, became
the mother of a son whom she called Isaac
After the birth of Isaac, Abraham drove out to
the wilderness Hagar, a bond-woman, who was
the mother of one of his sons. Their miracu-
lous preservation is one of the most affecting
incidents recorded in scripture. When Isaac
had reached the age of twenty-five years, and
was dearly beloved by his father, God, wishing
to make a trial of his faith, commanded Abra-
ham to sacrifice his son, saying ; " Take now thy
son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest,
and get thee into the land ofMoriah; and offer
him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the
mountains which I will tell thee of." The
command of the Lord was listened to with
meek obedience ; Abraham made immediate
preparations for departure, and arrived at the
appointed place with his dearly beloved son.
Without faltering, the man of God built the
altar of the wood which he had provided,
and bound Isaac, and laid him upon the pile.
It was a fiery ordeal, but the faith of Abraham
was unshaken. " And Abraham stretched
forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his
son. And the angel of the Lord called to him
out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham.
And he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not
thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any-
thing unto him, for now I know that thou
fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy
son, thy only son, from me."
At the age of one hundred and twenty-seven
years, Sarah died at Hebron, in the land of
Canaan. Abraham again married, and became,
by Keturah, father of six children; viz. Zimran,
Jokshan, and Medan ; Midian, Ishbah, and
Shuah. The age and death of the patriarch
are thus recorded in the Bible. " And these
are the days of the years of Abraham's life
which he lived, a hundred three score and
fifteen years. Then Abraham gave up the
ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man,
and full of years ; and was gathered to his peo-
ple." His body was interred near that of his
wife Sarah, in a sepulchre wrought in a cave
purchased of the sons of Seth. The Arabians
as well as the Jews, derive their origin from
Abraham, and the name of the patriarch is in-
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13
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terwoven with the legends of the Romish and
Greek churches. In the tales of the Arabians,
many fabulous adventures are attributed to
Abraham, and the truth is obscured by the
narrators of his history. The Koran makes
mention of the patriarch's name, and, according
to many Mahometan writers, he went to Mecca
and there commenced the building of the tem-
ple. The tomb of Abraham is still an object
of veneration to many sects.
ABRAHAM, heights of. See Quebec.
ABRANTES, a city of Portugal, in the pro-
vince of Estremadura, and situated on the right
bank of the Tagus, has a population of 3,500.
The abruptness of its hills, the strength of its
castle, and the state of its river, render it a place
of great importance in a military point of view.
In 1762 the Portuguese defended it against
the Spaniards, and in 1808 it was garrisoned by
Junot, one of Napoleon's generals, who from
the perseverance with which he marched to
this place, in spite of many obstacles, and the
gallantry with which he made himself master of
Lisbon with 1,500 grenadiers, was named duke
of Abrantes. When the place was surrender-
ed to the English they strengthened it to such
a degree, that it was believed to be almost im-
pregnable.
ABRUZZO, a country in the northern part
of Italy, is divided into Ulterior, and Citerior,
which are the northwestern and southeastern
portions. It is the northern extremity of the
Neapolitan kingdom, and bounded on the north
and west by the territories of the church, on
the south by Puglia, and Terra di Lavoro, and
on the east by the Adriatic. Its population is
estimated at 628,500. The country is crossed
by the lofty Apennines, and its climate is severe.
The spring rains and thaws often swell the
streams to such an extent, that bridges are
swept away, and all communication broken up.
The inhabitants of the valleys, which are fer-
tile, are generally shepherds, and fine herds
feed upon the eminences and pasturage spots
of the valleys. It has been regarded, from the
nature of the ground, and the circumstance of
but one military road leading into the king-
dom, a place of immense importance in war,
and a sure defence to Naples. In the hands of
a patriotic and resolute population, it might be
all this, but the past has shown how much a
resolute enemy can accomplish against indo-
lent or dispirited defenders. The Austrians,
French and Spaniards, have found it but a
frail barrier against the march of conquest.
The ravines, the mountain fastnesses, the tan-
gled woods, localities which might have made
it the theatre of a famous struggle, are only
infamous and terrible, as the retreat of the
lurking bandit, and the midnight murderer.
The Neapolitan territories, and those of the
church surfer severely from the predatory spirit
of the lawless peasants, who are agriculturists
and brigands, and support their families by an
union of both characters. They frequently
exchange shots with the guards of travellers,
when these worthies are steady enough to
stand to their arms, although not infrequently
policy and cowardice induce these gentlemen
to make off with all possible speed, leaving the
unfortunate strangers to the tender mercies of
a rapacious and case-hardened banditti.
ABSALOM, in Scripture, the rebellious son
of King David, noted for the beauty of hisluxu-
riant tresses, which caused his death by getting
entangled in the boughs of a tree from which
he hung suspended until slain, contrary to the
orders of his fond father. The grief of King
David for his loss is touchingly expressed in
the sacred writings, where ills history may be
perused at length.
ABSALOM, bishop of Rothschild, archbish-
op of Denmark, and counsellor of Waldemar
I, a distinguished divine, statesman, general,
navigator, and author of celebrity, died A. D.
1201.
ABU-BEKR, founder of the empire of the
Almoravides, Morocco, in 1050. His conquests
in Spain, in 1091, gained him great renown.
ABUDA, an Italian town, famous for the
defeat of Odoacer in 490, by Theodoric, King
of the Ostrogoths.
ABU-OBEDIAH, who died of pestilence
A. D. 639, was a companion of Mohammed, and
conquered Syria, together with a large portion
of Palestine.
ABULFEDA, or Ishmael, prince of Hamah
in Syria, an Arabian, famous for his historical
and geographical writings, and surnamed the
pillar of religion, and the prince of victory.
He was a native of Damascus, and born A. D.
1273. Although inheriting the throne of Hamah
from his uncle, he was debarred for a long time
from the enjoyment of his rights, but when
gained, the kingdom remained undisturbed
under his sway, until the time of his death,
which took place, A. D. 1333.
ABYDOS, a city on the Asiatic side of the
Dardanelles, of Milesian origin, famed for the
bridge of boats constructed by order of Xerxes,
and familiar to all readers as the residence of
Hero, the mistress of Leander, who swam the
ABY
14
ABY
Hellespont to meet her, until
" that night of stormy water,
When Love — who sent — forgot to save
The lone, the beautiful, the brave,
The only hope of Sestos' daughter."
Lord Byron, whose lines we have just quot-
ed, performed Leander's feat in company with
Mr. Ekenhead, an Englishman. The turbu-
lence of the currents renders the passage a crit-
ical undertaking. The inhabitants of Abydos
gallantly defended their city against Philip of
Macedon.
Another Jibydos in Upper Egypt, was famed
for the magnificence of the palace of Memnon
and the temple of Osiris. Some splendid ruins,
manifesting its former grandeur, are to be
found in the village of El-Berbi.
ABYLA, a mountain of Africa, directly-
opposite to Calpe, Gibraltar. These two
mountains were formerly called the Pillars of
Hercules, from a tradition that this gifted mor-
tal, the Samson of the Greeks, forced them
asunder to form a junction between the waters
of the Atlantic and Mediterranean. In this
tale we perceive the reminiscence of a great
convulsion of nature separating Europe and
Africa.
ABYSSINIA is a country of great extent,
of which the ancients possessed very little
knowledge. It is sometimes called Abassia,
Habesh, and Upper Ethiopia. The name is
thought by most authors to be derived from
the Arabic Habesh, which signifies the accident-
al meeting of a number of persons in one spot.
The Portuguese gave this country the name of
Prester or Presbyter John's empire, but it ap-
pears that there is no foundation for the suppo-
sition that any such person ever dwelt or was
heard of in Abyssinia. The ancients, who
were very little acquainted with the kingdom,
represented its extent as far greater than the
reality proved. It is at present bounded, on
the northeast, by the Red Sea ; on the east,
and southeast, by the kingdom of Adel ; on the
south, by the Gingire ; on the west by the
Nile, and on the northwest by Sennaar. Its
three grand divisions are Tigre, Amhara, and
Shoa and Efat. The most ancient book of
Abyssinian history is the Chronicle of Axum,
from which it is understood that Abyssinia was
the kingdom of Sheba or Seba, the visit of whose
queen to King Solomon is spoken of in the Sa-
cred Writings. The government of Abyssinia
is an absolute monarchy, and the want of writ-
ten laws has placed the persons, property, and
lives of the subjects, in the hands of the sove-
reign. The queen of Sheba had a son, of whom
Solomon was the father. From this prince,
whose name was Menileh, the sovereigns of
Abyssinia claim to be descended. It is affirm-
ed that Abyssinia was the kingdom of that
queen Candace, whose minister worshipped at
Jerusalem. On his return, he was baptized by
Philip the deacon, from whom the Abyssinians,
by their own confession, received Christianity.
The last act of the queen of Sheba's reign enact-
ed, 1. That the crown should thenceforth be
hereditary in the descendants of Solomon :
2. That no females should ascend the throne :
3. That the heirs-male of the royal family
should be sent prisoners to a high mountain,
where they were well treated, and allowed a
large revenue for their support, but where they
were compelled to remain until they died, or
the succession was opened to them. This fact
forms the groundwork of Dr. Johnson's inte-
resting tale, entitled ' Rasselas, or the Happy
Valley.'
The Jewish religion was prevalent in Abys-
sinia until nearly the middle of the 4th centu-
ry. Others imagine, as above stated, that the
Abyssinians embraced Christianity with their
queen who was converted by her prime minis-
ter or eunuch. About 1450, in the reign of
Zara Jacob, an attempt was made to introduce
the Romish religion. About J 560 the Portu-
guese priests were banished by Menas, and the
Catholic religion was suppressed. In 1600 it
revived. In 1632, in consequence of the un-
satisfactory conduct of the Catholic clergy,
their hierarchy was abolished. Since 1714,
when the clergy were executed, Catholics have
almost disappeared from the country. The
Christian religion has since been prevalent,
with a mixture of Judaical observances in pub-
lic worship. Yet we can hardly term that a
Christian church which permits polygamy.
The saints of the Abyssinians surpass in mira-
cles those of the Latin calendar. There is an
immense number of churches in Abyssinia.
The paternal and sole bishop of the country is
styled M%ina, which means, our Father. He is
said to have been called upon to ordain, at one
time 10,000 priests, and 6000 deacons. The
attenlion of Missionary and Bible societies
have been turned to this country, and the dif-
fusion of the sacred writings among the people,
is regarded as the greatest benefit which could
be conferred upon them.
The punishments in Abyssinia are severe,
and frequently, as well as unfeelingly inflicted.
Death on the cross, hanging, stoning to death,
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15
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flaying alive, and plucking out the eyes, stand
foremost in the dark catalogue. The bodies of
those who suffer death for treason, murder, and
the commission of some other crimes, rarely
receive the rites of sepulture. Pieces of dead
carcasses are frequent in the streets of Gondar,
and nightly attract numbers of wild beasts.
The hyenas, whose craving for human flesh is
well known, rush to their banquet as soon as
night settles on the city, howling over the
bones for which they have contended fiercely.
The manners and customs of the Abyssinians
prove the shocking cruelty and brutality of
this people. Their festivities are disgraced by
the most revolting practices. When the guests
are assembled, the cooks cut steaks from the
cattle at the door while they are yet alive, and
roaring with agony. The guests wipe their
fingers upon the cakes which they afterwards
eat. The people are illiterate and depraved,
and their whole country exhibits the appear-
ance of hopeless wretchedness and poverty.
Abyssinia is bounded on the north by Sen-
naar, on the west and south by Sennaar, K'or-
dofan, and some barbarous tracts of country
which are almost unknown, and on the east by
the Red Sea. The King lives at Gondar, but
is possessed of little more than the name of
sovereign. The ranges of mountains which fill
up the extent of the country are lofty and re-
markable. The products of the country are
rich and various, but its commerce is exclu-
sively in the hands of Turks, Jews and Arme-
nians.
vACAPULCO, on the south west side of
Mexico, is the best harbor in possession of the
Mexicans. The city has fine artificial and nat-
ural defences, and contains 4,000 inhabitants,
mostly colored. It is hot and unhealthy, yellow
fever and cholera morbus being prevalent dis-
orders. Silver, cochineal, Spanish cloth, and
peltry, are the principal articles of export.
ACARNANIA, now II Carnia, a II Despo-
tato, Albania, was formerly called Curetis, a
country of Epirus, separated from yEtolia by
the Achelous, and long an independent state.
After having been conquered, it was permitted
to retain its own laws until the destruction of
Corinth by Mummius, when it was united to
the province of Achaia.
ACCUM, Frederic, a German chemist, who
delivered lectures in London in 1803, and did
much towards the introduction of gas-lights
ACHAIA was a portion of the Peloponnesus,
of very limited breadth, and stretching along the
bay of Corinth. The name is sometimes em-
ployed by the early poets to distinguish all
Greece. After Greece became a Roman pro-
vince, Achaia included all the Grecian states
but Macedonia and Thessaly. 80 years after
the Trojan war, the descendants of Achseus, who
first dwelt in the country near Argos, being
driven out by the Heraclidae, seized upon the
12 Ionian cities, and kept them. These were
Pellene, iEgira, ^Eges, Bura, Tritcea, ^Egion,
Rhypae, Olenos, Helice, Patrce, Dyme, and
Phara?. The inhabitants of the three last cities,
284 years B. C, formed the famous confederacy
which, under the name of the Jlcluean League,
subsisted in full force upwards of 140 years.
Aratus and PhilopaBmen, by their splendid tal-
ents and virtues, gave honor to this confedera-
cy. For three years, assisted by Philip of
Macedon, they warred with the jEtolians, and
being strengthened by fresh accessions, achiev-
ed the liberation of their country from foreign
enemies. The Romans, however, proved too
powerful for the League, and destroyed it, after
a year's hostility, 147 years B. C.
ACHEEN, Atcheen, Achem, or Achen; a
part of Sumatra, of considerable extent, and, in
parts fertile. It is inhabited by a race of men
of fine appearance, and comparatively liberal
and well-informed. They are Mahometans,
— bold and enterprising as merchants and ma-
riners. Acheen, the capital, contains 36,000
inhabitants. The government is vested in the
hands of a despot, whose authority is heredita-
ry. The chief trade is with Hindostan.
ACHILLAS, a general of Ptolemy, and the
murderer of Pompey the Great.
ACHILLES, as the poets tell us, was the
son of Peleus, aThessalian king, and Thetis,
daughter of Nereus, grandson of ^Eacus. The-
tis, in order to preserve her beautiful boy from
the dangers of war, dipped him in the Styx, (a
river of hell) which rendered him invulnerable
with the exception of the heel by which she
held him. Having been warned that if Achil-
les went to the Trojan war, he would meet
death after a glorious career, while, in remain-
ing at home, he would attain a good old age,
Thetis disguised her boy in a female dress, and
sent him, under the name of Pyrrha to be edu-
cated at the court of Lycomedes, king of Scy-
ros, who brought him up with his daughters.
The Greeks were informed by the prophet
Chalcas, that Troy could not be taken without
the aid of Achilles, and accordingly, Ulysses,
the most wily of the Greeks, went, as a mer-
chant, to the court of Lycomedes. Here he
was surrounded by the princesses, before whose
ACH
16
ACH
eager eyes he spread out his sparkling store,
taking care to mingle implements of war with
feminine articles. While the daughters of the
King seized upon the trinkets, Achilles posses-
sed himself of the arms. The gleaming breast-
plate, and the burnished spear ill matched the
garb he wore, and the fiery hero was soon in-
duced to cast it off, and take part with the
Greeks in their expedition. Phosnix and the
Centaur Chiron had instructed him in mental
and bodily accomplishments, and the former
accompanied him to Troy. Achilles is one of
the bravest and most beautiful of the Homeric
heroes, being the subject of some of the finest
verses in the Iliad. The following glowing
description is from the 19th book of the immor-
tal poem.
The silver cuishes first his thighs infold:
Then o'er his breast was braced the hollow gold:
The brazen sword a various baldric tied,
That, starred with gems, hung glittering at his side ;
And, like the moon, the broad refulgent shield
Blazed with long rays, and gleamed athwart the field.
******
Next, his high head the helmet graced; behind
The sweeping crest hung floating in the wind:
Like the red star, that from his flaming hair
Shakes down diseases, pestilence and war,
So streamed the golden honors from his head,
Trembled the sparkling plumes, and die loose glories
shed.
The chief beholds himself with wondering eyes;
His aims he poises, and his motions tries;
Buoyed by some inward force, he seems to swim,
And feels a pinion lifting every limb.
And now he shakes his great paternal spear,
Ponderous and huge! which not a Greek could rear.
From Pelion's cloudy top an ash entire
Old Chiron felled, and shaped it for his sire:
A spear which stern Achilles only wields,
The death of heroes, and the dread of fields.
Achilles proved himself no wavering or weak
partisan. His presence was a host, but he also
sailed with 50 ships well manned, and destroyed
twelve island cities, and 11 on the main-land.
Minerva and Juno aided him. Agamemnon,
whom the Greeks had chosen their leader, ha-
ving taken prisoner Chryseis, daughter of Chry-
ses, priest of Apollo, was forced to restore the
maid to avert from the Greeks the plague which
Apollo, moved by the prayers of his aged wor-
shipper, sent upon them. Agamemnon offended
Achilles by taking from him his beautiful cap-
tive, Briseis, daughter of Brises, and wife of
Mines, king of Lyrnessus. Enraged at his loss,
the formidable warrior retired from the field,
permitting the Trojan Hector to carry terror
and slaughter through the ranks of the Greeks.
He, however, suffered his friend Patroclus to
assume his arms, and take the field at the head
of his own warriors ; but this distinguished hero
soon fell beneath the arm of Hector. Burning
to revenge the death of his friend, Achilles de-
termined again to confront the Trojans. His
mother brought him the splendid arms which
Vulcan had forged for him, and which Ho-
mer has- so finely described. Again he burned
with a warrior's ardor, was reconciled to
Agamemnon, and, refreshed by nectar and am-
brosia sent by Minerva, plunged into the heat
of battle.
Achilles speedily rolled back the tide of war.
He pursued the retreating Trojans into the river
Xanthus, which became choaked with bodies,
and crimson with carnage. The river-god, re-
senting this sanguinary pursuit as an insult,
commanded Achilles to desist, and on the refusal
of the impetuous warrior, overflowed his banks,
and opposed him, assisted by the waters of
Simois. The west and south winds, and the
aid of Vulcan, sent by Juno, chastised the pre-
sumption of the river-god and reduced him to
his original limits. Achilles was only prevent-
ed from taking the city by the interference of
Apollo, the protector of the Trojans. Hector
confronted and fought Achilles, by whom he
was slain. His body, after being attached to
the chariot of the victor, and dragged round
the city, was ransomed by Priam, the venera-
ble father of the slain warrior. Achilles, falling
in love with Polyxena, daughter of Priam, pur-
chased her hand by a promise to defend Troy ;
but while standing at the altar with her, an arrow
from the bow of Paris pierced his heel and slew
him. His body was a prize for which a fierce
contest arose. The Greeks sacrificed his bride
upon his tomb, according to his dying request,
that he might enjoy her society in the Elysian
fields, the paradise of the heathen. Alexander
the Great, who venerated and imitated the
Homeric heroes, visited the tomb of Achilles,
and crowned it, saying " that Achilles was
happy in having Patroclus for a friend, and
Homer for a poet."
ACHMET I, emperor of the Turks, began
to reign in 1603, and died in 1617. The tran-
quillity of this sovereign was disturbed by in-
surrections, and the intrigues of a pretender to
his throne.
ACHMET II, was emperor of the Turks
from 1G9I to 1695.
ACHMET III, son of Mahomet IV, was
ACH 17
raised to the throne of the Ottoman empire, in
i 1705, by the revolt of the janisaries, who de-
posed his brother, Mustapha II. Achmet, al-
though he apprehended and punished the leaders
of the revolt, yet availed himself of the fruits
of their crime. His reign, however, was by
no means passed in tranquillity, and repeated
changes of the viziers marked the insecurity
felt by the monarch. Achmet placed his prin-
cipal reliance on the power of gold, which he
sometimes used for good ends. When Charles
XII had been defeated at Pultowa, he was hos-
pitably received at the Turkish court, where his
iutngues soon kindled the flame of war between
Russia and Turkey ; but Achmet III was unable
to compete with Peter the Great, and the mili-
tary views of his vizier, were by no means clear.
When the fortunes of the czar were in the
hands of the Turks on the borders of the Pruth,
the Muscovite purchased of the vizier permission
to retreat, but surrendered Azof to the Otto-
mans. Against the Venetians, Achmet was
more successful, wresting the Morea from their
grasp in a single campaign. But the imperi-
alists, under the able conduct of Prince Eugene
of Savoy, trampled on the laurels of the Turks,
and humbled the pride of their sultan. Achmet,
by the loss of Peterwaradin, and the taking of
Belgrade and Temeswar, was forced to sign the
treaty of Passarowitz. In 1718, the sultan lost
Temeswar, Orsoa, Belgrade, Servia, and part of
Walachia — a loss which was compensated, in
the ensuing year, by his Persian successes. A
revolt of the janisaries had made Achmet sultan,
and a similar rebellion hurled him from the
throne in 1730. The celebrated Caliph Patrona
headed this revolt. Aohmet went in person to
seek his nephew, Mahmoud I, and, saluting
him as emperor, said ; " Profit by my exam-
ple : Had I always adhered to my old policy
i>f permitting my vizier but a short stay in of-
fice, I should have ended my reign as triumph-
antly as I commenced it. Farewell ! may your
career be happier than mine ! I commend to
your especial care my son." He then went into
the obscurity of that prison from which he had
Irawn his nephew. He died of apoplexy, on
the 23d of June, 173G, 5 years and 8 months
liter his deposition. Achmet possessed a bril-
lant wit, and much shrewdness, with a ready
turn for public business. He loved money, and
was the first to levy imposts on the Turks, but
le was no less attached to science, which he
patronized. He established the first printing-
press at Constantinople, 1727. He was fond of
pleasure, and the Turks yet cherish the recol-
ACR
lection of those splendid festivals at Constanti-
nople, which sprang from the luxury, and were
graced by the presence of the sultan. Achmet
gave concerts of nightingales, numbers of those
birds being enclosed in cages, delighting the
court with their rare and plaintive melody.
ACHMET, headed a band of Turks and con-
quered Eg-ypt in 868.
AQUITAINE, a province of France, more
recently called Guienne, and now forming the
departments of Gironde, and of Lot and Ga-
ronne. Here the Visigoths established a king-
dom in the early part of the 5th century.
ACRE, called also, Mka, St. Jean <T Acre,
and, in the middle ages, Ptolemais, is a city and
harbor situated on the coast of Syria, lately the
capital of a Turkish pachalic, and now be-
longing to Egypt. The famous mount Car-
mel overlooks the city, which contains 16,000
inhabitants, and is the emporium of the cotton
trade of Syria. Its harbor is good, although
containing many sand-banks. During the
crusades, the troops engaged in the Holy Wars
made it their principal landing-place ; Acre
was the seat of the Knights of°St. John, till
1291, and from this order arose the French
name of St. Jean d' Acre. Here the Turks, un-
der the command of Djezzar, pacha of the place,
assisted by the British fleet under the command
of Sir Sydney Smith, sustained a siege, during
Bonaparte's Egyptian campaign After hav-
ing succeeded in tranquillizing the various
places which he had taken and garrisoned,
Bonaparte framed a system of government
for Egypt upon French models. On the 12th
of February, 1799, he marched at the head of
18,000 men from Cairo to Syria, took El-Arish,
a fort in the desert, and afterwards Jaffa, where
he caused tne Turkish prisoners to be shot.
The inhabitants of Naplous, were also subdued
without much difficulty, and from them he ob-
tained provisions which were absolutely necessa-
ry to the success of his meditated siege of St. Jean
d' Acre. At Safet he again proved himself the
child of fortune, being completely victorious.
But while indulging the hope of an easy victo-
ry, the English fleet under Sir Sydney Smith
appeared before Acre, and, besides supplying the
Turks with ammunition, reinforced the garrison
with several hundred infantry and artillery.
The French fought with their usual gallantry.
They made many assaults, rushing forward
regardless of danger, trusting in their courage
and their bayonets, but they were met with
equal gallantry and invariably repulsed. The
vexation of Bonaparte was boundless ; he con-
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tinually planned new attacks, which were baf-
fled, and repulsed with great loss to the
French. In vain did the well-directed guns of
the besieger's artillerists pour a heavy fire upon
the Turks. The batteries were wrapped in
constant flame but the garrison held bravely
out, until the siege was finally raised. During
the siege, Bonaparte was by no means inactive,
he met the enemy 40,000 strong, upon the plain
of Fiuli, with 25,000 men. On the 16th and 17th
of April, in the vicinity of the Jordan, the terri-
ble battle of Mount Tabor was fought. On the re-
treat of the French from St. Jean d' Acre, it is said
that a body of French soldiers, who were sick of
the plague, were poisoned by order of Bona-
parte ; but this has been frequently denied. Of
the kindness of Bonaparte to his sick soldiers we
have many proofs. Very recently, Louis Phi-
lippe, the present king of the French, having
his attention called to an old veteran who had
been in the army of Napoleon, rode up and
shook hands with him. The old man was not
flattered. " When I was sick with the plague
at Jaffa," said he, bluntly, " the emperor shook
hands with me — but he didn't have gloves on."
The sieore of St. Jean d' Acre lasted 61 days, and
was attended with great loss to both parlies.
The place was besieged and captured by the
Pacha of Egypt in 1832.
ACTIUM, a promontory now called Capo di
Figolo, or Azio, on the gulf of Arta, on the west-
ern coast of Greece, at the extremity of Acarna-
nia. Here was fought the most memorable na-
val battle of antiquity, since the stake was the
empire of the world, B. C. 31. The leaders of
the hostile forces were Mark Antony and Oc-
tavius. The latter had 80,000 infantry, 12,000
cavalry, and 260 ships of war, while Antony
had 100,000 infantry, 12,000 cavalry, and 220
ships of war. The battle was hotly contest-
ed. The conduct of Cleopatra, the beautiful
Egyptian queen, who had captivated Antony,
proved disadvantageous to him, for, seized with
a panic, she fled from the battle with her sixty
galleys, the most brilliant vessels brought into
action. Antony, whose energies had been
prostrated by a course of dissipation, followed
the queen, and a disgraceful rout among the
troops on shore completed his ruin, while the
sovereignty of the world was the prize of Octa-
vius, afterwards Augustus Caesar.
ADAM, the father of mankind, formed of
clay by God, on the sixth day of the creation
of the world. His history is related in Genesis.
ADAMS, John, was born at Braintree, Mas-
sachusetts, October 19, 1735. He was the
descendant of those whom persecution for con-
science' sake had driven from their firesides in
England. Henry Adams, the great grand-father
of John, came to America in 1630. Mr. Adams
having evinced an uncommon fondness for
learning, was prepared by Mr. Marsh, preceptor
of Josiah Quincy, for entrance into Harvard
College, where he distinguished himself by
strength of mind, application, and spotless mo-
rality. He was graduated in 1755, and re-
ceived the degree of Master of Arts in 1758.
He commenced the study of law at Worcester
with Mr. James Putnam, defraying his expenses
by his income as instructer in Greek and La-
tin. Massachusetts had long been the scene of
a continual struggle ; the British agents striving
to extend their power and the colonists con-
tending for freedom. In 1758 Mr. Adams,
leaving the office of Col. Putnam, entered that
of Jeremiah Gridley, attorney-general, who
had previously directed the law studies of
James Otis, and who, in allusion to his two
talented pupils, said, " I have trained up two
young eagles, who are, one day or other, to
pick out my eyes." In 1759 Mr. Adams was
admitted to the Suffolk bar, and commenced
practice in Quincy. In 1761, he was admitted
to the degree of barrister at law, and very soon
afterwards his father's decease put him in pos-
session of a small landed property. In the
February of this year the British cabinet enjoined
the Massachusetts custom-house officers to exe-
cute their oppressive acts of trade, applying to
the Supreme provincial judicature for writs
of assistance, a kind of general search-warrants.
The applications made in consequence to the
court at Salem were resisted on the ground of
their unconstitutionality. When it was deter-
mined to argue the matter by counsel in Bos-
ton, Mr. Otis was engaged to defend the rights
of the Salem and Boston merchants, and, that
he might do it with the more freedom, he relin-
quished his office of advocate-general in the
court of admiralty — a lucrative station. Mr.
Adams, who took a deep interest in the affair,
was present at the discussion, and thus eulo-
gizes the orator. i: Otis was a flame of fire !
With a promptitude of classical allusion, a
depth of research, a rapid summary of historical
events and dates, a profusion of legal authori-
ties, a prophetic glance of his eyes into futurity,
and a rapid torrent of impetuous eloquence,
he hurried away all before him. American in-
dependence was then and there born."
In 1764, he married Abigail Smith, daughter
of the Rev. William Smith of Weymouth, a
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lady of great beauty and worth, whose pat-
riotism and piety rendered her worthy of her
husband. Mr. Adams published in the Boston
Gazette several articles under the title of "An
Essay on Canon and Feudal Law," which were
reprinted in England, and gained great com-
mendation. The author was then unknown.
In the year 1765 he removed to Boston, where
his business was highly prosperous. The
friends of the crown attempted to purchase his
apostasy by the offer of the office of advocate-
general in the court of admiralty, but he
refused "decidedly and peremptorily, though
respectfully." He was appointed, in 1769,
chairman of the committee chosen by the town
of Boston to draw up instructions to their rep-
resentatives to resist the unpardonable and in-
creasing encroachments of the crown. At this
time the indignation of the friends of liberty
was excited by the presence of an armed force
in the town, while a band of hirelings surround-
ed the state-house, and cannon were directed
against its doors. Mr. Adams displayed his
sense of honor and firmness by advocating the
cause of the soldiers who, when attacked by the
mob, in State Street, on the 5th of March, fired
upon them and killed several. Such was the
excitement of the public mind that a word in
defence of the British was almost sure of being
punished by the loss of popularity, and yet Mr.
A. in company with Josiah Quincy, and Mr.
Blowers, scrupled not to defend the soldiers on
their trial. In consequence of this, all were
acquitted but two, who, being found guilty of
man-slaughter, were dismissed with a slight
branding3 In May, 1770, Mr. Adams received
a proof that his popularity was undiminished,
by his triumphant election to the legislature of
his native stale. The active part which he
took in resisting despotism in every shape, and
espousing the cause of his countrymen in
every way, brought him under the displeasure
of governor Hutchinson, who negatived the
choice of Mr. Adams as counsellor, in 1773. In
1774, Gov. Gage rejected him, and he was soon
chosen member of the committee employed to
prepare resolutions on the Boston port-bill. In
consequence of the dissolution of the Assembly
by Gage, Mr. Thomas Cushing, Mr. Samuel
Adams, Mr. John Adams and Mr. Robert Treat
Paine, were chosen to the first continental
congress. Mr. Adams's friend Sewall, who
held the post of attorney-general of the prov-
ince, and had espoused the ministerial side of
the question, told him that the power of Great
Britain was immense, that she would abide by
her measures and carry them through, and that
opposition would involve the malcontents in
ruin. Mr. Adams's reply was characteristic;
" I know," said he, " that Great Britain has
determined on her system, and that very de-
termination determines me on mine. You
know that I have been constant and uniform
in my opposition to her designs. The die is
now cast. I have passed the Rubicon. Sink
or swim, live or die, survive or perish with my
country is my fixed, unalterable determina-
tion."
Mr. Adams took his seat in Congress the
first day of the session, September 5, 1774.
The ensuing year, when the news of the af-
fairs of Lexington and Concord had reached
Congress, when they had determined on war,
and were looking for a commander-in-chief,
general Ward was proposed, and Mr. Adams
was the only one who dissented, and urged
the nomination of Washington. The next day
Washington was nominated and chosen unan-
imously. On May 6, 1776, Mr. Adams moved
a resolution, recommending the colonies " to
adopt such a government as would, in the
opinion of the representatives of the people,
best conduce to the happiness and safety of
their constituents and of America." It was
not without a hard struggle that this passed on
the 15th of the same month, and preluded Lee's
daring resolution of the 7th of June following,
declaring the dissolution of the connexion with
Great Britain. On the 4th of July , the Declar-
ation of Independence, with but few alterations
from the words of Mr. Jefferson, passed. The
committee which had been chosen to prepare it
was composed of Thomas Jefferson, John
Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman,
and Robert R. Livingston. Mr. Jefferson and
Mr. Adams were deputed a sub-committee to
prepare the instrument, and the former did so
at the instigation of the latter. The declaration
did not pass without the most strenuous oppo-
sition by many members of Congress, includ«
ing some leading and able men. Mr. Adams
overcame all arguments offered against it, by an
overwhelming torrent of splendid eloquence.
In the words of Mr. Jefferson, "the great pillar
of support to the declaration of independence,
and its ablest advocate and champion on the
floor of the house, was John Adams." His
speech on the subject of independence is said
to have been unrivalled. One of the most dis-
tinguished orators of the present day, Mr.
Webster, has done honor to the style and sen-
timents of Mr. Adams, in alluding to his bright-
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est effort. He tells us that he spoke right on,
and that the torrent of his manly reasoning
carried conviction along with it. Mr. Webster
gives what we may well suppose to be a portion
of Mr. Adams's speech, concluding with this
powerful and patriotic language. " Sink or
swim, live or die, survive or perish, I am for
the declaration. Living, it is my living senti-
ment, and, by the blessing of God, it shall be
my dying sentiment — Independence now and
independence forever ! "
On the recall of Mr. Silas Deane, who, with
Dr. Franklin, and Mr. Arthur Lee, was a com-
missioner at the court of Versailles, Mr. Adams
was appointed to fill his place, Nov. 28, 1777.
Mr. Adams, embarking on board the Boston
frigate, arrived safely at his place of destina-
tion, notwithstanding the efforts of an English
fleet to intercept him. On his return, being
chosen member of the convention to form a
plan of government for Massachusetts, he was
placed upon the sub-committee whose task it
was to draught the plan of a constitution. The
general project and some particular features of
the plan belong to Mr. Adams. He went abroad
again upon public business and visited Holland
and France. The definitive treaty of peace
which he visited Paris to negotiate, in 1782,
with Dr. Franklin, Mr. Jay, Mr. Laurens, and
Mr. Jefferson for colleagues, was ratified, Jan.
14, 1784. The next year Mr. Adams was ap-
pointed the first minister to London. Having
returned to the United States, he was chosen
vice-president, the first elected under the new
constitution, and was re-elected in 1793. On
the resignation of Washington, Mr. Adams was
chosen president, entering upon office, March
4, 1797. The administration of Mr. Adams was
not popular, and at the expiration of his term
of four years, March 4th, 1801, Mr. Jefferson,
his adversary, was found to be elected by a
majority of one vote.
After Mr. Adams's retirement from public
life, he occupied himself with literary and
agricultural pursuits at his seat at Quincy,and,
with the exception of a severe affliction, the
loss of his wife, his days glided calmly away
until the 4th of J uly , 1826. On that day he died,
with the sentiment upon his lips which he had
uttered with such force fifty years before upon
the floor of Congress-independence forever ! On
the morning of that eventful day, the peals of
the bells, and the report of cannon awakened
him. He was asked if he knew what day it
was. " Oh! yes" — replied he — " it is the glori-
ous 4th of July — God bless it — God bless you
all ! " In the course of the day, he said " it is a
great and glorious day ! " Before his death, he
said " Jefferson survives." He was mistaken.
On that very day, an hour after noon, Jefferson
breathed his last.
ADAMS, Samuel, a distinguished character
in our revolution, was born in Boston, Sept.
27th, 1722. He was descended from a family
which had been among the earliest settlers in
New-England. Mr. Adams received his edu-
cation at Harvard College, and was graduated
with the usual academical honors, in 1740. On
taking the degree of A. M. he discussed the
following question ; " Whether it be lawful to
resist the supreme magistrate, if the common-
wealth cannot be otherwise preserved?" and
maintained the affirmative with great ability.
He commenced the study of divinity but found
his attention completely absorbed by politic,
which then excited an universal interest. His
sentiments soon endeared him to the patriotic
party, who placed him in the legislature in
1706. From that time forward he distinguished
himself as one of the most active, able, and
uncompromising advocates of independence.
He was on every committee, his hand was em-
ployed upon every report, and his voice heard
upon every subject, involving opposition to the
tyrannical measures of the colonial government.
The enemies of America heard that Mr. Adams
was poor, and those among them who believed
in the omnipotence of British gold, asked why
this demagogue was not silenced by a bribe.
Governor Hutchinson answered — " Such is the
obstinacy and inflexible disposition of the man,
that he can never be conciliated by any office
or gift whatever."
In 1774 he was sent to the first Congress of
the old confederation. He was one of the
signers of the Declaration of Independence in
1776. He was active in the convention which
formed the constitution of Massachusetts, was
placed in the senate of the state, presided for
several years over that body, and was elect-
ed lieutenant-governor in 1789. In 1794, on
the death of Hancock, he was chosen governor,
and was yearly re-elected until 1797. His re-
tirement from public life took place in that
year ; and, on October 2d, 1803, he expired at
his house in Winter Street, Boston, in the 82d
year of his age. Mr. Adams foresaw the
course which the colonies were obliged to take
from the beginning. He was aware that, upon
the side of the British, there would be no con-
cessions— no retractions — that they entertained
a contemptuous opinion of the force and spirit
ADD
21
ADD
of the colonies, and would abide by their own
measures. He received warning at Lexington,
on the night of the 18th of April, of the intend-
ed British expedition, which turned out so dis-
astrously for them, and prepared to make his
escape at day-dawn across the fields. Turning
to the friends who accompanied him, he ex-
claimed, " This is a fine day! " His remark was
thought to allude to the weather, and one of his
companions answered ; " It is really a pleasant
day." " I mean," said he, his eye lighting
up, as he spoke, " 1 mean this is a glorious day
for my country ! "
There was a certain narrowness and sternness
in the political and religious opinions of Samuel
Adams. He was a strict Calvinist, and regarded
with no favor opinions at all at variance with
those of his sect. He was firmly attached to
habits and principles in which he had been
bred up, and too fond of making important mea-
sures conform to a certain code of his own. He
undervalued the services of Washington dur-
ing the revolutionary war, thinking him too
slow and cautious, and being impatient for some
decisive stroke, which the commander-in-chief
would not have failed to strike whenever the
opportunity occurred. After the war was
happily concluded, and there could be but one
opinion of the services of Washington, Mr.
Adams feared for his country, when the man
who had led her through the perils of the armed
struggle was made her chief magistrate. He
feared the popularity of Washington — but his
was an error of judgment. No unprejudiced
man who had regarded the previous course of
the Father of his country, could fear that he
would prove either a Caesar or a Cromwell.
Mr. Adams possessed those manly virtues which
eminently fitted him for a revolutionary epoch,
and when the cloud hung darkest over his
country, his character and resources appeared
most strikingly. Of an austere and unyielding
mind, he was yet dignified and courteous to a
high degree. He was never shackled by pecu-
niary considerations, and would have died in
poverty, had not the death of an only son sup-
plied his wants, while it grieved him to the
soul. A colleague of Mr. Adams has thus de-
scribed him in atone of good-humored carica-
ture : ' Samuel Adams would have the state of
Massachusetts govern the Union, the town of
Boston govern Massachusetts, and that he
should govern the town of Boston, and then the
whole would not be intentionally ill-governed.'
ADDISON, Joseph, an author of celebrity,
was the son of a clergyman, and was born at
Milston, Wiltshire, England, in 1672. At the
age of 15 he entered at Queen's College, Ox-
ford, and distinguished himself by a Latin poem
on the inauguration of William and Mary. In
1095, he published some English poems, partly
translations from Virgil. Having obtained a pen-
sion, he set out on his travels, during which he
commenced his tragedy of Cato, and wrote his
celebrated Dialogue on Medals. Of his Travels,
which he published on his return, Dr. Johnson
said, that ' they might have been written at
home.' In 1704, a poem on the victory of
Blenheim procured him the office of commis-
sioner of appeals. In 1706 he was chosen
under-secretary of state, and in 1709, went
to Ireland as lord Wharton's secretary, at the
same time deriving an income of 300 pounds
per annum, from his appointment of keeper
of the records in Bermingham's tower. The
Tattler, SpecHtor, and Guardian, periodical
papers commenced by Steele, owed their ce-
lebrity in a good degree to the contributions
of Addison. In the papers which he wrote,
arid which were read with avidity by all classes,
Addison displayed the versatility of his genius,
being grave, gay, and critical by turns, and
maintaining a pure style in each department
which he touched. The harmony of his sen-
tences, and the easy flow of his polished lan-
guage have made him a model to all who wish
to acquire a correct and elegant style. The
success of his tragedy of Cato, produced in
1713, was owing less to the merit of the piece,
which is better adapted to private perusal
than public exhibition, than to the state of
party feeling ; anything liberal in tone being
warmly supported by the Whigs.
The pen of Addison was devoted to political
subjects for a long time, and he was employed
a second time as secretary to the viceroy of Ire-
land, and afterwards was appointed one of the
lords of trade. Having fixed his affections on
the Countess of Warwick, he obtained her
hand with difficulty, and was married in 1716.
The union, however, was anything but happy.
The proud countess, feeling the superiority of
rank, treated her husband with contempt, and
made his fireside so uncomfortable that he often
forsook it for a tavern. In 1717 he was ap-
pointed secretary of state, but, finding himself
incapable of filling the office with honor, he
retired with a pension of £1,500. He publish-
ed a work entitled Evidences of Christianity,
which was calculated to do much good.
Throughout his life he was a sincere Christian.
He died in 1719, and on his death-bed he sent
ADR
22
2E~NE
for lord Warwick, his pupil, a youth of disso-
lute habits, and said to him ; ' I have sent for
you, young man, to show you with what calm-
ness a Christian can die." A brother poet in
allusion to this scene, says ;
' He taught us how to live, and — oh! too high
The price of knowledge — taught us how to die.'
The manners of Addison furnished an in-
stance of the intimate connection betwen mod-
esty and talent. He was timid and reserved
in society, speaking little when out of the
circle of familiar friends. ' I have never seen
a more modest or more awkward man,' was
the remark of lord Chesterfield, the best judge
and most accurate observer of manners that
ever lived. Button's coffee-house was the fa-
vorite resort of Addison and cotemporary wits.
ADRIAN, or Hadrian, Publius iElius, the
successor of Trajan, and 15th Emperor of
Rome. He was born at Rome A. D. 76. His
talents are said to have been of a high order,
and his memory uncommonly retentive, in proof
of which it is alleged that he could repeat a
book, from beginning to end, which he had once
read with attention. His learning was exten-
sive, and his military talents great. His good
qualities, however, were not more numerous
than his evil propensities, and he never gained
the esteem of his predecessor Trajan. It was
to Plotina, the wife of Trajan, who forged a will
in which Adrian was named her husband's
successor, that he owed his elevation to the
throne, A. D. 117. In Britain, he built a wall
between Carlisle and Newcastle, to guard the
Britons from the incursions of the Caledonians.
Having quelled a rebellion of the Jews, he built
a city called JEWa. on the ruins of Jerusalem.
He has been accused of a too great love of
pleasure, and of irresolution and cowardice. He
purchased peace of some warlike tribes that had
attacked Illyiia. He travelled on foot through
the provinces of his kingdom, wishing to in-
spect personally the administration of* justice.
But to gain popularity he scrupled not to de-
scend to the mean familiarity of bathing with
his subjects. He showed his contempt of
Christianity by erecting a statue to Jupiter on
the spot where Jesus rose from the dead, and
one to Venus on Mount Calvary. At Baia3,
he was seized with dysentery and wished to
terminate his agonies by suicide. On being
prevented, he exclaimed, that the lives of others
were in his hands, but not his own. He died
July I Oth, 138, in the 63d year of his age, and
the 21st of his reign. — Six Popes have borne the
name of Adrian.
ADRIANOPLE, in Turkish, Edrene, is situ-
ated on the banks of the Maritza, formerly He-
brus, a navigable river of Rornelia, anciently
Thrace. Its hilly situation renders it a pleasant
residence, and its palace, valley, and mosques,
a splendid one. Nearly a third of the popula-
tion, 100,000, are Greeks. Its most important
export is oil of roses, the best of which it fur-
nishes. The city was built by Adrian, and in
the 4th century successfully resisted the Goths.
Amurath took it in 1360, and it became the
capital and residence of the Ottoman rulers, for
a century, until its fame yielded to that of Con-
stantinople. The treaty of Adrianople conclud-
ed, Sept. 14, 1829, terminated the war between
Russia and the Porte.
ADRIATIC SEA, or Gulf of Venice, washes
the shores of Italy, Illyria, Dalmatia, Albania
and Epirus. It is 200 leagues long, and 50
broad. The doge of Venice, claiming the ex-
clusive sovereignty of this sea, formerly wedded
it annually with singular and splendid ceremo-
nies, throwing a ring into its waves. This was
done upon Ascension day.
^EGINA, now Eghina an island thirty miles
in circumference, in the Saronic gulf, formerly
independent, wealthy, and famed for the com-
mercial spirit of its inhabitants. Its capital
bore the same name.
iELFRIC, the brave and talented archbishop
of Canterbury, who lived in the 10th century.
He translated the historical books of the Old
Testament, and distinguished himself for his
resistance to the Danes. His death took place
in 1005.
jELIANUS, CLAUDIUS; a native of
Italy, who nourished A. D. 221. He wrote in
Greek and has transmitted to posterity two
works, one a natural history, the other a vol-
ume of anecdotes and tales.
iEMILIUS PAULUS, a brave and noble
Roman, father of Scipio Africanus the Younger.
He defeated Perseus, king of Macedon, and
celebrated his success by a triumph, B. C. 168,
which was rendered memorable by the death of
his two sons, and the heroic fortitude with which
he bore their loss, thanking the gods that they
were chosen for victims, so that the Roman
people might be shielded from calamity.
iENEAS, a Trojan prince, whose history
has been rendered doubtful by the tales of the
poets. He is the heio of the JEneid of Virgil,
who represents him as the son of Anchises and
the goddess Venus. The former he bore in
safety, from the flames of Troy, which he had
defended until valor was of no avail. He re-
iESC
23
,£S0
tired to Mount Ida, where he built a fleet, and
sailed in quest of a settlement. He is said to
have been cotemporary with Dido, and, after
landing and plighting his faith to the Carthagi-
nian queen, to have left her a prey to pangs so
poignant as to deprive her of judgment, in which
state she threw herself upon a funeral pile and
was burned alive. This, however, is a poetical
anachronism. iEneas, after various adventures,
and great sufferings, landed on the coast of
Latium, in Italy, where he was hospitably re-
ceived by king Latinus, who bestowed upon the
stranger the hand of his daughter Lavinia ; this
gift involved .Eneas in a war with Turnus, a
disappointed rival, who was signally defeated
by the son of Venus. The history of yEneas is
wholly traditional.
iEOLI AN S, a Thessalian tribe, who establish-
ed several small states in Greece, while a portion
settled JEolis, in Asia Minor, in the ancient
Troad. They united themselves in a confedera-
cy, and were free while they preserved it. They
afterwards became subjected to the Lydians,
and then to the Persians, whose yoke they shook
off", with assistance from the Athenians. This
gave rise to the Persian war, B. C. 500. After
many vicissitudes, they were subdued by the
Romans in consequence of their hostility to that
formidable people in the Mithridatic war. The
fertility of the country induced them to engage
actively in agricultural avocations. The name
JEol'ic is applied to a dialect of the Greek lan-
guage, very nearly resembling the Doric.
jEOLUS, a king of the ^Eolian islands, who,
from inventing sails, was called by the poets the
God of the winds. He was also a skilful astron-
omer and musician, playing upon the harp with
singular success.
.ESCHINES, an Athenian orator, the rival
of Demosthenes, born 3<)3, died 323, B. C. He
at first led a life of wandering poverty, but be-
came an actor, a pupil of Plato and Socrates,
and attained some distinction. Having lost
the favor of the people, he fled to Samos and
Rhodes, where he taught rhetoric until his
death. Another JEschines, a philosopher, was a
poor disciple of Socrates.
iESCHYLUS, a Greek tragic poet, was born
at Eleusis, in Attica, 525 B. C. His family
was noble, and he was no unworthy member of
it. When the storm of war broke over his
country, and the troops of Persia poured into
Greece, he took up arms in her defence, and
beheld the cause of liberty triumphant at
Salamis and Marathon. The characters in his
dramas are few, but prominent, and their lan-
guage and conduct are never beneath the dig-
nity of the tragic muse. Influenced by a stern,
gloomy, and relentless fate, they trod the stage
with all the accompaniments of scenic pomp,
music and dancing, which the poet brought to in-
hance the effect of his grand conceptions. Sev-
en of his best tragedies have descended to us,
but more than sixty are lost. Disgust at
the success of inferior rivals, induced the poet
to abandon his native country for Sicily, where
he was hospitably received by the king, Hiero,
at whose court he died, 456, B. C, aged 70.
AESCULAPIUS, believed to have been the
inventor of medicine, and worshipped as a divin-
ity in many cities of Greece. He is generally
represented with a long beard, and grasping in
one hand a staff" entwined by a serpent, the em-
blem of convalescence, the other hand support-
ed by a serpent. Sometimes he was denoted
by a serpent only. He was believed to be the
son of Apollo, the God of medicine.
iESOP, whose fables have been so celebrated,
was born in Phrygia, a country of Asia Minor,
about the 52d Olympiad, the first year of
which corresponds with the 572d year before
Christ. The age in which he lived is noted in
Grecian history as that in which Solon, the fa-
mous lawgiver, flourished. In his youth iEsop
was a slave. Among the Greeks the condition
of the slaves was abject and pitiable indeed ; the
Spartans, in particular, regarding them in the
light of brute beasts, whom it was allowable
to kill upon the least provocation, and even
without the slightest offence. It does not,
however, appear that jEsop experienced any
great severity of treatment. His first master
was one Dinarchus, who resided at Athens,
the most enlightened and celebrated city of all
Greece. Here it was that, in the golden age of
the country, the arts both of war and peace
flourished, and hence Athens was regarded
with veneration by the philosophers of all
countries. Yet at the period at which .Esop
dwelt in Athens, this city had not attained to
any degree of refinement, but was plunged in
that darkness which overshadowed the whole
of Greece, before Pisistratus seized the reins of
power.
AEsop passed into the hands of Xanthus of
Samos, who afterwards sold him to Iadmon of
the same place. There were no fewer than
three islands to which the ancients gave the
name of Samos. That of which we speak was
situated off the coast of Ionia. It was suppos-
ed to have been the birthplace of the goddess
Juno, to whom a magnificent temple was erect-
£:so
24
jESO
ed, no remains of which, however, have escaped
the ravages of time. The fertility of the island
and the salubrity of its climate, gained it uni-
versal admiration, and made its possession an
object of great importance. Its natural produc-
tions were numerous ; and various kinds of
birds and animals were found in and about it.
It was formerly not so much noted for its wine as
it is at present, the Samian wine being consider-
ed by the moderns as equal to that of Cyprus,
while it was very much underrated by the an-
cients.
After he had obtained his freedom, iEsop dis-
tinguished himself by his talents, and particu-
larly by his peculiar art of inculcating useful
truths under the cloak of fiction. This inven-
tion is attributed to him, and Phsedrus acknow-
ledges this in his own fables. " The words,"
says the latter, " are mine, but the invention
belongs to iEsop." It is, however, probable
that fables originated with the Oriental nations,
from whom iEsop borrowed them.
Croesus, king of Lydia, whose wealth was so
immense as to be his principal distinction, hear-
ing of the fame of iEsop, invited him to his
court. It has been said that the personal ap-
pearance of iEsop was far from being prepos-
sessing ; that he was of small size and dreadfully
deformed ; that Crcesus was at first disgusted at
beholding a figure so entirely at variance with
his preconceived ideas of the man ; and that
.flSsop speaking of his own deformity, said ; " It
is not the exterior of the vase that we should
regard, but the quality of the wine which it con-
tains." But these accounts have been proved
to be without foundation, and are now consid-
ered fabulous. The conduct of iEsop and
Solon, both of whom were at the same time
at the court of Croesus exhibited a marked
contrast. The fabulist played well the part
of an accomplished courtier, but the stern law-
giver rigidly adhered to the truth in all he said.
Solon having displeased the monarch by the
independent tone which he assumed, iEsop
said to him, " You should never speak to kings,
or only tell them what will flatter them."
" Not so," said Solon ; " we must never speak
to kings, or only tell them useful truths."
iEsop had lived too long in slavery not to
have acquired habits of submission and defer-
ence towards those whom circumstances had
made his superiors. He found no difficulty in
winning the entire confidence of Croesus. The
latter, wishing to consult the oracle of Delphi
with regard to Cyrus, who menaced him with
ruin, sent thither iEsop with instructions to
offer up sacrifices to the deity in the name of
the king of Lydia, and to present to each inhab-
itant of Delphi a considerable sum of money.
The Delphic oracle of Apollo was one of the
most noted of antiquity ; and thither went
crowds of those who sought to acquire from the
priestess a knowledge of futurity. Delphi,
now the village of Castri, stood at the foot of
Mount Parnassus, which was the haunt of
Apollo and the nine Muses. The priestess of
the temple pretended to be inspired by the tute-
lar deity of the place, and uttered words which
were believed to be those of inspiration. Lest
the failure of their predictions should lead to
enlighten the minds of men on the subject of
their impositions, the priests of Apollo framed
answers which were capable of being construed
in different ways, and thus, by double mean-
ings, frequently secured themselves from de-
tection. iEsop came to Delphi, . pursuant to
the orders of Croesus, and offered up his sacri-
fices, but having quarrelled with the Delphians,
he sent away the money which the Lydian
monarch had intended for them, and declared
that they were unworthy of such benefactions.
The cause of this quarrel is not exactly known,
but it is most probable that the natural shrewd-
ness and intelligence of iEsop enabled him to
make a discovery of the artifices employed to
deceive those who referred to the oracle for in-
struction, and that his indignation impelled him
to reproach the priests with their imposition. The
Delphians, enraged at the conduct of the bold
stranger, and fearing that, if permitted to de-
part, he might reveal enough to destroy their
character and hopes for ever, determined, if pos-
sible, to effect his ruin. To accomplish their
purposes, they hid a golden cup which had been
consecrated to Apollo, among his effects, and
then charged him with having stolen it. He
indignantly denied the charge, and represented
the gross injustice of arresting him. His ene-
mies, however, were inexorable ; a search was
made, and the golden cup having been found
in his possession, he was condemned to death,
and, pursuant to his unjust sentence, hurled
from the summit of a high rock. Soon after
this bloody deed, heavy calamities fell upon the
Delphians, which they did not fail to attribute
to the indignation of the gods, aroused at their
inhuman conduct. Various methods were re-
sorted to in order to appease the just indigna-
tion of their deities. At length they offered to
make restitution to the descendants of iEsop, if
any such existed. iEsop, however, was a soli-
tary being, the last of his race. But a relation
mso
25
-ETO
of Iadmon his last master, came forward, claim-
ed, and received, the proffered indemnity. The
authorship of the fables attributed to jEsop has
been a source of much dispute among different
writers. It is thought that most of the fables
which have descended to us with his name were
not of his invention. The fables of iEsop at-
tained a very great celebrity in Greece, — a
celebrity which succeeding ages have confirm-
ed. Socrates — the great and good Socrates,
whose own wisdom and virtue acquired him a
deathless reputation, was an early and warm
eulogist of jEsop, some of whose fables he ar-
ranged in verse, well knowing that in this
way they would be most likely to descend to
posterity. Many collections of the fables of
^sop have been made, but it is worthy of re-
mark that the very worst collection is that
which has been oftenest printed. It was by
Planudes, a Greek monk of the 14th century,
and accompanied by a Life of iEsop ; a work
full of puerile conceits and improbable anec-
dotes.
j£sop was peculiarly happy in the applica-
tion of his fables. Having visited Athens soon
after Pisistratus had usurped the authority,
and found the Athenians shrinking beneath
the yoke which had been imposed upon them,
he related to them the following fable. " Once
upon a time, the frogs, thinking it a fine thing
to have a ruler, petitioned Jupiter to give
them a king. Yielding to their wishes, the
God threw down a huge log, from which they
at first fled in dismay. But finding it quiet and
harmless, they at length ventured to approach,
and soon after grew weary of its inaction, and
complained bitterly to Jupiter of their stupid
ruler, desiring one more active. Indignant at
their querulous cries, Jupiter sent down as king
a stork, whose activity made up for the long
sloth of the log ; in fact, he was never idle, but
darting here and there, preyed upon his sub-
jects with restless ferocity, until the remnant
of the frogs groaned to be restored to their for-
mer liberty." The moral of his fable was
apparent to the meanest understanding. The
Athenians honored the memory of iEsop, by
erecting a fine statue, executed by Lysippus, to
the man who was once a slave. Its design
was to show that the road to fame was open to
all, and that, with perseverance and mental
power, a man requires few external advantages,
to succeed in what he undertakes. The life of
.flCsop was checkered with light and shade —
perhaps the latter predominated, for, in allu-
sion to the misfortunes of humanity, he was
wont to say that " Prometheus formed man of
clay, and tempered it with tears." His death
took place about the year 561 Before Christ.
iESQPUS, Clodius, a Roman actor, whose
dramatic talents and extravagance combined
to make him notorious. Of his habits some
estimate may be formed from the fact, that he
expended $3,750 upon a dish composed of sing-
ing and speaking birds. When upon the stage,
he forgot his real character in his assumed one.
Thus, while performing Atreus, in the scene
where he meditates revenge upon his brother,
he smote one of the servants, who interrupted
him, with a truncheon, and killed him on the
spot. He lived in the time of Roscius, and
flourished about the G70th year of Rome.
iETIUS, the brave general of Valentinian
III, who repulsed Attila, and was stabbed by
his suspicious master in 454.
yETNA, now Monte Gibello, situated on the
eastern coast of Sicily, at no great distance from
Catania, and famous for its volcano. Its eleva-
tion above the surface of the sea has been vari-
ously estimated, and is somewhat more than
10,800 feet. Seventy-seven towns, cities, and
villages, with an aggregate population of one
hundred and fifteen thousand inhabitants, are
scattered on its sides. It exhibits three dis-
tinct climates, — the hot, temperate, and frigid —
and three distinct regions — the fertile, woody,
and barren. It measures 100 miles round
the base, and its crater forms a circle of about
3J miles in circumference. The summit is en-
veloped in smoke and snow at the same time,
while the sides of the mountain present a rich
prospect of cultivated fields, and smiling vine-
yards. Pindar is the first writer of antiquity
who mentions an eruption of yEtna, an occur-
rence supposed to have been unknown in the
time of Homer. Nine eruptions took place
before the Christian era ; those of modern days
being less frequent and less formidable than
formerly. The mountain furnishes snow and
ice to a large portion of Italy, and thus yields
an income of from 3 to 4000 dollars annually
to the bishop of Catania, the exclusive proprie-
tor of the trade.
^ETOLIA, a country of antiquity, in the
middle of Greece, whose boundaries varied
greatly from time to time. It was strong, but
unfruitful, and the inhabitants illiberal, given
to plunder, and avaricious. Divided into small
tribes, they were proud of their independence,
and ardent lovers of freedom. After the ruin
of Athens and Sparta, they attained an emi-
nence which they had not before possessed. As
AFG
26
AFG
allies of the Romans, they rendered themselves
formidable, and were no less so when they for-
sook the former for the Macedonians. They
were conquered by Fulvius. In war, their fine
cavalry was famed for the fierce impetus of its
attacks.
AFGHANISTAN, or Afghanistan, is the
country inhabited by the Afghans, or Cabulists,
and has also been called the Kingdom of the
Abdallians. The population of Afghanistan is
now composed of Afghans, Mountaineers, as
the name implies, Hindoos, Tadshicks, Tartars,
and Belooches. It is estimated at 14,000,000,
of which 4,300,000 are Afghans, and 5,700,000
Hindoos. Mahometanism is the professed re-
ligion. The Afghans are also called Patans,
and are of Median descent. They formerly
dwelt in the mountainous regions between Per-
sia, Hindostan, and Bactria. Time has not
changed the roving disposition of the Afghans,
and they are, at the present day, wandering
tribes, given, like the Arabs, to predatory ex-
cursions. The kingdom of Afghanistan, or
Caubul has subsisted but little more than a
century. In 1747, when the revolution in
Persia took place, after the death of Nadir-
shah, Ahmed Abdallah, the brave and popular
chief of the Afghans, then in the Persian
service, resolved to throw off his allegiance to
Persia. Finding his followers disposed to sub-
mit to his guidance, he possessed himself of
the provinces of Candahar and Khorassan, and
founded the kingdom of Afghanistan. The
kingdom is extensive and wealthy, and the
climate salubrious. In the northern portions,
the Hindoo-Koh, a continuation of the Himal-
aya mountains, rise to a great elevation, and
are covered with snow. The variety of temper-
ature is not the least remarkable feature of the
kingdom. The inhabitants experience the ex-
tremes of heat and cold. The city of Ghizni
is said to have been twice completely destroyed,
together with all its inhabitants, by tremendous
falls of snow.
The Afghan country is of considerable com-
mercial importance. It yields silver, iron, lead,
lapis lazuli, sulphur, and cotton ; its horses,
asses, dromedaries, camels, sheep, and oxen, are
famous. Wild animals of different kinds are
numerous.
The government of Afghanistan is monar-
chical ; the king being of the house of Sad-
dosei. Although the throne is hereditary, the
royal power is greatly restricted by the au-
thority of the chiefs of the different tribes,
some of whom are almost independent. The
government, however, upon the whole, appears
to be established upon an unshaken basis, and
there is no lack of patriotic feeling among
the people. The British East India Company
possesses great influence over the Afghans,
and likewise over the Persian Court, acting as
protector of the former, and mediator between
both. This influence has been beneficially ex-
ercised, and the two nations are, for the most
part, upon good terms with each other, although
a private quarrel occasionally breaks out be-
tween the Persian governors and Afghan
chiefs. If unrestrained by European media-
tion, the nations of the East, jealous of each
other, would weaken themselves by continual
wajs, which would be highly disadvantageous
to the commerce of the English, and would
enable the Russian government, already so pow-
erful, to make great additions to its Asiatic
possessions, and establish a formidable rivalry
with the British. Still, success has not always
crowned the politic efforts of the British, in
spite of whom the rajah of Lahore, Rungeet
Singh, usurped the throne of Caubul, in Af-
ghanistan ; and to increase the displeasure and
chagrin of the English, admitted into his ser-
vice a number of Russians.
Cabul, or Caubul, the capital of the Af-
ghan empire, is famed for its beauty, and,
although of inconsiderable extent, contains
80,000 inhabitants. Its situation is romantic,
being upon the river Cabul, at the foot of the
Indian Caucasus. Candahar, is a place of great
military and commercial importance, contain-
ing a population estimated at 100,000 ; the
inhabitants of Peshawer are also estimated at
100,000 souls. Balkh, in the ancient Bactria,
is one of the most celebrated cities of the
eastern world ; inhabited at present by the
Usbecks. Anciently it was famed for its splen-
dor, extent and magnificence. Alexander the
Great, in his eastern campaign, in 327, B.
C, married the daughter of a Bactrian chief.
This chief, who defended himself bravely
against the Macedonians, while his family was
placed upon a precipitous rock, was named
Oxyartes. The garrison of the rocky fortress,
when summoned to surrender, answered Alex-
ander contemptuously that if his men were
winged, he might intimidate them, but as it
was, their position was impregnable. Alexan-
der offeied rewards to those who would attempt
to ascend the rock, and three hundred of the
most expert that volunteered were selected.
In the interstices of the rock, and in the ice
upon its face, the climbers stuck iron pegs, and
AFG
AFR
ascended the most precipitous part in the night
time. Some of the first who ventured, tell
headlong, but the summit was gained by a
determined band. By order of Alexander, the
Macedonians shook before the eyes of the bar-
barians long strips of linen, intimating that
they had found wings. The garrison immedi-
ately surrendered, tacitly proving the correct-
ness of Alexander's favorite maxim, " that no
place was impregnable to the brave, nor secure
to the timorous."
The Bactrians were a race holding a middle
station between the Persians and Scythians,
with much of the polish of the former, and
little of the ferocity of the latter. Their de-
scendants still retain many of the characterist-
ics of the Bactrians of former days. Their
women were famed for the brilliancy of their
dark, shining eyes, the delicate and correct for-
mation of their features, and the richness and
transparency of their complexions. Roxana,
the daughter of Oxyartes, was not only distin-
guished above those of her nation in beauty, but,
with the single exception of the wife of Da-
rius, was the loveliest of Asiatic women. The
conduct of Alexander towards his dazzling cap-
tive was highly honorable ; having conceived
a warm attachment to her, he married her,
pursuant to the wishes of his friend Hephass-
tion, but contrary to the advice of Craterus.
The fears of Oxyartes were banished by Alex-
ander's avowal of his attachment to his child.
He came into the Macedonian camp, and was
received with every mark of attention and
respect. Thus ties of friendship bound the
Bactrians and Macedonians together. Alex-
ander, according to Strabo, founded no fewer
than eight cities in Scgdiana and Bactria. The
city of Anderab retains still a part of Alexan-
der's name. The Alexandria which the Ma-
cedonian monarch is said to have founded, was
probably either Cabul, or else at no great dis-
tance from it. To return to Balk. In 1221 it
was taken by the famous Genghis Khan, who
put to the sword nearly all its inhabitants.
The Afghans have many curious customs.
Among them, women are generally well treated,
not being permitted to engage promiscuously
in the labors of the men, but being employed
in domestic avocations. Wives are, however,
regarded as property, being invariably pur-
chased, and those of the upper classes living in
total seclusion, though their privacy is luxuri-
ous, and their style of life magnificent. Want
of feeling is not in general a fault of the Af-
ghans, and females are frequently regarded
with a tenderness, and devotion, which recall
the ages of chivalry, of which these feelings are
worthy. Many a young Afghan, in conse-
quence of a passionate attachment to some
young woman to whom his plighted faith be-
longs, resolutely bids a farewell to home, and
labors for a long time in a distant place, until
he procures a sufficient sum of money to buy
her from her father. Instances of cruelty to
women are of infrequent occurrence. The
Afghans are not insensible to the advantages
of education, and are rather liberal in their
allotments of land for the support of public
teachers, who are invariably ministers of reli-
gion. They are an imaginative people, and
take delight in those wild narratives which it
is the sport and province of Oriental imagina-
tions to create.
Afghanistan is bounded on the north by Mount
Hindoo Koh, or Paropamisus ; on the east by
the Indus and Mount Soliman ; on the south,
by the valley of Bolahn, and on the west by
the great desert of Persia.
AFRICA formed a third part of the world,
which was known to the ancients, by whom it
was regarded in its true light, as a country of
vast importance. They gave it the name of
Libya and divided it into two parts, viz : Africa
Propria, and Africa Interior. The former of
these, or the territory of Carthage, included
several countries inhabited by twenty-six dif-
ferent nations, comprehending two provinces,
the Regio Zeugitana and Byzacium, corres-
ponding with the kingdom of Tunis. Ham
and his descendants are thought to have first
peopled Africa. Egypt was peopled by Miz-
riam. Africa Interior included those distant
and southerly portions of Africa which seem
to have been little known to the ancients;
their knowledge did not extend much beyond
the tropic of Cancer, which seemed the limit
both of their victories and researches. Those
parts of Africa which they did not visit, their
fertile imaginations peopled with various races
of men endowed with strange attributes, and
singular tales, thus originating, have been
handed down even to our own times. Thus
we hear of nations of curious dwarfs, of men
who dwelt in trees like monkeys, of races
forming a connecting link between man and
the brutes, and of tribes whose history has
been invented by wild imaginations in their
wildest flights. Of these, as stories belonging
more to the annals of fiction than those of fact,
no further notice will be taken.
Herodotus says that a Phoenician fleet cir-
AFR
28
AFR
cumnavigated Africa, taking its departure from
a port in the Red Sea, (JG4 years B. C, and
terminating its voyage in three years. Many
of the nations and states of Africa at a very
early period, had made great advancement in
the liberal arts. The northern part of Africa
was inhabited by several enterprising nations,
whose extensive commerce rolled abundant
wealth into the land. With their riches the
power of these states increased — Egypt and
Ethiopia became famous, and Carthage, send-
ing forth her fleets to every part of the then
known world, acquired a reputation and a
power which excited the jealousy of the Ro-
mans. The latter, proud and powerful, deter-
mined on the conquest and ruin of their wealthy
rivals.
The Carthaginian or Punic wars, as they
were called, brought forth all the energies of
the hostile parties. The Carthaginians con-
fided in their inexhaustible wealth, and the
superiority of their navy, the Romans in their
superior hardihood and energy. This is not
the place to describe in detail the events of the
Punic wars. The Romans were ultimately
victorious, and, above all others of their leaders,
Scipio acquired the greatest renown. For his
successes and his struggles in Africa, he ob-
tained the name of Africanus. It must not be
supposed that the Carthaginians tamely sub-
mitted to the Roman arms ; on the contrary,
even to the last, they defended their city
against the invaders, with unequalled bravery.
Gold and silver vessels were surrendered by
the luxurious Africans to procure the means of
carrying on the war, and the women, with
patriotic devotion, cut off their fine long hair,
and twisted it into bow-strings. All their exer-
tions were unavailing. The skill and bravery
of the Romans, who fought under the eye and
example of Scipio, prevailed. As the Roman
troops drove the Carthaginians before them in
every quarter, a few firm friends of Carthage,
among whom were the wife of Asdrubal, the
Carthaginian general, and her children, en-
deavored to maintain their position in the tem-
ple in which they had sought refuge. Finding
it impossible to defend this, the wife of Asdru-
bal determined to set fire to it and perish in the
flames. She dressed herself accordingly in a
splendid garb, and, having fired the building,
first stabbed her children, and then plunged
into the flames. The Romans were not satisfied
until they had completely destroyed the city.
Thus fell, in the 146th year B. C, one of the most
renowned of ancient cities, after its proud inha-
bitants had enjoyed the sovereignty of the seas
for more than six hundred years. The period
of the foundation of the kingdom of Carthage
has not been clearly established, but the fame
of founding it has been generally ascribed to
Dido, a Tynan princess, who fled to Africa to
avoid the persecutions of her brother Pygma-
lion. She outwitted the natives in making pur-
chase of a piece of land whereon to build her
citadel. They agreed for a certain sum to give
her as much land as she could encompass with
a hull's hide (byrsa). When the money was
paid, the artful princess cut the hide into nar-
row thongs, with which she found herself able
to enclose a very large space. The citadel,
which she subsequently erected on this spot,
was called, in memory of the transaction,
Byrsa.
The most celebrated kingdom of Africa was
undoubtedly Egypt. The Egyptians were early
proficients in the sciences and the liberal arts,
and to them men came from all civilized coun-
tries for the purpose of acquiring informa-
tion. Some of the most celebrated men among
the Greeks, acquired a great portion of their
learning in Egypt. Ancient Egypt was divi-
ded into three parts, viz : Upper Egypt, or
Thebais, now Said; Middle Egypt, or Hep-
tanomis, now Vostani ; and Lower Egypt,
the most valuable portion of which was the
Delta, now called Bahari or Rif. The most
accurate general description of Egypt that we
have, has been given by Volney, in a single
sentence. " To describe Egypt in two words,"
says he, " let the reader imagine, on one side, a
narrow sea and rocks ; on the other, immense
plains of sand; and in the middle, a river
flowing through a valley of 150 leagues in
length, and from three to seven wide, which, at
the distance of eighty leagues from the sea, sep-
arates into two arms, the branches of which
wander over a country, where they meet with
no obstacles, and which is almost without de-
clivity."
The Ancient Egyptians paid great attention
to agriculture, and availed themselves of their
arts to redeem vast tracts of land from the wa-
ters, rendering them fertile, and adapting them
to tillage. In former times the region which
eventually received the name of Lower Egypt
and the Delta, was covered with water, and
consequently Egypt was but a limited tract of
land. The accounts which ancient writers give
of the early history of Egypt are so contradic-
tory and improbable, that it is needless to allude
to them in a work which professes to deal with
AFR
29
AFR
matters of fact. Menes, the first king of Egypt,
is said to have conferred great benefits upon his
subjects. He redeemed a vast extent of land
from the waters, was the spiritual inslructer of
the Egyptians, introduced splendor, and founded
solemn and magnificent feasts. After many
years of uninterrupted prosperity, Egypt fell
under the sway of some rude adventurers who
founded the dynasty of the Hycsos or shepherd
kings, which commenced about 2018 years B.
C, and lasted until the year 1825 B. C, when
the shepherd kings were expelled.
Jacob settled in the land of Goshen, 1706 B.
C. The departure of the Israelites happened,
according to some writers, during the reign of
Amenophis, the Pharaoh who pursued them
into the Red Sea, and was overwhelmed by its
returning waters. It must be remembered that
Pharaoh was a title borne by all the kings of
Egypt in common. Egypt was divided into
twelve kingdoms after the death of Sethon,
675 years B. C. Psammetichus made himself
master of the whole country in 660 B. C. After
a prosperous reign he was succeeded by Pha-
raoh-Necho, his son, 616 B. C. This monarch
was defeated by the famous Nebuchadnezzar,
king of Babylon. 525 years B. C, Egypt was
made tributary to Persia by Cambyses, the son
of Cyrus. The Egyptians revolted, but were
again subjugated. Another revolt was success-
ful, and for a short time the Egyptians enjoyed
their independence, but 350 years B. C, Ar-
taxerxes Ochus restored the Persian dominion.
331 B. C. Alexander the Great compelled the
Egyptians to submit to his arms. On the death
of this great conqueror, Ptolemy, one of his
generals, took possession of the kingdom, 323
years B. C. and founded the dynasty of the
Ptolemies, which lasted until the defeat of An-
tony and the death of Antony and Cleopatra,
when Egypt became a Roman province in the
year B. C. 30, and the 2d of the reign of Augus-
tus. In the year 640, Egypt was conquered by
Amron, general of Omar, caliph of the Saracens.
The library of Alexandria, which had been
collected with care, and contained manuscripts
of immense value, was consumed by the orders
of Omar. Egypt was in the hands of the
Saracens until A. D. 1174, when Saladin es-
tablished the Turkish empire in Africa. The
Mamelukes obtained the supremacy in 1250.
In 1517, Egypt passed from the hands of the
Mamelukes, being joined to the Turkish do-
minions by the Sultan Selim. It is now gov-
erned by an independent prince.
Egypt was the theatre of a determined strug-
gle between the French and English, when the
star of Napoleon first began to shed its light
upon the destinies of Europe. In the contest,
some memorable battles were fought. In that
of the Pyramids, the Mameluke cavalry was
almost wholly annihilated by the prowess of
the French infantry.
The ancient Egyptians, notwithstanding their
character for wisdom and learning, were grossly
idolatrous, worshipping animals, and regarding
as sacred, oxen, cats, crocodiles, sheep, &c.
The advantage taken of this superstitious char-
acter by Cambyses is well known. Placing in
front of his army the animals worshipped by the
Egyptians, he advanced against them boldly, be-
ing well aware that they would not strike a blow
for fear of injuring the creatures they adored.
The ancient government of Egypt was the
subject of eulogy among all nations, and legis-
lators from various countries came to Egypt to
examine its institutions in order thence to
gather hints for the improvement of their own.
The fertility of the land, the variety of the
fruits, and the thousand natural advantages
which it possesses, might, by judicious manage-
ment, make Egypt one of the most wealthy and
flourishing countries in the world. A liberal
government and enterprising public officers,
would soon restore it to the rank which it once
held. As a commercial country, it possesses
inestimable facilities. Bees are now carefully
reared ; honey forming an important article of
trade. The verdure of Upper Egypt generally
withers at the end of four or five months, and
commences earlier than in Lower Egypt. In
consequence of this, the Lower Egyptians col-
lect the bees of several villages, in large boats;
each hive having a mark by which the owner can
recognise it. The men having charge of them
then commence the gradual ascent of the Nile,
stopping whenever they come to a region of
herbage and flowers. At break of day the bees
issue from their cells in thousands, and busily
collect the sweets of the flowers which are spread
in luxuriant profusion around them, returning to
their hives laden with honey, and issuing forth
again in quest of more, several times in the
course of the day Thus for three or four
months, they travel in a land of flowers, and
are brought back to the place whence they
started, with the delicious product of the sweet
orange-flowers which perfume the Said, the
roses of Faioum, and the jessamines of Arabia.
The sugar-cane is an Egyptian production, and
one of great value ; olive and fig-trees, produc-
ing the most delicious fruit, and palm-trees are
AFR
30
AFR
also found in abundance. The palm is one of
the most useful of the^Egyptian trees. The
fruit is agreeable, and the bark, as well as the
leaves and rind of the fruit, yield materials for
cordage and the sails of the boats. The Mam-
eluke javelins are made of the ribs of the
branches of this tree.
The condition of the poor people of Egypt is
deplorable. The tyranny of their rulers wrests
from them the fruit of their hard labors, and
leaves them but a miserable sustenance which
they can hardly be supposed to enjoy. Rice
and corn they cannot eat, for all that they raise
must be carried to their masters, who leave
them for food dourra, or Indian millet, of which
they form a very unpalatable and coarse kind
of bread without any leaven. With the addi-
tion of water and raw onions, this is their food
throughout the year. They know no luxury
beyond a meal of the above articles improved
by a little honey, cheese, sour milk, and dates.
A shirt of coarse linen dyed blue, and a black
cloak, a cloth bonnet, with a long red woollen
handkerchief rolled around it, form their cos-
tume.
It will not be expected that we shall attempt
any history of the various other states and
nations of Africa, in an article which must
necessarily be little more than a brief general
view of the country. The Barbary States pre-
sent but little to interest us. The Turks did
not displace the Saracens in Africa until the
beginning of the ICth century, when the latter
began to be fearful that, without the assistance
of the Turks, they should be enslaved by the
Spaniards. At first, the Turks stretched over
the Saracens the protecting arm of power, but
when the danger was averted, the power was
employed in enslaving them. The Mohamme-
dan nations upon the shore of the Mediterra-
nean have, at various times, rendered them-
selves formidable by their piracies. The Alge-
rines were most notorious for their sea-robberies.
The United States, indignant at the presump-
tion of the dey of Algiers, who levied tribute
from Americans, resolved to compel, instead
of purchasing, forbearance from the Algerines,
who soon found that they were wholly unable
to cope with our naval power. The French
expedition fitted out against Algiers, just before
Charles X. was compelled to quit his throne
and country, was completely triumphant, and
the dey, permitted to retire with his private
treasure, went to Italy to pass the remainder
of his life. The French still retain possession
of Algiers.
Of the numerous kingdoms and tribes inhab-
iting the interior of Africa, we have ample
descriptions in the works of the enterprising
travellers who have recently made so many
discoveries in a country hitherto comparatively
unknown. A mere enumeration of the names
of these would be tedious, and more, it would
be vain to attempt. The celebrated Mungo
Park, who fell a victim to the ardor of scien-
tific research, describes the inhabitants of the
interior of Africa as being of three races, viz :
the Mandingoes or proper negroes, native child-
ren of Nigritia ; the Foulahs, or white ^Ethiopi-
ans of Ptolemy and Pliny ; and the Moore.
These last are Mohammedans, bigoted, intoler-
ant, treacherous, and bloody. Agriculture forms
the principal occupation of the negroes, while
the Moors, true to their ancestral character,
are either wandering shepherds or roving mer-
chants, with no fixed habitation.
In writing or in reading the history of Africa,
what painful reflections are suggested by the
contemplation of that infamous traffic which
has brought so much misery upon the natives
of this country ! Africans have been regarded
as degraded and worthless beings, who have no
claim upon the kindness of the inhabitants of
other countries, and whom it was even meritori-
ous to enslave. It has been asserted in general
terms, that " all the inhabitants of the globe have
some good as well as ill qualities, except the Af-
ricans." Their want of proper education, the
tyranny of their rulers, and the innumerable
defects of their governments, have contributed
to keep them in a state of degradation, for
which they were not originally intended. Alas !
how many of their crimes may we not trace
to European agency ! The joyous disposition
even of an African slave manifests itself after
the first pangs of captivity and sad recollection
have passed away. If, then, amidst the worst
evils, the gaiety of the African is not wholly
banished, may we not imagine that he would
enjoy enviable happiness if placed under a just
and enterprising government, and permitted to
display his native energies and powers? Much
has been done to alleviate the condition of the
blacks, and England, together with a large
portion of America, has abolished that slavery
which the worldly interests of men induced
them so long to continue. The American Col-
onization Society have established a colony on
the western coast of Africa, on which they have
bestowed the name of Liberia. Thither are
sent manumitted slaves, and, after having strug-
gled against manifold obstacles, the colony is
AFR
31
AGA
now in a very flourishing condition, enjoying
the fruits of useful knowledge and religion.
The trade in gold and ivory is carried on upon
the western coast, in barter for woollen and
linen manufactures, hardware, and spirituous
liquors, which are the articles of exchange.
The Dutch, French, and Portuguese have their
various settlements for the purposes of trade.
The possession of tlie Cape of Good Hope, being
a matter of the utmost importance, was for a
long time a source of contest between the Dutch
and English. It was taken by the English in
1797, and after having been surrendered to the
Dutch, in 1802, was again occupied by the former
in 180b', and has since remained in their posses-
sion. Cape Town is resorted to by ships bound
to the Indian ocean, for supplies of water and
provision. The Hottentots, or Bushmen, as they
are called, are undoubtedly a degraded race, but
instead of endeavoring to better their condition,
the Europeans have contributed to prolong, and
in fact consolidate their evil habits, furnishing
them with spirituous liquors, the agency ot
which ensures their destruction, or reduces
them to an abject state which is far worse than
death itself. The cruelty practised on the
natives by the Dutch — and that too with the
sanction of government — almost exceeds belief.
When a party of Dutch wished to settle in
any spot, they proceeded to clear it by the death
of the natives, with as much coolness as an
American squatter would exhibit, in hewing
down the forest-trees to open a place for the
erection of his log-house, or in picking off with
his rifle a few of the wild animals which threat-
ened to be troublesome. The Dutch manner of
proceeding was summary. Having selected
the hut of some poor wretch as an object of
destruction, they first set fire to it. Let us
imagine the dismay and horror of a poor family
at finding flames breaking forth around, above
them, in every direction. Rushing forth, the
wretched owners of the miserable dwellino-
would implore pity from their cruel enemies.
The Dutchmen, or boors, would be too much
engaged in loading their pieces and discharging
them upon the males, to heed the cries of the
females who, with their children, were gener-
ally saved. The indifference with which the
boors regard the death of the bushmen,is stri-
kingly illustrated in the following anecdote. A
boor, presenting himself at the secretary's office
at Cape Town, after having traversed a lonely
tract, was nsked if he had not found the Bush-
men troublesome? "Not very," replied he,
with great coolness, ': I only shot four.''
Africa is a country, the history and geogra-
phy of which may he studied with great interest
and advantage. To the intelligent traveller
it is replete with wonders. He lingers among
the gigantic remains of ancient art and splen-
dor, which abound in Egypt, with a feeling of
veneration; recalling, as he dwells upon the
spot, the busy scenes of the past, the actors of
which sleep beneath the dust of centuries, their
perishable remains contrasting with the vast
monuments of their enterprise and wealth,
which, not the less surely, because at a later
period, will be crumbled into atoms by the stern
hand of time. Tlien, too, the presence of these
antique relics recalls ideas of the troubled times
of Israel, when the yoke of the Egyptian Pha-
raoh pressed heavily upon her children, till they
were rescued from the land of bondage by the
power of the Omnipotent, who rolled back the
strong tides of the sea, to let them pass. The
contemplation of these early scenes awakens in
the well-trained mind a thought of Him, of
whom we know that whatever be the chance
or change of time, though kingdoms may pass
away, and cities be crumbled into dust, " His
word endureth for ever."
The peninsula of Africa forms a vast trian-
gle, containing 11,500,000 square miles. It is
bounded on the north by the Mediterranean ;
on the east by Asia, the Red Sea, and the
Indian Ocean ; and on the south and west by the
Southern and Atlantic Oceans. It contains
vast ranges of mountains, immense deserts, and
regions inhabited by great numbers of animals.
How little was known of this vast country by
the ancients, and how wide a field it affords,
for the investigation of modern men of science !
AGAMEMNON, leader of the Greeks in the
Trojan war, was king of Mycene and Argos,
son of Plisthenes, and brother of Menelaus,
the seduction of whose wife lighted the flames
of war. Returning, after the destruction of the
city, he was murdered by his wife, Clytemnes-
tra, either from jealousy, or on account of her
love for another.
AGATHOCLES, an adventurer, who,
although of ignoble birth, from being a private
in the Sicilian army, made himself master of
Sicily. B. C. 317. This he accomplished by the
death of thousands of the Sicilians. Although
defeated by the Carthaginians in Sicily, he
carried the war into Africa, where he was suc-
cessful. After having lost his sons and army,
by a mutiny in Africa, he succeeded in estab-
lishing tranquillity. B. C. ;30(i. In Italy he
conquered the Brutii, and took and sacked
AGI
32
AGR
Crotona. He was poisoned by his favorite,
Mamon, who poisoned the feather with which
the king usually cleansed his teeth after dinner.
The effect of the poison was instantaneous and
frightful — the mouth and body of the monarch
decaying in a few minutes. Life had not
forsaken his limbs when he was thrown upon
the funeral pile. He was an able ruler in the
court and the battle-field, but cruel, fond of
pleasure, and ambitious.
AGESILAUS, a king of Sparta, and a dis-
tinguished leader in the Peloponnesian war. He
signalized himself by his valorous resistance to
the Persians, and successfully opposed the arms
of the Thebans under Epaminondas. Agesi-
laus was lame and of small stature, but brave,
and almost idolized by his troops. He was 84
years old at the time of his death, B. C. 3G0.
AGHRIM, or Aughrim, a village in the
county of Galway, Ireland, where the troops of
William III. defeated those of James II. in a
battle fought July 12, 1691.
AGINCOURT, or Azincourt, a village in
the department of Pas dc Calais, France, where
Henry V. of England, with an army of little
more than 15,001) men, defeated the flower of
the French troops, amounting to 70 or 100,000
men, well officered and equipped. Henry en-
trenched his troops strongly, within fences of
pointed stakes, then first used, and in modern
times, known under the name of Chevavx dc
Frise. The rashness and disordered impetu-
osity of the French, and the coolness and or-
derly intrepidity of the English produced the
same effects at Azincourt as at Poictiers. The
French leader, the constable d'Albret, the count
de Nevers, and the duke of Brabant, the dukes
of Alencon and Bar, the counts of Vaudemont
and Marie, scorning to survive defeat, rushed
into the thickest of the fight, and died, with up-
wards of 10,000 of their followers. The number
of captives taken by the English was 14,000, a
number about equal to that of the conquerors.
The loss of the English was comparatively small,
and the duke of York, the only person of con-
sequence who fell. This nobleman was Hen-
ry's uncle, and was slain in defending the king
against the duke of Alencon, who rode furi-
ously upon him. Alencon dashed Henry's
crown from his head, with a blow of his battie-
axe, and was preparing to despatch hirn, when
the king's attendants closed around him in a
steely circle, and he fell, covered with wounds,
the blood pouring from every joint of his armor.
This great battle was fought, Oct. 25th, 1415.
AGIS IV, king of Sparta, the son of Euda-
midas, and lineal descendant of Agesilans.
He endeavored to reform the manners and con-
stitution of Sparta, but was opposed by the
mass from interest, and condemned to be stran-
gled. The executioner refused to perform his
dreadful office, until forced to it. Agis met his
fate with firmness, B. C. 241.
AGNES, St. was put to death during the
reign of Diocletian, emperor of Rome. The
Catholics celebrate her festival on the 2!st of
January. At Rome, they bring cattle to the
church of St. Agnes on this day to be blessed
by the priest, a ceremony which is thought to
preserve them from sickness till the next year.
AGNESI, Maria Gaetana, a talented and
learned lady, born at Milan, in 1718. In a
Latin oration, delivered in her ninth year, she
advocated the study of the ancient languages
by females. At the age of eleven, she was
conversant with Greek, which she spoke with
great fluency, and she afterwards mastered the
Oriental languages. Geometry and philosophy
next engaged her attention. She was the cen-
tral ornament of the most brilliant and talented
circles, and her surpassing loveliness of face
and figure gave additional effect to the magic
of her words. In mathematics she was no less
successful than in other branches of learning,
and at thirty published a treatise on the rudi-
ments of analysis, thought to be the best intro-
duction to Euler's works extant. She acquired
such fame by this performance, that she was
appointed, in her 32d year, professor of mathe-
matics in the university of Bologna. Incessant
application seems finally to have rendered her
melancholy ; she renounced society, and joining
the order of blue nuns, died in her 81st year,
1799.
AGRICOLA, Cneius Julius, a brave and
virtuous Roman commander, and a distin-
guished statesman. He subjected a great part
of Britain, A. D. 70. Domitian recalled him,
and he died in retirement, A. D. 93.
AGRIGENTUM, now Girgenti or Agrigenti,
a town in Sicily about three miles from the
coast, and forty-seven miles south of Palermo,
with a population of 15,000. According to
Diodorus, in its brighter days, it contained no
fewer than 200,00!) inhabitants. It was anciently
famed for its hospitality and luxury. Its horses
were celebrated. It contained many fine build-
ings, the most splendid of which was a temple
to Jupiter Olympius Its democratic govern-
ment was overthrown by Phalaris, B. C. 571,
but wTas again restored after his death. After-
wards it was possessed by the Carthaginians.
AIX
33
ALA
Its antique remains attract the attention of
modern travellers.
AGRIPPA, Henry Cornelius, a native of
Cologne, born in 1486, and noted for his acquire-
ments, talents, and eccentricity. For his military
services, he was knighted. He was acquainted
with eight languages, and made pretensions
to magic, which procured him invitations from
various personages of celebrity, who sought to
acquire a knowledge of futurity. After a life
full of change and incident, he died at Greno-
ble, in 1535.
AGRIPPA I, grandson of Herod, tetrarch of
Trachonites, and king of Judea. St. James
perished in a persecution commenced by him.
The occasion and manner of his death are rela-
ted, Acts xii. 20 — 23, under his patronymic
name of Herod.
AGRIPPA, Marcus Vipsanius, the son-in-
law and friend of Augustus, whose fleet he
commanded in the battle of Actium.
AGRIPPINA, the elder, wife of Germanicus
Caesar, whom she accompanied in his German
expeditions. She was banished A. D. 33, by
the cruel Tiberius, who hated her for her vir-
tues and popularity, to the island of Pandataria,
where she starved herself to death.
AGRIPPINA, the younger, daughter of the
above, was born at Cologne. She was pos-
sessed of talents, but intriguing, dissolute, and
ambitious. She was married to her uncle
Claudius, the emperor, whom she poisoned to
clear the throne for her wicked son Nero, who
assassinated her, when she became troublesome
after his elevation.
AHASUERUS, the king of Persia, whose
marriage with Esther, and protection of the
Jews, are described in the Scriptures. He is
probably the Artaxerxes Longimanus of the
Greeks, whose reign began B. C. 465.
AHAZ, son of Jotham, and king of Judah,
reigned from 743 to 728 B. C, and was con-
temporary with the prophets Isaiah, Hosea, and
Micah.
AIGUILLON, duke d' ; a peer of France,
and minister of Foreign affairs under Louis
XV. He was witty, but little acquainted with
political science. On the accession of Louis
XVI, he was removed, and, having been soon
after banished, he died in exile in 1780.
AIX-LA-CHAPELLE, in German Aachen,
a German city on the borders of Belgium,
lying between the Rhine and the Meuse, in a
rich valley encompassed by hills. The city, in
1828, contained a population of 3fi,800. It was
the birth-place of Charlemagne according: to
3
some authors, and contains many buildings and
monuments of historical interest. It was the
northern capital of Charlemagne, who held a
splendid court here, and was buried in its cathe-
dral. Succeeding emperors conferred so many
privileges on the city, that it was remarked that
" the air of Aix-la-Chapelle gave freedom even
to the outlaws." In diplomacy, it is famous
for more than one Congress of powers, and par-
ticularly for that of 1748, in which peace was
concluded between England, France, Holland,
and several German powers.
AJACCIO, or Ajazzo, the capital and finest
city of Corsica, containing 6,570 inhabitants.
It is famous for being the birth-place of Napo-
leon. Its coral and anchovy fisheries make it a
place of some commercial importance.
AJAX. The name of two of the Homeric
heroes (Telamon and Oileus), formidable in the
Trojan war, whose history, however, is purely
mythological.
AKBAH, a Saracen conqueror, who over-
ran Africa from Cairo to the Atlantic, was kill-
ed in a revolt of the Greeks and Africans. He
lived in the first century of the Hegira.
AKBAR, or Akber, Mohammed, sultan of
the Moguls, in 1556. He regained Delhi from
the Patans, quelled several revolts, conquering
the whole country of Bengal, and taking Cash-
mere and Sind. He pardoned his son Selim,
who had made an unsuccessful attempt to de-
throne him. Akbar died in 1605, of grief for
the loss of one his sons.
AKENSIDE, Mark; an English poet and
physician, the son of a butcher, born at New-
castle-upon-Tyne, in 1721. He was intended
for the ministry, but preferred the study of
medicine. He never had much success in the
practice of his profession, but as a poet ac-
quired great renown. His " Pleasures of the
Imagination," will be read as long as the Eng-
lish language exists. He was a scholar, and a
man of strict morality. He died of a fever in
1770, in the 49th year of his age.
ALABAMA, a state of great importance,
was very recently detached from Mississippi.
In 1817, it was erected into a territorial gov-
ernment, and became a state in 1820. The
rapidity with which the population of Alabama
has increased, has been surprising even to
those who are accustomed to behold the rapid
rise of the new states of this country. It is
asserted, and witli truth, that no portion of the
western country has exhibited so speedy an
increase of population. In 1800, the inhabi-
tants of that part of Mississippi which now
B*
ALA
34
ALA
forms the state of Alabama, amounted to only
2,000, while ten years later, the same region con-
tained 10,000. In 1820, the number of inhabi-
tants was found to amount to 127,000; and, in
1830, it exceeded 300,000. The length of the
state is 280 miles ; its breadth, 160 ; and it con-
tains 52,000 square miles. It may be well,
before entering into any historical detail, to
give a brief general description of the physical
appearance of the country. The land is divided
into several regular terraces, or belts, as it
were, which rise above each other from the
gulf of Mexico. Of these the southern belt or
terrace, is flat and swampy, containing several
savannahs. Pine is the prevalent timber.
Pleasing and varying undulations distinguish
the northern belt.
The greater part of Alabama is separated
from Tennessee valley by abrupt and precipi-
tous hills, or rather mountains, which, in some
places, rise to an elevation of 2,000 feet above
the gulf level. The swamps in the vicinity of
Florida are numerous, and covered with cy-
press, gum, and loblolly pine-trees, while the
uplands are timbered with the long-leaved pine.
What are termed the hummock lands, the fer-
tility of which is lasting, form a belt between
the pine ridges and the bottoms, and, as the
French imagine that they are well adapted to
the rearing of grape vines, it may not be long
before these slopes will be clustered with smi-
ling vineyards, and echo the joyous song of the
vine-dresser, and the merriment of the autum-
nal vintage. Yet corn, cotton, tobacco, beef,
and pork, at present constitute the main products
of the state. It is said that the culture of the
sugar-cane would not be difficult in Alabama,
and in it, groves of orange-trees, undoubtedly
of Spanish origin, are not infrequent. The
Creek Indians possess some of the most fertile
portions of the country.
We cannot attempt a minute history of this
state, so much are its annals involved with
those of other portions of the western country.
The various contests between Spanish, French,
and English colonists in the great valley of the
Mississippi, while they prove interesting and
instructive when treated of at that length
which would be requisite to do them justice,
involved in a general view, would prove unsa-
tisfactory and destitute of all interest to the
reader. Some facts relative to the early dis-
coveries in the southern portion of North Amer-
ica, will not be judged misplaced, if they are
introduced here. Sebastian Cabot coasted the
country, which subsequently obtained the name
of Florida, a very few years after the discovery
of America by Columbus. The Spanish claim
for Juan Ponce de Leon the merit of discove-
ring Florida, in 1512, at a time when he was
engaged in the pursuit of that immortal foun-
tain, whose waters were to restore to age the
vanished bloom and strength of youth. It was
on Easter Day that land appeared. As this fes-
tival is called by the Spaniards Pascua de flores,
the festival of flowers, Leon gave the name of
Florida to the new discovered country. Her-
rera assigns a different reason for the appella-
tion in the blooming appearance of the country,
which presented an astonishing vaiiety and
quantity of blossoms. The Indians whom Leon
encountered, far from being effeminate and
soft, like the inhabitants of the West India
Islands, were stern and warlike, exhibiting so
decided a hostility to the Spaniards, that they
were glad to effect a retreat.
The French who settled on the borders of the
Mississippi at an early period, did not meet with
much success at first, and for along time the
French settlements were insignificant and unno-
ticed. Instead of drawing their support from the
fertile bosom of the earth beneath their feet, they
are said to have subsisted on provisions obtain-
ed from France and the Spanish colonies. So
slow were they in appreciating the richness of
the soil, and so tenacious of established opi-
nions and prejudices, that on a superficial exami-
nation of facts, we are surprised to find that, in
the northern and more sterile parts of North
America, where a thousand obstacles presented
themselves in the path of the adventurer, the
work of colonization went on with the greatest
rapidity. This appears to have been a wise ordi-
nation of Providence. The French settlers,
while they wanted the perseverance of the
English, and the colonial experience of the
Spaniards, had a singular facility in winning
the friendship and esteem of the savages. Yet,
in spite of this advantage, few of the colonies
they founded at the south, went on without
many interruptions, while the Spanish settle-
ments were generally permanent.
Mobile, now an important and flourishing
town, in the lower part of Alabama, while
alternately in the possession of the French
and Spaniards, was little more than a mere
military post. The cause of this is, perhaps,
partly to be found in the character of the
country around it, which abounds in dreary,
swampy lands, and stagnant waters, while a
barren region of pine woods is contiguous.
Mobile lies on the west side of Mobile Bay, and
ALA
35
ALA
is situated on a plain of considerable elevation.
A swampy island opposite the city, makes it
difficult of access, but when gained, vessels
remain in perfect security. No sooner did it
come into the hands of the United States, than
its importance was vastly increased, and its
appearance changed for the better. It is now
considered to be, next to New Orleans and
Charleston, the largest cotton market in the
country. The former monotony of its waters is
banished by the continual arrival and departure
of numerous steamboats, which ply upon the
river above.
After the English had obtained possession of
the whole country east of the Mississippi, which
was ceded to them by the French, in the treaty
of peace concluded between France and Great
Britain, Feb. 10th, 17G3, they encountered the
hostility of the Spanish, who were in posses-
sion of Louisiana, and were inflamed against
the English by motives of hostility and jeal-
ousy. The war of the American revolution
placed the British colonists in Florida in a
peculiarly embarrassing and dangerous situa-
tion. On the one hand they were threatened
by the Spanish colonists of Louisiana, while,
on the other, they feared the hostility of the
new states. The Spanish colonists in turn,
although fearful of the consequences of the
spread of liberal principles which the success of
the Americans would ensure, and aware that the
discomfiture of the British in Florida would be
a source of congratulation to the Americans, yet
so ardently desired the conquest, that they laid
aside all minor considerations, and determined
on attempting it. At this time, Galvez, a gal-
lant and enterprising officer, was the Spanish
commander of Louisiana. He took the field
against the British with 2,300 men. Natchez
and Pensacola capitulated, and Galvez, in 1780,
sailed against Mobile with a powerful arma-
ment. A storm overtook him in the gulf, and
the wreck of one of his armed vessels, with
the wetting of his provision and ammunition,
gave no good omen of ultimate success. Any
other commander, so circumstanced, would
have despaired, but Galvez, keeping up a toler-
able appearance, landed near Mobile, and halted
in the momentary expectation of an attack
from the British. He saw that such an attack
would be ruinous, and, entertaining no doubt
that the British would commence hostilities,
made preparations for relinquishing his artillery
and military stores, and falling back, in what
order he might, upon New Orleans. Whether
from want of foresight, or from cowardice, the
English did not attempt to disturb him.
Finding himself, much to his surprise, un-
molested, Galvez took heart again, and having
carefully dried his stores and ammunition,
which, upon examination, were found not to
have been spoiled, though badly wet, he
marched upon Mobile, which was garrisoned
and defended by regulars and militia. Six
Spanish batteries, playing, with well-directed
aim upon the place, opened a breach, and the
garrison immediately capitulated ! In this af-
fair, the English behaved with a hesitation and
timidity, which it is but justice to say, is
unusual in them. At Pensacola, only sixty
miles off, General Campbell was stationed with
an overwhelming force ; yet he marched not to
the relief of Mobile, until it was in the hands
of Galvez. The capture of Mobile by the
Spanish, fills a conspicuous page in the history
of Alabama.
Towards the close of the year 1811, the troops
of the United States were employed against the
Indians, who formed powerful hostile combina-
tions in the western country. During the war
with Great Britain, many bloody engagements
were fought with the Indians. After the surren-
der of Detroit, an event which produced such an
universal feeling of shame and degradation in
the west, the Indians sent news of their triumph
even to the most southerly extremity of the
union, and invited the neutral tribes of the
south to assume the hatchet on the side of their
red brethren. The Creeks and Seminoles,
with many other tribes, were not slow in
responding to the summons, and became in-
volved in the war, which was felt, in hostile
incursions, by the entire frontier, from Ten-
nessee to the bay of Mobile. Tecumseh or
Tecumthe, the famous Indian chief, arming
himself with the persuasive predictions of his
brother, the prophet, arrived among the Creek
Indians in J812, and urged them forward to
deeds of blood. The most dreadful outrages
were consequently perpetrated by the Creeks
along the Alabama frontier, which suffered
extremely during this war.
In 1814, Mobile was attacked by the British,
and defended by Major Lawrence, with a gal-
lantry which has gained him no inconsiderable
renown. His Spartan band of 130 men were
resolved to surfer no stain to dim the brilliancy
of their starred banner, and to uphold it while
the life-blood ran warm in their veins. On the
12th of September, a memorable day to the
garrison, intelligence was received at the fort
of the landing of a pretty large force of Indi-
ans and Spaniards in its vicinity. In the course
ALA
36
ALA
of that day two British brigs and sloops hove in
sight, and anchored at an inconsiderable dis-
tance. At half after four in the evening of the
15th, the Hermes, Charon, Sophia and Ana-
conda, with ninety guns, anchored at such a
distance from the fort, as to admit of firing
upon it conveniently. A simultaneous land
attack was begun by Captains Nicholls and
Woodbine. Their fortifications were made
of sand, and they brought a howitzer to bear
upon the fort at point blank distance ; but they
were soon compelled to abandon their position.
Still a severe firing was maintained by the
ships and fort. The Hermes, receiving a ra-
king fire, ran ashore, was abandoned, and blew
up. The Charon was almost wholly disabled.
When the flag-staff of the fort was shot away,
Woodbine and Nicholls, thinking the foe van-
quished, rushed forward to the fort, but were
awakened to a sense of their error by a mur-
derous fire which sent them to the right about
with enviable facility. What praise is too
warm for the conduct of the few Americans
who composed the garrison, when we consider
the numbers and advantages of the enemy ?
The COO men who attacked the fort by sea,
were supported by 90 heavy guns. Four hun-
dred Indians and others made an attack in the
rear. Captain Lawrence had but about a seventh
of the enemy's numerical force, and 20 guns,
all badly mounted, and some of them quite
ineffective. Yet, while he lost but ten men, he
compelled the enemy to retire with a loss of
their very best ship, and 230 men.
The political metropolis of Alabama is Tus-
caloosa, a rapidly increasing and improving
village, at the falls of the Black Warrior. The
spot on which it stands, was but a short time
since a wild forest, and to a person who had
visited this unsettled woodland, the village
must appear like that palace in the Arabian
Nights, which was erected in a single night.
The inhabitants of Alabama are justly proud of
their state — proud of its political and commer-
cial importance, of its rapidity, growth, and
character for industry. It is a slave-holding
state, and contains many opulent planters, who
have all the lavish hospitality which distin-
guishes them wherever they may dwell. Ala-
bama can boast of very few institutions, lit-
erary or religious ; but in the character of the
people, there is a regard for literature and reli-
gion, which will supply the want before long.
The laws of this State exhibit no very marked
difference from those of other states. The
senators serve for a term of three, and the rep-
resentatives for one year. There is a supreme
and a circuit court, with subordinate courts,
appointed by the legislature, who choose the
judges, the latter holding their offices during
good behavior.
The boundaries of Alabama are as follows :
north by Tennessee ; east by Georgia ; south
by Florida and the gulf of Mexico, and west
by Mississippi.
ALAMANNI, Luigi, a celebrated Italian poet
a native of Florence, born in 1495. Being at
variance with Clement VII. he fled to France
to avoid the power of the pope, but returned to
Florence when it became independent. When
it was subjected to the Medici, he sought the
protection of Francis 1. of France, and was
esteemed by that monarch, and by Henry II,
who employed him in several affairs of conse-
quence. He died of dysentery, at Amboise.
His writings embraced almost every depart-
ment of poetry.
ALAND, a cluster of islands in the Gulf of
Bothnia, belonging to Russia. The ground is
stony and the soil thin. Eighty of the islands
are inhabited, and the aggregate population is
more than thirteen thousand. The principal
island is forty miles long.
ALANI or Alans, a warlike tribe that left
their abodes near Mount Caucasus, in Asia,
when the Roman empire was declining. After
412, they became lost among the Vandals.
ALARIC, king of the Visigoths, who plun-
dered the Peloponnesus in 395. He appears
first as an ally of the Romans, whose weakness
he discovered and profited by. When he first
threatened Rome, his forbearance was pur-
chased by a ransom of 5000 pounds of gold,
30,000 pounds of silver, 4000 garments of silk,
3000 pieces of fine scarlet cloth, and 3000
pounds of pepper. In 410, the Goths returned,
penetrated the city, and sacked it. The trea-
sures which had been accumulated during a
thousand years, vanished in three days beneath
the hands of the rapacious conquerors. The
flames destroyed works of art which the barba-
rians were unable to carry off, but Alaric spared
the churches and those who had sought refuge
in them. Alaric died at a Calabrian town
(Cosenza), A. D. 410, when he was preparing to
lay waste Sicily and Africa. In order to con-
ceal his remains from the Romans, slaves were
employed to divert the waters of the Busento,
and hollow his last resting-place in the channel
of the stream ; when the earth had received the
body of the conqueror, the waves were permit-
ted to rush in above it, and the slaves were
ALB
37
ALB
murdered, that Alaric's secret might be in the
keeping of the waters and the voiceless dead.
ALBA, a city of Latium, built, according to
tradition, by Ascanius, the son of /Eneas. Being
the rival of Rome, it was destroyed by the Ro-
mans, 665 B. C. and the inhabitants were carried
to Rome.
ALBANI, Francesco, a painter, born at Bo-
logna, in 1578, whose female forms have been
highly extolled. From the effeminate charac-
ter of his subjects, he was called the Anacreon
of painters. He died in 1660, in his 82d
year, having lived long enough to survive his
fame.
ALBANIA, a province on the coast of the
Adriatic and Ionian seas, called in Turkish
Arnaout, in Albanian, Skipcri, anciently Epirus
and Illyria. It was the kingdom of Pyrrhus,
and a few years back was governed by Ali Pacha.
It is fertile and rich, and the inhabitants of the
mountains are famous for courage. The wo-
men in the absence of male protectors, have
been frequently known to defend their homes
with spirit and success. The population is
about 3'>0,000.
ALBANY, or Albani, countess of, princess
Louisa Maria Caroline, or Alo3'sia, born in 1753,
in 1772, married Charles Stuart, the English
pretender, whose barbarity and habitual intoxi-
cation, drove her to a cloister in 1780, and
received an annuity from the French court,
after the death of her husband, in 1788. She
died at Florence, in 1824, in her 72d year. She
was burjed beside Alfieri, in the church of
Santa Croce, at Florence. Alfieri was tenderly
attached to her, and attributed to her his inspi-
ration. (See Ai fieri.)
ALBANY, the seat of government of the
State of New-York, situated on the west bank
of the Hudson or North River, 144 miles north
of New-York city. Population 24,238. The
river is navigable to Albany, for sloops of 80
tons, and trade with New-York is carried on by
means of these. The Erie and Champlain ca-
nals unite above the city, and are connected
with a basin at Albany. The facility of com-
munication which it possesses, renders it a great
thoroughfare. Its exports are wheat, and other
articles of produce. The Dutch settled Albany
in 1614. It was built up with the disregard to
elegance so common among the Dutch, but its
modern buildings, both private and public, are
beautiful and tasteful.
ALBEMARLE SOUND, an arm of the sea,
extending sixty miles into the eastern coast of
North Carolina, connected with the Atlantic
and Pamlico Sound by small inlets, and with
Chesapeake Bay by a canal which passes through
the Dismal Swamp.
ALBERT I, emperor and duke of Austria,
crowned in 1298, after defeating and slaying
Adolphus of Nassau, his competitor. The rival
leaders engaged in single combat, and Adol-
phus exclaimed, " Your crown and life are
lost !" " Heaven will decide," was the answer
of Albert, as he forced his lance into the face
of his adversary and unhorsed him. Albert
was assassinated in 1308, by his nephew John,
son of the duke of Suabia, whose paternal
estates he had seized. John had often asserted
his claims, and urged them upon Albert when
he was departing for Switzerland, on account
of the revolt of the Swiss. The emperor con-
temptuously offered his nephew a garland of
flowers. "Take this," said he, " amuse your-
self with botanical investigations, but leave the
cares of government to those who are old and
wise enough to understand them." Albert
breathed his last in the arms of a poor woman,
who was sitting by the road-side at the time of
his assassination.
ALBIGENSES, the Protestants of Savoy
and Piedmont ; in the Middle Ages, the objects
of cruel persecution and of several crusades.
ALBOIN, king of the Lombards, ascended
the throne in 561 . When an ally of the Ro-
mans, he slew Cunimund, king of the Gepidas,
whose daughter Rosamond he afterwards mar-
ried. He undertook the conquest of Italy, and
had made great progress, when he was killed
by an assassin, at the instigation of his wife
Rosamond. The cause of her anger was his
sending her, during one of his fits of intoxica-
tion, a drinking-cup made of her father's skull,
filled with wine, and compelling her, to use his
words, to drink with her father.
ALBRET, Jane d', daughter of Margaret,
queen of Navarre, was married at the age of
eleven to the duke of Cleves, but the marriage
was annulled in 1548, when she espoused An-
thony de Bourbon, duke of Vendome, by whom
she became mother of Henry IV. In 1555, her
father dying, she became queen of Navarre,
and in 1562, the death of her husband left her
independent. She then set herself to establish
the Reformation in her kingdom, although
opposed by France and Spain. She expired
suddenly, at Versailles, in 1572, and her death
was attributed to poison.
ALBUHERA, a village in Estremadura, si-
tuated on the Albuhera, 12 miles S. S. E. of
Badajoz. Here the English marshal, Beres-
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ford, gained a victory over the French, under
Soult, May 16th, 1811.
ALBUQUERQUE, the name of two Portu-
guese brothers, distinguished for bravery, who
took Cochin, in India, in 1505. Francis was
lost on his passage home. When Alphonso
captured Ormus, an island at the entrance of
the Persian Gulf, the king of Persia demanded
the tribute which he had been accustomed to
receive from the princes of the island. Upon
this, Albuquerque laid before the ambassadors
a sword and a bullet, saying haughtily, "this
is the coin in which Portugal pays her tribute."
After a rash and unsuccessful attempt upon
Calicut, he took Goa and Malacca. The envy
of courtiers, and the suspicions of king Emman-
uel, did not spare even the distinguished merit
of Albuquerque, who died at Goa, in 1515, after
his ungrateful master had deprived him of his
place, and appointed his personal enemy, Lopez
Soarez, to fill it.
ALC/EUS, a Greek lyric poet, born at Mity-
lene in Lesbos, and contemporary with Sappho.
He engaged in war with ardor, and his lays
breathe the divine enthusiasm of liberty.
ALC ALA DE HENAREZ, a city of Spain,
in New Castile, situated on the river Henarez,
15 miles E. N. E. of Madrid. It was called by
the ancients Complutum. Here was printed the
first Polyglot Bible, called the Complutensian
Polyglot, which cost Cardinal Ximenes 250,000
ducats. A copy of it sold at Paris, in 1817, for
£676 sterling.
ALCIBIADES, an Athenian general, famous
for his enterprise, gallantry, versatility, and
natural foibles. He was the son of Clinias and
Dinomache, and was born at Athens, about 450
B. C. He was educated in the house of Peri-
cles, who was too much occupied with state
affairs to pay much attention to the youth.
The impetuosity of Alcibiades displayed itself
early, as the following anecdote shows. While
he was playing dice in the street with some
juvenile companions, a waggon came up. Alci-
biades requested the driver to stop, but be refu-
sed. The daring youth then threw himself
before the wheel, and exclaimed ; " Drive on,
if thou darest!" The instructions of the phi-
losopher Socrates, for a time restrained his evil
propensities. Socrates fought by his side in his
first battle, and, when he was wounded, de-
fended him, and bore him off safe. The
dissipation and extravagance of Alcibiades were
unbounded. One night, being at a banquet, he
laid a wager that he would box the ears of the
rich Hipponicus, and did so. This excited
general indignation, but Alcibiades went to the
injured party, threw off" his garment, and, pla-
cing a rod in his hand, bade him strike and
revenge himself. Hipponicus not only par-
doned him freely, but gave him his daughter in
marriage, with a portion equivalent to about
10,500 dollars of our money. At the Olympic
games, Alcibiades would enter seven chariots,
and at one time won three prizes.
In the Peloponnesian war he encouraged the
Athenians to engage in an expedition against
Syracuse. He was chosen general in that war,
and in his absence, his enemies, having found
all the statues of Mercury broken, charged him
with being concerned in the deed and confiscated
all his property. He then fled to Sparta, where
he attempted to gain popularity by adopting the
temperate habits of the Spartans, whom he wish-
ed to rouse against the Athenians. Finding this
of no avail, he went to Tissaphernes,the Persian
general. He was afterwards recalled by the
Athenians, and having compelled the Spartans
to sue for peace, and been successful in Asia,
was welcomed to Athens with high honors. The
failure of an expedition, with the command of
which he was entrusted, again roused the resent-
ment of the people, and Alcibiades fled to Phar-
nabazes. Lysander, the Spartan general, indu-
ced Pharnabazes to assassinate him. The atten-
dants sent for that purpose, found him in a castle
in Phrygia, in company with his favourite Ti-
mandra. They set the building on fire, and the
warrior rushed out to escape the conflagration.
Dreading his valour, the cowardly assassins
retreated to a safe distance, and shot him with
their arrows. Thus perished Alcibiades, in the
45th year of his age, about 404, B. C. Thucy-
dides, Timseus, and Theopompus, with Plu-
tarch and Cornelius Nepos, among the ancients,
have written of this hero, who, if he wanted
firm moral principles, was generous, brave, per-
severing, and gifted with distinguished quali-
ties. His eloquence was of that kind which
wins the hearts of men imperceptibly and unos-
tentatiously; although it is said that he stut-
tered, and was unable to pronounce the letter
R.
ALCIPHRON, a distinguished epistolary
writer among the Greeks.
ALCMAN, the son of aslave,born at Sardis,
in Lydia, 670 years B. C. He was a fine poet,
and honored bv his countrymen.
ALDENIiOVEN, a town between Juliers
and Aix-la-Chapelle, where the French were
defeated, March 1, 1793.
ALEMANNI, that is, all men, the ancient
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inhabitants of Suabia and Switzerland, united
in a league, from whence Germany derives its
French name of Allemagne. They were the
determined opponents of the Romans.
ALEMBERT, Jean le Rond d', a distin-
guished mathematician, and literary character,
born at Paris, in 1717, died in 1783. He was
the son of Madame de Tencin, and the poet
Destouches, who exposed him while an infant.
At ten years of age, the principal of the school
in which he received his early education, de-
clared that his pupil had learned all that he could
teach him. He undertook to write the mathe-
matical part of the French Encyclopedia, and
contributed many admirable articles to it, which
however, involved him in the attacks made upon
the work. He refused the brilliant offers of
Frederic II. of Prussia, and Catherine of Rus-
sia, to settle in their respective capitals, and
lived in his country till his death, which took
place in the 6Cth year of his age.
ALEPPO is the capital, not only of a pacha-
lic, but of all Syria, and has justly been ranked
as the third city of the Ottoman empire. Its
Arabic name is Haleb. In former times it pos-
sessed great commercial advantages which it
has lost in later times. It is supposed by many
to be the Zobah of scripture, which is spoken
of, 2 Sam. viii. 12. At present little doubt is
entertained of its being the Beraea of the
Greeks. The river Kowich, on reaching Alep-
po, diminishes in size, although at times it
increases to a formidable stream. When Aleppo
was besieged by a Christian army, in 1123, this
stream, swelling with augmented waters, unex-
pectedly overflowed its banks, and swept away
the tents and baggage of the besiegers. Many
men perished in the rushing inundation, and
the siege was raised in consequence of this
disaster.
Seen from a distance, this city presents a
picturesque appearance ; its gay terraces, grace-
ful mosques, airy arches, and shadowing trees,
afford a combination which is grateful to the
senses ; but a nearer approach, like daylight on
a phantasmagoria, dispels the illusion. Walk-
ing through the streets, the eye wanders over
high stone walls which flank the way, or turns
baffled, from the lattices with which the infre-
quent windows of the houses are churlishly
guarded. The inhabitants of Aleppo differ but
little from those of other Mohammedan cities and
countries. They have the same love for indo-
lent pleasures, the same fondness for the luxu-
ries of the bath, but less intolerance than the
other Turks. Thus the Armenians and Greeks
have churches and a bishop in the city, and the
Syrians and Maronites have likewise places of
public worship. The Jews of Aleppo, have in
their Synagogue a MS. of the Old Testament
which they consider to be of great antiquity
The disease which is called the JYeal d'Jlleppo,
to which both natives and foreigners are sub-
ject, is an eruption which leaves an indelible
scar, and is thought to originate in the quality
of the water. As a commercial place, Aleppo
has degenerated in modern times, but still re-
mains the emporium of Armenia and Diarbekir.
The English, in the reign of Elizabeth, estab-
lished a factory here, and consuls of various
nations reside in the place at present. The
city, including the suburbs, is 7 or 8 miles in
circumference, containing 200,000 inhabitants,
about one fourth of whom are Christians, the
remainder being Mohammedans and Jews.
Eight thousand inhabitants, together with two
thirds of the city, were destroyed by earth-
quakes in 1822, and 1823.
ALEUTIAN ISLANDS; a group, belong-
ing to Russia, about 100 in number, forming a
connecting link between Asia and America,
and separating the sea of Kamschatka from
the northern part of the Pacific Ocean. Some
of them are volcanic ; they are destitute of
vegetation, but afford abundance of fur and
fish. The harmless inhabitants are cruelly trea-
ted by the Russians. The English names for
the islands, are the Fox, Bchrings, or Copper
Islands.
ALEXANDER THE GREAT, son of Philip
of Macedon, was born in Pella, B. C. 356. The
kingdom of Macedon was raised to celebrity by
the exploits of Philip, and was destined to attain
a yet higher rank among nations from the fame
of his son. Olympias, daughter of Neoptole-
imis of Epirus, was his mother. At an early
age, he showed a veneration for great deeds
and a determination to achieve them. Hear-
ing of the victories of Philip, he exclaimed,
"my father will leave nothing for me to do."
Aristotle, the celebrated philosopher, consented
to take charge of Alexander's education. His
preceptor instructed him in the most elegant as
well as the most profound branches of know-
ledge, and never for a moment forgot that it was
his duty to fit him for governing a great king-
dom. That he might become acquainted with
military virtues and ambition, Aristotle put the
Iliad into the hands of his noble pupil. Alexan-
der was so fond of this, that he never lay down
without having read some pages in it. His
exclusive ambition is well illustrated by the
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letter, which he wrote his preceptor on the pub-
lication of his Metaphysics. " You did wrong
in publishing those branches of science hitherto
not to be acquired but from oral instruction.
In what shall I excel others, if the more pro-
found knowledge I gained from you be com-
municated to all ? For my part, I had rather
surpass the majority of mankind in the sublimer
branches of learning, than in the extent of
power and dominion."
It was no part of the ancient Grecian plan
of education, to permit the culture of the mind
to supersede that of the body, but, on the con-
trary, the instructors of the young, knowing
that they are indivisible, trained the intellect-
ual and corporeal powers at the same time.
Alexander was early accustomed to gymnastic
exercises, and, at a tender age, displayed his
strength and skill in an extraordinary manner.
His father had been presented with a superb
charger (Bucephalus), which no one dared to
mount. Alexander sprang upon his back and
succeeded in completely taming him, after
which the steed would permit none but the
noble youth to mount him. He bore him
through some of the most perilous scenes of his
career, and, when he died, was honored by a
splendid memorial — the erection of a city called
Bucephalia. At the age of sixteen years, Alex-
ander was appointed by his father, Regent of
Macedon, when the latter departed on his expe-
dition to Byzantium. In 338, at the battle of
CliEEronea, he conquered the sacred band of
Thebans, and so distinguished himself, that Phi-
lip, embracing him, exclaimed ; "My son, seek
another empire, for that you will inherit is un-
worthy of you."
When Philip married Cleopatra, and divorced,
or, at least, disgraced Olympias, Alexander,
having taken the part of his mother, incurred
the displeasure of his father, and was forced to
fly to Epirus, whence, however, he was soon
recalled. Soon after this he saved his father's
life in an expedition against the Tiibaili. Phi-
lip was assassinated, B. C. 336, when preparing
to make war upon Persia, at the head of all the
Grecian forces. Alexander, then twenty years
of age, ascended the throne, and soon gave
proof of talents to govern and to conquer.
From the Greeks he received the chief com-
mand in the war against Persia. Finding,
upon his return, that the Illyrii and Triballi
were in arms, he conquered them and forced a
triumphant passage through Thrace. Urged
by the eloquence of Demosthenes, the Atheni-
ans were about to join the Thebans, who had
already taken up arms. Alexander promptly
repaired to Thebes, and on the refusal of the
citizens to surrender, took it and destroyed it,
with the exception of the poet Pindar's house.
Six thousand individuals were put to the sword,
and 30,000 reduced to captivity. The Athenians,
although punished, were not so severely hand-
led, and the fate of Thebes had the intended
effect of striking terror into all Greece. The
general assembly of the Greeks confirmed Alex-
ander in the chief command of the forces,
and he determined to leave Antipater, who had
been a minister of his father, at the head of the
government. The confidence, which was re-
posed in this man, was great, as appears from
the following anecdote. Philip was fond of
wine, and occasionally indulged himself to ex-
cess. One night, observing one of his compan-
ions unwilling to drink deeply, " Drink,
drink," said he, "all's safe, for Antipater is
awake."
In the spring of 334, Alexander crossed into
Asia with 30,000 foot, and 5,000 horse. In the
plains of Ilium, he offered sacrifices to Minerva,
and crowned the tomb of Achilles. Approach-
ing the Granicus,he learned that some Persian
satraps, with 20,000 foot and as many horse,
were prepared to oppose his progress to the
other side. The passage of the river was ef-
fected in the teeth of this force, and Alexander
was completely triumphant. During the heat of
battle, the Macedonian monarch was a mark for
the weapons of the enemy, by the splendor of
his equipments, and the conspicuous beauty of
his superb charger. The cities of Asia Minor,
with few exceptions, now opened their gates to
the youthful conqueror. In passing through
Gordium, Alexander cut the Gordian knot.
Lycia, Ionia, Caria, Pamphylia, and Cappa-
docia, were successively conquered. The con-
queror was seized with a severe illness in
consequence of imprudently bathing in the
Cydnus, which proved a check to his career.
While in a dangerous state, he received a let-
ter from Parmenio, his general, warning him
against his physician Philip, whom Parmenio
accused of the design of poisoning his master.
Philip was at that time preparing a potion for the
king ; and Alexander, handing him the letter,
looked steadily in his face while he drank off
the draught. He recovered.
Darius, instead of waiting for Alexander on
the plains of Assyria, had advanced with an im-
mense army to the defiles of Cilicia, whither
the Macedonian followed, defeating the Persi-
ans in the battle of Issus, which placed the
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treasures and family of Darius in the hands of
the conqueror. His generous treatment of the
latter conferred as much honor upon Alexan-
der, as the victory which preceded it. He
turned towards Coelosyria and Phoenicia for the
purpose of cutting- oft* Darius who had fled to-
wards the Euphrates. The Persian monarch
sent a letter to Alexander suing for peace, and
the latter answered him, lhat if he would come
to him. lie should receive his mother, his wii'e,
his children, and his empire ; hut no notice was
taken of this liberal proposal. Damascus, and
all the towns along the Mediterranean, were
entered and taken possession of by Alexander.
The resistance of Tyre was severely punished ;
after a siege of seven months, it was taken .with
great difticulty. In Palestine, Gaza, which re-
sisted the conqueror like Tyre, shared the fate
of that city. Gaza was the emporium for the
productions of Arabia, and a place of considerable
wealth and importance. Among the plunder,
the conqueror gained great quantities of frank-
incense, myrrh, and other aromatics, the sight
of which recalled a long-forgotten anecdote of
his juvenile days. His governor, Leonnatus,
observing him one day at a sacrifice, throw in-
cense into the flame by handfuls, remonstrated,
and said, " Alexander, when you have con-
quered the spice countries, you may be thus
lavish of your incense ; in the meantime use
what you have more sparingly." Alexander now
sent his governor several large bales of spices,
accompanied with the following note : " Leon-
natus, I have sent you frankincense and myrrh
in abundance; so be no longer a churl to the
gods."
The Egyptians, to whom the Persian yoke
had been a galling burden, were well pleased
with the arrival of Alexander, whom they grate-
fully regarded as a deliverer. His next expe-
dition was a visit to the temple of Jupiter Am-
nion, in the deserts of Libya, where, having
consulted the oracle, the god is said to have
acknowledged him as his son. In the ensuing
spring, learning that Darius had gathered an
immense force in Assyria, and was determined
to fight to the last, rejecting all proposals for
peace, Alexander marched in that direction.
In 331 , a furious battle was fought at Gauga-
mela, not far from Arbela, in which the army of
Darius was not less than 500,000 strong. Not-
withstanding this overwhelming force, victory
from the opening of the combat, smiled upon
the banners of the Macedonian. The thunder-
ing charge of his cavalry, led by himself, was
irresistible, and scattered the thronged Persians
like leaves before the tempest. Having routed
them by the charge of his horse, Alexander
hastened to the support of his left wing, finding
that they had been hard pressed and stood in
need of his assistance. Alexander's principal
object was to capture the Persian monarch or
prevent his flight by death. In the midst of
the crowd and crush of battle, Darius was no
inconsiderable figure, for he was mounted on a
chariot of great height, and surrounded by
guards who were splendidly armed and equip-
ped. The Persian life-guards, however, no
sooner perceived the extraordinary success of
Alexander, than, forgetful of their duty, they
took to flight. Darius was saved by the speed
of a horse upon which he hastily threw him-
self after the flight of his guards.
The immense wealth of the East was depo-
sited in Babylon and Susa, both of which
opened their gates without hesitation to the
mighty victor, who continued his march to-
wards Persepolis, then the capital of Persia.
Ariobarzanes, with 40,000 men, had thrown
himself into the only passage which opened on
Persepolis. determined to defend it as long as
he was able. He did not, however, hold out
long, for the troops of Alexander, flushed with
success, and impatient of opposition, swept
away all obstacles. ' Attacking the Persians in
the rear, they were completely successful, and
Persepolis, with all its wealth and luxury, was
won. In Persepolis, Alexander forgot his duty
and his interest, in scenes of unexampled riot and
dissipation. He was intoxicated with success,
and inclined to believe himself the god which
his flatterers would have made him. It is said
that on entering the royal palace, he beheld
the colossal statue of Xerxes which his soldiers
had thrown down, and deliberating whether to
elevate it or suffer it to lie neglected, he thus
apostrophized it ; " Shall we leave you in this
condition on account of the war you made upon
Greece, or raise you again for the sake of your
magnanimity and other virtues?" In a mo-
ment of intoxication and unbridled pleasure,
Alexander, yielding to the persuasions of an
abandoned woman, Thais, the Athenian, fired
the capital of Persia, which was soon reduced
to ruins. On the right bank of the Medus and
Araxes, near Istakar, the ruins of the royal
palace of Persepolis are still visible ; tall col-
umns yet attesting its former magnificence,
before the vengeance of the Greek was wreaked
upon the pride of art.
The burning of Persepolis filled Alexan-
der with remorse, and, in order to retrieve
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his character, he set fortli in pursuit of Darius
with his fine cavalry. He soon learned that
Bessus, the perfidious satrap of Bactria, kept
his master in custody, but, before he could
save Darius, Bessus had the unfortunate mon-
arch assassinated, B. C. 330. He was found lying
in his chariot covered with wounds. The per-
fidy of Bessus was subsequently punished with
death. Darius was interred with great solem-
nity, and Alexander caused himself to be pro-
claimed king of Asia. While occupied in the
formation of plans of vast importance, a con-
spiracy broke out in the camp of Alexander,
in which Philotas, the son of Parmenion, was
found to be concerned. Philotas, though brave
and hardy, was addicted to pleasure, to expen-
sive amusements, and given to boasting. He
frequently spoke slightingly of Alexander to
the companions of his pleasures — calling him
the boy, and saying that his victories were rather
the result of his own exertions and those of his
father, than of the bravery and skill of Alexan-
der. Parmenion endeavoured to check his son,
saying, " Make yourself less conspicuous," but
his counsel was of no avail. Alexander heard
of the boastings of Philotas with indignation ;
and when the conspiracy broke forth his anger
knew no bounds. Philotas was executed, and,
by the orders of Alexander, the veteran Parme-
nion was secretly put to death — a criminal act
which excited the displeasure of the whole
army.
Meanwhile Agis, king of Sparta, threatened
the destruction of the power of Alexander in
Greece, and raised a powerful army to obtain
independence, but he was defeated by Antipa-
ter, and the dissolution of the Grecian league
ensued. Neither the severity of the winter,
nor the want of local knowledge prevented
Alexander from marching into the north of
Asia and reaching the Caspian Sea. He at-
tacked the Scythians, urged on by an insatiable
thirst for distinction. On his return to Bac-
tria, he assumed the dress of the Persians,
which disgusted the Macedonians, who thought
the flowing robes of the Orientals too effemi-
nate. The Persians were displeased at be-
holding the Macedonian officers entering the
royal presence without those tokens of respect,
which the kings of their nation invariably ex-
acted from their subjects. The low inclina-
tions of reverence could only be claimed from
the Greeks on the plea that Alexander, as a
god, was entitled to them. A blunt Spartan
once satisfied the master of ceremonies and his
own scruples, by first dropping a ring and then
stooping to pick it up in the presence of the
king. Offended with the independence and
freedom of Clitus, Alexander slew him with
his own hand at a banquet. As Soon as he saw
the lifeless body of his most faithful friend and
bravest general stretched before him, he was
seized with all the agonies of remorse.
The next year Alexander subdued Sogdiana,
and married the Bactrian Roxana, the loveliest
of Asiatic women. The Asiatic women, but
particularly the ladies of Persia, were famous
for the richness of their attire, and the art with
which they heightened their native beauty.
" The Persian ladies," says an elegant writer,
" wore the tiara or turban, richly adorned with
jewels. They wore their hair long, and both
plaited and curled it ; nor, if the natural failed,
did they scruple to use false locks. They
pencilled the eye-brows, and tinged the eye-lid,
with a dye that was supposed to add a peculiar
brilliancy to the eyes. They were fond of per-
fumes, and their delightful ottar was the prin-
cipal favorite. Their tunic and drawers were
of fine linen, the robe or gown of silk — the
train of this was long, and on state occasions
required a supporter. Round the waist they
wore a broad zone or cincture, flounced on both
edges, and embroidered and jewelled in the
centre. They also wore stockings and gloves,
but history does not record their materials.
They used no sandals ; a light and ornamental
shoe was worn in the house ; and for walking
they had a kind of coarse half boot. They used
shawls and wrappers for the person, and veils
for the head ; the veil was large and square,
and when thrown over the head, descended low
on all sides. They were fond of glowing col- ,
ors, especially of purple, scarlet, and light-blue
dresses. Their favorite ornaments were pearls ;
they wreathed these in their hair, wore them
as necklaces, ear-drops, armlets, bracelets, ank-
lets, and worked them into conspicuous parts
of their dresses. Of the precious stones they
preferred emeralds, rubies, and turquoises, which
were set in gold and worn like the pearls."
No fewer than 10,000 Greeks, captivated with
their charms, married Asiatic brides, and each
couple received a present from Alexander.
Soon after the marriage of Alexander with
Roxana, a conspiracy was discovered among
his troops, headed by Hermolaus. All were
condemned to death but Callisthenes, who was
mutilated and carried about with the army in
an iron cage, until his tortures became insuffera-
ble, and he killed himself by poison. Alexander
penetrated into India and was highly success-
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ful. His most determined enemy was Poms,
an Indian king, whom he effectually subdued.
When this warlike monarch was asked how he
should be treated, he answered Alexander,
" Like a king," and was consequently restored
to his kingdom.
Alexander established Greek colonies in In-
dia, and is said to have built no fewer than
seventy towns, one of which was erected in
honor of his horse Bucephalus, killed on the
banks of the Hydaspes. He would have pene-
trated as far as the Ganges but for the murmurs
of his army. He returned to the Hydaspes,
and built a fleet upon its banks, despatching
part of his army by water, while the remainder
marched down its banks. His march through
the country was not unopposed, and he him-
self received a severe wound, from which, how-
ever, he recovered, and sailing down the Indus,
reached the sea. Nearchus, the admiral of
Alexander, sailed to the Persian gulf, while the
conqueror reached Babylon by land after en-
countering incredible fatigues, which cost him
the loss of many men. At Susa, he was mar-
ried to two Persian princesses. At Opis, on
the Tigris, he sent home the invalids with
presents, and quelled a mutiny of his troops.
Not long after this, his friend and favorite,
Hephaestion, died. It is asserted that the fever
of Hephaestion was brought on by hard drink-
ing. Alexander's grief at the loss of his fa-
vorite was excessive, and even endangered
his reason ; for three days he tasted no food,
and lay, stretched upon the ground, either in
silent sorrow or loud lamentation. The money
expended on the funeral pile might have erec-
ted a palace ; and all the barbarian subjects of
Alexander, were ordered to go into mourning.
When Alexander went from Ecbatana to
Babylon, he is said to have been warned by the
astrologers, that the latter place would prove
fatal to him. Despising these warnings, he
went to Babylon and gave audience to the seve-
ral foreign ambassadors, who awaited his arri-
val. His mind was engaged in forming vast
plans for the future, when he was seized with
sickness, after a banquet, and died, 323 B. C.
Alexander had reigned twelve years and eight
months, and was thirty-two years old at the
time of his death. The vast possessions which
he had acquired by force, were deluged by con-
tinual bloodshed when he was no more. When
asked to whom he left his kingdom — he an-
swered, " to the worthiest." The body of Al-
exander was interred with all the pomp and
circumstance of regal burial at Alexandria,
where Ptolemy enclosed his remains in a gold-
en coffin. The Egyptians and other nations
paid divine honors to him after his death. After
summing up the good qualities of Alexander,
Adrian adds, " If then he erred from quickness
of temper and the influence of anger, and if he
loved the display of barbarian pride and splen-
dor, I regard not these as serious offences ; for,
in candor, we ought to take into consideration
his youth, his perpetual success, and the influ-
ence of those men who court the society of
kings, not for virtuous purposes, but to minis-
ter to their pleasures and to corrupt their prin-
ciples. On the other hand, Alexander is the
only ancient king, who, from the native good-
ness of his heart, showed a deep repentance
for his misdeeds."
ALEXANDER JANNiEUS, ascended the
throne of Judea in 1(16, B. C. He made war on
the Arabians, quelled the tumults of his own
subjects, and after conquering Syria, Idumaea,
and Phoenicia, delivered himself up to the most
revolting excesses, and died at Jerusalem, B.
C. 79.
ALEXANDER SEVERUS, a Phoenician by
birth, was related to the emperor Heliogabalus,
who, however, attempted his life, in conse-
quence of which the Praetorian guards slew
the monster, and made Alexander emperor in
his 17th year. He proved himself worthy of
the sceptre, and having gained a great victory
over the Persians, on his return to Rome, was
honoured by a triumph. When he marched
into Gaul, where an irruption of the Germans
required his presence, he fell, by a mutiny of
his troops, in the year 235, after a reign of
twelve years. He was pious, temperate, fru-
gal, humane, and so favorably disposed to
Christianity, that he placed the statue of Jesus
in his private chapel.
ALEXANDER., the name of seven Popes,
the first of whom introduced the use of holy
water. The sixth was remarkable for his cru-
elty and the infamy of his son, Caesar Borgia.
He died in 1503, having greatly extended the
Papal dominions in Italy.
ALEXANDER NEWSKOI, grand duke of
Russia, a hero and saint of the Russian Church,
was born in 1218. Having become viceroy of
Novogorod, he successfully opposed Vlademir
II. king of Denmark, and the Teutonic knights.
In 1240, he gained his splendid victory over
the Swedes, on the Neva, and two years after-
wards, overcame the Knights of the Sword, on
the frozen surface of lake Peipus. His death
took place in 1263.
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ALEXANDER I, PAULOWITSCH (the
son of Paul), Emperor and Autocrat of all the
Russias, and king of Poland, was born in 1/77,
and crowned the 27th of September, 1801. His
mother, Maria, was the daughter of duke Eu-
gene of Wirtemberg, and, throughout his life,
exerted a great influence over Alexander, by
whom she was tenderly beloved. The educa-
tion of Alexander was committed to the em-
press Catharine II. and Colonel Laharpe, his
father renouncing all care of it. In 17!)!}, he
married Elizabeth, daughter of the hereditary
prince of Baden. He took part in the conspi-
racy against his father Paul, although it is
impossible to believe that he entertained any
design against his life, but saw safety to him-
self and others only in the removal of the
emperor, from a throne which he disgraced by
the reckless spirit of persecution. Alexander
sought to promote the welfare of Russia — he
removed the shackles from her commerce and
internal industry ; he regulated the interior
administration of his kingdom; he established
schools and universities ; he bettered the con-
dition of the peasantry; he raised the military
character of his subjects ; he modified laws with
a liberal spirit ; he provided for the construction
of roads and canals ; he encouraged merit wher-
ever he found it, and finally sought to inspire all
classes with a spirit of union, patriotism, enter-
prise, and courage. The extent of his success va-
rious events contributed to prove. When Na-
poleon threatened the government with subver-
sion, and the Russians looked to their monarch
as their guide, they saw no timidity — no irresolu-
tion in Alexander. " I will not negociate with
Napoleon," was his resolve, " while one armed
enemy remains within my kingdom." Yet he
was an admirer of the brilliant qualities of Na-
poleon, and this sincere admiration of the
French emperor, led to their celebrated meet-
ing at Erfurt, in September, 1808. Alexander
then thought that, in connexion with Napoleon,
he might fix the destinies of Europe. But Na-
poleon could brook no equal, and Alexander no
superior. When the former displayed a desire
to legislate for a country of which he knew lit-
tle, and that too in defiance of the wishes and
welfare of its emperor, the friendship between
them was at an end. In 1814, the conduct of
Alexander to the Parisians, when the allies en-
tered their capital — the deference he paid to
their wishes and opinions — and his favourable
tendency towards liberal principles — gained
him their enthusiastic admiration. In all the
important transactions of Europe from this pe-
riod, to the time of his death, Alexander par-
took, and exerted an immense influence in the
different European courts. He was the prin-
cipal contriver of the " Holy Alliance," but
probably from principle as much as from inter-
est. He was the main stay of this unhal-
lowed confederacy, and Europe rejoiced ac-
cordingly at his death, which took place at
Taganrock, of a bilious fever, 1st of Decem-
ber, 1825. In his last illness, the emperor re-
fused medicine, calling continually for "iced
water," the only thing which he would drink.
His illness lasted eleven days. Three days after
his death, the body was exposed to permit the
people to kiss the hands of their dead monarch.
It was then placed in a coffin, and borne in
procession to the church where it remained
forty days, and was thence carried to St. Pe-
tersburg. A favourite servant of the emperor
drove the funeral car which carried his remains
to the capital. The emperor's aids-de-camp,
followed the cortege, three of them being seated
in the funeral car. A squadron of Cossacks of the
guard, attendants, and officers, attached to the
imperial suite, completed the train. It took its
departure from Taganrock, in the most severe
weather of December, 1825. The empress,
who was tenderly attached to her husband,
soothed his last moments, and received his last
sigh.
ALEXANDER, William, Lord Stirling, was
a Major-general in the army of the United
States during the revolution, and distinguished
himself throughout the whole of the eventful
struggle, but particularly in the battles of Long
Island, Germantown, and Monmouth. He died
at Albany, 1783, with the reputation of a learn-
ed,brave, honest, and patriotic man. The title
of Lord Stirling, was given him by courtesy, as
he claimed to be the rightful heir to an earldom
in Scotland, although his claims were not sus-
tained by legal tribunals.
ALEXANDRIA (called Scandcria by the
Turks), was the capital of Lower Egypt, and
under the Ptolemies, whose favourite residence
i,*. was, was celebrated for its wealth, splen-
dor, and arts. It was founded in 332, B. C. by
Alexander, who employed the celebrated archi-
tect, Dinociates, in beautifying and embellish-
ing it. There was something singularly strik-
ing in the birth of this great city. Under the
patronage of Alexander, it sprang up at once
into beauty and importance, without encoun-
tering any of those evils and obstacles, which
generally obstruct the rise of a newly-founded
place. The situation of Alexandria, and the
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excellence of its fine harbours, appeared to
adapt it to the rank which its founder hoped
that it would hold among the cities of the
world. Ptolemy Soter, or the Savior, and
Ptolemy Philadelphus, conferred great benefits
upon the city, which became the seat of litera-
ture and the resort of the learned of all coun-
tries. Its earliest inhabitants were Greeks and
Egyptians. The population was augmented
by colonies of Jews transported thither for that
purpose. These people made themselves fa-
miliar with Grecian lore, and translated into
the Greek language the whole of the Old Tes-
tament, a version called the Septuagint. Pour
hundred thousand volumes of the royal library
were contained in a magnificent edifice belong-
ing to the Academy and Museum ; 300,000
more were deposited in the temple of Jupiter
Serapis. As all these works were in manu-
script, their value was consequently immense.
The Ptolemies spared no pains to enrich their
library, which became the finest in the world.
When Julius Caesar besieged Alexandria, the
library was injured by fire, but the loss was re-
paired by the library of Pergamus which Anto-
ny presented to Queen Cleopatra. It is now
ascertained that the library of the Serapion, or
temple of Serapis, remained entire until the
time of Theodosius the Great, when the Chris-
tians, inspired by fanaticism, stormed and de-
stroyed the Temple, effecting the destruction
of that library which was the wonder of the
world, and the loss of which must ever be a
subject of painful regret. Towards the close
of the fourth century, the only memorials of the
existence of the library, were the empty shelves
which once contained those invaluable manu-
scripts, which the elegance and care of kings
had brought together. When the division of
the Roman empire was effected, Alexandria,
together with the country of which it was the
capital, was included in the Eastern empire.
Alexandria came into the hands of the Arabs,
in C40. It received the attention of the Caliph
Motawakel, who, mindful of its former state,
restored both the library and academy, in 845.
In 808, it was taken by the Turks, and under
their sway, very rapidly declined. Still its
commerce was in a flourishing state, and con-
tinued so until the close of the 15th century,
when the Portuguese, by the discovery of the
passage to the Indies by the Cape of Good
Hope, altered the commercial channel, and
enriched themselves at the expense of the
Egyptians. The modern city of Alexandria,
does not stand upon the spot occupied by the
ancient city. The remains of ancient Alexan-
dria are unimportant, Cleopatra's needle, and
Pompey's pillar, being the most conspicuous.
The latter was erected by Pompey, a governor
of Egypt, in honor of the emperor Diocletian ;
but the equestrian statue which formeily sur-
mounted it, is gone. Some years past, a party
of English sailors resolved to amuse themselves,
and astonish the natives, by mounting to the
top, and refreshing themselves at an elevation
which should put them above the cares and
turmoils of humanity. How to accomplish
their purpose was the next question. This was
soon settled. They raised a line by means of a
kite, and dropped it over the pillar, and by this
means drew up a rope, by which they gained
the top, whence, looking down upon the spec-
tators from a giddy elevation of 88 feet, they
congratulated themselves on their success. The
island of Pnaros yet bears the ruins of the
light-house erected by Ptolemy. This cele-
brated building was of white marble. Ptolemy
directed his name to be inscribed upon the tow-
er, but the cunning architect carved the name
of his employer upon a tablet of plaster, which,
decaying in time, displayed the name of the
builder, with a dedication to the gods, claim-
ing for himself all the honors due to his sove-
reign. The Turks have but little sympathy
with the lovers of antiquity. They deface the
most venerated remains, placing little value
upon any, probably espousing the oriental max-
im ; " a living dog is better than a dead lion."
A few years ago, the Pacha of Egypt employed
a renegado to collect all the moveable antiques
of every kind, that they might be exposed for
sale to the Europeans, in a bazaar built for the
purpose. Cleopatra's needle was presented to
the king of England by the Pacha, but its
weight, 400,000 pounds, is a serious bar to its
transportation. The ancient Alexandria, had a
population of 600,000 ; the modern contains
but 25,000. It is the seat of a patriarch. The
canal from Cairo to Alexandria, has improv-
ed the commerce of the place. It has two
harbors, of which the Western, or Old Har-
bor has the deepest water, and the best an-
chorage ; the New Port is more shallow and
exposed.
ALEXANDRIA, (U. S. A.) a city in the
District of Columbia, county of Alexandria,
situated on the right bank of the Potomac, six
miles south of Washington. Population in
1800, 4,190 ; in 1830, 8,203 ; blacks, 2,581. It
contains several public buildings. Its situa-
tion is rather elevated, and some of its streets
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are well paved. Its trade, which is principally
in flour, is facilitated, by its favorable situation
on the Potomac.
ALEXIS, or ALEXIUS PETROVITSCH,
son of Peter the Great of Russia, was born in
1690. His father, suspecting him of treason,
disinherited him in 1718. Not content with
this he had Alexis condemned to death, and
his sentence read to him, which created such
terror in his mind, that he died inconsequence,
although pardoned, in four days. The account
of his assassination in prison is wholly a fabri-
cation. He had a son who was afterwards
Peter II.
ALEXIS I (Comnenus) Greek emperor,
defeated by Robert Guiscard at Dyrrachium,and
by the Turks in Asia Minor. In conjunction
with the crusaders, he regained Nicaea, in
1097, but afterwards quarrelled with them. He
flourished from 1081, to 1118.
ALEXIS II (Comnenus) in consequence
of the misconduct of his mother, was compelled
to admit Andronicus Comnenus as his col-
league in 1183. This miscreant strangled him
in the year after.
ALEXIS HI (Angelus) having deposed
his brother Isaac, emperor of the enst, and put
out his eyes, thought his usurped sovereignty
secure. But he was besieged in Constantino-
ple by the French and Venetians, who reinsta-
ted Isaac. In Thrace, whither he had fled for
safety, Alexis fell into the hands of Theodore
Lascaris, who put his eyes out, and imprisoned
him in a monastery, where he died.
ALFIERI, Victor, Count, was born at Asti
in Piedmont, in 1749. His family was rich
and distinguished, but his education was ne-
glected, like that of most of the young Italian
nobles of his age and rank. Thus he quitted
the academy of Turin, with an undisciplined
and unformed mind, and joined a regiment in
the hope of finding something exciting in mili-
tary pursuits. But here he was disappointed,
the regiment was mustered only on a few days
in the year, and he was compelled to seek some
other mode of killing time. He travelled over
Italy, France, England, and Holland, but want-
ed the information to render his wanderings
profitable. On his return, he commenced the
study of history, but, disgusted with its details,
again set forth on his travels, from which he
did not return for three years. He brought
back the same restless and dissatisfied spirit.
He threw up his commission in the army, and
wrote a tragedy. The success of this first at-
tempt, induced him to persevere; but, aware
of his deficiencies, he resolved, in the first
place, to become acquainted with Latin and
Tuscan. On his journey to Tuscany, where
he proposed studying, he became acquainted
witli the Countess of Albany, to whom lie owed
much of his inspiration. Settling his fortune
on his sister, he resided alternately at Florence
and Rome, until the death of Charles Stuart,
put an end to the woes of the Countess of Al-
bany, and enabled her to marry him. They
lived together in Alsace and at Paris, until the
revolution in France drove Alfieri from a coun-
try he loved, to his native land, where he resi-
ded at Florence till his death, in 1803. He
was an ardent lover of freedom, but he mourned
over the crimes perpetrated in her name. Alfie-
ri's talents were great, but misapplied, and his
tragedies are rather valuable as indicating his
powers, than as establishing his fame.
ALFRED THE GREAT, king of England,
was born 849, and died 900. He was the young-
est son of Ethelwolf, king of the West Saxons,
and was born at Wantage, in Berkshire. He
went to Rome at the age of five years, and was
anointed by the Pope, although he then had an
elder brother. However, in 872, he ascended
the throne. This was an unpropitious time,
for the power of the Danes was then great and
employed in harassing the Saxons, whose coun-
try they ravaged in various directions. Alfred
concluded some treaties witli them, but they
were not kept, and, unable to make head
against the invaders, he was compelled to fly,
and in concealment to await a moment when
his re-appearance would be advantageous for
his country. In the disguise of a harper, he
penetrated the Danisli camp to gain informa-
tion of the strength and hopes of his foes, and
having satisfied himself of both, directed his
nobles and their vassals to assemble at Selwood.
Here he headed the troops, and, attacking the
Danes at Eddington, gained a signal victory.
He permitted those Danes, who were willing to
embrace the Christian religion, to remain in the
kingdom of East Anglia, which he surrendered
to them. He built forts to secure his subjects,
augmented and strengthened his navy, and
established the prosperity of London on a firm
basis. He defeated the Danes who still per-
sisted in attempting to obtain footing in Eng-
land, and made his name a terror to the pirates.
He had fought fifty-six battles by sea and land,
in every one of which he was personally enga-
ged. His zeal for the reformation of laws and
manners is as honorable to him as his military
prowess. He composed a code of laws,institu-
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ted the trial by jury, and divided England into
shires and tithings. So successful were his
regulations that it is said the crime of robbery
was unknown, and the most valuable goods
might be exposed upon the highway, without
any dread of thieves. Alfred lormed a parlia-
ment which met at London semi-annually.
He was an ardent lover of learning, and was
himself a distinguished scholar. To promote it,
he invited learned men from all parts, and
established schools throughout his kingdom.
He is said to have been the founder of the Uni-
versity of Oxford, or, at least, to have exalted
it to a height which it had never before attained.
University-college sprang from his liberality.
He composed several works, and translated
others for the benefit of his subjects. Among
his translations may be mentioned Boetius's
Consolations of Philosophy. He was industri-
ous and fond of order, dividing the twenty-four
hours into three equal portions; one devoted
to religious duties, another to public affairs,
and the third to rest. Alfred laid the foun-
dation of the navy of England, by build-
ing galleys of a size superior to that of any
of the age. In private life, he was distinguished
by piety, affability, and cheerfulness. His
person was commanding and stately.
ALGIERS, Regency of, was founded about
1518, by two brothers, Horuc and Hagradin,
or Khair Eddin, both of whom were surna-
med Barbarvssa or Red-Beard. The Christian
knights, having warred against the states of
northern Africa, and almost annihilated the
Moorish commerce, Selim and Soliman exhort-
ed their subjects to make reprisals, and to annoy
their Christian foes by committing extensive
piracies. The call was obeyed without reluc-
tance, and the Mohammedans, crowded beneath
the crescent, prepared to extend the terror
of their name upon the seas. The piratical
republic founded by the fierce chieftains above-
named, was the strong hold of religious fanati-
cism and authorised piracy. The barks of the
Corsairs swept the seas in triumph, and the
Algerines distinguished themselves above the
inhabitants of the other Barbary states, by the
fierce perseverance with which they pursued
their career of crime. A foreign soldiery elected
their chief in Algiers, and the Dey, chosen as
a general, was the first among his equals and
the ruler of the native races. The soldiers were
not permitted to marry, and had no participa-
tion in the government. The city of Algiers
(Al Jezira) was built by Zeiri, an Arab of distinc-
tion, in 944, and the family of this able man
was endowed with hereditary power by one of
the Fatimite Caliphs. The Zciritcs, as they
were called, luled until 1148, when Roger, king
of Sicily, and the Moravites, possessed them-
selves, at different times, of the whole of the
territory of Hassan Ben Ali. Algiers was an
independent sovereignty after 1'270. Ferdi-
nand, who fitted out an expedition against the
Barbary powers, in 1509, subdued Algiers, and
erected a strong castle on an island which com-
manded the entrance of the city. Horuc and
Hagradin, after the death of Ferdinand, were
summoned by the Algerines, and, appearing
with a strong squadron, were received with
every demonstration of joy. But Horuc caused
the emir Selim Entani to be strangled, and
himself to be proclaimed king, in 1518, by the
Turks, whose intolerance and cruelty drove the
natives to seek for assistance from the Span-
iards, but the fleet of the latter was destroyed
by storm. Horuc Barbarossa was killed before
Oran, where the Spanish governor defeated his
troops, and killed 1500 Turks.
Hagradin, his successor, being satisfied of his
inability to defend himself against the Chris-
tians, in 1519 sought the protection of the Sultan
Soliman, who accepted his proposals, made him
Pacha, and gave him 10,000 Janisaries. The
Spaniards found their position on an island
untenable, and, in 1519, it was connected with
the main land by a mole. Charles V under-
took the siege of Algiers, in the latter part of
1541. It was defended by Hassan, who had
been honored with the office of Pacha, after the
death of Hagradin, and who heard with some
alarm that Charles meditated an attack with
200 sail, and 30,000 men. The ships and camp
of the Christians were destroyed by storms
of uncommon violence, the destructive effects
of which were followed by the ravages of earth-
quakes. Charles lost his cannon, military stores,
and baggage, and was compelled to abandon
some of his scattered troops, while 15 ships of
war, 140 transports, and 8000 men perished in
the storm. This success inspired the Moors
with the liveliest joy, but they attributed it en-
tirely to the pious exertions of Sid-Atica, a
Maraboot, who employed himself diligently in
beating the sea with his stick, until the waves
lost all patience, and rising in a body, destroyed
the Christian fleet. The worthy old gentleman
was buried with great solemnity, and his bones
rest beneath a monument erected by his coun-
trymen. They are said to be gifted with the
magic power of his stick, and, employed upon
the waves with proper emphasis, capable of
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raising the wind to an incredible extent. Anti-
quity furnishes a belief in the efficacy of chas-
tising the waters, for Xerxes, enraged at the
turbulence of the Grecian waves, caused them
to be whipped with rods.
In 1703, the Spaniards unsuccessfully renew-
ed the war with Algiers. The Algerines
easily repelled the English, French, and Dutch,
the first of whom made a treaty with Algiers,
whose pride they humbled in 1816. The year
before, two United States' frigates had captured
a piratical frigate and brig of war, belonging to
the Algerines, and compelled them not only to
renounce their claim to all tribute, but to make
indemnification for the losses which we had
experienced from their piracies. In 1817, the
Algerines penetrated the North Sea, and there,
with surprising audacity, captured ships which
did not belong to tributary powers, or to those
who were exempted from their depredations by
treaty. Prisoners taken by these Corsairs were
treated with the greatest severity, and only
permitted to be ransomed at enormous prices.
Towards the latter part of their career, the
pirates professed to consider captives not in the
light of slaves, but as prisoners of war. Their
treatment, however, instead of being ameliora-
ted was more harsh than ever, and the corsairs,
although they respected the flags of America
and other strong powers, in violation of their
treaties, warred with the ships of weaker states,
and enforced the superiority of might over
right. The jealousy of the European States
for a long time favored the encroachments of
the Algerines, until the French prepared for
conflict with stern decision. One of the last
events in the reign of Charles X, was the entire
prostration of the power of Algiers. TheDey,
with his personal treasures, and women, was
permitted to retire, and selected Italy as a retreat.
The French secured their conquest and estab-
lished a government upon their own principles.
During the prosperity of Algiers, a struggle
was kept up with the Sublime Porte about the
appointment of the deys, and the Sultan finally
relinquished the claim of choosing them, and
retained but a nominal authority over Algiers.
The deys, whenever they displeased the fero-
cious soldiery they affected to rule, were deposed
and put to death. The lives of these men were
proverbially short, but we admit an exception
in the person of Mohammed III who died in
1701, after a reign of 23 years, at the age of 93.
Omar Pacha, the opponent of Lord Exmouth,
was murdered in 1817. Accordingly, Ali Ho-
dya, his successor, shut himself up in the castle
of Casaba, where, by means of hi3 fifty -six can-
non, and a garrison on which he could rely,
he maintained the ascendancy over the city
and the cruel Turkish troops, who had mur-
dered Omar. Hussein, successor of Hodya,
rendered cautious by experience, likewise occu-
pied this strong castle. The government of
Algiers was despotic, the dey possessing un-
limited power, but being assisted by a Divan
composed of his chief officers of state, and first
ministers. The common soldiers elected the
Dey, but no election was permitted without
unanimity in the electors. Therefore, when
there was a difference, the majority compelled
the weaker party to concur with them. The
new Dey espoused the principle of proscription,
and frequently put to death incumbents, for the
sake of making State offices open to his parti-
zans. He held a court of justice on four days
in the week, where proceedings were summary,
and condemnation was followed by punishment
at no long interval.
The State of Algiers lies between Tunis and
Fez. The city, which is strongly fortified, is
on the sea-coast. Algiers contains 89,300
square miles.
ALH AM A, anciently Jlrtigis Julia, a town
of Granada, in Spain, situated on the Motril,
15 miles from Granada. Population, 6,000.
The medicinal baths and romantic scenery of
this place have rendered it noted, but its fame
rests upon its historical remembrances. This
" Key of Granada," was taken by the Span-
iards, in 1481, after a most spirited resistance
on the part of the valiant Moors.
ALHAMBRA. The Alhambra was the for-
tified palace of the Moorish kings of Gra-
nada— a possession to which they clung with
their latest grasp, and which was the best
beloved spot in their terrestrial paradise. The
meaning of the Moorish name is the red city,
and it was so called in consequence of the color
of the materials employed in building. The
Spanish term it the Sierra del Sol, because, from
its situation on an eminence, it catches and re-
flects the first beams of the rising sun. The
palace composes but a small portion of the for-
tress, whose walls encompass the crest of a lofty
hill rising from the Sierra Nevada, or Snowy
Mountain. The fortress was at one time capa-
ble of containing forty thousand men. Above
the palace is the house of the Generalif, a
Moorish building, while a church dedicated to
St. Helena, crowns the ascent. There are two
palaces, the old Moorish palace, and that com-
menced by Charles V. The former exhibits
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49
AI.I
remains of the splendor of the arts among the
infidels. A striking portion of the palace is the
Court of Lions which is an hundred feet in
length, and fifteen in breadth, surrounded by a
beautiful colonnade seven feet broad at the
sides, and ten at the ends. Two splendid por-
ticoes, fifteen feet square, project into this
court. The square is paved with tiles — the
colonnade with white marble. The walls are
covered with tiles placed checker-wise, which
gives them a highly fanciful appearance. The
columns, upon which the roof and gallery rest,
are grotesquely ornamented and irregularly
distributed. The capitals abound with curious
devices, among which, however, there is no
representation of animal life. The fountain,
consists of twelve ill-shaped lions, bearing on
their backs a large basin, out of which rises a
smaller one. Here, when the pipes were in
order, water gushed from the inner basin, and,
passing through the lions, communicated by
channels with other apartments. The fountain
is of white marble and inscribed with Arabian
distiches, like the following, "Sees'tthou how
the water flows copiously like the Nile?" —
" The fair princess that walks by this garden,
covered with pearls, ornaments its beauty so
much, that thou mayest doubt whether it be a
fountain that flows or tears of her admirers.-'
The hall beyond the colonnade on the south
side was the place chosen by Abouabdoulah for
the execution of the Abencerrages, and their
bleeding heads fell, as fast as they were decapi-
tated, into the limpid waters of the fountain.
The hall of the Two Sisters, {Torre de las dos
Hermanns), was named from two beautiful slabs
of white marble, inserted in the pavement. El
Tocador, or the Tiring Tower, was appropria-
ted to the toilette of the Sultana, who, in one
part, had a marble slab in the floor perforated
with holes, to admit vapor and perfumes, for
the purification of her person. The king's bed-
chamber was furnished with fountains to cool
the atmosphere, and the royal baths were com-
modious and superb. Beneath were vaults
used as a cemetery by the Moorish monarch.
The regret of the Moors at leaving this place,
which wealth, art, and taste, had brought to a
degree of splendor which satisfied the imagina-
tion, can easily be conceived. They never
ceased to offer up prayers in their mosques for
their restoration to Granada. After it fell into
the hands of the believers, Alhambra continued
to be a royal demesne. Charles V abandoned
it as a residence in consequence of earthquakes ;
and Philip V, with his beautiful queen Eliza-
beth of Parma, was the last royal tenant of
this prince]}' abode. Subsequently it became,
infested by a lawless population which was ex-
pelled, but, owing to the culpable negligence
of officers, the palace was permitted to fall into
decay from which the Moorish portion was
partially lescued by the exertions of the French
troops garrisoned in it. The French, on their
departure, blew up part of the walls and de-
stroyed its importance as a military post. To
the historian, the poet, the antiquary, and the
artist, this relic of Moorish splendor possesses
an indisputable interest.
ALI, the cousin, and son-in-law of Moham-
med. When Mohammed assembling his kins-
men, and making known to them his pretended
mission, asked, who would be his vizier; Ali,
then only 14 years of age, started up and ex-
claimed : " I will ! Let but a man advance
against thee, I will pluck out his eyes, dash in
his jaws, break his legs, and tear up his belly.
O prophet, I am thy vizier." So well did he
keep his word, that he was called the Lion
of the Lord, the ever-victorious. He should have
succeeded Mohammed, but being opposed suc-
cessfully by Omar and Othman, he formed a
sect of his own, and gained many followers.
On the death of Othman, he was declared Ca-
liph, but was assassinated in a mosque, at Cufa,
in the G3d year of his age, 669.
ALI, pacha of Yanina, commonly called Ali
Pacha, was born of a noble family inTepeleni,
in 1744, and at the age of sixteen, when distin-
guished for beauty and daring, headed the
troops whom the death of his father left with
no other leader. Being defeated, he commen-
ced robber, but was so unsuccessful, that he
was forced to pawn his sabre to keep himself
from starving. As he was sitting, ruminating
upon the hardness of his destiny, and carelessly
turning up the ground with his staff, he struck
upon something hard. Curiosity induced him to
search further, and he dug up a chest of gold !
He now equipped a band of followers whose
cruelty and rapacity made them formidable.
Having rendered some service to the Porte, he
was made governor of some provinces in
Greece, but maintained himself in almost inde-
pendent sovereignty. Indeed he boasted that
he never had a master, and
" Laughed to scorn the death firman,
Which others tremble but to scan."
He became a formidable military potentate
between 1790 and J82I. In 1822, his capital,
Yanina, being taken, he was put to death by
ALL
50
ALP
order of the Sultan. He was brave and able,
but cruel, rapacious, false, ambitious and
suspicious. Pouqueville says that he had a
Greek lady, Euphrosyne, and fifteen othpr wo-
men thrown into the sea, because he suspected
that they exerted an undue influence over his
son. If he wished to possess himself of a beau-
tiful Greek girl, he sent his executioner to her
parents, with this message : " Your daughter
has found favor in the eyes of Ali." They
were then forced to surrender her, or fly.
A LIC A NT, (anciently Lucentum) a city and
port of Spain, on the Mediterranean sea, Ion.
2{) w.. lat. 38° 21 S. Population 25,300. Its
harbor is good, and it is the centre of commerce
between Spain and Italy.
ALLEN, Ethan, brigadier-general in our
revolutionary army, born at Salisbury, Con-
necticut. His parents removed to Vermont,
when he was quite young, and here he received
the greater part of his education. Prior to the
commencement of hostilities he had given
proofs of daring and enterprise. Soon after the
battle of Lexington, (1775), incompliance with
the request of the legislature of Connecticut, he
headed two hundred and thirty Green Moun-
tain boys, and marched against the fortresses
of Ticonderoga and Crown Point. At Castle-
ton he was to have been joined by a reinforce-
ment under Arnold, but the latter, unable to
raise the proposed force, set forward with the
Spartan band of Allen. On the night of the
9th of May, Allen landed eighty-three men
near the fort, having with difficulty procured
boats for the purpose. Day surprised him be-
fore his rear guard was brought over, and he
found himself compelled to attack the place.
He concluded an animated speech by saying,
" I am going to lead you forward— but the at-
tempt is desperate — and I wish to urge no man
onward against his will. Those who will fol-
low me, poise firelocks !" Every firelock was
immediately poised. On then, my boys !" said
Allen, and led the central file to the wicket
gate. He was opposed by a sentry , but brought
his men through the covered way, and formed
them on the parade.
The commanding officer, Captain de la Place,
was undressed. Allen, holding his sword over
him, demanding the surrender of the fortress.
"In whose name?" asked the commander.
"In the name of the Great Jehovah, and the
continental Congress." On the same day by
the capture of Crown Point, and the only armed
vessel on Lake Champlain, that important lake
was placed in his power. In conjunction with
Brown, he attempted the reduction of Montreal,
but being attacked by the British before Colo-
nel Brown's troops came up, he was defeated
and made prisoner. He was treated with great
barbarity in his captivity — carried to England,
and then to Halifax — thence to New York,
where he remained a year and a half, before he
was exchanged for Col. Campbell. His health
having been greatly impaired, he returned to
Vermont where he was appointed to command
the militia. His patriotism was firm, and he
indignantly rejected the bribes offered by the
British. He died suddenly, at his estate at
Colchester, February 13th, 1789. He published
some pamphlets, one of which contained an
open declaration of infidelity. He adopted the
most absurd ideas of the ancients, with regard
to the transmigration of souls ; but if we may
be permitted to believe the following anecdote,
his avowal of atheism was insincere. When
his daughter was dying, she sent for him, and
said ; " Father, I am about to die : shall I be-
lieve in what you have taught me, or in the
Christian principles my mother teaches?" Af-
ter a moment of convulsive agitation, he replied :
" Believe in what your mother has taught you."
ALMAZEZ, a town of Spain, carried by
assault by the British, under General Sir Row-
land Hill, 1812.
ALMEIDA, a strong fortress in Portugal, in
the province of Beira, on the Coa, near the
Spanish borders, containing 2,750 inhabitants.
It is famous for the defeat of the French, under
Massena, by the British under Lord Welling-
ton, 1811.
ALOADDIN, the old man of the mountains,
was prince of the Arsacides, or Assassins. He
resided in a castle between Antioch and Da-
mascus, and his followers professed a blind
devotion to his will.
ALP AIISLAN, the lion's whelp, second
Sultan of the Seljukian dynasty, succeeded to
the throne in 10(J8. He defeated the Greeks
under Romanus Diogenes, their emperor. He
was stabbed in 1072, by a desperate prisoner
whom he had sentenced to death.
ALPHONSO. Ten kings of Castile bore
this name. The tenth was an astronomer of
great repute.
ALPHONSO II I, the Great, king of Leon and
Asturias, succeeded his father in 8GG, at the
age of eighteen. He was successful against
the Moors, but the decline of his life was ren-
dered unhappy by civil disturbances. His sons,
instigated by the queen, waged war against
him, and were only quelled with a vast loss on
ALP
51
ALT
both sides. Alphonso abdicated in favor of his
son Don Garcia, but did not resign his paternal
care of the kingdom, for when the Moors
threatened it, he headed the Spanish troops,
gained a decisive victory and died at Zamora,
912, sixty-four years old.
ALPS, the loftiest ridge of mountains in Eu-
rope, whose branches connect with nearly all the
European mountains. Mount Blanc, the highest
mountain in Europe, is 15,304 feet (English)
high ; the great St. Bernard, 10,780. Separating
Italy from Spain, France and Germany, it would
seem as if they opposed an insurmountable bar-
rier to the march of conquest ; but they have
been several times crossed by large armies, the
expeditions of Hannibal and Bonaparte being
the most celebrated. Bonaparte, when first
consul of the French republic, passed the great
St. Bernard, in the year 1800.
Before the allies even knew of his departure,
he was in Valais, at the house of convalescence
belonging to the monks of St. Bernard ; there
he remained three days, acquiring a knowledge
of the local obstacles which he had to surmount.
From mount St. Bernard, the army began to
meet with obstacles which only genuine enthu-
siasm enabled them to contend against. They
had to draw their artillery along narrow paths,
in many places almost perpendicular ; and over
mountains of snow. A very small force would
have arrested their progress, but they met no
opposition. They reached St. Peter, near the
great mountain St. Bernard, on the 15th of
May, General Bcrthier acting as Bonaparte's
lieutenant. Here the whole park of artillery
was collected. The mountain they had to pass
over was all wild and barren, with a vast extent
of snow and ice, mingled with terrific silence.
Over this frightful mountain the mind of Bona-
parte conceived the possibility of passing his
army with all its artillery, baggage, &c. The
cannon, caissons, forges, &c. were immedi-
ately dismounted piece by piece ; a number of
trees were hollowed like troughs, in which the
pieces of cannon might safely slide, and five or
six hundred men drew them up these tremen-
dous heights ; the wheels were carried on
poles; sledges conveyed the axle-trees; and
empty caissons and mules were loaded with the
ammunition-boxes made of fir.
The consul took no more baggage than was
absolutely necessary. Five hours were con-
sumed in climbing as high as the monastery of
the Bernadines, where the good fathers gave
each individual a glass of wine; this, though
frozen, was to them delicious, and not one
would have exchanged it for all the gold of
Peru. There were still six leagues to go, and
the rapidity of the descent made that distance
truly terrible ; men and horses constantly fall-
ing, and often recovering with the greatest dif-
ficulty. The march commenced at midnight,
and did not finish till about nine o'clock the
next evening. For nearly fourteen leagues the
army had scarcely had a meal, or any repose.
yet, at the end of the journey, sleep hung so
heavily even upon the most robust of them, that
they resigned themselves to it without a strug-
gle, or a thought of their evening repast. Bona-
parte traversed a portion of the way attended
only by a peasant. He was dressed in the little
grey surtout and cocked hat, in which artists
delight to represent him. He conversed with
his companion, and learning that his wishes
centered in the possession of a little farm, in-
ternally resolved to gratify them. The farm
was presented to the peasant, whose delight and
surprise may be readily imagined.
ALSACE, previously to the revolution, was
a province of' France. On the east, it was
bounded by the Rhine, separating it from Swa-
bia, on the south by Switzerland and part of
Franche Comte ; on the west, by Lorraine, and
on the north by the Palatinate of the Rhine.
The fertility of this province is surprising, it
being the land of corn, oil, wine, flax, tobacco,
fruits of various descriptions, a country of
woodland and pasturage. Among its mineral
productions are silver, copper, iron, and lead.
The " arrowy Rhine," is the principal river of
Alsace, but it has several lakes. The common
language of the country people is German,
though French is understood and occasionally
spoken. The ancient inhabitants of this pro-
vince were thellauraci Sequani,and Medioma-
trici. The Celts lost it to the Romans, from
whom it passed to the Germans, and was won
by Clovis, in 496. In 8C9, it became a pro-
vince of Germany, and was governed by Ger-
man dukes, and under them, by Counts, who,
a century before the extinction of dukes, as-
sumed the name of landgraves. By the peace
of Paris, Nov. 20th, 1815, Landau, a part of
Alsace, was separated from France, to which it
had been annexed by the treaty of Ryswick,
and now again forms part of Germany. The
chief city is Strasburg, and the principal pro-
ductions wine, copper, iron, tobacco, flax, mad-
der, &c. &c.
ALTON A, after Copenhagen, the largest city
of Denmark. It is situated on the Elbe, in the
dutchy of Holstein, two miles from Hamburg.
A MB
52
AME
ALVA, Ferdinand Alvarez, duke of, descen-
ded from a noble family, born in 1508, distin-
guished himself in the career of arms at the
age of seventeen, and was at the siege of Pavia.
Charles V made him a general, and he was
commander at the siege of Mentz, where he
fought with desperate but unavailing valor, for
the siege was raised. He was noted for exces-
sive cruelty and superstition. In the campaign
against the pope, Alva compelled the pontiff to
sue for peace, and then went to Rome to sup-
plicate pardon for the offence. In 15(J7, he
was sent to the Low Countries by Philip II to
reduce them to the Spanish yoke. The cru-
elty of The Bloody Tribunal, a council which he
established, deluged the United Provinces in
their best blood. At first the arms of Alva
were successful, but the malcontents afterwards
gaining head, he relinquished the government
where he was afterwards employed. In Por-
tugal, he acquired renown by his success in
driving Don Antonio from the throne. He
died in 1582.
AMADEUS, the name of several of the
counts of Savoy, of whom Amadeus VI was
the most famous. He lent his powerful aid
to John, king of France, against Edward of
England ; and was the ally of John Paleologus,
(emperor of Greece) , in 1365. His reign of forty
years was glorious, and his death in 13815,
deeply lamented.
AMAZONS. Ancient writers give this name
to tribes of armed and warlike women of which
they enumerate three nations, the African,
Asiatic, and Scythian. Their arms were bows
and arrows, and they admitted no men into
their community. The accounts of them are
entirely fabulous. Amazonia, in South Ameri-
ca, derived its name from the supposition of
early travellers that it was peopled by armed
women.
AMBOYNA, the largest and most productive
of the Molucca or Spice Islands, the centre of
the nutmeg and clove trade, in the Indian
ocean. It is 30 or 40 miles in length. The in-
habitants are wild and rude, much given to
drinking. The population of Amboyna, when
taken by the English, in 1796, was about 45,-
252; 17,813 being Protestants. In 1024, the
merchants of the English factory were tortured
and put to death by the Dutch. The United
Provinces refused satisfaction to James I and
Charles I, but paid to Cromwell 30J,0(J0 pounds
as a small imdemnity.
A M BROSE, St. a noted father of the church,
born in Gaul, 340. His future greatness was au-
gured from the circumstance of bees swarming
about the lips of the infant in his cradle, as they
did about the mouth of Plato.
AMERICA, including a vast extent of terri-
tory, embracing every variety of climate, and
bearing within it, besides its precious ore and
gems, the germs of immense wealth, remained
undiscovered until the 1 lth of October, 1492,
when Christopher Columbus, a native of Ge-
noa, who had sailed from Spain with three
small vessels under the patronage of Ferdinand
and Isabella, the Castilian monarch, first beheld
a light on the shore of the new Continent, two
hours before midnight. On the ensuing day
he set foot in the New World. Columbus felt
the importance of the discovery, as, erecting the
cross, and surrounded by his crew and the wild
and wonder-stricken natives, he took possession
of the new country in the name of the sove-
reigns of Spain. The Christian adventurers
did not fail to kneel upon the sand, and
offer up their thanks for having been preserved
through the perils of a long voyage, and favored
with the most brilliant success to compensate
for all their perils. This island was called
Guanahcmi, by the natives, a name which Co-
lumbus altered to St. Salvador, and was one of
the Bahama islands.
It is worthy of remark, that the vast conti-
nent which Columbus discovered was not call-
ed by his name, but derived its appellation from
Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine navigator,
who made some subsequent discoveries, in
company with Alonzo do Ojeda, in 1499. Co
lumbus did not rest satisfied with his first suc-
cessful voyage or the fame which he acquired
by it, but he undertook others. He was, how-
ever, in the end, the victim of jealousy and in-
gratitude. The Spanish colonists at Hispaniola,
became discontented and preferred complaints
against him, sending home accusations and
remonstrances by every ship that sailed to
Spain. In consequence of this, Don Francisco
de Bobadilla, was sent out by the court, and
invested temporarily with the chief power, be-
ing permitted to use his own judgment in quel-
ling the disturbances of the colonies. This
person scrupled not to arrest Columbus and put
him in irons, from which he would not suffer
himself to be freed, when he was carried on
board the vessel, which was to bear him to
Spain. " No," said he, when the attendants
offered to remove them ; " the truth must be
apparent, and my patrons tire too noble, too gen-
erous to overlook me. Then, if fortune again
smiles upon me, these will serve as affecting
AME
53
AME
memorials of sorrow past : I will not part with
them, and I oven wisli that, when 1 am no more,
they may be suspended over my sepulchre."
When he again set foot in Spain, he might
have exclaimed, in the language of the pott;
** Arc these 1 lie wreaths of triumph you bestow
On those who bring you conquest home and honor 1"
Columbus was liberated immediately by royal
order, and received at court with great respect.
But though Bobadilla was recalled, Columbus
in vain supplicated to be restored to his go-
vernment ; he was put oft" by vague promises,
and the post finally given to Don Nicholas
Ovando, a practical as well as accomplished
man. Thus, after three momentous voyages,
and the acquisition of much fame, he found
himself displaced and thwarted in a point in
which he conceived his honor concerned, and
h's hard-earned authority torn from his posses-
sion. But it was not the nature of Columbus
to sink under his misfortunes ; on the contrary
with four small caravels, the largest being but
of seventy tons burthen, he set out on his fourth
voyage of discovery with the intention of com-
pleting the circumnavigation of the globe, vis-
iting the Indies, of which Vasco da (iaina bad
given so inspiriting an account. Leaving Ca-
diz on the 9th of May, 1502, be reached Mar-
tinique, one of the windward islands, June 15th.
Having touched at Cuba, he pursued a south-
westerly course, until he reached (iuanaja, an
island on the coast of Honduras, whose inhabi-
tants had attained a pretty high degree of civi-
lization. Their persons were covered with cotton
garments dyed with a variety of bright and
pleasing colors. He mentions a curious occur-
rence as taking place here. He had been pre-
sented, among other animals, with a peccary,
or American pig, and one of those monkeys
with prehensile tails, indigenous to America.
The peccary being thrown in the way of the
monkey, the latter, by a dexterous use of its
tail, confined the jaws of the pig in such a man-
ner as to expose it helplessly to the action of
the monkey's claws. " This appeared to me so
strange," Columbus writes to his patrons, " that
I thought fit to write it down for the informa-
tion of your majesties."
The admiral, in his endeavors to discover a
strait leading to the Pacific Ocean, encountered
great hardships and fatigues, which had a bane-
ful influence upon his health, and was finally
shipwrecked. Ovando was himself averse to
succoring Columbus, after a messenger had
acquainted him with the peril of his situation ;
but. the people of Hispaniola were so well-dis-
posed towards the admiral, that, for the sake of
maintaining his own reputation, he was forced
to send him relief. Columbus, arrived at St.
Domingo, met with a reception such as to
banish for a brief space, the remembrance of
his sufferings, but his bodily weakness could
not be disguised. When sufficiently recovered,
he set sail for Spain, arriving there on the 7th
day of November, 1504.
The services of this distinguished man were
indeed important. In his third voyage he had
discovered the continent of America; in his
last, had received intelligence of the immense
wealth of Mexico, which was destined to in-
crease to an enormous extent, the revenue of
Spain. Columbus vainly looked for the reward
of his services; ho had stipulated that certain
dignities and an income should be his, but he
found himself in hopeless indigence. His kind
patroness, the queen, was no more, and her
husband, stern and selfish, disregarded the
claims of the enterprising navigator. He evaded
the request of Columbus to be restored to the
vice royally of which he had been deprived,
and repeated disappointments, in connexion
with his bodily infirmities, hastened the death
of the latter, which took place at Valladolid,
on the 20th of May, 1506. The claims to the
first discovery of the New World, advanced by
Amerigo Vespucci, appear to be without foun-
dation, lie made, however, four voyages, and
was the first to publish an account of the new
countries. The work which he issued became
very popular and was soon translated into sev-
eral different languages. Hence, for convey-
ing a vast sum of information to mankind,
Amerigo Vespucci, attained a greater degree of
celebrity than he merited, ana, by the concur-
rence of all classes, gave his name to that ex-
tensive and important country which another
had discovered.
Various navigators, fired by the accounts of
the new world, and by the fame which Colum-
bus had acquired, entered the lists of honor,
determined to make themselves celebrated.
Vincent Yanez Pinzon, one of the companions
of Columbus, discovered Brazil, although Pe-
dro Alvarez Cabral is generally thought to have
been its discoverer. Etodrigo de Bastidas, and
the pilot Juan de la Cosa, sailed from Cadiz in
1500, made a profitable voyage in spite of
Si ' adverse occurrences, and added to the
stock of information upon the appearance and
affairs of the New World. An English expe-
dition was fitted out in 1497, under Sebastian
AME
54
AME
Cabot, who examined Newfoundland and the
continent in the vicinity of the river St. Law-
rence. Nunez de Balboa discovered the South-
ern Ocean, in 1513. He was transported with
delight as he beheld its waves sparkling in the
light of the sun, and appealing to glitter with
that gold which the natives told him abounded
in the country which extended to the south.
He then imagined that he had reached the In-
dies, a country which it was then the greatest
ambition of European adventurers to reach.
He acquainted the Spanish court with his dis-
covery, and solicited an appointment propor-
tionate to the extent of his services He was,
however, grievously disappointed; the govern-
ment of Darien was obtained by Davila, and
this rival, finding a pretext for wreaking his
vengeance upon Balboa, had him executed pub-
licly in 1517. There were many other voyages
undertaken by the Spaniards, which, did our
limits allow, we would gladly dwell upon. The
enterprise and success of Magellan, among oth-
ers, will not permit his name to be forgotten.
The Spaniards entertained the most exag-
gerated ideas of the wonders of the New World.
To most of them, it appeared a realm of magic,
a fairy -land, in which supernatural occurrences
were by no means infrequent. Thus Juan
Ponce de Leon, in 1512, fitted out three ships
from Porto Rico, of which he was governor,
and set forth in search of an Indian fountain
which was fabled to restore all who bathed in
it, even if they were tormented by the infirmi-
ties of extreme old age, to the freshness, vigor,
and beauty of youth. Although he failed to
find the fountain, he made the discovery of
Florida.
We have alluded to the immense extent of
America, which, including its islands, extends
over about one hundred and forty degrees of
latitude. The external appearance of the New
World, has much which presents a very marked
contrast to the superficial features of the old.
A stupendous chain of elevated mountains
traverses the whole continent, running from
north to south, and even under the equator,
where, upon the low lands the most intense heat
is felt, these tall mountains elevate their heads
into the region of intense cold. Every thing in
the New World appears to be of greater magni-
tude than the corresponding objects in the old.
The lakes are vast inland oceans, exhibiting in
storms, all the striking and sublime aspects of
the great deep, rolling as mighty waves, and
shaken by an equal convulsion. The rivers
are of prodigious size, and the plains of extra-
ordinary extent, Over those of South and
North America, countless herds of wild cattle
roam at will.
The New World was inhabited by a race of
men differing, in many respects, from the na-
tives of the Eastern Hemisphere. The Indi-
ans of North America varied, in many particu-
lars, from those of the southern portion of this
vast continent, and the aboriginal inhabitants
of Mexico, at the time when they were first
visited by the Spaniards, had attained a greater
degree of refinement than was found by the
Europeans in any other quarter of the New
World. It is notour intention to enter into the
long agitated and unsettled question of the ori-
gin of the aborigines of America; whether the
ancestors of the American Indians emigrated
from the Asiatic continent, or the inhabitants
of the eastern hemisphere swarmed from this,
it is at present impossible for us to decide.
Malte Brun has described their general per-
sonal appearance with his usual ability and
force in the following words: — "The natives
of this part of the globe are in general large, of
a robust frame, well proportioned, and without
defects of conformation. They have a bronzed
or coppery red complexion, as it were ferru-
ginous, and very like cinnamon or tannin ; the
hair black, long, coarse, shining and scanty;
the beard thin, growing in tufts; the forehead
short, the eyes elongated, and having the corn-
ers pointing upwards to the temples ; the eye-
brows high, the cheek bones projecting, the
nose a little flattened, but marked ; the lips
wide, the teeth serrated and sharp ; in the
mouth an expression of mildness, which is con-
trasted with a sombre, and severe, and even
hard expression ; the head rather square, the
face large without being flat, but diminishing
towards the chin ; the features taken in profile,
projecting and strongly marked ; the belly high,
the thighs large, the legs bowed, the foot large,
and the whole body squat.''
The North American Indians are distinguished
for a quick understandings retentive memory,
and a stoicism which would have excited the
envy of the ancient Grecian philosophers. War,
hunting, and fishing, are the employments of the
men, who devote but little care to the cultiva-
tion of the soil, which from its fertility, exacts
but little. The desire of revenge is one of the
most powerful excitements of the Indian. He
knows not of the principle by which a Chris-
tian returns good for evil. An Indian rarely,
if ever, forgets an injury, and the exceptions
are so few that they have been noted with some
A ME
55
AME
care. One anecdote, in particular, appears wor-
thy to be related.
An Indian, having wandered far from his
friends, found himself foot- worn and thirsty, in
the vicinity of a white man's dwelling. The
owner of the house was standing at the door.
The Indian approached and begged him for a
morsel of food and a cup of water to sustain his
sinking frame. "Begone! dog of an Indian !"
was the surly reply of the European. Some
years after this, the Englishman, being on a
hunting excursion, lost himself in the forests.
At the moment when he had relinquished al-
most all hope, he perceived an Indian wigwam,
and having applied for shelter, was welcomed
with ready hospitality. The Indian hunter to
whom the cabin belonged, busied himself in
making every arrangement for the comfort of
his guest. His horse was fed and cared for, a
supper was provided him, and, when the hour
of rest arrived, a bed of soft skins invited him
to repose his weary limbs. In the morning,
when the white man signified his desire to de-
part, the Indian offered to be his guide. Hav-
ing conducted him to the outskirts of the for-
est, the Indian pointed out his path. The
European thanked him, and prepared to take
his leave. " Stay yet a moment," said the In-
dian : " I clearly perceive that you do not
know me, but I know you well. Do you not
recollect that some ten years since, a poor In-
dian presented himself at your door and entreat-
ed you to give him a morsel of bread and a cup
of water ? You refused him. I am that red
man. I swore to be revenged. Am I not ?
Now go thy ways, and forget not to tell thy
white brethren, that there is at least one Indian
who can practice what they preach?"
We are unable to give a minute description
of the Indians ; — the horrors of their wars, the
fortitude of the captives, tortured at the stake,
the adoration they pay to the Great Spirit, their
superstitions and their sufferings, must be pour-
trayed by other pens. From the time of the
first European settlements in this part of Amer-
ica, the number of the Indians has dimi-
nished rapidly, and they are now reduced to a
mere handful, whom the wave of emigration is
fast rolling to the shores of the Western Ocean.
They have seen their hunting-grounds dimi-
nished, their forests swept away by their white
foes, and the smoke of the Christian village ri-
sing where once their council-fires blazed. But
in Mexico and many parts of South America,
where the natives had made some progress in
civilization at the time of the discovery of the
continent, the Indians have become fellow-cit-
izens with the whites, and the native or mixed
breeds compose the mass of the population.
The discovery of America awakened the en-
terprise of various nations of the Old World, and
they fitted out numerous expeditions to conquer
and colonize. North America, which is of vast
extent, its surface containing about eight mil-
lions of square miles, fell into the hands of the
English, French, and Spanish. Mexico, so
valuable for its mines of gold and silver, inhabi-
ted at the period of its discovery by intelligent
and peaceable nations, was conquered by Fer-
nando Cortez, a Spanish general, who scrupled
not to make use of the basest treachery, and to
shed the blood of the natives like water, to ac-
complish his purposes. Mexico was for a long
time attached to Spain, to which it furnished
immense wealth, but at present has a republi-
can government which it can hardly be said to
enjoy, the country is in such an unsettled state.
The eastern shores of North America, were
settled principally by the English. In spite of
the hostility of the Indians, the ravages of dis-
ease and hardship, the colonies increased rap-
idly. The population of the middle portion of
North America, now called the United States,
was estimated, in 1775, at about 3,000,000.
The number of the colonies was thirteen. Pov-
erty and oppression had first driven them from
their native land.
New-England was peopled by Puritans, as
they were called — men, who, being refused the
liberty of worshipping God in the form which
their consciences dictated, in their own land,
resolutely severed the ties which bound them
to a beloved, though oppressed country, and,
traversing a vast ocean, entered a land inhabi-
ted by savages, and encountering every peril
laid the foundation of a mighty empire in the
west. The mother country afforded them no
assistance, but, when, by their unaided efforts,
they had established their prosperity, she sent
forth magistrates to govern, or rather to oppress
them, and, by heavy taxes, endeavored to wring
from them the means of propping up the rotten
institutions of the parent island. In 1775, the
colonies took up arms in defence of their rights,
declaring their independence. The colonial
forces, inspired by the bravery, and directed by
the wisdom of George Washington, after a con-
test of eight years, vanquished the chosen troops
of Great Britain, and became independent.
The present form of government was determin-
ed upon in the year 1789. The United States
are twenty-four in number, each State having
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56
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a legislature, executive and judiciary, of its
own. All the States, however, are united un-
der a General Government; the legislative
power being in the hands of a Congress which
consists of a Senate and House of Representa-
tives, the members of which are chosen by the
different States which they represent. The
executive power is vested in the hands of the
President, assisted by subordinate officers. The
President and Vice-President, are chosen by the
State electors, and hold their offices for a term
of four years. The United States Judiciary
consists of seven Judges.
The British possess an immense territory in
North America, containing a white population
of about a million, and a great number of In-
dian tribes. The Canadas, New Brunswick,
Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and New Britain,
are the principal divisions of this territory.
The king of Great Britain appoints a Gover-
nor-General who rules over the provinces, and
in each province there is a Lieutenant-Gover-
nor, and a provincial legislature. The French
were the chief settlers in these countries, and
l-etained possession of them until 175'J, when
they were taken by the British. The contest
for the possession of the Canadas is memorable
for many gallant exploits, which are blazoned
on the page of English history.
The early history of the West Indies abounds
with details of the horrible cruelties of the Span-
iards, who scrupled not to adopt the most in-
human measures to complete the ruin of the
unhappy natives. They forced them to labor
in their mines, they wore out their frames by
the infliction of the most dreadful fatigues, and
changed the luxurious, peaceful, and happy life
of the islanders, into an existence of painful
toil, uncheered by a single ray of hope, or a sin-
gle scene of pleasure. They caused a large
number of the poor wretches to be torn to pieces
by blood hounds, whose sole occupation was
hunting the natives. The West Indies, with
the exception of Hayti, which is inhabited by
independent blacks, belong to European go-
vernments.
The riches of South America awakened all
the cupidity of the Spaniards, when they first
began to penetrate into that portion of the con-
tinent, and they treated its natives with the
greatest barbarity. At the time of its conquest
by Pizarro, an ambitious but unlettered Span-
ish adventurer, Peru contained a numerous
and civilized population. Cuzco was the seat
of empire, the residence of the Peruvian Ineas,
or Kings. They worshipped the sun and had
a magnificent temple, gorgeous with gold from
floor to roof. With some exceptions, these
people were inoffensive and intelligent. With
a force of one hundred and seventy foot sol-
diers, Almagro and Pizarro entered Peru about
1513. By artifice Pizarro gained the confidence
of the Peruvians, by treachery repaid it. When
the poor natives were finally roused to resis-
tance, the superior arms of the Europeans, ena-
bled them to obtain an easy victory. The
kings of Spain were envied by other European
monarchs, for the possession of the richest por-
tions of America ; but, as if in punishment for
the crimes of conquest, Spain has been forced
to behold tliose territories, obtained by guilt and
cruelty, glide, one by one, from her grasp, till,
poor and degraded, she retains but the bitter
recollections of the rank she once maintained
among the nations of the earth. But while Pe-
ru, Bolivia, New Grenada, Chili, and other
portions of South America, enjoy a republican
government, Brazil is still an empire. The
governments of South America are by no
means firmly established, and the fluctuations
of national policy, together with the prevalence
of bigotry, superstition and licentiousness, and
the want of education, prevent the South Ame-
rican from attaining that height of prosperity
and happiness to which a liberal and enlight-
ened government, a wise toleration in religion,
a firm tone of morality, and an excellent system
of public instruction, have raised the more fa-
vored inhabitants of the United States.
America is upwards of 9,000 miles in length,
and its average breadth is 1500 to 1800 miles.
It lies between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans,
extending from 5G° S. latitude, to an unknown
northern latitude. The lowest estimate of the
number of square miles it contains, places them
at 14,323,000. North America contains Green-
land, belonging to Denmark ; British America,
(including New Britain, Upper Canada, Low-
er Canada, New Brunswick, Newfoundland,
Prince Edward's Island, and Nova Scotia) ; the
Russian possessions in the northwest; the
United States ; Mexico, and Guatimala. South-
America contains New Grenada, Venezuela,
the Equator, Guiana, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia,
Chili, Buenos Ayres, or the United Provinces
of La Plata, Paraguay. Uruguay, and Patago-
nia. Between North and South America, lie
the West India Islands. Some of the principal
rivers are the St. Lawrence, Mississippi, Mis-
souri, Columbia. Mackenzie, Amazon, La Plata,
and Orinoco. Long chains of mountains run
through North and South America. In the
AMI
57
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former ate some of the largest fresh- water lakes
in the world — Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie,
and Ontario. Newfoundland, Cape Breton,
Prince Edward's, the Bermudas, Rhode Island,
and Long Island are some of the most impor-
tant islands belonging to North America.
AMERICUS VESPUCIUS, {Amerigo Ves-
pucci), a Florentine navigator of an ancient
family, born 1451. His first voyage to Ameri-
ca was made under Ojeda, a year after its dis-
covery by Columbus, and yet the vast continent
bears his name, while that of the actual discov-
erer is applied to it only by poetical courtesy.
Vespucci died at Seville in 1512.
AMES, Fisher, an eloquent American states-
man and writer, born in Dedham, Mass. April
9th, 1758. His parents were respectable. He
was educated at Harvard College, w,hich he
left with a high character for industry, regular-
ity and talent. After instructing a school for
some years, in 1781 he commenced the practice
of law, and becoming distinguished for his orato-
rical powers, and his success as a political essay
writer, was chosen member of the House of
Representatives in the state legislature. He
was next chosen Representative of Suffolk
county in the Congress of the United States,
in which he remained during Washington's ad-
ministration. On the retirement of Washing-
ton, Mr. Ames, whose health had been impair-
ed, occupied himself in farming at Dedham,
and practising law. But although his voice
was unheard in public, his pen was not inactive,
and the publication of various essays proved the
interest which he continued to take in politics
until the time of his death, July 4, 1808. Fisher
Ames had fine features, and a commanding per-
son, and his manner in speaking was expres-
sive, although not characterized by studied
grace. His conversational abilities are said to
have been of the highest order.
AMHERST, a flourishing post town of Mas-
sachusetts, in Hampshire county, 00 miles W.
of Boston. Its literary institutions are Am-
herst college, an academy, and a female semi-
nary.
AMHERST, Jeffery, lord, a British general
officer, born in 1717. He commenced his mili-
tary career in 1731, and regularly rose to the
rank of field marshal. He was at Dettingen,
Fountenoy, Rocoux, and commanded at the
siege of Louisburg, and reduced the Canadas.
He was successively Governor of Virginia, and
of the isle of Jersey, and Commander in Chief
of the British army. He died in 1798.
AMIENS, a celebrated city in Picardy, with
45,000 inhabitants. Here peace was concluded
between France and England in 1801.
AMPHITRYON, a fabulous prince of
Thebes, said to have been the grandfather of
Hercules.
AMSTERDAM, the capital of Holland, at
the commencement of the 13th century, was
nothing more than an insignificant fishing vil-
lage, composed exclusively of the huts of fish-
ermen. Its growth was not very rapid, although
in time it became a place of great importance.
It was formerly called Amstelerdam, the dam
or dyke of the Ainstel. It derives its name
from the river Amstel, and is situated at its in-
flux into the arm of the sea, called the Y or
Wye, forming a capacious port, two leagues
from the Zuyder Zea. The city stands upon a
marshy soil, in consequence of which the buil-
dings are raised on oaken piles ; whence the jest
of Erasmus, who said, " that in his country the
people lived on the tops of trees." In 1490
Mary of Burgundy encompassed the city with
a brick wall, to protect it from the incursions of
the inhabitants of Utrecht, who were frequent-
ly involved in quarrels with the Hollanders.
Soon after the erection of this wall, the city was
burnt to the ground. In 1512 it was besieged
by the people of Guelderland, who, rinding then-
selves baffled in their attempt to take the city,
fired the vessels in the harbor. The scene pre-
sented by the burning ships was awfully grand ;
— the waters appeared like a sea of molten gold,
over which a thousand volcanoes poured their
volumes of fire, while the roaring of the confla-
gration was like the voice of a tempest. The
Anabaptists, in 1512 and 1525, filled the city with
commotion and bloodshed. An insurgent chief,
Van Geelen, headed a conspiracy which had
for its object the subversion of the magistracy of
Amsterdam, and the assumption of power by the
rebels. Van Geelen fixed his head quarters in
the town house, where his fanatical troops dis-
played their banners, and gave every evidence
that they considered their victory certain. But
the burghers attacked them with great spirit
and "resolution, and the fanatics being surroun-
ded, were put to death to a man.
In 1573, Amsterdam, after a siege of ten
months, capitulated to the Hollanders, stipula-
ting that the Roman Catholics should be allow-
ed the free observance of their religious rites.
The Protestants, however, did not maintain the
agreement, but drove the Catholics" from the
city, destroying the altars and the images.
From that time, persons of all sects and nations
came to the city, and the united exertions of ail
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58
ANA
succeeded in raising it to a high rank, and ren-
dering it famous for its opulence and industry.
Amsterdam is intersected by numerous canals,
which divide the city into islands, between
which are built numerous bridges, of stone, and
wood. Of vast commercial importance, these
canals give the streets through which they pass
a highly picturesque and pleasant appearance,
fdling the air with freshness, and reflecting the
long rows of trees and houses which line their
banks. Complaints, however, are made of the
effluvia arising from them in calm and warm
weather. The Ammarach, a canal formed by
the waters of the Ainstel, is the- principal, and
flows beneath a number of bridges of which the
Pont Neuf is the most elegant. This bridge is
600 feet long and has 36 arches.
A singular feature in the scenery of Amster-
dam is the enclosure of the city on the side of
the haven or Wye, by means of piles, which
are driven into the ground, and connected with
immense horizontal beams, affording openings
sufficiently ample for the ingress and egress of
ships. These are closed every evening. The
port is a mile and a half long, and crowded with
vessels whose towering masts attract the eye,
and give a lively appearance to the scene.
The streets of Amsterdam, although narrow,
are well-paved, and exhibit that charming neat-
ness, which is peculiar to the Dutch, and which
is equally conspicuous in their walks and in
their smart brick or stone buildings. The pop-
ulation of Amsterdam is estimated at more than
200,000 person s. The government is exclusive-
ly in the hands of Protestants, although there is
no want of toleration to those who differ from
the established tenets. The New Church, dedi-
cated to St. Catharine, is said to have been be-
gun in 1408, or 1414, and to have occupied a
century in its erection. The interior is adorn-
ed with sculpture, and the paintings on the
glass windows are of the richest description.
The superb organ has been celebrated through-
out the world. The church contains a marble
monument, erected to the memory of Admiral
Ruyter.
The stadthouse is a beautiful building, erect-
ed on 13,650 piles. It was founded in 1648. Its
breadth is 282 feet, its depth 235, height 116.
The whole of this fine building exhibits proofs
of the characteristic neatness and industry of
the Dutch. Beneath the stadthouse are the
vaults of the Bank of Amsterdam, the prisons
for debtors, criminals, &c. At the top of the
building are six large cisterns of water, to be
used in case of fire, against which, however,
the greatest precaution is taken. The exchange
which is built of freestone, stands upon 2000
wooden piles, is 250 feet in length, and 140 in
breadth. The interior galleries rest upon 26
marble columns. The arsenal is a place of im-
portance, and there are also schools, academies,
hospitals and other public buildings. The prin-
cipal houses of correction are the rasp-house,
and the spin-house. In the former offenders
are employed sawing and rasping Brazil-wood.
Those who obstinately refuse to work are car-
ried into the cellar into which water is flowing,
and, unless they work briskly at the pump, they
are in danger of drowning. In the spin-house
women are compelled to spin wool, flax, and
hemp.
The senate or council of Amsterdam was
composed of 36 persons representing the whole
body of the people. It was called the Voeds-
chap. Their office was for life, and in case of
the death of one, the survivors elected a succes-
sor. The burgomasters or echevins whose of-
fice resembled that of aldermen, were appoint-
ed by the senate, and were 12 in number. Out
of these, four were chosen annually, to execute
the office, and were styled burgomaster's re-
gent. Three were discharged annually and their
place supplied. In criminal cases, there was
no appeal from the college of new burgomasters,
who were judges; but in civil actions, the
council of the province constitutes a court of
appeal.
In early times Amsterdam was strongly forti-
fied, but, in consequence of various alterations,
it can now be defended only by inundating the
surrounding country. The new canal from
Amsterdam to Niewe Diep is an immense work.
The canal is 50 miles and a half long, and so
broad as to admit of one frigate passing another.
This canal will greatly improve the commerce
of the city, as it removes the necessity of un-
loading large vessels, which must be done be-
fore they can pass through the harbor.
AMURATH II, in 1422, succeeded his father
Mohammed I. Numerous pretenders contested
his claim to the crown, which, after he had
quelled opposition, he relinquished to his son,
Mahomet, but emerged from his retirement
when the latter was found inadequate to the
imperial station. Whenever he encountered
the Hungarians and Janizaries, he defeated
them. He died in 1451 aged 47.
ANABAPTISTS, a religious sect, whose
name was given them from their disbelief in
the efficacy of infant baptism. They claim his-
torical notice on account of their insurrec-
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59
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tion against the civil authority of Munster. and
other German provinces. Their fanatical leader,
John of Leyden, a tailor, defended himself in
Munster for a whole year. After this, the pun-
ishment of the leaders quelled the insurrection.
Munster was taken, June 24, 1535.
AN ACREON, a Greek lyric poet of Teos, in
Ionia, who flourished 500 years B.C. Polycrates,
king of Samos, was his patron until his death.
At Athens he was encouraged by Hipparchus,
but the fall of the latter drove him from Athens,
and he passed an old age of gaiety at Abdera,
where he was choked by a grape-stone in his
85th year. He was the poet of love and wine,
and much honored by the Greeks.
ANAXAGORAS, one of the Ionic philoso-
phers, born at Clazomene, in Ionia, 500 B. C.
died at Lampsacus at the age of 72.
ANAXIMANDER, a disciple of Thales,
whose chief study was mathematics, born at
Miletus, 610 B. C., died 546 B. C. He made
some scientific discoveries.
ANCUS MARTIUS, succeeded Tullus Hos-
tilius, the 3d king of Rome, 640 B. C. and died
618 B. C. He was a conqueror, improved the
navigation of the Tiber, and established good
laws.
ANDALUSIA, the richest province of Spain,
bounded north by Estremadura and La Mancha ;
east, by Murcia ; south by the straits of Gibral-
tar, and west by Portugal. It is divided into Up-
per and Lower, the former of which compre-
hends Granada, and the latter Jaen, Cordova,
and Seville.
ANDOVER, a township of Massachusetts,
in Essex county, 20 miles N. of Boston, on the
right bank of the Merrimack River, and water-
ed by the Shawsheen. It is a pleasant and
flourishing town, and contains 4,540 inhabit-
ants. Its theological seminary is noted.
ANDRE, Major. Among the various events
which contributed to give a distinctive char-
acter to the war of our Revolution, the fate cf
Major Andre, a young English officer, can
never be forgotten, nor the sad story of the
close of his life ever read without a deep and
painful interest. This young man was hand-
some, talented, brave, enthusiastic, generous,
and accomplished, beloved by all his acquaint-
ance, without distinction of country. He en-
tered the royal army with high hopes, and was
well fitted to adorn an elevated station. His
history is connected with that of the worst
traitor who ever disgraced the name of Amer-
ica. This man was General Arnold. His
unrepressed extravagance had led him to incur
heavy debts which he saw no means of dis-
charging, but by accepting the gold of the
British, as the price of treason to his country.
In September, 1780, Arnold was in command
of West Point, a military post on the North, or
Hudson river, New York, which was of vast
importance to the Americans. To give noto-
riety to his apostacy, Arnold had selected this
fortress, which was almost impregnable from
natural defences, and from fortifications, on
which no care or expense had been spared.
Arnold had opened a correspondence with Sir
Henry Clinton, under fictitious names, and the
pretence of mercantile business, through Major
Andre, then holding the rank of Adjutant-Gen-
eral. The young officer was conveyed up the
river in the Vulture sloop of war, and, under a
pass for John Anderson, came on shore in the
night, and had an interview witli Arnold.
Morning surprised them before their business
was transacted, and, as it was impossible for
Andre to get on board the Vulture by daylight,
he consented to remain hidden till the next
night. In the course of the day, the Vulture
altered her position, in consequence of a gun
being brought to bear upon her, and, for this
reason, the boatmen, at night, refused to take
Andre on board.
The young officer now found himself com-
pelled to attempt to get to New York by land.
Arnold gave him a pass, granting permission to
John Anderson, " to go to the lines of White
Plains, or lower if he thought proper, he being
on public business." Changing his uniform,
which he had previously worn under a surtout,
for a plain coat, he mounted a horse, passed the
American guards in safety, and was congratu-
lating himself on his escape, when three militia
men, suddenly appearing, seized his bridle-
rein, and demanded his business. Surprised,
and off his guard, he did not produce his pass,
but hastily asked the men where they belong-
ed. " Down below," was the answer, meaning
New York. "So do I;" replied Andre, re-
joiced to find them friends. But he wa^s mis-
taken, and being pressed, he finally declared
that he was a British officer. He begged
them to suffer him to pursue his way, offer-
ing them gold, and a watch of great value.
John Paulding, David Williams, and Isaac
Van Wert, were poor men — their dress bespoke
it — but they loved their country, and despised
a bribe. They might have answered Andre, in
the words of another American, on another
occasion : " your king has not gold enough
to buy us." They carried Andro before Lieut.
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60
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Col. Jameson, who commanded the troops on
the lines. The captors of Andre were rewarded
by Congress with an annual pension of two
hundred dollars each, and a silver medal bear-
ing on one side a shield inscribed " Fidelity ;"
and on the other the motto "Amor Patriaa ;"
love of country.
Andre still passed as John Anderson. He
generously wished to save Arnold, and asked
permission to write to him. This the com-
manding oflicer incautiously permitted, al-
though in Andre's boots there had been found,
in the hand writing of Arnold, returns of the
state of the forces, and the condition of West
Point, with other important papers. Immedi-
ately on the receipt of the letter, Arnold escaped.
He was at dinner when the letter arrived. Ab-
ruptly leaving the table, he ran down a steep
bank, threw himself into a boat, and was rowed
to the Vulture, which immediately got under
sail, and carried the traitor to New York. Gen.
Washington was soon apprized of the circum-
stances, and the same express which conveyed
the intelligence, carried a letter from the pris-
oner, frankly avowing his name and the cir-
cumstances under which he had been foiced to
appear as an impostor. All the American offi-
cers who saw Andre, were struck with his
candor and manliness, and there was not one
who did not feel for his situation.
The consideration of his case was referred by
General Washington to a board of fourteen
general officers, of which General Green was
President, and Generals Steuben and La Fay-
ette were members. It was decided that he
ought to be regarded as a spy, and the stern
rules of war, and the necessity of an example,
required that he should die upon the gibbet.
He begged of Washington to be allowed to die
as a soldier, but the patriotism of the General
refused, what his feelings would have granted.
Led to the place of execution, Andre, survey-
ing the instrument of his fate, asked with
concern, " Must I die by this ? I am reconciled
to my death, but oh! not to the mode." Re-
covering his composure, he added : " It will be
but a momentary pang." His countenance
was unruffled, and calm, to the very last mo-
ment of his life ; — the instant before he was
launched into eternity, it exhibited a sunny
serenity and high magnanimity which touched
the hearts of all ! At the last moment he was
asked if he wished to say any thing. " But
this," he replied: "You will witness to the
world, that I die like a brave man."
The kindest attentions were bestowed on
Andre by the American officers, particularly
by General Hamilton, who did all in his power
to soothe him, and has described his character
with his usual happy felicity. Far different
was the treatment of the pious and patriotic
Captain Hale, a young American officer, who
was taken as a spy, and ordered to be executed
the next morning. He begged the use of a
bible ; which was refused ; to be allowed to write
a letter to his mother ; which poor privilege was
also denied him. " The Americans," said the
British commander, " shall not know that they
have a rebel in their army who can die with so
much firmness." On the occasion of the capture
of some young American officers upon Long Isl-
and, they were brought before Sir Henry Clin-
ton, who thus addressed them. Gentlemen, do
you know that I can hang every man of you as
rebels, taken in arms against the king." " Hang
and be hanged ! " bluntly exclaimed Lieut.
Dunscomb, with the energy of a rough soldier ;
" I have lived for my country, and I am not
afraid to die for her."
Andre's ashes were secured by the British,
and conveyed to England, where a monument
is erected to him in St. Paul's, London. He
possessed some literary abilities, and wrote a
poem called the Cow Chase.
ANDREWS, St., a city of Scotland, on the
Firth of Tay, 39 miles from Edinburgh. Pop-
ulation 5621. It has two universities, and for-
merly had a greater extent than it has at present.
In 1559, the reformers, with mistaken zeal, de-
stroyed its splendid cathedral.
AN DROCLUS, or Androdus, a Dacian slave,
who was exposed in the arena of a Roman cir-
cus, to fight a lion ; but the animal forbore to
injure him, because he had formerly extracted
a thorn from his foot while in the Dacian wilds.
Androclus was released, and used to lead the
friendly lion about the city.
ANDROMACHE, the faithful and affection-
ate wife of Hector, prince of Troy, of whom she
was so fond, as to feed his horses with her own
hands. After his death, she was married to
Neoptolemus, to whose share the lovely captive
fell, and afterwards to Helenus, son of Priam.
ANDROMEDA, daughter of Cepheus, king
of Ethiopia, by Cassiopeia. She is fabled to
have been exposed by Neptune to a sea mon-
ster, from which she was delivered by Perseus.
An explanation of the fable is offered in the
supposition that she was courted by the captain
of a ship, who attempted to carry her away, but
was baffled by the enterprize and activity of a '
more faithful lover.
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AN1
ANGELO, Buonarotti, Michael, was of a
noble and ancient family, and born at Caprese,
or Chiusi, 1474, Any one of his high quali-
ties would have made the fortune of an ordi-
nary man. He was a distinguished painter,
sculptor, architect, and poet, and " cunning
of fence." The beauty of the Sistine Chapel
consists principally in the perfection of his
paintings. At 50 years old, he commenced
painting the Last Judgment in the Sistine
Chapel, in which the grand and gigantic char-
acter of his mind is shadowed forth. Embrac-
ing a multitude of figures in various attitudes,
and with difFerent expressions, it is an unwea-
rying object of contemplation for the artist and
lover of the fine arts. Between Michael An-
gelo and Raphael, there was a warm rivalry,
the former never forgetting that Raphael had
perfected his style, only after having diligently
studied the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel.
The Farnesian family had built a house upon
the bank of the Tiber, in the street delta Lon-
gera. Cardinal Farnese, wished to have the
halls adorned by the pencil of Raphael, to give
additional beauty to this charming place. The
artist accepted the proposals of his eminence,
but stipulated that no one should inspect his
work until it was finished. But the friends of
Raphael spread abroad highly-colored reports
of the triumphs which the painter had achieved,
praising in especial, the Banquet of the Gods,
the Nuptials of Cupid and Psyche, and The
Triumph of Galatea. These reports inflamed
the curiosity of Buonarotti, and he swore by
the Inferno of Dante, that he would gain admis-
sion into the Farnesian villa, examine the
works of Raphael, and prevent their completion.
Michael Angelo, having discovered that Ra-
phael went late to his work, disguised himself
as an acquavitaro, vender of brandy, and taking
with him a huge basket filled with biscuits and
brandy, directed his steps at an early hour to
the gate of the Farnesian palace. His cries of
"brandy! brandy!" roused the masons — the
gate was opened, and the acquavitaro admitted
in a twinkling. Behold, Michael Angelo in
the interior of the Farnesina ! The workmen
were soon busily employed upon the biscuits
and the brandy, and he passed through the cor-
ridors, and was soon before the frescoes of
Raphael. The fine picture of Galatea attracted
his attention, and, noticing a scaffold and a wall
in readiness fur the painter, he ascended and
drew with a piece of charcoal, a gigantic head
of Jupiter, after which he left the villa precipi-
tately, without stopping for his basket. When
Raphael arrived at noon, on beholding the
splendid head, he exclaimed, " Michael An-
gelo ! " From that day he painted no more in
the Farnesina, and his works remained unfin-
ished. The head which Michael Angelo de-
signed, remains still upon the wall, and covered
with a glass, attracts the admiration of artists
and connoisseurs.
ANGLES, a tribe which occupied the coun-
try between the Weser and the Elbe, now a
part of Prussia. Their piraces made them
notorious at an early period, and in the fifth
century, uniting with the Saxons, their power-
ful neighbors of the north, under the name of
Anglo-Saxons, they effected the conquest of
England. A small tract of land near the Da-
nish peninsula, where some of them remained,
is called at the present day, Angeln.
ANGLESEA, or Anglesey, the Monaof the
ancients, an island and county of North "Wales,
situated in the Irish Sea. It has a population
of 48,325. Its length is 24 miles, and its breadth
17. The fertility of the soil adapts it for graz-
ing, and grain and cattle are its principal pro-
ducts. Over the strait of Menai which separates
it from Wales, a fine suspension bridge has
been erected.
ANGOLA, a country of Western Africa,
including the range of coast from 1 to 12 deg.
S., from which 40,000 slaves are obtained an-
nually. The Portuguese settled there in the
middle ages.
ANGORA, Ancyra, or Angoura; a city of
Natolia, or Asia Minor, 212. miles from Con-
stantinople, and containing, perhaps, 50,000
souls. Its hilly environs are thickly studded
with delicious gardens, but the once strong
fortifications of this delightful city, are decayed.
The Angora shawls rival those of Cashmere ;
the hair of the native goat furnishing the mate-
rials. A considerable manufacture of these is
carried on, although the trade of the place is
no longer what it was. It is built on the site
of the ancient Ancyra. Here Bajazet, the
famed sultan of the Ottomans, was taken pris-
oner by Tamerlane, in 1402.
ANICH, Peter, a poor peasant of the Tyrol,
whose aptness for the study of astronomy and
geography was not developed until he was 28
years old. He was born in 1723, at Oberpor-
fess, near Inspruck, and died in 1766. He
was encouraged by the Jesuits, and made a
celestial and terrestial globe, with several math*
ematical instruments, remarkable for neatness.
Under the patronage of the empress Maria
Theresa, he drew a map of the Tyrol.
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ANJOU, anciently a fertile, well-watered,
and productive province of France, now form-
ing the department of Maine and Loire. Be-
fore the revolution, it was estimated to con-
tain upwards of 90,000 families. Angers is the
chief town. The province has alternately be-
longed to the crown, and been bestowed upon
princes of the blood. Louis XV conferred it
on his grandson, Stanislaus, count of Provence,
afterward Louis XVIII.
ANKERSTRCEM, John Jacob, the murderer
of Gustavus III. Originally a page at the
Swedish court, he was at length raised to the
rank of ensign of the royal guards. He joined
a conspiracy the members of which thirsted for
the blood of their monarch. Ankerstrcem wish-
ed to make the deed of blood his own, but the
Counts Horn and Ribbing contended for it;
lots were drawn, and Ankerstrcem obtained the
post of murderer. At a masquerade at Stock-
holm, he accomplished his purpose by dischar-
ging a pistol at the king. Having been disco-
vered and condemned, he was scourged in prison
for several successive days, dragged on a cart to
the scaffold, and executed April 29, 1792, glo-
rying in the deed, and bearing all his sufferings
with singular fortitude. He died at the age of
31 years.
ANNA, a heathen goddess, in whose honor
the Romans instituted festivals. Several fabu-
lous explanations of the origin of these celebra-
tions have been given, but the most probable is
the least remarkable ; viz. that Anna was an
industrious old lady of Bovillas, and her apoth-
eosis the reward of her kindness in daily
supplying the Romans at Mount Sacer with
cakes.
ANNA, Ivanowna, empress of Russia, daugh-
ter of Ivan, and niece of Peter the Great. She
succeeded Peter II, son of the unfortunate
Alexis, in 1730. Anna displayed great boldness
in the very commencement of her reign, refused
to renounce a single privilege enjoyed by the
czars, and proclaimed herself autocrat of all the
Russias. She waged war against the Persians,
Poles, and Turks. She was born in 1693, and
died 1740.
ANNAPOLIS, a city and port of entry in
Ann Arundel county, Maryland. It is situa-
ted on the S. W. side of the Severn, two miles
from its mouth, forty miles E. N. E. of Wash-
ington. Population 2623. It is the seat of
the state government and contains several fine
public buildings. Annapolis Royal, is a city of
Nova Scotia with a good harbor.
ANNE, queen of England, second daughter
of James II, previously duke of York, born 1664.
In 1683, she married prince George, brother of
Christian V of Denmark. In 1688, she joined
the party which invited the prince of Orange to
aid in dethroning his father-in-law. She as-
cended the throne, on the death of her sister
Mary, and of William III, in 1699. During her
reign Gibraltar was taken by the English. Her
brother James (the pretender), vainly attempted
to set foot in Scotland, and Anne, with great
reluctance, set a price upon his head. She
seems privately to have entertained for a long
time the hope of securing the succession to her
brother, and was much grieved when convinced
of the futility of such expectations. Anne died
July 20th, 1714, her dying words being, " O,
my dear brother, how I pity thee !" She pos-
sessed moderate abilities, but was amiable as a
wife, mother, and sovereign, and distinguished
by the grateful title of good Queen Anne. Her
reign was made brilliant by the successes of the
English arms, and the writings of the authors of
the day, among whom, were Pope and Addison.
ANNE of Austria, queen of France, was
daughter of Philip III, of Spain. She became
the wife of Louis XIII, in 1615, but lived upon
bad terms with him. On the death of Louis,
she became sole regent during the minority of
her son, Louis XIV, but made herself unpopu-
lar among her subjects by reposing unbounded
confidence in Cardinal Mazarin. Affairs as-
sumed so threatening an aspect, that she was
compelled to leave Paris. Tranquility was re-
stored at length, and when her son assumed
the reins of power, in 1661, she went into retire-
ment in which she lived till her death, in 1666.
ANNE, daughter of John III, duke of Cleves,
was married to Henry VIII of England, who
fell in love with her picture. He was soon,
however, disgusted with the Flanders mare, as
he contemptuously termed her, and she quietly
returned to her native land, where she died in
1557, happy in escaping the death which the
sanguinary tyrant inflicted upon Anne Boleyn.
ANSELM, a distinguished archbishop of
Canterbury, (England,) who, in the early part
of the 12th century, maintained the powers of
the church, in opposition to those of the crown.
ANSGAR, or Anshgar, a saint of the Ro-
mish church, born in Picardy, in 800, died in
865. He was called the Apostle of the North,
from his zeal and success in introducing Chris-
tianity into Denmark and Sweden.
ANSON, George, lord, was born in 1697, at
Shugborough manor, in Staffordshire, England,
and entered the navy at an early age. In his
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27th year he obtained the rank of post-captain,
and when, in 1739, a war with Spain appeared
' inevitable, he was made commander of a fleet in
' the South Sea. He sailed Sept. 18th, 1740, but
encountering a violent storm, was prevented, for
three months, from doubling Cape Horn, and
• was rejoined at Juan Fernandez, by only three of
his vessels in a wretched condition. The ori-
ginal number was eight, five men of war, and
three smaller vessels. He sailed for the coast of
Peru, made some prizes, and burned the town of
Paita, but, failing to intercept the annual Ma-
, nilla galleon, found himself compelled to burn
I his booty, and destroy all of his vessels but one.
Having equipped this one (the Centurion), he
retreated to Tinian, one of the Ladrone islands.
After having met with some disasters, he
finally sailed for Macao, which he reached in
safety, and there formed the plan of taking
Acapulco. To accomplish this bold purpose,
j he gave out that he had returned to England,
■ and this deceptive report circulated with great
rapidity. Meanwhile, he directed his course to
the Philippines, cruising in the vicinity of
Cape Espiritu Santo. After about a month,
the long expected galleon appeared, and, con-
fident in her superior strength, eagerly com-
menced the fight. The British fought with
that cool, dauntless valor, for which they are
; distinguished, and succeeded in making aprize
of the galleon, which was worth £400,000.
i The whole amount of the booty previously ta-
ken was £600,000. Anson then returned to
I Macao, where he disposed of his prize. The
i Chinese were inclined to insult his flag, but he
1 maintained his rights with his characteristic
! pertinacity. From Macao, he sailed for Eng-
! land, which he reached June 15th, 1744, hav-
j ing escaped the French fleet which lay in the
I channel. Anson's perilous voyage threw new
; light upon geography and navigation, and con-
ferred lasting benefits upon the cause of science.
He was liberally rewarded for his bravery and
perseverance, being made, soon after his return,
fear-admiral of the blue, and at no great distance
from that period, rear-admiral of the white. In
1747, he gained a brilliant victory over the French
admiral, Jonquiere, off Cape Finisterre, and
was consequently raised to the peerage with the
title of Lord Anson, baron of Soberton. L' Invinci-
ble and La Gloire, two French vessels, were ta-
ken by Anson on this occasion, and the captain
of the former, on surrendering his sword, said,
" Monsieur, vous avez vaincu V Invincible, et la
Gloire vous suit." "Sir, you have conquered
the Invincible, and Glory follows you."
Lord Anson was made first lord of the admi-
ralty, four years after his elevation to the peer-
age. In 1758, he commanded the fleet before
Brest, protecting the landing of the English,
and receiving them after their repulse. He
died in 1762.
ANSTEY, Christopher, a poet of the 18th
century, born in 1724, died in 1805. His New
Bath Guide, published in 1766, became imme-
diately popular from its humor, wit, and origi-
nality.
ANTAEUS, the fabulous son of Neptune and
Terra (the Earth), of gigantic stature. He re-
sided in Libya, where he challenged every
stranger to single combat. What made him
peculiarly formidable, was the circumstance of
the renewal of his strength by his mother, eve-
ry time he was thrown to the earth. Hercules,
having found out the secret of his prowess,
overcame him by lifting him in the air, and
crushing him in his iron grasp. The dwelling
of this monster was adorned with the skulls of
his vanquished adversaries.
ANTENOR, a noble Trojan, who makes a
conspicuous figure in the Iliad of Homer. He
escaped, like iEneas, and is said to have found-
ed Patavium, the modern Padua.
ANTHONY, St., the Great, first institutor
of the monastic life. His native place was
Coma, a town of Upper Egypt, where he was
born, A. D. 251. In 285, he retired into soli-
tude from a devotional spirit, and in 305, estab-
lished the first community of monks. Being
disappointed in his attempts to gain the honor
of martyrdom at Alexandria, he left the cotta-
ges of his monks to the care of his pupil Pacho-
mius, and, in company with two of the brethren,
retired to a very remote desert, where he died,
A. D. 356. The disease, called from him St.
Anthony's fire, is a malady of peculiar violence
with frightful accompaniments, in which every
limb attacked, becomes withered, shrunk, and
blackened, as if under the influence of flame.
The life of St. Anthony in the wilderness, is
said to have been fearfully eventful, being
passed in combats with devils. The exploits
of the saint are frequently made the subject of
paintings, by Catholic artists. The order of
Anthony was established, which, even in the
18th century, numbered thirty convents^ not
one of which is extant at present.
ANTIBES, an old town of Provence, on the
Mediterranean, with a safe and commodious
harbor. Population, 5570. It was founded 340
B. C by the Massilians, who gave it the name
of Anti-polis. In 1747, it successfully resisted
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the Austrians and English. In modern history
it is noted as being the only place where the
French troops refused to join Napoleon on his
landing in 1815, after his escape from Elba.
ANTIGONE, a daughter of CEdipus, king
of Thebes, by his incestuous connexion with
Jocasta. Antigone was the faithful guide of
CEdipus, after his loss of sight ; having buried
the corpse of her brother Polynices, against the
express commands of Creon, the tyrant ordered
her to be buried alive, but she killed herself before
the execution of the sentence. (See CEdipus.)
ANTIGONUS, Gonatas, son of Demetrius
Poliorcetes, a prince of a peaceable disposition,
but compelled to enter into war, first with the
Gauls, then with Pyrrhus of Epirus. When
his son brought him the head of the latter, he
expressed great indignation, and interred the
body with all the respect due to a great warrior.
He died at the age of eighty, B. C. 213.
ANTIGONUS, general of Alexander the
Great, after whose death he attempted to gain
the sovereignty of Asia, but was defeated and
fell at Ipsus, 301 B. C.
ANTINOUS, a Bithynian youth, of whom
the emperor Adrian was excessively fond.
When the latter was on his travels, Antinous
threw himself into the Nile and was drowned,
but whether the act was committed with the
intention of saving the life of the emperor, or
from weariness of existence, has not yet been
decided. The grief of Adrian was intense, and
the honors of divinity were, by his command,
paid to his young and unfortunate favorite. He
named a newly-discovered star Antinous, and
gave this name to cities, while various images
of the lost youth emanated from the hands of
different artists. Those which have come down
to us bearing the name of Antinous, are distin-
guished for a languid loveliness, and a round-
ness of contour, which resembles the traits of
female rather than manly beauty.
ANTIOCH, or Antakia. This city anciently
bore a variety of names — viz. Antiochia, *ajitigo-
nia, Thcopolis, Selcucis, Epiphane, and Reblata.
It is in Syria, fifty miles west of Aleppo, on the
Orontes, twenty-one miles from the sea. The
population is less than 20.000, the houses low,
and the land neglected. The appearance of the
city is melancholy, and no remains recall the
splendors of the day when it was the third city
in the world, for beauty, greatness, and popu-
lation. It was built by Antiochus and Selencus
Nicanor, partly on a hill, and partly in a plain.
It was for a great length of time the residence
of the Macedonian kings of Syria, and the Ro-
man governors, when Syria became a province
of the empire. In the crusades it was famous
for the defeat of the Turks, in 1098, by Godfrey
and the crusaders.
ANTIOCHUS. Several distinguished kings
of Syria bore this name. The first was the ge-
neral of king Philip, a Macedonian by birth,
whose fame was eclipsed by that of his son Se-
leucus. — Antiochus Soter, the son of Seleucus,
was unsuccessful in war, but is chiefly distin-
guished by his passion for his step-mother, the
beautiful Stratonice. His struggles to quell his
misplaced affection, threw him into a lingering
disorder, the cause of which he was unwilling
to divulge. Erasistratus, the king's physician,
penetrated his secret in the following manner.
As he was holding the hand of his patient, he
perceived by the accelerated motion of his pulse
on the entrance of Stratonice, that love for her
was the cause of his disorder. The king, to
save the life of his son, relinquished to him his
young and lovely bride. — Antiochus the Great
succeeded his brother, Seleucus Ceraunus, 244
years B. C. Molo, governor of Media, felt the
power of his arms, and Ptolemy Philopater was
by him compelled to give up the whole ot Syria.
Over the Parthians, also, he was completely
triumphant, and, favoring the cause of Hannibal,
he made war upon the Romans. He was, how-
ever, dispirited by ill-success in the commence-
ment of this contest, and not fully comprehen-
ding or seconding the views of the Carthaginian
general, was several times defeated, but signally
at Magnesia, the consequence of which was the
conclusion of a peace disgraceful to the Syrian
monarch. He was killed in an attempt to plun-
der a temple of Jupiter.
ANTIOCHUS EPIPHANES, second son of
the preceding, oppressed the Jews cruelly and
laid siege to Alexandria. He was compelled to
desist by the interference of the Romans in be-
half of their ally Ptolemy. Nothing can show
in a more striking light the terror of the Roman
name, than the following anecdote. When
Antiochus was on the point of marching against
Ptolemy, Popilius Ltenas arrived at his court as
ambassador from the Roman J-'cnate. He was
instructed to command Antiochus to relinquish
his hostile project. Any other but a Roman citi-
zen would have been awed at the presence of
the courtiers and army of the king, sitting as
he was, surrounded by all the imposing splen-
dors of a regal camp. But Popilius sternly de-
livered the message of the senate, and with such
an air of haughty "authority, that Antiochus was
embarrassed. He endeavoured, however, to sa-
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tisfy the ambassador with an evasive answer ;
but Popilius, with his staff, drew a circle around
the king's seat ; and said sternly : " Pass not
that boundary, I command you, O King, until
you have given a plain answer to the senate's
demand." The king, overawed by this boldness,
promised to sacrifice his project to the wishes
of the Romans. The last Syrian king of this
name was Antiochus Asiaticus. On his expul-
sion by Pompey, Syria became a Roman pro-
vince, ruled by governors.
ANTI PATER, a Macedonian, the faithful
minister of Philip and Alexander, and pupil of
Aristotle. He obtained the European provinces
on the death of Alexander. His war with the
states of Greece terminated successfully. He
died, B. C. 317.
ANTISTHENES, founder of the sect of the
Cynics, was bom at Athens, between 424 and
421, B. C. From Socrates he imbibed an en-
thusiastic love of virtue. He thought that vir-
tue consisted in independence of circumstances,
and to maintain this, he thought it requisite that
our wants should be reduced to the smallest
number. He affected a contempt for wealth,
honor, the delights of the senses, and know-
ledge, and sturdily walked the streets, in the
ragged garb of a beggar. Plato was one of the
first to penetrate his whims, and guess at their
design, and his brilliant remark to the Cynic,
has not escaped oblivion : " 1 see your vanity,"
said the sage, " through the holes of your
coat." Antisthenes, however, was a virtuous
man, whose conversation was agreeable, and is
worthy of high praise, if it be true that he at-
tacked the accusers of Socrates, and by his per-
severance obtained the banishment of one, and
the death of another.
ANTIUM, a city of the Volsci on the Tuscan
Sea, traces of which are still visible in Capo d'
Anzo, or Antio. Camillus took it, and carrying
the beaks of their vessels to Rome employed
them in ornamenting a tribunal in the forum,
thence called the Rostra (beaks). The city was
dedicated to the goddess of Fortune, whose
statue nodded answers, when consulted as an or-
acle, being probably formed upon some simple
mechanical principle.
ANTOINETTE (Marie Antoinette Josephe
Jeanne), of Lorraine, arch-duchess of Austria,
the accomplished, beautiful, and unfortunate
queen of Louis XVI, whom she married while
he was dauphin. She was the daughter of
Francis I and Maria Theresa, and was born
at Vienna, in 1755. Her accomplishments,
talents, grace, virtue, and uncommon loveli-
ness, fitted her for the queen of a gallant nation,
and as such she would have been honored in
France, had she lived before oppression had
roused the people to madness. Her mother, in
a letter to her future husband, after alluding to
the care with which she had formed her mind,
says, "Above all things, I have recommended to
her humility before God, because I am convinc-
ed that it is impossible for us to secure the hap-
piness of the subjects confided to us, without
love to Him, who destroys the sceptres and the
thrones of kings according to his will." The
marriage took place at Versailles, May 1G, 1770,
and was celebrated with uncommon splendor,
but immediately after the ceremony, a thunder-
storm of unparalleled violence broke over the
palace of Versailles, darkened the surrounding
scenery, and struck terror into the hearts of the
people for miles around. On May 30th, the
festivities at Paris were saddened by a most
terrible accident ; a number of citizens being
crushed to death in the Rue Royale, by some
mismanagement on the part of the proper au-
thorities. 53 persons were found dead, and 300
more were dangerously injured.
The magnanimity of Marie Antoinette dis-
played itself soon after her elevation to the
throne, on the death of Louis XV. An officer of
the gardes du corps (body-guard), who had given
offence on some former occasion, expressed his
intention of resigning his commission, but the
queen forbade him. " Remain," said she, " for-
get the past. Far be it from the queen of
France to avenge the injuries of the dauphi-
ness." She devoted herself to the interests of her
people with an assiduity unparalleled in a sove-
reign of her age, yet, becoming obnoxious to
the court party, her character was assailed in
every shape and quarter. She was accused of
setting on foot conspiracies which never existed,
and of entertaining views which never entered
her mind. She was termed the Austrian, and it
was openly asserted as well as privately insinu-
ated, that her heart was estranged from the
country of her husband, and her mind solely
occupied with the interests of her native land.
In her conduct there was matter for gentle re-
proof, but none for malevolent accusation. A
gayety, which sometimes degenerated into le-
vity, a passion for fashionable novelties, and an
unwary contempt for court formalities, instead
of being regarded as the foibles and impru-
dences of a young and innocent mind, were
construed into evidences of the existence of
loose principles, unbridled extravagance, and
hatred for the nation. She was likewise charged
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with pettishness under reproof, and we can
readily conceive how a female of so high a rank,
conscious of the purity of her intentions, and
perpetually assailed by reckless cavillers, as-
sumed in reply to the unworthy insinuations of
her enemies, the tone which her virtue and
her birth appeared to warrant. The affair of
the diamond necklace created an extraordinary
sensation. A jeweller at Paris demanded pay-
ment for a necklace so costly that the finances
of a queen would hardly warrant its purchase.
The result of an examination was the proof of
the queen's integrity. A lady of the stature and
complexion of the queen had succeeded in dis-
guising herself, and passing herself off as
Antoinette, upon a cardinal in a midnight meet-
ing in the park of Versailles. On the 6th of
October (1789) the mob broke into the palace
of Versailles, murdered some of the body-guards,
and threatened the queen in the most frightful
language. At midnight she received a letter
from a friendly clergyman, advising her to seek
safety in flight, as her life would be sacrificed
early the next morning. She resolved to remain
and destroyed the warning letter. She heard
the footsteps of the ruffian rabble — she thought
her time had come — but her life was saved.
The progress of the ruffians was arrested at
the very door of her bed-chamber, where her
faithful guardsmen laid down their lives to
secure for their queen a retreat to the chamber
of the king. The king and queen showed them-
selves with their children in the balcony. The
mass of heads beneath for a moment ceased to
be agitated — but it was only for a moment. Si-
lence was broken by a thousand tongues : " No
children — no children ! The queen ! the queen
alone !" This was a trying moment ; but Antoi-
nette had firmness for the crisis. Putting her
son and daughter into her husband's arms, she
advanced alone into the balcony. A spectacle
like this filled the fierce people with admiration,
and thundering shouts of Vive la reine ! {Long
live the queen !) succeeded to the imprecations
of the preceding moment. Such is the fickle-
ness of a mob ! The march to Paris was a suc-
cession of terrors. The heads of two faithful
guardsmen, elevated on pikes, met the eyes of
the poor queen as she looked from her carriage
windows.
The fate of Antoinette darkened rapidly. With
the king she fled to Varennes, — with him was
brought back to Paris. Her courage did not fail
in the scene of the Legislative Assembly, before
which body she was present with her husband,
heard his deposition pronounced, and then went
into the Temple, where he was imprisoned.
Here, where the light of heaven faintly fell
through grated windows, surrounded by her fa-
mily, she appeared to feel entire resignation to the
will of Him, on whom the happiness of the hum-
blest individual depends. When she heard the
condemnation of the king from the lips of the
royal victim, she had the firmness to congratu-
late him on the speedy delivery from trouble
which awaited him. The eternal separation
from her son did not shake her firmness, and,
with a heart apparently unbroken, she was con-
signed to the loathsome depths of a dungeon,
August 5th, 1793. The accusations brought
against the unhappy queen on her trial, were
all unfounded, and merely advanced because
her enemies had still respect enough for justice,
to mimic its forms in their guilty court. She
was charged with having squandered the public
money, and with leaguing in secret with the
foreign enemies of France. The clearness of
her innocence, the falsehood and frivolity of
witnesses, the eloquence of defenders were of
no avail — Marie Antoinette was doomed to die
upon the scaffold.
The expression of her countenance as she
passed to the place of execution awed the
bloodthirsty populace — but the once matchless
beauty of that noble countenance was gone-
forever. One unacquainted with the ravages
of grief, could rot believe that the haggard and
forsaken being whom they led to sacrifice, was
the same young queen who a short time before,
held in thrall the chivalry of France, by her
exquisite loveliness, her winning grace and
sportive gayety. Antoinette cast back a long
last look at the Tuilleries. A look which told
of sorrowful remembrance, and of agonizing
emotion — then with an air of dignified resigna-
tion, she ascended the scaffold. " My God !"
cried she, as she kneeled on that fatal plat-
form, "enlighten and affect my executioner!
Adieu, my children — my beloved ones — for-
ever ! I am going to your father !" This noble
woman perished in her 38th year, October 16,
1793.
ANTONINUS (Annius Verus), best known
by the name of Marcus Aurelius, born A. D.
121, assumed the imperial dignity, A. D. 161, on
the death of Antoninus Pius. He chose for his
colleague, Lucius Verus, but the latter, dying a
few years after, left the government solely in
the hands of Antoninus. In the prosecution of
the war against the Quadi, his army was on the
point of perishing of thirst, when there fell an
abundant shower of rain, which was attributed
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to the prayers of the 10th, (a Christian) legion,
and they were thenceforth termed the thunder-
ing legion. Though justly celebrated for be-
neficence and equity, Antoninus was not free
from religious fanaticism, and authorized a per-
secution of the Christians in Gaul. His want
of foresight in introducing the profligate Com-
modus, his son, into the government, was pro-
' ductive of most unhappy consequences. After
l his death, which took place in the 59th year of
f his age, and 19th of his reign, he was deified by
I the Romans, who appreciated his merit.
ANTONINUS PIUS, Titus Aurelius Fulvi-
• us, originally of a Gaulish family, was born near
I Rome, A. D. 86. He succeeded to the consu-
j late in A. D. 120, and was adopted by, and suc-
I ceeded Adrian in 138. He was tolerant to the
- Christians, humane, dignified, and just, and his
■ reign was one of undisturbed tranquillity. He
was wont to say, with Scipio, " I had rather
] save the life of a single citizen, than destroy a
thousand of my enemies." He died at the age
of 74, A. D. 161.
ANTONY, Mark, (Marcus Antonius), the
triumvir, was born 86 years B. C. He attract-
• ed notice at an early age by his bravery and
| dissipation. His first exploit was the establish-
; ment of Ptolemy Auletes on the throne. He
j attached himself to the party of Cassar, whose
\ favor he gained by the employment of all the
"i arts of which he was master, and was appoint-
I ed by Caesar his colleague in the consulship, B.
C. 44. After the fall of Caesar, Antony obtain-
I ed from the senate a confirmation of the acts of
j his colleague, and a public funeral, at which
I he delivered an harangue so eloquent and spirit-
[ stirring that he roused the indignation of the
people, and forced Brutus and Cassius to fly.
I Octavius, the heir of Ccesar, was supported by
I the enemies of Antony, who wished to curtail
the authority of this ambitious man, but in the
course of the civil war, Antony, uniting with
Lepidus and Octavius, formed the triumvirate
which, in Rome, speedily manifested the most
sanguinary designs. Each of the triumvirs
agreed to sacrifice his friends, and their alli-
ance was cemented by the blood of Rome's
bravest and best citizens. Antony affixed the
head and hand of Cicero to the rostrum, which
he had dignified by his eloquence. Brutus and
Cassius being defeated, Antony went to the East,
and surrounded by Asiatic luxuries, forgot what-
ever of manliness he had once possessed. Cap-
tivated by Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, his am-
bition was lost in the indulgence of his pas-
sions. Fulvia, his wife, having taken up arms
against Octavius, the latter quarrelled with An-
tony, but a reconciliation was effected, and An-
tony, on the death of his wife, married Octavia,
the sister of his colleague, to strengthen the
bonds which united them. His renewal of the
infamous connexion with Cleopatra, however,
drew down upon him the vengeance of Octavius,
and war was declared against Egypt by the Ro-
mans. How Antony fought and fled at Actium
has been described. (See Actium.) Finding him-
self deserted on all sides, and hearing of the
death of Cleopatra, Antony desired his slave
Eros to slay him. This humble friend, affect-
ing to consent, requested his master to turn
away his face, and then falling on Antony's
sword, died at his feet. Antony, touched at
this heroism, snatched the weapon, and gave
himself a mortal wound, but had strength
enough left to be carried into the presence
of Cleopatra in whose arms he died, B. C. 30.
ANTWERP, in French, Anvers, a city of
the Netherlands, strongly fortified, containing
several beautiful public buildings, and 65,000
inhabitants. Its manufactures are important,
and recently its commerce has been flourishing.
Before the war between Spain and the Nether-
lands, Antwerp was a place of more importance
than Amsterdam. In the beginning of the 16th
century, the Scheldt, on which it is situated,
was crowded with vessels; but its harbor was
closed by the peace of Westphalia. This com-
pleted the ruin which the siege, under the prince
of Parma, commenced. When Napoleon declar-
ed the Austrian Netherlands free, he prevented
the revival of its commerce by making Antwerp
a military depot. In 1814, Carnot gallantly de-
fended the city against the English and Saxons.
In 1833, General Chasse, held out for a long
time against the French under Marechal Ge-
rard, but the latter was victorious.
ANUBIS, an Egyptian deity, son of Osiris,
worshipped at first under the form of a dog, and
afterwards under that of a man with a dog's
head.
APELLES, a painter of antiquity, who re-
ceived the right of citizenship at Ephesus. He
was contemporary with Alexander the Great,
and the most masterly of his performances was
a picture called " Alexander holding the light-
ning." Many anecdotes are related of ham,
among others, the following. He had painted
a horse, which was severely criticised by a per-
son who examined it, and in such a manner
that the pride of the artist was wounded. Re-
solved to put his performance to the test, he
had a horse led into his painting-room, where
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the animal, on beholding the picture, neighed,
and thus secured the triumph of Apelles.
APIS, a bull worshipped by the. ancient
Egyptians. He dwelt in chapels, and was fed
with care. His birth-day was celebrated with
singular ceremonies, and his funeral conducted
on the most expensive scale. The color of the
bull was required to be black, he had a triangu-
lar wlute spot on the forehead, a white crescent
on his right side, and a knot under his tongue.
He was drowned in the .Nile when he attained
the age of 25.
APOLLO, son of Jupiter and Latona, twin-
brother of Diana, born on the island of Delos.
He was the god of music, poetry, and prophecy,
and considered by physicians, shepherds, and
founders of cities, as their patron. A few
days after his birth, he killed the serpent Py-
thon with an arrow, and is generally represent-
ed with a bow and quiver. He fought bravely
against the Titans, under Jupiter. When his
son ^Esculapius (which see), was killed by Jove's
thunder-bolt, Apollo slew the Cyclops, who
forged the thunderer's weapons. Having con-
quered the satyr Marsyas, in a musical dispute,
Apollo flayed him alive. Pan having disputed
the superiority of Apollo in music, a day was
appointed for deciding their merits, and Timolus
and Midas were judges. The latter, denying
the merit of Apollo, was punished by having a
pair of ass's ears affixed to his head. When
he built the walls of Megara, he laid his lute
upon a stone which ever afterwards sent forth a
strain of music upon being touched. The Ro-
mans celebrated games in his honor which
were called Jlpollinaria, and consisted of bull-
fights, contests of athletae, and theatrical shows.
APPIUS CLAUDIUS CRASSINUS, the
profligate decemvir, who attempted to destroy
the virtue of Virginia. (See Virginia.) His con-
duct produced a revolution, and he killed him-
self in prison, according to Livy. He was at
the height of his power about 400 B. C.
AQUILEIA, or AGLAR, formerly a flour-
ishing place situated on the Adriatic Sea, and
the Timavus, in Upper Italy, now an inconsi-
derable fishing town in Illyria. It was anciently
called, from its splendor, the " Second Rome."
The Romans built it chiefly to oppose the incur-
sions of the Barbarians. It was destroyed by
Attila in 452.
ARABIA, is a country of great extent, and
of much historical interest. Its boundaries
have varied greatly at different times, but taken
in its widest extent, it may be said to be one
of the very largest peninsulas in the world. On
the east, it is bounded by the Euphrates, the
Persian Gulf, and the bay of Ormus ; on the
west by Palestine, part of Syria, the Isthmus
of Suez, and the Red Sea , en the south by the
Straits of Babelmandel and the Indian Ocean ;
and on the north, by part of Syria, Diarbekir,
Irak, and Khuzestan. The greater portion of
this vast territory is occupied by long, dreary
deserts of sand ; while, in some parts, as on the
western side of the Arabian desert, the soil is
rendered fertile by the irrigation of rivulets,
and various flowers, both indigenous, and trans-
planted from India, spring up, bud, and blos-
som, filling the air with their ravishing perfume.
Some precious stones are found in Arabia, but
its principle riches are flocks and herds. Of the
natural history of Arabia we can say but little.
Ferocious animals pursue their prey in the de-
serts, which they render terrific by their pre-
sence and ferocity, while the mountains produce
animals yielding many and great advantages to
commerce. Of these we may mention the civet-
cat, the bezoar goat, the musk-rat, and others
of domestic habits and importance.
Concerning the old Arabians who are now
destroyed, or merged and lost in other tribes,
there is no distinct history or memoir extant.
Kahtan or Joktan, son of fiber, and Adrian, the
direct descendant of Ishmael, were the ances-
tors of the present races of Arabians. The pos-'
terity of Joktan are termed genuine or pure
Arabs, that of Isbmael, naturalized Arabs, or Mos-
tarabi. More than 3G00 years ago, Yarab, Jok-
tan's eldest son, is said to have succeeded his
father in the kingdom of Yemen, while Jorham,
the younger, founded the kingdom of Hejaz,
which his posterity possessed until the time of
Ishmael. In the time of Alexander the Great,
the inundation of Arem overwhelmed with mis-
ery the tribes settled in Yemen, eight of which
were forced to fly their dwellings and migrate
to other lands. Ishmael, marrying the daughter
of Modab, one of the princes of Hejaz, had 12
sons. The descendants of Ishmael, driving out
the Jorhamites, took possession of their country.
The government appears to have been in the
hands not of one ruler, but of the leaders of the
different tribes. An aristocracy prevailed at
Mecca until the time of Mahomet. Sesostris,
of whom the Jewish historian, Josephus, speaks
under the name of Sesac, conquered Arabia.
Yet this conquest was but in name, for the
Arabs were too proud and independent to bow
their necks beneath the tread of the conqueror,
and subsequent events show, that even during
his reign, they made themselves formidable to
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he Egyptians, and Scsoslris himself was forced
o draw a line between Heliopolis and Pelusi-
im, to guard his native subjects against the at-
acks of the Arabs. Furthermore we have evi-
lence, that, although he had a powerful fleet
ipon the Red Sea, he did no more than skirt
he shores of Arabia Felix, or at most, take pos-
session of some of its maritime provinces. It
nay safely be asserted that the whole peninsula
>f Arabia never was, or, at least, never was for
,tny length of time, subjected to the Egyptians.
, The Hycsos or Shepherd Kings, who inva-
,jled Egypt, and for a long time held undisputed
„ way in that country, were Arabians. Neither
rhe Assyrians, the Medes, nor the Persians,
iwer obtained firm footing in Arabia. The Per-
sian monarchs were regarded by the Arab
/hiefs in the light of friends, and received an-
nually a voluntary present of frankincense
,s a tribute of respect, but other ties than
jbose of the heart never bound the free dwel-
Jers of Arabia to the proud potentates of
r 'ersia. Cambyses, when flushed with ambi-
ious pride, and rushing forward to the conquest
'f Egypt, paused in his impetuous career, and
..espeotfully asked of the Arabians permission to
] tass through their country. The Spartans, war-
, ;ke and daring as they were, had reason to re-
jientof an incursion which they made upon the
Arabs. Alexander the Great, when inflated
jvith the success of his arms, was surprised to
,ind that the Arabs so little dreaded his tremen-
lous power, as to neglect sending ambassadors
jo him. This gave the Macedonian a high opin-
I on of them as
" Waniors worthy of his steel ;"
jiut deatli put an end to his hostile projects. His
J uccessors attempted the conquest of Arabia, but
jVere completely defeated. The Romans made
'lifferent incursions into Arabia with but partial
| uccesses to compensate for heavy losses, until
i.Elius Gallus, in the reign of Augustus, pene-
' rated into the interior of the country, and gain-
ed some victories, which the deadly heats the
I trmy encountered rendered unavailing. The
I ^rabs were not again disturbed by the Romans
j mtil the reign of Trajan.
, This emperor, confident of success, besieged
| he capital of the Hangarenes, but was forced,
auch to his chagrin, to raise the siege. The
•mperor Severus met with a similar disap-
>ointment. The Saracens joined the Persians
j against Julian the Apostate. This prince refus-
I >d to pay the tribute which, under the name
>f subsidy, the barbarians had exacted from
his predecessors. On their complaining, Julir.n
sternly replied : " Iron and not gold is the metal
that 1 deal in." This answer caused their revolt.
Under the reign of Theodosius, the Arabs ceas-
ed to be the stay, and became the terror of the
empire. Disunion had heretofore weakened
their forces, but now, uniting, they showed their
power was indeed formidable. If they had no
knowledge of those military arts by which alone
the strongholds of power are prostrated, they pos-
sessed that wild and desperate valor which car-
ried them triumphantly through their predatory
expeditions. Mohammed, and after him, the Ca-
liphs, called forth the energies of the Arabs and
the display of every quality which fitted them
to bear arms, but that of implicit obedience.
The Arabs were too proud of their hereditary in-
dependence to submit blindly to the yoke of any
man or combination of men, and they accord-
ingly, for the most part, acknowledged only the
spiritual authority of the Caliphate. When the
power of the Turks gained the ascendant, the
Arabs shook themselves free from fetters, re-
joicing in the chainless spirit of liberty. It is
not difficult to conceive the wild delight of
roaming the desert mounted on a fleet horse,
and beholding all around a plain which seems
interminable, and presents to the Arab horse-
man the idea of a solitary existence in a world
of his own. A French renegado once confessed
that his emotions when so situated, were almost
painfully exalted.
In the 16th century, during the war between
the Turks and Portuguese, Solomon Pacha
seized upon all the towns on the Arabian Gulf.
His successors also were victorious, and al-
most all Arabia became subject to the Otto-
man empire. These events occurred between
the years A. D. 1538 and 1568. Still all the
sheiks and princes were not subdued, but many
of them, remaining independent, continued to
harass the Turks, until, about the middle of
the 17th century, the latter were forced to relin-
quish all the conquered places on the coast of
Arabia. The independent spirit of the Arabs has
gained them great celebrity.
Arabia is celebrated as being the scene of some
of those wonderful events which are commemo-
rated in the Holy Scriptures. It was for a long
time the dwelling-place of Moses, who married
the daughter of Jethro and fed his flocks upon
Mount Horeb. The children of Israel, under the
guidance of the Lord, passed into Arabia, when
they went from the grinding bondage of the
Egyptians. In the desert of Sinai, rises that
lofty mount which was clad in thunder and
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lightning, when God gave his commandments
to the people. Mount Sinai commands a view
of .Mount Horeb, where again the Lord ap-
peared in the burning bush, to Moses. There
is still to be seen that rock, which, when the
people thirsted for water, Moses smote ; where,
from twelve mouths, the living waters gushed
profusely. Again, when they were in want of
water, in the wilderness of Paran, Moses smote
a rock twice before the water flowed. That rock
also remains at the present day, an impressive
memorial of the miracle, exhibiting the various
fissures whence the clear element gushed forth,
cheering, by its presence, the many hearts of
those who had panted for the succour.
The Bedouin Arabs, although possessed of
not a few good qualities, are, like other Arabian
tribes, inveterate robbers. When a Bedouin
descries a traveller at a distance, he puts his
horse to his speed, and rides furiously up, ex-
claiming loudly : " Undress thyself, thy aunt
(my wife) is without a garment." There is no
way to avoid death in this case but submis-
sion, as the possession of the meanest article of
wearing apparel is an object important enough
to warrant the shedding of human blood, in the
eyes of the Arabs. There are many singular
contradictions in the character of these wild
people. A stranger who confides his safety to
their honor will be treated with the utmost kind-
ness, and share the wealth or poverty of his
entertainer, who bids him welcome to what is
his. The patriarchal form of government has
ever subsisted among the Arabs. The dignity
of Grand Sheik (Prince) is hereditary in cer-
tain families, but the inferior Sheiks choose a
successor out of his family, on the death of a
Grand Sheik. Although Arabia is a rich coun-
try, the greater portion of the inhabitants are
ill-fed and clad, simply because they prefer a
wandering life of freedom, to one of confine-
ment and restraint, even if it bring the great-
est luxuries. These they profess to despise.
The Arabs, after fluctuating between a variety
of religions, have generally embraced Moham-
medanism, of which there are several sects. One
trait in their character is highly praiseworthy ;
their extreme kindness to the domestic animals
to which they owe so much, and which, in-
deed, constitute, as before remarked, their prin-
cipal support. They free these creatures from
work in their old age, and permit them to die a
natural death. The Arab horses are the most
splendid and valuable in the world, and are
reared with extreme care ; spirited, docile, fleet,
handsome, and hardy, they always command
the highest prices. The Arabs, proud of the
antiquity of their own origin, are no less care-
ful of the fame of their horses, of which they
preserve authenticated pedigrees. For charg-
ers, the Arab horses are positively unrivalled
A war-horse of this country appears delighted
with the din of battle. His spirit rises with the
ardor of the conflict, and he dashes into the
" current of a heady fight," reckless of the vol-
leys of musketry and cannon pealing around
him, even when struck with shot,
" Staggering, yet stemming all, his lord, unharmed
he bears."
He will watch his master if he falls from his
saddle in the fight, and not only shield him,
but neigh for assistance. The ordinary price
for an Arabian horse is 1000, 2000, or even 3000
pounds sterling. Sometimes even the poorest
Arabs will not part with their faithful chargers,
even though the most tempting offers be held
out. " No, my jewel," was the affectionate ex-
clamation addressed to his mare by that Arab
whose story is so celebrated — who, after he had
agreed to relinquish the beautiful creature to
grace the stud of the King of France, at an
enormous price, could not find it in his heart to
tear himself from his faithful servant : " No'
my jewel ! they shall never part us ! we have
lived and we die together." Saying this with
tears in his eyes, he sprang upon her back, and
rushed back to the desert, happy in having es-
caped the temptation and the sacrifice.
Arabia is divided into five provinces : — Ye-
men— containing three million inhabitants, go-
verned by an imam : Oman — under the imam
of Muscat : Lassa or Hassa : Nedshed and Te-
mama: and Heijaz, the Holy Land of the Mo-
hammedans.
ARAM, Eugene, whose erudition and fate
have rendered him remarkable, was born at'
Ramsgill, a village in Yorkshire, England, in
the year 1704. His father was, by profession,
a gardener, and forced to contend with depres-
sing poverty. At an early age, Eugene was
removed, with his mother, to Skelton, and sub-
sequently to Bondgate, near Rippon, where his
father had made a small purchase. He was
here sent to school and learned to read the New
Testament in English; but from that period,
with the exception of a month's tuition from a
clergyman, Aram owed nothing to teachers, all
his learning being self-acquired. His fathei
was gardener to Sir Edward Blackett, at New-
by ; and, when about Ihirteen or fourteen years
of age, Aram joined him. In the house of tht
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>aronet, Eugene first displayed his love of lite-
rature and science. Apart from the bustle and
.urmoil of the world, he passed his solitary hours
, n incessant study. Mathematics early engaged
jiis attention, and he became a proficient in the
?xact sciences ; indeed, his fondness for mathe-
l-natics recommended him to Mr. Christopher
!Blackett, of London, whom he served for some
dme in the capacity of book-keeper, commenc-
i ng his London life at sixteen years of age.
A.fter residing with Mr. Blackett for a year and
i half, he was taken with the small-pox, and
'suffered greatly from the terrible disorder.
He afterwards complied with the wishes of
f lis father, and returned to Yorkshire, where he
-mrsued his studies with increasing avidity, but
Vith altered views, having discovered that po-
ite literature possessed greater charms for him
han mathematics. He now made himself ac-
quainted with the works of the most celebrated
J>oets, and went through a course of historical
'■eading. He went to Netherdale for the pur-
pose of engaging in teaching, and here, consid-
ering himself satisfactorily settled, he married.
I His marriage proved unhappy, and to his mat-
rimonial connection he afterwards attributed
'he evils which befel him, and the crime which
'ie committed. Finding himself deficient in
classical learning, he resolved to master the
earned languages and applied himself to the
Itudy of the Latin and Greek grammars with
Ijreat spirit. He soon acquired the elements,
Lnd proceeded to their application, perusing
Ivith ease and pleasure the Latin classics, poets,
lnd historians. He next read the Greek Testa-
jnent, and finished his course with Hesiod, Ho-
iner, Theocritus, Herodotus, and Thucydides,
jvith the Greek tragic poets.
I At the seat of his friend, William Norton,
■iSsq. of Knaresborough,he learned the Hebrew
anguage,and read the Pentateuch, in 1734. In
744, he was engaged in London, as usher in
,' he school of a Mr. Painblanc, and gave instruc-
I son in Latin and writing. Here he became ac-
quainted with the French language. After-
vards, he was employed as usher and tutor in
Various seminaries in England, and never suf-
lered a single opportunity of making new ac-
(uisitions to escape. He was acquainted with
I he voluminous and quaint details of heraldry,
nd with the gentle lore of flowers. He ac-
tuired the Chaldee and Arabic languages, and
avestigated the Celtic dialects. Having dis-
covered an affinity between the Celtic, English,
I jatin, Greek, and Hebrew tongues, he was
mployed upon a comparative lexicon of these
languages, when a frightful event arrested his
literary progress. Aram was accused of hav-
ing murdered Daniel Clark, a shoemaker. The
murder had been concealed for nearly fourteen
years, when the discovery of a skeleton, at first
supposed to be that of Clark, set on foot inves
tigations which resulted in the arrest of Aram.
At the time of his being taken into custody, he
was usher of a school at Lynn, in Norfolk.
The murder was committed on the 8th of De-
cember, 1744-5. Its object was a little paltry
gain, although the murderer assigned jealousy
as the motive. Remorse had preyed upon the
spirits of Aram from the time of the commis-
sion of the deed, and he is said to have con-
versed with the boys at Lynn on the subject of
murder, and related to them tales of murders,
commencing with the crime of Cain.
Upon his trial at York assizes, on the 3d of
August, 1759, he displayed great calmness and
self-possession. The principal evidence against
him was his wife, from whom he had been a long
time separated. Circumstantial evidence, in
addition to that of Richard Houseman, helped
to convict him. His defence displayed a talent
and consummate address which was acknow-
ledged by the judges, whose admission of its in-
genuity destroyed the hopes of Aram. He was
found guilty. He subsequently confessed his
crime, and acknowledged the justice of his sen-
tence. While in prison, he attempted to com-
mit suicide by opening his arm in two places
with a knife which he had concealed for the
purpose. He almost succeeded, and was in a
state of excessive weakness, when conducted
to the scaffold. Standing beneath the fatal
tree, he was asked if he had any thing to say,
but he silently shook his head. He was in-
stantly executed, and his body hung in chains
in Knaresborough forest.
ARANJUEZ, a village and palace thirty
miles from Madrid (Spain), usually the court
residence from Easter till the close of June.
The palace and grounds are superb.
ARARAT, a mountain in Armenia, rising to
the height of 17,100 feet. Here it is supposed
that Noah's ark settled.
ARATUS, the hero who freed Sicyon from
the tyrant Nicocles, in his twentieth year ; he
afterwards became chief of Sicyon, and gene-
ral of the Achaean league. His life was event-
ful ; and he died 216 B. C.
ARAUCANIANS, a South American nation
of Indians, resident in Chili. Their number is
about 400,000. They have maintained their
independence through many contests with the
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72
ARG
Spaniards. They subsist by cultivating the
land and raising cattle. A Toqui (hereditary
noble) is at the head of government, and he
strictly maintained the neutrality of his people
during the South American struggle for inde-
pendence.
ARCADIA, a mountain country in the cen-
tral part of the Peloponnessus. On the north it
was bounded by Achaia and Sicyon, on the
east by Argolis, on the south by Messenia, and
on the west by Elis. Originally called Pelasgia,
from the Pelasgi, its first inhabitants, it received
its name of Arcadia, from Areas, grandson of
Lycaon. The shepherds inhabiting the country
were for a long time rude and uncivilized, but
when they cultivated the arts of agriculture,
and sweetened their labors by occasional inter-
vals of relaxation, in which they occupied
themselves with music and dancing, they be-
came famous in song, and Orcadian felicity was
a phrase expressive of unalloyed enjoyment.
But Arcadia was far from being a paradise, and
its inhabitants were not so devoted to pastoral
pursuits, that they forgot the excitements of
war. On the contrary, when no quarrels of
their own occupied them, they engaged in the
service of other states.
ARCHANGEL, a Russian City, with 20,000
inhabitants, on the White Sea, thirty miles from
the mouth of the Dwina. It receives its name
from the monastery of Michael the archangel,
founded there in 1584. It is a place of great
trade, and its harbor is good, though the en-
trance is obstructed by a sand-bank.
ARCHIMEDES, the most celebrated geome-
trician of antiquity, born at Syracuse, 287 B.
C. He was famed for the mechanical contri-
vances which he employed to defend his native
city , when besieged by the Romans, whose fleet,
Lucian says, he set on fire with burning-glas-
ses. Metellus, who took the city, wished to
spare the life of Archimedes, but he lost it in
the following manner. When the Romans en-
tered the city, Archimedes was found by-a sol-
dier, poring over some figures which he had
drawn in the sand. He begged the Roman to
spare his circle, but the man heedless of his
request, rushed forward and killed him with a
blow. He was then seventy-five years old, and
his death took place 212 B. C. He is said to
have declared that he could move the globe, if
he only had a place to stand upon.
ARCHONS. (See Athens.)
AREOPAGUS. (See Athens.)
ARGOLIS, in the eastern part of the Pelo-
ponnessus, bounded on the north by Achaia and
Corinth ; on the northeast by the Saronicgulf;
on the west by Arcadia, and on the south by
Laconia. The Argolic gulf lies upon the south-
west. Fertile plains and swelling hills vary the
surface of this region. It was colonised by
Egyptians in 1800, and 1500 B. C. Danaus
led the earliest colony, and Inachus the next
after him. Pelops, who reigned over Argos,
gave his name to the peninsula. It was the
kingdom of Atreus and Agamemnon, Adras-
tus, Eurystheus, and Diomedes, the birth-place
of Hercules, and the scene of his victory over
the Lernsean Hydra. The fine arts and music
in particular, were successfully cultivated by
the Argives. The modern Argos is but a
shadow of the ancient city. A monitorial
and high school were established here in 1825.
Argolis was anciently divided into small, but
independent states. These were Argos, Myce-
na;, Tirynthus, Trcezene (now Damala), Her-
mione (now Castri), and Epidaurus.
ARGONAUTS. The story of the expedi-
tion of Jason and his adventurous companions,
to procure the golden fleece of Colchis, is chief-
ly fabulous, and has probably little connection
with any known facts. Jason was not permit-
ted to ascend the throne of his father by Pelias,
who filled it, except on condition of bringing
from Colchis the golden fleece of the ram, which,
bore Phryxus and Helle away from their cruel'
step-mother, Ino. Most of the heroes of Greece
embarked with Jason in the Argo, a splendid I
vessel built for the adventure, and superior to ;
any which had previously floated on the waves.
After encountering many vicissitudes, they
came to the country of jEetes. This monarch,
whose life depended on the preservation of the
golden fleece, without refusing to surrender it,:
first imposed upon Jason three labors which he
hoped would destroy him. He was to yoke the
bulls of Vulcan to a plough of adamant, and'
turn up a field consecrated to Mars, which had'
never been opened ; in the furrows thus form-
ed, he was to sow the serpent's teeth of Cad-
mus, which would instantly start forth as armed
men, whom he was to slay ; and finally, to kill
the dragon that was the watchful guardian
of the golden fleece. The magical arts of Me-
dea, who had fallen in love with the young
hero, assisted him to achieve these enterprises
with success, and finally, when the king deter-
mined on the murder of the Argonauts, enabled
him to possess himself of the fleece, and escape
with tbe enamored lady, and all his compan
ions. The king soon missing the fleece anc
the fleet, pursued and came in sight of them
ARI
73
ARK
Medea then murdered her brother Absyrtus,
whose limbs she strewed in her father's path.
The afflicted old man, by staying to collect
them, gave the fugitives time to escape. After
many adventures, the Argo returned safely.
The time of the undertaking is placed in the
middle of the 13th century B. C.
ARGUS, the fabled son of Arestor, whose
hundred eyes caused him to be selected by Ju-
no as the keeper of Io. Having been slain by
Mercury, he was changed into a peacock, and
his eyes were placed in his tail.
ARION, a musician and poet, born at Me-
thymna, in Lesbos, and flourished B. C. G25.
His fabulous fate has been often celebrated.
When at sea with all his treasures, the mariners
sought his life ; but he leaped overboard, and it is
related that a dolphin, charmed with his music,
carried him safe to land.
ARIOSTO, Ludovieo, the celebrated author
of the Orlando Furloso, was born at Reggio,
Sept. 8th, 1474, and died at Ferrara, in 1533.
Having lost the favor of Cardinal Ippolito d'
Este, he was received by duke Alfonso, whose
rewards, however, were but trifling. He ex-
perienced many vicissitudes, and at one time,
lived with great splendor. His productions
are various.
ARIST1DES, son of Lysimachus, a noble
Athenian, surnamed, from his high integrity,
the Just. lie was instrumental in gaining the
battle of Marathon. There were ten generals,
of whom he was one, each having the command
of the army for one day. Thinking this arrange-
ment injurious to the troops, Aristides prevailed
on the other generals to give up their days of
command to Miltiades, and this measure secured
the triumph of the Greeks. Becoming obnoxious
to the party of Themistocles, he was banished by
ostracism. Each person wrote the name of the
man he wished banished, on a shell (ostrakon);
these were then counted, and the person whose
name occurred most frequently was banished
An ignorant fellow, in the public assembly, not
Knowing him, turned to Aristides, and asked him
to write Aristides. " What reason have you for
disliking him ? " asked Aristides. " Oh," replied
the fellow, " I am tired of hearing him called
the Just." When the Athenians were alarmed by
the approach of Xerxes, they recalled Aristides,
who, casting away the remembrance of former
wrongs, assisted Themistocles in the public
cause. Aristides also refused to countenance
Uie banishment of Themistocles, when he
incurred the displeasure of his countrymen.
Nothing displays more clearly the reputation of
Aristides, than his being appointed to apportion
the contributions to be paid by the several states
of Greece, towards the expenses of the war.
This delicate duty he discharged to the satisfac-
tion of all. He died poor about 4t>7 B. C. His
countrymen bestowed a magnificent funeral
upon him, pensioned his son, and portioned his
two daughters.
ARISTOGITON, and Harmodius,two of the
most famous patriots of Athens ; finding their
country oppressed by Hipparchus and Hippias,
sons of Fisistratus, they formed a conspiracy
against them. Hipparchus was slain 514 B.
C, but owing to the backwardness of the peo-
ple, Harmodius was killed by the guards, and
Aristogiton seized. Being tortured to make
him disclose the names of his accomplices, he
named the friends of the tyrant, and they were
put to death in rapid succession. " Now," said
Aristogiton to Hippias, " there only remains
yourself worthy of death." Hippias was ex-
pelled three years afterwards, and the Athe-
nians paid the greatest honors to the memory
of the two friends. Praxiteles executed their
statues, which were erected in the forum, their
praise was sung in hymns, and it was forbidden
to give the name of either to a slave.
ARISTOMENES, a brave general of Mes-
senia, who in vain endeavored to free his coun-
trymen from the Lacedemonian yoke.
ARISTOTLE, the most famous philoso-
pher of Greece, founder of the Peripatetic sect,
was born at Stagira 384 B. C. He died 322
B. C, having taken poison to avoid the perse-
cution of his enemies. He was the preceptor
of Alexander, and has left many important
works.
ARKANSAS Tenitory, having passed from
the hands of the Spaniards into those of the
Americans, was detached from Missouri, in
1819, and erected into a separate government.
The recent settlers, a band of turbulent, and
appaiently indomitable spirits, were easily sub-
jected to the American laws, in which, in the
opinion of a distinguished author, there appears
to be a strong tendency to create docility and
habits of peace, and their administration in Ar-
kansas is attended with little difficulty. The
inhabitants of the Post, a small village on the
northern bank of the Arkansas, about fifty milea
above its mouth, are generally what are called
"old residenters,'' and dwelt there under the
Spanish regime. The Spaniards and French
made early settlements on the Arkansas ; and
established themselves at the Post more than a
hundred years ago. The Spanish government
ARK
74
ARM
consisted of the priest, a handful of soldiers, and
the commandant, who regarded the Americans
within the territory, as dangerous animals, with
whom it was most politic not to interfere.
Some years since, while the Post was under the
Spanish sway, a party of the Muskogee Indians
carried off the child of the commandant, a boy
but little advanced beyond infancy. A Quaw-
paw chief agreed to restore the boy to his parent.
He descended the Arkansas, until he found the
hostile party encamped. They had killed and
roasted a bear, around the carcase of which
they were shouting in great glee. It is the cus-
tom of the savages of these regions to send a
single warrior into the hostile camp, shouting a
a war-song of his tribe, as a prelude to general
battle. The Quawpaw chieftain, whose re-
sources rose with his exigencies, sprang into
the midst of the Muskogees, yelling- defiance,
and brandishing his tomahawk. The astonish-
ed Muskogees, thinking that the whole force
of Spanish and Quawpaws were in their vi-
cinity, sprang into their canoes, and paddled
off with great rapidity, while the successful
savage, taking possession of the spoils, viz. the
bear, boy, and whiskey, returned to the com-
mandant.
Arkansas is bounded north by the State of
Missouri, east by the Mississippi, separating
it from Tennessee and Mississippi, south by
Louisiana, and west by Mexico. The Ozark
mountains run through the territory from E.
to S. W. The soil on the rivers is fertile ; in
other parts, generally barren. Cotton and In-
dian corn, are the staple productions. Wild
fowl and animals are abundant. There are a
variety of minerals. The Arkansas, which flows
through the middle of the country is navigable
for boats 1980 miles. Little Rock, the seat of
government, is so called by way of jest, for it
abounds in immense masses of stone. The
population of Arkansas, is not far from 40,000.
ARK WRIGHT, Sir Richard, at first an hum-
ble barber, is celebrated as the inventor of the
spinning jenny. In 1767, he quitted his bar-
ber's shop, and in the village of Warrington,
commenced with a kind of perpetual motion,
which attracted the notice of a watch-maker
named Kay, who gave him encouragement, and
advised him to direct his attention to machinery
for spinning wool. Finding their means inade-
quate, they received assistance from Mr. Ather-
ton, of Liverpool. Arkwright completed a
machine which was patented in 1769, but the
patent was set aside in 1785. After meeting with
some disappointments, he successfully estab-
lished himself at Nottingham, where he was con-
nected with a Scotchman by the name of Dale.
Being attacked by other manufacturers of Eng-
land, he used to say, " that he would put a
razor into the hands of a Scotchman that should
shave them all." After separating from Dale
Arkwright carried on his works alone with ex-
traordinary success. On his death, in 17!)2, his
property was found to amount to £500,000.
Thus, by his extraordinary inventive powers,
did this man rise from poverty, to affluence and
honor. The excellence of his invention is suf-
ficiently proved by the fact, that, since his
time, no material improvement has been made
in the mode of spinning cotton by water ma-
chinery.
ARMADA, (Spanish) ; a fleet of ships of
war; but particularly applied to the vast arma-
ment fitted out against England in the time of
Elizabeth (1588), by Philip II. It consisted of
150 large ships, with 20,000 soldiers, 8,250 sea-
men, and 2,000 volunteers. The number of
guns was 2650, some of them of extraordinary
calibre. The English navy at that time con-
sisted of but 30 ships of war. It was reinforced,
however, by voluntary exertions. Providence
gave the first blow to this mighty enterprise ;
the fleet was dispersed by tempests, some ships
sunk, and others dashed against the rocks.
The size, too, of the Spanish vessels, prevented
them from acting with advantage on the seas in
which they were engaged. Lord Admiral How-
ard, ably seconded by the officers under him,
attacked and beat the fleet for several days, and
very few of the Spanish vessels entered port
again. Sir Francis Drake, Captain Hawkins,
and others, greatly distinguished themselves at
this time. The preparations on land, superin-
tended by the queen herself, were fully commen-
surate to those at sea.
ARMENIA, a country of Asia, containing
106,000 square miles, lies south of Mount Cau-
casus. It was anciently divided into Major and
Minor, but is now divided into several provinces.
The Euphrates and Tigris, are the principal riv-
ers. The soil is better adapted for grazing than
agriculture, although the fruits of the south are
very fine. The inhabitants are Armenians, wan-
dering Turcomans, Turks, Greeks, and Jews.
The Armenians are Christians, sober and tem-
perate, and occupied in commercial pursuits.
The early history of Armenia is not well known.
The Assyrians, Medes, Persians, and Macedo-
nians, by turns possessed it. After the death
of Alexander, it was united to Syria, of which
it formed a part until it revolted from Antiochus
ARN
75
ARR
the Great, when it was possessed by two differ-
ent rulers and divided into Armenia Major and
Minor. Tigranes, king of the former, in 05 B.
C. , reduced ArmeniaMinor, and other provinces,
and united the two countries. Under him it
became tributary to Rome, in 63 B. C, and
Trajan made it a Roman province in 10G. After
Sapor, king of Persia, vainly attempted its con-
quest from the Romans, it was governed by
native princes, until the Arabians conquered it in
about 650. It was conquered by the Seljukian
Turks about 1046, after which it suffered many
changes, till it was reduced by the prince of
Kharasm in 1201, who was- driven out of it by
Genghis Khan in 1218. In 1335, the Ilkanian
dynasty began here, and continued till 1365,
when Armenia was conquered by Tamerlane,
from whom it was soon after recovered by the
Ilkanian princes. On the death of Ahmed
Jalayr, the last of the line, in 1405, Kara Yusef,
the chief of the Turcomans, got possession of
it. This dynasty had the name of the Black
Sheep, and in 1488, it fell by conquest to the
family of the White Sheep. In 1500, it was
conquered by Ishmael Sosi, and reduced by
Selim I in 1514, since which time the Turks
have had possession of all, except the eastern
part, which belongs to Persia, and the northern
part, belonging to Russia.
ARMIN1US, in German, Hermann, the de-
liverer of Germany from the Roman yoke, was
born 18 B. C. He was educated at Rome, and
honored by Augustus with the knighthood, and
the rights of citizenship. But from attachment
to the land of his birth, he instigated the Ger-
mans to revolt. After various fortunes, he was
assassinated in the 37th year of his age.
ARNOLD, Benedict, a distinguished char-
acter in the American revolution, was a native
of Connecticut, and early engaged in the strug-
gle between the colonies and the mother coun-
try, espousing the cause of the former. He
distinguished himself in the early actions of
the war, by a reckless bravery which gained
him general applause. He was at the taking
of Ticonderoga, and his expedition to Canada
has been celebrated as a great military enter-
prise. The troops marched to Canada by the
way of Maine, encountering the severity of
mid-winter, threading tangled forests, and suf-
fering every hardship. In 1777, Arnold dis-
played great gallantry, and bore a conspicuous
part in those efforts which led to the capitula-
tion of Burgoyne. When possessed of authority
in Philadelphia, in 1778, a marked change mani-
fested itself in his conduct. He plunged into
expensive pleasures, soon became involved in
debt, and saw no means of escaping from his
embarrassments, but by flying into the arms of
the British, and earning their gold, by treason
to his country. Having been reprimanded by
Washington for misbehaviour, he shook off all
allegiance to his struggling country, and solici-
ted and obtained the command of West Point,
for the basest of purposes. {See Andre). After
joining the enemy, he published two manifes-
toes, in which he attributed the change in his
opinions to the declaration of independence,
and the alliance of America with France, al-
though long after the adoption of these meas-
ures, he had fought beneath the Colonial co-
lors, had been wounded at Quebec, and was
pledged to support the cause of his country. A
large sum of money, and the rank of brigadier-
general in the British arm)', were the rewards
of his aposticy. After his treason, he made
war upon his former friends more after the
manner of a bandit chieftain, than that of a
high-souled warrior. Upon the recognition of
the independence of the United States, Arnold
retired to England, where he died, towards the
close of the 18th century, an object of universal
contempt. In the country for which he had
given up his own, his reception was any thing
but flattering. The British monarch did all in
his power to make him acceptable — but failed.
On one occasion, he desired to make Arnold
known to the high-minded earl of Balcarras,
and personally led them together. After go-
ing through the usual form of introduction,
Arnold extended his hand to the earl. " What,
sir!" said the latter to the king, at the same
time drawing himself up to his proudest height;
" is this the traitor Arnold ?" He then walked
haughtily away —
'' The hand of Douglas was his own."
Arnold challenged the Earl — they met, and
Arnold, who fired first, missed his antagonist.
The proud nobleman, instead of discharging his
pistol, dashed it to the ground. "Stay, my
lord," exclaimed Arnold, "you have not had
your shot !" " No," replied the earl indignant-
ly, " I leave you to the hangman."
ARRAGON, the realm of, retains to the pre-
sent day the name of kingdom. It is bounded
north by the Pyrenees, northwest by Navarre,
west by Castile, south by Valencia, and east by
Catalonia. Population (in 1800) 685,630. A
part of the country is mountainous, stony, and
sandy, but some portions are fertile and pro-
ductive. The inhabitants are hardy, industrious,
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76
ASI
active, and patriotic. The kingdom was founded
about 1035, by Rami ro. Ferdinand, the last king,
united Arragon and Castile, in 1474, and thereby
laid the foundation of the present Spanish mo-
narchy.
ARRIA, the heroic wife of Pcetus, the Ro-
man consul, who, being sentenced to kill him-
self, by Claudius, hesitated to commit the fatal
act. Arria, perceiving his reluctance, plunged
a dagger into her own heart, then, drawing it
forth, and presenting it to her husband, said,
" My Pcetus, it is not painful !"
ARTAXERXES I, surnamed Longimanus,
from the length of his arms, ascended the throne
of Persia, B. C. 465. During his reign peace
was restored between Persia and Athens, after
a war of fifty-one years. He is generally sup-
posed to have been the Ahasuerus of Scripture.
He died, B. C. 425.
ARTAXERXES II, surnamed Mncmon, from
the retentiveness of his memory, began his reign
B. C. 405. Cyrus, his brother, assembled a
powerful army and marched to Babylon to op-
pose him, but he was met, defeated, and slain,
by Artaxerxes. The latter defeated the Spar-
tans and compelled them to relinquish their
possessions in Asia. He was killed by his son
in 361.
ARTAXERXES III (Ochus), waded to the
throne through the blood of his kindred. He
quelled the various revolts raised against him.
In Egypt he was guilty of great cruelty and
extravagance. He slew Apis, and, together
with some of his soldiers, ied upon its flesh.
He was poisoned by his general, Bagoas, who
threw his flesh to the cats, and caused sword
handles to be made from his bones.
ARTEMISIA I, queen of Caria, personally
assisted Xerxes against the Greeks. Her me-
mory was honored by a monument erected by
the Spartans.
ARTEMISIA II, queen of Caria, wife of
Mausolus, to whom she erected after his deaih,
the celebrated Mausoleum — a funeral monu-
ment. It was an oblong square, 411 feet in
compass, 130 feet high, and adorned with 36
columns. Artemisia did not long survive her
husband, by whose side she was interred, 351
B. C.
ARTHUR, a prince of ancient Britain, whose
story Hume thinks has some foundation in fact.
He was born about 501, and died 542. The
institution of an order of chivalry, called the
knights of the round table, is attributed to him,
and also the establishment of Christianity at
York.
ARUSPICES or Haruspices, priests among
the Romans who foretold future events by ob-
serving the entrails of the animals sacrificed,
and the manner in which the victim behaved.
They existed irom the time of Romulus to
that of Constant! ne (337 A. D.), when all
soothsaying was prohibited on pain of death.
Their number at this time was 70.
ASHANTEE, a nation of negroes, on and
near the Gold Coast of Guinea. They are in the
vicinity of Cape Coast Castle, the British set-
tlement at Sierra Leone. Warlike and unyield-
ing they carried on* a bloody war with the Eng-
lish in 1824, in which General McCarthy lost
his life. The kingdom of the Ashantees has
been in existence one hundred years. The
king has a band of devoted attendants, one hun-
dred in number, who are slain upon his tomb,
that he may be properly accompanied on his
arrival in the infernal regions. His 3333 wives
are regarded with reverence, and on that mystical
number the safety of the state depends. The em-
pire of Ashantee, consisting of several conquered
states, has a population of 3,000,000 souls. The
Ashantees display some ingenuity and taste in
their architecture, and manufacture cloths which
are skilfully dyed in brilliant colors. Comassie,
the residence of the king, has been forcibly de-
scribed by an intelligent traveller. " A pros-
pect of the capital, (if such it may be called,)
at last opened in front of us ; it was a partial
glimpse, at the distance of twenty or thirty
paces, of a few mud-built hovels, surrounded
in part by plantations, and some straggling
walls of the same material, covering a contract-
ed space gained from the surrounding waste."
ASIA. To Asia we may trace the origin of
all the arts, and from this country sprang the
first human couple, designed for a happy immor-
tality, which was forfeited by their disobedience.
Thence originated the various tribes and na-
tions, which have since spread over the whole
face of the globe, and peopled it with inhabit-
ants. The extent of this vast region has been
estimated at 16,()C0,0()O square miles, and its
population at 400,000,000. The principal parts
into which it is divided, are Arabia, Asiatic
Turkey, Persia, India, Tartary, Asiatic Russia,
China, Japan, Burman Empire, Siani, Annam ;
the Sunda Islands, Moluccas, Philippines, Mal-
dives, &c. In Arabia the early events of Jew-
ish history occurred, and in this country, in
particular, the Christian reader feels a peculiar
interest, and a curiosity which is not disap-
pointed by the story of the wild scenes which
have been, from time to time, exhibited in this
AS I
77
ASI
historical region. Lying between the Red Sea
and the Persian Gulf, being about 1400 miles in
length, from north to south, and somewhat less
in breadth ; it contains an extensive territory
of varied fertility, now sterile, and now pro-
ductive, inhabited by a numerous population.
The capital of Arabia is Mecca, whose wild and
circumscribed valley is more celebrated than
many regions of the most luxuriant fertility :
it is the birth-place of Mohammed. This re-
markable man, destined to exert so great an in-
fluence upon the fortunes of his fellow-beings,
and the condition of the world, was born in
571. It was not until he had attained the prime
of life that he ventnred to reveal his divine
commission, having, probably, desired to bring
his plans to perfection before he attempted an
imposture, on the success of which the fate of
millions depended. He pretended to have re-
ceived a commission directly from God. He
declared that he was the prophet of God, and
acted under the immediate instructions of the
Almighty. His doctrines were written in a
book called the Koran, a copy of which, splen-
didly bound, and decorated, he declared that he
had received from the angel Gabriel. The suc-
cess of his attempt was at first doubtful — but
Mohammed enlisted mankind in his cause by
every motive which could mislead poor weak
humanity, ever ready to be led astray. After
having been compelled to seek safety in flight, he
obtained a small army which gradually increas-
ed, and enabled him to take the field, with irre-
sistible force, against his enemies. To those who
fell in battle he promised a voluptuous immor-
tality— a sensual paradise, where cooling foun-
tains tempered the warm air, and where the
exertions of the faithful were rewarded by the
charms of the divine Houris. He inculcated
the doctrine of an irresistible destiny — declar-
ing that ages before his birth, the time of each
man's death was fixed ; and by impressing on
his followers a belief in this absurd idea, he
enabled them to perform deeds of unequalled
bravery, rushing to the charge with an impetu-
osity almost supernatural, and courting death
as the passport to those transports which were
to have no transitory existence, but a blessed
immortality. Backed by followers whom his
instructions inspired with unequalled bravery,
the daring impostor beheld his arms completely
triumphant. His death took place at the age
of 62, and his sceptre passed into the hands of
Abu-bekr, his father-in-law. The caliphs, who
filled the throne after the death of Abu-bekr,
being men of consummate skill, and great tal-
ents, contributed to confirm the opinions origin-
ated by Mahomet, and to ensure the endurance
of his religion. The Arabians of the present day
still profess Mohammedanism. In the early ages
of this belief, they contributed to its extension,
making converts by threats instead of argu-
ments. They offered to the wavering, the Koran
or the sabre — their religion or the grave. The
Saracens, as they were called, thus made them-
selves feared, and attained a wonderful degree
of power, which was destined to decline as the
star of Turkish empire arose over the nations
of the east. The Mohammedans do not deny the
truth of the sacred writings, but they pervert
them in an abominable manner. At Mecca
they pretend to show the very well, which re-
stored the child of Hagar in the wilderness.
Mecca is thronged with the Mohammedan pil-
grims, as the Koran requires every Mohamme-
dan to make a pilgrimage to this city once in
his life. Mohammed was buried at Medina.
Asiatic Turkey is divided at present, into
several parts. Syria includes Palestine, or the
Holy Land, a country which, as being the thea-
tre of so many wonderful and appalling events,
is still visited with intense interest, and holds a
conspicuous place in the history of the world.
In the southeast portion of Asiatic Turkey, lies
the ancient and famous Mesopotamia. Assyria
was one of the earliest and most noted monar-
chies of Asia. The splendor of the Assyrians
has been celebrated by all historical writers.
To trace the fortunes and varied events of this
kingdom alone, would require a much greater
space than we can devote to the general view
of Asia. The mighty kingdom of Babylon
gave lustre to Asia in its early days. During
the reign of the queen Semiramis its fame was
at the highest. This sovereign possessed fewer
feminine than masculine attributes, and yet
shone no less conspicuosly in the court than the
camp. She did much to beautify her city, and
to extend the fame and power of he"r kingdom.
The hanging gardens of Babylon, in which
trees of great size were supported on terraces
at an elevation far above the earth, constituted
one of the wonders of the ancient world. Semi-
ramis penetrated far into India, and was wound-
ed in a desperate combat with one of the In-
dian kings. Bagdad, the once celebrated seat
of the Saracenic caliphs, to the splendor of
which Haroun al Raschid greatly contribut-
ed has lost most of its former magnificence.
Here, when the star of the Saracenic empire
was at its zenith, literature and the arts flour-
ished under the protection of the caliphs. Poet-
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ry and romance shed a charm over every day
existence, and music, with other arts, received
the most assiduous cultivation and encourage-
ment. We can but briefly allude to the reigns and
events which have distinguished Asiatic Tur-
key— the fate of the celebrated queen Zenobia,
who was compelled to grace the triumph of the
emperor Aurelian, after victory had smiled upon
the Roman banners as they waved over the Asiat-
ic plains — the siege of Jerusalem by Titus —
the destruction of the sacred temple, with all its
magnificence — the wild enthusiasm of the cru-
saders who made Jerusalem the rallying point
for the chivalry of Europe in the holy wars —
the siege and fall of that Troy, of which now
not the slightest trace remains. Changed, in-
deed, is the face of all that was formerly glo-
rious in these ancient countries ! The footsteps
of Time are deep, and his ravages lasting. A
wretched village, inhabited by a handful of
Turks, usurps the spot where once rose in
splendor, Ephesus ; that Ephesus which was
the pride of Asia Minor — that Ephesus which
St. Paul has celebrated by his epistle — which
contained the superb temple of Diana, fired by
Erostratus, that he might immortalize his name.
" Great is Diana of the Ephesians !" was the
cry of the proud inhabitants. Ages have past —
and the idol and the idolators have passed away.
Persia has ever been a country of great in-
terest, and its early history is crowded with
events of importance. Chance and change
were not unfelt by its inhabitants of former
days. The early Persians were hardy, tempe-
rate, and well educated. Education received
early and strict attention among them, and their
Magi, or wise men, are famous in the history of
learning. A more detailed history of Persia
will be found in another portion of this volume.
The present condition of the Persians is hap-
pier than it has been for a long time past, for
until very lately, it was a battle-ground for rival
chieftains and contending factions. The khans
or chiefs attained their elevation to the throne
by a wanton expenditure of blood and life. At
a more distant period (1386), when Ispahan was
the capital of Persia, and famous for its com-
merce and splendor, it was taken by Tamerlane,
and 70,000 persons slain by the cruel Tartars.
The modern Persians exhibit a very marked
difference from those of the early ages, from
whom they are descended. The latter, stern,
temperate, and warlike, disregarded both the
luxuries and elegancies of life. Inured to toil,
living upon the plainest food, and taught to face
death and danger without quailing, they be-
came formidable to their neighbors, and acquir-
ed for themselves a military reputation, which
only their subsequent degeneracy could destroy.
At the time of the invasion of Greece by
Xerxes, the Persian monarch relied more upon
the immense numbers of his army and their
splendid equipments, than upon their valor.
The event proved the superiority of the Greeks,
sternly brave, and proudly patriotic. In later
times, the Persians have shown themselves de-
voted to luxury, refinement, and the more ele-
gant arts of peace. Gay, polished, and affable,
they unite much that is pleasing, with much
that is unprepossessing in their character and
manners. While distinguished for their volu-
bility and wit, their habitual disregard of truth,
and practice of flattery, detract much from their
many amiable qualities. Persia abounds with
the hallowed remains of antiquity. Among the
most celebrated ruins which occur are those of
the ancient Persepolis, a city formerly of im-
mense extent, and conspicuous in the history
of Alexander of Macedon. It was the royal
palace of this city that the Grecian conqueror,
inflamed with wine, and urged by the wild per-
suasion of an abandoned woman, destroyed by
fire, aided by his companion. She beheld the
flames rolling around the most beautiful edifi-
ces, consuming splendid palaces, and hurling
to the ground long-venerated columns, with the
mad delight which the unprincipled seem to
take in the works of destruction.
The ancient Medes, celebrated in sacred and
general history, have left descendants and rep-
resentatives in the Afghans, the present inhab-
itants of Afghanistan, a country now occupying
what was formerly a part of Persia and Hin-
dostan. The country suffered from the ravages
of Genghis Khan in 1221 . This wild and war-
like prince took the splendid city of Balk, put-
ting almost all its inhabitants to the sword, and
committed other atrocities which the name of
conquest is generally thought to sanction.
India, although of vast extent and impor-
tance, was very little known to the ancients.
They had some vague idea of its extent and
wealth, but possessed little knowledge of its in-
terior. It appears, however, at various periods,
to have engaged the attention of great conquer-
ors, who made attempts to subject it. But the
ancient inhabitants of India resisted their in-
vaders with great bravery, and the want of lo-
cal knowledge, sensibly felt by the Europeans
and other adventurers, contributed to their de-
feat. Whatever successes they obtained ap-
peared not to result to their advantage. Alex-
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ander the Great carried his victorious arms into
the interior of the country ; — Semiramis push-
ed her forces against the Indians, and other
adventurers attempted their subversion. It re-
mained for modern times to acquire knowledge
of this vast country. India Within the Gan-
ges is generally termed Hindostan, and for veg-
etable and mineral wealth, is unsurpassed by
any country on the face of the globe. It is,
indeed, a region of romance, in which the
oriental tales of enchantment appear to be real-
ized. The antiquity of the Hindoos is undoubt-
edly great, and their history is authentic from
the time of Moses. No change has taken place
in their religion, manners, or customs, for more
than two thousand years. The same division
of the people which was known in the time of
Alexander the Great, subsists at present. The
principal castes or classes into which the peo-
ple are divided, is four. The first and most
important is that of the Bramins, who are men
of letters, and priests, besides having the care
of the laws. The second caste is composed of
soldiers, or descendants of the Rajahs, (princes),
whence they are termed Rajah-poots. The third
class, called Vaisgas, includes merchants, farm-
ers, and shepherds : the fourth, Sudras, con-
sists of laborers.
The rules, by which the conduct of the Bra-
mins is, or shall be, governed, are exceedingly
strict. They impose upon these priests a total
abstinence from fermented liquors and animal
food, and the observance of the numerous sin-
gular rites and ceremonies of the Hindoo reli-
gion. Yet these men, far from being distin-
guished for their temperance, piety, and learn-
ing; sometimes render themselves detestable by
voluptuousness, vice, irreligion, and ignorance.
The other castes, which are beneath them, are
trodden to the dust, by these proud priests, and
suffer severely from their extortion and avarice.
A Bramin was not unfrequently to be seen with
his foot upon the neck of some poor Hindoo,
prostrated before him in blind adoration. The
Sudras are delighted when they can get a Bra-
min to dip his toe in a cup of water, valuing
this ' holy water' very highly, and thinking it
the ' sov'reign'st thing on earth for an inward
bruise.' The Rajah-poots are noted for their
lion-like courage, and their indomitable feroci-
ty. Those in the British service, termed Sea-
poys, are very efficient, as their wild ambition
and avarice fit them to hunt down their breth-
ren, without hesitation or remorse. But the
most singularly instituted caste is the fourth.
The condition of the beasts of the field appears
preferable to that of these poor people. They are
literally the slaves of the Bramins, compelled to
drag out their lives in the most fatiguing ef
forts for the support and aggrandizement of
their tyrants. Even the wretched relief which
the Hindoo religion might afford is denied to
them, and the pains of eternal punishment de-
nounced to any who would give them religious
instruction. The castes are separated effectual-
ly by a prohibition which prevents them from
intermarrying.
The idolatry of the Hindoos cannot be con-
templated without pain. They imagine that
they are delighting their strange divinities
when, carried away by a torrent of fanaticism,
they fling themselves or their children before
the huge cars of their misshapen idols, to be
crushed to death as they revolve ; or when
writhing, suspended upon iron hooks, which
only give them death after prolonging the most
cruel tortures. They believe that there is one
God, endowed with supreme power, who, iso-
lated from all sublunary concerns, exists in a
state of indolent enjoyment, having committed
the care of the world to three divinities. A life
of extraordinary piety will entitle the soul of a
devotee to an amalgamation with the spirit of
the supreme God, while the doctrine of the
transmigration of souls is held out to those
whose piety is less striking and distinguished.
The conquest of a large portion of India
by the British was not effected without much
bloodshed, and it is painful to trace the details
of the eventful struggle. The British, urged
by a rapacity unworthy of professed Christians,
committed atrocities, the bare recital of which
inspires the listener with horror. On the other
hand, the native rajahs, or sovereigns, were not
backward in the infliction of revolting cruelties.
When Suraja Dowla took the fort at Calcutta,
in 175(3, he confined the garrison which consist-
ed of 146 persons in a horrible dungeon, aptly
termed the Black Hole, in which T23 perished
in one night from suffocation. Within less than
a century the British East India Company have
obtained possession of their vast territory, of
which some portions are professedly under their
sway, and others, although nominally ruled by
native sovereigns, are tributary to the Company,
and completely influenced by them. The gov-
ernment is in 'the hands of a governor, having a
royal commission and appointment. The seat
of government is Bombay, which contains a
population estimated at 200,000. Farther India,
or Chin India, is a country of vast extent and
importance, it contains the Birman empire.
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80
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Annam, Siam, &c. In 1820 a treaty concluded
the war between the Birman empire and the
East India Company, by which the emperor
ceded part of the western coast of the country
to the British.
The Russians possess a vast and important
territory in Asia, which is called Asiatic Russia,
or Siberia. In the middle of the J 5th century,
the Russians gained possession of a part of this
extensive country of which, before this time,
they had no share. The complete subjugation
of the whole took place in the reign of Peter
the Great, and the Czarina Catherine II, the
Semiramis of the North. The mines and furs
of Siberia render it valuable to the Russians, but
it is noted as the place of banishment for those
who have fallen under the displeasure of the
Russian government. Many an unhappy exile
has here dragged out a miserable existence,
to which death would have been preferable.
These wretched victims of state intrigues and
ruthless despotism, have contributed greatly to-
wards the civilization and improvement of por-
tions of this country. The number of exiles has
been augmented recently by the banishment to
this dreary region of hundreds of the unhappy
Poles, whose greatest crime was a firm attach-
ment to an oppressed country. The exile of
great officers of state has frequently been at-
tended with all the mystery which characteris-
ed the seizures of the inquisition. Often some
deserving man, unconscious of having commit-
ted any crime worthy of so severe a punish-
ment, finds himself suddenly in the hands of
the officers of justice. If he asks the cause of
his seizure, lie is commanded to be silent: if he
begs to take leave of his family, his request is
refused. He sinks into the stupor of despair,
and awakens again to a sense of hope forever
lost, as he finds himself upon the fatal sledge
which pursues its rapid path to the hated place
of exile.
The empire of China is extensive and of
great antiquity. Its history, manners, and cus-
toms, are singular. At a very early period the
Chinese made discoveries in the arts, which,
however, have not generally attained that de-
gree of improvement among them, which we
might be led to expect from the antiquity of
their origin. Their history is interesting and
authentic, embracing a recorded period of many
ages. This will be treated of separately and
with some detail. On taking a general survey
of Asia, we cannot fail to be struck with sur-
prise and admiration at the immensity of its ex-
tent, the number of its historical recollections,
and the vastness of its monumental remains.
It has been the theatre of some of the most im-
portant events which history records, the clime
of wonders and of wealth, and the chosen re-
gion of romance. If we search the pages of his-
tory for the fate of proud monarchies, and the
tale of powerful dynasties, and splendid cities,
we shall find the name of Asia constantly recur-
ring, and the fame of Asia the theme of unfail-
ing wonder and of praise.
ASPINWALL, William, M. D., bom in
Brookline, Mass., May 23d, 1743. He was
educated at Harvard College, and served as a
surgeon in the revolution, but fought in per-
son, as a volunteer, in the battle of Lexington.
After the death of Dr. Zabdiel Boylston, the
first physician who inoculated for the small pox
in America, he prosecuted the system, and ac-
quired great celebrity by his treatment of this
disorder. His practice was very extensive, and
during 45 years, he frequently rode 40 miles a
day on horseback, and seldom retired to rest un-
til after midnight. He died, April 10th, 1823,
in his 80th year.
ASRAEL, the angel of death in Mohamme-
dan mytholoo-y.
ASSASSINS or HASSASSINS, the follow-
ers of an Arab chief in the time of the Crusades,
who were devoted to his service, and cheerfully
laid down their lives at his bidding. When
Henry, Count of Champaigne, was passing
through the dominions of their Sheik, the " Old
Man of the Mountains," he boasted of his
power at home. " Are any of your vassals as
devoted as my followers ?" asked the chieftain.
On this he gave a signal to ten young men, clad
in white, standing on the top of a tall tower,
and they instantly threw themselves from it and
were dashed to pieces !
ASSIENTO is a Spanish word for treaty,
and signifies the permission granted by the
Spanish government to a foreign nation to im-
port negro slaves into the Spanish American
colonies, upon certain conditions. By the assi-
ento of 1713, a company of English merchants
undertook to supply the Spanish colonies with
negroes for 30 years, but quarrels ensued, and
the treaty was finally relinquished before the
expiration of the time.
ASSYRIA, a kingdom of Asia, said to have
been founded by Ashur, whose boundaries va-
ried greatly at different times. It was anciently
bounded as follows ; north by Mount Niphates,
and Armenia Major, east by Media, south by
Susiana, and west by Mesopotamia. Ninus,
its celebrated sovereign, subdued the Babylo-
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nians and Medes, and Semiramis, his wife and
successor, increased the fame of the kingdom.
About 900 years B. O, Arbaces, governor of
Media, conquered Assyria. It was then divided
into the Median, Assyrian, and Babylonian king-
doms. But Assyria once more gained the as-
cendency over Media and Babylon, and Nin-
eveh became its capital. After the revolt of
Media (700 B. C), Cyaxares, its king, uniting
with Nabopalassar, governor of Babylon, they
destroyed Nineveh, (506 B. C. Assyria becom-
ing now a Median province, Babylon was form-
ed into a powerful kingdom by Nebuchadnez-
zar, B. C. (300. The three kingdoms were unit-
ed by Cyrus, the victorious monarch of Persia,
550 B.C.
ASTRACHAN or ASTRAKHAN, a Rus-
sian vice-royalty, divided into three govern-
ments. It contains 3,000,000 inhabitants. It is
bounded north b)' the country of the Bulgarians
and Bashkeers, east by a chain of mountains
which part it from Tartary, south by the Cas-
pian Sea, and west by the Wolga, separating it
from the Nogay Tartars, and Don Cossacks.
The land is fertile but uncultivated by the Tar-
tars. The winter is brief but severe, the sum-
mer long and hot. Astrakhan, the capital, situ-
ated on an island in the Wolga, 34 miles from
its entrance into the Caspian Sea, has 50,000
inhabitants, and is a place of considerable im-
portance. 20,000 persons, engaged in the fishe-
ries, reside here for a part of the year.
ASTURIA or the ASTURlAS, a Spanish
principality, bounded by Biscay on the east, on
the west by Galicia, on the south by Castile and
Old Leon, and on the north by the sea. It con-
tains 365,000 inhabitants. The Moors could
never master this country. It abounds with
fruit and game. The crown prince of Spain
bears the title of Prince of the Jlsturias, as
the principality was formerly divided into two
parts.
ATABALIPA, or ATAHUALPA, the last
of the Incas of Peru. He commenced his
career in lf>29. Pizarro and his followers were
hospitably entertained by him, in return for
which kindness the Spaniards held him in cap-
tivity. They promised to ransom him on the
payment of an immense sum of money ; when
the loyalty of the people had produced the
treasure, Pizarro accepted it, but refused to re-
lease his prisoner, who was burned at the stake,
1533.
ATHENS. Tliis celebrated city, the capital
of Attica, which exerted such an influence
upon the character of mankind, and shot forth
6
those brilliant fires of intellect which called into
warmth and light the genius of the world, was
founded by Cecrops, 1550 years B. C. Origin-
ally it was called, from its founder, Cecropia,
but in time his name was only retained by the
citadel — the Acropolis, while the Greek name
of Minerva {Athena), was applied to the city.
The Turks call it Jithimah and Sctincs. The
position of Athens is peculiar, and the sur-
rounding scenerj' luxuriant and interesting.
The blue Saronic gulf, so often swept by victo-
rious navies, the opposite shore of the Pelopon-
nesus, the rocky steep of the Acropolis, and
the beauty of the surrounding plains, are pro-
minent features in a landscape which antiquity
liis made interesting, and fame immortal. Nor
were the natural beauties of the scene its chief
recommendation. Art here successfully vied
with nature, and the erection of the most noble
edifices bore witness to the taste, industry, skill,
and public spirit of the Athenians. Cecrops, the
founder of Athens was an Egyptian, skilled in
the arts of his countrymen, and possessing more
than their customary enterprise ; he founded the
kingdom of Athens, dividing the country into
twelve districts, over which he ruled for a long
time with the title of king. He instituted the
senate called the Areopagus, which met upon a
hill in the vicinity of the citadel, dedicated to
Mars. This court aquired an active influence
in the affairs of government. To it the examin-
ation of the laws and state of public morals was
committed, while crimes against religion and the
state, required its peculiar attention. In 1497
B. O. king Amphictyon, one of the successors
of Cecrops, established the court of the Am-
phictyons, ar„ assembly which ultimately at-
tained a high degree of celebrity. This assem-
bly formed a point of union for the different
states of Greece. At first they assembled at
Delphi, where was the oracle of Apollo, but
finally at Anthela, a village in the vicinity of
the famous Thermopylae. Two members from
each of the twelve Grecian states, were deput-
ed to the court of Amphictyons. They were
empowered to compose popular tumults, to re-
concile contending cities, to take cognizance of
civil and criminal offences, of violations of na-
tional law, and particularly of sacrilege com-
mitted in the temple of Delphi. If a state re-
fused to submit to the decisions of the court,
the remaining states composing the confederacy
could take up arms, to enforce submission, and
had the right of excluding the recusant party
from participating in the deliberations of the
Amphictyons.
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To both of these monarchs the Athenians
owed much. If Cecrops softened the manners
of the inhabitants of Attica, taught them how
to clothe their lands with the verdure of the
olive and the vine, and instructed them in the
love of order, the worship of the gods, the rites
of Hymen, and those of sepulture, Amphic-
tyon strengthened and secured the advantages
which his subjects had begun to reap. No
longer they feared the incursions of predatory
neighbors, but sat in the shade of their vine-
yards, enjoying the happiness which security
and peace bestow. Codrus was the last king of
Athens. On his death, B. C. 10G8, the govern-
ment assumed a republican form, after the mo-
narchical had subsisted for 487 years from the
time of Cecrops. The change however was
but in name, for the archon had nearly all the
power of the king, whose place in the state he
rilled. The archons were originally chosen for
life. After a lapse of little more than three
centuries, the term of office was curtailed to
ten years, and less than a century afterwards,
the number of archons was increased to nine,
and they served for a term of one year only.
Originally all the Grecian states had a regal
government, which was abolished in conse-
quence of the tyranny of the various princes,
and supplanted by republican forms. Recover-
ing their liberty at an early period, the Greeks
acquired that love of freedom, which characteris-
ed them throughout their long career, and it was
only when luxury and wealth had banished the
temperate and unostentatious life of their an-
cestors, that the Greeks found themselves una-
ble to contend against the encroachments of hos-
tile power, and fell beneath the arms of more
enterprising rivals. The rivalry of Athens and
Sparta produced, together with muchgood,an in-
finity of evil. The fepartans were of a sterner cast
than the Athenians, and even more distinguish-
ed for their love of freedom, and their invincible
courage. They despised those triumphs of the
arts which the Athenians made their glory, and
relied for fame on the stern contempt of the ele-
gances and the common comforts of life. What
their Lycurgus was to them, Solon was to the
Athenians.
Solon was one of those great characters, whom
their countrymen regard with veneration for
ages, and whose memory they recall even in the
midst of oppression, and the darkness of dis-
grace. He was one of those rare spirits, whose
virtues and self-possession are most conspicu-
ous when most needed, and whose knowledge,
like the lamp of the glow-worm, shines bright-
est, when the darkness is most heavy. At a
time (B. C. C43) when the turbulence and am-
bition of the archons threatened the Athenians
with a multitude of evils, all eyes were turned
upon Solon, as the pilot who alone could guide
the vessel of state through the rocks and surges
that surrounded it. He was at once created
archon extraordinary with unlimited power, for
his high character and calm demeanor inspired
confidence among the people he was destined to
assist. Solon introduced a mild code of laws, in
opposition to that of Draco, whose appalling se-
verity had raised him many enemies. The gov-
ernment was placed in the hands of a senate of
four hundred members chosen by the people.
After an acquittal of their debts, the people were
divided into four classes. The members of the
three first classes were eligible to office, while
those of the fourth, whose poverty was thought
to incapacitate them from serving, were yet al-
lowed the privilege of voting in the popular as-
semblies. The power of the commonwealth was
vested in these assemblies, but there was a
restrictive influence in the senate. Solon, al-
though mild, was just, and a great lover of
truth. When Thespis was exhibiting theatrical
entertainments on his cart at Athens, Solon
asked him if he were not ashamed of giving
utterance to so many untruths? " Nay," re-
plied the actor, " they were but in jest." " Tn
jest !" exclaimed Solon, indignantly ; " you lit-
tle know the danger and the guilt of jesting
with so sacred a thing as truth !"
Whatever merit we may be disposed to allow
the constitution of Solon, framed as it was at
a very early period, it was much too artificial
to be permanently successful. Solon lived to
see this. During his retirement from Athens,
factions disturbed the peace of the people, and
Solon, after having vainly endeavored to stem
the current, retired to the isle of Cyprus, where
he died, B. C. 5(50. The change of government
was effected by Pisistratus, a popular but ambi-
tious man, who headed the poorer class of peo-
ple— a class who considered themselves pecu-
liarly oppressed by the constitution of Solon —
and gained possession of the supreme power.
The plans of the usurper possessed a plausi-
bility and brilliancy which were calculated to
produce no insignificant effect upon the minds
of men. His benevolence was undoubted.
At his death, Pisistratus bequeathed his power
to his two sons, Hipparchus and Hippias, who,
for a long time, by a liberal patronage of the
arts, and of learned men, gave a brilliancy to
their administration which was unhappily not
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destined to endure. Among the most brilliant
ornaments of the court was Anacreon, the ele-
gant, though effeminate poet of love and wine.
The cruelty of Hippias at length roused the
spirit of the Athenians, who broke forth into an
open revolt, in which Hipparchus was slain,
and Hippias banished. Hippias finally sought
refuge at the court of Darius ; the king of Per-
sia endeavored to procure his recall from the
Athenians, whose refusal was the commence-
ment of the war between Greece and Persia.
When the tyrants ceased to trouble the tran-
quillity of Athens, it became necessary to guard
against future abuses. Calisthenes accordingly
effected some changes in the laws of Solon, in-
creasing the number of the divisions of the
people to 10, and of the members of the senate
to 500. The smiling appearance of the Athe-
nian vineyards and olive plantations gave strik-
ing proof of the industry and prosperity of the
people. In the midst of happiness and success,
the hostility of the Persians threatened them
with ruin. But the bravery of the Athenians
was not wasted in words, and they joined
against the invaders with heart and hand.
When the heralds of Darius came with the in-
solent demand of earth and water, they were
seized and thrown, the one into a ditch and the
other into a well, whence they were contempt-
uously told to satisfy their wants. The troops
of Darius entered Attica, encamping at Mara-
thon, a small town upon the sea-coast. Against
an army of one hundred and ten thousand horse
and foot, the brave Militiades led forth a band
often thousand Athenians, who were victorious
in the most sacred of causes. Afterwards when
Xerxes poured his forces into Greece, the Athe-
nians, under Themistoclfs, were triumphant,
and the victory of Salamis bore witness to the
terrible energy and roused spirit of freemen. Yet
it is painful to mark the fickleness and ingrati-
tude of the Athenians. One would think that
while Marathon was remembered; the services
of Militiades could not be forgotten. Yet so it
was — and the noble Athenian, in consequence
of misfortune, was thrown into a prison where
he perished. Aristides, whose virtue procured
him the surname of "the just," was banished
by ostracism, without any adequate cause. The
practice of ostracism was so called , because the
citizens wrote upon a tile or shell (ostrakon) the-
names of those who were obnoxious to them.
The shells being counted, the person whose
name occurred most frequently, was banished.
Themistocles was also persecuted and forced to
seek refuge at the Persian court; yet, so fond
was he of his ungrateful country, that rather
than serve against her, he killed himself. It
was men like these who reflected a lustre on
the Athenian name. When the Persians no
longer had the audacity to threaten Greece, but
had been humbled to the dust, the glory of the
Athenians brightened, day by day. The peo-
ple saw with delight the extension of their pri-
vileges and the respect with which their claims
were received. All classes, feeling the benefit
of equal institutions, labored in common for the
aggrandisement of their country. Members of
all classes were now made eligible to office, and
the poor felt that they stood upon an equal foot-
ing with the rich, and might, by exertion, rise
superior to them. The period from the Persian
war, B. C. 500, to the time of Alexander, B. C.
33G, includes days of uncommon splendor in the
history of Athens. Cinion and Pericles intro-
duced elegance into Athens, and the age of
Pericles is commonly quoted as the golden era
of the country. The arts under the liberal
patronage of Pericles, flourished to a great de-
gree, and under the fostering care of those in
power, magnificent temples sprang up in every
direction, the marble breathed, the pencil glow-
ed, and the lips of the orator and poet were
gifted with a kindling eloquence. Yet, in the
midst of much apparent prosperity, the founda-
tion of misfortune was laid. The abundance
of wealth was not without a deteriorating influ-
ence, and the Athenians became so enamored
of the elegancies of life, that they began to pre-
fer them to manliness and independence. Pe-
ricles was at the zenith of his greatness B. C.
444. He engaged in the Peloponnesian war,
the end of which was, that the Lacedaemonians,
ever more hardy if not more brave than the ele-
gant Athenians, made themselves masters of
Athens, and granted peace to the vanquished
on the most humiliating conditions. For eight
months the Athenians groaned under the yoke
of the thirty magistrates, or as they were called
the Thirty Tyrants, whom the Lacedaemonians
imposed upon them, and kept under the protec-
tion of their garrison. The man who led to
the overthrow of this oppression, was Thrasy-
bulus. Again the star of Athens rose to the
zenith, bright as if no cloud had ever covered
it and hid its silvery brilliancy beneath a veil.
The Athenians joined the Thebans against
Sparta, and were successful. They were 3'et
to feel, however, the importance of a power
hitherto unacknowledged or despised. Philip
of Macedon descended from the north. In vain
did Demosthenes urge the Athenians to die in
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defence of their liberty. In vain did this ex-
traordinary man hurl his tremendous anathe-
mas against Philip — he was doomed to see the
subjugation of his countrymen. Demosthenes
was one of the most renowned of the Grecian
orators, and rendered famous by the persever-
ance with which he overcame all obstacles. He
early had an impediment in his speech, which he
overcame by speaking with pebbles in his mouth.
The weakness of his voice he conquered by de-
claiming upon the sea-shore, where the dashing
of the waters resembled the tumultuous noises
of a popular assembly. Demosthenes was a
warm patriot, proud of the independence of his
country, and determined to use all his powers in
support of it. Philip was neither daunted by
eloquence, nor repulsed by braver}'. The battle
of Cheronsea, B. C. 338, struck a death blow to
Grecian liberty. From that time, Athens re-
mained, with the other states of Greece, depend-
ant upon the Macedonian power for existence.
She did not sink without a struggle, but all her
struggles were of no avail against the giant
power which had prostrated her, and fettered
her with bonds of adamant.
When Athens was taken by Cassander, the
oligarchy was restored, and Demetrius Phale-
reus enjoyed the office of Governor of the state
for 10 years. Being obnoxious to the Atheni-
ans, they entreated the assistance of Demetrius
Poliorcetes, who, having taken the city, restored
the ancient constitution, and received from the
Athenians all the honors and marks of affection
which gratitude could devise or bestow. Yet,
with their characteristic fickleness, when he
had gone to war, they closed the city against
his return. He took the city, but forgave its
inhabitants, contenting himself by leaving a
garrison in the havens of Munychia and the
Pirceus. The Athenians recovered their free-
dom, but were again subdued by Gonatas.
They joined the Achrean league, disuniting
themselves from the Macedonians. The Ro-
mans gladly availed themselves of the co-opera-
tion of the Athenians against Philip, and con-
firmed the freedom which they were so anxious
to maintain. The Romans, disposed to be friend-
ly towards them, were changed into enemies by
their espousal of the cause of Mithridates, king
of Pontus, who waged war against the Italian
power. After having drawn down upon them-
selves the vengeance of Rome, the Atheni-
ans trembled for the consequences of their con-
duct. Sylla took their city, and the show of
liberty which it afterwards retained, was but a
bitter mockery. Vespasian made Athens a
Roman Province, and it was included in the
empire of the east, after the division of the
Roman empire into eastern and western. But
it was destined to feel the terror of that power,
beneath which the queen of cities was pros-
trated to the dust. Alaric, the Goth, A. D.
3!'6, conquered and devastated the country.
From this period, the liberty of Athens existed
but in the recollection of the past. In 420 A.
D., paganism was abolished in Athens, and
the Parthenon converted into a church of the
Virgin Mary. In 1456, the Caliph Omar gained
possession of it. A black eunuch held the
place which Pericles once adorned, and the
Parthenon, no longer a Christian church, was
forced to answer as a mosque. In 1687, the
Venetians besieged Athens, and some of the
works of the immortal Phidias, the sculptor,
were destroyed by the explosion of a magazine,
fired by a bomb thrown into the Parthenon by
the besiegers. On the 29th of September,
Athens came into the hands of the Venetians,
after its inhabitants had suffered severely from
the siege, but was again relinquished to the
Turks in 1688. From the erection of many
barbaric structures, some of the most valuable
remains of antiquity have been covered and
concealed, to be brought to light by the re-
searches of the curious of later days. From the
Turks, the Greeks of Athens experienced a
milder treatment than many of their brethren,
and were permitted to retain many of their
ancient observances. In 1822, the Acropolis
sustained a long siege, which was terminated
by its falling into the hands of the patriots.
News of this was heard with delight by all the
Greeks, who loved their country, and rejoiced
to behold,
" The flag of freedom wave once more
Above the lofty Parthenon.*'
The present condition of Greece is too well
known to require many words upon the subject.
After a hard struggle — a struggle which called
for the exertion of great fortitude, and the dis-
play of uncommon bravery — the interference
of Christian powers, compelled the Turks to
retire from their prey. The government of
Greece was finally established as a limited
monarchy. The modern Athenians have lost
neither the intelligence, nor gayety, which dis-
tinguished their ancestors, but they have less
love of glory, and fewer peculiarities of char-
acter. The Athenians have few memorials of
the triumphs of their countrymen in the arts,
since the various nations which have, at differ-
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ent times, possessed themselves of Athens,
have not scrupled to tear from it its most valu-
able monuments. Robberies have been per-
petrated with impunity, although the people
have regarded the removal of almost every
ornament, with great indignation. The ruins
of the Parthenon yet repay the curiosity of
travellers. This was a temple dedicated to
Minerva, and was the pride of Athens in for-
mer days. It was 217 feet long, 98 broad, and
G5 feet high. When the Persians entered
Athens, they marked their rude triumph by the
destruction of this temple, which Pericles re-
built, 444 years B. C. It contained the famous
statue of the goddess Minerva, which was
sculptured by Phidias ; was formed of ivory
and gold, and 46 feet high. This magnificent
figure cost about 570,004 dollars. Hence we
may estimate the wealth of the ancient Greeks.
The Athenians, like the Romans, fell, only
when wealth had corrupted them, and simple
and temperate manners had given way at the
approach of luxury and extravagance. When,
poor and proud of honest indigence, their pro-
perty was merely adequate to the supply of
their wants, they were independent; but when
this happy simplicity was banished, they found
themselves a degraded people, and sunk be-
neath the weight of their fetters.
ATHOS, a mountain of Macedonia, now
Agion Oros, or Monte Santo, in the Turkish
province of Salonica. On its sides, are many
hermitages, and twenty monasteries, with 6000
monks, chiefly Russians, of the order of St.
Basil. Some of the monasteries are said to
contain very ancient and valuable manuscripts.
Not long since, a manuscript of the eighth
century, a translation of the Bible into the
Georgian language by St. Euphemius, was dis-
covered here. The summit of this mountain
is about 6,900 feet above the level of the sea.
At the foot of it, Xerxes caused a trench a mile
and a half long, to be cut and filled with sea-
water. This was for the passage of his fleet,
and of such width that two ships could sail
ATLANTIC OCEAN. There is not in the
multitude of natural wonders, a more sublime
spectacle, than that afforded by the world of
waters, under whatever view it is contem-
plated. Impressive and beautiful it is, when
stretched out in the tranquil and golden repose
of an unbroken calm, reflecting the still splen-
dor of the heavens by day, or their diamond
brilliancy by night. Far as the eye can reach,
there is no ripple on the wave, and at the hori-
zon, the azure of the air, and that of the ocean
appear blended : —
The bridal of the sea and sky.
Yet more impressive is the aspect of the deep
sea in a tempest ; when the elements are
awakened from their slumber, and abroad in
their terrible strength, and the wild winds of
heaven sport with gigantic mountains of water,
heaving them to and fro, with the ease of zeph
yrs sporting with dew-drops. The saltness of
the vast extent of waters (the surface of the
whole ocean being computed to amount to
147,000,000 square miles, and the quantity of
the whole being 21,372,626^ cubic miles,) pre-
serves it perpetually fresh, and contributes to
invigorate the health of all who dwell upon
its borders, or its waves.
The formation of the bed of the Atlantic,
from latitude 200 south, up to the north pole,
has been ascribed to the concussion of immense
masses of water, produced by the deluge, when,
it is conceived, the waters of the great Southern
Ocean below the equator, rushed upon the
northern hemisphere. Mr. Kirwan says that
the inspection of a map is sufficient to convince
any one, that this vast space was formed by the
force and pressure of the waters. From Cape
Frio to the river of the Amazons, in South
America, there is a vast protuberance answer-
ing to the incurvation of the African shore
from the river of Congo to Cape Palmas ; while,
from the Straits of Gibraltar to Cape Palmas,
there is an immense protuberance, correspond-
ing to the incurvation between New York and
Cape St. Roque. This conjecture is thought
probable, since the depression caused by such
an immense body of water could not be other-
wise than enormous, considering the shock and
weight of the opposing body.
Until the successful issue of the voyages of
Columbus, it was imagined that there was one
unbroken extent of water between the western
shores of Europe and Africa, and the East
Indies ; and the great navigator himself ima-
gined that he had reached the Indian realms,
by a shorter route than that pursued by the
Portuguese. The name of the Atlantic Ocean
is connected with a tradition, which is lost in
the night of antiquity, and which, reaching
the Greeks from the Egyptians, has been
commemorated by Plato. It was said that
there originally existed an isle called Atlantis,
which rose from the bosom of the ocean, and
surpassed in extent Asia, and LnVya together.
The circumstance of Plato's testimony has
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caused a controversy among modern authors
respecting the situation and nature of Atlan-
tis. Of course, it is impossible to determine
the situation of an isle which existed before
the ages of history, but still we cannot disre-
gard the truth of the tale. What interest had
the Greeks in imagining a fable, which bore
no relation to their history, and which was
not calculated to affect their religious belief?
Why should the Greeks have adopted it ?
"The islanders," says Plato, " subdued Libya,
Egypt, and Europe, as far as Asia Minor ; at
last, Mantis was sivalloiced by the waters, and
for a long time afterwards, the sea was full of
earth and sand-hanks, in the vicinity of the place
which the island had occupied.'1'' This last pas-
sage proves the existence of a tradition of a
terrible outbreak of the waters of the Atlantic
Ocean, which overwhelmed Atlantis.
The equinoctial current, in the Atlantic, is
a westwardly motion of the waters in the tropi-
cal seas. Between the tropics, and particularly
from the coast of Senegal to the Caribbean Sea,
the general current flows from east to west.
This current was known to the navigators of a
very early age. The mean rapidity of the equi-
noctial current is 9 or 10 miles in 24 hours. At
28° north latitude, and nearly as far south,
this western equinoctial current is felt, although
feebly. The current which rushes through the
Cuba and Bahama, or Florida channels, and
coasts the United States and Nova Scotia to
about 45 degrees north latitude, is called the
Gulf Stream. The whole course of this ocean
river, is about 15,000 miles in extent. The
rapidity of its motion is variable ; but greatest
in the Bahama channel.
The depth of the Atlantic is various, being,
in some parts unfathomable. Its saltness and
specific gravity diminish gradually from the
equator to the poles. Near the British islands,
the salt is said to be one thirty-eighth of the
weight of the water. The temperature of the
Atlantic is influenced, considerably, by the
masses of ice which float from the northward
towards the equator, reaching frequently the
40th degree of latitude. Dangerous as are
these icebergs to the mariner, they yet pre-
sent a splendid appearance as they float onwards
to southern latitudes, gleaming in the sunbeams,
which, while they impart a dazzling brilliancy,
hasten the dissolution of the floating masses.
The continual melting of portions, gives a very
fanciful appearance to the icebergs, which is
heightened by the rivulets pouring from point
to point, like the streams trickling down a
cavern of stalactites. Passages between North
America and Europe in the month of June
and July, are sometimes rendered perilous by
the frequency of icebergs from the north-
ward.
ATTICA, a country of ancient Greece, is a
peninsula, united with Bcaotia towards the
north, and partially with Megaris on the west.
At Cape Sunium, now Colonna, it projects far
into the iEgean Sea. The earliest inhabitants
lived in a savage state, until the arrival of Ce-
crops, with an Egyptian colony, B. C. 1550.
Athens, the capital of Attica, and, for a long
time the most refined city of the ancient world,
gave the name of Athenians to residents in At-
tica. (See Athens.) Attica was famous for its
gold and silver mines, which constituted the
best part of the public revenues, and were
worked by 20,000 men. The inhabitants were
numbered, in the 16th Olympiad, at 31,000
citizens, and 400,000 slaves, in 174 villages,
some of which were considerable towns.
ATTILA, king of the Huns, flourished be-
tween 434 and 453. He rendered the Greek
empire tributary, and invaded France, but was
defeated on the Maine. He threatened Rome,
but was induced to retire. Attila was given to
excess, and died 453. His body was put in
three coffins — the outer of iron, the next of
silver, and the inner one of gold. His personal
appearance has been described by Jornandes.
He had a large head, a flat nose, broad shoul-
ders, and a short, misshapen body.
AUGEAS, in fable, a king of Elis, whose
stable contained 3,000 oxen, and had not been
cleansed for thirty years. Hercules was re-
quired to clean it, which he did by turning the
river Alpheus into it.
AUGEBEAU, Pierre Francois Charles, duke
of Castiglione, marshal of France, was one of
those men who emerged from obscurity, and
obtained a high rank among the officers that
surrounded Napoleon, giving such unrivalled
brilliancy to his court and camp. Augereau was
the son of a fruit merchant, and was born at
Paris, 1757 ; serving, as soon as he was able, as
a carbineer in the French army. Having sub-
sequently entered the Neapolitan service, he
was banished from Naples, in 17(12. He then
served as a volunteer in the army of Italy, and
attracted the attention of all by his bravery, and
military talent. In 1794, we find him a general
of brigade, and, in 1790, general of division.
He distinguished himself, at the pass of Mille-
simo, and at Lodi, and took part in some of
the most brilliant achievements of the French.
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In the battle of Arcoli, finding the French
columns wavering, Augereau seized a standard,
rushed into the thickest of the battle, and gained
the victory. In 1799, he was chosen member
of the council of five hundred. He was en-
trusted by Bonaparte with the command of the
army in Holland, joined Moreau, and fought
with varying fortune, until the campaign was
ended by the battle of Hohenlinden. In 1803,
he was appointed to head the expedition against
Portugal, which enterprise failed. Returning
to Paris, he was named, in 1804, marshal of the
empire, and grand officer of the legion of
honor. In 1805, he was in Germany, contribu-
ting to the successes of the French. Wounded
in the battle of Eylau, he was forced to return
to France. In 1811, he had a command in
Spain. In 1813, he was engaged in the battle of
Leipsic. After the success of the allies, Louis
XVIII named him a peer ; in consequence of his
speaking disrespectfully of Napoleon after his
fall, the latter, on his return from Elba, declared
him a traitor. Augereau took no active part in
affairs until the return of the king, when he
resumed his seat in the chamber of peers. He
died of the dropsy, June 11th, 181G.
AUGSBURG, 35 miles northwest of Munich,
capital of the Bavarian circle of the Upper
Danube. It is a place of some commercial im-
portance, and has 34,000 inhabitants. It is
famous as the place where the Lutherans, in
1530, protested against the persecutions of
Charles V, and were hence called Protestants.
AUGUSTA, a pleasant town in Maine, the
seat of the state government. It is situated on
the Kennebeck river, 56 miles N. N. E. of Port-
land. Population, in 1830, 3,980. Qwgusta
(Georgia), a city opposite to, and connected
with Hamburg, S. C. It has a flourishing com-
merce. Situated on an elevated plain, it has an
air of great neatness. Population, in 1830,
6696.
AUGUSTIN, or Austin, Saint, has been
surnamed the "Apostle of the English." The
lime at which he flourished, was the reign of
Ethelbert, towards the close of the sixth cen-
tury. Pope Gregory was induced to send Au-
gustin into England with 40 monks, to intro-
duce Christianity into the Saxon kingdoms.
Ethelbert was then seated on the throne of
Kent, to which he had succeeded on the death
of his father Hermandie, about 560. After a
short, determined struggle, he had rendered all
I of the states, with the sole exception of North-
umberland, dependant. Ethelbert formed a
I natrimonial alliance with France, claiming in
marriage the hand of Bertha, a Christian prin-
cess, from her father, Caribert, king of Paris.
The princess, distinguished for her piety and
virtue, exacted a promise from her husband
that she should not be molested in the enjoy-
ment of her religion, and that, on the con-
trary, she should be permitted to bring over
to England with her a French bishop. Ethel-
bert, who was tenderly attached to her, made
no objections, and the French bishop was re-
ceived with every mark of respect. The con-
duct of the queen was such as to reflect honor
on herself and the court of her husband, and
excited the admiration of Ethelbert and his
subjects. The king could not but perceive the
salutary influence of Christianity, and was
strongly prepossessed in its favor. Pope Greg-
ory, the Great, received the intelligence of the
favourable disposition of the king with un-
feigned gladness, and immediately dispatched
a mission of forty monks, headed by the cele-
brated Augustin.
Augustin found the king ready to lend a
willing ear to all his arguments, and displayed,
in a striking and happy light, the truth and
beauty of the gospel. The king was not long
in avowing his entire belief in the doctrine
of Christianity. With his subjects, Augustin
was no less successful ; they embraced the
true religion with readiness, and crowded to
baptism. It is said that Augustin baptized
no fewer than ten thousand in one day. His
reputation for miraculous power (for he was
said to have the ability of curing the blind and
deaf), had doubtless no little influence with the
multitude, but still it was clear that there was
a happy spirit abroad. In regarding his efforts
for the extension of gospel truth, we should
never overlook the circumstance that he per-
mitted no force to be used. There were none
of those threats held out to the wavering,
which have disgraced the Romish church in
many ages — the fagot and the scourge were
never once alluded to by Saint Augustin. Yet
with many of his disinterested motives, there
mingled some ambitious views. He desired to
be made archbishop of Canterbury, with su-
preme authority over all the churches in Eng-
land. The pope was by no means disposed to
refuse any of his requests, considering that he
had fairly earned any distinction which it was
in his power to bestow. The archiepiscopal pall
was granted him with permission to establish
12 sees in the province. The British bishop/j in
Wales refused to acknowledge the authority of
the church of Rome, under whose jurisdiction
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they had never placed themselves. They were
descendants of the British converts of the second
century, and sternly resolved to maintain their
independence. Augustin urged — threatened.
The bishops were neither pliant nor timid, and
adhered to their original determination. A
dreadful tragedy was now acted ; 1200 Welsh
monks being ruthlessly put to the sword. Au-
gustin was suspected not only of having sanc-
tioned, but of having instigated the massa-
cre. He had been irritated by the refusal of
the Welsh ecclesiastics to unite with the Eng-
lish church, and he thought their contumacy
deserving of the severest punishment. He
died in 604 or 614, and his relics were deposited
with care in the cathedral of Canterbury. The
good effects of the introduction of Christianity
into England were immediately perceived.
The adoption of a pure religion, was immedi-
ately followed by the spread of knowledge and
civilization ; those laws which were enacted,
were generally observed, and a spirit of union
manifested itself throughout the kingdom.
AUGUSTUS, Caius Julius Csesar Octavius,
son of Caius Octavius and Accia, niece of Juli-
us Ceesar. He was born during the consulate
of Cicero, 65 years B. C. His education was
carefully attended to, and he was adopted by
Julius Cffisar. He was studying eloquence at
Apollonia in Epirus, when his uncle was assas-
sinated, and at nineteen years of age, placing
himself at the head of the veterans, he marched
to Rome, which he found distracted by the
republicans and the followers of Antony and
Lepidus. Here he announced publicly his
adoption, and took his uncle's name, to which
he added that of Octavianus . Antony treated
him with a contempt, which the magistrates
and leading men were far from feeling, and
Octavius joined the army that was sent against
Antony after his proscription. Thinking it
politic, however, to conciliate him, he joined
Antony, and, with Lepidus, formed the trium-
virate which was .to last for five years, each
enjoying an equal share of authority. Octavius
sacrificed Cicero to the malice of his associates,
and Rome became the theatre of the most san-
guinary tragedies. Brutus and Cassius having
been defeated, a new partition of spoils took
place, Octavius and Antony obtaining the Ro-
man empire, while Lepidus was forced to con-
tent himself with the African provinces, and
was finally deposed. Octavius gave his sister
Octavia in marriage to Antony. The conduct
and fate of Antony have been related. (See Jin-
tony.) Octavius was soon firmly established in
the empire. The senate gave him the title of
Augustus, and, finding his power confirmed, he
seems to have endeavored strenuously to ren-
der his conduct worthy of his dignity. He
made excellent regulations for the safe conduct
of the government ; reducing the number of
senators from 1000 to 600, and raising the degree
of wealth, which was to qualify them for a seat.
He set about the reform of the public manners
and morals, and carried his arms successfully
into Gaul, Germany, and the east. In the lat-
ter part of his reign, however, he met with
severe losses in Germany, when Arminius rous-
ed his enthralled countrymen to arms. The
emperor displayed great sensibility when he
heard that three of his legions under Varus, had
been cut to pieces by the Germans, A. D. 9,
and often exclaimed, in tones of agony, " O
Varus, give me back my legions !"
He died at Rome, A. D. 14, in the 76th year
of his age, and 14th of his reign. On the ap-
proach of death, he called for a mirror, and ar
ranged his hair. He then asked those about
him, if he had played his part well? On their
answering in the affirmative, he said, after the
manner of the actors, " Then farewell — and
applaud !" He greatly improved the appear-
ance of the capital, and it was truly said, that
" he had found Rome brick, and left it marble.'
He liberally patronized men of letters, and
Augustan age is a phrase applied to any era
distinguished for literature and the arts. Vir-
gil and Horace were among the brightest orna-
ments of his reign. Two conspiracies formed
against him miscarried, the leader of one.
Cinna, being generously pardoned by his mas-
ter. The emperor's private griefs were heavy,
and he suffered great misery from the debauch-
eries of his daughter Julia.
AURELIAN, emperor of Rome, distinguish-
ed for his military talents and severity, was the
son of a peasant of Illyricum,and having served
with distinction under Valerian II, and Claudi-
us II, was recommended as his successor by the
latter. He was raised to the throne to the sat-
isfaction of all. He subdued Zenobia, queen
of Palmyra, and erected a new wall round
Rome, but was assassinated, A. D. 275.
AURENG-ZEBE (ornament of the throne),
was born October 20, 1619. His father, Shah
Jehan, succeeded to the throne when Anreng-
zebe was in his ninth year. In youth, he was
distinguished by his great sanctity of appear-
ance, and he used all the arts of hypocrisy to
cloak his designs. He looked forward to the pos-
session of the throne of Hindostan, in the life-
AUS
39
AUS
time of his father. In 1658, he seized Agra, and
imprisoned his father. Having murdered his rel-
atives in succession, he ascended the throne in
1659, and took the name of Aalem Guyr. Not-
withstanding his crimes in gaining the throne,
he governed with ability and success. He
greatly enlarged his dominions, and became so
formidable, that all the eastern princes sent him
ambassadors. He died at the age of 89, bequeath-
ing his possessions to his sons. Wars broke
out immediately after his decease, and many of
the conquered provinces sought their former
independence.
AUSTERLITZ, or Slawkow, a town of
Moravia, in the circle of Brunn, is situated 12
miles E. S. E. of Brunn, and 112 E. S. E. of
Prague. This town has been rendered famous
by the battle fought in its neighborhood, on the
2d day of December, 1805, in which the troops
of France, under the command of the emperor
Napoleon, defeated the combined forces of Rus-
sia and Austria, headed by their respective
emperors. The combined troops amounted to
100,000 men, of whom one fourth were Austri-
ans ; while Napoleon had but 80,000, twenty
battalions of which, with forty pieces of artil-
lery, he kept back as a reserve. At sunrise the
battle began, and, shortly afterwards, a most
furious cannonade wrapped the combatants in
fire and smoke. The repeated discharge of
two hundred pieces of cannon created an uproar
which appalled all but those engaged in the
work of death. At one o'clock in the afternoon,
the French were victorious, and the Russians
and Austrians retreated. The French found
themselves in possession of forty stands of col-
ors, and 120 pieces of cannon, while twenty
generals, and upwards of 30,000 prisoners were
taken.
An artillery officer of the Russian Imperial
guard, having just lost his guns, met the
emperor Napoleon : " Sire," said he, " order
me to be shot, for I have lost my pieces."
" Young man," replied the emperor, " I appre-
ciate your tears ; but you may have been de-
feated by my army and yet have indisputable
claims to glory." The French artillery caused
a heavy loss to the enemy, and Napoleon, in
noticing their exploits, said : " Your success
has given me great pleasure, for I do not forget
that in ypur ranks I commenced my military
career." The soldiers called this battle the
day of the three Emperors, while Napoleon
named it the day of Austerlitz. The commence-
ment of the action was striking. The emperor,
surrounded by his marshals, in brilliant uni-
forms, refrained from giving his orders until
the first rays of the sun shot a splendor on
the scene, and the horizon became illumina-
ted. He then issued his orders distinctly but
rapidly, and the marshals parted at full gallop,
each to his corps. The emperor, passing in
front of several regiments, thus addressed them :
" Soldiers ! we must finish this campaign by a
thunder-clap, which will astound our enemies
and crush their pride !" Thousands of hats
waved on bayonets, and cries of vive I'empe-
reur ! (long live the emperor!) were the signals
of attack. " Never," says Napoleon, " was
field of battle more dreadful."
On the 4th of December, Napoleon had an
interview with the emperor of Germany, in
which an armistice, and the principal conditions
of peace were agreed upon. Meanwhile, the
French troops having nearly surrounded the
retreating Russians, Savary, Napoleon's aid-de
camp, was dispatched to the emperor of Russia,
to inform him that he could retire in safety if
he adhered to the capitulation, retreating by
stages regulated by the emperor, and would
evacuate Germany and Poland. " On this con-
dition," added Savary, " I am commanded by
the emperor to repair to our advanced posts,
which have already turned you, and give them
his orders to protect your retreat, the emperor
wishing to respect the friend of the first con-
sul."— " What guarantee must I give you ?" —
" Sire, your word." — " I give it." — Orders were
accordingly given, and the retreat of the Rus-
sians protected.
AUSTRALIA is the fifth division of the
world, including New Holland, Van Diemen's
Land, New Guinea, the Admiralty islands, New
Britain, Solomon isles, Queen Charlotte's isl-
and, New Hebrides or Terra del Santo Espi-
ritu, New Caledonia, New Zealand, the Pelew,
Caroline or New Philippine islands, Marian
or Ladrone, Monteverdos, Mulgrave, Fisher,
Friendly, Bligh's, Navigators, Society, Mar-
quesas, Washington, and Sandwich islands.
These are sometimes divided into Australasia
and Polynesia. Magellan discovered the Lad-
rone or Marian islands, March 6, 1521, and the
Spanish navigators continued the discoveries
which the Portuguese had commenced. The
Dutch in the 17th century, took up the task,
but Cook, the English navigator, contributed
the largest quota of information with regard to
Australia. This division of the globe is inhabit-
ed by an infinity of tribes, of various disposi-
tions and habits. In many islands reformation
of manners has been effected through the exer-
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90
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tions of European and American missionaries,
while in others the condition of the natives is
deplorable. The Sandwich islanders have made
the greatest progress.
AUSTRIA. The Austrian dominions have
not always been of their present extent, which
is very great. The empire of Austria, now con-
tains, in addition to the Archdutchy, Bohemia,
Moravia, Austrian Silesia, Galicia, with the
Bukowine ; Hungary, including Transylvania,
Sclavonia, and Austrian Croatia ; Austrian Ita-
ly, and Dalmatia, with Cattaro, Ragusa, and
their islands. Over this extensive territory the
house of Austria now holds proud and undispu-
ted sway.
The house of Austria was indebted for its
rise to power, to the good fortune of successive
marriages — the beauty of its daughters ; whence
it came to be a common saying, that " Venus
was more favorable to it than Mars." The
fortunes of the house of Austria began first to
brighten in the fifteenth century, and origina-
ted with the poor and undistinguished counts
of Hapsburg, who were possessed of a circum-
scribed territory of little value in the canton of
Berne, Switzerland. The powerful house of
Zaerlingen and Kyburg, becoming extinct, Ro-
dolph of Hapsburg, lord of the greater part of
Switzerland, was summoned to assume the im-
perial diadem and purple in 1273. In A. D.
1298, the imperial throne was filled by another
member of the house of Austria, the emperor
Albert. This monarch deputed harsh and ty-
rannical governors to rule the Swiss, and, in
consequence of continued oppression, that brave
people revolted in 1307, headed by the famous
Tell. Frederick, son of Albert, found himself
forced to relinquish the empire into the hands
of Louis of Bavaria. The crowns of Germany,
Hungary, and Bohemia, were united in the per-
son of Albert II, duke of Austria, who ascended
the throne on the death of his father, A. D. 1438.
Hungary and Bohemia were his by inheritance,
and the empire by universal suffrage.
The emperor Maximilian, grandfather of
Charles V, married the heiress of Burgundy,
in consequence of which alliance, the Nether-
lands were subjected to Austiia in 1477. In
1496, the marriage of his son Philip to the heir-
ess of Castile and Arragon, led to the junction
of the broad domains of Spain with the already
ample territories of Austria. Charles V, desir-
ous of retiring from public life and passing his
days in gloomy seclusion, resigned the crown
in 1556, and Philip II, his son, gained posses-
sion of Spain and the Netherlands. Ferdinand,
the brother of Charles V, received Austria, Bo-
hemia, and Hungary. He also had been cho-
sen emperor of Germany. The house of Aus-
tria was noted for its bigotry and cruel in-
tolerance. In 1570, Maximilian granted lib-
erty of conscience (a great grant in a monarch !)
to the Protestants of Austria, but those in other
portions of his dominions, particularly in Bohe-
mia, were most cruelly persecuted. In their
distress the Protestant German princes sought
the assistance of the famous Gustavus Adol-
phus, king of Sweden. This famous warrior,
the ' Lion of the North,' as he was called, broke
upon the empire like a whirlwind, and its very
foundations tottered beneath the shock. France,
espousing the cause of the Protestants, hoped
thus to weaken the power of Austria, and the
country experienced no release from the tumults
and horrors of war, until the treaty of West-
phalia was signed in 1648.
The sword was idle for a time, but the war
with France broke out afresh during the reign
of Leopold I, and was continued ufider his suc-
cessor. The Turks, emboldened by success, in
1688, pushed their arms into the heart of the
empire, and the walls of Vienna echoed back
the clangour of the oriental cymbals. The siege
of Vienna by the Turks, is a memorable and
impressive event. In the war of the allies with
France, Joseph I, son of Leopold, joined with
heart and hand, and acquired a share of their
good fortune. His queen was a daughter of
John Frederick, duke of Hanover. Charles VI
dying without issue, on the 20th of October,
1740, the extinction of the male line of the
house of Austria was the signal for the move-
ment of the elector of Bavaria. He seized the
kingdom of Bohemia, was elected emperor in
1742, and died in 1745. Francis of Lorraine,
son of Leopold duke of Lorraine, succeeded to
the Austrian dominions in right of his queen,
Maria Theresa, daughter of Charles VI. The
throne is still occupied by his descendants. He
was elected emperor in 1745, and the crown,
though nominally elective, descended to his
successors with the regularity of an hereditary
sovereignty.
The emperor Joseph II, made his reign con-
spicuous by his designs for the good of his
subjects. He aimed at the most extensive
and important reformations, but was not aware
of the strength of those prejudices and evils,
which presented themselves in his path at the
very outset, and continued toobstruct it through-
out the whole of his career. The education of
Joseph had been carefully attended to, and at
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91
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the age of nineteen, lie was married to Isabella,
infanta of Parma. In 17G4, he was crowned
king of the Romans. The death of his first wife
whom he loved with a more than usual fond-
ness, was a severe blow to him, but in 1765, he
married the sister of the elector of Bavaria. It
was in this year that he ascended the throne,
without encountering the slightest opposition.
Having always displayed a military ambition,
he was now happy in re-modelling his armies
and perfecting their discipline, not restricting
his reformation to the army but making it felt
in all the departments of government. After
having returned from a tour through his
own dominions, and through Prussia, Italy,
France, and Russia, he set apart, one day in
each week for hearing the complaints and peti-
tions of all, even the meanest of his subjects.
" It behoves me," said he, " to do justice : and
it is my invariable intention to render it to all the
world, without respect of persons.." It is a pity
that he forgot this maxim when he accepted the
invitation of the royal anatomists, and assisted
in the dismemberment of Poland, in 1771. Jo-
seph encouraged the liberty of the press, and
even permitted strictures to be made on his own
conduct and measures, provided they were not
couched in the language of coarse pasquinade.
" If," said he, " they be founded in justice, we
shall profit by them ; if not, we shall disregard
them."
Many curious adventures are said to have
occurred to the emperor, when, as was his cus-
tom, he drove about his one horse cabriolet in
the garb of a private citizen. One day, as he
was riding thus alone, he was accosted famil-
iarly by a soldier who mistook him for a man
of the middle class, and asked the emperor to
give him a ride. " Willingly," exclaimed Jo-
seph, " jump in comrade, for I am in something
of a hurry." The soldier sprang into the cab-
riolet, and sovereign and subject sat side by
side on the same seat. The soldier was loqua-
cious. " Come, comrade !" said he, slapping
the emperor familiarly on the back ; " Are you
good at guessing?" " Perhaps I am," replied
Joseph ; " try me." " Well, then, my boy,
conjure up your wits, and guess what I had
for breakfast this morning." " Sour krout."
"Come, none of that ! try again, comrade."
" Perhaps a Westphalia ham," said the empe-
ror, willing to humour his companion. " Bet-
ter than that !" exclaimed the soldier. " Sau-
sages from Bologna, and Hockheimer from the
Rhine ?" " Better than that — d'ye give it
up?" "I do." "Open your eyes and ears
then," said the soldier bluntly, " I had a phea-
sant, by Jove ! shot in emperor Joe's park, ha !
ha!" When the exultation of the soldier had
subsided. Joseph said quietly : " I want to try
your skill in guessing, comrade. See if you
can name the rank I hold." " You're a — no —
hang it ! you're not smart enough for a cornet."
" Better than that," said the emperor. " A
lieutenant?" — "Better than that." — "A cap-
tain?"— "Better than that." — "A major?" —
" Better than that." — " General ?" — " Better
than that." The soldier was now fearfully agi-
tated— he had doffed his hat, and sat bare-
headed— he could hardly articulate. " Pardon
me, your excellency, — you are Field Marshal."
"Better than that," replied Joseph. "Lord
help me !" cried the soldier, " you're the em-
peror !" He threw himself out of the cabriolet
and kneeled for pardon in the mud. The cir-
cumstances were not forgotten by either, for
the emperor often laughed over it heartily, and
the soldier received a mark of favor which he
could not forget.
On another occasion, Joseph, turning a corner
shortly, ran the wheel of his vehicle against an
old woman's fruit-stall, and upset it, scattering
the good things in every direction. The rag-
ged urchins in the immediate vicinity fell upon
the tempting fruit, and hastily gathering it, eat
it, mud and all. As soon as the old woman
gained her feet, she gave utterance to a volley
of abuse, and the emperor was glad to escape
and permit the predatory youths of the suburbs
to take their share of the vituperative epithets
of the enraged fruit-seller. As soon as he had
reached his palace, Joseph despatched some of
his officers to make reparation to the old wo-
man. Surrounded by a group of men in splen
did uniforms, the old lady was terrified when
they informed her that the driver of the cabrio-
let was her emperor. Indistinct ideas of halters
and executioners were flitting across her mind,
when she was awakened to the reality, by the
sight of a purse full of gold pieces, which the
officers threw upon her table. She opened her
lips to bless the emperor, but his messengers
had put spurs to their horses, and were seen
galloping off in the distance. " I think," said
the emperor, " she has no reason to complain,
for she has been amply paid, and has had the
pleasure of abusing me unmercifully, while I
heard her with the patience of a saint." Va-
rious events occurred to disturb the tranquillity
of Joseph during his reign, and he died on the
20th of February, 1790. His good qualities far
exceeded his defects, and the glorious actions
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92
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he performed, have given him a high rank
among the great and good rulers of mankind.
Francis II was crowned emperor in 1792. In
1795, when the second division of Poland took
place, Austria received an immense accession
of territory. In 1797, she relinquished to France
her possessions in the Netherlands as well as
the dutchies of Milan and Mantua. To com-
pensate for this, the greater part of the Vene-
tian states were transferred to Austria. The
military power of France was so formidable, that
even the strongest sovereignties of Europe fear-
ed they should be unable to resist its encroach-
ments. The French threatened to attain the em-
pire of the world by rapid strides. Involved in
the wars of 1799 and 1805, Austria met with
repeated defeats and continued discomfiture.
After she had lost the great battles of Marengo
and Hohenlinden, Ulm and Austerlitz, her
Venetian possessions, the Tyrol, and other ter-
ritories were wrested from her grasp. In 1804,
Francis II, assumed the name of Francis I,
as hereditary emperor of Austria, and subse-
quently relinquished all claims to the empire
of Germany. In 1809, Austria took the field
against Napoleon, but having to contend, not
only against the French, but against Russia,
and the confederation of the Rhine, found her-
self defeated, and when Bonaparte entered
the capital, was compelled to relinquish again
immense territories. After a hopeless inaction
of some years, the failure of Napoleon's Rus-
sian expedition roused the Austrians to arms,
and the .subsequent success of the allied pow-
ers restored the power and splendor of the Aus-
trian empire, which gained the addition of some
Italian territories. Of the subject kingdoms
and states of Austria, a detailed account will
not be looked for. Hungary comes first in
rank. The Romans conquered Dacia and ren-
dered it tributary ; and, after them, the Huns,
Avars, and other Sclavonic tribes, successively
conquered it. Since 1563 it has continued an ap-
panage of the house of Austria. Transylvania
came into possession of the Austrians in 1699.
Croatia, anciently a part of Illyricum, was an-
nexed to Austria in 1540. Sclavonia, also an-
ciently a part of Illyricum, fell into the hands
of the Austrians in 1687. The crown of Bo-
hemia passed to the house of Austria in 1526.
The history of Venice is highly interesting,
and perhaps even a sketch of it may not prove
otherwise. The Veneti of the opposite shore,
flying from the barbarians, founded Venice in
the fifth century. The first doge was elected
in 697. Each island, previous to that date,
having been governed by a tribune. Towards
the close of the 12th century the Venetian aris-
tocracy seized the reigns of government. In
1204, the Venetians, having extended their
commerce, and become masters of many Gre-
cian provinces, were celebrated for their im-
mense wealth, and allowed to be the first
commercial people of the world. This pre-
eminence was destroyed by the success of the
Portuguese, to whom the commerce of the
East Indies was opened, and the power of Ve-
nice declined with great rapidity, and there now
remains but the tradition of what it was.
AVATAR, in Hindoo mythology, the in-
carnation of the deity. The Hindoos believe
that numerous incarnations have taken place ;
ten of which, the incarnations of Vishnu, the
Supreme Deity, are celebrated in sacred poems.
AVERNUS, a lake in the kingdom of Naples,
anciently believed to be the entrance to hell.
AVIGNON, a city of the department of Vau-
cluse, France, on the Rhine, containing 30,000
inhabitants, and some silk manufactories and
other works. The country is fruitful and pleas-
ant. The city and district once belonged to
the Popes, but in 1790 was annexed to the
French Republic.
AYESHA, the favorite of Mohammed. Af-
ter his death, opposing the succession of AH,
she was taken prisoner, but dismissed. She1
died in 677.
AZOPH, or Azof, a town and fortress belong-
ing to the Russians, on an island at the junc-
tion of the river Don with the sea of Azof.
It contains about 1000 inhabitants. The sea of
Azof is a bay of the Black Sea. The sea is 210
miles long.
AZORES, or Western Islands, a group of
islands lying between Europe and America.
The principal island is Terceira. Present pop-
ulation more than 200,000. They were dis-
covered by, and have ever since belonged to
the Portuguese, by whom, however, they are
not properly appreciated. It is difficult to de-
termine the exact time of their discovery, as
several dates are given, concerning which a1
warm controversy has been waged. It is, how-
ever, certain that they were discovered prior to,
1449. The name Azores, i. e. Haick Islands,
was given from the abundance of falcons
(azores) found here by the Portuguese. In 14C6
these islands were presented to the dutchess of
Burgundy, by her brother, the prince of Portu-
gal. They were colonized afterwards by Ger-
mans and Flemings, who appear, however, al-
ways to have acknowledged the sovereignty of
BAB
93
BAC
the king of Portugal. The Azores are recog-
I nised at sea from a great distance, by Pico, a
tall mountain, which, like the Peak of Tene-
riffe, towers far above the deep, and stands a
lasting landmark to mariners. The islands are
subject to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions,
and, in 1574, St. George's, Pico, Fayal, and
Terceira, although detached and distant from
i each other, were violently convulsed. The
ocean overflowed from the shock, which pro-
duced eighteen little islands. A similar con-
vulsion of nature occurred in July, 1638, and
after a commotion of six weeks, an island of
.nearly six miles in circumference, arose near
St. Michaels, but was subsequently absorbed.
j In 1720, the most horrible and tumultuous
' scenes occurred, and, amidst an almost unequal-
led combination of horrors — causing the death
; of many persons from fright — an island nearly
i as large as that of 1638, emerged from its sub-
| marine birth-place. The islands are supposed
' to rest on volcanic foundations, which extend to
the western shores of Portugal, though the com-
i munication may be in many parts obstructed.
B.
BAAL, Bel ; a Babylonian or Phoenician god,
concerning whom there is such a variety of
opinions, that there is no small difficulty in de-
termining his character. Some consider him as
a mortal, the founder of Babylon, and deified for
his exertions in the establishment of that mon-
archy. Besides the Babylonians and Assyrians,
the Persians, Tyrians, and others, worshipped
him
BABER, or Babour, sultan ; he was a de-
scendant of Tamerlane, sovereign of Cabul, and
founder of the Mogul dynasty in Hindostan,
in 15"25. He took Behar, and died in 1530.
BABYLONIA, now Irak Arabi, an Asiatic
empire of antiquity, bounded north by Media,
Armenia, and Mesopotamia ; east by Susiana;
«outh by the Persian Gulf, and Chaldea, and
west by Arabia Deserta. The Euphrates or
Frat, and Tigris, two great rivers, irrigate this
fertile and level region. The old capital, Bab-
ylon, was of prodigious extent. The walls,
350 feet high, and 87 feet thick, were cemented
with bitumen, and were more than 60 miles in
circuit. They had an hundred brazen gates, and
■two hundred and fifty towers. Its ruins, which
are cumbrous and tasteless, exist in the pacha-
iic of Bagdad, near Hella, a village on the east-
ern bank of the Euphrates, with 6 or 7000 in-
habitants. The hanging gardens of Babylon
were famous in ancient times. The Babylo-
nians formed a distinct nation, and had attained
a high degree of refinement as early as 2000 B. C.
Nimrod was the founder of the empire, ace tru-
ing to the Mosaic record. Belus, Ninus, and
Semiramis were famous conquerors, and the
latter caused the capital to be embellished and
improved. The le'arning of the Babylonians
was celebrated at an early age. Under Nabo-
nidas, the empire lost much of its strength and
"splendor, and Cyrus destroyed its capital, and
annexed it to Persia, in 536. In A. D. 640 it
was conquered by the followers of Mohammed,
who built Bagdad on the Tigris, and made it
the capital. Holagou, a prince of the Tar-
tars, expelled the caliphs in 1258, and in 1534
Bagdad was taken by the Turks. Shah Abbas
won it from them, but in 1639, the whole of Bab-
ylon fell into the hands of the Turks, who yet
possess it.
BACCHUS, the heathen God of wine, son
of Jupiter and Semele. His festivals in Greece
and Rome were celebrated by both sexes, and
disgraced by intoxication and excesses of va-
rious kinds.
BACHAUMONT, Francois le Coigneux de,
born at Paris, 1624, died in the same city, J702.
He was counsellor of Parliament, and opposed
to the court party in the disturbances of 1648.
He said that the members of the parliament put
him in mind of the little boys that played with
slings in the street, who dispersed on the ap-
pearance of a police officer, but collected as
soon as he was out of sight. Pleased with this
comparison, the enemies of Mazarin adopted
hat-bands in the form of a sling (fronde),
and hence were denominated Frondeurs. Ba-
chaumont was distinguished for his talent for
writing epigrams and lively songs, many of
which are extant.
BACON, Francis, baron of Verulam, a dis-
tinguished philosopher, born at London, 1561,
and died in 1626. He was entered in the
university of Cambridge, in his 13th year, and
distinguished himself for his early proficiency
in the sciences. At 16 he wrote against the
Aristotelian philosophy, and at 19 his work
Of the State of Europe, attracted general at-
tention from the clearness of perception and
maturity of judgment which it displayed. At
the age of 28 his legal reputation was such
that he was appointed counsel extraordinary to
the queen — a post of more honor than profit.
The Earl of Essex befriended Bacon, and pre-
sented him with an estate in land, but the lat-
ter abandoned his benefactor when he had fallen
into disgrace. In parliament, towards the close
of Elizabeth's reign, he forsook the independent
BAC
94
BAD
course which he had previously pursued, and be-
came a follower of the court. He stood high in
the good graces of James I, and was knighted by
him in 1603. His marriage was fortunate, and he
at length saw himself free from those pecuniary
embarrassments by which he had been so long
shackled.
In 1617 he was made lord keeper of the Seals ;
in 1619, lord high chancellor of England, and ba-
ron Verulam, and not long afterwards, viscount
of St. Albans. He had not now the plea of neces-
sity for making offices and privileges venal, but
he was charged with receiving money for them.
Rather than submit to a trial which would stamp
his name with indelible disgrace, he confessed
his guilt, supplicated the lenity of his peers,
and begged to be dismissed with the loss of his
office. His sentence was severe but just. He
was sentenced to pay a fine of £40,000, to be
imprisoned in the Tower as long as the king
should choose, declared incapable of office, for-
bidden to take his seat in parliament, or to show
himself within the verge of the court. He was
soon released from the Tower, but did not long
survive his fall. His errors sprang more from
weakness, than from avarice or want of princi-
ple, for he displayed through life a strong sym-
pathy for virtue, if he did not have firmness
enough to be faithful to her cause. He exam-
ined the whole circle of the sciences, and en-
deavored to free them from the academical sub-
tilties which had impeded their progress. " My
name and memory," he says in his will, " I be-
queath to foreign nations, and to my own coun-
trymen, after some time be passed over."
BACON, Nathaniel, an Englishman of good
understanding and education, who came to Vir-
ginia in 1675, and excited a rebellion against
the royal government, which cost the colony
£100,000.
BACON, Roger, an English monk, born at
Ilchester in 1214, and gifted with great talents.
He made many discoveries in the sciences,
which caused him to be regarded as a sorcerer
by the common people, whose prejudices were
espoused by the clergy, against whom Bacon
had openly spoken. He was imprisoned in con-
sequence of their denunciations, and, at one
time, kept in confinement for ten years. He died
in 1292. He was probably the inventor of the
telescope, and had an idea of gunpowder, for he
distinctly says in one of his works that thunder
and lightning could be imitated by means of char-
coal, sulphur, and saltpetre. He was well vers-
ed in the Greek, Hebrew, and Latin languages,
the last of which he wrote with facility and
elegance, and, although not free from many of
the prejudices of his age, was altogether a very
extraordinary man. Many of the old English
ballads and romances contain accounts of the
wonderful exploits cf Friar Bacon, who is gifted
with magical arts of the most tremendous na-
ture. The " Famous Historie of Fryer Bacon,"
towards the conclusion, informs us that Friar
Bacon broke his magic glass, burned his books
of the ' Black Art,' devoted himself to theologi-
cal studies, and lived in a cell which he had
excavated in a church wall. " Thus lived he
two yeeres space in that cell, never coming forth :
his meat and drink he received in at a window,
and at that window he did discourse with those
that came to him ; his grave he digged with his
own nayles, and was laid there when he died."
" He lived most part of his life a magician, and
died a true Penitent Sinner, and an Ancho-
rite."
BACTRIANA, or Bactria, now Khorassan,
before the time of Cyrus was a powerful king-
dom, and gave to the Persians their mythology
and architecture. It lay between the Oxus,
Scythia, Mount Paropamisus, and Margiana;
but little is now known concerning this region.
After the destruction of the Persian monarchy,
it was held by the Parthians and Scythians, until
they were expelled*by the Huns.
fiADAJOZ, or Badajox, the Pax Augusta of
the Romans, is on the left bank of the Guadi-
ana, and contains 14,000 inhabitants. It is the
capital of Estremadura, a Spanish province, and
is 82 miles N. N. W. of Seville. It is celebrat-
ed for the defeat of the Spaniards in 1109, by
Joseph, king of Morocco ; and for its capture by
the British, after a bloody conflict, on the 6th of
April, 1812.
BADEN, a grand-duchy, of Germany, con-
taining 1.150,000 inhabitants, on an area of 5,800
square miles. Baden was erected into a grand-
duchy, with large accessions of territory, in 1806,
and now forms one of the states of the Germa-
nic confederation.
BADIA, Domingo, a Spaniard, and political
agent of Godoy and Napoleon, who from 1803
to 1808, travelled in the Mohammedan coun-
tries bordering on the Mediterranean. He pro-
fessed Mohammedanism, and assumed the name
of Mi Bey el Massi, under which his travels were
published. Burckhardt, the oriental traveller,
gives the following account of him : " He called
himself Mi Bey, and pretended to have been born
of Tunisian parents, in Spain, and to have re-
ceived his education in that country. Spanish
appears to have been his native language , besides
which he spoke French, a little Italian, and the
Mograbeyan dialect of Arabic, but badly. He
BAG
95
EAH
came to Aleppo by the way of Cairo, Jaffa, and
Damascus, with the strongest letters of recom-
mendation from the Spanish government to all
its agents, and an open credit upon them. He
seemed to be a particular friend of the Prince of
Peace, for whom he was collecting antiques;
and from the manner in which it was known
that he wa3 afterwards received by the Spanish
ambassador, he must have been a man of dis-
tinction. The description of his figure, and
what is related of his travels, called to my recol-
lection the Spaniard Badia, and his miniature
in your library. He was a man of middling
size, long, thin head, black eyes, large nose,
long black beard, and feet that indicated his
having formerly worn tight shoes. He professed
to have travelled in Barbary , to have crossed the
Lybian desert between Barbary and Egypt,
and, from Cairo, to have gone to Mecca and
back. He travelled with Eastern magnificence,
but here (Aleppo) he was rather shy of showing
himself out of doors : he never walked out but
on Friday, to the noon prayers, in the great
mosque. One of the before-mentioned dervi-
shes told me that there had been a great deal
of talk about this Ali Bey, at Damascus, and
Hamar : they suspected him of being a Chris-
tian; but his great liberality, and the pressing
letters which he brought to all people of conse-
quence, stopped all further inquiry. He was
busily employed in arranging and putting in
order his journal during the two months of his
stay at Aleppo." Badia died in his native
country.
BAERT,John; alsoBarth; born at Dunkirk.
1651. He was the son of a poor fisherman, but
his bravery and talents raised him to the rank
of commodore in the reign of Louis XIV, whose
navy he greatly improved. The Dutch, English,
and Spanish, called him the French devil. " I
have made you a commodore," was the king's
annunciation of his promotion to Jean Baert,
at Versailles. " Your majesty has done well,"
replied the sturdy seaman. The courtiers tit-
tered. " It is the reply," said Louis, " of a man
who knows his own worth." He received a
patent of nobility for one of his naval exploits,
and died in 1702.
BAGDAD ; the capital of a Turkish pacha-
lic of the same name, in the southern part of
Mesopotamia, now Irak-Arabi — contains about
100,000 inhabitants. It lies on the east bank of
the Tigris, over which a bridge is thrown. The
city is surrounded by a brick wall ; the houses
are of brick, and but one story high, and the
unpaved streets so narrow, as to admit of two
horsemen abreast with difficulty. The palace
of the pacha forms a contrast to the other
buildings of the city, being spacious and
did. European manufactures, as well as the
productions of India, Arabia, and Persia, find a
sale here, and the thronged bazaars present a
brilliant and animated appearance. Bagdad has
a cannon foundery. From Bagdad, East Indian
goods are supplied to Asia Minor, Syria, and
part of Europe. The population consists of
Turks, Persians, Armenians, and a small num-
ber of Christians and Jews. The ancient city,
founded in 672, by the Caliph Abu Giafar Alman-
zor, once the residence of the Caliphs, and con-
taining 2,000,000 inhabitants, is now in ruins.
The prosperity of this city completed the ruin
of the neighboring city of Babylon. It was
twice taken by the Turks and Tartars, and near-
ly destroyed. In 163d, it was taken by Amu-
rath IV, after a memorable siege, and the great-
er part of the inhabitants were butchered in cold
blood. In the Idth century, Nadir Shah was
defeated in an attempt to take it.
BAHAMAS, or Lucaya Islands, 600 in num-
ber, are near the coast of North America, in the
Atlantic ocean, Ion. 70° to 80 c W. ; lat.'21° to
28 = N. They contain a population of 16,500,
including 9,270 slaves, and 2,990 free blacks. The
soil of the islands is rich, but thin, and soon ex-
hausted. Cotton is the chief production. The
residents are principally loyalists, who emigra-
ted from Carolina and Georgia, when the royal
cause was lost in America. The wreckers, a
large portion of the population, are hardy mari-
ners, employed in assisting shipwrecked vessels.
They display admirable skill and courage in the
working of their small flat-bottomed sloops, in
which they frequent the most dangerous places,
receiving salvage on all rescued property. They
are licensed by the governor. These islands
were discovered by Columbus, Oct. 12, 1492,
Guanahani being the first land he saw. In
1667, Charles II of England granted the Ba-
hamas to the Duke of Albermarle and others.
The first settlement was made on New Provi-
dence, one of the largest of the group. The
settlers suffered severely from the ravages of
pirates, and the inroads of the Spaniards. Black
Beard, the noted leader of the Buccaneers, was
killed off here in 1718. The town of Nassau
on New Providence was fortified in 1740. Nas-
sau was taken by the Americans during the rev-
olution, but was abandoned, and afterwards by
the Spaniards, but regained by the English. Ba-
hama, the chief island of the group, is 63 miles
loner.
BAL
96
BAL
BAHAR, a province of British India ; pop-
ulation, 5,800,000. It is bounded north by
Nepal and Morung, east by Bengal, south by
Orissa, and west by Oude and Allahabad. The
soil is very fertile. It was anciently a kingdom
of Hindostan, but became part of the British
empire in 1765.
BAI^E,atown of Campania, a favorite resort of
the ancient Romans, many of whom had coun-
try-seats here. Its sheltered bay, breezy hills,
and baths gave it a high reputation, but the dis-
soluteness practised here by visiters, was so
notorious and infamous, that Cicero, in his
defence of M. Ccelius, thought it necessary to
apologise for defending a young man who had
lived at Baiae.
BAJAZET I, sultan of the Turks, son of
Amurath, whom he succeeded in 1389. By
strangling his brother and rival, Jacob, he es-
tablished a precedent, which has since been fre-
quently followed by the Turkish court. The
rapidity of his conquests gained him the name
of Ilderim, Lightning. He carried his con-
quering arms far into Europe and Asia, and on
the 28th Sept., 1395, defeated the Christian
army of Hungarians, Poles and French, who
were headed by Sigismund, king of Hunga-
ry. In 1402, he was defeated near Ancyra, in
Galatia, by Tamerlane, and was himself taken
prisoner, and treated with great courtesy by the
conqueror. The story of his being confined and
carried about in an iron cage, is unworthy of be-
lief. He died in the camp of Tamerlane in 1403.
BAJAZET II, son of Mohammed II, sul-
tan of the Turks, succeeded his father in 1481.
He extended his empire, gained some Grecian
towns from the Venetians, and by ravaging
Christian states, sought to avenge the expulsion
of the Moors by the Spaniards. He finally re-
signed his throne to his rebellious son Selim, by
whose order, it is supposed, he was murdered in
1512.
BALBEC, or Baalbec ; anciently Hcliopolis,
or the city of the sun, is in the pachalic of Acre,
Syria, 40 miles from Damascus. It is small and
ill-built, with 5000 inhabitants, among whom
some Jews and Christians are to be met with.
The city is governed by an aga, who enjoys the
title of emir. Heliopolis wa,s a Roman military
station in the time of Augustus. Its splendid
temple of the sun, of the 54 columns of which
there are but six standing, was built either by
Antoninus Pius, or Septimius Severus. The pil-
lars remaining, including pedestal and capital,
are 74 feet high, and 22 in circumference. Im-
mense stones were employed in the construc-
tion of the temple. During the reign of Constan-
tine, the temple was changed into a Christian
church. It fell into decay when the Arabians
held the city. Balbec was taken by a general
of Omar, and, in 1401, by Tamerlane. An
earthquake nearly destroyed it, 1759.
BALBOA, Vasco Nunez de, was born in
1475. He was one of the numerous adventur-
ers, who sought to retrieve their fortunes by
following up in the New World, the discoveries
which Columbus had commenced. He formed
a colony on the isthmus of Darien. An Indian,
who was the scornful witness of a dispute
between two of Balboa's companions about
some gold, agreed to show him a country where
the precious metals might be obtained in abund-
ance. He led Balboa to the shores of the Pacific,
and pointed the path to Peru. Considering his
force of 150 men too feeble to attempt the con-
quest, Balboa took possession of the vast ocean
that rolled before him in the name of the king
of Spain, and after an absence of four months,
led back his followers to the colony, enriched
with gold and pearls. Here he was required to
obey a new governor, Pedrarias, who held a
royal commission. He was appointed, the en-
suing year, viceroy of the South Sea, but seized
by Pedrarias, on pretext of neglect of duty,
tried, condemned, and beheaded in 1516, at the
age of 42.
BALDWIN III, king of Jerusalem from 1143
to 1162, was one of the bravest and most hon-
orable of the crusaders. The Christians pos-
sessed territories of vast extent, but the vassals
of Baldwin were divided by dissensions among
themselves; this was also the case with their
adversaries, although the latter warred with
more success. The reign of Baldwin was un-
happy, and convinced the Christians of the
impossibility of establishing Christian chivalry
in the east. When Noureddin, his valiant and
proud opponent, was counselled to fall upon the
Christians during the funeral of their leader, he
answered : " No ! Let us respect their grief,
for they have lost a king whose like is rarely
to be met with."
BALIOL, John, king of Scotland, a claimant
for the crown on the death of queen Margaret.
Edward III, being made arbiter, awarded it to
Baliol against Robert Bruce. Baliol took up
arms in consequence of the interference of the
English king in his government, but was de-
feated at the battle of Dunbar, and consigned
to the tower, whence he was liberated by the
intercession of the pope. He died on his estate
in France, 1314.
BAN
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BALK, or Balkan, anciently Htemus, a chain
of rugged mountains, extending from the Black
Sea, in European Turkey, to the Adriatic.
The summit of Scardus, the highest peak, is
10,000 feet above the surface of the sea.
BALLSTON SPA, a village of New York,
noted for its mineral springs, 7 miles S. W. of
Saratoga.
BALTIC SEA, a large gulf connected with
the North Sea, and washing the shores of Den-
mark, Germany and Prussia, Courland, Livo-
nia, and other parts of Russia. The Sound,
the Great and the Little Belt, are the names of
the three passages leading from the Cattegat
into the Baltic, at each of which a toll is paid
to Denmark, which, as 6000 ships annually
enter the Baltic Sea, is no inconsiderable source
of revenue.
BALTIMORE, a city and port of entry in
Baltimore county, Maryland, is situated on
the noith side of the Patapsco, 14 miles from
its entrance into Chesapeake bay. The popu-
lation, in 1830, was 80,625. It is the third
city in the United States, and the centre of
most of the trade of Maryland, and a portion
of that of the Western States and Pennsylva-
nia. It is built around a basin which affords
a safe harbor, the narrow entrance of which,
being guarded by fort M'Henry, secures the
city against a naval enemy. Several of the
public buildings are elegant, and imposing in
appearance. The Washington monument is a
chaste and conspicuous structure of stone. St.
Mary's college is a Catholic institution of great
repute. The medical college received, with its
charter, in 1812, the title of university. Dur-
ing the last war, the city of Baltimore was
attacked by the British, and on the 13th of
September, the battle at North Point was fought.
On the next day, fort M'Henry was bombarded,
the enemy beaten off, and general Ross, the
English commander, slain. The bravery man-
ifested in defence of Baltimore, will prevent the
event from falling into oblivion, but, to comme-
morate it, an elegant marble monument, 35 feet
high, called the Battle Monument, has been
erected.
BANGOR, a city, the capital of Penobscot
county, Maine, situated at the head of tide-
water on the Penobscot river. Population, in
1830, 2,867. It is a flourishing and pleasant
town, and contains a theological seminary, and
some public buildings.
BANK, of England, was established in 1691,
and is of historical importance, as the machine
by which the British funding system has been
7
carried on, and those immense sums raised,
during the late wars, to subsidize all Europe.
The Bank of Venice was established in 1171,
for the purpose of rendering assistance to the
crusades.
BANNOCKBURN, a village in Stirling-
shire, Scotland, celebrated by the Scots, for the
signal defeat of the English army, in 1314, by
Robert Bruce. The army of Edward II, was
superior in every thing but valor, and the
battle decided the independence of Scotland.
James III, in 1488, lost his life in a battle
fought here against his subjects.
BANQ.UO, or Bancho, thane of Lochaber,
from whom the royal house of Stuart was
descended. In the reign of Donald VII, he
gained some military reputation, but he tar-
nished his fame by joining Macbeth, by whom
he was murdered about 1046.
BAOUR LORMIAN, Louis Pierre Marie
Francois, born at Toulouse, in 1771, was a mem-
ber of the French academy. His translation
of Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered, laid the foun-
dation of his poetical fame. In 1814, in con-
junction with Etienne, he wrote a drama called
the Orif amine, to inspire the French with enthu-
siasm. In 1824, he published a translation of
Dante's Div/.na Commedia. In the early part
of his career, attention was excited by his quar-
rels with the poet Lebrun, the warfare produc-
ing the exchange of several epigrams. One of
Baour's, was the following:
Lebrun, 'tis said, subsists on fame —
And hence the spareness of his frame.
The reply was equally witty and severe.
That, folly fattens one is sure,
And hence thy embonpoint, Baour.
BARATARIA,a bay and island of Louis-
iana, on the north side of the gulf of Mexico.
The bay is 18 miles in length. The island was
fortified by the famous pirate Lafitte, whose
resort it was in 1811.
BARBADOES, one of the Caribbean isl-
ands. It was discovered by the Portuguese,
but belono-s to the English, who settledit in
1605. Longitude 59° 50' W. lat. 13° 10' N. It
is 21 miles long, and 14 broad, containing an
area of ] 06,500 acres. Population, 102,000, in-
cluding 14,960 whites, 5,150 free colored per-
sons and 81,900 slaves. The island contains
4 towns, viz. Bridgetown, the capital, Speight's
T , Austin's T., and Jamestown. The cli-
mate is hot, but the air uncommonly salubri-
ous ; though hurricanes are unhappily not un-
frequent. The soil is various and fertile, and
BAR
98
BAR
the gently undulating country is studded with
planters' houses, which, amidst the picturesque
productions of the soil, add to the beauty of
the landscape. Annual value of the exports is
£400,000; of imports £500,000. The free
people of color are happy, and many of them
prosperous. They entertain high-flown notions
of their valor, which, however, cannot be de-
nied, since no trial of it has taken place. " A
man may have a deal of courage in him without
knowing it," but the Barbadians appear to feel
the extent of theirs, and to lament it. That
the " Badians are almost too brave," is said to be
no uncommon declaration among these spirited
islanders.
BARBAROSSA. This name was borne by
two brothers, noted pirates, Horuc, and Hay-
raddin. (See Algiers.)
BARBARY STATES, are Tripoli, Tunis,
Algiers, Fez, and Morocco, and lie on the
northern coast of Africa, extending westerly
from Egypt to the Atlantic Ocean. A chain
of snow-capped mountains, the Atlas range,
intersects them almost from east to west, be-
tween which and the sea lies a fertile tract of
land. The tract south of the mountains ex-
tending to the great desert, is sandy and unpro-
ductive of any fruit but dates. The climate
is salubrious, the sea air tempering the heat,
which is, however, of a degree to permit the
growth of vegetation in April and May. Bar-
ley, wheat, figs, grapes, olives, oranges, pom-
egranates, melons, cyprus, cedar, and almond
trees, spring from the luxuriant soil. The
sugar-cane, palm-tree, and lotus are abundant;
and, in the early part of the spring, the country
is bright and fragrant with roses, from which
the purest ottar is obtained. The domestic
animals are of the most valuable kind, and wild
ones are found in abundance. Among the
minerals of the mountains, are silver, copper,
iron, lead, and antimony. Salt is abundant.
The commerce between these and the European
states on the borders of the Mediterranean, is
by no means inconsiderable. In antiquity, the
countries now composing the Barbary States,
were distinguished for the activity of the in-
habitants in commercial pursuits. The Car-
thaginians were the most wealthy and en-
terprising of the possessors of these places,
but the Romans, Vandals, and Arabians, did
not permit commerce to be prostrated. Now,
a country capable of sixty millions of inhabi-
tants, contains barely ten millions and a half.
The patriotism of the Carthaginians induced
them to labor for the promotion of the best
interests of their country, but their power could
not stand against that of a nation of victorious
and hardy warriors. The Romans endeavored
to make the most of their conquered provinces,
and the vast influx of wealth, which conquest
poured in upon them, subdued that stern spirit
of temperance which had carried their banners
in triumph through the troubled tide of war
Then came the Vandals and Arabians, who
endeavored to render the possessions they
wrested from the Romans as available as possi-
ble.
The present population of the Barbary States,
is composed of Moors, Jews, who carry on the
greater part of the business done here, Turks,
and Bedouin Arabs. The last, the descend-
ants of the Saracenic conquerors of the country,
have a fine, manly appearance. Their habits
are migratory, and they dwell in tents, 10 or
100 families gathering together, each family
being under the government of a sheik. They
are generally at war with the Berbers, the
descendants of the original inhabitants of the
country, who are represented as predatory,
treacherous, and cruel. On these, and on the
collectors of tribute, the Arabs wage war, and,
when their hands are not full of personal quar-
rels, enter the service of any chieftain who may
require them. The Moors are Moslems, indo-
lent, unsociable, luxurious, superstitious, and
uncultivated. They treat the Jews, whom they
despise and hate, with great harshness. In
addition to the races above enumerated, there
are many negroes in Barbary.
BARCA, a desert, with a few fertile spots,
on the northern coast of Africa, between Tri-
poli and Egypt; containing 300,000 inhabi-
tants. It is subject to Tripoli.
BARCELONA, capital of Catalonia, and
one of the largest cities in Spain, contains
120,000 inhabitants. It is built in the form of
a crescent, and stands on the shores of the
Mediterranean, long. 2° W E. ; and lat. 41°
27' N. Linens and laces, guns, pistols, and
swords are among its manufactured articles.
The harbor is commodious, but rather difficult
of access. Wine and brandy are exported in
large quantities. The amount of imports and
exports is probably 7,000,000 dollars. Its cit-
adel, built in 1714, has a secret connection
with the fort of San Carlos ; and it may be
considered as a strongly-fortified place. Until
the twelfth century, Barcelona was under the
government of its own counts, and afterwards
united with the kingdom of Arragon, but with-
drew and united to the French crown in 1640
BAR
99
BAR
In 1652, it again submitted to the Spanish gov-
ernment, but was taken by the French in 1697.
Its restoration was made at the peace of Rys-
wick. It is famous for the resolute, but una-
vailing defence it made against the troops of
Philip V, under the command of the duke of
Berwick, in 1714, when the sufferings of the
inhabitants were unparalleled. In 1809, it was
taken by the French, and remained in their
power until 1814. In 1821, the yellow fever
committed great ravages in it. The candor of
a Barcelona galley-slave, is always brought to
remembrance on seeing the name of this city.
The duke of Ossuna, as he passed by Barcelo-
na, having obtained leave from the king of
Spain to release some slaves, went on board the
galley, and, passing through the benches of
slaves at the oar, asked several of them what
their offences were. Every one excused him-
self; one saying he was put there out of malice ;
another by the bribery of the judge ; but all of
them unjustly. Among the rest was a little
sturdy fellow ; and the duke asked him what he
was there for? " Sir," said he, " I cannot deny
that I am justly sent here ; for I wanted money,
and so I took a purse from the high-way, to
keep me from starving." Upon this, the duke
struck him gently with a little stick he had in
his hand, saying, " You rogue, what do you do
among so many honest men ? Get you gone
out of their company."
BARDS. The Bards, among Celtic nations,
in battle, raised the war-cry of their people, and
in peace, sang the exploits of their warriors.
They appear to have acted, as the heralds,
legislators, and priests of the free Celtic tribes
of Europe, until the gradual progress of south-
ern despotism and civilization, drove them
into the strongholds of the Welsh, Irish, and
Scotch mountains, which echoed to the w.'d
notes of their harps, and the patriotic songs of
the inspired poets. Their music and poetry
kept alive the spark of national patriotism and
enthusiasm, and inspired a stern resistance to
the attacks of despotism. Hence Edward I,
of England, caused the Welsh bards to be slain,
as the instigators of sedition. The poems of
Ossian, a Highland bard, have been preserved,
and translated by Macpherson, who was sus-
pected of being their author, but an investiga-
tion of the subject by a literary committee, has
clearly proved their authenticity. Of these
poems, Bonaparte was passionately fond, and
the influence they exerted upon his style, may
be traced in many of his declamatory harangues.
BARFLEUR, a sea-port in France, 12 miles
east of Cherburg, which, in 1346, was taken
and pillaged by Edward III, of England, who
ruined its importance as a sea-port, by destroy-
ing its harbor. Here William the conqueror
embarked for England.
BARLOW, Joel, an American poet and
diplomatist, was born at Reading, Connecticut,
about 1755. He was educated at Dartmouth
and Yale colleges, where he distinguished him-
self by his poetical talent. In the college
vacations, he served as a volunteer, and was
present at the battle of White Plains. His first
publication was a collection of minor pieces
called American Poems. After leaving college,
he was licensed to preach as a Congregational
minister, and became a chaplain in the Ameri-
can army. His patriotic lays are said to have
exerted a happy influence upon his country-
men. His Vision of Columbus, which was
afterwards expanded into the Columbiad, met
with a flattering reception, both in America
and England. The first edition was printed in
1787. His version of the Psalms was highly
successful. To further the sale of his poem,
and the psalms, he became a bookseller, at
Hartford, but quitted the business as soon as he
had effected his object. In Europe, whither
he went to effect the sale of some land in Ohio,
he made himself conspicuous by the publica-
tion of some prose and poetical works of a
political nature. He also found time to write
a mock heroic poem, in three cantos, called
Hasty Pudding, and this was doubtless the hap-
piest of his efforts. The commercial specula-
tions in which he engaged, proved highly suc-
cessful. In 1795, he was appointed American
consul at Algiers, concluded a treaty of peace
with the dey,and procured the liberation of all
the American citizens, who were held as slaves
within that territory. By the conclusion of
a similar treaty at Tripoli, he was enabled to
redeem and send home all the American pris-
oners found there. In 1797, he returned to
Paris, where, by commercial speculations, he
amassed a very considerable fortune. In Paris,
he lived in sumptuous style, and lost no oppor-
tunity of serving his countrymen. When the
rupture between America and France took
place, on account of the maritime spoliations
of the latter, he endeavored to adjust the differ-
ences between them. After an absence of
nearly 17 years, he returned to his country
early in the year 1805. In 1808, appeared his
Columbiad, a splendid volume, ornamented with
engravings, executed by London artists. It
was so expensive a work, that but few copies
BAR
100
BAR
were sold. In 1811 , Barlow was appointed min-
ister plenipotentiary to the French government.
In 1812, while repairing to Wilna, in order to
have a conference with the emperor Napoleon,
he died of an inflammation of the lungs, Oct.
2, at Zarnawica, an obscure Polish village.
BARNEY, Joshua, whose name stands high
in the list of our naval heroes, was born at
Baltimore, Maryland, July Gth, 1759. He was
put into a retail shop at an early age, but man-
ifesting a dislike for that employment, went to
sea. At 1(3 years of age, the illness of the
captain and discharge of the mate of a vessel,
on board of which he was, put him in command
of her, — a station which he retained for eight
months. At the commencement of the revo-
lutionary war, he espoused the cause of the
colonies, and was made master's-mate on board
the Hornet sloop-of-war, Capt. William Stone.
In 1775, the Hornet was concerned with Hop-
kins's fleet, in the capture of New Providence,
one of the Bahama Islands. In 1776, in con-
sequence of his conduct in the engagement
between the American schooner Wasp and the
English brig Tender, which was captured un-
der the guns of two hostile vessels, he was
presented with a lieutenant's commission, being
then not 17 years of age. Soon afterwards, he
became lieutenant of the Sachem, and assisted
in the capture of an English brig, after a severe
engagement. Being placed on board of a
captured vessel as prize-master, Barney was
taken, on his return from the West Indies, by
the Perseus of 20 guns, but prisoners were ex-
changed in Charleston, S. C. In 1777, Barney
was on board the Andrew Doria, and assisted
in the defence of the Delaware. Having been
ordered to Baltimore, to join the Virginia frigate,
Capt. Nicholson, his vessel was run ashore by
the pilot, and taken by the British. Barney was
exchanged in 1778, but while commanding a
small schooner, was again taken, in Chesapeake
bay. In November, 1778, he sailed with Capt.
Robinson in a ship from Alexandria, with a
letter of marque. They arrived at Bordeaux,
after a warm action with the Rosebud, shipped
18 guns and 70 men, and took on board a cargo
of brandy. On their return, they captured a
valuable prize. Barney reached Philadelphia
in October, 1779. In the following year, he
married Miss Bedford, and, a month after-
wards, was robbed of his whole fortune, on
the road to Baltimore. Saying nothing of his
misfortune, he returned to Philadelphia, and
served on board the U. S. ship Saratoga, 1G
guns, Capt. Young. He was taken prisoner
and sent to England, escaped, was retaken,
again escaped, and reached Philadelphia, March,
1782.
Soon after, he received from the state of
Pennsylvania the command of the Hyder Aly,
a ship of 16 guns. With a loss of 4 killed and
11 wounded, the Hyder Aly captured the ship
General Monk, 20 guns, after an action of 26
minutes. On board the captured vessel were 30
killed and 53 wounded, 15 out of 16 officers
being either killed or wounded. For this ex-
ploit he was presented with a sword by the legis-
lature of Pennsylvania. The General Monk
having been purchased by the United States,
Barney was put in command of her, and sailed
for France with sealed despatches for Doctor
Franklin, in November, 1782. He returned to
America, after having been favorably received
at the French court, with a large loan from the
French King, a passport from the King of Eng-
land, and assurances that the preliminaries of
peace were signed. Barney then served in the
French navy from 1795 till 1800, when, resign-
ing the command of a French squadron, he
returned to America. In 1812, on the breaking
out of the war between England and the United
States, he commanded the flotilla designed for
the defence of the Chesapeake. He set out for
Bladensburg, with a small force of marines and
five pieces of artillery, in July, but found the
Americans in full retreat. Notwithstanding he
made a most gallant opposition to the enemy,
he was wounded in the thigh and taken pris-
oner. He received a sword from the corpora-
tion of Washington, and a vote of thanks from
the legislature of Georgia for his gallant con-
duct. In May he was entrusted with a mission
to Europe, and returned to Baltimore in Octo-
ber. Commodore Barney died at Pittsburg, in
1 Jl8, while on his way to Kentucky, whither
he had resolved to emigrate. His personal ap-
pearance was prepossessing, and his talents as
a naval commander great.
BARRY, John, another distinguished naval
officer in the service of the United States,
was born in the county of Wexford, Ireland, in
1745. His father was a respectable farmer, and
made no opposition to his son's wish to lead
a seafaring life. Previous to his coming to
America, Barry acquired a good practical edu-
cation, and was between 14 and 15 years of age,
when he reached the country of his adoption.
The experience which he had gained in the
merchant service, and the naval skill which he
displayed, procured for him a commission in the
continental navy, on the breaking out of hos-
BAR
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tilities with Great Britain. He was appointed
commander of the brig Lexington, 16 guns, in
February, 177G. After cruising with success
he was transferred in the same year, to the frig-
ate Effingham, at Philadelphia, but the ice in
the Delaware preventing immediate operations,
Barry served on shore as Aid-de-Camp to Gen-
eral Cadwalader, and was present at the oc-
currences near Trenton. When the American
vessels were lying near Whitehill, he conceiv-
ed the daring plan of descending the river in
boats and capturing the supplies sent to the en-
emy. He succeeded in taking not only a valu-
able stock of provisions, but military stores, for
which exploit he received the thanks of Wash-
ington. After the loss of his frigate, he was ap-
pointed to command the Raleigh of 32 guns,
but ran her on shore on being chased by a
large squadron. In February, 1761, he was in
command of the Alliance, a frigate of 36 guns,
and sailed from Boston for L'Orient with Col-
onel Laurens and suite, on an embassy of im-
portance to the court of Paris. After having
taken several prizes, he was severely wounded
in the action with the Atalanta ship of war,
and her consort the brig Trepasa, which were
taken after an engagement of several hours.
Throughout the war, Commodore Barry behav-
ed with gallantry, and on the termination of
hostilities was appointed to superintend the
building of the frigate United States, which he
was to command. In the short navai war with
France, Barry was of great service to this coun-
try, and remained in command of the United
States till she was laid up in ordinary. He
died Sept. 13, 1803, with the reputation of a
virtuous, brave, and talented man.
BARTHOLOMEWS DAY, (St.) a feast of
the church, celebrated August 24th. The horrid
massacre of Bartholomew's day was perpetrat-
ed on the Huguenots, or Protestants of Paris,
by the Catholic faction, during the reign of
Charles IX, in 1572. The massacre extended
throughout the kingdom, and the victims were
not fewer than 30,000. At Rome the news was
received with every demonstration of joy, sa-
lutes of cannon were fired, a procession went
by order of the Pope to the church of St. Louis,
and the Te Deum was chanted.
B A.RTLETT, Josiah, M. D. Governor of New
Hampshire, was born in Amesbury, Mass. in
1729. He commenced the study of medicine at
the age of 16, and at the age of 21, the practice
of it, in which he was highly successful. In
1754, he was 'a representative of the town of
Kingston in the provincial legislature, where
he took the side of the minority, firmly oppos-
ing all violations of right. In 1775 he was de-
prived by the Governor of his commission in
the army, and of that of justice of peace. From
the provincial congress, however, he received a
regiment, and, as a delegate to the continental
congress, was the second signer of the declara-
tion of independence. In 1780 he was appoint-
ed judge of the superior court of New Hamp-
shire, and chief justice in 1790. In the same
year he became president of New Hampshire,
and its governor in 1793. He retired from office
in 1794, and died in 1795.
BARTON, Elizabeth, a country-girl of Ad-
dington, in Kent, commonly called the Holy
Maid of Kent. She was an impostor, who ap-
peared in the reign of Henry VIII, with pre-
tensions to miraculous powers ; she was execut-
ed at Tyburn, April 30. 1534, after a full con-
fession of her imposture. It was at the time
that the king was about to be divorced from liis
first wife, and the English Church separated
from Rome, and this girl was employed by
priests to warn Henry of the vengeance of
heaven if he persisted.
BARTRAM, William, an American natural-
ist, born at the botanic garden, Kingsessing,
Penn., 1739. He accompanied his father on an
expedition to explore the natural productions of
East Florida, and in 1773 commenced an exam-
ination of the natural productions of the Flor-
idas, and the western parts of Carolina and
Georgia, at the request of Dr. Fothergill of
London. This employment lasted nearly five
years. In 1790 he published an account of his
travels and discoveries in 1 vol. 8vo. In 1782
he was elected professor of botany in the uni-
versity of Pennsylvania, and in 1786, member
of the American Philosophical Society. He be-
longed to many other learned societies in Eu-
rope and America. He assisted Wilson in the
commencement of his American Ornithology.
On the 23d of July, 1823, being then in his 85th
year, a few minutes after writing an article on
the natural history of a flower, he ruptured a
blood-vessel and died.
BASHKIRS, or BASHKEERS, a tribe of
Turkish origin, whose country is part of the
ancient Bulgaria. In 1770 they consisted of
27,000 families. They are Mohammedans, but
little civilized, and live by hunting, raising
cattle, and keeping bees. They intoxicate
themselves en a beverage made from ferment-
ed mare's and camel's milk.
BASIL, St., an Eastern patriarch, called the
Great, and made bishop of Ccesarea, in Cappa-
BAS
102
BAS
docia, in 370. Here he died in 379. The rules
for the regulation of the monastic life, which he
prepared, are still followed by all the orders in
Christendom.
BASLE, BALE, or BASIL, a city of Swit-
zerland, capital of a canton of the same name.
The inhabitants of the greater and lesser towns
have, from time immemorial, been on bad terms
with each other, and their animosity is not yet
extinct. The university founded here in 1459
has an excellent library. The clocks of Basle in
former times were an hour in advance of those
of other places. The administration of the city
is in the hands of the councils, the smaller of
which, consisting of (JO members, is chosen
from the large council of 280 members. The
principal trade of Basle is in silk ribbons. The
treaty of peace concluded here August 28th,
1795, between the French and Spanish, procur-
ed for Don Emanuel Godoy, the Spanish prime
minister, the title of Prince of Peace. The chief
object of the ecclesiastical council of Basle,
which was convened by Pope Martin V, and
Eugenius IV, commencing its sittings, Dec. 14,
1431, was the conversion of the papal monar-
chy into a hierarchical aristocracy.
BASSOMPIERRE, Francois de, Marshal of
France, who enjoyed the favor of Henry IV
and Louis XIII, and was one of the most amia-
ble and accomplished men of their courts. He
was born in 1579 and died in 1646. He served
in a military and civil capacity. Having be-
come enamored of the charms of the daughter
of the Constable de Montmorency, he relin-
quished his hopes when he discovered that he
was the rival of Henry IV.
BASSORA,or BASRAH, a city of Irak, sit-
uated half way between the junction of the Ti-
gris with the Euphrates and the Persian Gulf,
210 miles S. W. of Ispahan. Its commerce is
extensive. It was built by the Caliph Omar,
and has been alternately occupied by Turks
and Persians.
BASTILE, anciently a castle in Paris, where
prisoners were confined by the authority of
Lettres de Cachets, that is, letters of arrest,
written in the king's name, with blanks for the
names of individuals, which were to be filled up
by the ministers who possessed these letters.
Heads of families among the nobility, who
wished to confine any unworthy member of the
family, claimed the privilege of confinement by
a lettre de cachet, and this privilege was next
claimed by the ministers of government, to be
used for the punishment of icfractory servants
and others. It will easily be conjectured that
it was not long before unprincipled ministers
abused this right by imprisoning worthy per-
sons, who, in the actual discharge of their du-
ties, had incurred the displeasure of men of
power by thwarting their interests. In fact the
use of the lettres dc cachet was the main-stay of
despotism, and used not merely by the throne,
but by many of its satellites. Men were im-
prisoned for offences too trifling to be register-
ed, and remained 30 or 40 years in the Bastile,
or even till death, without any examination be-
ing instituted into the charges on which they
were imprisoned. (See Iron Mask). At the com-
mencement of the French Revolution, the at-
tention of the people was called to this enor-
mity. In July, 1789, they assembled in force
and attacked the Bastile, which surrendered
after a few hours. The Governor was murdered.
The prisoners were feasted in Paris, and the
building was finally completely demolished.
Its building was commenced in 1369 by Charles
V, and finished in 1383 by his successor. M.
Mercier has given an interesting account of a
prisoner who was confined for some expressions
of disrespect towards Louis XV. He was set
at liberty by the ministers of Louis XVI. He
had been in confinment for 47 years, and had
borne up against the horrors of his prison-
house with a manly spirit. His thin, white,
and scattered hairs, had acquired an almost
iron rigidity, and his body was firm and com-
pact as the stone which environed him. The
day of his liberation, his door was flung wide
open, and a strange voice announced to him
his freedom. Hardly comprehending the mean-
ing of the words, he rose and tottered through
the courts and halls of the prison, which ap-
peared to him interminable. His eyes by de-
grees became accustomed to the light of day,
but the motion of the carriage which was to
convey him to his former abode appeared unen-
durable. At length, supported by a friendly
arm, he reached the street in which he had
once resided, but on the spot formerly occupied
by his house, stood a public building, and no-
thing remained in that quarter that he re-
cognized. None of the living beings of the vast
city knew him ; his liberty was a worthless gift,
and he wept for the solitude of hi-s dungeon.
Accident brought in his way an old domestic, a
superannuated porter, who had barely strength
sufficient to discharge the duties of his office.
He did not recognize his master, but told him
that his wife had died of grief thirty years be-
fore, that his children had gone aferoad, and that
not one of his relations remained. Overcome
BAT
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BAV
by this intelligence, the captive supplicated the
minister to take him back to the dungeon from
which he had been liberated, and the man of of-
fice was moved to tears by his misery. The old
porter became liis companion, as he was the
only person who could converse to him of the
friends he had lost, but so wretched was the iso-
lated condition of the victim of the Bastile, that
he died not long after his liberation.
BATAVIA, a city and seaport of the island
of Java, on the north coast of which it is situ-
ated, near the western end. It is the capital of
all the Dutch East Indies : Ion. 106° 54' E. ;
lat. 6° 12' S. Pop. in 1824, when it was con-
siderably reduced, 53,861. The inhabitants are
Chinese, Balinese, natives of Celebes, Javanese,
Malays, Europeans, and slaves. The Dutch
founded the city in 1619, and after being taken
by the British in 1811, it was again restored to
the Dutch in 1816. The bay would be good if
it were easily accessible. The town is built on
a low marshy foundation, at the junction of
small rivers, and some of the canals in the
streets contain stagnant water. Hence origin-
ates the intermittent fever, which is so fre-
quently fatal to strangers. Batavia has an im-
mense trade, and its architectural beauty pro-
cured it the name of Queen of the East, but recent
alterations have much defaced it. The quarter
of the native population is exceedingly mean,
while the European houses are neat rather than
elegant. The stadt-house, and places of public
worship are not particularly distinguished by
grandeur or beauty.
BAT AVIANS, a German tribe, the aborig-
inal inhabitants of Holland, particularly of the
island in the Rhine called Batavia, which was
conquered by the Salian Franks towards the
end of the third century. The Batavian repub-
lic was formed in 1798, by a change in the con-
stitution of the United Provinces, effected by
the French. It continued in existence till Louis
Bonaparte ascended the throne of Holland,
1806.
BATH. This city of England was anciently
called by the Romans Aqua: Solis, Forties Calidi,
Thermo;, Bodonia, and Bathonia. The Britons
gave it the name of Caer Badun, or Bladon ;
the Saxons, Hat Bathun, and Jlchamannum. It
is in Somersetshire, 107 miles W. of London,
and is situated on the river Avon, in a narrow
valley. Its hilly environs are pleasant, and it
opens on the north-west into beautiful and wide
meadow-lands. The population, in 1831, was
50,800. Its batfis were highly esteemed by the
Romans, and are so at the present day. The
splendid cathedral, which is of Gothic architec-
ture, is the finest specimen of the sort in Eng-
land. The places for public worship are numer-
ous, and few cities are more prolific in sources
of amusement.
BATH, a post-town and port of entry in
Lincoln county, Maine. It is situated on the
W. side of the Kennebeck, 12 miles from the
sea, has great commercial advantages and is
engaged in ship-building. The population, in
1830, was 3,773.
BATH, KNIGHTS OF THE, an English
militaiy order, the origin of which is uncertain.
By the statutes prepared when it was revived
by George I, in 1725, the number of knights
was fixed at 38 — viz. the sovereign and 37
knights-companions.
BAUTZEN, or BUDESSIN, capital of Up-
per Lusatia, situated on a height washed by the
Spree. It contains 11.500 inhabitants. The
Catholics and Lutherans worship together in
the large cathedral, the former possessing the
altar and the latter the nave. On the 20th and
21st of May, 1813, Napoleon here defeated the
army of Prussians and Russians, whose master-
ly retreat left him little advantage. In the eve-
ning of the 21st the field of battle presented a
grand but terrible spectacle, more than 16,000
men being stretched in their last sleep, and the
scene illuminated by the red glare of 30 burning
villages.
BAVARIA, a kingdom of Germany , a waste
in the time of Caesar, and a Roman province
(Vindelicia and Noricum) under Augustus. At
the end of the fifth century, a confederacy was
formed by several German tribes, under the
name of Boiaorians, Ratisbon being their chief
seat. Their country was called Noricum, and
was never subject to the Ostrogoths. They be-
came subject however to the Franks, when the
latter gained possession of Rhaetia. Otho the
Great, who, after the death of Charlemagne,
and the occurrence of convulsions incidental to
the division of the empire, gained possession of
Bavaria, died in 1183. Louis I, his successor,
enlarged his territories, and added the Palatin-
ate of the Rhine. Bavaria was divided into
Upper and Lower, in 1255 ; Maximilian I, a dis-
tinguished leader of the league against the Pro-
testants, gained the upper palatinate in 1623.
He died in 1651. After the battle of Blenheim,
the emperor treated Bavaria as a conquered
country. Charles VII, elected Emperor of Ger-
many in 1742, received homage as King of Ba-
varia, but in 1743 the states of Bavaria were
constrained to swear homage to Maria Theresa.
BAV
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BAY
In the war of 1743, Charles' fortunes sank rapid-
ly, and he was forced to abandon Bavaria. His
son and successor, Maximilian Joseph III as-
sumed, like his father, the title of archduke of
Austria, but making peace with Austria, in
1745, received from Francis all the Bavarian
territories which had been conquered by that
power. Maximilian Joseph devoted himself to
the promotion of the interests of his people, and
favored their industry by every means in his
power ; the foundation of the Academy of Sci-
ences at Munich proves his liberality, and the
extension of his views.
By the treaties of the house of Wittelsbach,
and the terms of the peace of Westphalia, the
right of succession reverted to the palatinate,
on the extinction of the Wittelsbach Bavarian
line in the person of Maximilian Joseph, who
died 30th of December, 1777, but the claims of
Austria to Lower Bavaria were enforced by
arms, and Charles Theodore, m 1778, was per-
suaded formally to renounce the Bavarian suc-
cession. The Duke of Deux-Ponts, however,
the presumptive heir, relying on the encour-
agement afforded by Frederick II, refused to ac-
knowledge the surrender of the succession. This
was the cause of the Bavarian war of succes-
sion which was terminated by a treaty of peace,
signed May 13th, 1779, in consequence of war
being declared against Austria by Russia, when
Bavaria was secured to the elector palatine of
Bavaria. The Austrians yet coveted the coun-
try, and, in 1784, Joseph II proposed to ex-
change the Austrian Netherlands for Bavaria,
with the sum of 3,000,000 florins for the Elector
and the Duke of Deux-Ponts, and the title of
king of Burgundy. This, however, was formal-
ly refused by the duke of Deux-Ponts, who de-
clared he would never barter away the inher-
itance of his ancestors. Charles Theodore re-
vived the order of Jesuits, and restrained the
freedom of the press, and on the breaking
out of the French revolution, the elector sent
troops to aid the empire. In 1796 Bavaria be-
came the theatre of war. Maximilian Joseph,
duke of Deux-Ponts, now came into possession
of Bavaria. At the beginning of the war of
1805, the elector joined \he French with 30,000
troops, and at the peace of Presburg received a
vast addition of territory, and the title of king.
A matrimonial alliance connected the inter-
ests of Bavaria still more closely with those of
France. The king of Bavaria took part against
the Prussians and Austrians, in 1806 and 1809.
In the war of 1812 between France and Russia,
Bavaria brought 30,000 men into the field, and
but a few fragments of her fine army survived
the expedition to Moscow. In 1813 the king
of Bavaria abandoned the confederation of the
Rhine and turned his arms against Napoleoja.
The kingdom of Bavaria is at present one of
the principal of the secondary continental pow-
ers. Bavaria, exclusively of the part west of
the Rhine, is bounded north by Hesse-Darm-
stadt, Hesse-Cassel, the Saxon principalities
of Meiningen, Hildburghausen, and Coburg.
Reuss, and the kingdom of Saxony ; east and
south by Austria, and west by Wurtemberg, Ba-
den, and Hesse-Darmstadt. The kingdom con-
tains 4,238,000 inhabitants. The people are in-
dustrious and education has made much pro-
gress. Agriculture is the chief branch of indus-
try. The government is administered to general
satisfaction.
BAYARD, Pierre du Terrail, Chevalier de,
called he Chevalier sans peur ct sans reproche , (the
knight without fear and without reproach). He
was born in castle Bayard, near Grenoble, 1476,
of one of the most ancient families in Dau-
phiny. Educated under the eye of his uncle, the
bishop of Grenoble, he early displayed those
traits for which he was afterwards so much be-
loved and celebrated. Modest, pious, affection-
ate, tender, brave, and honorable, all who be-
held him augured well of his future career.
Charles VIII, who saw him at Lyons, manag-
ing a stately steed with ease and grace, begged
him of the duke of Savoy, whose page he then
was, and committed him to the care of Paul of
Luxemburg, count de Ligny. He won his ear-
liest laurels in tournaments, but he was destined
to shine upon redder fields of glory, and at the
age of 18 accompanied Charles VIII to Italy, and
took a standard in the battle of Verona. When,
in the reign of Louis XII, he was taken pris-
oner by following some flying adversaries into
Milan, Ludovico Sforza generously returned
him his horse and arms, and dismissed him
without ransom. His exploit at the bridge over
the Garigliano was worthy of a Roman in
Rome's best days, for like Horatius Codes he
gallantly defended the bridge against the victori-
ous Spaniards, until the French army were safe.
On account of this action, he had for his coat of
arms a porcupine, with the following motto :
Vires agminis unus habet. — alone he has an
army's strength. When Julius 11 declared him-
self against France, Bayard hastened to the as-
sistance of the duke of Ferrara. Defeated in his
attempt to take the Pope prisoner, he yet stern-
ly refused to listen to an offer to betray him.
He was wounded in the assault on Brescia, and
BAY
105
8EA
carried into the house of a nobleman , who had
fled leaving his wife and two daughters expos-
ed to the brutal insults of a licentious soldiery.
Bayard protected them faithfully, refusing their
offers of reward, and returning, as soon as he
was cured, to the French camp, whose stay and
hope, Gaston de Foix, had been killed in conse-
quence of neglecting the advice of Bayard. The
latter received a second wound in the retreat
from Pavia, which it was thought would prove
mortal. On learning this, the gallant Chevalier
said, in the true spirit of a warrior, " 1 grieve
not to die, but to die in my bed like a woman."
The military misfortunes of the latter part of
the reign of Louis XII did not cast a shadow
on the glory of Bayard, but his personal bra-
very was conspicuous even in reverse. He was
ever the foremost in the charge, and the last in
the retreat. Francis I had no sooner ascended
the throne, than he gave proof of the confi-
dence he reposed in Bayard, by sending him
into Dauphiny to open a passage for his army
over the Alps, and through Piedmont. Bay-
ard captured Prosper Colonna, who lay in wait
for him, hoping to surprise him. Elated with
this success, in the battle of Marignano to which
it was a prelude, he performed prodigies of val-
or by the side of the king, who emulated the
bravery of the gallant chevalier. After this
day of glory Francis received knighthood from
the sword of Bayard. Bayard defended the
town of Meziere, when Charles V invaded
Champagne, with such spirit and resolution,
that at Paris he was called the Savior of his
Country. He received from the hands of the
king the order of St. Michael, and a company
of 100 men to command in his own name,
an honor never before conferred but on princes
of the blood. Bayard reduced to obedience the
revolted Genoa, but the fortunes of the French
changed, and they were obliged to retreat.
Bonnivet, the commander, his rear-guard beat-
en, and himself severely wounded, committed
the care of the army to the gallant Bayard.
Compelled to pass Sesia in the presence of a
superior force, Bayard, the last man in the re-
treat, was combating the Spaniards, when a
stone from a blunderbuss shattered his back-
bone, and he exclaimed, " Jesus Christ, my
God, I am a dead man !" He was removed at
his request under the shadow of a tree ; " from
this spot," said he, " I can behold the enemy."
He confessed his sins to his squire, and, in
default of a crucifix, kissed the hilt of his
sword. Bidding a farewell to his friends, his
king, and his country, he died, surrounded by
admiring and weeping friends and enemies,
April 30th, 1524. His enemies, who retained
possession of the body, embalmed it, and re-
stored it to his countrymen, by whom it was
consigned to a tomb in a church of the Minor-
ites, near Grenoble. A simple bust, and a Latin
inscription, mark the place of his repose.
BAYARD, James A., an eminent American
lawyer and politician, born at Philadelphia, in
1767. He was educated at Princeton College.
As a representative in Congress, he distin-
guished himself by his patriotism and ability in
debate. He was sent to Europe as one of the
commissioners to treat for peace in 1813, but
after the treaty of Ghent, the state of his health
induced him to return home with all possible
speed. He accordingly embarked at Havre, in
May, 1815, arrived in the United States, and
died in the bosom of his family.
BAYLE, Pierre, a French writer, born at
Carlat, in Languedoc, in 1G47. He died in
1700, at the age of 59. His Historical and Crit-
ical Dictionary (Dictionnaire historiquc ct cri-
tique), is his most important work. This was
originally published in 2 vols, fol., and displays
the logic and learning for which the author
is so celebrated. He modestly called it, " an
ill-digested compilation of passages tacked to-
gether by the ends.'' Voltaire calls him " the
first of logicians and sceptics," but adds, that his
warmest apologists crmnot deny, that there is not
a page in his controversial writings, which does
not lead the reader to doubt, and often to scep-
ticism. He himself says, " my talent consists
in raising doubts ; but they are only doubts."
BAYONNE, a large city about two miles
from the bay of Biscay, at the confluence of the
Nive and Adour. It is in the French depart-
ment of the Lower Pyrenees, and was formerly
the eapital of a district of Gascony. Population,
1-1, (100. Bayonne has considerable commerce
with J^pain, and is much engaged in the cod and
whale fishery. Its hams, wines, and chocolate,
are famous. Here in 180S, Napoleon met the
king of Spain, Charles IV, and the prince of
the Asturias, when the two last were induced
to sign an agreement, by which they and the
king's children renounced their rights in the
European and Indian territories of Spain, in
favor of Bonaparte.
BEATON, David, archbishop of St. Andrew's,
and cardinal, born in 1494. On the corona-
tion of the young queen Mary, he renewed his
cruel persecutions of the heretics, and, among
others, brought George Wishart, the famous
Protestant preacher, to the stake. Seated at his
BEA
106
BED
window, he beheld with fiendish joy the cruel
sufferings of this estimable man. He was openly
Sous, and, although endowed with some
food qualities, 'was disgraced by flagrant vice..
He was murdered in his chamber May 29, 154b.
BEATTIE, James, a miscellaneous wri-
ter, and pleasing poet, born at Lawrence-
kirk, in Kincardine county, m '35 died m
August 1803. The poem by which he w.ill be
feSbered as a follower of the Muses is the
Minstrel, the first book of winch was published
in 1770. He wrote a work on the Evidences of
Christianity, and some controversial works in
which, however, he did not shine so much as in
his poems. , .
BEAUFORT, a pleasant sea-port, and post-
town of South Carolina in a district of the
same name, situated on Port Roya island at
the mouth of the Coosawhatchie sixty miles JN.
E of Savannah; population about 1UU0. it
contains 3 churches, and a respectable seminary.
BEAUFORT, Henry, cardinal, brother ot
Henry IV king of England, bishop of Lincoln,
afterwards of Winchester, and chancellor of the
kingdom. In 1431, he crowned Henry VI, in
the great church of Paris. He is strongly sus-
pected of having directed the assassination ot
Humphrey duke of Gloucester. He died m
1447 • n
BEAUMARCHAIS, Pierre Augustin Caron
de ; artist, politician, projector, Pinter mer-
chant, and dramatist. He was son of a watch-
maker, and born at Pans, in 1732. He was
teacher of the harp to the daughters o Louis
XV, and by a wealthy marriage, laid the foun-
dation of his immense fortune. His Eugene,
Mhre Coupable, Mariage de Figaro and Ear-
lier de Seville, keep possession of the s age m
several languages. His Memoirs exh.bitBeau-
marchais in hit true character. He increased
his fortune by his contract to supply the United
States with miliary stores, during the revolu-
tionary war. He died in 1799. FTrHFR
BEAUMONT, Francis, and FLLICHi.K,
John, two English dramatic writers of great
power, who united their interests and wrote
conjointly. Beaumont, born in 1585 died in
1616 ; Fletcher, born in 1576, died in 1625, of
the plague, in London. They used to frequent
ale-houses, as Shakspeare is said to have done,
for the sake of studying human nature, and
were once arrested in a very dramatic manner.
Thev were disputing in an ale-house about the
fate of a king in one of their plays, one insist-
ing upon his assassination, the other on his
preservation. Some of their uninitiated audi-
tors procured their arrest, imagining that a
conspiracy against the reigning sovereign was
°nB°ECKET, Thomas, a celebrated Roman
Catholic prelate, was born in London, in 1119.
He was the son'of a merchant by the name of
Gilbert, who, while a prisoner in theEast, is
sad to have engaged the affections of a Sara-
cen lady ; she followed the merchant to Lon-
don, where he married her. Beckefs advance-
ment was rapid-he was a favorite with Henry
I who made him tutor to his son in 1158, and
heaped spiritual and temporal honors upon. h m.
He rivalled royalty in the splendor of his hv-
£° On his election to the see of Canterbury
nilG2, he resigned the office of chancellor, and
assuming all the arrogance of sovereign pontiff,
tent himfelf to oppose the reformation intended
bv the king among the clergy. Their enormi-
ties had disgusted °the whole kingdom ; and the
archbishop fcreened the most abandoned under
the pretext that they were not amenable to the
evil power. After a series of hostilities between
the king and himself, many references to the
pope, efcommunications and anathemas, recon-
ctliat ons and fresh quarrels, on the archbish-
op's refusal to withdraw his excommunication
o? some bishops, which was felt to he very hard
upon them, fhe king, in a fit of passior, j re-
proached his courtiers for permitting him to be
so loner and so ignobly tormented. On this
four knights went down to Canterbury, and
killed Becket before the altar as he was at the
vesper-service, December 29th, 1170. The per-
praters of this deed were finally admitted to
penance, but the king was compel ed to expiate
his guilt' at the tomb of the archbishop, who
was canonized two years after his death. He
became a popular saint, and miracles were
abundant at his tomb, which was much visited
bv pilgrims till the reformation.
yBEDE, or Beda, commonly called the >V ener-
able Bede, an English ecclesiastic of the 8th
century, was born in the neighborhood of Wear-
moVln «- year 672, «r 673 and pursued his
studies in the monastery of St. Peter, Wear
mouth. He died in May, A. D. 735. His En-
glish Ecclesiastical History, his greatest and
most popular work, was translated by Alfred
the Great of England. He was modest and
S&nite.and.altooughainoiA.w^dto^ave
the number of monasteries lessened. Bede led
a life of pious and studious retirement, and on
the day of his death, he was dictating a transla-
tion of the gospel of St. John, to his amanuensis^
"Master," said the young man, as he raised his
BEL
107
BEL
eyes, " there is but one more sentence want-
ing." Bede bade him write rapidly, and when
the scribe said, " it is done," replied, " It is in-
deed done," and expired a few minutes after-
wards in the act of prayer.
BEDFORD, John, duke of, the third son of
Henry IV of England. In 1422, he commanded
the English army in France, and the same year
was named regent of that kingdom for Henry
VI, whom he caused to be crowned at Paris.
He defeated the French fleet near Southampton,
entered Paris, beat the duke of Alencon, and
made himself master of France. The greatest
stain upon his character, is his cruelty to the
Maid of Orleans, whom he caused to be burnt in
the market-place of Rouen. He died at Rouen,
in 1435.
BEEJAPOOR, (the city of victory) a large
province of Deccan, between 15 and 18 degrees
of north latitude. The soil is fertile and it is
well watered. Four fifths of the country be-
long to the Mahrattas. Population 7,000,000.
BEERING, Vitus, a captain in the Russian
navy, who in the year 1728, explored the coasts
of Kamtschatka, and proved that Asia was dis-
joined from America. He died on a desolate
island, during a voyage of discovery, December
8, 1741. The strait between Asia and Amer-
ica, has received the name of Beering's straits
from him. The uninhabited island on which
he died, is called Beering's Island.
BEGUINES, females who bound themselves
to obey the rules of an ecclesiastical order,
forming societies for purposes of devotion and
charity, living together in beguinages, without
taking the monastic vows. They originated in
Germany and the Netherlands, towards the end
of the 11th century. They flourished most in
the 12th century, and some of their societies
still exist in the Netherlands.
BEIRA, a well- watered and fertile province
of Portugal, bounded on the north chiefly by
the river Douro, on the east by Spain, on the
south by the Tagus, and the Portuguese Estre-
madura, and by the Atlantic on the west. Pop-
ulation 900,000.
BELEM (properly Bethlehem), a quarter of
Lisbon, formerly a market-town, commanding
a fine view of the harbor and sea. It was long
the residence of the royal family. The torre de
Belem, a tall tower, rises out of the river Tago ;
and no ships are permitted to pass by it unvisi-
ted.
BELGIANS, were a collection of German
and Celtic tribes. They inhabited the country
extending from the Atlantic ocean to the Rhine,
and from the Marne and Seine, to the southern
mouth of the Rhine, which is united with the
Meuse. Caesar has borne witness to the bravery
of the Belgians, particularly of those who resided
on the northern frontiers of Germany, declaring
that they were the most valiant of the Gauls.
BELGIUM ; the name of that part of the
Netherlands which formerly belonged to Aus-
tria, and recently made a part of the kingdom
of the Netherlands. It is now an independent
kingdom, the revolution of the Parisians in
1830, having inspired the Belgians with a similar
spirit. The present monarch is Leopold I.
BELGRADE, an important commercial city
of Servia, with 30,000 inhabitants, situated at
the confluence of the Save with the Danube.
It is well fortified, commanding the Danube,
and is at present occupied by a Turkish garri-
son. It has been an object, for the attain-
ment of which the hostile nations have strug-
gled during the various wars between Austria
and Turkey. At different times, it has been
possessed by Greeks, Hungarians, Bulgarians,
Bosnians, Servians, and Austrians. The siege
of Belgrade by the Turks, in 1442 and 1456, are
noted events in military annals. In 1809, it
was taken by the revolutionary Servians, and
it is the largest and most important city of the
Servian state.
BELGRANO, Manuel, a native of Buenos
Ayres, who took an active part in the events
which secured the independence of South
America. He died, deeply deplored, in 1820.
BELISARIUS, general of the armies of the
emperor Justinian. He defeated a superior
force of Persians, in the year 530, and in the
the year after he took Carthage, and made
prisoner Gelimer, king of the Vandals. Beli-
sarius entered Constantinople in triumph. He
was next sent against the Goths in Italy,
and arriving on the coasts of Sicily, took Cata-
nia, Syracuse, Palermo, and other places. He
then proceeded to Naples, which he took, and
marched to Rome. After this he conquered
Vitiges, king of the Goths, sent him to Con-
stantinople, and refused the crown which was
offered him. For his exploits he was regarded
as the saviour of the empire, and medals are
extant with this inscription, Belisarius Gloria
Romanorum, (Belisarius, the glory of the Ro-
mans). Having fallen under suspicion of Jus-
tinian, he was deprived of his property and
honors, but there is reason to believe that he
was subsequently restored to them. Marmon-
tel, in his romance (Belisarius), adopts a story
which is related by no cotemporary historian :
BEL
108
BEM
that he was deprived of his eyes by his cruel
master, and forced to beg his bread in the streets
of Constantinople. Others say that he was im-
prisoned in a tower, whence he used to let
down a bag by a rope, addressing the passen-
gers in the following words : — Date Bclisario
obolum, quern virtus cvexit, invidia depressit.
(Give an obolus to Belisarius, whom virtue ex-
alted, but envy crushed.) He died in 565.
BELKNAP, Jeremy, an American clergy-
man, born in June 1744, educated at Harvard
college, ami ordained pastor of the church in
Dover, New Hampshire, 1767. For some years
previous to his death, which took place in 171)8,
he officiated in a church in Boston. He was an
easy and correct writer, and his reputation rests
on his History of New Hampshire, and two vol-
umes of his unfinished American Biography.
He was one of the founders of the Massachu-
setts Historical Society.
BELLE-ISLE, or Belle-Tsle-en-Mer, ancient-
ly Vindilis, an island in the bay of Biscay, about
nine miles long, 115 miles from the western
coast of France. The soil is various. It con-
tains three towns, and several small villages.
Palais is the capital. It is famous for a sea-
fight fought in 1751), between the English un-
der Havvke, and the French under Conflans, in
which the former gained a decisive victory.
The island was afterwards taken, but restored
at the peace of 1 763.
BELLE-ISLE, an island N. E. of the gulf
of St. Lawrence, with two small harbors. It is
21 miles in circuit.
BELLE-ISLE, marshal, a celebrated general
in the war to maintain the Pragmatic Sanction,
who rendered himself famous by a fine retreat
from Prague.
BELLONA, the goddess of war. She was
also called Duellonia, and was the sister of
Mars, whose chariot she drove through bat-
tles with a bloody scourge, her hair hanging in
wild disorder. AtComana she had 300 priests.
The priests used their own blood in their sacri-
fices to this fierce deity.
BELL-ROCK, or Inch Cape, a dangerous
rock of Scotland, nearly opposite the river Tay,
the light-house upon which, finished in 1811, is
of admirable construction. In former ages, the
monks of Aberbrothock, suspended a bell upon
this rock, which, being rung by the waves,
warned mariners of the danger.
BELUJISTAN, Beluchistan, or Beloochis-
tan ; a country of Asia, formerly belonging to
Persia, on the northwest of the peninsula of
Hindostan; now forming an independent state.
It contains five divisions: 1. Jhalawan and
Sarawan, witli the district of Kelat; 2. Macran
and Lus ; 3. Kohistan ; 4. the Desert; and
5. Cutch Gundava, and the district of Herrend
Dajel. It is a rough region, and some of the
mountains are of great height. The heat of
summer is intense, and water scarce. The
desert is 300 miles long, and 200 broad. Among
the minerals of this country, are gold, silver,
lead, iron, copper, tin, alum, saltpetre, sulphur,
rock salt, &c. Cotton, indigo, grain, assafoe-
tida, and madder, are productions of the soil.
The natives are divided into three tribes — the
Beluches, the Dehwars, and Brahuis. They
are Mohammedans, warlike, half-civilized, and
pastoral in their habits.
BELZONI, Giambattista, or John Baptist,
was born at Padua, and educated at Rome, be-
ing destined for a monastic life. Having a
taste, however, for an active life, he served in
the French armies, and went to England in
1803. Here his finances were probably at
a low ebb, for he was engaged to exhibit pos-
tures at Astley's amphitheatre, London, at a
salary of £2 per week. From London he
afterwards went, with his wife, to Egypt,
passing through Portugal, Spain, and Malta.
Here, from 1815 to 1811), he lived as a dancer
until he had attracted the notice of the pacha,
who employed him. He succeeded in opening
the pyramid of Cheops, which had defied the in-
genuity and efforts of the French, that of Ce-
phrenes, and several catacombs near Thebes,
one of which is believed to have been the bu-
rial place of Psainmis, who died 400, B. C. He
exhibited great accuracy and skill in the draw-
ings which he took. In 1816, he accomplished
an undertaking of great difficulty — the removal
of the bust of Jupiter Memnon, and a sarcopha-
gus of alabaster, from Thebes to Alexandria,
whence they were shipped for England. On
the 1st of August, 1817, he opened the temple
of Ipsambul, near the second cataract of the
Nile, discovering a subterranean chapel in its
ruins. He discovered the ruins of the ancient
Berenice, four days journey from the spot
where Cailliaud asserted that he had found it.
Belzoni died on his way to Benin, whence he in-
tended to pass to Timbuctoo, December 3, 1823.
In person he was tall and well-proportioned,
and his gigantic stature protected him from at-
tack, even when alone amidst ferocious barba-
rians. His wife, who accompanied him to
Egypt, displayed great intrepidity amidst the
dangers which they encountered.
BEMBO, Pietro ; one of the most famous
Italian scholars of the 16th century.
BEN
109
BEN
BENARES, a town and district of Allaha-
bad, in Bengal, with a population exceeding
3,000,000. In 1813, the gross revenue was
£570,338. Mr. Hastings expelled the rajah
Chet Singh, in 1781. The town of Be?iares
rises, like an amphitheatre on the high bank of
the Ganges, on its northern side. It contains
more than 600,000 inhabitants, and the dense
population at the great Hindoo festivals, pre-
sents an extraordinary scene. The natives call
Benares Casi, or Cashi, the splendid, and, as it
contains 8000 Bramins, it is regarded with pe-
culiar reverence. A college for the instruction
of Hindoos, in their own literature was estab-
lished here by the British government, in 1801.
Benares is the grand mart for diamonds and
other gems, which are brought principally from
the Bundelcund. With the exception of the
government officers, there are few English resi-
dents here. In 1775, Casi was ceded to the
East India Company, by the nabob of Oude.
The Sanscrit name for Benares, is Vara Nashi,
from two streams, Vara and Nashi. A Hindoo
imagines that if he dies in Benares, his eternal
felicity is certain.
BENAVIDES, an outlaw and pirate, whose
singular perseverance and ferocity rendered him
for many years the terror of the southern parts
of Chili. Under pretext of establishing a navy,
he seized upon English and American vessels,
that stopped for refieshment near the town of
Arauco, the centre of his operations. In 1821,
the Chilians fitted out an expedition, and suc-
ceeded in breaking up his strong hold, and cap-
turing him. He was condemned and executed,
February 23, 1822.
In the early part of his career, he espoused
the cause of the Chilians, but soon deserted
them, and having been taken prisoner in the bat-
tle of Maypu, 1818, he was sentenced to be shot,
and actually sustained the fire of a file of soldiery.
He was covered with wounds and believed to be
dead, but had his senses left when he was drag-
ged to the field where the bodies of criminals
were exposed. Here a man who had owed him
a grudge, smote the supposed corpse with a
sword, and such were the powers of endurance
possessed by Benavides, that he did not flinch
in the least, or give the slightest sign of vitality,
or of the agony he suffered. As soon as it was
dark, he crawled away to the house of a friend,
and had his wounds dressed. His bravery and
fortitude would have honored a better cause.
BENBOW, John, an English admiral, born
in 1650. His gallantry in repelling the attack
af a corsair, when in the merchant service, pro-
cured him the command of a ship of war, from
James II. Being sent by king William, to the
West Indies, he relieved the colonies, and in a
subsequent engagement with the enemy's fleet,
a chain-shot carried off one of his legs. He
was carried below, but, as soon as his wound was
dressed, brought on deck again, and persisted
in continuing the action. He was abandoned
at this moment, through the cowardice of seve-
ral captains under his command, who signed a
paper expressing their opinion that nothing
more could be done, and the whole fleet of the
enemy was suffered to escape. The officers
were tried, and two of them sentenced to be
shot. Benbow died of his wounds and chagrin,
Nov. 4, 1702.
BENDER, in the Moldau language, Tigino,
chief city of a district in the Russian province of
Bessarabia, situated on the Dniester. It contains
10,000 inhabitants, who are engaged in com-
merce. The city is well fortified, but the streets
are narrow and dark. Here Charles XII resided
after the battle of Pultowa. In 1771 , the Russians
took the place by storm, and butchered the inhabi-
tants and troops, to the number of 30,000. It was
subsequently restored to Turkey, but again ta-
ken by the Russians, and again restored. Since
the peace of Bucharest, in 1812, it has remained
in the hands of the Russians.
BENEDICT, the name of several Popes.
Of these, Benedict XIV (Prosper Lambertini),
was the most noted. When, on the death of
Clement XII, in 1740, the conclave was di-
vided, and the cardinals could not agree, Lam-
bertini said, in his good-natured way, " If you
want a saint, take Gotti; if a politician, Aldobran-
di ; if a good old man, take me." The humo-
rous manner in which this quaint speech was
delivered, operated like magic, and Lambertini
became sovereign pontiff. He reformed abuses,
introduced good regulations, cultivated letters,
encouraged men of learning, and was a patron
of the fine arts. He died May 3, 1758.
BENEDICT, St., founded the first religious
order of the west. He was born at Norcia, 480.
The monastery on Monte Cassino was founded
by him. Besides performing religious duties, the
monks of his order gave instruction to youth, in
reading, writing, cyphering, religion, and manual
labors, including all the mechanic arts. Bene-
dict caused the aged monks to copy manuscripts,
and thus many literary works of great import-
ance were preserved from ruin. From the 6th
to the 10th century, almost all the monks in the
west were Benedictines. The rules of the or-
der were severe. At an early period the dress
BEN
110
BEN
of the brethren of the different monasteries va-
ried, but after the 6th century, when union was
enjoined, the monks of this order all wore black.
The Cluniacs were a branch of the Benedic-
tines, proceeding from the convent of Clugny
in Burgundy, founded in 910. Their regula-
tions were at first strict, but in the 12th century,
when the order had 2000 monasteries, they de-
clined from the excess of their luxury. In Italy
and Sicily they still exist, and in Spain, are
among the wealthiest orders. In Sicily, their
discipline is lax, the monks being generally the
younger sons of distinguished families.
BENEVENTO, a dukedom in the Neapoli-
tan province of Principato Oltra, including a city
and eight villages, belonging to the papal see.
Napoleon presented it, in 1806, to his minister
Talleyrand, who thence received the title of
prince of Benevento. It was restored to the pope
in 1815. In 1820, the inhabitants rebelled.
The city of Benevento, situated on a hill be-
tween the Sabato and Calore, has 13,000 inhab-
itants. In remote antiquity this region belonged
to the Samnites, and came, of course, into the
hands of their conquerors, the Romans. In 114,
Trajan built in the city a magnificent triumphal
arch, which now forms the golden gate of the
city. Benevento was made a dukedom by the
Lombards, in 571. It afterwards fell into the
hands of the Saracens and Normans, the latter
of whom spared the city, because it had been
presented to pope Leo IV by Henry III.
BENEZET, Anthony, a philanthropist, was
born at St. Quentin, in France, January, 1713.
His parents were opulent, and his descent noble.
The confiscation of his father's estates, in con-
sequence of his having joined the Protestants,
in 1715, drove the family to England, where
Anthony was educated. Of his early life little
is known, but he was 14 years of age when he
joined the Society of Friends. In 1731 he came
to Philadelphia in company with his parents.
His first employment was that of instructor in
a school at Germantown, in which capacity he
was induced to prepare and publish some ele-
mentary school books. About 1750, being struck
with the enormities of the slave-trade, he de-
termined to employ all his energies in bettering
the condition of the blacks. He established an
evening school for them in Philadelphia, and
taught them gratuitously. On the subject of
Negro slavery he published numerous short
essays in almanacs and newspapers, which he
circulated with unwearied assiduity. He print-
ed and distributed at his own expense, many
valuable tracts, among which we may name his
" Historical Account of Guinea, its Situation,
Produce, and the general Disposition of its In-
habitants ; with an Inquiry into the Rise and
Progress of the Slave-trade, its Nature and Ca-
lamitous Effects." The circulation of these was
not confined to America, but in Europe procur-
ed Benezet the notice and correspondence of
many eminent men. He undoubtedly gave the
first impulse to the measures which resulted in
the abolition of the slave-trade in the United
States. His philanthropy was unbounded, the
whole human race being regarded as his breth-
ren. The wrongs inflicted on the aborigines
of North America, excited his strong sympathy
about the year 1763, and his efforts in their be-
half excited the warmest admiration in all high-
minded observers of his course. In 1780 he
wrote and published a short account of the Re-
ligious Society of Friends, commonly called
Quakers ; and in 1782, " A Dissertation on
the Plainness and Innocent Simplicity of the
Christian Religion." He also published and
circulated several tracts against the use of
ardent spirits. In the spring of 1784, he was
taken ill, and after his case was pronounced
hopeless, conversed intelligently with hundreds
who came to see him. He died on the fifth day
of May, at Philadelphia, extensively known and
beloved. His personal appearance was prepos-
sessing, although he was not handsome. His
naturally strong understanding was improved
by extensive reading. His private habits en-
deared him to his friends, and his small estate
was devoted to the furtherance of his benevo-
lent purposes.
BENGAL, an extensive and rich province
of Hindostan, situated between the 21st and
27th degrees of north latitude, and the 86th and
92d degrees of east longitude. Its length is 400
miles, its breadth 300. Its northern and east-
ern extremities, are guarded by lofty and rough
mountains, and the sole harbor on its dangerous
and inhospitable southern coast, is beset by
a vast number of shoals. So fertile is this coun-
try that the crops of one year are amply suffi-
cient to supply the wants of the inhabitants for
two. Justly has it been termed the richest jew-
el in the British crown, since the revenue ac-
cruing to the government from the rent of lands,
and the monopolies of salt and opium, amounted,
in a single year, to £2.790,000. Rice, cotton,
silk, indigo, sugar, saltpetre, ivory, and tobac-
co, are among its exports. The elephants of
Bengal are in high repute, a good one command-
ing £1000. The largest portion of the inhabitants
are Hindoos, many of whom are extremely in-
' I
BEN
111
BEN
digent. The climate of Bengal is injurious to
Europeans. The seasons are three, the hot, rainy,
and cool. The early history of Bengal is ex-
tremely uncertain. In A. D. 1203, it was con-
quered by the Afghan Mohammedans, and
remained in the power of the emperor of Delhi,
until Faker Addeen, confidential servant of
the emperor, murdered his master, and took the
title of Sultan Sekunder, in 1340. In 1538 it
was reconquered by Shere Shah, and afterwards
was attached to the Mogul empire till 1757,
when, by conquest and treaty, it was occupied
by the English, and now constitutes the nu-
cleus of their Indian empire. The cities of
Gour, Tonda, Rajemahil, Dacca, and Moorshe-
dabad, have by turns been the capital, but Cal-
cutta has now become the seat of government
BENIN, the name of a kingdom of Africa,
extending from the eastern limit of the Slave
Coast, to the Formosa, a distance of 180 miles.
The interior of the country is but little known.
The government is despotic. The inhabitants
are mild and friendly. The women perform
almost all kinds of labor. Benin, the cap-
ital, is situated on the Formosa, and is a place
of considerable extent, carrying on a brisk trade.
The houses, which are large, have a picturesque
appearance from the reeds and leaves with which
, they are covered.
, BENJOWSKY, Maurice Augustus, count
i of, was born in 1741, at Werbowa, in Hungary.
I His father was a general, and he himself enter-
j ed the Austrian service, and served as a lieu-
| tenant in the seven years' war till 1758. Having
] joined the Polish confederation against Russia,
land served with the rank of colonel, commander
I of cavalry, and quarter-master general, he was
: taken by the Russians in 1769, and sent to
I Kamtschatka. On his voyage thither, he saved
' the vessel during a storm, and thus, on his arri-
i val, secured a favorable reception from the gov-
, ernor, NilofF, whose family he instructed in the
French and German languages. In May, 1771,
he left Kamtschatka, accompanied by Aphanasia,
j '.he governor's daughter, and ninety-six other
! persons, sailing for Formosa, whence he departed
for Macao. Here he lost many of his compan-
I ions, and the faithful and unfortunate Aphana-
! jia. Arrived in France, he was commissioned
j to found a colony in Madagascar, where he ar-
! <-ived in June, 1774. He was not long in gain-
ing the good will of the natives, who appointed
him their ampansacabe, or king ; while the
I women acknowledged the sovereignty of his
wife. He went to Europe to seek a powerful
I illy, but was forced by the persecution of the
French ministry, to enter the Austrian service.
In the battle of Habelschwerdt, 1778, he com-
manded against the Prussians. In 1784, receiv-
ing assistance from private persons in London
and America, and leaving his wife in the latter
country, he set out for Madagascar, and arrived
in 1785. Here he commenced hostilities against
the French, and the authorities of the Isle of
France sent a force against him ; in contending
against which he was wounded mortally, May
23, 1786. The fate of Benjowsky's only son
was singular — he is said to have been devoured
by the rats of Madagascar.
BENNINGTON, a post-town in a county of
the same name, Vermont, is 37 miles N. E. of
Albany. It is a place of considerable trade, and
of some manufacturing importance. Popula-
tion (1830), 3,419. Here two celebrated battles
were fought, Aug. 16, 1777, in which 1600 Ame-
rican militia-men, under general Stark, defeated
the British troops.
BENTHAM, Jeremy, an English lawyer,
whose political and philosophical writings have
acquired a great deal of celebrity, particularly
in France ; born in 1749, died in 1832.
BENTLE Y, Richard, a celebrated English di-
vine and classical scholar, was born in 1662. His
father was a blacksmith, and he received his ear-
liest instruction from his mother, a woman of
much talent. He entered St. John's college,
Cambridge, at the age of 14. Having preached
with success, he was appointed keeper of
the royal library, at St. James's, in 1693. He
was victorious in a controversy with the Hon.
Charles Boyle, afterwards the earl of Orrery,
relating to the genuineness of the Epistles of
Phalaris. Bentley was opposed by the whole
host of wits, Pope, Swift, Garth, Atterbury,
Conyers Middleton, &c, but he satisfactorily
proved that the Epistles were not the production
of the tyrant of Agrigentum, who lived more
than five centuries B. C. ; but of some late so-
phist, who borrowed the name of Phalaris. The
tyrant Phalaris had a hollow brazen bull, in which,
when hot, he used to place those who were un-
fortunate enough to displease him, and whose
cries were thus made to resemble the roarings
of the animal. Conyers Middleton, whose enmi-
ty to Bentley arose from the epithet of fiddling
Conj'ers, applied to him while an university stu-
dent, was suspected of being the author of a pun-
ning caricature representing Bentley on the
point of being thrust into the brazen bull of Pha-
laris, and exclaiming, " I had rather be roasted
than Boyled." Bentley was presented by the
crown to the mastership of Trinity college, Cam
BER
112
EER
bridge, worth nearly £1000 a year ; and, in 1701,
he was called to the arch-deaconry of Ely.
Among the accusations brought against him, as
head of the college, he was accused of embez-
zling money, a charge which occasioned a law-
suit that was terminated in the doctor's favor near
twenty years afterwards. He was appointed
Regius professor of divinity, in 1716. In 1726,
he published his edition of Terence and Phoe-
drus, his notes to which brought on a dispute
with bishop Hare, on the metres of Terence,
when feir Isaac Newton observed that, " two
dignified clergymen, instead of minding their
duty, had fallen out about a play -book." Bent-
ley's edition of Paradise Lost, with conjectural
emendations, his last work, was considered a
failure. He died, July 14, 1742, with the repu-
tation of a distinguished scholar and critic.
BERANGER, Pierre Jean de, a lyric poet,
of the class which the French call chanson-
nier — song- writer. He was born Aug. 19, 1780.
His grandfather, a poor tailor, intended that he
should learn the printing business, but he was
patronized by Lucien Bonaparte, and proved
highly successful as a follower of the muses.
A temporary imprisonment served but to in-
crease his reputation. In his least ambitious
compositions there are startling flashes of the
highest kind of poetry, which appear more bril-
liant, from the suddenness of their appearance.
" Beranger," said Benjamin Constant, " writes
sublime odes when he imagines he is only com-
posing simple songs." December 11, 1828, he
was sentenced by the court of correctional po-
lice, to pay a sum equivalent to about 1800 dol-
lars, and to suffer nine months' imprisonment, for
satirising the king and the church in his poems.
BERCHTOLD, Leopold, count, born in 1758.
He was a distinguished philanthropist, and spent
thirteen years in travelling through Europe, and
four in Asia and Africa, to relieve the distresses
of humanity. The result of his benevolent in-
quiries has been given to the public in different
works. He died July 26, 1809, on his estate at
Buchlan,in Moravia, where he had fitted up an
hospital for sick and wounded Austrian soldiers.
BERESFORD, William, baron, duke of El-
vas, and Marquis of Campo Mayor, a distinguish-
ed British general. In 1810 he defeated Soult
at Albufera. In 1812, having a command under
Wellington, he shared in the dangers and glory
of the battles of Vittoria, Bayonne, and Tou-
louse. May 13, 1814, he entered Bordeaux with
the duke of Angouleme. Having returned from
Brazil, whither he was sent in 1815, he was en-
trusted with an important mission to Rio Ja-
neiro. Being in Portugal, in 1817, he incurred
the hatred of the Portuguese military, on ac-
count of his rigor in punishing a conspiracy
against the British army and the regency. In
1820 he was dismissed by the Cortes. He went
to Brazil, and to England, and afterwards again
appeared in Lisbon, in 1826, where he was em-
ployed to quell a rebellion.
BEREZINA, a riverin the Russian province
of Minsk, famous for the passage of the French
army under Napoleon, Nov. 26 and 27, 181 2. The
ice with which the morasses on both sides of the
river were covered, was not strong enough to
bear. The Russian army were threatening the
fugitives, whose discipline was lost, and who,
despairing of escaping by means of the two
crowded bridges, trusted themselves to floating
masses of ice, and were lost. 7500 men and
five generals, according to the Russian account,
were taken.
BERG, a duchy of Germany, containing
983,000 inhabitants, formerly belonging to the
elector of Bavaria, but given to the king of
Prussia, by the congress of Vienna, in 1815.
BERGHEM, Nicholas, a famous painter born
at Harlem, in 1624, died in 1683. His land-
scapes and representations of animals, are much
valued. His name originated in the following
manner. Once, when pursued by his father, he
fled for safety to the workshop of Van Goyen.
who shouted to his pupils, " Berg- hem" (hide
him) ; and this expression was adopted as his
name.
BERKELEY, doctor George, bishop of
Clo}jne in Ireland, famous for his ideal theory.
He maintains that there is nothing material,
and that objects which are called sensible mate-
rial objects, are not external but only impres-
sions made upon the mind by an act of God,
according to certain laics of nature, which are
invariable. Lord Byron says :
"When Bishop Berkeley said there was no matter.
And proved it, 'twas no matter what he said."
He was born at Kilcrin, Ireland, 1684, and died
in 1753. In furtherance of his project for con-
verting the American savages to Christianity,
by the establishment of a college in the Bermu-
da Islands, he considerably impaired his large
fortune, and spent seven years in his efforts to
that end. He remained some time in Rhode
Island. Berkeley was acquainted with almost
every branch of knowledge. His character was
much respected, and Pope who was much attach-
ed to him, says that he had " every virtue under
Heaven." His Treatise on the Principles of
BER
113
BER
Human Knowledge is the most celebrated of his
philosophical works.
BERLICHINGEN, Gotz, or Godfrey von,
with the iron hand, a brave and honorable Ger-
man knight of the middle ages, who headed the
rebellious peasants (in the Peasant War), against
their oppressors. Before this time, having lost
his right hand, he had substituted one made of
iron. He died July 23, 1562. His autobiogra-
phy has been published at Nuremberg.
BERLIN, this fine city and royal residence,
the capital of the Prussian dominions, is situa-
ted in the province of Brandenburg, on the
Spree, 127 feet above the level of the sea. It
is 12 miles in circuit, including 5 towns, and 5
suburbs. In 1832, it contained 258,000 inhab-
itants, among whom were 5,000 Jews, 4,000
Catholics, and more than 15,000 Calvinists.
Berlin Proper, was built in 1163, by the mar-
grave Albert the Bear. Koln or Cologne, on the
Spree, was so called from the Kollnen (piles), on
which the Vandals had built their huts. Fried-
richswerder was founded by the elector Fred-
eric William the Great. Ncu or Dorothcenstadt
was built by the same elector and named in
honor of his wife. Friedricksstadt, founded, in
1688, by the elector Frederic III, is the most
extensive division of this vast city. The num-
ber of its public establishments of various kinds,
makes Berlin very interesting. The Univer-
sity of Berlin, founded in 1809, when Prussia
was groaning beneath the yoke of the French,
is at present one of the first literary institutions
of the European continent. Berlin has 22
squares and market-places, 15 gates (that of
Brandenburg, modelled on the Propylaeum at
Athens, but larger, being the most beautiful), 27
parish churches, 37 bridges, &c. In 1817, the
/mblic buildings were 174 in number ; the manu-
factories 61. In the great hospital of La Chariti,
there were, in 1816, 5114 patients. The royal
hospital admits upwards of 1000 inmates. On
the top of the Mountain of the Cross, before the
Halle gate, a monument of iron was erected in
1820, in commemoration of the wars against
France. Berlin has 100 public, and 50 private
elementary schools. In 1831 , there were 1937
students in the university of Berlin.
BERMUDAS or Somers' Islands, a clus-
ter of about 400 small islands in the Atlantic
Ocean, for the most part barren and insignifi-
cant. They were discovered by Juan Bermudas,
a Spaniard, in 1522. In 1609, Sir George
Somers, an Englishman, who was wrecked
here, founded the first settlement. Many are
so unimportant as to have no name, but the
8
principal islands are St. George, containing
Georgetown, St. David, Cooper, Ireland, Som-
erset, Long Island, Bird Island, and None-
such. The air is healthy and invigorating to
invalids, the winter being hardly apparent.
The islands, however, are subject to frequent
storms. The soil is generally rich and fertile,
yielding two harvests of corn annually. Ship-
building is the principal occupation of the isl-
anders. The whole shore is surrounded by
rocks, dry at low water, but covered at high
tide. The Bermudas extend about 45 miles
from north to south. They are 230 leagues S.
E. of Cape Fear, in North Carolina. Popula-
tion, 3,900 whites, and 4,600 slaves.
BERN, the largest canton of Switzerland,
contains 350,000 inhabitants, with a capital of
the same name. The town was founded in the
12th century , by Cuno von Bubenberg. A great
increase of population was manifest in the 13th
century. It was, in 1218, declared a free city
of the empire by Frederic II, and the charter,
confirming its privileges, is still preserved. In
1291, the cilizens of Bern, under Ulrich von
Bubenberg, made war against their own nobil-
ity. The nobles of Austria, finding that the
city formed an asylum for those who were suf-
fering from their oppression, entered into a
league to destroy it, but their splendid and
powerful army was defeated by the citizens,
under the conduct of the gallant Rodolph von
Erlach, June 21, 1339. In 1353, Bern entered
into the Helvetic league. In 1405, part of the
town was destroyed by fire, but afterwards re-
built. In 1523, the inhabitants espoused the
cause of the reformation, and, in the war with
Savoy, conquered the Pays de Vaud. The pros-
perity of Bern was proverbial, but, on March 5,
1798, 30,000 French troops defeated the army of
the Bernese and their confederates, and the gates
of Bern, for the first time, opened to an enemy.
It was then shorn of half its possessions. At
present, the sovereign power is vested in the
hands of a bail ifF, and the greater and lesser coun-
cils of the city and republic of Bern, which con-
sist of 200 members, chosen from the city,
and 99 from the towns and country. The
northern part of this canton is hilly ; the plains
and valleys are beautiful, and the whole is in a
high stale of cultivation. The canton furnishes
5,824 men to the army of the Swiss confederacy.
The city has 17,620 inhabitants, and the eleva-
tion on which it stands, is washed by the Aar.
Some of its public buildings are very elegant.
Its university, economical, and historical soci-
eties are important, and the public library con-
BER
114
BER
tains a valuable collection of books, both prin-
ted and in manuscript. Trade and commerce
are nourishing. Among the manufactures,
are woollen cloths, printed linen, silk-stuffs,
&c.
BERNARD, of Clairvaux; an influential
ecclesiastic, born at Fontaines, in Burgundy,
1091. He was of noble family, and became a
monk in 1113, and in 1115, the first abbot of
Clairvaux. He was austere, eloquent, and bold,
and had the reputation of being a prophet. He
was called a honeyed teacher. Bernard was the
principal promoter of the crusade of 1146. Lu-
ther says of him, " if there ever has been a
pious monk who feared God, it was St. Bernard ;
whom I hold in much higher esteem, than I do
all other monks and priests throughout the
globe." Bernard died in 1153, and was canon-
ized in 1174.
BERNARD, Great St.; a mountain, 11,006
feet high, between the Valais and the valley of
Aosta. The two hospitia on the Great and
Little St. Bernard, were built by Bernard de
Menthon, a Savoyard nobleman, in 962. They
are under the care of the canons of the Augus-
tine order, who are indefatigable in the discharge
of their duties. Upwards of 9000 persons annu-
ally pass over the mountain, all of whom re-
ceive refreshments in the hospitia. The monks
are assisted in their search for travellers, by
their great dogs, whose lives are shortened by
their painful labors. Owing to the severity of
the weather, the dead bodies in the vault decay
so slowly, that their features are frequently re-
cognized by friends, after the lapse of years.
In the church of the Great St. Bernard, is the
monument of General Desaix, who fell at
Marengo. He was embalmed by order of the
first consul. The sculptor has represented this
warrior wounded, and sinking from his horse
into the arms of his aid. On the stairs of the
convent stands the statue of Desaix in marble.
BERNINI, Giovanni Lorenzo, born at Na-
ples, in 1598. He has been called the Michael
Angelo of modern times, on account of his suc-
cess as a painter, statuary, and architect. He
was patronized by several popes, and, although
he went to Paris on the invitation of Louis
XIV, he returned to Rome, and died, exhausted
by his labors, November 28, 1680, at the age of
82. He left a fortune of about 3,300,000 francs
to his children. So early did his talents shine
forth, that at the age of 8 years, he executed the
head of a child in marble, which was thought
a fine production. He was not 18 years old
when he completed his Apollo and Daphne, a
work which he examined at the close of life, and
declared that he had made little progress since
that time. So true it is that genuine enthu-
siasm often supplies the place of experience.
Among his numerous works, are the palace
Barberini ; the belfry of St. Peter, and the mon-
ument of Urban VIII. The tomb of Alexander
VII, one of his most masterly works, he execu-
ted in his 70th year.
BERRI, or Berry, Charles Ferdinand, duke
of, second son of the count d'Artois, late
Charles X, of France, born at Versailles, Jan.
24th, 1778. He fled from the revolutionary
tempest, but was actively engaged in the scenes
at Paris, in 1814, on the return of the Bourbons,
and vainly endeavored to secure the fidelity of
the troops in and about Paris, when Napoleon
returned from Elba. He was assassinated in
1820, by Louvel, who had long sought to extir-
pate the house of Bourbon, and met his death
with great firmness. The opera house, near
which the crime was committed, was pulled
down, and a column erected on the spot.
BERSERKER, in Scandinavian mythology,
a descendant of the eight-handed Starkader,
and the beautiful Alfhilde. Disdaining the
protection of mail in battle, he obtained his
name, which signifies, the armorless. In battle,
his rage was ungovernable. He married the
daughter of king Swafurlam, whom he had
slain, and had 12 sons who equalled him in
BERTH1ER, Alexander, prince of Neuf-
chatel and Wagram, marshal, vice-constable
of France, &c, born at Paris, 1753. At an
early age, he served under La Fayette, in
America. He was a great favorite of Napo-
leon, under whom he acted as chief of his
staff, assisting in those great victories which
made France master of Italy, Germany, and
Prussia. On the return of the Bourbons, he
retired to Germany, where he put an end to
his existence, by throwing himself from a
window.
BERTRAND, Henri Gratien, count, gene-
ral of division, aid-de-camp of Napoleon, grand
marshal of the palace, &c. He early distin-
guished himself in the engineer corps, and in
1804, gave Napoleon evidence of his ability.
From that time he served near the person of
Napoleon, particularly at Austerlitz, where he
was the emperor's aid-de-camp. He and his
family shared the last residence of Napoleon,
after his fall.
BERWICK, James Fitz-James, duke of,
was born in 1C70. He distinguished himself
.
BEZ
115
BIR
is a general in the Bourbon cause in Spain,
(where lie won the battle of Almansa, and cap-
tured Barcelona, after a resistance, by the citi-
zens, of fifteen months.
I BESSARABIA, a Russian province, situated
jon the Black Sea, between the northern arm
jqf the Danube, the Pruth, and the Dniester,
"fertile and extensive. It contains 800,000 in-
habitants.
BETHANIA, or Bethany, a village at the
foot of Mount Olivet, about 2 miles east of Je-
rusalem, where Lazarus was raised from the
]dead, and where the ascension of Jesus Christ
'ook place. The house and grave of Lazarus,
is well as the dwelling of Mary Magdalene,
lire pointed out to travellers.
" BETHESDA, a pool in Judea, in the vicinity
af which the sick lay, waiting to be cured on
the moving of the waters. The Jews had an
j.dea that an angel descended at times into it,
Jind stirred up the waves, after which the first
who entered was cured. The name signifies
kouse of mercy. There were porticoes or halls
an its borders. The pool appears to have been
composed of red-colored mineral water, which
received its healing properties from the red
3arth at the bottom.
BETHLEHEM, a village of Palestine, a part
Jof Syria, in the pachalic of Damascus, five
.miles from Jerusalem, where our Savior was
Iborn. Here also David first saw light. It is
lit the foot of a hill covered with olive trees and
vines. The church of the empress Helena, a
! splendid edifice, is built over the spot where
'Jhrist is said to have been born. The manger
lis shown under the choir of a convent church.
j BEZA, or de Beze, Theodore, after Calvin,
khe most distinguished among the Calvinistic
(preachers of the 10th century, born 1519. At
j the age of 20, he published his Latin poems,
j collected under the title of Juvenilia, a work
jf which he was afterwards ashamed. At an
'jarlyage he was dissipated, but reformed by
carriage, and a dangerous illness. He distin-
guished himself in the service of the reformed
church, and, in 1564, became Calvin's succes-
sor. Vain were the efforts of his adversaries
.o gain an advantage over him. His truth and
wit were a splendid defence, and at the age of
78 years, his intellectual faculties appeared as
:lear as ever. The pope made him brilliant
affers, but he nobly rejected them. He died Oct.
1 3, 1605, of old age. He was the author of many
vorks, among which his History of Calvinism
n France, from 1521 to 1563, is still read with
satisfaction.
BID ASSOA, a boundary river between Spain
and France, containing the isle of Pheasants,
where the peace of the Pyrenees was concluded
in 1659.
BIEVRE, Marquis de, marshal, born in 1747,
died in 1789. He served in the life-guard of
the king of France, and was much celebrated
for his wit, which he displayed in ready re-
partees and puns. When presented to Louis
XV, the following dialogue took place. Louis.
Give me a specimen of your wit. B. Give me
a subject, sire. Louis. Take me. B. Sire, the
king is no subject.
BILLINGTON, Elizabeth, Mrs. a celebrated
English singer, born in 1770, died in 181 7. She
appeared in public at the age of 14, and was
received with great applause.
BINGEN ; a town on the left bank of the
Rhine, opposite Rudesheim ; population 3,300.
In its vicinity is the famous Mouse Tower,
connected with which is the following tale.
In a time of great famine, bishop Hatto played
the usurer, to the distress and ruin of many
poor people. For this he is said to have met
a most dreadful punishment. Thousands on
thousands of mice pouring into his' dwelling,
compelled him to seek refuge in his tower on
the Rhine. But here he enjoyed but a brief
interval of rest. The army of mice swam the
river, scaled the rocky precipice, and leaped
into the tower, at every cranny, grate, and
loop-hole. The bishop attempted to pray, but
his utterance failed — he listened to the noise of
the mice as they swiftly approached his turret-
chamber. At length they gained an entrance,
and devoured the prelate, tearing the flesh from
his bones, and leaving him a mere skeleton.
BIRCH, Thomas, a historian and biographer
of the 18th century, born in London, in 1705.
His father, a quaker, designed his son for his
own profession, that of a coffee-mill maker.
Young Birch, however, preferring a literary
life, adopted it, took orders in 1730, and ob-
tained a living in Essex, in 1732. He was
assisted by some coadjutors in preparing the
General Historical and Critical Dictionary,
completed in 10 vols, folio, in 1741. His life
was laborious, and in the course of it, he pub-
lished many historical and biographical works.
He was killed by a fall from his horse, in 1765.
BIREN, Ernst John von, duke of Courland,
born 1637, died 1772. He is said to have been
the son of Buhren, a peasant of Courland. He
gained the favor of Anna, duchess of Courland,
afterwards empress of Russia, by his beauty
and accomplishments, and when his mistress
BIR
116
BLA
was raised to the throne, was not forgotten by
her. While in power, he was fierce, resentful,
and ambitious, and caused the death of 11,000
persons. After the death of Anna, a conspi-
racy was formed against him, and he was ban-
ished to Siberia. But he was recalled on the
accession of Elizabeth, daughter of Peter the
Great, to the throne. After another exile, of 22
years, he was again recalled by Peter III, and,
during the reign of Catherine II, continued to
enjoy the royal favor until his death.
BIRMAN EMPIRE. The Birman Empire
is a powerful state of Further India, having an
area of 200,000 square miles, with a popu-
lation of about 4,000,000. It contains many
conquered provinces, and includes the king-
doms of Ava, Pegu, part of Laos, and some
other adjacent states in the north. On the
north it is bounded by Thibet, Assam, and
China ; on the west a chain of lofty moun-
tains separates it from the British possessions.
The Birmans of Ava, made themselves inde-
pendent of Pegu, in the 16th century, but were
reconquered in the 18th. The spirit of inde-
pendence, however, was abroad, and Alompra,
one of the leaders of the Birmans, kindled
anew the flame of revolt in 1753, and conquered
the city of Ava. Various fortunes followed,
till Alompra finally made himself master of
the city of Pegu. This monarch, whose abili-
ties were all devoted to the good of his subjects,
died in 1760, at the age of 50 years, leaving his
throne to his son Namdogee, who inherited his
father's spirit and talent, and died in 1764.
Shambuan, the regent, usurped the throne in
1771, and was victorious in a war with China,
during which Siam, which he had previously
conquered, regained its independence. In 1776,
this prince left his empire, greatly extended, to
his son Chengenza, who, in consequence of
excessive debauchery, was dethroned and put to
death in 1782. Shembuan Menderagan, the 4th
son of Alompra, was placed by the revolution on
the throne. In 1783, he subdued Arracan. A
war with Siam, in which he next engaged, re-
sulted, in 1793, in the submission of that king-
dom upon certain terms. The refusal on the
East India Company to deliver up some Bir-
man refugees, who were robbers, brought on a
war with Shembuan, which was soon amicably
concluded. Shembuan's grandson ascended
the throne in 1816. In 1826, a war which had
broken out between the Birmese and English,
ended in a treaty, by which the king of the
white elephant and the golden feet (titles of
the monarch of Birmah), ceded to the British
East India Company large tracts on the west-
ern coast of his empire, including Arracan,
Merguy, Tavay, and Yea. Assam became
independent, and Rangoon was declared a free
port. The latter has a population of 30,000.
The Birmans are gay, irritable, active, and
fond of show. No man is permitted to have
more than one wife, and capital punishment is
extended to confirmed opium eaters, and drunk-
ards in general. The bodies of the dead are
burned. The commerce of the Birmese is ex-
tensive, and the merchants make use of bars
of silver and lead in the place of coin. The
people are fond of amusements, particularly
dramatic spectacles. Education is not wholly
neglected among them, every one learning
arithmetic, reading, and writing. The clergy
are literary men, famous for temperance, and
the renunciation of all indulgences. The civil
and criminal code is very judicious. The
standing army is small. The empire is divided
into 7 provinces.
BIRMINGHAM, a great manufacturing
town of Warwickshire. England, on the river
Rea, 109 miles N. N. W. of London. Popula-
tion in 1831, 146,986. The upper part of the
town is well built, and pleasant, while the lower
is crowded with workshops, warehouses, and
old buildings.
BIRON, Charles de Contaut, duke of; an
intriguing nobleman in the reign of Henry IV,
of France, tried on a charge of treason, and
beheaded July 31st, 1602.
BITHYNIA, an ancient country of Asia Mi-
nor, also called Bebrycia. It lay on the Pontus
Euxinus, the Thracian Bosphorus, and the Pro-
pontis, and was bounded on the south by Phry-
gia. A fie the death of Prusias I, it was in-
vaded by Creosus, subjugated by the Persians,
and conquered by Alexander the Creat, 334
years B. C. It afforded for some time an asylum
to Hannibal, wlro was at last delivered up. Ni-
comedes, the last king, bequeathed the kingdom
to the Romans, B. C. 75. In 1298, the Otto-
man Turks founded an empire here ; previous
to which, the Seljuks had conquered it in the
11th century.
BLACK LOCK, Thomas, a poet and clergy-
man, born at Annan, in Dumfries county, in
1721. Although deprived of sight, he became
famous for his acquirements, and took a high
station among the literati of Scotland. He died
July 1791, at the age of 70.
BLACKSTONE, Sir William, knight, and
L. L. D., an English lawyer of great celebrity.
and a writer on the British constitution, was-
BLA
117
BLA
born in London, in 1723. He was the son of
Mr. Charles Blackstone, a silk-mercer, but
being left an orphan, was brought up and
educated by Mr. Thomas Bigg, his uncle, a
surgeon. He left Pembroke college, Oxford,
with a high reputation, and, in 1746, after faith-
ful preparatory study, was admitted to the bar,
and commenced practice. His progress was
slow, owing to his deficiency in elocution ; and
he accordingly determined to forsake the prac-
tice of the law, and retire to his fellowship at
Oxford. His lectures, in which he called
attention to the want of provision for instruc-
tion in the laws and constitution of the coun-
try, were delivered with effect, and continued
for a series of years. In 1759, when several of
his legal works had attracted the attention of
the public, he resumed the practice of the law,
and found that honors and emoluments poured
in upon him. In 1761, he was chosen member
of parliament from Hindon, made king's coun-
sel, and solicitor-general to the queen ; about
this time, also, he married. In 1765, the first
volume of his Commentaries on the Laws of
England appeared, and was pronounced supe-
rior to any work upon the same subject which
had before been published. In 1770 he was made
one of the justices of common pleas, and he died
in his 57th year, 1780. In private life this dis-
tinguished lawyer was affable and benevolent,
greatly devoted to business, in which he dis-
played activity and intelligence.
BLAIR, Hugh, an eloquent divine and suc-
cessful author, was born at Edinburgh in 1718,
and made preacher of the high church in that
city in 1758. Having acquired a high reputa-
tion by his lectures on composition, he was
made professor of rhetoric and belles-letters in
1762. In private life, he was a kind father,
friend, and husband, and, living temperately,
enjoyed happiness till his death which took
place in 1800.
BLAIR, Robert, a Scotch clergyman, author
of " The Grave." Born at Edinburgh in 1699;
he died in 1746.
BLAKE, Robert, an English admiral in the
time of the Commonwealth, born at Bridgewa-
ter in 1599, died in 1657. He defended Taun-
ton against Goring, blocked up Prince Rupert
in Kinsale harbor, pursued him to Lisbon, en-
gaged him at Malaga, and destroyed nearly his
whole fleet. He afterwards reduced the Scilly
isles and Guernsey, defeated Van Troinp in
two engagements, demolished the castle of Tu-
nis, and burned the Spanish fleet in tlie harbor
of Santa Cruz. The terror of his name was so
great, that it was used by the Dutch and Span-
iards to quell their children.
BLAKELEY, Johnston, born in Ireland in
1781, was a distinguished naval officer in the
service of the United States. His father came
to America, and settled in Wilmington, North
Carolina. Blakeley entered the university of
North Carolina, but, the death of his father hav-
ing deprived him of support, was forced to
leave it before he had completed his course. In
1800 he received a midshipman's warrant, and
in 1813 was appointed to the command of the
Wasp. In an action with His Britannic Ma-
jesty's ship Reindeer, he took her in 19 minutes,
but was forced to abandon her, as she was so
completely cut up. The loss of the Americans
in killed and wounded was 21; that of the enemy,
67. After an engagement with the brig Avon,
which was forced to strike, although three other
English vessels were in sight, the Wasp was
spoken by a vessel off the Western Isles, since
which time she has not been heard of. Blake-
ley left an only daughter, who was educated by
the state of North Carolina.
BLANCH ARD, Francois, one of the earliest
aeronauts, born at Andelys, France, in 1738.
He showed an early fondness for mechanics,
and in his 16th year, invented a self-moving
carriage, which carried him 18 miles. In his
19th year he invented a hydraulic machine, and
soon afterwards, a sort of flying-ship. When
the Montgolfiers made their discoveries, Blan-
chard eagerly made use of them. In 1785 he
crossed the channel from Dover to Calais, with
doctor Jeffries, a gentleman of Boston in the
United States. At one time the balloon sank
so rapidly, that although the Aeronauts had
lightened the car by throwing'over all superflu-
ous articles, even their clothes, they were in
danger of losing their lives. However, the
voyage was finally accomplished in safety, and
Blanchard was presented by the king of France
with 12,000 francs, and a pension of 1200. In the
same year he made use of a parachute in Lon-
don. His 46th ascent was made in the city of
New York, 1796. In 1798, he went up from
Rouen in a large balloon with J 6 persons. He
died in 1809, after having made more than 66
aeronautic voyages. Madame Blanchard, after
his death, continued to make voyages in
the air. In June, 1819, she ascended from
Paris, and was thought to be in safety, when
her balloon took fire from some fireworks
which she carried with her ; she fell from an
immense height, and was dashed to pieces in
the Rue de Provence.
BLO
118
BOE
BLENHEIM or Blindheim, a village in the
circle of Upper Danube, in Bavaria, on the
Danube. It is celebrated for the important
victory obtained there by the allies under the
duke of Marlborough and prince Eugene, over
the French, commanded by marshals Tallard
and Marsin, and the elector of Bavaria.
In the war of the Spanish succession, Louis
XIV, with the elector of Bavaria for his only
ally, was forced to contend against the strength
of Holland, England, Austria, Savoy, Portugal,
and the German empire. At the battle of Blen-
heim, which was fought August 13, 1704, the
allied forces amounted to about 52,000, and
the French to 56,000, with great advantage of
situation ; the latter, however, were completely
beaten, and 11,000 corpses left upon the field of
battle. Among other ensigns of victory were
100 pieces of cannon, 24 mortars, 129 colors, 171
standards, 17 pair of kettle-drums, 3600 tents,
34 coaches, 300 mules laden with the rich equi-
page and plate, the military chest, the dispensa-
tory, &c. ; 25 brass pontoons, and a number of
carriages laden with provisions and ammuni-
tion.
BLONDEL, the servant, friend, and musical
instructor of the lion-hearted Richard I, of
England. Richard having been confined in the
castle of Lowenstein, by the duke of Austria,
Blondel wandered through Palestine and Ger-
many in search of his royal master. He finally
discovered the place of his confinement, by
placing himself beneath the grated window of
his tower, and singing one of the lays which he
had formerly taught the king. He had complet-
ed the first stanza, when, to his great delight, be
heard the voice of Richard, replying in the same
strain. He delivered the king from bondage,
and received the title of the faithful Blondel.
BLOOD, Thomas, commonly called colonel
Blood, a disbanded officer of Oliver Cromwell ;
notorious for his attempt to steal the crown and
regalia from the tower. He was almost success-
ful. Charles II pardoned him. and even bestow-
ed an estate of £500 per annum on him, while
poor Edwards, keeper of the regalia, who was
severely wounded in defending them, was pass-
ed by unnoticed.
BLOOMFIELD, Robert, an English poet,
born at Honington, in 1766. He was the son of
a tailor, and, in 1781, he was sent to London,
v/ith his brother, to learn the shoe-making trade ;
he visited various places of public worship, the
theatre, and a debating society, and found his
faculties developed in a striking manner. His
brother, hearing him one day repeat a song
which he had composed, induced him to offer it
to the editor of the London Magazine, by whom
it was accepted and published. His poem of
the " Farmer's Boy," composed during a brief
residence in the country, was published by Ca-
pel Lofft. to whom it was first shown. The ver-
sification in this, as well as in the other poems
of Bloomfield, is easy and correct. He was
made, by the duke of Grafton, under-sealer for
the Seal Office, but ill-health compelled him to
relinquish this situation. He afterwards work-
ed at his trade, and engaged in the book-trade,
but became bankrupt. He died in Aug. 1823.
BLUCHER, Marshal, a celebrated Prussian
general, who distinguished himself in the wars
with France, particularly in 1813, 1814, and
1815, and who by his timely arrival on the field
of Waterloo, with a large body of cavalry,
decided the victory. The Russians, in allu-
sion to his promptitude in attack, called him gen-
eral Foncard, a name which is always applied
to him by his admirers. He died Sept. 12, 1819.
BOADICEA, or Bonduca, a British heroine,
queen of the Iceni. Her husband, for the secu-
rity of his family , had made the Roman emperor
co-heir with his daughters. But the Roman of-
ficers took possession of her palace, exposed the
princesses to the brutality of the soldiers, and
scourged the queen in public. Boadicea, urged
to revenge by this usage, assembled her country-
men, and, in a masculine harangue, roused them
to madness, by describing her own, her daugh-
ters' and her country's injuries, stormed London,
and put to the sword 70,000 strangers. Sueto-
nius Paulinus defeated the Britons, and Boa-
dicea poisoned herself in despair, A. D. 60.
BOCCACCIO, Giovanni, a famous Italian
author, born at Paris, 1313. His Decameron
fixed his reputation, and the name of Boccaccio,
according to Mazzuchelli, is equivalent to a
thousand encomiums. The death of his friend
and instructor, Petrarch, was a severe shock to
him, and he died not more than a year after, at
Certaldo, Dec. 21,1375.
BOCHICA, founder of the Indian empire of
Cundinamarca, the Manco Capac of the Muisca
Indians. He introduced the worship of the sun,
and persuaded the inhabitants of the Valley of
Bogota to cultivate the soil.
BODLEY, Sir Thomas ; founder of the Bod-
leian library at Oxford, born at Exeter in 1544,
died in 1612, at London.
BOERHAVE, Hermann, one of the most
famous physicians of the 18th century, born at
Woorhout, near Leyden, Dec. 1668, died in
1738. People came to him from all parts of
BOH
119
BOH
Europe lor advice, and a Chinese mandarin
wrote to him with the address, " to Boerhave,
the celebrated physician of Europe." His pro-
perty amounted, at his death, to 2,000,000 florins.
BOETHIUS, Anicius Manlius Torquatus Se-
verinus, a man whose services, rewards, vir-
tues, and unhappy end have made him famous,
was born at Rome or Milan, about 470, A. D.
Having received an admirable education and im-
proved himself by travel, he was taken into favor
by Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, and ra-
pidly raised to the highest offices of the empire.
His strict justice and uncompromising integrity
having acquired for him the hatred of the rapa-
cious and unprincipled Goths, the king became
prejudiced against him, and had him arrested, im-
prisoned, and executed, A. D. 526 or 527. His
most celebrated work on the Consolations of Phi-
losophy, consisting of prose and verse, was com-
posed by him in prison. Alfred the Great, of
England, translated it for the benefit of his peo-
ple.
BOGOTA, at the time the Spaniards con-
quered South America, was one of the most
civilized states of the country, and inhabited by
the Muisca Indians. The valley of Bogota,
famous for its fertility, was filled with Indians,
who rivalled in civilization the inhabitants
of Cuzco. They traced their prosperity to the
instructions of Bochica. Gonzalo Ximenes di
Quesada effected their conquest.
BOGOTA, or Santa Fe de Bogota ; a city of
South America, formerly capital of the vice-
royalty of New Grenada, but now capital of the
republic of that name. Long. 74° 15' W. ; lat.
4° 3G' N. The population has been variously
estimated from 30 to 60,000. It lies on an ele-
vated plain to the east of the Andes, and con-
tains, besides a superb cathedral, many fine
buildings. The lands in the environs of Bo-
gota yield two harvests annually.
BOHEMIA, Bceheim, Bojenheim, a kingdom
of Europe, bounded on the north by Lusatia and
Misnia, on the east by Moravia and Silesia, on
the south by Austria and Bavaria, and on the
west by Bavaria. It contains above 3,880,000
inhabitants, of whom a large portion are Jews.
Bohemia is surrounded by mountains and co-
vered with forests. All kinds of grain and fruits
are exported. The mines yield silver, copper,
tin, garnets, and other precious stones, iron,
arsenic, alum, antimony, sulphur, &c. Manu-
factories are established in various parts of the
country. Bohemia contains 16 circles, besides
the city of Prague, governed by officers who are
appointed yearly. In 1826 a rail-road was laid
between the Danube and the Moldau. The Bo-
hemians are highly patriotic and public spirited.
In 1822 they had 2996 public establishments for
instruction. The kingdom derives its name
from the Boii, a Celtic nation, who settled there
about 600 B. C. About the middle of the 4th
century it was inhabited by Germans, who were
governed by their own dukes. Charlemagne
made Bohemia tributary, but it did not long re-
main so. The first king received his title from
the emperor Henry IV, and in 1310 the house of
Luxemburg succeeded to the throne. In 1526,
Bohemia reverted to the house of Austria, by
whom it ho.s been ever since held. Bohemia
produced the first reformers, among whom were
John Huss, and Jerome of Prague.
BOHEMIA, dynasties of.
DUKES. A.D.
Czechus or Zecko (a Selavonian conqueror), .550
Cracua 1 565
Cracus II 618
Libussa (princess), j £__
Premislaus (her husband, a peasant), \ "**
Nezamistus 676
Wnislaus 689
Cizezomislaus 715
Necklan 757
Hostwit or Milchost 809
Borziwoi 1 890
Stugmir 901
Spitigneus 1 902
Wratislaus 1 920
Wenceslaus 1 926
Boleslaus 1 938
Boleslaus II 967
Boleslaus III 999
Jaromir 1002
Udalric 1012
Bretislaus 1 1037
Spitigneus II 1055
Wratislaus II 1061
Conrad 1 1092
Bretislaus II 1093
Wladislaus 1 1 100
Borziwoi II 1101
Suatopluc 1107
Borziwoi II (restored), 1109
Wladislaus II 1 124
Sobieslaus 1 1125
Wladislaus III 1 140
Sobieslaus II 1174
Frederick 1178
Conrad II 1190
Wenceslaus II 1191
Henry Bretislaus 1193
Wladislaus IV 1196
KINGS.
Premislaus Ottocar 1 1197
Wenceslaus III 1230
Premislaus Ottocar II , ,-. 1253
Interregnum 1278
Wenceslaus IV 1284
Wenceslaus V 1305
Henry of Carinthia 1306
John of Luxemburg 1310
BOL
120
BOL
Charles IV, Emperor of Germany a. d. 1346
Wenceslaus VI 1378
Sigisrnund 1419
Allien of Austria 1437
Wladislaua V 1446
George Podiebrad 1458
Wladislaus VI 1471
Louis 1516
Ferdinand I of Austria, emperor 1526
BOILEAU, Despreaux Nicholas, born at
Crosne, near Paris, in 1636. After having studi-
ed at the colleges of Harcourt and Beauvais,he
entered upon the career of law which he soon
relinquished for the more congenial pursuit of
belles-lettres. His satire, Les Micux a Paris,
first displayed his talents. He published many
works, his Art Po6tique, being the most popular.
He was opposed by many writers, to confound
whom he wrote his unrivalled mock-heroic
poem, the Lutrin. He died of the dropsy in
1711.
BOIS-LE-DUC, the French name for the
Dutch Hertogcnbosh, a fortified city of the Ne-
therlands, with 17,300 inhabitants, at the con-
fluence of the Dommel and the Aa. It has
many manufactories, a lyceum, and 15 churches.
It was founded in 1184. In the religious wars
of the 16th century it suffered much. The
Dutch gained possession of it in 1629. Near
Bois-le-Duc, in 1794, the British army was de-
feated by the French. In the same year it sur-
rendered to Pichegru,and was taken by Bulow,
the Prussian General, in January, 1814.
BOJACA, BATTLE OF, was fought near
the bridge of Bojaca, a South American town
not far from the city of Tunja. The Spaniards
under Barreyro were defeated by the united
forces of Venezuela and New Granada, com-
manded by Bolivar. It took place Aug. 7th,
1819, and decided the independence of New
Granada.
BOLEYN, or BOLEN, Anne, second wife
of Henry VIII of England. She was probably
born about 1500. She was the daughter of Sir
Thomas Boleyn. Her early years were spent in
attendance on the wife of Louis XII of France,
on whose death she became maid of honor to
queen Catherine. Henry, having procured a
divorce from his wife, married her privately,
and when she became a mother publicly ac-
knowledged her as queen. Her child was the
famous Elizabeth. The tyrant conceiving a
passion for Jane Seymour, caused Anne to be
tried for high treason and infidelity. She suf-
fered on the scaffold, May 19th, 1536, Henry
considering it an act of great clemency to save
her from the stake. She was beautiful, gay, and
witty, and in her last moments, self-possessed.
" She sent her last message to the king," says
Hume, " and acknowledged the obligations
which she owed him in uniformly continuing
her advancement. From a private gentle-
woman, you have made me, first, a marchion-
ess, then a queen ; and, as you can raise me no
higher in this world, you are now sending me
to be a saint in heaven."
BOLINGBROKE, Henry St. John, viscount,
born at Battersea, in 1672, of an ancient and
distinguished family. His brilliant talents, ele-
gant manners, and personal attractions, secured
him a warm welcome in society ; but, unhap-
pily, until his 23d year his career was stained
with those vices which spring from the impetu-
ous temper of youth. His marriage with a
beautiful heiress did not produce the happiness
which his parents had looked for, and the young
couple separated forever after a short connexion.
The moment he obtained a seat in the house of
commons he distinguished himself by industry,
activity, eloquence, and strong judgment. In
1704 he was made secretary at war, but when
the whigs came into place, he sent in his resig-
nation. The whig party being prostrated, Bo-
lingbroke received the department of foreign
affairs, and concluded the peace of Utrecht.
During the height of party contention between
the whigs and tories, immediately after the con-
clusion of peace, a quarrel occurred between
Bolingbroke and the Earl of Oxford, then lord
high treasurer, and Queen Anne, provoked
with the latter, dismissed him, four days before
her death, and made Bolingbroke prime minis-
ter. The scene was speedily reversed by the
death of Anne. — George I ascended the throne,
the whigs triumphed, and Bolingbroke, learn-
ing that his enemies intended to bring him to
the scaffold, fled to France. Bolingbroke went
to Lorraine, and was made Secretary of State
by the Pretender (James III), who, however,
becoming displeased with him, deprived him of
his dignity and conferred it on the duke of Or-
mond.
He returned to England in 1723, opposed
the ministry for eight years, and again went to
France. In France, in 1735, he published his
Letters upon History, which, however admira-
ble, were blamed for attacking revealed reli-
gion. In 1738, he returned to his country,
where he died of a lingering and painful dis-
ease in 1 751 , in his 80th year.
BOLIVAR, Simon, the most prominent actor
in the events which produced the independence
of a large portion of South America. He was
BOL
121
BOL
born in the city of Caraccas, July 24th, 1783, of
a distinguished and noble Venezuelan family.
After acquiring the elements of a liberal educa-
tion in South America, he visited Spain, and
spent some time in travelling in Europe, chief-
ly in the south of France. Returning for a
while to Madrid, he married, and carried his
wife to his native land, where he thought to
enjoy in peace the comforts of domestic life.
The death of his wife put an end to his blissful
visions, and he again went to Europe, partly to
dissipate his grief. On his return, he travelled
through the United States, where his love of
liberty settled into an indelible passion, and we
find him actively engaged in promoting the
early movement in Caraccas (April, 1810) and
receiving a colonel's commission from the su-
preme junta then established. He sided with
the patriots of Venezuela, and, after the declar-
ation of independence, July 5, 1811, served
under General Miranda, against a party in Va-
lencia, who declared against the principles and
measures of the revolutionists.
After some ill success in Venezuela, which
is attributable to treachery rather than want of
talent on his part, Bolivar obtained a passport
-and escaped to Curagoa. He could not, however,
content himself with being a calm, cold, and in-
vulnerable spectator of events in which the
lives and fortunes of his countrymen were risk-
ed, and accordingly he came to Carthagena in
1812, and entered into the service of the pat-
riots of New Grenada. His expedition against
Teneriffe, on the river Magdalena, was suc-
cessful, he drove the Spaniards before him in
his triumphant advance, and entered the city
of Ocana in triumph, thus inspiring general
confidence in the patriot cause, and attracting
the attention of all to it and to himself. He
next expelled the Spanish forces from Cucu-
ta, and conceived the plan of freeing Vene-
zuela from the Spaniards, a task which he ac-
complished by the 4th of August, 1813. At the
assembly of Caraccas, Jan. 2, 1814, the power,
which was vested in the hands of Bolivar as
commander of the liberating army, was confirm-
ed. If we carefully trace the military career of
Bolivar, we shall find him alternately meeting
with success, and struggling with reverse ; dis-
playing, both in triumph and defeat, the noble
daring of a gallant warrior, the rare talents of
a military chieftain, and the unyielding perse-
verance of a true patriot. At length he had the
satisfaction of beholding the arms of the patri-
ots triumphant in every quarter, their banners
moving onward in pride and splendor, and the
phalanx of opposition becoming daily more and
more feeble.
In May, 182G, Bolivar presented to the con-
gress of Upper Peru, which had formed the
independent state of Bolivia, the constitution
which, at their request, he had prepared. Mean-
while a rebellion had broken out in Venezuela,
headed by Paez, who considered himself aggriev-
ed, and the fair fruits of liberty, won with many
a day of bloody toil, appeared in danger of
being lost. It was Bolivar alone who could and
did quell this insurrection. The Bolivian code,
which, among its prominent features, provided
that the executive authority should be vested in
the hands of the president for life, was adopted
as the constitution of Bolivia, Dec. 9, 182G, and
Bolivar, then absent, was declared its presi-
dent. If the provisions of the Bolivian code
had alarmed the friends of liberty, what was
their terror when they beheld Bolivar, whom
they suspected of ambitious designs, placed
for life at the head of the government. The
Colombian auxiliary army, then in Peru, rapid-
ly revolutionized the government, and induced
the Peruvians to renounce the Bolivian code.
Strenuous opposition to Bolivar was made in
Colombia by the republicans who imagined that
he was ready to emulate the career of Napoleon,
although he had repeatedly expressed a wish to
retire from the presidency. However, in 1828,
a decree, dated Bogota, Aug. 27, gave him the
supreme power in Colombia. The authority
reposed in him gave the republicans no little
alarm, but Bolivar did not live long to exercise
it. Looking back upon his career, we can now
dispassionately estimate his character, and, if
there appear occasionally a desire to exalt him-
self above his fellows, we must grant him that
rare union of civil and military abilities, that
courage in adversity and moderation in pros-
perity, which was alone capable of achieving
the regeneration of his country.
BOLIVIA, a country of South America,
bounded northwest by Peru, east by Brazil,
south by Buenos Ayres or the United Prov-
inces of South America, and west by the Pa-
cific ocean and Peru. It is mountainous, and
contains rich silver mines. Chuquisaca, or La
Plata, is the capital. The population is about
1,200,000. The battle of Ayacucho, fought
Dec. 9th, 1824, in which the Viceroy La Serna
was defeated by General Antonio Jose de Sucre,
achieved the independence of Bolivia. The
powers of government are distributed into four
sections— the electoral, legislative, executive,
and judicial.
BON
122
BON
BOLOGNA is one of the largest, oldest, and
richest cities in Italy. It was anciently called
Bononia Felsinia, and is surnamed la Grassa (the
fat). It is situated at the foot of the Apennines
between the Reno and Savena, containing about
71,300 inhabitants and many manufactories. It
is the capital of a delegation of the same name,
and the secular concerns are administered by
a cardinal legate, while the spiritual are in the
care of an archbishop. A gonfaloniere chosen
every two months, with a council of fifty sen-
ators and eight citizens, forming a republican
government, manages the city affairs. The in-
habitants of Bologna submitted to the Pope in
1538, being worn and harassed by the incessant
contentions of the nobility. A Bolognese am-
bassador resides at Rome, for the purpose of
preventing the sovereign pontiff from pass-
ing beyond the limits which the constitution
permits. The Pope can impose no tax on the
inhabitants of Bologna, and is only entitled to
the excise on wine. At the same time the Bo-
lognese elect a judge to the high court of ap-
peals at Rome. On the whole, the city can
boast with truth of the proud word Libertas,
which encircles her armorial bearings. The
renowned university of Bologna, which once
contained 10,000 students, has at present but
300. Among the buildings which ornament
the chief place of the city is tbe senate hall,
which contains a number of works of art, and
200 folio volumes in manuscript written by
Ulysses Aldovrandus, as materials for future
works. Its market is famous for the sculpture
of its fountain, and the flavor of its sausages,
presenting equal attractions to the artist and
the epicure. Besides the cathedral of St. Pe-
tronio, there are 73 other churches.
BOMBAY, a presidency, island, and city in
British India on the western coast of Hindos-
tan. The population of the city is 161,550. The
city is surrounded with fortifications, and stands
upon a narrow neck of land, a mile in length.
The trade of this place is very considerable.
The American Board of Commissioners for For-
eign Missions, had, in 1828, four missionaries
and a printing press here, with \G schools for
boys, and 10 for girls, containing in all 2620
pupils. Bombay was obtained by the Portu-
guese in 1530, and ceded to the English in
1661, under whom it has become a strong and
flourishing place.
BONAPARTE. (See Napoleon.)
BONIFACE, the name of several popes.
Boniface I succeeded Zozimus in 418, and was
maintained in the pontifical chair by the emperor
Honorius against his rival Eulalius. He died in
422. Boniface II succeeded Felix IV in 530.
He was born at Rome, but his father was a
Goth. He compelled the bishops in a council to
allow him to nominate his successor, and ac-
cordingly he selected Vigil ; but a second council
disavowed the proceedings of the first. Boni-
face VI came to the chair 896, and died of the
gout a fortnight after. Boniface VII assumed
the chair after having murdered Benedict VI
and John XIV. He was acknowledged sove-
reign pontiff in 984, and died a few months
after. Boniface VIII, after the resignation of
Celestine, was elected 1294. He commenced
his pontificate by imprisoning his predecessor,
and laying Denmark under an interdict. He
also excommunicated the Colonnas as heretics,
and preached a Crusade against them. He ex-
cited the princes of Germany to revolt ^against
Albert, and laid France under an interdict.
Philip appealed to a general council, and sent
his army into Italy, and took the Pope prisoner.
He died at Rome a few months afterwards.
BONIFACE, St., first spread Christianity
and civilization among the Germans. His ori-
ginal name was Winifred, and he was born in
England in 680. In 732 he was made arch-
bishop and primate of all Germany. He was
killed by barbarians at Dockum.in West Fries-
land, in 755, in his 75th year.
BONN, the capital of the Prussian govern-
ment of Cologne, on the left bank of the Rhine.
The university, in 1829, contained 1000 students.
BONNER, Edmund, an English prelate, who
received several clerical preferments from Car-
dinal Wolsey. Henry VIII made him one of
his chaplains, and sent him to Rome to obtain
from the Pope a divorce from queen Catharine.
There he was so insolent that the pontiff
threatened to throw him into a cauldron of boil-
ing lead, and thus compelled him to quit Rome.
He persecuted the Protestants with great cru-
elty, and Elizabeth imprisoned him in the Mar-
shalsea, where he died in 1569.
BONNEVAL, Claude Alexander, count de,
known also by the name of Achmct Pasha, was
born in 1672. He was descended from an illus-
trious family in France, and married the daugh-
ter of the Marshal de Biron. He was disgraced,
however, by his incessant pursuit of sensual
pleasure. He quitted the French army to serve
under Prince Eugene ; but, having quarrelled
with that general, he entered the service of
the Turks, among whom he obtained a military
command, with a high salary, and the rank of
pacha with three tails. He won a great victory
BOO
123
BOR
over the imperial army on the banks of the
Danube. He died in 1747.
BONPLAND, Aime, a French naturalist, who
accompanied Humboldt to America in 1799, and
discovered 6000 new species of plants. He re-
turned to France, and tbence went again to
South America in 1818. In 1820, he founded
a colony of Indians, at Santa Anna, on the east
bank of" the Parana, and succeeded in planting
the Paraguay tea, which drew upon him the
notice of doctor Francia, dictator of Paraguay,
200 of whose soldiers surprised and seized the
naturalist. He was held captive, and made to
serve as physician to the garrison of a fort ; but
was released in 1831.
BOONE, Daniel, a native of Virginia, was
one of the first to penetrate the savage wilds of
Kentucky, on an expedition to explore which,
he departed with five companions, May 1, 17G9.
Boone, with John Stewart, was captured by the
Indians, not long after their arrival in Kentucky,
but soon managed to escape. Their compan-
ions had returned home, whither they would
have followed them, but for the timely arrival
of Squire Boone, Daniel's brother, with refresh-
ments. Stewart being soon after slain, the two
Boones remained, the only white men in the
wilderness. In 1773, Boone with his own, and
five other families, and a body of 40 men, took
up the march of emigration from Virginia to
Kentucky ; but in consequence of the hostility
of the Indians, they returned to the settlements
on Clinch River. In 1775 Boone built a fort at
Salt Spring, on the southern bank of the Ken-
tucky, on the site of Boonesborough. After
sustaining several sieges, he was taken by the
savages, Feb. 7, 1778, while hunting with some
of his men. The Indians soon learned to re-
spect and value Boone, who was adopted by one
of the chiefs of Chillicothe, but the thoughts
of his wife and children induced our adven-
turer to attempt an escape. After travelling for
four days, taking but one meal, he arrived at
Boonesborough, which was 160 miles distant
from the place of his captivity. On the 8th of
August an attack on the fort was commenced
by a body of Indians and Canadian French,
which continued till the 20th, when the siege
was abandoned. This was the last attempt
made upon Boonesborough.
From 1782 till 1798, Boone lived alternately
in Kentucky and Virginia. In 1798, having
obtained from the Spanish government a grant
of land in Upper Louisiana, he removed thither
with his children and friends, who were also
presented with land. He settled on the Mis-
souri, beyond the limits of other settlements,
and employed himself in the wild life of the
forest, hunting and trapping, until Sept. 1822,
when he expired, in his 85th year. He had for
a long time been sensible of the approach of
death, and had a coffin made out of a favorite
cherry-tree, which he brought to a high de-
gree of polish by continual rubbing.
BORA, Catherine von, a nun, who married
Luther about 1524, when he had laid aside the
cowl, and she the veil.
BORDENTOWN, a pleasant town of New
Jersey, on the east side of the Delaware, 26
miles N. E. of Philadelphia, the residence of
Joseph Bonaparte, Count de Survilliers.
BORGHESE, princess, originally Marie Pau-
line Bonaparte, the favorite sister of Napoleon,
born at Ajacio, Oct. 20, 1782. After becom-
ing the widow of General Leclerc, she married
prince Camillo Borghese, with whom she did
not live on good terms. She died 1825. Her
whole property amounted to 2,000,000 francs.
She was uncommonly beautiful, and Canova re-
presented her as the goddess of beauty, a Venus
which almost rivalled the antique.
BORGIA, Caesar, son of pope Alexander VI,
an infamous character. On his father's acces-
sion to the papacy in 1492, he was invested with
the purple. Being jealous of his brother Fran-
cis, he contrived to have him drowned. Hav-
ing renounced the cardinalship, he was made
duke of Romagna in 1501, and leagued with
Louis XII of France. On the death of his
father, he was sent prisoner to Spain, but made
his escape, and died fighting under the walls
of Biano. in 1507.
BORNEO, next to New Holland, the largest
island in the world, is about 800 miles long, and
700 broad. The population has been estimated at
from 3 to 5 millions. Lon. 109° to 119° E. ; Iat.
7° N. to 4° 20' S. The insalubrity of the cli-
mate has restrained Europeans from exploring
it, and consequently not much information has
been collected with regard to it. The chain
of mountains contains numerous crystals, and
is thence called Crystal Mountain. Earthquakes
and volcanoes are frequent in the island. The
mountain breezes and the rains moderate the
heat, which is by no means excessive. Gold, di-
amonds, pearl, iron, copper, tin, and other min-
erals ar,e found here. The fruits are fine and
abundant. The inhabitants are Malays, Javan-
ese, Bujis or natives of Celebes, and descend-
ants of Arabs, governed by despotic chiefs
called Sultans. They are said to be intelligent,
but treacherous. The Dutch have succeeded
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BOS
in forming permanent establishments on the
island, and derive their chief profit from pep-
per and diamonds. The town of Borneo, on
the northwest part of the island, 10 miles from
the sea, contains 3000 houses, and is the resi-
dence of a Sultan, formerly the sovereign of
the entire island.
BORNOU, a kingdom of Central Africa,
bounded N. by Kanem and the desert, east by
lake Tchad, south by Mandara, and west by
Soudan. The seasons are divided into dry and
rainy. The heat is occasionally excessive. The
country contains 13 large and well-built towns.
The Shouaas are Arabians, arrogant, and de-
ceitful ; the Bornou people have negro features,
and are timorous and addicted to pilfering. The
government is in the hands of the powerful
sheikh of the Koran. The domestic and wild
animals are numerous. The minerals are un-
important. Strips of cotton pass current in the
country instead of coin.
BORROMEI ISLANDS (hole del Conigli
or Rabbit Isles) are four small islands in Lake
Maggiore in Upper Italy. The lake is 30 miles
long, and 7 or 8 broad. The islands are loaded
with artificial ornaments, and luxurious groves.
In 1671 Viteliano Borromeo caused garden-soil
to be spread over the naked rocks, and terraces
to be walled up. Isola Bella is near the shore,
and contains a splendid palace, the occasional
dwelling-place of Count Borromei.
BOSCAWEN, Edward, a British admiral.
He particularly distinguished himself, at the
taking of Porto Bello, and the siege of Car-
thagena. He also signalized himself under
Anson, off Cape Finisterre ; and at the taking
of Madras, Cape Breton, and Louisburg. He
died in 1761, having received in succession all
the honors of his profession.
BOSNIA, a Turkish province, with the title
of kingdom, which is bounded north by Sclavo-
nia, east by Servia, south by Dalmatia and the
Adriatic Sea, and west by Croatia. It contains
85,000 inhabitants, two thirds Christians, and
one third Turks, besides Jews and Gipsies.
The soil is fertile, the cattle fine, and the iron
of the mountains extensively used in the man-
ufacture of guns and sword-blades. In the 12th
and 13th centuries, Bosnia belonged to Hungary.
In 1339, Stephen, king of Servia, took it. It
gained its independence, but in 1401, became
tributary to the Turks, and in 1463, was con-
quered by Mohammed V, who caused its last
king, Stephen I, to be flayed alive. It has since
remained part of the Turkish dominions.
BOSPHORUS, an ancient kingdom, called
from the straits on both sides of which it was
situated.
BOSSUET, Jacques Benigne, bishop of
Meaux, born at Dijon, 1627, became one of the
most celebrated ecclesiastics of the 18th cen-
tury. He was pious, severe in doctrine and
practice, eloquent, and learned. He died in
1704.
BOSTON, the capital of Massachusetts, and
largest city of the New-England States. It is
situated at the bottom of Massachusetts bay, at
the mouth of Charles river ; Ion. 71? 4' W. ;
lat. 42° 22' N. Population (in 1830) 61,392.
Its extent, inclusive of the peninsula of South
Boston, is nearly three square miles. The
harbor is capacious and gemmed with many
islands, some of which are fortified. The bridg-
es, with a single exception, are of wood ; the
dam leading from the western part of the city
to Roxbury, being of stone and earth. Two
of the bridges are free, and the rest are sup-
ported by tolls. The streets are quite narrow
and irregular, although improvements are rapid-
ly making in their condition wherever prac-
ticable. Many of the houses are built of brick,
some wholly of hammered granite, and some of
both these materials. Few recent buildings are
of wood. The state-house, on a hill which com-
mands a view of the city and its environs, is a
large building of brick, and contains a fine mar-
ble statue of Washington, executed by Chantry.
Other public buildings are the county Court-
House built of stone, Faneuil Hall, called "the
Cradle of Liberty," from the public meetings
held there previous to the revolution ; the Mas-
sachusetts General Hospital, the Faneuil Hall
Market, various churches and school-houses, a
house of industry, a house of correction, a
county jail, and three theatres. Tremont Ho-
tel is one of the finest specimens of architec-
ture in the city.
The city is divided into twelve wards ; the
municipal government is vested in a mayor,
eight aldermen, and a common council of for-
ty-eight members. Measures of a legislative
character are adopted by a concurrent act of
the board of aldermen and common council,
while the executive functions are exercised
by the mayor and aldermen. These officers
are chosen annually by the citizens voting in
their wards. The city charter is of recent
origin, bearing the date of 1821. There is a po-
lice court of three justices, before whom minor
offences are tried, while a single judge holds
the municipal court, which has jurisdiction over
all criminal cases, tried by jury, which are not
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BOS
capital. The annual expenses amount to about
300,000 dollars. The public schools are under
the care of a school committee, consisting of
the mayor and aldermen and twelve members,
annually chosen by the citizens. The library
of the Boston AthenEeum contains about 30,000
volumes. Boston contains numerous literary,
scientific, and charitable societies. It is the
second commercial city of the United States.
The goods imported annually amount to about
$ 13,000,000, and the exports to about $9,000,-
000. The common is the principal public
square. It is surrounded by the mall, a hand-
some gravelled walk, fenced in, and shaded with
fine elm trees, and contains about fifty acres.
The periodicals of Boston have attained a high
reputation, and are worthy of the literary char-
acter of the city. The North American Re-
view, a quarterly publication, is distinguished
for the candor and talent of its criticisms, and
the ability with which it defends our institu-
tions and country, against the assaults which
are occasionally made by prejudiced foreigners.
Boston was founded in 1 G30. Wil Iiam Black-
stone was the first settler. It was called by the
Indians Shawmut, and by the early colonists
Tri-mountain, from its three prominent hills.
The first church was built in 1632. The Mid-
dlesex canal, leading from Charles river to the
Merrimack, and thus forming a navigable chan-
nel to Concord in New Hampshire, was} until
recently, the only means of transportation to
and from the interior, with the exception of the
common roads. There have now been com-
menced and partly finished, a rail-road from
Boston to Lowell, one to Worcester, and one to
Providence, in the state of Rhode Island. From
the year 1783, the population has doubled once
in about 23 years. In the reign of Charles II,
the charter of Massachusetts was declared for-
feited by a decree of the Court of Chancery, and
Sir Edmund Andros was appointed the first
royal governor. In April, 168!), the Boslonians
seized upon the governor and imprisoned him,
having first taken possession of the fort, and
castle in the harbour. In a little more than a
month afterwards, the news of the revolution in
England, was welcomed in Boston with general
exultation. In 1765, when the obnoxious stamp
act passed, the person appointed to distribute the
stamps, was compelled to decline the office, and
the house of the lieutenant-governor was de-
stroyed by the mob. On the breaking out of these
tumults, which appeared to threaten the down-
fal of authority, Boston was forced to receive
a large military and naval force, which it was
thought would quell the spirit of insubordina-
tion.
The citizens regarded the soldiers with little
favor, and they only wanted a pretext to show
their hostility openly. March 5th, 1770, a ser-
geant's guard in King (now State) street, being
pressed upon and pelted by the mob, fired and
killed five men. After the tax had been im-
posed on tea, the Americans resolved, if pos-
sible, to prevent the landing and sale of it.
When three of the tea ships arrived, December
16, 1773, a party of men disguised as Indians,
went on board and threw all the tea overboard.
In the following spring, the port of Boston was
closed by act of Parliament, and the impor-
tation and exportation of goods prohibited. The
general court held its sittings in Salem, and
more troops together with a military governor,
were sent to Boston. In 1775, after the battles
of Lexington and Bunker Hill, British troops,
to the number of 10,000 men, were besieged in
Boston, until the March following. During
this siege the inhabitants suffered greatly, for
many who wished to leave the town were not
permitted to do so, but forced to stay against
their will, and treated as lories by the Ameri-
can army on their entrance. The British offi-
cers amused themselves by acting plays in
Faneuil Hall, the "cradle of liberty," being
fitted up tastefully on the occasion. General
Burgoyne wrote a farce called the Boston Block-
ade, in which the yanhees were severely satiri-
zed, and a happy triumph of the royal arms
predicted. The sarcasms on the weakness of
the Americans with which this piece was inter-
spersed, received a curious commentary in the
frequent explosions of the shells which were
thrown into the town by the besiegers. A can-
non ball entered the tower of Brattle street
church, where it is still preserved. Boston was
distinguished for its early adherence to the
cause of liberty, and was the birth-place of sev-
eral of the most talented and uncompromising
enemies of despotism.
BOSWELL, James, the friend and biogra-
pher of Johnson, was a native of Scotland, and
studied at the universities of Glasgow and
Utrecht. He was born at Edinburgh, in 1740,
and died in 1795. He was acquainted with
many eminent literary men, and his introduc-
tion to Johnson he calls the most important
event of his life. His life of Johnson is accu-
rate and minute, abounding with literary anec-
dote and personal detail. It was first published
in 1790, and has since been repeatedly re-print-
ed. The late edition, edited by Croker, is the
most valuable.
BOU
126
BOU
BOSWORTH, a small town of Leicester
county, England, in the vicinity of which is
Boswoith field, memorable for the battle fought
here in 1458, between Richard III and the earl
of Richmond, afterwards Henry VII, in which
the latter was victorious, and Richard, after hav-
ing performed prodigies of valour, and cloven
from helm to heel two of Richmond's standard-
bearers, thus disproving the tale of his withered
arm. was finally slain. The brows of Rich-
mond were encircled on the field of battle with
the diadem which was stricken from the casque
of Richard. This battle ended the bloody con-
tentions of the rival roses, the red and white
bado-es of York and Lancaster.
BOTHNIA, East and West, provinces be-
longing, the former to Russia, and the latter to
Sweden. East Bothnia contains 70,000 in-
habitants, and previous to 1800, belonged to
Sweden. West Bothnia contains 56,000 in-
habitants, is tolerably fertile, but subject to sud-
den frosts.
BOTH WELL, James Hepburn, earl of, re-
markable in the history of Scotland, for his
connexion with queen Mary, and his supposed
share, at least, in the murder of Henry Darn-
ley, her husband. When that unfortunate
prince was blown up in the house where he
slept, suspicion fell strongly on Bothwell and
the queen. Bothwell was tried, but nothing
could be fixed on him, and he was acquitted.
After this he seized Mary near Edinburgh, and
carried her prisoner to Dunbar castle, where
they were married. During these iniquitous
proceedings, Bothwell procured a divorce from
his wife. Mary soon after created him earl of
Orkney. But a confederacy among the lords
being formed against him, he retired to the Ork-
neys, and from thence to Denmark, where he
died in 1577, confessing it is said his own guilt,
and the queen's innocence of Darnley's murder.
BOUDINOT, Elias, was born at Philadel-
phia, May 2d, 1740. He became eminent at
the bar, was chosen member of Congress in
1777, and its president in 1782. For six years
he was in the house of representatives, and for
a few years director of the U. S. mint. He
made munificent donations to the American
Bible Society, of which he became president.
He died at the age of eighty-two, in 1821.
BOUFFLERS, Marshal de, was born in 1G44,
and died in 1711. His defence of Namur, in
1G'J5, cost the allies 20,000 men. Louis XIV
sent him an order commanding him to surren-
der, but he concealed it till he had no longer
the means of defence.
BOUILLE, Francois Claude Amour, Mar-
quis de, a French loyalist general, who, among
other services, suppressed a dangerous insur-
rection at Metz, and assisted Louis XVI in his
attempt to escape from France. For his avowal
of this transaction, a price was set upon his
head, whereupon he took a commission in the
Swedish service. He died in 1800.
BOURBON, the royal house of the kings of
France, who obtained the throne in the person
of Henry IV, in 1590. Tfce kings of this house
were Henry IV, Louis XIII, XIV, XV, XVI,
XVII, XVIII, and Charles X. The Bourbon
family obtained the kingdom of Spain, in the
person of Philip V (of Anjou), and maintained
themselves in possession after a long and bloody
war, called the war for the Spanish succession.
BOURBON, Charles, duke of, or Constable
of Bourbon, son of Gilbert, count of Montpen-
sier, and Clara of Gonzaga, born in 1480. At
the age of twenty-six, he received the sword of
Constable from Francis I, and distinguished
himself at Marignano, but soon after tell into
disgrace. On this, he associated with Charles V,
and the king of England, against his sovereign.
The plot being discovered, he fled into Italy,
and was beyond the territories of France, when
Francis sent to demand the sword which he wore
as constable, and the badge of his order. In
the words of his reply, we may trace the deep
anguish of his heart — " The king deprived me
of my sword at Valenciennes when he gave the
command of the vanguard to d'Alen^on : the
badge of my order I left under my pillow at
Chantelles." He became commander-in-chief
of the imperial troops in Italy, but was killed in
the successful assault on Rome, May 2d, 1527.
He fell, it is said, by a shot fired by Benvenuto
Cellini. He died excommunicated, in the 38th
year of his age.
BOURBON, isle of, an island in the Indian
ocean, about 400 miles east of Madagascar. It
contains 17,000 whites, 6,000 free negroes, and
60,000 slaves. It is productive, but suffers from
the want of good harbours. Its origin is sup-
posed to be volcanic. Le Piton de Ncigc, or the
Snowy Spike, is a mountain which rises to the
height of about 10,000 feet above the level of
the sea. The isle of Bourbon, which is 48
miles long, and 36 broad, was discovered by
Mascarenhas, a Portuguese, in 1545, and called
after his name ; but the French, who gained
possession of it in 1649. gave it its present name.
After remaining for a time in the hands of the
English, it was restored to the French in 1815.
BOURBONNAIS, a former province of
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BOY
France, lying between the Nivernais, Berry,
and Burgundy, forming the present department
of Allier.
BOURDEAUX, the chief city in the French
department of the Gironde, lying on the left
bank of the Garonne, and containing 100,000
inhabitants. It is a city of great antiquity, and
distinguished for its gloomy splendor. It has
nineteen gates, and some magnificent cathe-
drals. It annually exports 100,000 hogsheads
of wine, and 20,000 of French brandy. With
the exception of Nantes, it has the greatest
share in the American and French trade of any
other city. Its academy of sciences has a lib-
rary of 55,000 volumes. The Romans called
this place Burdigala. In the 5th century it
was in the hands of the Goths, and pillaged and
burned by the Normans. When Louis VII mar-
ried Eleanora, daughter of the last duke of Gui-
enne, it fell into the hands of the French. When
the princess was repudiated, it came into the
hands of the duke of Normandy , afterwards king
of England, her second husband. It was restor-
ed to France under Charles VII, in 1451. Dur-
ing the revolution it was devastated by the' ter-
rorists, as being the seat of the Girondists. Bo-
naparte's continental system bore heavily upon
the trade of the inhabitants of Bourdeaux, and
accordingly they willingly declared themselves
in favor of the Bourbons, March 12th, 1814.
BOWDOIN, James, governor of Massachu-
setts, was born at Boston, in 1727, graduated at
Cambridge, 1745, elected member of the gen-
eral court in 1753, and a member of the coun-
cil in 1756. In 1778, he was chosen president
of the convention which framed the Massachu-
setts constitution. In 1785, being chosen gov-
ernor of Massachusetts, he quelled an insurrec-
tion without a blow. He died at Boston, in
171)0. Such was his reputation for learning,
that he was honored witli the degree of L. L.
D. by the university of Edinburgh, and admitted
member of the royal societies of Dublin, Lon-
don, and other places.
BOYER, Jean Pierre, a mulatto, president
of the island of Hayti, was born in Port au
Prince, about 1780. After the death of Le-
clerc, he joined the party of Petion, and was
finally named by him his successor in the presi-
dency. When the revolution broke out in 1820,
in the northern part of the island, he was invi-
ted to command the insurgents, and upon the
union of the northern and southern parts of the
island on the death of Christophe, and the rev-
olution in the eastern part, he became master of
the whole island.
BOYLE, Robert, a celebrated natural philos-
opher, born at Lismore, in Ireland, l(J27, was
seventh son of Richard, the great earl of Cork.
He was one of the first members of a learned
society, formed in 1645, under the name of the
Philosophical College, and afterwards continued
under the name of the Royal Society. He made
numerous chemical experiments, which led to
some important results. But it is chiefly as a
pious and benevolent man that he is interesting
to us. Having conceived doubts of the authen-
ticity of revealed religion, he devoted himself
to a severe course of study, until he was fully
convinced of its truth. He instituted public
lectures for the defence of Christianity, sup-
ported the cause of the mission in India, and,
at his own expense, printed Irish and Gaelic
translations of the Bible. He died in London,
in 1691.
BOYNE, battle of the, was fought on the 1st
of July, 1690, between William III, at the head
of a Protestant army, and James II at the head
of a Catholic and French force. The latter
were totally defeated ; marshal Schomberg was
killed. After this battle James re-embarked
for France, and William completed the reduc-
tion of Ireland, by the capture of Limerick, after
a protracted siege. The impetuous imbecility
of the unfortunate bigot James II, served only
to hasten the ruin, which public opinion had so
deservedly prepared for himself and his family.
It was the Irish, who, during the dark fortunes
of this last of the Stuarts, clung to him, when all
else deserted him. They manned his navy,
recruited his army, replenished his coffers, and
took their stand around his person on their na-
tive soil ; and when they saw him the first to
fly, they still erected his torn standard, and
rallied in his cause, paying the penalty of
their generous but misapplied devotion to a
bigot and a tyrant, by utter ruin, and eternal
exile.
When James, after his flight from the battle
of the Boyne, arrived in Dublin, he had the in-
gratitude and ungraciousness to reflect upon
the cowardice of the Irish. He reached the
castle late at night, and was met at its gates by
the lady lieutenant, the beautiful duchess of
Tirconnel, " La Belle Jennings," of Gram-
mont's Memoirs. In return for the sympathiz-
ing respects which marked her reception, the
king is said to have sarcastically complimented
her upon the " alertness of her husband's coun-
trymen." The high-spirited beauty replied,
" In that, however, your majesty has had the
advantage of them all." The king, in fact, was
BRA
128
BRA
among the first to arrive in the capital with the
news of his own defeat.
BRABANT, provinces of; North Brabant,
in the kingdom of the Netherlands, contains 352,
000 inhabitants, and South Brabant, in Belgium,
500,000. Brabant formed a duchy in the 7th
century. For some ages it belonged to the
Frankish monarchy, and then was a German
fief. In 1005, the last duke dying, the duchy de-
volved on his brother-in-law, Lambert I, count of
Louvain. From him it came to Philip II, duke
of Burgundy, and afterwards to the emperor
Charles V. In the 17th century, the republic of
Holland took possession of the northern part
•which was thence called Dutch Brabant. The
other part, belonging to Austria, was seized
upon by France in 174G. The peace of Aix-la-
Chapelle restored it, but, after falling again into
the hands of the French, it was ceded to France
by the treaties of Campo Formio and Lune-
ville, in 1791 and 1S01.
BRADDOCK, Edward, major-general and
commander in the British army, who, in 1755
marched against Fort du Q.uesne on the Ohio,
fell into an Indian ambuscade, was defeated and
slain. Washington, who had cautioned him in
vain, conducted the retreat in a masterly man-
ner.
BRAGANZA, a town of Portugal, made a
duchy in 1442. It gives its name to the royal
house of Portugal, of whom the first was John
IV, who conspired, as duke of Braganza, with
the Portuguese people in rendering them inde-
pendent of Spain, in 1G 10.
BRAMA, the first person in the Trinity,
or Trimurti, of the Hindoos. Brama is the cre-
ator, Vishnu, the preserver, or redeemer, and
Siva,the destroyer. In the figures of this divin-
ity, he is represented with four heads and four
arms. He is gifted with great power, but is
himself created by the Eternal One. Some
believe that he dies annually, and rises again.
He is considered as the lawgiver and teacher
of India.
BRANDENBURGH, mark, or marquisate
of, one of the most extensive districts of Upper
Saxony. The sandy soil is best adapted to
grain. It is rich in many natural productions.
It includes Berlin (the capital), Potsdam, and
Frankfort, containing 15,800 square miles, 1,-
535,100 inhabitants, and 150 towns. The
Suevi, first, and then the Sclavonians inhabited
it. The latter were barbarians, but, in the
10th century, were conquered by Henry I, and
converted to Christianity. The margraves of
Brandenburoh raised themselves to be dukes of
Prussia. The mark passed through various
hands, till in the fifteenth century it came into
those of the ancestors of the present royal fam-
ily of Prussia. The elector, Frederick Wil-
liam, enlarged it by the annexation of several
towns and districts. The old Mark, having
been ceded to Napoleon, in 1807, formed a
part of the kingdom of Westphalia, until 1814,
when it was restored to Prussia. Potsdam,
the capital of the province, contains 30,000 in-
habitants.
BRANDY WINE, a small river, taking its
rise in Pennsylvania, which, after a course of
forty-five miles, flowing through the state of
Delaware, joins the Christiana, two miles be-
low Wilmington. The Brandywine mills are
noted. But the river is known in history,
for a battle fought in its vicinity, September
11, 1777, between the British and Americans,
in which the latter sustained a defeat with a
loss of 900 in killed and wounded.
BRATTLEBOROUGH, a flourishing post-
town in Windham county, Vermont, on the
Connecticut, 41 miles north of Northampton.
Population, in 1830, 2,241. It contains two
parishes, each having a pleasant village. There
are here an academy, a large printing establish-
ment, various manufactories, and a flourishing
trade. Here the Americans established fort
Dummer, in 1724, which was the first settle-
ment made by them in Vermont.
BRAZIL, an extensive and rich country of
South America, bounded on the north by Ven-
ezuela, Guiana, and the Atlantic Ocean ; east
and southeast by the Atlantic Ocean, and west
by Buenos Ayres, or the United Provinces of
La Plata, Bolivia, and Peru. Its extent, from
north to south, is about 2,300 miles, and from
east to west, nearly 2,000 miles. With a terri-
tory somewhat larger than the whole of the
United States, possessing extraordinary wealth
and fertility, it is inhabited by but five millions
of people, exclusive of the Indians, concerning
whom little information has been acquired.
The different provinces are thus named : Per-
nambuco, Bahia, Minas Geraes, Rio Janeiro,
St. Paul, Rio Grande, Maranham, Para, Matto
Grosso, and Goyas.
Such was the division of Brazil in 1817 and
1818, but, in 182G, it was divided into eighteen
different provinces. Brazil contains some of
the largest rivers in the world ; the Amazon, To-
cantin, and San Francisco being the most promi-
nent. There is much variety of climate, but
generally it is healthy ; and the salubrity of
the vast elevated plains is unequalled by that
BRA
129
BRE
of any other region on the face of the globe.
The richness of its wood and water, the profu-
sion of its diamonds and gold, and its general
healthiness, make it the El Dorado of the ima-
gination. In the beds of the rivers are found to-
pazes, chrysoberyls, other precious stones, and
gold. The trees are of every description,
adapted to cabinet-work, ship-building, and
dyeing ; while coffee, oranges, sugar, tobacco,
indigo, and rice, are raised in abundance.
Brazil was discovered, April 24, 1500, by
Pedro Alvarez de Cabral, who at first named it
Santa Cruz (the Holy Cross), but kinff Eman-
uel, the Portuguese sovereign, called it Bra-
zil, from the quantity of red wood which it
produced. The Portuguese at first undervalued
this country, and sent thither only criminals
and the refuse of their population, but the Jews'
who had been banished to Brazil in 1548, hav-
ing successfully introduced the culture of the
sugar-cane, Thomas de Souza was sent over by
the court of Lisbon, and began to find some
good points about the country, although it had
not yielded the desired gold. After temporary
misfortunes, the colonists prospered, but the
Portuguese had to contend against nations
(France, Spain, and the United Provinces)
whose jealousy was aroused by the accounts
they heard of the richness and fertility of the
Portuguese possessions. The Dutch met with
great success in Brazil, but became the friends
of the Portuguese, when the latter shook off the
Spanish yoke and gained their independence.
They still retained the seven provinces they
had conquered, and hence arose the division of
the country into the Brazils; but a pecuniary
compensation induced them to resign their
claims to the Portuguese. The diamond mines
were not discovered till 1782. The prosperity
of Brazil has not been what it might be made
under an enlightened government. The con-
flicting interests of various bodies of its inhabi-
tants ; the unequal pressure of state burthens,
and other causes, have tended to weaken and
distract it. In J 806, the court of Portuo-al re-
moved here, but in 1821, the king returned to
Lisbon. Don Pedro, son of the king of Por-
tugal, then governed Brazil under the title of
emperor. But having abdicated in favor of his
infant son, Pedro II, he is now in Europe, and
the Brazilian government is conducted, durino-
the minority of the prince, by a council o?
regency. The army of Brazil was composed,
in 1824, of 30,000 regular troops, and 50,000
militia, in addition to a regiment of negroes.
The navy, two years later, consisted of 96 ships.
9
The revenue has been recently estimated at
$16,000,000. A large part of the population—
2,000,000 — are negro slaves, and many slaves
are yet constantly imported into this country.
The most cultivated part of the population are
the merchants of the maritime ports, the Euro-
peans and Creoles, forming the true aristocracy
of the country. The inhabitants are Roman
Catholics, with the exception of the independ-
ent native tribes, in the vast regions of the
interior.
BREDA, a fortress in Dutch Brabant, for-
merly of immense importance. It has sus-
tained several memorable sieges. In 1590, it
was taken by Maurice, prince of Orange, and
retaken by the Spaniards, under Spinola, in
1625, after a siege of 10 months. The French,
during the revolution, gained possession of it,
but it was abandoned by them in 1813.
BREMEN, a free city on the Weser, conspic-
uous in the Hanseatic league. The inhabitants
embraced Calvinism in 1562. It is pleasant and
prosperous, with a population of 38,000.
BRENNER, a high mountain of the Tyrol,
over which runs the road to Italy. In 1809,
the Tyrolese gallantly defended their rough
precipices against the French, and severely
harassed their march.
BRENNUS. Several chieftains of ancient
Gaul bore this name, which is said to have been
a title of dignity and honor. One, having
ravaged Lombardy and Tuscany, marched to
Rome, which he surrendered to plunder. The
garrison held out in the citadel, which would
have been taken at midnight by the foe, but for
the noise made by the sacred geese of Juno, that
were watchful even while the dogs slept. Bren -
nus was then offered a thousand pounds weight
of gold to spare the capital, and quit the territo-
ries of the republic. He threw into the scale
which held the weights, his sword and helmet,
haughtily exclaiming, " Wo to the vanquished."
The treaty was ended by the timely arrival of
the exiled Camillus, who refused the payment
of even a pound of gold as ransom. " Rome,"
said he proudly, " is to liberate herself with
iron and not with gold." He gave battle to the
Gauls, and routed them, about 390 B. C.
BRESCIA, a city of Lombardy, containing
31,000 inhabitants. Its manufactures are, and
have long been extensive, and its soil is remarks
able for fertility. From the hands of the Vene-
tians, it fell into those of the French, and finally
the Austrians. Under the sway of the Venetian
republic, the inhabitants were 'unruly, although
particularly favored by government. ' In 1796,
BRI
130
BRI
as Bonaparte was quitting Brescia the muni-
cipal officers, who accompanied him to the gate
of the city, said that the Bresc.ans loved liberty
more than the rest of the Italians. 'Yes
said the general, sarcastically, " they love to
talk of it to their women."
BRESLAU, capital of Silesia, is situated on
the Ohlaw; population, 83,860. More than
four VhourandPJePws reside here The architec-
tural beauty of the city has been celebrated.
It contains 20 catholic churches, and 84 literary
institutions. Its commerce is consider ab e.
Here the Prussians were defeated by the Aus-
trians in 1757. , „
BREST, anciently Brwates Portus, and Crc-
sobrivate,* French seaport in the department
of Finisterre, with a fine harbor constructed
bv Cardinal Richelieu, in 1631. It is well for-
tified, and its dock-yards and magazines com-
mand admiration. It contains ,25 865 inhabi-
tants. It was attacked in 1694 by a British
fleet and army, which were repulsed with a
loss of 1300 men and their commander
BRIAREUS, a fabled giant, son of Uranus
and Terra, with 100 arms and 50 heads.
BRIENNE, a town in the department ot
the Aube, at the academy of which Napoleon
learned the first principles of the military art
Here it was that his power was maintained the
longest, and only fell with a convulsive struggle.
BRIGALIER, Abbe, lived during the reign
of Louis XIII. The superstitions of his time
are displayed by some passages in his lite, tie
was almoner to Mademoiselle de Montauban,
and spent 30,000 crowns to become an adept in
the mao-ic art, without accomplishing his end.
Being with the court at Compiegne, a lady
who had purchased a piece of red silk instead
of green, begged the Abbe to change it to the
color she wished. Rather than lose his repu-
tation as a magician, Brigalier bought a piece
of green silk and gave it to the lady, who was
astonished at his success, and forthwith circu-
lated the tale. By various tricks of legerde-
main, he maintained his credit as a sorcerer so
that the archbishop of Paris gravely commanded
him to desist from his unhallowed occupations.
BRISSOT DEWARVILLE, Jean Pierre, a
prominent character in the history of the French
revolution, whose writings tended greatly to
bring monarchical power into disrepute, rle
was the son of a pastry-cook, and was born in
1754 At the age of 30, he was imprisoned in the
Bastile, for a work which treated of prohibited
subjects. After numerous changes of action ana
residence, which the nature of his works, and
the fluctuating state of his popularity rendered
necessary, having been engaged some time in
England, some time with the duke of Orleans,
and* some time in America, he was at last guil-
lotined with his friends, by the faction of Rob-
espierre, in 1793. . . .
BRISTOL, an important commercial city ot
England, on the river Avon, with (in 1831)
103 889 inhabitants. Its distance west irom
London is 117 miles. It is of great antiquity,
and was called by the ancient Britons Caer
Brito. The cathedral is part of a monastery,
founded by Stephen, in 1146. .
BRISTOL, R. L, is a pleasant and flourishing
sea-port town, capital of a county of the same
name, 15 miles south of Providence. It is a
place of considerable trade, with a population,
in 1830 of 3,054. It contains an academy,
public library, and 4 houses of public worship.
The Indians called it Pocanocket and towam.
BRITAIN (so called because the inhabitants
adorned their bodies with brit paint), was little
known until the invasion of Julius Cfesar, who
conducted his army into this country, on the pre-
text of punishing the Britons for the aid which
they had given to the Gauls, in 55 B. C. 1 he
inhabitants were then ferocious and warlike
clad in skins, and armed with clubs, and even
the iron-breasted Roman legions quailed at
first before the horrid front which the infu-
riated natives presented to ^ir invade^
The Romans kept possession of Britain Ml)
years, during which many improvements were
introduced, and the manners of the people be-
came assimilated to those of their conquerors
This, however, was not effected withou -much
bloodshed. The Romans having, m the filth
century, quitted Britain, to defend their other
territories? invaded by the Goths and Vandak
the Britons were attacked by the Scots and
sought the assistance of the Saxons and An-
gles These defeated the Scots, but made
themselves masters also of the kingdom and
gave it the name of Angha, or England. Eng-
land was divided, by the Saxons, intc .seven dis-
tinct kingdoms, called the Saxon Heptarchy,
some of which were established in the fifth, and
others in the sixth century ; most of them con-
tinued till 800, when Egbert reigned alone.
The states generally acknowledged the supe-
riority of one monarch, called the king of Brit-
ain. The kingdom of Kent contained only that
county • it began in 455, and ended in 827.
South Saxony contained Sussex and Surrey -^be-
gan 491, ended about 600. West ^xony con-
tained Cornwall, Devonshire, Dorsetshire, Wilt-
BRl
131
BRI
shire, Hampshire, and Berkshire : began 519
1 ended 1060. East Saxony contained Essex'
Middlesex, and part of Hertfordshire • began
527, ended 747. Northumberland contained Lan-
I cashire, Yorkshire, Durham, Cumberland,
Northumberland, and part of Scotland, as far as
Edinburgh Frith : began 547, ended about 729
East Anglia, contained Norfolk, Suffolk, and
Cambridgeshire : began 575, ended 973. Mercia
or, the Middle kingdom, contained Gloucester-
shire, Herefordshire,Worcestershire, Warwick-
shire, Leicestershire, Rutlandshire, Northamp-
tonshire, Lincolnshire, Huntingdonshire, Bed-
fordshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Staf-
fordshire, Shropshire, Nottinghamshire, Ches-
hire, and part of Hertfordshire : beo-an 58?
ended 827. These several kingdoms, at the'
dates specified, were merged in those of their
more powerful neighbors.
England, from 653, suffered many invasions
from the Danes, who several times made them-
selves masters of it. They were finally expell-
ed (1041), and the Saxon government restored
in the person of Edward the Confessor Dur-
ing this time flourished Canute, Harold, and
Hardicanute In 1066, the Normans, under
William the Conqueror, obtained possession of
the kingdom, having defeated the English under
Harold, in the battle of Hastings. By this cir-
cumstance, the whole moral and political con-
stitution of England underwent an important
change. The Norman principle of lordship and
vassalage was introduced and enforced, and it
was not until after some generations, that the
barons themselves, feeling the chain of passive
submission too galling, gave the first impulse to
that spirit, which burst the fetters of feudal-
ism. To the time of king John, the history of
England is little else than an account of the
acts of the kings done with a direct view to
acquire and sustain this unnatural authority.
i he first William did almost nothino- else
His brother perished while hunting in trie New
forest, which his father had depopulated for
that amusement. Henry relaxed a little as
well as Stephen, to support his usurpation.
Henry II employed his power advantageously
•n his conquest of Ireland. King John, after
many feeble attempts at continued despotism
was compelled, by the exasperated barons, to
sign what was afterwards called the Ma<ma
Oharta (Great Charter) ; which renounced some
it the most odious prerogatives of royalty, and
xtended a moderate share of liberty to the
*arons of the realm. John, however, involved
he nation, with himself, in odious submissions
to the pope the influence of which it cost
England and her succeeding kings many strug-
gles to counteract. Civil liberty increased un-
der Jus successor, a weak and contemptible
prince, and the first traces of a house of com-
mons may be perceived in this reign
By the military ardor of Robert, duke of
Normandy, the crown had been given up to the
second brother, in consideration of money ad-
vanced on his expedition to Palestine. On
Kobert s attempt to recover it in the succeeding
reign, he was taken and confined for the re-
mainder of his life in Cardiff Castle. With
this exception, the history of England presents
little of importance in connection with its for-
eign policy, till Henry II provoked a war with
Scotland, in which their king, William, was
taken prisoner, and only re-obtained his crown
by doing homage for it as a vassal. This
reign was also distinguished by two great acqui-
sitions of territory ; Ireland by arbitrary con-
quest, and Guienne and Poitou by marriao-e.
During this period, however, the power of The
church of Rome had so increased as to over-
shadow the^ crown ; Thomas a Becket, arch-
bishop of Canterbury, evincing its arrogance
and determination to dictate in matters tem-
poral as well as spiritual. Some of the finest
counties in the north of England, were actu-
ally held by the Scotch, by the empty cere-
mony of vassalage. By the treachery of John,
Normandy was lost to the English crown, the
pope was constituted the virtual lord of his
dominions, and Lewis, prince of France, was
actually encouraged to assume the title.
The reign of Henry III was occupied in the
monarch's disputes with his barons, and extor-
tions from the Jews. The dependency of Scot-
land was confirmed by the violent imposition
of Baliol upon the throne, his subsequent con-
finement, and the decided overthrow of the
Scotch forces that opposed the English. All,
ho.wever, was recovered by the gallantry of
Robert Bruce. Edward III, by his successes
at Cressy and Poictiers, and that at Durham,
obtained for England much glory at much
expense, and two royal captives, but little solid
advantage, while the campaign in Spain occa-
sioned the death of the Black Prince, and ulti-
mately that of his father in ] 377. In this reign,
and in one private individual, we find the
first dawn of the reformation. Wickliff, under
the protection of John of Gaunt, the king's
brother, began those denunciations of the papal
abuses, which, in the end, overthrew that cor-
rupt and foreign dominion in England. It was
BRI
132
BRI
during the absence of Richard II, in quelling
a disturbance in Ireland, that the people, vexed
with continual exaction, and offended at the
injustice of the king to his cousin, the duke of
Lancaster, invited the latter from banishment,
to control the operations of the king and his
advisers. He landed, usurped the crown, mur-
dered the king, quelled the insurrections conse-
quent, and captured the heir to the Scottish
throne.
The feats of his successor, Henry V, in gain-
ing the crown of France, and the reverses of
his son, who lost it, form the principal features
of their respective reigns ; except that to the
latter are to be added the civil contentions with
the deposed line for the possession of the throne,
their success, and the old king's murder. Rich-
ard III, who followed Edward IV and Edward
V of the house of York, was himself succeeded
by Henry VII, of the other line, who, by marry-
ing the daughter of Edward IV, united the two
houses. Henry VIII, though perhaps the great-
est tyrant that ever filled the English throne,
made a new era in the history .of the country,
in its total emancipation from papal authority.
The power, however, of which he had deprived
the pope, he seized for himself, and was, at
least, as vigorous in its exercise. The next
reign ratified and enlarged his acts in favor of
the protestant religion ; and, although the bigot
Mary for a time rebound the chains, and rekin-
dled the fires of persecution, the reformation
was too firmly established to be overthrown,
and her successor, Elizabeth, settled it upon
a foundation, which will endure as long as the
conviction of its necessity exists.
During all this time, from the death of Ed-
ward III, the foreign relations of England,
though continually fluctuating, were never con-
siderably changed. Henry VIII, in league with
the pope and the emperor, made some con-
quests in France, and his generals defeated and
slew James IV, of Scotland, at Flodden-field ;
and, in his successor's reign, an expedition into
that country was executed at the desire of the
late king, on a fruitless expedition to induce
the Scots to marry the princess Mary to Ed-
ward V. In the reign of Mary, Calais was lost
by treachery. Elizabeth intrigued with Scot-
land, but fought with Spain. Her defence of
her kingdom against the celebrated Armada, in
1588, would of itself, stamp her reign with
glory. The attack on Cadiz by the earl of
Essex, was eminently successful, and the other
enterprises of her admirals were very conside-
rable. She also supported the protestants of
Germany against Austria, and the Dutch against
the Spaniards.
On Elizabeth's death, the English and Scottish
crowns became united in the person of Jamesl,a
vain and pedantic prince. The imprudence of
his son and successor, Charles I, brought him to
the scaffold in 1648, and a republican form of
government was established under the protector,
Oliver Cromwell. During this period, however,
England maintained a high rank in the scale of
nations, and Cromwell showed himself as well
qualified to govern as to gain. The usurpation
was perhaps a harsh medicine to the constitu-
tion, but its operation was short, and its effects
even salutary. Charles II was restored in 1GG0.
The people of England by this time understood
the rights of the subject, as well as the duties
of the monarch, and when James II attempted
to rule absolutely, and to overthrow the religion
of the country, a bloodless revolution forced
him to abdicate the throne, and set upon it his
son-in-law, William, an avowed Protestant.
The liberties of the people took deeper root by
his confirmation of their bill of rights. In this
reign an expedition, headed by the king, was
sent out to reduce Ireland, and a war waged
with France, not generally successful, but in
which there appeared some brilliant sparks of
enterprise, and one or two fair incidents of good
fortune. It was in the reign of his successor,
Anne, that the age of English chivalry seem-
ed to revive, and the military mania of the two
rival nations to be renewed. The valor and skill
of Marlborough triumphed over the most splen-
did arrays of military might under Louis XIV.
Germany was saved, Gibraltar taken, and Dun-
kirk ceded, in a course of victories as brilliant
as any which the pen of the historian records.
It was also in this memorable reign that the
union of Scotland with England took place.
The succession of the house of Hanover now
took place. The short reign of George I was
principally noted for its domestic and foreign
inquietude. The reign of George II was dis-
tinguished by the battle of Dettingen, fought by
the king in person ; the defeat of the pretender ;
the military contests with France ; the naval
triumphs over that kingdom and Spain; the cap-
ture of Goree in Africa, and the conquest of
French America. The most important feature
of the reign of George III, was the loss of
America, produced by the odious tyranny of
England. After a struggle of eight years, in
which she saw her vast armies and fleets de-
feated by the bravery of a nation of patriots.
Great Britain was compelled to relinquish her
aBKii^r
liBPEl
^■wti
■rflll
Ji\^ii
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JSpiL
m '1 wC^b
J!
=^-V\l
pjljj
■ ■A
tefeg
^l^^tMi^^
S335sSsfe!
t=^*=I25!
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Briton Romanized.
Early Britons
Saxons.
Druid.
Edward III,
from an old MSS.
Women Servants
of 17th century.
Gentlemen and Ladies of Rank,
in 15th century.
Norman. | Henry XL and Becket. | Soldiers of 14th Century.
BRI
133
BRI
colonies, and acknowledge their independence.
The peace of Europe, which had been settled at
Aix-la-Chapelle, was now broken by the diffe-
rent powers siding with the combatants, and thus
England was at once involved in war with
France, Spain, and Holland, while the dissen-
sions of party at home increased to an alarming
height. The war was, however, concluded by a
treaty with those powers in 1783. The war
of the French revolution forms actually a sec-
ond period of this reign. The first direct in-
terference on the part of the British, was in two
unsuccessful expeditions under the duke of York
and Sir S. Hood, and in the capture of some
French West India islands, and of Pondicherry
in India. In the latter country very great ad-
vantages were acquired over the natives ; Tip-
poo Sultan was entirely defeated and killed, and
Seringapatam captured.
France, having disposed of her continental
enemies, began to act on the offensive, and un-
dertook an invasion of Ireland, seven ships
of the line having, with that intent, anchored in
Bantry Bay. The war in the mean time had di-
vided the sentiments of the people, and strong
dissatisfaction was manifested by the revolution-
ary party. The ministers were firm in their
measures, and the king's life was put in danger
on his going to parliament. Two attempts at
negotiation failed, and the internal difficulties
were increased by the stoppage of the bank, the
mutiny of the fleet, and the menace of rebellion
in Ireland. The first evil was palliated, but the
two last were not suppressed without much
bloodshed. The intentions of the French were,
however, defeated ; 1800 men who had landed
in Ireland, surrendered, and the English fleet re-
covered its reputation by a victory over the Span-
iards, and by the celebrated battle of the Nile, in
1798. These events having raised the spirits of
the continental powers, Austria, Russia, and
Turkey joined England against France, while
Ireland was pacified by a show of much promise
which was to be effected by an union. The
allies were defeated at Marengo, with great
slaughter, and the English, at the request of the
grand Signior, agreed to evacuate Egypt, and
made art unsuccessful attempt upon the Boulogne
flotilla. Such was the state of things, when, in
1801, both countries found it convenient to con-
clude peace.
The war recommenced in 1803, by the loss on
the English side of Hanover, and the sei-
zure of the British in France, which was re-
taliated by the seizure of French vessels and
seamen. To oppose the increasing power of
the new French emperor, Mr. Pitt was chosen
minister. In the mean time the most advanta-
geous treaties had been concluded with the na-
tive states of India, and the French defeated by
lord Nelson in the great and decisive naval en-
gagement of Trafalgar, in 1805. Nelson, who
fell in the engagement, was honored with a
magnificent public funeral. This was the last
trophy of those great preparations, which Mr.
Pitt had made to support his system by the
overthrow of that of the French, an object which
in the sequel, they certainly accomplished.
Pitt died in 1806, and Mr. Fox, his great poli-
tical opponent and successor, in the same year.
During this period, the successes in other parts
had been partial ; but, at home, a triumph over
injustice and inhumanity was obtained in the ab-
olition of the slave-trade. The new ministry per-
sisting in pressing the Catholic claims, received
his majesty's intimation to resign. It was at
this juncture, in 1808, that Britain made herself
a party to reinstate the imbecile Bourbon of
Spain. The campaign was commenced by Sir
Arthur Wellesley (now lord Wellington), with
the repulse of Junot atVimeira; but the de-
feat and death of Sir John Moore, at Corunna,
followed. Though the English under Sir Ar-
thur Wellesley were still in force in Portugal,
and had obtained some advantages, they had to
contend equally with the weakness of the Span-
iards and the power of the French. They
therefore entrenched themselves behind their
lines at Torres Vedias.
Two expeditions of different fortune took
place at this time ; one to the south of Italy, and
the other to the island of Walcheren. Several
valuable captures in other parts were made. At
this period (1810), the insanity of the king in-
capacitated him from governing, and his son,
the dissipated prince of Wales, was appointed
regent. The war in Spain was still carried
on with determination, but with partial success.
The reorganization of the Spanish and Portu-
guese armies, and the reviving spirit of the
Cortes, changed the aspect of affairs. Meanwhile,
Russia. Prussia, and Sweden had entered into
alliance with England, who supplied them with
vast subsidies to support their armies. Holland,
also, by the assistance of England, had risen on
its masters, and Napoleon, pressed by the allies,
and having suffered immense losses in Rus-
sia, was obliged to give way, and armies en-
tered France on two sides. Lord Wellington,
proceeding through Spain, passed the Pyrenees
through almost unremitted conflict, invested
Bayonne, occupied Bourdeaux, defeated Soult
BRI
134
BRI
before Toulouse, and there received the news of
the capture of Paris, and the cessation of hostil-
ities. Meanwhile England had been also en-
gaged in a war with America, which was prose-
cuted on the plea of her assumed right to search
our vessels for deserters. The treaty of peace
was signed at Ghent in 1814.
The next year Great Britain was again called
into active co-operation with the other confede-
rates, to depose Napoleon, who had returned in
triumph from Elba, and resumed the throne of
France without opposition. After the victory
at Waterloo, the allies entered Paris, and rein-
stated Louis XVIII on the throne, while Napo-
leon surrendered himself to an English ship,
and was sent to St. Helena, where he was de-
tained until his death, in 1820. The accession
of George IV, January 29, 1820, the trial and
death of queen Caroline, and the disturban-
ces at her funeral ; the scarcity and distress in
Ireland and England, are facts of equal interest
and notoriety. George IV died in 1830, and was
succeeded by his brother, William IV, who, as
duke of Clarence, had served for a long time in
the navy. The accession of the " sailor-king,"
as he is popularly termed, was hailed with joy by
the friends of liberal principles, and the pro-
gress of parliamentary and popular reform,
is rapid. " The American mind," says an
intelligent writer, " appears to have already
achieved an entire victory over that of England,
even on English ground. The whole British
community, — the living, thinking, feeling, mov-
ing, acting mass denominated the Public, is
thoroughly penetrated, imbued, saturated, — if
we may use the expression, — with American
principles. They have already swept down the
Test and Corporation acts ; — the restraints on
the Catholics ; the bloodstained criminal code ;
colonial slavery ; the Chinese monopoly, and
above all, the old constitution of the House of
Commons. They are now fast undermining the
bank ;— the national debt ; — the church ; — the
peerage and the throne. They already carry
all before them in the House of Commons, the
real seat of the government, — occupy the minis-
terial benches, and thence issue their decrees, in
the name of the king. The great modern en-
gine for maintaining political influence, which
has been well described as a Fourth Estate, more
important and powerful than the other three
put together, — the press, — is almost wholly
with them. The adversar}' still presents a feeble
show of resistance in the House of Lords, and
a few journals hang out here and there the grand
hailing sign of distress. It is even rumored
that the conqueror of Waterloo is buckling on
his rusty armor, and dreaming of a new ca-
reer of domestic conquest. But what can a few
gouty old gentlemen effect against the will of the
people? Even Wellington, though backed by
the redoubtable Christopher North, would find
himself as powerless, in such a contest, as the
renowned knight of La Mancha and his squire,
in their encounter with the windmills."
England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, with
the adjacent islands, form the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland. The colonial de-
pendencies of Great Britain are of immense
importance, and found in every quarter of the
globe. The government is a limited monarchy,
the king being an hereditary sovereign. The
parliament, the legislative branch of govern-
ment, consists of the House of Lords, compos-
ed of hereditary peers, and a House of Com-
mons, which is elective. The navy of England
consists of nearly six hundred ships. The fleet
furnished by British ports with which Ed-
ward III besieged Calais, was composed of 748
vessels, manned by 14,1)56 sailors. The fleet
of Henry V, designed to invade France (1415),
consisted of 1500 vessels. The national debt
of England amounts to 780 millions sterling.
The climate of England is moist, but the soil
generally fertile, and the agricultural and min-
eral productions of the greatest importance.
Among the last are coal, copper, tin, and iron.
BRITAIN, dynasties of.
The following is the succession of sovereigns
under the Heptarchy and United Kingdom.
The kingdom of Kent contained only the
county of Kent; its kings were —
1. Hengist, who began a. d. 454
2. Eske 488
3. Octa 512
4. Yrnbrick 534
5. Ethelbert 568
6. Eilbald '. 6)6
7. Ercombert 640
8. Egbert 664
9. Lothaire 673
10. Edrick 684
11. Withd red 685
TO I Kodbert and ) 79e
| Ethelbert \
13. Ethelbert alone 743
14. Aldric 760
15. Elkebert Pren 794
16. Cud red 799
17. Baldred 805
It ended in 823, and its first Christian king was
Ethelbert.
The kingdom of South Saxony contained
the counties of Sussex and Surrey.
1. Ella began to reign a. d. 481
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135
BRI
3. Chevei'inV.'.V.V.V;. A' D" 111 £ cnded in 827> and its fi™t Christian king was
4. Ceolwic '.'.'.'.'.'. '.'.'.'.'.'.'.".'.'.'.'.'.'.". .'."'592 ^d w,n-
5. Ceoluph .'.'.'.'.'.".'.'.'.'.'.'597 Tne kingdom of Mercia contained the coun-
6. aSl! 611 ties of Huntingdon, Rutland, Lincoln, North-
7. Canowalcli 643 ampton, Leicester, Derby, Nottingham, Oxford,
8. Adelwach .'.".' 648 Chester, Salop, Gloucester, Worcester, Staf-
It ended in 685, and its first Christian king was Hertfo^"™*' BuckinSham> Bedford> and
Adelwach. s , "° L
J. Creda began to reign a. d. 585
2. Wibba 595
3. Cheorlas 616
*• £euda "..'.'.'■.'.'.*.'.'..'.'625
5- Peada 656
6. Wolf here 659
7. Ethelred ..675
8. Keured 7.7. .694
9. Ceolred '709
10. Ethelbald "Vifi
11. Offa 757
12. Egfry d .". 7.7. 7.7.7794
13. Cenolf 795
14. Rerelme '.'.819
15. Ceolwolf 77. "..'819
"821
18. Whiglafe ..".".'.'.'.'.'.'.".'.".'.'.'.'.'."825
The kingdom of East Saxony contained the
counties of Essex and Middlesex.
1. Erchenwin began to reign A D 527
2. Sledda " ' ' 5g7
3- Sfbert '.V.'.".*.'.".'.'.".'.".'. '.'.'. '.'.'.'."598
( Lexred \
4. J Seward [ 6,6
( Sigebert )
5. Sigebert the Little 623
6. Sigebert the Good 653
7. Swithelme 7.7.7.7. 655
8. Sighere and Sebbi .11111 665
9. Sebbi KSq
10 I Sigherd and J b8d {«• ne°'W?r'
10- Leofrid 694 16. Burnulf.
11. Offa : ~„ JI- r±udecan
12. Ceolfred
13. Suithred .....".!"'.!"!""..7!!!!'"74fi It ended in 827, and its first Christian king was
14. Sigered ;799 peada.
The kingdom of East Anglia contained the
counties of Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridge, and
It ended in 827, and its first Christian kinff was
Sebert.
The kingdom of Northumberland contain-
ed Yorkshire, Durham, Lancashire, Westmore-
land. Cumberland, and Northumberland: its
imgs were —
the isle of Ely : its kings were — '
1. Uffa who began to reign A.D 575
" Titillus ..578
3. Red u aid.
.599
D.547
559
1. Ella, or Ida, whose reign commenced
2. Adda
3. Clappea ."' ~«
4. Theodwald ?2°
5. Fridulph \Li
6. Theodorick
7. Athelrick..
8. Athelfrid..
9. Edwin
0. Osric
1. Oswald....,
11. Beorna and Ethelbert .7749
12. Beorna alone 7 7 "758
13. Ethelred 7.7 l&l
14. Ethelbert .1.790
3.' Et'heiw'aii' •"••••••'• Hlllllllllllll.il lit} It ended in 792, and its first Christian king was
579
.vi;
593
617
633
634
Ethe'lward
4. Egfrid .777777 SE
5. Alkfrid £/0
6. Osred r '. °°?
7. Cewred '"Z
3. Osrick ;}°
9. Ceoluphe Ii°
)• Egbert ™
I. Osswulph LiL
I. Edilwald Z^°
». Alured 12?
1. Ethelred i™
..774
.779
.789
..790
..796
.797
..807
..810
4. Erpenwald 624
5. Sigebert .'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'636
R (Egrik )
6-r Annas j 644
7. Ethelhere 654
8. Ethwald ' fi=fi
9- Ad wulf .'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'664
10. Alswald.
6.-3
Alswald I.. .
>. Osred II
'. Ethelred restored.
!. Osbald
K Ardulph
I. Alfwald I[ '.'.'.'
. Andred
Redwald.
The kingdom of West Saxony contained the
counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somer-
set, Wilts, Hants, and Berks.
1. Cedric began to reign a. d. 519
2. Ken rick .534
3. Cheroline .7.77560
4. Ceolric '.'.'.'.'.7.7.7.592
5. Ceoluph .l.llllllllsSS
6. Kingills and Ouinthelin 7 77 ^611
7. Ceonowalch "&43
648
672
8. Adelwalch .
9. Sexburga . .
10. Censua, Esewin, and Centwin..
11. Ceadwald
12. Ina
13. Adelard
14. Cudred
.674
.686
..726
..740
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136
BRO
15. Sigebert and Cenulph a. d. 754
16. Brithick 784
17. Egbert 800
It ended in 828, and its first Christian king was
Kingills.
THE HEPTARCHY UNITED.
Egbert a. d. 827
Ethelwolf. 837
Ethelbald 857
Ethelbert II 860
Ethelred 866
Alfred 872
Ed ward the Elder 901
Athelstan 929
Edmund 940
Edred 947
Ed wy 955
Ed gar 972
Edward the Martyr 975
Ethelred II 979
Sweyn 1013
Canute 1014
Edmund Ironside 1016
Harold 1036
Hardicanute 1041
Edward the Confessor 1842
Harold II 1065
SINCE THE CONQUEST.
William the Conqueror 1066
William Rufus 1087
Henry 1 1100
Stephen 1 1 35
Henry II 1154
Richard 1 1189
John 1199
Henry III 1216
Edward 1 1272
Edward II 1307
Edward III 1327
Richard II 1377
Henry IV 1399
Henry V 1413
Henry VI 1422
Edward IV 1461
Edward V 1483
Richard III 1483
Henry VII .1485
Henry VIII 1509
Edward VI 1547
Alary 1 1553
Elizabeth 1558
James 1 1603
Charles 1 1625
Charles II 1649
James II 1685
Mary II 1689
William III 1689
Anne 1702
George 1 1714
George II 1727
George III 1760
George IV 1820
William IV 1830
BRITAIN, New; a cluster of islands sepa-
rated by Dampier's strait from New Guinea.
BRITANNICUS Ccesar, Tiberius Claudius
Germanicus, called after the return of his father,
the emperor Claudius, from Britain, Britanni-
cus. His mother was the infamous Messalina.
By the intrigues of Agrippina, the second wife
of Claudius, he was poisoned, after having been
excluded from the succession.
BROOKLYN, a city of the state of New
York, in King's county, Long Island, separated
from the city of New York by the East River.
The population of Brooklyn is rapidly increas-
ing with its manufactures and traTJe. In 1830
it contained 12,043 inhabitants. At the com-
mencement of the present year Brooklyn re-
ceived a city charter. The houses of recent
date are spacious and elegant, and the heights
which overhang the river and command a view
of New York, are studded with neat and pretty
dwellings, embowered in shrubbery and flowers.
The healthiness of Brooklyn, and its contiguity
to New York, have tended to increase its popu-
lation largely within a few years. Between this
place and Flatbush, the Americans sustained a
disastrous defeat during the war of the revolution.
BROOKS, John, a revolutionary officer and
eminent physician, born in Medford, Mass. 1752.
His father was a farmer. After completing his
professional studies, he joined with ardor the
army, and was among the first to fight for
the freedom of America. On the retreat of the
British from Lexington, the company which he
commanded had no small share in contributing
to the annoyances of that humiliating flight.
Brooks enjoyed the confidence and esteem of
General Washington, and had a colonel's com-
mission, when the army was disbanded, and he
retired to the practice of his profession. The
rank of major-general of militia was conferred
upon him, and he showed, in the insurrection
of 1786, that he had forgotten none of his for-
mer vigor and address. He was chosen to suc-
ceed Governor Strong, and died, highly respect-
ed and esteemed, in the 73d year of his age,
March, 1825.
BROWN, Charles Brockden, a distinguished
novelist, born in Philadelphia, in 1771 He was
originally destined for the law, but the delicacy
of his constitution and his natural timidity pre-
vented his pursuing a legal career. He was
the author of several novels, which possess a
fascinating power, although their scenes are
generally painful and unnatural. Arthur Mer-
vyn and Edgar Huntly are, perhaps, the best.
Brown edited several periodicals, and his literary
labors greatly impaired his health, and hasten-
ed the progress of the consumption of which he
died in 1809, at the age of 38.
BROWN, William, a native of Ireland, who
BRU
137
BRU
:ame to the United States at the age of 14, in
793, and was for a long time engaged at sea
n the merchant service. After being captured
ly the English, he found himself, in 1814, at
Juenos Ayres, in the command of a British
nerchant ship. He immediately joined the re-
mblican navy, and gained great fame by his
'arious daring exploits.
BROWNE, Maximilian Ulysses, count, a
oldier of the imperial army, finally field-mar-
hal of Austria. Between 1745 and 1757 he
an a career of glory. He died of wounds re-
eived at the battle of Prague, 1757.
BRUCE, James, a native of Scotland, born
730, distinguished himself by his travels in
Africa. He died in 1794. He claims the hon-
r of having been the first European who be-
ield the sources of the Nile. His veracity has
een often doubted, but his accounts have been
onfirmed by more recent travellers.
BRUCE, Robert, the competitor of Baliol for
he crown of Scotland. He regarded Wallace,
he celebrated Scottish warrior and patriot, as
n ambitious man, whose acts were only che-
ated by self-interest. He accordingly fought
eneath the banners of England, on the field
f Falkirk. After that eventful battle, Wal-
ice had a meeting with him on the banks of
Jarron, and convinced him of the elevation of
is views. Bruce, softened even to weeping,
wore to espouse the cause of his country.
BRUCE, Robert, son of the preceding, was
ne of the Scotch nobles in the train of Edward
, when he returned to London in 1305, exult-
ng in his successes over the Scotch. A con-
piracy was formed to place Bruce on the
lirone, and, through imminent danger, he es-
aped to Scotland, and raised the standard of
is country. Defeated, his wife a prisoner, his
tiree brothers hanged, it was thought that he
imself had yielded up his life. But he had
nly retired for a season, and, reappearing, he
ut himself at the head of a brave army , and
ras completely victorious at Bannockburn,
une 24, 1314. This victory decided the inde-
endence of his country. After his claim had
een again disputed by the English, Edward
[I confirmed the independence of the Scottish
rown, by renouncing all claims to it in 1329.
'he haughty spirit of the Scottish nobles is well
lustrated in the following anecdote. When,
l consequence of their encroachments on the
tnds of the king and commons, they were re-
uired by Bruce to show their titles to their
ossessions, they drew their swords, and cried ;
We purchased them, not with gold, but iron ;
and these are the instruments by which we
hold them."
BRUNN, capital of Moravia, and of the
circle of Brunn, a manufacturing place, with a
population of 33,000.
BRUNSWICK, Frederick William, duke
of, born in 1771. He joined the war against
France in 1806, and continued, throughout his
life, the determined enemy of Napoleon. His
black Brunswickers, so called from their dress
and equipments being entirely black, held out
upon the continent as long as resistance was of
any avail, and finally their duke retired to Eng-
land. In 1815, he again appeared in arms, and
fell at Quatre-bras, on the 16th of June. His
death was atoned for by the bravery of his
black huzzars.
BRUSSELS, the capital of the kingdom of
Belgium, with a population of 106,000. It is a
pleasant city, and was held by the French from
1794 to 1814. It is distinguished for its build-
ings, its canals, its fountains, and its manufac-
tories. The carpets made here are highly val-
ued.
BRUTUS, Lucius Junius, a celebrated Ro-
man. He was the son of Marcus Junius by a
daughter of Tarquin the Elder. When his father
and brothers were beheaded by Tarquin, Bru-
tus saved himself by feigning idiocy, whence
his surname, signifying the Brute, was given
him. He continued this appearance until Lu-
cretia killed herself in consequence of the vio-
lence of Sextus Tarquin. This was the time for
Brutus to rouse the Roman people to action,
and display the energy of his mind. By his
exertions the Tarquins were expelled and the
monarchy changed for a republic. The con-
sulship was then instituted, and Brutus and
Collatinus, the husband of Lucretia, were
chosen the first to hold that dignity. When his
sons joined in the conspiracy to restore the Tar-
quins, Brutus, convinced of their guilt, ordered
their execution, that this example might confirm
the liberty of Rome. The same year he was
slain at the head of his troops, fighting against
Aruns, the son of Tarquin, who also fell in
the encounter. This took place, B. C. 509. Bru-
tus was mourned by the whole Roman people.
BRUTUS, Marcus Junius, lineally descend-
ed from the above, whose republican princi-
ples he seemed to inherit. In the civil wars
he joined Pompey, although the latter was his
father's murderer, only because he looked upon
him as just and patriotic in his claims. After
the battle of Pharsalia, Caesar not only spared
Brutus, but made him one of his friends. He,
BUC
133
BUC
however, forgot the favor when Caesar dis-
played his ambition and tyranny, and con-
spired with many of the citizens of Rome, to
stab Caesar in the senate-house. Brutus was
forced to retire into Greece by the excite-
ment created by Antony. Here he gained many
friends, but was soon pursued by Antony, ac-
companied by the young Octavius. A battle
was fought at Philippi. Brutus, who command-
ed the right wing of the republican army, de-
feated the enemy ; but Cassius, on the left, was
overpowered, and Brutus found himself sur-
rounded by the soldiers of Antony. He, how-
ever, made his escape, and soon after fell upon
his sword, B. C. 42. It is said that, previous
to this battle, a spectral figure twice the size of
life, appeared to Brutus, and warned him of his
fate.
BUCCANEERS. The French and English
freebooters of America acquired so great no-
toriety, that an historical work would be in-
complete without a mention of them. After
the assassination of Henry IV of France, many
Frenchmen settled in St. Christopher, an island
of the group of Antilles. Being driven from this
place in 1G30, they sought refuge on the west-
ern coast of St. Domingo, and the neighboring
island of Tortugas. Their wild and solitary
life possessed a certain charm, which induced
many Englishmen to join them, and their num-
bers at length became considerable. They were
hardy and enterprising, and, deprived of the
softening influence of female society, nourish-
ed a spirit of reckless ferocity. They did not,
however, display at first those stern features
which afterwards characterized them, but were
comparatively peaceful and industrious. Those
who were settled at St. Domingo, used to hunt
the wild cattle of the island, whose hides they
sold to the crews that landed on their coast.
They were accustomed to boucancr, that is, to
roast the flesh of these animals before large
fires, and thence received the name of bouca-
neers, or buccaneers. Increasing in strength
and spirit, they defied the attempts of the Span-
iards to subdue them, and soon made themselves
formidable by their predatory excursions.
The Spaniards resolved to extirpate the wild
cattle, and thus induce the buccaneers to be-
come farmers for support, or else to join their
more lawless comrades on the island of Tortu-
gas. The buccaneers nourished a deep-seated
hatred of the Spaniards, and it was their ves-
sels which were most frequently attacked by the
pirates. Sailing from the American ports, laden
with the most precious productions of the New
World, the size and strength of the galleons
formed no adequate protection against the num-
bers and intrepidity of the buccaneers, who at-
tacked them in boats, ill equipped, it is true, but
manned by crews of iron nerve, and unquail-
ing resolution. The spirits of the Spaniards
became crushed by the repeated successes of
the buccanners, and before long they did not
even attempt to defend themselves. Thus when
Laurent, a famous buccaneer, found himself in
a small vessel, with a few guns, and two Span-
ish CO gun-ships along-side, the desperation and
fury of his resistance so overawed the Spanish
officers, that they permitted him to escape, al-
though they had him completely in their power.
The leaders of the buccaneers were chosen
for superior daring, but enjoyed but few privi-
leges save that of being foremost in danger. In
dividing their spoils, all had an equal share, or,
if any exception was made, it was in favor of
those who had received very severe wounds in
combat. The captain had no larger share than
any of his followers, unless he happened to
have displayed extraordinary skill and valor.
Previous to dividing the booty, each was oblig-
ed to swear that he had kept back no part of
the prize, and a perjury, which was of rare oc-
currence, was punished by the exile of the of-
fender to a desert island. The share of those
who had fallen was appropriated to relieve the
necessities of their relations, or as gifts to the
church, in case there were no surviving friends
or relatives. The buccaneers were scrupulous
in observing the outward rites of religion, and
offered up prayers for the success of each enter-
prise before embarking in it. So formidable were
the operations of the buccaneers, that they
greatly diminished the trade between Spain and
America. The baleful effects of the climate,
and the nature of their occupation gradually di-
minished their numbers, and they were at length
extirpated by the French and English govern-
ments. From them originated the French set-
tlements on the western part of St. Domingo,
although their piracies were ended in the com-
mencement of the 18th century.
Several of their leaders acquired a reputation
for daring and enterprise, which has preserved
their names from oblivion. One of the most
noted of these was Monthar, the son of a gen-
tleman of Languedoc, who early imbibed a
hatred for the Spaniards. While at school,
performing the part of a Frenchman in a drama,
in his combat with a fellow student, who re-
presented a Spaniard, he so far forgot the real-
ity of his situation, in the illusion of the mo1-
BUC
139
BUE
ment, that ho would have slain his antagonist
but for the intervention of the more cool-head-
ed spectators. At an early age Montbar em-
barked for America, and was highly delighted
when, one day, a Spanish galleon hove in
sight. Long before the vessels met, Montbar
had completed his preparations for the combat,
and, with an unsheathed sword beneath his
arm, was pacing the deck, in all the hot hurry
of untried valor. The moment the vessels
closed, calling to the boarders, he sprang on the
deck of the galleon, and carried all before him
by the impetuosity of his attack. While his
comrades were busy in estimating and dividing
the booty, he was sternly gazing on the stif-
fened bodies of the first victims of his hatred,
like an eagle hovering over the slain. Arrived
at St. Domingo, the buccaneers who came on
board to trade, complained that the Spaniards,
during their absence in the chase, destroyed
their settlements. " Make me your leader,"
cried Montbar, " and I will teach these spoilers
that there exists a power greater than theirs.
I seek for no emoluments, the joys of battle are
enough for me." Struck with his appearance
and impetuosity, they chose him their leader,
and had no reason to repent having done so,
for he unweariedly pursued the Spaniards with
invariable success, and succeeded in inducing
the Indians to forsake the Spaniards and league
against them with the buccaneers.
BUCHAREST, the chief city of Walachia,
with 80,000 inhabitants, has a considerable trade
in wine, and other productions. Peace was
concluded here between Russia and Turkey,
May 28, 1812.
BUC H ARIA, Great ; a country in the inte-
rior of Asia, including Bucharia Proper, Sa-
marcand, and Balkh, the Sogdiana and Bactri-
ana of antiquity. It is the southeastern part of
Independent Tartary. The Bucharians, original
inhabitants, of Persian descent, are frugal and
industrious. The natural productions of the
country are various and valuable. The city
of Bucharia contains a population of about 100,
000 souls. The province of Balkh now forms
an independent state. The government is
despotic, and the religion Mohammedan. The
trade is important.
BUCHARIA, Little, lying to the east of the
preceding, is not well known. Its situation is
elevated, and the climate accordingly very se-
vere. In 1(383, this country was conquered by
I the Calmucks, who were in turn subdued by
the Chinese, in 175!).
BUCKINGHAM, George Villiers, duke of,
born in 1592, was the favourite of James 1,
and Charles I, of England. He abused his
power in the most shameless manner, and dis-
graced the high dignities which were conferred
upon him, displaying in all his acts, ambition,
avarice, and caprice. In the reign of Charles
I, he fermented discords between the king and
people, and was hated by all those who had
acquired an insight into his character. He was
killed at Portsmouth, August, 1628, by a subal-
tern officer.
BUCKINGHAM, George Villiers, duke of,
son of the preceding, was born January 30,
1627. After completing his course at the uni-
versity, and travelling for some time on the
continent, he returned, and, on the breaking
out of the civil war, served in the royal army.
In 1648, after an absence of some time he fought
under the banners of Charles II, and fled with
him to Flanders. After the restoration he was
high in favor with the king, and became one of
his ministers. The treason of which lie was af-
terwards guilty, was pardoned, but he continued
his plots, and died, despised by all, at Kirkby
Moorside, in Yorkshire, April 16, 1688. His
private life was profligate. His talents were
brilliant, and he did much to improve the lite-
rary taste of his age.
BUENOS AYRES, a country of South Ame-
rica, is bounded north by Bolivia, east by Bra-
zil, southeast by the Atlantic ocean, south by
Patagonia, and west by Chili and the Pacific
ocean. In 1816, it declared its independence,
previous to which, it was a Spanish vice-royalty,
called the " Vice-royalty of Rio de la Plata," or
simply, " la Plata." The western and north-
ern parts of the country are rough, but large
portions are extremely level ; in the south, for
instance, the pampas (immense plains) are more
than 1200 miles long, and 500 broad, filled with
wild cattle, and the abode of Indians hardly less
wild. The fertility of a large proportion of
the soil is surprising, although agriculture is
strangely neglected. Among the mineral pro-
ductions are gold, silver, copper, tin, and lead.
Hides, tallow, beef, and the precious metals, are
exported in great quantities. The capital city,
called Buenos Ayres, or Nuestra Senora de
Buenos Ayres, was built in 1535, and con-
tains a population which has been variously
stated at from 50,000, to 100,000, composed of
whites, negroes, indians, and mixed races. A
few of the public buildings may well be called
magnificent, but, generally, architecture is in a
low state 'in Buenos Ayres, chiefly from the
scarcity of a good building material, — chalk
BUN
140
BUR
and brick, forming but a very inferior substitute.
In 1826, it was made the seat of government of
the United Provinces of la Plata. In 1806, it
was captured by the English, who were shortly
afterwards attacked by surprise, and suffered
great loss. The reinforcements which came
over the following year, were received into the
city with apparent submission, but then at-
tacked with vigor, and compelled to conclude a
truce, after suffering immense loss. The trade
of the city is very considerable.
BUFFALO ; a town of New- York, at the
east end of lake Erie, 296 miles west of Albany.
Its population, in 1830, was 12,000. Its trade is
very extensive and lucrative. In 1813, when
it contained but one hundred houses, it was
burned by the British.
BUFFON, George Louis Leclerc, count de,a
famous French naturalist, born at Montbard,in
Burgundy, in 1707, and died at Paris, April 16,
1788, at the age of eighty-one. His natural his-
tory continues to be read with pleasure, and at
the time of its appearance, differed from all pre-
vious works, which were merely masses of
technical description, with no interesting gen-
eral views and details. His History of Quadru-
peds is regarded as his best work.
BULGARIA, European or Little, a Turkish
province, which before its conquest by the Bul-
garians, was the Massia Inferior of antiquity. It
fell into the hands of the Turks in 1392, and
forms part of the pachalic of Romelia. It is
bounded north by the Danube, east by the Black
Sea, and south and west by the Balkan. It con-
tains 1,800,000 inhabitants, who are industrious,
and, for the most part, Christians. The Bulga-
rians, or Voulgarians, were an ancient Tartar
nation, whose kingdom included no small por-
tion of the ancient Sarmatia. They spread their
ravages far and wide, and penetrated into Thrace,
Macedonia, and Thessaly. In 1010, their sway
in Macedonia, Servia, and Albania, was de-
stroyed by the emperor Basil II, and they sought
refuge in Turkey, where their new kingdom
was finally destroyed by the Ottomans in the
14th century.
BUNYAN, John, the son of a tinker, born at
Elston, in 1628. At an early age he was dissi-
pated, and served as a soldier in the parliamen-
tary army. Reflection and reformation, how-
ever, brought out the bright points of his char-
acter. He became a member of a society of
anabaptists, and finally their teacher. As a dis-
senter he was imprisoned twelve years, and the
occupation of his mind during his long confine-
ment, was the composition of his unrivalled Pil-
grim's Progress, a religious allegory, bearing
the impress of a strong mind, and an ardent
imagination. Bunyan died in 1688.
BURCKHARD, John Louis, famous for his
travels in Africa, born in Bale in 1784. His coun-
try being oppressed by France, he went to London
in 1806, and was engaged by the African Associa-
tion to explore Africa from the north. To fa-
cilitate his progress in Nubia and other parts of
the country, he assumed the character of a Sy-
rian Turk, and so thoroughly acquainted with
the manners and religion of the East was he,
that he underwent an examination by two learn-
ed Jurists, and was pronounced by them a
learned and true Mussulman. He died at Cairo,
April 15, 1817, and was buried with greatsplen-
dor. He was the first modern traveller who
reached Shendy in Soudan, the Mcroe of the
ancients. His travels were published in 1819.
BURGOS, in Spain, the capital city of Old
Castile, and once a royal residence, on the bank
of the Arlanzon, containing 10,000 inhabitants.
Its superb Gothic cathedral is of so great size,
that service can be performed in its eight cha-
pels, at the same time. It was captured by
the British troops in the campaign of 1813.
BURGOYNE, John, the natural son of lord
Bingly, a general in the English army, and an
agreeable dramatist. He entered the army at
an early age, and, in 1762, had the command of
a body of troops sent to Portugal for the defence
of that kingdom against the Spaniards. He dis-
tinguished himself in the American war by the
taking of Ticonderoga, but after two severe
engagements, was forced to surrender, with Ins
whole army, to General Gates, in 1777.
BURGUNDIANS, a tribe of Germans, a
branch of the Vandals, who occupied a part of
France, in the 5th century, which lias since
been called Burgundy. It was long an inde-
pendent state, but was attached to France in
the latter part of the loth century, on the death
of Charles the Bold. The independent dukes
of Burgundy rendered their name illustrious,
and many of them were distinguished for the
possession of bravery and other high qualities.
BURKE, Edmund, a statesman and great
political writer, was born at Dublin, January 1,
1730. He was contemporary with Pitt and I' ox,
whose political principles be alternately avowed.
After finishing his education at Trinity college,
he entered his name at the Temple as a law stu-
dent, but devoted himself to literature. His
political career commenced by his accompa-
nying Hamilton secretary of the lord-lieutenant
of Ireland, to Dublin, and on his return he was
BUR
141
BYL
made private Becretary to the Marquis of
Rockingham. On the fall of the Rockingham
ministry, he wrote a pamphlet on the subject,
and became an active member of the opposition,
being chosen for Bristol, in 1774, without ex-
pense. His speeches in the senate had now
eclipsed even the reputation of his writings, and
were delivered with a vehemence which it was
difficult to resist. On the return of the Rock-
ingham administration, Mr. Burke for a short
time filled the office of paymaster-general, but
he resigned the post, upon the succession of lord
Shelburne to the premiership. The leading
features of his subsequent political life, in which
de held no office, are his impeachment of War-
ren Hastings ; his opposition to the limited re-
jency in 1788 ; his prediction of the effects of
the French revolution ; and his separation from
Mr. Fox upon those sentiments. This was his
!ast great political act, all his subsequent ones
>eing to establish and defend it. On this sub-
ect he published several pamphlets, the merit
>f which obtained him a pension, and many se-
vere reflections from his opponents, to which he
•eplied in " a letter to a Noble Lord," replete
vith sarcastic irony. He died July 8th, 1797,
laving previously vacated his seat for Malton.
VIr. Burke had a most commanding oratory, to
•nhance which, he spared no incidental act of
gesticulation and manner. On one occasion, he
s said to have drawn forth and brandished a
lagger, to give a greater effect to his words.
BURLINGTON, a town in Vermont, situa-
ed on Burlington bay, at the entrance of Onion
iver into lake Champlain. In 1830, it con-
ained 3.525 inhabitants. Its commerce is very
xtensive. It is a pleasant place, has several
mblic buildings, and a university, the reputa-
I ion of which is established. It is the capital
! >f Chittenden count}'.
BURNS, Robert, one of the most popular of
i Scottish bards. He was the son of a gardener,
nd was born near the town of Ayr, January
| S, 1759. He had some instruction and was
ond of reading. His poetical talent was first
.isplayed in some amatory verses, and his con-
■ersational talents caused him to be sought for
| y convivial parties, which tended to fix his
•abits of dissipation. The publication of his
oems procured him a sum of money larger than
;e anticipated, and a high literary reputation.
■ ie was enabled to take a farm near Dumfries,
nd at the same time procured the office of ex-
iseman. He married the early object of his
ifections, the " bonnie Jean," of whom he has
ritten so tenderly in the most musical of his
verses. She survived the poet who immortali-
zed her name, and died within the present year.
Burns might have prospered and enjoyed a long
life, had he but listened to the advice and remon-
strances of his friends, and forsaken those ruin-
ous indulgences which produced, or at least
hastened his death, which took place July 21,
1796. His fate was that which usually awaits
the intemperate. Burns was emphatically the
poet of truth and of nature. It was a court
bard (Cowley), who declared to Charles II that
poets succeed best in fiction, and however
true the assertion might be with regard to his
own writings, it is disproved by those of Burns.
His most beautiful poems were composed in the
spirit of truth, and glow with the fire of real
feeling and passion. Full of affectionate and
sad remembrances, he composed the verses " to
Mary in Heaven," commencing;
" My Mary, dear, departed shade,
Where is thy blissful place of rest 1
Sees't thou thy lover lowly laid,
Hear'st thou the groans that rend his breast'!"
In this he celebrates their last meeting. The
Mary of Burns was a peasant-girl, whose ac-
quirements merely enabled her to read her Bible
and psalm-book, and who walked bare-footed
to their trysting- place, and yet she inspired the
most enthusiastic attachment in a man whose
intellect cast a glory upon the hills, and woods,
and streams of his native land, and a halo round
the objects of his love, which will endure as
long as the human breast is warmed with the
glow of social and patriotic feeling.
BUSACO, a convent in Portugal, celebrated
for the repulse of the French under Massena,
by the English under 'Lord Wellington, in
1810.
BUTLER, Samuel, an English poet, the son
of a farmer, born in Strenzham, Worcestershire,
in 1612. His poem of Hudibras, in which the
weak points of the Puritans are happily expos-
ed brought the author into notice, but did not
better his circumstances, and he died poor in
1680.
BYLES, doctor Mather, a clergyman of Bos-
ton, born in 1706. He was for sometime pastor
of Hollis street church, but was removed from
his pulpit, in consequence of his Tory principles.
His political opinions subjected him to a tem-
porary imprisonment on board aguardship. He
was however released, but a guard put over
him in his own house. The guard was remo-
ved, and then replaced in consequence of further
complaint against him. Finally, the presence
BYR
142
BYR
of the sentinel was dispensed with. It was on
this occasion, that the doctor happily remarked
that he had been " guarded, regarded, and dis-
regarded." When two selectmen stuck fast in
the slough opposite his house, he said to them ;
" Gentlemen, I have several times complained
of this nuisance, and am therefore pleased to
see you stirring in the matter." Byles corres-
ponded with Pope, Lansdowne, and Watts,
and possessed some poetical talents. His essays
and poems were collected, and published in a
volume. He died July 5, 1788.
BYNG/George, an English admiral, born in
1663. He became rear-admiral in 1703. In
1706, he relieved Barcelona, besieged by the
duke of Anjou ; and in 1708, frustrated the
efforts of the French to assist the Pretender by
an invasion. In 1718, he defeated the Spanish
fleet off Sicily. For these, and other services,
he received many offices and honors, and was
made Viscount Torrington. He died in 1733.
BYNG, John, an English admiral, son of the
preceding, served under his father in many ex-
peditions, and, although esteemed an able sea-
man and a brave man, was ruined by popular
animosity. Failing in his attempts to relieve
Minorca, in 1755, he was tried by a court-mar-
tial, and, although recommended to mercy,
shot in 1757. After party fury had subsided,
and his conduct had been dispassionately ex-
amined, his intentions were allowed to have
been good, his courage indisputable, and his
death the consequence of rancorous misrepre-
sentation from personal dislike. His conduct
in his last moments confirmed no part of the evi-
dence against him ; it was cool, determined,
dignified, and resigned. Immediate posterity
honored him as a British admiral, his connex-
ions, as a man of honor, and it was obtained
from among the secrets of ministerial intrigue,
that he was the victim of ministerial coward-
ice, undeserving of the disgrace of an execu-
tion, and obedient to orders which the men in
office had not the courage to avow. Byng
showed, in his last moments, the fearlessness
of his disposition, and the elevation of a mind
that dreaded only disgrace.
BYRON, George Gordon, lord, one of the
most celebrated English poets of modern days,
was born in London, January 22, 1788. His
mother was a Scotch heiress, only daughter of
George Gordon, Esq. of Gight, and his father
was Captain Byron, or, as he was popularly
termed, for his reckless profligacy, Mad Jack
Byron of the Guards. The parents of the poet
lived unhappily together, and the heartless liber-
tine who transmitted so many failings to his son,
squandered the property of the woman he had
married for her wealth, and reduced her to com-
parative poverty. Economy induced Mrs. By-
ron to take up her residence at Aberdeen in
1790, where her son was placed at school. Her
management of young Byron was any thing but
judicious, and in her fits of passion, she even
reproached him with the lameness of one of
his feet, a deformity ,which, although trifling, was
severely felt by the sensitive poet, and even en-
gendered many of his misanthropic views. It
was rarely that he alluded to it in a jesting way.
In his youth, however, he was acquainted with
a child who had a similar defect, and used to
say to his nurse, in the Scotch dialect which he
had acquired : " see the twa laddies wi' the twa
club feet ganging up the high street." His
rambles among the Highlands of Scotland had
a strong effect upon his imagination, and proba-
bly kindled the spark, which afterwards bright-
ened to a flame. In one of his poems, he say6 :
" Long have I roamed through lands which afe not
Adored the Alps, and loved the Appenine, [mine,
Revered Parnassus, and beheld the steep
Jove's Ida and Olympus crown the deep;
But 't was not all long ages' lore, nor all
Their nature held me in their thrilling thrall ;
The infant rapture still survived the hoy,
And Loch-na-gar with Ida looked o'er Troy,
Mixed Celtic memories with the Phrygian mount,
And Highland linns with Castalie's clear fount.
Forgive me, Homer's universal shade !
Forgive me, Phoebus ! that my fancy strayed ;
The North and nature taught me to adore
Your scenes sublime, from those beloved before."
To this passage the following note is appended
by the author : " When very young, about eight
years of age, after an attack of the scarlet fever
at Aberdeen, 1 was removed by medical advice,
into the Highlands. Here I passed occasionally
some summers, and from this period I date my
love of mountainous countries. I can never
forget the effect, a few years afterwards in Eng-
land, of the only thing I had long seen, even in
miniature, of a mountain, in the Malvern Hills.
After I returned to Cheltenham, I used to watch
them every afternoon at sunset, with a sensation
which I cannot describe. This was boyish
enough ; but I was then only thirteen years of
age, and it was in the holidays."
In the year 1798, on the death of his grand
uncle, he became a chancery ward under the
guardianship of the earl of Carlisle, against
whom he "soon conceived a dislike. Placed at
Harrow, he had to encounter all the temptations
and annoyances inseparable from public educa-
tion. School-boys are not famous for feeling.
BYR
143
BYR
and the lameness of Byron was perpetually
called to mind by the rudest practical sarcasms.
He would often wake, and find his lame foot
plunged in a pail of water. Through Harrow,
he fairly " fought his way." " I had," said he,
in one of his conversations with captain Med-
win, " a spirit that ill brooked the restraints of
school discipline ; for I had been encouraged by-
servants in all my violence of temper, and was
used to command. Every thing like a task was
repugnant to my nature, and I came away a
very indifferent classic, and read in nothing that
was useful. That subordination, which is the
soul of all discipline, 1 submitted to with diffi-
culty ; yet I did submit to it ; and I have al-
ways retained a sense of Drury's kindness,
which enabled me to bear it and fagging too.
The duke of Dorset was my fag. I was not
a very hard task-master. There were times
at which, if I had not considered it as a school,
I should have been happy at Harrow. There
is one spot I should like to see again : I was
particularly delighted with the view from the
churchyard, and used to sit. for hours on the
stile leading into the fields ; — even then I form-
ed a wish to be buried there." " There were
two tilings that strike me at this moment, that
I did at Harrow. I fought lord Calthorpe for
writing Atheist ! under my name ; and pre-
vented the school-room from being burnt dur-
ing a rebellion, by pointing out to the boys
the names of their fathers and grand-fathers on
the walls."
In October, 1805, the young lord entered
Cambridge university, where he was little dis-
tinguished for application, and showed no great
respect for academic honors. He even evinced
his contempt for them by keeping a young bear
'" his room, which he said he was training for a
fellowship. In his 20th year he took up his
abode at Newstead Abbey, a fine old building
which he proceeded immediately to repair. His
' Hours of Idleness," now appeared, a collection
rf poems written during his minority, which
was attacked by the Edinburgh Review, with a
degree of malignity and violence, that provoked
.he youthful bard to vindicate his reputation in
j satire entitled " English Bards and Scotch
■Reviewers." This severe and sweeping philip-
pic appeared a few days after he had taken his
teat in the House of Lords, and gained the fa-
^or of the public in a short time. He soon after
vent abroad, travelling through Portugal, Spain,
ind Greece. The scenes through which he
mssed are finely described in " Childe Harold's
Pilgrimage." In the east he swam from Sestcs
to Abydos, and prided himself greatly on this
daring feat. He returned to England in 1811,
after an absence of two years.
He hastened to Newstead, but arrived too late
to close the eyes of his mother. About this
period, the acquaintance between himself and
the poet Thomas Moore commenced — an ac-
quaintance which afterwards ripened into the
warmest friendship. On the 2!Jth of February,
1812, appeared the two first cantos of " Childe
Harold," and the success and sale of the work
was instantaneous. The hero, a proud but mel-
ancholy wanderer, satiated with sensual pleas-
ure, was at once recognised as a delineation of
the noble author, notwithstanding his decisive
denial. The Giaour, the Bride of Abydos, and
the Corsair, poems, in all of which the author
displayed his unrivalled talents, and accurate
knowledge of eastern customs and manners,
followed at short intervals. Of one of these
20,000 copies were sold in one day. On the 2d
of January, 1815, Byron married Miss Mil-
banke, daughter of Sir Ralph Milbanke. The
marriage was unhappy, and after various quar-
rels, and much distress, the parties separated.
Ada, the daughter of unhappy parents, was
taken from Byron, who, in 1816, left England
forever. He gave in conversation the follow-
ing melancholy account of his situation imme-
diately before leaving England : " In addition
to all my other mortifications, my affairs were
irretrievably involved, and almost so as to make
me what they wished. I was compelled to part
with Newstead, which I never could have ven-
tured to sell in my mother's lifetime. As it is,
I shall never forgive myself for having done so;
though I am told that the estate would not now
bring half so much as I got for it. This does
not at all reconcile me to having parted from
the old Abbey. I did not make up my mind to
this step but from the last necessity. I had my
wife's portion to repay, and was determined to add
£10,000 more of my own to it, which I did. I
always hated being in debt, and do not owe a
guinea. The moment I put my affairs in train,
and in little more than eighteen months after
my marriage, I left England, an involuntary
exile, intending it should be forever."
After a residence in Italy, where his dramas,
and many poems were written, and where he
was alternately dissolute and temperate, the re-
volution in Greece engaged his attention, and
he determined to embark his person and fortune
in the cause of liberty. He was received in
Greece with enthusiasm, and proceeded to Mis-
solonghi, where his reception was most gratify-
BYR
144
BYZ
inor to his feelings. He immediately formed a
brto-ade of 500 Suliotes. He was aware of the
dissensions existing among the Greeks, but was
confident of their ultimate success. He was
uro-ed to go to Zante, on account of the un-
healthiness of Missolonghi. « I cannot quit
Greece," he wrote to a friend, " while there is
a chance of my being even of (supposed) utili-
ty There is a stake worth millions such as
I am, and while I can stand at all, I must stand
by the cause. While I say this, I am aware oi
the difficulties, dissensions, and defects of the
Greeks themselves; but allowance must be
made for them by all reasonable people."
On the 9th of April, while riding on horse-
back, he was overtaken by a rainstorm, and the
feverish cold he took was the precursor of a fa-
tal malady. He died April 19th, 1824 ; his last
thoughts, as his words indicated, were with his
wife and child. His funeral was solemnized in
Missolonghi, and his death publicly mourned in
Greece. °His body was conveyed to England,
and interred at Hucknall church, near New-
stead Abbey. The exterior of the coffin bore
the following inscription :
George Gordon Noel Byron,
Lord Byron
of Rochdale ;
born in London,
Jan. 22, 1788.
died a.t Missolonghi,
in Western Greece,
April 19, 1824.
Most of Lord Byron's vices sprang from his
freedom from all control at an age, when he most
stood in need of friendly advice and friendly
restraint, to guard him from those evils which
beset young men, and particularly, young men
of rank, in the outset of their career. Yet his
reckless gallantry, and laxity of morals, did not
efface fine traits of feeling, benevolence, and a
respect for virtue. His attachment to his
daughter Ada was sincere and lasting ; and he
often spoke of his wife with affection and re-
spect. Medwin says that his absent daughter oc-
cupied much of his thoughts. " He opened his
writino- desk, and showed me some hair, which
he told me was his child's. During our ride
and drive this evening, he declined our usual
amusement of pistol-firing, without assigning a
cause. He hardly spoke a word during the
first half-hour, and it was evident tliat some-
thing weighed heavily on his mind. There was
a sacredness in his melancholy that I dared not
interrupt. At length he said : " This 1S Ada s
birth-day, and might have been the happiest day
of my life ; as it is '•" He stopped, seem-
ingly ashamed of having betrayed his feelings.
He tried in vain to rally his spirits by turning
the conversation; but he created a laugh in
which he could not join, and soon relapsed into
his former reverie. It lasted till we came with-
in a mile of the Argive gate. There our si-
lence was all at once interrupted by shrieks
that seemed to proceed from a cottage by the
side of the road. We pulled up our horses, to
inquire of a contadino standing at the little gar-
den-wicket. He told us that a widow had just
lost her only child, and that the sounds pro-
ceeded from the wailings of some women over
the corpse. Lord Byron was much affected,
and his superstition, acted upon by a sadness
that seemed to be presentiment, led him to au-
gur some disaster. " I shall not be happy,
said he, " till I hear that my daughter is well.
I have a great horror of anniversaries ; people
only laugh at it, who have never kept a register
of them. I always write to my sister on Ada s
birth-day. I did so last year; and, what was
very remarkable, my letter reached her on my
wedding-day, and her answer reached me at
Ravenna on my birth-day. Several extraordi-
nary things have happened to me on my birth-
day; so they did to Napoleon ; and a more won-
derful circumstance still occurred to Mane
Antoinette." That Lord Byron should have
joined to his religious scepticism some supersti- ,
tious weaknesses, will surprise many ; ye) .it
should seem no incompatibility. There is little
or no connection between reason and sentiment,
and all imaginative persons are liable to this dis-
ease • for superstition is the malady ol man
himself, only as he is an imaginative animal.
Byron once consulted a conjuror, more out ot
sport than curiosity. He was told that two years
would be fatal to him, his twenty seventh and
his thirty-seventh. In the first he married, m
the second he died.
BYZANTIUM, named from Uyzas, its
founder, was situated on the Thracian Bospo-
rus, near the small bay of Keras, with three
harbors, on the site of the present city of Constan-
tinople. The Thracians,Bithynians, and Gauls,
attacked this flourishing place, but, after its suf-
ferings in the Peloponnesian war, its prospects
brightened, and during the reign of Constan-
tine the Great, it was made the capital ot the
empire of Rome. The Byzantine empire is a
name given to the Eastern Roman empire.
Dublin— Nelson's Pillar.
Burns — Birth-place of
CAD
145
CMS
CABOT, George, a native of Massachusetts,
born at Salem in 1752, whose patriotism and
perseverance have gained him a high rank in
the list of Americans, who have distinguished
themselves in the legislative halls of our eman-
cipated states. His views of political economy
were clear and enlightened. He died at Bos-
ton, highly respected, April 18th, 1823.
CABOT, or Gabotto, Sebastian, a celebrated
navigator, son of John Cabot, was born at Bris-
tol, in 1467. He was the discoverer of Florida.
He visited the eastern side of the island of New-
foundland. John Cabot and his son, Sebas-
tian, discovered, on the 24th of June, 1497, the
shores of Newfoundland. The neighboring
island received the name of St. John, because
it was discovered upon the festival of that saint.
After having sailed in the English service, Se-
bastian went to Spain in 1526, where he was
furnished with vessels with which he ascended
the river la Plata. He made other voyages
also in Spanish vessels. He returned to Eng-
land, however, and was graced with various
dignities, and entrusted with the direction of
the merchant's company formed for the pur-
pose of making discoveries. He superintended
Willoughby's expedition in 1553, and an act of
Edward VI, dated 1549, grants him a pension
of £166, a considerable sum if we consider the
value of money at that period. He is supposed
to have died in 1557.
CABUL, capital of Afghanistan, a city of
great antiquity, but meanly built. The inhab-
itants are Usbecks, Afghans, and Hindoos. The
surrounding country is rich in fruits and flow-
ers. In 1739 it was taken by Nadir Shah, and
plundered by his troops. In 1774 it fell into
the hands of Ahmed Shah Abdally, whose son
Timour Shah made it the capital of Afghanis-
tan. Population 80,000.
CABULISTAN. (See Afghanistan.)
CACHET, Lettres de. (See Bastile.)
CADE, John, a native of Ireland, who, hav-
ing been compelled to fly to France, return-
ed to England in 1450, assumed the popular
name of John Mortimer, and raised a formida-
ble force at the head of which he placed him-
self. He promised to lay down his arms, if
the grievances of which he complained were re-
dressed ; but losing his authority over his fol-
lowers they committed various outrages which
were resented by the well-disposed part of the
community. The rebels were defeated, a price
was set on Cade's head, and he was killed by
10
one Idcn, a gentleman of Sussex. Many of his
followers were brought to punishment.
CADMUS. This name belongs to several
characters of Mythology and history. One, a
Phoenician, brought a colony of his country-
men to Greece, and introduced letters there,
B. C. 1550.
CADWALADER, John, a distinguished mil
itary officer born in Philadelphia. He command-
ed the Pennsylvania troops in the winter of 1777,
and enjoyed the confidence of General Wash-
ington. At the battles of Princeton, Brandy-
wine, Germantown, and Monmouth, he served
as a volunteer or acted in his command, and
died in 1786.
CAEN, a French city with 39,140 inhabit-
ants, important as the centre of considerable
trade and manufactures, and containing several
literary, scientific and charitable institutions.
It is 132 miles N. W. of Paris. Caen was an-
ciently the capital of Lower Normandy, and
the favorite residence of William the Con-
queror, who was buried in the Mbaye-aux-hom-
vies, which he built. Caen was taken by Ed-
ward III of England, who met with a desperate
resistance. In 1448 it passed from the hands
of the English into those of Charles VII of
France. In 1562 Admiral de Coligni took it
for the Protestants, and in 1715 it was occupied
by the Prussians for a brief space.
C/ESAR, Caius Julius, descended from the
illustrious family of Julia, which traced its ori-
gin to iEneas and Venus, was born 100 B. C.
In his infancy he witnessed the civil wars of
Sylla and his maternal uncle, Marius. When
Caesar had arrived at man's estate, Sylla, then
at the height of power, could not excuse his
crime in being the nephew of Marius, and the
relation of China. He was proscribed and his
sentence revoked only by means of the earnest
solicitations of the vestals, and the credit of
his family. Sylla is said to have declared, in
yielding to their urgency, that they would one
day repent having saved the life of a young
man, in whom he beheld the spirit of more than
one Marius. Young Ccesar commenced his
military career in Asia. Returning to Rome
after the death of Sylla, he gained applause
and popularity by his eloquence, an art in
which Appollonius of Rhodes was his instruc-
tor. While absent from Rome, pursuing his
studies, he learned that Mithridates had attack-
ed the provinces of the allies of Rome, and ac-
cordingly, leaving Rhodes for the continent, he
assembled troops and led them against the king
of Pontus, whom he vanquished.
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On his return to Rome, finding Pompey at
the head of the senate and the republic, and
fearing that his connexion with the partisans
of Marius might prove disadvantageous to him,
he joined the Pompeian party. The office
of military tribune, and afterwards that of
questor, were conferred upon Caesar. Upon
pronouncing the funeral eulogium on his aunt
Julia, while enjoying the latter dignity, he pro-
duced the images of Marius, which had not
seen the light since the dictatorship of Sylla.
When promoted to the dignity of edile, he
caused the statues and trophies of Marius to
be replaced. At this period he was accused of
aiming at the supreme power, but the people,
whose tastes he flattered, vaunted his devotion
and courage, and the zeal with which he had
discharged his official duties, and the multitude
did not forget the magnificent spectacles for
which they were indebted to him, and the am-
ple arrangements which he had made for the
accommodation of the spectators at the public
shows. When the conspiracy of Cataline was
discovered, Caesar had the hardihood to recom-
mend the conspirators to mercy, and sustained
his opinion with a warmth which gave rise to a
suspicion that he was not altogether a stranger
to the plot. So strongly did the tide of indig-
nation set against him, that the knights who
composed the guard on that day, waited only
for a sign from Cicero to kill him ; but the lat-
ter, fearing that it would be impossible to sub-
stantiate his guilt, saved him from their fury.
Caesar, while engaged in ambitious schemes,
mingled in the dissipation of the day, and con-
cealed under the exterior of a man of pleasure
the traits of a determined foe to liberty.
On the death of Metellus, Caesar obtained
the office of high priest, although two power-
ful men were his competitors. On the day of
the election, seeing his mother in tears, he em-
braced her, and said ; " Today you will see me
a high priest, or an exile." Shortly after this,
Clodius having been accused of attempting to
corrupt the fidelity of Caesar's wife, he divorc-
ed her, and said, " The wife of Caesar must not
even be suspected." He was then pretor, after-
wards the government of Spain fell to his lot.
A saying of his at this time proved that he
then entertained the most ambitious ideas. At
a poor village in the Alps, some of his friends
asked if, in that miserable place, power and
rank occasioned discussion. " I had rather,"
said he to them, " be the first even in this
place, than the second in Rome." He was by
no means idle in his government, but made
many conquests while he did not neglect his
private interests, for he extorted money enough
to pay his enormous debts, and enable him to
purchase a vast number of creatures.
To obtain the consulate, he reconciled Cras-
sus and Pompey, and made use of both. Al-
though he had a colleague, he governed with
absolute authority. Bibulus who was associated
with him, and vainly opposed his wishes, wittily
declared " that the Romans were not under the
consulate of Csesar and Bibulus, but under the
consulate of Julius and Caesar." Caesar gained
popularity by procuring the distribution of the
lands of Campania.
Shortly after the union of Pompey with
Julia, the daughter of Caesar, the latter obtained
the government of the Gauls and Illyria, with
the command of four legions. He triumphed
over the Gauls, the Helvetians, the brave Bel-
gians, and others, carried his arms beyond the
Rhine, and raised the Roman eagles in the
hitherto unconquered Britain. During the ten
years of the Gallic war, Caesar is said to have
possessed himself of 800 towns, and to have tri-
umphed in arms over 3,000,000 men.
In the midst of his victories, he was ever
mindful of his own interests, and robbed even
altars and temples to increase his wealth. He
is said to have quoted with approbation this
sentence of Euripides ; " violate justice only
for the sake of ruling." The soldiers were
gained by the most liberal presents, and it
seemed as if the army was the depositary of the
immense wealth which Caesar was accumula-
ting. Thus the troops were the soldiers of
Caesar, and not of the republic. Rome had
become venal — every thing was for sale, and
Caesar was the purchaser of every thing. He
had come to Ravenna with a legion, when the
senate sent him a decree, the purport of which
was, that if, in a limited time, Caesar did not
relinquish his command, he should be treated
as the enemy of the commonwealth. Three
tribunes of Caesar's party, among them Marc
Antony, having been expelled from the senate
for opposing this decree, fled to the camp of
Caesar in the garb of slaves.
War was now declared. The senate com-
manded the consuls to look to the safety of the
republic, and Caesar ordered his troops to ad-
vance to the Rubicon, a small river, separating
Cisalpine Gaul from Italy. The republic,
which both parties invoked, was no more than
a name ; Caesar and Pompey were both heads
of factions, who sought to elevate themselves
above the laws. Learning the decree of the
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C^SS
senate, Caesar marched directly to the Rubicon.
There, the risks he was about to incur, and the
evils he was about to bring upon his country,
held his mind in suspense for a long time ; but,
after having reflected upon the hate and ani-
mosity of his enemies, and upon his own
strength, he dashed forward, exclaiming ; " the
die is cast." His soldiers followed him. Arrived
at Rimini, the terror of his arms spread to Rome,
where disorder prevailed. Conflicting opin-
ions distracted the city, and all energy seemed
sunk in the consideration of the greatness of
the danger, and the insufficiency of the means
of defence.
Pompey left Rome, with the consuls, princi-
pal senators, &c, and, from Capua, went to
Dyrrachium, to which last place he escaped,
under cover of night, leaving the whole of Italy
in the power of Caesar. The latter, sending
his lieutenants to take possession of Sardinia
and Sicily, advanced to Rome. The only act
of violence which he committed, was the sei-
zure of the public treasure, deposited in the
temple of Saturn. Pompey's party had idly
imagined that the removal of the key was a
sufficient safeguard. The tribune Metellus
opposed the passage of Caesar, who threatened
him with death, sternly adding, " this is an act
easier for me to execute, than to name." The
tribune retired, and Caesar found in the money
the means of subjugating a victorious people.
Having subdued Pompey's lieutenants in Spain,
Caesar was named dictator. He then went to
Greece for the purpose of crushing Pompey.
Crossing the sea in a mere fishing boat, he was
exposed to great danger, and animated the pilot
by the memorable exclamation ; " fear nothing !
you carry Caesar and his fortunes !" The fate
of Pompey and of the republic was decided by
the battle of Pharsalia, fought 48 B. C, in
which Caesar was completely victorious. He
pursued Pompey to Egypt, but was indignant
when the head of his unfortunate rival was
brought him by his assassins.
While he was in Alexandria, detained by the
charms of Cleopatra, and the differences existing
between the members of the family of Ptolemy,
he witnessed the breaking out of a sedition which
shortly became an open war, and called for the
exertion of all his energy. After remaining
some months in Egypt, he marched against
Pharnaces, king of Pontus, whom he defeated
with a celerity well expressed in his own words ;
"veni, vidi, vici ;" / came, 1 saw, I conquered.
There still remained to be conquered some for-
midable enemies ; Scipio, Labienus, Cato, and
Juba, the king of Mauritania, had powerful
armies in Africa. After a campaign in which
Caesar displayed all his skill, Africa no longer
sheltered a Roman opposed to him, except
Cato, who shut himself up in Utica, and pre-
ferred death to submission. (See Cato.) Csesar,
who admired elevation of soul, envied Cato
the glory of his death, and wept for his fate, as
he had shed tears at that of Pompey. The
conqueror, after having subjected Africa, and
ordered the rebuilding of Carthage, returned to
Italy, where he was received witli the acclama-
tions of the senate and Roman people. Four
triumphs were decreed to him.
His liberality was felt by the people for
whose amusements he prepared festivals and
shows. Notwithstanding the two sons of Pom-
pey mustered a strong force in Spain, but
were attacked in the plains of Munda, by Cae-
sar, and signally defeated, so obstinate was
the battle, that Caesar himself declared that he
fought less for victory than life, but from the
moment that both were secure, every thing was
in his power. He re-entered Rome, the mas-
ter of the world. The triumph which he then
obtained for having vanquished Romans excited
secret murmurs among the people and senators,
but no one dared to utter a complaint in public.
The senate decreed him extraordinary honors
and unlimited authority. He was declared
consul for 10 years, and perpetual dictator.;
they gave him the titles of emperor, and father
of his country. His person was declared sacred
and inviolable. He had the privilege of being
present at spectacles in a gilded chair, with a
crown of gold upon his head. The decree of
the senate provided that, even after his death,
this chair and the crown of gold should be con-
spicuously placed at all spectacles in honor of
his memory. There was now but one thing
wanting— the title of king. He is said to have
deliberated whether he should take it.
He preserved the republican forms in the
midst of an absolute government, and showed
himself as able to maintain power, as to gain
it. " His clemency," says Montesquieu, " was
insulting. It was considered that he did not
pardon,l)ut disdained to punish." Having by
victory obtained the highest power, he wished
to enjoy it as if it had been transmitted to him,
and sought too soon to banish the inquietudes
which almost invariably trouble a power of
recent growth. " I had rather," said he, " die
at once, than live always in fear." He sent
away his Spanish guard, contrary to the advice
of his best friends, and trusting too readily the
CvES
148
CAL
assertions of his flatterers, who declared, " that
after having put an end to the civil wars, the
republic was more interested than he was, in
his safety." His death was caused by this
want of caution.
He had formed a plan for conquering the
Parthians, and was on the eve of departing for
Asia. His partisans, to reconcile the Romans
to his assumption of the title of king, circulated
a report that the books of the Sibyls declared,
that the Parthians could only be subjugated by
the Romans, when their leader was a king.
The rumor gave the enemies of Caesar a pre-
text for seeking his death. A conspiracy was
formed against him, at the head of which
were Brutus and Cassius, whom he had made
pretors. The assassination was to take place
on the ides of March, the day on which Caesar,
according to report, was to assume the royal
title. The conspiracy was not so secret as to pre-
vent the circulation of some reports with regard
to it, but Caesar refused to take any precaution.
Moved, however, by the tears and entreaties
of his wife Calphurnia, he had made up his
mind to remain at home, when Decimus Bru-
tus, by representing to him the importance of
presenting himself at the senate-house, changed
his resolution. As he was leaving his house,
a certain Artemidorus placed in his hand a
paper containing an exposure of the whole
plot. Being unable to read this and other let-
ters from the pressure of the crowd about him,
Caesar gave them to his secretaries. He had
no sooner entered the senate-house, than he
was surrounded by the conspirators. Cimber,
under pretext of respect, siezed the skirt of his
robe, a signal which Casca responded to by
stabbing Caesar in the shoulder. The weapon
was caught by the intrepid victim, who ex-
claimed; "Wretch! what art thou doing?"
Cassar, though repeatedly wounded, defended
himself against his assassins, until Brutus
struck him, when, fixing his eyes upon him,
he mournfully exclaimed ; " and thou, too, Bru-
tus ?" Then, folding his head in his mantle,
he fell, pierced with thirty-three wounds, at the
base of Pompey's statue, March 15, 43 years
B. C. He was then 56 years old. The body
of Caesar, abandoned by all, was carried home
by three slaves. When his will was read from
the tribune, the people made the air ring with
their cries of grief and anger. The funeral
Ceremonies were distinguished by uncommon
magnificence. The senate, who dared not de-
fend him in his hour of need, placed him among
the gods, and ordered that his laws should be
immutable. The results of this assassination
were deplorable, for jealousy, ambition, and
personal anger armed the greater part of the
murderers, and but few among them were ani-
mated by a love of liberty. Caesar, with many
faults and foibles, possessed many fine traits,
and was fitted by nature to command. His
erudition was considerable, and his commen-
taries are models of good writing.
CAFF A, a port of the Crimea, formerly a
considerable place, but now of little importance.
It was captured by the Turks in 1475. In 1775,
the Russians took it by storm. In 1783, it was
annexed to the Russian empire, and is now
called by the Russians, Feodosia, from its an-
cient name, Theodosia.
CAFFRARIA, a region of Africa, little
known, which includes a tract of country lying
in the north-east of the territories of the Cape
Colony.
C AIPHAS, the high priest of the Jews when
Christ was crucified.
CAILLIE, Rene, a native of France, cele-
brated for his travels in Africa. He won the
prize offered by the Geographical Society of
Paris to the man who should first reach Tim-
buctoo; and, besides other rewards, was pre-
sented with the cross of the legion of honor.
CAIN, the first murderer, the eldest born of
Adam and Eve. For the particulars of his his-
tory, see Genesis.
CAIRO or Kahira, the capital of Egypt. It
contains a population of 350,000, including
Arabs or Mohammedans, Copts, Mamelukes,
Greeks, Syrians, Armenians, Jews, &c. It is
said to have been founded in 973. The Sara-
cens having neglected Alexandria, Cairo be-
came the capital of Egypt, and is the seat of an
extensive commerce.
CALABRIA, a mountainous but fertile
country, the inhabitants of which are sunk in
barbarism. It forms the southern part of Italy,
and contains 890,000 inhabitants. It anciently
formed a part of Magna Grcecia, and was cele-
brated for the refined luxury of its inhabitants.
At the city of Pizzo, Murat was seized, October
13th, 1815.
CALAIS, a sea-port town of France, in the
British channel, opposite to Dover. It is
strongly fortified, and contains 10,450 inhabi-
tants. In the 12th century it was a village
belonging to the counts of Boulogne. In 1346,
Edward III, of England, after his great victory
of Cressy, laid siege to it, and concerted his
measures so well, that his adversaries could not
throw succors into the place. Nearly 2,000 of
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149
CAL
the wretched inhabitants, who had been sent
out of the place to lessen the consumption of
provisions, came to the camp of the besiegers.
Edward gave each of them a hearty meal, and
two shillings, and provided for their future
safety. Calais was obliged to surrender to the
English, remained in their possession until
1558, when it was invested and attacked by
the duke of Guise, and, after a siege of eight
days, was obliged to capitulate. During the
operations of Francis I, and the duke of Bour-
bon, against the emperor Charles V, of Ger-
many, a congress was held at Calais, under the
mediation of Henry VIII, of England, which
proved unsuccessful.
CALCUTTA, the capital of the British India,
situated on the west branch of the Hoogly, an
arm of the Ganges, which is navigable to the
city for vessels of any size. The first settle-
ment of the English was made here in 1690 ;
the climate was at first very unhealthy, but it
has since improved. The population is very
great. The Black Hole (which see), is con-
verted into a warehouse. The commerce is
very extensive.
CALDERON (Don Pedro Calderon de la
Barca Henao y Riano), a Spanish poet and
dramatist, born at Madrid, 1601, and died 1687.
He served in a military capacity, but afterwards
embraced the clerical profession. He was the
author of 300 plays.
CALEDONIA, New ; a country of North
America, west of the Rocky mountains, inhab-
ited by the Td-cullies, or, as the whites call
them, Carriers, whose number is five thousand.
CALEDONIA, New, a large island in the
Pacific Ocean, the access to which is difficult
and dangerous; discovered by Cook in 1774.
The inhabitants are represented as mercenary
and treacherous, resembling in appearance the
negroes of Africa. They eat, among other
articles of food, the nokee spider. The longi-
tude of the island is 163° to 167° east ; lat. 20°
to 22° 26' S. It is from 220 to 250 miles long,
and 50 broad.
CALICUT, a city of Hindostan, formerly
capital of a kingdom of the same name. It was
taken and destroyed by Tippoo Saib, but rebuilt
by the English.
CALIFORNIA, Old or Lower; a territory
of Mexico, comprising a peninsula which is
separated from the main land by the Gulf of
California. In some places, the soil is covered
with a luxuriant vegetation, while in others,
barren rocks, and sterile tracts of land present
no object upon which the eye can rest with
pleasure. The population of the territory is
about 14,000, on an area of nearly 40,000 square
miles.
CALIFORNIA, New or Upper, likewise a
territory of Mexico, lies upon the north Pacific
Ocean, north of Old California. It has an area
of 375,000 square miles, containing a population
of 25,000. The soil is fertile, and the woods
and waters never fail to yield hunters an abund-
ance of game and fish.
CALIGULA, Caius Ccesar Augustus Ger-
manicus, a Roman emperor, was the son of
Germanicus and Agrippina, and born A. D. 12.
He received its surname from the CaligcB (half
boots) which he wore. His life, with a single
exception, presented only a series of acts of
horrible cruelty, disgusting absurdity, and dar-
ing impiety. The reputation of his father at
first disposed the Romans to think favorably of
the son, but after a few hollow displays of clem-
ency and liberality, he showed himself in his
true light, and, even while a boy, committed
incest. He married and repudiated several
wives, the last of whom, Cresonia, retained a
firm hold upon his affections. His murders
were numerous, and rendered memorable by
the rank of the victims and the relation
which they bore to him. It was Caligula, who
wished that the " people of Rome had but one
head, that he might sever it at a blow."
If the cruelties of the tyrant call forth our
indignation, his unmanly follies excite our con-
tempt. His treatment of his horse Incitatus
exhibited the ridiculous part of his character.
This animal had a gorgeous stable, a house to
entertain visitors, and frequently dined at the
emperor's table, when he was presented with
wine and gilded oats. His master even med-
itated elevating him to the consulship. Cali-
gula appeared in public in the attributes of
various divinities, male as well as female, and
claimed homage as a Venus and a Mars.
Among his absurdities may be reckoned the
bridge of boats built from Baice to Puteoli ; his
expedition against Britain, when the soldiers
gathered cockle-shells for spoils, and lastly, his
design of decimating the German army for a
revolt. To this last act the world owed its
deliverence from the monster who was mur-
dered by Choerea and Cornelius Sabinus, mili-
tary tribunes, A. D. 41.
CALIPH. The successors of Mohammed,
uniting secular and spiritual functions in their
persons, assumed the title of Caliph or vice-
gerent. Many of them were distinguished by
brilliant qualities of mind and person, by the
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150
CAL
patronage of the arts and literature, and by ex-
tensive conquests. The most noted among
them will be noticed under separate heads, as
Haroun al Raschid.
CALIPHS, list of—
THE FIRST FOUR CALIPHS.
Abubeker- } (Abdallah Lbm Abu Koafas, | ^
\ or Father oj the Virgin. )
Omar 634
Othman 644
All 655
CALIPH OF THE FAMILY OF MOHAMMED.
Hassan or Al-Hassan — {Son of Mi and Fatima) . 660
CALIPHS OF THE HOUSE OF OMMIJAH.
Moawiyah 1 661
Jezid 1 680
Moawiyah II 684
Abdallah Ebn Zobeir, not of the house of Onimi-
yah, is saluted Caliph of Meca ' 684
Mer wan 1 684
Abdal Malec 684
Al Walid 1 705
Soliman 715
Omar II 718
Jezid II 720
Hesham 724
Al Walid II 743
Jezid III 744
Ibrahim : 744
Merwan II 744
CALIPHS OF THE FAMILY OF AL ABBAS.
Abul Abhas el Saffah (the bloody) 749
Abul Giafer al Mansor (the victorious) 754
Al Mahadi 775
Musaal Hadi 785
Haroun al Raschid (the just) 786
Al Amin 809
Al Mamun 813
Al Motasem 833
Al Vathek Billah (by the grace of God) 842
Al Motawakkel Alallah 847
Al Montassar Billah 861
Al Mostain Billah 862
Al Motaz 866
Al Mohadi Billah « 869
Al Motamed Alallah 870
Al Mothadad Billah 892
Al Molltaphi Billah 902
Al Moctader Billah 908
Al Kaher Billah 932
Al Rhadi Billah 934
Al Mottaki Billah 941
Al Mostakphi Billah 944
Al Moti Lillah 946
Al Tay Lillah 974
Al Rader Billah 991
Al Rayer Beamrillah 1031
Al Moktadi Beamrillah 1075
Al Mostader Billah 1094
Al Mostarshed Billah 1118
Al Raschid Billah 1135
Al Moktafi Beamrilla 1136
Al Mostanjed Billah 1160
Al Mostadi Beamrillah 1 170
Al Nafer Ledinillah 1180
Al Diher Billah l'->25
Al Mostansed Billah 1226
Al Mostasem Billah 1242
CALMUCS, a branch of the Mongol race of
great antiquity. Their tribes are scattered ; in
1759, a part of them, consisting of 1800 families,
settled on the Wolga, and placed themselves
under the protection of the Russian govern-
ment, to whom they paid voluntary allegiance.
Others are settled in different parts ; many of
them are Mohammedans. Their personal ap-
pearance is far from pleasing, and their habits
are extremely rude.
CALONNE, Charles Alexander de, an emi-
nent French statesman, born at Douai in 1734,
succeeded to the management of an empty
treasury in 1783, and skilfully met the claims
upon it, without adding to the burthens of the
people. He advised the abolition of the pecu-
niary exemptions enjoyed by the nobility, cler-
gy, and magistracy. He was, however, obliged
to retire from the vengeance of those bodies.
He died in 1802.
CALVARY, in Hebrew, Golgotha, the place
of the skull, a mountain in the vicinity of Jeru-
salem, on which our Savior Jesus Christ was
crucified.
CALVIN, John, second leader of the Reform-
ation in the lGth century, was born at Noyon,
July 15, 1509, and was destined for the church
at an early age, being presented with a bene-
fice in the cathedral of his native place, when
he was but twelve years old. His progress was
rapid, but it was not long before he received
the seeds of the new doctrines. In 1533, he was
involved in a persecution with his friend Mi-
chael Cop, who had defended the reformed doc-
trines in a public discourse. Obliged to quit
France, he repaired to Bale, in 1534, where he
composed his famous Institution of Christianity.
He was induced to write this by the persecu-
tions of Protestants, which disgraced the reign
of Francis I, of France. Although received in
different places with marks of respect, Calvin
found the warmest welcome and the safest asy-
lum in Geneva. After some agitation, the new
doctrine was generally received at Geneva. On
the refusal of Calvin and Farel, to comply with
the decrees of the council of Lausanne, the
magistrates compelled them to leave the city in
1538. At Strasbourg, Calvin's reception was
favorable, but he turned a longing look upon
Geneva. He was finally invited to return, and
he gained a great ascendancy over the Genevi-
ans. The rigor of Calvin was excessive. Thus,
a magistrate was deprived of his office and im-
prisoned for two months, because " his habits
were irregular, and he had leagued with the
enemies of Calvin." James Gruet was behead-
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ed, for having written, "impious letters, and
libertine verses," and for having " labored to
destroy ecclesiastical regulations." Geneva, in
becoming the metropolis of the reformed wor-
ship, became the centre of a prodigious book-
trade, and the city of all Europe, in which the
arts and sciences were cultivated with the
greatest success.
Calvin died in Geneva, May 27th, 1564, in
the 55th year of his age. His constitution was
weak, and throughout life, he had suffered
much from disease. In 1539, he manied a
widow, by whom he had one son, who died
young. She died in 1549, and he never mar-
ried again. He was sombre and austere in his
manners, of a melancholy disposition. He nev-
er knew the sweets of friendship, and his sole
joy, if joy it was, was in ruling and beholding
the triumph of his opinions. Calvin never had
any other title, in the church of Geneva, than
that of pastor. His temper, according to his
own confession, was impatient and opposed to
all contradiction. Thus the tone of his polemi-
cal writings is almost always harsh and insult-
ing. As a theologian, Calvin gained the highest
rank among the men of his century, by his pro-
found knowledge, by his tact, and, as he him-
self boasted, by his art in pressing an argument.
As a writer, he merits high praise. His mode
of worship, bare and stern, appeared, in the
eyes of many, to have elevated religion above
all sublunary things, by stripping it of every
object which had an attraction for the senses.
CALYDON, a city of ^Etoba, noted in fabu-
lous history as the spot where Meleager slew
the wild boar, which the revengeful Diana had
sent to punish the inhabitants for neglecting
her worship.
CALYPSO, a daughter of Atlas, who dwelt
upon the island of Ogygia, where Ulysses was
shipwrecked. He refused to marry the god-
dess, although immortality was the promised
reward, preferring to revisit Ithaca, and again
behold his wife. He remained seven years on
the island, and grief at his departure destroyed
the enamored goddess.
CAMBACERES, Jean Jacques Regis, was
duke of Parma, prince and arch-chancellor of
the French empire, dignities which he enjoyed
during the ascendency of Napoleon, of whom
he was a colleague in the consulate in 1799.
His Plan of a Civil Code, drawn up in 1796,
was the basis of the celebrated Code Napoleon.
He left France on the downfal of the emperor,
and died in Paris, March 8. 1824.
CAMBODIA, or Camboge, or Camboya, a
fertile and wealthy country province of the em-
pire of Annam, in Asia, with a population of
100.000. Laos lies upon the north, Cochin
China and Chiampa on the east, the sea on the
south, and Siam on the west.
CAMBRAY, or Camerich, a strongly forti-
fied town of the French department of the
North, containing 17,650 inhabitants, celebrated
in diplomatic history for several important trea-
ties negociated there. Its manufactures are ex-
tensive, one of the principal articles being Cam-
bric. The town was taken by Charles V, in
1544; by the Spaniards in 1596; and by Louis
XIV in person, in 1677. In August, 1793, it
was unsuccessfully besieged by the Austrians,
and in the campaign of 1815, it was taken by
the British, and made the head-quarters of the
allied armies.
CAMBRIDGE, a town in Middlesex coun-
ty, Massachusetts, on Charles river, 3 miles N.
W. of Boston, with a population of 6,071. It is
a neat and thriving place, distinguished as the
seat of Harvard University, the oldest and best
endowed institution in the United States, and
having the largest library in America. The
medical, divinity, and law departments, enjoy a
high reputation. The course of education is
completed in four years.
CAMBRONNE, Pierre Jacques, Etienne,
baron, general, commander of the legion of hon-
or, and distinguished for his personal bravery,
was born December 26, 1770. He commanded
the small band, which Napoleon led from Elba.
At Waterloo, he was severely wounded, and
taken prisoner. When he heard the British
proposal of capitulation, he answered nobly,
" La garde meurt, elle ne se rend pas." The
guard dies, but does not surrender.
CAMBYSES, a king of Persia, and son of
Cyrus the Great, ascended the throne, B. C.
530. He conquered Egypt ; offended at the su-
perstitions of the Egyptians, he killed their god
Apis, whose flesh was eaten by his soldiers, and
plundered their temples. On mounting his
horse at a subsequent period, his sword gave
him a fatal wound in the thigh, the place where
he had injured the bull, and the Egyptians
looked upon this event as the retributive ven-
geance of the gods. He was dissolute and des-
titute of moral principles. In his fits of intoxi-
cation, his brutality was feared even by those
who had the greatest claims upon his forbear-
ance. In a fit of drunken rage he gave his
wife a kick which killed her. His throne was
usurped by one of the Magi, who assumed the
name of Smerdis, a brother of the king, who
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had been secretly murdered on account of a
dream, which prognosticated to the tyrant fu-
ture troubles, and warned him to save himself
by the death of his brother.
CAMDEN, in South Carolina, 130 miles N.
W. of Charleston, with a population of 1000.
Here Gates was defeated by lord Cornwallis,
in 1780, and another battle was fought between
general Greene and lord Rawdon, in the ensu-
ing year.
CAMILLUS, Marcus Furius, an illustrious
Roman, who obtained four triumphs, and five
times filled the office of dictator, but being pro-
secuted on a charge of peculation, went into
voluntary banishment. While he was absent,
Brennus, at the head of an army of Gauls, took
Rome, and besieged the senate in the capital.
Camillus, forgetting his wrongs, hastened to
the relief of his country, defeated the barbarians,
and was created dictator. He died B. C. 365,
of the plague. He was generally honored and
respected, although party and personal prejudi-
ces more than once involved him in persecution.
In the siege of Falerii, the schoolmaster of
the town, who had the children of the senators
under his care, led them out of the city under
pretext of recreation, carried them to the Ro-
man camp, and surrendered them to the Roman
general, telling him, that he might now propose
to the besieged what terms he chose, since the
treasures they valued most were in his hands.
Camillus, indignant at this unparalleled treach-
ery, answered that the Romans warred with
men, and not with boys, and that, in the con-
duct of hostilities, integrity as well as courage
should be prized. He then ordered the school-
master to be stripped, and with his hands bound
behind his back, to be delivered to the boys to
be lashed back to the town. The Falerians, be-
fore obstinate in their resistance, struck with
this noble act, delivered themselves up to the
Romans, convinced that it would be better to
have such men for friends than foes.
CAMOENS, Louis, the most celebrated of
Portuguese poets, was born in Lisbon, in 1517.
His father was of a noble family, and his mother
of the illustrious house of Sa. Camoens studied
at Coimbra, where his instructors valued no
literature, but that which was written in imita-
tion of the ancients. But the genius of Ca-
moens was animated by the history of his coun-
try and the manners of his age ; and his lyric
poems belong, like the works of Dante, of Pe-
trarch, Ariosto and Tasso, to that literature
which was renewed by Christianity, and to the
spirit of chivalry, rather than to a purely classi-
cal style of writing. For this reason, the nu-
merous partisans of the classic school did not
applaud the performances of Camoens in the
early part of his career. On the completion of
his studies, he returned to Lisbon, where he
became warmly attached to Catharine d'Attayde,
a lady of the court. Ardent passions are often
united to great genius, and the life of Camoens
was alternately consumed by his feelings and
his genius.
He was exiled to Santarem on account of the
quarrels which his attachment to Catharine
brought upon him. There, in his seclusion, he
composed detached poems, which distinctly
pourtray the state of his feelings at the time of
their composition. The hopelessness of his sit-
uation led him to embark, as a soldier, in the
Portuguese fleet sent against the inhabitants of
Morocco. In the midst of battles he composed
poems, the glories and the dangers of war kin-
dling his poetic spirit, and his poetic imagina-
tion, in turn, urging him onward to the perform-
ance of military exploits. He lost his right eye
by an arrow before Ceuta. On his return to
Lisbon, he hoped, at least, that his wounds
would entitle him to some favor, even if his
talents were despised ; but although he had a
double claim upon the notice of government, he
encountered unexpected obstacles. Justly in-
dignant at this neglect, he embarked for the
Indies in 1553, and like Scipio, bade farewell to
his country, declaring that even his ashes should
not repose there.
He landed at Goa, the principal Portuguese
establishment in India ; here his imagination
was excited by the exploits of his countrymen
in this part of the world, and, great as were his
inducements to complain of them, he thought
to consecrate their glory in an epic. But indig-
nant at the abuses which were committed by
the government, he composed so severe a satire
upon the subject, that the enraged viceroy of
Goa banished him to Macao, where he lived
many years, surrounded by the most glorious
scenes, which the fairy regions of the east can
boast. Here he composed his Lusiad. The ex-
pedition of Vasco da Gama to the Indies, is the
subject of this work, which is sustained by the
skill of Camoens in mingling successfully, de-
tails of Portuguese history with the splendors
of poetry, and christian piety with pagan fable.
Camoens, on being recalled from his banish-
ment, was shipwrecked at the mouth of the
river Mecon, in Cochin China, and saved him-
self by swimming with one hand, while in the
other, he held the leaves of his immortal poem,
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the only treasure that he saved, above the reach
of the greedy waves. Camoons was persecuted
by a new viceroy at Goa, and imprisoned for
debt, but some of his friends becoming security
for him, he embarked for Lisbon, in 1569, six-
teen years after having quitted Europe. The
young king Sebastian, took an interest in Ca-
moens, accepted the dedication of his epic poem,
and, on the eve of departing on his unfortunate
expedition against the Moors, in Africa, felt
more than any one else, the genius of the poet,
who, like himself, gloried in dangers, when
they led the way to fame. But Sebastian was
killed in the battle of Alcazar, in 1578 ; the roy-
al line became extinct, and Portugal lost her
independence. The unfortunate Camoens was
reduced by this event to such extremes, that,
during the night, a slave whom he had brought
from India, begged ;n the streets, to obtain food
for his master. In this wretched state, he still
composed lyric poems, and the finest of his de-
tached pieces are those which contain com-
plaints of his misfortunes. How brilliant was
that genius which could extort inspiration from
the very calamities which finally extinguished
it. This hero of Portuguese literature, the only
one whose glory belongs alike to his nation, and
to Europe, died in an hospital, in 1579, aged 62
years. After his death, a monument was erect-
ed to his memory, and thousands, who would
have denied succor while he was living,
crowded to do homage to his inanimate re-
mains.
CAMPANIA, the ancient name of a province
of Italy, now called Terra di Lavoro, included
in the modern kingdom of Naples. Its soil is
extremely fertile. The classical associations
heighten the interest and charm of its naturally
fine scenery, of which Vesuvius is far from
being the least prominent feature.
CAMPEACHY, or Campeche, a seaport sit-
uated on the western part of the peninsula of
Yucatan, on a bay of the same name in Mexi-
co. The Indians who occupied it at the time
of the Spanish invasion, had made great pro-
fress in the arts, and were extremely numerous,
opulation 3,000.
CAMPO-FORMIO, a castle of Udine in Fri-
uli, a province of Venice, belonging to the Aus-
trians, famous for the treaty signed here, Oct.
17, 1797, by which the emperor of Austria ced-
ed to the French republic the whole of the
Austrian Netherlands, and consented to their
remaining in possession of the islands of Corfu,
Zante, Cephalonia, and all the islands in the
Adriatic, together with the Venetian territories
in Albania. He also acknowledged the Cisal-
pine republic as an independent state ; ceded to
it the countries in Lombardy, which had former-
ly belonged to Austria, and consented that it
should possess Bergamo, Brescia, and other Ve-
netian territories, together with the duchies of
Mantua and Modena, the principalities of Car-
rara and Massa, and the cities of Romagna, Fer-
rara, and Bologna, belonging to the Pope.
France yielded up to Austria, Istria, Dalmatia,
the city of Venice, with a large portion of the
dominions of that republic, and the Venetian
islands in the Adriatic, lying to the northeast
of the gulf of Lodrino. These were the prin-
cipal articles of the treaty.
CANAAN, a country situated between the
Mediterranean and the mountains of Arabia,
and extending from Egypt to Phoenicia. The
first inhabitants were descended from Ca-
naan, who settled colonies in almost all the
islands, &c. in the Mediterranean. They were
subdued by the Israelites under Joshua, who
destroyed many of them, and obliged the rest
to flee the country. The colonies which Cad-
mus conducted to Thebes in Bceotia, and his
brother Cilix into Cilicia, were from Canaan ;
and Sicily, Sardinia, Malta, Cyprus, Majorca
and Minorca, are said to have been peopled by
Canaanites.
CANADA, a country in North America, be-
longing to the British, and divided into Upper
and Lower Canada, since the year 1791.
Lower Canada is thus bounded : — north by
New Britain, east by New Britain and the guff
of St. Lawrence, south and south east by New
Brunswick, and Maine, New Hampshire, Ver-
mont and New York ; west by Upper Canada.
Nearly five-sixths of the inhabitants, (of whom
there are 600,000), are French Canadians, the
remainder being English, Scotch, Irish, and
Americans. It is divided into five districts,
which are subdivided in 40 counties. Seigniories,
or grants of the French government, and town-
ships, or grants of the English, are the minor
subdivisions. A governor-general, whose resi-
dence is at Quebec, is at the head of the British
American government. Besides the governor,
there is a council of 10, appointed by the king,
who also appoints the three members of the
council of the legislature, the other branch of
which is an elective house of assembly.
The principal towns are Montreal, Quebec,
Three Rivers, and Sorelle, Chambly, St. John's,
and La Chine. The houses of the Canadians are
generally low, and built of stone, with little
finish. Education is generally at a low ebb
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among them, although Quebec and Montreal
sustain some highly reputable seminaries. The
commerce of the province has gradually in-
creased under the fostering spirit of the British
government. The fur trade, of which Mon-
treal is the depot, is considerable, and timber,
pot and pearl ashes, grain, &c. are exported in
great quantities. Grass, wheat, barley, rye,
&c. are the principal productions of the soil.
The majestic St. Lawrence is the main river of
the Canadas, but there are also others of great
importance.
The French Canadians possess all the charac-
teristics which distinguish the volatile inhabit-
ants of France. The same passionate vivacity,
the same eagerness in the pursuit of pleasure,
the same levity, and, it must be added, laxity
of principle, exhibits the connection between
the parent stock and the transplanted race.
Their amusements in winter consist of sleigh-
ing expeditions, in which the spirited little
Canadian horses prove their worth, varied by
dancing, and social gayeties. Where the females
are distinguished for their temperance, the men
are unfortunately addicted to the use of spiritu-
ous liquors, and can scarcely be persuaded to
abandon them in winter, alleging the severity
of the weather, which frequently depresses the
mercury in the thermometer to 40 degrees be-
low Zero, as an excuse.
The eastern and southeastern boundary of
Upper Canada, is Lower Canada, while the
United States lie upon the south, separated by
the great lakes, and New Britain on the north
and west. It contains 11 districts, 23 counties,
divided into numerous townships, and has an
aggregate population of more than 231 ,778. A
large proportion of emigrants to Canada, now
settle in this province. They have been in-
duced to settle here from the very great fertility
of the soil, and the value and abundance of the
timber. The forests increase in extent as they
spread to the regions of the north, of which few
but the Indians, possess any knowledge. In
these wooded districts, vast sheets of water ex-
pand in solitary splendor, haunted only by the
beasts of prey, or Indians hardly less wild. To-
ronto, lately York, the seat of government,
which is finely situated on lake Ontario, has
an admirable harbor. The established religion
of the Canadas, is that of the Church of Eng-
land, but a large portion of the inhabitants are
Catholics. The British constitution forms the
basis of that of British America, and the vicin-
ity of the British possessions to the United
States has not been without effect in exciting
discontents among the people, who have an
opportunity of comparing their political condi-
tion with our own, much to the disadvantage of
the government under which they live.
The French, at a very early period, seemed
to be aware of the importance of the discovery
of Canada by Cabot, and the cod-fishery began
to employ their men as early as the commence-
ment of the 16th century. In the early part of
that century a Frenchman is said to have made
a chart of the entrance of the St. Lawrence. In
1524, Francis I, of France, sent four ships, un-
der Verazzani, a Florentine, to prosecute dis-
coveries in this country. In 1535 James Car-
tier, of St. Maloes, sailed up the river St.
Lawrence, formed alliances with the natives,
took possession of the territory, built a fort, and
wintered in the country. Henry IV appointed
the marquis de la Roche lieutenant-general of
Canada, and the neighboring countries. In 1608
the city of Quebec was founded, and from that
period the establishment of a permanent French
colony commenced. In 1629 an English expe-
dition took possession of Quebec, but it was sur-
rendered again to the French by the treaty of
St. Germains. This expedition was headed by
Sir David Keith. In 1690, a bold attempt was
made, but without success, to subject Canada to
the English crown. The attempt was renewed
in 1711, but equally in vain. Canada continu-
ed in the occupation of the French till the
breaking out of the war between France and
England in 1756. In 1759 the British govern-
ment formed the project of attempting its con-
quest, and the English took possession of Que-
bec after a gallant resistance on the part of the
French ; in which the English general Wolfe,
and Montcalm, the French commander, both
perished. The latter, on being told that his
wound was mortal, nobly exclaimed : " Then I
shall not live to see the city surrendered to the
British !" The whole province of Canada was
soon after subdued by the English, and was con-
firmed to Great Britain by the treaty of 1763.
In 1775 Canada was invaded by a body of pro-
vincial troops, led by Montgomery ; Montreal
was taken, but the gallant general perished in
the unsuccessful attempt upon Quebec. During
the last war with Great Britain, Upper Canada
became the theatre of a sanguinary struggle.
The province has since remained subject to
Great Britain.
CANDI, a city and kingdom of Ceylon, which
long resisted all attacks, but was finally annex-
ed to the British dominions in 1816.
CANDIA, anciently IdaM, and Crete, called
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by the Turks, Kirid, a large island in the Medi-
terranean, lying about 80 miles south of the
Morea. The climate is mild and the soil pro-
ductive, capable, as was proved in ancient
times, of supporting 1,200,000 inhabitants, a
population which Turkish tyranny and indo-
lence have diminished to 300,000. It was, in
mythological accounts, the kingdom of Saturn.
After becoming a republic, and a pirate isle, it
was conquered by the Romans, and then by the
Saracens in 823. In 962 the Greeks regained
possession of it. It was sold to the Venetians
in 1204, and was fiercely contended for by the
troops of the Porte and the republic. Hither
the Christian chivalry of Europe rushed to dis-
play their valor against the infidels, and the capi-
tal was only surrendered after a war of 25 years,
Sept. 27, 1669. The siege which immediately
preceded it lasted for more than two years.
Candia continued in the hands of the Turks,
until its recent cession to the viceroy of Egypt.
CANN JE, a city on the Adriatic, at the mouth
of the Aufidus, where the Romans were defeat-
ed by the Carthaginians, under Hannibal, 216
B. C. Hannibal had 10,000 horse and 40,000
foot, while the Roman troops, headed by JEmi-
lius Paulus, and Terentius Varro, amounted to
87,000 men. The opponents of Hannibal had
two to one against him in infantry, while Han-
nibal had five to one against them in cavalry.
The light-horse and slingers began to skirmish,
after whom Hasdrubal charged the troops of
horse that were led by iEmilius, and broke their
ranks. The last blow that ended all resistance
was given by the same hand that aimed the first.
Hasdrubal, having cut in pieces all the Roman
horse that opposed him, fell back upon the rear,
and came up to the Numidians, with whom he
joined, and made a charge upon Varro. The
Romans, whom they charged, appeared incapa-
ble of resistance, and were completely routed.
Livy says that 40,000 foot, and above 2,700
horse were slain ; Polybius accounts the loss
much greater. The prisoners taken amounted
to 3,000 foot, and 300 horse, according to Livy,
according to others, to 8000. Hannibal collect-
ed the rings, the badges of the fallen Roman
knights, and sent many bushels of them to Car-
thage, as tokens of his triumph. He lost 4000
Gauls, 1500 Spaniards and Africans, and 200
horse. Had he pursued his victory and march-
ed forthwith to Rome, instead of quartering his
troops in the seductive Capua, he might proba-
bly have ended the war — but he did not trust
his own good fortune to such a length. Varro,
the consul, whose imprudence brought on the de-
feat, saved himself by flight, while his brave
colleague, iEmilius, perished on the field of
battle.
CANOVA, Antonio, the most celebrated and
successful sculptor of the 19th century. He
was born in the Venetian territory, at Possagno,
Nov. 1, 1757, and from his twelfth year devoted
himself to the art in which he became so cele-
brated. When quite young, he modelled the
figure of a lion in butter, with exquisite skill.
This was placed upon the table of the seigneur
of the place, Falieri, whose attention it attract-
ed. The ingenious artist was sought for, found,
and placed with a statuary. At 17 his statue of
Eurydice was sculptured, and highly praised.
In 1779 he went to Rome under the patronage
of the Venetian Senate. His works are nu-
merous, and his subjects various ; the female
figures being the most perfect and beautiful.
His graces, his Venus, his dancing figures, Cu-
pid and Psyche, &c. surpass all of the recent
productions of Italian art. Canova had a me-
thod of finishing his statues, by applying to
the marble a peculiar preparation, which de-
stroyed the glare and glitter of the stone, and
imparted to it the soft and mellow lustre of wax.
Modest, moral, and amiable, Canova was free
from all professional jealousy, and liberally pa-
tronized young artists of merit, removing many
of the obstacles which oppose the early steps
of devotees to the fine arts. He was created
marquis of Ischia, with a large pension, by pope
Pius VII, who was by no means backward in
acknowledging his merit. The amiable artist
died at Venice, Oct. 13, 1822, leaving behind
him many monuments of his talents, industry,
goodness, and liberality. A late writer, in
speaking of the comparative merits of the Me-
dicean and Canova Venus, says, " I am by no
means convinced of the great superiority of the
ancient over the modern work. It is certain
the general altitude and aspect are copied in
the latter, which deprives the artist of a great
share of the merit of originality ; but if we
were to regard the works alone, without any
reference to their formation, I am not sure that
the palm would not be given to Canova. As a
friend of mine, no mean judge, said to me, *■ If
they were both dug out of the earth now, and
nobody knew any thing about either, the Ca-
nova statue would be preferred.' "
CANTON, principal city of the Chinese pro-
vince of Quan-tong, on the banks of the Taho,
and a place of immense commercial importance,
being the only Chinese sea- port open to Amer-
ican and European vessels. According to the
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missionaries it has a million of inhabitants. The
surrounding scenery is charming, and the east-
ern hills present a most noble prospect. The
houses, with the exception of those of the man-
darins and wealthy merchants, are iow, the
streets long, narrow and well-paved, spanned,
here and there, by triumphal arches, and shad-
ed at the sides by continuous ranges of piaz-
zas. But the main charm of the city consists
in its beautiful pleasure gardens, which are
studded with fish-pools.
The exports are tea, India ink, varnish, por-
celain, rhubard, silk, nankeen, &c. The cli-
mate of Canton is considered healthy, although
the heat of summer, and the warmth of win-
ter are great.
CANUTE, the Great, king of Denmark and
England, succeeded his father Sweyn in the
former kingdom, about the year 1015. He com-
menced his reign by an expedition against
England, but hearing that the king of Norway
had invaded Denmark, he was obliged to make
a precipitate return. Having repulsed the in-
vader, he resumed his enterprise, and landing
on the southern coast, committed dreadful rava-
ges; but Edmund Ironsides opposed him with
such bravery, that Canute agreed to divide the
kingdom with him On the murder of Edmund
by Edric in 1017, Canute obtained the whole
kingdom in an assembly of the states, and put to
death Edric, and several of the English nobili-
ty, who had basely deserted their sovereign.
He likewise levied heavy taxes on the people,
and particularly on the inhabitants of London.
The king of Sweden having attacked Denmark,
he went thither and slew the Swedish monarch
in battle. Canute built churches, made a pil-
grimage to Rome, cherished the interests of
learning, and distinguished himself by his un-
affected piety.
Canute's reproofs of his courtiers is well
known. These flatterers having assured him he
had power over all things, he seated himself upon
the sea-shore, and commanded the waves not
to approach his feet. The element advanced
with its usual rapidity, and Canute, rising, said
to his courtiers in a tone of great solemnity :
° He alone can rule the waves, who has said to
them, — Thus far shall ye go, and no farther."
Canute died at Shaftesbury, 1036.
CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. Some notice of
the settlements in this part of Africa has been
given already. (See Africa.) The Cape, near-
ly at the southern extremity of Africa, long in
the hands of the Dutch, was found, on the con-
quest by the English, in the year 1795, to be 550
English miles in length, and 233 in breadth.
The soil is various, but generally fertile ; ani-
mals are numerous, and fish abound along the
coast. The average annual amount of exports
is about 1,000,000. This flourishing colony was
originally founded by the Dutch. Van Riebeck,
surgeon of one of the Dutch company's ships,
having touched at the Cape, was struck with
the extent of the bay, capable of containing
more than one hundred vessels ; its situation,
half way between Europe and India ; and the
nature of the soil, which seemed proper for
every kind of cultivation. On his return, he
communicated his ideas to the company, who
approved of his plan, and gave him full powers
to carry it into execution. Van Riebeck ac-
cordingly embarked with four vessels, and, after
arriving at the Cape, purchased from the inhab-
itants land for an establishment, for which he
gave them merchandize, to be selected at their
own choice, to the value of 50,000 florins. In
the year 1805, the Cape was taken, for the
second time, by the English, in whose hands it
still remains.
CAPE VERDE ISLANDS, a group of Af-
rican islands, in the Atlantic, opposite to, and
300 miles from Cape Verde, belonging to Por-
tugal. Their number has been variously stated
from 10 to 14. The air is unwholesome, but
some portions of the soil is fertile. Rain is
unfrequent, and the drought has been so severe,
that numbers of the inhabitants have perished
from the consequent famine, an instance of which
occurred recently. On that occasion, provis-
ions were liberally supplied by voluntary con-
tributions from the citizens of the United States.
The salt manufactured at Mayo, a small island,
is exchanged for flour, and this trade is chiefly
carried on by means of American vessels.
CAPERNAUM, a town of Palestine, on the
sea of Tiberias, for some time the residence of
our Savior, and in the vicinity of which he
delivered his sermon on the mount. It was on
the coast of Galilee.
CAPET. The family name of a royal race,
36 members of which have reigned in France,
and 82 in other European states. The word
signifies broad-head, or perhaps, broad-hat, and
was first given to Hugh, son of Hugh the Great,
duke of France, and count of Paris, by his
adherents, in the 10th century.
CAPITOL, (Capitolium) now Campidoglio,
the citadel of ancient Rome, situated on the
Capitoline hill, or Tarpeian rock. It was plan-
ned by Tarquinius Priscus, who commenced it
B. C. 614. It was built upon four acres of
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ground ; the front was adorned with three rows
of pillars, and the sides with two. The ascent
to it from the ground was by an hundred steps.
The magnificence and richness of this temple
are almost incredible. It was several times
destroyed by fire, and as frequently rebuilt ;
Domitian raised the last and most splendid
temple of all, in which the gilding alone amount-
ed to nearly 4,000/. sterling. The capitol was
in the form of a square, extending nearly 200
feet on each side ; it was the highest part of the
city, and strongly fortified. The gates were of
brass, and the tiles gilt. The prodigious gifts
and ornaments with which it was occasionally
endowed, almost exceed belief. Augustus pre-
sented to it at one time, 2,000 pounds weight
of gold, and jewels to the value of 2,000,000/.
sterling. A few vestiges of this building still
remain ; the Campidoglio is a modern edifice.
CAPO D'ISTRIA, John, count of, a native
of Greece, was born at Corfu, in 1780. He
entered the diplomatic service of Russia, and
was entrusted with several important missions.
Having displeased the Russian government by
taking the part of the Greeks when their strug-
gle for liberty commenced, he retired from
public service in 1822, and was living at Geneva
in 1827, when he was elected president of the
Greek republic. In this responsible station, his
measures appear to have been directed by pure
patriotism, and his talents to have been of a
high order, although the weakness of the state,
and the disorders which reigned throughout
Greece, rendered it impossible to form an accu-
rate estimate of his abilities. His assassination
i is too recent an event to require description.
CAPPADOCIA, a province of Asia, once of
I great importance as an independent kingdom,
1 at times, although nominally dependent upon
, Persia, whose satraps governed it. The Pontus
Euxinus lay upon the north, Armenia on the
east, Cilicia and Syria on the south, and Lyca-
] onia on the west. It was divided into Cappadocia
1 Magna, and Cappadocia Minor, afterwards Cap-
padocia Proper, and Pontus. These divisions
were not, however, inflexibly adhered to.
CAPRI, anciently Caprea or Caprese, a fer-
tile island in the gulf of Naples, whose inhabi-
tants are 3000 in number. Besides being valu-
able on account of its oil and wine, it is en-
riched by quails, which come hither in great
numbers from Africa, and are caught with ease.
The charms of this island induced Tiberius to
select it for his retreat when he chose to retire
from the active administration of goverment,
ind give himself up to the most revolting de-
bauchery, occasionally reminding his subjects
of his existence by ordering the execution of
Rome's best citizens.
CAPUA, a fortified city on the Volturno, in
the Terra di Lavoro, in the kingdom of Naples,
which contains 8,000 inhabitants. The ruins
of the ancient city of Capua are at a little dis-
tance from the modern one. The ancient Ca-
pua was famous for its luxuries, which were
more fatal to the Carthaginian troops of Hanni-
bal than the arms of his adversaries, the Ro-
mans. January 11th, 1790, Capua was taken
by the French, and, in 1820, occupied by the
Austrians.
CARABOBO, a province of Venezuela, in
South America. The famous battle of Cara-
bobo, which decided the independence of Ve-
nezuela, was fought between Bolivar and La
Torre, the Spanish general, June 24, 1821.
CARACALLA, Antoninus Bassianus, the
eldest son of the emperor Severus, born A. D.
188, and associated with his father in the gov-
ernment at the age of 13 years. After his fa-
ther's death, he assassinated his brother Geta,
who shared the throne with him in 212. Cara-
calla received the surname of Memannicus, for
basely murdering a tribe of the Germans, whom
he pretended to assist. He visited Egypt, and
displayed every where the greatest cruelty.
He was finally assassinated at Edessa, A. D.
217, by Macrinus, the praetorian prefect.
CARA CCAS, a province of Venezuela, which,
with Caraboba, forms the department of Vene-
zuela. By the earthquake of 1812, and the
political convulsions, the number of inhabitants
of the city of Caraccas has been reduced from
50,000 to 25,000. The productions of the pro-
vince are numerous, and the climate mild and
agreeable. The inhabitants, male and female,
are handsome, sprightly, and intelligent, but
proud and uncultivated.
CARACTACUS, kMg of the Silures, a
British tribe of Wales, who, being taken pris-
oner by the Romans, was led before the empe-
ror Claudius, A. U. 52. He was unawed by
the power and splendor which surrounded him,
but was surprised, as he told the emperor, that
the possessors of so much wealth and grandeur
could envy him his humble cottage. The mag-
nanimity of his bearing, and the candor and
moderation of his remarks, so moved the empe-
ror, that he gave orders to have the captive
monarch set at liberty. This was the only good
action that Claudius performed.
CARBONARI, Colliers, the name of a secret
political society of Italy, which has existed for
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many years, but the origin of which is doubtful.
The carbonari are the sworn foes of oppression
— "hatred to tyrants!" — being the initiatory
oath. The places where they meet are called
huts ; the interior the colliery, and the exterior
the wood. Tolerance in religious matters is
secured by their principles. Whole cities and
towns have joined the society, and, in 1820,
when Italy was disturbed by plots, 650,000 new
members were admitted, in the month of March.
CARIBBEE ISLANDS, are the islands which
form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea.
They are divided into Leeward and Windweird
Islands. St. Christopher's, Guadaloupe, Dom-
inica, Martinico, Grenada, Tobago, Barbadoes,
are some of the principal. The Caribbees, or
original inhabitants of the Caribbee Islands,
were found by the Spaniards to be fierce, war-
like, and confirmed cannibals.
CARLISLE, anciently Luguvallium, and
Lugubalum, capital of Cumberland, England,
and a large manufacturing place. It was one
of the most important stations at the time of the
Romans. The castle was burned by the Scots
in the time of Henry II, and twice accidentally
in that of Edward I. It was besieged by an
army of 8,000 men in the reign of Henry VIII,
and in 1644, surrendered to General Leslie.
In 1745, it was taken by the partisans of Charles
Edward, but retaken by the duke of Cumber-
land. Population 20,000.
CARLISLE, capital of Cumberland county
(Penn.), 114 miles west of Philadelphia, con-
taining 3,700 inhabitants. Its trade is very
considerable, and its appearance agreeable ; the
streets being regular, and the houses neatly
built. Its court house and churches are fine
buildings. Dickinson college is a flourishing
institution.
CARLOS, Don, son of Philip II, and Mary,
of Portugal, was born at Valladolid, Jan. 8, 1544.
Four days after, his mother died in the midst of
preparations for the celebration of the birth of
the prince. Carlos was naturally infirm, and
had one leg shorter than the other. The exces-
sive indulgence with which he was treated,
fostered his strong passions, and rendered him
vindictive and obstinate. His preceptor, Bos-
sulus, a learned, but dissolute Frenchman, ex-
erted an unhappy influence over the mind of
his pupil, and prevented him from treating his
father with proper respect. It is said that Bos-
sulus, being reproached by the prince with
being the son of a monk, replied with warmth
and insolence ; " I know I am : but my father
is a better one than yours."
In 1560, Philip caused the states, assembled
at Toledo, solemnly to recognise Don Carlos
as heir to the crown. A fall down the staircase
of the palace of the Cardinal Ximenes, nearly
deprived the young prince of life, and his mind
was ever afterwards impaired. Contemporary
historians vary greatly in the portraits which
they draw of Don Carlos. According to some,
he was born with all those qualities which adorn
a hero ; with a love of glory joined to high
courage ; a proud disdain of opposition, and a
desire of extended power. According to others,
he was fond of extraordinary adventures, of
every thing eccentric and odd, and his actions
were those of a madman, whom accident and
opposition irritate, but address or submission
calms. Ferreras relates some curious anecdotes
of him.
One night, as he was traversing the streets
of Madrid, some one accidentally threw a little
water on his head. Instantly stopping, Don
Carlos ordered his attendant gentlemen to set
fire to the house, and cut the throats of its in-
mates. They parted, as if to execute his com-
mands, but returning immediately, assured him
that it was impossible to obey him, because the
holy sacrament was on the point of being ad-
ministered to a sick person in the offensive
dwelling. This reply pacified the prince.
One of the obnoxious courtiers of his father,
the president Spinola, having banished Cisne-
ros, a comedian, whose performances Don
Carlos had a great desire to behold, the prince
met the president in the royal palace. Carlos,
seizing him by the hat, and handling his dag-
ger-hilt, exclaimed ; " How dare you cross me
by preventing Cisneros from contributing to
my amusement.'' By the life of my father! I
will kill thee !" The terrified president fell at
the prince's feet, and changed his resolution
by his abject supplications.
A shoemaker having made a pair of boots
much too tight for the prince, the latter ordered
them to be cut to pieces. " Villain !" exclaimed
he, to the terrified tradesman, " thou must eat
these or die !" In vain the unfortunate man
represented the cruelty of the sentence, and the
trivial nature of his offence. He was not per-
mitted to depart until he had eaten up his
boots.
Don Alonzo de Cordova, brother of the mar-
quis of Las Nevas, having failed to repair in-
stantly to the prince's chamber, at the sum-
mons of his bell, the furious prince seized him
by the waist, and, but for the cries of the suf*
feier, which procured the assistance of servants,
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would have dashed him through the window
into the moat.
In 1559, a marriage having been proposed,
between Don Carlos and Elizabeth, daughter
of Henry II, Philip judged proper to substitute
himself for his son. It is said that Carlos loved
Elizabeth; that their passion was mutual, and
that he never forgave his father for having
deprived him of his bride. He was led, in
1565, to hope for a union with archduchess
Anne, his cousin, and daughter of the emperor
Maximilian, but Philip shortly afterwards op-
posed the match, and, on the death of Don
Carlos, married the lady himself. Thus he
successively deprived his son of two females,
whose attractions might have bound him to
domestic life, and softened all the wilder and
more obdurate portions of his character.
In I5(i3, Philip, who had no heir but Don
Carlos, whom he doubtless judged incapable of
governing, sent for his nephews, the archdukes
Rodolphus and Ernest, whom he received in
person, for the purpose of securing the succes-
sion to them. The following year, Don Car-
los, who was discontented, and at variance with
his father, projected his escape from Spain under
the pretext of going to the relief of Malta, then
besieged by the troops of Soliinan. He col-
lected 50,000 ducats, and was on the eve of
departing, when a forged letter of the viceroy
of Naples, urging his stay in Spain, induced
him to change his resolution. It is unnecessary
to dwell upon the various projects of Don Car-
los for securing fame and distinction in other
countries, all of which were crossed by his
Btern parent, who regarded him with a jealous
eye, and punished several of his confidants and
friends.
Philip appeared to repose implicit confidence
in the duke of Alva, Ruy Gomez de Sylva,
Don John of Austria, and Spinola. Don Car-
los had an invincible repugnance to these men,
either from jealousy of the confidence they
enjoyed, or from considering them as authorised
and privileged spies upon his conduct. He
could not bear to dwell upon the thought that
the duke of Alva had obtained the government
of Flanders, which he had solicited for himself.
Resolved on revenge, he attacked the duke
with a poignard, when he came to take leave
of him, and would have killed him outright,
-but for the agility and strength of his foe.
Philip appeared to believe that Don Carlos had
a design upon his own life, for he always wore
two curiously constructed pistols.
Louis de Foix, a French engineer, the cele-
brated architect, who built the Escurial. a royal
palace in the form of a gridiron, is said to have
been commanded by Don Carlos to make him
a book heavy enough to kill a man at one blow.
De Thou, the historian who relates this, says,
" This prince desired the book, after having
read in the annals of Spain, that an imprisoned
archbishop had made a leather cover to a brick
of the size of his breviary, and used it to kill his
jailer, whom he struck dead." De Foix told
the historian that he made the prince a book,
composed often tablets of a blue stone, covered
with plates of steel, concealed under plates of
gilt, and this book, six inches by four, weighed
more than fourteen pounds. He said also that
Don Carlos, wishing to be alone in his chamber,
employed him to make him a machine, with
which, by means of pulleys, he could open and
shut his door without rising from his bed. The
prince had always under his pillow two drawn
swords, a brace of loaded pistols, and, at the
bedside, half a dozen harquebusses, and an arm-
chest. These precautions and preparations
alarmed Philip. Don Carlos was often heard
complaining, in bursts of indignation, of the
conduct of his father. He avowed to his con-
fessor that there was one man whom he had
resolved to kill. The confession being betrayed
to Philip, he exclaimed ; '• I am the man whose
life he seeks ! but I will take care to prevent
the execution of his designs."
Philip did nothing without consulting the
Holy office. De Foix was ordered to arrest the
action of the pulleys, which closed the door of
the prince's chamber. This he did privately,
and with so much skill, that the prince never
perceived it. He slept soundly on the night
of the 18th of January, 1568, when the count
of Lerma first entered his apartment, silently
removed all separate weapons, and sat down
upon the chest which contained the remainder.
The king then entered, preceded by Ruy Go-
mez de Silva, the duke of Feria, and several
other noblemen, Don Carlos being still buried
in sleep. Being awaked, and seeing the king,
his father, he exclaimed; " I am lost;" and
prayed for death. Philip coldly replied that his
life was not in danger; ordered him to rise;
removed his attendants, seized a casket filled
with papers, which was under the bed, charged
those whom he entrusted with the care of the
prince not to lose sight of him, and to prevent
his writing or communicating with any one,
and withdrew.
The guards of Don Carlos dressed him in
black. They removed the bed itself, leaving
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only a small trundle-bed in its place. Don
Carlos, hurried by despair to madness, caused a
large fire to be built, under pretence of cold,
and threw himself into it, hoping to perish in
the flames. It required the utmost exertions
of his guards to save him. He attempted to
destroy himself by hunger, thirst, and excess in
eating. He endeavored also to choke himself
by swallowing a large diamond which be wore
about him. Philip is said to have discovered in
the casket, which was found concealed under
the bed of Don Carlos, communications with
the rebels of the Netherlands, and a secret cor-
respondence with the queen, which left no
doubt of his attachment to the princess, and of
the existence of a reciprocal passion. The ex-
cessive precautions which Philip took to justify
his conduct, have disposed posterity to judge
favorably of Don Carlos. It is certain that
many of the most influential grandees of Spain
vainly petitioned for his liberation.
Some historians are of opinion that Carlos
was condemned to death by the inquisition,
that the sentence was secretly executed, that
the prince partook of some poisoned broth, and
died a few hours afterwards. Some believe
that his veins were opened in the bath, others
that he was strangled ; while Ferreras and the
Spanish historians in general, pretend that he
died of a malignant fever, occasioned by an
improper regimen, and by violent fits of pas-
sion ; that he received the last sacraments with
piety, and wished to have the blessing of his
father. It is difficult to determine the manner
or date of the prince's death, but we incline to
refer it to the 24th of July, 15(38. The same
year Elizabeth died, aged 23, but her deatli was
natural and had no connexion with the fate of
Don Carlos. We do not know how much faith
to repose in the Spanish historians, who defend
the memory of Philip, as the protector of reli-
gion, and represent his son as a languid mem-
ber of the church, a partisan of the revolted
calvinists of the Netherlands, and, above all, a
determined opponent of the inquisition.
CARNOT, Lazare Nicholas Marguerite;
born in Burgundy, 1753. He was distinguished
for his mathematical abilities, and in the revo-
lution, commenced his career as captain of a
corps of engineers. He voted for the death of
the king. Carnot distinguished himself in a
military and civil capacity, but was obliged to
leave Paris, June 18th, 1799 ; being soon after
recalled, he was made, in April, 1800, minister
of war. He was a firm republican, opposed the
ambitious views of Napoleon, and equally so
the attempts of the royalists. He died at Mag-
deburg, August 3, 1823. Carnot was a man of
integrity and talents, brave, learned, and patri-
otic, and honored by all parties.
CAROLINA, North, is bounded on the north
by Virginia, on the east by the Atlantic ocean,
on the south by South Carolina, and on the
west by Tennessee. It is of considerable ex-
tent, comprising 50,000 square miles, with a
population, in 1830, of 737,987 souls, of whom
245,600 are slaves, and 19,543 free blacks. The
state is divided into 64 counties, and Raleigh is
the seat of government. This place is pleas-
antly situated. A Senate and House of Com-
mons, are the legislative branches of govern-
ment. Education is by no means neglected in
North Carolina, there being several respectable
academies at various places, and, at Chapel
Hill, an institution styled the University of
North Carolina, which is well endowed and in
high repute. The face of the country is ex-
tremely diversified, — a wide belt, skirting the
sea, is perfectly level, while, in other parts, the
surface is broken and rough, presenting, in some
places, considerable elevations. One of these
is Pilot Mountain, or Ararat, which is of a py-
ramidal form, and almost a mile in height, ter-
minating in a wide and level area, commanding
a most imposing view of the surrounding coun-
try.
The coast of North Carolina is well defended
by capes .and shoals, which are, however, for-
midable to friend as well as foe. The names
of some of these indicate the terror they excite.
This state contains a portion of that swamp
which is justly called the Great Dismal Swamp,
a marshy tract whose low brush-wood, in many
parts impenetrable, covers a space of nearly
thirty miles in extent. Parts of the soil are ex-
tremely productive, and the earth has been late-
ly found to possess a treasure in gold mines of
considerable extent and value. The commerce
of this state is not extensive, but many of the
planters are very wealthy.
The earliest attempt to colonize North Caro-
lina was made by the English in 1587, but the
feeble colony which was left on the Roanoke,
perished either from want, or from the incur-
sions of hostile Indians, as they were never af-
terwards heard of. The first permanent set-
tlement was made near Albemarle Sound by
some planters from Virginia, in 1650. The
name of Carolina was given to the country by
the French, in honor of Charles IX, in whose
reign they unsuccessfully attempted the coloni-
zation of the North American coast. In 1661
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a colony from Massachusetts arrived here. It
was not without many struggles that the colony
obtained a representative government, nor until
it had undergone many fluctuations, that the
constitution was firmly established. Besides
the agitation produced by conflicting political
schemes, the hostility of the Indians caused the
colonists no little suffering and loss. Jn 1717
Carolina, by purchase, became a royal govern-
ment, and continued so until 1775, when it
warmly espoused the cause of liberty, but suf-
fered less than other states, on account of the
forbidding aspect of its guarded coast. Decem-
ber 18, 1776, the present constitution was adopt-
ed. The Carolinas had been separated in 1720.
CAROLINA, South; bounded north by
North Carolina, east by the Atlantic, southwest
and west by Georgia, containing (in 1830),
581,185 inhabitants, of whem 315,400 are slaves,
and 7,920 free colored people. This state is of
less extent than North Carolina, having an area
of 30,000 square miles. The legislative pow-
er is vested in a Senate and House of Repre-
sentatives. Columbia, 120 miles northwest of
Charleston, is the seat of government, but
the latter is the largest town in the state.
The inhabitants differ but little from those of
other southern states. The rich planters are
fond of ease and pleasure, but generous, hos-
pitable, frank and brave. The soil in many parts
is rich, producing cotton and rice, which are
the staple commodities, but adapted to various
kinds of agriculture. A tract of great breadth,
bounded on the east by the sea, is perfectly
level, but proceeding inland, we observe the
land to become more elevated, and gradually to
present an undulating and broken appearance.
The low lands are an unhealthy residence, but
in the upper regions the inhabitants enjoy a sa-
lubrious climate.
South Carolina was granted to lord Claren-
don and others, in 1663, but no permanent
establishment was made until 1680. It was
formed into a separate government in 1729, and
the present constitution was adopted in 1790.
During the revolutionary war, this state was
distinguished for its exertions in the good cause,
which owed much to the bravery of Marion,
the celebrated partisan leader, Sumpter and
Lee, all of whom were worthy of the military
reputation they enjoyed. With few exceptions,
the state has enjoyed tranquillity from the pe-
riod of the revolution, and the course of go-
vernment has been impeded by few obstacles.
The legislative appropriations for the support of
education are extremely liberal, and do honor
to the slate. More than 30,000 dollars are ex-
pended annually for the support of free schools,
and South Carolina College (Columbia) is libe-
rally patronised.
CAROLINE, Amelia Elizabeth, wife of
George IV of England, was born in May, 1768.
She was the daughter of the duke of Bruns-
wick, and in 1795 became the bride of the
prince of Wales. Her daughter, the princess
Charlotte, died at an early age, regretted by all.
The prince abandoned Caroline, and, in order
to procure her ruin, accused her of infidelity.
The trial of the unhappy queen reflects disgrace
upon the profligate prince. She refused the of-
fers which were made to induce her to quit
England with the empty name of que en, but she
asserted her rights with dignity and firmness.
She finally succumbed under the persecution
of her enemies, and died, Aug. 1821.
CARRIER, John Baptist, originally an ob-
scure attorney, rose to infamous notoriety in the
French revolution. Under his direction, the
greatest cruelties were perpetrated, and 15,000
individuals perished in little more than a month.
He was finally apprehended and condemned to
death by the revolutionary tribunal, Dec. 16.
1794.
CARROL, Charles, one of the signers of
the declaration of Independence, who died at an
advanced age, at Carrolton, Md. in 1832. He
was possessed of considerable wealth, at the
breaking out of the American revolution, and
as he advanced to sign the immortal document,
a member sportively remarked : — " There goes
half a million at the dash of a pen." But his
wealth vanished from his view, when he looked
upon the interests of his country.
CARTER, Elizabeth, an English literary
lady, daughter of a clergyman of Kent, born in
1717. She was versed in languages, being ac-
quainted with Latin, Greek, French, German,
Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Hebrew, and Ara-
bic. Her early poems, published in periodicals
before her 17th year, gained great applause. In
1749, her translation of Epictetus was commenc-
ed. She died in 1806, having enjoyed a high lite-
rary reputation, and the esteem of all who knew
her. The following tribute to her worth and
talents will not be thought unmerited. Among
the unmarried ladies of the last century, Miss
Carter, by seniority and learning, is justly enti-
tled to precedence ; and were we to decide on
the comparative happiness of married or single
authoresses, from the individual examples of
this lady, and her excellent friend Catharine
Talbot, we should have no hesitation in pro-
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nouncing for the spinster's choice. Without
rank and affluence, the translatress of Epicte-
tus appears to have constantly revolved in the
orbit of peace and equanimity ; alternately the
pupil of her father, and the preceptress of her
brothers, she enjoyed the privileges of home
without its restrictions, tasted all the sweets of
friendship, unimbittered by jealousy, and, what
is more extraordinary, attracted the homage of
the great, without submitting to humiliation or
incurring reproach. Among the causes of this
rare felicity, something may be ascribed to a
philosophic temperament, and still more to strict
moral discipline, eminently distinguished by
directness and steadiness of purpose. To the
latest period of her existence (she died in her
89th year), she retained her aptitude to study,
and even persevered in the laudable habit of
yielding a portion of every day to classical lite-
rature.
Nor did she ever cease to cherish that spirit
of independence that taught her to value the
privileges of home. In her annual visits to the
metropolis, she resisted every solicitation to do-
mesticate herself in the mansions of the great,
choosing rather to return to her plain lodging,
where she enjoyed in its full extent, the pri-
vileges of her own fireside. It would not be
easy to find a female character exactly corres-
ponding with that of Miss Carter ; perhaps the
portrait of the princess Palatine, the friend of
Penn and Descartes, offers the closest resem-
blance ; and, like madame Dacier, her prevail-
ing quality was modesty. To her learning, An-
cient Greece, would, perhaps, have raised a
votive statue; in Rome her accomplishments
would have been eulogized in a funeral oration ;
in modern Italy her rare attainments might have
secured her progress to academic honors. In
England not even a funeral tribute was offered
to her memory, no enthusiasm being there in-
spired by a female scholar. The purity of her
character, her moral worth, her benevolence and
dignity, are justly valued.
As the translatress of Epictetus, she is cer-
tainly less popularly admired, than as the cor-
respondent of Miss Talbot and Mrs. Montague ;
and the charm of this epistolary collection con-
sists in the living sketches which it offers of those
who have gone before us, and who, in many
respects, are essentially different from the pre-
sent age. Curiosity is at once stimulated and
gratified by the careless, yet faithful portraiture
which these volumes present to us, of bishops
and generals and scholars ; fine gentlemen and
elegant ladies, strikingly different from those
we are now accustomed to meet in parallel lines
of society.
CARTHAGE, a celebrated city of Africa,
the rival of Rome, and long the mistress of
Spain, Sicily, and Sardinia. The precise time
of its foundation is unknown, yet most writers
agree that it was built by Dido about 869 years
before the Christian era, or, according to others,
72 or 93 years before the foundation of Rome.
This city and republic flourished for several
centuries, and attained the zenith of its glory
under Hannibal and Hamilcar.
During the first Punic war it contained no
fewer than 7UO,O0U inhabitants. It maintained
three famous wars against Rome, called the
Punic wars, in the third of which it was totally
destroyed by Scipio, the second Africanus, B. C.
140, and only 5000 inhabitants were found with-
in the walls. It was 23 miles in circumference,
and when it was set on fire by the Romans, it
burned incessantly for 17 days. After the de-
struction of Carthage, Utica became powerful,
and the Romans thought themselves secure ;
and as they had no rival to dispute with them
in the field, they fell into indolence and inacti-
vity. Caesar planted a small colony on the ruins
of Carthage, and Augustus sent thither 3000
men. Adrian, after the example of his impe-
rial predecessors, rebuilt a portion of it, and
gave it the name of Adrianopolis.
Carthage was conquered from the Romans by
the arms of Genseric, A. D. 439, and it was for
more than a century the seat of the Vandal em-
pire in Africa, and fell into the hands of the Sa-
racens, in the 7th century. Carthage was gov-
erned as a republic, and had two persons chosen
annually, with supreme authority. The Car-
thagenians were very superstitious, and offered
human victims to their gods; an unnatural cus-
tom, which their allies vainly endeavored to
induce them to abolish. Their riches and com-
merce were immense, and their naval power,
at one time, supreme. They bore the character
of a faithless and treacherous people, and the
proverb Punka fides (Carthagenian faith), is
well known.
CAR1HAGENA, a sea-port of Spain, and
one of the finest ports in the Mediterranean. It
is on the east of Murcia, and contains 37,000
inhabitants. It was taken by the Romans un-
der Scipio, notwithstanding the defence of the
Carthagenians, A. D. 554. The commerce of
Carthagena suffered greatly during the domina-
tion of the Moors, but it was partially restored
by the exertions of Philip II of Spain.
CARTHAGENA, a sea-port of New Grena-
CAS
163
CAS
da, South America, and capital of the province
of Carlhagena. It is situated on an island, with
a fine harbor, some handsome edifices, and
20,000 inhabitants.
CARVER, Jonathan, was born in Connecti-
cut, in 1732. He served in the expedition
against Canada, and, on the conclusion of peace
in 1763, set forth with the intent of exploring
the territory acquired by Great Britain, beyond
the Mississippi. He did not accomplish his
object, but made himself acquainted with re-
gions then and still comparatively unknown.
He went to England, but was obliged to deliver
up his maps and papers to the plantation -office.
Having kept copies, however, he published them
at Boston, where he died in want, 1780, aged
48 years.
CAREY, Lucius, Viscount Falkland, a young
English nobleman, who was born in 1610. His
juvenile irregularities were terminated by an
early marriage with a young lady to whom he
was sincerely attached. In parliament he dis-
tinguished himself by an independent course,
although he ultimately espoused the royal cause,
and perished at the battle of Newbury, at the
age of 34. His private character endeared him
to all. He was fond of study, and once observ-
ed: "I pity unlearned gentlemen on a rainy
day." His literary remains add to his general
reputation.
CARUS, Marcus Aurelius, a Roman empe-
ror, was born at Narbonne, about the year 230.
He rose to a military command by his virtues,
and was elected emperor on the death of Pro-
bus, in 283. He defeated the Sarmatians and
Persians, and was killed the same year, by light-
ning, according to some ; but according to oth-
ers, he perished in the flames of his tent, which
was consumed by the work of an incendiary.
CASAS, Bartholomew de las, a Spanish pre-
late, the apostle of the Indians, came to Ameri-
ca with Columbus, but returned, and having
distinguished himself in his theological studies,
was rewarded with preferment. His life was
passed in laboring to protect and improve the
natives of the New World, and he received the
grateful title of 'protector of the Indians.
CASHMERE, a province of the Seik con-
federacy, in Asia, containing 2,000,000 inhabit-
ants. It is surrounded by the Himmalaya and
Hindoo*Koh mountains, and abounds with the
most striking and romantic views. The air is
temperate, and, from the profusion of its flow-
ers, the fertility of its soil, and the variety of its
productions, it is most justly called the paradise
of India. The religion is that of Brama, the
inhabitants being Hindoos, although their mas-
ters, the Afghans, are professed Mohammedans.
Cashmere, the capital, on the Behat, contains
200,000 inhabitants. The shawls of Cashmere
are the most splendid and costly.
CASIMIR. The name of several kings of
Poland. Casimir the Great, succeeded Ladis-
laus in 1333. He took several places from John,
king of Bohemia, successfully opposed the Teu-
tonic knights, and made himself master of Lit-
tle Russia. He united to his warlike qualities,
many of the virtues of a great monarch, and,
from his devotion to their interests, was called
Peasants' King. He died in 1370.
CASSANDRA, also, Alexandria, daughter
of Hecuba and Priam, king of Troy. She re-
ceived the gift of prophecy from Apollo, who
loved her, but as she refused to fulfil the condi-
tions upon which the knowledge was imparted,
the offended deity deprived her predictions of the
power of commanding belief. Thus, when she
foretold the fall of Troy, her words were discre-
dited. Troy was taken, Cassandra dishonored
at the altar by Ajax, and afterwards dragged
away as the slave and companion of Agamemnon,
with whom she was slain by Clytemnestra, but
not until she had become the mother of the twins
Teledamus and Pelops.
CASSIUS, Longinus Caius, was the friend
of Brutus, and opposed to the interests of
Cfesar, to whom, however, he surrendered after
the battle of Pharsalia. When he perceived
that Caesar aimed at supreme power, he joined
the conspiracy. " The lean and hungry Cas-
sius," as Shakspeare calls him, was among the
first to strike the master of the world with his
dagger. He married the sister of Brutus, and
in the distribution of the provinces, obtained
Africa as his share. He was defeated with
Brutus at Philippi, and killed himself, B. C. 42.
CASTILE, a province of Spain, which is
subdivided into the intendancies of Madrid,
Guadalaxara, Cuenca, Toledo, and La Mancha,
whose capitals have the same name with the ex-
ception of the last, of which Ciudad Rodrigo
is the capital. The climate of this province is
temperate, and the soil is naturally productive,
although the scattered inhabitants pay but little
attention to agriculture. Old Castile, another
province of Spain, is of the same length as New
Castile, 220 miles, but only 120 broad, while the
latter is 160 miles in breadth. It is subdivided
into the intendancies of Avila, Segovia, Soria,
and Burgos. The united population of Old and
New Castile is 2,177,800.
CASTINE, a sea-port town of Maine, and
CAT
164
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capital of Hancock county. In 1830 it had
1,155 inhabitants. Its trade is flourishing.
CATALINE, Lucius Sergius, a celebrated
Roman, descended from a noble family. When
he had squandered away his fortune by his de-
baucheries and extravagance, and been refused
the consulship, he secretly meditated the ruin of
his country, and conspired with many high-
born Romans, as dissolute as himself, to murder
the Senate, plunder the treasury, and set Rome
on fire. This conspiracy was timely discovered
by the consul Cicero, whose eloquence at this
crisis will never be forgotten. Cataline, after
he had declared his intentions in the full senate,
and attempted to vindicate himself, on seeing
five of his accomplices arrested, fled to Gaul,
where his friends were raising a powerful army
to support him. The remaining conspirators
were punished. Petreius, at the head of the
consular troops, defeated the rebels in Etruria,
Jan. 5, B. C. 62, in a hotly contested battle
which cost Cataline his life. The crimes of
this man were of the blackest dye, murder
and licentiousness marking every stage of his
career.
CATALONIA, anciently Tarraconensis, a
fertile province of Spain, bounded north by
France, east and southeast by the Mediterra-
nean, southwest by Valencia, and west by Ar-
ragon. Its form is that of a triangle. Some
idea of its extent may be formed from the
amount of its population, which has been esti-
mated at 858,818.
CATANIA, anciently Catana, a city of
Sicily, 47 miles southwest of Messina, with a
population of 50,000. It is situated at the foot
of mount iEtna, and is subject to earthquakes,
one of which, occurring in 1693 destroyed
18,000 people, and by overwhelming the old city
in lava, laid the foundation for the present city,
which contains several large public buildings.
The principal exports are grain, oil, wine, &c.
CATHARINE, the daughter of Charles VI
of France, was claimed by the victorious Hen-
ry V of England, whose hand she accepted.
After the death of Henry, she became the wife
of Owen Tudor, and had a son named Edmund,
who became the father of Henry VII. She
died in 1431.
CATHARINE of Anagon, youngest daugh-
ter of Ferdinand and Isabella, sovereigns of
Arragon and Castile, was born in 1483. In 1501
she was married to Arthur, son of Henry VII,
and on his death, five months after, to Henry,
prince of Wales, afterwards Henry VIII. By
him she had several children, who died young,
with the exception of Mary, afterwards queen
of England. Henry repudiated her on pretence
of religious scruples grounded on her former
marriage. She maintained her rights with dig-
nity, and died at Kimbolton castle, in 1536.
CATHARINE De Medici, the only daughter
of Lorenzo de Medici, duke of Urbino, and wife
of Henry, duke of Orleans, son of Francis I.
She was the mother of three successive kings
of France, and one Queen of Navarre. In
1559 she became a widow, and her son Francis
succeeded to the throne, during whose reign, her
influence was supplanted by the Guises. On
the accession of her other son, Charles IX, in
his eleventh year, she acquired the chief au-
thority, and brought eternal infamy on her name
by her horrible tre^phery to the Huguenots, and
the massacre of St. Bartholomew's day. She
died in 1589. She was very extravagant, seem-
ingly incapable of setting bounds to her expen-
ditures. When upbraided with her prodigality
she would exclaim : " One must live !" She
was stained with many and most odious vices.
CATHARINE I, empress of Russia, the most
noted female sovereign of modern days. Her
early history is involved in great obscurity. It
is said that she was a peasant-girl of Livonia,
born about 1686, and that having lost her pa-
rents at an early age, she was taken under the
protection of a respectable clergyman who super-
intended her education till his death. She then
travelled to Marienburg to seek her fortune,
and there married a Swedish dragoon, who was
killed on the very day of their nuptials, at the
siege of that place in 1702. From the hands of
one of the Russian officers, she passed into those
of prince Meazikoff, who found it useful to his
political designs to introduce her to the Czar
Peter. She first became his mistress, and after-
wards his wife, and although she was suspected
of infidelity, she was left, at his death, possessor
of the throne, and was declared empress in 1725.
She carried into execution the great designs
which had been left unfinished by her husband,
and died in 1727, being then but forty-two
years old : intemperance, however, is supposed
to have shortened her days.
CATHARINE II, empress of Russia, born
in 1729, was the daughter of the prince of An-
halt-Zerbst, and originally named Sophia Au-
gusta. Her talents were of the highest order.
Soon after her marriage with the grand duke of
Russia, in 1745, that prince suspecting her of
infidelity, formed an attachment to the daugh-
ter of Count Woronzoff, and, on his accession
to the throne in 1761, discovered his intention
CAT
165
CAT
of divorcing Catharine, and marrying the ob-
ject of his illicit passion. At this juncture a
conspiracy was formed between Catharine and
the army ; Peter was surprised, compelled to
sign a renunciation of the throne, kept as a
prisoner, and soon after strangled. History
evidently clears Catharine of a direct participa-
tion in this crime, though the impunity of the
murderers proves that she did not regret its
commission. She, however, countenanced the
friends of Peter, and pardoned the countess of
WoronzotF.
At the commencement of her reign she con-
ciliated the affections of her subjects, and cul-
tivated the arts of peace; in 1764, her favorite,
Poniatowski, was crowned king of Poland, and
Ivan, who had been 18 years in a state of mental
imbecility, died in prison. In 1768, she enter-
ed into war with the Porte, which she termin-
ated with reputation and advantage in ] 774 ;
and having quelled a revolt under the cossack
Pugatscheff, devoted herself to the improve-
ment and prosperity of her kingdom. In 1780
ehe engaged in the armed neutrality to protect
the trade in the Baltic. In 1783 she seized on the
Crimea, and having formed a league with Ger-
many, intimidated the Porte from making re-
prisals. At length, however, war was declared,
Oczakow was stormed, Ismael taken after a
sanguinary struggle, the Turkish force in the
Black Sea destroyed, and a peace concluded
which guaranteed Oczakow to the empress.
Her last great measure was the reducing and
dismemberment of Poland, in consequence of
a revolt. She was a woman the brilliancy of
whose talents was obscured by the indulgence
of many gross propensities. She died of apo-
plexy, Nov., 1796.
CATO, Marcus Portius, commonly called the
Censor, was born at Tusculum, 232 B. C. He dis-
tinguished himself in the army at the age of 17,
and was remarkable for his temperance and
abstinence. In Sicily and Africa, as military
tribune and quasstor, he was noted for the fidel-
ity with which he discharged his duties. Being
chosen censor, he opposed Valerius Flaccus, his
colleague, in his attempt to repeal the Oppian
law, which was once passed for the suppres-
sion of luxury. He conducted the war in fur-
ther Spain with great success, and took no part
of the spoils to his own share. On his ar-
rival at Rome he was honored with a triumph.
As consul he manifested his dislike to luxury,
>n whatever shape it was presented. He also
distinguished himself by his hatred to Car-
Jiage, always concluding his speeches in the
senate with the expression. " Preterea censeo
Carthaginem esse delendam." (Besides I think
it necessary to destroy Carthage.) He died B.
C. 147. In his old age he gave himself up to
social enjoyments.
CATO, Marcus Portius, surnamed of Utica
(Uticensis) from the place of his death, was the
great-grandson of the preceding, and born
about 93 B. C. The virtues he displayed in his
early childhood seemed to prognosticate his
future greatness. At the age of fourteen, he
earnestly asked his preceptor for a sword to stab
the tyrant Sylla. He served in the army against
the insurgent gladiator Spartacus, and though
his services entitled him to the office of tribune,
he never applied for it, till he saw it in danger
of being filled unworthily. He was very jealous
of the safety and liberty of the republic, and
watched carefully over the conduct of Pompey,
whose power and influence were great. In the
conspiracy of Cataline he supported Cicero, and
was instrumental in procuring the capital pun-
ishment of the conspirators.
When the provinces of Gaul were decreed for
five years to Caesar, Cato observed to the sen-
ators, that they had introduced a tyrant into the
capital. Being sent to Cyprus against Ptolemy,
by the influence of his enemies, who hoped to
injure his reputation, his prudence extricated
hiin from every danger. That prince submitted
to him, and, after a successful campaign, Cato
was received at Rome with the most distin-
guished honors, which he, however, modestly
declined. He strenuously opposed the first tri-
umvirate between Caesar, Pompey, and Cras-
sus, and foretold to the Roman people all the
misfortunes that soon after followed. After re-
peated applications he was made pretor, but un-
successfully applied for the office of consul.
When Caesar had passed the Rubicon, Cato
advised the Roman senate to deliver the care
of the republic into the hands of Pompey, and
when his advice had been complied with, fol-
lowed him with his son to Dyrrachium, where,
after some inconsiderable success there, he was
entrusted with the care of the ammunition, and
the command of 15 cohorts. After the battle
of Pharsalia, Cato took command of the fleet,
and when he heard of Pompey 's death on the
coast of Africa, he traversed the deserts of
Libya, to join himself to Scipio. He, however,
refused to take the command in Africa, but
when he heard of Scipio's defeat, fortified him-
self in Utica. Caesar approached the city, but
Cato disdained to fly, and strengthening his
resolution by reading Plato's treatise on the
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166
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immortality of the soul, gave himself the fatal
wound, B. C. 44. Csesar, on hearing of his fate,
exclaimed : " I envy thee thy death, since thou
couldst begrudge me the pleasure of saving thy
life." Lucan mentions this virtuous Roman in
the following line :
Victrix causa displacuit, sed victa Catoni:
which is thus literally rendered in prose —
The successful cause pleased the gods, but the un-
successful Cato.
A statue was erected to his memory in Utica.
CAUCASUS, a vast chain of mountains in
Western Asia, inhabited by a great variety of
tribes. It is of immense extent, lying between
the Black and Caspian seas, and covering 127,1 40
square miles, being 644 miles long, and, at the
widest, 184 miles broad.
CAVENDISH, William, the first duke of De-
vonshire, was born in 1640. He distinguished
himself in the house of commons against the
court, and was a witness in favor of Lord Rus-
sell, with whom he offered to exchange clothes
to enable him to effect his escape. In 1684 he
succeeded to the title of earl of Devonshire,
and about the same time was fined £30,000 and
imprisoned in the king's bench for assaulting
Col. Culpepper, who had insulted him, and
whom he dragged by the nose from the pres-
ence chamber. He gave bond for the payment
of the fine, which, however, he saved by the
arrival of the prince of Orange. In 1689 he
was made a privy-counsellor, and at the coro-
nation of William he served as lord-high-stew-
ard. He was rewarded with the title of duke
of Devonshire, and during the king's absence,
after the death of the queen, was appointed one
of the regency. He died in 1707.
CAXTON, William, an Englishman who
introduced the art of printing into his native
country in 1474. He died in 1492.
CAYENNE, or French Guiana, a French
colony in South America. It is hounded as
follows ; north and northeast by the Atlantic
ocean, east and south by Brazil, and west by
Dutch Guiana. Population 18,400. Beside the
main production, Cayenne pepper , this province
yields sugar, cotton, coffee, cocoa, indigo, maize,
cassia, and vanilla. The French colonized Cay-
enne in 1635.
After having fallen into the hands of the Eng-
lish and the Dutch, it revolted to its original
possessors in 1677.
CECIL, William, Lord Burleigh, a celebrat-
ed statesman, born in 1521. He was dismissed
from the office which he held under Henry
VIII, upon the accession of Mary, but held
several appointments under Elizabeth. After
being privy-counsellor, secretary of state, and
master of the court of wards, he was chosen
chancellor of Cambridge, and raised to the peer-
age. He died in 1598
CECIL, Robert, earl of Salisbury, son of the
preceding, on account of his deformity, and
weak constitution, received the rudiments of
his education at home. In 1588 he served in
the fleet against the Spanish Armada, and in
1591 was knighted, and sworn of the privy-
council. In 1596 he was appointed secretary
of state, to the great disgust of the earl of
Essex. The year following he was ambassador
in France, and in 1599 succeeded his father in
the court of wards. He kept up a secret cor-
respondence with king James, whom he pro-
claimed on the death of Elizabeth, in conse-
quence of which he became the favorite of that
monarch. On the death of earl Dorset, in 1608,
he became lord high treasurer, discharging the
duties of the office with fidelity, and dying from
excessive exertion in 1612.
CECILIA. One of the Romish saints of this
name is considered the inventor of the organ,
and is said to have suffered martyrdom A. D.
220.
CECROPS,a native of Sais, in Egypt, came
to Attica 1550 B. C. founded the city of Athens,
instructed the uncivilized Greeks, introduced
the worship of Minerva, and laid the foundation
of the future prosperity of Greece. He died
after a reign of 50 years.
CELEBES, an island in the East Indian
Ocean, 500 miles long, and 200 broad, contain-
ing several separate states. The fruits and
flowers of this island are abundant, and num-
bers of wild animals are found here. The
Dutch who possess a part of the island, obtain
here gold, ivory, sandal wood, rice, cotton,
camphor, ginger, iong pepper, and pearls.
CELLINI, Benvenuto, united the talents and
skill of a sculptor, engraver, and goldsmith. He
was born in Florence in 1500, and enriched his
native city with his works. Wild, fiery, and
impetuous, although honest, he was frequently
involved in quarrels in which he entirely dis-
regarded the rank and strength of his oppo-
nents. At the siege of Rome, according to his
own account, he killed the constable of Bour-
bon. Although he behaved with gallantry dur-
ing the siege, he was accused of secreting the
Roman crown jewels, and imprisoned. Francis
1, having procured his release, invited him to the
French court, but Florence was not to be forgot-
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167
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ten by the sculptor, and thither he returned,
and died in 1570.
CELSUS, a Roman medical writer and prac-
titioner, who flourished in the Augustan age.
CELTVE, one of the ancient nations of Gal-
lia, whose country extended from Brittany to
the Alps and Rhine. Their government was
aristocratical, and their aptitude for warlike
pursuits great.
CELTIBERIA, an ancient country in the N.
E. part of Spain along the Iberus. The Celti-
berians were completely subdued by the Ro-
mans in the Sertorian war.
CENTAURS, an ancient people of Thessaly
on Mount Pelion. As little was known with re-
gard to their actual history, they formed the
favorite theme of writers of fable, and tradition-
ary tales, being represented as half horse and
half man, and being, according to some, the
offspring of an intermixture of the human and
brute races, or, according to others, the child-
ren of Ixion and the Cloud. They were prob-
ably young men who, having learned to break
and ride horses, hunted the wild bulls that rav-
aged the neighborhood of Mt. Pelion, during
the reign of Ixion. Hence they were called
Centaurs. In fables, Hercules, Theseus, and
Pirithous, are said to have contended against
them.
CENTRAL AMERICA, formerly the king-
dom of Guatimala, is bounded N. by Mexico
and the bay of Honduras, E. by the Carribbean
sea, and the province of Veragna, and S. W. by
the Atlantic ocean, and has a population of
2,000,000. The country is mountainous, con-
taining numerous volcanic summits, the soil
fertile, and the products various. The republic
is a confederacy consisting of the states of Gua-
timala, Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and
Costa Rica, and declared itself independent in
1821, after some sanguinary struggles. The
original inhabitants were the Toltecas Indians
from Mexico, whom it was found no easy task
by the Spaniards to expel. These people, like
the Mexicans, had made considerable advances
in the arts, as their buildings of various des-
criptions proved.
CERBERUS, a three-headed dog, with snaky
hair, the offspring of Echidna, and the giant
Typhon, and the untamed guardian of the gate
of hell. Hercules subdued him, although the
furies could not.
CERIGO, a small island in the Mediterra-
nean, near the Morea, and belonging to the
Ionian republic, it was anciently called Cythera,
and was sacred to Venus.
CERVANTES SAAVEDRA, Michael, was
born of a noble family, at Alcala de Henares,
in New Castile, in 1547. He early cultivated
poetry, and preserved, throughout his life, a
strong inclination for the muses. In 1569,
Cervantes, in the flower of his age, went to
seek in Italy, glory or fortune. He first enter-
ed the service of Cardinal Acquaviva, in the
capacity of page. The war between the grand
seignior and the Venetians, offered him a field
more worthy of his birth and courage. He was
enrolled beneath the banners of the duke of
Paliano, Mark Antony Colonna, general of the
naval force sent to succor the island of Cyprus.
This expedition was unfortunate ; but, in the
following year, the victory of Lepanto reestab-
lished the naval honor of Christendom, and
Cervantes lost his left hand in this engagement
whose glory he shared. In 1575 he was taken
by a corsair and carried to Algiers, where he
suffered the evils of slavery for six years. The
tale of The Captive, inserted in his novel of Don
Quixotte describes vividly the scenes through
which he passed. His marriage followed close
upon the publication of Galatea, in 1584. This
novel celebrates his mistress Catharine Salazer
y Palacios. His pen then became the only sup-
port of Cervantes. The gloomy reign of Philip
II, and that of his successor Philip III, were
unfavorable to the efforts of genius, but while
the latter of these monarchs filled the throne,
the inimitable novel of Don Quixotte made its
appearance. The first part appeared at Madrid,
in 1605, and the second in 1615. The other
works of Cervantes are forgotten in the contem-
plation of this.
The history of the knight of La Mancha still
excites the interest of people of all countries,
of all ranks, and of all ages. Who delights
not to recall his principal adventures — the at-
tack on the windmills — the affair of the puppets
— the affray with the wine-skins — the vigil of
arms — the scene of his studies ? This celebrat-
ed work was written in prison, Cervantes hav-
ing become obnoxious to the authorities of La
Mancha, who procured his imprisonment by
the employment of one of the thousand arts
known to the civil functionaries of Spain. He
revenged himself by making his hero a towns-
man of his judges, and in choosing their coun-
try for the theatre of his exploits. Cervantes
died at Madrid, on the 23d of April, 1616, in
his 69th year. He was interred pursuant to his
own directions, in the church of the fraternity
of the trinity in that city. His intimate friends
mourned for the virtuous citizen, and the man
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of worth. The wits of his day, who had decri-
ed his talents, did not consider his loss an irre-
parable one, and were far enough from believ-
ing that Spain would one day have only the
romance of Don Quixotte to oppose to the mas-
ter-works of other nations.
CEUTA, anciently Septa, a town of Fez, on
the African coast of the Mediterranean, with
8,000 inhabitants. It is opposite to Gibraltar,
and belongs to Spain, although gained by the
Portuguese in 1415.
CE VENNES, or Sevennes, a chain of moun-
tains in the south of France, forming a branch
of the Alps ; the highest summits are somewhat
more than 6,200 feet high.
CEYLON, or Seilan, an island on the Coro-
mandel coast. The climate is generally healthy,
the soil fertile, and the variety of its productions
surprising. In the bosom of the earth are found
precious metals, the rocks are enriched with
valuable gems, and the tropical fruits grow
wild here. About 340,000 pounds of cinnamon
are annually exported to England. In the re-
cesses of the forests are found elephants, leop-
ards, jackalls, monkeys, &c. The number of
inhabitants exceeds 31,000,000. The Cinga-
lese, who form a portion, are divided into castes
like the Hindoos, and profess the religion of
Buddha. " Ceylon," says bishop Heber " might
be one of the happiest, as it is one of the loveli-
est, spots in the universe, if some of the old
Dutch laws were done away, among which, in
my judgment, the most obnoxious are the mo-
nopoly of Cinnamon, and the compulsory labor
of the peasants on the high roads, and other
species of corvdes."
The Portuguese, who early settled here, so
exasperated the natives, that the Cingalese
took part with the Dutch, who succeeded in
expelling them in 1656. The Dutch, being
regarded in the light of benefactors, were re-
warded with lavish grants of territory, but
repaid kindness by ingratitude, and bloody wars
arose, in which the Europeans were invariably
victorious. In 1795, the English took posses-
sion of this island, which was formerly ceded
to them in 1802, and completely subjected in
1815.
CHALDiEA, an ancient country of Asia,
near the junction of the Tigris and Euphrates ;
it was the southerly part of Babylonia, and was
extremely fertile. The Chaldeans were an
Asiatic tribe originally, and possessed great
astronomical knowledge. It was they wrho
founded the mighty empires of Babylon and
Asyria. The knowledge, of which they boasted,
was eventually confined to the priests, who
added to their sciences the arts of prophecy,
magic, &c.
CHALONS. The name of two considerable
cities in France, Chalons-sur-Saone, and Cha-
lons-sur-Marne, situated on the Saone and
Marne. The last mentioned and most import-
ant, contains 12,413 inhabitants, and was an-
ciently called Catalaunum.
CHAMPAGNE, formerly a province of
France, now forming several departments. It
is highly fertile and produces fine wines ; it
contains 1,200,000 inhabitants, and is 195 miles
long, and 135 broad.
CHAMPE, John, a native of Loudon county
(Va.). At the age of 24, in the year 1776, he
entered the revolutionary army with the rank
of sergeant-major, in Lee's cavalry. His repu-
tation for resolution and address was such, that
he was selected to attempt the seizure of Ar-
nold, that the execution of the traitor might
save the life of Andre. His orders were given
him, he left the American camp as a deserter,
arrived at New York after a perilous journey,
and, after being closely examined by Sir Henry
Clinton, was admitted to serve under him. He
failed in the attempt to accomplish his object,
and went to Virginia with the royal troops.
Escaping, he rejoined his friends, after many
hardships. When Washington took command
of the army, during the administration of Pre-
sident Adams, it was his intention to bring
Champe into the field at the head of a company,
but he learned to his grief, that the gallant fel-
low had died in Kentucky.
CHAMPLAIN, Samuel de ; a French naval
officer, who founded Quebec and Montreal in
Canada, of which he was governor-general.
He died in 1634.
CHAMPLAIN, a lake of the United States,
lying between New York and Vermont, 130
miles long, and from 1 to 15 miles broad. The
Richelieu or Sorelle forms the outlet by which
its waters are discharged into the St. Lawrence.
Here, on the 11th of September, 1814, Com.
Macdonough, the commander of an American
fleet, gained a complete victory over the British.
CHAMPOLLION (the younger), a French-
man, who has done more than any other man
of science towards explaining hieroglyphics of
Egypt. His death, in 1832, in the midst of his
triumphant researches, was regretted as an
almost irreparable loss.
CHANTREY, Francis, a distinguished Eng-
lish sculptor, whose peculiar talent was devel-
oped at an early age. His works are numerous ;
j
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one of them, a statue of Washington, is placed
in the State-house at Boston.
CHAPEL HILL, a town of Orange county,
North Carolina, the seat of the university of
North Carolina, a well-endowed and respecta-
ble institution.
CHARLEROI, or Charles sur Sambre, a
town in the Belgian province of Hainau, for-
merly Charnoy ; contains 3,744 inhabitants. It
was founded by Charles, king of Spain, in 1666.
After passing successively from Spain to France,
and Austria, it remained in the hands of France,
after the battle of Fleurus, until 1814. In 1815,
Bonaparte chose this place as the first point of
attack on the Prussians, who were driven from
it, June 15, and compelled to retreat to Fleu-
rus.
CHARLES I, called Charlemagne, a com-
pound word, signifying Charles the Great, king
of France, emperor of the East, was born in
742, at the chateau of Saltzburg, in Upper Ba-
varia. He was the son of queen Bertrade and
Pepin the Short, on the death of whom, in 768,
he was crowned king, sharing France with
Carloman, his younger brother; but the condi-
tions of the partition were frequently changed
without ever giving mutual satisfaction, and
the nobles, who had long sought to weaken the
royal authority, would, without doubt, have
profited by the animosity which existed between
these two princes, if the death of Carloman,
which took place in 771, had not given Charle-
magne an opportunity of becoming sole king
of France, by preventing the succession of his
nephews. Their mother fled with them to
Italy, and found a protector in Desiderius,
king of the Lombards. They fell into the
hands of Charlemagne, on the taking of Verona,
and of their future fate, history says nothing.
If Pepin had need of courage, activity and
extreme prudence to found a new dominion,
Charlemagne found it necessary to enchain the
minds of men by fear and admiration, for the
means employed to effect usurpation, had en-
feebled the sovereign power.
The people of Aquitania were the first who
tried to aim at independence. Charlemagne
marched against them with a small force, but
he relied upon Carloman, his brother, to whom
a part of Aquitania belonged, and who, in con-
sequence, was compelled to unite with him.
Carloman found him at the appointed spot, at
the head of his troops, but fearing to fall before
the power of his brother, Carloman hastily
retraced his steps. Abandoned thus, unexpect-
edly, in a manner which could not fail to en-
courage the rebels, Charlemagne did not hesi-
tate for a moment : without considering the
number of his followers, nor that of his enemies,
he pursued his way, gained a brilliant victory
(770), arranged the affairs of Aquitania with a
promptitude and foresight which displayed the
energy of a great man, and the skill of a politi-
cian, and disconcerted the tributary princes of
France, who thought to profit by the youth of
the monarch. When Charlemagne found him-
self sole master of France, he formed the pro-
ject of subjugating the Saxons. These people,
who were still pagans, occupied a large portion
of Germany ; like all barbarous nations, they
preferred plunder to fixed establishments, and
they were divided into many tribes, whom it
was difficult to unite in the same interest.
Charlemagne began to wage war upon them in
772, and did not complete their subjugation
until 804 ; so obstinately did they resist, for 32
years, the conqueror who, sometimes indulgent
to imprudence, and often severe to cruelty, as
eager to convert as to conquer them, was in re-
ality master of their country only, when he had
reduced it to a desert. The two most cele-
brated chiefs of the Saxons were Witikind and
Alboin, who finally embraced Christianity in
783. The cruelties of Charlemagne to the
Saxons, resembles despair ; and his indulgence
to them proves that, pressed by other affairs,
he was willing to make any concession which
could bring him off with honor.
While he was fighting on the banks of the
Weser, pope Adrian implored his succors
against Desiderius, king of the Lombards, who
sought to possess himself of Ravenna, and urged
the pope to crown the sons of Carloman, in
order to display Charlemagne in the light of an
usurper of the throne of his nephews, and thus
stir up a large portion of France against him.
Flying to the scene of action with the rapidity
which the danger rendered necessary, Charle-
magne seized the person of Desiderius, sent
him to end his days in a monastery, and caused
himself to be crowned king of Lombardy, in
774. Thus ended that kingdom which shortly
afterwards took its ancient name of Italy, but
which preserved the laws it had received from
the Lombards.
Charlemagne passed into Spain in 778, be-
sieged and took Pampeluna, and made himself
master of the country of Barcelona ; but his
troops, on their return, were defeated in the
pass of Roncesvalles, by a part of the Saracens,
and the mountain Gascons, the unruly tributa-
ries of Charlemagne, who were so intractable,
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that more than thirty years afterwards, strong
forces were required to oppose them. At this
battle, fell the famous Roland, whose fate
has been celebrated by romance writers and
poets. The disaffection of the inhabitants of
Aquitania having induced Charlemagne to give
them a separate monarch, he chose the youngest
of his sons, Louis, well known as Louis the
Mild, 778. At the same time the continual
efforts of the Lombards and Greeks to recon-
quer Italy, and the want of fidelity in his nobles,
made him feel the necessity of rallying them
about the throne, and he gave them for a king,
Pepin, the second of his sons; the eldest, who
bore the name of Charles, remained with him
to assist him in his expeditions. He had
another son, Pepin, whose mother he had repu-
diated. This son, having been convicted of
taking part in a conspiracy against him, was
devoted to the monastic life.
On his return from Spain, Charlemagne
found himself obliged to march against the
Saxons, and each year renewed the necessity
of a warlike expedition. He caused 4,500 of
them to be put to death ; a ferocious revenge
which only served to prolong and invigorate
their resistance. Thence he went to Rome to
have his two sons, Pepin and Louis, crowned
by the pope, thus confirming the people in the
belief that the head of religion could alone ren-
der the royal power legitimate and sacred.
The year 790, the 27th of his reign, was the
first which he passed without taking up arms,
and this peace lasted only until the spring of
the following year. Charlemagne had formed
the project of re-establishing the empire of the
west. The empress Irene, who reigned at
Constantinople, in order to prevent the dis-
memberment of the empire, proposed to Charle-
magne to unite their children, which would
have placed Europe under one government.
Her proposal was accepted, but ambition im-
pelled Irene to dethrone her own son in order
to seize the power herself, and she offered her
hand to Charlemagne. This singular union,
which ambition alone could suggest and carry
into effect, would have presented a new spec-
tacle to the world, had not the empress been
herself hurled from her throne. Charlemagne
was crowned emperor of the west, by pope
Leo III, in the year 800 ; and, although his
journey to Rome had no other object, he af-
fected to be much surprised at the honors which
were heaped upon him. He was declared Cat-
sar and Augustus; the ornaments of the ancient
Roman emperors were decreed to him ; all the
consecrated forms were followed ; nothing was
forgotten but the fact that it was impossible that
an empire should subsist, the power of which
was shared by the children of the deceased
monarch. Charlemagne, after having made
one of his sons a monk, had the misfortune to
lose, in 810, Pepin, whom he had created king
of Italy ; the year following, Charles, the eld-
est followed his brother to the grave ; there
only remained, of his legitimate children, Louis,
king of Aquitania, whom he associated with
him in the empire in 813, his great age and
his infirmities making him feel that he was
approaching the termination of his career. He
died the 28th of January, 814, in the 71st year
of his age, and the 47th of his reign. By his
will, made in 806, confirmed by the French
lords, assembled at Thionville, and signed by
Pope Leo, Charlemagne divided his estates
among his three sons. He left his subjects the
power of choosing a successor, after the death
of the princes, provided he was of the blood
royal. He provided that they should not have
recourse to the trial by battle, in the case of
dispute, but to that of the cross. This judg-
ment consisted, in doubtful circumstances, in
conducting to church two men, who stood
upright with their elevated arms crossed, during
the celebration of divine service, and the vic-
tory was gained by the party whose champion
remained motionless in this attitude the long-
est. This is still called the judgment of God.
Charlemagne was buried at Aix-la-Chapelle.
His body is said to have been disposed in the
following manner. He was seated upon a throne
of gold, clad in bis imperial habits. He had a *
crown upon his head, and was girt with his
sword. He held achalice in his hand, the book
of the Evangelists upon his knees, his sceptre
and gold buckler at his feet. The sepulchre
was filled with pieces of gold, perfumed and
sealed, and above a superb triumphal arch was
raised, with this epitaph : " Here rests the body
of Charles, the great and orthodox emperor,
who gloriously enlarged the kingdom of the
French, and governed it happily for forty-seven
years." Charlemagne was a friend of letters,
and of learned men.
CHARLES I, king of England, an unfor-
tunate monarch, whose disasters were prepared
for him by his predecessors, and by the increas-
ing spirit of liberty, precipitated and increased
by the alternate obstinacy and fickleness of his
disposition. He ascended the throne in 1625,
and found that his reign was likely to be troub-
led by a strong opposition ; but he could not
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find courage to make those concessions which
the people were disposed to demand of royalty.
The friends of liberty, and the puritans, were
disposed to view with a stern eye, the stand
which the king took. They had already im-
peached his favorite minister, and his unsuc-
cessful attempt to relieve Rochelle in 1C27,
increased their enmity. Charles, blinded by
the monarchial doctrines of his father James,
although he saw that his popularity was daily
declining, took no steps to gain the affections
and confidence of his people. The parliament
refused to sanction the wishes of the monarch,
and passed the famous bill of rights, which he
was obliged to confirm.
Having made peace with France and Spain,
Charles determined to rely on his own resour-
ces, but resorted to the desperate expedient of
levying ship money. This, and the king's
attempt to force the liturgy on the Scotch,
brought upon him the opposition of Hampden
and the covenanters, to both of whom lie was
forced to submit. After several parliaments
had been called and dissolved, Charles called
the long parliament of 1640. The earl of
Strafford and archbishop Laud were impeached,
and the fury of the puritans was excited against
the church and the bishops. The signal for
insurrection was given by the king going him-
self to the house and demanding the persons of
five members whom he accused of treason.
Civil war broke out; many engagements took
place, with various success, but on the king's
defeat at Naseby, he retired to Oxford, and on
the approach of Fairfax, the parliamentary gen-
eral, threw himself on the protection of the
Scots, who sold him to the parliament. The
army, now divided from the parliament, con-
veyed him to Hampton court, whence he es-
caped with the intention of quitting the king-
dom, but was retaken and brought back.
Charles now professed himself readv to grant
all the terms demanded for his release, except
the abolition of episcopacy. He was in conse-
quence arraigned for high treason, tried, and
condemned. His conduct during his trial was
a noble pattern of Christian meekness and firm-
ness, and this he retained to his death. He was
beheaded at Whitehall, on the 30th of January,
1648.
CHARLES II, king of England, son of
Charles I, and Henrietta Maria of France, was
born in 1630, and was at the Hague when his
father was executed. The Scots, who had
betrayed the father, sent an invitation to the
eon, which he accepted, and was crowned at
Scone, in 1651, when he was obliged to take
the covenant. But he had no mean opponent
in Cromwell, who defeated the Scotch at Dun-
bar, and Charles at Worcester. The appear-
ance of the two armies was strikingly con-
trasted. The parliamentarians were remarkable
for the plainness of their dress and equipments,
their hair being cropped close (whence their
appellation of round heads), and nothing merely
ornamental appearing on their persons. The
cavaliers, on the contrary, despising the aus-
terity of their antagonists, were distinguished
by their long curling locks, the finish of their
equipments, and the reckless gayely of their
bearing. From the battle of Worcester, Charles
made his escape, and lay hidden in the thick
branches of an oak in JBoscobel wood, while his
pursuers actually seated themselves under the
tree. After many journeyings, in various dis-
guises, he escaped to France.
In 1660, by the management of general Monk,
he was restored ; and with him licentiousness
and infidelity returned in a full tide. In 1662,
he married the princess of Portugal, by whom
he had no children, although his illegitimate
offspring were numerous. With the exception
of the sale of Dunkirk to supply his extrava-
gances, the acts of Charles's reign can scarcely
be considered as his own, and belong rather to
the history of his country. He lived in the
unbridled indulgence of his appetites, interfer-
ing little in matters of state policy. The few
he meddled with were of an odious nature.
Charles died of an apoplectic fit, February 6,
1685, and by receiving, in his last moments, the
sacrament from a popish priest, proved that he
lived a hypocrite as well as a libertine.
By affability and wit, by going abroad without
ostentation, and mixing with the lowest of his
subjects, Charles obtained a certain degree of
popularity, and the name of the Merry Monarch
distinguished him during his life. His wit was
ready and pleasant, as Rochester, whose dispo-
sition much resembled the monarch's, happily
expressed in the epigram, in which he speaks
of Charles as one
" Who never said a foolish thing,
And never did a wise one."
Charles and his courtiers being one day
present at the exhibition of a man who daringly
climbed to the point of Salisbury cathedral,
and planted a flag there, the king said to his
favorite, " Faith ! Rochester, this man shall
have a patent, that no one may do this but
himself!"
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CHARLES, Edward, of the Stuart family,
commonly called The Pretender, was the grand-
son of James II, and was born at Rome in 1720.
In 1745, he landed in Scotland, and published
a manifesto, exhibiting the claims of his father
to the English throne. He was joined by seve-
ral Highland chiefs, and entering Edinburgh,
caused his father to be proclaimed. Charles
Edward was passing the night in the village of
Stateford, and had thrown himself upon his
couch in a state of agitation, which prevented his
sleeping for more than two hours. As soon as
he learned that Edinburgh was occupied by the
Highlanders of Lochiel, Keppoch, Arlshied, and
O'Sullivan, he mounted his horse, and on the
given signal, the army was in readiness to enter
the city. The Castle still held out for the house
of Hanover. To avoid the balls of the enemy
who commanded the most direct road, the prince
and his followers, diverging from the main
route, came by the way of Duddingston to the
royal park which they entered through a breach
in the wall. The royal park, the favorite pro-
menade of James VII, when he was at Edin-
burgh, being then duke of York, comprises
Arthur's Seat, which seems to shelter Holy-
rood-House at its feet, the basaltic rocks of
Salisbury crags, the hermitage of St. Anthony,
and the valley of St. Leonard, spots to which
poetry and romance have given an interest that
history has failed to confer.
From an eminence near the hermitage,
Charles could contemplate, for the first time,
the palace of his ancestors, with its quadrangu-
lar court, and the round towers of the principal
facade. No alteration had taken place since
the time of James VII. The entire building
was standing, and the standard of the Stuarts
waved proudly in the wind that swept over the
majestic pile. The Gothic Chapel only was in
ruins, as if to remind the prince that, in the
revolution of 1688, the war was particularly
directed against the faith of his grandfather,
who decorated this place with such pomp.
Charles dismounted. Already the park and the
surrounding gardens were filled with a dense
crowd of all ranks, ages, and parties. They
were many merely curious spectators, but more
mere Jacobites, and the latter hastened to con-
gratulate the prince, who received them with
ease, and that smiling look of pleasure, which
is so seductive to all. The historian Hume
confessed, that the presence of Charles moved
more than one whig.
His youth, hia fine form, his light locks, his
delicate complexion, so different from the bil-
ious hue that characterized the countenances
of his ancestry, the perfect oval of his face, his
intelligent blue eyes, the correct arch of his
eyebrows, his regular nose and mouth of aris-
tocratic diminutiveness, were all curiously an-
alyzed by the spectators. Some troubled whigs
declared that there was in the countenance of
the prince an air of melancholy, which was a
presage of disaster in the midst of his triumph;
but the Jacobites, and particularly the ladies of
Edinburgh and Perth, were in raptures at the
graces of their Charlie, as he was familiarly
and popularly termed. They delighted to dwell
upon his picturesque costume. Upon his vest
of tartan plaid, glittered the national star of the
order of St. Andrew ; a scarf of gold and azure
served him as a baldrick, and to his neat blue
velvet cap was attached the white cockade,
which called to mind the rose of Lancaster.
When he mounted the splendid bay charger
which had been presented to him by the duke
of Perth, the acclamations of the spectators
redoubled, for the prince was, in fact, a most
accomplished cavalier. " Our hero looks like
Robert Bruce," cried the Jacobites, and they
were not deceiving themselves, for the portrait
of Bruce at Holyrood served to verify the
resemblance.
In the midst of an enthusiasm, which might
almost be called general, Charles could well
forget, in this concourse of his father's subjects,
the hostile terms of ichig and tory, and saw
around him only Scotchmen, interested, like
himself, in severing the bonds imposed upon
Scotland, under the specious name of the Union.
In all the manifestoes of the Stuart family,
since 1715, they appealed as frequently to the
memory of national independence, as to the
claims of their house. Thus, when Charles
Edward was approaching the gate of the palace,
he was suddenly met by a hoary-headed gentle-
man, James Hepburn of Keith, who was known
to be opposed from principle to the " right divine
of kings," and who had more than once haugh-
tily blamed the government of James VII.
This gentleman, who was esteemed by all par-
ties, was the first to show himself the partisan
of Charles Edward, whom he regarded as the
champion of the deliverance of Scotland. Hep-
burn wished to be, in a manner, his herald into
the palace of his fathers, and drawing his sword,
he marshaled the prince with dignity to the
apartment destined for his reception.
Still, at intervals, the hostile cannon of the
castle, growled upon the city, as if to still the
exulting shouts of the people. A ball, directed
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at the palace shattered a tower, to the indigna-
tion of the populace who knew that the Eng-
lish soldiery would dishonor, without remorse,
the most precious monument of their ancient
city.
With what emotions must Charles Edward
have explored the royal halls of Holyrood, con-
demned for 60 years, to a kind of solitary wid-
owhood, by the exile of his family. In the
first gallery he beheld that loner range of royal
portraits, which the pride of Edinburgh holds
so dear. In adjacent apartments he found the
first traces of that beautiful queen, whose tragic
fate alone occupies the mind, even among the
multitude of historical and fabulous images.
Here were her bed and curtains, the chairs
where she was seated, those which she herself
embroidered — and alas ! was there not the im-
perishable stain of Rizzio's blood ?
The shouts of the people, eager to behold
their prince, more than once banished the re-
flections in which Charles Edward was indulg-
ing, and forced him to appear at the windows
and show himself to the citizens of Edinburgh.
A part of the crowd was called off to assist at
the ceremony at the Cross of the High-street,
now destroyed — a place where the proclama-
tion of public acts had taken place from time
immemorial. The gallery in which the heralds
and pursuivant at arms, clad in their official
costume, appeared, was decorated with tapes-
try. A troop of Highlanders were formed in lines
two deep on each side of the street, the trumpets
sounded a flourish, the bagpipes played their
pibrochs, and when the crowd was silenced,
James VIII was proclaimed, the commission
appointing Charles Edward regent read, as well
as the manifesto of the prince, dated Paris, May
16, 1745. The innumerable windows of the
houses in the High-street, some of which were
more than ten stories high, were filled with la-
dies, who waved their white handkerchiefs, to
excite the shouts of the people ; the attach-
ment to the legitimate monarch appeared univer-
sal, as if the faults of the dynasty had been ex-
piated by its misfortunes. While the heralds
were proclaiming James and his son, at the foot
of the gallery, the lady Broughton of Murray, a
woman of uncommon beauty, appeared upon a
splendid horse, with a drawn sword in her
hand, like a heroine of Ariosto or Tasso, while
other ladies distributed white ribbons to their
brothers and admirers.
Charles Edward was at first successful — de-
feating general Cope at Preston Pans, but he
returned to Edinburgh and wasted his time in
idle parades. Being, however, joined by seve-
ral discontented chiefs, he marched as far as
Manchester, but hearing that the king was
about to take the field, he returned to Scotland,
and defeated the English forces under Hawley,
at Falkirk. In the meantime the duke of Cum-
berland advanced to Edinburgh, and thence to
Aberdeen, the pretender retreating before him.
At length the two armies met atCulloden, when,
after an obstinate conflict, in which the High-
landers displayed signal courage, the royal army
was successful, and the rebels fled, leaving
3,000 of their number dead upon the field.
A well-authenticated anecdote of this battle
strikingly displays the simplicity and ferocity
of the Highlanders. An English officer, hav-
ing fallen into the hands of a muscular adver-
sary, who had thrown away his musket, and
was brandishing a broadsword, supplicated for
quarter. " Quarter ! quarter !" cried the irri-
tated Highlander, " I hae nae the time to quar-
ter ye, sae ye must een be contentit to be cuttit
in twa", — suiting the action to the word.
Charles Edward wandered for a long time in
disguise, chiefly among the Hebrides, and final-
ly effected his escape to France. Nothing
throws a clearer light on the fidelity and honor
of the Scotch, than the fact, that, although
Charles was frequently at the mercy of some of
the poorest mountaineers, the high price which
was set upon his head, could not tempt them to
betray him. One time, after having been with-
out food for days, his dress torn to tatters, by
his briery hiding-places, Charles, finding him-
self near the house of a whig gentleman, sought
shelter in it. " I am your political opponent,"
said the high-minded whig ; " but I am also
your fellow man. I scorn to take advantage of
your distress, and will protect jtou as long as
you choose to remain beneath my roof." He
kept his word, and even furnished the unhappy
prince with a disguise which facilitated his es-
cape. This feeling of forbearance to Charles,
after his defeat, was manifested in a higher
quarter. King George being at a ball, a lady,
who did not know him, asked him to drink to
the health of the pretender. " Willingly," re-
plied the king ; " I cannot refuse to drink to
the health of every unfortunate prince."
With the defeat of the pretender ended all
the hopes of the unfortunate Stuart family.
Charles Edward died at Florence, in 1788.
CHARLES X, Gustavus, king of Sweden,
ascended the throne on the abdication of Chris-
tiana, in 1654. He obtained over the Poles the
famous victory of Warsaw, besides taking a
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number of important places. The Poles, call-
ing to their assistance Muscovy, England, and
Denmark, obliged the king of Sweden to con-
clude a peace ; but the war breaking out again,
Charles took Cronenburgh, and laid siege to
Copenhagen ; his navy having been defeated,
he was obliged to return home, and died in
1C60.
CHARLES XI, of Sweden, was born in
1665. On his accession a peace was concluded
with Denmark, but in 1674, in the war with
that power, he lost several places, which were
restored at the peace of Nimeguen. He mar-
ried the sister of the king of Denmark, and died
in 1697.
CHARLES XII, of Sweden, son and suc-
cessor of the preceding, was born in 1682. He
came to the throne at the age of 15, and, at his
coronation, snatched the crown from the hands
of the archbishop of Upsal, and placed it on his
own head. He was well educated, and very
fond of bodily exercises. The commencement
of his reign, however, gave no splendid proof
of genius or talent. But, on the formation of a
confederacy against him by Russia, Denmark,
and Holland, he seemed to arouse from his
slumber. He himself gave the casting voice in
the council for the most vigorous measures, and
immediately prepared to carry them into effect.
He renounced at once even limited enjoyments,
and bent all his energies to support the charac-
ter he had marked out for himself. Of the con-
federated powers, he attacked each in turn,
beginning with Denmark, which produced a
peace with that power.
In 1700 he obtained a brilliant victory over
the Russians at Narva ; although his force con-
sisted of only 8,000 men, he attacked them in
their intrenchments, slew 30,000 and took
20,000 prisoners. His next enterprise was against
Poland, and after several battles, he dethroned
Augustus, and placed Stanislaus upon the
throne. He obtained some signal advantages
over Peter the Great, but at length experienced
a terrible defeat at Pultowa, in 1709. Almost
all his troops were either slain or taken prison-
ers ; he himself was wounded in the leg, and
carried off in a litter.
Charles sought an asylum in Turkey, where
he was hospitably received by the grand seign-
ior, who provided for him a residence at Ben-
der. He availed himself of his asylum to per-
suade the grand seignior to enter into a war
with Russia, and employed much money, much
time, and many menaces to induce it. His con-
duct was, at length, so violent, that he was or-
dered to leave the Turkish territories. This he
refused to obey. The sultan then directed that
he should be forced away ; but Charles, with
his retinue, resisted the attack of the Janizaries,
till superiority of numbers obliged him to take
shelter in his house, which he defended with
great spirit, and did not yield till the premises
were in flames. He then sallied out, sword in
hand, but being entangled by his long spurs, he
fell and was taken prisoner. After having been
confined as a prisoner six months, he finally set
out on his return to his own dominions.
In 1716 he invaded Norway, but after pene-
trating to Christiana, was obliged to return to
Sweden. He resumed the attack in the winter
of 1718, but was killed by a cannon-shot at the
siege of Frederickshall, December 11, aged 36
years, having reigned 21.
Charles was liberal, active and firm, but rash,
obstinate, and cruel. At the battle of Narva, he
had several horses shot under him, and as he
was mounting upon a fresh one, he said, " These
people find me exercise."
When he was besieged at Stralsund, a bomb
fell into the house while he was dictating to his
secretary, who immediately dropped his pen,
and started up in a fright. " What is the mat-
ter?" said the king, calmly. " The bomb ! the
bomb ! sire," said the agitated secretary. " Well,
sir," resumed Charles, " what has the bomb to
do with what I was dictating to you? Goon."
When struck by the ball that caused his death ;
he instinctively grasped his sword-hilt as if
seeking for revenge. Charles was exceeding
temperate, abjuring wine, and living frequently
upon the coarsest bread. No woman ever ex-
erted any influence over him. His dress con-
sisted of an old cloak, a blue coat with brass
buttons, a plain waistcoat and breeches of leath-
er, high boots with spurs, and long leather
gloves.
CHARLES XIV, of Sweden, originally Jean
Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, served with distinction
in the armies of Napoleon, and was chosen to
fill the throne of Sweden. But from the mo-
ment of his elevation by the Swedes, he ceased
to live for any thing but the good of the nation,
which had adopted him.
CHARLES I, king of Sicily and Naples,
born in 1220, was the son of Louis VIII, of
France. Having married the daughter of the
count of Provence, he thereby became his suc-
cessor, and added to his dominions the coun-
ties of Anjou and Maine. He was taken pris-
oner, with his brother Louis, in Egypt, in 1248.
On his return he defeated Manfred, the usurp-
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er of the Sicilian crown, and assumed the title
of king of Naples. He also defeated his rival,
Conradin, duke of Suabia, and took him and
the duke of Austria prisoners. Charles, on this
occasion, brought infamy on his name, by caus-
ing his royal captives to be put to death, at
Naples, on a public scaffold. After this he laid
the prince of Tunis under tribute, and quelled
the Ghibellines. In 1276, he gained the title of
king of Jerusalem, and meditated an expedition
against Constantinople. But his arbitrary con-
duct occasioned a general insurrection in Sicily,
where 8,000 of the French were massacred on
Easter-Monday, 1282. This massacre is known
by the name of the " Sicilian vespers," the bell
for evening prayers being the signal of revolt.
The Sicilians then chose Peter of Arragon for
their king. Charles died in 1285.
CHARLES MARTEL, son of Pepin Heris-
tel, and mayor of the palace under Clnlperic
and Thierry IV, kings of France. He gained
many victories, the principal of which was over
the Saracen general, Abdalrahman, in 732. On
the death of Thierry, in 737, no successor was
appointed, and Charles conducted the govern-
ment as duke of the Franks. He died in 741,
and left his dominions between his sons Carlo-
man and Pepin ; the latter of whom became
the first king of France of the Carlovingian
race, which name was taken from the founder,
Charles Martel.
CHARLES IV, emperor of Germany, was
the son of John of Luxemburg, and grandson
of the emperor Henry VII. He ascended the
throne in 1347. In his reign the golden bull
was given at the diet of Nuremburg, in 1356,
which established the Germanic constitution.
Charles died in 1378. He was a learned man
and a great patron of letters.
CHARLES V, emperor of Germany, and
king of Spain (in the latter capacity, Charles
I), was born at Ghent, in 1500. He succeeded
to the kingdom of Spain in 1516, and to the
empire on the death of Maximilian, in 1519.
Francis I, of France, disputed with him the
latter title, and their rivalry occasioned a vio-
lent war in 1521. Charles was joined by Henry
VIII of England, and after several important
actions, took Francis prisoner at the battle of
Pavia. A peace having been concluded in
1529, Charles turned his arms against Africa,
where he defeated Barbarossa, entered Tunis,
and re-established Muley -Hassan on the throne.
Soon after this he renewed hostilities against
France, ravaging Champagne and Picardy, till
he was at length obliged to retire, and peace
was restored in 1538. In 1541 he attempted
the conquest of Algiers, but his fleet was dis-
persed by a storm, and the emperor was obliged
to return in disgrace. He again leagued with
England against France, but fortune was not so
favorable to him as she had formerly been, and
he was glad to enter into a treaty in 1545. The
protestant princes of Germany confederated
ao-ainst him, and obtained liberty of conscience
for those of their religion. In 1556 he resigned
the crown to his son Philip, and retired into a
monastery in Estremadura, where he passed
the remainder of his days in religious exercises,
mechanical pursuits, and gardening. He died in
1558. He encouraged artists, and once picked
up a pencil which Titian had dropped, and pre-
sented it to him, saying : " That Titian was
worthy of being served by an emperor." Asa
pious penance, he caused himself to be wrapped
in a shroud, and placed in a coffin, and thus
celebrated his own obsequies. This ceremony
hastened his death.
CHARLES THE BOLD, duke of Burgun-
dy, the son of Philip the Good, was born in
1433. There were constant wars between him
and Louis XI, king of France, who instigated
Charles's subjects, the Liegois, to revolt against
him. Charles seized on Guelderland and Zut-
phen, and afterwards invaded Switzerland, but
his army was put to the rout and his baggage
taken by the Swiss. He collected another army,
but was again defeated, and slain while besieging
Nancy, in 1477. Ashe was thatday putting on his
helmet, the golden lion which formed the crest,
fell to the ground, and he exclaimed, " Ecce
magnum signum Dei!" Behold the sign of
God!
CHARLES IX, of France, son of Henry II
and Catharine of Medici, was born in 1550, and
succeeded to the throne in 1560 ; his mother
conducted the government ; but she so abused
her trust that the protestants revolted, and a
civil war ensued, in which the insurgents were
unsuccessful. The massacre of St. Bartholo-
mew's ensued. It is said that Charles repented
of this horrid crime on his death-bed, in 1574.
CHARLES X, Philip, king of France and
Navarre, ascended the throne, which had been
filled by his brothers, the unfortunate Louis
XVI and Louis XVIII, in September, 1824.
He bore for some time the title of count ofArtois,
and afterwards that of monsieur. He was fond
of expensive pleasures, and distinguished for
the mildness of his manners. Charles was
crowned at Rheims, being anointed with the
holy oil, which it was absurdly pretended had
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been brought from heaven by a dove. He swore
to maintain the charter, but he had not been long
seated on the throne, before he began to play
those " fantastic tricks," which seems to belong
peculiarly to the province of legitimacy. The
press, that vast moral engine at which tyrants
tremble, became obnoxious to the monarch, and
a censorship was established in 1827. The king,
however, showed himself rather favorably dis-
posed to the Greeks, which produced him a
temporary popularity. The ministry of prince
Polignac, however, caused great indignation, on
account of the arbitrary tone of the measures
adopted ; and the unwarrantable prosecution of
the liberal press, hastened the revolution of
1830, when the Parisians overcame the royal
troops, and the French legislature exiled Charles
X, imprisoned the ministers for life, and seated
Louis Philippe on the throne.
CHARLES EMANUEL I, duke of Savoy,
surnamed the Great, was born in 1562. Though
of a week constitution, he was of an enterpris-
ing spirit, and, taking advantage of the internal
commotions of France, in the reign of Henry
III, he seized part of Dauphiny and Provence;
on the death of that monarch, he aspired to the
crown, but was disappointed. A war broke out,
and the French troops took possession of part
of Savoy. By the mediation of the pope, how-
ever, peace was concluded. The duke made a
treacherous attempt to seize Geneva, but his
troops were "-repulsed, and the prisoners that
were taken, were hung up by the Genevans as
robbers. On the death of Francis, duke of
Mantua, in 1613, this restless prince laid claim
to the succession, but was obliged to relinquish
it. The French persuaded him to turn his arms
against Genoa, and he gained some advantages,
but the interference of Spain effected a peace.
He aspired to the imperial crown, and made an
attempt on the duchy of Montserrat, which in-
volved him in a war with France and Spain.
He died in 1630, it is supposed of grief for the
loss of Pignerol.
CHARLESTON, a city and sea-port of South
Carolina, with 30,289 inhabitants, a large pro-
portion of whom are slaves. It is the largest
town in South Carolina, and the emporium, not
only of that state, but of a considerable part of
North Carolina. It is situated on a tongue of
land formed by the confluence of Cooper and
Ashley rivers, at a distance of about seven miles
from the ocean. Much taste is evinced in its
public buildings, and an idea of elegance and
comfort is conveyed by the appearance of its
private houses, which are mostly of brick, and
generally furnished with piazzas. It is a place
of much wealth and commerce.
CHA RLE STOW N, a town of Middlesex
county, Massachusetts, with 8,787 inhabitants,
is separated by Charles River from Boston, from
the centre of which it is one mile distant. The
Navy Yard is one of the largest in the United
States. On Bunker Hill, in this town, was
fought a memorable battle, June 17, 1775. On
the evening of June 16th, Col. Prescott re-
ceived orders to fortify Bunker Hill, but Gen.
Putnam, who had the command of the expedi-
tion, finding Breed's Hill more suitable, the
requisite fortifications were rapidly thrown up
on that height. We must now give a glance at
the respective forces of the contending parties.
The British troops were well equipped and offi-
cered, possessed all the advantages of strict dis-
cipline, and were by no means distrustful of the
issue of the contest. The American army, on
the other hand, had been hastily called togeth-
er, was composed of men, who had few ideas
of military combinations, and whose weapons
were generally fowling-pieces without bayonets,
but who were all animated by one spirit. Their'
leaders were beloved and respected by them, and
were men of tried truth and nerve — Putnam,
Stark, Pomeroy, Warren, and Prescott — men
whose names yet call a glow into the bosom of
every patriot.
The British were not aware of the existence
of the redoubts until the morning of the 17th,
when their ships-of-war, floating batteries, and
the guns of Copps Hill, opened a severe fire on
the Americans. At one o'clock, the troops un-
der Howe landed in Charlestown, and were
soon after reinforced, which swelled their num-
ber to about 5,000 men, with six field-pieces.
The provincial troops amounted to perhaps 2,000
men with two field-pieces. " Don't fire," said
Putnam to his men, " till you can see the whites
of their eyes." The British approached unmolest-
ed till they came within close gun-shot, when
the tremendous fire of the provincials drove
them back with great slaughter. In the second
attack, Charlestown was set on fire and burned
to the ground, adding its raging flames to the
other horrors of the battle scene. As the ammu-
nition of the Americans was nearly exhausted,
the third attack carried the redoubt, although
the provincials resisted the British with the
butt-ends of their muskets, and slowly retreat-
ed from the hill. The Americans lost 115 killed,
(among them general Warren), 305 wounded,
and 30 made prisoners. The British lost 1054
in killed and wounded. On the 17th of June,
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1825, the corner-stone of a monument was laid
with great ceremony, and the work bids fair to
be speedily completed, in a style worthy of the
great event which it commemorates.
CHARLOTTE, Augustus, daughter of queen
Caroline and George IV, a beautiful, amiable,
and accomplished lady, became, at the age of
20, the wife of prince Leopold of Coburg, May
2, 1816. They were tenderly attached to each
other. November 5, 1817, the unfortunate prin-
cess, in becoming the mother of a child that did
not survive her, lost her life. The physician
who had attended her, shot himself. The prin-
cess was beloved by the English nation, and her
death deeply lamented.
CHARON, in mythology, the son of Erebus
and Nox. He was the ferryman of hell, being
supposed to carry the dead across the waves of
Acheron, Cocytus, and the Styx, receiving an
obolus in pay. This coin was placed in the
mouth of the dead, as, without it, it was thought
that the deceased would be condemned to long
and restless wanderings on the dreary banks of
Acheron. Charon was represented as an old
man, of a forbidding aspect, dressed in rags.
CHARYBDIS, the rapacious daughter of
Neptune and Terra, whom Jupiter changed into
a whirlpool. The whirlpool in the Sicilian Sea,
whose origin was thus related in mythology, is
no longer dreaded by mariners, who formerly
were frequently wrecked upon the opposite
rock, Scylla, in attempting to escape from Cha-
rybdis ; the latter is now called Calofaro and
La Rema.
CHASE, Samuel, a distinguished American,
who was born in Maryland, April 17, 1741, and
was one of the signers of the declaration of in-
dependence. In 1796, he was made by Wash-
ington an associate judge of the Supreme Court
ofthe United States. Having been impeached
by the House of Representatives, he was ac-
quitted by the Senate. He died June 9, 1811,
with a high reputation.
CHATHAM, William Pitt, earl of, was the
son of Robert Pitt, Esq., of Boconock, in Corn-
wall, and born November 15, 1708. On quit-
ting the university, he went into the army a3
cornet, but soon left the military life, and, in
1735, obtained a seat in parliament for Old Sa-
rum. His eloquence was first displayed on the
Spanish convention, in 1738, and, in a short
time, Sir Robert Walpole found him the most
powerful opponent he had ever encountered.
The dowager duchess of Marlborough, left Mr.
Pitt a legacy of 10,OOOZ. for his conduct at this
period. In 1746, he was made vice-treasurer
12
of Ireland, and the same year paymaster gen-
eral of the army. In 1755, he resigned his
places ; but the year following, he was appointed
secretary of state for the southern department.
In this post, however, he did not remain long,
on account of some difference with the king ;
but such was his popularity, that his majesty
found it necessary to recall him. In 1757, he
became prime minister, in which situation he
gave a new turn to affairs, and by the vigor of
his measures, subverted the power of France in
Europe, Asia, and America.
In the midst of his glory, George II died, and
Mr. Pitt resigned the helm to lord Bute ; when
his lady was created a peeress, and he himself
rewarded with a pension. In 1766, he was
created a peer, by the title of earl of Chatham,
and at the same time was made lord-privy-seal,
which place he resigned two years afterwards.
During the war of our revolution, he opposed
the ministers, and in a speech on the subject of
the independence ofthe colonies, April 7, 1778,
exerted himself so energetically, as to fall ex-
hausted into the arms of those around him. He
died on the 11th of the following month. A
public funeral and monument were voted by
parliament ; an annuity of 4000/. was annexed
to the earldom of Chatham, and his debts were
discharged.
CHATTERTON, Thomas, a youth whose
early talents and fate have excited great inter-
est, was born at Bristol, in 1752, of poor parents.
In his twelfth year he wrote a poem of some
merit, and at the age of sixteen, successfully
imitated the style of antique English writers,
and introduced to the world as works of great
antiquity, the fruits of his own mind. The
reception he met with in London, led him to
form the most extravagant hopes, which were,
however, never realized, for the wretchedness
of his situation induced him to commit suicide
by poison at the age of 18, in 1770. The poems
which he wrote at 15, he published under the
name of Rowley. His works form a collection
in three volumes, and have gone through many
editions.
CHAUCER, Geoffrey a celebrated English
poet, was the son of a merchant, and was born
in London , in 1328. At the age of 18, his Court
of Love gained him celebrity. He was high in
favor with Edward III, and married the sister
of lady Catharine Swynford, afterwards the wife
of the duke of Lancaster. He filled several
responsible offices, and was sent abroad as am-
bassador. His fortunes varied with those of
the party to which he was attached, but he
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finally lived in the pleasant retirement of Don-
nington castle, where he died in 1400. His
Canterbury Tales are his most celebrated pro-
duction.
CHAUNCY, Charles, a minister of Boston,
Massachusetts, was the son of the erudite and
excellent president Chauncy, of Harvard Uni-
versity, where he was educated. He was born
Jan. 1, 1705, and was ordained pastor of the
first church in Boston, in 1727. He died in his
83d year, Feb. 10th, 1787. His learning, inde-
pendence, and patriotism were constantly and
clearly displayed. The works which he has
left behind, bear incontrovertible proofs of his
talents. He was the particular friend of Doctor
Cooper, of Boston, and an anecdote which re-
gards the two gentlemen, is worthy of preserva-
tion. It must be kept in mind that Doctor
Chauncy was habitually absent like many liter-
ary men, and that Dr. Cooper was famous for
inviting brother clergymen to officiate for him ;
so much so, that it was currently reported that
he used to walk out upon Boston neck every
Saturday afternoon, and- invite the first gentle-
man with a black coat whom he saw coming into
town, to preach for him. Knowing these facts,
a negro servant of Dr. Chauncy determined to
turn them to his own account. This fellow
was in want of a coat, but as he had high ideas
of his own importance, he wished, if possible,
to obtain a new garment, instead of being habit-
ed in the dark, discarded vestments of his wor-
thy master. After having, one morning, brought
the usual supply of wood into Dr. Chauncy's
etudy, he remained standing, and the doctor,
although rather busy, was not long noticing
him. The following conversation then took
place.
" Well, Sambo, what do you want ?"
" Want a coat, sar. De old one so patched
to pieces, I 'fraid to go nowheres."
" Very well, Sambo, go to Mrs. Chauncy ,
and tell her to give you one of mine."
The doctor resumed his studies, but Sambo
retained his position. His master observing
him a second time, but forgetting what had just
passed between them, again asked ;
" What do you want, Sambo?"
" O ! just a coat, sar. Old coat full of holes."
" Very well ; go to Mrs. Chauncy, and she
will give you one of mine."
A second time the doctor resumed his book,
but finding the black still stationary, he began
to recall what had passed, and exclaimed, with
some asperity ; " Well sir, why don 't you
go?"
" 'Cause I 'fraid, Massa Chauncy."
" Afraid? of what?"
" Why, sar, I 'fraid to wear a black coat,
'cause — no — no — it won t do — I can 't tell you,
sar."
" I insist upon it."
" Well then, if I must — sir, 'fraid, 'cause —
oh no ! massa, you '11 be so angry."
" I wish I had my cane here ! " exclaimed the
doctor.
Sambo, finding, from his impatient glance at
the tongs, that there was a possibility of his
finding a substitute, cried out; "Oh! sar!
nebber mind de cane, I '11 tell you why I 'fraid
to wear one of your coats — / 'fraid if I had
annodcr black coat — that doctor Cooper will ask
me to preach for him."
The doctor burst into laughter. " Go, go,
Sambo, and ask Mrs. Chauncy to buy a coat
of whatever color you fancy !"
Sambo hastened off, grinning with delight,
to get a scarlet coat, and Dr. Chauncy ran to
Dr. Cooper to tell him of the whole affair.
CHERBOURG, or Cherburg, a French sea-
port, on the Channel, containing 18,443 inhab-
itants. In 1418, it was taken by Henry V, and
near it took place the famous naval battle of La
Hogue, between the French and English in
1692. Cherburg is remarkable for its vast
breakwater, and its extensive basin and docks,
constructed by the French government.
CHERSON, a Russian city, capital of the
government of Chesson, on the Dnieper, 60
miles from its mouth. It was founded in 1778,
and contains 12,000 inhabitants.
CHESAPEAKE BAY is from 7 to 20 miles
broad, and 190 miles long, extending northerly
through Virginia and Maryland, two of the
United States.
CHESTERFIELD, Philip Dormer Stan-
hope, earl of. a distinguished statesman, orator,
and author, born in London, 1694, died in 1773.
In private life he was distinguished by his
grace and wit, and also notorious for his irregu-
larities. In parliament and in the house of
lords, as ambassador to Holland, and lord-lieu-
tenant to Ireland, he was successful and popu-
lar. His letters to his son have been censured
for their immoral tone, although celebrated for
their elegance. Johnson called Chesterfield a
wit among lords, and a lord among wits. Of
the conduct of the earl as lord-lieutenant, we
have favorable accounts.
When the advocates of intolerance preached
persecution, he answered their counsels by an
apothegm and a bon mot — he quoted Cicero,
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179
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when they quoted Nassau — he gave them par-
ties for their politics — suppers for their sophis-
try— he forced them to swallow his measures
with his claret — and he stopped the mouths of
many with good dinners, on whom good argu-
ments would have been thrown away.
When Lord Chesterfield arrived in Ireland,
all the Catholic places of worship were closed.
A Mr. Fitzgerald saying mass in the obscure
garret of a condemned house, an immense
crowd had assembled, and the floor giving
way, the officiating priest, with many of his
flock, were buried in the ruins, and the greater
number were maimed and wounded. Lord
Chesterfield, horror-struck at the event, ordered
that all the chapels in the capital should be
opened on St. Patrick's day, and they have
never since been closed.
A zealous protestant, thinking to pay his
court to the lord-lieutenant, came to inform him
that one of his coachmen was a Roman Catho-
lic, and went privately to mass. " Does he,
indeed ?" said his lordship, "then I shall take
care that he never drives me there !'"
The bishop of Waterford relates that the
vice-treasurer, Mr. Gardiner, a man of good
character, and considerable fortune, waited
upon lord Chesterfield one morning, and in a
great fright told him that he was assured upon
good authority that the people in the province
of Connaught were actually rising ; upon which
the viceroy looked at his watch, and with great
composure answered him, " It is nine o'clock
and time for them to rise ; I believe, therefore,
that your news is true." Lord Chesterfield
preserved a Catholic population in the most
perfect peace and obedience, during the whole
of that rebellion, which in Protestant England
and Presbyterian Scotland, had nearly restored
the Stuarts to the throne they had forfeited by
their blind and bigoted attachment to papal
institutions.
CHILI, a republic of South America, which
is divided into eight provinces. The eastern
part of Chili is mountainous, and 14 volcanic
summits here elevate themselves from the
lofty chain of the Andes. Innumerable small
and rapid rivers irrigate the rich soil, and the
serene climate is remarkable for its healthiness.
The mineral and vegetable productions are
valuable and abundant. Exclusive of the in-
dependent Indians, the population has been
estimated at 1,200,000. The Roman Catholic
is the established religion.
Pedro de Valdivia, who was sent thither by
Pizarro, overcame the opposition of the abori-
ginees, and founded several cities in the north
and south, but the Araucanians defeated the
Spaniards, and having taken their leader pris-
oner, put him to death. It was many years
before the Spaniards were permitted by the
Indians and Dutch to enjoy quiet possession of
Chili. In 1809, a revolutionary movement took
place, and the party which espoused the cause
of independence was, at first, successful ; but
in 1814, nearly the whole country was subdued
by a royalist army from Peru. Chili remained
under the control of the royalists until 1817,
when General San Martin, with a body of
troops from Buenos Ayres, entered the county,
and being joined by the people generally, de-
feated the royalists in several engagements.
The independence of the country was finally
achieved at the battle of Maypu, April 5, 1817.
The government has since experienced many
changes, and even now remains in an unsettled
CHILLINGWORTH, William, a celebrated
protestant divine and controversial writer. He
was born at Oxford, 1602, and died in 1644,
having been appointed chancellor of Salisbury,
in July, 1638.
CHIMBORAZO, a mountain in the republic
of the Equator, one of the highest summits of
the Andes, its elevation being 21,440 feet above
the level of the sea.
CHIMERA, a monster said to have ravaged
Lycia, and to have been killed by Bellerophon.
Her form was a mixture of incongruous parts.
CHINA is a vast country of Asia, bounded
on the north by Chinese Tartary, from which
the famous Chinese wall separates it ; on the
east, by the Eastern Sea ; on the south by the
Chinese Sea, and Further India ; and on the
west by an extensive and sandy desert, and
long ridges of mountains, which divide it from
Western Tartary and Thibet.
Inclusive of the tributary countries, and those
states which have voluntarily placed themselves
under the protection of China, the population
amounts to nearly 200 million inhabitants,
which are scattered over a surface of about
5,250,000 square miles. The subjected coun-
tries are Mantchouria, Mongolia, and Tourfan ;
the protected ones, Thibet, Bootan, Corea, and
Loo-choo. China Proper is divided into 18
provinces. The Kiau-Ku, or Yang-tse, and the
Hoang-Ho, or Yellow River, are the two prin-
cipal rivers of China. The former is more than
2,500 miles long. The face of the country is
greatly diversified ; the northern and western
parts being the most broken. The climate, in
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general, is healthy, although the northern part
is cold, and the southern hot.
The soil is fertile, and the prevalent crop, at
least in the south, is rice. Besides this, tea,
barley, and other grain, are abundantly raised.
The commerce is very extensive ; the principal
articles of export being tea, silk, nankins, porce-
lain, and the valuable vegetable productions of
the east. The imperial canal, and the Chinese
wall, are monuments of Chinese skill and in-
dustry. The religion of China is Buddhism, or
the religion of Fo. The language of the Chi-
nese is peculiar, the number of characters being
40,000. The Chinese are, to a certain degree,
well educated, but revengeful, timid, vain, and
artful. Polygamy is permitted, and the condi-
tion of females wretched in the extreme. Poor
parents are permitted to drown their female
children, and this is done without remorse.
The Chinese is, on the whole, by far the
best Asiatic government of Asia. It is better,
far, than any of the Mohammedan despotisms ;
it is better than any government that the Hin-
doos ever possessed, and it is far preferable to
the Theocracies of the Birmans, Siamese, and
other Chinese nations. The absence of a pow-
erful and influential priesthood, and of an hered-
itary and privileged aristocracy, as well as of
petty principalities with delegated and heredi-
tary authority, may be stated as among the
leading causes of the prosperity of the Chinese
empire.
The government of China is patriarchal ; the
emperor has the title of "Holy Son of Heaven,
sole Governor of the earth, and Great Father
of his people." But it is patriarchal on the
largest scale of which there is any record, for the
family consists of nearly two hundred million
members. China may be considered as a huge
school-house, the master having the birch con-
stantly in his hand, frequently using it, and
delegating his authority to thousands of ushers,
who are equally liberal in its application. But
the rod, although the chief, is not the only
instrument of government. There is the canque,
or wooden ruff, a kind of portable stocks or
pillory, very convenient to the executors of the
law, but exceedingly inconvenient to the wear-
er, who can neither sleep nor lie down for it.
Then there is imprisonment in cages ; further-
more decapitation, not however very frequent ;
and in extreme cases their crucifixion, or as it
is technically called, the death by painful and
slow means.
The grand panacea, however, after all, is the
rod. The general application of this vigorous
instrument of administration, is by no means
confined to China, but embraces the other coun-
tries of the east, from Japan to Bengal, includ-
ing about 300,000,000 of people, or nearly one
half the human race. There the rod, under its
various appellations of bamboo, cane, cudgel, or
birch, is actively at work from morning till
night, and afterwards, from night till morning.
The Grand Patriarch canes his first ministers ;
the prime minister canes his secretary of state ;
the secretaries of state admonish the lords of
the treasury, by belaboring their backs ; these
enforce their orders to the first lord of the
admiralty by applying what is equal to the cat
o' nine tails. Generals cane field officers, and
field officers the captains and subalterns. Of
course the common soldiers of the celestial em-
pire are caned by every body. The husbands
cane their wives, and the wives cane their
children. Of course the Chinese and their
neighbors may be truly described as well-flogged
nations.
Without going back to that remote antiquity,
to which the Chinese historians pretend, it will
be sufficient to credit records of this empire
from 2,000 years B. C. Prior to that period,
five dynasties are computed, at the head of the
first of which was Yu-Ta. Ching-tang was the
founder of the second dynasty, named Chang,
B. C. 1767, and was celebrated for his wisdom,
moderation, and singular merit. This dynasty,
after the reign of 28 emperors, was terminated,
like the former, by the vices of him who last
filled the throne. The third dynasty, named
Chew, or Cheva, B. C. 1122, consisted of 35
emperors, some of whom exhibited virtues de-
serving of high applause, while the faults and
vices of others excited the vengeance of the
people.
During the reign of Ching, the second em-
peror of the 4th dynasty, called Tsin, B. C.
256, the great wall was built. Elated with his
own exploits, he formed the design of making
posterity believe that he was the first emperor
that filled the Chinese throne ; and for this
purpose, ordered all the historical books, which
contained the fundamental records and laws of
the ancient governments, to be burned, and 400
of the learned to be put to death, for having at-
tempted to save some of the proscribed vol-
umes.
The chieftian of banditti, Lieu-pang, des-
troyed the last emperor of the fourth dynasty,
and founded the fifth, called Hang, in his
own person, B. C. 207. He proved himself
worthy of the throne by his moderation and
1
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CHI
clemency, and was one of the few emperors
who governed for themselves. Under the rest,
factions were formed, one of which, known by
the appellation of the yellow-caps, made itself
master of the empire, which ended in its dismem-
berment. The sixth dynasty was begun by a
prince descended from Lieu-pang, A. D. 220,
and ended with his grandson, who, ardent and
courageous, sustained for sometime his father's
tottering throne, which was attacked from every
quarter. At length, seeing affairs tend to a most
fatal crisis, the emperor, deficient in courage,
still refused to fight ; and the young prince, af-
flicted at his cowardice, retired to the hall of
his ancestors, slew his wife, and then himself.
The emperor tamely surrendered to Song-chau,
his rival, who granted him a petty sovereignty.
Shi-tsu-vu-ti, the son of the rebel Song-chau,
was the founder of the seventh dynasty, and
preserved by his arms the empire they had ac-
quired for him. After a series of fifteen empe-
rors, during whose reign Nankin became the
capital of the empire, this dynasty terminated
in Nagan-Ti, an indolent prince, unworthy of a
crown. In his reign, a man named Lyen-Hu,
whose employment was that of selling shoes,
enlisted as a soldier, became a general, and at
last usurped the throne. His race consisted of
eight emperors. Kanti, the founder of the ninth
dynasty, obtained the throne by the murder of
two princes, A. D. 479, but did not long enjoy
the fruits of his wickedness. He was more
remarkable for his learning than his military
exploits. His son enacted the famous law
which prohibited the mandarins remaining more
than three years in the same place. This dy-
nasty did not produce more than five emperors.
The tenth dynasty comprehends only four
sovereigns beginning with Syau-gwen, the
j prime minister and assassin of the last prince,
' A. D. 502. He was active, industrious, and
: vigilant. The last emperor but one attached
1 himself to the religion of Fo, and while his at-
■ tention was absorbed in the mysteries taught by
, the disciples, his prime minister attacked him in
his capital. At length the sovereign awoke
from his religious reveries, took up arms, march-
ed round the ramparts, examined the position
of the enemy, and exclaimed, " All is lost, it is
ill over with the sciences !" He then set fire
x> his library, which consisted of 140,000 vol-
i imes, and surrendered to the conqueror, who
put to death both him and his son. Like his
predecessor, the founder of the 11th dynasty,
\. D. 557, was extremely attached to the bon-
ses. His race produced only five emperors, the
last of whom was dethroned by the prime min-
ister of the western empire.
The three emperors who composed the 12th
dynasty, commencing A. D. 589, performed
great actions, and are renowned in history. The
first, who had no pretensions to learning, was
endowed with a solid and penetrating mind.
He loved his people, and built public granaries,
which were annually filled with rice and corn
by the opulent, to be distributed to the poor in
times of scarcity. Kong-ti was dethroned by
Si-gwen, A. D. 617, the same year in which he
was crowned. The son of this man, on arriv-
ing at the emperor's palace was astonished at
its magnificence, and said, " No : such a stately
edifice must not be suffered to stand any longer,
as it is good for nothing but to corrupt the heart
of a prince, and render him effeminate." After
this reflection, he ordered the whole build-
ing to be set on fire and reduced to ashes.
Tai-tsong, his son, was one of the greatest
and wisest princes that ever graced the Chinese
throne. Tai-tfu, the assassin and successor of
the 20th sovereign of this race, established the
14th dynasty, A. D. 907, but did not live long
to enjoy the fruit of his crime. He was slain
by his eldest son, who was himself killed by
his brother Moti. Anarchy raging in the em-
pire, an able general, supported by a powerful
party, attacked Moti, who, being vanquished,
committed suicide, and his family became ex-
tinct. Chwang-tsong, the victorious general,
assumed the character of emperor, and founded
the 15th dynasty, A. D. 923. During his reign,
block-printing was invented among the Chi-
nese. This dynasty produced four emperors,
the last of whom, being pursued by the mur-
derers of his father, burned himself, together
with his family. Of the emperors of the two
succeeding dynasties, commencing A. D. 936,
nothing of importance is recorded by historians,
who narrate little more than the accession to
the throne, and death of the several sovereigns.
Tai-tou was the founder of the 18th dynasty,
A. D. 951, and had a profound veneration for
Confucius, to whose tomb he paid a visit. His
son, Chi-tsong, imitated all his virtues, and,
when at the very summit of human grandeur,
still retained a modest deportment. Tay-tou,
the founder of the 19th dynasty, A. D. 960,
was worthy of his exaltation, and possessed all
the qualities to render a state happy and flourish-
ing. Under Ching-tsong, the third emperor of
the dynasty, the number of persons employed
in cultivating the land was computed to be
about 22,000,000.
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182
CHI
Under Li-tsou, the 14th emperor, who was
himself by no means warlike, his generals ex-
pelled the eastern Tartars, who retreated nearly
into their own territories, but returned and con-
quered China, which they still possess. Shi-
tsu, the founder of the 20th dynasty, A. D.
1279, though a Tartar, and the first foreign
!>rince that reigned over the Chinese, effectual-
y reconciled them to his government, and even
endeared himself to them, by observing their
ancient laws and customs, by his equity and
justice. His successors, till the ninth, in whom
terminated the race, established the religion of
Fo in China. One of them invited the grand
lama from Thibet, whom he received with the
most extraordinary ceremonies : and with the
lamas entered also magic, dancing girls, and de-
bauchery, which in the end perverted the wise
government. A servant of the bonses, named
Chu, headed a revolt, and compelled the emperor
Shunti to flee, with whom ended the Tartar
dynasty of Y wen, which was succeded by that
of Ming, founded by Chu, who, ascending the
throne, took the name of Tay-tsu, A. D. 1368.
The piety of the new emperor equaled his wis-
dom and penetration. The catastrophe of this
race, which ended with the 13th emperor, was
announced and preceded by continual commo-
tions during several reigns. The nobles of the
empire called in against the insurgents the Man-
chew or eastern Tartars, who again possessed
themselves of the Chinese throne. This memo-
rable revolution happened in the year 1644.
The nobility had imagined that they should find
the Tartars merely auxiliaries, who would assist
them in placing a Chinese emperor on the
throne ; but when these allies had compelled
the rebels to lay down their arms, they consid-
ered the empire as a fair reward for their labor.
However, the Chinese princes of the blood did
not tamely submit to this usurpation. Several
competitors arose against Shun-chi, the first
Manchew emperor ; but, though hostilities were
carried on with great obstinacy by sea and land,
the vigor of the Tartars completely prevailed
over every adversary.
Shun-chi was succeeded by his son Kang-hi,
A. D. 1661. This prince was not only endow-
ed with all the qualifications requisite to render
him worthy of the imperial diadem, but was
also very happy in the choice that his father
had made of four noble guardians, who studied
to preserve the empire in a flourishing and
peaceable condition. Kang-hi was succeeded
by his son Yong-shing, A. D. 1722, who as-
cended the throne at the age of forty-five, and
who reigned with absolute power, and was
greatly dreaded by his subjects. The death of
this emperor took place, A. D. 1735. This
prince was succeeded by Kieu-hong, who, after
a happy, peaceable, and long reign of sixty-
three years, died on the 11th of February, 1799.
On his death, Kia-king, the fifth of the Tartan
dynasty, ascended the throne. He died in 1820,
and was succeeded by the present emperor, his
second son, Tara-Kwang.
CHINA, Dynasties of.
The Hia Dynasty, 2207 to 1767, B. C.
The Shang Dynasty, 1767 to 1122.
The Tchuen Dynasty, H22 to 256.
The Tasin Dynasty, 256 to 257, B. C.
The Hang Dynasty, 207, B. C. to 220, A. D.
From 220 to 280, China was divided into
three kingdoms, the Shohang dynasty, 220 to
263 ; that of the Goei in the north, 220 to 265,
and that of the El in the south, 220 to 280.
The Tsin Dynasty, 265 to 420.
The U-ta Dynasties, 420 to 589.
The Sui Dynasty, 589 to 617.
The Tang Dynasty, 617 to 907.
The Hehu-u-ta Dynasty, 907 to 960.
The Song Dynasty, 960 to 1279.
The Mogul Khans, 1279 to 1368.
The Ming Dynasty, 1368 to 1644.
The Tsing Dynasty,
Shiin-tchi, 1644 to 1661.
Kang-hi, 1661 to 1722.
Yong-tching, 1722 to 1735.
Kien-long, 1735 to 1799.
Kia-king, 1799 to 1820.
Tara-kwang, 1820.
CHIPPEWAY ; a town in Upper Canada,
on a river of the same name, two miles north-
west of Niagara Falls, where the British troops
were signally defeated by the Americans, Julv
5, 1814.
CHIVALRY. The institution and spirit of
chivalry, forming a prominent and important
feature of history, has been regarded by writers
and men of erudition, in various points of view,
and, while some have condemned it as alto-
gether injurious and absurd, others have digni-
fied it with the title of sublime. There have
been found men of modern days, and those the
fortunate possessors of more than common abili-
ties, who could sigh over the degeneracy of the
times, and lament that the age of chivalry is
gone. But if the material and least worthy
part of it has passed away, its spirit still re-
mains, still invites men to high and honorable
deeds, and is indeed imperishable and immor-
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CHI
tal. The vows of knighthood, the ceremonials
of installations, the pomp and ceremony of
knightly feats have gone, but the devotion of the
patriot, the ardor of the warrior, the warmth
of the lover, the fidelity of the friend, the loy-
alty and truth of the man of honor, do not
sleep in the graves of Charlemagne, Roland,
and Bayard.
In seeking for the origin of Chivalry, we are led
back to the feudal ages, and the consideration of
the condition of the Geomanic tribes, when its
peculiar spirit first began to display itself. The
tribes were composed not of superiors and infe-
riors, but of masters and slaves; of men whose
birthright was ease and honor, and of others,
who inherited the bond of ceaseless toil. By
the noble-born labor of any kind was consider-
ed degrading, and the profession of arms alone
worthy of being followed, so that the lords of
the soil were a race of independent warriors,
whose thirst for fame was a continual excite-
ment. The different feudal sovereigns were
nominally subject to a legitimate prince, and
were bound to follow his banner into battle, at
the head of their vassals, and to respond to his
call by bringing, at a moment's warning, an
armed force to his support. Still, when re-
moved from the presence of his sovereign, the
feudal lord was a petty despot, whose vassals
felt that he possessed absolute power of life and
death over them.
Unlimited authority gave rise to various
abuses, and it was well that chivalry, with its
high tone of honor and morality, sprang up in
ages of general darkness, fraud, and oppression.
Great enterprises contributed to bind numbers
j of knights together, and led to the formation
'j of various societies and orders, and when these
i military adventurers were not leagued together
| in any of the Holy Wars, a reciprocity of prin-
i ciple, and an identity of religion, held them in
; a common chain. Animated by a love of jus-
,'jtice, a veneration for the fair-sex, a high-mind-
i ed regard for truth, a thirst for military glory,
J and a contempt for danger, the knights went
I forth te brave peril, to rescue the unfortunate,
j and to crush the oppressor. Numerous indi-
viduals set forth with no fixed purpose but that
| jf discovering some wrong and righting it, and
1 Jiese wandering champions were called Knights
Errant, and their exploits sang in camp and
I ;ourt by the minstrels whose lays immortalized
1 he sons of chivalry. Chivalry degenerated,
)ut not rapidly. After the lapse of many years
i rom its foundation, the number of its ceremo-
lials increased, its pageantry was disgraced by
frippery and folly, its vows were unobserved ;
a devotion to the sex was succeeded by bound-
less licentiousness, and the wandering spirit of
knight-errantry was displaced by an affectation
of eccentricity.
In the 14th century the honors of knighthood
were restricted to the nubility, and then arose
the various forms and ceremonies, which at
length concealed the original design of chival-
ry, and brought on a premature decline. The
knightly education of a youth generally com-
menced with his 12th year, when he was sent
to the court of some noble pattern of chivalry,
to learn dancing, riding, the use of his weapon,
&c, and where his chief duty was assiduous
attention to the ladies in the quality of page.
According to his progress in years and accom-
plishments, he became squire to some knight,
and when he fairly merited the distinction, he
was himself knighted. This honor was not
conferred upon a youth before his 21st year,
unless high birth, or extraordinary valor and
address seemed to warrant the setting aside of
the usual regulation. Sometimes the honor was
won by many a field of bloody toil, with many
drops of sweat and gore, and not unfrequently,
one daring achievement, artfully planned, and
gallantly carried into execution, procured the
wished-for spurs, and the anticipated accolade.
The ceremony of conferring knighthood was
often performed on the field of battle where the
honor had been earned ; often it required and
received the most imposing preparations and
ceremonies. The young candidate guarded his
arms for a night, and this was called the vigil
of arms. In the morning he bathed in water,
which was the emblem of the truth and purity
which he swore to preserve sacred. Clad in
spotless garments, he kneeled before the altar
of the nearest church, and, having presented
his sword to the officiating priest, received it
again with the benediction of the reverend
man. After taking the oaths of allegiance, he
knelt before his sovereign, who gave him the
accolade, or blow upon the neck, with the flat of
his sword, saluted the young warrior, and said :
" In the name of God and St. Michael, (or, in the
name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost), I dub
thee a knight. Be loyal, brave and fortunate."
It was customary for two knights of the same
age and congenial tempers to form a friendship,
and this brotherhood in arms lasted generally
until one of the two was laid in the grave. The
courtesy of chivalry softened the asperity of
war, gave charms to victory, and assuaged to
the vanquished, the pain of a defeat. All that
I
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CHR
ingenuity could plan, and wealth produce, to
give splendor to knighthood was displayed in
the age of chivalry. Magnificent tournaments
were held, where even kings entered the lists
and contended for the prize of valor before the
eyes of thousands of spectators, among whom
beautiful ladies appeared the most deeply inter-
ested. In fact the knights often contended about
the charms of their lady-loves, and wore their
favors in their helmets. If the ladies of Rome
attended gladiatorial shows in throngs, we can-
not wonder that the beauties of the age of chiv-
alry looked forward to a tournament with great
impatience, and eagerly strove for the honor of
filling the post of temporary queen and distribu-
ter of the prizes.
Chivaly exerted a powerful influence on poet-
ry, and formed the subjects of the poems of the
troubadours of the south of France, as well as
supplied themes for the poetical controversies
of the knights, which were decided at the
Cours 'd Amour (courts of love), first establish-
ed in Provence. Even after chivalry had died
away, its influence was not unfelt by poetry,
which retained the tone it had imparted for
many centuries. The songs of the troubadours
were divided into amatory songs, duets, pasto-
rals, serenades, ballads, poetical colloquies, &c.
In the romances of chivalry we behold paladins
and peers, sorcerers, fairies, winged and intelli-
gent horses, invisible or invulnerable men, magi-
cians who are interested in the birth and educa-
tion of knights, enchanted palaces ; in a word
the creation of a new world which leaves our
vulgar planet far beneath it. Paladins never
without arms, in a country bristling with for-
tresses, find their delight and honor in punish-
ing injustice and defending weakness. The
chivalric romances may be divided into three
classes, those of the Round Table. Those
of Charlemagne, and lastly those of Amadis,
which belong to a later century. It will suf-
fice to speak of the former. The romances
of the Round Table recount tales of the
cup from which Jesus Christ drank with Jo-
seph of Arithmathia. This cup had performed
such prodigies, that we are not astonished that
those valorous knights of the Round Table,
Lancelot, Perceval, and Perceforest, are united
with the determination to recover it. These
preux chevaliers are the perpetual heroes of
these romances. Lancelot is attached to Gen-
icore, the wife of king Arthur, and his marvel-
lous exploits excited the admiration of contempo-
raries. Three centuries after, lords and ladies
were still delighted at the recital of " the very
elegant, delicious, mellifluous, and very pleasant
historie of the very noble and very victorious
Perceforest." Amidst many pages of weari-
some insipidity, we find some happy descriptions
and situations, detailed, and graphic portraits
of feudal men and manners.
The absurdities of chivalry afforded scope for
the satirical and comic powers of Cervantes,
and the adventures of the unfortunate Don
Quixote are read with an interest which few
works of similar character inspire. Every feature
of chivalry is happily burlesqued, and the Don
goes through all the ceremonials with a ludicrous
gravity which is perfectly irresistible. The
pertinacity with which the knights maintained
the pre-eminence of the ladies of their affec-
tions is finely satirised in the election which
Don Quixote makes of a hideous country
wench, whose charms he celebrates after the
most approved fashion and with unceasing de-
votion. Few ladies of chivalric romance have
attained a degree of reputation comparable to
that of the immortal Dulcinea del Toboso.
CHRIST. (See Jesus.)
CHRISTIANA, queen of Sweden, daughter
of Gustavus Adolphus, was born in 1626, and
died April 19, 1689. She was remarkable for
acts and habits foreign to her sex, viz. learning,
murder, and apostasy. Her conduct was so
flagrant, that she found it difficult to procure an
asylum in any state, after having been exclud-
ed from her own. She died at Rome.
CHRISTOPHE, Henri, king of Hayti, was
born October 6, 1767. In early life he was a
slave and passed from the hands of one master
to another, being successively a cook, and an
overseer. The French were conquered by the
exertions of Dessalines and Christophe, the
latter of whom was general-in-chief of the ar-
my duiing the short-lived imperial government
of the former. In 1806, an insurrection broke
out in Hayti, in which Dessalines, the emperor,
was killed by the negroes whom he had provok-
ed by his cruelty and oppression. His succes-
sor, Christophe, assumed the humbler title of
chief of the government, and in that capacity
opened the commerce of his dominions to neu-
tral nations, by a proclamation distinguished for
its liberal spirit and enlightened views.
In 1811 Christophe changed the republic into
a monarchy, and proclaimed himself king of
Hayti. A short time before his coronation he
created a nobility consisting of princes, dukes,
counts, and barons, to give greater splendor to
the ceremony. He created a legion of honor,
called the order of St. Henri, and altered the
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name of his capital from Cape Francois to Cape
Henri. His troops, at this time, amounted to
about 10,000 men, ail negroes, and his fleet con-
sisted of one forty -four-gun frigate, nine sloops
of war, and a number of schooners. On the 12th
December, 1820, Christophe, hearing that his
troops had abandoned him, shot himself through
the head, and the opposite party immediately
proclaimed a republican government.
CHRISTOPHER, ST., commonly called St.
Kitts, a West India island, discovered by Co-
lumbus in 1493. Its length is 15 miles. It is a
valuable possession of Great Britain, and con-
tains 23,900 inhabitants.
CHRYSOSTOM, ST., one of the fathers of
the church, an eloquent and pious man, who
died 407.
CHURCH, States of the, the dominions of
the Pope, are situated in the centre of Italy,
between Naples, and Lombardy, and Tuscany,
and the Tuscan and Adriatic Seas, and con-
tains 17,185 square miles, occupied by 2,460,000
inhabitants.
CHURCH, Benjamin, a native of Duxbury,
Massachusetts, was born in 1639, and distin-
guished himself by his address and daring in
the Indian wars. His services during king
Philip's war were great, and he commanded the
party that killed the sachem of Mount Hope,
in August, 1676. He died in his 78th year,
Jan. 17, 1718.
CHURCHILL, Charles, a famous English
poet, born 1731, died in 1764. His political sa-
tires were received with great applause, and his
Prophecy of Famine, a Scotch pastoral, contain-
ing a severe satire upon the Scots, was read
with eagerness, and procured notoriety for its
author.
CIBBER, Colley, an English actor and dra-
matist, was born in London in 1671, and died
in 1757, seven years after he quitted the theatre.
His comedy of the Careless Husband received
even the approbation of the bitter Pope.
CICERO, Marcus Tullius, the celebrated
orator, born at Arpinum 106 B.C., was the son
of a Roman knight. In Sicily he exercised
the qucestorship with equity and moderation, and
freed the Sicilians from the tyranny and avarice
of Verres. He discharged the offices of edile
and praetor, and stood for the consulship, at a
time when Catiline was making the most vigor-
ous efforts to oppose him. Catiline, with many
dissolute and desperate Romans, had conspired
against his country, and planned the murder of
Cicero himself. The plot being discovered chiefly
by the efforts of Cicero, he commanded Catiline
to leave the city, and the desperate traitor march-
ed forth to meet the 20,000 men that were assem-
bled to support his cause. The rebels were de-
feated, and the conspirators capitally punished.
After this memorable deliverance, Cicero receiv-
ed the thanks of the people, and the title of father
of his country and second founder of Rome.
The vehemence with which he attacked Clo-
dius, proved injurious to him ; and when his
enemy was made tribune, Cicero was banished
from Rome, though 20,000 young men were
ready to attest his innocence. After an absence
of 16 months, during which he had been favor-
ably received wherever he presented himself,
he was recalled, and entered Rome to the uni-
versal satisfaction. When he was sent, with the
power of proconsul to Cilicia, his integrity and
prudence made him successful against the
enemy, and on his return he was honored with
a triumph, which, however, the factions pre-
vented him from enjoying.
During the civil wars between Ceesar and
Pompey, he joined the latter, and followed him
to Greece. When victory had declared in fa-
vor of Caesar, at the battle of Pharsalia, Cicero
went to Brundusium, and was reconciled to the
conqueror, who treated him with great humani-
ty. From this time Cicero retired into the
country, and seldom visited Rome. After the
assassination of Csesar, Cicero recommended a
general amnesty, and was strongly in favor of
having the provinces decreed to Brutus and
Cassius, but finding the interest of the republi-
cans decrease, and Antony come into power, he
retired to Athens. He soon after returned,
but lived in perpetual fear of assassination.
The enmity of Antony finally proved fatal to
him ; and Augustus, Antony, and Lepidus, to
destroy all causes of quarrel, and each to des-
patch his enemies, produced their lists of pro-
scription. Cicero was among the proscribed.
He fled but was pursued, and put to death in
his 64th year, B. C. 43. Cicero was a sincere
patriot, and was unquestionably one of the
brightest ornaments of the age in which he
lived. Hi3 eloquence was winning, and his pen
possessed the power of his tongue. His ora-
tions and philosophical works are models of
style. Cicero possessed a sparkling wit, and
many of his bon-mots have descended to pos-
terity.
CID, Don Rodrigo Dias, count of Bivar, sur-
named the Cid (a Moorish word, signifying
lord), one of the most renowned knights of
Spain, was born in 1026 and signalized himself
against the Moors, winning the esteem of his
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186
CLA
countrymen who bestowed upon him the title
of Campcador (incomparable). On the acces-
sion ot Sancho to the throne of Castile, the
knight of Bivar accompanied him to the siege
of Zamora, whence he brought back the troops
and the dead body of the warrior monarch,
who fell by treachery. Alfonso, the brother
of Sancho, was then placed on the throne, after
swearing that he had no participation in the
murder of Sancho. His last exploit was the
capture of Saguntum, and he died at Valencia,
1099. He was buried at Castile, and near him
lies interred his beloved and faithful charger,
Babieca.
CILICIA, a country of antiquity, south of
Mount Taurus, between Pamphylia and Syria,
the coast of which was inhabited by a piratical
race. The Macedonians, Syrians, and Romans
successively possessed it, and it was a province
of the Roman empire from the time of Vespa-
sian till the fall of Rome.
CIMBRI,or Cimmerians, an ancient tribe of
the Germans, the first of that people with whom
the Greeks became acquainted. Their origin is
doubtful ; they were warlike, and made them-
selves formidable to other nations.
CIMON, an Athenian, son of Miltiades and
Hegesipul, famous for his debaucheries in his
youth, and the reformation of his morals when
he arrived at years of discretion. He behaved
with great courage at the battle of Salamis, and
rendered himself popular, by his munificence
and valor. He defeated the Persian fleet, took
200 ships, and totally routed their land-army,
on the same day. Cimon afterward lost his
popularity, and was banished by the Athenians,
who declared war against the Lacedaemonians ;
but having been recalled from his exile, recon-
ciled Lacedaamon and his country. He was
afterwards appointed to carry on the war against
Persia ; gave battle to the enemy on the coast
of Asia, and totally destroyed their fleet. He
died as he was besieging the town of Citium,
in Cyprus, B. C. 449, in the 51st year of his
age.
CINCINNATI, a flourishing city in the state
of Ohio, on the north bank of the Ohio, con-
taining, in 1830, 24,831 inhabitants. It was
founded in 1789, and its growth has been aston-
ishingly rapid. It contains very extensive
manufacturing establishments. Its population
at present exceeds 30,000.
CINCINNATUS, Lucius Quintus, a cele-
brated Roman. Having been informed, as he
ploughed his field, that the senate had chosen
him dictator, he left his farm with regret, and
repaired to the assistance of his countrymen,
whom he found hard pressed by the Volsci and
jEqui. He conquered the enemy and returned
to Rome in triumph; and, sixteen days after
his appointment, laid down his office, and re-
turned to his agricultural employments. In his
80th year he was again summoned against
Praeneste, as dictator, and after a successful
campaign, resigned the unlimited power, which
had been reposed in him. He flourished about
4G0 years B. C.
CINNA, Lucius Cornelius, a Roman consul
who leagued with Marius to deluge Rome with
blood. He was stoned to death.
CIRCASSIA, a country of Asia, lying be-
tween the Black and the Caspian Sea. The
Circassians are Mohammedans, and are under
the protection of Russia. They are a warlike
race. The females are celebrated for their beau-
ty, and are esteemed the brightest ornaments
of an eastern seraglio. Circassia contains
about 550,000 inhabitants.
CISALPINE REPUBLIC. This name was
given by Bonaparte to a republic which receiv-
ed its constitution in 1797, and which finally
included a territory of more than 16,337 square
miles, inhabited by three and a half millions of
inhabitants. It included, among other districts,
Austrian Lombardy, the Mantua and Vene-
tian provinces, Bergamo, Brescia, Crema, Ve-
rona, and Rovigo, the duchy of Modena, the
principality of Massa and Carrara, Bologna,
Ferrara, Messola, and Romagna.
CLAPPERTON, Captain Hugh, an officer
in the English navy, born at Annan, in Scot-
land, in 1788. Having served with distinction,
he was anxious to join doctor Oudney , and Den-
ham, in their expedition to Africa. After ac- '
quiring a vast fund of information in regard to
the interior of Africa, he returned to England,
but died in the vicinity of Soccatoo, while on a
second expedition of discovery, April 13th, 1827.
Richard Lander was his servant.
CLARE, John, a peasant of Northampton-
shire, England, was born at Helpstone, July
13th, 1793. His talents displayed themselves
as early as his 13th year. A collection of his
poems was published in 1819, and their recep-
tion by the public was highly flattering. Rais-
ed by his pen from abject poverty, Clare soon
saw himself in possession of a comfortable
property.
CLARENDON, Edward Hyde, earl of, lord
high chancellor of England, was born 1608, and
educated at Oxford. He became chancellor of
exchequer and member of the privy council
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187
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under Charles I, and was loaded with honors
by Charles II. Having, however, lost the royal
favor, he was deprived of his offices ; threatened
with impeachment, and compelled to fly to
France, where he died, at Rouen, in 1674.
CLARKE, George Rogers, an American
officer, who was engaged against the Indians,
throughout the revolutionary war, on the fron-
tiers of Virginia. In 1778, he was appointed to
command a force for the protection of Illinois.
He built fort Jefferson on the eastern bank of
the Mississippi, and in 1781, received a gener-
ral's commission. He died in 1817, near Louis-
ville, Kentucky. The following anecdote is
related of him in an authentic work.
The Indians came in to the treaty of fort
Washington in the most friendly manner, ex-
cept the Shawahanees, the most conceited and
warlike of the aborigines, the first in at a battle,
the last at a treaty. Three hundred of their
finest warriors set off in all their paint and
feathers, and filled the council-house. Their
number and demeanor, so unusual at an occa-
sion of this sort, was altogether unexpected and
suspicious. The United States' stockade mus-
tered 70 men. In the centre of the hall, at a
little table, sat the commissary-general, Clarke,
the indefatigable scourge of these very wander-
ers, General Richard Butler, and Mr. Parsons.
There was also present a Captain Denny, who,
I believe, is still alive, and can attest this story.
On the part of the Indians, an old council-
sachem and a war-chief took the lead. The
latter, a tall, raw-boned fellow, with an impu-
dent and villanous look, made a boisterous
and threatening speech, which operated effectu-
ally on the passions of the Indians, who set
up a prodigious whoop at every pause. He
concluded by presenting a black and white
wampum, to signify they were prepared for
either events, peace or war. Clarke exhibited
the same unaltered and careless countenance
he had shown during the whole scene, his head
leaning on his left hand, and his elbow resting
on the table. He raised his little cane, and
pushed the sacred wampum off the table, with
very little ceremony. Every Indian, at the
same time, started from his seat with one of
i those sudden, simultaneous, and peculiarly sav-
ige sounds, which startle and disconcert the
stoutest heart, and can neither be described nor
forgotten. At this juncture, Clarke arose.
The scrutinizing eye cowered at his glance.
He stamped his foot on the prostrate and in-
sulted symbol, and ordered them to leave the
I *all. They did so apparently involuntarily.
They were heard all that night, debating in the
bushes near the fort. The raw-boned chief was
for war, the old sachem for peace. The latter
prevailed, and the next morning they came
back and sued for peace.
CLAUDIUS I, emperor of Rome, the son of
Drusus, and the successor of the infamous Ca-
ligula. He made some conquests in Britain,
and built several noble structures in Rome. He
was poisoned by his wife Agrippina, who wish-
ed to place her son, Nero, on the throne, A. D.
54. He was then 63 years of age.
CLEMENT. This name has been borne by
several popes. Clement XIV, suppressed the
order of the Jesuits, and gave many proofs of
great liberality in religious matters. He is best
known by his real name, Gauganelli. He died
in 1775.
CLEMENT, Jacques, a. weak-headed enthu-
siast, who assassinated king Henry HI, of
France.
CLEOMBROTUS, king of Sparta, killed in
a battle fought with Epaminondas at Leuctra,
B. C. 371.
CLEOMENES. This name was borne by
three kings of Sparta. The first delivered
Athens from the tyranny of the Pisistratidce,
but killed himself in a fit of insanity, B. C. 491.
The reign of the second was distinguished
for nothing but an uninterrupted tranquillity.
Cleomenes III, was the son and successor of
Leonidas, and began to reign, B. C. 230. En-
gaging in a war with the Achaans, he was
defeated, and obliged to fly into Egypt, where
he destroyed himself in prison, B. C. 219.
CLEOPATRA, queen of Egypt, and one of
the most famous and fascinating female sove-
reigns of antiquity, was the daughter of Ptole-
my Auletes, and the sister and wife of Ptolemy
Dionysius, who deprived her of her share in
the kingdom, and drove her to seek protection
of the Romans. She exerted all the influence
of her beauty to win the heart and gain the
favor of Ca?sar, and she was successful. Ptole-
my was defeated and drowned. He left the
throne to his sister, who removed her younger
brother by poison. Cleopatra visited Rome
during the lifetime of Caesar, but was forced to
quit it by the clamors of the populace. After
the battle of Philippi, she was summoned by
Antony to appear before him to answer to the
charge brought against her of having assisted
Brutus. When she made her appearance be-
fore Antony, the charms of her person and
mind ensnared him, and made him forget the
attractions of his wife. At the battle of Acti-
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CLI
um she fled, and her paramour was defeated.
He afterwards committed suicide, and died in
her arms. Cleopatra, to avoid gracing the tri-
umph of the conqueror, applied an asp to her
breast, and died of the wound, B. C 30. She
was a woman of great talents, but of a most
ambitious and extravagant spirit. In a convi-
vial contest with Antony, to see which of them
could expend the most money on an entertain-
ment, she snatched one of her pearl ornaments,
valued at 10,000L and dissolving it in a cup of
vinegar, swallowed the contents. Few scenes
of antiquity can have surpassed the splendor of
her appointments, when she floated over the
waves of the river Cydnus, to meet Antony.
She came to judgment, but, she came in the
pride of beauty, and anticipated triumph. Her
galley glowed with gold ; odors filled its silken
sails, and the loveliest girls of Egypt, performed
the part of mariners. Beneath an awning on
the deck, lay the queen, in the slight drapery
with which painters and sculptors sometimes
invest the goddess of beauty. Silver oars
struck the water to the dulcet sound of music,
and beneath and about them sported the fair
representatives of marine deities.
CLERFAYT, Francis Sebastian Charles Jo-
seph de Croix, count of, an Austrian general.
In 1792, he commanded the Austrian troops
against France, and after taking Longwy and
Stenay, retired into the Low Countries. Here
he lost the famous battle of Jemappes ; but his
retreat across the Rhine was a masterpiece
of skill. Under the command of the prince
of Coburg, he gained considerable advantages
at Altenhaven, Quievrain, Hausen, and Far-
mars, and decided the victory of Nerwinden.
With General Richegru, he disputed every foot
of ground, till the inferiority of his forces
obliged him to abandon the country. In 1795,
he took the command of the army of Mayence,
forced the French camp, and took a number of
prisoners. He was following the victory with
ardor, when he received at Manheim, an order
to desist. On this he gave in his resignation,
and retired to Vienna, where he died in 1798.
CLIFFORD, George, the third earl of Cum-
berland, a nobleman distinguished by his naval
enterprises in the reign of queen Elizabeth.
He did great damage to the Spanish settle-
ments and trade. He died in 1605.
CLIFTON, William, a young poet of great
fromise, who died early. He was born in
hiladelphia, in 1772, and died in 1799.
CLINTON, Sir Henry, an English general,
who came to America in 1775. He was en-
gaged, during the revolutionary war, both in
the northern and southern states. Being super-
seded, he returned to England in 1782, and
died in 1795.
CLINTON, James, the fourth son of Charles
Clinton, was born in Ulster county, New York,
Aug. 9, 1736. His education was excellent,
and he served with distinction in the English
and French war of 1756, and in the revolution-
ary war. After the close of the war, he became
a senator of the United States. He died in
1812.
CLINTON, George, youngest brother of the
preceding, was born July 15, 1739. In the
old French war, and the war of independence
he displayed great gallantry. Having studied
law, he was admitted to practice in due time,
and was chosen governor of New York, in 1777,
and he continued in office 18 years, and could
have served a much longer time, but declined
re-election. He was chosen vice president of
the United States, and held the office till the
time of his death in 1812.
CLINTON, De Witt, was born at Little
Britain, Orange county, New York, in 1769.
He studied law, was elected, successively , mem-
ber of the state legislature, of the senate of the
union, and mayor of New York, being obliged
to retire from the office, after filling it many
years, by the violence of party spirit. In 1817,
he was chosen governor of New York, on which
occasion his previous opponents gave him their
votes, from a sense of his merit ; he was re-
elected in 1820. Clinton was one of the prime
movers of the canal scheme, and having satis-
fied himself that there was no danger of that
being defeated, in 1822, he declined again en-
tering the elective lists. Having been deprived
of his seat in the board of canal commissioners,
by the animosity of his political opponents, a
revolution in public feeling took place which
enabled his friends to elect him governor over
Colonel Young, by an overwhelming majority.
In 1826, ho was again elected, but died in
1828.
CLIVE, Robert, lord, was born in 1725, in
Shropshire. Lord Clive became eminent for
his successes in India, but was originally merely
a writer in the company's service. He assisted
in the Tanjore war, in 1747, and in 1751, took
Arcot by a coup de main, and relieved Tritch-
inopoly. He afterwards took Fort William in
Bengal, defeated Surajah Dowlah, and placed
Jaffier Ali Cawn upon the throne. Honors
were heaped upon him in consequence of these
achievements, and he was made president of
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Bengal. After defending himself with spirit
igainst the charge of abusing his power, he
rave way to depression, and destroyed himself,
nl774.
CLOTILDE DE VALLON CHALIS, Mar-
guerite Elenore, a talented poetess and amiable
voman, who lived in the early part of the 15th
entury. In 1421 she married Berenger de
surville, a young knight in the service of
Charles VII, who was killed before Orleans, 10
rears after. The date of her death is uncer-
ain.
CLOUD, St. a village six miles east of Paris,
nd a royal residence, the palace having been
mproved and embellished by Napoleon.
CLOVIS, king of the Franks, born 465, suc-
eeded his father Childeric in 481. He em-
raced Christianity and was publicly baptized.
le defeated the Goths, subdued several provin-
es, and fixed the royal residence at Paris. He
ied in 511, after a reign of 30 years.
CLYMER, George, a patriotic and talented
American gentleman, one of the signers of the
eclaration of independence, was born in Phila-
elphia in 1739. Mr. Clymer was one of the
rejectors of the bank established for the sole
urpose of conveying rations to the army. Per-
eiving the good effects of a national bank, in
780, when elected a second time to Congress,
e strenuously advocated its establishment. In
784 he filled a seat in the legislature of Penn-
ylvania, and as a member of the convention,
e assisted in framing the present federal consti-
ution. When, in 1791, the famous bill imposing
duty on spirits distilled within the United
Itates, was passed, Clymer was placed at the
ead of the Pennsylvania excise. He was en-
aged, with others, to negotiate a treaty with
tie Indians in 1796. He was afterwards ap-
ointed president of the academy of arts, and
f the Philadelphia bank. He died in 1813.
CLYTEMNESTRA, a daughter of Tynda-
us, king of Sparta, by Heda, and twin-sister
f Helen. In the absence of her husband,
igamemnon, at the siege of Troy, iEgisthus
lade his court to her, and publicly lived with
er. Her infidelity reached the ears of Aga-
lemnon, but he was prevented from carrying
is schemes of vengeance into execution, being
lurdered by the traitress and her paramour on
is return home. After this crime, Clytemnes-
ra publicly married jEgisthus, who ascended
be throne of Argos. She was killed by her
on Orestes.
COBURG, a Saxon principality in central
jiennany.
COCHIN-CHINA, composed of the king-
doms of Cambodia, Cochin-China Proper, and
Tonquin, is 1000 miles long, and from 70 to 220
miles broad. It is governed by a king. The
inhabitants are hardy, but treacherous, and the
country is fertile. Little attention is paid to re-
ligion, although that of Fo is professed by the
lower orders. The commerce of the country is
great and increasing. A portion of the country
was conquered and colonized by the Chinese
B. C. 214. After the Chinese yoke had been
thrown off*, and various commotions had taken
place, three brothers of low rank, (the Tay-
sons), having defeated and killed the king of
the country, found a powerful opponent in his
son Gialong, who eventually re-conquered the
country after a prolonged struggle, and left it
in its present state, to Meng-meng.
CODRUS, the son of Melanthus, and last
king of Athens, who, learning that the Oracle
had assured the Heraclidae that their good for-
tune depended on sparing his life, rushed into
the midst of the hostile array in disguise, and
was slain.
COKE, Sir Edward, a famous English law-
yer who flourished in the 16th century.
COLBERG, a fortress and sea-port of Prus-
sian Pomerania, frequently besieged, and mem-
orable for its gallant defence against the French
in 1807.
COLCHESTER, a town of England, in Es-
sex, on the river Colne, the Colonia of the an-
cients, containing 16,000 inhabitants. It is said
to have been the birth-place of Helena, the
mother of Constantine. In the reign of Mary,
many persons were put to death here on account
of their religious principles ; and, in 1648, the
town was besieged by the forces of the parlia-
ment, and so reduced, that 730 horses were de-
livered up for provisions, and dogs and cats
were sold at an enormous price. The town at
length surrendered.
COLIGNY, Gaspard de, admiral of France,
born in 1516. He served with distinction un-
der the gallant Francis I and Henry II, by both
of whom he was honored and rewarded. He
was chief of the Calvinists against the Guises,
to whom he continued formidable even after re-
peated defeats. Coligny was the first who
fell in the atrocious massacre of St. Bartholo-
mew's day, in 1572. His head was sent by
Catharine of Medicis to the pope.
COLLINGWOOD,Cuthbert, baron, an Eng-
lish admiral, was born at Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
in 1748. In 1761, he entered the naval service,
in which he passed through all the regular steps
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of promotion, till he was made post captain, and
commanded the Prince, admiral Boyer's flag-
ship, on the 1st of June, 1794. After this he bore
a part with Nelson, in the action off Cape St.
Vincent, February 14th, 1797. In 1804 he was
made vice-admiral of the blue, and served with
Oornwallis in the tedious but important block-
ade of Brest. At length, after many and va-
rious services, Collingwood became second to
Nelson, in the battle of Trafalgar. On this oc-
casion, his ship, the Royal Sovereign, com-
menced the fight in such a manner as to draw
from the commander these expressions : " Look
at that noble fellow ! observe the style in which
he carries his ship into action !"
After the loss of Nelson, the command de-
volved upon Collingwood at a critical period,
and how well he secured by his prudence what
had been so gloriously won, needs not here be
related. He was now advanced to be vice-ad-
miral of the red. confirmed in the command of
the Mediterranean fleet, and created a peer of
Great Britain, by the title of baron Collingwood.
He died off Minorca, on board the Ville de Paris,
March 7,1810; and his body was carried to
England, and interred in St. Paul's cathedral.
COLLINS, William, an English poet, was
the son of a hatter of Chichester, where he was
born about 1720. After completing his college
course, he published his Oriental Eclogues, and
went to London in 1744. His fortunes having
driven him to the bottle, he died in 1756.
COLLOT D' HERBOIS, Jean Marie, an
actor who was hissed from the stage, made him-
self infamous during the French revolution by
conducting the massacres at Lyons. He was
banished to Guinea after the fall of Robespierre,
and died in 1796.
COLMAN, GEORGE, a dramatic writer,
was born at Florence, where his father was an
English envoy, in 1733. He was a fine scholar
and writer. His death took place in 1794.
COLOGNE, an ancient city, capitol of the
Prussian government of Cologne, contains
64,000 inhabitants. It possesses many attrac-
tions for the antiquarian, and is of great com-
mercial importance.
COLOMBIA, a republic of South America,
comprising a surface of 1,100,000 square miles,
lately comprising the countries formerly known
by the names of New Grenada, and Venezuela,
or Caraccas, and Quito. The republic of Co-
lombia was subdivided into the departments of
the Isthmus, Magdalena, Zulia, Venezuela, Ori-
noco, Cauca, Cundinamarca, Boyaca, Apure,
The Equator, Guayaquil, Assuay. Population
is about 2,700,000. The Orinoco and Magdale-
na, the latter of which is 1,000 miles long, are
the principal rivers. The face of the country
is greatly diversified, the elevated portions of it
being healthy, while in the low parts, the climate
is hot and noxious. The soil of the low valleys
is rich, and produces abundantly, cotton, tobac-
co, com, coffee, and tropical fruits. The precious
metals and stones are found in the mountains.
The Andes, in some parts, reach an elevation
of 21,000 feet. After a fierce contest the royal
party was subdued, and a junction of the three
provinces abovementioned, effected under a
federal constitution. But in 1829, the confede-
ration fell to pieces, and three new states, an-
swering to the old Spanish colonial divisions,
have been formed of the fragments, viz. : New
Grenada, comprising the five departments of
The Isthmus, Magdalena, Cauca, Cundinamar-
ca, and Boyaca ; The Equator, composed of the
three departments of The Equator, Guayaquil,
and Assuay ; and Venezuela, including the other
four departments.
COLOSSUS of Rhodes. There are many
contradictory accounts of this gigantic bronze
statue of Apollo, which was of such extraordi-
nary height, that the ancients assure us that
vessels, with all their sails set went between its
legs. It was about 100 feet high, and is said to
have been modelled by Chares of Lindus, a dis-
ciple of the famous Lysippus, who was occupied
12 years upon the work. B. C. 223 it was over-
thrown by an earthquake, which committed
great ravages, particularly in Caria, and the
isle of Rhodes.
COLUMBIA, the seat of Government of
South Carolina, situated on the Congaree, con-
taining 3,500 inhabitants. Many of its public
edifices are very handsome.
COLUMBIA, District of, 10 miles square, is
situated on both sides of the Potomac. Whole
population, in 1830, 39,868. It contains Alex-
andria, Washington, and Georgetown, and be-
came the seat of government of the Union, in
1800.
COLUMBUS, Christopher. Some account
of this celebrated navigator will be found in
another portion of this work. (See America).
He was a native of Genoa, born about 1435,
of poor parents, who educated him with care.
At the age of 14 he went to sea, having evinc-
ed an early attachment to a sailor's life. Against
the Mohammedans and Venetians he fought
with great bravery and skill. Having conceiv-
ed the design of a western passage to India, he
for a long time sought for patronage without
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avail ; but after struggling 18 years, was at
length aided by Ferdinand and Isabella, and
sailed with three small vessels, the Pinta, Nina,
and Pinzon, August 3, 1492. Land was discov-
ered on the 11th of October, which proved to
be the island of Guanahani, named by Colum-
bus, St. Salvador. Cuba was discovered on the
28th of October. Columbus was the first to
announce his own discovery, and was received
in Spain with signal favor. He was created a
frandee of the realm and loaded with other
onors. September 25, 1493, he sailed from
Cadiz, on his second voyage, with a fleet of 17
sail. He built a town called Isabella at Hispa-
niola, but encountered many obstacles and diffi-
culties in his new voyage of discovery. Mean-
while that envy, which never fails to pursue
true merit, stirred up clamors against Columbus,
which were stifled, however, by his return to
Spain in 1496, with valuable treasures. In 1498
he departed on his third voyage. Arrived in
the new world, he found his enemies still exas-
perated against him, and they scrupled not to
represent him to his sovereigns as endeavoring
to make himself independent. Their stories
were believed, Francis de Bobadilla was sent
to Hispaniola, and the admiral and his brothers
put in irons, and sent to Spain. There the
honor and fidelity of Columbus became appa-
rent, and he was nominally reinstated in his
dignities. But the disposition of the sovereigns
towards him was altered. Nicolo de Ovando y
Lares, was sent to Hispaniola as governor, and
Columbus, now sought only to obtain the fulfil-
ment of the royal promises with regard to the
furtherance of his expedition, imagining that
the continent he had discovered was Asia, and
hoping to find a way to the East Indies by the
isthmus of Darien. His fourth voyage, com-
menced March 9, 1502, with few facilities,
proved, on the whole, disastrous, and Columbus,
after being wrecked, and surrounded by dangers,
returned to Spain. Neglected by his former
patrons, his spirits sank, and he died at Vallado-
lid, May 20th, 1506, in the 70th year of his age.
He was buried in the city of St. Domingo, but
his remains were afterward removed to the ca-
thedral of Havana, in Cuba. Columbus had a
noble and pleasing countenance and form, and
was eloquent, amiable, and pious.
COMMODUS ANTON1US, Lucius EAms
Aurelius, emperor of Rome, son of Marcus Au-
relius, was born A. D. 161. At 16 years of age
he was associated with his father in the govern-
ment, and in A. D. 180, ascended the throne.
He surpassed in profligacy and cruelty all his
wicked predecessors. He maimed and disem-
bowelled his subjects for pleasure. From his
great strength he bore a striking resemblance to
the statues of Hercules, in the dress of whom
he appeared. He debauched his own sisters,
and mixed with the vilest and most degraded
of the human race. Having exhausted the
treasury by his extravagance, he replenished it
by imposing enormous taxes on the people.
Habited like a slave, he drove his own chariot,
and fought as a gladiator, 735 times. He was
strangled by his favorite gladiator, Narcissus, in
192.
CONCORD, the seat of government of New
Hampshire, situated on both sides of the river
Merrimack, 63 miles northwest from Boston,
containing 3,727 inhabitants.
CONCORD, a village of Middlesex county,
Massachusetts, 18 miles north of Boston. At
Concord and Lexington the first armed resist-
ance was made to the troops of Great Britain,
April 19th, 1775.
CONDE, Louis de Bourbon, prince of, was
the son of Charles of Bourbon, duke of Ven-
dome, and was born in 1530. He signalized
himself at the battle of St. Quintin, and became
leader of the discontented Huguenots. He was
wounded at the battle of Dreux, in 1562, and
slain in that of Iarnac, in 1569.
CONDE, Louis, prince of, commonly called
tne great, was born at Paris in 1621. At the
age of 22 he gained the battle of Rocroi against
the Spaniards, and captured Thionville and
other places. He next entered Germany where
he gained innumerable laurels. Being recalled
thence, he was sent into Catalonia, but failed in
his attempt to take Lerida. In 1648, he defeated
the Imperialists in Flanders with prodigious
slaughter. In the civil war Conde at first ad-
hered to the court, but afterwards opposed it
without success. He refused to accede to the
peace, and entered into the service of the Span-
iards in the Low Countries, where his military
exploits were uncommonly splendid. At the
peace of the Pyrenees, in 1659, he obtained his
pardon, and served his country with his wonted
activity and success. He contended with the
prince of Orange in the Netherlands, and was
wounded in the memorable passage of the
Rhine. The conquest of Franche Compte was
also chiefly owing to him. After the death of
Turenne, he carried on the war against Germany
with advantage. He died in 16ti7 at Fontaine-
bleau.
CONFEDERATION OF THE RHINE.
In 1806, the emperor Napoleon, having deter-
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mined that there should not exist, on the conti-
nent, any power capable of opposing his designs,
contrived to dismember the German empire,
and induce the emperor to abandon his title of
emperor of Germany. In pursuance of these
views, a new union was formed by several of
the German princes, under the name of the
C ^federation of the Rhine. The kings of Ba-
varia and Wirtemburg, the arch-chancellor, the
elector of Baden, the Duke of Berg, the land-
grave of Hesse Darmstadt, the princes of
Nassau- Weilbourg, of Nassau-Usingen, of Ho-
henzollern, Heckingen, Siegmaringen, Salm-
Salm, Salm-Kysburg, Isenburg, Birstein, and
Lichtenstein, the duke of Aremberg, and the
count of Leyen, published at Ratisbon, a decla-
ration, purporting, that as the Germanic con-
stitution then existing, could afford no guaran-
tee for the public tranquillity, the contracting
parties had agreed, that their states should be
for ever separated from the Germanic body, and
united by a particular confederation, under the
title of " The Confederate States," of which the
emperor of the French was constituted the head
and protector.
The treaty of confederation was projected and
drawn up at Paris, and ratified at Munich, on
the 25th of July, 1806 : it contained 40 articles
relative to the territories, which each of the
contracting parties was to possess, and other
important particulars. Every continental war,
in which either France or any of the confede-
rate states should be engaged, was to be com-
mon to all ; the contingent to be furnished by
each of the members, was determined in the
following proportion ; France, 200,000 men,
Bavaria 30,000, Wirtemburg 12,000, Baden
8,000, Berg 5,000, Darmstadt 4,000, Nassau and
the other states 4,000.
By this confederation, the Germanic body
was completely dissolved, and a very consider-
able part of its members ranged themselves un-
der the banners of France. The emperor, Fran-
cis II, in consequence of this organization,
resigned his title of Emperor of Germany, and
took that of Emperor of Austria. Thus was
dissolved, the German, or as it was styled in
diplomatic language, the Holy Roman Empire ;
1006 years after Charlemagne received the im-
perial title and crown, from the hands of the
pope of Rome.
CONGO, a kingdom of Africa, in Lower
Guinea, which is under the sway of the Portu-
guese. It is rich and fertile. It was discover-
ed in 1487 by Diego Cam, a Portuguese. The
native government is despotic.
CONGREVE, William, a celebrated English
dramatist and poet, born in 1670 and died in
1729. His plays are replete with wit and hu-
mor.
CONNECTICUT, one of the United States;
bounded north by Massachusetts, east by Rhode
Island, south by Long Island Sound, and west
by New York, and containing 297,675 inhabit-
ants. Among the manufactures of Connecti-
cut, may be mentioned tin ware, cotton goods,
clocks, nails, glass, hats, buttons, and firearms.
The seat of government is alternately at Hart-
ford and New Haven. Yale College in New
Haven is one of the most flourishing institu-
tions in the United States. Connecticut colony
and New Haven colony, originally under sepa-
rate governments, were united in 1665. The
present state constitution was formed in 1818.
CONSTANTINE THE GREAT, (Caius
Flavius Valerius A urelius Claudius Constan-
tine), son of the emperor Constantius Chlorus,
by Helena, was born about the year 274. On
the death of his father, in 306, he was proclaim-
ed emperor by the army. He defeated the
Franks, after which he crossed the Rhine, and
committed great ravages in Belgium. Constan-
tine married Fausta, the daughter of Maximian,
in 306. His father-in-law, taking advantage of
his absence from Aries, where he held his court,
seized the treasury, and assumed the imperial
title, but being taken prisoner by Constautine,
strangled himself. A war now broke out be-
tween Constantine and Maxentius, the son of
Maximian, the former reduced Italy, and de-
feated Maxentius, who was drowned in the
Tiber. At this period the era of Constantine's
conversion to Christianity is fixed. As he was
riding at the head of his troops, an immense
cross of exceeding brightness is said to have
appeared above the horizon, bearing this inscrip-
tion : "In this conquer." Constantine was
no longer an infidel.
He now entered Rome in triumph, and re-
ceived from the senate the title of Augustus, in
conjuction with Licinius and Maximin, the for-
mer of whom married his sister, Constantia.
A civil war shortly after broke out between Li-
cinius and Maximin, in which the latter was
slain. Licinius then formed a conspiracy against
Constantine, which being discovered, war en-
sued between them, in which Constantine was
successful, and peace was concluded. A second
war broke out in 323, and terminated in the de-
feat of Licinius, and his resignation of the im-
perial dignity. Not long afterwards he was
strangled.
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Constantine now began to show his regard
for the religion he had adopted, by building nu-
merous churches, and journeying to Jerusalem
to visit the Holy Land, where he erected a mag-
nificent church at Bethlehem. With this zeal
for religion he blended courage and justice. He
conquered the Goths, founded Constantinople,
and performed many actions that entitle him to
the name of Great. But he sullied his charac-
ter by putting to death his son Crispus. He
died in 337.
CONSTANTINOPLE, called, by the Turks,
Istambol, and by other Oriental nations, Con-
stantino, the capital of the Turkish empire, is
situated on the European side of the Bosphorus.
Its circuit, including the suburbs, is about 35
miles, and the number of inhabitants, by the most
moderate computation, 630,000 Greeks, Arme-
nians, Jews, and Turks. It was built upon the
ruins of the ancient Byzantium by Constantine
the Great. It became afterwards the capital of
the Greek empire ; and, having escaped the de-
structive rage of the barbarous nations, it was
the greatest as well as the most beautiful city in
Europe, and the only one, during the Gothic
ages, in which there remained any image of the
ancient elegance in manners and arts. It de-
rived great advantages from its being the ren-
dezvous of the Crusaders ; and, being then in
the zenith of its glory, the European writers, in.
that age, speak of it with astonishment. Dur-
ing the third crusade, a revolution happened at
Constantinople, which divided the eastern em-
pire for 58 years. Alexius Angelus, surnamed
the tyrant, having dethroned Isaac II, placed
himself upon the throne of Constantinople, in
1195; and Alexius, son of Isaac, applied to the
French and Venetians, who passed that way to
the Holy Wars, to assist him in the recovery of his
father's empire. They accordingly, in 1203, re-
duced Constantinople, after a siege of eight
days, and replaced Isaac on the throne. The
next year, Alexius Dacus Murzoufle assassinat-
ed the emperor, whom the Crusaders had re-
established, and seized the crown. On hearing
this, the French returned, attacked the city, re-
duced it in three days, deposed Murzoufle, and
chose Baldwin, count of Flanders, emperor.
He had four successors, the last of whom,
Baldwin II, was deposed in 1262, by Michael
Paleologus. In the mean time Theodore Las-
caris, who had been charged by the clergy to
take arms against the tyrant Murzoufle, finding
Constantinople in the power of the French, re-
tired with his wife and family to Nice, where,
in 1204, he was crowned emperor, and formed a
13
small empire out of that of Constantinople. He
had but three successors, the last of whom, John
Ducas, was deprived of his sight in 1255, by
order of Michael Paleologus, his preceptor, who
usurped the throne in 1250, and in 1262 made
himself master of Constantinople, so that the
empire was re-united. He continued till 1453,
when Constantinople was taken by Mohammed
II, sultan of the Ottoman Turks ; since which
it has remained the seat of their empire.
Constantinople is at this day one of the finest
cities in the world, from its situation and port.
It is frequently called the Porte by way of emi-
nence. The city has met with many disasters
from convulsions, earthquakes, and the plague.
CONSTITUTION, the English, which owes
its foundation to the era of the conquest, has
been made the model of most of the constitu-
tions enjoyed by republican states. The Bill of
Rights, which was the basis of the English con-
stitution, was passed in the time of their revo-
lution, and contained the following provisions :
1 . The pretended power of suspending laws,
or the execution of laws by regal authority,
without the consent of Parliament, is illegal : —
2. That the pretended power of dispensing
with laws, or the execution of laws by regal au-
thority, as it hath been assumed and exercised
of late, is illegal : — 3. That the commission for
erecting the late court of commissioners for
ecclesiastical causes, and all other commissions
and courts of like nature, are illegal and perni-
cious : — 4. That levying money for, or to the
use of the crown, by pretence of prerogative,
without grant of Parliament, for longer time, or
in all other manner than the same is, and shall
be granted, is illegal :— 5. That it is the right
of the subjects to petition the king, and that all
commitments and prosecutions for such peti-
tioning, are illegal :— 6. That the raising or
keeping a standing army within the kingdom
in time of peace, unless it be with consent of
parliament, is against law :— 7. That the sub-
jects which are Protestants, may have arms for
their defence, suitable for their conditions, and
as allowed by law :— 8. That election of mem-
bers of Parliament ought to be free :— 9. That
the freedom of speech, and debates or proceed-
ings in Parliament, ought not to be impeached
or questioned in any court or place out of par-
liament :— 10. That excessive bail ought not to
be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor
cruel and unusual punishments inflicted : — 11.
That jurors ought to be duly empannelled and
returned ; and that jurors which pass upon men
in trials for high treason, ought to be free-hold-
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ers : — 12. That all grants and promises of fines
and forfeitures of particular persons, before
conviction, are illegal and void : — 13. And that
for the redress of all grievances, and for the
amending, strengthening, and preserving of
laws, parliaments ought to be held frequently.
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED
STATES, as proposed to the Convention held at
Philadelphia, Mth September, 1787, and since
ratified by tJie several States with amendments.
Article I. Section 1. All legislative powers
herein granted, shall be vested in a Congress of
the United States, which shall consist of a Sen-
ate and House of Representatives.
Sec. 2. The House of Representatives shall be
composed of members chosen every second year
by the people of the several States ; and the
electors in each State shall have the qualifica-
tions requisite for electors of the most numer-
ous branch of the State Legislature.
No person shall be a representative who shall
not have attained to the age of twenty-five
years, and been seven years a citizen of the
United States, and who shall not, when elected,
be an inhabitant of that State in which he shall
be chosen.
Representatives and direct taxes shall be ap-
portioned among the several States which may
be included within this Union, according to their
respective numbers, which shall be determined
by adding to the whole number of free persons,
including those bound to service for a term of
years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-
fifths of all other persons. The actual enume-
ration shall be made within three years after
the first meeting of the Congress of the United
States, and within every subsequent term often
years, in such a manner as they shall by law
direct. The number of Representatives shall
not exceed one for every 30,000, but each State
shall have at least one representative.
When vacancies happen in the representa-
tion from any State, the Executive Authority
thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such
vacancies.
The House of Representatives shall choose
their Speaker and other officers ; and shall have
the sole power of impeachment.
Sec. 3. The Senate of the United States shall
be composed of two Senators from each State,
chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six years ;
and each Senator shall have one vote.
Immediately after they shall be assembled in
consequence of the first election, they shall be
divided as equally as may be into three classes.
The seats of the Senators of the first class shall
be vacated at the expiration of the second year,
of the second class at the expiration of the
fourth year, and of the third class at the expi-
ration of the sixth year, so that one third may
be chosen every second year; and if vacancies
happen by resignation, or otherwise, during the
recess of the Legislature of any state, the Exec-
utive thereof may make temporary appoint-
ments until the next meeting of the Legisla-
ture, which shall then fill such vacancies.
No person shall be a Senator who shall not
have attained to the age of thirty j'ears, and
been nine years a citizen of the United States,
and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabi-
tant of that State for which he shall be chosen.
The Vice-President of the United States shall
be President of the Senate, but shall have no
vote, unless they be equally divided.
The Senate shall choose their other officers,
and also a President pro tempore, in the absence
of the Vice-President, or when he shall exercise
the office of President of the United States.
The Senate shall have the s ole power to try all
impeachments. When sitting for that purpose,
they shall be on oath or affirmation. When
the President of the United States is tried, the
chief justice shall preside : And no person shall
be convicted without the concurrence of two-
thirds of the members present.
Judgment, in cases of impeachment, shall
not extend further than to removal from office,
and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office
of honor, trust or profit under the United States ;
but the party convicted shall nevertheless be
liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment
and punishment according to law.
Sec. 4. The times, places and manner of
holding elections for Senators and Representa-
tives, shall be prescribed in each state by the
Legislature thereof: But the Congress may at
any time by law make or alter such regula-
tions, except as to the places of choosing Sen-
ators.
The Congress shall assemble at least once in
every year, and such meeting shall be on the
first Monday in December, unless they shall by
law appoint a different day.
Sec. 5. Each House shall be the judge of the
elections, returns and qualifications of its own
members, and a majority of each shall consti-
tute a quorum to do business ; but a smaller
number may adjourn from day to day, and may
be authorised to compel the attendance of ab-
sent members, in such manner, and under such
penalties as each House may provide.
Each House may determine the rules of its
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proceedings, punish its members for disorderly
behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-
thirds, expel a member.
Each House shall keep a journal of its pro-
ceedings, and from time to time publish the
same, excepting such parts as may, in their
judgment, require secrecy ; and the yeas and
nays of the members of either House on any
question, shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those
present, be entered on the journal.
Neither house, during the session of Congress,
shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn
for more than three days, nor to any other place
than that in which the two houses shall be
sitting.
Sec. 6. The Senators and Representatives shall
receive a compensation for their services, to be
ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury
of the United States. They shall, in all cases,
except treason, felony and breach of the peace,
be privileged from arrest during their attend-
ance at the session of their respective Houses,
and in going to or returning from the same ;
and for any speech or debate in either House,
they shall not be questioned in any other place.
No Senator or Representative shall, during
the time for which he was elected, be appointed
to any civil office under the authority of the
United States, which shall have been created,
or the emoluments whereof shall have been
increased during such time ; and no person
holding any office under the United States,
shall be a member of either House during his
continuance in office.
Sec. 7. All bills for raising revenue shall
originate in the House of Representatives ; but
the Senate may propose or concur with amend-
ments as on other bills.
Every bill which shall have passed the House
of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before
it become a law, be presented to the President
of the United States : if he approve, he shall
sign it ; but if not, he shall return it, with his
objections, to that House in which it shall have
originated, who shall enter the objections at
large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider
it. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of
that House shall agree to pass the bill, it shall
be sent, together with the objections, to the
other House, by which it shall likewise be re-
considered, and if approved by two-thirds of
that House, it shall become a law. But in all
such cases, the votes of both Houses shall be
determined by yeas and nays ; and the names
of the persons voting for and against the bill,
Bhall be entered on the journal of each House
respectively. If any bill shall not be returned
by the President within ten days (Sundays ex-
cepted) after it shall have been presented to
him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as
if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their
adjournment prevent its return, in which case
it shall not be a law.
Every order, resolution or vote to which the
concurrence of the Senate and House of Repre-
sentatives may be necessary (except on a ques-
tion of adjournment) shall be presented to the
President of the United States; and before the
same shall take effect, shall be approved by him,
or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed
by two-thirds of the Senate and House of Repre-
sentatives, according to the rules and limita-
tions prescribed in the case of a bill.
Sec. 8. The Congress shall have power — To
lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and ex-
cises, to pay the debts and provide for the com-
mon defence and general welfare of the United
States ; but all duties, imposts and excises
shall be uniform throughout the United States :
To borrow money on the credit of the United
States :
To regulate commerce with foreign nations,
and among the several States, and with the
Indian tribes :
To establish an uniform rule of naturalization,
and uniform laws on the subject of bankrupt-
cies throughout the United States :
To coin money, regulate the value thereof,
and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of
weights and measures :
To provide for the punishment of counter-
feiting the securities and current coin of the
United States :
To establish post-offices and post-roads :
To promote the progress of science and useful
arts, by securing, for limited times, to authors
and inventers, the exclusive right to their re-
spective writings and discoveries :
To constitute tribunals inferior to the supreme
court :
To define and punish piracies and felonies
committed on the high seas, and offences against
the law of nations :
To declare war, grant letters of marque and
reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on
land and water :
To raise and support armies ; but no appro-
priation of money to that use shall be for a
longer term than two years :
To provide and maintain a navy :
To make rules for the government and regu-
lation of the land and naval forces :
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To provide for calling forth the militia to
execute the laws of the Union, suppress insur-
rections, and repel invasions :
To provide for organizing, arming and disci-
plining the militia, and for governing such part
of them as may be employed in the service of
the United States, reserving to the States re-
spectively the appointment of the officers, and
the authority of training the militia according to
the discipline prescribed by Congress :
To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases
whatsoever, over such district (not exceeding
ten miles square) as may, by cession of partic-
ular States, and the acceptance of Congress,
become the seat of the government of the United
States, and to exercise like authority over all
places purchased by the consent of the legisla-
ture of the State in which the same shall be,
for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals,
dock-yards, and other needful buildings : —
And
To make all laws which shall be necessary
and proper for carrying into execution the
foregoing powers, and all other powers vested
by this Constitution in the government of the
United States, or in any department or officer
thereof
Sec. 9. The migration or importation of such
persons as any of the States now existing shall
think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited
by the Congress prior to the year one thousand
eight hundred and eight ; but a tax or duty may
be imposed on such importation, not exceeding
ten dollars for each person.
The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus
shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of
rebellion or invasion the public safety may re-
quire it.
No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall
be passed.
No capitation, or other direct tax shall be
laid, unless in proportion to the census or enu-
meration herein before directed to be taken.
No tax or duty shall be laid on articles export-
ed from any State.
No preference shall be given by any regula-
tion of commerce or revenue to the ports of one
State over those of another : Nor shall vessels,
bound to or from one State be obliged to enter,
clear, or pay duties in another.
No money shall be drawn from the treasury,
but in consequence of appropriations made by
law ; and a regular statement and account of
the receipts and expenditures of all public
money shall be published from time to time.
No title of nobility shall be granted by the
United States : And no person holding any
office of profit or trust under them, shall, with-
out the consent of the Congress, accept of any
present, emolument, office, or title of any kind
whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign
state.
Sec. 10. No State shall enter into any treaty,
alliance or confederation ; grant letters of marque
and reprisal ; coin money ; emit bills of credit ;
make any thing but gold and silver coin a ten-
der in payment of debts ; pass any bill of attain-
der, ex post facto law, or law impairing the
obligation of contracts, or grant any title of
nobilily.
No State shall, without the consent of the
Congress, lay any imposts or duties on imports,
or exports, except what may be absolutely ne-
cessary for executing its inspection laws ; and
the net produce of all duties and imposts, laid by
any State on imports or exports, shall be for the
use of the treasury of the United States ; and all
such laws shall be subject to the revision and con-
trol of the Congress. No State shall, without
the consent of Congress, lay any duty of ton-
nage, keep troops, or ships of war in time of
peace, enter into any agreement or compact
with another State, or with a foreign power, or
engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in
such imminent danger as will not admit of
delay.
Article II. Sec. 1. The Executive power
shall be vested in the President of the United
States of America. He shall hold his office
during the term of four years, and, together
with the Vice-President, chosen for the same
term, be elected as follows :
Each state shall appoint, in such manner as
the legislature thereof may direct, a number of
Electors, equal to the whole number of Senators
and Representatives to which the State may be
entitled in the Congress ; but no Senator or
Representative, or person holding an office of
trust or profit under the United States, shall be
appointed an Elector. The Electors shall meet
in their respective States, and vote by ballot for
two persons, of whom one at least shall not be
an inhabitant of the same State with themselves.
And they shall make a list of all the persons
voted for, and of the number of votes for each;
which list they shall sign and certify, and trans-
mit, sealed, to the seat of the government of the
United States, directed to the President of the
Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in
the presence of the Senate and House of Repre-
sentatives, open all the certificates, and the votes
shall then be counted. The person having the
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greatest number of votes shall be the President,
if sucli number be a majority of the whole num-
ber of Electors appointed; and if there be more
than one who have such majority and have an
equal number of votes, then the House of Repre-
sentatives shall immediately choose by ballot
one of them for President ; and if no person
have a majority, then from the five highest on the
list, the said House shall in like manner choose
the President. But in choosing the President,
the votes shall be taken by States, the represen-
tation from each State having one vote : a quo-
rum for this purpose shall consist of a member
or members from two-thirds of the States ; and
a majority of all the States shall be necessary to
a choice. In every case, after the choice of the
President, the person having the greatest num-
ber of votes of the electors shall be the Vice-
President. But if there should remain two or
more who have equal votes, the Senate shall
choose from them by ballot the Vice-President.
(See 12th Amendment.)
The Congress may determine the time of
choosing the Electors, and the day on which
they shall give their votes ; which day shall be
the same throughout the United States.
No person, except a natural born citizen, or a
citizen of the United States, at the time of the
adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible
to the office of President ; neither shall any per-
son be eligible to that office who shall not have
attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been
fourteen years a resident within the United
States.
In the case of the removal of the President
from office, or of his death, resignation, or ina-
bility to discharge the powers and duties of the
said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-
President ; and the Congress may by law pro-
vide for the case of removal, death, resignation,
or inability, both of the President and Vice-
President, declaring what officer shall then act
as President ; and such officer shall act accord-
ingly, until the disability be removed, or a Pre-
sident shall be elected.
The President shall, at stated times, receive
for his services, a compensation, which shall
neither be increased nor diminished during the
period for which he shall have been elected ;
and he shall not receive, within that period, any
other emolument from the United States, or any
of them.
Before he enter on the execution of his office,
he shall take the following oath or affirmation :
" I do solemnly swear (or affirm), that I will
faithfully execute the office of President of the
United States ; and will, to the best of my abil-
ity, preserve, protect and defend the Constitu-
tion of the United States."
Sec. 2. The President shall be commander
in chief of the army and navy of the United
States, and of the militia of the several States,
when called into the actual service of the United
States ; he may require the opinion, in writing,
of the principal officer in each of the executive
departments, upon any subject relating to the
duties of their respective offices ; and he shall
have power to grant reprieves and pardons for
offences against the United States, except in
cases of impeachment.
He shall have power, by and with the advice
and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, pro-
vided two-thirds of the Senators present concur ;
and he shall nominate, and by and with the
advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint
ambassadors, other public ministers and con-
suls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other
officers of the United States, whose appoint-
ments are not herein otherwise provided for,
and which shall be established by law. But the
Congress may by law vest the appointment of
such inferior officers as they shall think pro-
per in the President alone, in the courts of law,
or in the heads of departments.
The President shall have power to fill up all
vacancies that may happen during the recess
of the Senate by granting commissions which
shall expire at the end of their next session.
Sec. 3. He shall from time to time give to the
Congress information of the state of the Union,
and recommend to their consideration such
measures as he shall judge necessary and expe-
dient : He may, on extraordinary occasions,
convene both Houses, or either of them ; and in
case of disagreement between them, with re-
spect to the time of adjournment, he may ad-
journ them to such time as he shall think proper :
He shall receive Ambassadors and other public
Ministers : He shall take care that the laws be
faithfully executed, and shall commission all
the officers of the United States.
Sec. 4. The President, Vice-President, and all
civil officers of the United States, shall be re-
moved from office on impeachment for, and
conviction of, treason, bribery or other high
crimes and misdemeanors.
Article III. Section 1. The Judicial power
of the United States shall be vested in one Su-
preme Court, and in such Inferior Courts as the
Congress may from time to time ordain and es-
tablish. The Judges, both of the Supreme and
Inferior Court, shall hold their offices during
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good behavior ; and shall, at stated times, re-
ceive for their services a compensation, which
shall not be diminished during their continu-
ance in office.
Sec. 2. The judicial power shall extend to all
cases, in law and equity, arising under this Con-
stitution, the laws of the United States and
treaties made, or which shall be made, under
their authority; to all cases affecting ambassadors,
other public ministers and consuls ; to all cases
of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction ; to con-
troversies to which the United States shall be
party ; to controversies between two or more
States, between a State and citizens of another
State, between citizens of different States, be-
tween citizens of the same State, claiming lands
under grants of different States, and between a
State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign states,
citizens or subjects.
In all cases, affecting ambassadors, other pub-
lic ministers and consuls, and those in which a
State shall be party, the Supreme Court shall
have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases
beforementioned, the Supreme Court shall have
appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact,
with such exceptions, and under such regula-
tions, as the Congress shall make.
The trial of all crimes, except in cases of im-
peachment, shall be by jury ; and such trial
shall be held in the State where the said crimes
shall have been committed ; but when not com-
mitted within any State, the trial shall be at such
place or places as the Congress may by law have
directed.
Sec. 3. Treason against the United States
shall consist only in levying war against them,
or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid
and comfort. No person shall be convicted of
treason unless on the testimony of two witness-
es to the same overt act. or on confession in
open court.
The Congress shall have power to declare
the punishment of treason ; but no attainder of
treason shall work corruption of blood, or for-
feiture, excepting during the life of the person
attainted.
Article IV. Section 1. Full faith and cred-
it shall be given, in each State, to the public
acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every
other State. And the Congress may, by general
laws, prescribe the manner in which such acts,
records and proceedings shall be proved, and
the effect thereof
Sec. 2. The citizens of each State shall be en-
titled to all privileges and immunities of citizens
in the several Stales.
A person charged in any State with treason,
felony, or other crime, who shall flee from jus-
tice, and be found in another State, shall, on
demand of the executive authority of the State
from which he fled, be delivered up, to be re-
moved to the State having jurisdiction of the
crime.
No person, held to service or labor in one
State, under the laws thereof, escaping into anoth-
er, shall, in consequence of any law or regula-
tion therein, be discharged from such service or
labor ; but shall be delivered up on claim of the
party to whom such service or labor may be
due.
Sec. 3. New States may be admitted by the
Congress into this Union ; but no new State
shall be formed or erected within the jurisdic-
tion of any other State ; nor any State be formed
by the junction of two or more States or parts
of States, without the consent of the Legislature
of the States concerned, as well as of the Con-
gress.
The Congress shall have power to dispose of,
and make all needful rules and regulations re-
specting the territory or other property belong-
ing to the United States : And nothing in this
Constitution shall be so construed, as to preju-
dice any claims of the United States, or of any
particular State.
Sec. 4. The United States shall guarantee to
every State in this Union, a republican form of
government ; and shall protect each of them
against invasion ; and on application of the Le-
gislature, or of the Executive (when the Legis-
lature cannot be convened) against domestic
violence.
Article V. The Congress, whenever two-
thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary,
shall propose amendments to this Constitution,
or, on the application of the Legislatures of
two-thirds of the several States, shall call a con-
vention for proposing amendments, which, in
either case, shall be valid, to all intents and
purposes, as part of this Constitution, when
ratified by the Legislatures of three-fourths of
the several States, or by conventions in three-
fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of
ratification may be proposed by the Congress ;
provided, that no amendment, which may be
made prior to the year one thousand eight hun-
dred and eight, shall in any manner affect the
first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of
the first article ; and that no State, without its
consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage
in the Senate.
Article VI. All debts contracted, and en-
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tered into, before the adoption of this Constitu-
tion, shall be as valid against the United States,
under this Constitution, as under the Confede-
ration.
This Constitution, and the laws of the United
States which shall be made in pursuance there-
of, and all treaties made, or which shall be made,
under the authority of the United States, shall
be the supreme law of the land ; and the judg-
es, in every state, shall be bound thereby, any
thing in the Constitution or laws of any State
to the contrary notwithstanding.
The senators and representatives before men-
tioned, and the members of the several State Le-
gislatures, and all executivt and judicial officers,
both of the United States and of the several
States, shall be bound, by oath or affirmation, to
support this Constitution ; but no religious test
shall ever be required as a qualification to any
office or public trust under the United States.
Article VII. The ratification of the Con-,
ventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for
the establishment of this Constitution between
the States so ratifying the same.
Amendments. Article the first. Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment
of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or
of the press ; or the right of the people peace-
ably to assemble, and to petition the govern-
ment for a redress of grievances.
Article, the second. A well-regulated militia
being necessary to the security of a free State,
the right of the people to keep and bear arms
shall not be infringed.
Article the third. No soldier shall in time of
peace be quartered in any house without the
consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but
in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Article the fourth. The right of the people
to be secure in their persons, houses, papers,
and effects, against unreasonable searches and
seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants
shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported
by oath or affirmation, and particularly describ-
ing the place to be searched, and the persons or
things to be seized.
Article the fifth. No person shall be held to
answer for a capital or otherwise infamous
crime, unless on a presentment or indictment
by a grand jury, except in cases arising in the
land or naval forces, or in the militia when in
actual service in time of war or public danger ;
nor shall any person be subject for the same
offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or
limb ; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case
to be a witness against himself, nor be depriv-
ed of life, liberty, or property, without due pro-
cess of law ; nor shall private property be taken
for public use, without just compensation.
Article tlie sixth. In nil criminal prosecutions,
the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy
and public trial, by an impartial jury of the
State or district wherein the crime shall have
been committed, which district shall have been
previously ascertained by law, and to be in-
formed of the nature and cause of the accusa-
tion ; to be confronted with the witnesses
against him ; to have compulsory process for
obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have
the assistance of counsel for his defence.
Article the seventh. In suits at common law,
where the value in controversy shall exceed
twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be
preserved, and no fact, tried by a jury, shall be
otherwise re-examined in any court of the Unit-
ed States, than according to the rules of com-
mon law.
Article the eighth. Excessive bail shall not be
required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel
and unusual punishments inflicted.
Article the ninth. The enumeration in the
Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be con-
strued to deny or disparage others retained by
the people.
Article the tenth. The powers not delegated
to the United States by the Constitution, nor
prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to
the States respectively, or to the people.
Article the eleventh. The judicial power of
the United States shall not be construed to ex-
tend to any suit in law or equity,. commenced
or prosecuted against one of the United States
by citizens of another State, or by citizens or
subjects of any foreign State.
Article the twelfth. The Electors shall meet
in their respective States, and vote by ballot for
President and Vice-President, one of whom, at
least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same
State with themselves ; they shall name in their
ballots the person voted for as President, and in
distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-
President ; and they shall make distinct lists of
all persons voted for as President, and of all
persons voted for as Vice-Presiderit, and of the
number of votes for each, which lists they shall
sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat
of the government of the United States, directed
to the President of the Senate ; the President of
the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate
and House of Representatives, open all the cer-
tificates, and the votes shall then be counted : the
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person having the greatest number of votes for
President, shall be the President, if such num-
ber be a majority of the whole number of Elec-
tors appointed ; and if no person have such ma-
jority, then from the persons having the high-
est numbers, not exceeding three, on the list of
those voted for as President, the House of Rep-
resentatives shall choose immediately, by ballot,
the President. But in choosing the President,
the votes shall be taken by States, the Repre-
sentation from each state having one vote ; a
quorum for this purpose shall consist of a mem-
ber or members from two-thirds of the States,
and a majority of all the States shall be necessa-
ry to a choice. And if the House of Represent-
atives shall not choose a President whenever
the right of choice shall devolve upon them,
before the fourth day of March next following,
then the Vice-President shall act as President, as
in the case of the death or other constitutional
disability of the President.
The person having the greatest number of
votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-Pres-
ident, if such number be a majority of the
whole number of Electors appointed ; and if no
person have a majority, then from the two high-
est numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose
the Vice-President : a quorum for the purpose
shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number
of Senators, and a majority of the whole num-
ber shall be necessary to a choice.
But no person constitutionally ineligible to
the office of President, shall be eligible to that
of Vice-President of the United States.
CONTI, Armand de Bourbon, first an eccle-
siastic, then a soldier, opposed his brother the
great Conde. After being successively govern-
or of Guiennc, general of the armies in Catalo-
nia, and governor of Languedoc, he died, in
1666.
COOK, James, a famous English navigator,
born in a village of Yorkshire, in 1728, early
went to sea. In the Mercury, of which he was
master, he was present at the taking of Quebec.
He was employed in several important services,
and explored the South Sea Islands in 1769.
From New Zealand, he sailed to New Holland,
New Guinea, and Batavia, returning home in
1771. His next voyage to the southern hemis-
phere was commenced in 1772, in two ships,
the Resolution and Adventure, the latter being
commanded by Captain Furneaux. On this
voyage Cook discovered the island of New
Georgia, and returning, July 30, 1775, was well
received and rewarded for his services.
In July, 1776, he sailed to determine the long
agitated question of a northern passage to the
Pacific ocean, but the attempt was abandoned
as impracticable, and the Resolution and Dis-
covery anchored at the Sandwich islands, on
their return, November 26, 1778. Their recep-
tion was at first favorable, but when Cook went
on shore to seize the king of Owyhee, with the
intention of keeping him as a hostage, till one
of the English boats, stolen by the savages was
restored, he was attacked by the natives, one
of whom felled him by a club, and then des-
patched him with a dagger. This event occur-
red on the 14th of February, 1779.
COOPER, Anthony Ashley, first earl of
Shaftesbury, and an eminent statesman, was
born 1621. Although a royalist he accepted a
commission from parliament, but contributed to
the restoration of the king, and was according-
ly rewarded. Having been acquitted on his
trial for high treason in 1681, he died in Hol-
land in 1688.
COOPER, Samuel, a clergyman of Boston,
who died in 1783 in the 59th year of his age.
He was patriotic and talented. (See Chauncey.)
COPENHAGEN, the capital of Denmark,
on the east coast of the island of Zealand, one
of the finest cities in Europe, has a good har-
bor, an extensive commerce, and 110,000 in-
habitants, although formerly but a poor fishing
village. It was threatened by Charles XII, who,
however, gave up the idea of besieging it. The
city has suffered severely from several confla-
grations. In 1801 it was bombarded by the
British under Lord Nelson. A flag of truce
alone saved it from destruction. It was again
attacked in 1807 by the English under admiral
Gambier. After severe firing, which commenc-
ed on the 2d of September, a capitulation was
settled on the 8th, and the citadel, dock-yards,
batteries, vessels, and naval stores, taken pos-
session of by the British.
COPLEY, John Singleton, a self-taught paint-
er, a native of Boston, where he was born in
1738. He went to England in 1776, where he
met with great encouragement, and died in
London in 1815. The death of Lord Chatham
in the House of Lords, after his immortal speech
in favor of America, is one of his best perform-
ances.
COPLEY, John Singleton, was born in Bos-
ton, Mass., May 21, 1772, went to England in
1775, and became Lord Lyndhurst, and Lord
High Chancellor of England.
CORD AY D' ARMANS, Marie Anne Char-
lotte, a beautiful and courageous young lady,
belonging to an ancient and respectable family
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of Caen in Normandy, who assassinated the in-
famous Marat on the 11th of July, 1793. She
fained admittance to him in the bath, and while
e was listening to the pretended details of a
conspiracy , she stabbed him to the heart. When
she was guillotined a few days afterwards, a
voice from the crowd exclaimed : " She is great-
er than Brutus !"
CORDOVA, the name of a province and
town of Buenos Ayres. The latter contains
about 10,000 inhabitants.
CORE A, a kingdom of China, 500 miles long,
and 150 broad. The government is royal but
the king pays a tribute to China. The religion
is that of Fo. Population from six to eight
millions.
CORFU, anciently called Drepanum, and
Corcyra, an island near the coast of Albania, in
the Mediterranean, 45 miles long, containing
60,000 inhabitants. It is fruitful and healthy.
It is one of the islands of the Ionian republic.
CORINNA, a famous poetess of Tanagra, in
Bcetia, contemporary with Pindar.
CORINTH, a famous city of Achaia, situated
on the isthmus of the same name. The popu-
lation is at present about 2,000. It was founded
by Sisyphus, son of jEolus, B. C. 2616. Co-
rinthus, son of Pelops, gave his name to the
city. The inhabitants were once famed for
their power, wealth and intelligence, and found-
ed Syracuse in Sicily, which they afterward de-
livered from oppression. Corinth was destroyed
by the Roman consul, Mummius, 146 B. C.
The consul, who was no judge of the fine arts,
assured the soldiers, who had charge of the in-
comparable paintings sent from Corinth, to
Rome, that if they injured them, he should
make them furnish new ones. Julius Csssar
vainly attempted to restore the city to its for-
mer importance. The government, at first
monarchical, was changed 779 B. C, and it be-
came the head of the Achaean league. In 1453
it fell into the tiands of the Turks.
CORIOLANUS, the surname of Caius Mar-
cius, given him for his victory over Corioli. Af-
ter having served his country faithfully, and
received many wounds in her service, he was
refused the consulship, and, indignant at the
ingratitude of his countrymen, who afterwards
banished him, he joined the Volsci, a warlike
nation, hostile to the Romans. Coriolanus ter-
rified the Romans by approaching their capital
at the head of a powerful army of Volscians.
The offended Roman refused to listen to pro-
posals made in the hope of inducing him to
withdraw, and pitched his camp within five
miles of the city. His enmity against his
country would have been fatal, had not his wife,
Volumnia, and his mother, Veturia, aided by the
presence of his children, prevailed upon him to
withdraw his army. Coriolanus, in yielding to
his mother, and raising her from her suppliant
posture, pronounced a sentence which was pro-
phetic of his fate : "Oh! my mother, you have
saved Rome, but you have destroyed your son."
The Volscians, indignant at the treachery of
Coriolanus, put him to death in the place ap-
pointed for his trial, B. C. 488.
CORK, a city of Ireland, capital of Cork
county, situated on the Lee, with a population
of 107,058. It is a large and flourishing place,
and was built by the Danes in the 6th century.
After the revolution of 1688, it was occupied by
James II, but taken by the earl of Marlborough,
in 1690.
CORNEILLE Peter, a French author who
flourished in the time of Louis XIV, and was
the founder of French tragedy.
CORNELIA, mother of the Gracchi, a Ro-
man matron who lived about 130 years B. C. A
lady of Campania having shown her jewels to
Cornelia, in paying a visit to the latter request-
ed to see her jewels in return. At that mo-
ment her boys entered the room, and the noble
Cornelia, pointing them out to her visiters, ex-
claimed : " these are my jewels !" At her death
the Romans, mindful of her worth, erected a
monument to her memory.
CORNWALLIS, Charles, marquis of, born
in 1738, entered the English army at an early
age, and rose rapidly. Although not unfavora-
bly disposed to America, he accepted a com-
mand in the royal army, and distinguished him-
self by his bravery. On his return, being
appointed governor-general of Bengal he fought
with success and defeated Tippoo Saib. He
was again made governor of India, but died in
1805, at Ghazepore, soon after his arrival.
CORSICA, the third Italian island in point
of size, lies north of Sardinia, about 50 miles
north from Tuscany, and contains 195,000 in-
habitants. It is generally mountainous, but the
numerous valleys are extremely fertile. The
Corsicans know not how to develope the various
resources of their island. They are in an almost
barbarous state, recklessly brave, revengeful,
fond of freedom, and indolent. Corsica has
been successively occupied by the Carthage-
nians, the Romans, the Goths, the Saracens, the
Franks, the Pope, the Pisanese, the Genoese,
the French, and the English, falling into the
hands of the last in 1794. The English, how-
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CRA
ever, did not long retain possession of the island,
and it was again restored to France.
CORTEZ, Fernando, the conqueror of Mex-
ico, was born in 1485, in Estremadura. He
came to the West Indies in high hopes, and Ve-
lasquez, governor of Cuba, gave him the com-
mand of an expedition designed for the reduc-
tion of Mexico, which consisted of 1U ships,
600 men, 10 small field-pieces, and 18 horses.
With this small armament he accomplished his
enterprise, in 1519, and added the empire of
Mexico to that of Spain. He took Montezuma
prisoner, although received with hospitality, and
the unfortunate king was killed by his own sub-
jects in an attack on the Spaniards. The con-
duct of the conquerors so exasperated the In-
dians that they compelled Cortez to quit the
city with great loss, but he regained it after some
hard fighting. On the capture of Guatimozin,
son of Montezuma, the city surrendered, and
the empire of Mexico was at an end. At this
juncture another commission arrived to deprive
Cortez of his command, and he, having return-
ed to Spain to procure redress, died in obscurity,
in 1554.
CORUNNA, a seaport of Spain, in the pro-
vince of Galicia, with two fine harbors, and a
population of 4,000. Here the British, on the
eve of embarking, were attacked by the French
under Soult, and general Sir John Moore was
killed.
COSSACKS, the name of several warlike
tribes that inhabit the southern provinces of
Russia, and form an effective portion of the
Russian cavalry. Their horses are small but
hardy, and will travel for a whole campaign
from 50 to 70 miles a day. They fight in little
bands, and their arms are long lances, bows and
arrows, sabres, and pistols or guns. The regi-
ments or pulks are from 500 to 3,000 strong.
The chief is called a hettman. A large body of
them who had previously been in the service of
the czar, joined Charles XII, in 1708.
COTOrAXI,a famous volcanic mountain of
the Andes, in Quito, the height of which is
18,898 feet above the level of the sea. " At the
port of Guayaquil, 52 leagues distant, in a
straight line, from the crater, we heard, day and
night, the noise of this volcano, like continued
discharges of a battery ; and we distinguished
these tremendous sounds even on the Pacific
ocean . ' ' — Humboldt.
COTTIN, Sophia, whose maiden name was
Ristand, was born in France, in 1773, and mar-
ried at the age of 17, soon after which her hus-
band died, and she devoted herself to literature
to soften her grief. Among her works Elizabeth,
or the Exiles of Siberia, is the most popular and
pleasing. The talented author died in 1607.
COURLAJND, formerly an independent
duchy, now belonging to Russia. It is situated
on the Baltic, and contains 581,300 inhabit-
ants.
COURTRAY or Cortrijk, anciently Corto-
riacvm, a town of Belgium, 22 miles southwest
of Ghent, famous for^the battle fought in its
vincinity, in 1302, between the Flemings and
French. The latter were defeated with great
loss, and, from the fact that 4000 gilt spurs were
found upon the field, the engagement was call-
ed the Battle of the Spurs.
COWLEY, Abraham, an English poet, the
son of a grocer, born in 1618, died in 1667. He
was an easy writer, and patronized by royalty.
COWPER, William, the poet, son of the
Rev. John Cowper, was born at Berkhamstead,
Herts, November 26, 1731. His education was
acquired at a public school, where the girlish
timidity and delicacy of the poet subjected him
to constant agony from the tyranny and rough-
ness of his school-fellows He studied law, and
obtained the place of clerk of the House of
Lords, but when the time approached for him
to enter upon the duties of his office, his terror
at presenting himself before the peerage, not
only induced him to relinquish the place, but
produced a fit of sickness. About this time his
religious fears brought on a temporary derange-
ment. He published several volumes of poems
with various success. His death took place in
April, 1800. Of all his poems the humorous
ballad of John Gilpin, and the Task, are the
best.
CRABBE, George, a popular British poet,
was born Dec. 21, 1754, at Aldborough in Suf-
folk. He was intended for a surgeon and actu-
ally opened a shop to which he confined him-
self for some time, although barely making his
expenses. In 1778, he went to^London as a
literary adventurer, but was for a long time
unsuccessful. When a prison was in near view,
and ruin appeared to threaten him, he conceived
the idea of writing to Edmund Burke, for assist-
ance and advice. That great man at once be-
came his friend and patron, urged him to per-
severe, and induced him to study divinity and
take orders. Thenceforth his circumstances
were comfortable. He married the object of his
early affections, devoted himself to literature,
received the applause due to a genius of the
highest order, and continued to use his pen till
his death in 1833. His Borough and Tales of
CRI
203
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the Hall are justly celebrated. Another poet
has truly called Crabbe
" Nature's sternest painter, but her best."
CRANMER, Thomas, archbishop of Canter-
bury, who aided the progress of the reformation
in England. But he was the slave of the king,
and never permitted conscience to interfere
with the wishes of the crowned tyrant. He
joined the partisans of lady Jane Grey, and
was accordingly sent to the Tower on the ac-
cession of Mary. Having been accused of
blasphemy, perjury, incontinence, and heresy,
he was executed March 21, 1556.
CRASSUS, Marcus Licinius, a Roman con-
sul, distinguished for some gallant actions, and
active in crushing the gladiatorial revolt which
was headed by Sparticus. He was slain by the
Parthians, B. C. 53.
CRECY, or Cressy en Ponthieu, a town of
France, 10 miles north of Abbeville, where was
fought a famous battle between the French and
English, in which the latter, led by Edward III,
and his son, the brave Black Prince, were com-
pletely victorious, August 26, 1346.
CREEKS, or Muskogees, a tribe of Indians
who lately inhabited the eastern part of Alaba-
ma, but have now mostly removed beyond the
Mississippi. They have made some progress in
agriculture, and the arts of civilization.
CRICHTON, James, a Scotch gentleman,
born in 1550, of a good family, who, from his pro-
ficiency in the arts and sciences, particularly
music and manly exercises, was stiled the Ad-
mirable. He travelled in France and Italy,
and in Mantua, having pleased the duke,
was appointed preceptor to his son. During
the carnival of 1583, Crichton, while playing
upon his guitar, was attacked in the streets by
a. masked band, against which he defended
himself with his customary spirit, until he re-
cognised his pupil in the leader. Throwing
liimself upon his knees, he presented his sword
to the young nobleman, who stabbed his pre-
ceptor to the heart. The motives which im-
pelled him are unknown.
CRILLON, Louis de Balbe, surnamed the
Fearless, a celebrated French commander, born
of a noble family, in Provence, in 1541. He
was the friend of Henry IV. He distinguished
himself at the siege of Calais, and against the
Huguenots, and the Turks. " Pends-toi, brave
Crillon nous avons combattu a Jlrques, et tu ny
itais pas ;" " Hang thyself, brave Crillon,
we have fought at Arques, and thou wast ab-
sent," was Henry's laconic announcement of
one of his most brilliant victories to his favored
friend.
In 1592, he successfully defended Villebceuf,
with an inferior force against Marshal Villars,
and when called upon to surrender, gallantly
answered ; " Crillon is within, and Villars with-
out." The assailants were unsuccessful. One
day, hearing a sermon in which the sufferings
of Christ were forcibly described, he seized the
handle of his sword and cried, " Where wert
thou, Crillon ?" He died in 1616.
CROATIA, an Austrian kingdom, contain-
ing 9,000 square miles, and 850,000 inhabitants.
The Croats have made but little progress in the
arts. Their country is fruitful and productive.
CROZSUS, king of Lydia. famed for his
immense wealth. Being defeated by Cyrus,
king of Persia, B. C. 548, he was conducted to
the stake, but saved his life by repeating, in
the hearing of Cyrus, the words of Solon, that
" no man could be pronounced happy till his
death."
CROMWELL, Oliver, a distinguished char-
acter in English history, was born of a good
family at Huntingdon, April 25, 1599, and re-
ceived a careful education. He met with sev-
eral narrow escapes when a child. Among
other occurrences, a huge ape seized the infant
and carried it to the house-top, refusing, for a
long time, to relinquish his prey. He alwajrs
retained a vivid recollection of" a gigantic female
figure which appeared at his bedside and foretold
hfs future greatness. The excesses in which
Cromwell indulged on quitting the university,
were ended by his marriage with Elizabeth
Bouchier, daughter of a baronet of Essex, at
the age of twenty-one.
In 1625, he was chosen to a seat in parlia-
ment, and then, as well as in 1628, gained dis-
tinction by the energy with which he opposed
the measures of the royalists and the bishops.
In 1640, after a temporary retirement, he was re-
turned from Cambridge, and became a frequent
speaker, always opposing the court, and attack-
ing the church. In 1642, when hostilities
were determined upon, Cromwell raised a troop
of horse, and seized the plate of the university
at Cambridge to defray the expenses of the
war. He soon acquired the rank of Colonel,
and the superior courage of his troops, procured
for them at Marston Moor the name of Iron-
sides. He also distinguished himself at the
battle of Newbury (1643). He had now gained
so great an influence, that when the famous
self-denying ordinance was passed, by which all
members of either house, were excluded from
CRO
204
CRU
command in the army, Cromwell was particu-
larly excepted. He was constituted lieutenant-
general, and by his skill and courage the battle
of Naseby was won in 1G45, and decided the
fate of the royalists. This victory was followed
by a series of successes for which he was voted
a pension of 2,500/. per annum, and the thanks
of the house. Charles I was betrayed by the
Scotch to the parliament. Cromwell contrived
to get him into his power ; he then turned out
of the house those members who were not likely
to be gained over to his purpose, so that no ob-
stacle remained to the trial of the king. He acted
in this with great address, was present at the
trial and execution, and concluded the tragic
scene by gazing sternly at the body of Charles
in his coffin.
After suppressing a mutiny in the army,
Cromwell, in 1649, went to Ireland, which he
subdued, and leaving Ireton as deputy, returned
to England in 1650. Being appointed com-
mander-in-chief against the Scots, who had
arrived to restore Charles II, he gained the
battle of Dunbar, Sept. 3, 1650, and that day,
twelvemonth, defeated the royal forces at Wor-
cester. He now began to carry into execution
his favorite project, by moulding the army to
his will ; and then, at one stroke, entering with
300 soldiers, he dismissed the parliament, and
dissolved the Council of State ; afterwards he
called one composed of his own officers. He
next convened a mock representation of the
nation, composed of 123 persons, who, being
his own creatures, agreed to resign their au-
thority. On this, the council of officers declared
him Lord Protector of the commonwealth of
England, Scotland, and Ireland. The follow-
ing year he called a parliament, but finding the
members refractory, he made each member take
an oath of allegiance to him, and dissolved them
after a session of five months. In 1656, another
parliament confirmed his title, and sanctioned
his proceedings. He was inaugurated with
great pomp. In 1658, he convened the two
nouses, and addressed them in the form ordina-
rily employed by the kings of England. He
dissolved this assembly, and in the August of
the same year, his favorite daughter, Mrs.
Claypole, bitterly reproached him for his con-
duct. He now experienced all the dread which
tyrants feel, went constantly armed, and was
horror-struck at the publication of a pamphlet
by Colonel Titus, entitled Killing No Murder,
in which the author endeavored to prove his
assassination a public duty.
These circumstances are supposed to have
produced a slow fever, of which he died Sep-
tember 3, 1658, in the 59th year of his age.
His body was interred in Westminister abbey,
from which it was taken at the Restoration,
and hanged on the gibbet and afterwards buried
beneath it.
CROMWELL, Thomas, earl of Essex, son
of a blacksmith at Putney, in Surrey, was born
about the year 1490. Early in life he became
clerk to the English factory at Antwep, which
he left to serve in Italy, where he fought be-
neath the banners of the constable of Bourbon.
Returning home, he was taken into the service
of Cardinal Wolsey, who procured him a seat
in the House of Commons. When Wolsey fell,
Cromwell became a servant of the king, was
raised to the office of Chancellor of the exche-
quer, and, in 1534, made secretary of state, and
master of the rolls. About this time he was
also elected Chancellor of Cambridge. The
next year he was appointed visitor-general of
the monasteries. In 1536, he was made lord
keeper of the privy-seal, and the same year
advanced to the peerage by the title of Lord
Cromwell ; and the papal supremacy being
abolished, he was nominated the king's vicar-
general in the convocation. In 1537, he was
appointed chief«justice itinerant of all the for-
ests beyond Trent, elected knight of the gartar,
and made dean of Wells. To these honors was
added the grant of many manors after the disso-
lution of the monasteries, and, in 1539, he was
created earl of Essex. Soon after, his fortune
declined as fast as it had risen. His ruin was
hastened by the marriage which he projected
between Henry and Anne of Cleves, and he
was sent to the Tower, where he was deserted
by all his friends except Cranmer, who, how-
ever, could not save him from the scaffold, and
he suffered death with fortitude, July 28th,
1540.
CRONSTADT, a Russian seaport and for-
tress on an island in the gulf of Finland,
founded by Peter II, in 1710. It is a naval depot,
and contains 40,000 inhabitants, one-fourth of
whom are sailors.
CROTONA, a Greek republic in Magna
Grecia, the birthplace of Milo, the famous wrest-
ler, and noted for producing the best combat-
tants for the circus. Its ruins are visible near
Cape Colonna.
CRUSADES, or Croisades, the name given
to the expeditions fitted out by the Christian
warriors of Europe, for the recovery of the Holy
Land, from the end of the 11th to the end of
the 13th century. The Crusades derived their
w
CRU
205
CRU
name from the badge of the cross which was
wrought upon their mantles, and appeared in
various parts of their equipments. The age
was one in which the people were peculiarly
adapted to the reception of enthusiastic reli-
gious impulses. The Christians could not bear
to think that the places which they held so dear,
and which the history of their religion hallowed,
should be desecrated by the presence of infidels,
and rendered dangerous to those pilgrims whom
a sincere feeling of reverence called to Pales-
tine. The church called upon the chivalry of
Europe, and the knights responded to the sum-
mons.
The rise of the Crusades is immediately at-
tributable to the enthusiasm of a wandering
pilgrim, called Peter the Hermit, who, having
experienced the tyrannical exactions imposed on
the visiters of the Holy Sepulchre, represented
them to pope Urban II, in such lively colors,
that the prelate selected him as the instrument
of a grand design which he had formed to over-
throw the Mohammedan power, and Peter,
armed with the Holy Commission, went from
province to province, to kindle up that enthu-
siasm by which he was himself consuming.
When the feelings of the people and the po-
tentates appeared ripe for some wild project,
Urban held a council in the open fields at Pia-
cenza, and proposed his scheme, which was
warmly applauded, but not as warmly embraced.
Another council was therefore held at Clermont,
graced by the presence of ambassadors from all
nations, and the result was as favorable as he
could have anticipated. The pope held out to
the Crusaders the promise of spiritual pardon,
and imposed on them only the penance of plun-
der for their sins. Thus excited, the enthusi-
asm became general ; noblemen sold their estates
for outfits ; the meanest lords of the manors set
forth at their own expense ; the poor gentle-
men followed them as esquires ; and above
80,000 collected under the banners of the cross.
Godfrey of Boulogne was at the head of 70,000
foot, and 10,000 horse, splendidly armed, were
under the command of many lords who were
Joined by Hugh, brother to Philip I, of France,
taymond of Toulouse, Bohemond, king of
Sicily, and others of equal and less note. A
proposal was made to the pope to put himself
at their head, but he refused. This refusal,
however, did not damp their ardor.
Confiding in their cause, their numbers, and
their equipments, they traversed Germany and
Hungary, took Nice, Antioch, and Edessa,and
arrived at Jerusalem, in July 1099. The city
was taken after five weeks siege. All but the
Christians were massacred, and the army of
crusaders after the perpetration of unparal-
leled atrocities, went to shed their tears at the
sepulchre of Christ. Godfrey, of Boulogne,
(not without opposition from the priests), was
elected king of Jerusalem, but died in 1100.
In 1102, an immense army which departed for
the Holy Land, was defeated, and no fewer
than 200,000 men lost to Europe by the enter-
prise. The capture of Baldwin and the loss of
Edessa, occasioned a new crusade.
France again gave the impulse to their reli-
gious excitement. Pope Eugenius III, induced
St. Bernard of Clairvaux, to act the part of
Peter the Hermit, and the consequence was
that Louis the Young, accompanied by his
wife, Eleanor of Guienne, departed for the
Holy Land, and Conrad III, in whose hands
the red cross was placed, led a large army into
Asia. Both of them, however, were unsuc-
cessful.
The unfortunate issue of the second crusade
was precipitated by the dissensions of the Christ-
ians, and the uncommon abilities of the Sultan
Saladin, who, advancing at the head of an army
that placed implicit confidence in the courage
and skill of their leader, animated by a religious
fury, no less absorbing than that which filled
the breast of the Crusaders, threw himself upon
Jerusalem, which, unable to hold out against
him, once more echoed to the shouts of Sara-
cen conquerors, as they again erected their
crescent on the ramparts of the city. The
Christians lost all their possessions but Antioch,
Tripoli, Joppa, and Tyre.
The leaders of the third crusade (1 189) were
Frederick I, of Germany, surnamed Barbarossa,
the chivalric Philip-Augustus of France, and
the lion-hearted Richard I, of England. Bar-
barossa was ultimately unsuccessful, but the
monarchs of France and England took posses-
sion of Ptolemais or Acre. Philip-Augustus,
from motives of jealousy, left the field to Rich-
ard, who proved himself a worthy rival of Sal-
adin, and the two commanders performed won-
derful feats of arms which were the admiration
of both armies. The fourth crusade was con-
ducted by Andrew II, king of Hungary, and
the fifth by Frederick II of Germany. The
results of these ought to have shown that the
Christians could not hope to gain permanent
possession of the country. It was this time
that St. Louis, king of France, undertook the
sixth and last crusade, which, though well con-
ceived, and vigorously carried on, was unsuc-
CUM
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cessful. In the last crusade no fewer than
150,000 persons perished : add to this the num-
bers that died in former expeditions, and it
will be seen that the east was the tomb of
above two millions of Europeans ; and several
countries were depopulated and impoverished
by the crusades. Yet the Holy Wars were not
without good. They created an intimate con-
nection and a constant intercourse between the
nations of Europe, which, as it was favorable to
commercial enterprise, increased the wealth,
improved the arts, and contributed to establish
the civilization of the Christian world.
CUBA is subject to the king of Spain, and
is the largest of the West India Islands. It is
257 leagues long, and 38 broad. The island is
rich and fertile. Its whole revenue has been
estimated at $7,500,000, and the government
expenses at $6,500,000. The population, ac-
cording to the census of 1827, was 704,467;
311 ,051 whites ; 57,504 free mulattoes ; 48,980
free negroes ; 286,942 mulatto and negro slaves.
Cuba was discovered by Columbus in 1492.
In 1511 it was conquered by the Spaniards, and
as little gain was anticipated from the mines,
the natives were cruelly exterminated.
In 1762 a powerful expedition for the con-
quest of the island was fitted out by the British,
and Havana capitulated in August. The plun-
der obtained by the British was immense. By
the treaty of 1763, Cuba was restored to the
Spaniards in exchange for the Floridas.
CULLODEN MUIR; a heath in Scotland,
where the Duke of Cumberland defeated the
Pretender, after an obstinate resistance, on the
27th of April, 1746.
CULM ; a Bohemian village where the
French under Vandamme were beaten by the
allied Russian and Prussians, Aug. 30th, 1813.
CUMA or Cyme, the largest city of Eolis
in Asia Minor, the birth-place of the Cumfean
sibyl.
CUM^E ; a city of Campania, founded by
Chalcis about 1030 B. C, taken by the Cam-
panians 420 B. C, by the Romans 345 B. C,
and eventually destroyed A. D. 1207.
CUMANA, the name of a province and city.
ofVenezuela.
CUMBERLAND, William, Duke of, second
son of George II, was born in 1721. He was
wounded at the battle of Dettingen, but refused
the assistance of a surgeon until the latter had
finished dressing the wound of a poor soldier,
who had been shot at the same time with him-
self. He commanded the British army at the
battles of Fontenoy and Val, which were lost
through the cowardice of the Dutch troops.
In 1746 he defeated the Pretender at Culloden,
but disgraced his character by his cruel treat-
ment of the vanquished.
CUMBERLAND, Richard, an English dra-
matist and miscellaneous author, son of the
bishop of Cloufert, was born in 1732, and edu-
cated at Trinity College, Cambridge. He be-
came private secretary of the earl of Halifax,
and died in London, May 7, 1811. His fame
rests altogether on his comic dramas. He was
extremely sensitive, self-conceited and jealous,
and Sheridan, considering him as fair game,
held him up to ridicule as Sir Fretful Plagiary.
He was much annoyed at the success of the
School for Sca?idal, and it was only for fear of
exciting ridicule by refusing to witness it, that
he carried two of his children to see the play.
Cumberland sat behind them, the picture of
jealousy and envy. When they laughed at
any criticisms, in common with the audience,
Cumberland would gravely extend a finger and
thumb, inflict a severe pinch, and say : " What
are you laughing at, my dears ? I don't see any
thing to laugh at." This anecdote, however,
is related on the authority of Kelly, the com-
poser, the founder of whose family " must have
drawn a long bow at the battle of Hastings."
CUNERSDORF, a village on the Oder, at
no great distance from Frankfort, where Fred-
eric the Great was defeated by the Russians in
1759.
CUPID, the god of love among the ancients,
the son of Mars and Venus.
CURACOA, an island in the Caribbean Sea,
belonging to the Netherlands. Pop. 10,000.
CURDS, wandering tribes whose country lies
partly in Persia, and partly in the Ottoman em-
pire, bordering on the Tigris and Euphrates.
They are in part Mohammedans, and in part
Christians, and mostly predatory in their habits.
CURIUS DENTATUS. Marcus Annius, a
Roman consul, famous for his fortitude and
frugality. He gained several victories, and de-
feated Pyrrhus, B. C. 272. The Samnite am-
bassadors found him cooking some vegetables
for his dinner in an earthen pot, yet he indig-
nantly refused the vessels of gold with which
they attempted to bribe him.
CURTIUS, Marcus, a noble Roman youth;
it is related, that when a pestilential chasm
opened in the Roman forum, 362 B. C. and
the oracle declared that it could only be closed
when the most precious thing in Rome was
thrown into it, Curtius, saying that arms and
courage were invaluable, assumed his military
CYR
207
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dress, and mounting an armed horse, sprang into
the abyss, which closed over him for ever.
CUSCO, the ancient capital of the Peruvian
empire, said to have been founded by Manco
Capac. It contains 20 or 30,000 inhabitants.
CUSHING, Thomas, a patriotic American,
born in 1725. He early obtained a seat in the
General Court of Massachusetts, and was
chosen speaker of the house of representatives.
The supposed extent of his influence induced
Doctor Johnson, in his pamphlet, " Taxation
no Tyranny," to remark — " One object of the
Americans is said to be, to adorn the brows
of Mr. Cushing with a diadem." Mr. C. was a
member of the two first continental congresses,
and of the council of Massachusetts, and was
created judge of the court of common pleas,
and of probate in the county of Suffolk. Hav-
ing been honored with the post of lieutenant-
governor of his native state, he died 1788.
CUTLER, Timothy, a talented American
divine, sometime president of Yale College. He
became rector of Christ Church, in Boston, and
died in his 82d year, Aug. 17, 17G5.
CUV1ER, George Leopold Christian Fred-
eric Dagobert, baron of, a celebrated naturalist,
born at Montbeliard, Aug. 25, 17G9. His re-
searches are well known to the generality of
readers. He died 1832.
CYCLADES, in ancient geography, a name
given to certain islands in the iEgean Sea, par-
ticularly those that surround Delos as with a
circle. They were subjected by Miltiades, but
revolted during the Persian invasion.
CYCLOPS, one-eyed giants, who were em-
ployed in forging the thunderbolts of Jupiter.
The name usually designates the three assist-
ants of Vulcan, but it was believed that there
was a nation of them.
CYPRUS, an island in the Mediterranean
Sea, famed among the ancients for its uncom-
mon fertility and the mildness of its climate.
It contains 120,000 inhabitants. Venus was
worshipped here. Its original colonists are un-
known. The Egyptians took it in 550 B. C.
and the Romans, 58 B. C. It was occupied for
some time by the Arabs on the decline of the
Roman empire. They were, however, driven
from it during the crusades, and the title of
king of Cyprus was for some time held by
Richard I of England. In 1480 it fell into
the hands of the Venetians, from whom it was
wrested, in .1750, by the Turks.
CYRENAICA, now called in Arabic Djebel
Akhdar, or the Green Highlands, was ancient-
ly a Greek colony, in the north of Africa. At
present it contains about 40,000 inhabitants, and
exhibits traits of former cultivation.
CYRUS : Concerning this monarch there are
two distinct and irreconcilable accounts, those
of Herodotus and Xenophon. The latter in
his Cyropedia, has rather given us the picture
of what a monarch should be, than of what a
monarch was, and the account of Herodotus is
generally adhered to in historical narratives.
Cyrus, king of Persia, was the son of Camby-
ses and Maudane, the daughter of Astyages.
From a belief that he was fated to dethrone his
grandfather, he was exposed as soon as born ;
but was preserved by a shepherdess who edu-
cated him as her own son. As he was play-
ing with his equals in years, he was elected a
king in one of their sports, and he exercised his
power with such an independent spirit, that he
ordered one of his companions to be whipped
severely for disobedience. The father of the
boy, who was a nobleman, complained to the
king of the ill-treatment which his son had re-
ceived from a shepherd's boy. Astyages order-
ed Cyrus before him, and discovered that he
was Maudane's son, from whom he had so
much to apprehend. He therefore treat-
ed him with suspicious coldness ; and Cyrus,
unable to bear his tyranny, escaped from his
confinement and began to levy tioops to de-
throne his grandfather. He was assisted and
encouraged by the ministers of Astyages, who
were displeased with his oppression. Cyrus
marched against and defeated Astyages in a
battle fought B. C. 560. From this victory the
empire of Media became tributary to the Per-
sians. Cyrus subdued the eastern parts of Asia,
and made war against Croesus, king of Lydia,
whom he conquered B. C. 548. He invaded
the kingdom of Assyria, and took the city
of Babylon by drying the channels of the Eu-
phrates, and marching his troops through the
bed of the river while the people were cele-
brating a grand festival. He afterwards led
his troops against Tomyris, the queen of the
Massagetse, a Scythian nation, but was defeat-
ed in a°bloodv battle, B. C. 529. The victorious
queen, who had lost her son in- a previous en-
counter, was so incensed against Cyrus, that
she cut off his head, and threw it into a vessel
filled with human blood ; crying, " Satisfy thy-
self with the blood for which thou hast thirsted."
CYRUS, the Younger, was the son of Darius
Nothus, and brother of Artaxeixes. On the
death of his father, he attempted the life of his
brother, to obtain the throne, but was pardon-
ed through the intercession of his mother Pary-
DAL
208
DAN
satis. He then obtained the governorship of
Lvdia, whence he marched against his brother.
The war ended with the death of Cyrus, B. C.
400.
CYTHERA, the ancient name of an island
in the Ionian sea, now Cerigo, containing a
population of 8,000. Venus was worshipped
here, and here was one of her most splendid
temples ; hence she was called Cytherea.
D.
DACIER, Anna Lefevre; the wife of Andre
Dacier, a literary lady of high reputation, born
in France in 1651. She edited and translated
several of the ancient classics, and distinguished
herself by her defence of Homer in answer to
Lamotte. She died in 1720.
DCEDALUS, an artist and machinist who
lived three generations before the Trojan war.
He was the builder of the Cretan Labyrinth.
Being imprisoned with his son, Icarus, he is
said to have invented wings cemented with
wax, by which they soared high in the air.
Icarus, neglecting the instructions of his father,
fell into the sea, which was named from him
Icarian. His father reached Sicily, and founded
a town there.
DAHOMY, a fertile kingdom of western
Africa, the monarch and people of which are
ferocious in the extreme. The king's sleeping-
chamber is paved with the skulls and orna-
mented with the jaw-bones of his vanquished
enemies.
DALE, Richard, a captain in the American
navy, was born in Virginia in 1756, and com-
manded a merchant vessel in 1775. He served
on board the Bonne Homme Richard under
Paul Jones, and was the first to spring to the
deck of the Serapis in the bloody engagement
which resulted in her capture. He died Feb.
24, 182(5.
DALLAS, Alexander James, a native of Ja-
maica, an able lawyer, who came to this coun-
try, in 1783, and held various responsible offices
under our government, being made secretary
of the United States treasury in 1801, when he
resigned the office of attorney-general. In 1815
he assumed the duties of secretary at war, and
on him devolved the task of reducing the army.
He had the satisfaction to see the currency of
the country saved by means of the United
States bank, which it had long been his object
to establish. He died Jan 16, 1817.
DALMATIA, a kingdom belonging to Aus-
tria, lying on the Adriatic sea, and containing
320,000 inhabitants. It was conquered by the
Venetians in the 15th century.
DAMASCUS, a city of Syria in the fertile
pachalic of Damascus, well-built and of great
commercial importance. The population ac-
cording to Burckhardt, is 250,000. Napoloan
threatened the city, but being foiled in the siege
of Acre, relinquished his design.
DAM1ENS, Robert Francois, a crazy fanatic,
who stabbed Louis XV, at Versailles, on the
5th of January 1757. He had long meditated
the deed, and took opium to prepare himself.
According to the provisions of his sentence,
after the most cruel tortures, he was torn in
pieces by horses on the Flace de Greve at Paris,
March 28, 1757.
DAMIETTA, a spacious city of Lower
Egypt, with 30,000 inhabitants, anciently called
Thaniiatis. It exhibits all the striking beauties
of a fine oriental city, and is a place of great
commerce. It was taken by the crusaders, but
surrendered again to the Saracens.
DAMON and PYTHIAS, two Syracusans,
who were devotedly attached to each other.
Dionysius, the tyrant, condemned Pythias to
death, but allowed him to absent himself in
order to arrange his affairs, on condition that
Damon should remain as hostage. The ap-
pointed time having expired, Damon was led
to the scaffold, and the executioner was about
to raise his axe, when Pythias arrived, breath-
less with haste, threw himself into the arms of
his friend, and embraced him tenderly. Diony-
sius moved by the scene, in common with the
people, restored both of the friends to the enjoy-
ment of life and liberty.
DAMPIER, William, an English navigator,
born in 1652, known for his adventures in both
hemispheres. His journals of his voyages have
been printed in three volumes.
DANDOLO, Henry, a doge of Venice, filled
the highest office in the gift of the republic in
1192, being then 84 years old. Neither his age
nor his defective vision prevented him from
discharging his duties with honor. Joining the
fourth crusade, he was the first to spring on
shore with the standard of St. Mark, at the
storming of Constantinople. He died at the
age of 97.
DANIEL, a Hebrew prophet, a man of strict
virtue, and supernatural powers, for whose his-
tory the reader is referred to the old Testament.
DANTE or Durante Alighieri, was born in
Florence in 1265. As a scholar and a soldier
he was early celebrated, and as the lover of Be-
atrice Portinari (who died in 1290), no less fa-
DAN
209
DAR
mous. He was married the year after the death
of Beatrice, but he never forgot her. At the
time of the troubles between the Bianchi and
Neri in Florence, Dante espoused the cause of
the former, and his property was confiscated.
He went from place to place restless, and un-
happy, loathing a state of dependence, yet un-
able to retrieve his fortune. He died at Raven-
na, Sept. 14, 1321. The fame of his Divina
Commcdia is imperishable, and the Florentines,
who had persecuted him during his life-time,
paid him the highest honors at his death. " His
characters were those of his own period, with
whose history the public were acquainted, and
whose families and descendants were alive, and
frequently in the enjoyment of wealth and pow-
er. But the position in which he placed them,
threw an interest round their story, stronger
than could have been produced by the adven-
tures of any individual, however illustrious, of
a more remote date. The terror and pity, and
in some cases the vengeance of the Italians was
awakened, when the shadowy forms of their
contemporaries were made to pass in review
before them, stripped of those external advan-
tages which while living had rendered them
respected, and had cast a veil over their crimes.
The cruel husband shrunk from the picture of
his murdered wife, herself condemned to perdi-
tion, yet prophecying that for him was destined
the lowest pit in hell. The son beheld his fa-
ther plunged in eternal wo, yet continuing to
feel a tender interest in his welfare. The
treacherous assassin, who still occupied his
place among the nobles of the land, trembled
at seeing himself represented as in hell, while,
according to the bold supposition of the poet,
a demon animated his body. The ' mighty
mantle' itself was no protection to the wearer.
Pope Nicholas III, plunged head foremost in
the flames, was represented as waiting there
for the arrival of his guilty successors. The
effect was indescribable. Some, unable to en-
dure the contempt of their countrymen, con-
demned themselves to voluntary exile ; some,
struck with terror and despair, died broken-
hearted ; and others fell victims to the private
vengeance of the poet's friends."
DANTON, a French revolutionary leader,
who on the fall of Robespierre, was condemned
to the scaffold. His character was a singular
mixture. Although talented, brave, and mag-
nanimous, he was also weak, cruel, and parsi-
monious.
DANTZIC, a city of West Prussia, on the
Vistula, containing 54,000 inhabitants. It was
founded in the 12th century. In 1709 it was
ravaged by the plague, and in 1734 taken by
the Russians and Saxons. May 1807 the French
captured it after a long siege. It was occupied
by a French garrison until Napoleon's disas-
trous campaign in Russia, after which it was
blockaded, and bravely defended by general
Rapp. It surrendered, however, and in 1814,
reverted to Prussia.
DARDANELLES, the four castles on the
European and Asiatic sides of the Hellespont,
which is called the " Strait of the Dardanelles."
DARFUR or DARFOOR, the name of a
large kingdom between Abyssinia and Bornou,
in central Africa. The inhabitants are Moham-
medans, half barbarous, extensively engaged in
commerce, and living under a despotic govern-
ment.
DARIEN, a town of Georgia, which con-
tained in 1830, about 500 inhabitants.
DARIUS. The name of several sovereigns
of Persia, of whom the first is the most celebra-
ted. Darius I, a noble satrap of Persia, was
the son of Hystaspes, and conspired with six
other noblemen, to destroy Smerdis, the usurp-
er of the Persian crown. After the death of
the usurper, it was agreed among the conspira-
tors that he whose horse first neighed, should
be appointed king. In consequence of this
singular resolution, the groom of Darius led his
master's horse with a mare to the place near
which the seven noblemen were to pass. On
the morrow before sunrise, when they proceed-
ed all together, the horse of Darius neighed,
and he was saluted by his companions king.
He soon showed himself fitted to grace a throne.
He took Babylon, and conquered Thrace ; was
defeated by the Scythians, but favored by for-
tune in his campaign against the Indians. The
burning of Sardis, which was a Grecian colony,
incensed the Athenians and a war was kindled
between them and the Persians, in which the
latter were unsuccessful. Undismayed at the
disaster at Marathon and his immense losses,
Darius resolved to lead his troops to Greece in
person, but died in the midst of his warlike pre-
parations, B. C. 485.
DARIUS III, surnamed Codomanus, the son
of Arsanes and Sysigambis, was descended
from Darius Nothus. He was no sooner seated
on the throne than Alexander of Macedon inva-
ded his kingdom. The Persians were defeated
in the battles of the Granicus and Issus, in the
last of which, Darius, leaving his wife, children,
and mother, fled in disguise on the horse of his
armour-bearer, and was saved by the darkness
DAV
210
DEA
of tho night. Being again defeated in the bat-
tle of Arbela, Darius in despair fled to Media,
where he was killed by Bessus, the perfidious
governor of Bactria, and was found by the
Macedonians in his chariot, expiring of his
wounds, B. C. 331.
DARWIN, Erasmus, an English physician
and poet, born in 1721, at Elton, was the au-
thor of the Botanic Garden, and other celebrated
works. He died in 1802.
DAVENAiNT, Sir William, an English poet
of the 17th century, the author of Gondibcrt, a
heroic poem, and a theatrical writer and man-
ager under Charles II.
DAVID, king of Israel, one of the most re-
markable characters in Jewish History. The
occurrences of his life are detailed in scripture.
DAVID, Jacques Louis, a French painter, born
at Paris in 1750, died at Brussels in 1825. Da-
vid, though an uncompromising democrat, voting
for the death of Louis XVI, was the first painter
of the Emperor Napoleon, and was exiled on his
fall. Among his finest works are Paris and
Helen, the Rape of the Sabine women, and
Napoleon crossing the Alps. His best perform-
ances in portrait painting are the numerous
likenesses of his imperial patron. The original
sketch for one of these, which indeed was never
afterwards finished, was taken during the last
few hours of unlimited power possessed by Napo-
leon in Paris. The greater part of the preced-
ing day and night had been spent in arrang-
ing the final operations of the campaign which
terminated in the battle of Waterloo. When
now past midnight, instead of retiring to repose,
the emperor sent for David, to whom he had
promised to sit, and who was in waiting in an
apartment of the Tuileries. " My friend," said
Napoleon, to the artist; "there are yet some
hours till four, when we are finally to review
the defences of the capital ; in the mean time,
faites votre possible (do your utmost), while I
read these despatches." But exhausted nature
could hold out no longer ; the paper dropped
from the nerveless hand, and Napoleon sank to
sleep. In this attitude the painter has represent-
ed him : — the pale and lofty forehead, the care-
worn features, the relaxed expression, the very
accompaniments bear an impress inexpressibly
tender and melancholy. With the dawn Na-
poleon awoke, and springing to his feet, was
about to address David, when a taper just expir-
ing in its socket, arrested his eye. Folding his
arms on his breast, an usual posture of thought,
he contemplated its dying struggles, when,
with the last gleam, the rays of the morning
sun penetrated through the half-closed window-
curtains. " Were I superstitious," said Napo-
leon, a faint smile playing about his beautiful
mouth, " the first object on which my sight has
rested this day, might be deemed ominous;
but," pointing to the rising sun, " the augury
is doubtful — at least the prayer of the Grecian
hero will be recorded — we shall perish in
light."
DAVIDSON, Lucretia Maria, a young Amer-
ican girl, who displayed great talents for coin--
position at the age of 4 years. She died of
incessant application, August 27, 1825. She
was born at Plattsburg, on Lake Champlain,
September 27th, 1808. Her Amir Khan and
other poems, were published in a volume.
DA VIE, William Richardson, a distinguished
character in the American revolution. He held
the rank of general, and was afterwards gov-
ernor of North Carolina, and envoy to France.
He was born in England, 1756, and died at
Camden (S. C), in 1820.
DAVlES, Samuel, a distinguished American
divine, president of Nassau Hall, born in Dela-
ware, Nov. 3, 1724, died in 17(J2.
DAVIS, John, an English navigator, who
gave his name to the Straits which lie between
Greenland and New Britain, which he entered
in endeavoring to discover the northwest pas-
sage. He was killed by the Japanese in 1605.
DAVOUST, Louis Nicholas; duke of Aner-
stadt and prince of Eckmuhl, marshal and peer
of France, born in 1770, died in 1823. He
studied with Bonaparte, and served under him
in his most brilliant campaigns. He only sub-
mitted to Louis XVII, when the hopes of Na-
poleon were destroyed.
DAVY, Sir Humphrey, a distinguished Eng-
lish chemist, born in 177'J, at Penzance, Corn-
wall, died at Geneva, 1819. His experiments on
the nature of explosive gas, to which his atten-
tion was directed by the frequent accidents oc-
curing to mines from fire damps, resulted in the
invention of the safety -lamp. Other important
discoveries were made by this distinguished
man.
DEAD SEA, or Asphaltites (the lake of
Bitumen), a piece of water in Palestine, 180
miles in circuit, which occupies the space
whereon the condemned cities of the vale of
Siddim stood. The following account of it is
from the pen of a late traveller. " After the pil-
grims had bathed in the Jordan, we left them
and turned down to the south, in company with
three or four other English travellers, and a
guard from the governor, to visit the Dead Sea.
DEC
211
DEL
We rode across plains of barren sand for an
hour and a half, when we stood upon the banks
of this memorable lake. Without any refer-
ence to what others have said, I can testify to
the following facts. The water is perfectly
clear and transparent. The taste is bitter, and
salt far beyond that of the ocean. It acts upon
the tongue and mouth like alum, and smarts in
the eye^like camphor, and produces a burning
pricking sensation over the whole body. It
stiffened the hair of the head much like poma-
tum. The water has a much greater specific
gravity than the human body, and hence, no
efforts cause us to sink below the surface ; and
standing perpendicularly, you would not de-
scend lower than the arms. Although there
was evidence in the sands thrown upon the
beach, that in great storms there were waves,
yet there appeared to be some foundation for
the reports of its immobility. Notwithstanding
Ihere was a considerable breeze, the water lay
perfectly lifeless. Historians say that large
quantities of bitumen were gathered from the
surface of this lake ; and is it not quite possi-
ble, to say the least, that it formerly existed in
such quantities as to spread over the whole face
of the sea, and thus effectually prevent the
wind from interrupting its death-like quietude ?
Modern travellers state that there is very little
of this substance now to be found, and certainly
we saw nothing like it. We saw no fish or liv-
ing animals in the water, though birds were
flyino- over it in various directions unharmed.
We all noticed an unnatural gloom hanging,
not merely over the sea, but also over the whole
plain below Jericho. This is mentioned also
by ancient historians. It had the appearance
of the Indian summer of the valley. Like a
vast funeral pall let down from heaven, it com-
pletely shuts out all prospect, at a short dis-
tance down the sea.
DECATUR, Stephen, an American naval
commander, born in Maryland, January 5th,
177(J. Soon after his entrance into the navy
(1798), he received a first lieutenancy, and for
his gallant conduct in recovering the frigate
Philadelphia, in the harbor of Tripoli, was pro-
moted to the rank of Captain. He successively
commanded the Constitution, the Congress,
the Chesapeake, and the United States. With
the latter he captured the Macedonian, October
25th, 1812. In the war with Algiers (1815),
Decatur terrified the regency into submission
in 48 hours ; was equally successful at Tripoli ;
and procured the renunciation of tribute, and
an agreement on the part of the Barbary pow-
ers, to regard captives as prisoners of war and
not slaves. Decatur was killed in a duel by
Commodore Barron, March 22, 1820.
Dfc^CIUS, the name of a Roman Consul who
devoted himself to death in battle, to save his
country, B. C. 340. Also a Roman emperor,
who reigned from A. D. 249, till Dec. 251. He
persecuted the Christians.
DEFOE, Daniel, an English author of great
celebrity, born at London in 1G63. His politi-
cal and commercial speculations having prov-
ed unfortunate, he turned his entire attention
to literature. It is unnecessary to enumerate
here the various works which he produced — it
will be sufficient to mention his most popular
production, the Life and Surprising Adventures
of Robinson Crusoe, which he is falsely said to
have stolen from the papers of Alexander Sel-
kirk, a Scottish mariner, long the solitary in-
habitant of the island of Juan Fernandez. He
died in April, 1731. .
DEJANIRA, daughter of.TEneus, king ot
Calydon, an jEtolian city ; the wife of Hercules,
and the innocent cause of his death. The
Centaur, Nessus, whom Hercules killed for
insulting Dejanira, in dying, gave her a tunic
dipped in his blood, which he said would restore
to her the affections of her husband if he put it
on. When she considered herself in danger
from his inconstancy, she sent Hercules the
garment, which he no sooner put on than a mor-
tal poison penetrated to his vitals, and he died
in agony. , _..
DELAWARE ; one of the United States,
bounded north by Pennsylvania; east by Dela-
ware bay, and river; south and west by Mary-
land. Its three counties are subdivided into £y
hundreds. The Legislature consists of a Senate
and House of Representatives. The surface
is, with few exceptions, level. Articles of pro-
duce, wheat, Indian corn, rye, barley, oats, flax,
buckwheat, and potatoes. Its first settlers were
the Swedes and Fins, in 1627. The Dutch
gained possession of it, but the English in 1004
became the masters of it. It was granted to
William Penn, and remained a separate estab-
lishment until the revolution. Its constitution
was adopted in 1792, and amended in 1831.
Population 76,748, including 3,292 saves.
DELHI, a province and city of Hindoston,
containing about 5,000,000 inhabitants, Hin-
doos, Mohammedans, and Seiks. It is very fer-
tile and a lar<re and valuable portion ot it
belongs to the British. The city contains many
splendid edifices. It was taken by the Moham-
medans in 1193, and sacked by Nadir Shah,
DEM
212
DEM
in 1739, since which the inhabitants have been
the victims of rapine and slaughter, among the
contending parties.
DELOS, the central island of the Cyclades,
famed in ancient times for the number and
skill of its artists, and for the splendid temple
and oracle of Apollo. It was the birth-place of
Apollo, and his sister Diana, and according to
fable, raised as an asylum to the mother, Lato-
na, when she was pursued from place to place
by the implacable Juno.
DELPHI, the seat of the oracle of Apollo,
situated in Phocis, on the southern side of Par-
nassus. The fount of inspiration was said to
be a chasm from which issued an intoxicating
vapor. This was discovered by a shepherd.
A temple was built over the cave, and the tri-
pod of the goddess (sometimes called Pythoness
from Pythius the surname of Apollo) was
placed where she could breathe the ascending
vapor. She was agitated with extreme fury ;
she howled and vowed, her eyes sparkled, and
she gave every evidence of being inspired by
divinity. The Pythian games were celebrated
in the vicinity of Delphi, which is now the
village of Castri. Under the head of iEsop
(which see), some remarks have been made
upon the nature of the responses of the oracles.
DELUGE, the flood, or inundation of waters
by which God destroyed mankind and animals
in the time of Noah, and in which, as St. Peter
says, only eight persons were saved. Accord-
ing to M. Basuage, this took place in 1650th
year of the world ; the rain commenced on the
17th of November, and the waters reached their
height on the 27th of March. Almost all savage
nations, even those sunk the deepest in barba-
rism, have a tradition of an universal deluge.
A traveller among the Indians of the northwest
coast of America learned this from one of the
savages, and asked him how long ago it occur-
red ? The savage scooped up from the floor of
his cabin a handful of sand, and promptly re-
plied ; " as many moons ago as there are grains
of sand in this heap."
DEMETRIUS, surnamed Soter, son of Sel-
eucus Philopater, the son of Antiochus the
Great, king of Syria. His father gave him as
a hostage to the Romans. After the death of
Seleucus, Antiochus Epiphanes, the deceased
monarch's brother, usurped the kingdom of
Syria, and was succeeded by his son Antiochus
Eupater. This usurpation displeased Deme-
trius, who was detained at Rome ; he therefore
procured his liberty on pretence of going to
hunt, and fled to Syria, where the troops re-
ceived him as their lawful sovereign, B. C.
Ki2. He put to death Eupater, and Lysias,
and established himself on his throne by cruelty
and oppression. Alexander Balas, the son of
Antiochus Epiphanes, laid claim to the crown
of Syria, and defeated Demetrius in battle in
the 12th year of his reign.
DEMETRIUS, a Macedonian, son of Antigo-
nus and Stratonica, surnamed from his suc-
cesses, Poliorcetes, or the destroyer of toicns.
At the age of 22, he was sent by his father
against Ptolemy, who had invaded Syria. He
was defeated near Gaza, but soon repaired his
loss by a victory over one of the generals of the
enemy. He afterwards sailed with a fleet of
250 ships to Athens, and restored the Athenians
to liberty, by freeing them from the power of
Cassander and Ptolemy, and expelled the gar-
rison, which was stationed there under Deme-
trius Phalereus. After this successful expedi-
tion, he besieged and took Munychia, and
defeated Cassander at Thermopylae. This un-
common success raised the jealousy of the suc-
cessors of Alexander ; and Seleucus, Cassander,
and Lysimachus, united to destroy Antigonus
and his son. Their hostile armies met at lpsus,
B. C. 391. Antigonus was killed in the battle ;
and Demetrius, after a severe loss, retired to
Ephesus. His ill success raised him many
enemies ; and the Athenians, who lately adored
him as a god, refused to admit him into their
city. Pie soon after ravaged the territories of
Lysimachus, and reconciled himself to Seleu-
cus to whom he gave his daughter, Stratonice,
in marriage. Athens now labored under tyran-
ny ; and Demetrius relieved it and pardoned its
inhabitants.
The loss of his Asiatic possessions recalled
him from Greece, and he established himself
on the throne of Macedonia, 294 B. C. Here
he was continually at war with the neighboring
states; and the superior power of his adversa-
ries obliged him to leave Macedonia, after he
had filled the throne seven years. He passed
into Asia and attacked some of the provinces
of Lysimachus with various success ; but fam-
ine and pestilence destroyed the greatest part
of his army, and he retired to the court of
Seleucus for support and assistance. He met
with a kind reception, but hostilities between
them soon began ; and after he had gained
some advantages over his son-in-law, Deme-
trius was totally forsaken by his troops in battle,
and became an easy prey to the enemy. Though
he was kept in confinement by his son-in-law,
yet he lived like a prince, and passed his time
DEN
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DES
in hunting, and in every laborious exercise.
His son Antigonus offered Seleucus all his pos-
sessions, and even his person, to procure his
father's liberty ; but all proved unavailing, and
Demetrius died in the 54th year of his age, B.
C. 284.
DEMOCRITUS, a philosopher of Abdera,
who was born about 494, B. C. He is com-
monly called the laughing philosopher, because
he was said to have been in the habit of amus-
ing himself with the follies of mankind, while
Heraclitus (the weeping philosopher) wept at
them. He placed the chief good in a tranquil
mind.
DEMOSTHENES, an Athenian orator, son
of a sword cutler, born about 381, B. C, famous
to have risen to the highest reputation by per-
severance in overcoming the apparently insur-
mountable obstacles which opposed him. (See
Athens.) He was the determined opponent of
Philip of Macedon, continually urging the Athe-
nians to resist him. The orations which he
delivered on these occasions were termed Phi-
lippics, a name since applied to all satirical
orations. Finding the cause of liberty prostra-
ted, he took poison and died 319, B. C, at the
age of 60 years.
DENHAM, Dixon, lieutenant-colonel in the
British army, associated with Captain Clapper-
ton, and Doctor Oudney, for the purpose of
exploring Central Africa. Soon after being
appointed lieutenant-governor of Sierra Leone,
he died, in 1823.
DENMARK, the larger part of which is a
peninsula, is generally level and fertile. The
climate is temperate. Among the vegetable
productions are oats, barley, beans, pease, and
potatoes. The commercial exports are princi-
pally grain, horses, cattle, beef, pork, butter,
and cheese. The population of the kingdom
is about 2,000,000. The Danes are a brave peo-
ple, but addicted to self-indulgence. The early
history is obscure and uninteresting, contain-
ing merely the adventures of predatory war-
riors, whose pre-eminence consisted in ferocity
and courage. They invaded England, and
established two kingdoms there. Margaret,
the daughter of Waldemar, often called the
Semiramis of the north, in 1387, united in her
own person, the crowns of Sweden, Denmark,
and Norway. This union, however, did not
continue longer than the beginning of the Kith
century, when Christian II, was obliged to
renounce all claims to Sweden. Christian VII
was unequal to the labors of government ; and
placed the whole burden of government on his
ministers. The situation of Denmark, when
the affairs of Bonaparte began to assume an
unfavorable appearance, was critical, but Den-
mark concluded a treaty of peace with Sweden
and Great Britain in 1814. All the conquests
were restored with the exception of Heligoland,
and Swedish Pomerania and the isle of Ilugen
were added, in consideration of the stipulated
annexation of Norway to Sweden. In 1815,
the king joined the German confederacy. The
government is an absolute monarchy.
DANNIES, Joseph, born in Boston 1768, and
educated at Harvard College, possessed a bril-
liant genius which he evinced in several papers
which he edited. He wanted industry and dis-
cretion, and died in 1812, of disease produced
by irregularity and anxiety.
DESAIX DE VOYGOUX, Louis Charles
Antoine, a French general, was born of a noble
family at St. Hilare de Agat, in Bretagne, in
1768. He served under Pichegru and Moreau,
and commanded under Bonaparte in Upper
Egypt, a division of troops destined to pursue
and keep in awe the Mamelukes, whom he
attacked and put to flight near the pyramids of
Saccara, in Upper Egypt. At the battle of
Marengo, the success of which was the result
of his opportune arrival on the field, he was
killed, June 14, 1800.
DESCARTES, Rene, born at La Haye, in
Touraine, in 1596, and died at Stockholm in
1650. As a soldier, mathematician, and ori-
ginal philosopher, he greatly distinguished him-
self.
DESEADA, Desirada, or Desiderada, one of
the small Caribbee islands, discovered by Co-
lumbus in 1494.
DESEZE, Raymond, the talented advocate
who defended the unfortunate Louis XVI. On
the restoration of the Bourbons, he was loaded
with honors.
DESHOULIERES, Antoinette; a French
literary lady of great acquirements, who lived
in Paris from 1638, till 1694.
DESMONLINS, Benoit Camille, a French
revolutionist, who was condemned to death by
the revolutionary tribunal in June, 1794.
DESPARD, Edward Marcus, a colonel in
the English army, who served in America and
elsewhere, but who was refused payment for
his services when he applied for it in England.
This induced him to form a conspiracy against
the government, which was discovered in the
November of 1802, and punished.
DESSAIX, Joseph-Marie, Count, a native
of Savoy, where he was born in 1764, and dis-
DEV
214
DID
tinguished for his military services in the French
army. At the siege of Toulon he bore a part.
He was appointed by Napoleon general of di-
vision, and grand officer of the legion of honor.
DESSALINES, Jean-Jacques, emperor of
Hayti, was originally a slave. After the French
had been expelled from the island in 1803, Des-
salines was appointed governor general, but as-
sumed the title and state of emperor ; but hav-
ing been guilty of many attrocities, he was
killed by a soldier, Oct. 17, 1806.
DETROIT, a city, port of entry, and capital
of Michigan. It is situated between lakes Erie
and St. Clair, on the west side of the river De-
troit. Pop. 6,000. It is well built and defend-
ed by fort Shelby. It was settled by Canadian
French in 1683, and in 1812, was taken by the
British, but remained only a short time in their
power.
DEUX-PONTS, in German, Zweibrilcken,
anciently Bissons, a Bavarian city, the capital
of a dutchy containing 70,000 inhabitants.
DEVEREUX, Robert, earl of Essex, born
in 1567, was educated at Cambridge, and intro-
duced at Court at an early age. He soon won
the regard of Queen Elizabeth, and on his re-
turn from a campaign in the Low Countries,
he was made master of horse. The last of his
two expeditions against Cadiz failed from a
misunderstanding between him and Raleigh.
Returning, Essex was made earl-marshal of
England, and master-general of the ordnance.
Essex was impetuous and indiscreet. At the
zenith of royal favor, he took no care of his
actions. At the council-board, he contradicted
the queen, who gave him a smart box on the
ear ; when he rose in extreme wrath, clapped
his hand upon his sword, and swore that he
would not have taken such an affront even
from Henry VIII.
In Ireland, he made a composition with the
rebels, and quitted his government, without
leave for either proceeding. On his return to
London he was taken, tried, and beheaded, Feb-
ruary 25, 1601. While in prison he is said to
have entrusted to the countess of Nottingham a
ring which he had received from the queen,
when high in favor, with the promise to pardon
any offence on its presentation. Contrary to
her pledge, the countess retained the ring, but
confessed her guilt upon her death-bed, on
which Elizabeth is said to have exclaimed,
" God may forgive you, but I never will !" His
son, after having served Charles 1, joined the
parliamentary party, but did not enjoy a high
degree of favor, and died suddenly in 1646.
DE WITT, John, grand pensioner of Hol-
land, a famous statesman, was born in 1625. He
imbibed from his father a hatred for the house
of Orange. Accordingly in the war between
England and Holland, he attempted to abolish
the statholdership, and succeeded in separating
that office from that of captain general. He
was forced, however, to make some conces-
sions, and beheld, with mortification, William
procure the post of commander-in-chief. De
Witt resigned his employments when William
was chosen stadtholder, to the joy of all, and
being thrown into prison, was murdered by the
populace, who broke in upon him, Aug. 20, 1672.
DEXTER, Samuel, a distinguished orator,
lawyer, and statesman, was born at Boston,
Mass., in 1761, and was educated at Harvard
College. He studied law, but was soon chosen
to the state legislature, and thence transferred
to congress, where his abilities and patriotism
were properly appreciated. Under President
Adams he was at first secretary at war, and
then of the treasury. Declining the public
offices which were afterwards offered him, he
employed himself in the lucrative and honora-
ble profession of the law, being entrusted with
cases of the utmost importance. He died at
Athens, N. Y. 1816, aged 55.
DIANA, the daughter of Latona, and twin
sister of Apollo, born at Delos. She was the
goddess of hunting and remained unmarried.
She was called Lucina, Ilythia, or Juno Pronu-
ba, and Trivia ; Trifomis, because Luna or the
moon in heaven, Diana on earth, and Prosper-
pine or Hecate in hell. Her other names were
Argroteta, Orthia, Taurica, Delia, Cynthia, Ari-
cia, and she is supposed to have been the Isis
of the Egyptians.
DIDO, the founder of the city of Carthage,
also called Elisa, was a daughter of Belus, King
of Tyre, and married Sichreus, or Sieharbas,
her uncle, a priest of Hercules. Pygmalion,
the successor of Belus, murdered the husband
of Dido, for the sake of his wealth, and with
a number of Tyrians, the unhappy queen set
sail to found a colony in some distant iand. A
storm drove them upon the African shore and
there Dido built her citadel, and soon had the
satisfaction of finding the colony in a thriving
condition. The persecutions of Jarbas, king
of Mauritania, who wished to marry her, prov-
ed fatal to her, for having vowed to her hus-
band, never to wed a second time, she ascend-
ed a funeral pile, and perished in the flames.
For this action she was called Dido, or Valiant
Woman. Her connection with jEneas was a
DIO
215
DIO
fable, since they were not even contemporaries.
(See Carthage and jjfrica.)
DIEMEN, Anthony Van, governor-general
of the Dutch East India settlements, born in
1593. He went to the Indies as a clerk, but
rose with great rapidity. His administration
was judicious and successful. He died in 1G45.
DIEMEN'S (VAN) LAND, an island in
the South Ocean, which Tasman, the Dutch
navigator, who discovered it in 1633, named
after the governor of Batavia. It contains
50,000 inhabitants. It is separated from New
Holland by Bass's Straits, the width of which
is about 90 miles. Its productions and inhabit-
ants differ little from those of New Holland.
DIGBY, Sir Kenelm, son of Sir Everard
Digby, who was condemned and executed for
his participation in the gunpowder plot, was
born at Gothurst,in Buckinghamshire, in 1G03.
He was educated at Oxford, and was originally
a protestant, but was converted to the Romish
religion in 1636. He was one of the gentlemen
of the bed-chamber to Charles I, commissioner
of the navy, and governor of the Trinity-
house. He fought against the Venetians at
Scuderoon.
DIJON, the capital city of the former duchy
of Burgundy and now of the department of
Cote-de'Or. It is situated at the confluence of
Ouche and Suzon. Pop. 25,350.
DIOCLETIAN, a famous Roman emperor,
born of an obscure family of Dahnatia, first a
common soldier, then general, and proclaimed
emperor 284 A. D. He made Maximan, a com-
rade, his colleague, and created two subordinate
emperors, Galerius and Constantitius, with the
title of Cffisars. Some of the acts of his reign
are meritorious, but he disgraced himself by a
persecution of the Christians. After a reign of
21 years, he voluntarily and publicly abdicated
the throne at Nicomedia, May 1, A. D. 305, and
his colleague shortly after followed his example.
He found sufficient pleasure in the cultivation
of his little garden, and died in 313.
DIODATi, John, a protestant divine, profes-
sor of theology at Geneva, where he died in
1649.
DIODORUS, Siculus (the Sicilian), a Greek
historian of the time of Julius Caesar and Au-
gustus.
DIOGENES, of Sinope, who flourished in
the fourth century, B. C. was a famous Cynic
philosopher, one of that sect that sternly op-
posed luxury and immorality, discarding all
superfluities. Diogenes humorously ridiculed
the follies of his countrymen ; and made even
the objects of his satire laugh at his practical
jests and lessons. He perambulated the streets
of Athens in the garb and manner of a sturdy
beggar, and slept in a tub. He was rigidly tem-
perate, and despised the forms of polite society.
While at Corinth Alexander the Great paid
him a visit, but was astonished at the indiffer-
ent air of the philosopher. He made an offer of
service, but Diogenes replied, " I only want
you to stand out of my sunshine." His inde-
pendence made such an impression on the Ma-
cedonian that he cried, " if I were not Alexan-
der, 1 should wish to be Diogenes." He once
carried a lantern about Athens at mid-day, and
being asked why he was doing so, answered,
" I am looking for a man." Being asked what
was the most dangerous animal ? he answer-
ed, " Among wild ones, the slanderer ; among
tame, the flatterer." Plato having described
man as a two-legged animal without feathers,
and received applause for the definition, Dio-
genes plucked a live fowl, and carrying it to the
academy, exclaimed : "here is Plato's man!
He died at a great age, 324 years B. C. Had
this itinerant philosopher lived in these degen-
erate days, he would have become obnoxious to
the police as a vagrant, and found it extremely
difficult to avoid the stocks, the work- house, or
the tread-mill.
DIOMEDES. 1. A king of Bistones, who is
fabled to have fed his horses upon human flesh,
and to have therefore been killed by Hercules.
2. A Grecian hero, king of Argos, who led his
subjects to the siege of Troy. After the war
he went to Italy where he is said to have lived
to a good old age.
DION of Syracuse, was related to Dionysius,
and often gave him advice. The tyrant ban-
ished him to Greece, where he raised troops,
and entering the harbor of Syracuse with only
two ships, reduced it in three days. The tyrant
fled, and Dion retained the power in his own
hands, but was murdered by a false friend,
Calippus of Athens, B. C. 354.
DIONYSIUS I, or the Elder : from the rank
of a common soldier raised himself to the throne
of Syracuse. He was inimical to the Cartha-
ginians and fought against them with various
success. His tyranny and cruelty rendered him
so odious to his subjects, that he lived in con-
stant dread of assassination, and never permit-
ted even his wife and children to enter his
presence until their garments had been search-
ed for concealed weapons. He is said to have
built a subterraneous cave, called the ear of
Dionysius, because it was built in the form of a
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DOD
human ear, concentrated the sound of voices
within it, and conveyed them distinctly to the
ear of Dionysius. The artists employed upon
the work were killed for fear of their disclosing
the secrets of its construction, and the use to
which it was applied.
Dionysius was constantly betraying his un-
happiness. When one of his flatterers, Dam-
ocles, was discoursing on his magnificence,
riches, and power, Dionysius said to him,
" These things seem to delight you ; make
a trial of my place, by way of experiment."
Damocles was instantly arrayed in the imperial
purple, and surrounded by the king's guards,
while every knee was bent to do him homage.
In the midst of this show, Dyonysius ordered
a naked sword to be hung from the ceiling by
a horse-hair, directly over the royal throne,
where Damocles was sitting at a feast. From
that moment the courtier-king lost his appetite,
his joy vanished, and he begged to be restored
to the security of his former condition. Diony-
sius thus tacitly acknowledged that his happi-
ness was poisoned by a dread of the punish-
ment which was due his iniquity and cruelty.
He died of poison administered at the instiga-
tion of his son, B. C. 368. He was very vain,
and imagined that he possessed literary talents
of a high order, although his poetical effusions
were lamentable failures.
DIONYSIUS, the Younger, was the son of
Dionysius I. By the advice of Dion, Plato was
invited to court, and the philosopher endea-
voured to instil into the tyrant's mind some
of those precepts which were his own guide
through life. The king neglected his advice,
and after suffering for his frankness, Plato
quitted him in disgust. Driven from the
throne he had disgraced, B. C. 357, he again re-
turned to it after an absence of ten years, but
lost it a second time, and finally went to Co-
rinth, where to support himself, he kept a
school, that, as Cicero observes, he might still
be a tyrant. We can readily imagine the suffer-
ings of the wretched urchins upon the interior
and exterior of whose heads the ex-king labor-
ed. His pupils, we are told, were few, nor can
we wonder that the pedagogue was so poorly
patronised.
DIONYSIUS, one of the judges of the Are-
opagus at Athens, was converted to Christian-
ity by the apostle Paul, and was first bishop of
Athens. He was the author of some polemical
writings, and suffered martyrdom.
DJEZZAR, (butcher) Achmet, pacha of
Acre, originally a slave ; aided by the English,
he checked the career of Napoleon, in Syria,
and died in 1804.
DODD, William, an English clergyman,
born in 1729 ; he was popular as a preacher,
and as an author, and was appointed one of the
king's chaplains, which place he lost by being
convicted of offering a bribe to obtain prefer-
ment. He would have succeeded well in the
world, had it not been for his extravagant ex-
cesses, which led him into continual embarrass-
ments. In 1777 he was convicted of forging
the name of his patron, Lord Chesterfield, and
was hanged at Tyburn, evincing, in prison, sin-
cere contrition for his crime ; forgery is no
longer a capital crime in England.
DODINGTON, George "Bubb, (lord Mal-
combe Regis.) was the son of a gentleman of
fortune, and was born in 1691. He enjoyed
many posts of honor and emolument under dif-
ferent parties, and he did not scruple to avow
openly his political tergiversations. He was
advanced to the peerage in 1761, and died in
the following year. Bubb Dodington was ec-
centric, generous, convivial, and magnificent
in private life. Many anecdotes are related of
him. For the amusement of the young prince
of Wales he used to suffer himself to be rolled
up in blankets, and trundled down the stairs.
Before he took the name of Dodington, he was
one day lamenting to Lord Chesterfield the
shortness of his patronymic, Bubb. " You can
easily remedy it," said his lordship, "call your-
self Sillybub, and that will do very well." He
winced under the whimsical satire, which an
opponent issued under the title of Ji Grub upon
Bubb. When his fortune increased, he built
himself a splendid villa, which, if cost consti-
tuted elegance, would have been a model. Bat
Bubb had no taste, and his villa was a failure.
The second story appeared much too heavy for
the first ; for, while the latter was ornamented
in the lightest style, the suite of rooms above
was adorned with marble fire-places, marble
slabs, and massy wainscotting. The proprietor,
in showing this to a friend one day, said,
" They tell me, sir, that this is out of place,
and ought to be down stairs." Make yourself
perfectly easy," was the consolatory answer ;
" it will soon be there !"
DODSLEY, Robert, an English poet and
dramatist, born at Mansfield, Notts, in 1703.
He was at first a stocking-weaver, then a foot-
man, and his first volume was a collection en-
titled the Muse in Livery. He acquired a very
handsome fortune, by his efforts as author and
bookseller, and retired to Durham, where he
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died in 17(34. His Economy of Human Life is
well known.
DOMINGO St., now Havti, an island of the
West Indies, 390 by GO to 150 miles ; area 30,000
square miles. Principal towns, Cape Haytien,
the Mole, Port Republican (Port au Prince) and
St. Domingo. Population about 1,000,000. It
was discovered by Columbus 1492, and here the
first European settlement was made. It bore
the name of Hayti, among the natives, and was
afterwards called Hispaniola. It formerly be-
longed to France and Spain. Since 1822, it has
formed an independent republic, the slaves hav-
ing risen in 1 791 , and driven out their white mas-
ters with dreadful slaughter. It has a fine cli-
mate, good harbors, and is on the whole advanc-
ing in wealth and the improvement of society.
DOMINIC DE GUZMAN, St. was born in
Spain in 1170, and died at Bologna in 1221.
He was the founder of the order of Dominicans,
and converted 100,000 souls to the true faith.
DOMINICA, one of the Caribbee islands,
belonging to Great Britain. Population 19,800,
of whon 15,400 are slaves. It was discovered
by Columbus on Sunday, Nov. 3, 1493.
DOMITIAN, Titus Flavius Sabinus, son
of Vespasian, and brother of Titus, whom, ac-
cording to some accounts, he destroyed by
poison, was born A. D. 51, and ascended the
throne A. D. 81. The beginning of his reign
promised tranquillity to his people, but their
hopes were soon found to be without founda-
tion. He perished by the hands of an assassin,
the 18th of September, A. D. 96, in the 45th
year of his age, and the 15th of his reign. He
was the last of the twelve Caesars.
DONNE, John, an English poet and divine
of some celebrity, was the son of a merchant,
and was born in London in 1573. His educa-
tion was obtained at Oxford and Cambridge.
Originally a Catholic, in his 19th year he ab-
jured the Romish religion, and was made secre-
tary to the lord chancellor Ellesmere, whose favor
he lost by a clandestine marriage with his niece.
The juvenile pair appear to have foreseen all the
consequences of their union, for the doctor en-
dorsed a paper in the following manner : — John
Donne, Jlnne Donne, undone. His prospects,
however, brightened ; he took orders and became
one of James's chaplains, and died in March,
1631. His Latin verses are elegant, but his prose
compositions are pedantic though profound, and
his English versification far from melodious.
DORIA, Andrew, a Genoese commander,
born at 1468. After having been employed by
several princes, he received a command in
Corsica, which island he completely reduced.
He gained wealth and honor in his attacks upon
the Barbary States. On the breaking out of
the revolution in Genoa, he went into the ser-
vice of France, and next into that of the pope ;
but on the capture of Rome he returned to
Francis I, who made him the general of his gal-
leys, and admiral of the Levant. The French
having become masters of Genoa, in 1528, Do-
ria succeeded in delivering the republic from a
foreign yoke, received the office of doge for life,
and was rewarded with the title of " Father of
hiscountry." He next carried his arms through
the Mediterranean in the service of Charles V,
and died in 1560, full of years and honors.
DORT, a commercial town of Soreth Hol-
land, with 18,000 inhabitants, built upon an isl-
and on the Meowe and Biesbosch, formed by
an inundation. The resolutions of the synod
of Dort, held here by the Protestants in 1618 and
1619, form the present code of the Dutch Re-
formed Church.
DOVER, a town of New Hampshire, capital of
Strafford county, 40 miles E. of Concord. Pop.
5,449. The Piscalaqua and Cochecho supply
water for the manufactories. Dover is the oldest
town in the state, having been settled in 1623.
DOVER, a post-town of Delaware, and seat
of the state government. Population 4,000.
DOVER, a strongly fortified town of Eng-
land, opposite to Calais. Pop. 11,924. Dover
is one of the Cinque ports.
DRACO, archon and lawgiver of Athens,
flourished about 600 years B. C. The extreme
severity of his laws prevented their observance.
He was very popular, and fell a victim to the
favor of his countrymen, for, being in the thea-
tre at j?Egina, the people gave him the cus-
tomary token of approbation by throwing their
caps and garments upon him, and such was the
number of these that he was smothered under
their weight. He was buried under the theatre.
DRAKE, Sir Francis, an English navigator,
born near Tavistock, in Devonshire in 1545.
After having served under his relation, Sir
John Hawkins, he obtained the command of
two ships, with which he sailed to the West
Indies in 1570. He made another expedition in
1572, and gained considerable advantages oyer
the Spaniards. Having served with distinction
in Ireland, he was introduced to Queen Eliza-
beth. In 1577 he made another voyage to the
Spanish settlements in America, on the Pacific,
and sailed as far as 48° north latitude, discover-
ing the country called New Albion. He then
went to the East Indies, and having doubled the
DRU
218
DRU
Cape of Good Hope, returned to Plymouth in
1580, after an absence of three years, and was
knighted by the queen. In 1585 he sailed
again for the West Indies, where he took sev-
eral places from the Spaniards, and returned
laden with wealth. In 1587 he made an attack
on Cadiz, and destroyed a quantity of shipping.
The year following, as vice-admiral under lord
Howard, he contributed to the destruction of the
armada. After this he went to the West Indies
with Sir John Hawkins, but the two command-
ers disagreeing in their plans, little was done,
in consequence of which Drake became melan-
choly and died of a slow fever, Dec. 30, 1596.
DRAYTON, William Henry, a native of
South Carolina, was born in 1742. In 1 771 , when
counsellor for the province, he defended the
rights of his country. In 1775 he was chosen
president by the provincial congress, and the
next year chief justice of the colony. In 1777
he was made president of South Carolina, and
the next year was chosen member of Congress.
His death took place in September, 1779. His
private virtues, powerful political writings, and
unshaken patriotism, entitled him to the esteem
and respect of his countrymen.
DRESDEN, in Germany, on the Elbe, con-
tains 70,000 inhabitants. Here, on the 28th
of August, 1813, Napoleon defeated the allies
and forced them to retire to the Bohemian fron-
tier. On the 6th of November, Marshal St.
Cyr was blockaded in Dresden, and after an
ineffectual negotiation with Schwartzenburg,
surrendered his whole force, amounting to
30,000 men.
DRUIDS, The. Among the ancient inhabit-
ants of England and of France, formerly called
Gaul, as well as among some other nations of
antiquity, the Druids were priests or ministers
of religion. They were also the instructers of
the young and were the only learned men of
the nations to which they belonged. Although
these men flourished long after civilization had
made great progress among neighboring nations,
yet they did not make use of writing, but their
scholars were obliged to get by heart all their
lessons from hearing them repeated by their
masters the Druids. This was a very tedious
way of getting forward, and we are not at all
surprised that it took twenty years of a man's
life to acquire a very limited stock of learning.
In general, little was known about very an-
cient tribes and nations, until the Romans in-
vaded their countries, and conquered them. So
it is from the Romans that we have derived our
knowledge of the habits, character and religion
of the Druids. The Druids of Britain were
very celebrated.
There has been much dispute about the de-
rivation of the word Druid, but it is most proba-
ble that it comes from an old British word, dru,
meaning oak, because the Druids held the oak-
tree almost sacred ; it was their favorite tree,
and their groves contained no other.
Little is known concerning them before the
age of Julius Caesar, the Roman who invaded
Britain after having subdued Gaul, about 54
years B. C. Cffisar says that they were divid-
ed into several classes ; the priests, the sooth-
sayers, the poets, and the judges, and instruct-
ors of youth.
The priests, those Druids who were called
so by way of distinction, had the charge of the
religious ceremonies. They worshipped their
gods, and offered sacrifices to them upon altars.
Their temples or places of worship, were very
singular. They were generally circles of vast
standing pillars, over which they sometimes
laid huge stones making a circle in the air. In
the middle stood the altar-stone.
Of this kind was the celebrated Stone-henge,
at Salisbury, in England, of which our readers
have doubtless seen pictures, and read descrip-
tions. In the island of Anglesea, near the
northern extremity of Wales, there are Druid-
ical pillars yet remaining. This island is sup-
posed to have been the residence of the chief,
or arch-Druid of Britain.
The Druids had a very wrong idea about reli-
gion. They thought that the common people
could not understand the simple and rational
principles of religion, and so they invented fool-
ish fables and superstitions, and deluded the
people to worship the sun, and be idolaters.
They had fires sacred to the sun, like the
priests of Baal, of whom we read in the Holy
Bible.
The Druids were criminal enough to sacrifice
human beings to their gods, and this cruelty,
which they persisted in, notwithstanding all
remonstrance, was the cause of their destruc-
tion. The poets, or bards, according to some,
did not properly belong to the class of Druids,
because they did not mix religion with their
songs. They inspired the people to warlike
actions and sang the praise of patriotism and
bravery. The Druids studied astronomy, and
made great proficiency in the science.
We all know what terror and astonishment
an eclipse, or any singular appearance in the
sky, creates among an ignorant people who do
not know the 'causes of these tilings, or the
DRU
219
DRU
means of finding out beforehand, at what iime
they will happen. Persons among such peo-
ple who can foretell any occurrence, even a
change of the seasons, are looked upon as in-
spired with a knowledge more than human.
By sucli arts, the Druids extended and
strengthened their influence over the people.
The soothsayers even pretended to be acquaint-
ed with the intentions of Divine Providence.
The Roman soothsayers, or fortune-tellers, pre-
tended to foretell events by the appearance of the
entrails of beasts, that.were sacrificed on their
altars. In the same way, but with much greater
cruelly, the Druidical soothsayers, examined
the bleeding bodies of human victims.
When the Roman Suetonius determined to
put an end not only to the ceremonies of the
Druids, but to the priests themselves, they took
refuge in the island of Anglesey. Here they
were determined to make a bold resistance.
Having some hopes of gaining a victory over
the Romans, they kindled large fires, in which
they intended to consume the Roman prison-
ers, should they take any. Suetonius landed
near Parthamel.
The Druids, in great numbers, encircled the
army of their countrymen, urging them to be
brave and praying for the vengeance of Heaven
upon the invaders. The scene was rendered
more terrific to the Romans, by the appearance
of the British women who were dressed in
black, and ran yelling to and fro, brandishing
torches. However, the Romans were brave
men, and they conquered. They cut down the
sacred groves of oak ; they demolished the
temples of the Druids, and cruelly threw them
into their own fires.
The Druids, who were the judges in all cases
which required a recourse to law, settled these
matters by their opinion, from which there was
no appeal except to the arch-druid. As the
Druids were thought to receive knowledge and
instruction directly from the gods, they had
the power of making, altering and executing
laws. Any person, who desired to possess the
great power of the order, could become Druids,
but onlv by a long course of very strict study,
and a life of privation which not many had
patience to go through.
The schools of the Druids in Britain were
very famous, before the invasion of the Romans.
Even youth from Gaul came thither to be in-
structed in the branches which they taught.
Scholars took an oath not to betray the secrets
and learning which they were taught, and thus
we may see how selfish was the system of the
Druids, and how much opposed it was to the
extension of knowledge.
Students always resided with their teachers
and school-fellows, and were forbidden to con-
verse with any others. Academies were numer-
ous, one being attached to almost every temple
of note. Instruction was conveyed in verse.
The whole circle of the sciences with which
the Druids were acquainted was taught in
20,000 verses, which pupils were 20 years in
committing to memory.
Besides an acquaintance with arithmetic,
geometry, astrology, astronomy, geography, na-
tural philosophy, and politics, they professed a
knowledge of the arts of magic, and whosoever
refused obedience was declared accursed.
The Druidesses or female priests were divided
into classes. The first class was composed of
females, who never married, and who pretended
to have the power of foretelling events, and
performing miracles. These were held in great
regard.
Then there was a second class of married wo-
men, who spent the greater part of their lives
in the performances of religious ceremonies,
among the Druids. The third class of Druid-
esses consisted of those who did the meanest
work about the temples. The Druids measured
time, not by the days but the nights, guided by
the changes of the moon. They had so great a
veneration for the oak, that they never per-
formed any ceremony without being adorned
with garlands woven of its leaves. Those who
professed a knowledge of medicine would never
betray the secrets by which they cured the sick.
They were, without doubt, only acquainted
with the healing powers of a few herbs. They
placed great faith in the virtues of the plant
misletoe, probably from its growing on the oak
tree. They called it by a British name, mean-
ing " all-heal." The elficacy of this plant they
thought depended on certain ceremonies to be
observed in gathering it. Among the annual
festivals of the Gauls and Britons, was that in
which the arch-druid cut the misletoe from the
oak. This ceremony was conducted with great
pomp. When they found an oak, which had
the rare plant upon it, they made preparations
for a banquet beneath. Two milk-white bulls
were tied to it by the horns, and then the arch-
druid, dressed in a snowy robe, ascended the
oak, and detached the misletoe with a golden
knife. Sacrifice and feasting followed. On
every May-day a festival, in honor of the sun,
was held. The sun was called Bel, Belinus,
and some other names.
DRU
220
DUD
The existence of a law, forbidding the in-
structions of the Druids to be written, shows
that they were acquainted with the art of writ-
ing. We are told that in writing, they made
use of the characters of the Greek alphabet,
with which they were acquainted, before the
invasion of the Romans, getting their know-
ledge from the Greek merchants of Mar-
seilles. The Gauls and Britons never went
upon any warlike expedition without first pray-
ing to some god for assistance. When a victory
was gained, a certain portion of the spoils was
set apart for that god who had, as the people
thought, enabled them to be successful. The
priests were, of course, to direct to what use
these spoils should be put, and a large share of
them were, without doubt, reserved for them-
selves. The Druids too often possessed them-
selves of the offerings made in the temples of
the gods. Besides the money there received
for giving instruction in the sciences, for curing
diseases, and for giving judgment in law-suits,
the priests of each temple claimed every year,
certain dues from all the families in their dis-
trict. They hit upon a very cunning method
to secure the payment of these taxes. Every
family on the last evening of October was
obliged by law to put out all its fires, and to pay
its yearly dues at the temple. On the first of
November, those who had payed punctually,
received some of the sacred fire from the altar
to kindle theirs at home. Delinquents were
not allowed to take any fire, and if any one lent
it to them, or even conversed with them, that
person was punished in the same manner, and
not allowed to enjoy the protection of justice
or the pleasures of society. The Druids were
greatly restricted in their privileges when Brit-
ain was a province in the hands of the Romans,
and they resented with great warmth, the order
which the emperors of Rome issued, that no
more human victims should be slain at the
altars. After the loss they experienced in the
isle of Anglesey, 61 years A. C, they made no
figure in Britain. The few priests, who were
determined still to persevere in the rites of their
order, fled to Scotland, Ireland, and the smaller
British Islands, in which they kept up their
authority some time. Even after the Druids
ceased to exist, the superstitions they had spread
gave trouble to those who wished to make the
people believe in the Gospel. In the reign of
Canute the Great, during the eleventh century,
it was found necessary to provide by law against
these wretched superstitions. " We strictly
forbid all our subjects," says the king, " to wor-
ship the gods of the Gentiles; that is to say,
the sun, moon, fires, rivers, fountains, hills, or
trees or woods of any kind."
DRUSES, a warlike geople of Syria, 160,000
in number, inhabiting mountains, Libanus and
Anti-Libanus. Their origin is traced to about
the commencement of the 12th century. They
are in fact a religious sect, professing Moham-
medanism. They reached the summit of their
power under Fakardin, who, being taken pris-
oner by the Turks, was strangled in 1631.
Thenceforth they were the vassals of the Turks
DRYDEN, John, a voluminous author, born
in the parish of Aldwinkle-All-Saints, in 1631,
and died May 1, 1700. Although many of his
productions are exceedingly licentious, a fault
of the age in which he lived, in private life, he
bore an unblemished character. He was the
court poet to Charles II, and produced a great
number of dramas.
DUBLIN, the metropolis of Ireland, is situ-
ated on both sides of the Liffey, about a mile
from Dublin Bay. It is a beautiful city, reck-
oned the second in the British dominions. The
public buildings are of stone, and few cities
contain an equal number of magnificent edifi-
ces. The University of Dublin, or Trinity
College is a well-endowed institution. Popula-
tion of Dublin 265,316.
DUBOIS, Cardinal, the son of an apothecary,
was born at a small town in Limousin, in 1656.
He became prime minister to the duke of -Or-
leans, regent of France, by the basest of means,
flattering the vices of his master. His negotia-
tions were generally advantageous. He died
August 10, 1723.
DUDLEY, Edmund, an English statesman,
born in 1462. He became an eminent lawyer,
and received various employments from Henry
VII, but for various acts of oppression, on the
accession of Henry VIII, he was sent to the
tower with his associate, Sir Richard Emson,
tried, and beheaded in 1510.
DUDLEY, John, duke of Northumberland,
son of the preceding, was born in 1502, and
restored in blood in 1511. He became the
favorite of Henry VIII, and he married his son
Lord Guilford, to Lady Jane Grey, when he
found that Edward VI was dying. Lady Jane
Grey was prevailed upon to accept the fatal
crown, but Mary's adherents proved too pow-
erful for her party, and the duke of Northum-
berland died upon the scaffold, August 22d,
1553. B
DUDLEY, Robert, earl of Leicester, son of
the preceding, was born in 1532. He was
DUM
221
DUN
condemned with his father, but pardoned, and
afterwards restored in blood by queen Mary.
In the reign of her successor, he was made
master of the hors«, knight of the garter, and a
member of the privy council. In 1560, his lady
died not without suspicion of violence, it being
generally believed that Dudley aspired to the
and of his sovereign. The story of the un-
happy countess is beautifully told in the well-
known ballad of Cumnor Hall. The following
are the concluding verses ;
The death-bell thrice was heard to ring,
An aerial voice was heard to call,
And thrice the raven flapped his wing
Around the towers of Cumnor Hall.
The mastiff howled at village door,
The oaks were shattered on the green ;
Woe was that hour — for never more
That hapless countess e'er was seen.
And in that manor now no more
Is cheerful feast and sprightly ball,
For ever since that dreary hour
Have spirits haunted Cumnor Hall.
The village maids, with fearful glance,
Avoid the ancient moss-grown wall ;
Nor ever lead the merry dance
Among the groves of Cumnor Hall.
Full many a traveller oft hath sighed,
And pensive wept the countess' fall,
As wandering onwards they 've espied
The haunted towers of Cumnor Hall !
Elizabeth proposed to Dudley, Mary queen of
Scots, as a wife, but that unfortunate princess
indignantly rejected him. In 1564, he was
created earl of Leicester ; soon after which, he
was elected chancellor at Oxford. About 1572,
he privately married lady Douglas Howard,
but he never acknowledged her, and even
forced her to marry another. In 1575, the earl
entertained the queen magnificently at his
castle of Kenilworth in Warwickshire, but of-
fended her very much by marrying the countess
of Essex. In 1585, he was appointed governor
of the Protestant Low Countries, but returned
the same year by the queen's command. In
1588, he was appointed to the chief command
of the forces at Tilbury, and died September
4th, of the same year.
DUMMER, Jeremy, a powerful political
writer, was born at Boston, and graduated at
Harvard College in 1699. He then went
abroad, studied at Utrecht, distinguished him-
self in England, and was appointed agent for
the Colony of Massachusetts. His pamphlet
in defence of the New England charters, is
admirable. He died in 1739.
DUMOURIEZ, Charles Francois, was born
of a noble family at Cambray, in 1739. Be-
coming general in the French army, he gained
the battle of Jemappe over the Austfians, Nov.
6, 1792. He soon after appeared before Brus-
sels, which opened its gates. On the 15th of
March, 1793, in a general engagement with the
Austrians at Nerwinden, he was totally defeat-
ed, and meeting with other disasters, incurred
the displeasure of the convention, which des-
patched four commissioners empowered to arrest
him. These he caused to be delivered up to
the Austrians, and he himself fled to the allies
for protection. He received a pension from the
British government, and died at Turville park,
England, March 14, 1823. He published nu-
merous political pamphlets in addition to his
memoirs.
DUNCAN, Adam, viscount, a British naval
officer, distinguished for his courage, was born
in Scotland in 1731. He entered the navy at
an early age, and obtained a lieutenant's com-
mission in 1755. In 1759, he was made master
and commander ; and, in 1761, appointed post-
captain, in which station he shared in the hon-
ors of the reduction of the Havannah. In 1779,
he commanded the Monarch in Rodney's vic-
tory over the Spaniards. In 1789, he was made
rear-admiral of the blue ; and in 1794 being made
vice-admiral of the white, he took the command
of the North Sea fleet. After watching the
Dutch fleet in the Texel for two years, a mutiny
in the fleet, compelled him to return to England,
and enabled the enemy to put to sea. This
news restored Duncan's men to a sense of their
duty, they engaged the enemy on the 11th of
October, off Camperdown, and completely de-
feated them, taking the Dutch admiral, De Win-
ter, and eight ships. For this achievement he
was made a viscount, and received a grant of
2000?. a year. He died August 4, 1804.
DUNDAS, Henry, viscount Melville, son of
Lord Arniston, was born in 1740, and educated
at the university of Edinburgh. In 1763, he
was admitted a member of the faculty of advo-
cates ; in 1773, was appointed solicitor general,
and in 1777, joint-keeper of the signet for
Scotland. He had various other appointments,
but resigned his places in 1801, when he was
created viscount Melville. When Mr. Pitt
came into power a second time, he was made
DWI
222
EAS
first lord of the admiralty, but was impeached
in 1805, for crimes and misdemeanors in his
former situation as treasurer of the navy. He
was, however, acquitted, and died in Scotland,
May 27, 1811.
DUNKIRK, a commercial city in French
Flanders, with 24,900 inhabitants, about 27
miles from Calais. It was taken from the Span-
iards by Marshal Turenne, 4th of June, and
transferred to the English on the ]7th, in 1658.
In 1662, it was sold by Charles II to Louis
XIV, for 400,000Z. In 1666, an engagement,
which lasted four days, took place between
the English and French fleets oft" Dunkirk.
At the peace of Utrecht, William III exacted
from the French an engagement to block up
the harbor, which was but partially complied
with. Since the peace of 1783, Dunkirk has,
however, been the unmolested resort of armed
ships of war, and smuggling vessels at all times.
In 1793, the duke of York was defeated by
Houchard near Dunkirk.
DUQUESNE, a French admiral under Louis
XIV, born at Dieppe, in 1010. He was heroic,
pious, and mild, and died at Paris in 1688.
DUROC, Michael, a friend and favorite offi-
cer of Napoleon, duke of Friuli, grand-marshal
of the palace, senator, general of division, grand
cordon of the legion of honor, and other orders,
was born in 1772. Under Napoleon, in Italy,
in Egypt, and in Germany, he distinguished
himself, being, the greater part of the time,
aide-de-camp to the emperor. He was killed in
entering the village of Merkersdorf, alter the
battle of Bautren, May 23, 1813.
DWIGHT, Timothy, an eminent divine,
born at Northampton, in Massachusetts, in 1752,
and was graduated at Yale College, in which
institution he was afterwards tutor. He serv-'
ed in the army as chaplain, and about the
close of the revolutionary war was elected a
member of the state legislature. Mr. Dwight
then kept a school in Greenfield, Connecticut,
where he was ordained minister in 1783. In
1794, he published the poems of Greenfield Hill,
and the Conquest of Canaan, both of which
were republished in England. In 1795, he suc-
ceeded the Reverend Doctor Styles as Presi-
dent of Yale College, rilling also the office of
Professor of Theology. He died January 11th,
1817. His System of Theology is a learned
and valuable work
E.
EAST INDIES. The east was visited at an
early period by the Phcenecians, and Alexander
the Great made extensive conquests there in
327 B. C. In modern times the Portuguese
made discoveries in 1497, and conquests and
settlements in 1506. In the reign of queen
Elizabeth, 1591, an English vessel arrived at
the East Indies after a long voyage in which
two consorts perished. The commander, Capt.
Lancaster, was brought home in another ship,
his sailors having mutinied and seized his own.
The information which he gave produced a
mercantile voyage, and the first East India
company's charter, on Dec. 31, 1600, their stock
consisting of 72,0002. They fitted out four ships,
and meeting with success, they have continued
ever since. A new company was established
1698; the old one re-established, 1700; agreed
to give government 400,0002 a year, for five
years, to continue unmolested, Feb. 1769; India
bill passed, 1773; sent judges from England
thither, 1774. — Dutch East India Company es-
tablished 1594. — East India Company at Copen-
hagen established, 1612; another at Embden,
1750; in Sweden, 1731 ; charter of the English
East India Company renewed 1813 and 1833.
The British possessions in India are immense
and have been acquired in defiance of justice
and humanity. Edmund Burke accuses the
Britons " of having sold every monarch, prince,
and state in India, broken every contract, and
ruined every prince and every state who had
trusted them." There are three presidencies,
those of Bengal, Madras, and Bombay, contain-
ing an aggregate population of 130,000,000. In
taking a survey of the modern history of India,
it is impossible to guard against a feeling of
surprise. This vast country presents to the ob-
server a spectacle which is entirely new in the
annals of the world. Two thousand strangers,
belonging to a small isle of the Atlantic ocean,
are distributed among a people differing in
every thing from them. These strangers draw
from the country a revenue of 22 millions ster-
ling; they fill the highest offices of state ; they
have power over 90 millions of inhabitants, and
exercise an indirect authority over 40 millions,
who are governed by native princes. Their
300,000 soldiers are distributed over a space
which is almost as large as all Europe. The
chiefs of this vast empire have neither crown
nor sceptre. Subjected in their own country
to the same laws as other citizens, placed under
the same power, their rise is as silent as their
EDI
223
EDW
fall ; they reign or die unknown to their sub-
jects. These masters — these kings — are mer-
chants ! tliey compose the English East India
Company .
EASTON, a post-town of Pennsylvania, 73
miles VV. of New York. Population, 3,530.
EASTPORT, a seaport and post-town of
Maine, on Moose Island on Pasaniaquoddy bay.
Population, 2,450. It is a flourishing place,
and its exports consist of lumber and provisions.
EATON, William, was born at Woodstock,
Connecticut, Feb. 23, 1764. After serving in
the army at an early age, he prepared himself
for entrance into Dartmouth college. In 1792
he received a captain's commission in the army,
and in 171)7 was appointed consul for the king-
dom of Tunis. He engaged in the war with Tri-
poli, hoping to re-instate Hamet Bashaw on the
throne, which had been usurped by his brother.
With a force of 400 men of different nations,
Eaton crossed from Alexandria to Derne, over-
Coming serious obstacles. Derne was taken,
the Tnpolitan army repulsed, but, in the midst
of triumph Eaton learned that peace had been
concluded between the United States and Trip-
oli. On his return to the United States, he was
received with great favor. Aaron Burr in vain
endeavored to obtain his aid in his conspiracy,
and on his trial Eaton testified fully against him.
In 181 1 he fell a victim to habits of intemperance.
ECBATANA,the magnificent metropolis of
Media, was built by Leleucus.
ECKMUHL; a Bavarian village on the La-
ber, where Napoleon defeated the Austrians,
April 22, 1809.
EDGAR, a Saxon, king of England, son
of Edmund, and brother of Edwin, his immedi-
ate successor. He ascended the throne at the
age of 16 years in 959. He governed with
vigor and success, and secured the proper ad-
ministration of justice by giving it his personal
attention.
EDINBURGH, the metropolis of Scotland,
was a town of some note in 854. It is a mile
and a half from the Frith of Forth. Its environs
are hilly. The houses of the old town, in some
instances, rise to the height of 14 stories. It is
famous as a seat of learning, containing a uni-
versity and several courts of justice. In 1437
it became the royal residence of the Scottish
kings. The strong castle was probably built
by king Edwin. Leith, though two miles dis-
tant may be properly called the harbor of Ed-
inburgh. Population of the city and suburbs
138,235.
EDMUND II, surnamed Ironside, king of
England, succeeded Ethebred his father, in 101G.
He was defeated by Canute, who became king
of England on his death, which is supposed to
have been caused by poison.
EDRED, son of Edward the Elder, succeed-
ed to the throne of England on the murder of
his brother, Edmund I, in 947. He quelled the
Danes and Northumbrians, and compelled Mal-
colm to do homage for the crown of Scotland.
Yet he was priest-ridden, and a slave to Dun-
stan, abbot of Glastonbury. He died after a
reign of nine years.
EDWARD, the Elder, king of England, suc-
ceeded his father, Alfred the Great, in 901 . He
was successful against the Danes and Welsh,
and died in 925.
EDWARD, THE MARTYR, king of Eng-
land, son of Edgar, whom he succeeded in 975.
He was stabbed, while hunting, by a servant of
Elfrida, his step-mother, who vvished to raise
her own son, Ethelred, to the throne. He
reigned only four years.
EDWARD I, (of the Norman line), king of
England, son of Henry III, after signalizing
himself in the civil wars, and in Palestine, sub-
dued Wales in 1284. In the dispute for the
Scotish throne in 1291, he decided for Baliol.
France and Scotland having threatened to in-
vade his territories, he adopted vigorous meas-
ures to oppose them, and in 1297, marched into
Scotland where he obtained great success ; but
tarnished his fame by condemning to death Sir
William Wallace, for his heroic devotion to his
country. He died July 7, 1307, as he entered
Scotland to punish the inhabitants for their re-
volt. He was then in 69th year of his age and
the 35th of his reign.
EDWARD II, king of England, succeeded
his father Edward I, in 1307, but was governed
by unworthy favorites. His queen, Isabella of
France, raised a rebellion, took him prisoner,
and had him murdered in Berkley Castle, Sept.
21 , 1327.
EDWARD III, son of the preceding, was
proclaimed king in 1327, being then only 14
years of age. He joined the party against Mor-
timer, his mother's paramour, who was execu-
ted, while the guilty queen was confined to her
own house. He invaded France, and won the
famous battle of Crecy, while his son, the Black
Prince, crowned his fame by the victory at
Poictiers. The death of Edward III happened
on the 21st of June, 1377, about a year after that
of his illustrious son.
EDWARD IV was proclaimed king of Eng-
land in 1461. He was the son of Richard, duke
EDW
224
EGY
of York. In the year of his accession, on the
29th of March, was fought the decisive battle of
Towton, in which the forces of Edward, termed
the Yorkists, were victorious over the Lancas-
trians. Margaret again took the field against
him unsuccessfully, but her husband, the im-
becile Henry VI. remained a prisoner in the
tower of London. In 1470 Edward was com-
pelled to fly to the continent, and was declared
to be an usurper and traitor by the parliament.
He soon afterwards returned, landed at Raven-
spur, and marched without molestation, to Lon-
don. He was readily admitted, and his rival
Henry again fell into his hands. On the 14th
of April, 1471, he defeated the earl of War-
wick at Barnet ; and, on the 4th of May, gain-
ed a decisive victory over the forces of queen
Margaret at Tewksbury ; in consequence of
which he was firmly established on the throne.
When the captive queen and her son were led
into the royal presence, Edward asked the young
prince, how he dared to invade his dominions.
On receiving a spirited answer he struck the
prince in the face, and the royal youth was im-
mediately massacred by the attendant nobles.
Margaret and her husband ended their days in
prison. After opposing France without much
advantage, Edward died April 9, 1483, having
reigned 23 years, in the 42d year of his age.
EDWARD V, son of the preceding, suc-
ceeded him in his 14th year, in 1483. His un-
cle, the duke of Gloucester, regent, caused the
young king and his brother to be smothered in
the Tower.
EDWARD VI, king of England, the son of
Henry VIII by lady Jane Seymour, was born
in 1538. He imbibed a zeal for the reformation
from his maternal uncle, the great duke of Som-
erset, and he furthered its cause with firmness
during his reign, which, however, was too short
to be of much benefit to the nation. He died
of a consumption at Greenwich, July 6, 1553,
having settled the crown upon lady Jane Grey.
EDWARDS, Jonathan, an American cler-
gyman, and distinguished metaphysician, was
born in East Windsor, Connecticut, Oct. 5,
1703, and was educated at Yale College. In
1751 he was chosen president of the college at
Princeton, New Jersey, where he died, in Jan-
uary, 1758. He had previously preached at
New York, and Northampton, and filled the
office of missionary among the Indians at Stock-
bridge, Massachusetts. His Treatise on Reli-
gious Affections, and his works On Free Will,
and Original Sin, have gained him a permanent
reputation.
EGBERT, the last king of the Saxon Hep-
tarchy, and the first monarch of England, was
the eighteenth king of the West Saxons. He
was harassed by repeated invasions of the
Danes, and died in 838.
EGEDE, John, a celebrated missionary, born
in Denmark in 1686 and died in 1758, having
devoted himself to the sacred task of spreading
the light of revealed religion among the Green-
landers. The dictates of duty frequently led
him to peril his life, but the consciousness of
rectitude, and the triumphs of success, sweet-
ened his toil, and shed joy upon his earthly pil-
grimage.
EGYPT. This country is called by the
Arabs Mezr, by the Turks El Kabit, and by the
Copts Khemi. It was formerly one of the
mightiest empires on the face of the globe, and
the birth-place of learning and many of the arts.
A large portion of the article on Africa (which
see) is devoted to a sketch of the ancient history
of Egypt.
Egypt is now a Turkish viceroyalty, and its
ruler bears the title of pacha or viceroy, but is
in fact, entirely independent of the Sultan. A
large portion of the country which he governs
is unpeopled, and derives its interest from the
past alone. Yet Egypt with the surprising fer-
tility of some portions and vast natural re-
sources, might, under a liberal, enlightened, and
enterprising government, attain a high degree
of wealth and prosperity. An iron despotism
now prostrates the energy of the people, and
the possessors of a country which is capable of
every improvement, sit down contented with a
beggar's lot.
Egypt is bounded N. by the Mediterranean,
E. by the Red Sea and Arabia, S. by Nubia,
and W. by Barca and the desert. It comprises
200,000 square miles which are peopled by about
3,000,000 of inhabitants. It is divided into
three parts, Upper Egypt (Said), Middle Egypt
(Vostani), and Lower Egypt (Bahari) including
the Delta. The only valuable portion of the
land is that which is watered by the Nile and
its branches. The cultivated part of Upper
Egypt is a narrow strip inclosed by ridges of
mountains. The Nile annually overflows its
banks, leaving a fertilizing mud or slime. The
inundation commences about the middle of
June, and increases until the latter part of
August. The productions of the country are
maize, rice, wheat, barley, sugar cane, indigo,
cotton, flax, dates, &c. The inhabitants are
Copts, descendants of the original race, Arabs,
Turks and Jews.
EGY
225
EGY
Egypt is one of the oldest kingdoms in the
world. Here the children of Israel were held
in slavery from the death of Joseph in 1635 B.
C, to 1491 B. C. In 1445 Lower Egypt was
conquered by the Canaanites, who tied from
Joshua when he dispossessed them of their own
country. Upper Egypt was divided at this time
into a great number of kingdoms which were
united about 1157; and the shepherd kings
were driven out of Egypt by Anosis in 1070.
About 1000, Lesac or Sesostris, king of Egypt,
made rapid and extensive conquests. The
Ethiopians conquered Egypt, and retained pos-
session of it for 40 years. The Assyrians also
conquered it, but the whole of it was regained
by Psaumetichus.
It again became the prey of a foreign con-
queror, when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
entered it. The dynasty of the Ptolemies held
it for a long time, Cleopatra gave her kingdom
brilliancy, but the Romans mastered it 30 B. C
When the hold of Rome was relinquished, the
Saracens, under Omar, seized it, G40. The
Fatimites gave place to the Mamelukes in 1250.
These last were foreign soldiers, employed by
the Fatimite princes, and they held the kingdom
until it was wrested from them by Selim I,
emperor of the Turks, in 1517. In 1798, the
French, having resolved to attack the British
possessions in India, it was determined to seize
upon Egypt that, by carrying on the commerce
of the East through the Red Sea, the new
French Colony should become the grand mart
where all Europe might be supplied with Indian
articles, cheaper than they could be rendered by
the British, while, as a military post, it could,
at all times, transport auxiliaries to the coast of
Coromandel. On the 20th of May, 1793, Bona-
parte put to sea on board the l'Orient of 120
guns, bearing the flag of admiral Brueys, who
was to take command of the fleet then assemb-
ling from the different ports of France, and
which was to consist often 74's, 2 ships of 80
guns, 2 Venetian vessels of 64 guns, 14 frigates,
72 Corvettes, &c, and 400 transports from Tou-
lon, Genoa, Ajaccio, Civita Vecchia — an arma-
ment containing 40,000 soldiers, and 10,000
sailors.
On the evening of the 1st of July, Bonaparte
made arrangements for landing at Marabout.
They were at a distance of about three leagues
from the shore ; the wind was northerly, and
blew with violence, and the debarkation peril-
ous and difficult ; the sea was covered with boats
which stemmed the impetuous waves and cur-
rents. Early in the morning (July 2), the gen-
15
eral-in-chief landed at the head of the foremost
troops, who formed, with the greatest prompti-
tude in the desert, about three leagues from
Alexandria. After some slight skirmishes, he
advanced and invested Alexandria, where he
established himself on the 5th, by a capitulation
of the city and fortress. Having garrisoned
Alexandria, which was left in the command of
general Kleber, the army marched to Gizeh,
Rosetta and other places, having been garrisoned
by the French. Near the pyramids Bonaparte
found that Murad Bey had assembled all his
forces to oppose the further progress of the
French. The Mamelukes, amounting to 10,000,
fought with desperate but unavailing courage.
Part of them were put to the sword or drowned
in the Nile, while the remnant, under the con-
duct of Murad Bey, retreated to Upper Egypt.
The Battle of the Pyramids was a hard-fought
conflict. Bonaparte entered Cairo in triumph,
and was waited upon by the magistrates and
chief men. The French troops were now
formed into 3 divisions, one of which, under
General Dessaix, was sent to pursue the fugi-
tive Mamelukes ; the second was left at Cairo,
and the third followed Ibrahim Bey, who had
fled, and so precipitately, that he could not be
overtaken. Returning to Cairo, Bonaparte em-
ployed himself in arranging the details of the
government of Lower Egypt, sending garri-
sons, establishing lazarettos, &c.
Soon after the battle of the Nile, an insurrec-
tion broke out in Cairo which Bonaparte has-
tened to quell. When the French gained their
victory at Aboukir, and took the fort from the
enemy, their power in Egypt appeared to be
firmly established. Soon after this, the losses
of the French in Italy, and the dangers which
appeared to threaten France, induced Bona-
parte to return home, a privilege which was
granted him in the commencement, and the
chief command was committed to Kleber in
a general order, dated Aug. 22, 1799. One day
Massena, having asked what sort of a man gen-
eral Kleber, of whom such various accounts had
been given, in reality was, the first consul re-
plied : " Picture to yourself a man of lofty stat-
ure, of an imposing figure— the finest military
man you ever saw; talented, well-instructed,
and capable of forming a correct judgment of
any thing at a glance ; a man who, like you,
has commenced his career in a good school — the
infantry — and who is a good manceuverer, al-
though educated in Austria; but, indolent, ex-
cessively proud, and sarcastic. He is a man,
who, in time of war, by trifling and joking, and
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226
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heaping ridicule on all with whom he deals,
suffers himself to go to the very edge of the
ditch; when, generally, his self-love comes to
the rescue, his talent rallies, and he sometimes
does very fine things, as you have been told."
The condition of the French troops becoming
every moment more critical, after various con-
ferences with Sir Sidney Smith, it was agreed
that after a truce of three months, the French
should evacuate Egypt, and accordingly the
treaty was signed at El-Arish, Jan. 24, 1800.
Kleber wrote a letter to the French directory,
stating the miserable condition of the French
army, and urging the ratification of the treaty
of El-Arish. This letter, however, fell into the
hands of the English admiral Keith, and having
been transmitted to the British government,
they refused to allow the French any means of
saving themselves, except by surrendering as
prisoners of war. Sir Sidney Smith hastened
to inform the French of the views of his gov-
ernment. A few days after, the lieutenant of
the Tiger (an English vessel), sent general
Kleber a letter, written by admiral Keith, un-
der date of Minorca, Jan. 8, notifying to him
the only conditions on which the British gov-
ernment would recognise the capitulation.
General Kleber, shortly before this, enslaved
by a secret spirit of jealousy, which perhaps,
he dared not confess to himself, had been fol-
lowing blindly a fatal path, in which his fame
was threatened. A better day arose ; the hon-
or of his nation was menaced, and the French
troops were perfidiously commanded to lay
down their arms. The discontented Kleber —
Kleber, the humorist — instantly became another
man. The patriotic Frenchman, the able and
heroic leader, re-appeared. The order of the
day was conveyed by the letter of admiral
Keith, and Kleber contented himself with add-
ing these words : " Soldiers ! the only reply to
insolence like this is victory ! Prepare to fight."
And never were soldiers better prepared. In-
dignation ran through every rank. The Turks
should pay dearly for the bad faith of their al-
lies. Kleber declared that he should regard the
least advance on the part of the Turks as a hos-
tile movement. Disregarding this warning,
Youssef-Pacha, the grand vizier, repaired to El-
Hancka with his whole army. His van-guard
was within two leagues of Cairo. Firmans cir-
culated in the provinces and even in Cairo it-
self, excited the people to insurrection. Civil
and religious influences increased the danger of
the French. Time pressed, the troops sum-
moned by Kleber, appeared in small detach-
ments, but still they were animated by one
spirit. 10,000 men did not hesitate to attack
an army which the Turks and English them-
selves have estimated at from 40 to 00,000. At
the ancient Heliopolis, Kleber prepared for
combat. How well he was seconded may be
inferred from the names of the officers next in
command to him, viz. Regnier, Friant, Le-
clerc, Belliard, Donzelot, and La Grange.
With a trifling loss on their part, the French
routed the enemy, and killed and wounded
6,000. The French were again in firm posses-
sion of a reconquered country, and Murad Bey
became their faithful ally.
Writers who think to honor Kleber, by rep-
resenting him as the enemy of Bonaparte, affect
to say, that he conceived the resolution of keep-
ing Egypt, " out of hatred to the man who had
usurped the sovereignty in France." To ob-
scure the glory of him whom they accuse, they
darken the character of the man they would
eulogize. They say also, with very little truth,
that " the talents of Kleber had excited the jeal-
ousy of Bonaparte." But what points of com-
parison could be established between them ?
What victories had Kleber gained to rank them
with the two campaigns of Italy, or the single
one of Egypt ? Kleber had never commanded
in chief. Often had the chief command been
offered him, and as often had he refused — a sin-
gular trait of that pride which disdains to com-
mand, and yet will not bend to obedience. Em-
ployed in a secondary rank by preference, he
revenged himself for this voluntary inferiority
by epigrams upon the officer above him, whe-
ther Beurnonville, Jourdan, or Moreau him'self.
In Egypt his powers of sarcasm were employed
in vain against a man who feared them not. If,
at a later period, he denounced Bonaparte to the
executive Directory, he had before, in a frank
and bold letter, denounced, if we may use the
expression, the Directory to general Bonaparte,
and this was the political confidence of a clear-
sighted man, who, beholding in the General,
the future fortunate leader of a party, predicted
the fate which awaited him. On his part, the
General, appreciating Kleber, made use of him
without fear, and pardoned his faults in consid-
eration of his good qualities. He feared not to
debase himself in making advances. Some re-
proaches, addressed to Kleber on the subject of
his administration in Egypt having wounded his
feelings to such a degree that he was about to
leave the army, Bonaparte wrote ; " On the soil
of Egypt, the clouds pass away in six hours :
were they on my side, they should dissipate in
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227
EHR
three." This was the conduct of Bonaparte
towards the man whose rivalry he was accused
of fearing.
Kleber made many wise regulations to
strengthen his administration. Meanwhile
Europe had heard the news of the battle of
Heliopolis and its results. The violation of
national rights had yielded to the British gov-
ernment but unsavory and bloody fruits, and
they could not but regard with regret the de-
struction of a fine Ottoman army 40,000 strong.
General Kleber, having gained, by chance, mi-
nute information of the views of the English,
was taking a course which gave general satis-
faction, when the dagger of a Mussulman assas-
sin deprived the army of a leader, and France
of the possession of Egypt. The fatal news
circulated with rapidity ; grief and indignation
were general, and at the end of some hours the
criminal was seized, and it was proved that the
murderer, Suliman El-Alepi, who was sent from
Gazah to Cairo, was only a fanatic subaltern,
who, intoxicated with temporal and spiritual
promises, and maddened by the incendiary fir-
mans of the Turkish government, pretended to
punish, in the person of Kleber, the enemy of
the prophet, and the conqueror of the grand
vizier.
After the revolt of Cairo in 1798, the Scheiks
having come to implore the pardon of Bonaparte,
the latter treated with peculiar respect an old
man of the party, the Scheik Sada. He raised
him, kissed, and embraced him. When they
had retired, he said to Kleber; " Do you know
that old fellow whom I honored so?" "No,"
— answered Kleber. " He is the ring-leader of
the insurrection." " The deuce ! I would have
shot him." When, in 1800, Kleber, having re-
taken Cairo with an armed force, exacted as a
punishment an extraordinary contribution of
4,000,000 francs, this same Sheick refused to pay
the sum which was assessed upon htm. In the
first movement of anger, Kleber gave orders to
have him bastinadoed, but, soon after, recollect-
ing the conduct of Bonaparte, recalled them too
late. When General Bonaparte heard of Kle-
ber's death, his first words were : " This comes
of the bastinado administered to the Scheik
Sada." And in reality the assassin had been
concealed in the mosque forty days. Similar
fanatics had been previously sent to stab Bona-
parte, but the Scheiks had prevented them.
The command of the French army devolved
on general Abdallah Menon. In 1801 the
English, determined to drive the French from
Egypt, fitted out an expedition of which the
army was commanded by Sir Ralph Abercrom-
bie, and the fleet by Lord Keith. On the 23d
of February, 1801, the fleet weighed anchor,
and on March 1 was anchored in Aboukir bay.
On the 8th they landed, and on the 18th gained
possession of the fort. On the 21st, general
Menon attacked the English, but was complete-
ly defeated by them after a well-contested en-
gagement. During the charge of cavalry, Sir
Ralph Abercrombie was mortally wounded ;
after having despatched his aides-de-camp he
was alone, and some French dragoons attacked
him, threw him from his horse, and attempted
to cut him down. The gallant general, how-
ever, sprang up and wrested the sword from his
antagonist, who was bayoneted by a soldier of
the 42d. He died on the 28th, on board lord
Keith's ship.
General Hutchinson succeeded to the com-
mand and resolved to reduce Lower Egypt. By
the 19th of April, fort Sulien and Rosetta were
captured, and the British proceeded to Rhama-
nich, where the French made a stand, but were
vanquished, and retreated towards Cairo. On
the 11th of May the army continued its march,
and, on the 15th, intelligence being received
that Belliard was in full march from Cairo,
Hutchinson resolved to anticipate the attack ;
and, on the 16th, the Turks commenced the
onset, the French took post in a wood of date
trees near Elmenayer, but were compelled to
retreat. The British were now joined by great
numbers of Arabs. The camp was placed at
Gizeh, and dispositions were made for invading
Cairo ; but the French garrison offered to ca-
pitulate. A convention was accordingly con-
cluded on the 28th of June, with certain stipu-
lations, but Menon not acceding to the surrender
of Alexandria, Hutchinson invested that city
with the co-operation of lord Keith and Coote,
which enabled him to surround it, and Menon
capitulated. Four weeks after the evacuation
of Egypt by the French, the preliminaries of a
treaty of peace were signed at London. The
Egyptians were much attached to the French,
and regretted them extremely, for both Bona-
parte and Kleber, did all in their power, during
their brief term of possession, to ameliorate the
condition of the country.
EHRENSTRCEM, a Swedish officer who
was concerned in the conspiracy against the
regency in 1793, for the purpose of raising the
young king to the throne prematurely, and was
conducted to the scaffold, where he was about
to bend to the fatal stroke, when it was an-
nounced that his sentence was changed to per-
ELD
228
ELD
petual imprisonment. He was released by
Gustavus IV.
ELBA (the ancient Ilva), a small island in
the Mediterranean, near the coast of Tuscany,
to which it now belongs. It is CO miles in cir-
cumference, and contains iron, silver, load-
stone, and marble. The climate is mild. This
island was allotted to Napoleon in 1814, on his
abdication of the crown of France. He quitted
it February 26, 1815.
EL DORADO. When the zeal for travels,
conquests, and discoveries in America, first be-
gan to develop itself among the Spaniards and
other nations of Europe, those who thirsted for
adventure and aggrandizement were not con-
tent with the actual wonders of the New World,
but they taxed their imaginations for the cre-
ation of realms in which the splendors of fairy-
land were surpassed. Various circumstances
contributed to add authority and influence to
these fables. The tale that is oftentimes repeat-
ed, is generally regarded as true, particularly
when the narrators are skilful, and have weighty
reasons for disguising the truth. These were not
wanting with regard to the fable of El Dorado,
or the Golden Region. It was believed, current-
ly, that somewhere in Guiana, there existed a
kingdom the wealth of which surpassed that of
any known region on the face of the globe.
Along the whole coast of the Spanish Main, it
was believed that, in the interior of the country,
there existed a land whose importance and
riches it was impossible to exaggerate. These
rumors are said to have had reference to the
kingdom of Bogota and Tunja, now New Gre-
nada. What was rather singular with regard
to El Dorado, was, that the nearer adventurers
approached to it, the farther off it appeared to
be. The Peruvians had accounts of its exist-
ence in the Nuevo Reyno ; the adventurers of
that country believed that it existed in Peru.
In fact it appeared like the blessed isle of Indian
song, which actually fled from the footsteps of
pursuers.
Imagination, however, soon supplied the pro-
per data. Tired of profitless wanderings, the
gold hunters fixed upon a certain region (in
Guiana,) as the locality of the kingdom of El
Dorado. Nor was it a very difficult matter to
make maps of the country, to crowd it with
lakes and rivers, to refine its inhabitants, to
perfect its arts, and to heighten its splendor.
The story ran thus. After the fall of the Incas,
a younger brother of Atabalipa, collecting what
treasures he could lay hands upon, fled to an
inland country, and founded a magnificent em-
pire. This potentate was indifferently styled
the Great Paytiti, the Great Moxo, the Enim or
Great Paru. From interested motives, men
of intelligence and reputation scrupled not to
confirm the tales of this empire, and lend the
sanction of their names to the most absurd and
puerile fictions. Thus Sir Walter Raleigh,
aware of the important results of colonizing
Guiana, lured adventurers onward by display-
ing before them the most enticing pictures of the
Gilded Monarch and his realm. He even did
not hesitate to attempt to pass upon Queen
Elizabeth as facts, the monstrous fables, which
his heated mind was alone capable of receiving.
An unblushing impostor asserted that he
had himself been in Manoa, the capital of the
imaginary kingdom, and that in the street of
silversmiths, no fewer than three thousand
workmen were employed. This traveller waa
very minute in his details, and produced a map
which he had projected, and which was marked
with the situation of a hill of gold, one of silver,
and one of salt. The gorgeous palace of the
emperor was held on high by magnificent and
symmetrical pillars of porphyry and alabaster,
and encircled by galleries which were formed
of ebony and cedar, curiously wrought. At
about the period of Raleigh's first expedition, it
was believed at Paraguay that the court of the
Great Moxo had been actually discovered and
visited. At this time the description of the
interior varied a little from that which we have
just given above. A vast lake of exquisite
transparency and softness reflected the palace,
which was built upon an island in its centre.
The material of the edifice was snow-white
marble of a peculiar brilliancy. Two towers
guarded the entrance, standing on each side of
a superb column, which shot up to the height
twenty-five feet, and bore upon its capital an
immense silver moon, while two living lions
were attached by massy chains of solid gold to
its pedestal. These animals, like the dragons
of a fairy-tale, defended the entrance to a place
which outshone the realms of fairy. We know
not whether an acquaintance with magic was
necessary to quiet the vigilance of these wild
guards, or whether they were well-bred crea-
tures, disposed to make allowances for the curi-
osity of visiters, and permit them an easy en-
trance into the palace of El Dorado. Be that as
it may — having passed those guards, you entered
a quadrangle, where you could not fail to be de-
lighted with the freshness and shade of the green
trees, and the fragrant coolness and musical
murmur of a silver fountain, which gushed and
life'
Dresden — Interior of the Palace.
(V
ELD
229
ELD
gleamed through four golden pipes. A small
copper gate, the bolt of which shot into a massy
rock, hid the interior of the palace. This pass-
ed, the splendor of the internal arrangements
dazzled and delighted. A vast altar, formed of
solid silver, supported an immense golden sun,
before which, four lamps were kept perpetually
burning.
The lord of this magnificence was called El
Dorado, literally, The Gilded, from the savage
splendor of his costume, his naked body being
daily anointed with costly gum, and then heap-
ed with gold dust, until he presented the appear-
ance of a golden statue. " But," Oviedo sagely
remarks, " as this kind of garment would be
uneasy to him while he slept, the prince washes
himself every evening, and is gilded anew in
the morning, which proves that the empire of
El Dorado is infinitely rich in mines." This
fable had its origin in the peculiar rites intro-
duced by the worship of Bochica, as the high
priest of this sect was accustomed, every morn-
ing, to anoint his hands and face with grease,
and then heap them with gold dust. Another
custom, spoken of by Humboldt, may have
given rise to the fable of the gilt man. This
distinguished traveller says, that in the wilder
parts of Guiana, where painting the body is
used instead of the practice of tatooing, the
Indians smear their bodies with the fat of tur-
tles, and then cover them with pieces of mica
of a metallic lustre, brilliantly white as silver,
and red as copper, so that they appear robed
in a garment covered with gold and silver
embroidery, when seen from a little distance.
Although productive of much mischief, the
expeditions undertaken in the hope of discover-
ing El Dorado did considerable service to the
cause of science ; and thus, by the agency of
fiction, many important truths were brought to
light. We shall speak of the different expedi-
tions fitted out in search of El Dorado, the last
of which, incredible as it may seem, was set on
foot as lately as the year 1775. From this we
may judge how firm was the belief in the exist-
ence of this fairy-land. The earliest enter-
prises of this nature attempted to reach the
realm of uie Great Moxo, somewhere in the
direction of the eastern back of the Andes of
New Granada. The captains Anasco and Am-
pudia, were despatched by Sebastian de Belal-
cazar, in 1535, to discover the valley of Dorado,
in consequence of the flaming descriptions
which an Indian of Tacumga had given of the
riches and splendor of the Zaque, or the king
of Cundinamarca. Diaz de Pineda (in 1536)
gave rise to the idea that there were, to the
eastward of the Nevados of Tunguragua, Cay-
ambe and Popayan, immense plains where the
precious metals were found in abundance, and
where gold, in particular, was so plentiful, that
the inhabitants converted massy plates of it into
armor.
In 1539, Gonzalo Pizarro, inflamed by the
account of these treasures, set forth in search
of them, and by chance, made the discovery of
the American cinnamon trees. Francisco de
Orellana set forth to reach the river of Ama-
zons by the Napo. Expeditions were fitted out
simultaneously from Venezuela, New Granada,
Quito, Peru, Brazil, and the Rio de la Plata,
having, for their sole object, the conquest of
Dorado. The incursions to the south of Gua-
viare, the Rio Fragua, and the Caqueta, were
declared to have procured proof not only of the
existence of the city of El Dorado, but of the
immense riches of the Manoas, the Otnaguas,
and the Guaypos. We discover proofs of ac-
curate knowledge and careful research in the
narratives of the voyages of Orellana, George
von Specier, Hernan Perez de Quesada, and
Philip von Huten, undertaken in 1536, 1542,
and 1545, although there is no lack of exagger-
ation and fable likewise. Those who sought
the town of the Gilded Monarch, directed their
steps to two points situated on the northeast and
southwest of the Rio Negro ; viz. to Parima, the
early abode of the Manoas, who dwelt upon the
banks of the Jurubesh. There exists now very
little doubt that the whole of the country lying
between the Amazon and Orinoco, was compre-
hended under the general name of the Provin-
ces of the Gilded King.
The first voyage of Sir Walter Raleigh was
undertaken in 1595. That enterprising and
romantic man, who was in high favor with
Queen Elizabeth of England, was tired of the
dull realities of the Old World, and thirsted
for adventure. He embraced the idea of El
Dorado with ardor, as holding out something
worthy of his attention. It is true that he had
no definite ideas about the situation of the fabled
kingdom, but he rushed into the adventure with
the enthusiasm and ardor which distinguished
him. He was, of course, disappointed, and pro-
bably found the affair, Gilded king, lake, city,
palace, lions, gold mountains, and all, what we,
in these commonplace, and degenerate days,
should term a bubble or a hoax. Sir Wal-
ler Raleigh was a courtier, well versed in the
ways of the world, and he cared not to endure
the mortification of being ridiculed or pitied,
on his return, for the failure of the expedition.
He was determined to sacrifice truth to what he
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230
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considered expediency. Besides, he had formed
the project of colonizing Guiana, which he saw
would produce the happiest results, and he
thought, that by holding out the golden purse
of El Dorado, he should induce many to patron-
ise his scheme.
We shall briefly trace the course of Sir Wal-
ter Raleigh, when, after having collected from
Antonio de Berrio, whom he took prisoner in
his incursion on the island of Trinidad, in 1595,
and others, the sum of the knowledge possessed
at that time upon the subject of Guiana and
the adjacent countries, he set forth upon his
Celebrated expedition. He then entertained no
doubts of the existence of the two great lakes,
and the kingdom of the famous Inca, which was
supposed to have been founded near the sources
of the river Essequibo. Passing the river Gua-
vapo, and the plains of Chaymas, Raleigh stop-
ped at Morequito, where he was informed by
an old man that there was no doubt that foreign
nations had entered Guiana. The cataracts
of Carony, a river which was supposed to be
the shortest way to Macureguari and Manoa,
towns situated on the banks of lakes Cassipa
and Rupunuwini or Dorado, terminated this
expedition.
We must be permitted to doubt almost every
assertion made by Raleigh with regard to the
results of this voyage. He was determined that
his cause should lose nothing from excessive
modesty, and consequently the style in which he
speaks of Manoa is highly inflated. He heard of
inland seas which he compares to the Caspian,
and of " the imperial and golden city of Ma-
noa." He styles the ruler of the magnificent
country, " the emperor Inga of Guyana," and
says that- he had erected palaces of the most daz-
zling magnificence, said to surpass by far the
superb palaces of his Peruvian ancestors. Ra-
leigh, in his endeavors to influence the queen,
neglected neither the arts of flattery, nor the
embellishments of fiction. He says that to the
barbarous nations he encountered, he showed
the picture of the Queen, at which they exhib-
ited " transports of joy." He asserts that he
was informed that at the time of the conquest
of Peru, there were prophecies " in their chief-
est temples," which foretold the loss of the
empire and the restoration of the Ingas (Incas)
by Englishmen. He tells her Majesty that the
Inca would probably pay yearly to England the
sum of three hundred thousand pounds ster-
ling, if she would place in his towns garrisons
of three or four thousand English, under pre-
tence of defending him against all enemies.
" It seemeth to me," he adds, " that this empire
of Guiana is reserved for the English nation.'
From 1595 to 1617, Raleigh made four succes-
sive voyages to the Lower Orinoco. These at-
tempts, which, however they were represented
in England, were well understood in South
America to have been fruitless, damped the
ardor of adventurers who had formed projects
for entering and conquering El Dorado. From
this time there appeared none of those great
combinations, and important expeditions which
at first owed their origin to warm chimerical
ideas; but at the same time, the golden hopes
which had been awakened did not entirely dis-
appear, and solitary enterprises were occasion-
ally undertaken, under the sanction of various
provincial governors.
In 1637, and 1638, father Acana, and father
Fritz, severally undertook journeys to the lands
of the Manoas, which were thought to be rife
with gold, and by the magnificent accounts
which they put in circulation, contrived to in-
flame anew the imaginations of adventurers.
Very recently it was believed that the plains of
Macas, to the east of the Cordilleras, contained
the ruins of Logrono, a town situated in a gold
region of prodigious value. In 1740, an idea
was current that by going up the river Esse-
quibo, Dorado might be reached from Dutch
Guiana. The imagination of Don Manuel Cen-
turion, governor of Santo Thome del Angostura,
having been warmed by the current fables of the
splendid lake of Manoa, the very existence of
which was apochryphal, determined to set on
foot some serious investigations. He used all
his powers to awaken in the minds of the colo-
nists an ardor equal to his own. An Ipurucoto
Indian, by name Arimuicaipi, descended the
Rio Carony, and, for reasons of his own, by the
most bare-faced impositions, induced the Span-
iards to believe that the tales of El Dorado
hardly did justice to the splendor of the coun-
try of the Great Moxo. He declared that the
whitish light in the clouds of Magellan, in the
southern sky, was the reflection of the silvery
rocks around which the waves of the Lake Pa-
rima swept. " This was describing in a very
poetical manner," says Humboldt, " the splendor
of the micaceous and talcky states of his coun-
try."
A well-meaning Indian chief, popularly term-
ed Captain Jurado, endeavored to check the
progress of the delusion, and tried to undeceive
Governor Centurion. The adventurers em-
barked upon the Caura and Rio Paragua, but
not only were disappointed in their expecta-
ELD
231
ELD
tions, but encountered the most dreadful suffer-
ings which occasioned the death of several
hundred persons. Notwithstanding the disad-
vantageous effects of these expeditions, they
brought to light many important geographical
facts. In 1775-1780, Nicholas Rodriguez and
Antonio Santos, two men noted for their en-
terprise, were employed by the Spanish gov-
ernor, and reached the Uraricuera and Rio
Branco, after encountering many perils ; but,
of course, did not attain their objects.
The frequent occurrence of mica in Guiana
contributed to confirm the opinions of those who
believed it to be a region rich with gold, and
thus, as in many other cases, want of scientific
knowledge led to the most absurd ideas, and
the most deplorable results. The peak of Mount
Calitamini at sunset gleams as if it were in-
crusted with precious metal, or ornamented
with a coronet of diamonds. The islets of mica-
slate in the Lake Amucu, are fabled by the na-
tives, to increase the silver gleams of the clouds
in the southern sky by their powerful reflection.
Raleigh says that every mountain, and every
stone in the forests of Orinoco, had all the spark-
ling brilliancy of the precious metals. Those
travellers who gave the most glowing descrip-
tions of the riches of Guiana and El Dorado,
were those who, on other subjects, made no
scruple of violating truth for the sake of enhanc-
ing the effects of their narrations. Diego de
Ordaz, the famous Conquistador of Mexico, in
1531, undertook a voyage of discovery along
the banks of the Orinoco. This gentleman boast-
ingly declared that he had taken sulphur out of
the Peak of Popocatepetl, and was allowed by the
emperor, Charles V, to carry a flaming volcano
in his coat of arms. He obtained a commission to
rule over all the country which he could subdue
by his arms between Brazil and the coast of
Venezuela, and began his voyage by the mouth
of the river Maranon. Here the natives dis-
played to his admiring eyes, " emeralds as big
as a man's fist." These were doubtless no other
than pieces of compact feldspar, a mineral found
in great profusion at the mouth of the river
Topayas. The Indians informed Ordaz that in
travelling to the westward he would find a
mountain of emerald, but a shipwreck destroyed
the hopes of the party.
The Spanish adventurers firmly believed in
the existence of mountains composed, princi-
pally, if not wholly, of gold, silver, emerald,
&c. Sometimes, natural appearances, easily
explained, gave rise to these illusions, but fre-
quently, there was no foundation whatever for
the belief. Acunha says that north of the junc-
tion of the Curuputuba and Amazon, the im-
mense mountain of Paraguaxo, when the rays
of the sun fell upon it, displayed the most beau-
tiful colors, emitting from time to time, tre-
mendous bellowings. The Indians, who were
accustomed to fasten upon their skins gold
spangles and powder, informed the Spaniards,
that they obtained it by tearing up the grass
and earth in a certain plain, and washing it.
But it is possible that what was imagined to be
gold, was no other than mica, which the natives
of Rio Caura are said still to use by way of orna-
menting their bodies, and heightening the effect
of their painting.
In tracing the progress of the famous delusion
of El Dorado, we cannot fail to be surprised at
the credulity of some adventurers, and the au-
dacity of others. The expedition of Sir Walter
Raleigh was without doubt, the most important
undertaken ; and the influence which it exerted
was beneficial in deterring men from making
those combined efforts which could not have
failed in terminating ruinously. We cannot
doubt, that Raleigh was himself grossly deceiv-
ed, nor that he endeavored to practice upon
others the imposition from which he had him-
self suffered. It is no excuse to say that he
misrepresented things for a good end, and the
delinquency of this celebrated man in this re-
spect weakens considerably the interest which
the concluding events of his life are calculated
to awaken.
The following is briefly his own description
of Guiana. The empire of Guiana is directly
east from Peru towards the sea, and lieth under
the equinoctial line, and it hath more abund-
ance of gold than any part of Peru, and as many,
or more great cities than ever Peru had when it
flourished most. It is governed by the same
laws, and the emperor and people observe the
same religion, and the same form and policies
in government as was used in Peru, not differ-
ing in any part ; and as I have been assured by
such of the Spaniards as have seen Manoa, the
imperial city of Guiana, which the Spaniards
call El Dorado, that for the greatness, the riches,
and for the excellent seat, it far exceedeth any
of the world, at least of so much of the world
as is known to the Spanish nation. It is found-
ed upon a lake of salt water of Uco hundred
leagues long, like unto MareCaspium (the Cas-
pian Sea) ; and if we compare it to that of Peru,
and but read the report of Francisco Lopez, and
others, it will seem more than credible. Ra-
leigh repeats the wonderful stories told of
ELI
232
ELI
Manoa by Martinez, a Spaniard who informed
him that he had spent seven months in the
empire and who first gave it the name of El
Dorado. Martinez gave by no means a flatter-
ing character to the inhabitants of Guiana, who,
he said were a set of inveterate drunkards.
According to him, at times of solemn festival,
the higher officers of the empire caroused with
the king. All who pledged him were stripped,
and having their bodies anointed with a costly
balsam, the servants of the emperor blew gold
dust upon them, making use, for this purpose of
certain hollow canes or reeds. Then glitter-
ing from head to foot, they sat down by twen-
ties and hundreds, and drank sometimes for six
or seven days. Martinez said that he named
the empire El Dorado on account of the quan-
tity of gold which he found in the temples, and
throughout the city ; plates, armor, and shields,
being formed of the precious metal.
Raleigh speaks of a race whose heads did not
appear above their shoulders, and adds, " though
it may be thought a mere fable, yet for mine
own part I am resolved it is true." " They are
called Ewaipanoma. They are reported to have
eyes in their shoulders, and their mouths in the
middle of their breasts, and that a long train of
hair groweth backward between their should-
ers." These people, however, were not pre-
tended to be the inhabitants of the empire of the
Gilded King.
Though we cannot fail to regret the waste
of labor and life which the fable of El Dorado
caused. Yet it must be confessed that it led to
many scientific discoveries : But while many
facts were brought forward, they were so mixed
up with fables, defying almost all attempts to
separate the evil from the good, that we cannot
be much surprised at the erroneous ideas which
prevailed up to a very late period. The pene-
tration and knowledge of the nineteenth cen-
tury have dissipated the golden clouds which
overhung the haunted region of Guiana, and
the Great Moxo, by common consent, is for
ever banished to the dreamed realms of fiction.
ELEUSIS (now Lepsina), was anciently,
next to Athens, the principal city of Attica. It
was here that the festivals of Ceres, the goddess
of Nature, termed the Eleusinian Mysteries, were
secretly celebrated in her temple which was sur-
rounded by high walls. The manner of their
celebration is unknown.
ELIJAH, the prophet, who rebuked the idol-
atries of Ahab, king of Israel, and Jehosaphat,
king of Judah. He did not experience the
pangs of death, but was taken up to heaven in
a fiery chariot. For his history see the 1st and
2d Books of Kings.
ELIO, Francisco Xavier, a Spaniard who
opposed Napoleon in Spain, and the revolution-
ists in South America. On the restoration of
Ferdinand VII, of Spain, he declared himself
in favor of absolute monarchy, and committed
many atrocities in putting down liberal princi-
ples. The revival of the constitution of Cadiz
put an end to his career. He was tried for excit-
ing a movement in favor of absolute monarchy,
and put to death, Sept 3d, 1832.
ELIOT, John, a native of England, was born
in 1604, and was educated at Cambridge. He
came to America in 1631, and was settled as
minister of the church in Roxbury, Massachu-
setts. He mastered the Indian language, and
published an Indian Bible and grammar, and
was indefatigable in preaching the gospel to the
savages. The great apostle and friend of the
Indians died May 20, 1690. His works were
voluminous.
ELIOTT, George Augustus, lord Heathfield,
was born at Stubbs, in Scotland, in 1718, and
educated at Leyden, after which he entered
into the Prussian service. Having returned to
Scotland, he joined, in 1733, the corps of engi-
neers, and afterward became adjutant to a corps
of horse-grenadiers, in which capacity he dis-
tinguished himself at Dettingen where he was
wounded. In this regiment he rose to the rank
of lieutenant-colonel ; and, in 1757, was ap-
pointed to the command of a regiment of light-
horse, which he had himself raised. On his
return from Germany, he was sent to Havana,
and, at the peace, the king conferred on his
regiment the title of" royal." In 1775, he was
appointed commander-in-chief in Ireland, and
was soon after made governor of Gibraltar,
which fortress he bravely defended against the
combined forces of France and Spain. He
died at Aix-la-Chapelle, July 6th, 1790. He
never indulged in the pleasures of the table, his
food consisting of vegetables and water. Ever
vigilant and active, he never slept more than
four hours at a time.
ELIS, a district in the western part of the
Peloponnesus, bounded east by Arcadia, south
by Messenia.
ELIZABETH, queen of England, one of the
most distinguished of female sovereigns, the
daughter of Henry VIII, by Anne Boleyn, was
born in 1533. She was educated in the protes-
tant religion, and , by the last will of her father,
was nominated third in the succession. Dur-
ing the reign of Mary, she was treated with
ELI
233
ELL
great severity, and attempts were made to draw
her into a snare on the subject of religion, so as
to prosecute her for heresy ; but by uncommon
prudence she escaped these designs. She had
received an admirable education, and was well
versed in classical literature for which she had
an unaffected fondness. In 1558, on the death
of Mary, she succeeded to the throne. She re-
fused all matrimonial overtures, yet was sup-
posed to be pleased with such addresses. By the
vigilance of her government she preserved her
dominions in peace, repelled the attempts of
the Spaniards, and was considered the patron-
ess of the reformed church. With regard to
the execution of Mary, queen of Scots, she en-
deavored to shift the odium from herself, and
attributed it to a mistake of her secretary Da-
vison, by whom the warrant was furthered.
The execution of Essex (see Devcreux) was a
blow from which she never recovered. She
died, Marcli 24, 1603. Masculine as her mind
was, she was yet enough of woman to be fond
of flattery and dress. Shakspeare, whom she
patronized, has paid her a compliment in one of
the most pleasing of his dramas — the Midsum-
mer's Night's Dream. Elizabeth is the " fair
vestal, throned in the west," who is proof
against the arrows of Cupid.
ELIZABETH PETROWNA, daughter of
Peter the Great and Catharine I, was born in
1709. After the death of Anne, who appointed
for her successor, Ivan, son of her niece Anne,
the wife of Antony Ulrich, duke of Brunswick,
the latter proclaimed herself regent during the
minority of her son. A conspiracy was formed,
the regent and her son imprisoned, and Eliza-
beth Petrowna proclaimed empress, in 1741.
Elizabeth was ambitious of being considered the
most beautiful woman in her empire, and en-
gaged in the seven years' war, in consequence
of a personal sarcasm of Frederick the Great.
She did not, however, gain any decisive advan-
tage, and died Dec. 29, 1761, at the age of 52,
after a reign of 20 years. Her life was passed
in licentious indulgences.
ELIZABETH, Philippine Marie Helene of
France, Madame, the sister of Louis XVI, was
born May 23d, 1764. Although mild, virtuous,
benevolent, and inoffensive, she perished by the
guillotine, May 10, 1794.
ELIZABETHTOWN.in Essex county, New
Jersey, 14 miles S. S. W. of New York, con-
tains 3,445 inhabitants. It is a flourishing and
pleasant place, and the oldest town in the state,
having been settled by emigrants from Long
Island in 1664.
ELLENBOROUGH, Edward Law, lord, was
born in 1748, at Great Salkeld, in Cumberland.
He was educated at Cambridge, and early ad-
mitted to the bar. He was counsel for Warren
Hastings in 1785, assisted by Plomer and Dal-
las, and his client was acquitted. His foitune
was now fixed. In 1801 he was made attorney
general, and the following year succeeded lord
Kenyon, as lord chief justice of the king's bench,
and was created baron. He died Dec. 13, 1818.
ELLERY, William, one of the signers of the
declaration of Independence, born at Newport,
R. I., Dec. 22, 1727, and was educated at Har-
vard College, studied law, became a member of
Congress in 1776, and served in that body until
1785, when he was appointed chief justice of
the Superior Court of Rhode Island. After-
wards he accepted the office of Collector of
Customs in his native town, and died at the age
of 92, Feb. 15, 1820.
ELLIOT, Stephen, an American botanist,
and man of letters, was born at Beaufort, S. C,
in 1771, and educated at Yale College. He
early devoted his attention to natural history.
As a member of the State legislature, he was
distinguished for patriotism, learning and abili-
ty. He was president of the State bank, mem-
ber of several literary and scientific societies,
and editor of the Southern Review, and he re-
ceived the degree of L.L. D. from Yale College.
He died in the early part of 1830.
ELLSWORTH, Oliver, was born at Wind-
sor, Connecticut, April 29, 1745. He was the
son of a farmer, and devoted his early years al-
ternately to literature and agriculture. He was
educated at Yale and Princeton Colleges, the
former of which he entered at the age of 17, and
was admitted to the bar, after the usual prepa-
ratory study, in 1771, in the county of Hartford,
Connecticut, and was appointed state attorney.
An ardent friend of freedom, he served in the
revolutionary army, was a member of the gen-
eral assembly of Connecticut, and a delegate to
the Congress of the United States. He was
made member of the Council and judge of the
Superior Court of his native state, assisted in
framing the federal convention, was chosen
senator in the first congress, and held his seat
throughout Washington's administration. He
was appointed chief justice of the United States
on the resignation of Mr. Jay, and was one of
the envoys sent to France in 1799, to procure
the adjustment of the differences which threat-
ened a very serious termination. Having re-
turned to his native state, he died in 1807, in
the 63d year of his age.
ENG
234
ENG
ELSINORE, ELSINEUR, or HELSIN-
GOER, a Danish seaport, situated on the east
coast of the island of Zealand, where vessels
passing up or down the Baltic stop to pay toll
or procure stores. The annual amount of toll is
from 600,000 to 700.000 dollars. Pop. 7000.
EMANUEL THE GREAT, king of Portu-
gal, ascended the throne in 1495. During his
reign the discoveries and exploits of Portuguese
navigators and commanders, opened the wealth
of America and the East Indies to Portugal.
Every thing seemed to flourish, and the period
merited the title which was given it — " the
golden age of Portugal." Emanuel died Dec.
13, 1521. He acquired renown by his expul-
sion of the Moors, and his patronage of men of
letters.
EMMET, Thomas Addis, born in Cork, Ire-
land, in 1765. He was designed for the medical
profession, but the death of his elder brother, a
member of the bar, induced him to turn his at-
tention to the study of the law. He pursued it
with success and commenced practice in Dub-
lin. In 1795, Emmet joined the association of
United Irishmen, and was arrested March 12,
1798. Oliver Bond, doctor Macneven, and oth-
ers, were arrested at the same time. Emmet
was imprisoned for a long time in Fort George,
in the county of Nairn, Scotland, but with his
wife, who had shared his confinement, having
been finally liberated, he came to New York in
Nov., 1804. Emmet here successfully prac-
tised law, and in 1812 was appointed attorney-
general of the State of New York. He died in
the 63d year of his ago, Nov. 14, 1827, during the
trial of an important case. In private life he was
beloved, and in public esteemed and respected.
EMS, a watering place in the duchy of Nas-
sau, which is surrounded by enchanting scenery.
ENGHIEN, Louis Antoine Henri de Bour-
bon, duke of, born at Chantilly, Aug. 2, 1772,
was the son of Louis Henry Joseph Conde,
duke of Bourbon, a descendant of the great
Conde He served in various campaigns, par-
ticularly distinguished himself under his grand-
father. In 1804 he went to Ettenheim incog.,
and married the princess Charlotte de Rohan
Rochefort. At this time the life of Bonaparte
Was threatened, and the English, in particular,
hinted at his probable assassination. The duke
D' Enghien, having fallen under suspicion, was
arrested at Ettenheim, in the neutral territory
of Baden, brought to Vincennes at midnight,
tried with much informality, condemned to
death, and shot the next morning, the whole
affair having been conducted, to say the least,
with ungenerous haste. No action of Napole-
on's has excited so much discussion as this.
Some writers laid the whole blame of the
transaction upon the emperor, and others en-
deavoring to free him altogether from the
charge. An actual conspiracy, supported by
English money, had been discovered at Paris,
that of Georges. By this conspiracy England
had been taken, by flagrante delicto, in Paris it-
self. The same spirit which had sent Georges
from London to France, was to be found in the
cabinet of all the British embassies in Germany.
Peculiar circumstances induced M. Real, then
chief of the police, to send a trusty agent to
find out whether the duke of Enghien was al-
ways at Ettenheim, and what were his relations
and his habits. An officer of the gendarmerie
was entrusted with this mission, and this was
the foundation of all the evil. On his way to
Strasburg, this officer heard it mentioned as a
notorious fact, that the duke d' Enghien was in
the habit of attending the theatre in that city.
The spy sent to Ettenheim reached it with pre-
judices which the least indications will increase.
He learns that there are some emigrants in the
neighborhood of the duke d' Enghien, that he
invariably gives them the warmest reception
when they visit him, and that the duke is fre-
quently absent for days at a time. It appeared
afterwards that from time to time, a passion for
hunting kept the duke for several successive
days in the mountains of the Black Forest.
This was not all. The imperfect pronunciation
of the Germans gave the officer to suppose,
then an obscure person in the suite of the duke,
a M. de Thumery, was no other than general
Dumourier. The union of these particulars*
alarmed the officer, who, with more zeal than
truth, created fearful phantoms out of innocent
appearances. The judgment of the first consul
was obscured by the rapidity with which his
imagination moved, causing him to take for in-
contestible facts, stories which had but vague
conjecture for their foundation. Thus he soon
arrived at his conclusions. " In 60 hours one
can come from Strasburg to Paris. It requires
but five days to go and return. The unknown
personage (afterwards proved to be Pichegru),
who was received with so much respect by
Georges, is the duke d' Enghien. The duke is
the prime mover of the conspiracy, the soul of
it, at least one of the first accomplices." These
were the ideas which presented themselves to
the first consul, and it must be confessed that
the supposed presence of Dumourier at Etten-
heim was a circumstance of weight. The fact,
ENG
235
ENG
if it had been true, and the first consul believed
it to be so, would have added to the suspicions
of which the duke d' Enghien was the subject.
But here it may be objected that these suspi-
cions were without foundation, that the first
consul ought to have known it, because the
charge of foreign affairs at Carlsruhe wrote that
the duke of Enghien was leading the most quiet
and retired life at Ettenheim. It will be con-
ceded that his objection has little force ; for
might not the duke d' Enghien be concerned in
the conspiracies against Bonaparte, have an un-
derstanding with the emigrants in his neigh-
borhood, entertain Duinourier in his train,
either under his own or another name, and 3'et
find no occasion to change the external and reg-
ular order of his life ?
There was another cause which acted upon the
determination of the first consul, and which has
hitherto been passed over in total silence. The
conspiracy against the first consul was nurtured
in England, but its branches spread in every
direction. In England conspirators were pen-
sioned ; in Austria, battalions were raised. On
one side, were plots ; on the other, conspira-
cies : danger was everywhere, and perils were
daily augmenting. How could the first consul
imagine that the duke of Enghien, a prince of
the house of France, an officer of the English
army, was ignorant of the preparations which
were on foot? In the eyes of Bonaparte the
cabinets of London and Vienna acted in con-
cert. How could he persuade himself that a
Bourbon, placed at Ettenheim, should refuse to
participate in the association ? Sir Walter Scott
himself believed that the duke was established
at Ettenheim for the purpose of putting him-
self at the head of the royalists in that quarter,
or of presenting himself, if affairs required it, to
those of Paris. The discussion between Aus-
tria and France had come almost to menaces.
On the 9th of March Bonaparte addressed to the
emperor of Germany a summons to explain
himself. On the I Oth was given the fatal order
relative to the duke of Enghien. Who can say
that these two ideas were strangers to each
other ? That the greatness of the perils which
surrounded Bonaparte did not contribute to the
violence of the means which he employed to
oppose them, and make his enemies tremble ?
Who would venture to assert that Austria, al-
ways so intimately connected with England, had
no knowledge, not assuredly of the plots of as-
sassination, but of the various hostile plans em-
ployed against the first consul, and did not hold
herself in readiness to yield to the current of
events ? In the midst of these circumstances,
the reports of the agent sent to Ettenheim were
submitted to the first consul. Instantly a fear-
ful resolution was taken, and the order given for
the seizure of the duke.
How was this resolution taken ? Was it the
result of a sudden movement on the part of
Bonaparte, or was it determined by the delibe-
rations of a council ? The orders for the min-
ister of war were dictated, at 10 P. M. by the
first consul on issuing from a cabinet confer-
ence at which were present the two consuls,
Talleyrand, the chief justice, and Fouche, who
was then only a senator. Had they been as-
sembled by special convocation, or by chance !
This is of little consequence. But what passed
at this conference ? It is here the interpreta-
tions of jealousy and hate begin. Is it true, as
some memoirs have asserted, that the minister
of foreign affairs, after a report upon the gene-
ral state of Europe, concluded by counselling
the violation of a neutral territory ? Is it true,
as some have asserted, that Fouche, in order to
create embarrassment, and make himself neces-
sary in the post which he had formerly occu-
pied, warmly advocated a measure which he
would soon be the first to denounce ? Is it true
that the opposition of Cambaceres to the seizure
of the duke upon a neutral territory, drew down
upon him the famous apostrophe of Bonaparte ;
" you have become very avaricious of the blood
of the Bourbons."
Bonaparte might have said : " The Bourbons
have sworn to destroy me, they have devoted
my heart to the steel of their satellites, they
have willed my assassination. Well ! let thern
tremble in turn ! I — I can also assassinate. I
have only to stretch forth my hand to seize one
of them — I will seize him, I will destroy him,
and they shall feel that they can no longer at-
tempt my life with impunity." Perhaps, " in
the very whirlwind of his passion," an infernal
spirit, in order to strengthen him, may have
whispered cool reflections : " The divorce be-
tween France and the eldest branch of the
Bourbons seems definitive. The state of inac-
tion to which the princes of this branch have
been condemned has destroyed all sympathy
between them and heroic France. The name
of Conde,onthe contrary, recalls more vividly,
the glory of arms. It recalls even the last wars.
The grandfather and the grandson have fought
among the brave, against the brave. There is
here a possibility of reconciliation — a germ of
sympathy. It is this branch which I must de-
stroy, even to the last shoot. It will be a
ENG
236
EPA
crime, a great crime, but a state crime, a po-
litical crime. It will spread consternation in
France even among my most devoted friends ;
it will stupify all Europe ; but only for a mo-
ment ; for to-morrow, other occurrences will
concentrate the attention of all Earope, to-mor-
row it will be apprised of the new crimes of
England, and the death of the duke of Enghien
will be lost in the various events which fortune
seems to prepare expressly for the purposes of
concealment and oblivion."
On the 15th of March the duke of Enghien
was seized at Ettenheim and brought to Stras-
burg. From Strasburg he was, on the 18th
transferred to Paris, where he arrived the 20th,
and thence was sent to the castle of Vincennes.
The governor of Paris appointed a council of
war which assembled in the night. The prince
was condemned to death, and the sentence was
immediately executed. In a proceeding dicta-
ted by policy legal formalities are rarely observ-
ed. They were not in the case of the duke of
Enghien. The prisoner of St. Helena contin-
ually justified himself by saying that the prince
was tried " by a competent tribunal." The
competence of the tribunal is a very doubtful
matter, but could it be settled, according to the
wishes of Napoleon, there would still remain in
this affair, the infraction of the laws which pro-
tect the accused. The duke had no defender.
Napoleon, it is true, has said, " If guilty, the
commission did right in condemning him to
death. If innocent, it should have acquitted
him, for no order can justify the conscience of
a judge." What a lesson for magistrates, for
commissions or counsels of war, which should
be tempted to make the scales of justice move
in accordance with the interests or the passions
of go ve rnments .
ENGLAND contains 40 counties, with a
population of 13,089,338. The counties are
Northumberland, Cumberland, Durham, York-
shire, Westmoreland, Lancashire. Cheshire,
Shropshire, Herefordshire, Monmouthshire,
Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire,
Leicestershire, Rutlandshire, Northampton-
shire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Glou-
cestershire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire,
Bedfordshire, Lincolnshire, Huntingdonshire,
Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Hert-
forshire, Middlesex, Surry, Kent, Sussex,
Berkshire, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Dorsetshire,
Somersetshire, Devonshire, Cornwall. The as-
pect of the country is various, but generally
pleasantly diversified with hills and verdant
plains. The climate, though moist and change-
able, is healthy. The agricultural productions
are grain, wool, horned cattle, and horses.
Among the minerals are coal, copper, tin, iron,
and lead. The inland navigation of England
is admirable for the number and excellence of
its canals, and the communication between
commercial places is facilitated by the perfect
condition of the roads. The commerce of
England exceeds that of any other nation on
the face of the globe, and the English have in
consequence been naturally called " a nation
of shopkeepers." The six most important
articles of manufacture are woollens, cotton,
silk, hardware, earthenware, and glass. Epis-
copacy is the established religion, but there is
a great number of dissenters, Catholics, inde-
pendents, Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists,
Quakers, Unitarians, Swedenborgians, and
Jews. Education in England is by no means
neglected, the Universities of Oxford and Cam-
bridge being the richest institutions in the
world. The exports of Great Britain amount
annually to £37,000,000, and the imports to
about £ 25,000,000. (For the history of Eng-
land, &c. See Britain.)
ENGLAND NEW; this name was given
by Charles I, of England, to that part of N.
America which now includes the States of
Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachu-
setts, Rhode-Island, and Connecticut.
ENOCH, a patriarch who lived before the
deluge.
ENOS, the son of Seth, and father of Cs »ian.
He lived to the age of 905 years.
EPAMINONDAS, a famous Theban des-
cended from the ancient kings of Bceotia He
was celebrated for his private virtues and mili->
tary accomplishments. His love of trutn was
so great that he was never known to give
utterance to a falsehood. He formed a most
sacred and inviolable friendship with Pelopidas
whose life he saved in battle. By his advice
Pelopidas delivered Thebes from the power of
Lacedaemon. This was the signal of war.
Epaminondas was placed at the head of the
Theban armies, and defeated the Spartans in
the celebrated battle of Leuctra, about 370 B.
C. Epaminondas entered the territories of
Lacedsemon with 50,000 men. Here he gained
many friends and partisans, but, at his return
from Thebes, he was seized as a traitor for
violating the laws of his country. While he
was making the Theban army victorious on
every side, he neglected the law which forbade
any citizen to retain in his hands the supreme
power for more than one month, and all his
EPI
237
ERA
eminent services seemed unable to redeem him
from death. He paid implicit obedience to the
laws of his country, and only begged of his
judges that it might be inscribed on his tomb,
that he had suffered death for saving his coun-
try from ruin. This animated reproach was
felt; he was pardoned, and invested again with
sovereign power. He was successful in a war
with Thessaly, and again engaged against the
Lacedaemonians. The hostile armies met near
Mantinea 3(33 B. C. and while Epaminondas was
fighting bravely in the thickest of the enemy,
he received a fatal wound in the breast, and ex-
pired with joy on hearing that the Baeotians
had obtained the victory. On hearing his
friends regret that he had left no children, he
said ; " I leave behind me two immortal daugh-
ters, the victories of Leuctra and Mantinea.
EPEE, Charles Michael, abbe de 1', was born
at Versailles in 1712. None of the teachers who
had been successful with deaf and dumb pupils,
had published accounts of their method, so that
De L' Epee was not indebted to them for the
mode of instruction which he first employed
upon two sisters. His zeal in the cause of
those who were destitute of speech and hearing
led him into pecuniary embarrassment. One
incident in his life is peculiarly interesting.
He met, one day, in the streets of Paris a deaf
and dumb youth in the garb of a beggar whom
he was convinced was the heir of the rich fami-
ly of the Count of Solar. A law-suit followed,
which was at first successful, but when the
friends of Solar were dead, his property was
again wrested from him, and he was compelled
to enlist in the army as a curaissier. De 1' Epee
died in 1789.
EPHESUS, the capital city of Ionia, famous
for its splendid temple dedicated to the worship
of Diana. This superb temple occupied 220
years in its erection, was 425 feet long, 200
broad and adorned with an immense number
of lofty columns. It was burned by Erostratus
356 years B. C. to perpetuate his name. The
paltry village of Aiasoluk occupies the site of
the ancient city.
EPICTETUS, a stoic philosopher, born at
Hieropolis, in Phrygia, A. D. 90. He was the
slave of Epaphroditus, a freedman of Nero.
His master once struck him a severe blow upon
the leg. " You will break it," was the calm
reply of the stoic. The brute repeated the
blow and broke it. " Did I not tell you so ? "
was the quiet exclamation of the philosopher.
He was afterwards freed, and made governor
of Cappadocia A. D. 134.
EPICURUS, was born at Gargettus, near
Athens, 342 B. C. In the 36th year of his age
he opened his school in an Athenian garde. 1.
He taught his scholars that the summumbonum
consisted in happiness ; but that happiness did
not spring from sensual enjoyments but from a
practice of the virtues. He commended wis-
dom, was temperate, moderate, gentle, firm,
and fearless of death. He died 270 B. C, and
had many followers.
EP1RUS, a province on the borders of Greece,
the most southerly portion of the modern Alba-
nia. This country was first inhabited by the
Chaones, and the kingdom of Epirus may be
said to have begun with Pyrrhus the son of
Achilles, about the year 900 B. C. About 280
B. C. another Pyrrhus, king of this country,
distinguished himself greatly by his wars with
the Romans, in favor of the Tarentines. Upon
the death of Deodamia, the last of this race,
about the year 240 B. C, the Epirots formed
themselves into a republic, which was reduced
by Paulus Amilius, the Roman general, all the
towns destroyed, and the inhabitants enslaved
in one day. Upon the taking of Constantino-
ple, in 1204, Michael Angelus seized this coun-
try, and his posterity held it till it was taken by
the Turks under Amurath II, in 1432. In
1447, Castriot (Scanderbeg) revolted from the
Turks, but the country was finally reduced by
Mohammed II, in 1466.
EQUATOR, Republic of the, a South Amer-
ican state, composed of the three southwestern
departments of the former republic of Colombia ;
Ecuador, Assuay, and Guayaquil. It lies be-
tween Brazil on the east, Peru on the South,
New Granada on the north, and the Pacific
Ocean on the west, having an area of 325,000
square miles, and a population of 650,000 souls.
The eastern part is uninhabited or occupied by
independent Indians. The capital of the re-
public is Quito, with 70,000 inhabitants. This
section formerly constituted the audiencia of
Quito, dependent upon the vice-royalty of New
Granada. In 1823 it was delivered from the
Spanish yoke by the brilliant victory of Pichin-
cha gained by the patriot general Sucre, and
it joined the Colombian confederacy. When that
state fell to pieces in 1830, it declared itself an
independent state.
ERASMUS, Desiderius, a man celebrated
for his learning, was born at Rotterdam in
1467. At the age of 17 he assumed the monas-
tic habit, but subsequently obtained a dispen-
sation from his vows. He travelled through
many countries, but was received with the
ESC
238
EST
greatest kindness by Henry VIII, of England,
and was for a short time professor of Greek at
Oxford. Erasmus died 1536. Besides his the-
ological works, and his editions of the classics,
he published an Encomium on Folly, which has
been often reprinted. His letters are of histori-
cal value.
EREBUS, the son of Chaos and Darkness,
the brother and husband of night, and the
father of Day and Light. He was transformed
into a river which flows through the infernal
regions.
ERFURT, a fortress in Thuringia, belonging
to Prussia ; the town contains at present 21 ,"330
inhabitants. It was founded in the 5th century.
It maintained a kind of independence, until the
17th century, when the elector of Mente gained
possession of it. In 1814 it was granted to Prus-
sia by the Congress of Vienna. Erfurt was
famous for the meeting between Napoleon and
the Emperor Alexander with many other kings
and princes. This was in September 1808, and
Napoleon's object was the pacification of all
Europe. He was now at the summit of power
and glory and he stood upon the very pinnacle
of grandeur, with a feeling of intense enjoy-
ment. " Come to Erfurt" he wrote exultingly
to Talma, " and you shall play to a whole pit full
of Kings ! "
ERSKINE, Thomas, lord Erskine, a celebrat-
ed lawyer, was the son of David Henry Erskine,
tenth Ear) of Buchan, and was born in the year
1750. It was not until after he served some
years in the army and navy that he embraced
the legal profession at the age of 26. In 1778,
he was admitted to the bar, and his success was
both speedy and triumphant. During 25 years
he enjoyed an extensive practice. He was
appointed attorney general to the prince of
Wales, and, in 1802, keeper of his seals for the
duchy of Cornwall. He died in 1823. Many
of his speeches and some political works have
been published. His popularity may be infer-
red from the fact that his pamphlet, entitled A
view of the Causes and Consequences of the
War with France, went through 48 editions.
ERZERUM, ARZERUM, or ARZ-ROUM,
anciently Arze,t\\e capital of Turkish Armenia,
and of a pachalic of the same name, situated near
the head of the Euphrates, 250 miles N. N. E.
of Aleppo, contains about 100,000 inhabitants,
Turks, Greeks, Armenians, and Persians. It
is a well built place and enjoys considerable
trade. Its manufactures are numerous.
ESCURIAL, a magnificent palace, situated
on the ascent to the chain of mountains bound-
ing Old Castile, 22 miles from Madrid. It was
erected by Philip II, in commemoration of the
victory of St. Quentin, gained over the French
in 1557. The battle was fought on the day of
the festival of St. Lawrence, and the palace was
dedicated to this saint, wbose instrument of
martyrdom, a gridiron, is immortalized in the
disposition of the buildings composing the Es-
curial. It is said to have cost 50,000,000 dollars,
and contains many noble works of art.
ESNEH, ESNE, or ASNA, a city of Upper
Egypt, 27 miles S. of Thebes, standing on the
site of Latopolis, and containing some superb
ruins.
ESQUIMAUX, dwarfish tribes of North
America, occupying the northern coast of Amer-
ica, from prince William's sound to the borders
of the Atlantic on the coast of Labrador. They
live by hunting and fishing, and are alike des-
titute of laws and religion. They formerly put
to death widows and orphans, and those who,
from age or misfortune, were incapable of gain-
ing a subsistence.
ESSEQU1BO, a settlement of English Gui-
ana, on the borders of a river of the same name,
ceded to Great Britain in 1814. The soil is
fertile and well cultivated.
ESSEX, earl of, (see Devereux).
ESTACHAR. or ESTAKAR, or ISTA-
CHAR, a town of Persia, 160 miles S. S. E. of
Ispahan, near which are the ruins of the an-
cient Persepolis, the residence of the Persian
kings.
ESTAING, Charles Henry, count d', a French
admiral and lieutenant general of the French
armies before the breaking out of the revolution,
was the descendant of a noble French family^
and commenced his career in the West Indies.
He was twice taken prisoner by the English.
He was vice-admiral in the American war, and
was appointed a commander of the national
guards in 1789, but was guillotined in 1793.
ESTHER, a Jewish girl who became the
queen of Ahasuerus, the luxurious monarch of
Persia. (For the particulars of her story see
the book of Esther).
ESTHONIA, or the GOVERNMENT OF
REVAL, part of the province of Livonia, be-
longing to Russia, and containing 302.000 in-
habitants. After 1385 the country was sold to
the Teutonic knights, and formed a part of Li-
vonia, subject for a century to Sweden, but ulti-
mately reverting to the Russians.
ESTREMADURA, a Spanish province, is
bounded N. by Leon and Old Castile, E. by
New Castile, S. by Andalusia, and W. by Por-
EUG
239
EUL
tugal. It is extremely fertile and contained, in
1797, 423,393 inhabitants.
ESTREMADURA. a province of Portugal,
bounded N. by the province of Beira, E. and S.
by Alentejo, and W. by the ocean. It is 124
miles long, and 77 broad. It is generally fertile,
and contains 700,500 inhabitants.
ETHIOPIANS. This name was anciently
applied to all nations having a dark skin, and
was not confined to Africans, but was also appli-
ed to Asiatics. Ethiopia being one of the names
of Abyssinia, it was applied to the inhabitants.
ETON, a village of England, in Bucks, sep-
arated by the Thames from Windsor. It con-
tains 3,230 inhabitants. Its college is well-en-
dowed, and was founded in 1440.
ETRURIA, the country of the Etruscans,
now Tuscany, was bounded N. by the river
Magna, E. by the Apennines, S. by the Tiber,
and W. by the Mediterranean. The Etruscans
at a very early age had received the arts from
Greece, and produced some most beautiful spe-
cimens. They gave to the Romans their early
religious usages and architecture, and finally
became the victims of Roman ambition.
In 1801 the name of Etruria was restored,
and the country was made a kingdom and re-
mained so until amalgamated with the French
empire, by a senatorial decree of May 30, 1808.
The next year Eliza, the sister of Napoleon,
received this territory, with the title of grand-
duchess of Tuscany. In 1814 its ancient rulers
regained it.
ETTENHEIM, a small town of the duchy
of Baden, with 2630 inhabitants. Here the
duke of Enghien was arrested.
EUCLID, the father of mathematics, was
born at Alexandria, about 300 B. C.
EUERGETyE {benefactors), a name given
to the Jigriaspoz or Jirhnaspi, a tribe of the Per-
sian province of Drangiana, on account of their
having saved the army of Cyrus when in dan-
ger of perishing for want of provisions.
EUGENE, Francis, of Savoy, fifth son of Eu-
gene Maurice, duke of Savoy-Carignan, was
born at Paris in 1663. His mother was Olym-
pia Mancini, niece to Cardinal Mazarin. He
was educated for the church, but after the death
of his father, and the exile of his mother, he
and his brother Philip went to Vienna, where
they met with a gracious reception. In the
war which broke out with Turkey, prince Philip
fell in battle, and left his command to Eugene,
who signalized himself at the siege of Vienna
in 1683, as he did afterwards at Buda. He next
served against the French in Italy ; and in 1697
commanded the army in Hungary, where he
gained a splendid victory, in which the Turks
lost above 30,000 men, with their commander
the grand vizier. On the breaking out of the
war occasioned by the disputes about the Span-
ish succession, Eugene commanded the Impe-
rialists in Italy, where he was opposed to Vil-
leroi, whom he made prisoner. After this he
acted in conjunction with Marlborough. In
1712 the prince came to England to prevail
upon the court to continue the war, but could
not succeed. Compelled to act on the defensive,
he exerted himself to the utmost; and, in 1714,
settled preliminary articles with marshal Villars
at Rastadt, which ended soon after in a general
peace.
In 1716 the war with the Turks was renewed,
and the prince again took the field in Hungary,
where he attacked the enemy in their camp,
and obtained a complete victory, which was
followed by the capture of Temeswar and Bel-
grade. From this time to 1733 Eugene re-
mained at Vienna, employed in the cabinet ; but
in that year he assumed the command in Italy,
where he experienced various success in the
contest with the combined powers of France,
Spain, and Sardinia. He was found dead in
his bed, April 10, 1736.
EUGENE DE BEAUHARNAIS, the son
of viscount Alexander Beauharnais and Jose-
phine, afterwards empress of France, was born
September 3, 1781. In the French revolution
he entered the army, and when his mother was
married to Bonaparte, accompanied the latter
to Italy and Egypt. He distinguished himself
in many campaigns. In 1805 he was made
prince of France and viceroy of Italy. In 1807
he was declared prince of Venice, and Napo-
leon's heir to the kingdom of Italy. During
the retreat from Moscow, his good conduct,
with that of Ney, saved the army from total
destruction. After the fall of Napoleon, he
surrendered Italy to the Austrians, and went
to Munich to his father-in-law, the king of Ba-
varia. Thenceforth he took no share in the for-
tunes of Napoleon. He was created duke of
Leuchtenburg, and the principality of Eichstedt
was bestowed upon him. He died at Munich,
Feb. 21, 1824.
EULER, Leonard, a mathematician of Bale,
born in 1707. He was educated at the univer-
sity of his native place. In his 19th year he
gained a prize from the academy of Paris for
the best treatise on the masting of vessels. He
took the department of Mathematics in the
academy of St. Petersburg, and published a
EUR
240
EZE
vast number of treatises. In the Paris Academy
of Sciences he gained ten prizes. In 1741 he
became professor in the Berlin academy, but
returned to St. Petersburg where he died in
1783 in the office of director of the mathematical
department. Throughout his life, he received
honors from all quarters. He was cheerful and
amiable in private life, although the last 17 years
of his existence were past in total blindness.
EUPHRATES, PHRAT, or FRAT, one of
the largest and most celebrated rivers in Asia,
1,500 miles long, and is navigable for ships of
500 tons to Bassard. It rises in the mountains
of Armenia.
EURIPIDES, a celebrated tragic poet, in
great favor with Archelaus, was born at Salamis
on the day that the army of Xerxes was routed
by the Athenians. He wrote 75 tragedies, only
nineteen of which are extant. Euripides was
called Misogynes for his hatred of women, and
particularly of his own wife. In the 75th year
of his age, he was torn to pieces by dogs.
EUROPE, the least extensive, but the most
improved of the four quarters of the globe, is
situated between 36° and 71° N. latitude ; hav-
ing from south to north a breadth of about 2,000
miles and from east to west a length of nearly
3000. It contains about three millions and a
half of square miles, with a population of 330
million, and is bounded by the sea in all direc-
tions except the east where it joins Asia.
The following is a list of the principal States of
Europe, with the religion and government of
each.
Religion. Government.
Russia. Greek Church. Monarchy.
Sweden. Lutheran. Lim. Monarchy.
Denmark. Lutheran. Monarchy.
Prussia. Protestant. Monarchy.
Great Britain. Protestant. Lira. Monarchy.
Netherlands. Prot. and Cath. Lim. Monarchy.
Belgium. Prot. and Cath. Lim. Monarchy.
Switzerland. Prot. and Cath. Republic.
Hanover. Lutheran. Monarchy.
Saxony. Lutheran. Lim. Monarchy.
Wurtemberg. Lutheran. Lim. Monarchy.
German Small ) i>»„,„„, . T • »» u
States \ "rotestant- Lim. Monarchy.
Bavaria. Catholic. Lim. Monarchy.
Austria. Catholic. Abs. Monarchy.
France. Catholic. Lim. Monarchy.
Spain. Catholic. Monarchy.
Portugal. Catholic. Monarchy.
Sardinia. Catholic. Monarchy.
Naples. Catholic. Monarchy.
States of the > „„.. .. ,,
Church. | Cath0lic- Monarchy.
Italian Small ) -, .. ,.
Slates. j Catholic. Monarchy.
Ionian Islands. Greek Church. Republic.
Mohammedan. Despotism.
Greek Church. Lim. Monarchy.
Greece.
EUSTATIA, ST.; one of the Leeward islands,
8 miles S. W. of St. Christopher's, a vast rock
29 miles in circumference. Population, 18,000.
The Dutch settled here in 1600. It was suc-
cessively in the hands of the English, French,
Dutch, English, (a second time), and was re-
stored to the Dutch in 1697. In 1781 Admiral
Rodney reduced the inhabitants to poverty,
under pretence of their having supplied the
United States with provisions. The island was
retaken by the French, again submitted to the
English in 1809, and was again restored to the
Dutch in 1814.
EUTROP1US, Flavius, a Latin author, who
flourished about A. D. 360; his Abridgment of
the History of Rome is dedicated to the empe-
ror Valens, to whose time it extends.
EVE ; the first woman, wife of Adam, and
created from a rib taken from his side. (See
Mam.)
EWING, John, a celebrated American divine
and mathematician, was born in Cecil county,
Maryland, June 22, 1732, and was graduated at
Princeton college in 1755. After completing
his education, he was for a short time tutor in
the college, and instructed the philosophical
classes of the college of Philadelphia, where he
was settled as pastor of the first presbyterian
congregation in 175!). He went to England in
1773 to obtain subscriptions for an Academy,
and received the degree of D. D. from the uni-
versity of Edinburgh. On his return to Amer-
ica in 1775, he filled the office of provost of the
university of Pennsylvania until his death. He
published Lectures on Natural History, and
made some most important additions to the as-
tronomical articles in the American edition <t(
the Encyclopaedia Britannica. He died Sept.
8, 1802, in the 71st year of his age.
EXETER, called by the Indians Sioamscot,
a pleasant and flourishing town of New Hamp-
shire, in Rockingham county 15 miles N. N.
W. of Newbury port. It has an excellent
academy, founded by John Phillips in 1781, and
called Phillips Exeter academy.
EYLAU, Preuss, a small town in Prussia
Proper, where a great battle between the French
and Russians was fought on the 7th and 8th of
February, 1807, in which neither party gained
its object. The Russians retired behind the
Pregel, and the French, after remaining some
days on the field of battle, fell back on the Vis-
tula.
EZEKIEL, the third of the great prophets,
a son of Buzi, for whose history the reader is
referred to the Old Testament.
FAB
241
FAI
FABIUS MAXIMUS, Quintus, a celebrated
Roman who, from a dull and unpromising child-
hood, sprang into a maturity of valor and hero-
ism, and was gradually raised by his merit to
the highest offices in the state. In his first
consulship he gained a victory over Liguria,
and the fatal battle of Thrasymene occasioned
his election to the dictatorship. In this impor-
tant office he began to oppose Hannibal, not by
fighting him in the open field like his predeces-
sors, but continually harassing his army by
countermarches and ambuscades, for which he
received the surname of Cunctator, or Delayer.
When he had laid down his office of dictator,
his successors, for awhile, followed his plan ;
but the rashness of Varro and his contempt for
the operations of Fabius, occasioned the fatal
battle of Cannaj; and, on that occasion, the
Carthaginian enemy observed, that Fabius was
the Hannibal of Rome. When he had made an
agreement with Hannibal, for the ransom of the
captives, which was totally disapproved by the
Roman senate, he sold all his estates to pay the
money, rather than forfeit his word to the ene-
my. The bold proposal of young Scipio to
carry the war from Italy into Africa, was re-
garded as chimerical by Fabius, and rejected by
him as too hazardous an experiment. He did
not, however, live to see the success of the Ro-
man arms under Scipio, and the conquest of
Carthage by measures which he treated with
contempt, and heard proposed with indignation.
He died in his 100th year, 202 B. C, after he
had been five times consul.
FABRICIUS,Caius, Luscirius, a truly heroic
and virtuous Roman, incorruptible at a time
when wealth was almost omnipotent, and pre-
serving a fearless bearing in the presence of
the mightiest. He lived at a time of danger to
the commonwealth, when Pyrrhus, king of Epi-
rus, had come to Italy, less for the purpose of
affording aid to the Tarentines, than of acquiring
a military reputation by conquering the masters
of the world. When he was sent on an em-
bassy to Pyrrhus for the purpose of redeeming
some prisoners, the king of Epirus attempted to
corrupt his fidelity by a bribe, which was indig-
nantly refused. The king on the next day or-
dered a curtain to be suddenly drawn, display-
ing to view an elephant of enormous size, a
creature hitherto unknown in Italy. The brave
Fabricius calmly said : — " Your elephant of to-
day moves me no more than your gold of yes-
terday." He died 275 B. C.
16
FAIRFAX, Thomas, lord ; was born at Den-
ton, in Yorkshire, in 1G11. He entered into the
service under lord Vere,in Holland, and on the
breaking out of the civil wars took part acrainst
the king. Afterwards, however, the jealousy
ol Cromwell disgusted him with the Puritans
although continued in the employ of the gov-
ernment. He assisted in the Restoration, was
reconciled to Charles II, and died in 1671.
FAIRIES. Almost all nations have, in igno-
rant times, possessed a strong belief in the su-
pernatural, which has been continued to the
present day, among the unenlightened. Wild
and terrific scenes were peopled by the imagi-
nation with fierce and fearful beings, while
flowery dells, sequestred glades, green and
smiling forests, and pleasant water-falls, were
selected as the haunts of a gentler, and more
graceful race of beings, than belongs to hu-
manity.
Pastoral nations delighted to picture forms of
miniature elegance, whose habitations were
delicate and fragrant flowers. The fairy queen,
Titania hung like a bee or butterfly, within
a hairbel, or led the gay dance by moonlight,
over roses, without bending the most fragile
floweret leaf beneath her footstep. The beings
called fairies were at first termed elves, the
word elf originating with the Saxons, who, from
remote antiquity, believed in them.
The Laplanders, Icelanders, and inhabitants
of Finland, believed in the existence of fairies.
Many affirmed that they had had intercourse
with them, and had been invited to their sub-
terranean retreats, where they were hospitably
entertained. The little men and women hand-
ed round wine and tobacco, with which the
mortal visiters were supplied in abundance, and
afterwards srnt them on their way, with good
advice, and an honorable escort. Up to this
lime, these people boast of mingling in the
magical ceremonies and dances of the fairies.
The word fairy is thought, by most writers,
to be derived from the Persian, and the charac-
ter of the English fairies and the Persian Peris
is similar. The Peris of the Orientals, are rep-
resented as females of exquisite beauty, and
great gentleness, who are not permitted to reside
in Heaven. They are not however of earth.
They live in the colors of the rainbow, amontr
the gorgeously-tinted clouds, and are nourished
by the fragrance of sweet flowers.
The Dives of the Persians were spirits of the
male sex, with habits and dispositions, directly
contrary to those of the Peris. They were ma-
levolent, cruel, and fierce, and described as
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hideous in their appearance. Huge spiral horns
sprang from their heads, their eyes were large
and staring, their claws sharp and their fangs
terrific. Covered with shaggy hair, and hav-
ing long rough tails, it seemed as if they pos-
sessed every deformity. The Dives warred
with mankind, and pursued the Peris with un-
relenting hatred. Their lives, however, were
limited, and they were not incapable of feeling
personal violence.
The fancies of the inhabitants of the East,
teem with supernatural beings. The Genii,
spirits of vast size,' were said to have been im-
prisoned by Solomon, who shut them up in
caskets, upon which he placed his seal. Some
were thrown into rivers. A fisherman once
drew one up from the bottom of a stream in his
net, and the vessel being opened, a dense smoke
arose from the interior. The smoke gradually
assumed the vast figure of a Genius. The
whole story is related in the Arabian Nights'
Entertainments.
Fairies of a certain class, such as the warlike
elves or fays, were believed to exist by all Eu-
ropean nations. During times of military en-
thusiasm, the fancy of warriors saw processions
of fairies, well-armed and mounted, bearing
gorgeous banners ; their weapons glittering in
the moonlight, or gleaming like lightning on
the darkness of the night. A Bohemian le-
gend says that a certain knight, travelling with
a friend, met one of these nocturnal processions,
and, disregarding the caution of his companion,-
spurred his horse forward to attack them.
Horse and rider were found dead upon the spot
in the morning.
The Swedes asserted that there was a certain
class of supernatural beings, pretty much the
same as the Brownies of Scotland, who assisted
the miners, labored in the shafts, and were far
more ingenious than mortal workmen.
The fairies of England were generally of a
harmless disposition. Oberon and Titania, the
fairy king and queen, were pleasant little peo-
ple, with a spice of humanity in their disposi-
tions. Robin Goodfellow was a mischievous
little creature, but not very spiteful. He was
represented like a rustic, " in a suit of leather,
close to his body, his hands and face russet col-
or, with a flail."
The Scottish fairies were certainly guilty of
great deviations from the path of honesty. One
of their greatest sins was that of stealing fine
children, from their cradles, and leaving in the
place of a healthy infant, a rickety and de-
formed being. The elves often stole away
wives from their husbands, and these women
were only to be regained by confronting the
fairy procession on a certain night, within a
day and a year, after the loss, which time was
allowed the bereaved mortals for restitution.
The electrical circles which are sometimes
found upon the turf weie believed to be fairy
rings, within which it was thought dangerous
to sleep, or to be found after sunset. The
Scotch fairies were of diminutive stature, of a
doubtful nature, capricious and very resentful.
The Scotch were afraid to speak of them dis-
respectfully, and even called malicious spirits,
" gude people."
These fairies lived in green hills, on which
they danced by moonlight. The interior of
their habitations is described -as presenting a
most beautiful appearance, brilliant with glit-
tering gold and gems, and containing every
thing which a splendid fancy could contrive.
But as " all is not gold that glitters," these fine
appearances are said to be a show, put on to
conceal a mean or repulsive reality.
These little beings are admirable riders, and
the best judges of horses in the world. They
go about in large companies by night, when
their presence is disclosed by the shrill, bell-like
ringing of their bridles. When the little men
find their steeds jaded,. they do not scruple to
continue their pleasure at the expense of mor-
tals. They steal horses, and ride them almost
to death. The animals are found in the morn-
ing in their stalls panting and flecked with
foam, with their manes and tails matted and
twisted. The shrewd reader will guess that
the fairies often had to bear the blame, which
belonged to careless grooms. »
A sailor, on the Isle of Man, who was riding
to visit his sister, was invited by a party of jolly
fairies who were hunting, to join them in their
excursion. Not being aware of the nature of
the little men, who made a gay appearance, as
they swept by in green dresses, riding to the
music of a mellow horn, Jack followed on, de-
lighted, and only learned his danger when he
arrived at his sister's house.
These diminutive huntsmen used to seize
upon the horses which English residents
brought over to the Isle of Man, and ride them
without ceremony. A gentleman of the island
attributed the loss of half a dozen capital hunt- '
ers, to the little men in green.
Sometimes they were more honest, and paid
good money for horses, to which they took a
fancy. A man who had a fine hoise to sell,
was once riding his steed among the moun
FAI
243
FAU
tains, when a dapper little gentleman stepped up,
and examined it. He made the animal show
his paces, and, after some haggling about the
price, bought him. All this was well enough;
but when the seller dismounted, the purchaser,
having fixed himself in the saddle, sank, through
the earth with his bargain. The man who be-
held all this, was somewhat startled, but as there
was no mistake about the hard red gold which
he had received from the fairy horseman, he
put it in his pocket, and marched off.
The Brownies were singular beings. The
Brownie attached himself to some family, per-
forming menial offices with a good grace, like a
hired servant. But unlike a servant, he did
not labor in the hope of wages, on the contrary
an offer of recompense drove this delicate gen-
tleman away. He was fond of stretching him-
self at length before the fire, like a dog, and
this appeared to give him the highest satis-
faction.
An amusing anecdote is told concerning this
habit. A Brownie who had attached himself
to a certain house, used to hover round the
kitchen, uneasy if the servants sat up late,
which prevented him from occupying his place
upon the hearth. Sometimes the impatient
Brownie appeared at the door, and admonished
the servants in the following terms — " Gang a'
to your beds, sirs, and dinna put out the wee
grieshoch." — thus anglicised, " Go to your
beds, all of you, and do n't put out the few em-
bers." The Brownie left the hearth at the first
crow of the cock.
The inhabitants of Germany believe to this
day, that there exists a race called the Stilte
Volke, the silent people. To every family of
eminence, a family of the Stille Volke is attach-
ed, containing just as many members as the
mortal family. When the lady of the mortal
family becomes a mother, the queen of the
Stille Volke enjoys the same blessing, and the
silent people endeavor to ward off any injury
which threatens those whom they protect.
It would be impossible to enumerate all the
different sprites with which superstition has
filled the woods, waters, hills, and valleys of
Europe. A few of the most agreeable elves
have been touched upon. It is not worth while
to present the darker features of a gloomy super-
stition, to the contemplation of the young. The
Kelpies and the wild Huntsmen have found no
place in this sketch.
The legends of the Irish are generally gay,
exhibiting the character of that poor, but pleas-
ant people. The Irish fairies are spruce little
gentlemen, and merry little ladies, who trip it
away with blithe hearts, and light footsteps
upon their favorite and beautiful places of re-
sort. Poor people delight to describe wealth
and splendor, which they do not possess, and
accordingly, in the tales of the Irish, the pala-
ces of the " good people," are full of gold and
brilliance.
FALCONER, William, a pleasing English
poet, born in 1730, and brought up to the sea.
An occurrence in his own life forms the ground-
work of his poem the shipwreck. He was lost
at sea.
FALIERI, Marino, doge of Venice, in the
]4th century, having, previously to his eleva-
tion, gained some brilliant victories for the
republic. Michael Steno, a young patrician,
having conceived himself injured, revenged
himself by some offensive lines directed against
the honor of the doge's wife. For this he was
only punished by a temporary confinement, and
the doge, burning for revenge, found a plan for
punishing the aristocracy and annihilating the
power of the senate. This, however, was dis-
covered, and Falieri put to death in 1355. Lord
Byron and Casimir Delavigne have made this
story the subject of two powerful dramas.
FALKIRK, a town of Scotland, between the
Forth and Clyde, where the army of Scots com-
manded by Cumyn and Sir Wm. Wallace, was
defeated by Edward I, of England. But in
January 1746 the scene was reversed by the
defeat of the English.
FALKLAND'S ISLANDS, a group com-
prising two large and numerous small islands,
mountainous and boggy, in the South Atlantic
ocean, East of the Straits of Magellan. The
harbor of Port Louis is a convenient watering
place for whale sloops.
FANTIN,orFANTEE ; an African country
on the gold coast, the inhabitants of which,
40,000 in number, are courageous but cunning,
living under an aristocratical form of govern-
ment.
FAROE or FAROER ; a group in the North-
ern ocean between Iceland and Shetland, be-
longing to Denmark. Population (in 1812),
5209. =
FARQUHAR, George, an actor and soldier,
but chiefly remarkable for the ability of his dra-
matic works, born in Londonderry, Ireland, in
1678, died in 1707.
FAUST, a goldsmith of Mentz, to whom the
invention of the art of printing is attributed.
He died in 1466.
FAUST, doctor John, a dealer in the black
FAU
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FEO
art, who lived in the 16th century. He was a
student of Wittemberg, but abandoned theology
for magic. This personage is often confounded
with the preceding. He figures in many old
romances and tales, English and German. The
following is a sketch of one of these, u the His-
tory of the Damnable Life and Deserved Death
of Doctor John Faustus." This romance is a
translation from the German. It is filled " up
to the blue," with magic and supernatural hor-
rors, and acquires new interest from the fact
that it embodies the same old German tradition,
upon which Goethe founded his wild drama of
Faust. Faustus is first introduced as a student
of the University of Wittemberg, where he is
made Doctor of Divinity, but soon after gives
himself up entirely to the study of the Black
Art. He makes a compact with the devil, by
which the latter is to serve him in all his desires
for the space of twenty-four years, at the ex-
piration of which he is to deliver himself up,
body and soul, to the destroyer. This compact
is written with his own blood, and straightway
Mephistophiles becomes his familiar spirit. Gen-
erally speaking, this spirit is obedient to the
wishes of Faustus, but when the Doctor puts
an improper question, or tries to do a good ac-
tion, Mephistophiles dragoons him into propri-
ety by a rabble rout of imps, or frightens him
with a cock and a bull story about the other
world, giving him a foretaste of the pleasant
pastime of being " tossed upon pitchforks from
one devil to another." On one occasion, in
particular, a great procession of evil spirits came
to torment him, in which procession Lucifer
appears " in a manner of a man all hairy, but of
a brown color like a squirrel, curled, and his
tail turning upwards on his back as the squirrels
use. / think he could crack nuts too like a squir-
rel."
Then a minute account is given of Faustus's
journey to Tartarus, and through the air, and
among the planets, and afterwards through the
most famous kingdoms of the earth, whereby
it appears that he, and not Columbus, was the
discoverer of America. Of course the magic
doctor was deeply read in all mysteries, and he
certainly discourses wisely upon comets, and
falling stars, and other marvels. One chapter
relates " how Faustus was asked a question con-
cerning Thunder." His answer is certainly
very luminous for a Doctor in Divinity, and
the Black Art. " It hath commonly been seen
heretofore," says he," that before a thunder-clap
fell a shower of rain, or a gale of wind: for
commonly after wind falleth rain, and after
rain a thunder-clap, such thickness comes to
pass when the four winds meet together in the
heavens, the airy clouds are by force beaten
against the fixed crystal firmament, but when
the airy clouds meet with the firmament, they
are congealed, and so strike, and rush against
the firmament, as great pieces of ice when they
meet on the waters ; then each other sounded
in our ears; and that we call thunder." After-
wards comes a series of the Doctor's merry
conceits, showing how he practised necroman-
cy ; how he transported three young dukes
through the air from Wittemberg to Munich ;
and how one of them fell from the magic cloak,
on which they sailed through the air, and was
left behind at Munich, being " strucken into an
exceeding dumps." We are also told how he
pawned his leg to a Jew ; how he eat a load of
hay, and how he cheated a horse-jockey, and
conjured the wheels from a clown's waggon,
with many other wonders of a similar nature.
And finally, we are informed that, at the end
of the appointed time, the evil one came for him
between 12 and 1 o'clock at night, and after
dashing his brains out against the wall, left his
body in the yard, " most monstrously torn and
fearful to behold."
FAWKES, Guy, the principal agent in the
gunpowder plot, in the reign of James I, who,
being discovered, and having betrayed his ac-
complices to the number of eighty, was execu-
ted in 1605. (See Gunpowder Plot.)
FAYAL, one of the Azores, ten miles in
diameter, containing 22,000 inhabitants. It
rises in the form of a dome, and is extremely
fertile.
FAYETTE, General la. (See La Fayette.)
FENELON, Francois de Salignac de la
Motte, the venerable archbishop of Cambray,
was born in 1651. He preached at the age of
15 with success, and was appointed archbishop
of Cambray in 1694. He had great success in
converting the Huguenots but it was by means
of mild persuasion and not of infuriate threats.
He superintended the education of the dukes
of Burgundy, Anjou, and Berri, the grandsons
of Louis XIV. Fenelon died in 1715. His
literary productions are numerous, but his most
celebrated work is Les .^ventures de Tilimaque,
which inculcates a pure system of morality in
the most pleasing and interesting manner.
FEODAL or FEUDAL LAWS, the tenure
of land, by suit and service, to the lord or owner
of it, introduced into England by the Saxons
about 600. This slavery increased under Wil-
liam I, 1068, who, dividing the kingdom into
FER
245
FIS
baronies, gave them to certain persons, and re-
quired these persons to furnish the King with
money and a stated number of soldiers. The
feudal system was discountenanced in France
by Louis XI, about 1410, was limited in Eng-
land by Henry VII, in 141)5; but abolished by
statute 12th Charles II, 1662.
FERDINAND V,surnamed the Catholic, son
of John II, King of Arragon, was born in 1453.
He married Isabella, queen of Castile, but was
allowed only a small share in the government.
In 10 years he conquered the Moors of Grena-
da, and expelled them from Spain in 1492.
He acquired Naples and Navarre, and, during
his reign, America was discovered by Colum-
bus. He died in 1516 of the dropsy. His
policy was despotic, and his character was
stained by the introduction of the Inquisition.
(See Inquisition.)
FERDINAND VII, of Spain, the son of
Charles IV. and Maria Louisa de Bourbon was
born October 14, 1784, and in 1801, he married
Maria Antonia Theresa de Bourbon, who died
of a violent medicine, after having been inju-
riously treated, in 180G. Ferdinand had four
wives, the last of whom was Maria Christiana,
daughter of Francis I, King of Naples. Fer-
dinand was pardoned by Charles IV for entering
into a conspiracy against his life, but the peo-
ple could not be persuaded of the innocence of
the monarch, or the guilt of his son, and on the
19th of March, 1808, Charles was forced to
abdicate in favor of Ferdinand VII. Ferdinand
was invited to Burgos by Napoleon, and abdi-
cated after mature deliberation, Joseph Bona-
parte being appointed to supply his place.
Ferdinand remained at Valencay until the end
of 1813. On his return to Spain, he professed
to entertain liberal principles, but he abolished
the Cortez, and till 1820 sanctioned what is
termed the reign of terror in Spain. On the
entrance of the French into Spain in 1823, a
regency was formed, and the king went to
Cadiz, whence he corresponded with the
enemy. After re-assuming his authority he
continued his despotic proceedings. Ferdinand
died in 1833. The affairs of Spain are now in
an unsettled state. Don Carlos, the brother of
Ferdinand, and his infant daughter being sup-
ported by two opposite parties, as the true sov-
ereigns.
FERGUSON, James, an experimental phi-
losopher, mechanist, and astronomer, was born
in Keith in 1710. While a shepherd, he watch-
ed the stars by night, and at an early age,
constructed a celestial globe. For some years
he supported himself in Edinburgh by his tal-
ents as a miniature painter. In 1703 he was
chosen member of the Royal Society. He
died in 1770. His works are numerous.
FERNANDEZ, or JUAN FERNANDEZ,
a fertile island 4 leagues long, and 2 wide, 100
leagues from the coast of Chili. Here Alexan-
der Selkirk, a Scotch mariner, lived alone from
the year 1705 to 1709.
FERRARA, a duchy in upper Italy, for a
long time ruled by the house of Este, now
forming part of the States of the Church.
FESCH, Joseph, Cardinal, the uncle of Na-
poleon Bonaparte, and archbishop of Lyons,
was born at Ajaccio. He received various
employments and honors from his illustrious
nephew
FEZ, part of Mauritania, formerly a distinct
and powerful kingdom, but now a province of
Morocco. Although fertile, the Moors permit a
large portion of the land to remain uncultivat-
ed. It contains about 890,000 square miles
The city of Fez, built in 793, by Edris, con-
tains about 100,000 inhabitants.
FEZZAN, anciently PHAZANIA, is a
country of Africa South of Tripoli. The vege-
tation is luxuriant, although the climate is un-
pleasant. No exact estimate of the population
has been made. It perhaps amounts to rather
more than 100,000.
FIELDING, Henry, was born at Sharpham
Park, Somersetshire, April 22, 1707. His dra-
matic pieces, of which he wrote a number, do
not display the talent which his novels exhibit.
The latter, although tainted with frequent
grossness, display inimitable tact, drollery, and
knowledge of life. Fielding speedily dissipated
the fortune he received from his wife, and re-
sorted to the bar for support. Here his success
was not great, and his pen gave him the means
of life. He died in Lisbon, whither he went
on account of ill health, August 1754.
FINGAL, an ancient prince of Morven, a
province of Caledonia, born in 282. He was
the determined enemy of the Romans, and is
celebrated by Ossian, who represents him as
his father.
FINLAND, a grand principality of Russia,
containing 135,600 square miles, and 1,378,500
inhabitants. But little of the soil is fit for the
purposes of agriculture, and hunting forms the
principal resource of the hardy population.
Finland formerly belonged to Sweden, but was
conquered by a Russian army in 1808.
FISHER, John a Catholic bishop of Roches
ter, was born in 1459. He was a prelate more
FLE
246
FLO
eminent for his learning and virtues, than for
ecclesiastical dignities and royal favor. Having
refused to acknowledge the spiritual supremacy
of Henry VIII, Fisher was thrown into prison,
and, after twelve months confinement, was con-
demned and executed, on the 22d of June, 1535.
FLANDERS, formerly a province of the
Austrian Netherlands, now forming the Belgic
Provinces of East and West Flanders. East
Flanders, contains 718,000 inhabitants ; and
West Flanders 580,000. Both parts are ex-
tremely fertile and the Flemings are extensive-
ly employed in manufactures. The Franks
siezed upon Flanders about 412, and in 8G4 it
was granted to Baldwin I, with the title of count
of Flanders, the sovereignty being reserved to
France. The country, by the marriage of Philip,
duke of Burgundy, with Margaret, daughter of
Lewis de Malatin, earl of Flanders, in 1309,
came to the house of Burgundy ; and it passed
to the house of Austria by the marriage of Ma-
ry, daughter and heiress of Charles the Bold, to
Maximilian, emperor of Germany. Still the
sovereignty was in Fiance till 1525, when
Charles V, taking Francis I, prisoner, at Pavia,
released it from that servitude. In 1550,
Charles resigned these territories to his son
Philip, king of Spain. The whole of this coun-
try was conquered by the French in 1794 ; but
only part of it now remains in their posses-
sion, forming the French department of the
north.
FLEETWOOD, Charles, a parliamentary
general in the civil wars, the son of Sir Wil-
liam Fleetwood, knight, cup-bearer to James I,
and Charles I, and comptroller of Woodstock
park. In 1044, the subject of this article was
made colonel of horse, and governor of Bristol.
He was afterwards raised to the rank of lieuten-
ant-general, and had a share in the defeat of
Charles II at Worcester. On the death of Ire-
ton, Fleetwood married his widow, and being
now related to Cromwell, was appointed deputy
of Ireland, in which place he was succeeded by
Cromwell's younger son Henry. Fleetwood
joined in deposing Richard, and after the res-
toration he became one of the council of State,
and commander-in-chief of the forces, but after-
ward retired to private life at Stoke Newing-
ton, where he died soon after.
FLETCHER, John, son to the bishop of
London, a famous dramatic writer, (see Beau-
mont and Fletcher).
FLEURUS or FLERUS ; a town of Belgi-
um, in the province of Hainault, on the Sambre,
six miles N. E. of Charleroi. Population 2400.
Four battles have been fought here. In 1622
the troops of Spain and Germany were matched
against each other. In 1090 the French defeat-
ed the allies here with great loss. In 1794 the
French gained a complete victory over the Aus-
trians, and it was on this occasion that aerosta-
tion was found to be of practical use. Coutel,
the chief of the aerostatic corps, ascended with
a general and adjutant, in a balloon of great
size, hovered over the enemy, and reconnoitered
their works. The information thus gained was
conveyed to the French by means of signal
flags. During the process of inflation, the fire
of a batteiy was opened upon the assistants,
and as the balloon ascended for the first time, a
cannon ball passed between its neck and the
gondola. Soon, however, the daring aeronauts
attained a safe elevation, and could see beneath
them the then harmless cannon fruitlessly dis-
charging their shot into the upper air. The
fourth battle, called the battle of Ligny, was
fought on June 10, 1815, between the Prussians
and French and was desperately contested.
FLEURY, Andre Hercule de, cardinal, pre-
ceptor to Louis XV, became prime minister on
the disgrace and fall of his rival, the duke of
Bourbon. His administration was conducted
with great skill and address ; commerce and
industry flourished under him, and he had the
fortune to conciliate the differences between
the courts of London and Madrid. He died in
1743.
FLORA, so called by the Romans, the god-
dess of flowers. Her Greek name was Chloris.
Her festivals were celebrated with many licen-
tious practices.
FLORENCE, capital of the grand-duchy of
Tuscany, one of the most beautiful cities of
Italy, justly deserving the name which has been
bestowed on it — Florence the Fair. It contains
70,000 inhabitants. It is interesting from its
historical associations, and from the invaluable
monuments of art which it contains, and with
which the Florentine gallery is crowded. The
Pitti palace, the cathedral, the church of St.
Croce, the church del Carmine, &c., can never
be sufficiently admired. The revival of the arts
took place here, and thence the regeneration of
Europe followed.
FLORIAN, a French dramatic writer, novel-
ist, and fabulist, married a niece of Voltaire.
He was a member of the French academy, and
died Sept. 13, 1794.
FLORIDA, a territory of the United States,
bounded N. by Alabama and Georgia, E. by the
Atlantic, S. and W. by the gulf of Mexico, 140
FOH
247
FOU
miles broad, and 400 miles long. It was divided
into E. and W. Florida in 1763, but at present
is subdivided into counties. The largest river,
the St. Johns, is navigable for 200 miles. The
country, is with few exceptions, level, and fer-
tile, although but little cultivated. Its majestic
forests give it a peculiar and picturesque ap-
pearance. Intermixed with the dark glossy
leaves of the oaks appear flowers of the most
vivid and varied colors. Groves of magnolias,
cover immense tracts of land, bending beneath
the weight of their snowy blossoms, and fill the
air with perfume. Florida was discovered in
1512, by Juan Ponce de Leon, in his famous
search after the fabulous fountain which was
to restore health and beauty to the aged, on
Palm Sunday, (Pascua Florida), and hence the
name.
The French and Spaniards long made it the
theatre of contest, but at length the Spaniards
were established in the town and fort of St.
Augustine. In 1763, Florida was ceded to
Great Britain, in exchange for the island of
Cuba. In 1781 the Spanish governor, don Gal-
vez, conquered West Florida, which remained
in the possession of Spain until the peace of
1783, whereby Great Britain relinquished both
provinces to Spain. A negotiation for the trans-
fer of the whole province to the United States
was consummated by treaty in 1819 ; the treaty
was ratified by Spain in October, 1820, and
General Jackson took possession of it for the
United States in February, 1821.
FLOYD, William, the first delegate from
New York, who signed the declaration of Amer-
ican Independence, born on Long Island, Dec.
17, 1734. The inheritor of a large estate, he
was one of those who, like Charles Carroll, set
his all at stake, and his property was laid waste
by the British troops. After having command-
ed the militia of Long Island, and served as
senator, he removed, in 1803, to a farm on the
Mohawk river, where he died, Aug. 4, 1821,
aged 87 years.
FLUSHING, a fortified city, on the S. side
of the island of Walcheren, in the Netherlands.
Population 4,500. It carries on an active com-
merce with the East Indies. It was invested
by lord Chatham in 1809, and capitulated, but
was evacuated by the British on the 23d of De-
cember.
FO, FOE, or FOHI, the founder of the Chi-
nese religion, said to have been born in Cash-
mere, about 1027 B. C. Miracles attended his
birth, and were performed by him in after life.
His priests are called, in China, Leng; in Tar-
tary, Lamas; in Siam, Talapoins; and in Eu-
rope, Bonzes.
FOL A RD, chevalier Charles de, a celebrated
tactician, born at Avignon in 1669. He was
aide-de-camp under the duke de Vendome in
1702, was wounded in the battle of Cassano,
and made prisoner at Blenheim. He next served
against the Turks, and then entered into the
service of Charles XII, during the latter part of
his career. He died at Avignon, in 1752.
FONTAINE, Jean de la, one of the most dis-
tinguished literary men in the reign of Louis
XIV, born in 1621. Fontaine was educated at
Rheims, and went to Paris, where he lived in
habits of intimacy with the wits of the age. He
died at Paris, in 1G95, aged 74. The most sim-
ple of men in private lite, his writings exhibit
shrewdness and a knowledge of mankind, which
place them above the reach of imitation. His
early works are tainted with licentiousness.
FONTAINEBLEAU, a town of France, 13
leagues S. S. E. of Paris, with a splendid palace
and a military academy. It is famous, in di-
plomatic history, as the place where several
treaties have been concluded. It was here that
Napoleon signed his first abdication, April 11th,
1814, and bade an affectionate farewell to his
devoted troops.
FONTENOY, a village of Belgium, where
the French, headed by Louis XV, defeated the
allies under the command of the duke of Cum-
berland, April 30, 1745.
FOOTE, Samuel, a comic dramatist, and ac-
tor, born at Truro, Cornwall, in 1721, died at
Dover, in October, 1777. He was a grest mimic
and a man of wit. A gentleman, who was the
fortunate possessor of some fine Constantia wine,
after praising its good qualities, invited Foote to
taste some. A very small bottle was produced,
together with a very small glass, which the nig-
gardly host half filled. The wag swallowed
this immediately. " Well, Foote," said his en-
tertainer, " what do you think of that? It is
47 years old." " What do I think ?" replied
the wit ; " why, sir, I think it's very little for
its age."
FORLI, anciently Forum Livii, belongs to
the States of the Church, contains 12,900 in-
habitants, and is 14 miles S. S. W. of Ravenna.
FORMOSA, an island in the Chinese sea,
240 miles long, and GO broad, distinguished for
its admirable fertility, and the quality of its
fruits.
FORTUNA, the sister of the Fates, the god-
dess of success among the Greeks and Romans.
FOULAHS, FOOLAHS, or FELLA-
FOX
248
FOX
TAHS, a nation of Central Africa, extending
from the Atlantic to Darfoor. Mr. Hodgson says ;
"Of all the nations of Central Africa described
by captain Clapperton, the Fellatahs are the most
remarkable. The publication of his first jour-
ney to Soudan represented this people as inhab-
iting the country of the Negroes, but differing
from them essentially in physical character.
They have straight hair, noses moderately ele-
vated, the parietal bones not so compressed as
those of the Negro, nor is their forehead so
much arched. The color of their skin is a light
bronze, like that of the Wadreagans, or Melano-
Gostulians, and by this characteristic alone can
they be classed in the Ethiopian variety of the
human species. The Fellatahs are a warlike
race of shepherds, and have, within a short pe-
riod, subjugated an extensive portion of Soudan.
The lamented Major Laing, who arrived at
Timbuctoo, assures us that they were in pos-
session of that far-famed city. It was an order
from the Fellatah governor which compelled
him to leave Timbuctoo, and to his instigation
or connivance is his death probably to be attri-
buted. Mungo Park was killed by a party of
these people, while descending the Quorra.
They may be supposed to occupy the banks of
this unknown river, from its rise to its termi-
nation."
FOUQ.UIER-TINVILLE, Anthony Quen-
tin, an attorney, born in 1747, rendered his name
infamous during the revolution. He obtained
from Robespierre the post of public accuser,
but was put to death as one of the revolutionary
tribunal, May 7, 1795.
FOX, George, founder of the society of Qua-
kers, or Friends, was born at Drayton, in Lei-
cestershire, in 1G24. The name of Quakers
was bestowed upon the sect at Derby, from their
trembling method of delivery, and from their
exhortations to tremble before the Lord. He
was persecuted, and imprisoned several times,
and died, in consequence of the hardships he
had suffered in lG'JO, in the G7lh year of his
age.
FOX, Charles James, second son of Henry
Fox, first lord Holland, was born, Jan. 14, 1748.
He received his education at Eton, where he
distinguished himself by his classical exercises.
From that seminary he removed to Hertford
college, Oxford, after which he went on his
travels ; and in 1768 was returned to parliament
for Midhurst. In 1770 he was appointed a
commissioner of the admiralty, which place he
resigned in 1772, and soon after obtained a
place at the treasury board. Some differences
arising between him and lord North, he was
dismissed in 1774, and from that time took a
leading part in the opposition. "On his first
separation from the ministry,'" says Butler, " Mr.
Fox assumed the character of a whig.
" Almost the whole of his political life was
spent in opposition to his majesty's ministers.
In vehemence and power of argument he re-
sembled Demosthenes; but there the resem-
blance ended. He possessed a strain of ridicule
and wit, which nature denied to the Athenian;
and it was the more powerful, as it always ap-
peared to be blended with argument, and to
result from it. To the perfect composition
which so. eminently distinguished the speeches
of Demosthenes, he had no pretence. He was
heedless of method : — having the complete
command of good words, he never sought for
better; if those, which occurred, expressed his
meaning clearly and fo cibly, he paid little at-
tention to their arrangement or harmony.
" The moment of his grandeur was, when,
after he had stated the argument of his adver-
sary, with much greater strength than his ad-
versary had done, and with much greater than
any of his hearers thought possible, he seized
it with the strength of a giant, and tore and
trampled on it to destruction. If, at this mo-
ment, he had possessed the power of the Athe-
nian over the passions or the imaginations of
his hearers, he might have disposed of the house
at his pleasure ; but this was denied to him ;
and, on this account, his speeches fell very short
of the effect, which otherwise they must have
produced."
In 1780 he was elected for Westminister, ,
which, with a slight interruption, he continued
to represent to his death. When the Rocking-
ham party came into power, Mr. Fox was ap-
pointed secretary of state for foreign affairs.
On the dissolution of this administration, by the
death of the chief, a coalition was formed be-
tween Mr. Fox and lord North, who, with their
respective adherents, came again into office,
until the introduction of the India bill occasion-
ed their final dismissal in 1734. In 1788, Mr.
Fox travelled, but while in Italy, he was recalled
in consequence of the king's insanity. On this
great occasion, he maintained that the prince
of Wales had a right to assume the regency :
which was opposed by Mr. Pitt and the Parlia-
ment. The next remarkable event in the pub-
lic life of Mr. Fox was the part he took with
regard to the French revolution. That change
he hailed as a blessing, while Burke denounced
it as a curse ; and this difference of sentiment
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FRA
produced a schism in the party which was never
repaired. On the death of Mr. Pitt, in 1806,
Mr. Fox came again into office, as secretary of
state ; but he died Sept. 13, 1806, and his remains
were interred in Westminister Abbey.
FRANCE, a vast country of Europe, com-
prising 213,800 square miles, 32,000,000 inhab-
itants. In 1824 the total value of exports was
440,542,000 francs; of imports, in the same
year, 451,861,000 francs. In 1829, the revenue
was 986,156,821 francs, and the expenditures,
908,186,158 francs. Public debt, 3,000,000,000
francs. France is divided into 86 departments ;
85 are formed of the old provinces ; the 86th
was united to France in 1791.
The departments formed from the six north-
ern provinces are the department of the North,
Pas-de-Calais, Somme, Lower Seine, Erere,
Calvados, Manche, Orne, Seine, Seine-et-Oise,
Seine-et-Marne, Oise, Aisne, Aube, Upper
Marne, Marne, and Ardennes. The depart-
ments formed from the six provinces of the east,
are Meurthe, Moselle, Meuse, Vosges, Lower
Rhine, Upper Rhine, Doubs, Upper Saone,
Jura, Cote-d'or, Yonne, Saone-et-Loire, Ain,
Rhone, Loire, Isere, Drome, Upper Alps. The
departments formed from the seven provinces
of the south, are the Mouths of the Rhone,
Lower Alps, Var, Upper Garonne, Tarn, Aude,
Herault, Gard, Lozere, Upper Loire, Ardeche,
Eastern, Pyrenees, Ariege, Lower Pyrenees,
Gironde, Dordogne, Lot-et-Garonne, Lot, Ave-
gron, Tarn-et-Garonne, Landes, Gers, Upper
Pyrenees, Corsica. The departments formed
from the six provinces of the west, are Cha-
rente, Lower Charente, Vienne, Deux-Sevres, la
Vendee, Maine-et-Loire, Ule-et-Vilaine, Cotes-
du-Nord, Finesterre, Morbihan, Lower Loire,
Sarthe, Mayenne. The departments formed
from the eight central provinces are, Loiret,
Eure-et-Loir, Loir-et-Cher, Indre-et-Lore, Cher,
Indre, Nievre, Allier, Creuse, Upper Vi-
enne, Correze, Puy-du-D6me, Cantal, and Vau-
cluse.
France was called by the Romans, Transal-
pine Gaul, or Gaul beyond the Alps, to distin-
guish it from Cisalpine Gaul, on the Italian
side of the Alps. Like other countries, it soon
became a desirable object to the ambitious Ro-
mans; and, after a brave resistance, was an-
nexed to their empire by the invincible arms
of Julius Caesar, about 48 years B. C. Gaul
continued in the possession of the Romans until
the downfal of that empire, in the 5th century.
About 420, under the conduct of Pharamond,
the Franks, an ancient people of Westphalia,
commenced the conquest of the Gauls. The
Franks originated the Salic law by which the
sovereignty is rendered hereditary only in the
male line. The Franks and Burgundians, after
establishing their power, and reducing the Gauls
to a state of slavery, parceled out the lands
among their principal leaders ; and succeeding
kings found it necessary to confirm their privi-
leges, allowing them to exercise sovereign au-
thority in their respective governments^ until
they, at length, assumed an independence, only
acknowledging the king as their head. This
gave rise to those numerous principalities that
formerly existed in France, and to the several
parliaments ; for every province became, in its
policy and government, an epitome of the king-
dom.
The first Christian monarch of the Franks
was Clovis, son of the chivalrous Childeric, who
is regarded as the true founder of the monarchy.
He expelled the Romans, and gained the bril-
liant victory of Tolbiac over the Germans. He
is celebrated by the vow which he made to em-
brace the Christian religion at the solicitation
of his wife Clotilda, and was baptized at Rheims.
The first race of French kings, prior to Charle-
magne, found a cruel enemy in the Saracens,
who then overran Europe, and retaliated the
barbarities of the Goths and Vandals upon their
posterity. In the year 800, Charlemagne, king
of France, the glory of these dark ages, became
master of Germany, Spain, and part of Italy,
and was crowned king of the Romans by the
pope. He divided his empire by will among
his sons, which proved fatal to his family and
their posterity. Soon after this the Normans
ravaged the kingdom of France, and, about the
year 900, obliged the French to yield up Nor-
mandy and Bretagne to Rollo, their leader, who
married the king's daughter and was persuaded
to profess himself a Christian. This laid the
foundation of the Norman power in France :
which afterwards gave a king to England, in
the person of William, duke of Normandy, who
subdued Harold, the last Saxon king, in the
year 1066. In the reign of Philip I, in 1060,
were commenced the crusades. In 1108, Philip
was succeeded by his son Louis the Fat, or
Louis VI, who engaged in a war with Henry
I, of England. Louis VII, surnamed the
Young, marched into Champagne in the year
1137, and having surprised the city of Vetry,
met with no resistance, except in the parochial
church, which he caused to be set on fire; in
consequence of which 1,300 persons perished
in the flames. Philip II, or Philip-Augustus,
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FRA
his son and successor, in 1150, and Richard I,
of England, undertook a joint expedition to the
holy land, in 1191; but the former returning
to Europe in disgust, the latter was obliged to
relinquish the enterprise.
Philip II was succeeded by his son, Louis
the Lion, in 1223. He was poisoned after a
short reign of three years, and was succeeded
in 1226, by his son Louis IX, commonly styled
St. Louis, who engaged in a new crusade against
the infidels in Egypt and Palestine, in which
himself and his nobility were taken prisoners.
Having been afterwards ransomed, he led an
army against the infidels of Africa, where he
died in 1270, before Tunis.
His son and successor, Philip III, kept the
field against the Moors, and saved the remains
of the French army ; and this procured him the
surname of the Hardy. In the reign of Philip
IV,surnamed the Fair, who succeeded in 1285,
the Supreme tribunals, called parliaments, were
instituted ; and the knights templars, a military
order, that had undertaken the defence of the
temple of Jerusalem, were suppressed and ex-
tirpated. The first branch of Capetian kings
ended with Charles IV, who left only a daugh-
ter; and the states having solemnly decreed
that all females were incapable of succeeding
to the crown, Philip de Valois, the next male
heir, was raised to the throne in 1328.
Edward III of England having claimed the
French crown, hostilities commenced, and the
English gained the battle of Crecy in 1346, and
Poictiers in 1356; but, about the end of the 14th
century, the French recovered all the provinces
which the English had conquered in France.
A civil war raging, Henry V, king of England,
took advantage of these disorders, and invaded
France in 1415. He made himself master of
Harfleur, and gained the famous battle of Agin-
court, in which the French lost an incredible
number of men. In 1420 the succession to the
French throne was secured to the king of Eng-
land by treat}' ; in consequence of which, the
infant, Henry VI, was crowned king of France
at Paris. By degrees, Charles VII recovered
possession of the kingdom, in which he was
greatly assisted by Joan of Arc, a pretended
prophetess, who raised the siege of Orleans, and
defeated the English ; but being taken prisoner,
this gallant girl was barbarously burned for al-
leged sorcery.
On the death of Charles VIII, who was the
last prince of the first line of the house of Va-
lois, the duke of Orleans ascended the throne,
under the title of Louis XII, and was so hu-
mane, generous, and indulgent to his subjects,
that he obtained the appellation of Father of
his people. Francis I, one of the most distin-
guished of the kings of France, succeeded him.
He ascended the throne in 1515, at the age of
21, and died in 1547. He conquered the Milan-
ese in 1525, but was taken prisoner at the siege
of Pavia. In 1535 he possessed himself of Sa-
voy, but was afterwards defeated. On the ac-
cession of Francis II, commenced those civil
commotions which harassed France during 30
years. The king was instigated to attempt the
extirpation of the Protestants, who, by way of
reproach, were denominated Huguenots. The
minority and reign of Charles IX exhibited a
series of treacheries, commotions, and assassina-
tions; and France became a field of war and
bloodshed. The massacre of St. Bartholomew's
disgraced the age. Henry III was a weak and
debauched prince ; and in him ended the line
of Valois. On his death, the crown devolved
on the house of Bourbon, in the person of Hen-
ry IV, king of Navarre, who was descended
from Robert of France, count of Clermont, the
fifth and last son of Saint Louis. Henry was
the son of Antony of Bourbon, duke of Ven-
dome and Jeanne d'Albret, heiress of Navarre.
He was justly styled the Great, being one of
the best and most amiable of the French prin-
ces ; but he perished by the hand of an assassin
in 1610.
Under the minority and in the reign of Louis
XIII, France returned to its former state of
disorder and wretchedness, and cardinal Rich-
elieu, the prime minister, rendered the power
of the crown absolute. The reign of Louis
XIV, was long and brilliant. The great Conde
compelled the emperor Ferdinand III, and
Christiana, queen of Sweden, to conclude the
peace of Westphalia. But the unbounded am-
bition of Louis rendered him odious or formi-
dable to every prince in Europe. The united
forces of England, Holland, and Austria, obliged
him to conclude the peace of Ryswick in 1697,
and that of Utretcht in 1713. He reigned 73
years from 1642, to 1715. William III was the
great enemy of Louis XIV. In 1702, he organ-
ized a new confederacy of the powers of Eu-
rope against him, but died before hostilities
commenced. The English duke of Marlbo-
rough, who led the allied forces, gained, in 1704,
the battle of Blenheim, which was followed by
other victories. But, in 1715, this bloody and
useless contest was terminated by the peace of
Utretcht, though Louis succeeded in placing
his grandson on the throne of Spain.
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At the age of five years, his great grandson
ascended the throne, under the title of Louis
XV. In conjunction with Germany, Russia, and
Sweden, France, in this reign, twice contended
against Prussia and Great Britain. These wars
were concluded in 1748, and in 1763. Louis
XVI assumed the crown of France in 1774,
under the most unfortunate auspices. He found
a court abandoned to the utmost extravagance,
and the country loaded with an enormous debt.
The king convoked an assembly of the nota-
bles, consisting of princes, deputies chosen from
among the nobility, dignified clergy, the par-
liaments, and the pays d'6tat.
It was proposed to establish a land tax, with-
out any exception in favor of the nobility or
clergy. This proposal being followed by a gen-
eral refusal, the assembly of the notables was
dissolved, and the minister thought he could
make a more advantageous bargain with the
parliaments. But as the latter remonstrated,
and advanced the opinion, that the right of im-
posing new taxes belonged only to the states
general, the king convoked them in 1789.
Necker's indiscreet measure, by which it was
stipulated that the numbers of the tiers etat
(third estate) should be, at least, equal to that
of the other two orders conjointly, threw the
preponderance into the scale of the former, who
could not fail to find many adherents in the
superior classes. As soon as the deputies of
the third order had formed themselves into a
national assembly, the other orders were led
away by their impulsive force, and the equilib-
rium was entirely destroyed.
The storm of popular fury gathered and broke
rapidly. On the 14th of July, 1780, the Bastile
was taken. On the 4th of August the privi-
leges of the nobility were suppressed. On the
5th of October, 1789, the king, queen, and royal
family were forced from Versailles by the mob,
and brought captive to the capital. However,
the monarch disconcerted the schemes of his
adversaries by a free acceptance of the new
constitution, which abolished the feudal system,
and the titles of nobility. The situation of
Louis and his family became so unsupportable
under the harsh restraints which were imposed,
that they contrived to escape from their im-
placable enemies, but the unfortunate monarch,
being recognised at St. Menehoult, by Drouet,
the post-master, was stopped at Varennes, con-
strained to return to Paris with his family, and
to become a mere prisoner.
While the king was preparing to surrender
his throne and life, the jacobins caused a decree
to be enacted, suppressing the chasseurs and
grenadiers, of whom they were afraid, as well
as the staff of the national guard. All the
measures which they pursued till the 10th of
August, 1792, had, for their sole aim, the over-
throw of the monarchy. On that day, the Mar-
seillese, who had been invited to Paris to form
the advanced-guard in the attack on the palace
of the Tuilleries, in conjunction with the na-
tional guards, fired on the devoted Swiss who
composed the royal body-guard, and almost
annihilated them. The king and his family
sought refuge in the assembly ; it was decreed
that they should be imprisoned in the Temple,
and they were conducted thither.
The national convention was opened on the
21st of September, and, in the first sitting,
abolished royalty, and proclaimed the republic.
The king was tried and condemned, and on the
21st of January, 1793, perished on the scaffold.
': Son of St. Louis !" were the last words which
his confessor, the abbe Edgeworth, addressed to
him; "Son of St. Louis, ascend to heaven!"
Against the French republic, the emperor and
the king of Prussia had already declared war ;
and, on the king's death, their example was
followed by Great Britain and Holland, and
speedily after by Spain and Russia. While
France was pressed on all sides by the different
powers of Europe, this unfortunate country was
a prey to all kinds of internal disorders, and to
the most unbounded licentiousness.
Robespierre and Danton obtained a decree by
which all the sans-culottcs were to be armed
with pikes and muskets at the expense of the
rich, who were themselves to be disarmed as
suspected persons. Marat, one of the principal
agents in the revolution, was assassinated by
Charlotte Corday. Towards the close of June,
1793, the new constitution was adopted, and
great disturbances broke out at Lyons, Mar-
seilles, and in La Vendee. Soon after the sur-
render of Valenciennes to the English, the
committee of public safety was established to
desolate France by the most horrid butcheries
and persecutions. They apprehended all sus-
pected persons, and tried them by revolutionary
committees, the powers of which were so un-
limited, that they could readily seize on four-
fifths of the population of France.
One of their early victims was the unhappy
Marie Antoinette, the widow of the murdered
Louis. Her death was followed by the destruc-
tion of the Girondists. The infamous duke of
Orleans was brought up to Paris from Mar-
seilles, and being tried and condemned, braved
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the insults of the multitude on the way to
execution. Brittany and a great part of Nor-
mandy being filled with the royalists, who had
acquired the denomination of chouans, Carrier,
one of the most atrocious monsters of the revolu-
tion, was sent to Nantes, where he spared nei-
ther age nor sex, but put to death the aged, the
infirm, and even infants. The atrocities com-
mitted by the satellites of the convention in the
city of Lyons, exceeded all that can be con-
ceived; at the end of five months, nearly 6,000
persons had perished.
In Paris the executions were now multiplied
to such a degree, that eighty persons were fre-
quently conveyed in the same vehicle to the
place where they suffered. To cite the names
of all the illustrious victims who fell, would far
exceed our limits, and, at the same time, pre-
sent too horrid a picture of human depravity.
At length, Robespierre, Couthon, and St. Just,
were brought to condign punishment. A form
of government was afterwards settled by the
convention ; and a council of ancients, a coun-
cil of five hundred, and five rulers, called a
directory, were appointed: but the other pow-
ers of Europe being still in league against
France, and the new government being unfor-
tunate in the field, the executive power was, in
1799, vested in three consuls, of whom the first
was the victorious Napoleon Bonaparte.
The consulate restored the energy of the gov-
ernment, and Bonaparte, having, in 1800, gained
the victory of Marengo, forced Austria to con-
clude the treaty of Luneville in February , 1801 ;
and concluded the treaty of Amiens with Eng-
land in October of that year ; thus restoring
peace to all Europe. The British government
refusing to surrender Malta, according to the
treaty of Amiens, after some angry discussions
the English ambassador left Paris in April,
1803, and war was recommenced. In 1804, the
first consul, Napoleon Bonaparte, was crowned
emperor of France by the pope ; and, in 1805,
king of Italy , at Milan. He afterwards assumed
the title of Mediator of Switzerland, and Pro-
tector of the Confederation of the Rhine. He
made one of his brothers king of Holland,
another king of Naples, a third king of Spain,
and a fourth king of Westphalia.
These manifestations of ambition excited, in
succession, the jealousies and fears of all Europe.
Austria and Russia commenced hostilities in
1805, but were overthrown at Austerlitz ; Prus-
sia in 1806, but she was crushed at Jena ; Rus-
sia again in the same year, but she was defeated
at Friedland ; Spain, in 1807 ; Austria, again, in
1808, but she was overthrown at Wagram ;
Russia, again, in 1812; and finally, Russia,
Prussia, Sweden, Austria, England, &c, invad-
ed France in 1814, when Napoleon abdicated,
retired to the island of Elba, and the Bourbons
were restored. After a year's absence, Napoleon
returned to Paris, but having been defeated in
the memorable battle of Waterloo, again abdi-
cated the throne, and was conveyed as a state
prisoner to the island of St. Helena, where he
died in 1821. The Bourbons were re-estab-
lished on the throne in the person of Louis
XVIII, brother of Louis XVI, and France relin-
quished the states and provinces acquiied dur-
ing the revolutionary wars. Louis XVIII died
on the 16th of December, 1825, and his brother,
Charles X, ascended the throne, and was crown-
ed with splendor at Rheims, May 29, 1826, after
taking the solemn oath to govern according to
the charter. But the misfortunes of the Bour-
bons had not taught them wisdom. In 1830,
the tyranny of the ancien regime seemed to have
re-appeared, and fetters were placed upon the
press. On Tuesday morning, July 27th, the
liberal journals of Paris were seized, and a rev-
olution immediately broke out. In three days
the glorious struggle was terminated in favor
of the people. The paving-stones and tiles of
the houses became weapons more formidable
than sabres or muskets. The royal cavalry as
they rushed upon the barracades were assailed in
front and from above ; the young scholars of the
polytechnic school, a military institution, hav-
ing been dismissed without their swords, seized
what arms they could find, and ranged them-
selves on the side of the people. Some com-
manded the populace, others served the guns
with spirit and success. Aug. 2, the king abdi-
cated, and was permitted to leave France. The
duke of Orleans was chosen king, a new min-
istry appointed, and after a fair trial, the old
ministry was imprisoned for life. The affairs
of France now appear to be in a settled state.
FRANCE, Isle of, or Mauritius; an island
in the Indian ocean, 600 miles east of Mada-
gascar, belonging to Great Britain. Its cir-
cumference is 150 miles. The climate is hot,
but healthy, a large portion of the land fertile,
and the whole well watered. Population in
1822, 87,603, of whom 13,475 were blacks. It
was discovered in the 16th century by the Por-
tuguese. The Dutch first settled in it, but re-
linquished it, and the French took possession of
the island ; but since 1810, it has been in the
hands of the English.
FRANCHE-COMTE, or Upper Burgundy,
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an ancient province of France, called by the
Romans, Sequania. It was wrested from the
Spanish by Louis XIV, and ceded to the French
by the peace of Nimegueri, in 1678. It forms
the departments of the Doubs, Upper Saone,
and the Jura.
FRANCIS I, of France, surnamed by his
subjects, the father of literature, was born at
Cognac, in 1494. His father was Charles,
count of Angouleme. Wishing to accomplish
the projects of Louis with regard to the Milan-
ese, he passed the Alps, penetrated as far as
Milan, and found the Swiss encamped near
Marignano. The contest was kept up for two
whole days. Francis I, and the chevalier Bay-
ard performed prodigies of valor, and the mar-
shal of Trivulzio, who had been in eighteen
actions, called this a combat of giants. The
Swiss were beaten with a loss of 15,000 men,
and Sforza ceded Milan, and retired to France
where he died. The Swiss agreed to a per-
petual treaty of peace, and long remained the
faithful allies of France. Leo X, equally re-
conciled, came to a conference in which the
pragmatic sanction was abolished, to make way
for the concordate, by which the king enjoyed
the power of conferring benefices.
The death of the emperor, Maximilian I, pre-
sented the imperial throne to the view of Fran-
cis I, and Charles, of Austria. The former
never pardoned his rival for having obtained it,
and hence arose the interminable wars between
Austria and France. The first care of Francis
I, was to attach himself to Henry VIII, of Eng-
land, and they had an interview near Calais ;
but Charles V ruined his rival's scheme by
gaining the favor of the all-powerful Cardinal
Wolsey. The campaign which followed, pre-
sented a scene of alternate success and defeat
on both sides. The Milanese were won by the
intrigues of Leo X, and Charles V, and France
had at once for adversaries the new pope Adrian
VI, the Emperor, England, the Venetians, and
the Geonese, and, to crown her misfortunes,
the constable of Bourbon, whom discontent
drove to the arms of Charles V, and whom im-
perial favor raised to the rank of commander-
in-chief.
The king fought in different places with va-
rious success. The imperialists and the Eng-
lish were repulsed by La Tremouille, the duke
of Guise, and the duke of Vendome ; but Bon-
nivet was beaten, and the brave Bayard killed,
in Italy. But these misfortunes did not destroy
the hopes of Francis : he passed the mountains
and re-entered the territory of the Milanese.
Following the advice of Bonnivet, he besieged
Pavia, although the oldest officers warned him
against doing so. The allies arrived in time to
succor it, and, on February 24th, 1525, waB
fought the battle of Pavia, in which Francis I,
after having had two horses killed under him,
and smarting with wounds, was taken prisoner.
Bonnivet killed himself in despair.
The king wrote to the duchess of Angou-
leme, who was regent, this memorable line ■
Madam, we have lost every thing but honor.
Transferred to Spain, he was imprisoned at
Madrid, where, disheartened and sick, he signed
the treaty by which he ceded Burgundy, Flan-
ders, and Artois, and gave up his two sons as
hostages. Issuing from his prison, his spirits
revived with the free air, and open scenery, and
springing upon a spirited horse, he exclaimed
with animation; / am yet a king! The pro-
gress of the king of France through Spain hardly
resembled that of a prisoner. Throughout his
journey, entertainments were given him by the
Spanish noblemen, who were glad of an oppor-
tunity to display their wealth and consequence.
One night, on arriving at a noble manor, he
was obliged to take his seat at a splendid festi-
val, which concluded with a ball, in which the
courteous monarch did not refuse to take a
part. He then asked two beautiful girls, the
daughters of a proud old nobleman, to dance
with him. But they only consented to perform
that part of the figure in which the lady averts
her face from her partner ; in short, so blindly
patriotic were these pretty Spaniards, that they
turned upon their heels, to the no small confu-
sion of the king of France. Their old father,
however, not only disapproved of their con-
duct, but punished it in a summary manner,
for seizing both by the hair, he dragged them
out of the ball room with more rapidity than
grace. So much for refusing a king's invita-
tion.
Francis had now an opportunity of witness-
ing a whimsical instance of Spanish pride in
his reception by a certain old gentleman named
Don Diego d'Alvar, who, feigning a painful
indisposition, kept his seat, while the French
monarch remained standing in his presence.
Don Diego had a menagerie, an expensive
part of the establishment of a Spanish grandee
in those times. During the festival given to
Francis I, an African lion escaped from his
cage. Consternation spread among the guests,
each of whom thought himself the devoted vic-
tim of the infuriated animal, when the major-
domo of the castle, seizing in one hand, a flam-
FRA
254
FRA
ing brand, and grasping his sword in the other,
advanced to meet the lion. The animal, fright-
ened by the flames, recoiled, and the major-
domo followed him up to his cage in which he
enclosed him with as much coolness as if he
had been operating upon a greedy hound taken
in the act of abstracting the deposits from the
larder. This act of courage was more admired
by Francis, than any thing else which occurred
at the castle of Don Diego.
Francis I returned to France. His cause
becoming that of all the princes who dreaded
the increase of the power of Charles V, a league
was formed between the princes of Italy, the
king of England, and Francis I. The indig-
nant emperor sent Laney into the States of the
Church, where he made himself master of many
places. The constable of Bourbon, even after
the conquest of Milan, wanting money, ad-
vanced upon Rome, and promised his troops
the pillage of this city. He was killed in the
assault. The furious soldiers, at the end of
two hours fighting, entered Rome, killed all
they met, sacked the houses, profaned the
churches, and delivered themselves up to ex-
cesses of all kinds, which continued for two
months.
The flame of war rekindled. Marshal Lau-
trec regained the greater part of Milan, sacked
Pavia, in revenge for the capture of the king,
then forced the imperialists to conclude a treaty
with the pope, who was besieged in the castle
of Saint Angelo, and went thence to Naples
where he perished of the plague with the rest
of his army. In 1529, a treaty of peace was
concluded at Cambray, called the Peace of La-
dies (Paix des Dames), on account of the pleni-
potentiaries, the duchess of Angouleme, for
Francis I, and Margaret of Austria, governess
of the Low Countries, for Charles V. The
king engaged to pay the emperor 2,000,000
crowns, to cede the sovereignty of Flanders and
Artois, and to marry Eleonora, the sister of the
emperor, whose attentions had solaced his cap-
tivity.
Finding peace established, he employed him-
self in repressing a multitude of disorders to
which the wars had given rise, in making wise
regulations, in reforming legal abuses and pre-
serving the tranquillity of the church, which
reformers had already menaced. He founded
the college of France, protected literature,
which he himself cultivated, encouraged the
arts, founded the royal library and printing es-
tablishment, honored learned men, and labored
to deserve the title of Restorer of the Sciences.
But he again cast his eyes upon Milan, and in
1535, entered Italy, and made himself master
of Savoy. Charles; in turn, made an irruption
into Provence, but was repulsed with loss.
The Flemings, who had entered Picardy, met
with the same fate. The alliance concluded
between Francis I, and Soliman, the sultan of
the Turks, rendered Charles more prudent, and
he concluded a truce for ten years. This was
soon broken by his ill faith, and the murder of
two French ambassadors. Five French armies
were in readiness, and Charles V advanced to
Scissons, when new negotiations brought about
the peace of Crespy. In March, 1547, Francis,
who possessed so many good qualities, died, the
victim of his illicit intrigues. Notwithstanding
his numerous wars, he kept the finances of
France in a flourishing condition.
FRANCIS II, of France, son of Henry II,
married Mary Stuart, of Scotland, and ascended
the throne July 10, 1599. He died December
5, 15(50, at the age of eighteen, leaving France
loaded with debt, and a prey to civil war.
FRANCIS, sir Philip, a famous politician,
was born in Ireland, in 1740. He was educated
at St. Paul's school; after which he obtained a
place in the office of the Secretary of State.
In 1760, he went in the suit of the English
ambassador to Lisbon. In 1763, he was a clerk
in the war office, and, in 1773, he went out to
India, as a member of the council of Bengal,
and fought a duel with Warren Hastings, who
was wounded. On his return to England, he
was elected M. P. for Yarmouth in the isle of
Wight. He supported the proceedings against
Warren Hastings, whom he opposed on every
occasion. He was, however, a member of the
opposition, and when his friends came into
office, he was made knight of the bath. He,
died December 22, 1818.
FRANCONI A, a town of New Hampshire, in
Grafton county, 28 miles northeast of Haver-
hill, noted for its valuable iron mines. Popu-
lation 450. It contains a singular curiosity
called the Profile Rock, a high precipice which
presents a side view of a human face.
FRANKFORT, a town in Franklin county,
the seat of government of Kentucky, on the
Kentucky. It is a thriving place, with 1,682
inhabitants.
FRANKFORT ON THE MAINE, one of
the four free cities of Germany, contains 54,000
inhabitants. It is the seat of the Germanic diet,
and is famous for its fairs.
FRANKLIN, Benjamin, was born in Boston,
January 17, 1706. He was the youngest of
FRA
255
FRA
seventeen children, and was intended for his
father's business, which was that of a soap-boiler
and tallow-chandler, but being disgusted with
this employment, he was apprenticed to his
brother, who was a printer. This occupation
was more congenial to his taste, and he used
to devote his nights to the perusal of such books
as his scanty means enabled him to buy. By
restricting himself to a vegetable diet, he ob-
tained more money for intellectual purposes,
and at sixteen had read Locke on the Under-
standing, Xenophon's Memorabilia, and the
Port-Royal Logic, in addition to many other
works. Having incurred the displeasure of his
father and brother, he determined to procure
the cancelling of his indentures, and leave
Boston. This he accomplished, arrived at New
York, walked thence to Philadelphia, and en-
tered the city of Friends with some articles of
dress in his pockets, a dollar in cash, and a loaf
of bread under his arm. Here he obtained em-
ployment as a printer, and Sir William Keith,
the governor, observing his diligence, persuaded
him to go to England, to purchase materials
for a press, on his own account. This was in
1725, but he found he was the bearer of no let-
ters that related to himself, and he was accord-
ingly obliged to work at his trade. He returned
to Philadelphia, where, in a short time, he en-
tered into business with one Meredith, and
about J 728, began a newspaper in which he
inserted many of his moral essays. He pub-
lished Poor Richard's Almanac which is well
known. At the age of twenty-seven, he began
the study of the modern and classical langua-
ges. He founded the University of Pennsylva-
nia and the American Philosophical Society, and
invented the Franklin stove, which still holds
its place even among the variety of modern in-
ventions of a similar kind. In 1746, he made his
experiments on Electricity and applied his dis-
coveries to the invention of the lightning rod.
In 1751, he was appointed deputy post-mas-
ter general for the colonies. After the defeat
of Braddock, a bill for organizing a provincial
militia having passed the assembly, Franklin
was chosen colonel. In 1757, he was sent to
England with a petition to the king and coun-
cil against the proprietaries who refused to bear
a share in the public expenses. While thus
employed, he published several works, which
gained him a high reputation, and the agency
of Massachusetts, Maryland, and Georgia. In
1762, Franklin was chosen fellow of the Royal
Society, and made doctor of laws at Oxford, and
the same year returned to America.
In 1764, he was again deputed to England as
agent of his province, and in 1766, was exam-
ined before the House of Commons on the sub-
ject of the stamp-act. His answers were clear
and decisive. His conduct in England was
worthy of his previous character. Finding him
warmly attached to the colonies, invective and
coarse satire were levelled against him, but his
integrity and matchless wit formed an invulnera-
ble defence. He was next offered " any reward,
unlimited recompense, honors and recompense
beyond his expectations," if he would forsake
his country, but he stood firm as a rock.
He returned to America in 1775, and was
immediately chosen a member of Congress, and
performed the most arduous duties in the ser-
vice of his country. He was sent as commis-
sioner to France in 1776, and concluded a
treaty, February 6, 1778, in which year he was
appointed minister plenipotentiary to the court
of Versailles, and one of the commissioners for
negotiating peace with Great Britain. Although
he solicited leave, he was not permitted to return
till 1785. He was made president of Pennsyl-
vania, and as a delegate to the convention of
1787, approved the federal constitution. He
died April 17, 1790.
How generally he was beloved both at home
and abroad, the various honors which he re-
ceived, show. Incorruptible, talented, and vir-
tuous, he merited the eulogium of lord Chat-
ham, who characterised him as " one whom all
Europe held in high estimation for his know-
ledge and wisdom ; who was an honor, not to the
English nation only, but to human nature."
His wit and humor rendered his society accept-
able to every class. On one occasion, he was
dining with the English ambassador, and a
French functionary at Paris. The former rose,
and gave the following sentiment : " England —
the bright sun whose rays illuminate the world !"
The French gentleman, struggling between
patriotism and politeness, proposed ; " France
— the moon whose mild beams dispel the shades
of night." Doctor Franklin, rising in turn,
said ; " General George Washington — the
Joshua, who commanded the sun and moon to
stand still — and they obeyed him !" Franklin's
wit and humor are happily displayed in an epi-
taph which he wrote years before his death.
The body
of
Benjamin Franklin,
printer,
(like the cover of an old book,
ITS contents torn out,
FRE
256
FUL
AND STRIPPED OF ITS LETTERING AND GILDING,)
LIES HERE, FOOD FOR WORMS ;
YET THE WORK ITSELF SHALL NOT BE LOST,
FOR IT WILL (AS HE BELIEVED) APPEAR ONCE
MORE
IN A NEW
AND MORE BEAUTIFUL EDITION,
CORRECTED AND AMENDED
BY
the Author.
FRANKS, a German tribe, living between
the Weser and the Elbe. Between the years
234 and 254, they invaded Gaul, but were re-
pulsed by Aurelian. They gained from the
Alemanni a very extensive territory on the
Rhine.
FREDEGONDE, the wife of Chilperic, of
France, a ruthless woman who persuaded her
husband to oppress his subjects. She is said to
have murdered Sigebert, Meroveus, the son of
Chilperic, Andoveus, his brother, and Pretex-
tatus, bishop of Rouen. Aterwards, retiring
to Paris, she continued her persecutions of
Brunchant, and Childebert, her son, took the
field and vanquished him with the slaughter of
30,000 of his army. She then wasted Cham-
pagne, and retook Paris. She died in 597,
after having caused Chilperic to be assassin-
ated.
FREDERIC, Augustus III, elector of Saxony,
was chosen king of Poland, in 1694. He de-
clared war against Sweden, and was dethroned
by Charles XII. The reverses of the Swedish
monarch enabled Augustus to regain his throne
in 1709. He died February 1st, 1733, and was
succeeded by his son.
FREDERIC I, surnamed Barbarossa, suc-
ceeded to the imperial crown, on the death of
his uncle, Conrad III, in 1152. His first busi-
ness was to ensure the tranquillity of Germany,
after which he marched into Italy, and assumed
its sovereignty. He afterwards renewed the
war, took Milan a second time, and destroyed
it, but he was excommunicated by the pope.
He engaged in the crusades against the Turks,
defeated Saladin in two combats, and took sev-
eral cities from the infidels. He was drowned
July 10th, 1190; in the midst of his successes.
FREDERIC II, king of Prussia, commonly
called the Great, was the son of Frederic Wil-
liam I, and was born January 21, 1712. His
education was strict, but when he grew up, he
showed so strong an inclination to literature
and music, as to incur the displeasure of his
father, who considered reading as beneath the
dignity of a monarch and a man. So harsh
was the conduct of his parent, that in 1730, he
attempted to escape from Prussia, but was taken
with his travelling companion, Lieutenant Catt,
who was put to death by order of the king.
The prince himself was punished by confine-
ment. The death of his father raised him to
the throne, May 31st, 1740, and, by taking ad-
vantage of the defenceless state of Maria The-
resa, he added Silesia to his dominions. In
1744, he again took up arms against the queen
of Hungary ; and the treaty of Dresden, which
was concluded in 1745, left him in possession
of an extended territory. In 1755, he entered
into an alliance with England, which produced
the seven years' war ; in which Frederic exhib-
ited all the powers of his character as a skil-
ful general. In 1757, he had to contend with
Russia, Austria, Saxony, Sweden, and France ;
notwithstanding which, and though his ene-
mies made themselves masters of his capital, he
extricated himself from his difficulties, and by
the battle of Torgau, repaired all his losses. In
1763, peace was restored. Frederic afterwards
led a philosophic life, with the exception of his
share in dismembering Poland in 1773. He
died August 17, 1786, in the 75th year of his
age, and the 47th of his reign, and was suc-
ceeded by his nephew Frederic William II.
FRIEDLAND, a town of Bohemia, memo-
rable for the battle fought there on the 14th of
June, 1807, between the French and Russians,
which resulted in the total defeat of the latter,
with immense loss.
FRIENDLY ISLANDS, a group of islands
in the South Pacific Ocean, 150 in number.
They are very fertile, hut contain but few
springs of good water. They were discovered
in 1773 by Captain Cook, who thought the in-
habitants amicable and inoffensive, although
subsequent events have shown them to be capa-
ble of the darkest treachery and the blackest
crimes. Population 200,000.
FRISIANS, an old tribe of Germans, inhab-
iting Friesland. Prussia took possession of
Friesland in 1744, and East Friesland was an-
nexed to Hanover in 1814.
FULTON, Robert, the celebrated American
engineer, was born in Pennsylvania in 1765.
At an early age he exhibited a fondness for the
mechanical arts, and a talent for drawing. In
his 22d year, he went to England, and subse-
quently to France, distinguishing himself in
both countries by mechanical inventions. He
returned to America in 1806. Mr. Livingston
and Fulton had built a steamboat upon the
Seine in 1803, which was completely successful,
GAM
257
GEN
out, in 1807, the first attempt at steam naviga-
tion in America was made upon the Hudson.
The maximum speed of this was only five miles
an hour. In 1809 Mr. Fulton took a patent for
his invention, and in 1811 a second patent for
subsequent improvements. He died February
24th, 1815.
G.
GADSDEN, Christopher, lieutenant-gover-
nor of South Carolina, was born in 1724. He
was an ardent friend of liberty, and discharged
the duties of member of the provincial congress
with ability and applause. He died, Sept. 1805.
in the £2d year of his age.
GAELS, a family of the Celts, who from
Gaul, passed over to Britain and the neighbor-
ing islands. Traces of them are still found in
the remote districts of Ireland and Scotland.
GAGE, Thomas, the last royal governor of
Massachusetts. He was lieutenant under
Braddock, witnessed his defeat, and bore his
body from the field of battle. In 1760 he was
appointed governor of Montreal, and a few
years afterwards succeeded to the chief com-
mand of the British forces in America. He was
the successor of Hutchinson in the office of
governor of Massachusetts, and his oppressive
measures precipitated the revolution.
GALBA, Sergius or Servius Sulpicius, em-
peror of Rome, was born B. C. 4, and succeed-
ed Nero on the imperial throne. He rose grad-
ually through various state offices although
continually exposed to the jealousy of Nero,
who ordered him to be assassinated, but having
escaped the toils which were laid for him, he
was saluted emperor A. D. 08. His avarice in-
duced him to profit by the sale of offices, and
his appointment of Piso Licinianus, instead of
Otho, to fill the office of colleague in the gov-
ernment, exasperated the soldiers, who put him
to death, A. D. 69, in the 72d year of his age,
after a reign of three months.
GALICIA, and LODOMIRIA, a kingdom
of Austria, which comprises 32,500 square miles,
and 4,075,000 inhabitants. Also, a province of
Spain, anciently Galla?cia, containing 1,795,199
inhabitants.
GALILEE, the most northerly province of
Palestine, the scene of many events in the life
of our Savior. It is now part of the govern-
ment of Damascus, oppressed by Turkish tyran-
ny, and infested by robbers.
GAMA, Vasco da, the celebrated Portuguese
navigator, who discovered the maritime way to
17
the East Indies by doubling the Cape of Good
Hope. He lived in the reign of Emanuel the
Fortunate. He was appointed viceroy of the
Portuguese Indies, and died Dec. 1524, at Goa.
GARDINER, bishop of Winchester, was a
strenuous opponent of the reformation in Eng-
land. He lost his place under Henry VIII, but
regained it under the bigoted Mary, whom he
instigated to persecute the Protestants with fire
and sword.
G ARR1CK, David, one of the most celebrated
and talented of English performers, and the
friend of doctor Johnson. He was born in 1716,
and died Jan. 20, 1779, after having amassed an
immense fortune by his profession.
GASTON DE FOIX, duke of Nemours, the
nephew of Louis XII, was born in 1488. He
ran a brilliant career in arms, and fell in the
battle of Ravenna, April 11, 1512.
GATES, Horatio, was born in England in
1728, and rose rapidly in the military profession.
Soon after the French war he purchased an es-
tate in Virginia, and was appointed adjutant-
general in the continental force on the breaking
out of our revolutionary war. The first move-
ment of Gates, after taking command of the
army that had just retreated from Canada in
1776, was to retire from Crown Point to Ticon-
deroga, and this excited pretty general surprise
and disapprobation. But he regained confidence
by those operations which resulted in the sur-
render of Burgoyne and his army at Saratoga.
When appointed to the command of the south-
ern army in 1780, he found it weak and badly
supplied, and disheartened by the aspect of af-
fairs in general. His conduct at the battle of
Camden, which was won by Cornwallis, sub-
jected him to a temporary loss of command and
legal investigation, although he was finally ac-
quitted. Meantime the war had ended, and
Gates removed from Virginia to New York,
where he died, April 10, 1806, in the 78th year
of his age. He was talented, well-informed,
courteous and pious.
GAUL, or GALLIA, the ancient name of
France. The inhabitants were naturally fierce
and warlike, and resisted the Romans by whom
they were finally subjugated, with great spirit.
GENEVA, a canton of Switzerland, com-
prising 91 square miles, and 53,560 inhabitants,
of whom a large proportion are Protestants.
The city of Geneva stands on the lake of the
same name, and is divided by the Rhone which
flows through it. It is famous for the manu-
factures of watches, chintz, woollens, muslins,
silks, porcelains, &c. After a variety of
GEN
258
GEO
changes, it became subject to the dukes of Sa-
voy. But the citizens of Geneva, supported by
the Helvetic league, resisted the attempts of
the house of Savoy, with whom a permanent
accommodation was effected in 1603. Under
Calvin and other reformers, it eagerly embraced
a pure doctrine, and became the seat of the re-
formed religion. From the time of the conclu-
sion of the peace with Savoy, the history of
Geneva is little more than a narrative of con-
tentions between the aristocracy and democracy.
GENGHIS KHAN, emperor of the Moguls,
was born A. D. 1163, and received the name of
Temujin. He founded in 1206 that vast em-
pire, the grandeur of which was the theme of
admiration throughout the world. The leading
men of the small domain left him by his father,
having rebelled against him, he marched upon
them with an army of 30,000 men, and com-
pletely frustrated their designs. Tartary and
China fell before the power of the conqueror,
whose dominions extended to the banks of the
Dnieper. In the year 1225, the emperor ar-
rived at the banks of the river Tula, after an
absence of seven years. In the next year he
defeated the king of Tangut with the loss of
300,0U0 men. He died Aug. 24, 1227, in the
63d year of his age, leaving to his children an
empire 1200 leagues in length. The conquests
of the great Khan were stained with the most
atrocious cruelties, his march was like the pro-
gress of a fiery storm, bursting over several
countries at once, and involving them in ruin.
According to the most moderate calculation, no
fewer than 2,000,000 men fell beneath the mur-
dering sword, without reckoning the numbers
that affliction and the horrors of slavery con-
signed to the grave.
GENLIS, (Stephanie Felicit6 Ducrest de St.
Aubin, marchioness de Sillery) Countess de,
was born near Autun, in 1746. Soon after
her birth, she narrowly escaped suffocation, for
a gentleman who called to see her mother, was
about to sit down upon the chair on which the
infant was laid, had actually divided the flaps
of his coat for that purpose, and was only pre-
vented by the united screams of the nurse and
mother. The literary talent of Madame de
Genlis early developed itself, and induced the
Count de Genlis to offer her his hand, without
ever having seen her. She was governess of
the duke of Orleans' children, and many of her
early works were devoted to the cause of edu-
cation. She died in 1830, with a very high
reputation.
GENOA, a dukedom and city of Sardinia,
on the Mediterranean Sea. The city contains
76,000 inhabitants. The harbor is capacious
and 'secure. The city is built on an elevation,
and the streets are narrow, dirty, and steep.
The duchy contains 2,330 square miles, and
590,500 inhabitants. Genoa, possessed by the
Lombards, after the fall of the Western Roman
empire, came next into the hands of the Franks,
but was erected into a republic after the down-
fall of Charlemagne. Quarrels with the Pisans
and Venetians occupied the Genoese for many
years. The French assumed the sovereignty of
Genoa, but did not long retain it. Internal dis-
sensions not unfrequently enabled foreign pow-
ers to seize upon the State. In 1528 tranquillity
was restored to Genoa, an aristocratical form of
government established, and a doge placed at
the head of the state. Sometime after this the
city was convulsed by the furious contentions
between the old and new nobility, the two por-
tions into which the aristocracy was divided.
By degrees Genoa lost her foreign possessions,
the last of which, Corsica, revolted in 1730.
During the invasion of Italy in 1797, Genoa ob-
served a strict neutrality, but the dissensions of
the Genoese did not escape the vigilant eye of
Napoleon ; he established a form of government
on the French representative system, and gave
it the title of the Ligurian republic. In 1815
the congress of Vienna annexed Genoa to the
territories of Sardinia, reserving to it its own
senate and council, without the concurrence of
which no taxes can be laid upon the Genoese.
GEORGE I, Lewis, king of Great Britain,
elector of Hanover, and duke of Brunswick-
Lunenburgh, was born May 28, 1660, and was
the son of Ernest Augustus and Sophia, grand-
daughter of James I. He was proclaimed
king of England. Aug. 1, 1714, and landed at
Greenwich in the following month. At the
commencement of his reign the whigs had the
ascendency : both in and out of parliament. In
1715 a revolution broke out in Scotland in favor
of the Pretender, but was quelled without much
trouble, although there were many who were
decidedly opposed to the existing government.
In 1715 the bill for Septennial parliaments was
brought into the house of lords by the duke of
Devonshire, and passed both houses. In 1718,
a quadruple alliance of England, Holland,
France, and Germany, was formed against
Spain, and the Spanish were defeated by Sir
George Byng on the coast of Sicily. In 1720
was started the celebrated South Sea scheme,
which involved thousands of families in ruin.
In 1721 Bishop Atterbury was seized and con-
GEO
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GER
veyed to the Tower, and afterwards banished
on suspicion of treason ; the duke of Norfolk,
the earl of Orrery, and others were imprisoned
for participation in the plot. In 1725 the treaty
of Hanover was signed to counteract the first
treaty of Vienna. In 1727 the king visited his
electoral dominions at Hanover, but being seized
with a paralytic disorder on the road from Han-
over to Holland, he was conveyed to Osna-
burgh, June 11, 1727, where he died, in the
13th year of his reign. The disaffection towards
the elector of Hanover, on his arrival in England
was very great, and the populace gave no equiv-
ocal signs of it. One time a noisy mob sur-
rounded a carriage, which contained some Ger-
man ladies of the court, and assailed their ears
with epithets of abuse more fluent than elegant.
One of the foreigners, putting her head out of
the carriage-window, said, in her broken Eng-
lish ; " My good peoples, we ish come for all
your goods." " Yes," replied a surly fellow in
the crowd, " and for all our chattels too."
GEORGE II, AUGUSTUS, son of the pre-
ceding, was born Oct. 30, 1683, and was created
prince of Wales, Oct. 4, 1714. In 1704 he mar-
ried Wilhelmina Caroline Dorothea, of Brand-
enburgh-Anspach, and in 1727 succeeded
George I. In 1729 the peace of Seville was
concluded with Spain, but the war with that
country was renewed in 1739. In 1742 Sir
Robert Walpole resigned, after having been
minister for nearly twenty years, and in the
same year, the king espousing the cause of
Maria Theresa, marched against the French
whom he defeated in the battle of Dettingen,
but without gaining much advantage. In 1745
Charles Edward, the Pretender, landed in Scot-
land, but was finally defeated at Culloden. The
peace of Aix-la-Chapelle was concluded in 1748.
In 1754 the encroachments of the French in
America brought on that war which resulted
happily for Great Britain, and some of the suc-
cesses of which in America are attributable to
the bravery of the provincial troops. In the
midst of general prosperity, George II died at
Kensington, Oct. 25, 1760, in the 77th year of
his age and 33d of his reign. He possessed no
shining qualities, and despised learning.
GEORGE III, king of Great Britain, eldest
son of Frederick, prince of Wales, was born June
4, 1738. He succeeded his grandfather George
II, Oct. 25, 1 7(30, and married Charlotte Sophia,
princess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Sept 8, 1761,
and both were crowned Sept. 22, in the same
year. He was deranged in mind from Oct.
1788 to March 1789. On April 24, 1789, he
went in procession to St. Paul's cathedral ; re-
covered from a second attack, March 16, 1804 ;
relapsed 1810 ; and died in Windsor Castle, Jan.
29, 1820, in the 82d year of his age, and 60th of
his reign.
GEORGE IV, son of the preceding, was born
Aug. 12, 1762. He had been regent during the
insanity of his father, whom he succeeded on
his death. In 1795, he had married Caroline
Amelia Augusta, whose sufferings and perse-
cution excited the indignation of the world
against her heartless husband. Well educated
and talented, he abused the gifts which were
bestowed upon him, and in his youth plunged
into the guiltiest excesses. Loaded with debt
he at length adopted a system of retrenchment,
sold his splendid racing-stud, and reduced his
whole establishment. With the assistance of
parliament, he extricated himself from his diffi-
culties. The indignation excited by a nefarious
transaction of his, which was exposed by the
Jockey Club, compelled him to abandon the
turf. He died July 26, 1830, and was succeed-
ed by his brother, the duke of Clarence, under
the title of William IV.
GEORGE CADOUDAL, a Chouan chief,
who, with general Pichegru, was concerned in
a conspiracy to take the life of Bonaparte when
first consul. He was brought over to France in
a British government vessel, but was seized by
the police, tried, condemned, and executed,
June 24, 1804, aged 35 years.
GEORGIA, one of the U. States, is bounded
N. by Tennessee and North Carolina ; N. E. by
South Carolina; S. E. by the Atlantic ocean, S.
by Florida, and W. by Alabama. It is 300 miles
in length, and 240 in breadth, containing 60,000
square miles. Population 516,823. The soil is
like that of South Carolina, and the staple pro-
ductions are the same. The Cherokees, inhab-
iting the northwestern part of the state, are far
advanced in civilization. The first settlement
which the English made in Georgia, was in
1733, under the superintendence of James Og-
lethorpe.
GEORGIA, in Persian GURG1STAN, called
by the natives IBERIA, a rich country of Asia,
bounded by Circassia, Daghestan, Shirvan, Ar-
menia, and the Black Sea. The Greek religion
is the prevailing faith. The country belongs
chiefly to Russia, only a small part now remain-
ing in the hands of its former masters, the Turks.
GERMANICUS CiESAR.a son of Claudius
Drusus Nero, and Antonia, the virtuous niece
of Augustus. He was adopted by his uncle
Tiberius, and raised to the highest offices of
GER
260
GER
state. At the time of the death of Augustus, he
was employed in a war with Germany, but Tibe-
rius, jealous of the hero, recalled him, although
he permitted him to celebrate a triumph for
his victories. He then sent him to the east with
sovereign authority, but viewed his successes
with a jealous eye. Germanicus died near An-
tioch, A. D. 19, in the 34th year of his age, not
without suspicion of poison.
GERMANTOWN, a town of Pennsylvania,
7 miles N. of Philadelphia, memorable for a bat-
tle fought here on the 4th of October, 1777, be-
tween the Americans, under Washington, and
the British, to the disadvantage of the former.
GERMANY, was formerly divided into nine
circles, viz. Austria, Bavaria and Swabia, on
the south ; Franconia, in the centre ; Upper and
Lower Saxony, and Westphalia, in the north ;
Upper and hoicer Rhine in the west. The other
countries belonging to Germany, and not in-
cluded in the circles, were Bohemia, Moravia,
Silesia, and Lusatia. The secondary states of
Germany form, with a part of Prussia, Austria,
and some provinces of Denmark, and the Neth-
erlands, the GERMANIC CONFEDERA-
TION. The secondary states, are, in number,
36, of which the principal are : 1. The four
kingdoms of: Hanover, Saxony, Bavaria, Wur-
temberg : 2. Eight grand-duchies, viz. Hesse-
Cassel, Mecklenburg Schwerin, Oldenburg,
Mecklenburg Strelitz, Saxe-Weimar, Hesse-
Darmstadt, Baden, Luxemburg : 4. Ten duch-
ies and eleven principalities ; 5. Four free cities :
Lubeck, Hamburg, Bremen, and Frankfort on
the Maine.
Germany (Germania) like Gaul, was ancient-
ly occupied by numerous tribes, some of which
were only subjugated by the Romans, after a
very fierce and prolonged resistance. It was
afterwards conquered by Charlemagne, who
fixed his imperial residence in Germany. The
posterity of Charlemagne inherited this country
until the demise of Louis V. Otho the Illus-
trious, having declined the royal dignity, Con-
rad I, duke of Franconia, was unanimously
elected to fill the vacant throne in 912. Thence,
until 1806, the empire of Germany was an elec-
tive monarchy. Frederic I ascended the throne
in 1152, and during his reign was formed the
famous league of the Hanseatic towns for the
protection of commerce. Frederic II was
crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle in 1218. He did
much for the encouragement of arts and lite-
rature.
The princes of the empire, assembled in diet,
at Frankfort, elected Rodolph of Hapsburg to
the imperial throne in 1272. He swayed the
imperial sceptre with ability for about 18 years,
and died, after a short illness, in the 73d year of
his age. Albert I of Austria was invested with
the diadem at Aix-la-Chapelle, in 121)8. Under
his harsh administration, the Swiss revolted,
and the foundation of the Helvetic republic was
laid.
Henry VII of Luxemburg was elected in
1308, and now commenced the celebrated divi-
sion of Guelphes and Ghibellines in the con-
tests between the emperors and popes. On his
death, Louis of Bavaria was recognised as law-
ful possessor of the throne in 1330. Charles
IV, king of Bohemia, received the imperial dia-
dem in 1356. His reign was prosperous, and
under his sway a spirit of opposition to the cor-
rupt clergy began to manifest itself. Wences-
laus, his son, succeeded him in 1378, after which
Sigismund ascended the throne in 1411. He
concurred with the pope in convoking the fa-
mous council of Constance, by which the re-
former Huss was condemned, and the war of
the Hussites followed. Albert II died in a
short time, and, in 1440, the electors placed up-
on the imperial throne Frederic III, duke of
Austria. His son Maximilian was elected king
of the Romans, and invested with the supreme
dignity in 1493. He was an active and enter-
prising prince.
Charles V presented himself as a candidate
for the imperial crown in 1520. Ferdinand, the
brother of Charles, succeeded him. Then came
Maximilian II, the son of Ferdinand, who had
already received the crown of Bohemia, and
had been elected king of the Romans. On
the demise of this illustrious prince, his eldest
son, who had been elected king of the Romans,
and acknowledged as his successor to the crown
of Hungary and Bohemia, succeeded to the em-
pire by the name of Rodolph II, in 1576. The
emperor ceded Bohemia to his brother Matthias,
who succeeded him in 1612. On the demise of
Matthias, Ferdinand was declared erhperor in
1619, but, on account of his fanaticism the Prot-
estants renounced allegiance to him, and a war
ensued which was waged with sanguinary ani-
mosity by both parties. Ferdinand was at first
triumphant, and Germany began to tremble with
the apprehension of slavish subjection ; Gusta-
vus, king of Sweden, rushing with impetuosity
into the empire, defeated the imperialists, but
was slain on the plain of Lutzen.
On the death of Ferdinand II, his son, Fer-
dinand III, ascended the imperial throne, in
1637, at a critical period, and succeeded in
GER
261
GER
tranquillizing Germany, although the flames of
war yet rolled unabated. France, Sweden, Den-
mark, England, and some of the German states
were confederated against Spain and the house
of Austria. At length a treaty was concluded,
since known as the peace of Westphalia. On
the death of Ferdinand, Leopold I, king of Hun-
gary and Bohemia, was declared duly elected to
the imperial throne in 1657. Scarcely were the
troubles in the north composed, when a war
with Turkey broke out, while Louis XIV of
France took this opportunity of inarching against
the German monarch. But notwithstanding
his perplexities and embarrassments, Leopold
found means to render the crown of Hungary
hereditary in his family, an object which had
long been desired. The archduke Joseph was
chosen sovereign of Hungary, elected king of
the Romans, and ascended the imperial throne
in 1705. He governed with stern inflexibility,
and continued the Spanish war. The arch-
duke Charles was elevated to the imperial
throne, by the name of Charles VI, in 1711.
Anne queen of England, having expressed her
pacific intentions, he had to sustain the whole
weight of a war with France and Spain, unless
he accepted the terms of Louis. At length,
however, negotiations were commenced, and
the treaty of Utrecht re-established the general
peace. Chai les died in the 29th year of his age.
He was the author of the Pragmatic Sanction,
which secured all the possessions of the house
of Austria to his daughter the archduchess
Maria Theresa, and which was guaranteed by
the states of the empire, and by all the great
powers of Europe.
The death of Charles, in 1740, was followed
by very serious commotions, but the Pragmatic
Sanction was preserved, and the treaty of Fus-
sen and Aix-la-Chapelle terminated the war of
the Austrian succession in favor of Maria
Theresa. Two years after the conclusion of
the treaty of Hubertsburg, the emperor Francis
died, in the twenty-first year of his reign. He
was succeeded by his son Joseph II. In 1764
his imperial majesty joined with Russia and
Prussia in the base dismemberment of Poland,
but this did not prevent hostilities from being
commenced with Austria and Prussia, on ac-
count of the succession to the electorate of Ba-
varia. Maria Theresa, empress of Germany,
queen of Hungary and Bohemia, and arch-
duchess of Austria, died in 1780. She left her
extensive possessions in the hands of a son,
who promulgated a decree in favor of the lib-
erty of the press, which had been hitheito much
circumscribed in the Austrian dominions. In
1783 Joseph II published an edict for the total
abolition of villanage and slavery in Bohemia,
Moravia, and Silesia; and similar measures
were taken soon after for the relief of the peas-
ants of Austrian Poland. He also abolished
the use of torture in his hereditary dominions,
and died in the 25th year of his reign. He was
succeeded by his brother, Leopold II, grand-
duke of Tuscany, in 1790.
The French revolution now attracting the
attention of all the European powers, a confe-
rence was held at Pilnitz between the emperor,
the king of Prussia, and the elector of Saxony ;
but, instead of advising an immediate attack
upon France, Leopold acted with his accus-
tomed moderation, and merely wished to oppose
an effectual security against the tremendous
hurricane which threatened Europe. However,
he was afterwards persuaded to commence hos-
tilities, but his designs were soon terminated
by his death, in the second year of his reign.
Francis II succeeded his father in 1792. At
the instigation of the king of Prussia, he re-
solved to use his utmost endeavors for the res-
toration of the monarchy in France ; but the
attempts of the allies were so unfortunate in
the first campaign, that they commenced the
second with altered views, and a feeling of in-
security in consequence of previous losses. The
second campaign proved more successful, but
that of 1794 was disastrous to the allies. The
fourth campaign again raised the hopes of the
Austrians. In 1796, from altered views of ex.-
pediency, the French turned their arms upon
the Austrian possessions in Italy, where the
victories of Bonaparte soon spread the terror of
his name.
At length the court of Vienna, finding that
all expectations of effectual opposition to the
French were totally unfounded, concluded, in
1797, the treaty of Campo-Formio, by which
the emperor ceded to France the whole of the
Netherlands, and all his former territory in Italy,
but received in return the city of Venice, Istria,
Dalmatia, and the Venetian islands in the Adri-
atic. However the war was renewed with great
vigor on both sides, and, in 1799, the Austrians
compelled the French to evacuate nearly the
whole of Italy. The brilliant successes of the
archduke Charles in Germany, also, reanimated
the court of Vienna, and contributed to break
off the conferences at Rastadt. In the mean
time, Bonaparte, having returned from Egypt,
and been chosen first consul of the French re-
public, the war with Austria was destined to
GER
262
GER
take a new turn. That general, at the head of
an army of reserve, marched towards Italy ; and
having collected his artillery, transported it with
inconceivable labor across the Alps, and ad-
vanced to Milan. After reducing Pavia, and
defeating the Austrians in the battle of Monte-
bello, the French marched to the plain of Ma-
rengo. Both the French and Imperialists ex-
hibited extraordinary skill and resolution. At
length the first consul, availing himself of an
error which had been committed, compelled his
enemies to retreat. In Germany the French
had opened the campaign with similar success ;
and Genera] Moreau, after defeating the Impe-
rialists in several engagements, formed a junc-
tion with the army of Italy, and obliged the
Austrians to conclude an armistice.
Soon after preliminaries of peace were signed
at Paris by count St. Julien ; but as Bonaparte
refused to negotiate with England, the emperor
would not ratify them. Hostilities were there-
fore re-commenced, and the Austrians were
defeated by Moreau in the decisive battle of
Hohenlinden. This was followed in 1801 by
the treaty of Luneville, by which the emperor
ceded to France the Belgic provinces, and the
whole of the country on the left side of the
Rhine. In 1805, the court of Vienna entered
into an alliance with Russia, the object of which
appears to have been to rescue the states of Eu-
rope from French predominance and oppression.
The emperor, therefore, made preparation for
war. Without waiting for the arrival of the
Russian troops, the Austrians marched towards
the banks of the Danube, where hostilities
commenced, and the French, under Bonaparte,
after a severe contest, succeeded in defeating
the Imperialists with great loss. The Austrians
retreated and Bonaparte advanced to Munich.
From this time, partial engagements took place,
in which the Austrians, though they fought
with their accustomed bravery, were uniformly
defeated. J
The whole Austrian army in Suabia now
concentrated itself in and near Ulm ; and every-
thing seemed to indicate the approach of a gen-
eral and decisive battle. However, to the as-
tonishment and concern of all Europe, general
Mack, who was in Ulm with 33,000 men, with-
out striking a blow agreed to the terms of ca-
pitulation offered by Bonaparte, evacuated that
important fortress, and surrendered himself and
his troops prisoners of war.
Bonaparte was every where victorious, and
the decisive battle of Austerlitz compelled the
emperor Francis to conclude an armistice which
was speedily followed by Jhe treaty of Presburg.
In 1806, sixteen German princes renounced
their connection with the German empire, and
signed at Paris the Confederation of the Rhine,
by which they acknowledged Napoleon as their
protector.
This was followed, on the Gth of August, by
the renunciation of the title of emperor of Ger-
many, by Francis, who assumed that of emperor
of Austria, and who publicly absolved all the
German provinces and states from their recip-
rocal duties towards the German empire. In
1809, Francis, smarting under sacrifices already
made, and dreading farther encroachments, re-
solved to try again the chance of war, at a time
when a large proportion of the military force
of France was employed in completing the sub-
jugation of Spain. War was declared, in pro-
clamation from the archduke Charles and the
emperor Francis, and these were followed by a
manifesto, stating the provocations and causes
of alarm given by France to Austria.
The Austrians were defeated in two battles,
one at Abensburg by Napoleon in person, and
the other at EckmOhl ; and after these defeats,
the French emperor pioceeded to Vienna which
surrendered to him. But in the battle of As-
pern, which followed soon after. Napoleon ex-
perienced the severest check which his career
had yet received. However, after the decisive
battle of Wagram an armistice was concluded.
This was followed by a peace between Austria
and France, by which the emperor Francis
ceded to Napoleon all those parts of his territory
wluoh bordered on the Adriatic. Other cessions
were also made. By a secret article in this
treaty, the emperor Francis agreed to give his
daughter, the archduchess Louisa Maria, in
marriage to Napoleon. After the disastrous
consequences of the Russian campaign, Austria
declared war against France, a declaration which
was followed by a treaty of amity and defensive
alliance between the courts of Vienna and Pe-
tersburg. Russia and Prussia had previously
formed treaties with Great Britain. Sweden
had also joined the allies, and the accession of
Bavaria to the common cause proved the gen-
eral concurrence of Germany to throw off the
yoke of Napoleon. The battle of Leipzig de-
cided the fate of Germany.
After Napoleon abdicated the throne of France
in 1814, the allied powers concluded a treaty at
Paris by which the German states were to be
independent, and united by a federal league.
As the Austrian or Catholic Netherlands were
unable to secure their independence, Belgium
GIZ
263
GOD
was annexed to the Netherlands forming a sin-
gle slate, under the sovereignty of the house of
Orange. After the battle of Waterloo, in 181o,
a congress of the allied powers was held at Vi-
enna, at which the future tranquillity of Ger-
many was provided for by a solemn act of con-
federation, signed by its sovereigns and tree
cities, including the emperor of Austria and tlie
king of Prussia, for those of their possessions
formerly appertaining to the German empire :
the king ot Denmark for Holstein, and the king
of the Netherlands for Luxemburg.
GERRY, Elbridge, a patriotic American, one
of the signers of the declaration of independence,
was born at Marb^head, Massachusetts July
14 1744, and was eaucated at Harvard College.
He was elected, from his warm patriotism, a
member of the Massachusetts General Court, in
1772 and was afterwards a member of Congress,
presided at the treasury-board, and performed
several important tasks. In 1810 he was chosen
governor of Massachusetts, and the following
year re-elected. In 1812 he was chosen vice-
president of the United States, and died shortly
GHENT, in French GAND, the capital of
East Flanders, a fine city, containing 82,000
inhabitants. Its manufactures are numerous
and lucrative. It has been the scene of several
diplomatic negotiations, of which that to resist
the tyranny of Spain, in 1578, and called the
pacification of Ghent, is particularly memorable,
as well as the treaty of peace between the tint-
ed States and Great Britain, in December 1814.
GIBBON, Edward, an eminent English his-
torian, born at Putney, in 1737. He residea
much abroad, chiefly at Lausanne, but was
engaged in political life for a long time. He
conclived the idea of his great work, the De-
cline and Fall of the Roman Empire, at Rome,
as he sat amidst the ruins of the capitol, •< while
the barefooted friars were singing vespers in
the temple of Jupiter." He died in England,
on the 16th of January, 1794, in the 57th year
of his age. . ,
GIBRALTAR, a rocky promontory, in the
South of Spain, 1400 feet above the level of the
sea It was taken by the English in 1704,
soon after the commencement of the war of the
Spanish succession, and has since been several
times besieged, but never with success. Ihe
most determined attempt was that in 1779 which
was defeated by the skill of general Elliot.
GIZEH ; a city of Egypt, three miles above
Cairo, distinguished for the antique monuments
in its vicinity.
GLASGOW, a city of Scotland, in the coun-
ty of Lanark, one of the most ancient in the
kingdom, containing 202.000 inhabitants. It is
the first city in Scotland in regard to commerce
and manufactures. It contains, among other
superb public buildings, a magnificent cathe-
dral. Its university enjoys a high reputation.
GLENDOWER, Owen, a celebrated Welsh
chieftain, born in 1354. He was the determined
foe of Henry IV, and for a long time, kept a
marauding warfare which was highly annoying
to the English. He died, unsuhdued, February
24 1416
GODFREY OF BOUILLON, marquis of
Anvers and duke of Brabant, was the son of
Eustace II, count of Boulogne, and was born
about the middle of the 11th century. He
served with distinction under Henry IV, em-
peror of Germany, but acquired an imperishable
fame iu the crusades. At Nice, Edessa, and
Antioch, he particularly distinguished himself,
and in July, 1099, he took Jerusalem, after a
siege of five weeks. On taking possession ot
the city, he threw off his armor, clothed him-
self in a mantle, and, with bare head and naked
feet, went to the church of the sepulchre. On
the foundation of the Latin kingdom of Jerusa-
lem, in the same year, Godfrey's virtues were
declared to be pre-eminent, and the princes
conducted him to the church which covered the
tomb of Christ and offered him a crown. But
he refused to wear a diadem of gold where his
Savior had worn a crown of thorns, and mod-
estly claimed the honor of being the defender
of the Holy Sepulchre. He, however enjoyed
it but a short time, for he died July 18, 1100, just
one year after the taking of Jerusalem.
GODMAN, John D. an eminent American
naturalist, lecturer, and writer, was born at
Annapolis, in Maryland, and at an early age.
was apprenticed to a printer. Disliking his
business, he shipped as a sailor on board the
Chesapeake flotilla, in the war of 1813. ilay-
incr afterward studied medicine he settled in
New York, and was offered the professorship
of anatomy in Rutger's medica college. Ihe
state of his health, however, rendered travelling
necessary, and he went to Vera Cruz but with-
out experiencing the relief which he hoped
He died in Philadelphia, April 17, 1830, in the
32d year of his age. His Natural History of
American Quadrupeds (3 vols. 8 vo), and his
Rambles of a Naturalist are deservedly popular.
GODOLPHIN, Sidney, earl of Godolplun,
and lord high treasurer of England was born
in Cornwall, and educated at Oxford. He was
G(ET
264
GOL
employed in the reigns of Charles II and
James II, although he voted for the exclusion
of the latter, in 1680. He was placed at the
head of the treasury on the accession of Queen
Anne, but was obliged to retire from office in
1710.' He died in 1712.
GCETHE, John Wolfgang von, born Aug.
28, 174(J, at Frankfort on the Maine. He dis-
played an early fondness for literature and the
arts which increased with his years. His studies
embraced the whole circle of the sciences. In
1771 he took the degree of doctor of laws, and
wrote a legal dissertation. He eventually set-
tled at Weimar, on the invitation of the grand-
duke, who conferred upon him several offices
and honors. He died, at an advanced age, in
1832. Of his various works, the Sorrows of
Werther, the drama of Faust, and the Appren-
ticeship of Wilhelm Meister, are well known,
through the medium of translation, to the Eng-
lish reader.
The following particulars of the life of this
celebrated man were written not long before
his death. " It would be difficult to find a man
who had arrived at the age of eighty-one with
fewer infirmities than Goethe. The prodigious
activity of his mind seems not to have worn
out his body, although the latter, it is said, was
put to the proof by his juvenile irregularities.
His elevated form, the striking regularity of
his features, his imposing and noble bearing,
the athletic proportions of his body, seem to
have suffered no injury from age ; he holds him-
self as upright as a young man of eighteen; no
apparent infirmity accompanies his years, and
the wrinkles of his face hardly indicate a man
of sixty.
" There is in his behavior and countenance
something cold and reserved, which adds to the
emotion which is felt in beholding him. He
rarely determines, in the interviews which he
grants to strangers, to display the resources
of his genius ; and visiters are sorry to observe
that these hours of audience are only moments
of repose for his spirit — perhaps of annoyance.
It is said that this reserve always disappears in
favor of strangers who arrive at Weimar, pre-
ceded by a literary reputation. Goethe has felt
obliged to impose this reserve upon himself to
avoid the unhappy consequences of frankness
which once distinguished him, and it is said
that English travellers have not a little contri-
buted to it by the indiscretion they have shown
in publishing in their journals incorrect frag-
ments of their conversations with him.
" The life which Goethe leads at present
bears the impress of that vigor of mind and
body, which he has succeeded in preserving.
With a freshness and activity of mind, that
eighty years of a laborious life have not im-
paired, he knows how to profit by every mo-
ment of the day. By six o'clock in the morn-
ing he is at work, and he permits no interrup-
tion until the hour of noon. During these long
mornings he writes letters, composes, reviews
his complete works, and arranges his corres-
pondence with Schiller, of which the first vol-
ume has been published some months. At noon
strangers are admitted. After dinner, he as-
sembles at his house, about 4 or 5 o'clock, the
limited number of the elect who have the hap-
piness to live in habits of intimacy with him.
The evenings of Goethe are consecrated to
reading ; he reads with a prodigious rapidity,
which would be but a defect, were it not ac-
companied by an astonishing memory and an
extraordinary faculty of analysis. He is but
seldom seen at the theatre, and the theatre of
Weimar feels this abandonment but too sensi-
bly. Goethe was formerly the manager, per-
haps we may call him the creator of it : it
was he, who, aided by Schiller, formed all the
actors, who for more than a quarter of a cen-
tury, shone in the first rank upon the German
stage, and made the little theatre of Weimar
the true school of the dramatic art in Ger-
many."
GOLCONDA ; (now Hyderabad) a province
of Hindostan, the soil of which is fertile, but
which is chiefly celebrated for its diamond
mines, which, now, however, hardly pay the
expenses of mining. It was anciently called
Tellingana.
GOLDSMITH, Oliver, an eminent poet and
miscellaneous writer, born in Ireland in 1731.
His father was a clergyman, and he studied at
Dublin, Edinburgh and Leyden, and took a
doctor's degree at Padua. Having made the
tour of Europe on foot, supporting himself by
flute playing, he reached London, after a long
absence, with but a few pence in his pocket.
Here he supported himself by his pen, and
compiled many works, besides composing those
which have rendered his name immortal. His
poem of The Traveller gained him an enviable
poetical reputation. His fame was established
on a firm basis by the Deserted Village. Im-
provident, like many men of genius, he was
about to marry his landlady to cancel a debt he
owed her, when the sale of his novel the Vicar
of Wakefield, which met the approbation of Dr.
Johnson, afforded him a temporary relief. An
o
GOR
265
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adventure which he himself met with formed
the groundwork of his highly successful com-
edy, She Stoops to Conquer. He put up at the
house of a gentleman, mistaking it for an inn,
and amused the inmates by calling out lustily
for whatever he wanted, ordering the servants,
slapping his host upon the back, and asking to
see the bill of fare. His mortification, on dis-
covering his mistake, can easily be imagined.
He died April, 1774. He was eccentric even to
absurdity, and, in society showed the simpli-
city of la Fontaine. Garrick, in some extempo-
raneous verses, spoke of him as
"Noll,
Who wrote like an angel, but talked — like poor Poll."
GONZALVO, Hernandez y Aquilar de Cor-
dova, commonly called the great captain, was
born in 1443. This celebrated Spaniard served
under Ferdinand and Isabella in the conquest of
Granada, where he took several strong places
from the Moors. Ferdinand gave him the com-
mand of the forces which lie sent into the king-
dom of Naples, to succor Frederick and Al-
phonso. After having gained his purpose, he
returned to Spain, and then serving against the
Turks wrested Zante and Cephalonia from them.
He was afterwards, in consequence of his various
victories, appointed viceroy of Naples, with un-
limited powers. He died in 1515.
GOOKIN, Daniel, major-general of Massa-
chusetts from 1681 to 1687, the year of his
death. He was an Englishman, but came to
Virginia, in 1621, and removed to New Eng-
land that he might enjoy freedom of worship in
1644. He is the author of the Historical Col-
lections of the Indians in New England.
GORDIUS, a king of Phrygia, who fastened
the pole of his chariot with so ingenious a knot
that the oracle promised the kingdom to the
man who should untie it. Alexander the Great
cut it with his sword.
GORE, Christopher, a governor of Massa-
chusetts, born in Boston, in 1758, was the son
of a mechanic. His education was completed
at Harvard University ; he studied law and
practised it with success. He was the first
United States attorney for Massachusetts, and
was one of the commissioners to settle the
claims on England for the spoliations commit-
ted by her upon the property of the Americans.
He was twice elected senator for Suffolk county
in his native state, and in 1809 was chosen gov-
ernor of Massachusetts, but remained in office
only one year. In 1814 he was chosen United
States senator, but died in retirement, March 1,
1827, in the 69th year of his age.
GOREE, a small island off the coast of Af-
rica, near Cape Verd, with a military post be-
longing to the French.
GOTH A, formerly a Saxon duchy, contain-
ing 522 square miles, and 83,000 inhabitants.
In 1826 it was annexed to the duchies of Saxe-
Coburg, and Saxe-Altenburg.
GOTHS, an ancient barbarous tribe, whose
origin is very uncertain. They were said to
come from Scandinavia. For a long time they
resided in Germany whence they finally forced
their way and made themselves formidable to
the Romans. Under Alaric they took and plun-
dered Rome. The Goths of the east were called
Ostrogoths, and those of West Visigoths.
GOTTINGEN, a city of Hanover, on the
Leine, 22 leagues S. S. E. of Hanover. It con-
tains 10,000 inhabitants, and is famous for its
university founded by King George II in 1734.
GRACCHUS, Tiberius Sempronius and Caius,
the sons of the celebrated Cornelia, lost their
lives in attempting to reform the republic. With
a winning eloquence, affected moderation, and
uncommon popularity, Tiberius began to revive
the Agrarian law, which had already caused
dissensions among the Romans. His proposi-
tion passed into a law, but he was killed in the
midst of a tumult, for, happening to raise his
hand to his head, his enemies declared that he
signified a desire for a crown, and he was killed
in the outbreak of popular fury which ensued.
His brother Caius supported the cause of the
people with more vehemence, and less modera-
tion than Tiberius, and his success animated
his resentment against the nobles. With the
privileges of a tribune, he treated the patricians
with contempt, and this behavior hastened his
ruin. He fled with a large number of his ad-
herents, but the consul Opinius attacked and
defeated them, and slew their leader, B. C. 121,
about thirteen years after the unfortunate end
of Tiberius.
GRANADA, an extensive province in the
south of Spain, bordering on the sea, about 200
miles in length. The soil of the valleys is fer-
tile. The city of Granada is interesting for its
historical recollections, and monuments of the
past. Among the latter is the magnificent
Alhambra, which has already been described.
Granada has some manufactures and is the seat
of an university. Population of the city 80,000.
GRATTAN, Henry, a celebrated statesman,
was born about 1750, in Dublin. He was elect-
ed into the Irish parliament in 1775, and, by his
powerful remonstrances obtained for his coun-
try a participation in the commerce of Britain,
GRE
266
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for which lie was rewarded by a vote of 50,000
pounds sterling. In 1790 he was returned for
the city of Dublin, and from that time was the
active leader of the opposition till the union
with England, which measure he resisted with
all his eloquence. When it was effected, he
accepted a seat in the united house of commons
for Malton. In the French wars he supported
government with great ability ; but his princi-
pal exertions were called forth in advocating
the Catholic claims, to which cause he fell a
martyr, by leaving Ireland, in an exhausted
state, to carry the petition, with which he was
inmisted, to England. He died, soon after his
arrival. May 14, 1820; and his remains were
interred in Westminster Abbey. What Irish-
man does not feel proud that he has lived in
the days of Grattan ? Who has not turned to
him for comfort from the false friends and open
enemies of Ireland ? Who did not remember
him in the days of its burnings, and wastings,
and murders. No government ever dismayed
him — the world could not bribe him. He only
thought of Ireland — lived for no other object —
dedicated to her his beautiful fancy, his elegant
wit, his manly courage, and all the splendor
of his astonishing eloquence. He was so born,
and so gifted, that all the attainments of human
genius were within his reach ; but he thought
the noblest occupation of man was to make
other men happy and free ; and in that straight
line he went on for fifty years, without one side
look, without one yielding thought, withoutone
motive in his heart which he might not have
laid open to the view of God and man. He is
gone ! — but there is not a single day of his hon-
est life of which every good Irishman would
not be more proud, than of the whole political
existence of the Wellington's and the Lans-
downes, — the annual deserters a-nd betrayers of
their native land.
GRAY, Thomas, an English poet, born in
London, in 1716. After completing the course
of education at Eton and Cambridge, he made
the tour of Europe, returning in 1741. The
remainder of his life was passed in literary re-
tirement. He was for ever laying gigantic lit-
erary plans, which he wanted the perseverance
to execute. He wrote little and published only
after mature deliberation. His Odes on A Dis-
tant Prospect of Eton College, on the Progress
of Poesy , The Bard, and his Elegy in a Country
Church Yard, are inimitable. This distinguish-
ed poet died of a gout in the stomach, July 30,
1771. B > y >
GREAT BRITAIN. (See Britain and Eng-
land.\
GREECE. Ancient Greece, Gratia, Hellas,
and Jlchaia, contained about 42,000 square miles.
It was bounded on the west by the Ionian Sea,
south by the Mediterranean Sea, east by the
JEge&n, and north by Thrace and Dalmatia.
This country has been esteemed superior to
every other part of the earth, on account of
the salubrity of the air, the temperature of the
climate, the fertility of the soil, and, above all,
the fame, learning, and arts of its inhabitants.
The most celebrated of its cities were Athens,
Sparta, Corinth, Thebes, Sicyon, Mycenae,
Delphi, Trcezene, Salamis, Megara, Pylos, &c.
The history of Greece is darkened, in its
primitive ages, by the mists of fable. The in-
habitants believed that they were the original
dwellers in the country, and sprang from the
earth, whereon they dwelt; and they heard,
with contempt, the probable conjectures which
traced their origin to the inhabitants of Asia,
and the colonies of Egypt. In the first periods
of their history, the Greeks were governed by
monarchs ; and there were as many kings as
there were cities. The monarchical power grad-
ually decreased ; the love of liberty established
the republican governments ; and no part of
Greece, except Macedonia, remained in the
hands of an absolute sovereign. The expedition
of the Argonauts first rendered the Greeks re-
spectable among their neighbors ; and in the suc-
ceeding age, the wars of Thebes and Troy gave
opportunity to their heroes to display their valor
in the field of battle. The simplicity of the an-
cient Greeks rendered them virtuous ; and the
establishment of the Olympic games in partic-
ular, where the only reward of the conqueror
was a laurel crown, contributed to their aggran-
dizement, and made them ambitious of fame,
and not the slaves of riches.
The austerity of their laws, and the educa-
tion of their youth, particularly at Lacedemon,
rendered them brave and active, insensible to
bodily pain, fearless and intrepid in the hour of
danger. The celebrated battles of Marathon,
Thermopylee, Salamis, Platasa, and Mycale, suf-
ficiently show what superiority a well train-
ed, though small army possesses over millions
of undisciplined barbarians. After many signal
victories over the Persians, the Greeks became
elated with their success, and when they found
no one able to dispute their power abroad,
they turned their arms against each other, and
leagued with foreign states to destroy the most
flourishing of their cities. The Messenian and
Peloponnesian wars are examples of the dread-
ful calamities which arise from civil discord and
GRE
267
ORE
long prosperity ; and the ease with which the
gold and sword of Philip of Macedon corrupted
and enslaved Greece, fatally proved that when
a nation becomes indolent and luxurious at
home, it ceases to be respectable in the eyes of
neighboring states. The annals of Greece, how-
ever, abound with singular proofs of heroism
and resolution. While the Greeks rendered
themselves so illustrious by their military ex-
ploits, the arts and sciences were assisted by
conquest, and received fresh lustre from the
liberal patronage bestowed on them.
From the fifteenth century until a recent
period, Greece was subject to the Turkish gov-
ernment. Although degraded — changed from
what she was, there was yet something in Mod-
ern Greece to remind the world of former days
of glory. Ere the storm of the revolution
broke forth, the bard could sing —
" On Suli's rock, and Parga's shore,
Exists the remnant of a line
Such as the Doric mothers bore,
And there, perhaps, some seed is sown,
That Heracleidan blood might own."
The revolution in the Morea broke out at a
village of Achaia, March 23, 1821. From that
time forward their warlike weapons were never
relinquished by the Hellenists. The Greeks
struggled against ferocity, bravery, wealth, and
power, while, they themselves, although the
sympathy of the liberal portion of the world
was theirs, not only received no assistance, but
even experienced checks from the cabinets of
Europe. At length England took the part of
the Greeks, and a Russian, French and British
squadron, under Admiral Sir Edward Codring-
ton, destroyed the Turkish-Egyptian armada of
110 ships, in the bay of Navarino, Oct. 20, 1827.
In March, 1828, the war between Russia and
Turkey broke out, and the interference of for-
eign powers produced the pacification of Greece
in 1829. The Turks were compelled to evacuate
Greece ; a limited monarchy was established ;
Otho I, a young man of eighteen, being at the
head of the government. Schools have now
been established in various places, and, freed
from the oppression which prostrated its ener-
gies, the Greek character now begins to appear
in a happy light.
GREENE, Nathaniel, a distinguished major-
general in the American army during the re-
volution, was born in Rhode Island, May 22,
1742, and early evinced an attachment to litera-
ture and science, and a propensity for a mili-
tary life. In 1770 he was elected to the state
legislature, took part in the earliest battles of
the revolution, and June, 6, 1775, assumed the
command of the army before Boston for a short
time. Want of space renders it impossible for
us to follow him through all the steps of his
career of glory, or even to enumerate his bril-
liant actions. He died in 1786, in Georgia,
whither he had removed upon some grants of
land.
GREENLAND, an extensive country of N.
America, belonging to Denmark, and settled
800 years ago. The natives belong to the Es-
quimaux family, and are rude in their man-
ners, and confined in their ideas. They are of
diminutive size, clothed in skins, and subsist-
ing by hunting and fishing. Their religious
notions are rude and primitive. There are
numerous settlements upon the coast of Green-
land, many of them being made by the Mora-
vian missionaries.
GREGORY I, pope of Rome, surnamed the
Great, succeeded Pelagius II, in 590, and intro-
duced many of the present ceremonies of the
Romish church. He was of a noble family and
induced to take monastic vows by a disgust of
worldly affairs. He died in 604.
GREGORY VII, called Hildebrand before
his election, succeeded Alexander II, in the
year 1073, being advanced by the suffrages of
the cardinals, without the emperor's authority ;
the better to confirm himself in the pontificate,
he abolished the imperial power of conferring
investiture upon bishops and clergymen, and
became an inveterate enemy of the emperor
Henry IV. He prevailed upon Rodolph, Duke
of Suabia, to assume the title of emperor, and
take up arms against Henry, but Rodolph being
overthrown and slain, Henry marched directly
into Italy, besieged Rome, took the city, and
established Clement III upon the papal throne.
Gregory fled to Salerno, and there died, after
having enjoyed the papal dignity 12 years.
There were several other popes of the same
name.
GRENADA, New, formerly a viceroyalty of
South America, and more recently a portion of
Colombia, but now a separate republic. Together
with Venezuela, it was formerly called Terra
Firina. It has an area of 375,000 square miles,
and a population of 1 ,500,000 souls. The moun-
tains of the republic are rich in the precious
metals, yielding annually about 3,000,000 dol-
lars' worth of gold.
GRENOBLE, an old French city, capital of
the department of here, 113 leagues S. E. of
Paris. It was the first city to open its gates to
Napoleon, when he returned from Elba. The
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268
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garrison had taken up arms to resist the little
band of the imperialists, when Napoleon ad-
vancing and uncovering his breast, said to
them :— " If there be one among you, who
would slay his general and emperor, he can do
it— behold I am defenceless." He was answer-
ed by animating shouts of " Vive I'empereur.
Population 25,000.
GREY, Lady Jane, an unfortunate and most
amiable lady, the daughter of Henry Grey,
marquis of Dorset, by lady Frances Brandon
daughter of the duke of Suffolk, was of royal
descent on both sides. She was born in 1537,
at Bradgate Hall, her father's seat in Leicester-
shire ; and early in life gave proofs of uncom-
mon genius. She worked admirably with her
needle ; wrote an elegant hand ; played well
on several instruments; and was well versed
in Greek and Latin, besides being conversant
with French and Italian. Roger Ascham, " the
schoolmaster of princes," has given a beautiful
and affecting narrative of his. interview with
her at Bradgate Hall, where he found her read-
ing Plato's Phsedon in Greek, while the family
were amusing themselves in the park.
In 1551, her father was created duke of Suf-
folk ; and at this time lady Jane Grey was much
at court ; where the ambitious duke of Northum-
berland projected a marriage between her and
his son, lord Guilford Dudley, which took place
at the end of May, 1553. Soon after this Ed-
ward VI died, having been prevailed upon in
his last illness, to settle the crown upon the
lady Jane, who, against her will, was proclaim-
ed "with great pomp.
The splendor of royalty, however, enduied
but a short time. The nation was dissatisfied,
and the nobility indignant at the presumption
of Northumberland, so that Mary was not long
in obtaining the victory, and, with an indignant
spirit, determined on revenge. Lady Jane and
her husband, after having been confined in the
Tower some months, were arraigned and con-
demned to death, Nov. 3, 1553. The sentence
was not carried into execution, until the 12th
of February in the following year, when lord
Guilford first suffered, and his lady immediately
afterwards, on the same scaffold. She died with
the firmness and meekness of a martyr ; and
such no doubt she was, since her Protestant
principles were more offensive to the queen,
than the part she had been compelled to act.
On the evening previous to her death she sent
a letter written in Greek to her sister ; and even
after seeing the headless body of her husband
carried to the chapel, 6he wrote three sentences,
in Greek, Latin and English, in a table book,
which she presented to the lieutenant of the
tower. .
GR1DLEY, Jeremiah, a distinguished lawyer,
who was born in 1705, and flourished in Mas-
sachusetts before the revolution. Although a
warm opponent of the British ministry, he ac-
cepted the office of attorney -general of the pro-
vince of Massachusetts Bay, and defended the
writs of assistance, but was completely refuted
by James Otis, who had studied law in his office.
He died in Boston, Sept. 7, 1707, aged about 62
yeGRISONS,The, since 1778, the largest can-
ton of the Swiss confederacy, containing bb,00U
inhabitants. Its exports are cattle, cheese coals,
and valuable minerals. It was the Upper Rhcetia
of the Romans.
GRISWOLD, Roger, a governor of Vonn5£-
ticut, was born at Lyme, in that state, ml7b^.
He was educated at Yale College, and chosen
member of Congress in 1794. In 1807 he accept-
ed the office of judge of the Supreme Court of
Connecticut, and after serving as lieutenant-
governor, in 1811 was chosen governor of his
native state. He died in 1812.
GRONINGEN, the name of a province and
city of the Netherlands. The city contains
27,800 inhabitants, and is the seat of a famous
university. __ .
GROTIUS, or De Groot, Hugo, a famous
scholar and statesman, born at Delft, April 10,
1583 So precocious were his powers, that he
was appointed advocate-general in his 24th
Vear. Grotius, having espoused the cause ot
a religious sect called the Remonstrants, was
condemned to imprisonment for life in the fort-
ress of Louvenstein,but having concealed him-
self in a chest in which his wife had sent him
some books, he was carried out of the castle
unsuspected. After wandering about in seve-
ral countries, having been banished for ever
from his own, he went to Stockholm in lod4,
and was appointed counsellor of state, and am-
bassador to the French court. Although per-
sonally obnoxious to Cardinal Richelieu, he held
this office for 10 years, and then returned to
Sweden, passing through his native country,
where his reception was most flattering. We
solicited his dismission from the queen of Swe-
den, but, after leaving her court, was taken sicK
at Rostock, in Pomerania, and died there, Au-
gust 28, 1645. He was a profound and elegani
scholar, and a powerful writer.
GUADALAXARA, formerly an mtendancy
of Mexico, now forms the state of Yalisco, m
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269
GUI
the Mexican confederacy. It is fertile and well
timbered. Population, 800,000. Number of
square miles 72,000. The capital is a city of
the same name, built on a fertile plain, and
containing 60,000 inhabitants, Spaniards, mulat-
toes, and mestizoes.
GU ADALOUPE, one of the largest and most
valuable of the Caribbee Islands — about 70 miles
long, and 25 broad. It is divided into two parts
by a channel, which runs from north to south.
It was discovered by Columbus. After passing
alternately from the French to the English, its
possession was confirmed to the former in 1814.
Population 110,000.
GUANAXUATO, a rich and populous state
of Mexico, containing 450,000 inhabitants on
6,300 square miles.
GUANAXUATO, or Santa Fe Guanaxuato,
the capital of the preceding state, is 140 miles
northwest of Mexico, and contains 40,000 inhab-
itants. Of these many are miners, the mines
in the vicinity being uncommonly productive.
The city stands at an elevation of 6,836 above
the sea, and is situated in a mountainous defile.
GUATIMALA, the largest of the five states
of the republic of Central America. It borders
on Mexico, the gulf of Honduras, and the Pacific
GUATIMALD A, La Nueva, the seat of gov-
ernment of Central America, was founded in
1775, and contains 40,000 inhabitants. It is
situated on the river Vacas, near the Pacific
Ocean.
GUAXACA, or Oaxaca, an uncommonly
rich and fertile state of Mexico, containing
600,000 inhabitants, many of whom are tribu-
tary Indians. The capital town of the same,
called also, Antequera, contains 40,000 inhabi-
tants.
GUAYAQUIL, a province of the Equator,
containing about 90,000 inhabitants. Guaya-
quil, the capital, on the west side of Guayaquil
river, has an excellent harbor.
GUELPHS, the name of a family, one of two
opposite factions that divided Italy about the
year 1255, the partisans of papal and imperial
power. The family of the Uberti were at the
head of the Florentine Ghibellines, the other
faction ; and the people, or rather, the republi-
can party, resented their contumacy so much,
that they ran to arms, broke into the palace of
the Uberti, and, having killed some, forced all
the Ghibellines to take refuge in Sienna, where
they were hospitably received, in direct viola-
tion of a treaty between the Florentines and
Siennese.
GUESCLIN,Bertranddu, constable of France,
and one of her most renowned generals, born
in 1314, at the castle of Motte Broon, near Ren-
nes. At the age of seventeen years, he won a
prize in a tournament. After the battle of Poic-
tiers, and the losses of Charles, du Guesclin
came forward, and redeemed the honor of his
country, wresting from the hands of the Eng-
lish almost all their possessions. He died, in the
midst of triumph, before Chateau-neuf-de-Rau-
don, July 13, 1380. He had nothing pleasing
or noble in his person, and owed his honors
wholly to his own exertions.
GUIANA, a country of South America, for-
merly of vast extent. At present what was
formerly Spanish Guiana, belongs to Venezuela,
and Portuguese Guiana, to Brazil. The remain-
ing portions are divided between the English.
Dutch, and French. The animals and birds of
Guiana are numerous, as are its vegetable pro-
ductions. Parts of Guiana are yet wild and
imperfectly known, and in its interior the El
Dorado of the Spaniards was formerly believed
to exist.
GUILFORD, a town and sea-port of New
Haven county, Connecticut, on Long Island
Sound, containing 2,344 inhabitants. It has
two harbors, and enjoys considerable trade. The
Indian name of the place was Menunkatuck.
GUILLOTIN, Joseph Ignatius, a French
physician, born in 1738, was the inventor of the
instrument for inflicting capital punishment,
which bears his name.
GUINEA. A large portion of the western
coast of Africa bears this name. But its limits
cannot be exactly defined. It is commonly
divied into the Grain Coast, the Ivory Coast,
the Gold Coast, and Slave Coast.
GUISE ; a town and dukedom of France, in
Picardy, besieged by the Spaniards in 1528.
The dukes of 'Guise were very important per-
sonages in all the affairs of France, from the
reign of Francis I, to that of Henry IV. This
family was a branch of the house of Lorraine,
promoted, by Francis I, in 1528, from counts of
Guise, to dukes. The first thus raised was
Claude, the son of Rene II. He had eight sons,
among whom were Francis, duke of Guise, Clau-
dius, duke of Aumale, and Rene, marquis of El-
boeuf. Francis gallantly defended Metz against
Charles V, and took Calais from the English.
He was assassinated in 1516. He was the father
of Henry, duke of Guise, and Charles, duke of
Maine, &e. Henry placing himself at the head
of the Holy League, was slain in the States of
Blois, by the order of his prince, in 1588.
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270
GUS
Charles, the other brother, took up arms against
Henry IV, till at last, in 1594, he was forced to
submit to that victorious prince. Charles, the
son of Henry, succeeded his father in the duke-
dom, and was the father of Henry II, who was
chosen king of Naples.
GUNPOWDER PLOT, a conspiracy formed
in the beginning of James I, of England, for the
re-establishment of popery, which, were it not
a fact well known to all the world, could scarcely
be credited by posterity. The Roman Catho-
lics had expected great favor and indulgence
from James, both because he was a descendant
of Mary, a rigid Catholic, and because he had
shown some favor to that religion in his youth ;
but they soon discovered their mistake, and
were at once surprised and enraged to find
James, on all occasions, express his resolution
of strictly executing the laws enacted against
them, and of persevering in the policy of his
predecessor. This declaration determined them
to destroy the king and parliament at a blow.
They therefore stored in the vaults under the
parliament-house, thirty-six barrels of gunpow-
der, purchased in Holland, and covered them
with coals and fagots. The meaning of a
warnincr but ambiguous letter, received by lord
Monteagle was first penetrated by the king.
The care of searching the vaults devolved upon
the carl of Suffolk, lord Chamberlain, who pur-
posely delayed the search until the day before
the meeting of parliament, Nov. 5, 1G05.
He remarked the great piles of fagots, which
lay in the vault under the house of peers, and
seized a man preparing for the terrible enter-
prise, dressed in a cloak and boots, with a dark
lantern in his hand. This was one Guy Fawkes,
who had just disposed evry part of the train
for takino- fire the next morning ; the matches
and other combustibles being found in his pock-
ets. The whole of the design was now discov-
ered ; but the atrocity of his guilt, and the des-
pair of pardon, inspiring him with resolution,
he told the officers of justice with an undaunted
air, that had he blown them and himself up
together, he had been happy. Before the coun-
cil he displayed the same intrepid firmness,
mixed even with scorn and disdain, refusing to
discover his associates, and showing no concern
but for the failure of his enterprise. But his
bold spirit was :it length subdued ; after having
been confined to the tower for two or three days,
on the rack being shown him, his courage failed
him, and he made a full discovery of his accom-
plices, to the number of eighty, who all suffered
punishment.
GUSTAVUS I, king of Sweden, commonly
called Gustavus Vasa, was imprisoned when
Christian II, of Denmark, sought to enslave his
country. Having escaped from prison in 1519,
he arrived at Lubeck. after meeting with vari-
ous difficulties. Here he was countenanced by
the Senate, but failing of accomplishing his
object, he was proscribed by the tyrant, and fled
to Dalecarlia, where he roused the miners to
revenge the wrongs of their suffering country.
The young hero found the peasants prepared
to receive him with open arms, and to swear to
revenge the massacre at Stockholm with the
last drop of their blood. The brave Dalecarlians
flocked to the standard of Gustavus, who was,
from this moment, irresistible. After the burn-
ing of the Danish fleet, the diet assembled, Gus-
tavus was proclaimed king of Sweden and of
the two Gothlands, in 1523, and he soon suc-
ceeded in establishing the doctrines of Luther
in his dominions.
In 1531, Christian made preparations for re-
covering his throne, but his vast armament was
defeated with great slaughter. In 1542, Gus-
tavus prevailed on the states to render the crown
hereditary in his own family. This valiant,
wise, and virtuous hero, the true deliverer of
his country, died in 1500, at the age of 70.
GUSTAVUS II, Adolphus, king of Sweden,
succeeded Charles IX, in 1611, at the age of
eio-hteen. Gustavus having placed the Chan-
cellor Oxenstiern at the head of the administra-
tion of civil affairs, took charge himself of the
martial operations, and, in 1613, prosecuted the
war against Denmark with such vigor and suc-
cess, that, through the mediation of Great Brit-
ain and Holland, an advantageous peace was
procured, by which the Danish monarch re-
nounced all pretensions to the throne. He was
equally successful with the Russians, who ceded
to him the fine province of Livonia, and part of
the province of Novogorod. His hostilities,
however, with his cousin Sigismund, were of
longer duration, and were productive of those
glorious events which procured him a conspi-
cuous rank among the most distinguished war-
riors of his time. The king of Poland could not
forget the Swedish crown of which he had
been deprived by the impolitic conduct of his
father and himself, and formed a plot for seiz-
ing on Gustavus, who, however, avoided the
snare. ,
The Swedish monarch, having prepared a
numerous fleet, set sail, and laid siege to Riga,
in 1G21. Gustavus proved victorious, but allow-
ed the besieged to capitulate on honorable terms.
GWI
271
HAL
During a series of years he was engaged in
constant warfare, which afforded him opportu-
nities of training the Swedes, and forming those
intrepid commanders and formidable battalions,
which long kept Europe in alarm. At length,
in 1629, Gustavus gloriously terminated the war
with Poland, and obtained large cessions of ter-
ritory. He did not, however, long enjoy the
fruits of his victories in peace. The resentment
which he felt against the emperor, and his am-
bition to curb the power of the house of Aus-
tria, determined him to march an army of sixty
thousand 'men into Germany, in 1630. He re-
duced Frankfort on the Oder, and various other
places, and compelled the elector of Braden-
burgh to unite his troops with the Swedish
battalions. He then invaded Saxony. In 1631,
the imperialists awaited Gustavus at Leipzig,
with an army of 40,000 men. The Swedish
monarch led his troops to the attack, and, after
an obstinate conflict, obtained a decisive victory.
He then penetrated into Bavaria, and levied
contributions on the opulent districts of Ger-
many. The battle of Lutzen ensued, in 1633,
on the fate of which contest, that of Europe
appeared to depend. The Swedish infantry
performed prodigies of valor, broke the line of
the imperialists, and seized their cannon. Vic-
tory had already declared for the Swedes, when
Gustavus was found stretched among the slain.
His death plunged Sweden into the greatest
affliction, but his triumphant bands for a time
supported her military reputation.
GUSTAVUS III, king of Sweden, the eldest
son of Adolphus Frederic, duke of Holstein-
Gottorp, was born in 1746, and succeeded to
the throne on his father's death, February 12th,
1771. The country, which was convulsed
throughout, was tranquillized by the prudent
measures of Gustavus, who was wise, firm, and
accomplished, although fond of pleasure, and
ambitious. He determined to take part against
the French revolutionists, and thereby gave
very general dissatisfaction. A conspiracy was
formed against him ; the most prominent mem-
bers being the counts Horn, Ribbing, and An-
karstroem, and he was shot by the latter at a
masquerade at Stockholm, March 15, 1792.
GWINNETT, Burton, an Englishman, born
in 1732, emigrated to Charleston (S. C.), in
1770, and was one of the signers of the Decla-
ration of Independence. He settled in Geor-
gia, where he took an active share in the affairs
of the revolution ; and was subsequently chosen
a member of the convention assembled for the
purpose of framing a state constitution. He
died of wounds received in a duel with General
Mcintosh, May 27, 1777, in the 45th year of his
age.
II.
HAARLEM or Haerlem, a large city of the
Netherlands, on the river Spaaren, about three
miles from the sea. It contains many fine pub-
lic edifices, and some scientific institutions. It
is a thriving place, and has 22,000 inhabitants.
HABAKKUK, a Jewish prophet, who flour-
ished about 600, B. C.
HvEMUS, the ancient name of the range of
mountains in Turkey, now called the Balkan.
HA GAR, an Egyptian slave of Abraham,
and the mother of Ishmael. (For her history,
vide Genesis.')
IIAIJNAUT, or Hainault, a province of the
Netherlands, containing 574,800 inhabitants,
and 1683 square miles. Its soil is fruitful, and
its minerals valuable and abundant.
HALE, Nathan, a Captain in the American
revolutionary army, born in Coventry, Con-
necticut, and graduated at Yale College in 1773.
After the retreat from Long Island, he exam-
ined the British camp in disguise, but was ap-
prehended, tried, condemned, and executed
with circumstances of peculiar barbarity. (For
an account of his last moments, see article An-
dre.)
HALICARNASSUS, the capital of Caria,
in Asia Minor, now called Bod run, or Budron.
It was here that queen Artemisia erected the
famous Mausoleum to the memory of her de-
ceased husband Mausolus.
HALIFAX, the capital city of Nova Scotia, on
Chebucto Bay. Its fine harbor is one of the
best in America. Population 16,000. It was
first settled by an English colony, in 1749.
HALL, Lyman, one of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence, was born in Con-
necticut, in 1731, and studied medicine. He
removed, however, to Georgia, where he prac-
tised his profession until the breaking out of the
revolution induced him to devote his property
and person to the service of his country, and,
in 1775, he was chosen a delegate to the gen-
ral Congress, then assembled in Philadelphia.
In 1782, he was chosen governor of the State
of Georgia, but died in retirement in the 60th
year of his age.
HALLE, a Prussian city, in the province of
Saxony, on the right bank of the Saale, contain-
ing 23,873 inhabitants. Its university ranks
deservedly very high. It was the scene of an
HAM
272
HAN
obstinate conflict, on the 17th of October, 1806,
three days after the battle of Jena.
HALLOWELL, a post-town in Kennebec
county, Maine, situated forty-five miles from
the mouth of the river Kennebec, 54 miles N.
N. E. of Portland. It is a flourishing place,
and contained, in 1830, 3,960 inhabitants.
HAMBURG, a free city of Germany, situ-
ated on the Elbe, about 80 miles from its mouth,
containing 122,000 inhabitants. It was founded
in the reign of Charlemagne, and was originally
a fort called Hammenburg. In 1618, it was
admitted into the number of imperial towns,
subject to the counts of Holstein. In 1768,
however, the subjection was annulled, and
Hamburg was confirmed into an independent
city. In 1807, it was taken possession of by a
large French garrison, and Bonaparte seized a
part of its public funds. In 1810, it was incor-
porated into the French empire ; and in 1813, a
memorable but unsuccessful effort was made to
shake off the French yoke. A contribution of
$9,000,000 was then levied upon it, and the
most positive orders were given to defend it, at
whatever sacrifice, against the allies. This led
to incalculable distress, to the destruction of the
houses on the ramparts, to the seizure of con-
siderable merchandise; and, finally, of the bank
funds by Davoust. At last, the city was evac-
uated in May, 1814, and part of the bank funds
have been restored by the Bourbons.
HAMILTON, Elizabeth, a lady of fine liter-
ary talent, born at Belfast, in Ireland. July 25,
1758, died July 23, 1816. During a residence
in Scotland, she acquired that knowledge of the
national peculiarities of the Scotch, which she
has so happily displayed in her Cottagers of
Glenburnie. She published several other works,
principally on the subject of education.
HAMILTON, Alexander, was born in the
island of Nevis, in 1757. At the age of sixteen,
he entered Columbia college, New York, in
which institution he greatly distinguished him-
self. At the age of seventeen, he published
political essays in favor of the colonial cause, so
powerful and brilliant, that they were at first
attributed to Mr. Jay, then in the prime of life.
At nineteen, eager to peril his life in the cause
of his beloved country, Hamilton entered the
army ; he soon rose to the rank of captain of
artillery, and Washington appointed him his
aid-de-camp with the rank of lieutenant-colonel,
when he was but twenty years of age. At the
siege of Yorktown, he was in the hottest of the
fire, and headed an assault which carried one
of the enemies outworks. After the war, he
commenced the study of the law in New York,
and was speedily admitted to practice. In
1783, he was chosen member of Congress, and
distinguished himself by his ability, unwearied
industry, and patriotism. After having been
chosen to a seat in the Legislature of New York,
he became a member of the convention, which
met at Philadelphia for the purpose of framing
the federal constitution. The essays which he
published under the title of the Federalist, con-
tributed more than any thing else to render the
constitution popular. As secretary of the trea-
sury, to which office he was apoointed in 1789,
he gained the reputation of on f the greatest
financiers of the age In 179b, he retired into
private life, but in V38, as inspector general,
he organized the army intended to repel the
threatened invasion of the French, and in 1799,
on the death of Washington, he succeeded to
the chief command.
On June 11th, 1804, in consequence of a dis-
pute between Colonel Burr and General Ham-
ilton, the parties met at Hoboken, and Hamil-
ton was killed by the first shot, standing on the
fatal spot where his eldest son had recently been
killed in a similar rencounter.
HAMPDEN, or Hamden, John, a celebrated
English patriot, was born in London, in 1594.
He obtained a seat in the second parliament of
Charles I, and in the year 1636, his resistance
to the payment of the tax, called ship money,
drew upon him the eyes of all men, and he be-
came the champion of the disaffected. He was
one of the first to take up arms against the king ;
and it is not a little remarkable, that he fell in
the very same field where he mustered the
militia, near Brill, in Buckinghamshire, June
18, 1643. Lord Clarendon's character of him
is that which Sallust gave of Catiline : " He had
a head to contrive, a tongue to persuade, and a
hand to execute any mischief." But this opi-
nion is that of a firm supporter of legitimate
abuses, for Hampden appeared to have been in-
fluenced throughout his career by purely patri-
otic principles.
HANAU, a province of Hesse-Cassel, the
capital of which, Hanau, on the Kinzig, con-
tains 9,700 inhabitants. In 1792, Hanau was
attacked, but not occupied, by the French, but,
at the end of October. 1813, an Austrian and
Bavarian corps opposed here the great army of
the French, in their retreat from Leipsig : a
sanguinary conflict took place in which the
Bavarians were defeated, and the flying army
effected its retreat.
HANCOCK, John, was born at Quincy, in
HAN
273
HAN
Massachusetts. Having lost his parents early,
he was sent to Harvard College, where he grad-
uated in 1754, by his uncle, a rich and benevo-
lent merchant, to whose wealth and business
he succeeded in 1764. After the battle of Lex-
ington, when pardon was offered to the rebels,
in case of submission to the royal authority,
Hancock and Adams were the only Americans
excepted by Gage from the offer of mercy.
After having been president of the provincial
Congress of Massachusetts, Hancock was so-'
to the general Congress at Philadelphia, in 1 /
and filled the presidential chair of that be'
until 1779, when sickness compelled him-,
relinquish it. " « was annually chosen governor
of Massachusetts, from 1780 till 1785. In 1787,
he was re-elected, and fil^d the post until his
death in 1793, at the age of 56 years.
HANDEL or Haendel, George Frederic, a
native of Saxony, born February 24, 1684. He
early determined to cultivate his talents for
music, and he produced his earliest operas at
Hamburg. In 1710, he visited England, and
his fame and fortune were there established.
In 1741, he brought out his master-piece, the
Oratorio of the Messiah. Towards the latter
part of his life, he was affected with total blind-
ness, and he died, April 6, 1759, leaving a for-
tune of £20,000. His appetites were coarse,
his person ungainly, and his temper violent,
although an external roughness was compen-
sated by a humane and generous heart.
The following anecdote strikingly illustrates
his manners, and his peculiar humor. Dr.
Greene, a personal friend, as well as a warm
admirer of Handel, brought to the great Ger-
man an anthem of his own composition, request-
ing the favor of his opinion and remarks upon
it. Handel readily received the production,
promised to examine it immediately, and invited
the doctor to breakfast with him the next day.
Dr. Greene accordingly waited on the illustri-
ous musician. Handel, who had inspected the
composition, received him with cordiality, gave
him an elegant breakfast, treated him with
every politeness, but constantly continued to
evade his visiter's questions respecting his opin-
ion of the anthem. Greene, at length, too im-
patient to wait any longer for the great com-
poser's decision on the merits of his piece,
exclaimed vehemently, "My dearest friend,
keep me no longer in suspense — tell^me, I pray
you — tell me what do you think of my anthem ?"
Handel, who had found it scientifically written,
but very deficient in melody, answered, " Oh,
it is ver fine, my dear doctor, ver fine indeed,
18
only it do vant air, and so I flung it out of de
vindow."
HANNIBAL, or Annibal, son of Hamilcar
Barcas, born B. C. 247, was a celebrated Car-
thaginian general. He was educated in his
father's camp, and inured from his early years
to the labors of the field, having passed into
Spain when nine years old ; at the request of
his father he took an oath of eternal enmity to
^e Romans. After his father's death, he had
e command of the cavalry in Spain, and some
time after, upon the death of Asdrubal, he was
. invested with the command of all the armies of
Carthage, though not yet in the twenty-fifth
year of his age. In three years of continual
success, he subdued all the nations of Spain,
which opposed the Carthaginian power, and
j. took Saguntum after a siege of eight months.
This city was in alliance with Rome and its
fall was the cause of the second Punic war,
which Hannibal prepared to support with all
the courage and prudence of a finished general.
The army with which he entered Italy amount-
ed, by the largest computation, to 100,000 foot,
and 20,000 horse. With this overwhelming
force he passed the Alps, conquered his oppo-
nents, crossed the Appenines, invaded Etruria
defeated Flaminius at the lake Thrasymene, and
Caius Terentius and L. iEmilius in the fatal bat-
tle of Cannae.
Had Hannibal, immediately after this battle,
marched his army to the gates of Rome, it must
have yielded amidst the general consternation,
but his delay continued so long that the Ro-
mans recovered their hopes, and, when he finally
approached the walls, he was informed that the
piece of ground on which his army then stood,
was being sold at a high price in the Roman
forum. He then, after some time, retired to
Capua, the luxuries of which enervated his
troops, and unfitted them for action ; this gave
rise to the saying that " Capua was a Cannae
to Hannibal." Marcellus, who succeeded the
cautious Fabius in the field, first taught the
Romans that Hannibal was not invincible.
Scipio having passed over into Africa, the Car-
thaginians now recalled Hannibal to combat the
adventurous Roman. After sixteen years of
flattering triumph, the Carthaginian general
left Italy, met Scipio at Zama, was defeated,
and fled to Adrumetum. The Carthaginians
procured peace on favorable terms, and Hanni-
bal fled to Syria, but he was pursued from
place to place by the animosity of the Romans,
and at length killed himself at the court of Pru-
sias, king of Bithynia, B. C. 183, aged 64 years.
HAR
274
HAS
HANNO, a Carthaginian general of high re-
putation, who was conquered by Scipio in Spain.
He is not to be confounded with the great nav-
igator.
HANOVER, a kingdom in the north of Ger-
many, consisting of the duchy of Bremen, the
duchy of Lunenburg, and several other princi-
palities. It was erected into a kingdom in 1814.
It contains 14,800 square miles, and 1,582,574
inhabitants.
The Hartz mountains contain silver, iron, cop-
per, lead, <fec. Hanover is subject to the king
of Great Britain, who is also styled king of Han-
over. A viceroy is at the head of the govern-
ment. When Napoleon had obtained dominion
over almost the whole continent in 1811, Han-
over became an integral part of the kingdom of
Westphalia, which had been formed of provin-
ces ceded by Prussia, and others to France, and
of which Jerome Bonaparte, brother of Napo-
leon, was the sovereign. On the liberation of
Germany from the yoke of France, the Hano-
verians gave proofs of the most unalterable af-
fection and loyalty to their legitimate sovereign.
Hanover, its capital, suffered severely during
its occupation by the French from 1803 to 1813;
but was relieved from their presence by the
arrival of Bernadotte, with an allied force, on
the 6th of November of the latter year.
HANOVER, a town of Grafton county, N.
H. 53 miles N. W. of Concord. Population
2,360. Dartmouth college is a well endowed
institution of some antiquity in this town.
HARDICANUTE, the opponent of Harold,
filled the throne of England and Denmark for a
short time. He made himself odious by the
imposition of taxes, and died at the nuptials of
a Danish lord, in 1041.
HAROLD I, king of England, was the son of
Canute, by Alfwen daughter of the earl of
Southampton, his first wife. He was proclaim-
ed king of England, on the death of Canute, in
1035, and was supported by his countrymen,
the Danes, in opposition to Earl Godwin of
Kent, who favored Hardicanute. He reigned
four years without distinguishing himself, and
died in 1039.
HAROLD II, king of England, succeeded
Edward the Confessor, A. D. 1066. He was
defeated by William the Conqueror in the fatal
battle of Hastings, Oct. 14, 1066.
HAROUN AL RASCHID. (See Aaron or
Harun al Raschid.)
HARPER, Robert Goodloe, was born near
Fredericksburg, Va. of poor parents ; but was
extremely well-educated, and early displayed
great mechanical abilities. He served a short
time in a troop of light horse, but he soon with-
drew from the service for the purpose of com-
pleting his educalion. He entered Princeton
college, and, while distinguishing himself in the
upper classes, he was employed in the instruc-
tion of the lower. After leaving college he
went to Philadelphia, and thence to Charles-
ton, where he studied law, but soon retired to
an interior district to practice. Some essays
in a paper, gave a favorable idea of his talents
and principles, and he was elected to the legis-
lature, and soon after to congress. His career
in congress was such as to reflect high honor
upon him. After the prostration of the federal
party, he resumed the practice of law in Balti-
more, having married the daughter of the late
Charles Carroll. He triumphantly defended
judge Chase on his impeachment. He was
afterwards elected senator in congress and ma-
jor-general of the militia. The former office
his professional duties compelled him to relin-
quish. He was a fine public speaker, well read
in belles-lettres, and the useful sciences, and
beloved in private life. He died suddenly on
the 15th of January, 1825, aged 60.
HARRISBURG, a borough in Dauphin
county, on the east bank of the Susquehanna,
the seat of government of Pennsylvania. Pop-
ulation in 1830, 4,307. It is a pleasant, thriv-
ing, and well-buiit town, although half a cen-
tury ago it was a wilderness inhabited by In-
dians.
HARRISON, Benjamin, a signer of the De-
claration of Independence, born in Virginia.
He was educated at William and Mary college,
and went early into public life, but he refused
the offers of the British government, and was
a delegate to the first congress in 1774. As
chairman of the board of war, speaker of the
house of burgesses, and governor of Virginia,
he was extremely popular and useful. He died
in 1791.
HART, John, the son of a farmer of New
Jersey, was one of the signers of the Declara-
tion of Independence. His property suffered
when New Jersey became the theatre of war.
His death took place in 1780.
HARTFORD, a city of Hartford county,
Connecticut, on the west bank of the Connec-
ticut river, 50 miles above its mouth, and 100
miles W. S. W. of Boston. Pop. in 1830, 9,789.
It is a well-built and flourishing town. It was
settled by the English in 1635. Among its in-
stitutions is a Deaf and Dumb Asylum.
HASTINGS, a borough and market town of
HAW
275
HEB
England, with 8,000 inhabitants, memorable for
the battle fought in its vicinity, which gave the
British crown to William the Conqueror.
HASTINGS, Warren, was born in 1733,
at or near Daylesford, in Worcestershire, and
was sent to India, as a writer in the company's
service in 1750. On his arrival in the East, he
applied himself with diligence to the duties of
his station, and at his leisure studied the ori-
ental languages. After fourteen years residence
in Bengal, he returned to England ; but in 1769
he went out as second in council at Madras,
where he remained about two years, and then
removed to the presidency of Calcutta. As
governor-general, he was guilty of great oppres-
sion, and charges were brought against him in
parliament, supported by such men as Sheri-
dan, Burke, and Fox. Hastings returned to
England in 1786, and an impeachment followed.
His trial lasted nine years, and having been ac-
quitted he retired from public life, amply com-
pensated in a pecuniary view for the losses he
had sustained. He died Aug. 22, 1818.
HAVANA , or Havannah, the capital of Cuba,
and of the province and government of the
same name, is situated on the northern coast
of the island, at the mouth of the river Lagira.
Population, composed of whites, mulattoes, and
negroes, 112,023. The streets of the city are
dirty, but the strongly fortified harbor is one
of the finest in the world. The public edifices
of the city, particularly the Catholic churches,
are very splendid. The commerce of Havana
is extensive and increasing. It was founded
in 1511, by Diego Velasquez, and has been
twice taken by the English, but was restored
to Spain, in 1763. The bones of Columbus
repose in the cathedral of Havana.
HAWKE, Edward, lord, a gallant English
admiral, the son of a barrister, was born in
1713, and entered the naval service as a mid-
shipman at the age of 12. In 1734, he was ap-
pointed to the command of the Wolf, and in
1744 distinguished himself in the action of Tou-
lon. In 1747, he was made admiral of the white,
and by the capture of a number of vessels of
a French squadron, procured his promotion to
the blue. In 1755 he was appointed vice-admi-
ral of the white. November 20,1759, he gained
a great victory over the French fleet, commanded
by Conflans in Quiberon bay, though it was a
lee shore, and the sea ran high in the midst of a
storm. He was raised to the peerage in 1776 a
few years after he had been appointed first lord
of the admiralty. He died Oct. 14, 1781.
HAWLEY, Joseph, born at Northampton,
Massachusetts, in 1724, was graduated at Yale
College, and then practised law. He was one
of the ablest advocates of American liberty, and
rejected every offer made to induce him to de-
sert his country. He was elected to the legis-
lature in 1764, but retired in 1776, although he
still continued to inspire his countrymen by his
eloquence. He died March 10, 1788.
HAYNE, Isaac, a native of South Carolina,
distinguished himself by his services during the
revolution. After the capture of Charleston, he
took an oath of allegiance to Great Britain, with
the express stipulation that he should not bear
arms against his country. When in violation
of British promises, he was summoned to join
the British standard, he refused, and was in
consequence condemned by a court of inquiry,
and hanged, on the 4th of August, 1781.
HAYTI. (See Domingo, St.)
HEBREWS. Abraham first received the
name of Hcbreic from the Canaanites, among
whom he dwelt. The derivation of the word is
uncertain. Its signification before the time of
Jacob, or Israel, is uncertain, but it appears to
have been applied afterward exclusively to the
posterity of Jacob, and to have been synony-
mous with Israelites. After the Babylonish
captivity the appellation was changed to Jews.
Their history begins, of course, with Abraham.
After the call of Abraham, he went at first to
Canaan, which God had promised to his pos-
terity, taking with him Sarah his wife, and Lot
the son of his brother, and here led a wander-
ing life removing in search of pasture with his
flocks, from place to place, and dwelling with
his family, in tents. By the bounty of the
Lord, his wealth increased, and he became rich
in flocks, in gold and in silver. He treated the
chiefs who sought alliance with him on a foot-
ing of equality. We have already spoken of
the principal events of Abraham's life under
the proper head; and it is needless to recap-
itulate them. Under Isaac and Jacob, the He-
brews still formed a great nomadic family,
without changing their habits and manners.
Jacob had twelve sons, from whom sprang the
twelve tribes of the Hebrew people. These
were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Dan, Judah, Nap-
thali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulon, Joseph,
and Benjamin. Joseph, having been sold to
some merchants by his jealous brethren, was
taken to Egypt, and rose to a high rank at the
court of Pharaoh. This led to the emigration
of his father's family to Egypt, about 1800 B. C.
During the life-time of Joseph, the Hebrews
were well treated, but after his death, a tyranni-
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cal king filled the throne, and the persecutions
they endured threatened to annihilate the na-
tion. But God raised up a deliverer in the per-
son of Moses, and the children of Israel having
left the land of Egypt, were conducted over the
bed of the Red Sea, and afterwards were provi-
dentially preserved in the desert. When ar-
rived at Mount Sinai, the Lord promulgated
his laws from the summit of that awful moun-
tain. Notwithstanding the blessings which had
been heaped upon them, the Hebrews murmur-
ed, and became idolatrous, and were in conse-
quence punished for their sins. The various
nations inimical to the Hebrews were repulsed
with loss. Moses having died on Mount Nebo,
before the entrance into the promised land, his
place was filled by the warlike Joshua. The
waters retired before the bearers of the ark, and
the people crossed the Jordan in safety. The
walls of the city of Jericho were destroyed by
the Lord, and the inhabitants slain by the Isra-
elites. The period of Judges abounded in he-
roic exploits of individual valor, among which
those of Samson are the most celebiated. At
length, about 1100 B. C. the monarchy was
established, Saul being the first king. Saul
achieved some brilliant victories, but as he be-
came disregardful of the counsels of the prophet
Samuel, the latter privately anointed David,
the son of Jesse, a valorous youth, whose fame
eclipsed that of Saul. The reign of David ex-
tended from 1055 to 1015. It was rendered bril-
liant by victories over the Jebusites, Philistines,
Amalekites, Idumceans, Moabites, Ammonites,
and Zeba, but unhappy by the domestic misfor-
tunes and crimes which imbittered the heart of
king David. Under Solomon, his son, whose
reign extended from 1015 to 975, the nation at-
tained a high degree of splendor and conse-
quence, while his stern strength and pure integ-
rity, sunk under the corrupting influence of
wealth and luxury. Towards the latter part of
his reign, Solomon, enervated by the pleasures of
his seraglio, and enthralled by female favorites,
permitted the worship of false gods, and forsook
the Deity to whom he owed his glory. The re-
volt of the ten tribes under Jeroboam, took
place, while Rehoboam succeeded to the gov-
ernment of two, Judah and Benjamin. The ten
tribes formed the kingdom of Israel, the two
that of Judah. Sichem, at first, and afterward
Samaria, was the capital of Israel, and Jerusa-
lem that of Judah. The contest between the
two states was furious, and not unequal. In
general the kingdom of Judah preserved the
worship of the true God, while that of Israel
was idolatrous. The kingdom of Israel existed
253 years after the separation, under 19 kings,
whose authority was gained and lost by violent
revolutions. Shalmaneser, king of Assyria,
ended the kingdom, and carried the people cap-
tive into Asia, B. C. 722.
The kingdom of Judah existed under 20 kings
of the house of David, until 588 B. C, when
Nebuchadnezzar took Jerusalem, and carried
away the inhabitants captive. During the cap-
tivity flourished Daniel, Jeremiah, and other
prophets, who were commissioned by God to
inform the Hebrew people of the fate which
awaited them. From the time of the captivity
they are more often known under the name of
JEWS, but we continue their history here that
it may be more intelligible. Their captivity
was terminated by Cyrus, king of Persia, who
published an edict permitting all the Jews to
return to their country, and to rebuild the tem-
ple of Jerusalem. They placed the foundations
of the temple ; but the Samaritans, the invete-
rate enemies of the Jews, procured a suspension
of their operations. Nevertheless Darius, in-
formed of the edict of Cyrus, permitted the com-
pletion of the temple. The Jews labored with
such spirit, that, four years after, the walls of
Jerusalem were rebuilt, and their worship re-
established. Nehemiah, being chosen governor
of Judea, neglected no exertions to maintain
the public observance of the laws of God. Es-
ther, a Jewish maiden, having found favor in
the eyes of Ahasuerus, king of Persia, this
monarch confirmed the immunities of the Jews,
preserved them from massacre, and severely
punished their implacable enemies.
In the time of the high-priest Onias, Seleu-
cus, king of Syria, sent Heliodorus to seize all
the gold of the temple. He came to Jerusalem
and entered the temple, intending to obey the
royal command. It was in vain that the high-
priest represented to him that the treasures
were deposites, destined for the support of the
fatherless and widows. Heliodorus turned a
deaf ear to his remonstrances, and was already
on the threshold of the treasury, when he be-
held a white horse, richly caparisoned, whose
rider wore a terrible aspect, with armor of gold.
At the same time Heliodorus was attacked by
two young men of surpassing beauty, and would
have been slain, but for the interposition of
Onias, who implored the pardon of the Al-
mighty, and offered up a sacrifice to appease his
wrath.
Antiochus Epiphanes, or the Illustrious, the
successor of Seleucus, an impious prince, de-
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277
HEL
prived Onias of the sacerdotal office, and sold it
to the highest bidder. He entered Jerusalem with
a powerful army, and killed or enslaved 80,000
men. He had the boldness to enter the temple,
and to bear away the altar and golden table, the
golden candlestick, the precious vessels, and all
Die money that the treasury contained, and even
undertook to abolish the religion of the Jews,
forbidding them, on pain of death, to maintain
their worship, and erecting the statue of Jupiter
Olympius on the altar of the temple. The Jews
were forced to attend the profane sacrifices, and
compelled to eat the flesh of animals prohibited
by their law. Under this persecution many of
the Jews yielded, but there were many who re-
mained firm, and among others, Eleazer and
the mother of the Maccabees, with her seven
children.
Eleazer, 90 years of age, would neither con-
form to the usages of the idolaters, nor feign to
do so. The conduct of the mother of the Mac-
cabees was heroic and firm. The mother and
her children were seized, and Antiochus wished
to compel them to eat the flesh of swine, but
they refused. Six of the children were then
killed in succession, but without effecting any
change in the resolution of the remainder. The
king hoping to succeed with the youngest, per-
sonally exhorted him to abandon the laws of his
fathers, swearing to render him wealthy and
happy, and make him one of his favorites ; but
he failed to make the slightest impression. The
child and his mother were cruelly put to death.
Judas Maccabams rendered his name formidable
to the enemies of the Jews, for, having collect-
ed an army of six thousand men, he performed
prodigies of valor. He conquered and killed
Apollonius, governor of Samaria, and the gen-
eral of the Syrian army. Every where victory
crowned his efforts, but the valiant leader fell in
battle, after slaying many of his enemies. Jona-
than and Simeon, his brothers, emulated his
glory. The Jews refused to recognise Jesus
Christ, who was born in the reign of Herod,
king of the Jews, as the Messiah. Christ fore-
told the destruction of Jerusalem, which was
taken by Titus, A. D. 70, after a siege of un-
paralleled horror. This was the signal of the
complete dispersion of the Jews, in fulfillment
of the divine warning.
The Weimar Geographical Ephemerides
gives the following estimate of the numbers of
the Jews, in all parts of the world. EUROPE :
in Russia and Poland, 658,809; Austria, 453,524 ;
European Turkey, 321,000; States of the Ger-
man Confederation, 138,000 ; Prussia, 134,000 ;
Netherlands, 80,000; France, 60,000; Italy,
36,000; Great Britain, 12,000; Cracow, 7,300 ;
Ionian Isles, 7,000 ; Denmark, 6,000 ; Switzer-
land, 1,970; Sweden, 450: total number of
Jews in Europe, 1,918,053. ASIA : Asiatic
Turkey, 300,000; Arabia, 200,000 ; Hindostan,
100,000; China, 60,000; Turkestan, 40,000;
province of Iran, 35,000 ; Russia in Asia, 3,000 ;
total, 738,000. AFRICA : Morocco and Fez,
300,000; Tunis, 130,000; Algiers, 30,000;
Abyssinia, 20,000; Tripoli, 12,000; Egypt,
12,000; total, 504,000. AMERICA: North
America, 5,000 ; Netherlandish Colonies, 500 ;
Demerara and Essequibo, 200 ; total, 5,700.
New Holland, 50. Grand total, 3,218,000.
HEBRIDES, or Western Islands ; a cluster
of islands, on the western coast of Scotland, in
the Atlantic ocean, containing 70,000 inhabit-
ants. The JVew Hebrides are a group of islands
in the South Pacific ocean, discovered by Qui-
ros in 1506. They are extremely fertile.
HECTOR, the brave son of Priam, king of
Troy, and Hecuba, his wife, killed by Achilles.
HECUBA, daughter of Dymas, king of
Thrace, and second wife of Priam. She sur-
vived the fall of Troy but a short time, and was
stoned to death by the Greeks, who were exas-
perated at her bitter reproaches.
HEGIRA, the flight of Mohammed, from
Mecca to Medina, from which era the Moham-
medans begin their computation of time. They
fix it on the 16th of July, A. D. 622.
HELENA, the beautiful daughter of Leda,
wife of Tyndarus, as it is fabled, by Jupiter,
who introduced himself to her notice, in the
form of a swan. She married Menelaus, whom
she forsook for Paris, son of Priam, who bore
her to Troy, and thus kindled the flame of war
between the Greeks and Trojans. She was re-,
ceived by Menelaus after the fall of Troy, but
on his death, was murdered by Polyxo of Ar-
gos, the widow of one of the warriors killed be-
fore Troy.
HELENA, St. a rocky island in the Atlan-
tic, on the coast of Southern Africa, 1200 miles
from any land. It is 10£ miles long, and 6|
broad, and belongs to the English. It was the
residence of the captive Napoleon from Novem-
ber, 1815 to May 5, 1821, the day of his death.
Here his body is buried, and by his side lies the
sword he wore upon the field of Austerlitz.
HELIOGABALUS, Marcus Aurelius Anto-
ninus, a Roman emperor, son of Varius Marcel-
lus, called Heliogabalus, from having been a
priest of the Sun in Phoenicia. At the age of
14, he was invested with the purple on the death
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of Macrinus, but his cruelty and licentiousness
were such, that his subjects rose against him,
and his head was severed from his body, March
10, A. D. 222, in the eighteenth year of his age,
after a reign of 3 years and 9 months. He bur-
thened his subjects with the most oppressive
taxes, his halls were covered with carpets of
gold and silver tissue, and his mats were made
with the down of hares, and the soft feathers
found under the wings of partridges. He often
invited the lowest of the people to share his
banquets, and made them sit down on large
bellows full of wind, which, by suddenly empty-
ing themselves, threw the guests on the ground,
and left them a prey to wild beasts. He tied
some of his favorites to a large wheel, and was
particularly delighted to see them whirled round
like Ixion, and alternately suspended in the air,
and plunged beneath the water.
HELIOPOLIS, (city of the sun), a large and
ancient city of Egypt, a little above Memphis,
the stupendous remains of which yet excite at-
tention. Near here a fierce battle was fought
between the Turks and French, March 20, 1800.
HELLE, in fable, a daughter of Athamas,
and Nephese, who, to escape from the persecu-
tion of her step-mother Ino, trusted herself to
the back of a golden ram from which she fell
and was drowned in that part of the sea, called
the Hellespont, now the Dardanelles.
HELOISE, Eloise, or Louisa, the mistress
and wife of Abelard, born in Paris 1101. (See
Melard.)
HENGIST, the first Saxon king of Kent,
about the end of the 5th century. He was in-
vited to the assistance of the Britons against the
Scots and Picts, and received from the hands of
Vortigern the whole of Kent, for which he gave
his daughter in marriage. However, he leagued
with the enemies of Britain, and committed
great ravages beyond the limits of his territory.
He died in the year 488.
HENRY I, king of France, crowned at
Rheims in 1027. His mother, Constance, en-
deavored to set his younger brother, Robert,
upon the throne ; but, with the assistance of
Robert II, duke of Normandy, Henry defeated
the queen's army, and obliged his brother to
content himself with the dukedom of Burgun-
dy. In his time Pope Leo IX held a council at
Rheims in France, and the Normans headed by
Robert Guicard, took Naples and Sicily from
the Saracens. He died, Aug. 4, 1060.
HENRY IV, king of France, called the
Great, born in 1553, was son of Anthony of
Bourbon, duke of Vendome. After the massa-
cre of St. Bartholomew, he signalized himself
against the leaguers, and on the death of Hen-
ry III, succeeded to the throne, taking the title
of king of France and Navarre. His enemies
endeavored in vain to make Cardinal de Bour-
bon king, under the title of Charles X. In
1589, with 4,000 men, he defeated 30,000 men
commanded by the duke of Mayenne, and, in
1599, with 1,200 men, he routed a force of
10,000. He also signalized himself in several
other battles, and besieged Paris, which held
out against him at the instigation of the Span-
iards. He was afterwards crowned at Char-
tres. He defeated 18,000 Spaniards in Bur-
gundy, 1594, with 1500 men, took Amiens, and
reduced the leaguers whom he generously par-
doned. The duke de Biron's execution, in
1602, was the only example of just severity in
his reign ; and France had enjoyed peace for 16
years, when Ravaillac, with a knife, stabbed the
king in his coach at Paris, May 14, 1610, the
day after the queen's coronation.
HENRY I, emperor of Germany, son of
Otho, duke of Saxony, succeeded Conrad, his
brother-in-law, in 919. He reduced Arnold,
duke of Bavaria, and vanquished the Hungari-
ans, Bohemians, Sclavonians, and Danes. He
took the kingdom of Lorraine from Charles the
Simple, defeated the Hungarians a second time,
and killed 8,000 of their number. He died of
an apoplexy in 936.
HENRY III, of Franconia, surnamed the
Black, succeeded Conrad II, in 1039. He de-
feated the Bohemians, that denied him tribute,
in his second campaign, and restored Peter to
the throne of Hungary , whence his subjects had
driven him in 1043, reduced the petty princes
of Italy, and made war on the Hungarians. He
died at Bothfeld in Saxony, in 1056.
HENRY I, of England, surnamed Beauclerc,
was born in 1068, and succeeded his brother,
William Rufus, in 1100. He married Matilda,
daughter of Malcolm, king of Scots, in the same
year. Soon after this, his brother Robert re-
turned from abroad, and laid claim to the crown
of England; but in 1105, Henry invaded Nor-
mandy with a strong army ; took some of the
principal towns ; and a battle ensuing, Robert
was overthrown, taken prisoner, and sent to
England. In 1109, he betrothed his daughter
Maude to the emperor of Germany. In 1117
he was challenged by Louis of France, and he
lost his queen, May 1, 1119. In 1120, he con-
veyed his son to Normandy, to receive the
homage of the barons of that duchy ; on his re-
turn, the young prince, his sister Maude, and
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279
HEN
all but one of the ship's company, were drowned,
the vessel having been run upon a rock. This
affliction shortened the life of Henry, who died
Dec. 1, 1135, in the 68th year of his age, leaving
his daughter Matilda heir to all his dominions.
HENRY II, king of England, was born in
1133, and having invaded England January 7,
1153, had homage done him as successor to Ste-
phen, in 1154, in which year he also began to
reign. In 1170 he had his son Henry crowned
king of England. In 1172 he reduced Ireland to
subjection. The murder of Thomas a Becket,
archbishop of Canterbury, was attributed to
Henry, who was compelled to do penance forit.
The latter part of his reign was troubled. In
1173 he imprisoned his queen on account of
Rosamond, his mistress. He died at Chinon,
near Saumur, in the 58th year of his age, and
the 35th of his reign, in the course of which he
displayed great bravery and wisdom.
HENRY III, of England, was born Oct. 1,
1207, and was crowned at Gloucester, Oct. 28,
1216. He married Eleanor, daughter of the
count of Provence, Jan. 14, 1236; pledged his
crown and jewels for money when he married
his daughter Margaret, to the king of Scots,
1242 ; was obliged by his nobles to resign the
power of a sovereign, and sell Normandy and
Anjou to the French, 1258. In 1261, he shut
himself up in the tower of London, for fear of
his nobles. In 1264, he engaged in a contest
with the nobles, but, after having experienced
many reverses, was, owing to the bravery of his
son, triumphant in the famous battle of Eves-
ham, in which Leicester lost his life. Over-
come by the cares of government, and the infir-
mities of age, Henry died at Westminster, Nov.
16 1272.
HENRY IV, duke of Hereford, and grand-
son of Edward III, was born in 1367 ; married
Mary, the daughter of the earl of Hereford, who
died in 1394, before he obtained the crown. In
1397 he fought in personal combat with the
duke of Norfolk, but Richard II stopped the
combat, and ordered the combatants to leave
the kingdom ; the duke of Norfolk for life, and
Henry for 10 years. The latter returned to
England in arms against Richard, in 1399, com-
pelled him to abdicate the throne, and was
crowned king of England the same year. In
1402 he was defeated by the Welsh, and in
1403, he married Joan of Navarre, widow of
the duke of Bretagne. In 1403 the rebellion of
the Percies began, but was soon suppressed.
Henry died of the apoplexy, in Westminister,
March 20, 1413, was buried at Canterbury, and
was succeeded by his son.
HENRY V, who was born in 1388, and was
crowned in 1413. In his youth he was noto-
rious for all kinds of debauchery, but reformed
his life on receiving the crown. In 1415 he
embarked for France, and landed at Harfleur,
with an immense army, part of which was de-
stroyed by dysentery. The battle of Agincourt
succeeded, in which the English gained a splen-
did victory. In 1416, Henry pledged his regalia
for 20,000i, to push his conquest, and a treaty
being concluded, fixed his court at Paris in
1421 ; but, just as his glory had reached its
summit, and both crowns devolved upon him,
he died at the age of 34 years.
HENRY VI, was born at Windsor, in 1421 ;
ascended the throne August 31, 1422, and was
proclaimed king of France the same year. Hen-
ry V, previous to his death had appointed the
duke of Bedford, his eldest brother, to the re-
gency of France. In 1428 the duke commenced
the siege of Orleans, the first adverse blow to
the English power in France, for it was saved
by Joan of Arc (which see). In 1445 Henry
married Margaret of Anjou, and was crowned
in the same year. In 1446 Jack Cade's insur-
rection broke out, and in 1452, the duke of
York, who had been appointed to the regency
of England by Henry V, marched to London
with an army of 10,000 men, but retiring into
Kent was followed by Henry VI, at the head
of a superior force. The king soon after was
incapacitated from sickness, and the duke of
York was appointed lieutenant and protector
of the kingdom. In 1455, however, Henry re-
sumed the reins of government, and annulled
the protectorship of the duke, who levied an
army, though without advancing any pretension
to the crown. At length a battle was fought
at St. Albans on the 31st of May, when the
Yorkists slew about 5,000 of their enemies;
Henry fell into the hands of his adversary, and
was obliged to surrender his authority.
After various fluctuations of fortune, the duke
appeared at London, and the parliament de-
clared in favor of his claim, but decreed that
Henry should possess the dignity during his
life-time, and that the administration should, in
the meanwhile, remain with the duke. Mar-
garet, however, spurned this compact, collected
a strong army, defeated and slew the duke, and
affixed his head, encircled with a paper crown,
upon the gates of York. Margaret, after some
successes, was finally defeated in the memora-
ble battle of Touton, which ended in the com-
plete triumph of the Yorkists, who were, how-
ever, shortly to experience a reverse in the bat-
tle of Hexham, 1464. Henry reascended his
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HEN
throne, but was finally imprisoned and murder-
ed. The young son of Magaret was murdered
at Tewkesbury, and the queen, after having
bravely defended her husband's cause in twelve
battles, died in France, in a miserable condition.
HENRY VII, descended from John of Gaunt,
and nearly allied to Henry VI, was born in
1455. He landed at Milford Haven, Aug. 7,
1485, and having defeated the usurper Richard
III, at the memorable battle of Bosworth, in
the same year, was proclaimed king. In 1486
he married Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV.
Soon after his marriage he went into the north,
where the partisans of Richard were strong,
and making hostile preparations, but they were
quelled. The conspiracy of 1487, headed by
Lambert Siennel, an imposter who pretended
to be a Plantagenet, was also put down. Henry
received, as a compromise for his claim upon
the French crown £186,250, besides 25,000
crowns yearly. In 1492 the country was dis-
turbed by an imposter named Osbeck, or War-
beck. (See Warleck.) The schemes of another
imposter, named Wilford, who personated the
earl of Warwick, afforded Henry a pretext for
arresting the earl, and signing his death-war-
rant. Henry died of a consumption in 1509.
By his avarice and rapacity, he is said, at one
period, to have amassed £1,800,000.
HENRY VIII, was born in 1491, and suc-
ceeded Henry VII in 1509. He placed himself
at the head of a formidable army, 50,000 strong,
and invaded France, but after an ostentatious
and ineffectual campaign, concluded a truce.
By the advice of Cardinal Wolsey, in whom he
chiefly confided, he agreed to an interview with
Francis I of France. This expensive congress
was held near Calais, within the English pale,
in compliment to Henry for crossing the sea.
In the same year a costly tournament was held
in Picardy by the two sovereigns. By such
means all the immense treasures of the late
king were quite exhausted, and Henry relied
on Wolsey alone for replenishing his coffers.
In 1521 Henry received the title of defender of
the Faith.
In 1527, Henry, who had been 18 years mar-
ried to Catharine of Arragon, the widow of his
brother, conceived a violent passion for the
beautiful Anna Bullen, one of the queen's maids
of honor, and immediately set about procuring
a divorce from his wife. But both the pope
and Cardinal Wolsey were unwilling to sanction
this unjustifiable scheme . Wolsey was therefore
forced to give place to Thomas Cranmer, and,
after being arrested, died at Leicester Abbey,
not without suspicion of having been poisoned.
Henry now privately married Anna Bullen,
whom he had created marchioness of Pembroke.
As the monks had shown the greatest resist-
ance to his wishes, he resolved at once to de-
prive them of their power. Commissioners
sent to examine into the state of convents and
monasteries, found the religious tainted with
the worst of crimes, and a general horror was
excited in the nation. In 1536, a new visitation
was appointed, and fresh crimes were brought
to light. In less than two years from this ex-
posure, Henry became possessed of all the mo-
nastic revenues.
In 1536, Henry caused his innocent queen,
Anna Bullen, to be put to death, and on the
following day he married Jane Seymour. The
most cruel religious persecutions now ensued,
and among the deaths of those obnoxious to the
king, was that of Sir Thomas More. Jane Sey-
mour having died in child-bed, Henry contracted
a marriage with Anne of Cleves. He hated
her, however, from the moment he saw her ;
and resolved to get rid of her and his prime-
minister Cromwell together. Cromwell was
accordingly arrested for high-treason : and with-
out even being heard in his own defence, was
condemned and suffered on the scaffold. Anne
of Cleves being divorced, Henry married Cath-
arine Howard, in August 1540, who being ac-
cused of infidelity, was beheaded on Tower-hill,
with the lady Rochford, February 12, 1542. In
1543, Henry married his sixth and last wife,
Catharine Parr. Though his health was declin-
ing apace, yet his implacable cruelties were not
less frequent. The duke of Norfolk, and his
son, the earl of Surrey, were the last who felt
the effects of the tyrant's groundless suspicions.
The latter was arrested, tried, and condemned
for high-treason, notwithstanding his eloquent
and spirited defence, and the sentence was soon
after executed upon him on Tower-hill. The
parliament meeting on the 14th day of January,
1546, a bill of attainder was found against the
duke of Norfolk. The death-warrant was made
out, and immediately sent to the lieutenant of
the tower. The duke prepared for death, but
was saved by the death of Henry, Jan. 28, 1547,
at the age of 56, after a reign of nearly 38 years.
HENRY, Patrick, son of John Henry, was
born in the colony of Virginia, May 29, 1736.
Passionately addicted to field sports, and averse
to toil of any kind, even the elements of educa-
tion were mastered by him with distaste, al-
though he had a strong mind, and a retentive
memory. At the age of eighteen he married
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281
HER
Miss Skelton, and settled on a farm, but agri-
cultural as well as mercantile pursuits, in which
he afterwards embarked, possessed no charm
for him, and he was unsuccessful. As a final
effort, he resolved to attempt the law, and was
licensed to practise after six weeks' preparatory-
study. For several years his practice was lim-
ited and the wants of his family extreme, but
his prospects were eventually bettered. In
1765 he was elected member of the house of
burgesses, and introduced his celebrated resolu-
tions on the stamp act. In the midst of the
debate on the occasion, he exclaimed, " Ciesar
had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell,
and George the Third" "Treason!" cried
the speaker — " Treason, treason !" echoed from
every part of the house. Henry faltered not
for an instant, but, taking a loftier attitude, and
fixincr on the speaker an eye of fire, he added
« may profit by their example. If this be
treason, make the most of it." Henry served
his country in various posts, was sent to the
congress at Philadelphia, in 1774, took the field,
and'was elected governor of the commonwealth.
In 1791 he retired from public life, and died in
1797 To his large family he left wealth and a
good name. His eloquence was manly and
convincing, and his voice powerful and musical.
The following was his language in 1775
" It is vain, sir, to extenuate the matter.
Gentlemen may cry, peace, peace— but there is
no peace. The war has actually begun.
" The next gale, that sweeps from the north,
will brin<r to our ears the clash of resounding
arms ! Our brethren are already in the field !
Why stand we here idle ? What is it that gen-
tlemen wish? What would they have ? Is life
so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased
at the price of chains and slavery ? * orbid it,
Almighty God.— I know not what course others
may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give
me death!"
He took his seat. No murmur of applause
was heard. The e.iect was too deep. After
the trance of a moment, several members started
from their seats. The cry, " to arms," seemed
to quiver on every lip, and gleam from every
eye' Richard II. Lee arose and supported Mr.
Henry with his usual spirit and elegance. But
his melody was lost amidst the agitations ot
that ocean, which the master spirit of the storm
had lifted up on high. That supernatural voice
still sounded in their ears and shivered along
their arteries. They heard, in every pause, the
cry of liberty or death. They became impatient
of speech— their souls were on fire for action.
HERCULANEUM, a city not far from Na-
ples, which was buried in an eruption of Vesu- .
vius, in the reign of Titus, A. D. 79. It has
been excavated and presents a most curious and
interesting spectacle.
HERCULES, a fabulous Grecian hero, the
son of Jupiter and Alemena, the wife of Am-
phitryon, king of Thebes. In vain did the
jealous Juno send two serpents to kill the young
hero in his cradle, he strangled them both, and
thus displayed to all the divinity of his origin.
He had to combat for a long time the enmity
of Juno, who exacted of him twelve labors,
independently of other signal actions which he
performed. 1. He killed the Nemean lion, to
deliver the kingdom of Mycene, and wore his
skin in the remainder of his exploits. 2. He
slew the Lernean hydra, whose heads multipli-
ed seven-fold, on being severed. 3. He brought
to Eurysthens upon his shoulders the Eryman-
thean boar, an animal of a prodigious size. 4.
He subdued the golden-horned, and brazen-
hoofed stag of Diana. 5. He destroyed with
his arrows the foul Stymphalian birds of extra-
ordinary size and voracity. 6. He cleansed
the Augsean stables. 7. He tamed the furious
bull of Crete. 8. He gave Diomodes to be de-
voured by his own horses which had been fed
on human flesh. 9. He vanquished the Ama-
zons, whose queen, Hippolyta, he gave in mar-
riage to his friend Theseus. 10. He brought
the oxen of Geryon king of Spain, to Greece.
This was only effected by killing this monarch,
formidable for his triple head. 11. Hercules
obtained the golden apples of the garden of the
Hesperides, by killing the dragon with a hun-
dred heads that guarded them. 12. He dragged
away Cerebus,the three-headed dog that watch-
ed the sate of hell, into which he descended
twice, once with his friend, Theseus, and after-
wards to seek the queen Alceste, who devoted
herself to death for her husband Admetus.
The centaur Nessus having insulted Uejani-
ra, the wife of Hercules, the hero killed him
with an arrow, the barb of which was poisoned
with the blood of the Lernean hydra. Ihe
centaur, in dying, persuaded Dejanira to give
a tunic dipped in his blood, to her husband,
in token of reconciliation. Hercules had no
sooner clothed himself in this garment than he
perceived that he was poisoned by it. He ac-
cordingly, with the help of Plnloctetes built a
funeral pile on Mount CEta and expired in the
flames. But Jupiter received him in the ranks
of the gods, and gave him in marriage Hebe,
the beautiful goddess of youth. Hercules is
HIE
282
HIL
generally represented as a robust man, leanino-
on his club. On his shoulders he wears the
skin of the Nemean lion, and holds in his hands
the Hesperian fruit.
HEROD, surnamed the Great, was born in
Ascalon, Judea, B. C. 71. He was made king
of Judea by means of Anthony, and rendered
himself odious by his tyranny, and as he knew
that the day of his death would become a day
of mirth and festivity, he ordered the most illus-
trious of his subjects to be confined and mur-
dered the very instant he expired, that every
eye in the kingdom might seem to shed tears
at the death of Herod. This order was never
executed. He died in the 70th year of his age,
after a reign of 40 years, which was rendered
memorable by the birth of Christ.
HESSE-CASSEL, or KURHESSEN, an
electorate, member of the Germanic confedera-
cy, containing 652,700 inhabitants. The soil is
generally fertile, and the annual revenue about
4,500,000 guilders.
HESSE-DARMSTADT, Grand-duchy of,
contains 750,000 inhabitants. The climate is
healthy, and great facilities exist for the exten-
sion of commerce.
HIERO I, a king of Syracuse, after his bro-
ther Gelon, rendered himself odious by his ty-
ranny in the beginning of his reign. He made
war against Theron, the tyrant of Agrigentum,
and took Himera. He obtained three different
crowns at the Olympic games, two in horse-
races, and one in a chariot-race. The first
Olympic ode of Pindar is inscribed to him, and
mention is made of his horse Phrenicus, by
which he was the winner of the Olympic crown.
The ancient races were somewhat different
from the modern. At the former, honor alone
was the reward of the winner, and no one lost
either his character or his money.
In the latter part of his reign the conversation
of Simonides, Epicharmus, Pindar, &c, softened
the roughness of Hiero's manners, and the
seventy of his government, and tended to ren-
der him the patron of learning, genius, and
merit. He died after a reign of 18 years, B. C.
467, leaving the crown to his brother Thrasy-
bulus, who disgraced it by his tyranny.
HIERO II, a descendant of Gelon, reigned
about 200 years after the preceding ; was ap-
pointed to carry on the war against the Cartha-
ginians. He joined his enemies in besieging
Messana, which had surrendered to the Romans :
but he was beaten by Appius Claudius, the Ro-
man consul, and obliged to retire to Syracuse,
where he was soon blocked up. Seeing all
hopes of victory lost, he made peace with the
Romans and proved so faithful to his engage-
ments, during the fifty-nine years of his reign,
that the Romans never had a more firm or
more attached ally. He died in the 94th year
of his age, about 225 years B.C. He was uni-
versally regretted, and all the Sicilians showed
by their lamentations that they had lost a com-
mon father and a friend. He liberally patron-
ized the learned, and employed the talents of
Archimedes for the good of his country.
HILL, Rowland, Rev., son of Sir Rowland
Hill, was born at Hawkestone, in 1775, and ed-
ucated at Eton and Cambridge. He was a
Calvinistic methodist, and took Whitfield for
his model. His discourses were singular, being
sometimes crowded with puns, and stories, while
at others, their solemnity was unbroken. Some
of his straits are mentioned in his diary.
"1767, Jan. 1, preached at Chesterton; we had
the honor of a mob— no other harm was done
than the windows broke." "Thursday in a
barn, for the first time, with much comfort.
God send, if I am to live, this may not be my
last barn. Some gownsmen were there but
they were not permitted to do more than gnash
with their teeth." Mr. Hill used to be circum-
spect in receiving recruits. To a person who
had a great desire to preach, and talked about
hiding his talents, he replied that " the closer
he hid them the better." Robert Hall once re-
plied to a shoemaker, who expressed a similar
reluctance to hide his talents in a napkin, " the
smallest pocket-handkerchief you have will do
sir." In his "field campaigns" he used to go
to large towns on market-days, and address the
assemblage in the market houses. When he
heard of a fair or a revel he preached in spite
of the violence with which he was assailed, and
often with success. His favorite text was
" Come ye out from among them." Harris'
one of Whitfield's most energetic followers, re-
lates of himself, that once on a journey, being
tempted to desert his Master's cause, he said,
"Satan, I'll match thee for this," "and so I
did," said he, " for I had not ridden far, before
I came to a revel, where there was a show of
mountebanks, which I entered, and just as they
were commencing, I jumped into the midst of
them and cried out, let us pray, which so thun-
derstruck them, that they listened to me quietly,
while I preached them a most tremendous ser-
mon, that frightened many of them home."
At Edinburgh, on the Calton Hill, Mr. Hill
preached to an assemblage of 10,000 people.
The old women, as they looked out of their
HOL
283
HON
doors at the stream of human beings, observing
some soldiers amongst them, exclaimed, " Eh,
sirs, what will become of us now ? The verra
sodfers are ganging to hear the preaching."
Mr. Hill died in April, 1833.
H1NDOSTAN (See India).
HINGH AM, a flourishing town of Plymouth
county, Mass., 14 miles S. of Boston. The
manufacture of wooden ware is extensive, and
the mackerel fishery gives employment to many.
Population (in 1830) 3,357.
HIPPIAS and HIPPARCHUS, two sons of
Pisistratus, king of Athens, whom they suc-
ceeded 527 B. C. Hipparchus was slain in a
conspiracy 512 B. C, by Harmodius and Aris-
togiton, who had devoted themselves to their
country. Hippias alone now held the reins of
government, but he became odious, and on the
siege of Athens by the Lacedaemonians, he sur-
rendered the city and retired to Ligaeum, on the
Hellespont, 509 B. C. Thus Athens once more
recovered its liberty. An attempt was after-
wards made to restore Hippias to the govern-
ment of Athens. By some authors he is said
to have perished at the battle of Marathon ; but
others assert that he died at Lemnos in poverty
and distress.
HOFER, Andrew, the Tell of the Tyrol, a
heroic Tyrolese, who headed an insurrection
of his countrymen on the 10th of April, 1809.
His resistance to the French on many occasions,
was chivalric, and successful. After he found
farther resistance useless, he concealed himself,
but was betrayed by a priest, conveyed to Man-
tua, and shot, February 20, 1810. He met his
fate with firmness, rejoicing that he had done
his duty.
HOIIENLINDEN, a village of Bavaria, 18
miles E. of Munich, remarkable for the great
defeat which the Austrian army sustained here
on the 3d of December, 1800, from the French,
under Moreau.
HOLLAND, a maritime province of the
Netherlands, bounded W.by the German ocean,
E. by the Zuyder Zee, and the province of
Utrecht, and S. by Zealand. The agricultural
wealth of the province is great. The extent
of the whole is about 2,200 square miles, and
the population 820,449. (For its history, &c,
see Netherlands.)
HOLLAND, NEW, is the largest island in
the world, and was formerly supposed to form
part of a vast continent. It is 2,600 miles long,
and 2000 miles broad. It was discovered by
the Dutch in 1605, but not determined to be an
island until 1770, when this fact was established
by Captain Cook. The soil is very variable,
some portions are extremely fertile, and others
uncommonly sterile. The aborigines are rude,
misshapen, and extremely barbarous in their
appearance.
HOLSTEIN, a German duchy, bounded N
by Sleswick, E. by the Baltic, and duchy of
Lauenburg, and S. and W. by the kingdom of
Hanover, from which it is separated by the river
Elbe. It contains 3,285 square miles, and
362,300 inhabitants, mostly Lutherans. Almost
the whole of the country is fruitful. Its early
history is obscure. It was conquered by Char-
lemagne, formed part of a county under Lo-
tliaire, and was erected into a duchy, with two
other counties in 1777.
HOLYOKE, Edward Augustus, M. D. son of
the Rev. Edward Holyoke, president of Harvard
college, was born Aug. 1 , 1728, in Essex county,
Mass. He was graduated at Harvard in 1746,
and commenced the practice of medicine at
Salem in 1749. He was distinguished in his
profession, and published several scientific dis-
quisitions. He died March 31, 1829, being then
over one hundred years of age.
HOMER, the most celebrated poet of anti-
quity, was, according to common tradition,
born on the river Meles, not far from Smyrna.
His father's name was Mceon, and Iris mother's
Critheis. Seven cities contended for the honor
of being his birth-place : Smyrna, Colophon,
Chios, Argos, Athens, Rhodes, and Salamis. It
is doubtful whether he lived in the 10th, 9th,
or 8th century before Christ. Little is known
of Homer. He has been represented as blind,
but this must have been a misfortune occurring
in his latter days, for his descriptions could only
have been given by a man possessed of sight.
He wandered about singing his poems, which
were handed down from mouth to mouth, and
from generation to generation, after his death,
until they were finally transmitted to paper, and
thus preserved from oblivion.
HONDURAS, one of the Mexican states,
bounded N. by the bay of Honduras, E. by
the Caribbean Sea, S. by Nicaragua, and W.
by Guatimala and Vera Paz. It is 890 miles
from E. to W.and 150 from N. to S. The face
of the country is diversified, and the soil very
fertile. Part of Honduras is possessed by the
Mosquito Indians, and the British have some
settlements in it.
HONORIUS, the first emperor of the West-
ern empire of Rome, who succeeded his father
Theodosius the Great, with his brother Arca-
dius, A. D. 395. He was neither bold nor
HOO
284
HOW
vicious, but he was of a modest and timid dis-
position, unfit for enterprise, and fearful of dan-
ger. He conquered his enemies by means of his
generals, and suffered himself and his people
to be governed by ministers who took advan-
tage of their imperial master's indolence and
inactivity. He died of the dropsy, in the 39th
year of his age, Aug. 15, A. D. 423.
HOOD, Robin, an outlaw in the time of Rich-
ard I, who dwelt chiefly in Sherwood Forest
Nottinghamshire, and was the most romantic
and courteous, as well as the most powerful of
bandits. He took from the rich, but he gave to
the poor. It is said that he was bled to death
by a nun, to whom he applied for phlebotomy,
in the year 1247.
HOOD Samuel, lord viscount, was the eld-
est son of the Rev. Samuel Hood, vicar of
Ihorncombe, in Devonshire; at which place
he was born in 1724. He went to sea at
the age of sixteen, and, after serving six years,
was made a lieutenant. In 1754 he became
a master and commander ; and, for his gallant-
ry m taking a fifty-gun ship, was made a post-
captain in 1759 In 1778 he was appointed
commissioner of Portsmouth dock-yard, which
place he resigned in 1780, on being made rear-
admiral. With this rank he sailed to the West In-
dies where he defeated the attempt made upon
bt. Christopher's by count de Grasse. He also
had an active part in the victory obtained over
that commander on the 12th of April 1782-
for which he was created baron Hood of Cath-
enngton, in the kingdom of Ireland. In 1784
h was elected into parliament for Westmin-
ster; but, in 1787, he vacated his seat, on being
?™ u°ne °f SaB Jords of the admiralty. In
179J, he was appointed to command in the
Mediterranean, where he distinguished himself
by taking possession of Toulon, and, when it
was no longer tenable, destroying the arsenal,
dock-yard, and shipping. After this he made
himself master of Corsica, and then returned
to England where he was made a viscount, and
governor of Greenwich hospital. He died at
Bath, January 27, 1816.
HOOPER, William, the son of a Scotch
clergyman, was born in Boston, June ]7 1742
He was one of the signers of the /Declaration
01 Independence. He was educated at Harvard
college, and studied law under James Otis, but
commenced the practice of it in North Carolina.
in 1773 he was chosen to the provincial legis-
lature from the town of Wilmington, and in
1774 was sent a delegate to the general con-
gress at Philadelphia He advocated Se cause
of liberty with his pen and voice, and was its
prominent champion. He died in October,
1790, aged 48.
HOPKINS, Stephen, a signer of the Declar-
ation of independence, was born in Providence
now Scituate, March 7, 1707. He was chosen
speaker of the general assembly in ] 741 . In 1751
he was appointed Chief Justice of the superior
court of Rhode Island, and in 1774 a delegate
to the general congress. Previous to this he
2 J?e , for some ?ears the office of governor
of Rhode Island. In 1778, he was a fourth
time chosen member of congress. He died
July 13, 1785, at the age of 78.
HQPKINSON, Francis, an American author,
one of the signers of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence, born in Philadelphia in ]738. In
177b he was a delegate to congress from Bor-
dentown, New Jersey. He also served his
country by his various satirical writings, some
of which are really meritorious.
HORATII, three Roman brothers, who dur-
ing the reign of Tullus, to prevent the effusion
ot blood m a general battle, engaged the Curi-
atn, three Alban brothers, to decide the contest
1 wo of the Horatii were slain, when the sur-
viving brother feigning flight, permitted the
Curiatn who were disabled by wounds, to ap-
proach him one by one, and then slew them
singly, thus deciding the contest in favor of the
Komans. The conqueror stained his triumph by
murdering his sister, because, amidst her coun-
try s joy, she could shed tears at the death of
her lover, one of the Curiatii
HORATIUS, Codes, (the one-eyed), alone
sustained the attack of the Etrurian army, while
his friends broke down the bridge over the
liber that led to Rome, behind him. He then
committed himself to the waves, armed as he
was, and reached Rome in safety. This exploit
was performed B. C. 507
HORATIUS FLACCUS, Quintus, a cele-
brated Roman poet, was born at Venusium, B.
y o5 He was well educated, and fought at Phil-
ippi,B.C.42. After the ruin of the hopes of the
patriots, he lived in retirement and even refused
the splendid offers of Augustus, preferring the
peaceful solitude of his Sabine farm. He died
suddenly, in the 9th year B. C, and 57th of
his age.
HOWARD, Thomas, earl of Surrey, and duke
of Norfolk, was born in 1473. He was bred to
arms, and soon after the accession of Henry
VI1J, was honored with the order of the carter
He succeeded his brother, Sir Edward Howard
as high admiral, in 1513 ; and the victory of
HOW
285
HOW
Flodden-field was chiefly owing to his valor
and skill. For this, the title of duke of Nor-
folk was restored to his father, and he was
himself created earl of Surrey. In 1521, he went
to Ireland as lord lieutenant, and while there
suppressed a dangerous rebellion. Notwith-
standing these services, he was sent to the
tower by Henry, at the close of his reign, and
kept there till the accession of Mary, when he
was released, and contributed to suppress Wy-
att's rebellion. He died in 1554.
HOWARD, Henry, earl of Surrey, was the
eldest son of the preceding nobleman, by Eli-
zabeth, daughter of Edward Stafford, duke of
Buckingham. He was born in 1520. He was
well educated, talented, and chivalric. While at
Florence, he issued a general challenge, and in
a splendid tournament, maintained the beauty of
his mistress, Geraldine, at the point of the lance.
He was completely victorious. In 1542, he
served in the army, under his father, in Scot-
land ; and, in 1544, he went as field-marshal to
Boulogne, where, being then knight of the
garter, he was constituted king's lieutenant and
captain general. Happening, however, to prove
unfortunate in an attempt upon the enemy's
convoy of provisions, he incurred the king's
displeasure, which hastened his rum. Some
intemperate language, used by him, was caught
hold of; charges were brought against him, and,
beino- found guilty, he was beheaded on Tower
Hillfjanuary 19, 1546-7.
HOWARD, Charles, earl of Nottingham, was
the son of William lord Howard, of Effingham,
and grandson of Thomas, the second duke of
Norfolk. He was born in 1536. He went, in
1559, to congratulate Francis II, of France, on
his accession to the throne ; and, in 1569, was
made general of the horse in the army sent
against the earls of Northumberland, and West-
moreland. The next year he went with a fleet
of men-of-war to convoy the princess Anne of
Austria to Spain; and in 1573, he succeeded
his father in his titles and estate. The same
year he was installed knight of the garter, and
made lord Chamberlain of the household ; and,
in 1585, constituted lord high admiral of Eng-
In 1588, he commanded the fleet which de-
feated and dispersed the Spanish armada ; and,
in 1596, when another invasion was appre-
hended, he was appointed commander-in chief
at sea, as the earl of Essex was on the land In
this expedition Cadiz was taken, and the Span-
ish fleet burnt ; for which he was made earl ot
Nottingham and justice-itinerant of all the tor-
ests south of Trent. In 1601, he suppressed
the earl of Essex's rebellion, and was princi-
pally concerned in bringing that nobleman to
the block. James I continued him in all his
employments; and at the coronation the earl
acted as lord-high-steward. In 1605, he went
ambassador to Spain ; and in 1613, he conveyed
the princess Elizabeth, on her marriage, to
Flushing. He died in 1624, at the age of 88.
HOWARD, John, the philanthropist, was
born at Hackney, in 1726. He was bound
apprentice to a grocer in London ; but disliking
the business, and having an independent for-
tune, he purchased his indentures, and made
the tour of France and Italy. On his return,
he married a widow lady, much older than him-
self, who died about three years afterwards. In
1756, he undertook a voyage to Lisbon, to see
the place after the earthquake ; but, on the
voyage, the ship was taken by a French priva-
teer, and carried to France. On being released,
Mr. Howard retired to a villa in the New For-
est; and, in 1758, married a second time; but
lost his lady in 1765. About this time he set-
tled at Cardington, near Bedford, where his
time was much occupied in benevolent objects,
and in the education of his son. In 1773, he
received the office of high sheriff, which led
him to make inquiries into the state of prisons.
With this view, he travelled over England,
through France,Germany, Holland, Italy, Spain,
Portugal, and Turkey. He published, in 1777,
a work entitled " The State of the Prisons m
England and Wales," dedicated to the House
of Commons. In 1780, appeared an appendix,
with an account of the author's travels in Italy.
He also printed a description of the Bastile, a
translation of Tuscany's new code of civil law ;
and, in 1789, " An Account of Europe. 1 he
plague was now the object of his researches,
and, with a design of ascertaining the nature
of this disorder, and the means of curing it, he
set out for the east; but died of a malignant
epidemic, at Cherson, January 29th, 1790. A
statue has been erected to his memory in Ht.
Paul's cathedral.
HOWARD, John Eager, colonel, a gallant
officer in the American revolution, was born in
Maryland, June 4th, 1752. He principally dis-
tinguished himself in the southern campaigns,
and received a wound at the battle of Lutaw,
from the effects of which he never recovered.
He was chosen governor of Maryland in 178B,
and filled the post for three years. From 179b,
till 1803 he was a member of the Senate ot the
United States. He died in October, 1827.
HOW
286
HUN
HOWE, Richard, earl, the third son of Sir
Emanuel Scrope, second viscount Howe, was
born in 1725, and, at the age of fourteen, went
on board the Severn, part of the squadron des-
tined for the South Seas, under Anson. In
1745, he was with admiral Vernon, and soon
after was made commander of the Baltimore
sloop, in which, with another armed vessel, he
beat off two French ships conveying troops and
ammunition to the Pretender ; for which he
was made a post captain. On the breaking out
of the war with France, he commanded the
Dunkirk ; with which he took the Alcide, a
French 64, off Newfoundland. In 1757, he
served under Sir Edward Hawke, and his ship,
the Magnanime, battered the fort on the Aix,
till it surrendered. After this he was appoint-
ed commodore of a squadron, with which he
took the town of Cherburg, and destroyed the
basin. In 1760, he was appointed colonel of
the marines; and, in 1763, had a seat at the
admiralty-board. In 1765, he was made trea-
surer of the navy ; and, in 1770, promoted to be
rear-admiral of the blue ; in 1775, rear-admiral
of the white, and afterwards vice-admiral of the
blue. France having now entered into a war
with England, lord Howe was sent to America
to oppose D'Estaing. In 1782, he was made an
English viscount, and appointed to the com-
mand of the fleet sent to the relief of Gibraltar,
which object he accomplished. The next year
he was made first lord of the admiralty ;" but
soon resigned that station to Lord Keppel. In
1788, he was created an English earl. On
the breaking out of hostilities with France, in
1 793, he was appointed to the command of the
channel fleet; and on the 1st of June, in the
following year, he gained a complete victory
over the French, who lost seven ships of the
line. For this he received the thanks of par-
liament ; the king visited him on board his ship,
presented him with a valuable sword, and made
him knight of the garter. The last service
rendered by his lordship to his country, was in
reducing the mutinous seamen to their duty, at
Portsmouth, in 1797. He died August 5th,
1799.
HOWE, Sir William, brother of the preced-
ing, succeeded General Gage in the command
of the forces, in America, in 1775. He defeated
the Americans in the battle of Brooklyn (1776),
took possession of New York, and in the Octo-
ber of the same year, repelled the Americans at
Germantown. He was succeeded in his com-
mand by Clinton, in 1778. His death took
place in 1814.
HUDSON CITY, capital of Columbia coun-
ty, N. Y., is a nourishing place, situated on the
east bank of the Hudson river, 117 miles north
of New York city. Population in 1830, 5,392.
It was founded in 1784.
HUGH CAPET ; duke and afterwards king
of France, was the son of Hugh the Great, who
dying, left him under the protection of Rich-
ard I, duke of Normandy. Lothaire, king of
France, pleased with Hugh's prudence and
generosity, gave him, in 960, the dukedom of
France, with the earldom of Paris and Poitou.
Louis V dying fifteen or sixteen months after
his father, Hugh Capet was proclaimed king at
Noyon, and crowned at Rheims, 987. Charles
I, duke of Lower Lorraine, son of Louis IV, the
only man of the royal blood left in France, was
taken prisoner by Hugh, and died in 992.
HUNGARY, the country of the Magyars, or
Hungarians. They are represented as derived-
from the Huns of Attila. A complete account
of ancient Hungary would present little more
than the melancholy picture of a country, the
perpetual seat of war. The Romans for a time
assumed the ascendant, and obtained a decided
superiority over the opposite and conflicting
parties. The Hungarians are proved to belong
to the Finnish nations, from the resemblance
that prevails between certain words of their
respective dialects. The Magyars appear to
have been a principal division of that great
northern nation contiguous to the Altai moun-
tains, whence issued the hordes who introduced
such changes in the character of nations, Asi-
atic and European. So far as the Magyars are
concerned, their progress from the Altai moun-
tains seems obvious. About the end of the 9th
century, we find a division of them entering the
plains of Munkatz, under their leader, Almus,
whose son Arpad, was the first duke of Hun-
gary. In a few years (890), Arpad had dispos-
sessed several of the princes of Hungary, and
contracted alliances with others. He subdued
a considerable portion of the Moravian king-
dom ; and, in the ardor of conquest, was for
attempting to establish himself in the territories
of Arnulph. Arpad finally extended his con-
quests into Bavaria, Suabia, Franconia, and
Italy ; his exertions were divided, but every-
where successful. His son Zoltan, in 907, had
penetrated into Alsatia, Lorraine, and France.
While the genius of the state was thus aspiring
to eminence, the strength of others seemed pro-
portionately paralyzed, as if the unremitting
cruelties characteristic of Attila were again to
be feared.
HUN
287
HUN
The imputation of ferocity affixed to the
name of the Huns inspired terror, till their
fourth duke, Geysa, diverted their feiocious
dispositions into other channels. The attention
he bestowed in giving a tinge of religion to the
mind and manners of his countrymen, operated
as an incentive to their civilization. It was
not until the commencement of the 11th cen-
tury, that a people rude, and proud of their
rudeness, were induced to lay aside their bar-
barous habits. Stephen, their last duke, and
first king, introduced the Christian religion,
and those social institutions, which, if left to
operate unrestrained, give a stamp to the char-
acter of a people. He died in 1038, after a
reign of 41 years, during which he had estab-
lished laws in the interior, reunited Transylva-
nia to his kingdom, subjugated the Sclavi, and
Bulgarians, and effected much for the amelio-
ration of society and morals.
On the death of Stephen, Hungary became
subject to the tyranny of various princes, the
country being involved, for nearly a century,
in the horrors of civil war. In this distracted
state of the kingdom, various usurpers aspiring
to the throne, the churches were destroyed, and
the ministers of religion persecuted. Any in-
tervals of peace were interrupted by the Bul-
garians, Walachians, Russians, Croats, &c. re-
newing their inroads. Under Ladislaus 1, 1077,
the country enjoyed some tranquillity ; religion,
commerce, legislation, tempered the bold inde-
pendence of a dark age ; and as a warrior, he
also became the temporary savior of his coun-
try. The race of Stephen I became extinct
with Andrew III. John Corvin or Hunniades,
was justly celebrated for his military achieve-
ments in his wars with Amurath II, and Moham-
med II. His son, Mathias Corvin, was unan-
imously elected king in 1458, and gave early
indications of great gifts and talents, adding
not a little to the lustre of his father's acquire-
ments. From his character, policy, military
operations, and great power, he has been de-
scribed as one of the most accomplished kings
of Hungary. Such was the force of his mind,
that his views extended to whatever could se-
cure his government, and render it formidable.
His ends were great, and his means prudent ;
he kept both the Turks and Austrians at bay,
and, as a politician and hero, was watchful
over his enemies, both at home and abroad.
To his other eminent qualities this king added
a measure of literary reputation. He is said to
have been conversant with the languages, arts,
and sciences of his time ; the country flourished
under his establishments, civil and military,
and the love of his subjects shows the great
esteem in which he was held by them. Com-
pared, generally, with his contemporaries in
power, the energy of his mind seems worthy of
admiration. He knew how to anticipate hos-
tile designs, and we find the kingdom, under
his government, preponderating in the balance
of Europe. Mathias had no children, and the
election of a new king occasioned a scene of
distress. Under Louis II, in 1516, the Turks
besieged Belgrade, which surrendered to their
arms ; and this was followed by various other
successes. In the famous battle of Mohacs,
(1526), Louis was defeated and slain, Buda was
given up to pillage, and the ferocious barbari-
ans, under Solyman II, after plundering the
country, converted the scene of their depreda-
tions into an immense desert. The country
was now convulsed with disputes about the suc-
cession, the archduke Ferdinand being oppos-
ed by John Zapolya, who was finally seated on
the throne. Zapolya died in 1540, and the
Hungarians invited Ferdinand to the throne
The country was again desolated and crimsoned
with blood. In 1564. Maximilian II, emperor
of Germany, laid claim to the crown, but it was
not till 1570, that a peace was finally ratified
between the Hungarians and Germans. John
Sigismund, son of Zapolya, was created prince
of Transylvania ; and the next circumstance to
be noticed and recorded, is the definitive sub-
jection of the Hungarians to the imperial house
of Austria. At the accession of Charles VI,
emoeror of Germany, a definitive treaty, in
1711, terminated all differences ; it was not till
then that every principle of internal hostility,
all those evils which had proved a hindrance to
civilization, disappeared. As the Hungarians
are now united to the Austrian dynasty, the
series of their kings is that of the emperors.
After Maximilian II, they occur in the follow-
ing order: Rodolph, 1576; Mathias II, 1612;
Ferdinand II, 1619; Ferdinand 111,1637; Le-
opold I, 1658; Joseph I, 1705; Charles VI,
1711; Maria Theresa, 1741; Joseph 11,1780;
Leopold II, 1789 ; and Francis II, now king of
Hungary and emperor of Austria. The greatet
part of the soil of Hungary is exceedingly pro-
ductive, and no country has so many mineral
and medicinal springs. Its population (exclusive
of Transylvania) exceeds 9,400,000. Education
is not neglected. The condition of the peas-
antry, however, is deplorable.
HUNTINGTON, Samuel,one of the signers
of the Declaration of Independence, born in
ICE
288
IND
Windham, Conn., in 1732. He was the son of
a farmer, and self-educated. At the age of 22,
he was admitted to practice law in his native
place, but shortly afterwards removed to Nor-
wich. In 17(54, he was representative of Nor-
wich to the General Assembly, and in the next
year king's attorney ; but in 1774, was made a
judge of the Superior Court. In 1775, he was
chosen a member of the council of Connecticut,
and in 1776, took his seat as a delegate to the
feneral Congress. In 1779, he succeeded Mr.
ay as president of that body. In 1786, he
succeeded Mr. Griswold, as governor of Con-
necticut and filled the office till his death, Jan-
uary 5, 1796.
HUSS, John, the celebrated reformer, was a
native of Bohemia, born in 1373, and educated
at the university of Prague. He early perceived
the corruption of the Romish church, and ex-
posed its prevalent abuses freely, although per-
secuted by several popes. He finally appeared
at Constance, was tried in 1415, burned alive,
and his ashes thrown into the Rhine. The
rebellion of the followers of Huss lasted fifteen
years, and filled Bohemia with bloodshed.
HUTCHINSON, Thomas, was born in Bos-
ton, in 1711, graduated at Harvard College in
1727. He was appointed Lieutenant Governor
of Massachusetts in 1758, and chief-justice in
1760. In 1771, he was made Governor of Mas-
sachusetts. He was ambitious, avaricious, and
hypocritical. He was succeeded by Gage in
1774, and lived in retirement at Brompton,
where he died June 3d, 1780, in his 69th year.
He was a writer of considerable merit. At one
time a Boston mob attacked his house which
was nearly demolished.
HYDER, Ally Khan, an eastern prince, the
formidable enemy to the British in India. He
was frequently successful, and, in 1766, his do-
minions contained 70,000 square miles. He
died in 1782.
I.
ICELAND, a large island in the Atlantic
Ocean, near the confines of the polar circle,
about 280 miles in length, belonging to Den-
mark. Christianity was introduced into it in
981. Among its curiosities is Mount Hecla,
whose terrific eruptions have often caused the
greatest distress among the inhabitants. The
islanders are simple, frugal, industrious, and
pious. The lower classes are uncommonly
well informed. The «taple exports are fish, oil,
feathers, sulphur, and salted mutton ; and the
imports wood, salt, tobacco, coffee, iron, and
fishing-tackle. Population about 50,000.
ILLINOIS, one of the United States; boun-
ded north by Michigan Territory ; east by Lake
Michigan and Indiana ; south by the Ohio, and
west by the Mississippi, which rivers separate
it from Missouri. It contains 58,000 square
miles. Population, in 1830, 157,445. Vanda-
lia is the capital. The face of the country is
little broken by hills, being generally level, or
only gently undulating. The soil is very fertile.
The state has a school fund, and there is a col-
lege at Jacksonville. The first settlements
were made at Kaskaskia, and Cahokia, by the
French, about 1756. In 1818, Illinois was
erected into a state.
INDIA. This country was visited early by
the Phoenicians, Egyptians, and other remote
nations of antiquity ; afterwards conquered in
part by the Persians, subsequently by Alexander
the Great, and since by the Mohammedans.
The authentic history of it, however, is of no
higher date than the year 1000 A. D., com-
mencing with the conquests of Mohammed
Gazni, who possessed the eastern parts of Persia,
and made twelve expeditions into Hindostan,
sacking some of the principal cities, carrying
off their treasure, and trying to exterminate the
inhabitants, as he could not convert them to
Mohammedanism. The empire soon crumbled
to pieces, being held together only by conquest.
From 1158 to 1398, other invasions, by the fol-
lowers of Mohammed continually occurred, till
the irruption of Nadir Shah, otherwise called
Kouli Khan, who had raised himself from ob-
scurity to the throne of Persia. One of the
most remarkable invasions was that of Tamer-
lane in 1398. After having carried into cap-
tivity a vast number of the poor inhabitants, he
caused 10,000 to be massacred in cold blood,
lest they should join the enemy. In 1555,
Akbar, the greatest emperor the Moguls bad
ever had, began to reign ; and during a series
of wars, massacres, invasions, and other simi-
lar pastimes of despotic princes, occupied the
throne 51 years. Two princes, Jehah Guire,
and Shah Jehan, succeeded ; the latter, a de-
bauched character, was dethroned by Aureng-
zebe, who also put three or four of his brothers
to death. From 1660, until 1678, he kept the
kingdom tranquil ; but then commenced wars
against the princess of the Deccan, which con-
tinued till his death, in 1707. As if his evil
deeds were to be punished in his descendants,
eleven of them were raised to the throne in
about as many years, and most of them assas-
IND
289
IND
sinated. In 1738, Nadir Shah, of Persia, in-
vaded the empire, entered Delhi, the capital,
and demanded vast sums of money as a contri-
bution. In 1748, Nizem-el-Mulk, viceroy of
the Deccan, died at the age of 104 years; by
his invitation, principally, had Nadir entered
the territory of the Moguls, and destroyed the
power of the emperor, as only one imperial
army ever entered the field after his departure,
and that was defeated by the Rohillas. Delhi,
therefore, and a few miles around it, constituted
almost the sole territory of the descendants of
Tamerlane : while the governors of districts
and provinces, under the names of rajahs, na-
bobs, and a variety of others, became independ-
ent sovereigns. Nizam's second son having
succeeded, instead of the eldest, to his father's
throne, this event first began those contests
between the French and English East India
Companies, that, after several year's bloody
wars, terminated in the expulsion of the former
from India. In 1600, queen Elizabeth first sent
an ambassador at Akbar, to solicit commercial
intercourse with his dominions. A company
was formed to carry the scheme into effect;
their voyages were pretty successful, and, after
having to contend with the Portuguese in sev-
eral naval engagements, they at length succeed-
ed in forming a factory at Surat, on the Malabar
Coast , by permission of the emperor Jehaun-gier.
Here they did not at first prosper, partly from
the inadequacy of their funds, and partly from
the enmity of the Dutch and Portuguese. Ac-
cident, however, laid the foundation of their
prosperity in the present important city of Cal-
cutta.
In 1747, the war commenced, and was carried
on with spirit by both sides, Mr. Clive contri-
buting to the successes of the English, until, in
1755, a cessation of hostilities took place. In
1756, Calcutta was threatened by the nabob of
Bengal, Surajah Dowlah, who marched 40,000
foot, 30,000 horse, and 4,000 elephants against
it. Cassambuzar surrendered to him at once;
and Calcutta being invested, was taken in three
days. This caused the tragedy of the Black
Hole. — (See Black Hole.) Colonel Clive, who
had now a commission in the king's service,
immediately on the receipt of this news, em-
barked from Fort St. David's with 400 Euro-
peans and 1000 Seapoys, on board admiral
Watson's fleet. All the old possessions were
soon regained, and the nabob was reduced to
make peace, after a bold attack upon his camp.
War, however, was now proclaimed against
France, and Chandernagore reduced, permis-
19
sion being obtained from the nabob for that pur-
pose. Very soon afterwards, he quarreled with
the company ; war with him also was inevita-
ble ; and, at the battle of Plassy, Clive, with a
handful of troops, defeated his whole army. In
this he was assisted by the neutrality of Meer
Jaffier Ali Khan, who stood aloof during the
engagement. On the Coromandel coast, in the
mean time, affairs were going on very indiffer-
ently for the English. But things again took a
turn ; all the enterprises of the French com-
mander seeming to fail. His attempt upon
Wandewash, in 1760, proved extremely unfor-
tunate. Again the French forces attempted a
stand under the walls of Cheltaput, 18 miles
from the field of battle ; but finally retired into
Pondicherry, their only remaining stronghold.
Cheltaput, Timmery, and Arcot, quickly fell
into the hands of the English ; with Carical,
Chellambrum, Verdachellum, Permucoil, Al-
ampera, and Waldour. Pondicherry itself was
invested ; the batteries opened in December,
and the place capitulated January 15th, 1761,
the whole of the French power in India being
thus annihilated. Meer Jaffier, the nabob of
Bengal, not answering the expectations of the
company was deposed, and Meer Cassim Ali
Khan placed on the Musnud, or throne. War
was soon declared against him — but peace was
finally concluded, as the English council had
been guilty of great injustice.
In 1767, a new enemy appeared in the Dec-
can. This was no other than Hyder Ally or
Hyder Naig, who had raised himself from the
rank of seapoy to that of a powerful prince.
For several years this prince baffled the attempts
of the English to crush him, and by concentrat-
ing immense forces, gained great advantages
over them. In 1781, Sir Cyre Coote was ap-
pointed commander-in-chief. Hyder, witli two
hundred thousand men, risked a battle with
him, July 1st ; but, notwithstanding his vast
superiority, was routed with great slaughter.
He tried another on the 27th of August, with
similar ill-success and loss. Other actions ter-
minated in a similar manner. In 1783, the
government of Bombay determined to carry the
war as close home as possible to Hyder's doors.
For this purpose General Matthews invaded
Canara, took nearly all the towns, and obtained
immense plunder. Hyder Ally, in the mean
while, had died, and Tippoo, his son, assembling
an army of 150,000 men to recover the loss,
appeared before Bidnore on the 7th of April,
and compelled the English to capitulate.
Some time before this a war had broken out
IND
290
IND
with the Mahrattas. At length, however, peace
was concluded. Tippoo Sultan, for a succes-
sion of years, opposed the English, and various
campaigns were undertaken against him. The
commanders in these bloody adventures were
General Meadows, Lord Cornwallis, and Sir
Arthur Wellesly, afterwards duke of Welling-
ton. The marquis of Hasting's administration
was advantageous to the British, but ruinous to
the natives. We draw a veil over the bloody
contests, and oppressive measures, by which
the natives of the East were crushed, their
princes ruined and betrayed, their wealth stolen
from them, and their dearest rights trampled
under foot, without remorse or hesitation. The
course of the British in India has been denoun-
ced by the most eloquent and upright men in
England — the voice of indignation has been
lifted up against the company — in vain. Con-
fiding in their immense wealth, steeled by their
unrelenting avarice, proud in their constant
success, they smile at every attempt to shake
their power, or impeach their offices ; and if
the course of their conduct is no longer marked
with that extended desolation and calamity
which formerly distinguished it, it is because
the spark of resistance is quenched in the ashes
of universal ruin. (For further information,
with regard to India, see the articles East In-
dies and Asia.)
INDIANS ; a name commonly applied to the
aborigines of the new continent. Those of
Mexico, and parts of South America, were,
when they first became known to the Span-
iards, far advanced in civilization. Their ar-
chitecture had little of the rudeness of a primi-
tive and untaught race, and their character con-
trasted favorably with that of their conquerors.
The tribes of North America, as they approach-
ed the north, lost much of the refinement which
was apparent in their southern brethren, ap-
peared to have little notion of the comforts
of life, and took the highest delight in the dar-
ing exploits of hunting and war. Each tribe
had a distinctive character — a peculiar physiog-
nomy, and peculiar habits ; but, of course, there
are certain general features, belonging to them
in common. We cannot devote much space to
this subject, and a general sketch, only, will be
expected. The Chippeway race is the most
numerous at present. The New England tribes
were Algonquins, and the Narragansets, the
Mohegans, the Delaware or Lenni Lenape, the
Iroquois or Six Nations, were of the same
stock. West of the Mississippi we find another
family , the Sioux or Dahcotah Indians, branches
of which are Winnebagoes, the Otoes, the
Ioways, the Missouries, the Assinniboins, the
Omahaws, the Kansas, and the Osages. The
Sacks and Foxes, the Pawnees, the Murtarees,
or Bigbellies, the Mandans, the Crows and Black-
feet, the Shosonees, the Chohunnish, the Skill-
oots, Echeloots, Multnomahs, Clatrops, &c.,are
among the other tribes of the western country.
The Chickasaws, Choctaws, and Creeks, of
which latter the Seminoles are a division, in-
habit the southern parts of the United States.
North of the Great Slave Lake, is another In-
dian family comprising several divisions.
All the Indian tribes are noted for their
hospitality and bravery. The women perform
the labors of the field, while war and hunting
are considered the only occupations worthy of
the men. Every man has as many wives as he
can support, and these women share his affec-
tions without quarrelling or murmuring. Instan-
ces of devoted attachment between two persons,
however, are by no means uncommon. The
Indians believe in the existence of a Supreme
Being, but they never demand blessings of
him, saying, He knows best what is good for
them, and content themselves with returning
thanks for benefits received. But they also have
superstitious notions, and sacrifice to invisible
beings. They attach great importance to their
medicines — bags full of rubbish. In war they
seldom give quarter, and prisoners are gener-
ally tortured, and burnt at the stake. It is the
pride of a vanquished chieftain to endure these
tortures without a murmur, and to perish,
singing, with an unfaltering voice, his tri-
umphant death-song, in which he recounts his
previous exploits, the number of the foes that
have fallen beneath his hatchet, and whose
scalps adorn his wigwam, and rejoices at the
prospects of reaching those Elysian fields of
after-life, where, through eternity, the immor-
tal huntsman pursues and slays the flying
game.
The traditions of the Iroquois abound with
touching relations of the injustice they have
sustained from the whites, from their first set-
tling in the country. " We and our tribes,"
say they, " lived in peace and harmony with
each other before the white people came into
this country ; our council-house extended far
to the north, and the south. In the middle of
it we could meet from all parts to smoke the
pipe of peace together; when the white men
arrived in the south, we received them as
friends, we did the same when they arrived in
the east. We knew not but the Great Spirit
IND
291
INQ
had sent them to us for some good purpose, and
therefore we thought they must be a good peo-
ple. We were mistaken. The whites will
not rest contented until they shall have de-
stroyed the last of us, and made us disappear
entirely from the face of the earth."
The Indian swiftness of foot and sagacity in
tracing the march of an enemy are well known,
and need not be dwelt on here : their attach-
ment to the memory of their deceased friends
is a striking and amiable point in their charac-
ters. Menandon, an Oneida chief, who was a
Christian, and survived the minister that con-
verted him, lived to be a hundred and twenty
years old. Just before he died, he said, " I am
an aged hemlock. The winds of one hundred
years have whistled through my branches. I
am dead at top (referring to his blindness).
Why I yet live, the Good Spirit only knows.
Pray to Jesus that I may wait my appointed
time to die ; and when I die, lay me by the side
of my minister and father, that I may go up
with him to the great resurrection."
The Indians have afforded instances of strong
sentiment. Schoolcraft relates that " a noble
minded girl, named Oolaita, being attached to
a young chief of her own tribe, was commanded
by her parents to marry an old warrior, renown-
ed for his wisdom and influence in the nation.
It being impossible to avoid the match, she left
her father's house while the marriage -feast was
preparing, and throwing herself from an awful
precipice, was dashed to pieces."
Some of the Indians believe that the evil
spirit is the maker of spirituous liquors, from
which, notwithstanding, too many of them can-
not refrain. Yet there have been numerous
instances to the contrary, when drunkenness
has urged them to commit some crime which,
in their sober moments, they held in detesta-
tion.
" An Indian, who had been brought up in
Minisink, near the Delaware water-gap, and to
wliom the German inhabitants of that nighbor-
hood had given the name of Cornelius Rosen-
baum, told Mr. Heckewelder, near fifty years
ago, that he had once, when under the influ-
ence of strong liquor, killed the best Indian
friend he had, fancying him to be his worst
avowed enemy. He said that the deception
was complete, and that while intoxicated, the
face of his friend presented to his eyes all the
features of the man with whom he was in a
state of hostility. It is impossible to express
the horror with which he was struck when he
awoke from that delusion ; he was so shocked,
that he from that moment resolved never more
to taste of the maddening poison, of .which he
was convinced the devil was the inventor; for
it could only be the evil spirit that made him
see his enemy when his friend was before him,
and produced so strong a delusion on his bewil-
dered senses that he actually killed him. From
that time, until his death, which happened
thirty years afterwards, he never drank a drop
of ardent spirits, which he always called ' the
Devil's Blood,' and was firmly persuaded that
the devil, or some of his inferior spirits, had a
hand in preparing it."
INDIANA, one of the United States, bounded
north by Lake Michigan and Michigan Terri-
tory, east by Ohio, south by the Ohio river,
separating it from Kentucky, and west by Il-
linois. It contains 36,000 square miles, and
343,031 inhabitants, of whom 3,629 are free
blacks. Near the Ohio, the country is hilly,
but farther north, it is less broken, and is gen-
erally fertile. The soil and productions are not
dissimilar to those of Illinois. Indianoplis, the
seat of government, was laid out in 1821. Vin-
cennes was settled by the French in 1730. In-
diana was erected into a state in 1816.
INNSPRUCK, or Innsbruck, the capital of
the Tyrol, situated on the Inn. Population,
10,800. The valley in which it stands was the
scene of several of the events that took place
during the heroic resistance made by the Tyrol-
ese to the French and Bavarians in 1809.
INQUISITION, The, or Holy Office, as it
is called, was an institution of the Catholic
church, established in Spain. Portugal, Italy,
and other Catholic countries, to try persons ac-
cused of holding opinions, contrary to those
received by the church.
The members of this jurisdiction were called
inquisitors, because, without any proof of aper-
son's being guilty, they seized him upon com-
mon report, and investigated his conduct; they
themselves, deciding upon his guilt or inno-
cence.
There is some controversy about the origin
of the inquisition, but it is allowed that Pope
Innocent III first gave rise to the Holy Office
While this man was at the head of the Catholic
church, the Albigenses of France, who refused
to embrace the monstrous doctrines of the Ro-
man Catholic church, were persecuted and
hunted like wild beasts.
It was in the beginning of the thirteenth cen-
tury, that Pope Innocent sent Pierre de Castel-
man, archdeacon of Maguelonne, and Rainier,
another priest, to stir up a spirit of zeal and per-
INQ
292
INQ
secution against the heretics. Dominic, a fa-
mous Spaniard, founder of the order of Preach-
ers, fell in with the messengers of the pope in
the year 1206, and labored, with energy, to put
an end to the heresy, as any opinion different
from the doctrines of the church was called.
These priests inquired into the conduct of
the princes, and men in office, towards the here-
tics, and from the scrutiny to which they sub-
jected suspected persons, were called inquisitors.
These inquisitors had no court and no decisive
authority, being mere spies of the pope. St.
Dominic, is said to have founded the first regu-
lar tribunal at Toulouse. Innocent III signi-
fied his approbation, and authorised the estab-
lishment in the year 1215.
So cruel were the proceedings of the Inqui-
sition, that even Catholics endeavored to pre-
ventits establishment in different countries ; but
Spain, a country famous for its devotion to the
Catholic religion, and for its ignorance, became
its chosen seat.
The Spanish Inquisition is always spoken of
with horror and indignation. In Spain it was
first introduced in 1478. The first inquisitor-
general, and the first court were constituted in
1481.
The kings of Castile, before they were
crowned, took an oath, that they, as well as
their subjects, should be under the power of the
Holy Office, as it was impiously called. The
inquisitors received their power from the pope's
mouth, or by means of letters, and he alone had
power to remove them from office.
Nothing could be more horrible than the pro-
ceedings of the Inquisitors. Without being
permitted to know who accused him, a man
was suddenly seized ; his dearest friends aban-
doned him at once, no one dared to speak to
him. From the midst of the luxuries of life, he
was hurried to a loathsome dungeon. Upon
the slightest pretence, the torture was applied,
and many an innocent person, in the pangs of
death, was forced to accuse himself.
The very lawyer who plead for them was in
terror of the Inquisition and completely in its
power. The slightest sentence he uttered,
which could possibly be turned against him,
was enough to place the advocate also in dan-
ger of his life.
There were two classes of punishments, the
ecclesiastical or religious punishments, and the
civil. The ecclesiastical punishments were ex-
communication, loss of a christian burial in con-
secrated ground, and loss of all right to hold
offices. As civil punishments, the inquisitors
disinherited the children of the criminal ; that
is, declared that if their father died a heretic,
they, although Catholics, should not hold any
of his property. They also pronounced the sen-
tence of infamy, which deprived a man of all
his property, of all right to hold an office, and of
all power, even over his children and servants.
Criminals were also imprisoned. They in-
curred the bann, or curse, by which they lost
all the rights of a human being, were driven out
of all society, and might be falsely accused,
beaten and robbed, without any hope of getting
redress. In fact, if any lawyer defended them
against an accusation, he was pronounced infa-
mous and deprived of office.
The last, and most frightful punishment, was
that of being burned alive, sometimes with an
iron gag in the mouth, which prevented the
agonized sufferer from uttering an intelligible
cry. Often however, while burning, they were
left at liberty to speak, and supplicated for mer-
cy, in a manner which would have moved any
but the hardest-hearted to pity, and yet these
priestly tyrants dared to say that their actions
found favor in the eyes of Heaven.
The tortures to which the inquisitors put the
accused, to make them confess their guilt, were
dreadful. The tortures were of five kinds.
First, their being threatened with the torture ;
second, their being carried to the place of tor-
ture; third, their being stripped and bound;
fourth, their being hoisted on the rack ; fifth,
squassation, in which the limbs are all disjointed.
Squassation was thus performed. The pri-
soner's hands being tied behind his back, heavy
weights are attached to his feet, and he is hoist-
ed up by a rope, until his head touches the pul-
ley. Hanging in this awful situation for some
time, his limbs and joints become stretched
frightfully ; and when suddenly let to fall, the
fall being checked by the rope before he touches
the ground, all his limbs are disjointed. The
horrible pain he now feels is increased by the
immense weight hanging at his feet.
The inquisition inflicted squassation, when
determined on, once, twice, or even three times
in the space of an hour. What could the poor
wretch enjoy of life, if he gained his liberty at
length ? How much did the inquisitors have of
the true spirit of religion ?
When we examine farther into the annals of
the inquisition, humanity shudders, and the im-
agination almost realizes the horrors which are
presented. Lovely and innocent women had
their delicate frames torn to pieces by the racks
of these monsters, because they refused to ac-
INQ
293
IRE
knowledge that as the true religion which
sanctioned such enormities. Such were the
torments inflicted upon Jane Bohorques and
her attendant, a young Protestant girl. They
were afterwards burnt at the auto da fi, or act
of faith.
These acts of faith, when a large number of
the condemned were often collected to suffer at
once, were always held upon festival days. The
procession issued from the halls of the inquisi-
tion, the Dominican friars with the standard of
their order, coming first. On one side their
flag had the picture of Saint Dominic, on the
other, the motto, " Justice and Mercy."
After these came the penitents, all in sleeve-
less black coats, with lighted wax tapers, and
bare-footed. Those who had narrowly escaped
burning, followed next in order, with flames
pointing downward painted on their coats.
The relapsed came next, with habits covered
with flames pointing upward. Lastly marched
those who are peculiar enemies to the Romish
doctrines. Their habits were covered with
flames, pointing upward, and on their breasts
they bore a likeness of themselves, in the act of
being devoured by wild beasts, and serpents.
At Lisbon, the place where they were burned,
was the Ribera, containing as many stakes as
there were condemned criminals, surrounded
with furze. The stakes of the professed, as
they were called, were about four yards high,
with a seat for the prisoner upon aboard, with-
in a yard of the top. The negative and relapsed
prisoners were first strangled and burned ; the
professed then ascended the ladder with a Je-
suit upon each side, who exhorted them to con-
fess their sins and return to the Romish church.
If they refused, the priests descended the ladder,
and the executioner going up, chained them
to the stake. After an interval the priests again
ascended and if the prisoners proved still obsti-
nate, they were forsaken and the spectators
called out " Let the dogs' beards be made ! "
The operation alluded to was performed by
thrusting poles, having flaming bunches of furze
at the end, against the faces of the criminals.
These were generally held against them until
their faces were burnt to a coal, the whole pro-
ceeding eliciting shouts of approbation and joy.
After this the furze at the foot of the stake
was fired, and, in general, reached no higher
than the knees of the condemned, so that they
were literally roasted to death. In a calm they
might die in half an hour, in a high wind sel-
dom under two hours.
In ancient times, the Spaniards thought the
entertainment, afforded by the horrid spectacle
of an auto da fi, equal to that derived from a
bull-fight, or a dance. In honor of Elizabeth,
the new queen, daughter of Henry 2d of France,
a girl of thirteen, an Act of faith was held in
1560, in which, not content with burning some
human beings, they consumed a few effigies.
Napoleon, abolished this terrible Inquisition,
and this just exercise of power should be re-
membered, when manyof his crimes are brought
to view. When Ferdinand was restored^by the
success of Napoleon's opponents, to the Spanish
throne, he re-established it. There never was
an institution of such dreadful cruelty, nor one
in which the laws of religion and mercy were
so daringly defied, under pretence too, of vin-
dicating morality and pure piety.
If the Inquisition, in modern days, was less
bloody than formerly, we are to attribute it, not
to the spirit of the institution, but to the increase
of knowledge, which will finally, we trust, put
an end to all abuses.
IONIA, a district of Asia Minor. Ionia was
divided into twelve small states which formed
a celebrated confederacy often spoken of by the
ancients. These states were Priene, Miletus,
Colophon, Clazomence, Ephesus, Lebedos, Leos,
Erythraj, Phocasa, Smyrna, and the capitals of
Samos and Chios. After they had enjoyed, for
some time, their freedom and independence,
they were made tributary to the power of Lydia
by Croesus. The Athenians assisted them to
shake off the yoke of the Asiatic monarchs, but
they soon forgot their duty and relation to their
mother country, and joined Xerxes when he
invaded Greece. They were delivered from
the Persian yoke by Alexander, and finally
were reduced by the Romans under the dictator
Sylla.
IONIAN ISLANDS, a republic in the south
of Europe under the protection of Great Brit-
ain. The seven chief islands are Corfu, Paxos,
Santa Maria, Ithaca, Cephalavia, Zante, and
Congo. Population 180,000 Greeks, Italians,
and Jews, with a few English. The produc-
tions of the soil are corn, vines, olives, currants,
cotton, honey, wax, &c. In 1797 these islands
were occupied by the French, by order of Bon-
aparte ; but in 1798 the French were expelled,
and the republic was placed under the protection
of it ussia and Turkey. By the treaty of Tilsit,
in 1807, they came again into the hands of the
French : in the course of the war, however, the
whole came into the possession of the British.
IRELAND, this fertile island, which has an
area of 32,200 square miles, forms part of the
IRE
294
IRE
kingdom of Great Britain. It is divided into
four large provinces, viz., Ulster, Leinster, Con-
naught, and Munster, which are sub-divided
into 32 counties. The face of the country is
diversified, but almost all of it is susceptible of
cultivation. The population, in 1831, amounted
to 7,784,536.
There are no serpents, or venomous reptiles
in Ireland, and St. Patrick is said to have driven
them all into the sea. At the lake of Killarney,
the peasants still preserve the following ludi-
crous tradition. When the labors of St. Patrick
were drawing to a close, there was one enormous
serpent who sturdily refused to emigrate, and
baffled the attempts of the good saint for a long
time. He haunted the romantic shores of Kil-
larney, and was so well pleased with his place
of residence, that he never contemplated the
prospect of removing without a deep sigh. At
length St. Patrick, having procured a large
oaken chest, with nine strong bolts to secure its
lid, took it on his shoulder one fine sunshiny
morning, and trudged over to Killarney, where
he found the serpent basking in the sun. " Good
morrow to ye !" said the saint. " Bad luck to
ye !" replied the serpent. " Not so, my friend,"
replied the good saint, " you speak unwisely —
I'm your friend. To prove which, haven't I
brought you over this beautiful house as a shel-
ter to you ? So be aisy, my darling." But the
serpent, being a cunning reptile, understood
what blarney meant, as well as the saint him-
self. Still, not wishing to affront his apparently
friendly visiter, he said, by way of excuse, that
the chest was not large enough for him. St.
Patrick assured him that it would accommodate
him very well. " Just get into it, my darlint,
and see how aisy you'll be." The serpent
thought to cheat the saint, so he whipped into
the chest, but left an inch or two of his tail
hanging out over the edge. " I told you so,"
said he, " there's not room for the whole of
me." "Take care of your tail, my darling!"
cried the saint, as he whacked the lid down on
the serpent. In an instant the tail disappeared,
and St. Patrick proceeded to shoot all the bolts.
He then took the chest on his shoulders. " Let
me out!" cried the serpent. "Aisy" cried the
saint, " I'll let you out tomorrow." So saying,
he threw the box into the waters of the lake, to
the bottom of which it sank to rise no more.
But for ever afterwards, the fishermen affirmed
that they heard the voice of the poor cozened
reptile eagerly inquiring, " Is tomorrow come
yet ? Is tomorrow come yet ?"
The early history of Ireland is involved in
great obscurity, and it is impossible to distin-
guish fact from fiction in the tales of its early
historians. There is strong evidence, however,
that the Irish are descended from the Celts.
Strongbow, (the surname of the earl of Pem-
broke) at the request of Dermot Me' Morrogh,
king of Leinster, invaded Ireland, and a great
part of the island was soon conquered by the
English, who by degrees became masters of the
whole country. A parliament was summoned
at Dublin, May 1st, 1536, which declared Hen-
ry VIII the supreme head on earth of the church
of Ireland, and annulled the papal power.
Every person who refused to take the oath of
supremacy, was declared guilty of high treason.
But, to resist the royal usurpations, confederacies
were formed and the Reformation was rendered
so odious to the Irish, that it made slow progress
among them. Though the liturgy of the church
of England was performed for the first time on
Easter Sunday, 1551, the bulk of the nation
still adhered steadfastly to their ancient faith,
and the cause of religion became the cause of
the nation. The attempts to force a people to
renounce the faith which they had received
from St. Patrick, and to receive a new system
of religion, with an English ritual, naturally
become blended with the national prejudices
against English oppression, and co-operated in
raising the insurrection of Tyrone. A general
system of rebellion to shake off the English
yoke, was organized in Ireland, about 1596;
and the most formidable of the rebel chiefs was
O'Neil, who disdaining the title of earl of Ty-
rone, had assumed the rank and appellation of
king of Ulster, and received a supply of arms
and ammunition from Spain. This rebellion
was finally terminated by the submission of
O'Neil.
The conduct of James I, estranged the affec-
tions of the Irish, and, during the reign of
Charles I, a rebellion broke out which deluged
the country in blood. The cruelties of Crom-
well toward Ireland are almost incredible.
20,000 Irishmen were sold as slaves, and 40,000
entered into foreign service, to escape from
tyranny at home.
On the death of the Protector, Richard Crom-
well confirmed his brother Henry in the gov-
ernment of Ireland, by the new title of lord-
lieutenant. Henry exerted himself with vigor
to support the tottering authority of his brother;
but, after the abdication of Richard, Charles II
was proclaimed with every manifestation of joy
in all the great towns of Ireland. On the ac-
cession of James II to the throne of England,
IRE
295
IRE
Ormand was succeeded in the government of
Ireland, by the earl of Clarendon. The earl of
Tirconnel was appointed commander-in-chief
of the army, and made independent of the lord-
lieutenant. This, and other proceedings in
favor of the Catholics, alarmed the Protestant
part of the kingdom, and most of the traders,
and those whose fortunes were transferable fled
from the country. The distracted state of this
unhappy kingdom, at the period of the revolu-
tion, in 1688, can hardly be described. The
Protestants in the north proclaimed William
and Mary. James, who had sailed from Brest,
with a large armament, landed at Kinsale, in
March, 1689. He was opposed by an English
army commanded by William in person. A
dreadful civil war took place, but at length, the
battle of the Boyne, on the 1st of July, 1690,
decided the fate of James, who fled to France.
The Irish subjects outlawed for the rebellion
of 1688, amounted to 300,978, and their Irish
possessions comprised 1,600,000 acres. In 1796,
the injured Irish, denied the enjoyments of their
dearest rights, and condemned to political dis-
ability on account of professing the Catholic
religion, once more rebelled. The French fa-
vored them, but only a small French force ever
landed, and they surrendered to the superior
army of Cornwallis. The insurgents being ex-
cluded from all quarters, fled, and were pursued
with great slaughter. On the first of January,
1801, the union of Great Britain with Ireland
was effected. The political disabilities of the
Catholics have been recently removed, but still
the condition of Ireland is unhappy.
One cause of the distresses of Ireland, is absen-
teeism, the absence in England of great landed
proprietors, whose estates are underlet by rapa-
cious agents that grind the poor tenants without
mercy.
In spite of religious intolerance and civil dis-
qualifications— of statutes which rendered com-
merce a crime, and laws which made industry
penal; of abuses of power under William, and
of taxes quadrupled under the last of the Stuarts
and the first of the Brunswicks, still something
like a counterpoise was found to balance these
political evils, in the home residence of the edu-
cated gentry, and in the political bustle and ac-
tivity of an Irish parliament. As soon as the
positive calamities of war and confiscation ceas-
ed, as soon as an approach was made to Euro-
pean habits and policy, and industry was per-
mitted to find a scope and a reward for its ex-
ertions, the nation made a sudden and a rapid
progress in civilization and comfort, simply
through the efficiency of its own resources, and
the demands of its own market. It was in vain
that the talismanic words " Irishmen" and "Pa-
pist" were employed to arm passion and preju-
dice against the country ; it was in vain that
commercial jealousy threw shackles round its
infant manufactures. In spite of these and
many other obstacles, the moral strength of a
country always distinguished for the natural
endowments of its population, rose superior to
the cruel pressure of its political inflictions;
and the domestic activity and intellectual im-
provement of the people — slow and limited as
they appear, when compared with the advances
of the sister kingdom — proceeded with a rapid-
ity little short of miraculous, under so stultifying
a system of legislation and government. It was
then that the light of national genius concen-
trated its long-scattered rays to a point, and
shining steadily from its proper focus, threw
out those inextinguishable sparks of moral lus-
tre,
" Which are wont to give
Light to a world, and make a nation live."
It was then that the powerful collision of active,
ardent, and energetic minds produced that
brilliant burst of talent which, for something
more than a century, flung over the political
darkness of the land a splendor to which her
struggles and her misfortunes served only to
give a stronger relief and more brilliant effect.
It was then that, after ages of mental depres-
sion, the Irish intellect broke out, like the Irish
rebellion, " threescore thousand strong," when
none expected or were prepared for the splendid
irruption. The old mart of learning was re-
opened to the erudite of Europe, as in those
times when, if a sage was missing, it was said
" cmandatus est ad disciplinam in Hibcrnia ;"
and the rich stream of native humor which,
like a caverned river, had hitherto " kept the
noiseless tenor of its way," darkened by im-
pending shadows, now rushed forth with the
rapidity of a torrent, pure, sparkling, and
abundant, at the first vent afforded to its pro-
gress.
Even the arts, in these stirring times of social
concentration, awakened from their long and
deadly slumbers ; and the slowly reviving school
of painting in England received some of its most
noted disciples from Ireland, a country so little
adapted, by its miseries and its commotions, to
the cultivation of the most tranquil and medita-
tive of intellectual pursuits.
The absence of great proprietors in Ireland,
necessarily brings with it, or if not necessarily,
ISP
296
ITA
has actually brought with it the employment
of middle-men, which forms one standing and
regular Irish grievance. It is the common
method in Ireland to extort the last farthing
which the tenant is willing to give for land
rather than quit it, and the machinery by which
such a practice is carried into effect, is that of
the middle-man. He gives high prices that he
may obtain higher from the occupant ; more is
paid by the actual occupant than is consistent
with the preservation of the land; it is injured,
run out, and the most shocking consequences
ensue from it. There is little manufacture in
Ireland ; the price of labor is low ; the demand
for labor irregular. If a poor man is driven,
by distress of rent, from his potatoe garden, he
has no other resource — all is lost; he will do
the impossible (as the French say) to retain it —
subscribe any bond, and promise any rent. The
middle-man has no character to lose ; and he
knew when he took up the occupation that it
was one with which pity had nothing to do.
On he drives, and backward the poor peasant
recedes, losing something at every step, till he
comes to the very brink of despair, and then
he recoils, and murders his oppressor, and is a
White Boy, or a Right Boy ; — and the soldier
shoots him, and the judge hangs him.
Ireland may yet be liberated, and raised to its
just rank among the nations of the earth ; but
not by the exertions — the public talk and clamor
of her politicians. They are rigid and inflexi-
ble in little things, but very flexible and ac-
commodating in great things. You would think,
to hear them, that the same planet could not
contain them and the oppressors of their coun-
try— perhaps not the same solar system. Yet
for money, claret, and patronage, they lend their
countenance, assistance, and friendship to her
sternest enemies.
IROQUOIS, or the Six Nations, a confedera-
cy of Indian nations, who supported the British
interest during the revolutionary war. They
were brave and heroic.
ISAAC, the son of Abraham. (See Abraham.)
ISMAIL, or Ismailow, a town in Russia, in
Bessarabia, on the N. side of the Danube, 33
miles from the Black Sea. It is memorable for
its siege, in 17'JO, by the Russians under Souva-
roff or Suwarrow. It was taken by a terrible
assault, on the 23d of December. Of the Turks
30,000 were massacred in cold blood, and 10,000
made prisoners. The Russians lost 5,000 men
on the day of capture, and twice that number in
previous operations.
ISPAHAN, or Spahawn, anciently Aspadona,
> Independent.
Subject of
' Foreign Powers.
formerly the capital of Persia. At one time it is
said to have contained 1,000,000 inhabitants;
at present it has about 200,000. In 1387 the in-
habitants were massacred when the place was
taken by Timur Beg. It contains some hand-
some buildings, but retains few vestiges of its
former splendor.
ITALY, since the downfall of Rome, has
been divided into different states, and has lost
that power which it formerly enjoyed. Its his-
torical remains, its schools of art, its delicious
climate, give it an undying interest. It now
contains 21,400,000 inhabitants.
The following are its political divisions :
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
Kingdom of Sardinia,
States of the Church,
Grand-duchy of Tuscany,
Duchy of Parma,
Duchy of Modena, with Massa and
Canara,
Duchy of Lucca,
Principality of St. Marino,
Principality of Monaco,
Austrian Italy, (Venice, and Lom-"
bardy),
French Italy, (Corsica),
Swiss Italy, (canton of Tessin, part i
of the Grisons and Valais),
English Italy, (group of Malta), J
Italy has borne, at different periods, the dif-
ferent names of Saturnia, iEnotria, Hesperia,
Ausonia, Tyrrhenia. It has been called the
garden of Europe ; and the panegyric which
Pliny bestows upon it, does not seem in any
degree exaggerated. The ancient inhabitants
called themselves Aborigines, offspring of the
soil, and the country was soon after peopled by
colonies from Greece. Italy has been the
mother of arts as well as of arms, and the im-
mortal monuments which remain of the elo-
quence and poetical genius of its inhabitants
are universally known. The early part of the
history of this country, is, however, involved
in the greatest obscurity. The first light thrown
on this land of darkness was by the settlement
of Greek colonies in the south, where, eventu-
ally, a large tract of country was called Magna
Graecia. The annals of Rome are said to go
back 750 years B. C. (See Rome.)
Italy continued subject to one power for more
than H00 years ; until the fifth century, when
the Goths crossed the barriers of the Alps. To-
wards the year 560 A. D. the Lombards entered
the north of Italy, took Milan and Pavia, and
founded a kingdom which continued during
two centuries, until overthrown by Charle-
magne.
After his death Italy belonged to his succes-
ITA
297
JAC
sors on the imperial throne, but their tenure
was precarious ; the great barons laboring to
assert their independence, and the popes to ex-
tend their temporal dominions. The subsequent
history is little more than a succession of mili-
tary struggles, of little interest, until 960, when
Otho I repaired, in person, to the north of Italy,
granted municipal rights to the cities, and im-
proved the interior government in general.
The whole was united to the German empire ;
but from this compact fresh feuds and commo-
tions followed ; the Italian nobility were jealous
of their privileges ; conspiracies were formed,
detected, and suppressed, and no constant alle-
giance was exhibited to the German govern-
ment, or the magistracy put into authority by
it. A series of wars continued for several ages.
In the 14th century, Italy was divided into the
kingdom of Naples, the estates of the Church,
Tuscany, Parma, and Lombardy, the Genoese
and the Venetian territories, and other petty
states. For two centuries the Venetians and
Genoese were the most considerable commer-
cial people in Europe, and Venice, in particu-
lar, possessed large foreign colonies ; and, in
1194, took Constantinople and held in sove-
reignty portions of what now constitutes Tur-
key in Europe and Greece. The foundation of
the temporal power of the popes was laid about
1080, by Matilda, countess of Tuscany, who
bequeathed a large portion of her dominions to
pope Gregory VII. After that time the popes
successively made great acquisitions of territo-
ry : but, in 1798, Rome was taken by Berthier,
and Bonaparte annexed the papal dominions to
France. They were, however, restored in
1814. (See articles, Genoa, Milan, Piedmont,
Rome, &c.)
SUCCESSION. A. D.
Odoacer, Chief of the Heruli 476
Theodoric, the Ostrogoth 493
Athalaric 526
Theodatus 534
Vitiges 536
Araric 540
Totila 541
Teias, the last of the Goths 553
Narses, governor 554
Alboin, the Lombard 568
Cleophis 572
Interregnum of 12 years in which the Lom- ) ..574
bards were governed by dukes. j '"
Antharis 586
Agilulf 590
Adelwald, with his mother Theodelinda 616
Arivald 69f>
Rotharis 638
Rodoald 654
Aribert I C53
Pertharithus ) g62
Gondibert j
Grimoald 663
Ganbald 672
Pertharithus, restored 673
Cunihert, his sun 680
Cunibert, alone 691
Luipertus 701
Ragiinbertus 701
Aribert II 702
Alisprandus 712
Luitprandus 713
H ildebrand 742
Ratchis, duke of Friuli 744
Astulfua 750
Desiderius or Didier 756
In 774, Desiderius, the last of the Lombards,
was taken prisoner by Charlemagne ; and the
kingdom of Italy was united, first to France,
and afterwards to the Empire, till 888, when it
was separated from the latter, on the death of
Charles the Fat.
Guy and Berenger I 888
Lambert 896
Louis 899
Berenger 1 restored 904
Rodolpli, king of Burgundy 922
Hugh, king of Aries 926
Lothario 947
Berenger II 950
In 963, Berenger was deposed, by pope Leo
VIII, and next year the emperor Otho I reduced
Italy and reunited it to the empire ; to which it
continued nominally to belong till 1805, when
Bonaparte revived the ancient title of king of
Italy.
ITHACA, now Thiaki, an island in the gulf
of Patras, belonging to the Ionian republic.
Population 8000. It is celebrated as the resi-
dence of Ulysses.
IVICA, Iviza, or Ibiza (anciently Ebusus) a
fertile and valuable island in the Mediterranean,
belonging to Spain. It contains 190 square
miles, and 21,094 inhabitants. It fell into the
hands of the Spaniards in 1294, and submitted
to Sir John Leake, with a British squadron, in
1706. It has generally followed the fortunes of
the neighboring islands, Majorca and Minorca.
JACKSON, James, an officer in our revolu-
tionary army, was born in England, in 1757,
and settled in Georgia in 1772. He was en-
gaged in the attack on Savannah, when but
nineteen years old, and a few years afterwards
was chosen brigade-major of the Georgia militia.
After the close of the war, throughout which he
displayed great gallantry and prudence, he
commenced the practice of law, and in 1783,
became a member of the legislature. In 1788
he was chosen governor of Georgia, but de-
JAM
298
JAM
clined the honor, and was promoted to the rank
of major-general of the militia of the state. He
was afterwards chosen senator to Congress, and
died in Washington, Jan. ID, 1606.
JACOB, the son of Isaac, and the last of the
patriarchs. For his history the reader is re-
ferred to the Scriptures.
JAFFA, anciently Joppa, a town of Syria, in
the Pachalic of Damascus, 12 leagues N. W. of
Jerusalem. Population 3,650. It was taken by
Bonaparte in 1799.
JAMAICA, one of the West India islands
belonging to Great Britain. It is about 150
miles long, and -10 broad ; and lies 30 leagues
west of Hay ti. It is less fertile than some other
of the West India islands, but is a rich and val-
uable country. It is subject to earthquakes.
Sugar, rum, molasses, indigo, cofFee, cotton,
cocoa, pimento, and ginger are the most valua-
ble articles of export. The present population
is about 414,000 of whom 30,000 are free people
of color, and 37,000 whites. The island was
discovered by Columbus, May 3,1494. In 1655
it was taken from the Spanish by the English
under the command of Bonn and Venables. In
1795 a war commenced between the maroons,
the runaways of the Spanish settlers, and the
white inhabitants, when the barbarous expedi-
ent of using bloodhounds being resorted to, for
the purpose of tracing the haunts of the negroes,
they were at last compelled to surrender at dis-
cretion to their enemies the whites.
JAMES I, king of Scotland, was born in
1394. At the age of eleven years, he was sent
to France, that he might escape the danger to
which he was exposed by the ambition of his
uncle, the duke of Albany ; but, falling into the
hands of the English, he and his retinue were
confined in the tower, where, however, the
young prince received an excellent education.
His talents were of a high order. Our distin-
guished countryman, Washington Irving, has
given an interesting account of him in one of
the papers of the Sketch Book, which we must
be permitted to condense and copy below :
" 1 visited the ancient keep of the castle,
where James the First of Scotland, the pride
and theme of Scottish poets and historians, was
for many years of his youth detained a prisoner
of state. It is a large gray tower, that has stood
the brunt of ages, and is still in good preserva-
tion. It stands on a mound which elevates it
above other parts of the castle, and a great flight
of 6teps into the interior. In the armory, which
is a Gothic hall, furnished with weapons of va-
rious kinds and ages, I was shown a coat of
armor hanging against the wall, which I was
told had once belonged to James. From hence
I was conducted up a staircase to a suite of
apartments of faded magnificence, hung with
storied tapestry, which formed his prison, and
the scene of that passionate and fanciful amour,
which has woven into the web of his story the
magical hues of poetry and fiction.
" The whole history of this amiable but un-
fortunate prince is highly romantic. The in
telligence of his capture, coming in the train of
many sorrows and disasters, proved fatal to his
unhappj' father.
" The news, we are told, was brought to him
while at supper, and did so overwhelm him
with grief, that he was almost ready to give up
the ghost into the hands of the servants that
attended him. But being carried into his bed-
chamber, he abstained from all food, and in three
days died of hunger and grief at Bothesay.
" James was detained in captivity above eigh-
teen years ; but, though deprived of personal
liberty, he was treated with the respect due to
his rank. He was well learnt, we are told, to
fight with the sword, to joust, to tournay, to
wrestle, to sing and dance, he was an expert
mediciner, right crafty in playing both of lute
and harp, and sundry other instruments of mu-
sic, and was expert in grammar, oratory, and
poetry."
In prison he wrote the king's Quhair (Book.)
" The subject of the poem is his love for the
lady Jane Beaufort, daughter of the Earl of
Somerset, and a princess of the blood royal of
England, of whom he became enamored in the
course of his captivity." " His passion for the
lady Jane, as it was the solace of his captivity,
so it facilitated his release, it being imagined
by the Court, that a connection with the blood
royal of England would attach him to its own
interests. He was ultimately restored to his
liberty and crown, having previously espoused
the Lady Jane, who accompanied him to Scot-
land, and made him a most tender and devoted
wife.
" He found his kingdom in great confusion,
the feudal chieftains having taken advantage of
the troubles and irregularities of a long inter-
regnum, to strengthen themselves in their pos-
sessions, and place themselves above the power
of the laws. James sought to found the basis
of his power in the affections of his people.
He attached the lower orders to him by the re-
formation of abuses, the temperate and equable
administration of justice, the encouragement of
the arts of peace, and the promotion of every
JAM
299
JAM
thing that could diffuse comfort, competency,
and innocent enjoyment, through the humblest
ranks of society. He mingled occasionally
among the common people in disguise ; visited
their firesides ; entered into their cares, their
pursuits, and their amusements, informed him-
self of the mechanical arts, and how they could
best be patronized and improved ; and was thus
an all-pervading spirit, watching with a benevo-
lent eye over the meanest of his subjects. Hav-
ing in this generous manner made himself
strong in the hearts of the common people, he
turned himself to curb the power of the factious
nobility ; to strip them of those dangerous im-
munities which they had usurped ; to punish
such as had been guilty of flagrant offences;
and to bring the whole into proper obedience to
the crown. For some time they bore this with
ontward submission, but with secret impatience
and brooding resentment. A conspiracy was
at length formed against his life, at the head of
which was his own uncle, Robert Stewart, Earl
of Athol, who being too old himself for the per-
petration of the deed of blood, instigated his
grandson. Sir Robert Stewart, together with Sir
Robert Graham, and others of less note, to com-
mit the deed. They broke into his bed-cham-
ber at the Dominican convent near Perth, where
he was residing, and barbarously murdered him
by oft-repeated wounds. His faithful queen,
rushing to throw her tender body between him
and the sword, was twice wounded in the inef-
fectual attempts to shield him from the assas-
sin ; and it was not until she had been forcibly
torn from his person, that the murder was ac-
complished."
' This tragedy was acted Feb. 20, 1437. When
the footsteps of the ruthless assassins were heard
approaching the door of the royal apartment,
Catharine Douglas, one of the queen's ladies,
secured it for a moment, by thrusting her arm
through the staple, and sustaining, with unwa-
vering fortitude, the shocks of the assailants,
till her arm was broken, and the door forced.
The sentiments with which Mr. Irving con-
cludes his sketch of James, are best conveyed
in his own beautiful language. " Others may
dwell on the illustrious deeds of James as a
warrior and a legislator ; but I have delighted
to view him merely as the companion of his
fellow men, the benefactor of the human race,
stooping from his high estate to sow the sweet
flowers of poetry and song in the paths of com-
mon life. He was the first to cultivate the vigor-
ous and hardy plant of Scottish genius, which
has since been so prolific of the most wholesome
and highly flavored fruit. He carried with him
into the sterner regions of the north, all the fer-
tilizing arts of southern refinement. He did
every thing in his power to win his country-
men to the gay, the elegant, and gentle arts,
which soften and refine the character of a peo-
ple, and wreathe a grace round the loftiness of
a proud and warlike spirit. He wrote many
poems, which, unfortunately for the fulness of
his fame, are now lost to the world; one which
is still preserved, called " Christ's Kirk of the
Green," shows how diligently he had made
himself acquainted with the rustic sports and
pastimes, which constitute such a source of
kind and social feeling among the Scottish
peasantry ; and with what simple and happy
humor he could enter into their enjoyments.
He contributed greatly to improve the national
music; and traces of his tender sentiment, and
elegant taste, are said to exist in those witching
airs, still piped among the wild mountains and
lonely glens of Scotland. He has thus con-
nected his image with whatever is most gracious
and endearing in the national character ; he has
embalmed his memory in song, and floated his
name down to after ages in the rich stream of
Scottish melody. The recollection of these
things was kindling at my heart, as I paced the
silent scene of his imprisonment. I have visited
Vancluse with as much enthusiasm as a pil-
grim would visit the shrine at Loretto ; but I
have never felt more poetical devotion than
when contemplating the old tower and the little
garden at Windsor, and musing over the ro-
mantic loves of the lady Jane, and the Royal
Poet of Scotland."
JAMES VI, king of Scotland, and I of Eng-
land, was the son of the unfortunate Mary, by
her cousin Lord Darnley, and was born at Ed-
inburgh, in June, 1556. He had Buchanan
for his instructer, who, when accused of hav-
ing made his pupil a pedant, replied, "that he
could make nothing else of him." In 1589,
he married Anne, daughter of Frederick, king
of Denmark, whom he brought from Copen-
hagen. In 1G00, while hunting, an attempt,
was made to seize his person by the earl of
Gowrie, who, with his brother, was slain, while
the king escaped unhurt. In 1603, he succeed-
ed to the English throne ; and, the year follow-
ing, the Hampton court conference, between
the divines of the established church and the
Puritans, was held in his presence. The next
year the gunpowder plot was discovered. The
condemnation and death of Raleigh was the
greatest blot on the character and reign of James,
JAN
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JAY
who also lessened his popularity by undertak-
ing the defence of the Protestants of Germany,
and then abandoning their cause. He died in
March, 1625.
JAMES II, king of England, succeeded his
brother Charles II, in 1(385. A conspiracy set
on foot by the duke of Monmouth, was the
first disturbance in his reign. Monmouth had
ever been the darling of the people, and some
averred that Charles had married his mother,
and owned his legitimacy on his death-bed. The
duke of Argy le in the north, seconded his views,
and, with Monmouth, planned a double insur-
rection, but both were defeated and executed.
James suspended the exercise of the protestant
religion, acknowledged the supremacy of the
pope, and allowed the Jesuits to establish them-
selves in the kingdom. The indignation of the
people was now roused, and they hailed with
joy the arrival of the prince of Orange, before
whom James fled. He was hospitably received
by the king of France, who aided him in his
subsequent unsuccessful attempts to regain his
throne. James died at St. Germain in France,
1701.
JAMESTOWN, Virginia, situated on an isl-
and in James river, 32 miles above its mouth.
It was the first English settlement in Virginia,
and was established in 1608. It is now nearly
deserted.
JANIZARIES ; these formidable foot soldiers,
at first the guards of the Ottoman monarchs,
and for a long time the arbiters of their fate,
were finally broken up in 1826, the date of
their last rebellion. They were established by
Amurath I, and originally consisted of the fin-
est looking Christian slaves, educated in the
Mohammedan religion and arms. When first
formed, this new militia was consecrated in the
presence of the sultan, by a dervish, who stand-
ing in the front of their ranks, stretched the
sleeve of his gown over the head of the foremost
soldier, and delivered his blessing in these words
— " Let them be called Janizaries (yingi cheri,
or new soldiers) ; may their countenances be
ever bright; their hand victorious; their swords
keen; may their spear always hang over the
heads of their enemies ; and, wheresoever they
go, may they return with a white face.' Ji'Tiite
and black face are common and proverbial ex-
pressions of praise and reproach in the Turkish
language.
JANUS, a deity believed by the Romans to
have the double office of opening and shutting
the gate of heaven. He was represented with
two faces, his temple at Rome was built in the
form of a square, and was opened in time of
war, and shut in time of peace.
JAPAN ; an empire to the east of China,
composed of a great number of islands. The
principal are Niphon, Kiusin or Ximo, and
Xicoco, or Sicof. The Japanese have nominal-
ly two emperors, one is the Dairi, the supreme
pontiff, and oracle of religion, and the other the
Cubo, a secular emperor, who is invested with
absolute authority. His residence is at Jeddo,
a large city, the capital of the empire, in the
island of Niphon. The Japanese are enterpris-
ing, hardy, and warlike, but treacherous and
proud. Their religion is idolatrous. Francis
Xavier established a catholic congregation here,
which was destroyed by the Dutch, in 1037.
The soil is fertile and the productions various.
The silks, cottons, porcelain, lackered wares,
&c. are in high repute. The population of
Japan is about 225 millions.
JASON, son of iEson, king of Solchos, in
Thessaly, famous for his share in the Argo-
nautic expedition.
JAVA; a large island in the eastern seas,
642 miles long, and 128 broad. In 1815 the
population amounted to 5,000,000. Java was
discovered by the Portuguese in 1510. But the
Dutch obtained their possessions, and the island
was divided between them, and the native prin-
ces. It is exceedingly fertile, producing rice,
cotton, coffee, pepper, sugar, drugs of all kinds,
and various fruits. The coffee of this island is
renowned. There are also mines of gold, rubies,
diamonds, and emeralds. Batavia is a strongly
fortified city, the. centre of the Dutch East In-
dia Company, and the residence of a governor.
In 1811 the island was taken by the British, but
it was restored by the treaty of Paris in 1814.
The natives are much oppressed, and have sev-
eral times revolted.
JAY, John, an American statesman and jurist,
was born in the city of New York, Dec. 1, 1745,
O. S., and was educated at King's (now Colum-
bia) college. In 1768, he was admitted to prac-
tice law, and in 1774 was chosen a delegate to
the first provincial congress which met at Phil-
adelphia, Two years afterwards he was chosen
president of congress. In 1778 he was chosen
chief justice of New York, the constitution of
which he had been instrumental in framing.
The next year he was sent on a mission to
Spain, to procure aid and a recognition of our in-
dependence. In 1782 he was one of the commis-
sioners appointed to negotiate a treaty of peace
with Great Britain. On his return, Mr. Jay was
placed at the head of the department for foreign
JEF
301
JER
affairs, in which office he continued until ap-
pointed Chief Justice of the United States. In
1784 he was sent as envoy extraordinary to
Great Britain, and on his return entered on the
duties of office of governor of the state of New
York, to which he had been elected during his
absence. He died May 17, 1829.
JEFFERSON, Thomas, the third president
of the United States of America, was born at
Shadwell, Virginia, April 2, 1743, O. S. He
spent two years at William and Mary's college,
and then commenced the study of the law,
which he was admitted to practice in 1767. In
1769 he took his seat in the general assembly
of Virginia, which the governor of Virginia dis-
solved. He was then elected to fill the place of
Peyton Randolph in the congress, and assumed
his seat in that body, June 21, 1775. He was
one of the committee appointed to draw up a
Declaration of Independence, and that docu-
ment, with a few alterations, is his own compo-
sition. June 1, 1779, Mr. Jefferson was chosen
governor of Virginia, but, after two years, he
resigned, being of opinion that a military man
would be better suited for the emergencies
of the times. On July 5, 1784, Mr. Jefferson
sailed for Paris, having been appointed by con-
gress a third commissioner to negotiate treaties
of commerce with other nations, Mr. Adams
and Dr. Franklin being the other t>vo. He was
actively engaged until 1789 when he returned
to the United States and was appointed Secre-
tary of State. Dec. 1st, 1790, he resigned this
office, and lived in retirement until 1797, when
he was chosen Vice President of the United
States. In 1801 he was chosen president by a
majority of one, Mr. Adams being his competi-
tor. He filled the office of chief magistrate for
eight years, when he retired to his seat at Mon-
ticello, where he died on the 4th of July, 1826,
the same day on which Mr. Adams expired.
He made himself known as an author in 1781 ,
by his Notes on Virginia. In private life he
was hospitable, and pleasing in his manners;
in public, the unyielding, sagacious and tal-
ented leader of the demorcratic party. A monu-
ment of his enterprise and benevolence remains
in the college established at Charlottesville, in
which he filled the office of rector for some years.
JEFFREYS, George, baron Wem, was born
at Acton in Denbighshire. He was not regu-
larly admitted to the bar, but being at Kings-
ton assizes in the year of the plague, 1666,
when there were scarcely any barrister's pres-
ent, he was permitted to plead, and from that
time continued to do so, without having his
title questioned. In 1683 he was made chief
justice of the King's Bench. At the accession
of James II he was created baron Jeffreys of
Wem, in the county of Salop ; and, on the sup-
pression of the duke of Monmouth's rebellion,
he was sent to try the prisoners in the west,
where he committed the most shocking cruel-
ties, for which, at his return, he was constituted
lord chancellor of England. When the prince
of Orange arrived, Jeffreys, knowing his unpop-
ularity, endeavoured to escape in the disguise
of a seaman, but was detected in Wapping, car-
ried before the council, by the mob, and com-
mitted to the Tower, where he died April 18,
1689.
JENA, a town of Saxe-Weimar, in Thurin-
gia, containing 5,000 inhabitants, memorable
for the battle between the French and Prus-
sians, on the 14th of October, 1806. The em-
peor Napoleon headed the French troops, and
prince Hohenlohe the Prussians. The battle
was sanguinary in the extreme ; 250,000 or
300,000 men, of which the two armies were
composed, with 700 or 800 pieces of artillery ,
scattered death in every direction, and exhibited
one of the most awful scenes recorded in his-
tory. The result was decisive in favor of
the French. The Prussians lost, according to
the bulletins of the French, 20,000 killed and
wounded, and from 30,000 to 40,000 prisoners,
with 300 pieces of cannon, 60 standards, and
immense magazines of warlike stores and pro-
visions.
JEROME of Prague, a Bohemian reformer,
was the scholar of Wickliffe, and John Huss,
and began to publish their doctrines. In 1415,
he was examined before the council of Con-
stance, when John Huss was in prison. He
contrived, however, to escape, but was taken,
delivered into the hands of a magistrate, and
burned, May 30, 1416.
JERUSALEM, or HIEROSLYMA, (in He-
brew, Salem, in Turkish, Solyman) a celebrated
city of Palestine, subject to the pacha of Damas-
cus. Its environs are barren and mountainous ;
and the town irregularly built. The number of
inhabitants is 25,000, 1300 being Mohamme-
dans, and 4000 Jews. There are 61 Christian
convents in the city. The church of the Holy
Sepulchre has been an object of veneration and
curiosity for 18 centuries. The temple of the
Mohammedans is a splendid edifice. Melchise-
dek is called the founder and king of Jerusa-
lem. It was a long time in the hands of the Jeb-
usites from whom king David took it. Solomon
built the temple at Jerusalem. After his death
JER
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JES
Sesostris, king of Egypt, took the city, and
plundered it, during Rehoboam's reign. In
short, it was five times taken. Its most mem-
orable siege was that by Titus, B. C. 70, when
the city and the temple were entirely destroyed,
and 110,000 persons are said to have perished,
and 97,000 to have been made prisoners, and
afterwards either sold as slaves, or wantonly
exposed, for the sport of their cruel victors, to
the fury of wild beasts. Millman, the historian
of the Jews, thus eloquently describes the de-
struction of the temple. " It was an appalling
spectacle to the Roman, what was it to the Jew ?
The whole summit of the hill which command-
ed the city blazed like a volcano. One after
another the buildings fell in, with a tremen-
dous crash, and were swallowed up in the fiery
abyss. The roofs of cedar v/ere like sheets of
flame ; the gilded pinnacles shone like spikes of
red light ; the gate towers sent up tall columns
of flame and smoke. The neighbouring hills
were lighted up ; and dark groups of people
were seen watching in horrible anxiety the pro-
gress of the destruction : the walls and heights
of the upper city were crowded with faces,
some pale with the agony of despair, others
scowling unavailing vengeance. The shouts
of the Roman soldiery, as they ran to and fro,
and the howlings of the insurgents who were
perishing in the flames, mingling with the roar-
ing of the conflagration, and the thundering
sound of falling timbers. The echoes of the
mountains replied, or brought back the shrieks
of the people on the heights : all along the
walls resounded screams and wailings ; men
who were expiring with famine, rallied their
remaining strength to utter a cry of anguish
and desolation.
" The slaughter within was even more dread-
ful than the spectacle from without. Men and
women, old and young, insurgents and priests,
those who fought and those who entreated
mercy were hewn down in indiscriminate car-
nage. The numbers of the slain exceeded
that of the slayers. The legionaries had to
clamber over heaps of dead, to carry on the
work of extermination. John, at the head of
some of his troops, cut his way through, first
into the outer court of the temple, afterwards
into the upper city. Some of the priests upon
the roof wrenched off" the gilded spikes with
their sockets of lead, and used them as missiles
against the Romans below. Afterwards they
fled to a part of the wall, about fourteen feet
wide : they were soon summoned to surrender;
but two of them, Mair, son of Relgo, and Jo-
seph, son of Delia, plunged headlong into the
flames !"
In the 7th and 8th centuries, the crusaders
contended fiercely for the possession of Jeru-
salem, and it was taken by Godfrey of Bou-
illon. The Christians founded a kingdom there
which was ended by the Turks in 1187.
JESUITS, The ; the religious order of the
Jesuits was founded by a military gentleman of
Biscay named Ignatius Loyola. The order was
sometimes called Loyolists, and sometimes Ini-
ghists, from the founder's Spanish name, Inigo
de Cyuipuscoa. Ignatius assembled at Rome
ten of his companions, chosen, for the most part,
from the University of Paris, in the year 1538.
He submitted the plan of his institution, which
he said was inspired by divinity, to Pope Paul
A committee appointed by that pontiff" to ex-
amine the character of the institution, declared
it inimical to the interests of the church, as well
as unnecessary. The opposition to the establish-
ment of the order was overcome by the Loyo-
lites agreeing in addition to the three vows of
poverty, celibacy, and monastic obedience, to
take an oath of submission to the pope, agree-
ing to go whithersoever he should direct, and
to claim nothing for their support from the holy
see.
In the very charter, however, by which the
followers of Ignatius bound themselves to the
interests of the pope, they agreed blindly to
obey their general. The pope finally confirmed
the institution by a bull or decree, in the year
1540. The founder of the order of Jesuits being
originally an uneducated soldier, it is supposed
that he was a mere tool in the hands of artful
men, and that he was not in reality the author
of the writings which bear his name. The order
was confirmed under the title of the " Company
of Jesus."
At first the number of members was limited
to sixty, but this restriction was removed, and
the Jesuits multiplied rapidly. In the year
1710, the order had 24 professed houses; 59
houses of probation ; 340 residences ; 012 col-
leges; 200 missions ; 150 seminaries and board-
ing schools; and consisted of 19,998 Jesuits.
The code of laws by which the Jesuits were
governed was perfected by Layner and Aqua-
viva, who succeeded Loyo'la as generals of the
order, and were possessed of far more talent
than their predecessor.
Many causes contributed to ensure the suc-
cess of the institution. The Jesuits were re-
quired to be more active than other monks, hav-
JES
303
JES
ing little to do with the usual monastic func-
tions. They were soldiers devoted to the ser-
vice of God and the pope. They cultivated
the acquaintance of the great, and were deeply
imbued with the spirit of intrigue. Loyola
made the government of the institution purely
monarchical. The general was chosen for life
by deputies from the different provinces. His
power was absolute, and no case and no indi-
vidual were exempt from it. The general had a
despotic power over the members of the institu-
tion ; a much greater power than the head of
any monastic order had ever before exercised.
The Jesuits were obliged to obey their general,
not only in outward observances, but to him
they submitted the direction of their minds.
Every novice was obliged, every six months,
to manifest his conscience to his superior or to
some one appointed by him ; and these novices
were closely watched by others of the order,
who were directed to give notice to the general
of any thing important.
The heads of the several houses were obliged
to transmit frequent reports of the character and
conduct of the departments over which they
presided, to the superior, and these reports were
carefully kept and arranged, that the general
might refer at once to the account of particular
houses at any period. The provincials and
heads of departments of the order transmitted
full and minute accounts of the civil state of
the respective countries in which they resided.
The number of reports annually received was
6584, or 177 reports to each province of which
there were 37. The education of youth was
an object which the Jesuits were particularly
anxious to promote and direct, and the business
of education was soon almost entirely conduct-
ed by them. In spite of their vow of poverty,
they contrived to amass vast possessions, and in
the East and West Indies carried on a very lu-
crative commerce.
They were the confessors to monarchs and
men of rank, and the influence they acquired
was very great. They sought to acquire and
enlarge property, and in South America, being
possessed of wealthy dominions, they ruled over
some hundred thousand subjects, as monarchs.
They favored the passions of mankind by sanc-
tioning unbridled license of manners, by the
moral code they taught. Regular and severe
in their own habits, they were enabled to make
a selfish use of the irregularities they counte-
nanced.
The principal end aimed at by the Jesuits,
was the establishment of the doctrines of the
Romish Church, and they are said to have
shrunk from no crime which could further their
endeavors. They were not unacquainted with
the persuasive power of the tortures of the in-
quisition, in making proselytes. One of their
most noted missionaries was Francis Xavier,
called the " apostle of India." He sailed for
the Portuguese settlements in India, in 1542,
and soon spread the doctrines of the Romish
church over the continent and surrounding isl-
ands.
It is not our intention to detail the proceed-
ing of the Jesuits in the process of making for-
eign proselytes, nor the controversies to which
it gave rise. They were accused of making
compromises with some sects, permitting them
to retain profane customs and improper rites,
in consideration of their publicly embracing the
doctrines of the Romish church. Asweliave
before hinted, it is quite as probable that as
many converts were made by terror as by mild-
ness, since the Jesuits were willing to do any-
thing to maintain a show of success.
They took possession of the fertile province
of Paraguay, in the 17th century, and labored
to disseminate military arts and improvements
among the Indians. They introduced the com-
forts of civilization among the inhabitants, and
thus in the first place gained their affection and
esteem. Proceeding in this manner, they grad-
ually strengthened their influence, so that a few
priests readily ruled some hundred thousand
Indians.
But these priests did not maintain the purity
of conduct, which they had given reason at first
to suppose would be their constant guide in all
their actions. They soon manifested schemes
of the most daring ambition and insatiable ava-
rice. They yearly sent home to the European
Jesuits, immense quantities of gold, which
they procured principally from Paraguay. They
armed the Indians, and excited them to hatred
against the Spaniards and Portuguese, evident-
ly showing their intentions of making a separate
sovereignty of Paraguay.
In 1750, the courts of Madrid and Lisbon
entered into a treaty for fixing the boundaries
of their respective possessions, in South Amer-
ica. When this treaty came to be executed in
the year 1752, the Jesuits opposed it, and an-
imated the Indians strenuously to resist the
Portuguese and Spaniards, in the war which
followed. The disgrace of the Jesuits at the
Portuguese Courts originated in their conduct
on this occasion.
The Jesuits had no particular habit. They
JES
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JES
were divided into five classes ; professed fa-
thers, spiritual coadjutors, approved scholars, lay
brothers, also termed temporal coadjutors, .and
novices. Some writers add a sixth class, called
adjuncts, which are said to have been numer-
ous, distinguished by different garments, and
incorporated with the other classes. The pro-
fessed fathers publicly took the three vows of
their order, and the fourth regarding obedience
to the pope, missions, &c.
The spiritual coadjutors made public vows of
poverty, submission and celibacy, but omitted
the vow of obedience to the head of the church.
Approved scholars were those who after a novi-
ciate of two years, were admitted, and had
declared the three religious vows, but had not
made them solemnly and publicly. These ap-
proved scholars were on their way to become
spiritual coadjutors, but were only admitted to
that degree, and the degree of professed fathers,
after two years' noviciate, seven years' study,
seven years' regency, an additional year of no-
viciate, and thirty-three years of age, at which
time of life our Savior was crucified. The
vows were binding on the part of the scholars,
but the general could dispense with them if he
saw proper.
The order was divided into assistances, the
assistances into provinces, and the provinces
again into houses. The general resided at
Rome, was invested with absolute authority for
life, and had under him five assistants, named
from the kingdom or country to which they
belonged. These were the assistants of Italy,
France, Germany, Portugal, and Spain. These
assistants put their departments in the way of
preparing and forwarding their affairs.
Each province had four sorts of houses : The
professed houses, which had no lands connected
with them ; colleges, where instruction was given
in the sciences; residences, where people em-
ployed in any thing connected with confessions,
preaching, or missions, resided, and the houses
of the novices. Some of the buildings appro-
priated to instruction were called seminaries,
in which young Jesuits went through a course
of theology and philosophy. Each province
was governed by a provincial, and each house
by a superior, who was called Rector in the col-
leges, but superior elsewhere.
Members of this order could receive no pre-
ferment, except it was enjoined upon them by
the pope, who did so in many instances, eight
cardinals having been chosen from the Jesuits.
When Henry IV, of France, was assassinated
by Jean Catel, a Jesuitical scholar, this act and
the writings of Guignard, one of the order, in
favor of regicide, caused them to be expelled
by several parliaments, and denounced as cor-
ruptees of youth and enemies of government.
Louis XIII again countenanced them, and
Cardinal Richelieu, and Louis XIV showed
them favor. In the reign of the latter monarch,
they obtained the revocation of the edict of
Nantes, in favor of the Protestants. They
gained an almost complete triumph over their
enemies, the Jansenists, when among other
things, their refusal to administer the sacra-
ment to the Jansenists, created a turn of the
tide against them, which ended in their dissolu-
tion.
The Jesuits were tried before the grand
chamber of the parliament of Paris, and lost
their case, which grew out of a desire to com-
pound their debts, when, having carried on
great commerce in Martinico, they had sus-
tained heavy losses by war. An examination
into their own books, only proved the charges
against them. Professing poverty, they were
found to possess riches ; pretending to modera-
tion and justice, they were convicted of incul-
cating principles which endangered the well
being of the king and realm.
The Jesuits were expelled from Portugal in
1759; from France in 17(34; and their society
was abolished by pope Clement XIV, in 1773.
Had they adhered to the principles they pro-
fessed, in the outset, and merely aimed at civil-
izing and converting savages, and increasing
knowledge at home, the institution would have
been as justly celebrated, as it is now de-
nounced for ambition, avarice, cruelty, and
corruption.
JESUS, called also CHRIST (the anointed),
was born of the Virgin Mary, at Bethlehem, in
the 12th year of the consulate of Augustus,
four or five years before the commencement of
the vulgar era. Angels had announced his birth
as tidings of great joy to mankind. He was
circumcised upon the 8th day. Three Magi,
learned in the science of astronomy, having
perceived in the firmament a singular star,
knew that it was the miraculous luminary of
which the prophet Balaam had spoken, and
immediately left the east, and journeyed to
Bethlehem to do him homage, and present
their offerings. Joseph, the husband of Mary,
having received divine warnings and directions
in a dream, carried the infant and his mother
into Egypt, to escape the fury of Herod, who
ordered an inhuman massacre of all the child-
ren in the land. After the death of Herod, the
JOA
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parents of Jesus dwelt at Nazareth, and they
brought him, every year, to Jerusalem, to the
feast of the Passover. When he was but twelve
years old, Joseph and Mary found him, after an
absence from them of three days, in the Temple,
seated in the midst of the doctors, listening to
them, and propounding questions. All who
heard him were filled with admiration at the
wisdom of his answers.
Jesus commenced his public life in the thir-
tieth year of his age. For the various acts of it
the reader is referred to the New Testament.
The close of his life affectingly displayed the
love of God for men. On the eve of his death,
after having supped with his disciples, he insti-
tuted the Eucharist, and, having been betrayed
by Judas, whose designs he had explained to
one of his disciples, he suffered himself to be
taken and bound, condemned to death before
the Jewish tribunal, scourged and crowned with
thorns, and crucified upon Mount Calvary. The
body of our Lord was placed in a sepulchre of
stone, sealed and guarded by the Jews, but on
the third day, according to prediction, his resur-
rection from the grave took place. He dwelt
upon the earth forty days, which he passed in
the company of his disciples, teaching them
how to spread the light of his pure religion
through the nations of the earth. On the forti-
eth day he ascended to heaven in the presence
of more than five hundred of his disciples,
where he is seated at the right hand of the
Father.
JEWS (See Hebreios).
JOAN OF ARC, (Jeanne d'Jlrc), called the
Maid of Orleans, was born of low parentage at
Domremig, a village on the borders of Lor-
raine. When the affairs of France were in a
deplorable state, and the city of Orleans was so
closely besieged by the duke of Bedford that
its fall appeared inevitable, Joan pretended to
have received a divine commission to expel the
invaders. At this time, a belief in the super-
natural endowments was by no means uncom-
mon, and, far from being confined to the lower
classes, pervaded the minds of the loftiest and
most pretending. Joan, on being introduced to
king Charles VII, offered to raise the siege of
Orleans, and conduct her prince to Rheims,
there to be crowned with the usual solemnities ;
at the same time demanding for herself a con-
secrated sword, which had long hung suspended
in the church of St. Catharine. Her request
was granted, and she fulfilled her promises,
entered Orleans in triumph, and appeared, clad
in a splendid suit of armor, at the coronation of
v 20
Charles, which took place in the Cathedral of
Rheims. The gallant maid, her mission done,
now sought to retire into private life, but she
was urged to stay. She yielded to the general
wish with fatal facility — fatal, because, having
been taken with the garrison of Compeigne,
she was, to the disgrace of Bedford and the
English, condemned to death, and expired at
the stake, in the market place of Rouen, May
30, 1431. She was never a servant, as English
writers have represented ; and was a lovely
crirl of eighteen, when she first sought an audi-
ence of Charles. An authentic portrait, yet
extant, shows that she possessed a face and
figure of exquisite loveliness; a countenance to
which a beaming eye, and a tender expression
of melancholy, imparted an interest, which
rendered her fascination irresistible.
JOHN I, king of England, the youngest son
of Henry II, by Eleanor of Guienne, ascended
the throne in 1199. The first act of his reign
was to secure the provinces on the continent,
which had revolted in favor of young Arthur,
his nephew, whom he murdered with his own
hand in prison. John having resisted the pope's
nomination of Stephen Langton to the see of
Canterbury, the pope revenged himself by giv-
ing away his kingdom to the king of France.
This circumstance created a war, and John
advanced to Dover with GO ,000 men, to meet
the French king, who was preparing an army
to take possession of England. In this posture
of affairs, the pope, whose high authority in
temporal as well as spiritual concerns, was con-
sidered to be then almost omnipotent, intimated
to John, by his legate, that there was but one
way to secure himself from the threatened dan-
ger • which was, to put himself entirely under
the papal protection, and to perform whatever
the pope should command. Accordingly, John
took the most extraordinary oath recorded in
history, in the presence of his subjects, upon
his knees, and with his hands held up, between
those of the legate. By this most scandalous
concession, John once more averted the threat-
ened blow : but he had now incurred the detes-
tation of his subjects.
The barons of England formed a confederacy
ajrainst him, and compelled him, on the Uth
of June, 1215, to sign that famous bulwark of
English liberty , the Magna Charta. John, how-
ever, refused to be governed by this charter.
This produced a second civil war, in which the
barons had recourse to the king of France for
assistance. John directed his rout toward Lin-
colnshire with an army, but being obliged to
JOH
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JOS
keep too close to the sea-shore, and not being
apprised of the influx of the tide at a particular
place, he lost all his carriages, treasure, and
baggage. Grief for the loss he had sustained,
threw him into a fever, of which he died, at
Newark, in the 51st year of his age, and the
18th of his detested reign, A. D. 1216.
JOHN, Sobieski, or John III, king of Poland,
was born in 1629, and distinguishea himself in
arms, particularly by his brilliant victory over
the Turks at Choczim, and by his repulse of
the same enemies when they threatened Vienna
in 1683. He died in 1696.
JOHNSON, Samuel, L. L. D., one of the
most eminent literary men of the 18th century,
was born at Lichfield, in Staffordshire, in 1709,
and was the son of a bookseller. He entered
Pembroke college at the age of nineteen, and
passed three years there without taking a de-
gree. For some years after leaving college, he
was unsettled in his views, which, however,
chiefly turned to literature. In 1735, he mar-
ried Mrs. Porter, a mercer's widow of twice his
own age, probably for her fortune of £800,
although he describes the affair as a " love
match on both sides." In 1737, he came to
London in company with David Garrick, who
had been one of his pupils, to seek his fortune.
Here he supported himself by his pen, his first
publication in London being a poem in imita-
tion of one of Juvenal's satires. He was for
many years a contributor to the Gentlemans'
Magazine. In 1747, he issued his plans for an
English Dictionary, a work which, when pub-
lished, fully equalled the high expectations
which had been formed of it. His periodical
papers, the Rambler, and Idler, displayed in a
favorable light, the talents of the author. The
moderate success of the tragedy of Irene con-
vinced Dr. Johnson that he was incapable of
producing dramas which would reflect honor
on his pen. His fine romance of Rasselas,
Prince of Abyssinia, was written in the even-
ings of one week to defray his mother's funeral
expenses. In 1762, he received a government
pension of £300 per annum. He published
some political pamphlets, which, however, do
not display very great argumentative powers.
His last undertaking, the Lives of the Poet3,
was completed in 1781. He died December
13th, 1784, and was interred in Westminster
Abbey, where a statue is erected to his memory.
His biography, by his friend Boswell, is one of
the most amusing works of the kind ever writ-
ten, and still continues to enjoy high popu-
larity.
JONES, John Paul, was the son of a gar-
dner, and was born in Scotland, July 6th, 1747.
His father's name was Paul, and that of Jones
was added by his son for some unknown rea-
son. Jones, at the age of twelve, engaged
in the merchant-service, but on the break-
ing out of the American war, having been for
some time a resident here, he offered his ser-
vices to the colonies, and was appointed first
lieutenant of the Alfred. He contributed more
than any one else, to inspire confidence in our
infant navy, and extend the terror of our arms.
His capture of the British ship of war Serapis,
in a bloody engagement off Flambourgh-head,
September 23, 1779, filled the world with admi-
ration at his bravery. The Bonne Homme
Richard, Jones's vessel, sank soon after the en-
gagement. When his services were no longer
required by this country, he entered the service
of Russia, but retired in disgust, and died at
Paris in poverty, July 18, 1792.
JOSEPH II, emperor of Germany. (See
Austria.)
JOSEPHINE, (Rose Tascher de la Pagcrie),
was born in Martinique, June 24, 1763, and
married at an early age to viscount Beauhar-
nais, who was executed in the reign of terror.
Josephine married Bonaparte in 1796. She
lived to see Napoleon raised to the zenith of his
power, and then hurled from the summit he
had gained. But at that hour of affliction the
affectionate Josephine had no longer a right to
be near the man she adored, for he had divorced
her to marry Maria Theresa, from motives of
policy. Josephine had been crowned at Paris,
and Milan, and retired to her beautiful seat of
Malmaison with the title of empress-queen-
dowager. She was called the Star of Napoleon,
and his better destiny forsook him when he'
cast off his amiable and lovely wife. She died
May 29th, 1814, her last words being, Uile de
Elbe — Napoleon! The poor mourned in her a
faithful friend, the artists of the capital a kind
and munificent patron, and the lovers of Napo-
leon the peerless woman who had graced his
throne in the brightest moments of his career.
Truly did the emperor say ; " If I win battles,
Josephine wins heart."
JOSEPHUS, Flavius, a Jewish historian,
born A. D. 37. He signalized himself by sup-
porting a siege of 47 days against Vespasian
and Titus in a town of Judea. The city was
finally taken by treachery, and 40,000 of the
inhabitants were slain, the number of captives
being only 1200. Josephus saved his life by
flying into a cave, and finally surrendered to
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Vespasian, who gave him his liberty, and treat-
ed hiin with great favor. Josephus was present
at the siege of Jerusalem. He died A. D. 93, in
the 5Gth year of his age.
JUBA, the second of that name, was the son
of Juba I, king of Numidia, and was among the
captives led to Rome to grace the triumph of
the victorious Caesar. He gained the hearts of
the Romans by the courteousness of his man-
ners, and Augustus rewarded his fidelity by
giving him in marriage Cleopatra, the daughter
of Antony, and conferring upon him the title
of king, and making him master of all the ter-
ritories which his father once possessed. His
popularity was so great that the Athenians rais-
ed a statue to him, and the Ethiopians worship-
ped him as a divinity.
JUDjEA. (See Palestine.)
JUGGERNAUT, or Jaganath (lord of the
world), a celebrated temple in Hindostan, on
the coast of Orissa. The idol is a shapeless
block of wood, with a hideous black face, and
cjimson jaws yawning open. This is the repre-
sentative of Vishnu, the preserver of the world.
On days of festival, the idol is placed on a
tower, 60 feet high, moving on wheels, beneath
which the blinded Hindoos throw themselves
on the ground and are crushed by the progress
of the car.
JUGURTHA, son of Mastanabal murdered
Hiempsal,the son of his uncle Micipsa, and ex-
iled Adherbal, the brother of Hiempsal, to seat
himself on the throne of Numidia. Adherbal
supplicated the aid of the Romans, but the gold
of Jugurtha procured a decision in his favor.
Adherbal, who surrendered to the usurper, was
inhumanly murdered, and the Roman people
breathing vengeance against the murderer, the
senate were constrained to declare war upon
him. The Jugurthine war required an im-
mense expenditure of blood and treasure, but
Jugurtha was finally defeated by Marius, and
starved to death in a Roman prison. Numidia
then became a Roman province.
JULIAN, the Apostate, (Flavius Claudianus)
son of Julius Constans, the brother of Con-
stantine the Great, was born at Constantinople.
The massacre which attended the elevation of
Constans, son of Constantine the Great to the
throne, nearly proved fatal to Julian and his
brother Gallus. The two brothers were private-
ly educated together, and taught the doctrines
of the Christian religion. Gallus received the
instructions of his teachers with deference and
submission, but Julian showed his dislike for
Christianity by secretly cherishing a desire to
become one of the votaries of Paganism. He
was appointed to rule over Gaul, with the title
of Caesar, by Constans, and there he showed
himself worthy of the imperial dignity by his
prudence, valor, and the numerous victories he
obtained over the enemies of Rome in Gaul
and Germany. His mildness, as well as his
condescension, gained him the hearts of his
soldiers ; and when Constans, to whom Julian
became an object of suspicion, ordered him to
send part of his forces to the east, the army im-
mediately mutinied, and promised eternal fidel-
ity to their leader, refusing to obey the order
of Constans. They even compelled Julian, by
threats and entreaties, to accept the title of em-
peror, and the death of Constans, which soon
after happened, left him sole master of the Ro-
man empire, A. D. 361.
His immediate disavowal of the doctrines
of Christianity procured Julian the title of the
Apostate. His change of religious opinion was
attributed to the austerity with which he had
been taught the doctrines of Christianity, or,
according to others, to the literary conversation
and persuasive eloquence of some of the Athe-
nian philosophers. After he had made his pub-
lic entry into Constantinople, he determined to
continue the Persian war, and check those bar-
barians, who had for sixty years derided the
indolence of the Roman emperors. Having
crossed the Tigris, he burned his fleet and bold-
ly advanced into the enemy's country. He de-
feated the Persian forces, but died of a wound
received in battle, A. D. 365, aged 33 years.
JUNIUS. The signature under which some
powerful letters were published in Woodfall's
Public Advertiser, in London, between the
years 1769 and 1772. They were chiefly poli-
tical. After the greatest scrutiny, the real au-
thor has not been positively ascertained.
JUPITER, the son of Rhea and Saturn, was
concealed from his father, who devoured his
offspring, and brought up in Crete, where he
was nursed by the nymph Amalthea. He forc-
ed Saturn to surrender to him the empire of
the world, which he shared among his brothers,
giving the ocean to Neptune, and hell to Pluto,
remaining himself master of the heavens; he
was called the father of gods and men. The
giants, descended from his uncle Titan, made
war upon him, but were defeated. He gave
Juno, his wife and sister, ample cause for jeal-
ousy, and from the multiplicity of his intrigues,
was almost literally the father of his people.
He is generally represented with thunderbolts
in his hand, the eagle at his side, his flowing
KAT
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hair encircled with a diadem. His figure was
majestic, and a long beard added to the impos-
ing aspect of his lofty countenance. Bulls, in
preference to other animals, were sacrificed to
him.
JUSTINIAN I, surnamed the Great, empe-
ror of the east, celebrated as a lawgiver, was
born in 483, of an obscure family. He shared
the fortune of his uncle, Justin I, who, from a
lowly station, was raised to the throne. Jus-
tinian flattered the people and the Senate, and,
in 527, on the death of his uncle, was proclaim-
ed emperor. He gained great victories, and
enacted admirable laws, but he loaded his sub-
jects with taxes, and was severe to strangers,
while the crimes of his own servants went un-
punished. He died in 565, in the 83d year of
his age, after a reign of 38 years.
JUTLAND, a province of Denmark, contain-
ing 9,500 square miles and 440,000 inhabitants.
Its pastures and woodlands are valuable, and
its iron mines are a source of revenue.
JUVENAL, Decius Junius, flourished at
Rome in the latter half of the first century.
He was sent to Egypt by Domitian, who dread-
ed his satire, but returned under Trajan, in the
82d year of his age. His sixteen satires are
powerful and caustic.
JUXON, William, an English prelate, was
born at Chichester, in 1582. In 1635 he was
advanced to the post of lord high treasurer,
which no churchman had held since the reign
of Henry VII. This office he resigned in 1641,
when it was admitted by all parties, that he had
conducted himself without reproach. After at-
tending his royal master, Charles I, during his
imprisonment in the Isle of Wight, and on the
scaffold, he went into retirement; but, at the
Restoration, he was made archbishop of Can-
terbury, and had the satisfaction of placing the
crown on the head of Charles the Second. He
died June 4, 1663.
K.
KALB, Baron de, born in Germany about
1717, was a major-general in the American
army. Previous to serving in the war of our
revolution, he had been engaged in the ser-
vice of France 42 years. He was brave and
benevolent. He was killed at Camden, Aug.
15 1778
KATSBACH, a river of Silesia, near which
a battle was fought, Aug. 26, 1813, between
the Prussians under Blucher, and French under
Macdonald.
KEHL, a small town of Germany, on the
right bank of the Rhine, which has been seve-
ral times taken by the French and Austrians.
KEITH, James, field-marshal in the Russian
service, was born in Scotland, in 1696. In 1715,
he joined the pretender, and was wounded at
the battle of Sheriff-muir, but made his escape
to France. From Paris he went to Spain, and
obtained a command in the Irish brigade ; but,
on accompanying the Spanish embassy to Rus-
sia, he entered into the service of that state,
was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-gen-
eral, and invested with the order of the Black
Eagle. By his skill Oczagon was taken ; and,
in the war with Sweden, he materially contri-
buted to the victory of Wilmanstrand, and the
taking of Aland. He had, afterwads, a share
in raising the empress Elizabeth to the throne;
but, not being rewarded according to his ser-
vices, he left Petersburg for Prussia, where the
king made him governor of Berlin, and field-
marshal. He was killed at the battle of Hoch-
kirchen, Oct. 14, 1758.
KENILWORTH, a town of Warwickshire,
England, five miles north of Warwick. Pop-
ulation 3,097. Its castle was founded by Geof-
frey de Clinton, Chamberlain and treasurer to
king Henry I. Most of the buildings, of which
the remains are still visible, were raised by John
of Gaunt, who had acquired the castle by mar-
riage. Through his son, Henry IV, the castle
again reverted to the crown, and continued so,
until Queen Elizabeth conferred it on Robert
Dudley, earl of Leicester. This nobleman spent
immense sums in enlarging and adorning the
building, and when all was finished, he enter-
tained the queen here for fourteen days in a
style of extraordinary magnificence.
KENTUCKY, one of the United States of
America, bounded N. by Ohio, Indiana and
Illinois, from which it is separated by the river
Ohio, E. by Virginia, S. by Virginia and Ten-
nesse,andW. by the river Mississippi. Popu-
lation, in 1830, 687,917, of whom 4,916 were
free colored persons, and 165,213 slaves. The
first permanent settlement was made by Dan-
iel Boone, in 1775. In 1792 Kentucky was ad-
mitted into the Union as an independent state.
The eastern parts of this state are mountain-
ous, but the remainder partly level, and partly
undulating. A large portion of the soil is ad-
mirable. Education is by no means neglected,
and Transylvania University, at Lexington, is
a flourishing and well-endowed institution, with
which a medical and law school are connected.
KING, Rufus, a distinguished American
KNO
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KOR
diplomatist, orator, and statesman, born at Scar-
borough, Maine, in 1755, and was graduated at
Harvard college, in 1777, after which he studi-
ed law under Theophilus Parsons of Newbury-
port. After having served a short time in the
army, he commenced the practice of his pro-
fession and obtained a seat in the congress of
1784. In 1787 he went from Massachusetts to
the convention assembled for the purpose of
framing a constitution, and in 1788 removed to
New York city. The next year he was elected
a member of the New York legislature, and
chosen senator of the United States. In the
spring of 1796, Mr. King was appointed by Pres-
ident Washington, Minister Plenipotentiary to
the court of St. James, and continued in the
discharge of the duties of his office until 1803,
when he returned to this country. He was de-
feated as a candidate for the office of governor
of New York, but he had been nominated by
his friends without his knowledge, and his con-
sent to stand was given with reluctance. He
died April 29, 1827, in the 73d year of his
age.
KLEBER, Jean Baptiste, a celebrated French
general, born at Strasburg. in 1754. In the Aus-
trian army he served against the Turks, and
rose to the rank of lieutenant. He next en-
rolled himself under the banners of the French
republic, and although he openly expressed his
detestation of the policy of the revolutionary
government, he experienced the favor of the
Directory, who were loath to part with so able
a soldier. Of the nature of his command in
Egypt, and the manner of his death, June 14,
1800, we have already spoken (see Egypt.)
KNIGHTHOOD. The consideration of this
subject properly belongs to Chivalry, and, as
such, has been noticed in the earlier part of this
volume by a few brief remarks. (See Chivalry.)
There were various orders of knights, as Tem-
plars &c. See Templars.
KNOX, John, the celebrated Scotch reformer,
was born in 1505, at Gifford, in the county of
East Lothian. He became tutor to some young
gentlemen whom he carefully brought up in
Protestant principles. Notwithstanding his life
was sought by Cardinal Beaton, and his suc-
cessor, Archbishop Hamilton, Knox went on
propagating the new doctrines ; and, in 1547,
preached publicly at St. Andrews; but that
place being taken the same year by the French,
he was carried off with the garrison. In 1549
he recovered his liberty , and landed in England ;
where he was appointed chaplain to Edward
VI. On the accession of queen Mary, he went
to Geneva, and thence to Frankfort, where he
took part with the English exiles who opposed
the use of the liturgy ; but their adversaries
prevailing, Knox returned to Geneva, and soon
after went to Scotland. While engaged in the
ministry, he received an invitation to return to
Geneva, with which he complied ; and, in his
absence, the bishops passed sentence of death
on hiin for heresy. In 1558, he printed " The
First Blast of the Trumpet against the Mon-
strous Regimen of Women," intended as an
attack upon Mary, queen of England, and his
own sovereign ; but it had afterwards the effect
of provoking queen Elizabeth and her minis-
ters against the author. The year following he
returned to his own country, where he render-
ed the Reformation triumphant. In 1567 he
preached the sermon at the coronation of James
VI, and another at the opening of the parlia-
ment, but he died at Leith, Nov. 24, 1572.
KNOX, Henry, a major-general in the Unit-
ed States army, was born at Boston, July 25,
1750. He was a bookseller before the revolu-
tion, but volunteered and served at Bunker
Hill. Throughout the war he distinguished
himself by his bravery, but particularly at York-
town, after which he was created major-gen-
eral by Congress. As secretary of war, he serv-
ed 11 years. His death took place Oct. 25, 1806,
at Thomaston, Maine.
KORAN, or AL KORAN, a book contain-
ing the precepts of the Mohammedan religion,
a paper copy of which, bound in silk and gems,
was said to have been brought down to the
lowest heaven by the angel Gabriel.
KORNER, Theodore, a celebrated German
poet, born in 1791. Feeble and sickly during
his early youth, he roamed the garden and for-
est in pursuit of health, and was not premature-
ly doomed to study. His earliest instructions
were received at Freyburg, but he afterwards
went to Leipzig, which his imprudent conduct
compelled him to quit. The month of August,
1811, the date of Korner's arrival at Vienna,
commenced the most important era of his life.
Shielded by the purity of his principles, and
the strength of his religious convictions, he was
uninfluenced by the fascinating allurements of
that gayest and most light-hearted of cities, nor
did he for a moment forget that the improve-
ment of his literary taste, and the developement
of his moral character, was a primary object in
his visit of Vienna. The brilliant talents which
then encircled the Viennese theatres with a halo
of brightness, fired the imagination of Korner,
and he resolved to appear publicly as a candi-
KOR
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KOS
date for the dramatic laurel. Sixteen pieces, of
different kinds, composed or finished in the
space of fifteen months, and the greater part
performed with a success which far exceeded
the expectations of the- youthful poet, were, to-
gether with a few fugitive poems, the first fruits
of his residence in a world which was completely
literary, as well as the earliest proofs of his tal-
ent for easy versification. On the first repre-
sentation of one of his tragedies, the audience
demanded the appearance of the author, an
honor to poetic talent which is rarely accorded
in Vienna. Cherished and admired by the pub-
lic, he was soon made the dramatic poet of the
court. This appointment secured his worldly
fortune, and, as if to fill his cup of happiness
to the brim, he was inspired by an ardent pas-
sion for a worthy object, and no dark shadow
fell upon the tide of his affections.
Such was the enviable situation of Korner,
when, at the commencement of the year 1813,
Prussia called upon her sons, to win back for
her the priceless guerdon of her national inde-
pendence. This appeal found an echo in the
bosom of the poet. From this moment, all his
thoughts, all his affections, turned on the lib-
eration of his country, to whose service he de-
voted his person and his pen, and to whom he
was ready to sacrifice his life, his fortune, and
his prospect of glory and love. As soon as he
had resolved to fight for the emancipation of
Germany, warmed with that enthusiasm which
has ever been repaid with victory, he wrote
thus to his father: " The Prussian eagle, ex-
tending his pinions, awakes in every bosom, a
hope of national liberty — at this moment, when
the stars of fate are pouring down on me a
flood of brightness, when all the fascinating
joys of life are within my reach, at this mo-
ment, I swear to God that it is a noble senti-
ment which animates me, a firm belief, that no
sacrifice is too great, for the greatest of bles-
sings, the liberty of our beloved country. I feel
compelled to rush into the fury of the tempest.
Shall I, far from the path of my victorious
brethren, send them hymns and songs inspired
by a safe and cowardly enthusiasm ?
He set out from Vienna on the 15th of March,
and at Breslau was admitted into the corps of
volunteers commanded by Lutzow, whose care
had formed the band that bore his name. Youth
distinguished by the high tone of their senti-
ments, and the finish of their education, officers,
already known by honorable services, men of
high rank and reputation, filled with a patriotic
and religious enthusiasm, had assembled in
crowds beneath the banners of Lutzow, burning
to avenge the wrongs of oppressed liberty. A
few days after the admission of Korner, the
ceremony of the consecration of Lutzow's corps
took place in the village church. This was an
affecting and inspiring scene.
Ardent, brave, and devoted to his military
duties, Korner avoided no fatigues and perils,
but, on the contrary, was only wearied with in-
action. He rose, by degrees, to the post of ad-
jutant to Lutzow, and owed this advancement
only to the intrepidity and intelligence which
he displayed on every occasion. Still poetry
and song occupied his leisure moments; but
instead of being his recreations, they had be-
come his arms ; his lyre was no less formidable
than his sword. The events of the daj, his per-
sonal emotions, and the patriotism of his coun-
try are displayed in his verses.
On the 26th of August, the corps of Lutzow
confronted the French at Kitzen. During an
hour's halt in a forest, Korner composed his
famous Sword Song. At break of day he wrote
it in his port-folio, and was reading it to a
friend, when the signal for attack was given.
The enemy, although superior in point of
numbers, made but a brief resistance — Korner
showed himself fiercely eager in the pursuit.
Of a shower of balls which the French artille-
rists poured upon the Prussians, but three took
effect, and one of these carried to the bosom of
the poet, at the age of 22, that glorious death
which he had so poetically prophecied, and so
religiously desired. His mortal remains were
interred by the wayside, at the foot of an oak
the tree, whose leaves were employed by the
ancient Romans, to form their civic crowns.
KOSCIUSKO, Thaddeus, a Polish general,
was born of a respectable family of Lithuania,
in 1756, and was educated at the military school
of Warsaw, after which he went to France, and
next to America, where he served as aid-de-
camp to Washington. On his return home
he was made major-general, and distinguished
himself greatly in the war of 1792, but without
effect. Two years afterwards the Poles again
took up arms, and were headed by Kosciusko ;
but all his exertions were fruitless, and he was
made prisoner by the Russians, Catharine threw
him into a dungeon, but Paul released him and
tendered him his own sword, which the illus-
trious patriot declined ; "I no longer need a
sword, for I have no longer a country." Kor
ciusko visited America a second time, but, i
1798, returned to France, where he settled.
Bonaparte vainly endeavored to procure his ser-
LAF
311
LAO
vices. His death was occasioned by a fall with
his horse down a precipice, in the vicinity of
Vevay, Switzerland, Oct. 16, 1817.
KOULI-KHAN, (See JVadir-Shah.)
L.
LABRADOR ; a country of North America
of great extent, between the 50th and 60th de-
grees of N. latitude. It is but little known,
and the climate is uncommonly severe. The
Esquimaux inhabit its coasts. It belongs to
great Britain and is annexed to the government
of Newfoundland.
LAFAYETTE, Gilbert Mottier, formerly
marquis de, was born at Chavagnac, near Brion
de, in Auvergne, Sept. 6, 1757. He was edu-
cated at Paris, appointed an officer in the guards
of honor, and, at the age of 16, married the
grandaughter of the duke de Noilles. In 1777
he left France secretly, and hastened to Ameri-
ca, arriving at Charleston, S. C. at the age of
19. He received a command in the continental
army, and raised and equipped a body of men
at his own expense. The gallant actions which
he performed will for ever live in the annals of
our country. In 1779 he returned to France,
for the purpose of assisting the cause of Ameri-
ca, and materially influenced the treaty which
was then concluded with France. He returned
and assumed the command of a body of 2000
men whose equipments were furnished partly
at his own expense. Congress passed various
resolutions, honorable to him, and, after dis-
playing a chivalric gallantry at Yorktown, the
young marquis once more set sail for his native
country. In 1734, he complied with the vari-
ous urgent entreaties to visit this country, and
was every where received with the most touch-
ing marks of gratitude and esteem. During the
French revolution he appeared the warm and
consistent friend of liberty, but the enemy of
licentiousness, and, as commander-in-chief of
the national guards of Paris, saved the lives of
the royal family at Versailles. He organized
the club of Feuillans in opposition to the infa-
mous Jacobin club, the members of which he
openly denounced. He was appointed, in 1792,
one of the major-generals of the French armies,
and vainly endeavored to save the king. His
exertions in the cause of humanity, procured
his denunciation before the bar of the assembly,
i price was set upon his head, and he was com-
pelled to fly from France. But he was taken
by the Austrians, and confined in the castle of
Olmutz, until Aug. 25, 1797, when he was re-
leased. La Fayette opposed the usurpations of
Napoleon, whose conciliatory offers he refused
without a single exception. In Aug. 1824, La-
fayette landed at New York, and~passed tri-
umphantly through each of the states, received
every where with every demonstration of de-
light. The war-worn veterans of the revolu-
tion hailed his return to the scenes of his earli-
est exploits, and there was not one dissentient
voice, in the acclamations which welcomed him.
Sep. 7, 1825, the frigate Brandywine restored
him to his country. In the December follow-
ing Congress granted him $200,000, and a
township of land. During the late French re-
volution, Lafayette was appointed general-in-
chief of the national guards, an office which he
resigned in December. The death of this great
man, which took place recently at Paris, was
duly noticed both in France and this country,
A political opponent once out of the arena, was
to Lafayette, no longer any thing but a friend ;
the circle of those admitted to share his private
hospitality was so ample, that it comprised the
partisans of nearly every doctrine, and almost
the natives of every clime ; but no feeling was
ever wounded, nor even a prejudice assailed
within its sacred limits. It was, doubtless, to
this admirable feature in his private character
that he owed much of the affectionate esteem
with which every party regarded him, and
which turned Paris — frivolous, volatile Paris —
into a city of mourning at his death. He died
May 21, 1834, at the age of 77, of a malignant
fever, occasioned by walking, bareheaded, and
on foot, at the funeral of M. Dulong, a member
of the chamber of deputies.
LANGDON, John, an American patriot,
born at Portsmouth, N. H., in 1739, was bred
up to the business of a merchant, but early en-
tered into the military service of the colonies.
In 1775 he took his seat in the general congress,
in 1776, was appointed navy-agent; in 1777,
was speaker of the assembly of New Hampshire,
and in 1785 president of the Senate. He was
afterwards a senator in Congress, and governor
of New Hampshire. He died, Sept. 18, 1819.
LANNES, John, marshal of France, duke of
Montebello, was born in 1769, and in 1792 en-
tered the army as sergeant-major. In Italy,
Egypt, and Austria, he raised himself in the
estimation of Napoleon, and was created by
him marshal of the empire. At the battle of
Esslingen, May 22, 1809, he lost both his legs
by a cannon-ball and expired a few days after.
LAOCOON, a priest of Neptune at Troy,
who, with his two sons, was destroyed by two
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LAU
enormous serpents, sent by Minerva to punish
him for his impiety. There is an antique group
of statuary extant representing this event.
LAPUROUSE, John Francis Galaup de, a
French navigator, born in Languedoc, in 1741,
who, after making a successful voyage of dis-
covery, was probably wrecked at Mallicolo, 11°
4' S. latitude, 169° 20' E. longitude.
LAPLAND, is bounded N. by the Arctic
ocean, E. by the White Sea, S. by Sweden, and
W.by Norway, and the Atlantic. It is divided
into Russian, Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian
Lapland. The country is generally broken and
mountainous, and the climate intensely cold.
The villages are small and scattered, and the
country is thinly inhabited. The Laplanders
are illiterate and unrefined, but attached to their
country, hardy, and persevering. Their aver-
age height is four feet. The rein-deer supplies
them with food and clothing, and transports
their light sledges at a rapid rate.
LATIMER, Hugh, was born at Thurcaston,
in Leicestershire about 1470, and was the son
of a respectable yeoman. Being an admired
preacher, his influence was of great importance,
and in consequence he soon became obnoxious
to the papal party. The martyrdom of Bilney,
at Norwich, served only to animate Latimer,
who had the courage to write a letter of remon-
strance to the king, on the evil of prohibiting
the use of the Bible in England. Henry (the
Eighth) took this in good part, and presented
the writer to the living of West Kington, in
Wiltshire, but this only redoubled the malice
of_his enemies, who were still more provoked at
his elevation, in 1535, to the bishopric of Wor-
cester, for which he was indebted to the good
offices of Anne Bullen and Thomas Cromwell.
Of his plain dealing, the following circumstance
is a proof. It was then the custom for the bish-
ops to make presents, on new year's day, to the
king, and among the rest, Latimer waited at
court with his gift, which, instead of a purse of
gold, was a New Testament, having the leaf
turned down at a passage denouncing the ruling
passion of the king. Henry, however, was not
offended by this bluntness; and when, some
time afterwards, Latimer was called before him
to account for a sermon which he had preached
at court, he justified it so honestly, that the
monarch dismissed him with a smile.
But, after the fall of Cromwell, his adversa-
ries prevailed, and he was sent to the Tower for
speaking against some measures of the king ;
and there he remained for the rest of Henry's
reign. On the accession of Edward, he was re-
leased ; but though he was now in favor at court,
no arguments could induce him to resume the
episcopal function. He resided with Cranmer
at Lambeth ; and when Mary ascended the
throne, " Father Latimer," as he was generally
called, was cited to appear before the privy-
council, by whom he was sent to the Tower.
On passing through Smithfield, he said, "this
place has long groaned for me;" but he was
not sacrificed there ; the triumphant party or-
dering him to be conveyed to Oxford, with his
friends, Ridley and Cranmer. There, after a
mock conference and degradation, Latimer and
Ridley were brought to the stake, Oct. 16, 1555.
On coming to the spot, Latimer said to his com-
panion, " Be of good cheer, brother ; we shall
this day kindle such a torch in England as. I
trust, shall never be extinguished."
LATINUS, a son of Fannus, by Marcia, and
king of the Aborigines in Italy, who were called
from him Latini. He married Amata, by whom
he had a son and a daughter. The son died in
his infancy, and the daughter, Lavinia, was se-
cretly promised in marriage by her mother, to
Turnus, king of the Rutuli, one of her most
powerful admirers. The gods opp6sed this
union, and the oracle declared that Lavinia
must become the wife of a foreign prince. The
arrival of iEneas in Italy seemed favorable to
this prediction, and Latinus, by offering his
daughter to the foreign prince, and making him
his friend and ally, seemed to have fulfilled the
commands of the oracle. Turnus, however,
disapproving of the conduct of Latinus, claimed
Lavinia as his lawful wife, and prepared to sup-
port his cause by arms. JEneas took up arms
in his own defence, and Latium was the seat of
the war. After mutual losses, it was agreed
that the quarrel should be decided by the two
rivals, and Latinus promised his daughter to the
conqueror. ./Eneas obtained the victory, and
married Lavinia. Latinus soon after died, and
was succeeded by his son-in-law.
LAURENS, Henry, was born at Charleston,
S. C, in 1724. He was a merchant and amassed
an ample fortune by his industry. He was in
London at the breaking out of the revolutionary
troubles; but returned to America in 1774, and
was chosen president of the council of safety.
In 1776 he took his seat in congress, of which
body he was president, and continued in office
until 1778. In 1779 he was appointed minister
plenipotentiary of the United States to Holland ,
but on his way was captured by the British,,
and confined 14 months in the tower. He died
Dec. 2, 1792, nearly 70 years of age.
LAW-
SIS
LEE
LAURENS, John, lieutenant colonel, son of
the preceding, was educated in England, and
joined the American army in 1777. In 1780 he
was sent as a special minister to France, and by
his boldness in presenting to the king a memo-
rial at the levee, received a definitive answer to
his application for a loan which was satisfacto-
rily arranged. His first essay in arms was at
Brandy wine. At the battle of Germantown, he
exhibited prodigies of valor, in attempting to
expel the enemy from Chew's house, and was
severely wounded. He was engaged at Mon-
mouth, and greatly increased his reputation at
Rhode Island. At Coosahatchie, defending the
pass with a handful of men, against the whole
force of Provost, he was again wounded, and
was probably indebted for his life to the gal-
lantry of captain Wigg, who gave him his horse
to carry him from the field, when incapable of
moving, his own having been shot under him.
He headed the light infantry, and was among
the first to mount the British lines at Savannah ;
displayed the greatest activity and courage dur-
ing the siege of Charleston ; entered, with the
forlorn hope, the British redoubt carried by
storm at Yorktown, and received with his own
hand, the sword of the commander ; by inde-
fatigable activity, thwarted every effort of the
British garrison in Charleston, confining them,
for upwards of 12 months, to the narrow limits
of the city and neck, except when, under pro-
tection of their shipping, they indulged in dis-
tant predatory expeditions ; and, unhappily, at
the very close of the w?% too careless by ex-
posing himself in atriflhk skirmish, near Com-
babee, sealed his devoticu to his country by
death.
LAVALETTE, Marie Chamans, count de,
was born in Paris, in 1760, of obscure parents ;
notwithstanding which he received a good edu-
cation, became the aid-de-camp of Bonaparte,
and was entrusted with several important offi-
ces, besides being made a peer of France. In
1815, on the restoration of the Bourbons, he was
tried, and condemned to death as an accomplice
of Napoleon, but, the day before the execution,
his heroic wife, who was permitted to visit him,
changed clothes with him in prison, and the
count passed the guard unnoticed, and entered
the sedan-chair with hrs daughter. He found
means to escape to Munich, but the govern-
ment had the inhumanity to detain the count-
ess in prison, which harshness deprived her of
reason. Her husband was pardoned, and re-
turned to France in 1821.
LAWRENCE, James, a distinguished naval
commander, was born in New Jersey, in 1781.
In 1798 he entered the navy as a midshipman,
and, for his services in the Tripolitan war, was
made first lieutenant. Feb. 24, 1813, Law-
rence, in command of the Hornet, took the
British brig of war Peacock, after an action of
15 minutes. June 1, 1813, he sailed out of Bos-
ton harbor, in command of the frigate Chesa-
peake, to accept the challenge of captain Brooke
of the Shannon. The result might have been
easily foretold. The Chesapeake was an infe-
rior vessel, and her crew shipped upon the spur
of the moment, while the Shannon was a fine
vessel, well manned, with a crew in perfect
training. Lawrence was mortally wounded,
but survived the action four days. His last
words, before he was carried below, were,
"Don't give up the ship!" The flag of the
Chesapeake was not hauled down until almost
all her officers were killed or wounded.
LEDYARD, John, a celebrated American
traveller, born at Groton, Connecticut, in 1751.
At the age of 19 he entered Dartmouth college,
for the purpose of acquiring the information
necessary for his becoming a missionary among
the Indians. He acquired knowledge with great
facility, but so ardent a desire did he have for
travel , that he soon escaped from college , shipped
as a sailor, went to Gibraltar, enlisted there,
produced his discharge, and returned home in
one year. He crossed the Atlantic again, work-
ing his passage to Plymouth, and thence beg-
ging his way to London, where he became ac-
quainted with captain Cook, whom he accom-
panied in his last voyage. In 1782 he returned
to Connecticut. Having formed a plan of
making the tour of the globe on foot, departing
from London to the eastward, he went as far as
Irkutsk, where he was arrested, by an order
from the empress, as a French spy, and con-
ducted to the borders of Poland, where he was
liberated, with an intimation that his presence
in the dominions of the czarina was so little de-
sirable, that a repetition of his visit would pro-
duce a warrant for his execution. He reached
London, after an absence of 15 months, in a
destitute condition, at the age of 37 ; he imme-
diately accepted a proposal to travel into the
interior of Africa, on behalf of the African As-
sociation, but he was taken ill at Cairo, and
died, November, 1788.
LEE, Charles, a major-general in our revo-
lutionary army, was a native of North Wales,
and became an officer at the age of eleven.
After distinguishing himself at Ticonderoga,
and under Burgoyne in Portugal, he entered the
LEE
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LEP
Polish service. In 1773 he arrived at New
York, and in J775 received a commission from
congress. He was taken prisoner, and re-
mained some time in the hands of the British
but was released Oct. 17, 1777. At the battle
of Monmouth he permitted his command to re-
treat; and was reproached by Washington, to
whom he used disrespectful language, was tried
by a court-martial, and sentenced to a year's
suspension, Aug. 12, 1778. He died Oct. 2,
1782. He was an able officer, but proud, and
ambitious.
LEE, Richard Henry, a signer of the De-
claration of Independence, was born at Stratford,
Westmoreland county, Va., Jan. 20, 1732, but
received his education in England. He return-
ed to America in his l'Jth year. In the house
of burgesses, he displayed his talents and patri-
otism, and, in 1765, assisted Patrick Henry's
resolutions against the Stamp Act, with great
zeal. In 1774 he attended the first general con-
gress which assembled at Philadelphia, as one
of the Virginia delegation. His services were
various, and his labor incessant. June 7, 1776,
he moved, " that these united colonies are, and
of right ought to be, free and independent
states ; that they are absolved from all allegi-
ance to the British crown ; and that all politi-
cal connection between them and the state of
Great Britain is, and ought to be, dissolved."
In 1784 he was chosen president of congress,
and died, July 19, 1794.
LEE, Arthur, was born in Virginia, Dec. 20,
1740. He was educated in England, at Eton,
and took the degree of M. D. at Edinburgh. In
1770 he commenced Ihe practice of medicine in
Virginia. He was afterwards a secret agent of
our government at Londpn and Paris, and, on
the return of doctor Franklin to America, be-
came the sole agent of Massachusetts. In 1777
he was appointed by Congress commissioner to
Spain, and he was subsequently employed in
Prussia. He returned to America in 1780, and
the next year he was chosen to the assembly,
from which he went to congress. He was
called to the board of treasury, of which he con-
tinued to be a member from 1784 to 1789. He
died at his farm Dec. 12, 1792.
LEE, Henry, general, was born in Virginia,
Jan. 29, 1756, and was graduated at Princeton
college in his 18th year. In 1776, he obtained
the command of a troop of the Virginia light
horse, and, in 1777 joined the main army, un-
der Washington. His conduct throughout the
whole revolutionary struggle merits the highest
praise. Ever in the front of danger, he per-
formed several daring feats which have been
rarely equaled. After the termination of the
war, he was alternately a member of Congress,
and of the assembly of his state, of which he
was governor for three successive years. He
died in 1818.
LEIPSIC, or properly Leipzig, a large city,
founded in the 10th century, and now contain-
ing 41,000 inhabitants. It is famous for its
affairs, being the centre of the German book-
trade, and is also distinguished by its university.
Here was fought an important battle between
the allies and the French, October 18th, 1813.
The whole loss of the French has been estima-
ted at 60,000, that of the allies at 45,000 in killed
and wounded.
LENTULUS, a celebrated family at Rome,
which produced many great men in the com-
monwealth. Publius Lentulus Sura joined Cat-
iline's conspiracy, was convicted, imprisoned,
and afterwards executed.
LEO X, (Giovanni de' Medici), a pope, was
born at Florence in 1475, being the second son
of Lorenzo de' Medici. At the age of 13 he
was made a cardinal. He succeeded Julius II
in 1513, and assumed the name of Leo. He
was a patron of literature, and particularly en-
couraged the study of the Greek language.
After opposing the king of France, he made
peace with him, and, in 1515, concluded a con-
cordate on the abolition of the Pragmatic sanc-
tion. He died in 1521.
LEOBEN, a town in the Austrian duchy of
Styria, where the convention was concluded
between the French and Austrians, on the 20th
of April, 1797, which terminated in the peace
of Campo Formio.
LEON, anciently, the kingdom of Leon, one
of the great divisions of Spain, is famous for its
fertility, and contains 1,215,551 inhabitants.
LEONIDAS, a celebrated king of Sparta,
sent by his countrymen to oppose Xerxes.
When the Persian monarch demanded his arms,
Leonidas answered ; " Come and take them ! "
With his three hundred Spartans, and a few
auxiliaries, he defended the pass of Thermo-
pylae against the whole Persian army. He died
surrounded by heaps of slain enemies.
LEPANTO, or Ainabachti, a 6eaport in Tur-
key, on the gulf of Corinth, now the gulf of
Lepanto, or gulf of Patras, with 2000 inhabi-
tants. In 1475, the Venetians defended it
against the Turks during a siege of 4 months.
The famous sea fight of Lepanto. between the
Turks and Spaniards, in which Cervantes lost
his hand, was fought Oct. 7, 1571. The Turks,
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LIG
being at anchor in the gulf, and hearing that,
the Christians were bearing down upon them
from Corfu, reinforced their fleet which con-
sisted of 250 gallies, 70 frigates and brigantines.
The Christian fleet consisted of 210 galleys, 28
transports, and 6 galeapes, furnished with
heavy artillery, commanded by John of Austria,
including the Spanish squadron furnished by
Philip II ; the Venetian, with the flower of the
nobility of Venice, and the pope's galleys. The
Ottoman fleet alone was stronger than the three
Christian squadrons. The two forces engaged
with all the ancient and modern weapons of
attack and defence, viz. arrows, javelins, grap-
pling-irons, cannon, muskets, pikes, and swords.
They fought hand to hand, as most of the gal-
leys grappled together. Don John of Austria
and Veniero,the Venetian commander, attacked
the Ottoman admiral Ali, and having taken him
and his galley, immediately struck off" his head,
and placed it on the top of his own flag. The
Turks lost upwards of 150 vessels. Their loss
in killed was about 15,000, and 5,000 Christian
slaves were set at liberty. The Christians are
said to have lost about 5,000 men. The battle
lasted from six in the morning till evening,
when the approaching darkness, and the rough-
ness of the sea, compelled the victors to put into
the nearest haven, whence they despatched
couriers to all Christian courts, with the news
of the triumph.
LEPIDUS, Marcus iEmilius, celebrated as
being one of the triumvirs with Augustus and
Antony. He was sent against Brutus and Cas-
sius, and some time after, leagued with Mark
Antony, who had gained the hearts of his sol-
diers by artifice, and their commander by his
address. He received Africa as his portion in
the division of the empire ; but his indolence
soon rendered him despicable in the eyes of his
soldiers and of his colleagues, and Augustus,
who was well acquainted with the unpopularity
of Lepidus, went to his camp, and obliged him
to resign the power to which he was entitled as
triumvir. After this degrading event, he sunk
into obscurity, and retired, by order of Augus-
tus to Cerceii, a small town on the coast of La-
tium, where he ended his days, B. C. 13, for-
gotten as soon as he had fallen.
LEUCTRA, a village of Baeotia, famous for
the victory which Epaminondas, the Theban
general, here obtained over the superior force
of Celeombrotus, king of Sparta, B. C. 371.
From that time the Spartans lost the ascenden-
cy, which they had for sometime held in Greece.
LEVEN, Loch, a lake of Scotland, 12 miles
in circumference, in Kinrosshire. The castle
of Loch Leven, was granted by Robert III to
Douglas, and was formerly a very strong place,
capable of accommodating a numerous garrison.
It was in this castle that queen Mary was con-
fined after she had been separated from Both-
well, and had been taken prisoner by the con-
federate lords, at the battle of Carberry hill.
After various ineffectual attempts, she contrived
to make her escape.
LEWIS, Francis, one of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence, was born in South
Wales in 1715, engaged in mercantile pursuits,
and came to America at the age of 21. In 1775
he was elected to the continental congress from
the state of New York. In the course of the
war he fell into the hands of the British, and his
estate was confiscated. He died Dec. 30, 1803,
in his 89th year.
LEXINGTON, a town of Massachusetts, 12
miles N. W. of Boston, where the struggle for
liberty was commenced, April 19, 1775, the
militia, to the number of 70, being drawn out
to receive the British detachment sent to de-
stroy the military stores collected by the pro-
vincials. Seven Americans were killed, and
three wounded.
LIBERIA, a territory on the Western coast
of Africa, where the American Colonization
Society established a settlement of free blacks
in 1820. It is at present in a flourishing condi-
tion, although it has had many obstacles to con-
tend against.
LIEGNITZ, capital of the government of
that name in Silesia, Prussia, has 9,600 inhabi-
tants. On the ICth of August, 1760, the king
of Prussia obtained a victory over the Austrian
general Landon near this place.
LIGNY, a village of the Netherlands, in the
province of Namur, remarkable as the scene of
an obstinate and sanguinary battle between the
Prussians and the French, in June, 1815, which
was the prelude to the decisive battle of Water-
loo. On the 16th Blucher was attacked by
Bonaparte with his whole force, except two-
corps under Ney, and the first corps under d'
Erlon. A furious conflict ensued, in which the
villages of St. Amand and Ligny fell into the
possession of the French. The combatants dis-
played the most determined animosity, and no
quarter was asked, offered, or accepted. A des-
perate attack of the Prussians, led by marshal
Blucher in person, suddenly recovered St.
Amand and a height in its vicinity, and the-
fortune of the day seemed to turn in their favor.
Bonaparte instantly despatched orders to bring
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up the corps under d'Erlon, but ere its arrival,
the French had recovered the village. Wel-
lington meantime was desirous of relieving the
Prussians, but he was himself attacked; and,
as the fourth corps under Bulow had not arrived,
Blucher was obliged to withdraw from his po-
sition at Lambref, and retire upon Tilly.
LIMA, the capital of the republic of Peru,
contains about 60,000 inhabitants. The manners
of the inhabitants are loose, although the higher
classes are well educated. It is often visited by
earthquakes, of which two recent ones, in 1822,
and 1828 were uncommonly destructive.
LIMERICK, a city of Ireland, on the Shan-
non, capital of the county of Limerick, a well-
built and thriving manufacturing place, contain-
ing 60,000 inhabitants. It was taken by the
English in 1174, In 1651 it was reduced by
Ireton, in the service of the parliament, after a
vigorous siege. In 1690 it was unsuccessfully
besieged by king William in person, but in 1691
it surrendered to general Ginkle, afterwards earl
of Athlone.
LINCOLN, Benjamin, was born at Hingham,
Mass., Jan 13, 1733, old style. At the beginning
of the revolutionary war, he was lieutenant-
colonel of the provincial militia, but was soon
appointed major-general in the continental
forces. While with Gates's army in the north,
he was wounded in the leg, and part of the
main bone was necessarily removed. In the
attack on Savannah, 1779, in conjunction with
the French, Lincoln was repulsed. He was
forced to capitulate in Charleston, in 1780, in
consequence of the discontent of the inhabitants,
and the troops under his command. At York-
town General Lincoln distinguished himself as
he had done throughout the whole of the revo-
lutionary struggle. He afterwards commanded
the militia that quelled Shay's rebellion. In
May, 1787, he was elected lieutenant-governor
of Massachusetts, and, in the summer of 1789,
was appointed collector of customs in the port
of Boston. He died 1810.
LISLE, or LILLE (Flemish, Ryssel) a large
city of France, formerly capital of French Flan-
ders, and now in the department of the Nord,
containing 69,860 inhabitants. Louis XIV took
it from the Spaniards in 1667; but notwith-
standing the vast labor and expense bestowed
in his reign on its fortifications, it surrendered
in 1708, after a long and sanguinary siege, to
the allies under the duke of Marlborough and
prince Eugene. At the peace of Utrecht, it
was restored to France, and in 1792, was bom-
barded by the Austrians without success.
LITHUANIA, formerly an independent
grand-duchy, but in 1569, annexed to Poland,
seized by Russia on the dismemberment of
Poland. It is fertile, and rich in minerals,
while its forests abound in game.
LIVINGSTON, Philip, one of the signers of
the Declaration of independence, born at Albany,
N. Y., January 15, 1716, was educated at Yale
college, and, after graduating, became a mer-
chant. In 1759 he was sent to the general pro-
vincial assembly, and to congress in 1774. He
likewise served as senator in the legislature of
his native state, and died Jan 12, 1778, during
the session of congress of which he was a mem-
ber.
LIVINGSTON, Robert R. was born in New
York City, Nov. 27, 1746, and graduated at
King's college in 1765. He studied and prac-
ticed law in his native city where he enjoyed a
very high reputation, was elected to the first
general congress, was one of the committee to
draw up the Declaration of Independence, and
in 1780, was appointed secretary of foreign af-
fairs. He held for several years the office of
chancellor of New York, and, in 1801, was ap-
pointed by president Jefferson, minister pleni-
potentiary to France. Bonaparte distinguished
him by peculiar favor. In 1805 Mr. Livingston
returned to the United States, and died March
26, 1813. He devoted the latter part of his life
to the promotion of agriculture, and was presi-
dent of the New York Academy of Fine Arts.
LIVINGSTON, Brockholst, son of William
Livingston, governor of New Jersey, was born
in the city of New York, Nov. 25, 1757, and
served with great distinction under Schuyler
and Arnold. He went to Spain in 1779, as
private secretary of Mr. Jay. On his return
he studied law and was admitted to practice in
April, 1783. He was made judge of the Su-
preme court of New York, Jan. 8, 1802, was
raised to the bench of the Supreme court of the
United States, in 1806, and died during the
session of the court at Washington, March 18,
1823, in the 66th year of his age.
LLOYD, James, was born in Boston, in 1769,
educated at Harvard college, and commenced
business as a merchant. In 1808 he was elected
by the legislature of Massachusetts, a senator
in congress. Throughout the most trying times
he displayed great calmness, patriotism, and
ability. He died at New York in 1831.
LOCRIS, a country of Middle Greece, the
inhabitants of which were divided into the Locri
Ozolae, a Epizephyrii, the Locri, Epicnemidii,
and the Locri Opuntii. They were a brave
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and warlike people and signalized themselves by
their efforts to maintain the liberty of Greece.
LODI, a large town in the government of
Lombardy, belonging to Venice, on the Adda,
containing 17,800 inhabitants. One of the
most daring exploits that characterised the
commencement of Bonaparte's military career,
was performed here in 1796, by forcing the pas-
sage of the bridge over the Adda, though de-
fended by 10,000 Austrians. Napoleon always
spoke of it as " that terrible passage of the bridge
of Lodi."
LOMBARDS, also called Longobardi, or
Langobardi, originally a Scandinavian tribe,
were first found by the Romans in the eastern
part of the principality of Luneburg, and in the
Altmark. At the close of the fifth century,
they made their appearance on the north side
of the Danube, and about the middle of the 6th
century, the king Alboin gained great advanta-
ges over the Gepidce, and conquered all upper
Italy, and a part of Middle Italy. Desiderius,
the last king, was conquered A. D. 774 by Pe-
pin of France, who subverted the kingdom of
the Lombards in Italy, after it had been in ex-
istence for the space of 206 years. The present
government of Lombardy belongs to Austria,
contains nearly 2,200,000 inhabitants, and its
capital is Milan.
LONDON. This vast city, the metropolis
of Great Britain, is situated on the banks of the
Thames, about 60 miles from the sea, and stands
in lat. 51° 31' N. and Ion. 5' 37" W. from Green-
wich. The total population, including the
several parishes which belong to the city, is
1,500,000. The streets of the city are generally
wide, the houses arranged with great regard to
uniformity, and well built. The royal palace,
Westminster Abbey, and St. Paul's Cathedral,
are magnificent buildings. The manners of
the lower classes are loose, and intemperance
prevails among them to an alarming degree.
London was fortified by the Romans in the year
50 ; walled in 294 ; made a bishop's see 604 ; re-
paired by Alfred, 885. In 1090 it was not paved.
In 1192 an order to build the houses of stone,
and have them slated, as they were then built
of wood and thached with straw, was not ob-
served. In 1208 king John granted a charter
to the inhabitants to choose a mayor out of their
own body annually (this office having been
formerly for life), to elect and remove their
sheriffs at pleasure, and their common council-
men annually.
LONDONDERRY, Marquis of, more gene-
rally known under the title of lord Castle reagh,
an active statesman in the reigns of George
III, and IV, by whose influence the legislative
union of Ireland was effected ; and who, as
secretary-of-state, promoted those measures by
which the confederacy of the European powers
was concentrated against Napoleon. In August,
1822, he was appointed minister from Great
Britain to the congress at Verona, but two days
before his intended departure, he destroyed
himself in a fit of mental distraction.
LONG ISLAND, or Nassau island, an island
belonging to the state of New York, from which
it is separated by the East river. It is 120 miles
long, and from 10 to 20 broad. The soil of the
island is admirably adapted for agriculture.
LORRAINE, for a long time a fief of the
German empire, and a subject of contention
between France and Germany, at present forms
the French departments of the Meuse, the Vos-
gcs, the Moselle, and the Meurthe. Square
miles, 10,150; pop. 1,800,000. Its forests and
mountains contain great quantities of game, and
many minerals.
LOUDON, or Laudon, Gideon Ernest, an
Austrian general, was born at Footzen, in Livo-
nia, in 1716, of a family that originally came
from Scotland. He displayed great talents in
the seven years' war, and was made a major-
general, and invested with the order of Maria
Theresa. In 1757 he contributed to the victory
of Hochkirchen, and afterwards gained that of
Kunersdorf. He next defeated the Prussians
at Landshut, and made himself master of Glatz.
On the conclusion of the peace, he was created
a baron of the empire ; in 1766, nominated an
aulic counsellor ; and, in 1778, made field-mar-
shal. He next commanded against the Turks ;
and, in 1789 took Belgrade. He died, July 14,
1790. His modesty was proverbial. The duke
of Aremberg, being once asked by the empress
at a court party where Loudon was, answered —
" There he is, as usual, behind the door, quite
ashamed of possessing so much merit."
LOUIS IX, king of France, commonly call-
ed St. Louis, was the son of Louis VIII, and
was born in 1215. Being an infant at the time
of his father's death, the regency was confided
to Blanche of Castile, the queen-dowager.
Scarcely had Louis attained the age of 21 years,
and taken the reins of government into his own
hands, when Henry III of England demanded
the provinces which Louis VIII had promised
to restore. A tender was made of Poictou, and
part of Normandy ; but Henry was resolved to
try the issue of a battle, and his army was de-
feated on the banks of the Charente. In 1243
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Louis undertook a crusade to the Holy Land,
and landed in Egypt ; Damietta was abandoned
by the Saracens on the approach of his troops,
who advanced to Cairo, in full confidence of
success. But famine, the sword, and disease
so wasted his forces, that he fell, with all his
nobility, into the hands of the enemy. His
ransom was the city of Damietta, and 400,000
francs. Louis remained five years in Palestine,
repaired the fortifications of some cities, ran-
somed nearly 1200 prisoners, but, on the news
of his mother's death, he returned promptly to
France, and employed himself in securing the
enjoyment of peace and justice. His piety
caused him to build many churches and hospit-
als, and his subjects blessed a reign which ap-
peared as peaceful as it was happy, when ill
news from Palestine roused the enterprising
spirit of the king, and another crusade was de-
termined upon. He departed with his three
sons, but instead of going directly to Palestine,
landed at Tunis, and commenced the siege of
that place. The heat of the climate and the
plague thinned the ranks of the army ; Louis
lost one of his sons, and died himself at the age
of 55 years, after a reign of 44. He was placed
among the saints by pope Boniface VIII.
LOUIS XI, the son of Charles VI, was born
in 1423. In 1440 he put himself at the head of
a faction called la Praguerie, against the king,
his father, with whom he afterwards became
reconciled. He was at the siege of Tartas, in
1442. and was afterwards present at the raising
of that of Dieppe, which was besieged by the
English, subsequently to which he defeated
6000 Swiss, near the city of Basle. His father's
death took place July 1, 1461, and Louis was
crowned August 15. He removed from his
court all the princes and nobility, who then en-
gaged the principal persons of the kingdom in
a league, to which they gave the name of
League of the Public good (Ugue du lien ■public.')
The duke of Berry, the king's brother, the
dukes of Bretagne and Bourbon, and the son
of the duke of Burgundy, were the chiefs of
this party. The king, who marched to defend
Paris, engaged them July 2, 1465, without much
advantage, but he broke up the league by a
peace concluded in October following, at Con-
flans, by which he agreed to give Normandy to
his brother ; and to cede some territories to
Burgundy. Louis, however, did not keep his
pledges; his brother was soon poisoned, and it
was thought that Louis was the author of the
atrocious deed. The young duke of Burgundy
determined to revenge the death of his friend,
but fell in the midst of brilliant projects, in a
battle with the Swiss. Louis passed his last
years in the chauteau of Plessis-les-tours, a prey
to the horrors of a guilty conscience, and died
there in 1483.
LOUIS XII, born in 1462, succeeded to the
throne of France in 1 498. He became the dup&
of his allies, who prevailed on him to attempt
the conquest of Genoa, Naples, and Milan, the
issue of which proved unfortunate. In his war
against the Spaniards he was equally unsuc-
cessful ; his army being defeated, and his fleet
of observation, which was stationed off the
coast of Catalonia, driven into port. Henry
VIII of England, having waged a successful
war on the French territory, suddenly broke
with his allies, and, having made peace with
Louis, bestowed on him the hand of his sister.
In the midst of his preparations to recover the
loss he had sustained in Italy, Louis died in
1515.
LOUIS XIII was born in 1601, succeeded
his father, Henry IV, in 1610, and, the state
being placed under the regency of Mary of
Medicis, the widowed queen of Henry IV. In
1611, Sully retired from the court, and was
succeeded by Concini, mariechal d' Ancre, who
gained unlimited sway. He supported Mary
de Medicis in all her prodigal measures ; but
his unpopular career was terminated by an as-
sassian, and the queen mother was exiled to
Blois. Richelieu reconciled the queen and
Louis, and in 1624, was put at the head of the
administration. He died in 1C42, and his death
was soon followed by that of Louis, who sur-
vived the Cardinal only a few months.
LOUIS XIV, son of the preceding, ascended
the throne in 1643, under the regency of his
mother, Anne of Austria, who chose cardinal
Mazarin as her minister. In the war against
Spain and Austria, the duke d' Enghien and
marshal Turenne were victoriors in Germany
and the Netherlands. By the peace of West-
phalia, in 1648, France gained Alsace, and
Sundgau, Brisach, and the right to garrison
Phillipsburg. In the same year began the civil
war of the Frondeurs, against Mazarin, who
was relieved by the great prince of Conde. In
1650 Conde formed an independent party, but
was arrested and imprisoned, and in 1652 was
defeated by the royalists, under Turenne, at
the battle of St. Antoine. In 1653, Conde
joined the Spaniards, the war against whom
was vigorously carried on by Turenne. By the
peace of the Pyrenees, in 1659, Louis gained
Roussillon and Conflans, a great acquisition of
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territory; and, in 1660, received the daughter
of Philip IV in marriage. In 1661, Mazarin
died, and Louis took upon himself the affairs
of government, appointing Colbert minister of
finance, under whom the arts, commerce, and
manufactures greatly flourished. On the death
of Philip IV of Spain, Louis began the career
of those conquests which acquired him the title
of Great. By virtue of his marriage with Maria
Theresa of Austria, he laid claim to Cainbresis
Franche-Conte, Luxembourg, and a great part
of the Spanish Netherlands, and entered Flan-
ders at the head of an army of 35,000 men.
However, the triple alliance of England, Swe-
den, and Holland, compelled the French mon-
arch to renounce all but Flanders, and to
conclude the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1668.
Louvois now became minister of war ; and. in
1670, Louis effected the dissolution of the triple
alliance; overran great part of Holland, and
compelled the elector of Brandenburg to con-
clude a treaty of neutrality, in 1673. In 1674,
Louis, being abandoned by his former allies,
formed a league with Sweden, and resolved to
humble the republic of Holland. He made a
sham attack on Bommel by sea ; but the prince
of Conde being compelled to retreat with his
army, the united provinces were lost to France.
In 1675, Turenne perished before Salzbach.
At length, a treaty was signed at Nimeguen, in
1678, whereby all the provinces wrested from
the Dutch were restored, and Louis gained
Franche-Conte, Dunkirk, and part of Flanders.
In 1681, the Chambers of Re-union were erect-
ed, and, in 1684, Louis seized Strasburg, Lux-
emburg, and Deux Ponts. In the same year,
Louis sent a fleet against Genoa ; and, in the
following year, he bombarded Tripoli and Tu-
nis. In 1685 he revoked the edict of Nantes,
and the Protestants were compelled to fly the
kingdom for safety. In 1683, he took possession
of Avignon and the Palatinate of the Rhine,
which he devastated in the following year.
The fortune of Louis was now on the decline.
Louvois died in 1691, and, in 1692, the French
fleet was destroyed by the British at La Hogue.
The French were, however, victorious in Spain
and the Netherlands, under Vendome and Lux-
emburg.
In 1696, Louis concluded the peace of Turin
with Savoy ; and, in the following year the
peace of Ryswick was concluded, whereby
Louis restored his conquests, made after the
death of Charles II of Spain. In 1700 the
war of the Spanish succession commenced,
when Louis declared for Philip of Anjou, in
opposition to Charles, archduke of Austria, sup-
ported by the European confederates. War
was now declared against France ; Louis was
defeated at Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde,
and Malplaquet, and prince Eugene was every-
where triumphant. Louis sued for peace in
vain, but a change in the English cabinet gave
a new turn to the politics of Europe ; and, in
1713, the peace of Utrecht was concluded, fol-
lowed by that of Radstadt, between marshal
Villars and prince Eugene, when Louis ceded
his possessions in America to England, and his
Italian dominions to Austria and Savoy. In
1715, Louis died, in the 72d year of his reign,
at the age of 77.
LOUIS XV, only five years of age at the
death of the preceding monarch, was placed
under the regency of the duke of Orleans. In
1726 the regency of Cardinal Henry commen-
ced, on whose death, Louis took on himself
the management of public affairs and declared
war against Germany and Hungary. After a
life spent in the greatest voluptuousness, he
died, an object of general odium, in 1774.
LOUIS XVI. (See France.)
LOUIS XVIII, the brother of Louis XVI,
displayed much energy and bravery in his
struggles against Napoleon. After Napoleon
had departed for Elba, Louis entered Paris on
the 3d of May, 1814. On the 20th of March,
1815, the king left the Tuileries, and Napoleon
re-entered Paris. On the 8th of July, Louis
again returned to Paris. His death took place
September 16, 1824.
LOUISBURG, formerly a considerable town
and fortress of the island of Cape Breton. It
was taken from the French by the English fleet
under Sir Peter Warren, and the provincial
forces commanded by Sir William Pepperel in
the year 1745 ; but afterwards restored to
France by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, in
1748. It was again taken by the English, un-
der the command of admiral Boscawen, and
general Amherst, in 1758, and its fortifications
since demolished. It is now almost deserted.
LOUISIANA, is divided into three parts.
The first contains the parishes east of the Mis-
sissippi, the second the parishes bordering on
the west side of the Mississippi, and the third
the western parishes. The southern portion of
Louisiana is level, and abounds with swamps
and prairies, the former of which are destitute
of trees, and stretch out as far as the eye can
reach, in gloomy and unbroken dreariness.
But on the borders of the rivers the land is the
most fertile imaginable, and yields in great
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abundance, cotton, sugar, and rice. Besides
New Orleans, the principal towns are Baton
Rouge, Alexandria, Nachitoches, St. Francis-
ville, Donaldsville, &c. Education, in general,
is much neglected ; there is a Catholic college,
at New Orleans, which enjoys a high reputation,
and there are academies in various parts of the
state.
Louisiana was discovered in 1G82 by La
Salle, a Frenchman, and its name was bestow-
ed in compliment to Louis XIV, then seated on
the throne of France. It was not until 1G99
that a regular settlement was commenced at
Iberville. It passed into the hands of Spain, by
treaty, in 17G2, but was restored to France in
1795, and was purchased by the United States
in 1803, for 15,000,000 dollars ; the vast territo-
ry thus acquired includes the state of Louisiana,
the State of Missouri, the territory of Arkansas,
and the country beyond to the Rocky Moun-
tains. Louisiana was admitted into the union as
an independent state, in 1812. Population 215,
541, of which 109,600 are slaves.
LOWELL, a large manufacturing town of
Massachusetts, 25 miles N. W. of Boston, sit-
uated at the junction of the Concord and Mer-
rimack rivers, containing, according to the last
census, 6,477 inhabitants, but at present double
that number.
LUCCA, a city and duchy of Italy, originally
a colony of the Romans. It has repeatedly
changed masters. The city contains 22,000
inhabitants, and the duchy 143,500. The ducal
power is limited by that of the senate which is
annually assembled.
LUCRETIA, a noble Roman matron, the
wife of Collatinus, who lived in the reign of
Tarquin the Proud. While other ladies were
engaged in frivolous amusements, she was
found at work in the midst of her handmaidens.
Sextus, the son of Tarquin, inflamed with a
base passion, gained entrance to her apartment
at midnight, during the absence of her husband,
and dishonored her. Lucretia, unable to sur-
vive her shame, killed herself. Brutus (which
see) had the body conveyed to the forum, and
delivered so moving and inspiring an address,
that the populace rose against their oppres-
sors, and the regal dignity was abolished in
Rome. Brutus, and Collatinus, the husband
of the matron, were the first consuls.
LUNEVILLE, an open city of Lorraine, de-
partment of the Meuse, containing 12,778 in-
habitants. A treaty between Austria and the
French republic, was concluded here in Feb.
1801.
LUTHER, Martin, was born Nov. 10, 1483,
at Isleben, in Lower Saxony. In 1508, he be-
came lecturer in philosophy at Wittemberg,
and, while thus employed, received orders
from his superiors to go to Rome, where he had
ample opportunity of observing the corruptions
of popery. In 1517 pope Leo X published in-
dulgences to enable him to complete the build-
ing of St. Peters, which measure proved the
cause of an incurable breach in the Roman
church. Tetzel, the Dominican, who had the
sale of these pardons in Germany, behaved so
scandalously, that Luther published a thesis in
which he denied the validity of papal indulgen-
ces. Tetzel, who was then at Frankfort, caus-
ed Luther's thesis to be burnt, and published
another in answer to it, which roused the indig-
nation of the students of Wittemberg to such a
degree, that they burned his thesis in return.
Luther, in the midst of these proceedings,
wrote to the pope in terms of respect, and
though he did not, retract his positions, he ex-
pressed his readiness to submit to authority.
In the meantime, the contention became fiercer
between the champions for indulgences, and
their opponents. The pope aggravated the
matter by citing Luther to appear at Rome ;
but the latter wisely declined putting himself
in a place where destruction was certain. He
had now secured the protection of the elector
of Saxony, who, instead of giving him up, de-
manded that the cause should be heard in
Germany. With this the pope complied, and
Cajetan was sent to Augsburg, whither Luther
repaired ; but after two conferences, he left the
place, from an apprehension of a design upon
his hie. In 1519 was held a conference at Le-
ipsic, between Luther and Eck, professor of
divinity at Ingolstadt, which ended without
bringing the parties nearer to each other.
The pope, on his side, became exasperated,
and issued his bull of excommunication against
the reformer, who caused it to be publicly
burnt in the presence of the whole university
of Wittemberg. On his way home from the
diet of Worms, in 1521, he was carried off by a
party of horsemen to one of the castles belong-
ing to his friend, the elector, who adopted this
method to secure him from his enemies. In
this Patmos, as he called it, Luther remained
ten months, and then returned to Wittemberg,
where he published a sharp reply to Henry VIII,
who had written a book against him, on the
seven sacraments. In 1529 the emperor as-
sembled a diet at Spires, to check the progress
of the new opinions; and here it was that the
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name of Protestants first arose, from the pro-
test made by the electoral princes who were in
favor of the Reformation, against the rigorous
measures which were proposed in this assembly.
In 1534, Luther's translation of the whole bible
was published ; and the same year he printed
a book against the service of the mass. At
length, worn out, more by labor than age, this
illustrious man died at his native place, Febru-
ary 18, 1546, and his remains were solemnly in-
terred in the cathedral of Wittemberg.
LUTZEN, a small town of Prussian Saxony,
in the government of Merseburg, the neighbor-
hood of which is famous for two great battles,
one in 1632, in which the Austrians were de-
feated by Gustavus of Sweden, who was him-
self killed in the action ; and the other in 1813,
when the French, under Bonaparte, defeated
the combined forces of Prussia and Russia.
LUXEMBURG, a province of the Nether-
lands, containing 293,555 inhabitants. Its cap-
ital of the same name, was besieged, in 1794,
by the victorious armies of France, and capitu-
lated on the 17th of June, 1795.
LYCURGUS, a celebrated lawgiver of Spar-
ta, the son of king Eunomus, and brother to
Polydectes, flourished in the latter half of the
9th century B. C. He travelled with the spirit
of a philosopher, and visited Asia and Egypt
without suffering himself to be corrupted by
the licentiousness and luxury which prevailed
there. The confusion which followed his de-
parture from Sparta, having made his presence
necessary, he returned home at the earnest so-
licitations of his countrymen. The disorders
which reigned at Sparta induced him to reform
the government. Lycurgus found no difficulty
in reforming the abuses of the state, and all
were equally anxious in promoting a revolution
which had received the sanction of heaven.
This happened 884 years before the Christian
era. Lycurgus first established a senate, which
was composed of 28 senators, whose authority
was designed to preserve the tranquillity of the
state, and maintain a due and just equilibrium
between the kings and the people, by watch-
ing over the encroachments of the former, and
checking the seditious convulsions of the latter.
All distinctions of rank were destroyed, and by
making an equal and impartial division of the
land among the members of the commonwealth,
Lycurgus banished luxury, and encouraged the
useful arts. The use of money, either of gold
or silver, was totally forbidden, and the intro-
duction of heavy brass and iron coin, brought
no temptations to the dishonest, and left every
21
individual in possession of his effects without
any fear of robbery or violence. All the citizens
dined in common, and no one had greater claims
to indulgence and luxury than another. The
intercourse of Sparta with other nations was
forbidden, and few were permitted to travel.
The youths were intrusted to the public mas-
ter, as soon as they had attained their seventh
year, and their education was left to the wis-
dom of the laws. They were taught early to
think, to answer in a laconic manner, to at-
tempt to excel in repartee. They were encour-
aged to steal, and theft was only punished for
being discovered. Thus we are told that a youth
who carried off a fox beneath his cloak, permit-
ted the animal to gnaw into his vitals, rather than
disclose his theft by dropping the prize. These
laws gave rise to a race of men distinguished for
their intrepidity, fortitude and independence.
After promulgating his code, Lycurgus re-
tired from Sparta to Delphi, or according to
others, to Crete ; and, before his departure, he
bound all the citizens of Lacedremon by a sol-
emn oath, that neither they nor their posterity
would alter, violate, or abolish the laws which
he had established, before his return. He soon
after died, and ordered his ashes to be thrown
into the sea, fearful lest, if they were carried to
Sparta, the citizens would consider themselves
freed from the oath which they had taken, and
empowered to make a revolution. The wisdom
and the good effect of the laws of Lycurgus
have been fully demonstrated at Sparta, where,
for 400 years they remained in full force, but
the legislator has been censured as cruel and
impolitic. Lycurgus has been compared with
Solon, the celebrated legislator of Athens, and
it has been judiciously observed, that the former
gave his citizens morals conformable to the laws
which he had established, and that the latter had
given the Athenians laws which coincided with
their customs and manners. The office of Ly-
curgus demanded resolution, and he showed
himself inexorable and severe. In Solon, arti-
fice was requisite, and he showed himself mild
and even indulgent. The moderation of Lycur-
gus is highly commendable, particularly when
we recollect that he treated with the greatest
humanity and confidence Alcander, a youth
who had put out one of his eyes in a seditious
tumult. The laws of Lycurgus were abrogated
by Philopoemen, B. C. 188, but only for a little
time, as they were soon after reestablished by
the Romans.
LYDIA, anciently Masonia, a celebrated
kingdom of Asia Minor, whose boundaries were
LYO
322
LYS
different at different times. It received the
name of Lydia from Lydus, one of its kings.
It was governed by monarchs. who, after the
fabulous ages, reigned 249 years, in the fol-
lowing order : Ardysus began to reign 797 B.
C.J Alyattes,761 ; Meles, 747 ; Caudaules, 735 ;
Gyges, 718 ; Ardysus II, G80 ; Sadyattes, G31 ;
Alyattes II, 619, and Croesus 562, who was con-
quered by Cyrus B. C. 548, when the kingdom
became a province of the Persian empire. Three
different races reigned in Lydia, the Atyadae,
the Heraclidae, andthe Mermnadae. The his-
tory of the first is obscure and fabulous ; the
Heraclidae began to reign about the time of the
Trojan war, and the crown remained in their
family for about 500 years, and was always
transmitted from father to son. Caudaules was
the last of the Heraclidae ; and Gyges the first
and Croesus the last of the Mermnadae. The
Lydians were great warriors in the reign of the
Mermnadae. They invented the art of coining
gold and silver, and were the first who exhibited
public sports, &.c. Lydia remained a part of the
eastern Roman empire until 1326, when it was
conquered by the Turks.
LYMAN, Phinehas, major-general, born at
Durham, about 1716, graduated at Yale college
in 1738. He was afterwards a tutor in this
institution, studied law, and practised it with
great success. After serving as a member of the
assembly of Connecticut, he was elected to the
council, and, in 1755, appointed major-general
and commander-in-chief of the Connecticut
forces. In the battle of lake George the com-
mand devolved upon him, and he also com-
manded the American forces in the expedition
to Havannah. After spending some years in
England, he returned to America, and, in 1775,
embarked for the Mississippi, followed by his
family. He died in West Florida, 1778.
LYNCH, Thomas, Jr., one of the signers of
the Declaration of Independence, was born in
South Carolina, Aug. 5, 1749, and educated in
England. In 1775 he joined the revolutionary
army, but a severe sickness compelled him to
relinquish his plan of serving his country in the
field. He was elected to congress, and signed
the Declaration of Independence, but his health
failing, he was advised to go to St. Eustatia, and
embarked at the close of the year 1779, after
which date the vessel was not heard of.
LYONS, a large city in the south-east of
France, containing 135,723 inhabitants. This
city sustained a siege against the Jacobins for
several months in 1793, and after its surrender
the principal inhabitants were massacred by the
terrorists under Collot d'Herbois. In the spring
of 1814, several severe actions took place in the
neighborhood, between the French and Austri-
ans ; on the return of Napoleon from Elba, in
March, 1815, he was received here with accla-
mation.
LYSANDER, a celebrated general of Sparta,
in the last years of the Peloponnesian war. He
drew Ephesus from the interest of Athens, and
gained the friendship of Cyrus the Younger.
He gave battle to the Athenian fleet, consisting
of 120 ships, at ./Egos Potamos, and destroyed
it all, excepting three ships, with which the
enemy's general fled to Evagoras, king of Cy-
prus. In this celebrated battle, which happened
405 years B. C, the Athenians lost 3,000 men,
and with them their empire and influence among
the neighboring states. Lysander well knew
how to take advantage of his victory, and the
following year Athens, worn out by a long war
of 27 years, and discouraged by its misfortunes,
gave itself up to the power of the enemy, and
consented to destroy the Piraeus, to give up all
its ships, except twelve, to recall all those who
had been banished, and, in short, to submit in
every thing, to the power of Lacedsemon. Be-
sides these humiliating conditions, the govern-
ment of Athens was totally changed, and thirty"
tyrants were set over it by Lysander. This glo-
rious success, and the honor of having put an
end to the Peloponnesian war, increased the
pride of Lysander. He had already began to
pave his way to universal power, by establish-
ing aristocracy in the Grecian cities of Asia,
and now he attempted to make the crown of
Sparta elective. The sudden declaration of war
against the Thebans saved him from the accu-
sations of his adversaries, and he was sent, to-
gether with Pausanias, against the enemy. He
was defeated and killed, 394 years B. C, in the
Boeotian war.
LYSIMACHUS, a son of Agathocles, who
was among the generals of Alexander. He
sided with Cassander and Seleucus against An-
tigonus and Demetrius, and fought with them
at the celebrated battle of Ipsus. He afterwards
seized Macedonia, after expelling Pyrrhus from
the throne, B. C. 286, but his cruelty rendered
him odious, and the murder of his son Agatho-
cles so offended his subjects, that the most opu-
lent and powerful revolted from him and aban-
doned the kingdom. He pursued them to Asia,
and declared war against Seleucus, who had
given them a kind reception. He was killed in
a bloody battle, 281 years B. C. in the 80th year
of his age.
MAC
323
MAD
M.
MACARTNEY, George, ear], celebrated in
diplomatic history, principally for his embassy
to China in 1792. He died in 1806.
MACASSAR, formerly a large city of Ce-
lebes, with a fine harbor. On its site now stands
the little village of Vlaardingen with 1,000 in-
habitants. The natives in the vicinity are, in
general, faithful, and hospitable; their number
is about 10,000.
MACBETH, an usurper and tyrant, who fill-
ed the Scottish throne during a part of the 11th
century. He murdered his kinsman, Duncan,
to clear the path to royalty. He also put to
death M'Gill and Banquo, the most powerful
men in his dominions. Macduff becoming the
object of his suspicions, escaped into England,
but the inhuman tyrant wreaked his vengeance
on his wife and children, whom he caused to
be butchered. Macduff and Malcolm, son of
Duncan, having obtained assistance from the
English, entered into Scotland, and forced Mac-
beth to retreat into the Highlands, where he
was soon afterwards slain in battle by Macduff.
Shakspeare's Macbeth is one of the most pow-
erfully drawn characters of his tragedies.
MACHIAVELLI, Nicholas, a celebrated
writer, born of a noble family of Florence, in
1469. His first efforts produced a comedy called
Mandragora, which proved so popular, on ac-
count of its satire, at Florence, that Leo X sent
for the actors to exhibit it to a Roman audi-
ence. Machiavelli acquired, however, greater
fame by his political writings. By the influ-
ence of the Medicis, and as a recompense for
the suffering he had endured on the rack on sus-
Jicion of a conspiracy with the Soderini against
ulius, afterwards Clement VII, he was made
Secretary and Historiographer to the republic
of Florence. He died in 1527, of a medicine
which he had taken by way of prevention.
MACCABEES. (See Hebrews.)
MACEDONIA, now Makdonia, or Filiba Vil-
ajeti, an ancient kingdom of Europe, found-
ed by Caranus and Perdiccas, B. C. 800. It
first became powerful under Philip and his son
Alexander the Great, the last of whom gave it
new splendor, subdued the neighboring states,
destroyed the liberties of Greece, 338, and con-
quered the Persian empire. Macedonia con-
tinued in the family of Alexander, or of his
generals, until 168 B. C. ; when by the defeat
of Perseus it became a Roman province ; it con-
tinued to belong to the Eastern empire until
1393, when the Turks under Bajazet IV invad-
ed the country, which was finally conquered by
them in 1429. The present inhabitants are a
hardy race. Their country is rich, well-wooded
and mountainous. Population, about 700,000 ;
square miles, 15,250.
MACKEAN, Thomas, was born March 19,
1734, in the county of Chester, Pennsylvania,
and was admitted to the bar of the Supreme
Court of Pennsylvania, in 1757. For seventeen
successive years he was elected a member of
the assembly. He was sent to the congress
held at New York in 1765, took an active part
in the revolutionary proceedings, and served in
arms in New Jersey, where he greatly distin-
guished himself. In 1777 he was chosen chief-
justice of Pennsylvania, and was afterwards
elected governor of the state. He died June
24, 1817, in his 84th year.
MACPHERSON, James, a Scottish writer,
was born in 1738. His fame rests upon his
tianslation from the Gaelic of the poems of
Ossian, the authenticity of which has been
denied by many writers, but was finally par-
tially allowed after a severe literary investiga-
tion. The question gave rise to warm dispute
between Macpherson and Dr. Johnson. Mac-
pherson died in 1796.
MADAGASCAR, a large island of Africa,
900 miles long, and from 120 to 300 broad. Pop.
3,000,000. It is extremely fertile. It was first
visited by the Portuguese in the beginning of
the 16th century. It is situated in the Indian
Ocean, near the southern part of Africa, from
which it is separated by the Mozambique chan-
nel. Madagascar yields in abundance wheat,
rice, sugar, grapes, honey, and excellent fruits.
Almost all the European animals are found
here in abundance. The forests are composed
of a prodigious variety of trees, and furnish
vast quantities of ornamental wood. Among the
gums of the woods, is the valuable gum elastic.
The islanders are warmly attached to liberty,
but licentious and indolent. The island is di-
vided among many petty kings or chiefs. The
religion is Mohammedan, mingled with idola-
try and Judaism. The climate is very hot, but
the air is, in most parts of the country, health-
ful. The French have several times attempted
to form settlements, but in general unsuccess-
fully.
MADEIRA, an island off the western coast
of Africa, belongs to Portugal. Pop. 100,000.
It is situated between the straits of Gibraltar
and the Canaries, is 15 leagues long; 60 in cir-
cumference. It was discovered by Zarco, a
Portuguese, in 1419. It is celebrated for its ex-
MAH
324
MAH
cellent wines, the best of which is known under
the name of London particular. Its other pro-
ductions are sugar, grain, fruits, and cattle.
Funchal is the capital.
MAECENAS, Caius Cilnius, the intimate
friend of Augustus, and so great a patron of
men of letters, that his name is proverbially
used to characterize persons of the same dispo-
sition. According to Horace, he was descend-
ed from the kings of Etruria. Augustus, one
day, being on the tribunal, passing sentence of
death on several persons, Maecenas sent him
a paper, with this inscription, " Come down,
butcher !" which struck the emperor so forcibly
that he immediately descended from his seat.
Maecenas was the patron of Virgil and Horace,
who immortalized him in their works. He dis-
tinguished himself also in the field, particularly
at the battles of Modena and Philippi. When
Augustus and Agrippa went to Sicily, Maece-
nas assumed the administration of the govern-
ment, though he was not ambitious of power.
He died 8 years B. C. In private life his char-
acter was stained by a devotion to sensual plea-
MAGHELHAENS, or MAGELLAN, Fer-
nando de, a Portuguese navigator, who, having
served under Albuquerque, obtained the com-
mand of a fleet from the emperor Charles V,
and discovered the straits at the extremity of
South America, which bear his name. He took
possession of the Philippine islands, where he
was slain in a skirmish with the natives in 1521.
MAGNA CHARTA (the Great Charter),
the charter extorted from king John by the
English barons at Runnemede, June 15, 1215,
which laid the foundation of the public rights
of the people of England.
MAHMOUD I, emperor of the Turks, raised
from the dungeon to the throne in 1731 ; con-
cluded the peace of Belgrade in 1739, by which
he kept Belgrade, Servia, and Wallachia, and
obtained Azof.
MAHMOUD II, present emperor of the
Turks, began his reign in 1808. His reign has
been a good deal disturbed. His introduction of
the European dress and discipline among his
troops is said to be a fatal innovation.
MAHOMET, or, according to the orthog-
raphy and pronunciation of the orientals, Mo-
hammed (the Glorified) surnamed Aboul Cas-
sem, the founder of the Arabic empire, and of
the religion to which he gave his name, was
born at Mecca, the 10th of November, 570, A.
D., according to the most probable opinion.
He was of the tribe of the Korashites, the no-
blest and the most powerful of the country. He
lost his father before he was two years old, and
his mother before he was eight, but their affec-
tionate attention was supplied by the care of his
uncle, Abu Taleb, a merchant. In the family
of this friendly protector, he was employed to
travel with his camels between Mecca and Sy-
ria, till his 25th year, when he entered into the
service of Cadiga, a rich widow, whom, though
12 years older than himself, he married three
years after. Thus suddenly raised to afflu-
ence and consequence above his countrymen,
he formed the secret plan of obtaining for him-
self the sovereign power, and judging there
was no way so likely to gain his end as by ef-
fecting a change in the religion of his country-
men, he adopted that as his instrument.
He now spent much of his time alone in a
cave near Mecca, employed as he gave out, in
meditation and prayer, though it is said that in
reality he called to his aid a Persian Jew, well
versed in the history and laws of his sect, and
two Christians, one of the Jacobite, and the
other of the Nestorian sect. With the help of
these men he framed his Koran, or the book
which he pretended to have received at differ-
ent times from heaven by the hands of the angel
Gabriel. At the age of forty he publicly as-
sumed the prophetic character, calling himself
the Apostle of God. His disciples were at first
very few, consisting only of his wife, nephew,
and servant, but in the course of three years he
had greatly increased the number of his follow-
ers. On these he imposed tales but too well
adapted to deceive ignorant and superstitious
minds. He pretended to have passed into the
highest heavens in one night, on the back of a
beautiful ass called Al Borak, and accompa-
nied by the angel Gabriel : that he there had an
interview with Adam, Abraham, Moses, and
Jesus Christ, who acknowledged his superior-
ity, which was confirmed to him by the Deity
himself. This romance staggered even some
of his best friends, and a powerful party being
formed against him, he was forced to quit
Mecca, and to seek refuge in Medina. This ex-
pulsion dates the foundation of his empire, and
of his religion. The Mohammedans adopt it as
their chronological era. calling it the Hegira,
beiiTg the Ifith day of July, A. D. 622.
Mahomet had still a number of disciples,
upon whom he inculcated the principle, that
they were not to dispute for their religion by
words, but by the sword. No doctrine could
possibly be better suited to a lawless and wan-
dering people ; it was soon carried into practice,
MAH
325
MAI
and the Jewish Arabs were the first to experi-
ence its effects. Upon them Mahomet com-
mitted the most shocking cruelties, numbers
were put to death, others were sold for slaves,
and their goods distributed among the soldiers.
A faith, thus propagated, could not but suc-
ceed in a country like Arabia. His adherents
were not only rewarded by plunder here, but
had held out, to them a felicity of the most sen-
sual kind hereafter. In 627 Mahomet made a
treaty with the inhabitants of Mecca, which
within two years he violated, and captured the
place. Having made himself master of Arabia,
he extended his conquests into Syria, where he
took several cities, and laid some of the princes
under tribute. His career was stopped only by
his death, which was supposed to be occasioned
by poison, administered to him by a Jewess, and
sprinkled on a shoulder" of mutton, of which
the prophet partook with a high relish. When
the woman was examined, she declared that
she had perpetrated the deed, on purpose to try
whether he was a true prophet ; an answer
somewhat remarkable, as the innoxiousness of
poison was one of the privileges promised by
our Lord to his disciples. The poison is said to
have taken effect three years after it had been
administered. When he found himself dying,
Mahomet caused himself to be supported to the
mosque, where he celebrated the praise of God,
demanded pardon for his sins, and then, mount-
ing his throne, said: " If any one complaineth
that I have stricken him unjustly — lo ! here is
my back, let him return the blows. If I have
injured the reputation of anyone, let him treat
me in the same manner. If I have taken money
from any one, I am here ready to restore it."
H.s last words were, " Lord, pardon me; and
place me among those whom thou hast raised
to grace and favor." He died the 8th of June,
A. D. 632, having lived 63 years.
He was of small stature, and of a sanguine
temperament: he had a large head, regular and
decided features; his eyes were large, black,
and full of fire ; his forehead was large, his nose
aquiline, his cheeks full, and his mouth large.
His teeth were white, but set a little apart from
each other, and between his eye-brows was a
vein which swelled when he was in anger.
Notwithstanding his corpulency, his gait was
easy and graceful. After the death of Cadiga,
he had several wives and concubines, by whom
he had many children, but left only one daugh-
ter named Fatima, who married his successor
Ali, having lived to see his doctrines and his
power extended over Arabia, Syria, and Persia.
MAHOMET I, emperor of the Turks, was
the son of Bajazet 1, and succeeded his brother
Moses, in 1413. He reestablished the glory of
the Ottoman empire, which had been ravaged
by Tamerlane, and fixed the seat of government
at Constantinople.
MAHOMET IV was born in 1642, and be-
came emperor in 1649, after the tragical death
of his father, Ibrahim I. He marched in person
against Poland, and having taken several places,
made peace with that country on condition of
receiving an annual tribute. Sobieski, however,
defeated him near Choczim, and obtained so
many other advantages, that a peace favorable
to Poland, was concluded in 1676. The Janis-
saries, attributing this and other misfortunes,
to the indolence of the sultan, deposed him in
1687, and sent him to prison where he died in
1691.
MAHRATTAS,a powerful nation of moun-
taineers in India, who have maintained a series
of wars with the British and native powers.
Their capital, Poona, was taken in 1817. The
possessions of the Mahrattas formerly extended
from the coast of Malabar to that of Orissa, in
the Ghaut mountains, but have been much nar-
rowed.
MAINE, one of the United States, bounded
N. W. and N. by Lower Canada; E. by New
Brunswick ; S. E. and S. by the Atlantic Ocean,
and W. by New Hampshire. The population,
in 1830, was 399,462. The Penobscot is the prin-
cipal river; and the Kennebec, a noble river,
waters a large extent of fertile country. The
commerce of Maine is greatly facilitated by
uncommon natural advantages. The principal
article of export, however, is timber, as a large
portion of Maine is uncultivated, and covered
with forests. Portland, now a city, is the largest
place in Maine. The next in importance are
Bangor, Thomaston, Bath, Hallowell, Bruns-
wick, and Eastport. At Brunswick, there is a
flourishing institution, called Bowdoin college,
which has a medical school connected with it.
There is a Baptist college at Waterville, and at
Bangor there is a literary and theological sem-
inary, supported by the Congregationalists. The
first European settlers in Maine were the Eng-
lish, who established themselves at York in 1630.
Until 1820, Maine formed a part of Massachu-
setts, under the title of the district of Maine,
but at the above-mentioned period it was erect-
ed into an independent state.
MA1NTENON, Frances dAubigne, March-
ioness de, grand daughter of Theodore Agrippa
dAubigne, was born in 1635, in the prison of
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MAL
Niort, where her father was confined. On his
death, Frances was sent to France, being pat-
ronised by her paternal aunt, Madame de Vil-
lette. From her, however, she was removed by
an order of court, lest she should be brought up
a Protestant. In 1651 she married the celebrat-
ed Scarron, from whom she learned the Latin,
Spanish, and Italian languages. On his death,
being in straitened circumstances, she accepted
a pension from the queen, which was renewed
to her after the death of that princess, through
the favor of Madame de Montespan ; and under-
took the education of Louis's children by that
lady.
In this situation she acquired the esteem of
the king, who in 1674 purchased for her the
estate of Maintenon, which name she assumed.
In 1685, the king, over whom she had a com-
plete ascendency, made her his wife; but the
marriage was never publicly avowed. She has
been accused of moving him to revoke the edict
of Nantes ; but this is improbable, as it is cer-
tain she exerted all her influence in behalf of
the suffering Protestants.
Her better actions deserve, beyond all doubt,
much of the notice which has been given to
the meaner part of her story. She exhibited
all the characteristics of a woman striving to be
great beyond the sphere of her sex, and the
usual inconsistencies of famous women were
very conspicuous in her : yet many of her acts
were undoubtedly great. The royal institution
of St. Louis, for the young and indigent female
nobility, was founded by Madame de Mainte-
non, and liberally endowed by the king. This
was afterwards called the Society of St. Cyr,
and was distinguished by many excellent regu-
lations. To her influence has been attributed
the settlement of that peace so salutary to the
French affairs, after the destructive effects of
the seven years' war, carried against all the
ambitious designs and mortified impatience of
the French generals. For a considerable time
she lived on terms of intimacy with Fenelon,
and on his recommendation patronised Madame
Guon ; but afterwards she joined the persecu-
tors of that excellent man. On the death of
Louis she retired to St. Cyr, where she died in
1718.
MALACCA, a country of India beyond the
Ganges, consisting of a peninsula, 170 miles
long, and 120 broad. It abounds in forests, and
contains many fruit trees, which render it very
valuable.
MALESHERBES, Christian William La-
moignon, an eminent French counsellor, was
born at Paris in 1721. In 1775 he was made
minister of stale for the interior. Under his ad-
ministration numerous abuses were removed :
but the year following he resigned, and travel-
led into different countries, in a plain attire, and
under an assumed name. Of the revolution,
he conceived a hope that it would be produc-
tive of good ; yet he voluntarily pleaded the
cause of Louis XVI, and defended him with all
the ardor of conscious rectitude. He was con-
demned to death, with his daughter and grand-
daughter, by the revolutionary tribunal, April
22, 1793.
MALPLAQUET, Battle of. This memora-
ble battle was fought on the 11th of September,
1709. Of the allied troops, altogether amount-
ing to almost 120,000 men, two armies had
been formed : one commanded by the Duke of
Marlborough, and the other by Prince Eugene,
of Savoy. They were found to consist of 165
battalions and 270 squadrons. The French
troops were, for the most part, new-raised men,
ill clothed, and ill mounted, but in great num-
bers. To reinforce their army in Flanders, they
had drawn 15,000 men from Germany; these,
and others from the Moselle, &c; made their
troops amount to 150 battalions and 300 squad-
rons. Marshal Villars was commander-in-chief;
Marshal Bourflers had been sent to assist him
at the battle, but without encroaching upon his
authority.
The manner in which the French were post-
ed may be thus described. Their right wing
was covered by the wood of Taisniere on one
side, and by that of Jansart on the other. The
latter had behind it thick hedges, with three
ditches and artificial entrenchments one be-
hind another ; the access also was difficult, be-
cause of a marshy ground which lay before
them. Against this wing the Dutch infantry
were to make their attack. Their centre took
up all the open space between the wood of Jan-
sart and that of Sart. A hamlet towards the
middle covered the depth of this centre, which
was also defended by a line extending from one
wood to the other. Their left wing was posted,
partly in the wood of Sart and partly behind, in
the plain ; the wood served as a natural covert,
besides which they had felled trees, and raised
banks of earth and fascines, fortified with can-
non. In the lines of their centre were open-
ings, to let their cavalry advance. Their artil-
lery was posted on advantageous eminences,
and they had nothing in their camp to encum-
ber them.
The signal for the attack was given, by the
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discharge of 50 pieces of cannon. Prince Eu-
gene then advanced with his right, to penetrate
into the wood of Sart. In the charges of this
wing, General Shulemburg, the Duke of Ar-
gyle, and other generals, led on 86 battalions,
and Count Loweem 22 other battalions, to at-
tack the intrenchments in the woods of Sart
and Taisniere. General Withers also, with 19
battalions, attacked the enemy in another in-
trenchment beyond the woods of Taisniere and
in Great Blagniere. The design in both succeed-
ed : the fight, however, was long and obstinate,
the enemy defending themselves with equal vig-
or. The allies were repulsed more than once, but
notwithstanding the barricadoes of felled trees
and other impediments, the action wavering
almost two hours, they saw themselves at last
masters of the wood, and had penetrated so far
that they could see the hind part of the in-
trenchments of the enemy's centre.
The attack of the left wing did not begin till
half an hour after that of the right, but it last-
ed longer, and was much more bloody. Thirty
battalions, sustained by 15 others, Prussians,
Hanoverians, or Hessians, engaged with above
70. These thirty battalions were commanded by
Prince Friso of Nassau, general of the foot, and
by Baron Fagel. Following his example, the
troops of his attack advanced as far as the third
intrenchment. But these they could not force,
as the enemy were well seconded by fresh bat-
talions drawn from their centre. The assail-
ants were even driven back to their own post.
Nevertheless the prince led on his troops a sec-
ond time, to attack those intrenchments which
he had once gained and lost again. They re-
covered the two first, but the third still remain-
ed impregnable. When the enemy's left retir-
ed, the Duke directed the Earl of Orkney, with
15 battalions, to attack and post himself in the
intrenchments in the plain between the woods
of Sart and Jansart. This was executed, and
gave the horse an opportunity to enter them,
and advance into the plain. The first squad-
rons, led by the Prince of Hesse and the Prince
D'Auvergne, were put into disorder by the
household troops, but rallied, under the fire of
those battalions. Advantages and disadvantages
succeeded alternately six times, till the Prince
of Hesse turning to the left, fell upon the rear
of the infantry that had been engaged with the
Prince of Nassau. This was the decisive stroke.
On the sight of the diversion made by the Prince
of Hesse, the Dutch battalions recovered new
strength, broke through the third and last in-
trenchment, and drove all opposition before
them. In general, the French made their re-
treat in good order ; but three regiments of
Danish cavalry made a terrible slaughter among
several battalions of their right that had been
surrounded. The allies pursued as far as the
village of Quievrain ; the enemy lost 16 of their
cannon, 20 colors, 26 standards, and left other
indisputable marks of victory, including a num-
ber of prisoners. Many were taken next morn-
ing in Bavay and the neighboring places, weari-
ness or their wounds not permitting them to
follow their army.
MALTA, anciently Melita, and formerly de-
pendent on Sicily, is 7 leagues long and 4 broad,
with a population of 80,000 inhabitants. Gozo
and Comino are two small islands in its vicinity.
Its capital, La Valette, is one of the strongest
places in the world, and has a valuable harbor
of great importance in the commerce of the
Archipelago and the Levant. The island for-
merly belonged to the order of Malta, or knights
of St. John, whose head was a grand master,
the sovereign of this little state. The French
gained possession of it in 1798, but the English
took it in 1800. The soil of this island, which
is rock covered with a light bed of earth, pro-
duces all sorts of vegetables, excellent fruits,
the oranges, in particular, being famous, silk,
sugar, and cotton. The climate is mild and the
air uncommonly salubrious. The Maltese are
sober, fine seamen, and devoted to commerce.
MAMALUKES, MAMLOUKS, or MAME-
LUKES, from the Arabic Memalik, a slave, a
body of cavalry, formed in Egypt 1214, from
Georgian and Circassian slaves, chosen for
their beauty and strength ; from 1254 they gov-
erned that country for 263 years, and expelled
the Christians from Palestine in 1291. They
remained a military body in Egypt, till the year
1810. but their chiefs were treacherously de-
stroyed by Mohammed Ali in 1811. They were
mounted on superb Turkish horses, which al-
though spirited and full of fire, were docile, and
obedient to the word and bit. The prevailing
color of this breed is gray, and the unfailing
tenderness with which the horses of the Turks
are treated, is repaid by astonishing fidelity on
the part of these fine animals. The horses of
the Mamelukes were splendidly caparisoned,
and their studded trappings and rich bits rang
in their gallop. The saddles had high pum-
mels and cruppers, and the huge, shovel stir-
rups were occasionally gilded and curiously or-
namented. The riders wore full turbans, light
jackets, loose short sleeves, and flowing trow-
sers. Their arms were an ataghan or sabre of
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Damascus steel, which is so finely tempered that
a blade composed of it breaks in the hand of an
unskilful swordsman. The Mamelukes were
skilled in the use of these sabres and never
gave slight wounds. Besides the ataghan, the
Mameluke had a carbine slung at his back, and
a brace of pistols at his saddle-bow.
At the famous battle of the pyramids, the
Mamelukes were almost annihilated by the
French infantry under Bonaparte. The im-
penetrable squares of the French regiments
received them with a most galling fire. The
horses reared and plunged, and the riders fell
by hundreds. In the very agony of death, while
expiring upon the ground, some of the dis-
mounted Moslem dragged themselves to the
feet of the French troops, and cut at their legs
with their long crooked sabres. Some backed
their chargers upon the infantry, and caused
them to strike the soldiers with their heels.
But their rout was complete. Many perished
in the Nile, and but a remnant escaped to Up-
per Egypt. Although individually the finest
cavalry in the world, they were incapable of
acting in concert.
MANCO CAPAC, the fictitious founder of
the Peruvian monarchy, a deity, who appeared
to the Peruvians, and taught them the arts of
civilized life.
MANLIUS, Marcus Capitolinus, a celebrated
Roman consul and commander; who, when
Rome was taken by the Gauls, retired into the
capitol and preserved it from a sudden attack
made upon it in the night. The dogs which were
kept in the capitol made no noise ; but the geese,
by their cry, awoke Manlius, who had just time
to repel the enemy. Geese from that period
were always held sacred among the Romans,
and Manlius was honored with the surname of
Capitolinus. He afterwards endeavored to sub-
vert the liberties of his country, and was thrown
down the Tarpeian rock, 383 B. C.
MANLIUS, Titus Torquatus, a famous Ro-
man, who displayed great courage in his youth
as military tribune. In the war against the
Gauls he accepted a challenge given by one of
the enemy ; and having slain him, took his col-
lar from his neck, on which account he assum-
ed the name of Torquatus. He was the first
Roman advanced to the dictatorship without
being previously a consul. But he tarnished his
glory by putting his son to death, for defeating
the enemy without having received orders to
attack them. This gave great disgust to the
Romans ; and on account of his severity in his
government, all edicts of extreme rigor were
called Manliana Edicta. He flourished B. C.
340.
MANTINEA, a village of Greece, where,
in 363 B. C. a battle was fought between the
Thebans and Lacedemonians, in which Epami-
nondas was killed.
MARAT, Jean Paul. The name of this mon-
ster revives the recollection of the worst atro-
cities of the French revolution. He wrote
strongly in favor of the worst of parties, and
was a member of the convention. Marat, who
belonged to the Mountain party, and was deep-
ly implicated in their sanguinary proceedings,
was assassinated by Charlotte Corday, in 1793.
MARATHON, a village of Greece, 15 miles
N. E. of Athens. It is famous for the battle
fought in its plains in 490 B. C, in which Mil-
tiades, with a small Grecian force, totally de-
feated the numerous army sent by Darius, king
of Persia, to conquer Greece.
MARENGO, a village in the Sardinian duchy
of Montferrat, celebrated for the victory of Bo-
naparte over the Austrians in 1800. Some de-
tails of this most severe conflict, which, per-
haps beyond all others, established the military
character of Bonaparte, then consul, are well
entitled to a place in a compendium of history.
The French head-quarters were removed to
Voghera, which the army passed through on its
way to Tortona, and took up a position round
Tortona to blockade it by divisions; the ad-
vance-guard quietly went round the town, and
passed without any thing remarkable having
taken place. If the Austrian commander was
doubtful as to what line of conduct he ought
to pursue, this was his time to determine ; the
possession of Genoa gave him choice either to
fight, or shut himself up in the garrison he
held ; and he should not have forgotten that so
long as he held Genoa, his army had a retreat
from the port, and to have kept the communi-
cation open with that city should have been his
chief concern. The French fought for Genoa
from a knowledge of its value, and Bonaparte
hastened to derive advantage from the neglect
of the Austrians ; he ordered the banks of the
Po opposite Valenza to be guarded, lest they
should escape that way ; and the passess be-
tween Piedmont and Genoa to be gained. Mas-
sena and Suchet were rapidly advancing to
annoy the rear of the Austrians, and the con-
sul in his letter to the inferior consuls, does not
seem ignorant of the movements in his favor
by the army of Italy. — The French army un-
derstood that Melas had evacuated Turin, and
was advancing to meet them with 60,000 men.
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General Gardanne retired to take post at Ma-
rengo, on the plain of which his great body of
cavalry would be of much service. — The con-
sul Bonaparte skirted Marengo, and was seen
examining the ground with attention, by turns
meditating and giving orders.
The army passed that night at St. Julian's,
at the entrance of the plain of Marengo : on the
morning of the 14th June, some discharges of
cannon roused them from their repose ; all was
soon in readiness. Gardenne was attacked at
seven o'clock ; the enemy showed much vigor
of preparation ; a few weak points were touched
on, but his intentions were unknown till late
in the morning. Berthier was first in the field,
and wounded soldiers arriving, owned that the
Austrians were in force. General Victor's di-
vision was drawn up in order of battle. Gen-
eral Lannes' division formed the right wing.
The French army was in two lines, and the
cavalry supported its wings. — The consul Bona-
parte, about 11 o'clock hastened to the field of
battle. General Desaix was ordered to support
Victor. The Austrians were careful of their
position near the bridge, on the Bormida ; but
the principal point of action was at St. Ste-
fano, from hence they could cut off the retreat
of the French, and they gave their attention to
this point. The division under Victor began to
give way, and many corps of cavalry and in-
fantry were drove back. The firing came nearer,
and a sudden and dreadful discharge was heard
on the Bormida ; the French were soon after seen
retreating, carrying the wounded on their shoul-
ders, and the Austrians gained upon them. Bo-
naparte advanced, and urged all he met with ;
his presence encouraged them ; his own guards
no longer continued about his person, but near
him shared in the battle. The grenadiers of the
consular guard advanced against the enemy :
although they were only about 500 men, they
still advanced, and forced every thing in their
passage ; they were three times charged by the
enemies' cavalry ; they surrounded their colors
and wounded, and having exhausted all their
ammunition, they then slowly fell back, and
joined the rear guard.
The army fought retreating in all directions ;
the Austrians turned the right wing, the gar-
rison of Tortona made a sortie, and the French
were thus surrounded. The consul, in the cen-
tre, encouraged the gallant corps that defended
the defile which crossed the road, shut up on
one side by a wood, and on the other by some
thick vineyards of lofty growth; the village of
Marengo was on the left. Of the French artil-
lery, the few that remained had but little am-
munition left. Thirty pieces of cannon, well
served by the enemy, cut up the French. In
the midst of this slaughter, the consul appeared
to brave death. The ground was ploughed up
by the enemies' shot, even between the legs of
his horse ; but undaunted, and with the greatest
coolness, he gave his orders as events requir-
ed : he was urged to retire, but discovered no
change. Marengo seemed the prize for which
both parties contended. Gardanne flanked the
corps going to attack it ; the Austrians for a mo-
ment gave way, but being reinforced, marched
on. General Kellerman, the younger, support-
ed the left; a regiment of dragoons routed a
column of Austrian cavalry, but was charged
by superior numbers, and was giving way,
when two more columns advanced to his as-
sistance, and took 100 prisoners.
The consul being informed that the reserve
of General Desaix was not yet arrived, hasten-
ed to the division of General Lannes to slacken
its retreat : he tells them it was his practice
to sleep on the field of battle. The enemy,
however, advanced; the retreat was absolute-
ly necessary, which took place in good order,
though eighty pieces of cannon were playing
on them : this did not annoy the firmness of the
French, they manoeuvred as though they were
on a parade. At four o'clock in the afternoon,
not more than 6000 infantry stood to their col-
ors, and six pieces of cannon only could be
made use of; one-third of the army was unable
to combat, and more than another third was
occupied in removing the sick and wounded,
owing to the want of carriages.
Every circumstance was eminently discourag-
ing to the French army, but their fortitude and
courage changed their situation in the course
of two hours afterwards. The divisons of
Mounier and Desaix showed themselves ; they
arrived on a gallop, after a forced march often
leagues, anxious to avenge their fallen com-
rades. The crowd of dead and wounded might
well have damped their ardor, but one opinion
only reigned among them, and they rushed on
to glory. General Melas, being ignorant of
what passed in the French line, and also igno-
rant of the reinforcements that had timely ar-
rived to their succor, changed that disposition
which had given him success, and which it was
his interest as well as duty to have followed
up. He extended his wings, thinking, by this
manoeuvre, to have cut the enemy off, but it
only brought on his own disaster. Bonaparte,
whom nothing escaped, seized on tins favor-
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able opportunity, and altered his plan accord-
ingly-
When Desaix reached the heights, the con-
sul, the generals, and the staff went through
the ranks inspiring confidence. This took up
near an hour, while the Austrian artillery was
bearing upon their ranks, and many were thus
killed without moving, except to cover their
comrades' dead bodies. The signal for charg-
ing was at length heard. Desaix, at the head of
a light battalion, threw himself upon the Aus-
trians, and charged with the bayonet : all the
French were in motion at once, in two lines,
their fire carried every thing before it; the ene-
my were in every position overthrown. The
French line now presented a formidable front ;
as quick as the cannon was brought up, they
made dreadful havoc among the affrighted Aus-
trians ; they fell back, and their cavalry charg-
ed with fury ; a powder wagon blew up, and
their alarm increased ; in fact, all gave way
and fled. The French cavalry rushed into the
plain, and advanced towards the enemy. De-
saix trampled on all obstacles which opposed
him. Victor carried Marengo, and flew towards
the Bormida. The centre, under Murat advanc-
ed into the plain ; he much annoyed the Aus-
trian centre, and kept a great body of cavalry
in check. Desaix cut off the left wing of the
Austrians completely, and in the moment of
his victory received a mortal wound. General
Kellerman made 6000 prisoners, with two gen-
erals and officers of the staff. Night com-
ing on, the Austrians were all in disorder; all
crowded together near the centre, and many
were thrown into the river, off the bridge ; their
artillery intercepted their retreat. The third
line of Austrian cavalry, wishing to save the
infantry, came up ; a ditch separated the com-
batants; the French crossed it, and immediate-
ly surrounded the two first platoons. The Aus-
trians were thrown into disorder ; the pursuit
continued, and they made a great many pris-
oners ; the Austrian rear guard was cut to
pieces. Night setting in, and the extreme fa-
tigue of the horses, made Murat determine not
to expose his troops more after so succesful a
day's work. The armies had been fourteen
hours within musket-shot of each other, and
wanted rest. Victory waved on each side four
times during the day, and sixty pieces of can-
non were alternately won and lost. When the
battle ended, the French had taken 12 stand-
ards, 26 pieces of cannon, and 7000 prisoners.
The Austrians lost seven generals, 400 officers,
and 8000 men killed or wounded. The French
lost Generals Desaix and Watrin killed, four
generals of brigade wounded, and 3000 men
killed, wounded, and prisoners. The French
army, when the battle commenced, was reck-
oned at about 45,000 strong, with about thirty
pieces of artillery. The Austrian army was
from 55 to 60,000 men, including near 18,000
cavalry, and an immense train of artillery well
provided.
MARGARET OF ANJOU, daughter of
Rene, king of Sicily, and wife of Henry VI,
king of England. The duke of Gloucester hav-
ing opposed her marriage, she effected his ruin,
and he was strangled in prison. In the wars
of the rival roses, she displayed the character
of a heroine. Her husband having been taken
prisoner in 1455 by the duke of York, she levied
forces, defeated the duke, set Henry at liberty,
and entered London in triumph. In 1460, her
army was defeated at Northampton by the earl
of Warwick, and Henry again became a pris-
oner. The queen, however, escaped, and gath-
ered another army, with which she inarched
against the duke of York who fell in the bat-
tle of Wakefield. She next defeated Warwick
at St. Albans; but was routed, after a bloody
contest at Towton : on which she fled to France
to implore succor from Louis XI, who refused
her any assistance. This intrepid woman fhen
returned to England, where she joined several
of her party, but was defeated at Hexhnin. In
1471 she was taken prisoner, and in 1475 she
purchased her liberty by a large ransom. She
then returned to France, where she died in
1482, aged 59.
MARGARET, queen of Denmark and Nor-
way, commonly called the Semiramis of the
north, vanquished Albert at Falkoping in 1389,
and died in 1412. Albert had contemptuously
termed her " the kino- in petticoats."
MARIAMNE, the wife of Herod the Great,
by whom she had two sons, Alexander and Aris-
tobulus, and two daughters. Herod was very
fond of Mariamne ; but she had little regard
for him, especially after he put to death her bro-
ther Aristobulus. When Herod went to Rome
to court the favor of Augustus, he left secret
orders with Josephus, and Sohemus, to destroy
Mariamne, and her mother, if any misfortune
should happen to him. Mariamne having. ob-
tained the secret from Sohemus, upbraided
Herod at his return, with his inhumanity, for
which he put her to death, together with So-
hemus, B. C. 22.
MARINO SAN, an Italian republic in the
ancient duchy of Urbino. It is one of the small-
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est states in Europe, and contains but 7000 in-
habitants, dispersed through a number of small
villages.
MARIUS, Caius, a celebrated Roman gen-
eral. He conquered Jugurtha, king of Numidia,
and afterwards, for several successive years, car-
ried on war with the Cimbri and Teucones, bar-
barous nations, who attempted to subdue Italy.
In his old age he engaged in a civil war with
Sylla, and was compelled to flee to Africa,
where he was found seated amidst the ruins of
Carthage. His party becoming victorious, he
returned to Rome, where he died, 86 B. C.
MARLBOROUGH, (Churchill, John) duke
of, prince of the Roman empire, was born at
Ashe, in Devonshire, in 1650, and received an
indifferent education, for his father took him to
court at the age of 12 years. About 1666, he
was made an ensign in the guards, and served
for sometime at Tangier. In 1672 he was with
the duke of Monmouth, who served with the
French against the Dutch, and was made cap-
tain of grenadiers. The conduct of Mr. Chur-
chill at the battle of Nimeguen gained the par-
ticular notice of Marshal Turenne, who called
him the handsome Englishman. At the siege
of Maestricht, his bravery was so distinguished
that the French king thanked him particularly
at the head of the line. He was made, on his
return to England, lieutenant-colonel, gentle-
man of the bed-chamber, and master of the robes
to the duke of York. He attended that prince
to Holland, and into Scotland, and about this
time married Miss Jennings, a lady in waiting
of Anne, afterwards queen of Great Britain.
In 1682 he was made a peer, by the title of
Baron Eymouth in Scotland ; and when James
came to the crown, he was sent ambassador to
France to announce the event. In 1685 he
was created Lord Churchill of Sandridge in the
county of Hertford. The same year he sup-
pressed Monmouth's rebellion, and took him
prisoner, and continued to serve king James
with great fidelity, until the arrival of the prince
of Orange, when he left him, but without tak-
ing any soldiers with him. The prince was
proud of this acquisition, gave his lordship a
gracious reception, and intrusted him with the
sole regulation of the army. In 1689 he was
sworn of the privy council, and made one of
the gentlemen of the bed-chamber of the king,
and created earl of Marlborough. The same
year he was sent to Holland as commander of
the English forces. He next served in Ireland,
and reduced Cork with other strong places. But
notwithstanding these important services, he
was dismissed from his employments, and com-
mitted to the tower; from which, however, he
was soon released. The cause of this injustice
has never been explained.
At the commencement of queen Anne's reign,
the earl came to England, whence he had been
sent ambassador to Holland, and recommended
a speedy war with France and Spain, which
advice was followed. He then went to the con-
tinent, as captain-general of the English forces,
and performed many brilliant actions through-
out his various campaigns, too numerous in-
deed to be detailed here. At the battle of Ram-
illies, May 12, 1706, he narrowly escaped death,
a cannon-shot taking off the head of Colonel
Bingly, as he was helping the duke to his horse.
In 1711 he returned to England, but was soon
deprived of his employments by queen Anne,
whose successor, however, restored him his
military appointments. He died June 15, 1722.
A distinguished poet thus mentions this great
warrior : —
" 'Twas then great Marlb'rough's mighty soul was
proved,
That in the shock of charging hosts unmoved,
Amidst confusion, horror, and despair,
Examined all the dreadful scenes of war ;
In peaceful thought the field of death surveyed,
To fainting squadrons sent the timely aid ;
Inspired repulsed battalions to engage,
And taught the doubtful battle where to rage.
So when an angel, by divine command,
With rising tempests shakes a guilty land,
(Such as of late o'er pale Britannia past,)
Calm and serene he drives the furious blast,
And pleased th' Almighty's wonders to perform,
Rides on the whirlwind, and directs the storm."
MARMONTEL, John Francis, an eminent
French writer, born at Bort, in Limousin, in
1719. He was the son of a tailor, but educated
at the college of Toulouse, and afterwards
made an abbe. He was imprisoned in the Bas-
tille for writing a satire on an influential per-
son, but escaped the revolutionary fury. He
died in 1798 at Abbeville. His literary char-
acter depends chiefly on his Moral Tales.
MARS, in ancient mythology, the son of
Juno, and the god of war. He is represented
with a helmet on his head, a spear in his hand,
often on a car, animated with the ardor of bat-
tle. The Romans honored him most, and erect-
ed many temples to him. His priests, the Salii,
celebrated his festivals by dancing, and beating
their bucklers in accord to music. He was the
favorite of Venus, and completely supplanted
Vulcan, who, however, revenged himself.
MARTIN ICO, or MARTINIQUE, the larg-
est of the Carribee islands, belonging to France,
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contains 332,865 inhabitants. The productions
are sugar, tobacco, coffee, cassava, &c. The
climate is very warm.
MARY STUART, queen of Scots, daughter
of James V, of Scotland, and Mary of Lorraine,
was born in 1532, and eight days after her birth,
inherited the throne by the death of her father.
The regency refused the politic offer of Hen-
ry VIII, to unite both kingdoms by the marriage
of his son Edward with the heiress of Scotland.
At six years of age, she was contracted to the
dauphin of France, and resided at Paris till the
marriage was solemnized in 1548. There she
committed her first political error, in deference
to the wishes of her father-in-law; assuming
the title of queen of England, on the ground of
Elizabeth's illegitimacy from the unlawfulness
of Catharine's divorce. Such an act could not
be forgotten by a woman of Elizabeth's feelings ;
and accordingly, on Mary's arrival in Scotland,
on the death of Francis, Elizabeth never left
unemployed a single opportunity of ruining
her. Mary was also a formidable rival in point
of female attraction, and Elizabeth could not
forgive her competitor in being surpassed by
her in beauty.
Through the intrigues of Elizabeth, Mary,
who had many offers much more suited to her
rank, gave her hand to Lord Darnley, a weak but
impetuous man, who was noway calculated to
retain her affections. Mary, in return for his
slighting and capricious conduct, gave unbe-
coming countenance to an Italian musician,
named Rizzio, who was invidiously supposed
to share the privileges of her husband. Darnley
joined some other nobles, who getting privately
into the palace, burst into the queen's room,
and murdered Rizzio before her face.
She now transferred her favors to James
Hepburn, earl Bothwell, to whom, although at
first disagreeable to her, she seems to have
given herself away, principally to accomplish
her revenge upon her husband. Darnley was
soon after killed by an explosion of his house
from gunpowder, and the general voice of his-
tory attributes the design to the Queen. Her
subsequent conduct confirmed the belief: Both-
well was publicly impeached for the murder,
and the Queen markedly implicated ; yet after
a scene of mock violence and plotted detention,
she gave her hand to the alleged murderer of
her husband. Neither party, however, was
long allowed to reap the advantage of the con-
nexion. Bothwell, being opposed by a powerful
confederacy of the nobles, fled, and perished
miserably in Norway.
The confederate lords then obliged Mary to
sign a renunciation of her crown in favopof her
son, and she herself was committed as a prisoner,
and secluded from her friends. The place of
her confinement in the castle of Lochleven was
all but inaccessible ; but Mary's beauty had pro-
cured her a friend in one of her attendants, and
by his means she contrived to escape. She
found herself very speedily at the head of a con-
siderable body of troops, who proclaimed her
pretensions, and prepared to maintain them
against those of the regent. They were, how-
ever, worsted in an engagement which ensued;
and Mary, panic-struck, fled towards England,
and put herself under the protection of one of
Elizabeth's governors.
This was exactly what that princess had hoped.
She, however, disguised her designs under the
mask of friendship ; affected to pity the forlorn,
condition of the fugitive queen; and, under the
idea of granting her an asylum, betrayed her
into a prison. Elizabeth thus became the arbi-
ter between Mary and her late subjects, and a
sort of court was appointed to hear both parties,
and decide between them ; but the proceedings
were stopped by Mary refusing to answer the
accusations brought against her.
During Mary's continuance in confinement,
she engaged the affection of the Duke of Nor-
folk, a favorite of Queen Elizabeth, but who
seems very readily to have entered into those
ambitious views which such an alliance would
naturally open to him. The design, however,
was discovered, and Norfolk was committed to
the Tower. On the promise of renouncing his
scheme he was released ; but on violating it,
was again committed, tried, and executed.
Mary had, by the countenance she gave to this
plan, rendered herself sufficiently odious to a
people who almost adored the woman she wa3
endeavoring to supplant; and, on the discovery
of a traitorous correspondence with Spain, in
which Mary had coolly acceded to the plot of
assassinating the Queen, the anger and violence
of the English people knew no bounds ; and
though it may well be doubted whether even
this act could justify the subjecting of an inde-
pendent princess to trial and punishment by a
foreign people, the general exasperatfcn pre-
vailed, and Elizabeth, with well-feigned reluc-
tance, signed the warrant for her cousin's exe-
cution.
Mary's character ever rose with her misfor-
tunes, and now at their climax displayed a firm-
ness and an energy of which her impetuous
temper and fluctuating policy had excited little
MAR
333
MAR
suspicion. After a long confinement at Cov-
entry, she was removed to Fotheringay Castle,
to undergo the formality of a trial. When
brought before the commissioners she disclaimed
their authority, and asserted her innocence.
The commissioners, after hearing her defence,
declared her guilty of conspiring the death of
Elizabeth, and condemned her to death. Mary
received the tidings with complacency. Many
foreign powers interested themselves in her
behalf; and her son James endeavored to save
her life, but in vain.
A warrant was sent down, and read to the
royal captive, who only entreated that she might
be permitted the consolations of her own reli-
gion ; but even this favor was inhumanly re-
fused. She was beheaded in the castle of Foth-
eringay, Feb. 8, 1587, after praying to God to
forgive all who had thirsted for her blood. Her
remains were interred in Peterborough cathe-
dral, from whence, with filial piety, they were
afterwards removed by her son, and deposited
in Westminster Abbey.
The last letter the Queen of Scots ever ad-
dressed to Elizabeth, as well as the base man-
ner in which she treated it, may prove interest-
ing.
" Madam, I thank God from the bottom of
my heart that, by the sentence which has been
passed against me, he is about to put an end to
my tedious pilgrimage. 1 would not wish it
prolonged, though it were in my power, having
had enough of time to experience its bitterness.
I write at present only to make three last re-
quests, which, as I can expect no favor from
your implacable ministers, I should wish to owe
to your majesty and to no other. First, as in
England I cannot hope to be buried according
to the solemnities of the Catholic church (the
religion of the ancient kings, your ancestors
and mine, being now changed), and as in Scot-
land they have already violated the ashes of my
progenitors, I have to request, that as soon as
my enemies have bathed their hands in my in-
nocent blood, my domestics may be allowed to
inter my body in some consecrated ground ;
and ab»ve all, that they may be permitted to
carry ™ to France, where the bones of the
Queen, my most honored mother, repose. Thus,
that poor frame which has never enjoyed repose
so long as it has been joined to my soul, may
find it at last when they will be separated.
Second, as I dread the tyranny of the harsh men
to whose power you have abandoned me, I en-
treat your majesty that I may not be executed
in secret, but in the presence of my servants
and other persons who may bear testimony of
my faith and fidelity to the true church, and
guard the last hours of my life and my last
sighs from the false rumors which my adversa-
ries may spread abroad. Third, I request that
my domestics, who have served me through so
much misery and with so much constancy, may
be allowed to retire without molestation where-
ever they choose, to enjoy for the remainder of
their lives the small legacies which my poverty
has enabled me to bequeath to them. I conjure
you, madam, by the blood of Jesus Christ, by
our consanguinity, by the memory of Henry
VII, our common father, and by the royal title
which I carry with me to death, not to refuse
me those reasonable demands, but to assure me,
by a letter under your own hand, that you will
comply with them ; and I shall then die as I
have lived, your affectionate sister and prisoner,
Mary Queen of Scots."
Whether Elizabeth ever answered this letter
does not appear ; but it produced so little effect,
that epistles from her to Sir Amias Paulet still
exist, which prove that in her anxiety to avoid
taking upon herself the responsibility of Mary's
death, she wished to have her privately assas-
sinated or poisoned. Paulet, however, though
a harsh and violent man, positively refused to
sanction so nefarious a scheme. Yet in the
very act of instigating murder, Elizabeth could
close her eyes against her own iniquity, and
affect indignation at the alleged offences of
another. But perceiving, at length, that no al-
ternative remained, she ordered her secretary
Davidson to bring her the warrant for Mary's
execution, and after perusing it, she deliberately
affixed her signature. She then desired him
to carry it to Walsingham, saying, with an iron-
ical smile, and in a "merry tone," that she
feared he would die of grief when he saw it.
Walsingham sent the warrant to the chancellor,
who affixed the great seal to it, and despatched
it by Beal, with a commission to the Earls of
Shrewsbury, Kent, Derby, and others, to see it
put in execution. Davidson was afterwards
made the victim of Elizabeth's artifice, — who,
to complete the solemn farce she had been
playing, pretended he had obeyed her orders
too quickly, and doomed him in consequence
to perpetual imprisonment.
From tyrants like these who would have ex-
pected either mercy or justice ? Mary was per-
fectly resigned to her fate, and met it like one
who placed the most unwavering reliance in
the efficacy of the religion she professed. After
hearing the warrant for her execution, she said
MAR
334
MAR
that though " she was sorry it came from Eliza-
beth, she had long been expecting the man-
date for her death, and was not unprepared to
die." " For many years," she added, " I have
lived in continual affliction, unable to do good
to myself or to those who are dear to me ; and
as I shall depart innocent of the crime which
has been laid to my charge, I cannot see why
I should shrink from the prospect of immortal-
ity." She then laid her hand on the New Tes-
tament, and solemnly protested that she had
never either devised, compassed, or consented
to the death of the Queen of England. Before
leaving the world, Mary felt a natural curiosity
to be informed upon several subjects of public
interest, which, though connected with herself,
and generally known, had not penetrated the
walls of her prison. She asked if no foreign
princes had interfered in her behalf, — if her
secretaries were still alive, — if it was intended
to punish them as well as her, — if they brought
no letters from Elizabeth or others, — and, above
all, if her son, the King of Scotland, was well,
and had evinced any interest in the fate of a
mother who had always loved and never wrong-
ed him. Being satisfied upon these points, she
proceeded to inquire when her execution was
to take place ? Shrewsbury replied that it was
fixed for the next morning at eight. She ap-
peared startled and agitated for a few minutes,
saying that it was more sudden than she had
anticipated, and that she had yet to make her
will, which she had hitherto deferred, in the
expectation that the papers and letters which
had been forcibly taken from her would be re-
stored. She soon, however, regained her self-
possession ; and informing the commissioners
that she desired to be left alone to make her
preparations, she dismissed them for the night.
Upon Bourgoine making the remark that
' more than a few hours was allowed to the
meanest criminal,' she said "she must submit
with resignation to her fate, and learn to regard
it as the will of God." She then requested her
attendants to kneel with her, and she prayed
fervently for some time in the midst of them.
Afterward, while supper was preparing, she
employed herself in putting all the money she
had by her into separate purses, and affixed to
each, with her own hand, the name of the per-
son for whom she intended it. At supper,
though she sat down to table, she ate little. Her
mind, however, was in perfect composure ; and
daring the repast, though she spoke little, placid
smiles were frequently observed to pass over
her countenance. — The calm magnanimity of
their mistress only increased the distress of her
servants. They saw her sitting among them
in her usual health, and with almost more than
her usual cheerfulness, partaking of the viands
that were set before her ; yet they knew that it
was the last meal at which they should ever be
present together ; and that the interchange of
affectionate service upon their part, and of con-
descending attention and endearing gentleness
on hers, which had linked them to her for so
many years, was now about to terminate for
ever. Far from attempting to offer her conso-
lation, they were unable to discover any for
themselves. As soon as the melancholy meal
was over, Mary desired that a cup of wine should
be given to her ; and putting it to her lips, drank
to the health of each of her attendants by name.
She requested that they would pledge her in
like manner; and each, falling on his knee, and
mingling tears with the wine, drank to her,
asking pardon at the same time for all the faults
he had ever committed. In the true spirit of
Christian humility, she not only willingly for-
gave them, but asked their pardon also. The
inventory of her wardrobe and furniture was
then brought to her ; and she wrote in the mar-
gin opposite each article the name of the person
to whom she wished it should be given. She
did the same with her rings, jewels, and all her
most valuable trinkets; and there was not one
of her friends or servants, either present or ab-
sent, to whom she forgot to leave a memorial.
These duties being discharged, Mary sat
down to her desk to arrange her papers, to finish
her will, and to write several letters. She then
drew up her last will and testament; and with-
out ever lifting her pen from the paper, or stop-
ping at intervals to think, she covered two large
sheets with close writing, forgetting nothing of
any moment, and expressing herself with all
that precision and clearness which distinguished
her style in the very happiest moments of her
life. She named as her four executors — the
Duke of Guise, her cousin-german ; the Arch-
bishop of Glasgow, her ambassador in France;
Lesley, Bishop of Ross ; and Monsieur de Ruys-
seau, her chancellor. She next wrote a letter
to her brother-in-law, the King of France, in
which she apologized for not being able to enter
into her affairs at greater length, as she had
only an hour or two to live, and had not been
informed till that day after dinner that she was
to be executed next morning. " Thanks be
unto God, however," she added, " I have no
terror at the idea of death, and solemnly declare
to you that I meet it innocent of every crime.
MAR
335
MAR
The bearer of this letter, and my other servants,
will recount to you how I comported myself in
,my last moments." The letter concluded with
[earnest entreaties that her faithful followers
should "be protected and rewarded. — Her anx-
iety on their account at such a moment indi-
cated all that amiable generosity of disposition
which was one of the leading features of Mary's
character. About two in the morning she sealed
up all her papers, and said she would now think
no more of the affairs of this world, but would
spend the rest of her time in prayer and com-
mune with her own conscience. She went to
bed for some hours ; but she did not sleep. Her
lips were observed in continual motion, and her
hands were frequently folded and lifted up to-
wards heaven.
On the morning of Wednesday, the 8th of
February, Mary rose with the break of day ; and
her domestics, who had watched and wept all
night, immediately gathered round her. She
told them that she had made her will, and re-
quested that they would see it safely deposited
in the hands of her executors. She likewise
besought them not to separate until they had
carried her body to France ; and she placed a
sum of money in the hands of her physician to
defray the expenses of the journey. Her earnest
desire was, to be buried either in the church of
St. Denis, in Paris, beside her first husband
Francis, or at Rheims, in the tomb which con-
tained the remains of her mother. She ex-
pressed a wish, too, that, besides her friends
and servants, a number of poor people and
children from different hospitals should be pres-
ent at her funeral, clothed in mourning at her
expense, and each, according to the Catholic
custom, carrying in his hand a lighted taper.
She now renewed her devotions, and was in
the midst of them, with her servants praying
and weeping round her, when a messenger from
the commissioners knocked at the door, to an-
nounce that all was reUdy. She requested a
little longer time to finish her prayers, which
was granted. As soon as she desired the door
to be opened, the sheriff, carrying in his hand
the white wand of office, entered to conduct her
to the place of execution. Her servants crowded
round her, and insisted on being allowed to
accompany her to the scaffold. But contrary
orders having been given by Elizabeth, they
were told that she must proceed alone. — Against
a piece of such arbitrary cruelty they remon-
strated loudly, but in vain ; for as soon as Mary
passed into the gallery, the door was closed,
and believing that they were separated from
her for ever, the shrieks of the women and the
scarcely less audible lamentations of the men
were heard in distant parts of the castle.
At the foot of the staircase leading down to
the hall below, Mary was met by the Earls of
Kent and Shrewsbury ; and she was allowed to
stop to take farewell of Sir Andrew Melvil, the
master of her household, whom her keepers had
not allowed to come into her presence for some
time before. With tears in his eyes Melvil
knelt before her, kissed her hand, and declared
that it was the heaviest hour of his life. Mary
assured him that it was not so to her. " I now
feel, my good Melvil," said she, " that all this
world is vanity. When you speak of me here-
after, mention that I died firm in my faith, wil-
ling to forgive my enemies, conscious that I had
never disgraced Scotland my native country,
and rejoicing in the thought that I had always
been true to France, the land of my happiest
years. Tell my son," she added, and when
she named her only child, of whom she had
been so proud in his infancy, but in whom all
her hopes had been so fatally blasted, her feel-
ings for the first time overpowered her, and a
flood of tears flowed from her eyes — " tell my
son that I thought of him in my last moments,
and that I have never yielded, either by word
or deed, to aught that might lead to his preju-
dice ; desire him to preserve the memory of his
unfortunate parent, and may he be a thousand
times more happy and more prosperous than
she has been."
Before taking leave of Melvil, Mary turned
to the commissioners, and told them that her
three last requests were, that her secretary Curl,
whom she blamed less for his treachery than
Naw, should not be punished; that her servants
should have free permission to depart to France ;
and that some of them should be allowed to
come down from the apartments above to see
her die. The earls answered, that they believed
the two former of these requests would be grant-
ed ; but that they could not concede the last,
alleging, as their excuse, that the affliction of
her attendants would only add to the severity
of her sufferings. But Mary was resolved that
some of her own people should witness her last
moments. " I will not submit to the indignity,"
she said, "of permitting my body to fall into
the hands of strangers. You are the servants
of a maiden queen, and she herself, were she
here, would yield to the dictates of humanity,
and permit some of those who have been so long
faithful to me to assist me at my death. Re-
member, too, that I am cousin to your mistress,
MAR
336
MAS
and the descendant of Henry VII; I am the
dowager of France, and the anointed queen of
Scotland." Ashamed of any further opposition,
the earls allowed her to name four male and
two female attendants, whom they sent for, and
permitted to remain beside her for the short
time she had yet to live.
The same hall in which the trial had taken
place was prepared for the execution. At the
upper end was the scaffold, covered with black
cloth, and elevated about two feet from the floor.
A chair was placed on it for the Queen of Scots.
On one side of the block stood two executioners,
and on the other the Earls of Kent and Shrews-
bury ; Beal and the sheriff" were immediately
behind. The scaffold was railed off from the
rest of the hall, in which Sir Amias Paulet with
a body of guards, the other commissioners, and
some gentlemen of the neighborhood, amounting
altogether to about two hundred persons, were
assembled. Mary entered, leaning on the arm
of her physician, while Sir Andrew Melvil car-
ried the train of her robe. She was in full dress,
and looked as if she were about to hold a draw-
ingroom, not to lay her head beneath the axe.
She wore a gown of black silk, bordered with
crimson velvet, over which was a satin mantle ;
a long veil of white crape, stiffened with wire,
and edged with rich lace, hung down almost to
the ground ; round her neck was suspended an
ivory crucifix, and the beads which the Catho-
lics use in their prayers were fastened to her
girdle. The symmetry of her fine figure had
long been destroyed by her sedentary life ; and
years of care had left many a trace on her beau-
tiful features. But the dignity of the queen
was still apparent; and the calm grace of men-
tal serenity imparted to her countenance at
least some share of its former loveliness. With
a composed and steady step she passed through
the hall, and ascended the scaffold, — and as she
listened unmoved while Beal read aloud the
warrant for her death, even the myrmidons of
Elizabeth looked upon her with admiration.
Mary Queen of Scots, died in the forty-fifth
year of her age. Her remains now repose in
Westminster Abbey, about ten yards from the
tomb of Elizabeth.
MARYLAND, one of the southern states,
divided into two parts by Chesapeake bay
which extends from north to south, and thus
forms the Eastern shore and the Western shore.
Population 446,913. The eastern shore, which
is low and level, is sandy, and, below the falls
of the rivers, the western shore is similar. But
above these the ground gradually rises until
the western part of the state is quite mountain-
ous. Annapolis is the seat of government, but
Baltimore is the largest place in the state, and
the third city in the union. The university of
Maryland, St. Mary's college, and Rutger's col-
lege, are all well endowed and respectable in-
stitutions. There are many other seminaries in
different parts of the state. The most important
articles of export are flour and tobacco. Charles
I, in 1632, made a grant of this country to lord
Baltimore, a Catholic, who commenced a settle-
ment here with about 200 Catholics, in 1634.
MASHAM, Abigail, bed-chamber woman to
queen Anne, in which situation she supplanted
the duchess of Marlborough, and procured the
dismissal of the whig ministry, which led to the
peace of Utrecht in 1713.
MASINISSA, king of a small country in Af-
rica, took part with the Carthaginians against
Rome, but afterwards became the ally of the
Romans, who were indebted to him for many
victories. At his death he made Scipio iEmi-
lianus guardian of his kingdom. He died B. C.
149.
MASK, IRON, or Man in the Iron Mask, the
most singular prisoner ever confined within the
walls of the Bastile ; of whom, notwithstanding
all the curiosity and conjecture that have been
employed to ascertain his quality and pedigree,
nothing authentic has transpired to the present
time. In 1698 he was brought from the island
of St. Marguerite by Mons. de St. Mars, the
newly-appointed governor of the Bastile, was at-
tended with the greatest respect, maintained a
sumptuous table, and had every possible indul-
gence shown him until the time of his death in
Nov. 19, 1703. This mysterious prisoner, on his
removal to the Bastile, was carried in a litter,
accompanied by several men on horseback, who
had orders to put him to death, if he made the
slightest attempt to show his face or otherwise
discover himself. His face was concealed with
a mask of black velvet with springs of steel,
which were so constructed that he could eat
without taking it off. A physician of the Bas-
tile, who had often attended him, said he had
never seen his face, though he had frequently
examined his tongue and other parts of his body ;
but added, that he was admirably well made,
that his skin was brown, his voice interesting;
that he was very accomplished, read much,
played on the guitar, and had an exquisite taste
for lace and fine linen.
The pains taken in his concealment show
that he was a person of considerable quality and
importance, and from the following circum-
MAS
337
MAS
stances it appears singular that he was never
discovered. Whilst at St. Marguerite, he one
day wrote something with his knife on a silver
plate, which he threw from the window towards
a boat, lying near the tower. A fisherman took
up the plate and brought it to the governor, who,
with great astonishment, asked the man if he
had read the writing or showed it to any one ;
and, although the fisherman answered in the
negative, kept him in confinement until he was
perfectly satisfied, after which he dismissed
him, saying, " It is lucky for you that you can-
not read." The abbe Papon says, in the year
1778, I had the curiosity to visit the apartment
of this unfortunate prisoner : it looks towards
the sea. I found in the citadel an officer in the
independent company there, 7!) years of age.
He told me that his father had often related to
him that a young lad, a barber, having seen one
day something white floating on the water, took
it up. It was a very fine shirt, written almost
all over ; he carried it to Mons. de St. Mars,
who, having looked at some parts of the writing,
asked the lad, with an appearance of anxiety,
if he had not had the curiosity to read it? He
assured him he had not, but two days after-
wards the boy was found dead in his bed.
Immediately after the prisoner's death, his
apparel, linen, clothes, mattresses, and every-
thing that had been used by him, were burnt;
the walls of his room were scraped, the floor
was taken up, and every precaution used that
no trace of him might be left behind ; and yet
there are traces. When he was on the road
from St. Marguerite to his last residence, Mons.
de St. Mars was overheard to reply to a question
of the prisoner, relative to any design against his
life. "No, prince, your life is in safety; you
must only allow yourself to be conducted."
A prisoner told M. la Grange Chancel that
he was lodged, with other prisoners, in the room
immediately over this celebrated captive, and
found means of speaking to him by the vents of
the chimney ; but he refused to inform them
who he was, alleging, that it would cost him
his own life, as well as the lives of those to
whom the secret might be revealed. Various
have been the individuals supposed to have
been the masked prisoner ; particularly the duke
de Beaufort, the count de Vermandois, a foreign
minister, and the duke of Monmouth, have been
conjectured in turn. Collateral facts, neverthe-
less, demonstrate that neither of these could
have been the person. Voltaire, who has ex-
pressly written on this mysterious affair, says,
that the secret was known to Monsieur de
Chamillard, and that the son-in-law of that
minister conjured him on his death bed to tell
him the name of the man with the mask ; but
he replied it was a state secret, which he had
sworn never to divulge.
From the account given in a work published
in Paris, in 171)0, it appears that this unfortu-
nate person was the twin brother of Louis XIV,
born eight hours after this monarch, and who
was the unhappy victim of superstition and
cruelty. His father Louis XIII, being weak
enough to give credit to the prediction of some
impostors, that if the queen should be delivered
of twins, the kingdom would be involved in
civil war, ordered the birth of this prince to be
kept a profound secret; and had him privately
educated in the country as the illegitimate son
of a nobleman : but on the accession of Louis
XIV the young man gave indications of having
discovered his parentage, of which his brother
being informed, ordered him to be imprisoned
for life, and to wear a mask in order to prevent
his beinc recognised.
MASSACHUSETTS, one of the New Eng-
land states, contains 010,014 inhabitants, accord-
ing to the last census. Parts of the state are
very hilly. The Green mountains cross the
western part of the state from N. to S. Massa-
chusetts is the most commercial state of the
Union, and the third as regards manufactures
which are rapidly increasing. Boston is the
capital, and the literary and commercial me-
tropolis of the state. Other large and impor-
tant towns are Salem, Lowell, New-Bedford,
Newburyport, Marblehead, Beverly, Charles-
town, Cambridge, Plymouth, Lynn, Nantucket,
Springfield, Woicester, &c. The literary in-
stitutions of Massachusetts rank deservedly
high. Harvard university at Cambridge, is the
oldest, and best endowed institution in the Uni-
ted States. With it are connected, a theologi-
cal, a law, and a medical school. Its library is
the largest in the United States, containing about
40,000 volumes. Williams college at Williams-
town, the Collegiate Charity institution at Am-
herst, and the theological seminary at Andover,
are all valuable institutions, and worthy of the
patronage they receive.
This state comprises the two former colonies
of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay, which
were united under one government in 1092.
The first English settlement was made at Ply-
mouth, by 101 Puritans, who fled from religious
persecution, and landed on the iron-bound coast
MAT
338
MAZ
in the severity of mid-winter, December 22d,
1020. The men of Massachusetts were fore-
most in the expeditions undertaken by the Brit-
ish against the French in America. Their blood
was shed before Quebec and at Louisburg. and
their best and bravest were ever ready in the
field to support the interests of their parent
country. At length, when the oppressive meas-
ures of Britain could no longer be submitted to,
Massachusetts was the seat of the earliest con-
flicts in favor of liberty. The plains of Lexing-
ton and Concord, and the heights of Charles-
town, have become hallowed by the American
blood that bedewed them, and the glorious ex-
ample of Massachusetts was speedily followed
by the sister colonies.
In 178u', an insurrection broke out under one
Shays, but he was defeated at Springfield, in
1787. Since then nothing has occurred to dis-
turb the tranquillity, or affect the prosperity of
this flourishing and wealthy State.
MASSANIELLO, a contraction for Thomas
Aniello, the name of a Neapolitan fisherman,
who headed a revolt of his countrymen, and
threw off the Spanish yoke. Like many men
of low origin who have suddenly risen to sove-
reign power, he became bewildered by change
of his fortunes, and his frenzy was probabiy
heightened by his intemperate habits, which
impelled him to commit many acts of sanguin-
ary violence, and he was killed A. D. 1040.
MASSENA, Andre, duke of Rivoli, and
prince of Esslingen, marshal of France, born at
IN ice in 1758, was a favorite general of Napo-
leon, and, in consequence of his success during
his Italian campaign, was called by the emperor
the darling of victory. In 17il9, he defeated the
Russians at Zurich, and in the following year
defended Genoa during a protracted siege. In
1810 he was frustrated in his pursuit of lord
Wellington before the lines of Torres Vedras.
He died in 1817.
MATHIAS CORV1NUS, called the great,
king of Hungary and Bohemia, was the son of
John Hunniades. The enemies of his father
confined him in prison in Bohemia ; but on re-
gaining his liberty he was elected king of Hun-
gary in 1458. His election, however, was op-
posed by many of the Hungarian lords, who
offered the crown to Frederick III. The Turks
profiting by these divisions invaded the coun-
try, but were expelled by Mathias, who com-
pelled Frederick to yield to him the crown of
St. Stephen, of which he had obtained posses-
sion. The war was afterwards renewed, and
Mathia3 overrunning Austria, took Vienna and
Neustadt, on which the emperor was obliged to
make a peace in 1487.
Mathias reformed many abuses, particularly
with respect to duels and law-suits, and was
preparing an expedition against the Turks when
lie died of an apoplexy in 1490.
MATILDA, or Maud, the daughter of Henry
I, king of England, and wife of Henry IV,
Emperor of Germany, was nominated in 1135
successor to the English throne by her father ;
but in her absence Stephen usurped the title.
Arriving in England with a large army in 1139
she defeated Stephen, and was acknowledged
queen in a parliament held in 1141.
Stephen afterwards defeated the empress, on
which the national synod declared for him, and
Matilda was obliged to leave the kingdom. On
the death of the emperor she married Geoffrey
Plantagenet, earl of Anjou, by whim she had a
son, afterwards Henry II, king of England.
Matilda died in 1167, aged 67.
MAXENTIUS, Marcus Aurelius Valerius,
Roman emperor, was the son of Maximianus
Hercules, and declared himself Augustus in
300. He was opposed by Galerius Maximianus,
who was defeated, and slew himself. Maxen-
tius then marched into Africa, where he be-
came odious by his cruelties. Constantine af-
terwards defeated him in Italy, and he was
drowned in crossing the Tiber in 312.
Before the battle, Constantine adopted the
cross as his standard, and after the victory,
made Christianity the religion of the empire.
MAXIMINUS, Caius Julius Verus, Emperor
of Rome, was the son of a peasant in Thrace,
and having displayed great courage in the Ro-
man armies, he rose to command. On the death
of Alexander Se verus, he caused himself to be
proclaimed emperor A. D. 235. He was a great
persecutor ; and put to death above 4000 per-
sons, on suspicion of their being concerned in a
conspiracy against him. His soldiers assassi-
nated him near Aquikia, A. D. 250. His stat-
ure and strength were very extraordinary : and
his disposition proportionably brutal. Forty
pounds of meat, and eighteen bottles of wine,
were his ordinary allowance for a day. His
strength was such that he is said to have stopped
a chariot in full speed with one of his fingers.
MAZARIN, Julius, a Roman cardinal and
minister of state, was born in Piscina in Italy, in
1002. Being appointed Nuncio Extraordinary
to France, he acquired the friendship of Riche-
lieuand the confidence of Louis XIII. In 1041,
Pope Urban VIII made him cardinal ; and on
the death of Richelieu, Louis appointed him
MEC
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MEN
Minister of State. He was also nominated one
of the executors of the king's will, and had the
principal management of affairs during the mi-
nority of Louis XIV ; but at length the mur-
murs of the people rose so much against him,
that he found it expedient to quit the kingdom,
and a price was set on his head.
He afterwards recovered his power, and con-
tinued to render the state the most important
services, the principal of which was the restor-
ing peace between France and Spain in 1659.
His application to business produced a disease,
of which he died in 1661.
MAZEPPA, John, a Polish gentleman, born
in the palatinate of Podolia, was educated as the
page of Jean Casimir, and, at his court, became
acquainted with letters. An intrigue in his
youth with the wife of a Polish gentleman
caused him to be bound, naked, to the back of
a wild horse.
" ' Bring forth the horse ! ' — the horse was brought ;
In truth, lie was a noble steed,
A Tartar of the Ukraine breed ;
Who look'd as though the speed of thought
Were in his limbs ; but be was wild,
Wild as the wild deer, and untaught ;
With spur and bridle undefiled —
'Tivas but a day he had been caught ;
And snorting, with erected mane,
And struggling fiercely, but in vain,
In the full foam of wrath and dread,
To him the desert-born was led." Byron.
On being loosed, the horse, which was of the
Ukraine, returned thither, bearing Mazeppa,
who arrived, half dead with hunger and fatigue.
Some peasants afforded him succor, and he
remained a long time among them, signalizing
himself in many exertions against the Tartars.
The superiority of his understanding acquired
him the respects of the Cossacks, and, in con-
sequence of his increasing reputation, the czar
was constrained to make him Prince of the
Ukraine. He, however, joined Charles XII,
and fought for him at the fatal battle of Pultawa.
In some parts of Germany, during the feudal
times, an infringement of the forest-laws, was
punished by chaining the offender to the back
of a wild stag, which bounded away with him,
through thorny thickets, and wild passes, until
death relieved him of his sufferings.
MECCA, a large city of Arabia, formerly
containing 100,001) inhabitants; the present
population is about 60,000. It derives its cele-
brity from being the birth-place of Mahomet,
and the seat of his power, and accordingly every
pious Mussulman makes a pilgrimage to it at
least once in his life. Here a conspiracy was
formed against the prophet, and flight was his
only resource. After an exile of seven years,
however, the fugitive missionary was enthroned
as the prince and prophet of his native country.
MEDIA, a celebrated country of Asia. It
was originally called Aria, till the age of Medus,
the son of Medea, who gave it the name of Me-
dia. The province of Media was first raised
into a kingdom by its revolt from the Assyrian
monarchy, B. C. 820 ; and, after it had for some
time enjoyed a kind of republican government,
Deioces. by artifice, procured himself to be called
king, 700 B. C. After a reign of 53 years, he
was succeeded by Phraotes, B. C. 647 ; who
was succeeded by Cyaxares, B. C. 625. His
successor was Astyages, B. C. 585, in whose
reign Cyrus became master of Media, B. C.
551 ; and ever after the country was occupied
by the Persians.
The Medes were warlike in the primitive
ages of their power ; they encouraged poly-
gamy, and were remarkable for the homage
which they paid to their sovereigns, who were
styled kings of kings. This title was afterwards
adopted by their conquerors, the Persians ; and
it was still in use in the age of the Roman em-
perors.
MEDICIS, Cosmo, called the elder, the foun-
der of an illustrious family at Florence, was a
merchant, and was born in 1389. He acquired
great wealth, which he appropriated to the no-
ble purposes of advancing learning, and sup-
porting learned men. He collected a noble
library, which he enriched with inestimable
manuscripts. The envy excited against him
by his riches, raised him many enemies, by
whose intrigues he was obliged to quit his na-
tive country. He then retired to Venice, where
he was received as a prince. His fellow-citizens
afterwards recalled him, and he bore a prin-
cipal share in the government of the republic
thirty years. He died in 1464. On his tomb
was engraved this inscription : The Father of
his people, and the Deliverer of his Country.
MEDINA, or Medina el Nebi, a city of Ara-
bia, celebrated from its containing the tomb of
Mahomet ; during his residence there it was at-
tacked by an army of 10,000 enemies, but the
prudence of Mahomet declined a general en-
gagement, and the confederates at length retired.
MEDINA SIDONIA, Alfonso Perez Guz-
man, Duke de, commander of the celebrated
Spanish armada in 1588.
MENZIKOFF, Alexander, a prince of the
Russian empire, was the son of a peasant, and
the servant of a pastry-cook, who employed him
to cry pies about the streets. His appearance
MEX
340
MEX
pleasing Peter the Great, he took him into his
service. Menzikoff soon insinuated himself
into the confidence of his sovereign, who made
him governor of Ingria, with the rank of major-
general, and at length conferred on him the title
of prince. In 1713 he was accused of pecula-
tion, and condemned to pay a heavy fine, which
the czar remitted and restored him to favor.
Under the czarina Catharine he had still more
power, and his daughter was married to Peter
II, who made Menzikoff duke of Cozel, and
grand master of the imperial hotel. But by the
intrigues of Dolgorucki, mistress of the czar, he
fell into disgrace, and was banished to his es-
tate ; where he lived in such magnificence, that
Peter was persuaded to send him, for his own
safety, into Siberia, where he died in a poor hut,
in 1729.
MESSALINA, Valeria, daughter of Messala
Barbatus, and wife of the Emperor Claudian, an
abandoned woman. Having espoused her fa-
vorite Silius, in the lifetime of her husband,
she was put to death by order of the emperor,
A. D. 46. There was another of this name,
who was the third wife of Nero, after her first
husband Atticus had been put to death by that
tyrant. On the death of Nero she devoted the
remainder of her days to study, and acquired a
great reputation.
MESOPOTAMIA, or Diarbekr, part of the
kingdom of Assyria, which was founded by Pul
in 790 B. C. It underwent all the revolutions
of this and the Persian empire, till it was con-
quered by Trajan in 106 ; after which it several
times changed masters betwixt the Romans and
the Persians, but generally belonged to the lat-
ter, till it was conquered by the Saracens, to-
gether with the rest of Persia, in 651 . It was
seized by the Seljuks in 1046, and by Genghis
Khan in 1218. In 1360 Tur Ali Beg, the Turk-
man, founded the dynasty called Ak Koyunlu,
or the white sheep, in this country.
It submitted to Timur Begin 1400, but he did
not retain the conquest. In 1514 it was con-
quered by Ismael Sofi, the Persian, was half
conquered by the Turks in 1554, recovered by
the Persians in 1613, but completely reduced by
the Turks in 1637, when the emperor Morad
took Bagdat.
MEXICO, or New Spain; a republic of North
America, formerly belonging to Spain, and gov-
erned by a viceroy. The land attains an un-
common elevation in the interior, Mexico, the
capital, being 7,000 feet above the ocean. The
highest summit of the Cordilleras of Mexico, is
the volcanic peak of Popocatepetl, 17,716 feet
high. The climate on the coast is hot, and, in
general, unhealthy, but upon the high table-
land, it is uncommonly salubrious. A large
portion of the soil is fertile, producing maize,
wheat, sugar, indigo, tobacco, agave, different
kinds of fruits, bananas, manioc, vanilia, cocoa,
cochineal, logwood and mahogany. The an-
nual produce of the rich gold and silver mines,
for which Mexico is celebrated, is about
20,000.000 dollars. One of these mines is eight
miles in length, and, in one place, 1640 feet in
depth. The religion is Roman Catholic. Ed-
ucation is generally neglected, although there is
a university in the city of Mexico. The city is
well built, its streets are wide and airy, and it
contains many splendid public buildings. Pop-
ulation about 168,800. A large portion of the
population is composed of subdued Indians.
When the Spaniards, under Cortez, com-
menced the conquest of Mexico, they found the
native Indians far advanced in civilization,
wealthy, hospitable, liberal, and, in general, in-
offensive. They appeared to have an instinc-
tive dread of the foreigners, and yet treated
them with kindness. They were willing to
share their wealth with the Spaniards, but noth-
ing less than the whole would satisfy the cu-
pidity of the Christians. After scenes of cruel-
ty and treachery the Spanish leader completed
the conquest in 1521 . The country continued
under the jurisdiction of a Spanish viceroy, un-
til it declared itself independent in 1820. The
following description of a Mexican dinner is
given by a recent traveller. At dinner nothing
seemed so strange to me as the manner in which
the lady of the house leaves the table. It must
be premised that the dining-tables are so high,
that little men are much perplexed about get-
ting their food. Our hostess, who was small
and pretty fat, was seated so that her mouth was
at the edge of her plate and her shoulders under
the table. As soon as her appetite was satisfied,
she left the table at which we remained seated.
In the centre of the room was suspended a ham-
mock into which she flung herself with great
nonchalance, and giving herself a slight push
by applying her foot to a pillar, she swung to
and fro in this position. Soon after, one of her
waiting maids brought her a cigar rolled up in
paper, and after having lighted it, began to
smoke it herself and then stuck it in her mis-
tress' mouth. This operation was performed so
skilfully that the motion of the hammock did
not for a moment cease. Our pretty hostess
gave a fresh impulse to her dormitory, and
when the see-sawing motion had ceased, the
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341
MIL
cigar was smoked up, the lady asleep, and our
dinner ended.
MICHIGAN TERRITORY, belongs to the
United States, and is a peninsula, surrounded by
lakes and rivers, on all sides but the southern
extremity. The face of the country is general-
ly level, never rising into lofty elevations. Its
fertility, except in that part bordering on lake
Michigan, is very great. Detroit, the chief
town, has considerable trade. Michilimacki-
nack, a village, on an island in the straits of
Michilimackinack, 300 miles N. N. W. of De-
troit, is a thriving place.
MIDDLETON, Arthur, a distinguished
American patriot, was born in S. Carolina, in
1743, but was educated in England. As a mem-
ber of Congress, he signed the Declaration of
Independence, and lost a great part of his prop-
erty during the revolution. He died Jan. 1 , 1787.
MILAN, a duchy in the north of Italy, con-
tains 2,250,000 inhabitants. It was comprised,
with several other districts under the general
name of Lombardy, until the 14th century, when
Visconti, a Milanese nobleman, purchased the
ducal title from the reigning emperor ; the
marriage of his daughter to the duke of Or-
leans, gave rise to the pretensions of the kings
of France to this duchy. After the death of the
last duke of this line, Francis Sforza, a man of
family and talents, so ingratiated himself with
the people, that he was unanimously chosen
duke in 1450.
On the extinction of the Sforza family a cen-
tury after, the emperor Charles V gave the
Milanese as a fief of the empire to his son Philip
II, king of Spain, and it remained an appendage
to that crown till 170G, when a brilliant cam-
paign of Prince Eugene, put it in possession of
the house of Austria, to which, with the excep-
tion of the Sardinian Milanese, it continued
subject during 90 years, until the victories of
Bonaparte in 1796. On the formation of the
Cisalpine republic, the whole of Milan, divided
into four departments, was comprised in it ; but
on the restoration of the old order of things, in
1814, the part belonging to the king of Sardinia,
was restored, and the remainder incorporated
with Austrian Italy.
MILAN, capital city of the duchy of the
same name, contains many splendid public
buildings, and 130,000 inhabitants. The French
made themselves masters of it in 179G; but
were driven out in 1799 by the victorious
army of the Austrians and Russians. After
the battle of Marengo, Milan again fell into
the hands of the French, and continued the
seat of their viceroy until the fall of Bonaparte
in 1814.
MILTIADES,an Athenian, married Ilegc-
sipyla, the daughter of Olorus, the king of the
Thracians. In the third year of bis government
his dominions were threatened by an invasion
of the Scythian Nomades, whom Darius had
sometime before irritated by entering their coun-
try. He fled before them ; but, as their hostili-
ties were but momentary, he was soon restored
to his kingdom. Three years after he left Cher-
sonesus, and set sail for Athens, where he was
received with great applause.
He was present at the celebrated battle of
Marathon, in which all the chief officers ceded
their power to him, and left the event of the
battle to depend upon his superior abilities. He
obtained an important victory over the more
numerous forces of his adversaries ; and when
he had demanded of his fellow-citizens an olive
crown, as the reward of his valor in the field
of battle, he was not only refused, but severely
reprimanded for presumption. Some time after
Miltiades was intrusted with a fleet of 70 ships,
and ordered to punish those islands which had
rovolted to the Persians.
He was successful at first ; but a sudden re-
port that a Persian fleet was coming to attack
him, changed his operations as he was besieg-
ing Paros.
He raised the siege and returned to Athens,
where he was accused of treason, and particu-
larly of holding a correspondence with the ene-
my. The falsity of these accusations might have
appeared, if Miltiades had been able to come into
the assembly. A wound which he had received
before Paros detained him at home ; and his
enemies, taking advantage of his absence, be-
came more eager in their accusations, and louder
in their clamors. Pie was condemned to death :
but the rigor of the sentence was retracted on
the recollection of his great services to the Athe-
nians, and he was put into prison till he had
paid a fine of 50 talents to the state. His ina-
bility to discharge so great a sum detained him
in confinement, and soon after his wounds be-
came incurable, and he died about 489 years be-
fore the Christian era. The crimes of Miltiades
were probably aggravated in the eyes of his
countrymen, when they remembered how he
made himself absolute in Chersonesus ; and in
condemning the barbarity of the Athenians to-
wards a general who was the source of their
military prosperity, we must remember the jea-
lousy which ever reigns among a free and in-
dependent people, and how watchful they are
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MIS
in defence of the natural rights which they see
wrested from others by violence and oppression.
MINDEN, a town of Prussia, containing
8,960 inhabitants. Here Prince Ferdinand gain-
ed a victory over the French in the campaign
of 1759. The merit of the victory is principally
to be ascribed to the valor and steadiness of the
British troops engaged. Minden surrendered
on the next day ; and the French retreated to
the other side of the Weser.
MINORCA, the second of the Balearic isl-
ands in the Mediterranean, contains 30,000 in-
habitants. It produces abundance of vegeta-
bles, some wines, and oil; and hns mines of
iron, lead, and admirable marble. The inhabit-
ants are devoted to commerce, and of the Ro-
man Catholic persuasion. The climate, al-
though hot, is agreeable. In 1708 the English
took possession of it, and retained it till 1758,
when it was retaken by a French fleet and
army, after the failure of an attempt to relieve
it, which led to the sentence of the unfortunate
Admiral Byng. At the peace of 1703 Minorca
was lestored to Britain: but in 1782 it was re-
taken by the Spaniards. It was once more taken
by the British in 1798 ; but was restored at the
peace of Amiens in 1802.
MINOS, a king of Crete, who gave laws to
his subjects, B. C. 1406, which still remained in
full force in the age of the philosopher Plato.
His justice and moderation procured him the
appellation of the favorite of the gods, the wise
legislator, in every city of Greece : and, accord-
ing to the poets, he was rewarded for his equity,
after death, with the office of supreme and ab-
solute judge in the infernal regions.
MIRABEAU, Honore Gabriel, Count de, a
French nobleman was born in 1749. lie was
born with a club foot, a defect which has given
rise to a comparison with Byron more distin-
guished for ingenuity than accuracy. In addi-
tion to this defect, his tongue, fastened by the
froenum,gave little promise of oratorical success.
But the size and vigor of his limbs, and the cir-
cumstance of two molar teeth being already
formed in his mouth, were sufficiently extraor-
dinary. He was also early attacked with the
small pox which left its usual impress on his
face. In a letter from the marquis, his father,
to the countess of Ilochefort, the following pas-
sage occurs : " A fete is this day given in honor
of my mother (the dowager-marchioness, widow
of Jean-Antoine de Mirabeau, then 72 years of
age). It is the production of my son's tutor (an
indefatigable author and actor of such fellies.)
You will see a little monster perform therein,
whom they call my son ; but who, were he
the son of La Thorrillere, could not display a
greater aptitude for all sorts of devilment." In
another letter, dated 21st of September, 1758, he
writes thus ; " My son, whose size, prattle, and
ugliness are wonderfully on the increase, grows
more exquisitely and peculiarly ugly from day
to day, and, withal, a most indefatigable speech-
ifier."
At an early age he quarreled with his father,
and fled from the paternal mansion, but the old
count procured a lettre de cachet, and imprisoned
him. He however escaped, and lived for a long
time in habits of dissipation : in proof of which
the following anecdote is related. Mirabeau, one
day, called up his valet to discharge him. The
fellow asked the reason. " It is this," said Mi-
rabeau ; " You were drunk yesterday, as I my-
self was. Now, sir, you remember you agreed
to get drunk only on days when I was sober."
" 1 remember it," replied the valet; " but you
will excuse me when you reflect upon the im-
possibility of iny obeying you — for you are
drunk every day." Mirabeau reflected a mo-
ment, and retained the domestic.
He went to Berlin towards the close of the
reign of Frederic, and was there when the
French revolution commenced, on which he
returned home, and was elected a member of
the states-general. He rendered his name me-
morable by the display of the most polished and
powerful eloquence. In 1791 he became pres-
ident of the national assembly ; but died of a
fever on the 2d of April following.
MISSISSIPPI, one of the United States, con-
taining, in 1830, 13(5,620 inhabitants. The north-
ern part of the country is uneven, but not moun-
tainous, while the southern part is a swampy
level. Cotton is the staple production. After
Natchez, the largest town, come Jackson, Wash-
ington, Woodvifle, Port Gibson, Monticello, &c.
There are two colleges in this state, one at
Washington, and one at Shielcisborougli. There
are but few Indians in Mississippi — most of the
Chickasaws and Choctaws having been remov-
ed beyond the Mississippi. The first settlement
in this state was commenced at Natchez in 1716.
In 1817 Mississippi was admitted into the Union
as an independent state.
MISSOURI, one of the United States, con-
tains 140,450 inhabitants. It is well watered,
and the face of the country greatly diversified.
The highest peaks of the Ozark mountains
reach an elevation of 3,000 feet. The soil upon
the rivers is, in general, highly productive, and
the staple productions are Indian corn, grain,
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MIT
hemp, flax, and tobacco. The lead mines of
Missouri are very valuable, and yield annually
about 4,000,000 pounds of lead. Jefferson isthe
seat of government. St. Louis is a large and
flourishing town. Education has been provided
for by liberal allowances.
MITHRIDATES I, was the third king of
Pontus. He was tributary to the crown of Per-
sia, and his attempts to make himself independ-
ent proved fruitless. He was conquered in a
battle, and obtained peace with difficulty. Xen-
ophon calls him merely a governor of Cappa-
docia. He was succeeded by Ariobarzanes, B.
C. 3ti3.
The second of that name, King of Pontus,
was grandson to Mithridates I. He made him-
self master of Pontus, which had been conquer-
ed by Alexander, and had been ceded to Anti-
gonus at the general division of the Macedonian
empire among the conqueror's generals. He
reigned about 2G years, and died at the advanc-
ed age of 84 years, B. C. 302.
He was succeeded by his son Mithridates III.
This enterprising and powerful monarch en-
larged his paternal possessions by the conquest
of Cappadocia and Paphlagonia, and died after
a reign of thirty-six years.
The fourth succeeded his father Ariobarzanes,
who was the son of Mithridates III.
The fifth succeeded his father Mithridates
IV, and strengthened himself on his throne by
an alliance with Antiochus the Great, whose
daughter, Laodice, he married. He was suc-
ceeded by his son Pharnaces.
The sixth succeeded his father Pharnaces.
He was the first of the kings of Pontus who
made alliance with the Romans. He furnished
them with a fleet in the third Punic war, and
assisted them against Aristonicus, who had laid
claim to the kingdom of Pergainus. He was
murdered B. C. 123.
The seventh, surnamed Eupator, and The
Great, succeeded his father Mithridates VI,
thougb only at the age of 11 years. The begin-
ning of his reign was marked by ambition, cru-
elty and artifice. He murdered the two sons
whom his sister Laodice had had by Ariarathes,
King of Cappadocia, and placed one of his own
children, only eight years old, on the vacant
throne. These violent proceedings alarmed Ni-
comedes, King of Bithynia, who had married
Laodice. the widow of Ariarathes.
He suborned a youth to act as King of Cap-
padocia, as the third son of Ariarathes, and La-
odice was sent to Rome to impose upon the sen-
ate, and assure them that her third son was still
alive, and that his pretensions to the kingdom
of Cappadocia were just and well grounded.
Mithridates used the same arts of dissimula-
tion. He also sent to Rome Gordius, the gov-
ernor of his son, who solemnly declared before
the Roman people, that the youth who sat on
the throne of Cappadocia, was the third son and
lawful heir of Ariarathes, and that he was sup-
ported as such by Mithridates.
This intricate affair displeased the Roman
senate, and finally to settle the dispute between
the two monarchs, the powerful arbiters took
away the kingdom of Cappadocia from Mithri-
dates, and Paphlagonia from JNicomedes. These
two kingdoms being thus separated from their
original possessors, were presented with their
freedom and independence ; but the Cappado-
cians refused it, and received Ariobarzanes for
king. Such were the first seeds of enmity be-
tween Rome and the King of Pontus.
Mithridates. the more effectually to destroy
the power of his enemies in Asia, ordered all
the Romans that were in his dominions to be
massacred. This was done in one night, and
no less than 150,000 according to Plutarch, or
80,000 Romans, as Appian mentions, were
made, at one blow, the victims of his cruelty.
This universal massacre called aloud for revenge.
Aquilius, and soon after Sylla, marched against
Mithridates with a large army. The former
was made prisoner ; but Sylla obtained a victory
over the king's generals, and another decisive
engagement rendered him master of all Greece,
Macedonia, Ionia, and Asia Minor, which had
submitted to the victorious arms of the mon-
arch of Pontus. This ill fortune was aggra-
vated by the loss of about 200,000 men, who
were killed in the several engagements that
had been fought, and Mithridates, weakened
by repeated ill success by sea and land, sued
for peace from the conqueror, which he ob-
tained on condition of defraying the expenses
which the Romans had incurred by the war,
and of remaining satisfied with the possessions
which he had received from his ancestors.
While these negotiations of peace were carri-
ed on, Mithridates was not unmindful of his real
interests. His distress, and not his inclinations,
obliged him to wish for peace. He immediate-
ly took the field with an army of 140,000 in-
fantry and l(i,000 horse, which consisted of his
own forces and those of his son-in-law Tigranes,
King of Armenia. With such a numerous ar-
my, he soon made himself master of the Ro-
man provinces in Asia; none dared to oppose
his conquests, as the Romans, relying on his
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fidelity, had withdrawn the greatest part of their
armies from the country.
The news of his warlike preparations was
no sooner heard, than Lucullus, the consul,
marched into Asia, and without delay block-
ed up the camp of Mithridates, who was then
besieging Cyzicus. The Asiatic monarch es-
caped from him, and fled into the heart of
his kingdom. Lucullus pursued him with the
utmost celerity, and would have taken him
prisoner after a battle, had not the avidity of his
soldiers preferred the plundering of a mule load-
ed with gold, to the taking of a monarch who
had exercised such cruelties aginst their coun-
trymen, and shown himself so faithless to the
most solemn engagements.
The appointment of Glabrio to the command
of the Roman forces, instead of Lucullus, was
favorable to Mithridates, and he recovered the
greatest part of his dominions. The sudden
arrival of Pompey, however, soon put an end
to his victories. A battle, in the night, was
fought near the Euphrates, in which the troops
of Pontus labored under every disadvantage.
An universal overthrow ensued, and Mith-
ridates, bold in his misfortunes, rushed through
the thick ranks of the enemy, at the head of
800 horsemen, 500 of whom perished in the
attempt to follow him. Mithridates found a safe
retreat among the Scythians ; and, though des-
titute of power, friends, and resources, yet he
meditated the destruction of the Roman em-
pire, by penetrating into the heart of Italy by
land.
These wild projects were rejected by his fol-
lowers, and he sued for peace. It was denied
to his ambassadors, and the victorious Pompey
declared, that to obtain it, Mithridates must ask
it in person. He scorned to trust himself in
the hands of his enemy, and resolved to conquer
or to die. His subjects refused to follow him
any longer, and they revolted from him, and
made his son Pharnaces king. The son show-
ed himself ungrateful to his father, and even,
according to some writers, he ordered him to
be put to death.
This unnatural treatment broke the heart of
Mithridates ; he obliged his wife to poison her-
self, and attempted to do the same himself. It
was in vain ; the frequent antidotes he had
taken in the early part of his life strengthened
his constitution against the poison, and when
this was unavailing, he attempted to stab him-
self. The blow was not mortal; and a Gaul,
who was then present, at his own request gave
him the fatal stroke, about 63 years B. C, in
the 72d year of his age. This prince, who
made war against the Romans forty years, and
was never entirely vanquished but by Pompey,
although he had lost many battles against Lu-
cullus, has been much praised. Cicero calls
him the greatest of kings since the time of Alex-
ander the Great.
MODENA, a duchy in the north of Italy,
containing 375,000 inhabitants. In 179G the
duke of Modena was expelled from his domin-
ions by the French : and at the peace of Cam-
po Forinio, in 1797, the Modenese possessions
were incorporated with the Cisalpine republic ;
but in 1814 they were restored by the Congress
of Vienna to the duke.
MOLUCCAS, or SPICE ISLANDS, are be-
tween the Sunda isles, the Philippines and New
Holland. These islands were discovered by the
Portuguese in 1511, hut now belong to the
Dutch, who obtain from them sandal wood,
musk, cloves, and spices. There are also mines
of copper and silver, which are very productive,
and delicious fruits.
MONGULS,or MONGOLS, The. An Asi-
atic tribe, who inhabited the central regions of
the continent, and were little known till Gen-
ghis Khan, by his conquests, immortalized their
name. He extended his dominions through a
space of more than 800 leagues from east to west,
and above 1 ,000 from north to south, over the
most powerful and wealthy kingdoms of Asia.
It is with justice, therefore, that he is acknow-
ledged to have been the greatest prince who
ever filled the eastern throne. He was the
son of Pisuka, who first brought under his
command the greater part of the chiefs of the
Mongul nations, and who designated his son by
the name of Temujin, from a vanquished khan
so called.
After the death of his father, Temujin mar-
ried the daughter of the great Khan, who, har-
boring suspicions to the prejudice of his son-in-
law, was dethroned, and Temujin took posses-
sion of the empire. Temujin was at that time
forty years of age, when, seeing himself master
of very extensive dominions, he adopted the
resolution of rendering his power in some de-
gree lawful, by the public homage of all the
princes within the precincts of his empire. Ac-
cordingly, lie convoked them at Karakorom,
his capital ; and, with the diadem encircling his
brow, he advanced into the midst of this au-
gust assembly, seated himself on his throne,
and received the compliments of the khans and
other nobility, who offered up prayers for his
health and prosperity. They then confirmed to
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him and his successors the sovereignty of the
Mongul empire.
After some subsequent victories, a similar in-
auguration took place at the head of his army,
when Kockja, one of his relatives, who, by
strictly practising the rigid duties of religion,
had obtained the reputation of being inspired,
approached the prince, and informed him, that
it was the pleasure of God that he should hence-
forth assume the name of Genghis Khan.
However, it is probable that the ambition of
Genghis Khan might have been satisfied with
his dominions, had not the sovereign of the
Kin, or northern part of China, imprudently
demanded of him the same tribute as was paid
him by princes whom he had dethroned, and
whose authority he had usurped. This claim
irritated the haughty conqueror, whose troops
poured like a torrent over China, routed its
armies, desolated the country, and amassed im-
mense treasures. The cities, and even the royal
residence, fell into the hands of Genghis Khan,
who, in the short space of five years, found him-
self master of all that extensive territory, and
who appointed Muhuli, his experienced gen-
eral, governor and lieutenant, with the title of
king, which was to descend to his posterity.
Genghis Khan had determined to make the
domains of Mohammed, Sultan of Karazm, the
boundary of his empire ; but a disagreement
taking place with that sovereign, the great khan
assembled all his forces, and, after defeating the
sultan, besieged and took Bochara, the centre
of his dominions, where all his wealth was
lodged. Though Mohammed possessed a great
part of Turkestan, was master of Great Bukha-
ria, and Karazm, whence his monarchy derived
its name, and held in possession all Persia, Per-
sian Irak, and the frontiers of India, he could
make no effectual opposition.
The celerity and military exploits of Genghis
Khan resembled a torrent spreading devasta-
tion, or rather a thunderbolt bursting over
several countries at once, and involving them
in flames and ruin. Though the sultan made
every effort in his power to succor his wretched
dominions, his armies were constantly defeated
in general engagements; and, after eluding his
pursuers, he landed on a small island in the
Caspian Sea, where an acute disease, added to
his grief, speedily terminated his life.
His son Jalaloddin endeavored, but in vain,
to avenge the cause of his father on the Mon-
guls. While Genghis Khan, on one side of his
empire, had fixed the Indus as its limits, his
lieutenants on the other subjugated Persia, en-
closed the Caspian Sea within his dominions,
and carried their victorious arms as far as Ico-
nium, whose sultans, with some other Turkish
sovereigns, they rendered tributary. The fur-
ther enterprises of this aspiring monarch were
always crowned with victory. He was constant-
ly attended by prosperity, which never quitted
him to his tomb.
He died A. D. 1227, at the age of seventy,
after a reign of twenty-two years, preserving to
the last an undiminished authority over all the
surrounding nations. The qualities of Genghis
Khan characterized a conqueror. He possessed
a genius capable of conceiving great and ardu-
ous designs, and prudence equal to their execu-
tion; a natural and persuasive eloquence; a de-
gree of patience, which enabled him to endure
and overcome fatigue ; an admirable temper-
ance ; a superior understanding, and a penetrat-
ing mind, that instantly conceived the measure
proper to be adopted on every occasion. His
military talents appeared in his successfully in-
troducing a strict discipline and severe police
among the Tartars, who till that time were
unused to any restraint. His laws were sim-
ple, and suitable to a newly-formed people, who
have few complex social connections.
Though some of his own children, and princes
of the blood were Christians, and some Jews
and Mohammedans, they incurred no marks of
his disapprobation. He instituted a grand hunt-
ing-match, the model of which he left to his
successors. Though Genghis Khan had declar-
ed his son Octa his successor, this prince refus-
ed to accept the crown till it was delegated to
him by the states, which did not assemble till
two years after the deatli of his father. He com-
mitted the general management of affairs to
Yelu, a man of integrity and extensive know-
ledge ; and he placed at the head of his armies
his own brother Toley, whose talents were of
singular utility in the war which his father had
left him to prosecute against the inhabitants of
Southern China. Quay-yew, or Kayuk had a
great respect for his mother, who, therefore,
still retained a considerable share of the govern-
ment. His beneficence and courage are deserv-
edly applauded; and he commanded the armies
in person at the conquest of Corea, and of the
nations in the vicinity of the Caspian Sea, A.
D. 1247. He died at the age of 43, after a reign
of eight years.
On the first day of the year 13G8, Chu was
solemnly proclaimed Emperor of China, amid
the greatest demonstrations of joy. Touhante-
mur, naturally a coward, determined to retire
MON
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MON
into Tartary, and, surrounded by his guards,
his wives, and others of his court, took his
course towards the north. Thus ended the em-
pire of the Monguls in China, after they had
continued in possession of that vast country
during a term of 102 years. Touhantemur re-
tained his sovereignty over the Monguls in Tar-
tary, where he was succeeded A. D. 1370 by his
son, Ayyewshilitata, against whom, and his suc-
cessors, the Chinese, sustained many sanguin-
ary wars, notwithstanding the great wall which
separated them. At length, however, they ceas-
ed to disturb each other, and lived quietly with-
in their own territories. Jn this interval the
Manchoos became formidable, and in the end
subdued both the Monguls and the Chinese.
MONK, George, Duke of Albemarle, was
descended from the Plantagenets, and born in
Devonshire in 1C08. At the age of 17 he serv-
ed under his relation, Sir Richard Grenville, in
an expedition against Spain; and, in 1630, he
went as an ensign to the Low Countries, where
he obtained a captain's commission. In 1639, he
attended Charles I to Scotland, and was made
lieutenant-colonel ; afterwards he went to Ire-
land, and for his services in the rebellion, was
appointed governor of Dublin. On his return
to England with his regiment, in 1(J43, he was
made major-general in the Irish brigade, then
employed in the siege of Nantwich, in Cheshire,
where he was taken prisoner, and sent to the
Tower. After remaining in confinement about
three years, he was induced to accept a com-
mission under the parliament against the Irish
rebels ; in which service he performed several
great exploits, but at last fell under censure, for
concluding a treaty with O'Neil. Upon this he
gave up the command, and retired to his estate ;
but was soon called to serve with Cromwell in
Scotland, where he bore a part in the battle of
Dunbar ; after which he was left in the com-
mand of the English forces in that kingdom.
In 1053, he was joined with Blake and Dean
in the naval service against the Dutch fleet,
commanded by Van Tromp, with whom two
desperate battles were fought that year, in both
of which the English were victorious. Peace
being soon after concluded, Monk returned to
Scotland, where he remained during the usurp-
ation of Cromwell, who regarded him with jeal-
ousy, and even imparted to him, in a letter, the
suspicions which he entertained of his design
to restore the king. Monk took no notice of
this, but watched his opportunity : and when
the authority of Richard Cromwell declined, he
began his movements, and conducted them with
so much judgment as to bring about that im-
portant event without bloodshed or confusion.
After this he was created Duke of Albemarle,
and knight of the garter. The remainder of his
life was not spent inactively ; for when hostili-
ties broke out with the Dutch, he again com-
manded the fleet, and fought De Ruyter and
Van Tromp in a tremendous battle, which last-
ed three days. The duke had scarcely returned
into port before he was called to London, in
consequence of the dreadful fire which laid the
greatest part of the capital in ashes ; and so
dear was he to the people, that when he passed
along, they cried out, "If his Grace had been
there, the city would not have been burned."
He died Jan. 3, 1670; and was buried in West-
minster Abbey. By his duchess, who survived
him but a few months, he had one son, Christo-
pher, who died governor of Jamaica, without
issue, in 1688.
MONMOUTH, Duke of, son of Charles II
by Lucy Waters, to whom it was said that mon-
arch was secretly married. He was early placed
in the army, and served some campaigns in
Flanders with great reputation. His supposed
claims to the crown placed him in enmity with
the Duke of York, and he lived in intimate
connection with the party that promoted the
famous succession bill, and with the patriots of
that age.
On the death of his father he went abroad,
and soon after landed in the west of England,
publishing a proclamation, in which he took
the regal title, and made noble professions in
favor of liberty. Numbers flocked to his stand-
ard, but his forces were overcome by the genius
of Marlborough at Bridgewater. A terrible pro-
scription followed in the western counties, in
which General Kirk and Judge Jefferies com-
mitted frightful cruelties ; and Monmouth him-
self being taken to London, was tried and exe-
cuted.
MONTAGUE, Edward, Earl of Sandwich,
was the son of Sir Sidney Montague, and born
in 1625. At the age of 18 he raised a regiment
in the service of parliament, and was present
in several battles ; but in the Dutch war he left
the army for the navy, and was associated with
Blake in the Mediterranean. Afterwards he
commanded the fleet in the North Sea; but at
his return was deprived of it on suspicion of
being in the royal interest. Monk, however,
procured him to be replaced ; and he conveyed
the king to England ; after which he was cre-
ated Earl of Sandwich. In the war of 1664 he
commanded under the Duke of York, and had
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MOO
a principal share in the great battle of June 3,
1665. Soon after this he went to Spain, where
he negotiated a peace between that country and
Portugal. On the renewal of the Dutch war
in 1672, he commanded a squadron under the
duke of York ; but his ship taking fire, he jump-
ed overboard, and was drowned.
MONROE, James, a president of the United
States, was born April 28, 1758, in Virginia,
and educated in William and Mary College.
He entered the revolutionary army as a cadet
in 1776. Throughout the revolution he served
with distinction, and at the age of 24, was
elected a member of congress. In 1794, he was
appointed minister plenipotentiary to France.
On his return he filled the post of governor of
Virginia, and afterwards was minister to France,
to London, and to Spain, successively. On his
return, he was chosen governor of Virginia, and
in 1811 was appointed Secretary of State. In
1817 he succeeded James Madison in the presi-
dency, from which office he retired at the end
of his second term. He died on the 4th of July,
1831.
MONTEZUMA, the king of Mexico, at the
time of the invasion of the Spaniards. At a
short distance from the city of Mexico, they
were met by Montezuma at the head of his
nobles, and surrounded by his guards and cour-
tiers. Cortez was received by the emperor with
hospitality and confidence which he soon for-
feited : for having learned that a traditionary
prophecy was current that a powerful nation,
children of the sun, would chastise the country,
as a punishment for their sins, he readily turn-
ed the idea to his own advantage. Cortez came
to the determination of seizing Montezuma in
his palace, which he entered with 10 officers
and soldiers. He requested Montezuma, to
take up a temporary residence with the Span-
iards, to which demand the monarch reluctant-
ly consented. Here he suffered every indig-
nity ; and Cortez, on a frivolous pretext that the
monarch was the instigator of some tumults,
ordered him to be fettered and thrown into
prison.
Montezuma remained a prisoner six months,
during which period Cortez was actively em-
ployed in furthering his own views. The for-
mer now acknowledged himself in form a vas-
sal of the Spanish king, and, a tumult arising,
Cortez placed him in view of his enraged sub-
jects, but in vain. The forlorn monarch was
pierced by an arrow, and died broken-hearted
and despairing.
MONTGOMERY, Richard, a major-general
in the army of the United States, born in Ire-
land, in 1737. He settled in this country, after
serving under Wolfe ; and having embraced the
American cause, was killed in an attack upon
Quebec, in 1776.
MONTGOMERY, Gabriel, Count, a French
nobleman, who, in 1559, had the misfortune to
kill Henry II, by accidentally striking him in
the eye at a tournament. He then quitted
France ; but returned during the civil wars, and
placed himself at the head of the Protestants.
After many vicissitudes he was taken prisoner,
and beheaded at Paris in 1574.
MONTREAL, a city of Lower Canada, situ-
ated on an island in the St. Lawrence, 180 miles
above Quebec, and 200 below lake Ontario, at
the head of ship navigation. The streets are
regular, the houses are built of gray stone, and
present a singular appearance from being cov-
ered with tin. Montreal College is a very flour-
ishing institution. Pop. 35,000.
MONTROSE, Marquis of, one of the most
chivalrous partisans of Charles I, who after the
cause of the Stuarts appeared to be hopeless,
persevered in exciting insurrections in Scot-
land, but being taken he was brought to Edin-
burg, tried, and executed on a gibbet 40 feet
high, on the 23d of September, 1650.
MOORE, Sir John, was born at Glasgow in
1761. At the age of 15 he obtained an ensigncy
in the 51st regiment of foot ; of which, in 1790,
he became lieutenant-colonel, and served with
his corps in Corsica, where he was wounded in
storming the Mozello fort at the siege of Calvi.
In 1796 he went out as a brigadier-general to
the West Indies, under Sir Ralph Abercromby,
who appointed him to the government of St.
Lucie, in the capture of which he had a princi-
pal share.
On his return home, in 1797, he was employ-
ed in Ireland during the rebellion, and was
raised to the rank of major-general. In 1799
he went on the expedition to Holland, where
he was again wounded severely ; notwithstand-
ing which, he soon afterwards went to the Medi-
terranean ; and at the battle of Alexandria re-
ceived a cut from a sabre on the breast, and a
shot in the thigh. On his return to England
he was made a knight of the Bath ; and in 1808
was appointed to command an army in Spain,
where, after a signal retreat before a superior
force, he fell under the walls of Corunna, Jan.
16th, 1809.
The description of the battle of Corunna,and
of the death of Sir John Moore, is thus briefly
given by Bisset. The British army reached
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MOR
Corunna on the 12th of Jan. 1S09, having lost
one fourth of its numbers. Their situation was
so disadvantageous that some officers suggested
the proposal of terms to Soult, on condition
that he should permit the troops to embark un-
molested. Sir John Moore rejected the advice,
and declared his resolution to accept no terms
which should be in the least dishonorable to the
army or to his country. In the evening of the
14th the transports from Vigo hove in sight.
After the embarkation of the troops on the Kith,
orders were issued, that if the French did not
move, the embarkation of the reserve should
commence at four in the afternoon.
At mid-day, the general received information
that the enemy were getting under arms. Two
columns of the enemy directed their march on
the right wing of the British, which was dis-
advantageous^ posted. Sir John Moore hast-
ened to this part of the field, when the 4th regi-
ment on the right flank was menaced by a body
of the enemy who were hastening up the valley
to turn it. He proceeded to direct the move-
ments of the other regiments in this division,
and was in the act of ordering up the guards to
support the 42d Highlanders, when he was struck
from his horse by a cannon-ball, which carried
away his left shoulder and part of the collar-
bone, leaving the arm hanging by the flesh. He
was borne away by six soldiers of the 42d.
The troops continued to fight bravely under
Sir John Hope, on whom the command devolv-
ed, and at night-fall remained masters of the
field. This victory was obtained under great dis-
advantages ; the French force exceeded 20,000
men, well appointed and provided with cannon.
The British scarcely amounted to 15,000, ex-
hausted by harassing marches, and discouraged
by the loss of their military chest, their 6tores,
their baggage, their horses, their sick, their
wounded, their wives and children.
General Moore lived to hear that the battle
was won ; and in his last moments, after an af-
fecting reminiscence of his mother, expressed
a hope that his country would do him justice.
His body was removed at midnight to the cita-
del of Corunna, wrapped in a military cloak
and blankets, and buried in a grave dug in the
ramparts.
MORAVIA. The present population of this
province of the Austrian empire, is 1,990,464.
Its history is briefly as follows. It was ancient-
ly named Quadia, and was part of the territory
of the Quadi and Marcomanni, for several cen-
turies the terror of the Roman frontier. Not-
withstanding the many checks they received
from the Romans and their barbarian neighbors,
these tribes maintained their independence till
they were overpowered by Attila, in the fifth
century. The Sclavonians next founded a
republic here, and maintained a precarious inde-
pendence, till Swatopluk united the whole of
the Sclavonic republics, and founded the king-
dom of Moravia ; which comprehended Bohe-
mia, Lusatia, Brandenburg, Pomerania, Silesia,
Dalmatia, &c.
On the death of this prince, in 894, his pos-
sessions were divided among his three sons,
but dissensions arising among them, the Boii,
or ancestors of the Bohemians, conquered part
of them, and threatened the rest. In a short
time, the Magyars, or invaders of Hungary,
completely defeated the Moravians in 907, and
thus crushed their independence. This fertile
country, after being almost reduced to a desert,
was seized on by the Dukes of Bohemia, who
kept it till 1182, when it again became a sepa-
rate government, and was erected into a mar-
quisate. Moravia next fell into the hands of
the Hungarians, but their internal troubles soon
obliged them to relinquish their valuable acqui-
sition.
Moravia for a time resumed its independence,
but after various changes, became again subject
to the kings of Bohemia ; and in 1527, Moravia
was added to the possessions of the house of
Austria, and has since been subject to the same
sovereign.
MORE, Sir Thomas, Chancellor of Eng-
land, was the son of Sir John More, one of the
judges of the King's Bench, and was born in
London, in 1480. He was educated in the family
of Cardinal Morton, archbishop of Canterbury;
and at the age of 21 , he obtained a seat in par-
liament, where he opposed a subsidy demanded
by Henry VII with such spirit, as incurred the
resentment of the king, who avenged himself on
the judge his father, by causing him to be fined
and imprisoned. When admitted to the bar,
More delivered a lecture in the church of St.
Lawrence, Jewry, on part of St. Augustin's
works, and the reputation he thereby acquired
procured him to be chosen law-reader in Fur-
nival's Inns. In 1508, he was made judge of
the sheriff's court, and justice of peace.
Henry VIII delighted in the conversation of
More, and conferred upon him the honor of
knighthood ;, besides which he made him treas-
urer of the exchequer. Sir Thomas assisted the
monarch in his book against Luther, and he
afterwards defended it in a very able treatise.
In 1523, he was chosen speaker of the House of
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MOR
Commons ; and in 1530, he succeeded Wolsey
as lord chancellor, which office he discharged
three years with scrupulous integrity. Find-
ing, however, that the affair of the king's di-
vorce, to which he was adverse, would involve
him in difficulties, he resigned the seals, and
thereby provoked the anger of Henry, who was
still more irritated by his refusal to attend the
coronation of Ann Boleyn.
An attempt was made to implicate him in the
practices of Elizabeth Barton; and, though this
railed, he was committed to the Tower, for re-
fusing the oath of supremacy. After an impris-
onment of twelve months, he was brouo-ht to
his trial in the court of King's Bench, where,
notwithstanding his eloquent defence, he was
found guilty of treason, and sentenced to be
beheaded. His behavior, in the interval, cor-
responded with the uniform tenor of his life;
and, on July 6, 1535, he ascended the scaffold,
with his characteristic pleasantry, saying to the
lieutenant of the Tower, " I pray you, see me
safe up ; and as for my coming down, you may
let me shift for myself." In the same spirit,
when he laid his head on the block, he told the
executioner to wait till he had removed his
beard, " For that," said he, " hath committed
no treason." Thus fell this illustrious English-
man, whose learning and virtue entitled htm to
a better fate.
MOREAU, Victor, a French general, who
gained great advantage over the Austrians
under Kray at Mosskirk ; and, notwithstanding
their gallant exertions, compelled them to re-
treat with considerable loss. The subsequent
actions of Bibberach and Memmingen proved
equally unfortunate to the Austrians. Moreau,
after signalizing himself in many celebrated
victories, and in many masterly and successful
military operations on the frontiers of Italy and
Germany in the campaigns of 1796 and 1799,
invaded Germany in 1800. Here, in co-opera-
tion with Bonaparte, he resumed an offensive
campaign. He took possession of Munich, and
laid the Bavarian territories and the duchy of
Wirtemberg under heavy contributions.
The emperor of Austria now judged it expe-
dient to sue for an armistice ; which Moreau
granted on the 14th of July. The armistice
expired in the November following ; and Mo-
reau, on the 3d of December, gained the deci-
sive victory of Hohenlinden. By a turn of
circumstances Moreau is found in 1813 in alli-
ance with Bernadotte, his early companion in
arms, who commanded the army of the north in
Germany against Napoleon. On the 28th of
August, Napoleon came out of Dresden with
130,000 men to attack the allies, having de-
tached a force, under Vandamme, to seize the
passes in their rear. In the assault on the pre-
ceding day, Napoleon observed Moreau con-
versing with the emperor Alexander and some
other officers. Turning to a cannoneer, and
pointing out the object of his displeasure, he
said : " Send a dozen balls upon that man !"
The officers obeyed. A ball struck Moreau,
shattering both his legs and tearing open the
belly of his horse. He bore the amputation of
both limbs with great firmness, and .vas carried
in a litter, formed by the lances of the Cossacks
to Toplite, where he expired.
MORGAN, Daniel, a revolutionary officer,
was born in New Jersey, but removed to Vir-
ginia in 1755. He rose to the rank of brigadier-
general. His riflemen rendered themselves
formidable to the British throughout the strug-
gle. Morgan died in 1799.
MOROCCO, a large kingdom of Africa, and
the chief of the Barbary states. Population,
6,000,000. It was formerly called Mauritania,
and was then occupied by a hardy Nomadic
race. It afterwards yielded to the Saracens;
and, in the eleventh century, a chief of Lami-
tuna assumed the character of a reformer of
the Mahometan religion, and assembled all the
neighboring tribes under his standard. His fol-
lowers, called Almoravides, conquered Morocco,
and even Barbary and Spain, thus establishing
a vast empire entitled that of Mohgreb, or the
West. In the following century they were
supplanted by the Almohades ; and in 1557, an
Arabian chief, one of the descendants of Maho-
met, ascended the throne, which his posterity
have since occupied.
MORTON, (Earl of), was a chief actor in
the transactions of the reign of Mary, and in
the minority of James VI of Scotland. He
joined in the murder of Rizzio, and after the
death of King Darnley assisted to expel Mary
from'the throne. In 1572 he was elected Re-
gent, and in 158J he was beheaded at Edin-
burg.
MORTON, John, born in Pennsylvania; in
the congress of 1776 he gave the casting vote
in the Pennsylvania delegation in favor of the
Declaration of Independence, and signed the
document. He died in 1777.
MORRIS, Gouverneur, was born at Morris-
ania in New York, Jan. 31,1752. He gradu-
ated at the college in the city of New York in
his sixteenth year, and immediately commenced
the study of law. At the age of seventeen he
MOR
350
MOS
assumed his pen and commenced his career as
a political writer. Mr. Morris was chosen a
member of the first provincial congress. He
was twice elected a member of congress by the
legislature of N. York. In 1780 he established
himself in Philadelphia in the practice of the
law. In this year, he was thrown from his car-
riage, and his leg was so severely injured that
it was necessary to perform amputation, an op-
eration which he bore with great fortitude. In
1781 he was appointed assistant financier, and
performed the duties of his office with ability
for three years. He was a member of the con-
vention which met in 1787 for the purpose of
framing a constitution for the United States. In
1790, Mr. Morris, being then in France, re-
ceived credentials from General Washington
as a private agent for transacting important
business with the British ministry. He pro-
ceeded to London but soon returned to Paris
without having effected anything. He returned
to America in 1798. Here he served some
years in the senate of the United States. In
1816, he married Miss Randolph of Virginia,
and on the Gth of November, in the same year,
he died.
Mr. Sparks, in his interesting life of Morris,
thus delineates his moral qualities : His acute
powers of mind, a thorough consciousness of
his own strength, and his quick sense of the
ridiculous, joined to a lofty independence of
thought, often betrayed him into a forwardness
of manner, a license of expression, and an in-
dulgence of his humor, little suited to soothe
the pride, or flatter the vanity, or foster the
self-love of those about him. He might dazzle
by his genius, surprise by his novel flights of
fancy, amuse by his wit, and confound by his
arguments, and thus extort the tribute of admi-
ration, but fail in gaining the willing applause
of love. No man was better acquainted with
the forms and etiquette of society, none had
moved more widely in the circles of fashion and
rank, or examined with a keener scrutiny the
deep fountains of the human passions, or knew
better how to touch the springs of men's mo-
tives, yet this rare intuition, this more rare ex-
perience, and this great knowledge, did little
towards modifying the tendencies of his nature,
or diverting the first bent of his mind. He was
sometimes overbearing in conversation. At
any rate, when he spoke he expected to be heard.
There is an anecdote illustrative of this point.
At a breakfast-table, he was in close conversation
with a gentleman, to whose harangue he had
listened patiently, till it was his turn to reply.
He began accordingly, but the gentleman was
inattentive, and a bad listener. " Sir," said
Mr. Morris, " if you will not listen to my argu-
ment, I will address myself to the teapot," and
went on with much animation of tone and ges-
ture, till he had finished his replication.
But this defect, after all, was only a spot on
the surface. *****Justice, truth, charity, honor,
held an uncontrolled empire in his soul, and
never lost their influence or authority.
MOSCOW, an extensive city of Russia in
Europe, founded in the middle of the 12lh cen-
tury. Present population, 246,545. In 1382
it was besieged by Tamerlane, and it soon fell
into the hands of the Tartars, who again attack-
ed it in 1571. They burnt the city ; but it was
afterwards rebuilt, and was for a century and
a half the capital of the empire, and the resi-
dence of the court till 1760.
In September, 1812, the memorable confla-
gration took place, by which three-fourths of
the city was consumed. The general plan of
the campaign in the war with the French was
to abandon and destroy ; in August and Septem-
ber, when the French continued to advance,
and it was thought impossible to check their
progress, Count Rostopchin forewarned the in-
habitants of the sacrifices they would be called
on to make. The churches and the treasury
were stripped of their ornaments ; the persons
belonging to the public establishments were re-
moved to Kasan, and barks, laden with corn,
were sunk in the Moskva, to prevent their fall-
ing into the hands of the enemy. The decisive
battle of Borodino was fought on the 8th of Sep-
tember, about 70 miles from Moscow, and the
hospitals were soon filled with wounded. On
the news of the retreat of the Russian army, a
general movement took place in Moscow.
On the 13th of September the enemy drew
near, and the mass of the population of Moscow
fled into the surrounding country. On the 14th
the French entered the city, and that night a
fire broke out, which was soon got under. On
the 15th fires burst forth from the shops ; and
on the following night a general conflagration
took place, explosions in different places, and
fagots thrown from towers, showed that means
were employed to spread destruction in every
quarter. Dining the next day smoke rolled in
thick clouds over the town, and at night a vast
globe of flame illuminated the atmosphere sev-
eral leagues round. The conflagration was
rapidly spread by a violent wind, the buildings
fell in with a tremendous crash, and the immense
stones, calcined and blackened, only remained
MUC
351
MUR
to denote their site. The French sentinels
were, however, unable to detect the incendiaries;
several stragglers were arrested, tried, and shot,
— but all the men taken in attempting to spread
the flames, declared they had acted under the
direction of Rostopchin and the director of po-
lice. The French officers, on rinding it imprac-
ticable to extinguish the flames, authorized a
systematic pillage. The plunder was immense ;
but the greater part was abandoned in the dis-
astrous retreat. The fire raged till the 19th:
Bonaparte now remained at Moscow a month,
in the hope of prevailing on the Russians to
conclude a peace. Baffled in this attempt, he
quitted the city on the 18th of October. The
young guard, which formed the garrison left
by Bonaparte, intrenched itself in the Kremlin ;
and, having undermined part of the walls and
interior buildings, blew them up on the 23d
October, the day of the final evacuation. The
rebuilding of the city proceeded but slowly till
1814, when the greatest exertions were made ;
and by the beginning of 1818 the new city
seemed to have risen from the ruins, — and by
the end of that year the whole was completed.
— (See Russia.)
MOSES, a celebrated legislator and general
among the Jews, well known in sacred history.
He was born in Egypt 1571, B. C, he conducted
the Israelites through the Red Sea, and gave
them laws and ordinances, during their pere-
grination of 40 years in the wilderness of Arabia.
He died at the age of 120.
MOULTRIE, William, major-general in our
revolution, came to South Carolina from England
at an early age. He served against the Indians
prior to 1775, and, during the revolution dis-
tinguished himself at Charleston, Beaufort,
Stono, and Sullivan's island, the fort of which
was named after him. He died at Charleston,
Sept. 27, 1805.
MUCIUS, Scaevola, (the left-handed), Caius
Mucius Cordus. When Porsenna, king of
Etruria, had besieged Rome to reinstate Tar-
quin in all his rights and privileges, Mucius
determined to deliver his country from so dan-
gerous an enemy. He disguised himself in the
habit of a Tuscan, and as he could speak the
language fluently, he gained an easy introduc-
tion into the camp, and soon into the royal
tent. Porsenna sat alone with his secretary
when Mucius entered. The Roman rushed
upon the secretary and stabbed him to the
heart, mistaking him for his royal master. This
occasioned a noise, and Mucius, unable to es-
cape, was seized and brought before the king.
He gave no answer to the inquiries of the
courtiers, and only told them that he was a Ro-
man, and to give them a proof of his fortitude,
he laid his right hand on an altar of burning
coals, and sternly looking at the king, and with-
out uttering a groan, he boldly told him, that
300 young Romans like himself, had conspired
against his life, and entered the camp in dis-
guise, determined either to destroy him or per-
ish in the attempt. This extraordinary confes-
sion astonished Porsenna ; he made peace with
the Romans and retired from their city. Mu-
cius obtained the surname of Scavola, because
he had lost the use of his right hand by burning
it in the presence of the Etrurian king.
MUNICH, the capital of Bavaria, contains
80,000 inhabitants. It surrendered to the Swedes
and German Protestants, under Gustavus Adol
phus, in 1G32; in 1704, it fell into the hands ot
the Austrians. In 1741 it shared the vicissitudes
of the war, and in 1796, the French army under
Moreau, obliged the elector to make a separate
treaty. In 1800 Moreau again occupied Bava-
ria, and secured his superiority by the victory
of Hohenlinden ; and from that time, to 1813,
Bavaria remained in alliance with the French.
MURAT, an officer of Napoleon's army, cre-
ated grand duke of Berg and Cleves in 1806, was
the son of a pastry-cook , and was born at Achers
in 1771. At a very early age he was a fine
horseman, and fond of military exercises. It is
not surprising, therefore, that he escaped from
the convent where he was placed to study the-
ology, and enlisted in a regiment of dragoons.
His merit raised him from the ranks and he
fought under Napoleon throughout his career.
On the elevation of Joseph to the Spanish throne,
in 1809, Bonaparte transferred the crown of
Naples to Murat, his brother-in-law. In Dec.
1812, Murat was appointed to the chief command
of the French army at Wilna, after their mem-
orable but ill-fated retreat from Moscow. In
1814 Murat joined the alliance against France
by opening his ports to the English, and engag-
ing to assist Austria with an army of 30,000
men. In 1815 Murat, by an enterprise against
the Austrians in Italy, had lost the crown of
Naples. When the expedition from Elba reach-
ed France, he assembled his cabinet, and de-
clared his resolution to support the allies ; but
on learning that Bonaparte had entered Lyons,
he demanded leave of the pope to march a force
through his territories. Pius the VII refused ;
on which two Neapolitan divisions penetrated
to Rome, and his holiness, hastily retiring,
placed himself under the protection of the Eng-
MUR
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NAM
lish at Genoa. Murat himself advanced to An-
cona, and his army marched in four columns
on the routes of Bologna, Modena, Reggio, and
Ferrara, while a fifth division drove the Austrian
garrisons from Cesena and Rimini. Harassed
on all sides by the British and Austrian forces,
and having in vain solicited an armistice, he
attacked Bianchi, near Tolentino, in which
contest his army was totally ruined. After a
disastrous retreat of ten days, he found, on
approaching Naples, that the inhabitants had
declared for the King of Sicily wherever the
Austrians appeared ; that Colonel Church was
raising against him an army of his late subjects ;
and that every thing, in short, was going against
him. Leaving his followers, who were now
reduced to 4000 men, he hastened to Naples, and
arrived at the palace, exhausted with fatigue.
He escaped in disguise with a few adherents to
the Isle of Ischia, and embarking thence for
France, landed on the 25th of May at Cannes.
Murat, after the battle of Waterloo, made his
retreat in an open boat to Corsica. In Septem-
ber, proposals were made to Joachim, that he
should assume the name of a private person,
that he should choose his abode either in Bohe-
mia, Moravia, or Upper Austria ; and that he
should engage not to quit those states without
the consent of the emperor. He rejected this
overture, and undertook, in imitation of Bona-
parte, an expedition for the recovery of his
kingdom. When he landed at Pizzo on the 8th
of October, he could only muster about 30 offi-
cers. Thus disappointed he proceeded to Mon-
teleone. He was overtaken half-way by a very
strong party, and after fighting desperately,
broke through his pursuers, and hastened to the
beach, where he was seized and conveyed be-
fore General Nanziante the commandant of Ca-
labria. On the 15th, pursuant to orders from
Naples, he was tried by court-martial, and found
guilty of having attempted to excite rebellion
and civil war ; sentence of death was pronounced
upon him, and executed on the same day.
MURRAY, Alexander, was born at Chester-
town, Maryland, in 1755. At the age of 18 he
commanded a merchant-vessel. At 21 he was
appointed a lieutenant in the navy, but fought
on shore, until he could obtain a vessel. He
commanded several letters of marque during
the revolutionary struggle, and served some
time under Barry. When in command of the
Constellation he beat off some Tripolitan gun-
boats with great spirit and success. His last
appointment was to the post of commandant
of the navy-yard at Philadelphia. He died,
Oct. 6, 1821.
MURRAY, (Earl of), was the natural son
of James V, King of Scotland. He was a pow-
erful supporter of the reformation. After the
return of Mary from France, he administered
her affairs until her marriage with Darnley,
which he opposed by force of arms, and was
obliged to flee into England. After the murder
of Rizzio, he was again restored to favor. He
went abroad to France on the murder of Darn-
ley in 1566, and returned on being elected re-
gent by his party. This election was confirmed
by parliament, and he soon established his au-
thority. Mary, escaping from Lochleven Cas-
tle, collected her friends, who were defeated at
Langside, near Glasgow, and she was compelled
to flee into England in 1568. He was support-
ed by the alliance of queen Elizabeth. In 1569,
he was murdered by Hamilton, a partisan of
Mary, whose life he had spared. He dispensed
justice with so much impartiality, repressed the
licentious borderers with so much courage,
maintained religion, and established such order
and tranquillity in the country, that his admin-
istration was extremely popular, and he was
long and affectionately remembered by the name
of the " Good Regent."
N.
NADIR SHAH, (see Persia.)
NAMUR, a province of Belgium. The soil
is remarkably fertile, and the earth yields many
valuable minerals. The city of Namur, the cap-
ital, is situated at the junction of the Sambre
and Meuse, 28 miles from Brussels, and con-
tains 19,150 inhabitants. In 1692, the strength
of the place being discovered to the French by
the treacherous Baron de Bresse, who, under
pretence of being laken, deserted the Spanish
service, Louis XIV, with 80,000 men besieged
it : the town was taken after a few days resist-
ance. While the French continued to besiege
the castle, King William III, of Great Biitain,
marched, with 100,000 men to its relief: but
the French, being advantageously posted, de-
clined battle. His majesty, however, drove
them from their posts, and attempted to pass the
river by means of bridges ; but, in the mean
time, a great rain swelled the river, carried
down the bridges, prevented his attacking them,
and gave them an opportunity to take the cas-
tle, which made but a feeble defence : the great-
est loss of the French was at Coehorn Fort,
which was valiantly defended by Colonel Coe-
horn, its founder and governor, who was danger-
ously wounded. The fort was surrendered, and
the castle not long after, but were retaken 1695.
NAP
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NAP
NAN-KING, or Nankin, or Kiang-ning, a
Chinese city, capital of Kiang-nan, 500 miles S.
E. of Peking. It was formerly the imperial
city, and one of the largest in the world, being
12 leagues in circuit. In 1645 its magnificent
palace was destroyed by the Mantchou Tartars.
Its principal ornament, the celebrated porcelain
tower, was built 1411, A. D.
NANTES, a city of France, capital of the
department of the Lower Loire, pleasantly sit-
uated on the Loire, 26 miles from the Atlantic.
Population 71,730. Its manufactures are exten-
sive, and its public institutions important. In
history it is celebrated for the act called the
Edict of Nantes, which was passed by Henry
IV, by which the Protestants enjoyed toleration
in France, 1598. It was revoked by Louis XIV
in 1685 ; by which bad policy 50,000 French
Protestants were induced to quit France, and
seek refuge in England.
NAPLES, the capital and royal residence of
the Two Sicilies, in Terra di Lavoro, containing
361,751 inhabitants, is charmingly situated on
the brink of the most beautiful bay in the world,
a scene on which is thus eloquently described
by a recent traveller.
It is evening and scarcely a breeze ruffles the
bosom of the beautiful bay, which resembles a
mirror reflecting on its glassy surface the bright
sky and the thousand glittering stars with which
it isstudded. Naples, with its white colonnades,
seen amidst the dark foliage of its terraced gar-
dens, rises like an amphitheatre ; lights stream
from the windows, and fall over the sea beneath
like columns of gold. The castle of St. Elmo
crowning the centre ; Vesuvius, like a sleeping
giant in grim repose, whose awaking all dread,
is to the left ; and to the right are the vine-
crowned heights of beautiful Varmero, with
their palaces and villas peeping forth from the
groves that surround them ; while rising above
it, the convent of Camaldoli lifts its head to the
skies.
Resina, Portici, Castel-a-Mare, and the lovely
shores of Sorrento, reach out from Vesuvius, as
if they tried to embrace the isle of Capri, which
forms the central object ; and Pausihppo and
Misenum, which in the distance seemed joined
toProcidaand Ischia, advance to meet the beau-
tiful island on the right. The air as it leaves
the shore, is laden with fragrance from the
orange-trees and jasmine, so abundant round
Naples ; and the soft music of the guitar, or
lively sound of the tambourine, marking the
brisk movements of the tarantella, steals on the
ear. But hark ! a rich stream of music, silenc-
23
ing all other, is heard, and a golden barge ad-
vances; the oars keep time to the music, and
each stroke of them sends forth a silvery light ;
numerous lamps attached to the boat, gives it at
a little distance, the appearance of a vast shell
of topaz floating on a sea of sapphire. Nearer
and nearer draws this splendid pageant, the
music falls more distinctly on the charmed ear
— and one sees that its dulcet sounds are pro-
duced by a band of glittering musicians clothed
in royal liveries.
This illuminated barge is followed by another,
with a silken canopy overhead, and the curtains
drawn back to admit the balmy air. Cleopatra,
when she sailed down the Cydnus, boasted not
a more beautiful vessel ; and, as it glides over
the sea, it seems impelled by the music which
precedes it, so perfectly does it keep time to its
enchanting sounds, leaving a bright trace be-
hind, like the memory of departed happiness.
But who is he that guides this beauteous bark ?
His tall and slight figure is curved, and his
snowy locks, falling over ruddy cheeks, show
that age has bent, but not broken him : he looks
like one born to command — a hoary Neptune
steering over his native element — all eyes are
fixed on him, but his follow the glittering barge
that precedes him. And who is she that has
the seat of honor at his side ? Her fair, large,
and unmeaning face wears a placid smile ; and
those ligjht blue eyes and fair ringlets speak her
of another land ; her lips, too, want the fine
chiseling which marks those of the sunny clime
of Italy ; and the expression of her countenance
has more in it of earth than heaven. Innume-
rable boats, filled with lords and ladies, follow,
but intrude not on the privacy of this regal bark,
which passes before us like the visions in a
dream. He who steered was Ferdinand, king
of the two Sicilies; and she who sat beside him
was Maria-Louisa, ex-empress of France.
The climate of Naples is delightful, and such
of the lazzaroni as are unable to procure shelter
experience no painful results from sleeping in
the open air. The nobles are opulent and lux-
urious, and a love of pleasure pervades alike all
classes. The necessaries of life are easily ob-
tained, and the poor lazzaroni, of whom there
are 30,000, lay by enough money to enable them
to witness the cheap amusements of their city.
During the government of Pandulph II, as
Prince of Benevento, A.D. 1003, the Normans
first arrived in Italy, and established themselves
in this country ; Landulph V, the son of Pan-
dulph, was expelled from the government by
Richard I, the Norman Count of Aversa, who
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caused himself to be proclaimed Prince of Ben-
evenlo. Thus the dominion of the Lombards
in this principality terminated in A. D. 1059. —
Richard was succeeded in the government of
Benevento by Jordanus, Richard II, Robert,
Richard III, Jordanus II, Robert II, and Roger,
who assumed the title of king, and obtained the
investiture of the dukedom of Naples. Some
years after, Roger having taken Pope Innocent
prisoner, obliged his holiness to confirm to him
the title of king.
To him succeeded William in 1154, William
II in 11(36, Tancred, Count of Lecce, in 1190,
Frederick in 1208, who enlarged and embel-
lished the city of Naples, which he made the
chief place of his residence ; and Conrad in 1250.
Four years after Conrad died, and was succeed-
ed by Conradin, whose army was attacked and
dispersed by Manfred. In 1253 Manfred as-
sumed the crown of Sicily ; and in 1260 was
defeated and slain by the army of Charles of
Anjou, on whom Pope Urban had conferred the
title of king. Soon after Conradin laid claim
to Sicily, and marched with an army into Italy,
but was entirely defeated and taken prisoner by
Charles, who caused him and the Duke of Aus-
tria to be publicly beheaded upon a scaffold in
the market-place of Naples, A. D. 1269.
Charles, by his arbitrary and oppressive gov-
ernment, so entirely lost the affections of the
Sicilians, that they offered their allegiance to
Peter, king of Arragon, who was soon after
crowned at Palermo, and from this period the
history of Naples is one unvaried and uninter-
esting detail of similar scenes of war and inva-
sion, during nearly the space of two hundred
years.
At length, after a long separation, Alphonso
of Arragon united both Sicily and Naples under
his dominion. Upon the death of Ferdinand,
Charles V succeeded to Naples, as well as to
the rest of the Spanish monarchy. During his
reign, and that of his successors Philip II,
Philip III, and Philip IV, this country was
governed by the Viceroys of Spain, and suffered
greatly from their oppression. On the death of
Philip IV, A. D. 1664, Charles II succeeded to
the crown of Spain, and adopted Philip of An-
jou, afterwards Philip V, as the heir of all his
dominions.
In 1700 Philip succeeded to the crown of Na-
ples and Sicily ; but his title was opposed by
the house of Austria, and a conspiracy procured
the government of Naples for Charles II, son
of the emperor Leopold. However, by the con-
ditions of the general peace, Naples again owned
the sway of Philip in 1719 ; hut Sicily was given
to the duke of Savoy. Some years after, the
emperor, Charles VI, again seized upon Naples,
and by cession obtained also Sicily. He con-
tinued to reign over them for several years, till
Don Carlos, being vested with the rights of his
father, who was yet alive, conquered these two
kingdoms in 1734, and fixed the seat of his gov-
ernment among his subjects.
Don Cailos changed the face of his kingdoms,
which, on his taking possession of the crown of
Spain, he left in a flourishing condition to his
son Ferdinand IV, in 1759.
In 1767 the Jesuits were expelled from Na-
ples, and were all conveyed into the pope's do-
minions, the vicinity of whose territories ren-
dered every scheme of opposition fruitless.
During the invasion of Italy by the French,
after some immaterial hostilities, a suspension
of arms was agreed to between the king of Na-
ples and the republican commander in 1796;
and soon after a peace was concluded between
the two powers, Naples being required to pay a
sum of eight millions, either in money or in na-
val stores.
In 1798 the king of Naples commenced hos-
tilities against the French, attacked the new
Roman republic, and entered Rome in triumph;
but, in the year following, he was obliged to
conclude an armistice with the enemy on very
hard conditions. Naples was reduced under the
power of the French in 1799, who constituted it
a republic, and established a provisionary gov-
ernment. However, a few months afterwards,
the great successes of the Austro-Russian army
forced the French to evacuate Naples ; and, by
the aid of the English, the king of the Two
Sicilies, who had hoisted his flag on board the
Foudroyant, the English admiral's ship, was en-
abled to return once more to his capital. But
the victory of Bonaparte at Marengo, and the
conditions of the treaty of Luneville gave the
French a great ascendency in Italy.
In 1805 Bonaparte issued a proclamation, de-
claring that the Neapolitan dynasty had ceased
to reign, and ordered his troops to subject the
whole of Italy to his laws or those of his allies.
In consequence of this, a French army, under
the command of Joseph Bonaparte, entered Na-
ples, and- occupied all the principal fortresses in
the kingdom. The king of Naples and the
royal family were obliged to seek an asylum in
Sicily. Under the prince of Hesse, Gaeta made
a long and memorable defence against the
French troops ; and was taken only in conse-
quence of that commander being badly wound-
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NAP
ed, and some of his officers proving treacherous.
On the translation of Joseph Bonaparte to the
throne of Spain, in 1803, Joachim Murat, who
had married a sister of Napoleon, was nominat-
ed to the kingdom of Naples.
After an extraordinary career, in which some
of the martial talents and vigor of Murat were
displayed, but were ill seconded by his troops,
Naples was invested by land, whilst an English
naval force entered its port, and compelled a
surrender of the ships and arsenal. The Nea-
politan commanders, and those of Austria and
England, signed a convention, of which the
prominent feature was the abdication of Joa-
chim. Naples was occupied by the allies, who
were joined by an armament of English and
Sicilians ; and Ferdinand IV, king of the Two
Sicilies, after an absence of nine years, was re-
stored in 1815.
Naples has suffered, at different periods, from
earthquakes and eruptions of Vesuvius.
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, one of the
most extraordinary characters recorded in his-
tory, and distinguished alike for his extraordi-
nary fortunes, his civil talents, and his military
genius, was one of the numerous family of an
advocate of Ajaccio, in Corsica, and was born
there August 15, 1709. After receiving the
rudiments of a classical education, he entered
the military school at Brienne where he was
distinguished by the gravity of his character,
and his sedulous study of the mathematics.
Even his sports partook of his graver pursuits,
and we are told that he was successful in the
little military operations which he undertook.
On the occurrence of a day which was com-
monly considered a holiday, Bonaparte's in-
structors confined him and his companions to
the school-grounds. The young engineer con-
structed a mine with great ingenuity, which, in
exploding, blew down the walls and enabled the
juvenile rebels to escape. When he could en-
list no young recruits in his mimic army, Na-
poleon would use flints as substitutes for sol-
diers, and marshal them with great care. A boy
who disturbed his array was severely punished
by Napoleon. Many years after when the im-
perial diadem was on his head, Napoleon was
informed that one of his old schoolmates desired
an interview. This gentleman assured the
chamberlain that the emperor would recollect
him if lie mentioned that there was a deep scar
on his forehead. When the emperor was in-
formed of this, he said, J' I do not forget how he
got that scar — I threw a general at his head at
Brienne."
At sixteen he received the commission of
second lieutenant in the regiment of Lafere,
which he joined at Valence. At '20 he was pro-
moted to a captaincy, and in December, 1793
obtained the command of the artillery in the at-
tack on Toulon, then occupied by the English,
and contributed by the originality of his plans
to the success of their operations. In 1794 he
was commandant of the artillery in the army of
Italy, and so much distinguished himself, that
in May 1795, he was made general of infantry.
In 1795 when some of the sections of Paris rose
in insurrection against the convention, the com-
mand of the conventional troops was entrusted
to him and he gained a complete victory. He
was at that time very thin, although distin-
guished for corpulency in the latter part of his
life. On one occasion he gained a bloodless
victory over the rabble whose exertions were
stimulated by a very fat old woman. " There,"
cried she, " look at the soldiers ! they 're the
wretches thatfatten in idleness while we starve."
" Look at her and look at me," said Napoleon,
" and tell us which is the fattest." This raised
a laugh, and the populace dispersed quietly.
On this, as on many other occasions, his know-
ledge of human nature was apparent. In his-
twenty-sixth year, Napoleon was appointed
commander-in chief of the army of Italy, and
commenced his brilliant operations in that ca-
pacity, in April, 1796. He successively defeat-
ed the Austrians and Piedmontese at Monte-
notte, Millesimo, Mondovi, and Lodi ; forcing
the king of Sardinia to make peace, and over-
running Lombardy, the Venetian States, the
States of the Church, and Naples, in spite of
every exertion of the Austrians and their allies,
during which he gained a series of brilliant and
decisive victories, and compelled Austria in
1797, to make peace at Campo Formio.
In 1798 he took the command of the army
destined against Egypt, and on his passage from
Toulon, captured Malta. He afterwards landed
at Alexandria, and overran Egypt and Syria,
every where victorious except at Acre ; where,
for want of besieging artillery, he was repulsed
by Sir Sydney Smith. In Oct. 1799, the mis-
government of France, and the disasters which
had befallen the French troops, induced him to
return ; and being received as a savior by the
French nation, on the 9th of Nov. he effected a
revolution in Paris, and was proclaimed first
consul of the republic. After offers of peace to
the confederates which were rejected, he crossed
the Alps with an army of recruits, and in June
1800, gained the battle of Marengo and re-ac-
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quired possession of Italy. A general peace
was the consequence. In 1802 lie was elected
consul for life, and in May, 1804, he assumed
the title of Napoleon I, emperor of the French,
and in Dec. 2, was crowned at Paris by the
Pope. In March, 1805, he was declared king
of Italy, and in May crowned at Milan. He
had previously established his military order of
the Legion of Honor and distributed the crosses
which were the distinguishing badges. ' Of all
to whom the cross of the legion of honor was
tendered, Lafayette alone had the courage to
decline it. Napoleon, either from want of true
perception of moral greatness, or because the
detestable servility of returning emigrants had
taught him to think, there was no such thing as
honor or independence in man, exclaimed, when
they told him that Lafayette refused the decora-
tion, " What, will nothing satisfy that man, but
the chief command of the National Guard of the
Empire ?" Yes, much less abundantly satisfied
him ; — the quiet possession of the poor rem-
nants of his estate, enjoyed without sacrificing
his principles.'
In September, 1805, the confederacy of Eu-
ropean powers being renewed, he invaded Ger-
many, and at Ulm captured 30,000 Austrians.
In November, he entered Vienna, and on Dec.
2, gained the battle of Austerlitz, over the em-
perors of Russia and Austria, after which he
concluded peace with Austria, created the elec-
tors of Bavaria and Wirtemberg kings, and
made his elder brother, Joseph, king of Naples.
In October, 1806, he invaded Prussia, and on
the 3d of that month gained a decisive victory
at Jena and Auerstadt, by which the whole
Prussian monarchy, and Germany to the Baltic,
came under his authority. The " Man of Des-
tiny " had now filled Europe with the terror of
his name, the bare mention of which shook the
crowned heads of the oldest monarchies of the
continent with palsied apprehension. In vain
the dagger, the mine, and the bowl had been
prepared for him. His star had not yet begun
to decline from the zenith. Napoleon was al-
most miraculously preserved from poison. It is
well known that he was an inveterate snuff-
taker. When his mind was deeply engaged his
snuff-box was in constant requisition. He once
left his apartment for a few moments, and re-
turned to take his box from the mantel-piece.
He thought the snuff felt somewhat strangely,
and calling to a dog, that was lying near him,
administered a pinch. The poor animal soon
rolled over in the agonies of death ; and Napo-
leon thenceforth kept his snuff in his waistcoat
pockets which he had sheathed with tin.
November 20th, he promulgated at Berlin the
famous decree by which he proposed to exclude
the trade of Britain from all the ports of the
continent. In June, 1807, having overrun Po-
land, he totally defeated the emperor of Russia
at Eglan and Friedland, after which an inter-
view took place between them on a raft on the
Niemen, followed by the treaty of Tilsit. In
November of that year, he marched an army
into Lisbon, driving the Portuguese court to the
Brazils; and on December 1, created his young-
er brother Jerome, king of Westphalia. On
May 5, 1808, was concluded the treaty by which
Charles IV ceded to the emperor all his rights
in the crown of Spain. Joseph, brother of the
emperor, was proclaimed king of Spain, on the
6th of June. On the 27th of September, in the
same year, Napoleon had an amicable interview
with the emperor of Russia at Erfurt, and they
jointly proposed peace with England, which was
rejected. On the 29th of October, the emperor
departed from Paris and placed himself at the
head of the army in Spain, the right wing of
which pursued Sir John Moore to Corunna,
while he marched to Madrid and seated his bro-
ther on the Spanish throne ; but in the meantime,
the Austrians took the field ; Napoleon hastened
to oppose them, and gained successive victories
at Abensburg, Eckmuhl, and Ratisbon. On the
16th of December, 1809, he divorced the em-
press Josephine, and on the 2d of April, 1810,
married Maria Louisa, archduchess of Austria.
The 20th of March, 1811, was signalized by the
birth of his son who was crowned king of Rome.
In 1812, he assembled a great army in Po-
land, and invaded Russia, and having at the
Borodino, and at Moskwa, gained two bloody
victories, he entered Moscow on the 14th of
September ; that city, having been afterwards
burned by the Russians, became untenable, and
the French retreated for winter quarters towards
Poland, but an early and unusual frost setting
in during their march, they lost their horses,
were compelled to abandon their artillery, and
three fourths of the army perished or were made
prisoners. On this Napoleon returned to Paris,
and Poland and Prussia were occupied by the
Russians.
In April 1813, Napoleon again took the field
against the Prussians, and gained the victories
of Lutzen, Bantzen,and Wartzen ; but the Aus-
trians and Bavarians joined the confederacy
against him, and he was attacked at Leipsic by
the combined armies of the European nations ;
being forced to abandon that city with immense
loss, and retreat to Metz, thereby abandoning
his German conquests. In 1814, the confede-
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357
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rates having passed the Rhine, penetrated, after
various battles, to Paris, which, being surren-
dered by marshals Marmont and Mortier, Na-
poleon concluded a treaty with the allies at
Fontainebleau, by which he agreed to retire to
the island of Elba, with provision for himself
and family.
In March, 1815, Napoleon embarked with
600 of his guards and made a sudden descent in
Provence. On the 10th, he entered Lyons, on
the 20th, Paris in triumph. His banners flew
from steeple to steeple, until they finally waved
in the wind from the pinnacles of Notre Dame.
On the 1st of June, he held the meeting in the
Champ de Mai, and soon joined the army on
the Belgian frontier, where on the lGth, he de-
feated Blucher at Ligny with a loss of 22,000
men. On the 18th, was fought the bloody bat-
tle of Waterloo, in which the French army was
completely defeated. The following account of
the conduct of Napoleon at the battle of Water-
loo is from the journal of a French officer.
He has ruined us — he has destroyed France
and himself; — yet I love him still. It is im-
possible to be near him and not to love him : he
has so much greatness of soul — such majesty of
manner. He bewitches all minds ; approach
him with a thousand prejudices, and you quit
him filled with admiration : but then, his mad
ambition ! his ruinous infatuation ! his obstina-
cy without bounds ! Besides, he was wont to
set every thing upon a cast : his game was all
or nothing ! Even the battle of Waterloo might
have been retrieved, had he not charged with
the guard. This was the reserve of the army,
and should have been employed in covering his
retreat instead of attacking, but, with him,
whenever matters looked desperate, he resem-
bled a mad dog. He harangues the guard — he
puts himself at its head — it debouches rapidly —
it rushes upon the enemy. We are mowed
down by grape — we waver, — turn our backs —
and the rout is complete. A general disorgani-
zation of the army ensues, and Napoleon, re-
turned to himself, is cold as a stone. The last
time I saw him was in returning from the
charge, when all was lost. My thigh had been
broken by a musket shot in advancing, and I
remained in the rear, extended on the ground.
Napoleon passed close to me ; his nose was
buried in his snuff-box, and his bridle fell loose-
ly on the neck of his horse, which was pacing
leisurely along. A Scotch regiment was ad-
vancing at the charge in the distance. The
Emperor was almost alone. Lallemande only
was with him. The latter still exclaimed,
" All is not lost, sire ; all is not lost ; — -rally,
soldiers ! rally !" The Emperor replied not a
word. Lallemande recognises me in passing.
" What ails you, Raoul !" " My thigh is shat-
tered by a musket ball." " Poor devil, how I
pity you ! how I pity you ! Adieu — adieu '."
The emperor said not a word !
" When, after the disaster at Waterloo, Na-
poleon came back in desperation to Paris, and
began to scatter dark hints of dissolving the
representatives Chamber, repeating at Paris the
catastrophe of Moscow, and thereby endeavor-
ing to rouse the people of France to one univer-
sal and frantic crusade of resistance, Lafayette
was the first to denounce the wild suggestion.
He proposed a series of resolutions, announcing
that the independence of the nation was threat-
ened, declaring the Chambers a permanent
body, and denouncing the instant penalties of
high treason against all attempts to dissolve it.
The same evening he proposed, in the secret
assembly of the council of state, the abdication
of Napoleon. The subject was again pressed
the following day ; but the voluntary act of the
emperor anticipated the decision."
On the 8th of July, the king returned to Pa-
ris, and on the 15th of July, Napoleon surren-
dered himself to the English at Rochefort. He
only asked permission to pass the remainder of
his days in England, under an assumed name,
and in a private character, but he was conveyed
to St. Helena, as a prisoner of state. A few
officers of his suite accompanied him. In the
island he was treated with great indignity and
meanness until his death which was the result
of an intestine disorder, and took place May 5,
1821. In his last moments, he was delirious, and
his last words — tcte d' arme'e — proved that he
fancied himself, at the head of his troops, watch-
ing the fluctuating current of a battle. He was
buried in a little valley where a simple slab
marks the place of his repose. Two weeping
willow trees wave over it, and an iron railing
encircles that spot of ground which is so dear to
millions.
Napoleon, in person, was below the middle
size ; and, in the latter part of his life, quite
corpulent. His strait brown hair fell over a
broad high forehead ; his complexion was clear
olive, and his features regular and classical. An
air of subdued melancholy was the prevailing
characteristic of his countenance in repose ; but
he had the power of dismissing all expression
from his features, when he chose to baffle scru-
tiny. At such times the curious observer might
gaze upon his still grey eye and quiet lip with-
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NAR
out finding any indication of the thoughts which
were passing within.
Napoleon was ambitious — and committed
some of the crimes to which ambition leads.
He drenched the sands of Egypt and the snows
of Russia, and the plains of Germany, and Italy,
and Spain, with the best blood of France and
the best of Europe : — yet he was not destitute
of the feelings of humanity, and, as he rode over
a field heaped with the dead and dying victims
of his ambition, his fine eye would fill with
tears. But feeling without repentance is of no
avail. Yet if Napoleon was lavish of the lives
of others, he was no less prodigal of his own ;
and often proved that he possessed a soldier's
soul, amidst the hottest fire of the enemy. If
he laid his grasp upon nations —
"Their ransom did the general coffers fill."
He often pardoned, but he never failed to re-
ward. It was thus that he attached his soldiers
to him with indissoluble bonds. A thousand
proofs may be given of their attachment to their
emperor. At Waterloo, one man was seen,
whose left arm was shattered by a cannon ball,
to wrench it off with the other, and throwing it
up in the air, he exclaimed to his comrades,
Vive Vempereur, jusqud, la mart ! When he
took his final farewell of France, all wept, but
particularly Savary, and a Polish officer who
had been exalted from the ranks by Bonaparte.
He clung to his master's knees : wrote a letter
to Lord Keith, entreated permission to accom-
pany him, even in the most menial capacity,
which could not be admitted.
With men like these to follow him, Napoleon
had the power of choosing his own course. Cir-
cumstances did not force him into the path he
followed : — he was, in a degree, the controller
of his fate — a free agent, with ample means to
f ratify his wishes. He might have been a
Washington — he preferred to be a Caesar.
" When the soldier citizen
Swayed not o'er his fellow men —
Save in deeds that led them on
Where Glory smiled on Freedom's son —
Who, of all the despots handed,
With that youthful chief competed ?
Who could boast o'er France defeated,
Till lone tyranny commanded?
Till, goaded by ambition's sting,
The Hero sunk into the king?
Then he fell ; — So perish ali,
Who would men by man inlhral '." Byron.
NAPOLI DI ROMANIA, or Nauplia,a port
and city on the eastern coast of the Morea, on
the gulf of Nauplia, or Argolis, containing about
5000 inhabitants. It was taken by the Greeks
during their last revolution, and in 1824 became
for a time the seat of government. In 1205, it
was taken by the French and Venetians ; and a
little after king Giannoviza seized and plun-
dered it. The Venetians bought it of Peter
Cornaro's widow in 1?83, and defended it gal-
lantly against Mahomet II, in 1460, obliging him
to raise the siege, as they did Solyman, 1537.
In 1086, general Morosini, after he had taken
Navarin and Modon, ordered general Konings-
mark to possess himself of Mount Palamida,
which is near the town, and commands it ; and
whilst he battered it from this place, general
Morosini gave battle to the Serasker, who came
to relieve it ; defeated him, and took Argos
their fleet, together with their king Ternis
The Seraskier advanced again with 1000 men,
and fell upon the Venetians in their trenches,
where the battle was dubious for three hours;
but at last the Turks fled, general Konings-
mark, the princes of Brunswick and Turenne,
signalizing themselves in the action. After the
battle, the siege was pushed on with vigor, and
the Turks, having capitulated, were conducted
to Tenedos. The Venetians found in the cas-
tle 17 brass cannons, seven iron cannons, and
one mortar.
NARBONNE, anciently Narbo-Martius, a
city of France, in the department of the Aude,
containing 10,0f)7 inhabitants. It is one of the
most ancient cities of that kingdom. In 435,
the Visigoths besieged this city in vain ; but it
was treacherously delivered to them in 462, by
count Agripin. And in 732, the Saracens being
admitted into the city as friends, took posses-
sion of it, and slew all except the king. In 736,
Charles Martel took it from the Saracens ; since
which it has been subject to the crown of
France. The cathedral church is very ancient
and famous, and is by some supposed to have
been a metropolitan see, since the year 309. It
is dedicated to St. Justus and St. Martyr, and
renowned for its organs, and the raising of Laz-
arus, painted by an eminent artist. The city is
well fortified, and has only two gates. The
dukes of Septimania. were also dukes of Nar-
bonne ; the counts of Toulouse, who succeeded
them, had the same title ; and the city and dio-
cese was governed under them by viscounts.
Gaston de Foix, king of Navarre, in 14(38, be-
stowed the lordship of Narbonne upon John his
second son, who married the sister of Louis
XII, by whom he had Gaston de Foix, killed at
the battle of Ravenna in 1513. This Gaston ex-
changed the city and lordship of Narbonne with
his uncle, for other lands, in 1507, by which
means it became united to the crown of France.
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359
NEL
NASEBY, a village of Northamptonshire,
England, famous for the battle fought there in
1645, between king Charles I and the parlia-
mentary forces. This decisive and well dis-
I puted engagement was fought with nearly equal
j forces on both sides. The king commanded in
| person, and displayed all the conduct of a pru-
dent general and stout soldier. Fairfax and
Skippon were his opponents; and Cromwell
behaved with his usual prudence and gallantry.
The royal infantry was entirely discomfited ;
I and, though the king cried aloud to the caval-
' ry, " One charge more and we recover the day !"
they could not be prevailed on to renew the
combat, and the king was obliged to quit the
| field. The slain on the side of the parliament,
however, exceeded those of the king. Among
the spoils was found the king's cabinet, with
copies of his letters to the queen.
NASSAU, a sovereign duchy of the German
1 empire, with an area of 1959 square miles, and a
population of 303,470. The soil is extremely
fertile.
NATCHEZ, a city of Mississippi, on the
east bank of the Mississippi, 280 miles above
New Orleans. Population in 1830, 2790. This
city possesses great commercial advantages, but
unfortunately has been frequently visited by the
yellow fever The place is well-built, the streets
are of considerable width.
NATOLIA, Annatolia, or Anadoli, a fertile
and productive province of Asiatic Turkey, 650
miles in length, and 400 broad, containing
270,000 square miles, and 6,000,000 inhabitants.
It is also called Asia Minor, and anciently com-
prised Bithynia, Paphlagonia, Galatia, Pheygia,
Mysia, iEolia, Ionia, Lydia, Caria, Doris, Pysi-
dia, Lycia, Pamphylia, Cilicia, Cappadocia,and
Pontus.
NAVARINO (JVeocastro ;) a fortified town
on the S. W. coast of the Morea, with a large
harbor. In 1715 it was in the hands of the Ve-
netians who fortified it against the Turks. Here
(Oct. 20, 1827) the combined Russian, French,
and English fleet, commanded by admiral Cod-
rington, destroyed the Turco-Egyptian fleet, of
214 sail, in three hours.
NAVARRE, a province of Spain, with the
title of kingdom, divided formerly into Upper
and Lower Navarre. The latter is now in-
cluded in the French department of the Lower
Pyrenees, and the former forms the Spanish
kingdom of Navarre. Spanish Navarre con-
tains 271 ,235 inhabitants.
NAXOS, now Nazia, in very ancient times
Dia and Stongylc, the largest island of the Cy-
clades, contains 169 square miles, and 10,000
inhabitants. The Naxians were anciently gov-
erned by kings, but they afterwards exchanged
this form of government for a republic, and en-
joyed their liberty till the age of Pisistratus,
who appointed a tyrant over them. They were
reduced by the Persians ; but in the expedition
of Darius and Xerxes against Greece, they re-
volted and fought on the side of the Greeks.
During the Peloponnesian war, they supported
the interest of Athens. The capital was also
called Naxos ; and near it, B. C. 377, the Lace-
daemonians were defeated by Chabrias.
NEBUCHADNEZZAR 1, or Jfubuchodono-
sar, king of Nineveh and Babylon. He is sup-
posed to be the same with Nabopolassar, gov-
ernor of Babylon, who founded the kingdom of
Nineveh. He sent Holophernes against Judea,
who was slain by Judith.
NEBUCHADNEZZAR II, king of Assyria
and Babylon, is supposed to have been the son
of the preceding. He invaded Judea, took Je-
rusalem, and carried the treasures of the temple,
and a number of captives, to Babylon. After
this, he set up a golden statue in the plain of
Dura, which he commanded all his subjects to
adore, on pain of being cast into a fiery furnace.
Three young Jews, named Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego, refused to submit to this idola-
try, and the sentence was executed upon them;
but they were preserved amidst the flames.
Having lost his senses, he became an outcast
from the society of men, and lived among wild
beasts in the forest ; but on recovering his rea-
son, he again ascended the throne and died, B.
C. 562, after reigning 43 years.
NECHO, king of Egypt, called in scripture,
Pharaoh Necho, succeeded his father, Psamme-
ticus,B. C.616. He undertook to make a canal
from the Nile to the Arabian gulf, which un-
dertaking he was forced to abandon, after losing
a great number of men. The ships of Necho
sailed from the Red Sea, round the coast of
Africa, into the Mediterranean ; and returned
to Egypt, after a voyage of three years. Thia
monarch invaded Assyria, and on his march was
attacked by Josiah, king of Judah, who was
slain in the battle. The king of Egypt was de-
feated in his turn by Nebuchadnezzar, and
obliged to return to his own country, where he
died, B. C. 600.
NELSON, (Horatio, Viscount), an English
admiral, was the fourth son of the rector of
Burnham Thorpe in Norfolk, where Horatio
was born Sept. 29, 1758. At the age of twelve
years he was taken to sea by his maternal un-
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360
NEL
cle, Captain Suckling, of the Raisonable man-
of-war. In 1773 in a voyage undertaken for
the discovery of a north-west passage, the young
seaman distinguished himself by his skill, cour-
age, and promptitude. Soon after his return
he was appointed to a station in the Seahorse,
in which he sailed to the East Indies.
He passed for a lieutenant in 1777, and re-
ceived his commission as second of the Lowes-
toff frigate ; in which he cruised against the
Americans. In 1779 he obtained the rank of
post captain, and was appointed to the command
of the Hinchinbrooke, with which he sailed to
the West Indies, and while there essentially
contributed to the taking of Fort Juan in the
gulf of Mexico. We find him next commanding
the Boreas, having under him the Duke of Cla-
rence, who was captain of the Pegasus.
While thus engaged he married the daughter
of William Woodward, judge of the Island of
Nevis, by whom he never had any issue. On
the breaking out of the war with France he was
nominated to the Agamemnon of 64 guns, on
board of which he sailed to the Mediterranean,
and was present at the taking possession of
Toulon. He was also present at the siege of
Bastia, where he served at the batteries with a
body of seamen ; as he afterwards did at Calvi :
and while employed before that place he lost
an eye. He was so active on that station that
his name was dreaded throughout the Mediter-
ranean.
He was with Admiral Hotham in the action
with the French fleet, March 15, 1795; and the
same year he took the island of Elba. In 1796'
he was appointed commodore on board La Mi-
nerve, in which frigate he captured La Sabine,
a forty gun ship. Soon after this he descried
the Spanish fleet, and steered with the intelli-
gence to Sir John Jervis off St. Vincent. He
had scarcely communicated the news, and shift-
ed his flag on board the Captain of 74 guns,
when the enemy hove in sight. A close action
ensued, which terminated in a complete vrctory
on the side of the British, who were inferior in
numbers. On this occasion Commodore Nelson
attacked the Santissima Trinidada of 136 guns ;
and afterwards he boarded and took the San
Nicolas of 80 guns, from whence he proceeded
in the same manner to the San Josef of 112
guns ; both of which surrendered to him. For
his share in this glorious victory, the commodore
was honored with the order of the Bath ; and
having soon afterwards hoisted his flag as rear
admiral of the blue, he was appointed to com-
mand the inner squadron at the blockade of
Cadiz. He there made a bold but unsuccessful
attempt to bombard the city, heading his men
himself
The next exploit in which he was engaged
was an attempt to take possession of Teneriffe,
which design also failed, with the loss of Cap-
tain Bowen of the Terpsichore. In this expe-
dition Admiral Nelson lost his right arm by a
cannon shot, and was carried off to the boat by
his son-in-law Captain Nesbit, on his back. He
now returned to England for the recovery of
his health, and received the grant of a pension
of 1000/. a year. The brave admiral, however,
did not long remain inactive: he rr joined Earl
St. Vincent, who, on receiving intelligence of
the sailing of Bonaparte from Toulon, detached
Sir Horatio Nelson with a squadron in pursuit
of him.
After exploring the coast of Italy, this inde-
fatigable commander steered for Alexandria,
where to his great mortification not a French
ship was to be seen. He then sailed to Sicily,
and having taken in a fresh supply of water,
and obtained more correct information, returned
to Alexandria, which he descried August 1,
1798, at noon. The enemy were discovered in
Aboukir Bay, lying at anchor in line of battle ;
and supported by strong batteries on an Island,
and strengthened by gun-boats. Notwithstand-
ing this formidable appearance, the British ad-
miral made the signal for battle ; and, by a mas-
terly and bold manoeuvre, gave directions for
part of his fleet to lead inside the enemy, who
were thus exposed between two fires.
The contest was hot and bloody. Several of
the French ships were soon dismasted ; and, at
last the admiral's ship l'Orient of 120 guns took
fire, and blew up. The firing, however, con-
tinued, but by the dawn of day only two sail of
the line were discovered with their colors fly-
ing, all the rest having struck. Soon after this
he sailed for Sicily, and from thence to Naples,
where he quelled a rebellion, and restored the
king. Having performed these and other im-
portant services, Lord Nelson returned to Eng-
land, and was received with enthusiastic joy.
A confederacy of the northern powers having
alarmed the government, he was employed to
dissolve it. A fleet was fitted out, the com-
mand of which was given to Admiral Sir Hyde
Parker, assisted by Lord Nelson. On their ar-
rival off the Cattegat, and being refused a pas-
sage, Lord Nelson offered his services for con-
ducting the attack on the Danish force, which
was stationed to oppose an entrance. This
being accepted, he shifted his flag to the Ele-
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phant, and passed the Sound with little loss.
On the 2d of April the action commenced at
ten o'clock, and after a sharp conflict seventeen
sail of the Danes were sunk, burnt, or taken.
A negotiation was then entered into between
his lordship and the Crown Prince ; in conse-
quence of which the admiral went ashore, and
an armistice was settled.
Having accomplished these great objects, he
returned to England, and was created a vis-
count. In August 1801, he bombarded the
enemy's flotilla of gun-boats at Boulogne, but
without any material effect. A treaty suddenly
taking place, his lordship retired, but hostilities
recommencing he sailed for the Mediterranean,
and in March 1803, took the command of that
station on board the Victory. Notwithstanding
all his vigilance, the French fleet escaped from
Toulon, and was joined by that of Cadiz ; of
which being apprized, he pursued them to the
West Indies with a far inferior force. The
combined squadrons, however, struck with ter-
ror, returned without effecting any thing; and,
after a partial action with Sir Robert Calder off
Farrol, re-entered Cadiz. Admiral Nelson re-
turned to England, but soon set sail to join his
fleet off Cadiz.
The French under Admiral Villeneuve, and
the Spaniards under Gravina, ventured out with
a number of troops on board, October 19, 1805,
and on the 21st, about noon, the action began
off Cape Trafalgar. Lord Nelson ordered his
ship the Victory to be carried alongside his old
antagonist, the Santissima Trinidada, where he
was exposed to a severe fire of musketry; and,
not having the precaution to cover his coat,
which was decorated with his star and other
badges of distinction, he became an object for
the riflemen placed purposely in the tops of the
Bucentaur, which lay on his quarter. A shot
from one of these entered just below his shoul-
der, of which he died in about two hours. In
this action the enemy's force consisted of thirty-
three ships of the line, and several of extraordi-
nary magnitude ; while the British were only
twenty-seven. After the fall of Lord Nelson,
the command devolved on Admiral Colling-
wood, by whose bravery and skill a complete
victory was obtained. The remains of Lord
Nelson were interred with great pomp in St.
Paul's cathedral, January 9, following.
NELSON, Thomas, junior; a signer of the
Declaration of American Independence, was
born at York, in Virginia, Dec. 26, 1738. He
received an excellent education in England,
and returned to America about the close of the
year 1761. After having been a member of the
house of burgesses in his native state, he was
chosen a member of the first congress, and re-
tained his seat until 1777. At this date, the
feeble state of his health obliged him tempora-
rily to relinquish his seat, and as soon as he
recovered, he was chosen brigadier-general and
commander-in-chief of the forces of the com-
monwealth. In 1779 he was re-elected to con-
gress, but obliged by sickness to return home
again. However, he took up arms against the
British and distinguished himself in several
military expeditions. In 1781 he succeeded
Mr. Jefferson as governor of Virginia, and
through the most troubled times of the common-
wealth, acquitted himself fearlessly and well.
He died Jan. 4, 1789, in his 51st year.
NEPTUNE, in ancient mythology, the god
of the sea, the brother of Jupiter from whom
he derived his sovereignty. He is generally
represented as a bearded old man, with a tri-
dent in his hand, seated in a huge marine shell
which is drawn over the waters by sea-horses.
NERO, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, after
his adoption called Claudius Drusus, the son of
Caius Domitius Ahenobarbus, and Agrippina,
the daughter of Germanicus, was born at An-
trum, A. D. 37.
He was adopted by the emperor Claudius, A.
D. 50, and four years after he succeeded to him
on the throne. The beginning of his reign was
marked by acts of the greatest kindness and
condescension, by affability, complaisance, and
popularity. The object of his administration
seemed to be the good of his people ; and when
he was desired to sign his name to a list of mal-
efactors that were to be executed, he exclaimed,
I wish to heaven I could not write. He was an
enemy to flattery, and when the senate had
liberally commended the wisdom of government,
Nero desired them to keep their praises till he
deserved them. These promising virtues were
soon discovered to be artificial, and Nero dis-
played the propensities of his nature. He de-
livered himself from the sway of his mother,
and at last ordered her to be assassinated.
This unnatural act of barbarity might astonish
some of the Romans, but Nero had his devoted
adherents ; and when he declared that he had
taken away his mother's life to save himself
from ruin, the senate applauded his measures,
and the people signified their approbation. Many
of his courtiers shared the unhappy fate of
Agrippina, and Nero sacrificed to his fury or
caprice all such as obstructed his pleasure. He
sacrificed to his wantonness his wife Octavia
ft
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PoppEEa, and the celebrated writers, Seneca,
Lucan, Petronius, &c. The Christians also
did not escape his barbarity.
He had heard of the burning of Troy, and as
he wished to renew that dismal scene, he caused
Rome to be set on fire in different places. The
conflagration became soon universal, and during
nine successive days the fire was unextinguish-
ed. All was desolation, nothing was heard but
the lamentations of mothers whose children had
perished in the flames, the groans of the dying,
and the continual fall of palaces and buildings.
Nero was the only one who enjoyed the general
consternation. He placed himself on the top of
a high tower, and he sang on his lyre the de-
struction of Troy, a dreadful scene which his
barbarity had realized before his eyes. He at-
tempted to avert the public odium from his head,
by a feigned commiseration of the miseries of his
subjects. He began to repair the streets and
the public buildings at his own expense. He
built himself a celebrated palace, which was
profusely adorned with gold, and precious stones,
and with whatever was rare and exquisite. The
entrance of this edifice could admit a large co-
lossus of the emperor 120 feet high, the galleries
were each a mile long, and the whole was cov-
ered with gold.
The roofs of the dining halls represented the
firmament in motion as well as in figure, and
continually turned round night and day, show-
ering down all sorts of perfumes and sweet wa-
ters. When this grand edifice, which occupied
a great part of the city, was finished, Nero said,
that now he could lodge like a man. His pro-
fusion was not less remarkable in all his other
actions. When he went a fishing, his nets
were made with gold and silk. He never ap-
peared twice in the same garment, and when
he undertook a voyage, there were thousands
of servants to take care of his wardrobe. This
continuation of debauchery and extravagance,
at last roused the resentment of the people.
Many conspiracies were formed against the em-
peror, but they were generally discovered, and
such as were accessary suffered the greatest
punishments.
The most dangerous conspiracy against Ne-
ro's life, was that of Piso, from which he was
delivered by the confession of a slave. The
conspiracy of Galba proved more successful;
and the conspirator, when he was informed that
his plot was known to Nero, declared himself
emperor. The unpopularity of Nero favored
his cause, he was acknowledged by all the Ro-
man empire, and the senate condemned the ty-
rant that sat on the throne to be dragged naked
through the streets of Rome, and whipped to
death, and afterwards to be thrown down from
the Tarpeian rock like the meanest malefactor.
This, however, was not done, Nero, by a vol-
untary death, having prevented the execution
of the sentence. He killed himself, A. D. 68,
in the 32d year of his age, after a reign of 13
years and eight months.
Rome was filled with acclamations at the in-
telligence, and the citizens, more strongly to
indicate their joy, wore caps such as were gen-
erally used by slaves who had received their
freedom. Their vengeance was not only exer-
cised against the statues of the deceased tyrant,
but his friends were the objects of the public
resentment, and many were crushed to pieces
in such a violent manner, that one of the sen-
ators, amid the universal joy, said that he was
afraid they should soon have cause to wish for
Nero. Though his death seemed to be the
source of universal gladness, yet many of his
favorites lamented his fall, and were grieved to
see that their pleasures and amusements were
stopped by the death of the patron of debauch-
ery and extravagance. Even the king of Par-
thia sent ambassadors to Rome to condole with
the Romans, and to beg that they would honor
and revere the memory of Nero. His statues
were also crowned with garlands of flowers,
and many believed that he was not dead, but
that he would soon make his appearance, and
take a due vengeance upon his enemies.
NERO, CLAUDIUS, a Roman general sent
into Spain to succeed the two Scipios. He suf-
fered himself to be imposed upon by Asdrubal,
and was soon after succeeded by young Scipio.
He was afterwards made consul, and intercepted
Asdrubal, who was passing from Spain into
Italy with a large reinforcement for his brother
Annibal. An engagement was fought near the
river Metaurus, in which 56,000 of the Cartha-
ginians were left on the field of battle, and great
numbers taken prisoners, 207 B. C.
NERVA COCCEIUS, a Roman emperor
after the death of Domilian, A. D. 96. He
rendered himself popular by his mildness, his
generosity, and the active part he took in the
management of affairs. He suffered no statues
to be raised to his honor, and he applied to the
use of the government all the gold and silver
statues which flattery had erected to his prede-
cessor. In his civil character he was the pat-
tern of good manners, of sobriety, and tempe-
rance. He made a solemn declaration that no
senator should suffer death during his reigrit ;
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and this he observed with such sanctity, that
when two members of the senate had conspired
against his life, he was satisfied to tell them
that he was informed of their wicked machina-
tions. He also conducted them to the public
spectacles, and seated himself between them,
and, when a sword was offered to him, according
to the usual custom, he desired the conspirators
to try it upon his body. Such goodness of heart,
such confidence in the self conviction of the
human mind, and such reliance upon the con-
sequence of his lenity and indulgence, concil-
iated the affection of all his subjects. Yet, as
envy and danger are the constant companions
of greatness, the praetorian guards at last mu-
tinied, and Nerva nearly yielded to their fury.
He uncovered his aged neck in the presence of
the incensed soldiery, and bade them wreak their
vengeance upon him, provided they spared the
life of those to whom he was indebted for the
empire, and whom his honor commanded him to
defend. His seeming submission was unavail-
ing, and he was at last obliged to surrender to
the fury of his soldiers, some of his friends and
supporters. The infirmities of his age, and his
natural timidity, at last obliged him to provide
himself against any future mutiny or tumult,
by choosing a worthy successor. He had many
friends and relations, but he did not consider
the aggrandizement of his family, and he chose
for his son and successor, Trajan, a man of whose
virtues and greatness of mind he was fully con-
vinced. This voluntary choice was approved
by the acclamations of the people ; and the wis-
dom and prudence which marked the reign of
Trajan showed how discerning was the judg-
ment, and how affectionate were the intentions
of Nerva for the good of Rome. He died A.
D. 98, in his 72d year, and his successor showed
his respect for his merit and his character by
raising him altars and temples in Rome, and in
the provinces, and by ranking him in the num-
ber of the gods. Nerva was the first Roman
emperor who was of foreign extraction, his fa-
ther being a native of Crete.
NETHERLANDS, a kingdom of Europe,
separated from Belgium in the revolution of
1830, previously to which it contained 25,375
square miles, and 0,059,566 inhabitants. The
earliest accounts of the Netherlands are from
the Romans, by whom all the southern and
central part (called Belgia) was kept in subjec-
tion till the decline of their empire in the fifth
century. It was formerly, under the govern-
ment of counts, but being incorporated with the
extensive possessions of the duke of Burgundy,
the Netherlands passed to Maximilian of Aus-
tria, father of Charles V, who united the 17
provinces into one state ; but the bigotry of his
son Philip II, produced the separation of the
Dutch provinces, and great dissension and dis-
tress in the others. They remained under the
Spanish crown until the middle of the 17th
century, when arduous exertions were made by
Conde and Turenne to add them to the domin-
ions of Louis XIV. The quadruple alliance,
concluded at the Hague in 1668, however, put
a stop to their progress, but the wars from 1672
to 1679, and 1689 to 1697, were prosecuted
chiefly for the Netherlands. At length, in 1702,
Louis obtained them, but the French being de-
feated by the duke of Marlborough at the battle
of Ramilics, in 1706, the southern provinces
were brought under the power of the allies, and
assigned to Austria at the peace of Utrecht. A
peace ensued, until the war of 1741 was trans-
ferred to the Netherlands, and the French un-
der Marshal Saxe recovered them. Bergen-op-
Zoom was captured by the French in September
1747, and Maestricht in the following year,
when the successes of the British navy, and the
persevering aspect of the coalition led to the
peace of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, and the south-
ern Netherlands thus became restored to Aus-
tria. By the treachery of Austria in 1756 they
were once more nearly ceded to France, but the
scheme was not carried into effect. In tlie
campaign of 1792 Austria again lost the Nether-
lands, and though recovered in 1793, they again
passed over to France in 1794. The hope of
recovering them was the cause of the coalition
of 1799 and 1805, both baffled in their object.
The disasters of the French army in Russia in
1812, at length, opened the long-wished for
prospect. In 1813, Germany occupied all the
exertions of the allies, but in 1814 the Nether-
lands were detached by a consequence of the
revolution by which the Bourbons were restored ;
and the British cabinet accomplished the union
of the seventeen provinces, and their erection
into an independent state, under the prince of
Orange, in 1815. The prince, therefore, as-
sumed the title of king of the Netherlands, and
grand duke of Luxembourg.
NEW BRUNSWICK, a British province of
North America. Population 110,000. In the
interior of the country the soil is admirable, and
the uplands are well timbered. Grass and grain
are the principal agricultural productions, and
the main exports are timber and fish. The river
St. John's is the principal stream.
NEWFOUNDLAND, an island in the North
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Atlantic ocean near the gulf of St. Lawrence,
discovered by Sebastian Cabot in 1497. The
population is estimated at about 80,000. It is
380 miles long, and from 40 to 280 broad, being
of triangular shape. The face of the country is
very rugged, but timber is abundant. The cli-
mate is cold and dreary. The fisheries off* the
banks employ more than one hundred thousand
men. St. John's, the capital, contains about
12,000 inhabitants.
NEW HAMPSHIRE, one of the United
States, bounded north by Lower Canada; east by
the Atlantic ocean and the state of Maine ; south
by Massachusetts, and west by Connecticut
river. It has an area of 7,491 miles, and a pop-
ulation of 259,533. There are numerous rivers
in the state, which is very mountainous, the
White Mountains displaying some of the most
sublime scenes to be found in this country.
The chief towns are Concord, the seat of gov-
ernment, Portsmouth, Dover, Walpole, Clare-
mont, Hanover, Hopkinton, Salisbury, Lon-
donderry, and Durham. Dartmouth College, in
Hanover, and Philip's Academy at Exeter, are
both flourishing institutions. Agriculture is
the chief occupation of the people. John Smith
discovered New Hampshire in 1614, but its
name was bestowed by John Mason, to whom,
and Sir Ferdinand Gorges, grants of land were
made by the crown in 1022. The country was
thence popularly termed the Hampshire Grants,
The first settlements were made in 1623, at
Dover and Portsmouth. From 1641, to 1679,
the settlements formed a portion of Suffolk
county, Massachusetts. Charles II separated
them. It was afterwards reunited to Massa-
chusetts, but finally separated in 1741. The
present constitution is that which was altered
in 1792, from that of 1784.
NEW JERSEY, one of the United States;
bounded north by New York ; east by New
York and the Atlantic Ocean ; south by the
Ocean, and west by Delaware and Pennsylva-
nia. The northern part of the state is moun-
tainous, but the southern level. The former
is the most fertile and has soil well adapted to
agricultural purposes. Iron is found among
the mountains in great abundance. The chief
towns are Trenton, the seat of government,
Newark, New Brunswick, Elizabethtown, Bur-
lington, Patterson, <fcc. The college of New
Jersey at Princetown is a deserving institution.
Population in 1830, 320,823. The first settle-
ment in this state was made at Elizabethtown in
1664. In 1676, the country was divided into
East and West Jersey, which were separate
proprietary governments, and not united until
1702, at which time the name of New Jersey
was given to the colony. In the measures of
our revolution this state was ever active and
forward, and suffered severely from the war.
NEW ORLEANS, a great commercial city
of Louisiana, in the parish of Orleans, situated
on the Mississippi, 105 miles from its mouth,
following the course of the stream. It contains
46,310 inhabitants. A large part of the popula-
tion are French and Spaniards, and the dwel-
lings and manners of the inhabitants are more
European than American. It is built on ground
lower than the surface of the river, and an em-
bankment, called the levee, protects the city
from inundation. This is 160 miles in length.
The yellow fever periodically visits New Or-
leans and commits great ravages.
Early in December, 1815, a large British
force entered Lake Pontchartrain, near New
Orleans, defeating, after an obstinate conflict,
the small American naval force stationed there.
The British forces were commanded by general
Packenham, the American by Major General
Andrew Jackson. Several skirmishes took
place in which the British suffered severely.
On Sunday morning early, January 8, a grand
attack was made by the British on the Ameri-
can troops in their entrenchments. After an
engagement of upwards of an hour, the enemy
were cut to pieces to a degree almost beyond
example, and fled in confusion, leaving their
dead and wounded on the field of battle. The
loss of the British was 700 killed, 1400 wounded,
500 taken prisoners, making a total of 2.600.
The American loss in the engagement was 7
killed, and 6 wounded. Sir Edward Packen-
ham and Major General Gibbs were among the
slain. The attack was not renewed, and in a
short time the British left the coast.
NEW SOUTH WALES, a British colony
on the eastern coast of New Holland. This
district was taken possession of by Captain
Cook on his first voyage, in 1770, who gave it
the name of Botany Bay. The colony, com-
menced in 1778, and composed partly of con-
victs, is flourishing and promises to be valuable
to the mother country. Its staple commodity
is wool. The revenue, in 1828, was JE 102,577.
NEWTON, Sir Isaac, justly called the cre-
ator of natural philosophy, was born at Wools-
thorpe,in Lincolnshire, December 25, 1642, old
style. He evinced, in early youth, a great
fondness for mechanical pursuits, and a remark-
able aptitude for drawing, and constructing
machinery, being his own instructer in all his
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pursuits. At the age of eighteen he entered
Trinity College, Cambridge. Here his fond-
ness for mathematical studies enabled him to
make a great proficiency in them, and before
completing his 23d year, he made some great
discoveries in the science to which he was
attached. The fall of an apple led him to a
train of reflections which resulted in his eluci-
dation of the principles of gravitation. It is
impossible to follow him through his scientific
career, tracing out the brilliant discoveries he
made in optics, chemistry, &c. In 1688, New-
ton was elected by his university to the con-
vention parliament. In 1699, he was made
master of the mint. In 1703, he was chosen
president of the royal society, and in 1705,
was knighted by queen Anne. He died March
20, 1727, and was interred in Westminster
Abbey, when a monument was erected to his
memory by his family.
The following is Pope's epitaph on this great
man ;
Isaacus Newton hic jacet,
q.uem immortalem cceli, natura,
Tempus ostendunt,
MoRTALEM HOC MARMOR FATETUR.
Nature and all her works lay hid in night,
God said, Let Newton be — and all was light.
This great man was mild and good natured
in his private life. The following anecdote
shows his character in a most amiable light.
" He had constructed a small laboratory for
prosecuting his chemical investigations, and
seems, after his publication of his principia, to
have devoted almost all his time to them. One
morning (1692), he had accidentally shut up his
little pet dog Diamond in his room, and, on
returning, found that the animal, by upsetting
a candle on his desk, had destroyed the labors
of several years. On perceiving his loss, he
only exclaimed, ' Oh, Diamond ! Diamond !
thou little knowest the mischief thou hast
done !' "
His modesty was equal to his merits. " When
his friends expressed their admiration of his
discoveries, he said, ' To myself, I seem to have
been as a child playing on the seashore, while
the immense ocean of truth lay unexplored
before me.' "
NEW YORK, one of the United States, is
bounded north by Upper and Lower Canada ;
east by Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connect-
icut; south by New Jersey and Pennsylvania;
and west by Pennsylvania, Lake Erie, and the
Niagara river. It contains 45,658 square miles.
The increase of the population is very rapid, as
may be perceived from the following state-
ment.
Population in 1702 20,708
" in 1800 580,050
" in 1820 1,372,811
" in 1830 1,913,604
COUNTIES.
New York, Montgomery,
Kings, Hamilton,
Queen's, Saratoga,
Richmond, Washington,
Suffolk, Warren,
Westchester, Essex,
Dutchess, Clinton,
Putnam, Franklin,
Orange, St. Lawrence,
Rockland, Jefferson,
Ulster, Lewis,
Sullivan, Herkimer,
Delaware, Oneida,
Greene, Madison,
Columbia, Oswego,
Albany, Otsego,
Rensselaer, Chenango,
Schenectady, Broome,
Schoharie, Cortland,
Tompkins, Livingston,
Tioga, Monroe,
Steuben, Orleans,
Onondaga, Genesse,
Cayuga, Alleghany,
Seneca, Niagara,
Ontario, Erie,
Yates, Cattaraugus,
Wayne, Chautauqua.
CITIES.
New York, Brooklyn,
Albany (the seat of government),
Troy, Utica,
Hudson, Rochester.
Schenectady,
There are also 780 towns and 180 incorpo-
rated villages.
New York contains numerous large rivers,
among which may be mentioned the Hudson,
Mohawk, St. Lawrence, Delaware, Susquehan-
na, Tioga, Alleghany, Genesee, Oswego, Niag-
ara. Lakes — Erie, Ontario, Champlain, George,
Cayuga, Seneca, Oneida, &c
The internal navigation of the state of New
York surpasses that of any other state, and is
continually being improved. The Erie and
Northern Canals are both great works. The
surface of this state is greatly diversified. In
some parts the elevation is great, and the Kaats-
kill mountains presents some sublime scenery.
In various places are found iron ore, gypsum,
limestone, marble, slate, lead, &c.
Education is liberally provided for in New
York, and the Columbia College in the city,
Union College at Schenectady, and Hamilton
College at Clinton, &c, are flourishing institu-
tions. The Military Academy at West Point,
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366
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under the direction of the national government,
is an admirable institution. These are but the
most prominent. The annual expenditure made
for the purpose of public education amounts to
$ 700,000. The state finances are in a very
flourishing condition; the annual income is
$2,000,000. The staple productions are princi-
pally wheat and other grain, flour, provisions,
salt, pot and pearlashes, and lumber.
New York was first discovered by Henry
Hudson, an English navigator, in 1609. He
sailed up the river which bears his name to the
distance of 150 miles, and on his return to Eu-
rope, communicated the results of his enter-
prise to his employers, the Dutch East India
Company. Dutch trading establishments were
immediately formed at different places. The
earliest establishment of the kind was Fort
Orange, founded in 1613, on the site of the city
of Albany. New Amsterdam (now the city of
New York), was formed a few years later.
The East India Company having obtained from
the government of Holland a giant of the ex-
clusive right to trade in America, called the
country which they settled, New Netherlands.
In 1604, Charles II, of England, granted to
his brother, the duke of York and Albany, an
extensive territory which included the colony
of New Netherlands. A small armament was
fitted out in England to act against the Dutch
in America, who, however, speedily submitted
to the English. The latter changed the names
of New Amsterdam to New York, and Fort
Orange to Albany. In May, 1775, the inhabit-
ants of New York asserted their independence,
and through the revolutionary war, took a dis-
tinguished part in the struggle for liberty.
N E W-YORK CITY, lies in the state of New
York, and is situated on an island at the junc-
tion of Hudson and East rivers, at the head of
New- York bay, sixteen miles from the Atlantic
Ocean. The Island is about fifteen miles long,
and one and a half broad. The Indian name
of this island is Manhattan. The island con-
stitutes a county of itself. Population in 1830,
203,021. The schools of New York enjoy a
high reputation. There are more than 100
churches in the city, many of them handsomely
built and ornamented. The charitable and lit-
erary institutions are numerous. The citizens
of New York came forward early in defence of
their rights, and suffered severely during the
revolutionary struggle. After the retreat of
Washington from Long Island, the city was
seized by the British who held it until the 25th
of November, 1783.
NEY, Michael, duke of Elchingen, prince of
Moscow, marshal and peer of France, grand-
cross of the legion of honor, knight of St.
Louis, &c, was born in Alsace, in 1769. He
rose from the ranks to the chief command of
armies, but was more distinguished for his
bravery than his tactics. He opposed Welling-
ton in Spain, and pursued the British army to
the lines of Torres Vedras. He afterwards
served under Napoleon in Russia, and at the
great battle of the Moskwa acquired the name
of " the bravest of the brave." At the return
of Napoleon from Elba, the command of the
royalist army was confided to him, but being
threatened with the desertion of his troops, he
went over to the emperor. For this he was
tried on the second return of the Bourbons, con-
demned, and shot.
NICARAGUA, a state of the Guatimalcan
confederacy, bounded north by Honduras; east
by the Caribbean Sea; south by Costa Rica,
and west by the Pacific. The country is fertile,
rich in forests, and the precious metals. The
population is 250,000.
NICHOLSON, James, an American naval
officer, born at Charlestown, Maryland, in 1737.
Throughout the revolutionary war, he served
with distinction in our infant navy. June 2d,
1780, Nicholson, with the Trumbull, a frigate
of 32 guns, manned with only 199 men, fought
a severe action with the British frigate Wyatt.
This engagement lasted three hours, at the ex-
piration of which the disabled state of the
Trumbull's masts, compelled Nicholson to with-
draw with a loss of .nine men killed, and twen-
ty-one wounded. This gallant commander died
in September, 1806.
N1GRITIA, Soudan, or Takrour, a name
applied generally to the interior parts of Africa,
which are imperfectly known. It includes
many kingdoms and countries, as Bambarra,
Timbuctoo, Kong, Houssa, Borgou, Yarriba,
Nyffe, Funda, Bournou, Mandara, &c.
NINUS, a son of Belas, who built a city to
which he gave his own name, and founded the
Assyrian monarchy, of which he was the first
sovereign, B. C. 2059. He was very war-
like, and extended his conquests from Egypt to
the extremities of India and Bactriana. Ninus
reigned fifty-two years, and at his death he left
his kingdom to the care of his wife Semiramis,
by whom he had a son. The history of Ninus
is very obscure, and even fabulous according
to the opinion of some. Ninus after death re-
ceived divine honors, and became the Jupiter
of the Assyrians and the Hercules of the Chal-
NOR
3G7
NOR
deans. The celebrated city, the capital of As-
syria, built on the banks of the Tigris by Ninus,
is called Nineveh, in Scripture. It was taken by
the united armies of Cyaxares and Nabopolas-
Bar king of Babylon. B. C. 606.
NORMANDY, an ancient province in the
north of France, now divided into five depart-
ments, and containing 2,000,000 inhabitants.
In the latter part of the ninth century the Nor-
mans settled here, and were governed by their
own dukes; the most renowned of whom, was
William, who achieved the conquest of Eng-
land in 1066. In 1346, Normandy was overrun
by Edward III; and in 1418, it was held by
Henry V, who conquered the whole province,
and obtained its formal cession to England by
the peace of 1420. It was wrested from the
English in 144!); and from that time Normandy
was exempt from the evils of war, until the
religious contests of the sixteenth century. It
escaped in the revolution, though, in 17(14, a
Vendean army entered its western frontier ;
but were soon put to flight. Normandy had,
until the revolution, its separate parliaments,
which sat at Rouen ; and its provincial laws
and usages were preserved under the name of
Cov.tu.mier de Norinandie.
NORRIS, Sir John, second son of Henry, the
first Lord Norris, famous for his valor, was first
trained up in military exercises under Admiral
Coligni in the civil wars of France, next in
Ireland, under Walter, earl of Essex, then
served in the Netherlands under Matthias, arch-
duke of Austria, in 1579, afterwards under the
Duke of Lorrain, 1582; next under William of
Nassau ; and, in the 27th of Queen Elizabeth
was constituted colonel-general of all the horse
and foot sent out of England to the relief of
Antwerp, then besieged by the Spaniards, and
empowered to treat with the states-general for
the entertaining of the English foot appointed
to serve in those parts. In the 30th of Queen
Elizabeth, being then president of the council
in the province of Minister, in Ireland, he had
a commission giving him power to constitute
such principal officers as well by sea and land,
as he thought fit for the defence of the king-
dom.
In the 33d of Queen Elizabeth he was con-
stituted captain-general of those English auxil-
iaries that were sent to King Henry IV, of
France, against his rebellious subjects in Bre-
tagne ; and having deported himself with great
prudence and courage in all these eminent
employments, to the great honor of the English
nation as well as of his own name, expected
that upon the re-calling of Sir William Russell,
knight, afterwards Lord Russell, he should have
been deputy of Ireland ; but, finding that Thom-
as, Lord Borough, was preferred to that com-
mand, and himself required to continue still in
Munster, he became so highly discontented, as
to occasion his premature death.
NORTH, Frederick, second Earl of Guilford,
was the eldest son of Francis, the first earl, and
was born in 1732. He was educated at Eton,
and at Trinity-college, Oxford ; after which he
went to Leipsic. On his return home he was
elected into parliament : and in 1759, he became
a commissioner of the Treasury. In 1763, he
succeeded Lord Bute at the head of the board ;
but resigned his seat in 1765; and the year fol-
lowing he become joint-receiver and pay-master
of the forces. In 1767, he was appointed Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer; and in 1770, first lord
of the Treasury ; both which offices he held
during the American war, till 1782. Not long
after this, the same statesmen who had repeat-
edly threatened his lordship with an impeach-
ment, formed a coalition with him ; but this
motley administration lasted a very few months.
In 1790, Lord North succeeded his father in
the earldom, and died in 1792, having been blind
some years.
NORTHWEST TERRITORY, belonging
to the United States, is bounded north by Brit-
ish America; east by Lake Michigan; south
by Illinois, and west by the Mississippi. It is
about 500 miles long, and 400 broad. Besides
the Mississippi, there are the Ouisconsin, Fox,
Menomonie, Cbippeway, Coppermine, and
Rocky rivers. The northern part of this vast
territory is rough and barren, but it contains a
large number of prairies, and much of the soil
upon the rivers is excellent. The most impor-
tant minerals are iron, lead, and copper. Game
in great quantities is found within the territory.
It is but thinly settled, and the inhabitants are
under the jurisdiction of the government of
Michigan. The Indians are the Menomonies,
Winnebagoes and Foxes, and own a large part
of the country, including some of the finest
land.
NORWAY, an extensive kingdom of the
north of Europe, united to Sweden in 1814.
The face of the country is broken by mount-
ain ridges, the summits of which are covered
with snow and ice. The climate presents the
extremes of heat and cold, and a great propor-
tion of the soil is barren. In fact, the wealth
of Norway consists in timber, cattle, fisheries,
and minerals. The chief towns are Bergen,
NOV
368
NOV
Christiana, Dronthoim, Konigsberg, Christian-
sand, and Fredericshall. Population, 1,150,132.
Norway was divided into petty principalities
until the ninth century, and was little known
till 1397, when it was incorporated with Den-
mark. Their peaceful union continued till
1814, when it was interrupted by the treaty
which the king of Denmark was compelled to
make with Great Britain, resigning the sove-
reignty of Norway to the king of Sweden, to
which Norway was forced to submit; but as
an integral state, and with the preservation of
its constitution and laws.
SUCCESSION OF PRINCES.
800 Getho.
991 Olausl.
998 Sueno.
1011 Olaus II.
In 1029, Norway was conquered by Canute
the Great king of Denmark, and was governed
by Sueno, as regent. On the death of Canute,
Norway recovered its independence.
1036 Macrnus I,
1048 Harold I,
1066 Olaus III,
1077 Magnus II,
1110 Magnus III,
1138 Harold II,
1148 Magnus III, restored,
1158 Ingo Gibbus,
1176 Interregnum,
1180 Magnus IV,
1232 Hakon I, the Tyrant,
1263 Olaus IV,
1280 Erick,
1300 Hakon II,
1315 Magnus V,
1326 Hakon III,
1328 Magnus VI,
1359 Hakon IV,
1375 Olaus V,
1387 Margaret, Queen of Denmark.
In 1417, the kingdoms of Denmark and Nor-
way were united, under Erick IX.
NOVA SCOTIA, a British province of North
America, a peninsulajutting out into the Atlan-
tic, containing about 15,617 square miles. It is
about 250 miles in length, and partially sepa-
rated from New Brunswick by the Bay of
Fundy. The country is somewhat rough, but
the soil in the interior is good. The exports
consist principally of fish, timber, and plaster
of Paris. Halifax is the chief town. Popula-
tion, 160,000, of which 30,000 belong to Cape
Breton, in which is a dependancy of this prov-
ince. Nova Scotia was discovered by John
Cabot in 1497. The French, who gave it the
name of Acadia, were the first settlers. Sir
William Alexander settled in Nova Scotia in
1621, but it was surrendered to the French by
Charles I, on the family alliance between him
and that court in 1632. It was recovered by
Major Sedgwick, under Cromwell, in 1654;
delivered again to the French, by Charles II, in
1662 ; recovered by Sir William Phipps in 1690 ;
ceded to France at the peace of Ryswick in
1697 ; but conquered again by the English in
1710, and confirmed to them by the treaty of
Utrecht in 1714. Afterward, in conjunction
with the Indians, the French gave great distur-
bance to the English settlers in this country;
but their possession was again confirmed by the
treaty of Aix-a-Chapelle in 1748.
NOVGOROD, a city of European Russia,
containing 10,000 inhabitants. It is the capi-
tal of a government of the same name, and for-
merly enjoyed many privileges under an inde-
pendent prince. It was once so rich and pow-
erful, that a common proverb was, " Who can
oppose God, or the great city of Novgorod ?"
Vithold, Great Duke of Lithuania, was the first,
who, in 1427, obliged this city to pay a tribnte
of 200,000 crowns. John Basilowitz Grotsdin,
tyrant of Moscovy, made himself master of it
in 1477, and placed a governor in it; and, some
time after, came in person and plundered the city,
carrying away with him to Moscow, 300 wag-
ons loaded with gold, silver, and precious stones,
and other rich goods and furniture; to which
place he also transported the inhabitants of Nov-
gorod, and sent Moscovites to inhabit their city.
John Basilowitz, Great Duke of Moscovy, in
1569, upon a groundless suspicion of their de-
signing to revolt, slew many of its inhabitants,
besides a vast number that were trodden "to
death by a party of his horse, let in upon them.
After having plundered the rich church of
Sancta Sophia, and all the treasures of the other
churches, he also pillaged the archbishopric,
and then commanded the archbishop to ride
upon a white horse, with a fiddle tied about
his neck, and a flute in his hand; and in this
posture conducted him to Moscow. This city
was taken by the Swedes in 1611, and restored
to the Russians in 1634. In 1664, it was popu-
lous, and a place of good trade, encompassed
with a timber wall, well stored with ammuni-
tion and brass ordnance, and defended by a
castle. This duchy, once the greatest in Rus-
sia, was assigned by lot to Ruruk Varegus, their
first duke, whose posterity enlarged their do-
NUM
369
(EDI
minions as far as the Greek empire on one side,
and Norway on the other.
NUMA POMPILIUS, a Sabine, the second
king of Rome, reigned from 714 to 672 B. C.
At the death of Romulus, the Romans fixed
upon him to be their new king; and two sen-
ators were sent to acquaint him with the deci-
sions of the senate, and of the people. Numa
refused their offers ; and it was only at the re-
peated solicitations and prayers of his friends,
that he was prevailed upon to accept the royalty.
The beginning of his reign was popular, and he
dismissed the 300 body guards which his pre-
decessor had kept around his person ; observ-
ing, that he did not distrust a people who had
compelled him to reign over them. He was not
like Romulus, fond of war and military expedi-
tions ; but he applied himself to tame the fero-
city of his subjects, to inculcate in their minds
a reverence for the Deity, and to quell their
dissensions, by dividing all the citizens into dif-
ferent classes.
NUMANTIA, a town of Spain, near the
sources of the river Durius, celebrated for the
war of 14 years, which, though unprotected by
walls and towers, it bravely maintained against
the Romans. The inhabitants obtained some
advantages over the Roman forces, till Scipio
Africanus was empowered to finish the war,
and to see the destruction of Numantia. He
began the siege with an army of 60,000 men,
and was bravely opposed by the besieged, who
were no more than 4,000 men able to bear arms.
Both' armies behaved with uncommon valor,
and the courage of the Numantines was soon
changed into despair and fury. Their provi-
sions began to fail, and they fed upon the flesh
of their horses, and afterwards of that of their
dead companions, and at last were necessitated
to draw lots to kill and devour one another.
The melancholy situation of their affairs obliged
some to surrender to the Roman general. Sci-
pio demanded them to deliver themselves upon
the morrow; they refused, and when a longer
time had been granted to their petitions, they
retired and set fire to their houses, and all de-
stroyed themselves, B. C. 133, so that not even
one remained to adorn the triumph of the con-
queror. Some historians, however, deny that,
and maintain that a number of Numantines de-
livered themselves into Scipio's hands, and that
fifty of them were drawn in triumph at Rome,
and the rest sold as slaves. The fall of Numan-
tia was more glorious than that of Carthage or
Corinth.
24
O.
OATES, Titus, an infamous character, was
born about 1619. He was the son of a Baptist
preacher, and was educated at Merchant Tai-
lors' school, from whence he removed to Cam-
bridge, and afterwards took orders. In 1677, he
turned Roman Catholic, and was admitted into
the Society of Jesuits. On his return to Eng-
land, however, he declared himself a Protest-
ant, and in conjunction with one Dr. Ezrael
Tongue, gave information of a pretended pop-
ish plot ; which met with too ready a belief, and
several persons were executed. Oates was re-
warded with a pension of £1200 a year; but,
when James II came to the throne, he was
found guilty of perjury, pilloried, whipped, and
ordered to be imprisoned for life. In the reign
of William III he obtained his liberty, and a
pension of £400 a year. He died in 1705.
OAXACA, one of the states of the Mexican
confederacy, containing about 600,000 inhabit-
ants. The capital, a handsome city of the same
name, contains 40,000 inhabitants. The climate
is temperate, and the soil extremely fruitful.
Gold and silver are found in abundance.
OCTAVIA, a Roman lady, sister to the em-
peror Augustus, and celebrated for her beauty
and virtues. Her marriage with Antony was a
political step to reconcile her brother and her
husband. Antony proved for sometime atten-
tive to her, but he soon after despised her for
Cleopatra. After the battle of Actium and the
death of Antony, Octavia, forgetful of the in-
juries she had received, took into her house all
the children of her husband, and treated them
with maternal tenderness. The death of Mar-
cellus her son continually preyed upon the mind
of Octavia, who died of melancholy about ten
years before the Christian era. Her brother paid
great regard to her memory, by pronouncing
himself her funeral oration. The Roman people
also showed their respect for her virtues, by
their wish to pay her divine honors.
CEDIPUS, son of Laius, king of Thrace, and
Jocasta. Laius was induced to believe that his
son would be his murderer, and the infant was
accordingly exposed on Mount Cithacron. He
was educated at the court of Polybus, king of
Corinth; Being reproached by a haughty no-
bleman with not being the son of Polybus, he
solved to satisfy himself by making inquiries at
the shrine of the Delphic oracle. The answer
was as follows : " Avoid thy country if thou
OLY
370
OLY
wouldst escape the sin of murdering- thy father
and marrying thy mother." CEdipus, looking
on Corinth as his country, fled thence to Thebes,
where he killed his father, without knowing him,
and received the hand of his mother Jocasta.
Discovering the horrible calamity which had be-
fallen him, (Edipus put out his eyes, and died
far from the scene of his misfortunes. Jocasta
hanged herself.
OHIO, one of the United States, bounded
N. by Michigan territory and lake Erie, E. by
Pennsylvania and the Ohio river, S. by the
Ohio river which separates it from Virginia and
Kentucky, and W. by Indiana. The population
of Ohio has increased and is increasing with
unexampled rapidity. In 1790 it contained but
3,000 inhabitants. In 1830, 937,900. There
are several colleges in Ohio, all of which are
flourishing.
The rivers are the Ohio, Muskingum, Hock-
hocking, Scioto, Miami, Maumee, Sandusky,
and Cuyahoga. The eastern and southeastern
parts of the state are uneven, but not mountain-
ous. The soil is very fertile, yielding in abun-
nance wheat, maize, rye, and other kinds of
grain. The minerals are iron, coal, limestone,
and freestone. Chief towns, Columbus, Chilli-
cothe, Cincinnati, Steubenville, Circleville, Ma-
rietta, Dayton, Cleveland, New Lancaster, &c.
The first permanent settlement in Ohio was
made at Marietta, April. 1788, by a party of emi-
grants from New England. In 1799 the first ter-
ritorial legislature was assembled at Cincinnati.
In 1802 it was erected into an independent state.
OLDCASTLE, Sir John, Lord Cobham, was
the head of the Lollards, and esteemed by
Henry IV and Henry V. The latter monarch
at the instance of the Archbishop of Canter-
bury, expostulated with him, and endeavored
to reconcile him to the Catholic faith. But
Cobham persevered in his opinion, and was at
length condemned to the flames for his religious
tenets. Cobham escaped from the tower and
four years afterwards was retaken, hanged as
a traitor, and his body burnt.
OLMUTZ, or HOLOMAUC ; a city and
formerly capital of Moravia, with 12,890 inha-
bitants. It was captured by the Swedes in 1G42,
and unsuccessfully besieged by the Prussians in
1758. Lafayette was a long time confined in
the prisons of the citadel.
OLYMPIAS, a celebrated woman, who was
daughter of a king of Epirus, and who married
Philip, king of Macedonia, by whom she had
Alexander the Great. Her haughtiness, and
more probably her infidelity, obliged Philip to re-
pudiate her, and to marry Cleopatra, the niece
of King Altalus. Olympias was sensible of this
injury, and Alexander showed his disapproba-
tion of his father's measures by retiring from
the court to his mother. The murder of Philip,
which soon followed this disgrace, and which
some have attributed to the intrigues of Olym-
pias, was productive of the greatest extrava-
gances. The queen paid the highest honor to
her husband's murderer. She gathered his man-
gled limbs, placed a crown of gold on his head,
and laid his ashes near those of Philip.
When Alexander was dead, Olympias seized
the government of Macedonia; and, to estab-
lish her usurpation, she cruelly put to death Ari-
dseus, with his wife Eurydice, as also Nicanor,
the brother of Cassander, with 100 leading men
of Macedon, who were inimical to her interest.
Such barbarities did not long remain unpun-
ished ; Cassander besieged her in Pydna, where
she had retired with the remains of her family,
and she was obliged to surrender after an obsti-
nate siege. The conqueror ordered her to be
accused, and to be put to death. A body of 200
soldiers were directed to put the bloody com-
mands into execution, but the splendor and
majesty of the queen disarmed their courage,
and she was at last massacred by those whom
she had cruelly deprived of their children, about
316 years before the Christian era.
OLYMPIC GAMES, were celebrated by the
ancient Greeks in honor of Jupiter Olympius,
on the plain opposite the modern town of Lala.
They occurred once in every four years, and
the Greeks computed time from them. They
always commenced on the 11th of the month
Hecatombceon (which nearly corresponds with
our July.) No females, except the priestesses
of Ceres, were permitted to witness them, death
being denounced to the woman who should be
present. The competitors prepared themselves
by ten months' exercise in the gymnasium at
Elis. The games consisted of races on horse-
back and on foot, leaping, throwing the discus,
wrestling, boxing, musical and poetical contests.
The reward was a wreath of olives.
Racing was considered in Greece a matter
of the highest national importance ; had it not
been so, Sophocles would have been guilty of
a great fault in his Electra, where he puts
into the mouth of the messenger who comes to
recount the death of Orestes, a long description
of this sport. Of the training and management
of the Olympic race-horse we are unfortunate-
ly left in ignorance — all that can be inferred
being the fact, that the equestrian candidates
OMA
371
OMA
were required to enter their names and send
their horses to Elis at least thirty days before
the celebration of the games commenced, and
that the charioteers and riders, whether owners
or proxies, went through a prescribed course
of exercises during the ensuing month. They
had their course for full-aged horses, and their
course for colts ; and their prize for which mares
only started, resembling in these respects our
degenerate selves. It is true that the race with
riding-horses was neither so magnificent, nor
so expensive, and consequently not considered
so royal, as the race with chariots, yet they
had their gentlemen-jockeys in those days, and
noted ones too, for among the number were
Philip, king of Macedon, and Hiero, king of
Syracuse (see Hiero.) The want of stirrups
alone must have been a terrible deficiency. But
horsemanship was an art in which the Greeks
excelled. Homer, although he mentions only
chariots in his account of the siege of Troy,
speaks of riding so familiarly in some parts of
his Iliad and Odyssey, that it must have been
practised among the Greeks before the compo-
sition of either of these poems. In the fifteenth
book of the Iliad, he represents the strength and
activity of Ajax, when he fought in defence of
the Grecian ships of war that were attacked by
the Trojans, and leaped from one ship to an-
other, by the readiness and address with which
a skilful horseman would vault from the back
of one horse to that of another ; and his ability
to defend many ships at once by that of an ac-
complished rider, who is capable of managing
and controlling several horses at the same time.
High on the decks, with vast gigantic stride,
The god-like hero stalks from side to side.
So when a horseman from the watery mead
(Skilled in the manage of the bounding steed,)
Drives four fair coursers, practised to obey,
To some great city through the public way ;
Safe in his art, as side by side they run,
He shifts his seat, and vaults from one to one,
And now to this, and now to that he flies ;
Admiring numbers follow with their eyes.
[Pope\s Homer.
The Olympiad, from which the Greeks began
to reckon, was, according to Petavius, 1777 ; ac-
cording to Usher, 1772; and according to Cal-
visius, 774 B. C. Gatterer, and most of the
moderns call it 776.
OMAR I, the second caliph, or successor of
Mahomet. He was raised to this dignity after
the death ofAbubeker in 634. Soon after his
entering upon the government, he carried on
wars with Ali, who was the lawful successor
of Mahomet, and who had retired into Arabia.
Omar having defeated Ali, taken the city Bosra,
and many other places of Arabia, turned his
arms against the Christians, and entered Syria,
where he gained a victory over Theodorus Bo-
gairus, brother to the Emperor Heraclius, and
afterwards returned victorious into Arabia. The
emperor, who was then at Jerusalem, desirous
to provide for his own safety, took the relics
and most precious ornaments of the temple;
and leaving Theodorus with Bahamus, retired
to Constantinople. In 635, Omar gathered his
forces, and marched against Damascus, which
he took the year following, and afterwards all
Phmnicia, and committed a thousand violences
to force people to embrace his religion. The year
following, a part of his army subdued Alexan-
dria, and not long after all Egypt. In the mean
time, Omar went in person to attack Jerusalem,
and after two years' siege entered it victoriously
in 638. Omar thus reduced all Judea to his obe-
dience, and Jerusalem was, from that time, pos-
sessed by infidels till the conquest of it by God-
frey of Bouillon in 101)9. In 639 he subdued
all Mesopotamia, and at the same time built the
city of Cairo, near the ruins of Memphis, in
Egypt. And lastly, in 643, he made himself
master of Persia. From the time of his taking
Jerusalem he made his ordinary residence in
that city, and built a magnificent temple there in
honor of Mahomet; and, after having reigned
ten years, he was killed by a Persian, one of his
domestics, and buried at Medina in 644.
OMAR II, the tenth caliph, or successor of
Mahomet, was chosen after the death of his
cousin, Solyman Hascoin, in the beginning of
the year 721 , at the time that Constantinople
was besieged. He collected all his forces, and
attacked that city ; but the besieged made so
stout a resistance, and so good use of their fire-
works, that he was forced to raise it. And
scarcely was Marvan, or Masalma, the general
of the army, safe out of the channel of Con-
stantinople, when a dreadful tempest destroyed
most of his ships, and many others were con-
sumed by fire, so that of 300 ships only fifteen
escaped, five of which were taken by the Chris-
tians, and the other ten proceeded with the
news of this defeat to the caliph, who imagin-
ing that God was aagry with him for permit-
ting Christians the exercise of their religion in
his dominions, made all those whose fathers or
mothers were Mahometans, embrace Mahome-
tanism on pain of death, and upon great pen-
alties forbade the eating of swine's flesh, and
use of wine. He discharged all Christians that
turned Mahometans from paying taxes and eus-
ORA
372
ORA
toms, and cruelly persecuted the others; and
pushed on hy a false zeal, he sent letters to Leo
Isauricus, the emperor of Constantinople, to
embrace Mahometanism, and sent a renegade
to instruct him in the way of it ; but he died
soon after, having reigned two years.
OPORTO, or PORTO, the second city of
Portugal, lies on both sides of the Duero, about
160 miles north of Lisbon. It contains 70,000
inhabitants. It was in the possession of the
French in 1808 — 9, and its commerce lias suf-
fered much from the tyrannical regulations of
Don Miguel.
ORACLES, Ancient, impostures of the priest-
hood, supported by the policy of governments,
and apparently credited by habit and education ;
but constantly used to impose on the soldiery
and ignorant multitudes.
No institutions were more famous than the
ancient oracles of Egypt, Greece, and Rome.
They were impudently said to be the will of
the gods themselves ; and were consulted, not
only upon every important matter, but even in
the affairs of private life. To make peace or
war, to introduce a change of government, to
plant a colony, to enact laws, to raise an edi-
fice, or to marry, were all sufficient reasons to
consult the pretended will of the gods.
The small province of Bceotia could once
boast of 25 oracles, and Peloponnesus of the
same number. Not only the chief of the gods
gave oracles, but in process of time heroes
were admitted to enjoy the same privileges ;
and the oracles of a Trophonius and an Anti-
noiis were soon able to rival the fame of those
of Apollo and Jupiter. The temple of Delphi
seemed to claim a superiority over the other
temples; its fame was once so extended, and its
riches were so great, that not only private per-
sons, but even kings and numerous armies,
made it an object of plunder and of rapine.
The manner of delivering oracles was differ-
ent. A priestess at Delphi was permitted to
fuonounce the oracles of the god, and her de-
iveryof the answers was always attended with
acts of apparent madness and desperate fury.
Not only women, but even doves, were the min-
isters of the temple of Dodona ; and the sup-
pliant votary was often startled to hear his ques-
tions readily answered by the decayed trunk,
or the spreading branches of a neighboring oak.
Amnion conveyed his answers in a plain and
open manner ; but Amphiaraus required many
ablutions and preparatory ceremonies,, and he
generally communicated his oracles to his sup-
pliants in dreams and visions. Sometimes the
first words that were heard, after issuing from
the temple, were deemed the answers of the
oracles, and sometimes the nodding or shaking
of the head of the statue, the motions of fishes
in a neighboring lake, or their reluctance in
accepting the food which wasjaffered to them,
were as strong and valid afnhe most express
and most minute explanations.
Some have strongly believed that all the ora-
cles of the earth ceased at the birth of Christ,
but the supposition is false. It was, indeed, the
beginning of their decline ; but they remained
in repute, and were consulted, though perhaps
not so frequently, till the fourth century, when
Christianity began to triumph over paganism.
The oracles often suffered themselves to be
bribed. Alexander did it; but. it is well known
that Lysander failed in the attempt. Herodotus,
who first mentioned the corruption which often
prevailed in the oracular temples of Greece and
Egypt, has been severely treated for his remarks
by the historian Plutarch. Demosthenes is also
a witness of the corruption ; and he observed,
that the oracles of Greece were servilely sub-
servient to the will and pleasure of Philip, king
of Macedon, as he beautifully expresses it by
the word Philippized.
When in a state of inspiration, the eyes of
the priestess suddenly sparkled, her hair stood
on end, and a shivering ran over all her body.
In this convulsive state she spoke the oracles
of the god, often with loud howlings and cries,
and her articulations were taken down by the
priest, and set in order. Sometimes the spirit
of inspiration was more gentle, and not always
violent ; yet Plutarch mentions one of the
priestesses who was thrown into such an ex
cessive fury, that not only those that consulted
the oracle, but also the priests that conducted
her to the sacred tripod, and attended her dur-
ing the inspiration, were terrified, and forsook
the temple ; and so violent was the fit, that she
continued for some days in the most agonizing
situation, and at last died.
At Delphos, the Pythia, before she placed
herself on the tripod, used to wash her whole
body, and particularly her hair, in the waters of
the fountain Castalia, at the foot of Mount Par-
nassus. She also shook a laurel-tree that grew
near the place, and sometimes ate the leaves,
. with which she crowned herself.
The priestesses always appeared in the gar-
ments of virgins, to intimate their purity and
modesty; and they were solemnly bound to
observe the strictest laws of temperance and
chastity, that neither fantastical dresses nor
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lascivious behavior might bring the office, the
religion, or the sanctity of the place, into con-
tempt. There was originally but one Pythia,
besides subordinate priests ; but afterwards two
were chosen, and sometimes more. The most
celebrated of all these is Phemonoe, who is
supposed by some to have been the first who
gave oracles at Delphi. The oracles were al-
ways delivered in hexameter verses, a custom
which was some time after discontinued. The
Pythia was consulted only one month in the
year, about the spring. It was always required,
that those who consulted the oracle should make
large presents to Apollo, and from thence arose
the opulence, splendor, and the magnificence,
of the celebrated temple of Delphi. Sacrifices
were also offered to the divinity ; and, if the
omens proved unfavorable, the priestess refused
to give an answer. There were generally five
priests who assisted at the offering of the sacri-
fices ; and there was also anothei who attended
the Pythia, and assisted her in receiving the
oracle.
The most celebrated of the ancient oracles
were Delphos, Delos; Ammon, Dodona, the Ro-
man Augurs, and the Sibylline Books.
Delphos, now called Castri, the capital of
Phocis, in Greece, was anciently much celebrat-
ed for its temple and oracle of Apollo. It was
also called Pytho by the poets, from the serpent
Python, which Apollo killed in this place. Pau-
sanias, however, says that tjfisname Pytho was
given to the city of Delphos by Pythis, son of
>elphus, and grandson of Lycorus. The Greek
historians gave to this city the name of Delphos,
which some suppose to have been so called
from Mdpkoi, brethren, because Apollo and his
brother Bacchus were both worshipped there ;
and others, with greater probability, derive the
name from Delphos, single or solitary, referring
to the retired situation of the city among the
mountains.
Justin questions which was the most wor-
thy of admiration, the fortification of the place,
or the majesty of the god who here delivered
his oracles. The temple of Apollo occupied a
large space, and many streets opened to it. The
first discovery which laid the foundation of the
extraordinary veneration in which the oracle
of Delphos was held, and of the riches accu-
mulated in the temple, is said to have been
©ccasioned by some goats which were feeding
on Mount Parnassus, near a deep and large
cavern, with a narrow entrance. These goats
having been observed by the goatherd, Core-
tas, to frisk and leap after a strange manner,
and to utter unusual sounds immediately upon
their approach to the mouth of the caven, he
had the curiosity to view it, and found himself
seized with the like fit of madness, skipping,
dancing, and foretelling things to come.
At the news of this discovery multitudes
flocked thither, many of whom were possessed
with such frantic enthusiasm, that they threw
themselves headlong into the opening of the
cavern, insomuch that it was necessarv to issue
an edict, forbidding all persons t ) approach it.
This surprising place was treated with singular
veneration, and was soon covered with a kind
of chapel, which was originally made of laurel
boughs, and resembled a large hut. This, ac-
cording to the Phocian tradition, was surround-
ed by one of wax, raised up by bees ; after this
a third was built of solid copper, said to have
been the workmanship of Vulcan.
This last was destroyed by an earthquake,
or (according to some authors) by fire, which
melted the copper ; and then a sumptuous tem-
ple, altogether of stone, was erected by two ex-
cellent architects, Trophimus and Agamedes.
This edifice was destroyed by fire in the 58th
Olympiad, or 548 years B. C. The Amphicty-
ons proposed to be at the charge of building
another ; but the Alcmeonides,a rich family of
Athens, came to Delphos, obtained the honor
of executing the building, and made it more
magnificent than they had at first proposed.
The riches of this temple, amassed by the do-
nations of those who frequented it, and consult-
ed the oracle, exposed it to various depreda-
tions. At length the Gauls, under the conduct
of Brennus, came hither for the same purpose,
about 278 years B. C. ; but they were repulsed
with great slaughter. Last of all, Nero robbed
it of five hundred of its most precious brazen
and golden statues.
It has not been ascertained at what time this
oracle was founded. It is certain, however,
that Apollo was not the first who was consulted
here. iEschylus, in his tragedy of Eumenides,
says, Terra was the first who issued oracles at
Delphi : after her, Themis, then Phoebe, another
daughter of Terra, and, as it is said, mother of
Latona, and grandmother to Apollo. Pausanias
says, that before Themis, Terra and Neptune
had delivered oracles in this place, and some
say that Saturn had also been consulted here.
At length the oracle of Apollo became estab-
lished and permanent ; and such was its repu-
tation, and such were the multitudes from all
parts that came to consult it, that the riches
which were thus brought into the temple and
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ORA
city, became so considerable as to be compared
with those of the Persian kings.
About the time when this oracle was first
discovered, the whole mystery requisite for ob-
taining the prophetic gift, is said to have been
merely to approach the cavern and inhale the
vapor that issued from it, and then the god inspir-
ed all persons indiscriminately ; but at length,
several enthusiasts, in the excess of their fury,
having thrown themselves headlong into the
cavern, it was thought expedient to contrive a
prevention of this accident, which frequently
occurred. Accordingly, the priests placed over
the hole, whence the vapor issued, a machine
which they called a tripod, because it had three
feet, and commissioned a woman to seat her-
self in it, where she might inhale the vapor
without danger, because the three feet of the
machine stood firmly upon the rock. This
priestess was named Pythia, from the serpent
Python, slain by Apollo, or from the Greek pu-
thesthai, signifying to inquire, because people
came to Delphi to consult this deity. The fe-
males first employed, were virgins, selected
with great precaution ; but the only qualifica-
tion necessary was to be able to speak and re-
peat what the god dictated.
This was done by placing her ear close to
one of the horns of the altar, and listening to
the voice of one of Apollo's priests, to whom
the question had been communicated. This
priest, who stood near the altar, in the interior
of the temple, having been assisted by his
brethren in the necessary devotions and sacri-
fices, opened the Book of Fate, which was de-
posited in the temple, and after many prayers
worked the required problems. The answer,
which from the nature of the case in hand, was
often conditional, being communicated to the
priestess on the tripod, was, after various cere-
monies, delivered to the inquiring multitude,
or to the individual who came privately to con-
sult the oracle.
The custom of choosing young virgins con-
tinued for a long time, till one of them, who
was extremely beautiful, was dishonored by a
young Thessalian. An express law was then
enacted, that none should be chosen but wo-
men above fifty years old. At first there was
only one priestess, but afterwards there were
two or three. The oracles were not delivered
every day ; but gifts and sacrifices were in
some cases presented for a long time, and even
for a whole year ; and it was only once a year,
in the month bosion, which answered to the
beginning of spring, that Apollo inspired the
priestess. Except on this day, she was forbid-
den, under pain of death, to go into the sanc-
tuary to consult Apollo.
Alexander, before his expedition into Asia,
came to Delphi on one of those days when the
sanctuary was shut, and entreated the priestess
to mount the tripod; which she steadily refus-
ed, alleging the law which forbade her. The
prince became impatient, and drew the priestess
by force from her cell, and whilst he was con-
ducting her to the sanctuary, she took occasion
to exclaim, " My soti, thou art invincible! .'" As
soon as these words were pronounced, Alexan-
der cried out that he was satisfied, and would
have no other oracle.
It is here to be observed, however, that great,
but unnecessary, preparations were often made,
for giving mysteriousness to the oracle, and for
commanding the respect that was paid to it.
Among other circumstances relating to the sac-
rifices that were offered, the priestess herself
fasted three days, and before she ascended the
tripod, she bathed herself in the fountain Cas-
talia. She drank water from that fountain, and
chewed laurel-leaves gathered near it. She was
then led into the sanctuary by the priests, who
placed her upon the tripod.
As soon as she began to be agitated by the
divine exhalation, said to arise from the cavern,
but which was merely the vapor of incense
burnt there, in order to give more mystery to
the affair, her hair stood on end, her aspect be-
came wild and ghastly, her mouth began to
foam, and her whole body was suddenly seized
with violent tremblings. In this condition she
attempted to escape from the priests, who de-
tained her by force, while her shrieks and howl-
ings made the whole temple resound, and filled
the bystanders with a sacred horror.
At length, unable to resist the impulse of the
god, she surrendered herself up to him, and at
certain intervals uttered from the bottom of her
stomach, by the faculty or power of ventrilo-
quism, some unconnected words, which the
priests ranged in order, and put in form of verse,
giving them a connection which they had not
when they were delivered by the priestess.
The oracle being pronounced, the priestess was
taken off the tripod, and conducted back to her
cell, where she continued several days, to re-
cover herself. Lucan tells us, that speedy death
was frequently the consequence of her enthu-
siasm. The oracles pronounced by tire priestess
being generally delivered to the poets, who at-
tended on the occasion, and being put by them
into wretched verse, gave occasion to the rail-
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ORA
lery, that " Apollo the prince of the muses,, was
the worst of poets." The priests and priest-
esses, to whose conduct the responses of the
oracle were committed, were, however, fre-
quently guilty of fraud and imposture. And
many instances might be mentioned, in which
the Delphic priestess was not superior to cor-
ruption. Hence she persuaded the Lacedagmo-
nians to assist the people of Athens in the ex-
pulsion of the thirty tyrants. Hence, also, she
caused Demaratus to be divested of the royal
dignity to make way for Cleomenes ; and sup-
ported the impostor Lysander, when he endea-
vored to change the succession to the throne
of Sparta. It is not improbable, that Themisto-
cles, who well knew the importance of acting
against the Persians by sea, inspired the god
with the answer he gave, " to defend them-
selves with walls of wood."
These answers were likewise, on many occa-
sions equivocal. Thus, when Croesus was about
to invade the Medes, he consulted this oracle
upon the success of the war, and received for an-
swer, that by passing the river Halys, he should
ruin a great empire. But he was left to conjec-
ture, or to determine by the event, whether this
empire was his own or that of his enemies. Such
was also the same oracle's answer to Pyrrhus, —
iAio te, JEacidc, Romanos vlncere posse,' — which
meant, " I say O son of iEacus, that thou canst
overcome the Romans," or, " I say O son of
yEacus, that the Romans can overcome thee."
The oracle of Apollo, in Delos, was one of the
most famous oracles in the world, not only for
its antiquity, but for the richness of the sacred
presents dedicated to the god, and the numbers
of persons that resorted hither from all parts
foi advice ; in which respect it surpassed not
only all the oracles of other gods, but even those
of Apollo himself, — that of Delphos alone ex-
cepted. Some writers say, that the island had
the name of Delos, from the clear and simple
terms in which the answers were here given by
the oracle, contrary to the ambiguity observed
in other places ; but it was consulted only while
Apollo made Delos his summer residence, for
his winter abode was at Patara, a city of Ly-
cia. The presents offered by the votaries to
Apollo, were laid on the altar, which, as some
say, was erected by Apollo himself, when he
was only four years old, and formed of the
horns of goats, killed by Diana, on Mount Cyn-
thus. It was preserved pure from blood and
every kind of pollution, as offensive to Apollo.
The whole island was an asylum, which ex-
tended to all living creatures, dogs excepted,
which were not suffered to be brought on
shore.
The native deities, Apollo and Diana, had
three very magnificent temples erected for them
in this island. That of Apollo, was, according
to Strabo, (lib. x.) begun by Erysiapthus, the
son of Cecrops, who is said to have possessed
this island 1558 years B. C. ; but it was after-
wards much enlarged and embellished at the
general charge of all the Grecian stales. But
Plutarch says, that it was one of the most state-
ly buildings in the universe, and describes its
altar, as deserving a place among the seven
wonders of the world. The inscription in this
temple, as Aristotle informs us, (Ethic. 1. i. c. 9.)
was as follows : " Of all things the most beau-
tiful is justice ; the most useful is health ; and
the most agreeable is the possession of the be-
loved object." Round the temple were magni-
ficent porticoes, built at the charge of various
princes, as appears from the still legible inscrip-
tions. To this temple the neighboring islands
sent yearly a company of virgins to celebrate
with dancing the festival of Apollo, and his
sister Diana, and to make offerings in the name
of their respective cities.
Delos was held in such reverence by most
nations, that even the Persians, after having
laid waste the other islands, and every where
destroyed the temples of the gods, spared De-
los ; and Datis, the Persian admiral, forbore to
anchor in the harbor.
The temple of Jupiter Ammon was in the
deserts of Libya, nine days journey from Alex-
andria. It had a famous oracle, which, accord-
ing to ancient tradition, was established about
18 centuries before the time of Augustus, by
two doves which flew away from Thebais in
Egypt, and came, one to Dodona, and the other
to Libya, where the people were soon informed
of their divine mission. The oracle of Ammon
was consulted by Hercules, Perseus, and others ;
but when it pronounced Alexander to be the
son of Jupiter, such flattery destroyed its long
established reputation, and in the age of Plu-
tarch it was scarcely known. The situation of
the temple was pleasant ; and there was near it
a fountain whose waters were cold at noon and
midnight, and warm in the morning and even-
ing. There were above 100 priests in the tem-
ple, but the elders only delivered oracles. There
was also an oracle of Jupiter Ammon in iEthi-
opia.
Dodona was a town of Thesprotia in Epirus.
There was in its neighborhood, upon a small
hill called Tmarus, a celebrated oracle of Jupi-
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ORA
ter. The town and temple of the god were first
built by Deucalion, after the universal deluge.
It was supposed to be the most ancient oracle
of all Greece, and according to the traditions
of the Egyptians mentioned by Herodotus, it
was founded by a dove. Two black doves, as
he relates, took their flight from the city of
Thebes in Egypt, one of which flew to the tem-
ple of Jupiter Amnion, and the other to Dodona,
where with a human voice they acquainted the
inhabitants of the country that Jupiter had con-
secrated the ground, which in future would give
oracles. The extensive grove which surround-
ed Jupiter's temple was endowed with the gift
of prophecy, and oracles were frequently de-
livered by the sacred oaks, and the doves which
inhabited the place. This fabulous tradition of
the oracular power of the doves, is explained
by Herodotus, who observes that some Phoeni-
cians carried away two priestesses from Egypt,
one of whom went to fix her residence at Do-
dona, where the oracle was established. It may
further be observed, that the fable might have
been founded upon the double meaning of the
word peleiai, which signifies doves in most parts
of Greece, while in the dialect of the Epirots,
it implies old women. In ancient times the
oracles were delivered by the murmuring of a
neighboring fountain, but the custom was after-
wards changed. Large kettles were suspended
in the air near a brazen statue, which held a
lash in its hand. When the wind blew strong,
the statue was agitated and struck against one
of the kettles, which communicated the motion
to all the rest, and raised that clattering and
discordant din which continued for a while,
and from which the priests drew their predic-
tions. Some suppose that the noise was occa-
sioned by the shaking of the leaves and boughs
of an old oak, which the people frequently con-
sulted, and from which they pretended to re-
ceive the oracles. It may be observed with
more probability that the oracles were delivered
by the priests, who, by concealing themselves
behind the oaks, gave occasion to the multitude
to believe that the trees were endowed with the
power of prophecy. As the ship Argo was built
with some of the oaks of the forest of Dodona
there were some beams in the vessel which
gave oracles to the Argonauts, and warned
them against the approach of calamity. Within
the forest of Dodona there was a stream with
a fountain of cool water, which had the power
of lighting a torch as soon as it touched it.
This fountain was totally dry at noon-day, and
wa3 restored to its full course at midnight, from
which time till the following noon it began to
decrease, and at the usual hour was again de-
prived of its waters. The oracles of Dodona
were originally delivered by men, but afterwards
by women.
The Roman Augurs, were certain priests
at Rome who foretold future events, and took
their name, ab avium garritu. They were first
created by Romulus to the number of three.
Servius Tullius added a fourth, and the tri-
bunes of the people, A. U. C. 454, increased
the number to nine ; and Sylla added six more
during his dictatorship. They had a particular
college, and the chief amongst them was called
Magister Collegii. Their office was honorable ;
and if any one of them was convicted of any
crime, he could not be deprived of his privi-
lege ; an indulgence granted to no other sacer-
dotal body at Rome. The augur generally sat
on a high tower, to make his observations. His
face was turned towards the east, and he had
the north to his left, and the south at his right.
With a crooked staff he divided the face of the
heavens into four different parts, and afterwards
sacrificed to the gods, covering his head with
his vestment. There were generally five things
from which the augurs drew omens : the first
consisted in observing the phenomena of the
heavens, such as thunder, lightning, comets,
&c. The second kind of omen was drawn from
the chirping or flying of birds. The third was
from the sacred chickens, whose eagerness or in-
difference in eating the bread which was thrown
to them, was looked upon as lucky or unlucky.
The fourth was from quadrupeds, from their
crossing or appearing in some unaccustomed
place. The fifth was from different casualties,
which were called Dira, such as spilling salt
upon a table, or wine upon one's clothes, hearing
strange noises, stumbling or sneezing, meeting
a wolf, hare, fox, or prejniant bitch. Thus did
the Romans draw their prophecies ; the sight
of birds on the left hand was always deemed
a lucky object, and the words sinister et larcus,
though generally supposed to be terms of ill
luck, were always used by the augurs in an
auspicious sense.
A strange old woman crime once to Tarqui-
nius Superbus, king of Rome, with nine books,
which she said were the Oracles of Sibyls, and
proffered to sell them. But the king making
some scruple about the price, she went away
and burnt three of them ; and returning with
the six, asked the same sum as befure. Tarquin
only laughed at the humor ; upon which the old
woman left him once more ; and after she had
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ORE
burnt three others, came again with those that
were left, but still kept to her old terms. The
king began now to wonder at her obstinacy,
and thinking there might be something more
than ordinary in the business, sent for the
augurs to consult what was to be done. They,
when their divinations were performed, soon
acquainted him what a piece of impiety he had
been guilty of, by refusing a treasure sent to
him from heaven, and commanded him to give
whatever she demanded for the books that re-
mained. The woman received her money, and
delivered the writings, and only charging them
by all means to keep them sacred, immediately
vanished. Two of the nobility were presently
after chosen to be the keepers of these oracles,
which were laid up with all imaginable care in
the capitol, in a chest under ground. They could
not be consulted without a special order of the
senate, which was never granted, unless upon
the receiving some notable defeat, upon the ris-
ing of any considerable mutiny or sedition in the
state, or upon some other extraordinary occasion.
The number of priests in this, as in most other
orders, was several times altered. The Duumviri
continued till about the year of the city 388,
when the tribunes of the people preferred a law,
that there should be ten men elected for this
service, part out of the nobility, and part out of
the commons. We meet with the Decemviri
all along from hence, till about the time of
Sylla the dictator, when the Quindecemviri
occur. It were needless to give any further ac-
count of the Sibyls, than that they are generally
agreed to have been ten in number ; for which
we havfe the authority of Varro, though some
make them nine, some four, some three, and
some only one. They all lived in different ages
and countries, were all prophetesses, and, ac-
cording to common opinion, foretold the coming
of our Saviour. As to the writing, Dempster
tells us it was on linen.
Solinus acquaints us, that the books which
Tarquin bought were burnt in the conflagra-
tion of the capitol, the year before Sylla's dic-
tatorship. Yet there were others of their inspired
writings, or at least copies or extracts of them,
gathered up in Greece and other parts, upon
a special search made by order of the senate ;
which were kept with the same care as the
former, till about the time of Theodosius the
Great, when the greatest part of the senate
having embraced the Christian faith, they began
to grow out of fashion ; till at last Stilicho burnt
them all under Honorius, for which he is severe-
ly censured by the poet Rutilius.
ORDEAL. In the dark ages, when judicial
proceedings were exceedingly imperfect, it was
believed that on extraordinary occasions, the
guilt or innocence of a suspected person would
be manifested by a direct interposition of the
deity, and various methods were resorted to to
procure conviction or acquittal. These were
termed ordeals or judgments of God. As late
as the lGth century it was generally believed
that if a murderer was forced to touch the
corpse of the person he had murdered, blood
would flow from the lips and wounds.
The ordeal was of various kinds ; that of fire,
that of red hot iron, that of cold water, that of
judicial pottage, that of hallowed cheese, that of
boiling water, that of the cross, and that of dice
laid on relics covered with a woollen cloth.
There were particular masses for each species
of ordeal.
Fire ordeal was performed either by taking
up in the hand, unhurt, a piece of red-hot iron,
of one, two, or three pounds' weight; or else
by walking barefoot and blindfold, over nine
red-hot ploughshares, laid lengthwise, at une-
qual distances ; and if the party escaped with-
out injury, he was adjudged innocent, but if
otherwise, as without collusion it generally hap-
pened, he was then condemned as guilty. One
of these proceedings was as follows : a ball of
iron was prepared, of one, two, or three pounds'
weight, according to the nature of the accusa-
tion. When all the prayers and religious cere-
monies were finished, the ball was heated red-
hot. The prisoner, having crossed himself, and
sprinkled his hand with holy water, took the
ball of hot iron in his hand, and carried it to
the distance of nine feet ; after which his hand
was placed in a bag, that was sealed and re-
mained so for nine days ; at the expiration of
which it was examined, in the presence of
twelve persons of each party. If any marks of
burning appeared upon it, the accused was found
guilty ; if otherwise, he was declared innocent.
The ordeal of water was performed either by
plunging the bare arm up to the elbow in boil-
ing water, or by casting the suspected person
into a river or pond of cold water, and if he
floated therein, without any action of swim-
ming, it was deemed an evidence of his guilt,
but if he sunk he was acquitted. The latter
ordeal was adopted with regard to witches and
sorcerers and was thought infallible. The Chi-
nese, Africans, Tartars, and Hindoos have their
OREGON DISTRICT, that portion of the
United States territory which lies west of the
ORL
378
OTH
Rocky Mountains, discovered by Gray, an
American navigator, in 1790. The soil is gen-
erally fertile.
ORKNEY ISLANDS, or ORC ADES, a clus-
ter of small islands on the northern coast of
Scotland, about 67 in number, only 29 of which
are inhabited. Pop. 27,179. The population of
Kirkwall, (or Pomona or Mainland, the princi-
pal island) is 2212. These islands are scattered
over a space 50 miles long, and 30 broad. Little
of the soil is adapted foi agriculture, although
it affords good pasturage. Game is abundant
— red grouse, plovers, and snipe, eagles, wild
ducks geese, solan geese or gannets, swan, &c.
thronging to the Orkneys. They are mentioned
by several Roman writers, and were visited by
the fleets of Agricola, sent to explore the isl-
and. The first inhabitants were the Picts, but
they were subdued by the Norwegians or Nor-
mans, at the time that that enterprising people
effected conquests through almost every part of
Europe. Orkney, after this, was governed by
a succession of warlike earls, who constantly
kept up a powerful fleet, with which they rav-
aged the coasts of England, Ireland, and Scot-
land; in the latter of which, they conquered
several northern counties. The black raven
which was the flag of Orkney continued to be
an object of terror till the time of James III
of Scotland, in 1474, when the Orkneys were
ceded to that monarch as part of the mar-
riage portion of Margaret of Denmark ; and
this treaty was afterwards confirmed on the
marriage of James VI with Ann of Denmark.
The piratical expeditions of the earls of Ork-
ney were then suppressed, and it has long been
a well regulated and peaceable portion of the
British empire.
ORLEANS, Louis Joseph Philip, was born
in 1747, and bore the title of duke of Chartres
until 1787. He was rich and handsome, and,
although not deficient in intelligence, ignorant,
credulous, selfish, and sensual. In the revolu-
tion he took part against the royal family, ren-
dering himself infamous by his libels on Marie
Antoinette. After the death of the king, the
Jacobins, who had no further use for him, pro-
cured his condemnation by the revolutionary
tribunal. He met his fate with firmness, Nov.
6, 1793. t He is well known by his assumed
name of Egaliti.
ORLOFF, Count, the favorite of Catharine
II of Russia, murdered the czar Peter III, 17C2.
Catharine loaded him and his brothers with
honors, and dignified them with the title of
counts. Orloff having, however, aimed at the
honor of publicly receiving the hand of Cath-
arine, he was ordered to travel, together with a
grant of 100,000 rubles in ready money, a pen-
sion of 50,000, a magnificent service of plate,
and an estate containing 6,000 peasants.
OSTEND, a fortified and well-built seaport
in the Belgic province of West Flanders. Pop.
10,500. It is noted for the sieges which it has
withstood ; particularly for a terrible siege of
three years, from July 5, 1G01 , to Sept. 22, 1G04,
against the armies of Spain, when the tower was
valiantly defended by the troops of the prince of
Orange, assisted by the forces of queen Eliza-
beth, under the command of Sir Francis Vere,
who was chief general for five months. The
loss of the Spaniards was immense, being little
short of 100,000 men ; and although they after-
wards succeeded in taking the place, it was yet
at such an expense of men and treasure, that
this siege is justly considered as the chief cause
of the ruin of their affairs in the Netherlands,
and of the establishment of the independence
of the United Provinces. On the death of
Charles II of Spain the French seized Ostend :
but in 170G, after the battle of Ramillies,it was
retaken by the allies. The emperor Charles VI
established an East India Company here, but it
met with such a powerful opposition from the
maritime powers, that after many negotiations,
it was abolished in 1731. Ostend was taken
by the French in 1745, but given up at the peace
of Aix-la-Chapelle,in 1748. In the war of 1750
the French garrisoned the town for the empress
Maria Theresa. The emperor Joseph again at-
tempted to establish an East India trade, but
was not very successful. In 1792 it was taken
by the French, and retaken by the English in
1793, who garrisoned it for the emperor Fran-
cis II. When the French conquered Belgium,
Ostend fell into their hands. In the course of
the war, a detachment of British troops landed,
and destroyed the sluices of the canals through
which the French were collecting a naval force.
The detachment after effecting their object
were made prisoners of war.
OTHO, Marcus Salvius, a Roman emperor,
descended from the ancient kings of Etruria.
Fie was acknowledged by the senate and the
Roman people, but the sudden revolt of Vitclli-
us, in Germany, rendered his situation precari-
ous, and it was mutually resolved that their re-
spective right to the empire should be decided
by arms. Otho obtained three victoiies over
his enemies, but in a general engagement near
Brixellum, his forces were defeated, and he
stabbed himself when all hopes of success were
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vanished, after a reign of about three months,
on the 20th of April. A. D. 69.
OTHO I, emperor of Germany, elected at
Aix-la-Chapelle, in 936. At the earnest solici-
tation of the Italians, Otho repaired in person to
Rome, where he was solemnly crowned empe-
ror of the Romans in 9(i0, dignified with the ap-
pellation of Augustus, and honored with the
homao-e of the senate and people. He died in
972.
OTHO II, surnamed the Sanguinary, suc-
ceeded his father on the imperial throne : but
his authority was warmly disputed by Henry,
duke of Bavaria, and the commencement of his
reign was disturbed by some hostile incursions
of the Danes and Bohemians. In 979 he led a
numerous body of forces into Italy, in order to
punish a re volt of the Romans. He died in 983,
and was succeeded by his son Otho III, at the
age of 12 years,
OTIS, James, was born in Massachusetts,
Feb. 5, 1725, and was graduated at Harvard
college, after which he studied law, and was
admitted to the bar in Plymouth. He removed
to Boston in 1750, and rose rapidly in his pro-
fession. His speech against the " writs of as-
sistance," (see Jidams) was the first public proof
which Mr. Otis gave of his attachment to the
cause of liberty. In May 1761 he was chosen
to the legislature. Six years afterwards, on the
repeal of the Stamp Act, he was chosen Speak-
er of the House of Representatives, but was
negatived by the governor. In 1769 he received
a wound on the head in a scuffle with one of the
commissioners of customs in the British coffee-
house, to which injury his subsequent derange-
ment has been attributed. He was killed by a
stroke of lightning May 23, 1783.
" He was," says Mr. Tudor, his biographer,
1 " a man of powerful genius and ardent temper,
' with wit and humor that never failed : as an
orator, he was bold, argumentative, impetuous,
and commanding, with an eloquence that made
his own excitement irresistibly contagious ; as a
lawyer, his knowledge and ability placed him
at the head of his profession ; as a scholar, he
was rich in acquisition, and governed by a clas-
sic taste ; as a statesman and civilian he was
sound and just in his views ; as a patriot, he re-
sisted all allurements that might weaken the
cause of that country to which he devoted his
life, and for which he sacrificed it."
OTTOMAN EMPIRE, Turkish Empire,
Ottoman, or Sublime Porte. The Ottomans
are displeased with the name of Turks, which
they reject as indicating uncivilized barbarians.
The remembrance of Turk, a descendant of Ja-
phet, and the father of all the nations or tribes
that inhabit Tartary, might confer on that
branch of the Ottomans the honor of being the
most ancient and illustrious in the world.
Othman I, descended from the celebrated
Genghis Khan, with seven other Turkish cap-
tains, seized all the countries which had been in
the possession of the Seleucidse in Asia Minor,
A. D. 1300.
He assumed the title of sultan, and, pursuing
his conquests, took Prusa in Bithynia, which he
made the seat of the Ottoman empire or king-
dom. He died after a reign of twenty-seven
years, in 1328, which had been entirely spent
in military expeditions, and was succeeded by
his son Orchan, who continued the conquests
of his father in the Greek empire, and took
Nicea or Nicomedia.
Murad, or Amurath I, the son and successor
of Orchan, succeeded also to his father's usur-
pation of the country, in 1356; and passing the
straits of Gallipoli, he took Adrianople, which
he made the seat of his empire.
Amurath is extolled for his justice, temper-
ance, modesty, and piety.
He was succeeded by his son, Bajazet I, in
1389, whose brother, attempting to supplant
him, was strangled ; and this is said to have
been the first instance of that sanguinary cus-
tom, afterwards so common, of putting to death
princes of the royal blood. This prince is cel-
ebrated by his victories, and by the most dis-
tressing misfortunes. He flew from Asia to
Europe, and returned to Asia with such incon-
ceivable rapidity, that the Turks have given him
the surname of Thunderbolt. He provoked the
attacks of Timur Bee, or Tamerlane, who wish-
ed to accommodate their differences, but who
accepted the challenge of Bajazet, and in the
plains of Prusa proved completely victorious, in
one of the bloodiest battles that had ever been
fought. It continued a whole day, and thou-
sands on both sides fell by the sword ; but, while
displaying the -utmost efforts of valor, Bajazet
was defeated and made prisoner.
An interregnum of 12 years succeeded, dur-
ing which the three sons of Bajazet governed
each a separate part of the empire ; but, at
length, it was united under Mohammed, in
1413, who had an opportunity of displaying a
noble character, the brightest features in which
were gratitude and clemency. He was suc-
ceeded by his son Murad, or Amurath II, in
1422, who was a cruel tyrant, and who took
Thessalonica, or Salonica, and put the inhabit-
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ants to the sword ; and invaded and subdued
Servia, destroying all before him ; entered Tran-
sylvania, ravaging the country, and murdering
the natives ; and acted the same brutal part in
Walachia. He gained the famous battle at
Varna, in which Stephen, king of Hungary, was
slain. Amurath died of age and grief at his ill
success against Scanderbeg king of Epirus, and
was succeeded by his son, Mohammed II, in
1451, the greatest warrior of all the Turkish
sultans. His reign lasted 30 years, and was a
continued series of battles and victories, almost
without a single reverse. However, he had to
contend with generals capable of suspending his
progress, and of checking his ambition, had
their forces been equal to their courage. Among
these were the celebrated Huniades, king of
Hungary ; Matthias Corvinus, his son ; and
above all, Scanderbeg, after whose death the
Turks made relics of his bones, which they wore
as a preservative against dangers. On the 29th
of May, 1453, Mohammed took the city of Con-
stantinople. Thus ended the Greek empire,
and the seat of the Turkish was founded. Un-
provoked, the Turks attacked it, and never
ceased till they had usurped the throne, as they
had done those of so many other states and
kingdoms, murdering millions in cold blood,
and by tortures of inconceivable barbarity. Af-
ter Mohammed had taken the capital, he turned
his arms against what still remained of the
Greek empire, in the isles and on the continent.
He was succeeded by his eldest son, Bajazet
II, in 1480, who subdued the Moldavians ; made
a conquest of Caramania ; rendered several of
the Asiatic princes tributary ; had considerable
success in Syria; reduced Croatia; occasioned
great devastation in the Morea ; landed a body
of troops in the island of Rhodes : and paved
the way for the conquest of Egypt, by depriving
the Mamelukes, who commanded in that coun-
try, of the necessary succors which they derived
from Circassia. Exhausted with fatigue and
debauchery, Bajazet was desirous of placing the
crown on the head of his eldest son, Ahmed.
In this situation of affairs, Selim, the youngest,
arrived in the neighborhood of Constantinople,
under the pretence of paying a visit to his
father. This young prince was soon surround-
ed by the whole court, who ranged themselves
under his banners ; and the aged monarch, fore-
seeing what would be the event of such a visit,
willingly resigned his crown into the hands of
Selim.
Selim ascended the throne in the 45th year
of his age, in 1512, and caused his brothers.
Ahmed and Corcul, with five of his nephews,
and a great many of the nobility, to be put to
death. As he had received the crown from the
suffrages of the soldiers, who wished only for
war, he endeavored to gratify their desires, and
leading his army into Egypt, completely de-
feated the Mamelukes. Howevet, as he im-
agined he could not ensure the quiet possession
of Egypt, but by the total extinction of that
people, he offered rewards to those who should
discover any of them, and denounced the se-
verest punishment against such as concealed
them. When he thought he had them all as-
sembled, he ordered a superb throne to be erect-
ed for him upon the banks of the Nile, without
the gates of Cairo ; and these unhappy wretch-
es being brought into his presence, he caused
them all to be murdered before his eyes, and
their bodies to be thrown into the river.
Solyman, the son of Selim, had scarcely
mounted the throne, in 1520, when he formed
the design of extending his empire as much in
Europe, as his father had done in Asia. He
directed his attempts against the Christians, and
soon took Rhodes from the knights of St. John,
who had possessed the island for upwards of
200 years. He then attacked Hungary, took
Buda, and entered Austria with fire and sword.
He laid siege to Vienna ; where finding a des-
perate resistance, he withdrew his troops, but
previously massacred all his prisoners, men,
women, and children. He made John, king of
Hungary, tributary to him, and took Bagdad,
the whole of Assyria, and Mesopotamia. In
short, he extended his reputation as a warrior to
both extremities of the world.
Selim, the son of Solyman, made peace with
Germany and Persia, and took the island of
Cyprus from the Venetians, in 1566.
Amurath III, the eldest son of Selim, in 1575,
was obliged to give large sums to appease the
janisaries, who, having been accustomed, dur-
ing the vacancy of the throne, to plunder, and
even massacre their fellow-citizens, were dis-
appointed on this occasion. To give employ-
ment to his untractable soldiery, he made war
upon Russia, Poland, Germany, and Venice,
and subdued Georgia. He is said to have been
of a quiet disposition, a lover of justice, and
very zealous in his religion. lie left, behind
him 20 sons, of whom 19 were strangled by the
eldest, his successor.
Mohammed III, having thus secured to him-
self the throne by the slaughter of his brothers,
in 1596, thought it necessary also to take away
the life'of all the late sovereign's wives and
OTT
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OTT
concubines, by whom it was possible that there
should be any posthumous progeny. The in-
solence of the janisaries now greatly increased,
and they were perpetually revolting and fight-
ing with the other soldiers. The pachas also
rebelled in many provinces ; and the sultan,
through fear>made peace with them, and con-
firmed them in their office. Immersed in the
pleasures of the seraglio, Mohammed bestowed
no other attention on public affairs than was
absolutely necessary. He caused his eldest son,
a prince of inestimable qualities, to be put to
death.
Ahmed ascended the throne when he was
scarcely 15 years old, in 1605, and soon demon-
strated that the sceptre was not unworthily in-
trusted to him. Under his reign, those fires
which are so common began at Constantinople,
and which seldom or never breakout but when
the people are discontented. Ahmed was suc-
ceeded by his brother Mustapha, in 1617. His
cruelties rendered him so odious, that he was
deposed and sent to prison in the castle of the
Seven Towers, and his nephew, Othman, placed
on the throne, in 1618. Othman, discontented
with his janisaries, meditated revenge against
them ; and as he could not drive them from
Constantinople, he formed the design of trans-
ferring the seat of government into Asia. But
the janisaries discovering his intention, massa-
cred the grand vizier, who they supposed to be
the author of the measure, imprisoned the em-
peror, who was soon after put to death, and re-
instated Mustapha on the throne. The uncle,
however, derived very little benefit from this
event. He was treated as an idiot, led about
upon an ass exposed to the derision and insults
of the populace, and then carried back to prison,
where he was strangled by the orders of his
successor.
Amurath IV, brother to the unfortunate Oth-
man, by intrepidity and courage repressed the
turbulence of the janisaries, and freed himself
from every kind of rebellion, in 1621. During
his reign, which lasted 17 years, he caused
14,000 men to be destroyed. His chief amuse-
ment was to run about the streets in the night,
with a sabre in his hand, and to cut down all
whom he met. He was succeeded by his bro-
ther Ibrahim, in 1639, who had languished four
years in prison, and who, on being restored
thus unexpectedly to liberty and empire, was so
intoxicated by the new pleasures which they
presented, that resigning the administration of
government to the former ministers, he devoted
himself entirely to the luxuries of the haram.
The mufti having excited a revolt among the
janisaries, and Ibrahim, finding himself unable
to resist, resigned the crown, and in a few days
was put to death.
Mohammed IV the eldest son of Ibrahim, suc-
ceeded his father, in 1649. His reign was long
and glorious ; but after so many years passed in
prosperity, which ought to have established his
power, he was forced to abdicate the throne,
though he survived his deposition, and was not
molested in his apartment, which served as a
prison. The exploits of this emperor, which, if
detailed at length, would fill a volume, are not
so far distant from the present period as to be
obscured by the veil of time. The famous siege
of Candia, which subjected the ancient Crete
to the dominion of the crescent, makes a con-
spicuous figure in the page of history. At the
beginning of the 18th century, fathers at Vi-
enna were accustomed to relate to their chil-
dren the battles which they had witnessed un-
der the walls of that city, when Sobieski disap-
pointed the hopes of the Mohammedans. Mo-
hammed IV distinguished himself by his incli-
nation to mercy, and seldom commanded his
troops in person ; which probably caused the
revolt of the soldiers, who placed the crown on
the head of one of his brothers. Solyman II
did not seat himself on the throne without ap-
prehension, in 1685; and, while receiving the
usual congratulations, seemed every moment to
expect his formidable brother with the execu-
tioners and instruments of death. Solyman had
to support a disastrous war against Germany
and Venice, the misfortunes of which were at-
tended with the most ruinous consequences.
But Kiopruli Mustapha Pacha being appointed
grand- vizier, regenerated the empire, and putting
himself at the head of the main army, besieged
and took the fortress of Belgrade. He died of
the dropsy, and was succeeded by his brother,
Ahmed II, in 1691, who had as little judgment,
and as little influence in the government. Ki-
opruli being killed on the banks of the Danube,
when on the point of obtaining a victory, the
sovereign soon followed his general to the grave.
Mustapha II, son of Mohammed IV, gave
new vigor to the empire, in 1695, which had
languished under his predecessors. He resolved
to command his troops in person, but met with
a more disgraceful and more complete defeat
than the Turks had ever experienced. His
troops, not receiving their pay in due time, took
up arms, deposed Mustapha, and invited Ahm-
ed his brother to repair to the army.
Ahmed III in the course of five months put
=
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382
PAI
to death more than 14,000 soldiers, who had
taken the greatest share in the rebellion, and
who were carried away in the night-time, and
drowned in Lie Bosphorus. A war broke out
between the Porte and Russia ; that with Ger-
many and Venice was rekindled; and another
was carried on in Persia. These military ex-
peditions, though not always unsuccessful, re-
duced the empire to a state of general weak-
ness, which was felt particularly in the capital :
all tended to irritate the minds of men, and pro-
duced a revolt that dethroned Ahmed, after a
reign of 27 years. On the deposition of Ahm-
ed, in 1730, and the elevation of his nephew
Mohammed V, a considerable alteration took
place in the mode of carrying on the govern-
ment. From the time of" Mohammed II, the
whole administration had been usually delega-
ted to the vizier ; but as this and the preceding
rebellion had originated in the overgrown pow-
er and ambition of these officers, Mohammed V
took the authority into his own hands, and de-
termined to change his viziers frequently. This
prince was unfortunate in his battles both with
the Russians and Kouli Khan, whom he was
obliged to acknowledge as sophi of Persia.
On the death of Mohammed, his brother Os-
man came from confinement to the throne ; in
1754 ; and the kislar-aga and his secretary gain-
ed the confidence of his new sovereign, and as-
sumed all their former power. Osman was suc-
ceeded by Mustapha III, the son of Ahmed, in
1757, who deprived the kislar-aga of his place
and influence, and attached to the vizierat great
part of the emoluments formerly given to the
kislar-aga. Mustapha having attacked the
Russians, in 1769, a bloody war commenced
with the exploits of Prince Gallitzin, who gain-
ed four separate and complete victories over the
Turks, whom he obliged to abandon Choczin.
The Russians speedily overran Moldavia and
Walachia, and gained a great naval victory off
Tchesme, where the whole of the Turkish fleet
was destroyed. These and other important suc-
cesses of the Russians compelled the Turks to
conclude a dishonorable peace, soon after the
death of Mustapha, and the accession of his bro-
ther Abdulhamid. The peace of 1774, was the
first great step towards the limitation of an em-
pire, originally founded, and gradually extend-
ed, hy rapine and injustice. On the death of
Abdulhamid, in 178!), Selim III, son of Musta-
pha, ascended the throne, at a time when the
empire was engaged in another unsuccessful
war with Russia, which terminated greatly in
favor of the latter power. From this period,
the most interesting and important concerns
relating to the Ottoman empire, were for some
time connected with the internal and civil broils,
in which the celebrated Passwan Oglu, or Pez-
man Ohlu, took a very active and decided part
against the regular government. Civil war,
which was probably fomented by the French,
when they invaded Egypt, appeared likely to
become general throughout Turkey ; a revolu-
tion was effected by the janisaries, who deposed
Selim III, and raised to the throne Mustapha
IV, in 1801, and had it not been for the assist-
ance of the English, and the regard which they
paid to its interests, in the treaty of pacification ,
in 1802, it is probable that the Ottoman Porte
would have ceased to exist as an independent
nation. Russia declared war against Turkey,
on the pretext of a peace concluded with Eng-
land by the latter power, in 1809, and the Turks
and Russians commenced hostilities against
each other with no other apparent object than
mutual destruction. At length, mutual ex-
haustion rendered the operations on both sides
languid ; and Russia finding herself invaded by
the formidable power of France, a treaty of
peace was concluded with Turkey, in 1812,
which ceded the cities and districts on the left
of the Pruth as the price of pacification.
The present sultan, Mahmoud, has met with
many losses. He is attached to the European
dress and discipline, and has introduced many
improvements, which are, however, regarded
merely in the light of innovations by his subjects.
OXENSTIERN (Axel), a Swedish states-
man, was born in 1583. He was the favorite
of Gustavus Adolphus, after whose death he
conducted the affairs of the kingdom with equal
ability and integrity. He died in 1054.
PACA, William, one of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence, born in Maryland
Oct. 31, 1740. After graduating at the college
of Philadelphia, he studied law, and commenced
practice in Annapolis. From 1774 to 1778 he
was a member of congress, and vacated his seat
when he was appointed chief justice of the su-
preme court of his state, of which he was chosen
governor in 1782. In 1789 he was appointed by
Washington judge of the district court of the
United States for Maryland, and held that im-
portant post until his death, which took place
10 years after, in the sixtieth year of his age.
PAUSE, Robert Treat, one of the signers of
the American Declaration of Independence, was
PAI
383
PAL
born at Boston, in 1731. For some time after
graduating from Harvard college, he kept a
public school. Having studied theology, lie
became a chaplain in the provincial forces in
1755, but soon studied law in which he made
great proficiency, and settled at Taunton. After
Raving served at the general representative as-
sembly, he was chosen member of the continen-
tal congress which met at Philadelphia in 1774.
He was several years in congress, and was an
active member of the committee that framed
the constitution of Massachusetts. He held the
office of attorney -general from the time the gov-
ernment was organized until 1790, when he
was made judge of the supreme court, an office
which he held until 1804. He died in the 85th
year of his age, May 11, 1814.
PAINE, Thomas, a political and deistical
writer, was born in 1737 at Thetford in Norfolk,
where he was brought up to the business of a
stay maker. He afterwards became an excise-
man at Lewes; but being dismissed for some
mal-practices, he went to America in 1774, be-
came editor of the Pennsylvania Magazine, and
aided the revolution by a pamphlet called Com-
mon Sense, for which he was rewarded with
£500 by the legislature of Pennsylvania. He
was also appointed clerk to the committee for
foreign affairs. In 1780 he was appointed clerk
to the assembly of Pennsylvania, and in 1785
received $3,005 from congress, and 500 acres of
land from the state of New York.
In 1790 he went to London and excited con-
siderable notice by his Rights of Man, written
in answer to Burke's Reflections on the French
Revolution. A prosecution, however, being
commenced against him, he fled to France,
where he was chosen a member of the national
convention, but incurred the displeasure of the
Jacobins for recommending a lenient course
towards Louis XVI, and was thrown into prison.
Here he narrowly escaped death. The jailor,
when he received orders for a batch of prisoners
to be carried to execution, was in the habit of
marking the doors of their cells with chalk. One
day, Paine had left his cell to visit a fellow-
prisoner, and the door stood wide open. The
drunken jailor, having occasion to single out
some victims, chalked the inside of Paine's
door, which was afterwards closed, and thus he
escaped notice, when, on the ensuing day, the
devoted prisoners were delivered up to the
proper authorities. By the publication of his
Age of Reason, a work levelled at Revelation,
he forfeited the esteem of many Americans who
had been his warm friends. He fell into disre-
pute, when, on his return to America, he gave
himself up to intemperate habits. He died June
8, 1809, the victim of his excesses, and was
buried on his own farm, interment on their
ground having been refused by the society of
1 riends to whom application was made. Cob-
bett, who professes an unbounded admiration
for Tom Paine, dug up his bones, and carried
them to England.
PALESTINE, (See Judma). Palestine ex-
tends from Ccelo-Syria to Arabia Petrea; on
the west it has the Mediterranean, and on the
east Arabia Deserta. The country is moun-
tainous, and there is only one principal river,
the Jordanes, or Jordan, which rising on Mount
Hermon, falls into the lake of Gennesareth, or
sea of Tiberias ; after which it loses itself in a
more spacious one, Lacus Asphaltites, the Bi-
tuminous Lake, or Dead Sea. On the western
side of Jordan were Judcea on the south, Sama-
ria in the middle, and Galilee in the north ; on
the eastern side was Pera^a. The Philistines
were mostly on the coast towards Egypt. In
the kingdom of Judah stood Hierosolyrna, or
Jerusalem, built on several hills, the largest of
which was Mount Sion ; it formed the southern
part of the city. On the east of the second, or
lower city, was Mount Moriah. Jerusalem,
when enlarged and beautified by David, Solo-
mon, &c, became a most renowned city, and
as such is mentioned by Herodotus under the
name of Cadytis. Its temple on Mount Moriah,
was a noble and costly structure. Both the
city and temple were destroyed by the Chalde-
ans, about 600 years B. C. The second temple,
which had begun to decay, was rebuilt by Her-
od the Great. The destruction of Jerusalem by
Titus was A. D. 70. Under Adrian, a new-
city, altogether Roman, and called ^Elia, was
built, but there was an alteration in its site.
Sion, the principal quarter of the ancient city,
was not comprised within the new city. It
subsists at present, but in a deplorable condition,
inhabited by a motley group of Turks, Jews,
and Christians. A mosque has supplanted the
temple. Northeast of Mount Moriah was the
Mount of Olives, beyond the brook and valley
of Kedron ; on the south was the valley of Hin-
nom, and on the north Mount Calvary. Six
miles to the southeast was Bethlehem. A
rugged mountainous country lay between Jeru-
salem and Jericho, famous for its balm. For
this, and for their p;ilm-trees, both Judssa and
Idumrea were celebrated. Hebron, a place of
higli antiquity, was the sepulchre of Abraham
and his family. In the time of the crusades it
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bore the name of St. Abraham ; and the Arabs,
who always respect their primitive names, call
it Cabr Ibrahim, or the tomb of Abraham. Gaza
and Ascalon, on the coast, preserve their names,
as also Ekron. Gath is more inland. Azotus
was the ancient Ashdod. Lydda, in the inte-
rior, has the name of Lod. South of it is Arim-
athea. Towards the south lay Idumea, or
Edom : the natives were subdued by the Macca-
bees, and incorporated with the Jewish nation.
In Jerome's time the country was deserted, the
few inhabitants having their dwellings in cav-
erns.
PALMYRA, the ruins of a great city of Asia,
in the desert of Syria, said to have been de-
stroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. The only brilliant
part of its history was under Odenathus and his
queen Zenobia. It afterwards fell under the
power of the Mahometans, but at what period
it sank into its present state of desolation is
uncertain.
PAMPAS; vast plains in the southern part
of Buenos Ayres, extending from the de la Plata
nearly to the Andes, 750 miles long, and 450
broad. Part of these plains are covered with
grass, and part with open forests. They con-
tain herds of wild horses and cattle and some
beasts of prey, and are inhabited by the Gua-
chos, a race of men of Spanish origin who live
on horseback and subsist by hunting, and the
fierce Indians who lead the life of the Guachos,
but are constantly at war with them. Captain
Head's Rough Notes of some Rapid Journeys
across the Pampas, and among the Andes, con-
tains the best and most amusing account we
have of them.
The Guachos make use of the lasso in hunt-
ing. The lasso, so called from the Spanish lazo,
or noose, consists of a rope made of twisted
strips of untanned hide, varying in length from
fifteen to twenty yards, and is about as thick as
the little finger. It has a noose or running-
knot at one end, the other extremity being fast-
ened by an eye and button to a ring in a strong
hide belt or surcingle, bound tightly round the
horse. The coil is grasped by the horseman's
left hand, while the noose, which is held in the
right, trails along the ground except when in
use, and then it is whirled round the head with
considerable velocity, during which, by a pecu-
liar turn of the wrist, it is made to assume a
circular form ; so that, when delivered from the
hand, the noose preserves itself open until it
falls over the object at which it has been aimed.
The unerring precision with which the lasso
is thrown, is perfectly astonishing, and to one
who sees it for the first time, has a very magi-
cal appearance. Even when standing still it is
by no means an easy thing to throw the lasso ;
but the difficulty is vastly increased when it
comes to be thrown from horseback and at a
gallop, and when, in addition, the rider is oblig-
ed to pass over uneven ground, and to leap
hedges and ditches in his course. Yet such is
the dexterity of the guachos or countrymen,
that they are not only sure of catching the an-
imal they are in chase of, but can fix, or as they
term it, place the lasso on any particular part
they please.
Suppose that a wild bull is to be caught, and
that two mounted horsemen, guassos, as they
are called in Chili, or guachos on the Pampas,
undertake to kill him. As soon as they dis-
cover their prey, they remove the coil of the
lasso from behind them, and, grasping it in the
left hand, prepare the noose in the right, and
dash off, at full gallop, each swinging his lasso
round his head. The first who comes within
reach aims at the bull's horns, and when he
sees, which he does in an instant, that the lasso
which he has thrown will take effect, he stops
his horse, and turns it half round, the bull con-
tinuing his course, till the whole cord has run
out. The horse, meanwhile, knowing, by ex-
perience, what is going to happen, leans over
as much as he can in the opposite diiection
from the bull, and stands trembling in expecta-
tion of the violent tug which is to be given him
by the bull, when brought up by the lasso. So
great, indeed, is the jerk which takes place at
this moment, that were the horse not to lean
over in the manner described, he would cer-
tainly be overturned ; but standing, as he does,
across the road, with his feet planted firmly on
the ground, he offers sufficient resistance to
stop the bull as instantaneously as if he had
been shot, though, the instant before, he was
running at full speed.
If the intention be to kill the animal for the
sake of the tallow and hide alone, as is often
the case, one of the guachos dismounts, and
running in, cuts the bull's hamstrings with a
long knife which he always wears in his girdle ;
and, instantly afterwards, dispatches him by a
dexterous cut across the back of the neck. The
most surprising thing is, the manner in which
the horse, after being left by his rider, manages
to preserve the lasso always tight; this would
be less difficult if the bull were to remain always
steady, but it sometimes happens that he makes
violent struggles to disentangle himself from the
lasso, rushing backwards and forwards in a fu-
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PAR
rious manner. The horse, however, with won-
derful sagacity, alters his pace, and prances
about, as if conscious of what he is doing, so as
to resist every movement of the bull, and never
to allow the lasso to be relaxed for a moment.
When a wild horse is to be taken, the lasso
is always placed round the two hind legs, and,
as the guacho rides a little on one side, the jerk
pulls the entangled feet laterally, so as to throw
him on his side, without endangering his knees
or his face. Before the horse can recover the
shock, the rider dismounts, and snatching the
poncho or cloak from his shoulders, wraps it
round the prostrate animal's head : he then
forces into his mouth one of the powerful bits
of the country, straps a saddle on his back,
and, bestriding him, removes the poncho; upon
which, the astonished horse springs on his legs,
and endeavors, by a thousand vain efforts, to
disencumber himself of his new master, who
sits quite composedly on his back ; and, by a
discipline which never fails, reduces the horse
to such complete obedience that he is soon
trained to lend his speed and strength in the
capture of his wild companions.
The equestrian education of the dwellers on
the Pampas, commences early. At the age of
four the Guacho is mounted on horseback, and
assists in driving the cattle to the enclosure.
Even then he is adventurous, and can bring
back by force those horses that attempt to es-
cape. As his years increase, he becomes more
daring and manly, and spends his time in gal-
loping after the ostrich, the gama, the hare, and
the tiger.
The Pampas Indians, a daring and hardy race
of men, who have never been conquered, and
to whom the great changes of the seasons ap-
pear to come with singularly little inconven-
ience, are always on horseback, whether beneath
the burning skies of summer, or the piercing cold
of winter ; and they are at all seasons wholly
without clothing. They are formed into tribes,
under the command of caciques, and are a war-
like people. Mounted on their fleet and sure-
footed horses, with their spears eighteen feet
long, which they can manage with great power,
and dexterity, they are most formidable. On
foot they are almost powerless ; as their habitual
riding deprives them of the faculty of walking.
When mounted, however, their fleetness is
almost incredible. When they march for an
attack, they collect a great troop of horses, and,
raising their war-cry, set off" at a gallop. If the
march be long, they change horses several
times, and always reserve their best ones to be
25
mounted fresh when they are in sight of the
enemy. The horses only are used for riding,
but they drive mares along with them to serve
as food. Their onset is destructive, and, until
their horses are worn out with fatigue, to resist
them is no easy matter.
Riding in the Pampas is rendered dangerous
by the numerous holes which the bisacho bur-
rows in the ground like a rabbit. , Their holes
frequently cause great injury to the feet of the
horses, but custom renders the horse cautious
amidst these dangers; and, as for the Guacho,
it is impossible to eject him from the saddle,
unless the horse shall actually fall. Captain
Head tried the rapid mode of travelling prac-
tised by the Guachos, and survived to describe
it. At first he found his head a little confused
with the constant galloping, and when he dis-
mounted, he was so giddy that he could not
stand ; but he in time got accustomed to it, and
found it more pleasant. He found the young
men the worst drivers in point of speed. The
children had no fear, and therefore always dash-
ed on at the most rapid rate, and the old men
made up in skill, while the young men wanted
alike the daring forwardness of the children,
and the experience of the old men. Captain
Head must have travelled at a prodigious rate.
From Mendoza he determined to gallop to Bue-
nos Ayres, and, attended by a single Guacho,
mounted horse to recross the Pampas. It was
now that the captain tried the velocity and felt
the pleasure of really independent travelling
across the Pampas; and his speed can be com-
pared to nothing upon record — even that of the
Guacho who accompanied him, or of Mazeppa
as he was bound to the wild horse. Starting
from Mendoza before day-break, he found him-
self at half past seven in the evening, at the
distance of one hundred and fifty-three miles;
which, as he had been just fourteen hours and
a half on horseback, was nearly at the rate of
ten miles an hour. He was fatigued, and could
get nothing to eat, and so, taking his saddle into
a shed, he laid down his head on it, and was
asleep in an instant. The voice of the Guacho
roused him an hour before daylight, and he
again galloped oft' at the rate of the preceding
day. It is needless to follow the course of this
adventurous traveller — enough has been said
to show the mode of life and travelling in the
Pampas.
PARAGUAY, a state of South America,
bounded N. by Brazil, E. and S. by the Parana,
and W. by the Paraguay. It contains a popu-
lation of 150,000 according to the lowest esti-
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PAR
mate ; some give twice that number. It was
discovered by Sebastian Cabot in 1526, and in
1776 formed a province of the viceroyalty of
Buenos Ayres. The independence of Paraguay
was acknowledged in 1827, by Don Pedro, then
emperor of Brazil. The government is in the
hands of Doctor Francia, who has been named
dictator for life. Although tyrannical, he ap-
pears to aim at the improvement and welfare of
his subjects.
PARGA, a sea-port on the coast of Albania,
was built on the decline of the Roman empire.
It is hardly mentioned in history till 1401 , when
it entered into an alliance with Venice, which
continued until the subversion of the latter in
1797. In 1814 Ali Pacha marched against it
with a military force ; the Pargiots withstood
the attack, but applied to the British in Corfu,
and received a garrison from them, in the hope
of being incorporated with the republic of the
Ionian Islands. To this compact, however, the
British did not give effect, the dread of con-
tinued dissensions with the Albanians led to a
negotiation for its surrender ; Ah paying an in-
demnity to those who should refuse to remain
after a change of government. The evacua-
tion took place in 1819, most of the inhabitants
removing to the Ionian Islands.
PARIS, the capital of France, lies upon both
banks and two islands of the Seine, 112 miles
S. E. of Havre. The population, in 1827, was
890,451. It is an archiepiscopal see, the resi-
dence of the monarch, the legislative body, the
ministers and ambassadors, one of the largest,
most populous, and richest cities in the world,
containing some most superb monuments. In-
cluding its suburbs, it is 18 miles in circumfer-
ence, and is much superior to London in pala-
ces and public edifices. Not only does it enjoy
a literary and scientific preeminence, but is one
of the gayest capitals in Europe. The houses
are lofty and built of the stone taken from the
quarries that extend beneath the city, thus
forming the celebrated catacombs. The royal
palaces are the Louvre, and Tuileries. It was
very strong, when, under the name of Lutetia,
it resisted a Roman detachment sent against it
by Ca?sar. The Romans strengthened the for-
tifications; in the fifth century it was taken by
the Franks ; and in 508 was constituted the
capital of the kingdom. It was improved by
Charlemagne, and surrounded with walls at the
end of the twelfth century. Under Louis XIV
some improvements were made : but Versailles
being then the chief care of the Bourbons, Paris
received only slow and partial embellishments,
until the revolution, when it became essential
for the new rulers (particularly Bonaparte) to
conciliate the favor of so important a city.
PARK, Mungo, a native of Scotland, born
near Selkirk, Sept. 10, 1771, fell a victim to the
cause of science, being murdered in Africa,
while engaged in his third expedition, 1805.
His published travels are highly interesting.
PARMA, a fine city in the north of Italy,
capital of the duchy of the same name, con-
taining 35,000 inhabitants. It was founded by
the ancient Etrurians. In the Kith century,
Paul III gave it to his son Luigi Farnese whose
descendants continued to reign as dukes of Par-
ma till the extinction of the male branch. In
1714, Elizabeth Farnese married Philip V of
Spain, and brought him the duchy as a dowry.
Her son Don Carlos took possession of it in
1731 ; but it being settled in 1735, that Don
Carlos should be made king of the two Sicilies,
the duchy of Parma and Piacenza was ceded to
the emperor, and governed by the house of
Austria till 1748, when they were given up to
Don Philip, son of Philip V. By the peace of
Luneville, the duke of Parma was raised to the
throne as king of Etruria, in 1801. In 1805,
Parma and Piacenza were united to France,
and on the fall of Bonaparte they were taken by
the Austrians, and in 1814 were given by the
treaty of Paris to Maria Louisa, the ex-empress,
devolving on her death to Austria and Sardinia
— a provision which has since been modified by
certain equivalents.
PARSONS, Theophilus, was the son of a
minister of Byfield, Mass., and was born Feb.,
1750. After completing his legal studies, he
opened an office in Newburyport, and assumed
a high standing in his profession ; in 1806 he
succeeded chief-justice Dana in the Supreme
Judicial Court of Massachusetts. He died at
Boston, Oct. 30, 1813.
PARTH1A, this celebrated kingdom of an-
tiquity was situated in the northern part of the
modern Khorassan, and was bounded on the N.
by Ilyrcania, on the S. by Aria, on the E.
by Carmania the Desert, and on the VV. by
Media. The ancient Parthians were originally
a tribe of Scythians, who, being expelled from
the land of their nativity, took up their abode in
this part of Asia. Arsaces, the founder of the
Parthian monarchy, assumed the regal dignity
B. C. 250. His son Arsaces II subdued Media,
but was soon dispossessed of this acquisition.
On the death of Arsaces, the government de-
volved on his son Priapatius, who bequeathed
the crown to his eldest son Phraates. This last
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prince subdued the Mardi, a warlike people of
the east. He left the kingdom to his brother
Mithridates, who soon reduced Bactria, Persia,
Media, Elymais, and several other countries,
and carried his victorious arms into India, even
beyond the boundaries of Alexander's conquests.
He afterwards made himself master of Babylo-
nia and Mesopotamia ; and his reign is regarded
as the epoch of the Parthian grandeur.
We pass over a few unimportant reigns till
we come to that of Orodes, who engaged in war
with M. Licinius Crassus, which was attended
with a vast effusion of blood, and proved ex-
tremely disastrous both to the Parthians and the
Romans. At length, Crassus was overthrown
with a great slaughter, and his head sent to
Orodes ; whilst his vanquished troops tamely
surrendered or were put to the sword. Orodes
sent an army to besiege the city of Antioch,
which, however, the Parthians could not take.
To revenge the death of Crassus, the Romans
entered Syria, B.C. 50, and, after some partial en-
gagements, succeeded in defeating Pacorus, the
son of Orodes, who was killed in the battle. Oro-
des appointed Phraates his successor, B. C. 36.
Phraates no sooner attained to this height of
power than he caused all his brothers by the
daughter of Antiochus Eusebes to be put to
death, and attempted to despatch Orodes also,
by poison, which proving ineffectual, he ordered
him to be stifled in his bed, and exercised the
same cruelty upon the prime nobility, his eldest
son, and the other branches of the royal family.
To elude the vengeance of this barbarian, many
of the Parthian nobles emigrated into Syria, and
prevailed on Marc Antony to invade their un-
happy kingdom. The Romans, however, were
so harassed by the enemy, that they were re-
duced to the most pitiable extremities, and nar-
rowly escaped destruction.
The Parthian monarch continuing to exercise
the most wanton cruelties upon his own sub-
jects, the nobles entered into a conspiracy, and
chasing him from the country, conferred the
sovereignty on Tiribates, one of their own body.
Phraates, however, returned, and defeating his
rival in a pitched battle, recovered his paternal
inheritance.
At length, this tyrant was poisoned by his
wife, that her son Phraatices might ascend the
throne. Phraatices had scarcely assumed the
diadem, when his subjects, resolving to revenge
the crime to which he had been accessary, rose
in arms, and placed one Orodes, who was of the
Arsacidan family, on the throne. This prince
was assassinated.
On the death of Orodes II, the emperor Au-
gustus was requested by the Parthians to send
one of the sons of Phraates, who had been edu-
cated at Rome, to assume the government.
Accordingly, he sent them Vonones, but the
Parthians growing weary of him, persuaded
Artabanus, king of Media, to chase him from
the throne. Artabanus, at length, firmly estab-
lished himself in the government of Parthia, and
died in the 31st year of his reign. He was suc-
ceeded by his son Bardanes, who made war
upon Izates, king of Adiabene, A. D. 47, who
had greatly assisted in restoring Artabanus to
the throne of Parthia. This ingratitude was so
warmly resented by the Parthian nobles, that
they caused Bardanes to be assassinated, and
bestowed the crown on his brother.
Gotarzes was succeeded by one Venones,
governor of Media, A. D. 49. On the demise
of this last prince, the government devolved on
Vologeses, the son of Gotarzes, who maintained
a bloody war against the Romans, on account
of the crowns of Armenia and Syria, which he
had bestowed on Tiridates and Pacorus, two of
his brothers. Artabanus III next ascended the
throne. He was succeeded by his son Pacorus.
Cosdroes, the son of Pacorus, invaded Arme-
nia in the beginning of his reign, and expelled
Exadares, who had been placed on the throne
of that country by the emperor Trajan. To re-
venge this insult, Trajan marched into the East,
recovered Armenia, made himself master of
Mesopotamia, pursued his route to Babylon and
Ctesiphon, and bestowed their crown on Par-
thanaspates, a prince of the Arsacidan family.
On the death of Trajan, however, the Parthi-
ans recalled Cosdroes, and chased Parthanas-
pates from the throne. After a very long reign,
Cosdroes was succeeded by his eldest son, Vol-
ogeses II, who, after carrying on hostilities
against Rome for about four years, with various
success, consented to acknowledge the sove-
reignty of tlie Roman people.
On the demise of the Parthian king, his
nephew Vologeses III ascended the vacant
throne, and having incensed the emperor Se-
verus, was stripped of his treasures, his wives,
and his children. Artabanus, the son and suc-
cessor of Vologeses, had scarcely established
himself in the kingdom, when the emperor Ca-
racalla, desirous of signalizing himself against
the Parthians, sent ambassadors to demand his
daughter in marriage. This wos readily grant-
ed ; and the king, being informed that the em-
peror was coming to solemnize the nuptials,
went out to meet him, with the chief of the
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Parthian nobility, all unarmed and habited in
splendid dresses. This peaceable train no soon-
er approached the Roman troops, than they were
attacked with the utmost fury, and Artabanus
himself was compelled to elude destruction by a
precipitate flight.
On account of this exploit, the base Caracalla
assumed the surname of Parthicus. Artabanus
swore irreconcilable hatred to the perfidious
emperor, and inspired the whole nation with the
same spirit of vengeance. An engagement was
fought between the Parthians and the Romans,
which was terminated only by darkness. Ca-
racalla dying, an alliance between the two em-
pires was proposed, and peace was concluded.
At this juncture, an enterprising Persian, named
Artaxares, after a dreadful engagement, defeat-
ed Artabanus at the head of all the Parthian
forces. Artaxares caused Artabanus to be put
to death, and restored the empire to the Per-
sians, after they had been subject to the princes
of Parthia for the space of 475 years. The roy-
al family of Arsaces, however, continued to
reign in Armenia till the time of the emperor
Justinian.
PATAGONIA, a vast country occupying the
southern extremity of South America, discov-
ered by Magellan in 1519. The climate is cold
and the natives are wandering savages. Some
of the tribes are large-bodied, though not the
giants which they have been described.
PATNA, a celebrated city of Hindostan, and
capital of the province of Bahar. On the 25th
June, 1763, the British detachment stationed
there for the protection of the factory, scaled
the walls, and began pillaging the houses.
They were, however, attacked by the garrison,
and taken prisoners. In revenge for this affair,
the Rajah gave orders that all the Europeans
should be shot, which sentence was carried into
execution upon 40 persons, by a serjeant, who
fired into the doors and windows on the prison-
ers, while they were at dinner in the hall of the
factory. On the 6th November, in the same
year, the city was stormed by major Adams,
since which it has been under the British sway.
PAUSANIAS, a Spartan general, who great-
ly signalized himself at the battle of Platosa,
against the Persians. He was afterwards set at
the head of the Spartan armies, and extended
his conquests in Asia ; but the haughtiness of
his behavior created him many enemies, and the
Athenians soon obtained a superiority in the
affairs of Greece. Pausanias was dissatisfied
with his countrymen, and he offered to betray
Greece to the Persians, if he received in mar-
riage, as the reward of his perfidy, the daugh-
ter of their monarch. His intrigues were dis-
covered by means of a youth, who was intrust-
ed with his letters to Persia, and who refused to
go, on the recollection that such as had been em-
ployed in that office before had never returned.
The letters were given to the Ephori of Sparta,
and the perfidy of Pausanias laid open. He fled
for safety to a temple of Minerva, and as the
sanctity of the place screened him from the
violence of his pursuers, the sacred building
was surrounded with heaps of stones, the first
of which was carried there by the indignant
mother of the unhappy man. He was starved
to death in the temple, and died about 471 years
before the Christian era.
PELOPIDAS, a celebrated general of Thebes,
son of Hippocles. No sooner had the interest
of Sparta prevailed at Thebes, and the friends
of liberty and national independence been ban-
ished from the city, than Pelopidas, who was in
the number of the exiles, resolved to free his
country from foreign slavery. His plan was
bold and animated, and his deliberations were
slow. Meanwhile, Epaminondas, who had been
left by the tyrants at Thebes, as being in ap-
pearance a worthless and insignificant philoso-
pher, animated the youths of the city ; and at
last Pelopidas, with eleven of his associates, en-
tered Thebes, and easily massacred the friends
of the tyranny, and freed the country from for-
eign masters. After this successful enterprise,
Pelopidas was unanimously placed at the head
of the government ; and so confident were the
Thebans of his abilities as a general and a magis-
trate, that they successively reelected him thir-
teen times to fill the honorable office of governor
of Boaotia. Epaminondas shared with him the
sovereign power, and it was to their valor and
prudence that the Thebans were indebted for a
celebrated victory at the battle of Leuctra. In
a war which Thebes carried on against Alexan-
der, tyrant of Pherce, Pelopidas was appointed
commander ; but his imprudence, in trusting
himself unarmed into the enemy's camp, prov-
ed fatal to him. He was taken prisoner, but
Epaminondas restored him to liberty. The per-
fidy of Alexander irritated him, and he was
killed bravely fighting in a celebrated battle
in which his troops obtained the victory, B. C.
364 years. Pelopidas is admired for his valor,
as he never engaged an enemy without obtain-
ing the advantage. The impoverished state of
Thebes before his birth, and after his fall, plain-
ly demonstrates the superiority of his genius
and of his abilities; and it has been justly ob-
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served that with Pelopidas and Epaminondas,
the glory and the independence of the Thebans
rose and set.
PELOPONNESUS, a celebrated peninsula
which comprehends the most southern parts
of Greece. It received its name from Pelops,
who settled there as the name indicates, (the
island of Pelops). It had been called before,
Apia, Pelasgia, and Argos, and in its form, it
has been observed by the moderns, highly to
resemble the leaf of the plane tree. Its pre-
sent name is Morea, which seems to be deriv-
ed from the Greek word signifying a mulberry-
tree, which is found there in great abundance.
The Peloponnesus was conquered, some time
after the Trojan war, by the Heraclidce or de-
scendants of Hercules, who had been forcibly
expelled from it. The inhabitants of this pen-
insula rendered themselves illustrious like the
rest of the Greeks, by their genius, their fond-
ness for the fine arts, the cultivation of learn-
ing, and the profession of arms; but in nothing
more than by a celebrated war which they carri-
ed on against Athens and her allies for twenty-
seven years, and which from them received
the name of the Peloponnesian war.
PENN, William, was born in London, in
1644. At an early age he joined the society of
friends or quakers, and was expelled from the
university at Oxford as a nonconformist. His
unshaken adherence to the principles he had
adopted drew down upon him the indignation
of his father, which was a source of grief to
Penn, although it did not induce him to relin-
quish the society which he had chosen. In
1668, he appeared as a preacher, and also as-
sumed his pen to make known and defend his
principles, for which he was fined and impris-
oned. In 1681, finding no rest from perse-
cution, he petitioned Charles II for the patent
of a province and drew up the Constitution of
Pennsylvania. He wrote to the Indians to pro-
pitiate them and assure them of his good inten-
tions, and having displayed the plausibility of
his scheme, induced a large number of respect-
able families to embark for the New World. In
1682 Penn visited his province in person, and
remained two years, regulating the affairs of
Philadelphia, and establishing amicable rela-
tions with his neighbors. The treaty which
Penn concluded with the Indians was never
violated. In 1699 he made a second visit to
Pennsylvania, but the machinations of his ene-
mies at home induced him to return in 1701.
He died in 1718.
PENNSYLVANIA, one of the United States,
is bounded N. by New York, E. by the river
Delaware, separating it from New Jersey ; S. E.
by the state of Delaware, S. by Maryland and
part of Virginia, and W. by Virginia and Ohio.
It has an area of 47,000 square miles, and in
1830, it contained 1,348,233 inhabitants.
COUNTIES.
Adams
Erie
Northampton
Alleghany
Fayette
Northumberland
Armstrong
Franklin
Perry
Beaver
Greene
Philadelphia
Bedford
Huntington
Potter
Berks
Indiana
Pike
Bradford
Jefferson
Schuylkill
Bucks
Juniatta
Somerset
Butler
Lebanon
Susquehanna
Cambria
Lehigh
Tioga
Centre
Luzerne
Union
Chester
Lycoming
Venango
Clearfield
Lancaster
Warren
Columbia
M'Kean
Washington
Crawford
Mercer
Wayne
Cumberland
Mifflin
Westmoreland
Dauphin
Montgomery
York
Delaware
The large rivers are the Delaware, Schuyl-
kill, Susquehanna, Lehigh, Juniatta, Allegha-
ny, Mononghahela, Ohio, &c. The Alleghany
and Blue Mountains intersect this state. As a
large portion of the state is hilly and moun-
tainous, some of the soil is poor; but a great
part is admirably adapted to tillage. Among
the minerals found in Pennsylvania, coal is ob-
tained in the largest quantities. As a manufac-
turing state Pennsylvania takes the precedence
of others. The principal places are Philadel-
phia, Pittsburg, Lancaster, Reading, York,
Harrisburg (the seat of government), Carlisle,
Easton, Chambersburg, Columbia. There are
various seminaries of learning in this state,
among which may be mentioned the University
of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Dickinson
College at Carlisle, Washington College at
Washington, Jefferson College at Cannons-
burg, and Alleghany college at Meadville.
The late Stephen Girard left a fund of two
million dollars which has been appropriated to
a college for the education of orphans. It is
situated in the city of Philadelphia, long the
residence of its beneficent founder.
The inhabitants of Pennsylvania are of Eng-
lish, German, Irish, Scotch, Welsh, Swedish,
and Dutch origin. The grant to Penn has
been noticed in the preceding article. The city
of Philadelphia was laid out in 1682; but Swe-
dish settlements had been made in the state as
early as 1638. The rights of the native posses-
sors of the soil, were respected, in every in-
PEP
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stance, and they only relinquished their land on
being paid fair prices. The policy of this con-
duct was perceptible in the amicable disposition
of the Indians. In 1799 the seat of government
was removed from Philadelphia to Lancaster,
and again, in 1812, to Harrisburg, where it re-
mains.
PEPIN, surnamed the short, king of France,
the first of the second race of the French mon-
archs, was the son of Charles Martel, and bro-
ther of Carloman. The two brothers divided
the government between them after the death
of their father, but Carloman retiring afterwards
into Italy, Pepin remained sole manager, and
carried his design farther ; in short, seeing that
all concurred to set the crown upon his head,
and to dethrone Childeric III, he called a par-
liament that he might have their consent, which
was unanimously granted him, and in the mean
time deputed Bouchard, bishop of Wurtzburg,
and Fulrad, abbot of St. Denys, and chaplain to
the prince, to go to Rome, in order to be in-
formed of Pope Zachary , who was the worthiest
to be on the throne, he who took no care of the
affairs of the kingdom, or he who, by his pru-
dence and valor, governed it wisely, and kept
it from the oppressions of the enemy. Zacha-
ry, who stood in need of Pepin's forces, declared
in his favor. This answer being related in
France, the bishops who were assembled at
Soissons with Boniface, archbishop of May-
ence, having the suffrage and universal consent
of the grandees and people, crowned king Pe-
pin on the 1st of May, 752. At the same time
Childeric was deposed, and afterwards put into
a monastery. After the performance of this
ceremony, the new king put a stop to the revolt
of his brother Griphon, and took Vannes. Pope
Stephen II, who succeeded Zachary, finding
himself extremely incommoded by the Lom-
bards, had recourse to Pepin, whom he came
into France to see. The king received him at
the castle of Poictier near Vitri, and sent him
to the abbey of St. Dennis ; and some time after,
this pope anointed and crowned him, with his
two sons Charles and Carloman, at Ferrieres,
July 28, 754. Next year Pepin went into Italy,
and having forced Astulphus, king of the same
Lombards, to give up all that he had taken from
the church of Rome, he returned into France,
and sent back pope Stephen into Italy ; but the
Lombards failing to keep their word, the king
repassed the Alps in 756, and constrained them
to give all manner of satisfaction to the pope of
Rome ; being come back into France, he spent
the rest of his life in making war upon the Sax-
ons, and upon Gaifre,or Waifer, duke of Aqui-
tain, whom he defeated six or seven times, till
the year 768, when this prince being killed by
his own subjects, the king remained master of
all his dominions. Some time after, he died of
a dropsy, the 24th of September, in the same
year, aged 54 ; having reigned after his corona-
tion by the pope 16 years.
PEPIN I, of that name, king of Aquitain,
was the second son of Louis the Debonnaire,
and of Ermengarda, made king of Aquitain in
817, was afterwards head of the conspiracies
against his father in 830 and 833. He died in
the year 838, and was buried in the collegiate
church of St. Radegonda in Poictiers.
PEPIN II, king of Aquitain, succeeded his
father in his dominions ; he conducted some
troops to Lotharius I, his uncle, and served him
at the battle of Fontenay, in the year 841 : he
was afterwards taken by Sanchus, count of
Gascony, and sent to Charles the Bald, his un-
cle, who put him into a monastery ; two years
after which he found a way to escape, and join-
ed the Normans. He plundered Poictiers, and
several other places, in 857; but the Aquitains
fell upon him, and having made him prisoner,
delivered him to the French, who condemned
him as a traitor to his country, and to Chris-
tianity, and put him to death, in 864.
PEPIN, king of Italy, was the son of Charle-
magne, and Hildegarda his second wife, born in
the year 777. The king, his father, carried him
to Rome, where he was baptized, and received
the name of Carloman ; wh:ch pope Adrian I
changed into that of Pepin , when crowning him
king of the Lombards, on Easter-day, in the
year 781. He, on several occasions, gave proof
of his courage and bravery. In 799, he beat the
Huns, and subdued Griinauld, duke of Bene-
ventum ; he died at Milan, in the year 810.
PEPIN, surnamed the Fat, mayor of the pal-
ace in France, was the son of Anchises, and
grandson of St. Arnold, afterwards bishop of
Metz. He began to govern in Austrasia, and
was vanquished in the year 681, by Ebroin ; but
in 687, he defeated king Thierri, and acted his
part so well, that he had all the authority in the
two kingdoms, under Clovis III, Childebertand
Dagobert III ; and it must be confessed, he was
worthy of the empire of the Franks. He gained
several battles against Berthairus, in 691 ; Rad-
bord, duke of Friezland, in 707; and Wiler,
duke of Suabia, whom he defeated in 709, and
712. He died in 714, near Liege.
PERCEVAL Spencer, second son of John,
earl of Egmont, was born in 1762. He was
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educated at Harrow School, and next at Trini-
ty College, Cambridge, where he took his mas-
ter's degree in 1782, and the year following be-
came a student of Lincoln's Inn. He com-
menced practice as a barrister in the king's
Bench, from whence he removed to the Court
of Chancery. In 1796 he was made king's
counsel, and about the same time attracted the
notice of Mr. Pitt, by a pamphlet, proving that
an impeachment of the House of Commons
does not abate by a dissolution of parliament.
The same year he was returned for Northamp-
ton. In 1801 he was made solicitor-general,
and the next year attorney-general. On the
change of administration, in 1807, he was ap-
pointed chancellor of the exchequer in which
situation he displayed great political talents,
particularly in the settlement of the regency ;
but, unhappily he fell soon afterwards, in the
lobby of the House of Commons, by the hands
of an assassin, named Bellingham, May 11, 1812.
PERICLES, an Athenian of a noble family,
son of Xanthippus and Agariste. When he
took a share in the administration of public af-
fairs, he rendered himself popular by opposing
Cimon, who was the favorite of the nobility ;
and to remove every obstacle which stood in the
way of his ambition, he lessened the dignity and
the power of the court of the Areopagus, which
the people had been taught for ages to respect
and to venerate. He also attacked Cimon, and
caused him to be banished by the ostracism.
Thucydides also, who had succeeded Cimon on
his banishment, shared the same fate, and Peri-
cles remained for 15 years the sole minister,
and as it may be said the absolute sovereign of
a republic, which always showed itself so jeal-
ous of her liberties, and which distrusted so
much the honesty of her magistrates.
He made war against the Lacedaemonians,
obtained a victory over the Sicyonians near Ne-
meea, and waged a successful war against the
inhabitants of Samos. The Peloponnesian war
was fomented by his ambitious views, and when
he had warmly represented the flourishing state,
the opulence, and actual power, of his country,
the Athenians did not hesitate a moment to un-
dertake a war against the most powerful repub-
lics of Greece, a war which continued for 27
years, and which was concluded by the destruc-
tion of their empire, and the demolition of their
walls.
The arms of the Athenians were for some
time crowned with success ; but an unfortunate
expedition raised clamors against Pericles, and
the enraged populace attributed all their losses
to him, and to make atonement for their ill suc-
cess, they condemned him to pay 50 talents.
This loss of popular favor, did not so much
affect Pericles as the recent death of all his chil-
dren ; and when the tide of unpopularity was
passed by, he condescended to come into the
public assembly, and to view with secret pride
the contrition of his fellow-citizens, who uni-
versally begged his forgiveness for the violence
which they liad offered to his ministerial char-
acter.
He was again restored to all his honors ; but
the dreadful pestilence which had diminished
the number of his family, proved fatal to him,
and about 429 years before Christ, in his 70th
year, he fell a sacrifice to that terrible malady,
which robbed Athens of so many of her citizens.
Pericles was for 40 years at the head of the
administration, 25 years with others, and 15
alone ; and the flourishing stale of the empire
during his government, gave occasion to the
Athenians publicly to lament his loss, and ven-
erate his memory.
As he was expiring, and seemingly senseless,
his friends that stood around his bed expatiated
with warmth on the most glorious actions of
his life, and the victories which he had won ;
when he suddenly interrupted their tears and
conversation, by saying that in mentioning the
exploits that he had achieved, and which were
common to him with all generals, they had for-
got to mention a circumstance which reflected
far greater glory upon him as a minister, a
general, and above all, as a man. " It is," said
he, " that not a citizen in Athens has been
obliged to put on mournings on my account."
PERSIA, IRAN, or CHAHISTAN, a coun-
try of Asia, is bounded N. by Russia, the Cas-
pian sea, and Independent Tartary, E. by Be-
loochistan and Afghanistan, S. by the Persian
gulf, and W. by Turkey ; containing 500,000
square miles, and 9,500,000 inhabitants. The
Persians profess the Mohammedan religion, of
the sect of Ali. The country contains a few
Guebres or Fire-worshippers. Persia has excel-
lent fruits, cotton, fine wool, silk, horses, cam-
els, pearls, vines; mines of precious stones and
different minerals. Much of the soil is sandy.
The Persians are true Asiatics — effeminate and
fond of pleasures ; they are of small size.
It anciently extended about two thousand
eight hundred English miles in length, from
the Hellespont to the mouth of the Indus; and
about two thousand miles in breadth, from Pon-
tus to the mouth of the Arabian Gulf. The
Persians are supposed to have descended from
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Elam, the son of Shem; and, in Scripture, they
are sometimes denominated Elamites.
The first king of Elam mentioned in Scrip-
ture is Chederlaomer, who conquered many of
the Asiatic provinces, and held the kings of
Sodom, Gomorrah, Bela, Admah, and Zeboim,
in subjection for twelve years. He was, how-
ever, vanquished by the patriarch Abraham,
and lost the sovereignty of the Pentapolis.
From tliis period to the reign of Cyrus, the his-
tory of Elam or Persia is clouded with fiction.
Cyrus, styled the Great, on account of his
extensive conquests, and his restoration of the
captive Jews, was the son of Cambyses, a Per-
sian grandee, and of Mandane, daughter of As-
tyages, king of the Medes.
In the fortieth year of his age, he was called
to the assistance of his uncle Cyaxares, who
had ascended the throne of Media, and who ap-
pointed him generalissimo both of the Medes
and Persians.
The powerful alliance formed against the
Medes in 557, induced the king of Armenia to
withhold his usual tribute. Cyrus, therefore,
marched against him, and compelled him to pay
his tribute, and to furnish his customary quota
of auxiliaries.
The Egyptians, Greeks, Babylonians, Thra-
cians, and other nations of Lesser Asia, having
entered into an alliance cTgainf-t Cyaxares, chose
Croesus, King of Lydia, to be their general.
The confederates assembled in the vicinage of
the river Pactolus, and advanced to Thymbra,
whither Cyrus also marched with one hundred
and thirty thousand troops, besides three hun-
dred armed chariots, several moving towers,
and a considerable number of camels, upon
which were mounted Arabian archers.
The forces of Crcesus, however, were twice
as numerous as those of Cyrus, and amounted
to four hundred thousand men. The battle was
extremely bloody, and Cyrus himself was some-
time in imminent danger; but at length the
confederates gave way on all sides.
After this engagement, Cyrus took Sardis,
the capital of Lydia, and made Crcesus prisoner,
whom he replaced on the throne. After sub-
duing Syria and Arabia, he marched against
Babylon, which he reduced after a siege of two
years, and put an end to the Babylonian em-
pire.
About two years after the reduction of Baby-
lon, Cyaxares died, and left the whole govern-
ment of the empire to Cyrus, 534, who at this
time published the famous decree by which the
Jews were permitted to return to their native
country, and restored all the vessels which Ne-
buchadnezzar had brought from Jerusalem.
Cyrus was succeeded by his son Cambyses,
who, soon after his accession to the throne, re-
solved to undertake an expedition against Egypt,
and in that kingdom committed great cruelties
and devastations.
Cambyses was returning into Persia, to quell
a revolt which had been occasioned by Smerdis,
one of the magi, who pretended to be the brother
of the king, when he accidentally received a
wound from his sword, of which he died.
The counterfeit Smerdis was injured by his
excessive precautions. Cyrus having formerly
caused the ears of the magi to be cut ofi', this
mutilation occasioned a discovery ; and a con-
spiracy of seven of the principal Persian grand-
ees being formed against Smerdis, he was assas-
sinated.
When the public tumults had subsided, the
conspirators held a council on the kind of gov-
ernment which should be established, and after
some debate, they determined in favor of mon-
archy. They agreed, therefore, to meet next
morning on horseback, at an appointed place
near the city, and to acknowledge him whose
horse first neighed, as King of Persia.
This plan was adopted, and Darius, by a
stratagem of his groom, obtained the sovereignty.
Darius had scarcely entered the fifth year of his
reign, when he was compelled to lead all his
forces against Babylon, which had revolted, and
made great preparations for sustaining a regular
siege.
To prevent the consumption of their provis-
ions, the Babylonians collected all their old
men, women, and children, and strangled them
without distinction, only reserving one wife for
each man, and a female servant.
After Babylon had been besieged a year and
eight months, it was taken by the contrivance
of Zopyrus, who cut off his own nose and ears,
and pretending that he was thus mangled by
the Persian monarch for advising him to relin-
quish his undertaking, was admitted into the
city by the inhabitants.
Having settled the affairs of Babylon, Darius
undertook an expedition against the Scythians,
B. C. 514, on pretence of revenging the calam-
ities which that people had brought upon Asia,
about one hundred and twenty years before.
By means of a bridge of boats, he transported
his army across the Bosphorus, and subdued
Thrace ; and having appointed his fleet to join
him at the Ister, or Danube, he also passed over
that river into Scythia.
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The Scythians avoided an engagement, and
retired before him, laying waste the country,
and filling up all the wells and springs, till the
Persian troops were quite exhausted with tedious
and fatiguing marches.
At last, Darius resolved to abandon this wild
enterprise, and causing a great number of fires
to be lighted, he left the old men and invalids
in the camp, and marched with all expedition
to regain the pass of the river.
The king re-crossed the Danube, and returned
into Thrace, where he left Megabyzus, one of
his generals, to complete the conquest of that
country, and, repassing the Bosphorus, took
up his quarters at Sardis.
Darius having declared his son Xerxes, who
was born after his father's exaltation to the
throne, his successor in the kingdom, this prince
made preparations against Greece, B. C. 485.
He entered into an alliance with the Cartha-
ginians, who were to attack the Greek colonies
in Sicily and Italy, and who raised an army of
three hundred thousand men in Spain, Gaul,
Italy, and Africa. To prevent a repetition of a
former disaster which befell the Persian fleet,
Xerxes commanded a passage for his galleys to
be cut through mount Athos. He also ordered
a bridge of boats to be laid across the Hellespont
for the passage of his troops into Europe.
Having made the necessary preparations,
the Persian monarch began his march against
Greece, B. C. 480, with a land army of one mil-
lion eight hundred thousand men. His fleet
consisted of twelve hundred and seven large
ships, and three thousand galleys and transports,
which contained five hundred and seventeen
thousand six hundred and ten men; so that the
whole body of forces amounted to two millions
three hundred and seventeen thousand six hun-
dred and ten. This number was so much in-
creased on the march by such nations as made
their submissions, that Xerxes arrived at Ther-
mopylae with two millions six hundred and forty
one thousand six hundred and ten men, besides
servants, eunuchs, women, &c.
The Grecian fleet was victorious over that of
Persia in some partial engagements, and after-
wards completely at the battle of Salamis, in
which the dispersion was so general, and the
defeat so decisive, that Xerxes, afraid of not
being able to preserve a single vessel to carry
him from Europe, made an expeditious retreat,
and was conveyed into Asia in a small boat.
This success inspired the other Greeks with
new courage ; and they joined the Athenians
and Lacedaemonians in harassing the Persians
on all sides. The land-army ventured a decis-
ive battle at Platsea in Boeotia, B. C, 479, where,
out of three hundred thousand, only three thou-
sand Persians escaped. The dissolute conduct
of Xerxes rendered him obnoxious to his sub-
jects; and he was murdered by his chief favo-
rite, Artabanus, who persuaded Artaxerxes, the
king's third son, that Darius, his eldest brother,
had been guilty of the crime of parricide. Ar-
taxerxes, therefore, killed Darius, and finding
that Artabanus entertained a design against
him, he ordered him to be put to death, B. C.
4C5.
The new monarch having thus removed one
formidable competitor, endeavored to secure
his crown against the attempts of his brother,
Hystaspes, who held the government of Bactria.
Artaxerxes attacked and defeated the adherents
of Artabanus. He then sent an army into Bac-
tria, which had declared in favor of Hystaspes ;
and though victory was doubtful in the first
battle, Artaxerxes was successful in the second ;
and firmly established himself in the empire.
Artaxerxes died in peace, and left the succession
to Xerxes, B.C. 424, the only son he had by his
queen, though by his concubines he had seven-
teen, among whom were Sogdianus, Ochus,
and Arsites.
Xerxes II had assumed the diadem only
forty-five days, when, being inebriated at a pub-
lic entertainment, Sogdianus seized an oppor-
tunity to assassinate him. The regicide was
scarcely seated on the throne, when Ochus hav-
ing declared his intention of revenging the mur-
der of Xerxes, Sogdianus was deserted by all
his subjects, and finally doomed to expiate his
crimes by a cruel death.
Ochus, being now invested with supreme au-
thority, assumed the name of Darius, and is
mentioned by historians under the appellation
of Darius Nothus, or Darius the bastard. In
this reign, the Egyptians shook off the Persian
yoke ; and the Medes also revolted.
Darius, having settled the affairs of the rebel-
lious provinces, bestowed the supreme command
of Asia Minor on his youngest son, Cyrus, B.
C. 407, who was ordered to assist the Lacedae-
monians against the Athenians. This order,
however, soon exposed the weakness of the
king's politics ; for the Lacedaemonians, after
conquering the Athenians, invaded the Persian
provinces in Asia.
Darius died, B. C. 404, and left the imperial
diadem to his son, Arsaces, who assumed the
name of Artaxerxes, and received the appella-
tion of Mnemon, on account of his extraordinary
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memory. Cyrus resolved to exert all his abil-
ities to drive his brother from the throne, and
having procured a number of Grecian auxilia-
ries, inarched his troops to the plains of Cunaxa,
in the province of Babylon, where he found Ar-
taxerxes, at the head of nine hundred thousand
men, ready for battle.
A sanguinary contest immediately commenc-
ed ; and Cyrus, on seeing his brother, engaged
him with such fury as seemed to change the
battle into a single combat. The rebellious
prince, however, fell by the hands of the king
and his guards. The ten thousand Greeks',
under the conduct of Xenophon, effected that
memorable retreat, which has always been con-
sidered as a noble achievement among military
operations.
On the death of Darius, three of the princes,
viz., Ariaspes, Ochus, and Arsames, became
competitors for the crown.
Ochus practised so effectually on the credu-
lity of Ariaspes, that he poisoned himself; and
Arsames was assassinated by the son of Tiriba-
zus. These acts of cruelty overwhelmed Arta-
xerxes with such insupportable grief that he
died.
Ochus concealed the death of the king, and
assumed the administration of government in
the name of Artaxerxes. He caused himself,
in the name of the king, to be declared his suc-
cessor; and after ten months, he published the
death of Artaxerxes. An insurrection in sev-
eral of the provinces immediately followed ; but
the leaders of the confederacy disagreeing
among themselves, the rebellion terminated
without any effusion of blood.
Ochus no sooner possessed absolute authority,
than he began to fill his capital and the whole
empire with carnage and misery. He caused
Ocha, his own sister and mother-in-law, to be
buried alive ; shut up one of his uncles, with a
hundred of his sons and grand-sons, in a court
of the palace, where they were massacred by a
body of archers; and put all the branches of the
royal family to death.
This insupportable tyranny occasioned another
rebellion, which was not quelled without much
difficulty. This revolt was scarcely terminated,
when the Sidonians and other natives of Phoe-
nicia joined the Cypriots and Egyptians in a
confederacy against Persia.
Ochus effected the reduction of Sidon, and
compelled all the other cities to make submis-
sions. He also reduced the city of Jericho,
and having concluded a peace with the kings of
Cyprus, he led his victorious troops into Egypt
which he completely subdued. Ochus passed
his time amidst every species of luxury and
voluptuousness.
Bagoas, an Egyptian eunuch, prevailed on
the king's physician to administer a strong poi-
son, instead of' medicine, to his royal benefactor.
Having thus accomplished his purpose, he
caused the flesh of the king to be cut in pieces
and thrown to dogs and cats. He then placed
on the throne Arses, the youngest prince, and
condemned all the rest to death.
But Arses, sensible of the slavery in which
he was held , concerted measures to free himself
from it. Bagoas, therefore, effected his destruc-
tion in the second year of his reign, B. C. 336,
and bestowed the imperial diadem on Darius
Codomanus, who was a descendant of Darius
Nothus, and at that time governor of Armenia.
This prince, however, had not long enjoyed
the sovereignty, when the ambitious eunuch
determined to remove him, and with this design
provided a deleterious potion ; but Darius, being
apprised of his danger, compelled Bagoas to
drink the poison, and thus established himself
on the throne.
In the second year of this reign, Alexander,
king of Macedon, crossed the Hellespont at the
head of a well-disciplined army, with the design
of revenging the injuries which Greece had re-
ceived from the Persians during three hundred
years. On his arrival at the Granicus, he found
on the opposite bank a numerous Persian army,
amounting to 100,000 foot, and 10,000 horse.
Though Alexander had not more than 30,000
foot, and 5,000 horse, he crossed the Granicus
at the head of his cavalry, and attacked with
impetuosity the whole Persian force. An ob-
stinate conflict ensued, in which the Persians
were defeated with the loss of 20,000 foot and
2,000 horse, and in which Alexander exposed
his life to the most imminent danger.
The invasion having assumed a serious as-
pect, Darius led his army into Cilicia, B. C.
333, and advanced to the city of Issus, near
which Alexander drew up his troops on an ad-
vantageous ground. Darius retreated precipi-
tately to the adjoining mountains, where he
mounted a horse, and continued his flight. Al-
exander was now entire master of the field, and
of the Persian camp, in which the mother, wife,
and son of Darius, were taken prisoners.
In 331, B. C, the Persian monarch, having
assembled a numerous army, prepared for bat-
tle in a large plain near the city of Arbela, on
the confines of Persia. The Persians com-
menced the attack, but were totally routed, and
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Darius was again compelled to seek safety in
flight. Darius, who had sought an asylum at
Ecbatana, in Media, had collected another army,
with which he intended to make a last effort,
B. C. 330. He was, however, prevented by
Bessus, governor of Bactria, and Nabarzanes, a
Persian nobleman, who entered into a conspi-
racy against him, and binding him with golden
chains, shut him up in a covered cart, and re-
treated precipitately towards Bactria. They
intended, if Alexander pursued them, to deliver
up the object of his resentment ; or, if they es-
caped the Macedonian conqueror, to murder
Darius, and usurping the imperial diadem, to
renew the war.
When Alexander was informed of the base
designs of Bessus and Nabarzanes, he advanced
with a small body of light-armed cavalry ; and,
as soon as the king of Macedon came within
sight of the enemy, they immediately took to
flight, and having discharged their darts at the
unfortunate Persian monarch, left him welter-
ing in his blood. Thus died Darius, in the fif-
tieth year of his age, and sixth of his reign, and
with him ended the Persian empire, after it
had existed 206 years.
After the Persians had been subject to the
Parthians for the space of 475 years, Artaxares,
a Persian of mean descent and spurious birth,
excited a revolt among his countrymen; and,
the reigning monarch being dethroned and put
to death, the Persian empire was restored. The
emperor Alexander Severus, attacked and de-
feated Artaxares, and wrested from him several
of his provinces. Artaxares, however, recov-
ered these provinces, and, after swaying the
sceptre with great reputation for the space of
twelve years, died in peace.
He was succeeded by his son Sapor, A. D.
242, who was equally famous for his personal
strength and mental abilities, but who was of
a fierce, cruel, and untractable disposition.
Sapor left his kingdom to his son Hormisdas,
who, refusing to interfere in the affairs of the
Romans, died in peace, A. D. 273, after a reign
of one year and ten days.
His son Vararanes I, enjoyed the regal dignity
three years, without being disturbed by the Ro-
mans, or attempting to extend the limits of his
empire.
Vararanes II meditated an invasion of the
Roman provinces, A. D. 277, but on the ap-
proach of the Emperor Probus, he abandoned
his design, and sued for peace.
Voraranes III was denominated Segansaa,
or king of the Segans, and was succeeded by
Narses, A. D. 294, a prince of great abilities
and resolution. He died in the seventh year
of his reign, and was succeeded by Misdates,
whose actions were not sufficiently interesting
to claim the attention of posterity.
Sapor II his successor, A. D. 308, was a
zealous assertor of the dignity of the Persian
crown, and endeavored to unite all the provinces
of the ancient empire under his authority. This
restless and ambitious monarch was succeeded
by Artaxerxes, A. D. 380, who lived in amity
with the Romans, and enjoyed the regal dignity
about four years.
Vararanes IV, succeeded his father Sapores,
and governed his dominions eleven years. Is-
digertes was deservedly celebrated for his vir-
tuous disposition, and, at the death of the Em-
peror Arcadius, A. D. 401, was intrusted with
the care of his son Theodosius II, and the Ro-
man empire.
He was succeeded by his son Vararanes V,
A. D. 421. In his reign, the indiscreet zeal of
a Christian, who set fire to a Persian temple,
renewed the war with the Romans. The Per-
sian monarch obtained the assistance of the Sa-
racens, and, notwithstanding the defeats which
he experienced from the Romans, he rendered
even victory disadvantageous to the enemy.
Vararanes VI, was next invested with the
diadem, A. D. 442, which he wore for seventeen
years and four months. His son and successor,
Peroses, being incensed against the Euthalites
or White Huns, marched an army into their
country ; but the Euthalites cutting off his re-
treat, obliged him to swear that he would never
more invade them. Peroses, however, assem-
bled his forces, and marched a second time to-
wards the northern frontiers ; but, the Euthalites
rushing unexpectedly upon him, slew and took
captive most of his army, and put him to death.
The nobles bestowed the crown on his brother
Valens, who, at the expiration of four years, fell
a victim to the oppressive cares of government.
He was succeeded by Cavades, the son of Pe-
roses, A. D. 486. On the death of Cavades, his
son Chosroes ascended the throne, A. D. 531.
The Persian monarch, however, was almost
constantly engaged in hostilities with the east-
ern empire ; but, the Romans having given him
a complete defeat, he was so deeply affected
with his ill success, that he sickened and died.
He was succeeded by his son Hormisdas, A. D.
579.
Hormisdas was dethroned by a person of the
royal blood, named Bindoes, who had been
loaded with chains for a slight offence. The
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unfortunate monarch being heard in his own
defence, recommended his younger son Hor-
misdas as his successor, in preference to his
elder son Chosroes. The assembly, however,
at the instigation of Bindoes, caused his son
Hormisdas, and the prince's mother, to be cut
in pieces ; and ordered the eyes of the deposed
monarch to be put out with a hot iron.
Chosroes II, ascended the throne, A. D. 592.
On the death of the Emperor Mauritius, he took
up arms against the Romans, A. D. 605, and
such was his success, that, in nine years, he
plundered the provinces of Syria, Mesopotamia,
Phoenicia, Armenia, Cappadocia, Galacia, Paph-
lagonia, and all the country as far as Chalcedon.
He also ravaged Judea; pillaged the city of
Jerusalem; and sold ninety Christians to the
Jews, who put them all to death. These extra-
ordinary conquests induced him to make an
expedition into Egypt; he reduced Alexandria
and all the country toward Libya, and added
the empire of Africa to that of Asia.
He was defeated in several battles, and finally
murdered in a dungeon by command of his own
son. Siroes having ascended the throne of Per-
sia, A. D. 626, concluded a treaty of perpetual
peace with Heraclius ; but, he was murdered
by one of his generals, after twelve months
reign. His son, Ardeser, was next invested
with the government, but was assassinated in
the seventh month of his reign by Sarbas, com-
mander-in-chief of the Persian forces, who seiz-
ed the diadem for himself. A civil war, how-
ever, crushed the ambitious projects of the
usurper, and elevated to the throne Isdio-ertes
II, A. D. 630.
The reign of this prince was short and un-
happy. He defended his country with becom-
ing resolution against the Saracens, till the
spirits of his subjects were entirely broken by
repeated defeats. At last he was slain in bat-
tle ; and, in him ended the royal line of Artax-
ares. With his death terminated the Persian
empire, which had maintained a splendid exist-
ence for upwards of 400 years.
The founder of the dynasty of Shahs in Per-
sia, was Ismael, surnamed Sophi, who was de-
scended in the direct male line from Ah, the
son-in-law of Mohammed. In 1500 there was
a great number of the sectaries of Ali among
the Mohammedans of Asia. Ismael assembled
about 700, who were attached to his family ; and
attacking his father's murderer, slew him in
battle, and took possession of his dominions.
He was a monster of inhumanity and cruelty,
and reigned 23 years ; during which period be-
gan the struggle for power between the Persians
and the Turks.
Ismael was succeeded by his son Tahmasp,
A. D. 1523. He was succeeded by Ismael II,
his son, A. D. 1575. Mohammed, the brother
and successor of Ismael, had spent his life in
privacy, wholly devoted to religious duties; and
assumed the sceptre, A. D. 1577. Mohammed
left three sons, the two eldest of whom, Hamzeh
and Ismael, merely appeared upon the throne,
about 1584, and are scarcely numbered among
the emperors.
By the contrivance of a vizier, named Kouli
Khan, Shah Abbas prosecuted the war against
the Turks, which he conducted in person, with
great success and glory; retook Tauris, and
defeated his enemies in several engagements.
In his dying moments, he sent for four of the
chief lords of his council to his bed side, and
told them that it was his will that his grandson,
Mirza, should succeed him, and assume the'
name of his father. After assembling all the
lords in the neighborhood of Ispahan, they
crowned him A. D. 1623. On his accession to
the throne, he assumed the name of Safi. This
prince was a second Nero, who, bearing in his
countenance every mark of clemency and good-
ness cherished in his heart the vicious inclina-
tions of a savage and inexorable tyrant. He
reigned 13 years, and left a son named Abbas,
who succeeded him, and whom his father had
ordered to be deprived of sight ; but the com-
passion of the executioner had spared him.
Under Abbas II, A. D. 1642, intoxication,
passion, and an uncontrollable love of power
rendered life not more secure than under his
brutal father. On the death of Abbas, his el-
dest son Safi was immediately saluted emperor
A. D. 1666, but afterwards assumed the name
of Solyman. Solyman died a natural death,
after a reign of 29 years, A. D. 1694 ; and was
succeeded by his son Shah Husseyn, the most
merciful and most unfortunate prince of his
race. History furnishes few instances of a dis-
solution so entire as that of the kingdom of Per-
sia, under the feeble and inactive Husseyn.
At length, after a series of disasters, Husseyn
was obliged to abdicate the throne to Mahmoud.
Before this ceremony took place, the king tra-
velled through the principal streets of Ispahan
on foot, deploring the misfortunes of his reign,
and consoling the people who surrounded hfm,
by endeavoring to excite in them hopes of bet-
ter fortune under a new government.
In dispossessing Husseyn, A. D. 1723, Mah-
moud avenged himself on all those, who, by
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negligence, ignorance, parly-spirit, cowardice,
or treason, had contributed to the ruin of the
state. The conduct of Mahmoud tended to ex-
cite the odium of his subjects ; and he saw his
projects defeated, and himself beginning to be
treated with general hatred. In order to avert
these misfortunes, which he imputed to the an-
ger of heaven, he imposed on himself a sort of
penance, which continued 15 days, and which
had the effect of completely deranging his senses.
His captains, seeing him at the point of death,
turned their thoughts on Ashraf, who refused
the crown, except the head of his cousin Mah-
moud should be brought to him.
Mahmoud, therefore, who could not have
lived many hours longer, was put to death ; and
the destroyer of the dynasty of the Shahs enjoy-
ed his triumph only two years. Ashraf ordered
all the guards, ministers, and confidants of Mah-
moud, to be executed ; and did not spare even
those who had placed him on the throne.
About this time, Kouli Khan became distin-
guished ; and having tendered his services to
Tahmasp, in three campaigns he made him
master of all the possessions of the Afghans.
Ashraf offered to abdicate the throne, and to
restore the treasures which he had inherited
after Mahmoud's death ; but Kouli Khan, refus-
ing to listen to any terms of accommodation,
pursued his enemy even to death, and with him
ended the transitory dynasty of the Afghans.
Tahmasp was reestablished on the throne by
the power of Kouli Khan, A. D. 1730 ; who, in
a short time deposed him, and introduced into
his place his infant son,- by the name of Abbas
III. The infant emperor dying within six
months, Kouli Khan was elected to the vacant
throne ; and, on his accession, took the name
of Nadir Shah.
The reign of this prince was marked with
glory and conquest. His government was des-
potic and tyrannical ; and he formed the design
of a general massacre of the principal Persians.
He conquered Usbec Tartary ; but was not so
successful against the Daghistan Tartars. He
beat the Turks in several engagements, but was
unable to take Bagdad. His conduct became
so intolerable, that he was assassinated in his
own tent, in the year 1747.
Many pretenders, upon his death, started up;
but the fortunate candidate was Kerim Khan,
who was crowned at Tauris, in 1763. His death
gave rise to another disputed succession, with
civil wars, which lasted 14 years. At length,
Aga Mohammed raised himself to the sove-
reignty. After a short reign he died, and trans-
mitted the throne to his nephew, who assumed
the title of Feth Ali Shah, an accomplished
prince; under whose sway, Persia may for a
time enjoy some tranquillity.
PERTH, a city of Scotland, capital of Perth-
shire, on the Tay, 39 miles north of Edinburgh,
containing 20,000 inhabitants. It is supposed
to have been founded by Agricola the Roman
general during his invasion of Scotland. On
Feb. 21, 1437, king James I was murdered here
in a monastery, by Robert Graham. In 1644
Montrose seized on Perth, after the battle of
Tibbermier : it was likewise the head-quarters
of the Earl of Mar and the Pretender, in 1715.
PERU, are public of South America, for-
merly a viceroyalty, containing 500,000 square
miles, and 1 ,800,000 inhabitants. It is rich in
mineral and vegetable productions. The popu-
lation is composed of European Spaniards, Cre-
oles, Mestizoes, Indians, and mulattoes. It was
discovered by Pizarro, in 1524. The battle of
Caxamarca, on the 10th of November, 1532, de-
cided the fate of Peru ; and Atahualpa, the
captive monarch, was treacherously and inhu-
manly put to death by the cruel and avaricious
Spaniards. Pizarro, after having defeated Paula
Inca, the brother of Atahualpa, entered Cusco,
the capital. Quito was next taken. In 1533,
Pizarro founded the city of Lima, and employed
himself in establishing a form of government.
While thus employed, a new enemy started up,
— the ambitious Almagro ; who, in a decisive
battle fought near Cusco, was taken prisoner
and beheaded. Two years afterwards, Pizarro
was assassinated, on the 26th of June, 1541.
The viceroyalty of Peru, being transmitted
down from one governor to another, in a line
directed more by the fortunes of war, and the
vicissitudes of events, than by any regular plan
of succession, terminated in June, 1821, by the
capture of Lima; and, by a declaration pub-
lished in the next month, the independence of
Peru was declared to be the wish of the people.
PETER the Great, czar of Russia, was the
son of Alexis Michaelowitz, and born May 30,
1672. On the decease of his half-brother, Feo-
dor, in 1682, Peter was proclaimed czar, in con-
junction with John, his eldest brother, who died
in 1696, and left him in full possession of the
empire. While a youth, he conceived those
projects of improvement which have stamped
immortality upon his name. He entered into
the military life, and performed the duties of a
common soldier, till, by rising gradually from
the ranks to the command of a body of troops,
he exhibited the duty of obedience, and the ne-
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cessity of discipline, in his own example. He
visited Holland under a disguised name, in
1698. Here he worked as a common laborer in
the dock-yard, and then went to England.
While thus engaged, the news of an insurrec-
tion, excited by the Princess Sophia, obliged
him to return to Russia, where he severely
punished the conspirators, and confined his sis-
ter in a nunnery. In 1700 he declared war
against Charles XII, of Sweden, and though
unsuccessful at first, he afterwards gained such
advantages as induced him to build a fortress
on the Baltic, called, after him, Petersburg. In
I70S), the czar obtained the victory of Pultowa,
after which he conquered Livonia, Ingria, Fin-
land, and part of Pomerania. But he had a
narrow escape, when engaged in a contest with
the Turks, who surrounded his army on the
banks of the Pruth : from which perilous state
he was extricated by the Empress Catharine,
who entered into a treaty of peace with the
grand vizier. In 1716, the czar and his consort
visited Denmark and Holland, where he left
Catharine while he made a journey to Paris.
He died of a strangury, Jan. 28, 1725, and was
succeeded by the czarina Catharine.
A colossal statue was erected to his memory
at St. Petersburg, by Catharine second. The
huge block of granite which forms its pedestal,
and which weighs upwards of fifteen tons, was
conveyed from a marsh at a distance of four
English miles from St. Petersburg, and two
from the sea. On approaching near to the
rock, the simple inscription fixed on it in bronze
letters, " Petro Primo, Catherina Secunda,
MDCCLXXXII," meets the eye. The same
inscription in the Russian language appears on
the opposite side. The area is enclosed within
a handsome railing placed between granite
pillars.
" The idea," says Dr. Granville, " of Falco-
net, the French architect, commissioned to erect
an equestrian statue of the extraordinary man at
whose command a few scattered huts of fisher-
men were converted into palaces, was to repre-
sent the hero as conquering, by enterprise and
personal courage, difficulties almost insur-
mountable. This the artist imagined might be
properly represented by placing Peter on a fiery
steed, which he is supposed to have taught by
skill, management and perseverance, to rush
up a steep and precipitous rock, to the very
brink of a precipice, over which the animal and
the imperial rider pause without fear, and in an
attitude of triumph. The horse rears with his
fore feet in the air, and seems to be impatient
of restraint, while the sovereign, turned towards
the island, surveys with calm and serene coun-
tenance his capital rising out of the waters,
over which he extends the hand of protection.
" The bold manner in which the group has
been made to rest on the hind legs of the horse
only, is not more surprising than the skill with
which advantage has been taken of the allego-
rical figure of the serpent of envy spurned by
the horse, to assist in upholding so gigantic a
mass. This monument of bronze is said to have
been cast at a single jet. The height of the fig-
ure of the emperor is eleven feet; that of the
horse seventeen feet ; the general weight of
the metal in the group is equal to 36,636 Eng-
lish pounds.
" 1 heard a venerable Russian nobleman, who
was living at St. Petersburg when this monu-
ment was in progress, relate, that as soon as the
artist had formed his conception of the design,
he communicated it to the Empress, together
with the impossibility of representing to nature
so striking a position of man and animal, with-
out having before his eyes a horse and rider in
the attitude he had devised. General Melessi-
no, an officer having the reputation of being the
most expert as well as the boldest rider of the
day, to whom the difficulties of the artist were
made known, offered to ride daily one of Count
Alexis OrlofFs best Arabians, to the summit of
a steep artificial mound formed for the purpose ;
accustoming the horse to gallop up to it, and to
halt suddenly, with his fore legs raised, pawing
the air over the brink of a precipice. This dan-
gerous experiment was carried into effect by the
general for some days, in the presence of seve-
ral spectators and of Falconet, who sketched
the various movements and parts of the group
from day to day, and was thus enabled to pro-
duce perhaps the finest, certainly the most cor-
rect statue of the kind in Europe."
PETER the Hermit, a French enthusiast of
the 11th century, who made a pilgrimage to
Palestine, and, on his return to Europe, preach-
ed up the crusade, for the recovery of the holy
city from the infidels. His success was such as
might have been expected in an ignorant age.
He passed through Hungary with an immense
crowd of followers, thousands of whom perished
miserably. Peter, however, entered Syria, and
displayed great bravery at the taking of Jerusa-
lem. He then returned to France, where he
died, in the abbey of Noirmoutier, of which he
was the founder.
PETERS, Richard, was born near Philadel-
phia, Aug. 22, 1744, and was graduated at the
PHI
399
PHI
University of Pennsylvania. He studied law,
and, having served a short time, as captain in
the revolutionary army, he was transferred to
the board of war where his services were pub-
licly acknowledged. For thirty-six years he
held the station of judge of the District Court
of Pennsylvania. He made many agricultural
experiments, most of which were highly suc-
cessful. He was particularly distinguished for
a fertile fancy, and great wit, and many of his
bon mots bid fair to be long remembered.
One day, arriving at a tavern, he perceived
the entrance occupied by two persons — a very
fat and a very lean man. After waiting for a
long time in hopes of their making way for him,
he dashed in between them, exclaiming ; " In I
go, through thick and thin ! " His celebrity
for wit commenced at an early age.
PETRARCA, Francesco, or, as he is gener-
ally termed by English writers, Petrarch, was
an Italian poet and scholar, who adorned the
14th century. He was born at Arezzo in Tus-
cany, July 4, 1304. He studied law, and the-
ology, entering into the ecclesiastical state in
132b'. His platonic affection for the beautiful
Laura led him to write amatory sonnets in his
native tongue, which tributes of affection were
continued after the death of the virtuous lady
who inspired them. Petrarch died at Arqua,
near Padua, July 18, 1374.
PHILADELPHIA, is situated in a county
of the same name, in the state of Pennsylvania,
about five miles from the junction of the Dela-
ware and Schuylkill rivers. The city was
founded by William Penn in 1682. The mem-
bers of the first continental congress assembled
here Sept. 5, 1774. In 1777 it was in the hands
of the British from Sept. 26 until the 18th of
June. The population of Philadelphia, accord-
ing to the last census, was 167,811. It is one
of the most regular cities in the world, being
handsomely built of brick, and is a place of
great trade and opulence, and, with regard to
manufactures surpasses all other cities in the
United States. It contains 100 houses of pub-
lic worship, many other public buildings, and
numerous literary and humane institutions.
PHILIP I king of France, born in 1053, was
the son of Henry I crowned at Rheims, 1059.
His jealousy against William the Conqueror
laid the foundations of the wars between Eng-
land and France. He died at Milan, July 2'.),
1108, having reigned 49 years.
PHILIP II, king of France, surnamed Au-
gustus, was born August 22, 1165. He began
to reign in 1180. He made war with the Eng-
lish ; but some time after, he undertook the
crusade in 1190. He took Acre, defeated sev-
enteen thousand Saracens, and returned about
Christmas, 1191. In 1214, the Emperor Otho
IV, a Count of Flanders, and several confed-
erate princes raised an army of 150,000 men
against him, when the king engaged them at
Bovines, and gained the victory. The king
fought with great intrepidity at Bovines, and
had his horse killed under him. He died at
Mante upon the Seine, July 14, 1223, after a
reign of 42 years.
PHILIP III, king of France, surnamed the
Hardy, was the son of St. Louis. Having con
quered the Saracens, he returned to France,
where he was crowned in 1271. Philip went
in person against the Arragonese, and took Gi-
rone, and on his return died of a malignant fever
at Perpignan in the 16th year of his reign, aged
41.
PHILIP IV, king of France, surnamed the
Fair, as also le Grand, born at Fontainebleau
in 1268, and succeeded his father Philip III in
1285. The ill conduct of James of Castillon,
Earl of St. Paul, caused a sedition at Bruges.
The king sent an army to reduce it, under the
command of Robert earl of Artois ; but they
were defeated at the battle of Courtray in 1302.
Philip recovered himself in some measure again,
especially on the 18th of August 1304, in the
memorable battle at Mons in Puelle, where
above 25,000 Flemings were slain. At length,
peace was made in 1305. Philip died at Fon-
tainbleau, in 1314, after a reign of 29 years.
PHILIP V, king of France, surnamed the
Long, youngest son to Philip the Fair, succeed-
ed to the crown in 1317, but died after a reign
of five years. He renewed his alliance with
the Scots in 1318, and expelled the Jews out of
his dominions. He died at Long-Champ, aged
28 years.
PHILIP VI, king of France, succeeded in
1328. Having a dispute with Edward of Eng-
land, war broke out in 1338. Next year Cam-
bray was besieged by the English. The king
had taken the part of Charles de Blois, his
nephew, and had received homage for Britany,
which John de Montfort pretended to ; but the
latter was supported by king Edward, who
made a descent into Normandy, took Caen, and
gained the victory at Cressy, in which 11 French
princes, 80 barons, 1200 knights, and 30,000
soldiers were slain. The English, flushed with
this victory, took Calais, which continued in
their hands 210 years, till 1558. Philip VI died
at Nogent le Potrou, 1350, aged 57, in the 23d
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year of his reign. He had great courage and
resolution ; but was blamed for introducing the
imposition upon salt.
PHILIP II, of Spain, born in 1527, was son
of the Emperor Charles V, and Isabel of Portu-
gal. He made a league with the English, and
sent 40,000 men into Picardy, who gained a
victory over 18,000 French at St. Quintin in
1557. This misfortune was repaired by the
taking of Calais, Thionville and Dunkirk ; and
was afterwards followed by a peace made at
Chateau Cambresis in 1559. In 1580, Philip
made himself master of the kingdom of Portu-
gal ; and his troops contributed to the defeat of
the Turks at the battle of Lepanto. He also
reduced the Moors who revolted against him in
1561. He subdued Pignon or Peunon de Velez
in Africa, and the isles which from him are
called, the Philippine Islands. After this, Philip
sent out a fleet of above fourscore ships, which
was called, the Invincible Armada, against
Queen Elizabeth of England. They sailed
from Lisbon, May 29, 1588, and were destroyed
partly by storms, and partly by the valor of the
English. This loss is said to have amounted
to 10,000 men and GO ships ; but Philip received
the news of it without the least discomposure.
On the news being communicated to him, he
answered calmly, that he thanked God, that he
was able to rig out such another. Philip died
at the Escurial, Sept. 13, 1598, aged 71.
PHILIP III, of Spain, born at Madrid, 1578,
succeeded his father Philip II, in 1598, reform-
ed the courts of judicature, expelled the Moors
out of Spain, and made a peace in the Low
Countries, and afterwards lived in repose. He
died on the 31st of March 1021, in the 43d year
of his age, and 23d of his reign.
PHILIP of Macedon, son of Argoeus, suc-
ceeded his father and reigned 38 years, B. C.
640. The second of that name was the fourth
son of Amyntas, king of Macedonia. He was
sent to Thebes as an hostage by his father,
where he learnt the art of war under Epatni-
nondas, and studied with the greatest care the
manners and the pursuits of the Greeks. He
was recalled to Macedonia, and ascended the
throne. The neighboring nations ridiculing
the youth and inexperience of the new king of
Macedonia, appeared in arms ; but Philip soon
convinced them of their error. Unable to meet
them as yet in the field of battle, he suspended
their fury by presents, and soon turned his arms
against Amphipolis, a colony tributary to the
Athenians.
Amphipolis was conquered, and added to the
kingdom of Macedonia; and Philip meditated
no less than the destruction of a republic which
had rendered itself so formidable to the rest of
Greece, and had even claimed submission from
the princes of Macedonia. He made himself
master of a Thracian colony, to which he gave
the name of Philippi.
In the midst of his political prosperity, Philip
did not neglect the honor of his family. Every
thing seemed now to conspire to his aggrandize-
ment; and historians have observed, that Philip
received in one day the intelligence of three
things which could gratify the most unbounded
ambition, and flatter the hopes of the most as-
piring monarch, — the birth of a son, an honor-
able crown at the Olympic games, and a victory
over the barbarians of Illyricum.
But all these increased rather than satiated
his ambition ; he declared his inimical senti-
ments against the power of Athens, and the in-
dependence of all Greece, by laying siege to
Olynthus, a place which, on account of its situ-
ation and consequence, was most advantageous
to the intrigues of every Macedonian prince.
The Athenians sent 17 vessels and 2,000 men
to the assistance of Olynthus, but the money of
Philip prevailed over all their efforts. The
greatest part of the citizens suffered themselves
to be bribed by the Macedonian gold, and Olyn-
thus surrendered to the enemy, and was instant-
ly reduced to ruins. In his attempts to make
himself master of Euboea, Philip was unsuccess-
ful; and Phocion, who despised his gold, obliged
him to evacuate an island whose inhabitants
were as insensible to the charms of money, as
they were unmoved at the horrors of war, and
the bold efforts of a vigilant enemy. From
Euboea he turned his arms against the Scythi-
ans, but the advantages which he obtained over
this indigent nation were inconsiderable.
He next advanced far into Bosotia, and a gen-
eral engagement was fought at Chaeronea. The
fight was long and bloody, but Philip obtained
the victory. At the battle of Chasronea the in-
dependence of Greece was extinguished ; and
Philip, unable to find new enemies in Europe,
formed new enterprises, and meditated new
conquests.
He was appointed general of the Greeks
against the Persians, and was called upon to re-
venge those injuries which Greece had suffered
from the invasions of Darius and of Xerxes.
But he was stopped in the midst of his warlike
preparations, being stabbed by Pausanias as he
entered the theatre, at the celebration of the
nuptials of his daughter Cleopatra. He was
PHO
401
PHO
murdered in the 47th year of his age, and the
24th of his reign, 346 years before the Chris-
tian era.
PHILIP, king, Sachem of Pokanoket, was
the youngest son of Massasoit. In 1075, he
commenced a war with the English, who suf-
fered severely from his enmity. He was killed
Aug. 12, 1676.
PHILIPPINES, a group of islands in the Pa-
cific ocean, 1200 in number. They were dis-
covered by Magellan in 1521, and the first set-
tlements were made by the Spaniards in 1570.
Manilla is the capital of the Spanish posses-
sions. The population is composed of Chinese,
Spaniards, mestizoes, and natives, and amounts
to about two and a half millions. These islands
are fruitful and productive, but subject to rava-
ges from hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanic
eruptions.
PHOCION, an Athenian, celebrated for his
virtues, private as well as public. He often
checked the violent and inconsiderate measures
of Demosthenes, and when the Athenians
seemed eager to make war against Philip, king
of Macedonia, Phocion observed that war should
never be undertaken without the strongest and
most certain expectations of success and victory.
He was 45 times appointed governor of
Athens, and no greater encomium can be passed
upon his talents as a minister and statesman,
than that he never solicited that high, though
dangerous, office. It was through him that
Greece was saved from an impending war, and
he advised Alexander rather to turn his arms
against Persia, than to shed the blood of the
Greeks, who were either his allies or his subjects.
But not totally to despise the favors of the
monarch, he begged Alexander to restore to
their liberty four slaves that were confined in
the citadel of Sardis.
When the Piraus was taken, Phocion was
accused of treason, and therefore, to avoid the
public indignation, he fled for safety to Poly-
perchon. Polyperchon sent him back to Athens,
where he was immediately condemned to drink
the fatal poison. He received the indignities of
the people with uncommon composure ; and
when one of his friends lamented his fate, Pho-
cion exclaimed, " This is no more than what I
expected ; this treatment the most illustrious
citizens of Athens have received before me."
He died about 318 years before the christian era.
It has been observed of Phocion, that he never
appeared elated in prosperity, or dejected in ad-
versity ; he never betrayed pusillanimity by a
tear, nor joy by a smile. His countenance was
26
stern and unpleasant, but he never behaved with
severit}7, his expressions were mild, and his re-
bukes gentle. At the age of 80 he appeared at
the head of the Athenian armies like the most
active officer, and to his prudence and cool va-
lor in every period of life his citizens acknow-
ledged themselves much indebted. His merits
were not buried in oblivion ; the Athenians re-
pented of their ingratitude, and honored his
memory by raising him statues, and putting to a
cruel death his guilty accusers.
PHOCIS, an ancient country of Greece,
bounded N. by Thessaly, E. by Locris and
Boeotia, S. by the Gulf of Corinth, and W. by
Doris, and the country of the Ozolian Locrians.
Phocis was rendered famous for a war which it
maintained against some of the Grecian repub-
lics, and which has received the name of the
Phocian war. This celebrated war originated
in the following circumstances : When Philip,
king of Macedonia, had fomented divisions in
Greece, and disturbed the peace of every repub-
lic, the Greeks universally became discontented
in their situation, and jealous of the prosperity
of the neighboring states.
The Amphictyons, who were the supreme
rulers of Greece, and who at that time were
subservient to the views of the Thebans, the
inveterate enemies of the Phocians, showed the
same spirit, and like the rest of their country-
men, were actuated by the same jealousy and
ambition. As the supporters of religion, they
accused the Phocians of impiety for ploughing
a small portion of land which belonged to the
god of Delphi. They immediately commanded,
that the sacred field should be laid waste, and
that the Phocians, to expiate their crime, should
pay a heavy fine to the community.
The inability of the Phocians to pay the fine,
and that of the Amphictyons to enforce their
commands by violence, gave rise to new events.
The people of Phocis resolved to oppose the
Amphyctyonic council by force of arms. Dur-
ing two years hostilities were carried on be-
tween the Phocians and their enemies, the The-
bans and the people of Locris, but no decisive
battles were fought.
Philip of Macedonia, who had assisted the
Thebans, was obliged to retire from the field
with dishonor, but a more successful battle was
fought near Magnesia, and the monarch, by
crowning the head of his soldiers with laurel,
and telling them that they fought in the cause
of Delphi and heaven, obtained a complete vic-
tory. This fatal defeat, however, did not ruin
the Phocians : Phayllus, took the command of
PIC
402
PIN
their armies, and doubling the pay of his sol-
diers, he increased his forces by the addition
of 9,000 men from Athens, Lacedaemon, and
Achaia.
But all this numerous force at last proved in-
effectual, the treasures of the temple of Delphi,
which had long defrayed the expenses of the
war, began to fail, dissensions arose among the
ringleaders of Phocis, and when Philip had
crossed the Straits of Thermopylae, the Phocians,
relying on his generosity, claimed his protec-
tion, and implored him to plead their cause be-
fore the Amphictyonic council. His feeble in-
tercession was not attended with success, and
the Thebans, the Locrians, and the Thessalians,
who then composed the Amphictyonic council,
unanimously decreed, that the Phocians should
be deprived of the privilege of sending members
among the Amphictyons.
The Phocians, ten years after they had un-
dertaken the sacred war, saw their country laid
desolate, their walls demolished, and their cities
in ruins, by the wanton jealousy of their ene-
mies, and the inflexible cruelty of the Macedo-
nian soldiers, B. C. 348. They were not, how-
ever, long under this disgraceful sentence, their
well known valor and courage recommended
them to favor, and they gradually regained their
influence and consequence by the protection of
the Athenians, and the favors of Philip.
PHCENICE, or Phoenicia, a country of Asia,
at the east of the Mediterranean, whose bound-
aries have been different in different ages. Some
suppose that the names of Phoenicia, Syria, and
Palestine, are indiscriminately used for one and
the same country. Phoenicia, according to Ptol-
emy, extended on the north as far as the Eleu-
therus, a small river which falls into the Medi-
terranean sea, a little below the island of Ara-
dus, and it had Pelusium, or the territories of
Egypt, as its more southern boundary, and Syria
on the east. Sidon and Tyre were the capital
towns of the country. The inhabitants planted
colonies on the shores of the Mediterranean,
particularly Carthage, Hippo, Marseilles, and
Utica ; and their manufactures acquired such
a superiority over those of other nations, that
among the ancients, whatever was elegant,
great, or pleasing, either in apparel, or domes-
tic utensils, received the epithet of Sidonian.
The Phoenicians were originally governed by
kings. They were subdued by the Persians,
and afterwards by Alexander, and remained
tributary to his successors and to the Romans.
P1CHEGRU, Charles, a French general, was
born at Arbois, in 1761, in Franchecomte. His
parentage was mean, but he received a good
education under the monks in his native town ;
after which he entered into the army, and be-
came a serjeant. In the revolution he was ele-
vated to the rank of a general, and in 1793
gained a victory over the combined armies at
Hagenau ; in consequence of which he succeed-
ed to the command of the army of the north.
His most celebrated exploit was the subjugation
of Holland, for which he was elected a member
of the national assembly. At length he fell un-
der the suspicion of being a royalist, and was
banished to Cayenne, from whence he escaped
to England. In the spring of 1804, he went to
Paris, but was soon seized, and thrown into a
dungeon of the temple, where he probably
strangled himself on the 6th of April of the
same year.
PICKENS, Andrew, a celebrated revolution-
ary officer, born in Bucks county, Pennsylva-
nia, Sept. 13, 1739. While he was still young,
his residence was removed to South Carolina.
He had fought against the French, and the
Cherokees before the breaking out of the revo-
lution. He again encountered the Indians in
the revolutionary war, and acted a gallant part
at the battle of Cowpens, as well as at that of
Eutaw springs. At the conclusion of the war,
he served his country in various civil offices,
and died, full of years and honors, Oct. 11, 1817.
PICKERING, Timothy, colonel, was born
at Salem, Mass., July, 17, 1745, and was edu-
cated at Harvard college. He served with dis-
tinction during the revolutionary war; towards
the close of which he succeeded general Greene
as quarter-master-general, and contributed great-
ly to the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown.
In 1791 he was made postmaster-general, and
in 1794, secretary of war. In 1803 he was cho-
sen senator to Congress from Massachusetts,
and in 1811, when his term of office had expired,
was made member of the executive council.
During the last war with Great Britain, he was
a member of the board of war for the defence
of the state. From 1814 to 1817 he was in con-
gress. Having retired to private life, he died
Jan. 29, 1829.
PIEDMONT, a principality of the Sardinian
monarchy, containing an area of 6,575 square
miles, with 1,400,000 inhabitants. From 1798
to 1802 it was attached to France.
PINCKNEY, Charles Cotesworth, was born
in South Carolina, but educated in England,
where he studied law. He returned to his na-
tive state in 1769. He held a colonel's com-
mission during the revolutionary war, and aid-
PIS
403
PIT
ed in the defence of Charleston. After the con-
clusion of the war he was appointed minister
plenipotentiary to France, where his treatment
by the French director}' was insulting. He was
ordered to leave the French territories. He
died in 1825.
PINCKNEY, Thomas, a major-general in the
army of the United States, the brother of the
preceding, was born in Charleston, South Caro-
lina, Oct. 23, 1750. He studied iaw in Eng-
land. During the revolution, he served with
distinction, and at the conclusion of the war,
was elected second governor of South Carolina.
At the expiration of his term of office, he was
appointed minister plenipotentiary to the court
of St. James. After a few years he was ap-
pointed minister to the court of Spain. He re-
turned to America in 1796, and was soon elect-
ed to Congress. In the war of 1812 he received
the commission of major-general. He died
Nov. 2, 1828.
PINKNEY, William, a distinguished Ameri-
can lawyer, born at Annapolis, in Maryland,
March 17, 1764. He three times went to Eu-
rope as minister, and commanded a volunteer
company during the war of 1812, receiving a
severe wound in the battle of Bladensburg. He
died Feb. 25, 1822.
PISISTRATUS, an Athenian, son of Hip-
pocrates, who early distinguished himself by
his valor in the field and by his address and elo-
quence at home. After he had rendered him-
self the favorite of the populace by his liberali-
ty, and by the intrepidity with which he had
fought their battles, particularly near Salamis,
he resolved to make himself master of his coun-
try. Pisistratus was not disheartened by the
measures of his relation Solon, but he had re-
course to artifice. The people too late per-
ceived their credulity ; yet, though the tyrant
was popular, two of the citizens, Megacles and
Lycurgus, conspired together against him, and
by their means he was forcibly ejected from the
city.
The private dissensions of the friends of lib-
erty proved favorable to the expelled tyrant,
and Megacles, who was jealous of Lycurgus,
secretly promised to restore Pisistratus to all his
rights and privileges in Athens, if he would
marry his daughter. Pisistratus consented, and
by the assistance of his father-in-law, lie was
soon enabled to expel Lycurgus, and to re-es-
tablish himself. In the midst of his triumph,
however, Pisistratus felt himself unsupported,
and some time after, when he repudiated the
daughter of Megacles, he found that not only
the citizens, but even his very troops were alien-
ated from him by the influence, the intrigues,
and the bribery of his father-in-law.
He fled from Athens, where he could no lon-
ger maintain his power, and retired to Eubcea.
Eleven years after, he was drawn from his ob-
scure retreat by means of his son Hippias, and
he was a third time received by the people of
Athens as their master and sovereign. He died
about 527 years before the Christian era, after
he had enjoyed the sovereign power at Athens
for 33 years, including the years of his banish-
ment.
PITCAIRN.'S ISLAND, in the South Pa-
cific ocean, is 6 miles long and 3 broad, and re-
markably fertile, possessing a fine climate. It
was discovered by Carteret in 1767, but was
then uninhabited. In 1789, however, it was
settled by some of the mutineers of the English
ship Bounty. The mutiny of the Bounty is of
such importance as to claim our attention here.
It is best described in the following extract from
the voyage of captain Bligh :
On the 27th of December it blew a severe
storm of wind from the eastward, in the course
of which we suffered greatly. One sea broke
away the spare yards and spars out of the star-
board mainchains ; another broke into the ship
and stove all the boats. Several casks of beer
that had been lashed on deck broke loose, and
were washed overboard ; and it was not with-
out great risk and difficulty that we were able
to secure the boats from being washed away
entirely. A great quantity of our bread was
also damaged and rendered useless, for the sea
had stove in our stern, and filled the cabin with
water.
On the 5th of January, 1788, we saw the
island of Teneriffe about twelve leagues distant,
and next day, being Sunday, came to an anchor
in the road of Santa Cruz. There we took in
the necessary supplies, and, having finished our
business, sailed on the 10th.
I now divided the people into three watches,
and gave the charge of the third watch to Mr.
Fletcher Christian, one of the mates. I have
always considered this a desirable regulation
when circumstances will admit of it, and I am
persuaded that unbroken rest not only contri-
butes much towards the health of the ship's
company, but enables them more readily to ex-
ert themselves in cases of sudden emergency.
As I wished to proceed to Otaheite without
stopping, I reduced the allowance of bread to
two-thirds, and caused the water for drinking to
be filtered through drip-stones, bought at Ten-
PIT
404
PIT
eriffe for that purpose. I now acquainted the
ship's company of the object of the voyage, and
gave assurances of certain promotion to every
one whose endeavors should merit it.
On Tuesday the 26th of February, being in
South latitude 39° 38', and 44° 44' West longi-
tude, we bent new sails, and made other neces-
sary preparations for encountering the weather
that was to be expected in a high latitude. Our
distance from the coast of Brazil was about 100
leagues.
On the forenoon of Sunday the 2d of March,
after seeing that every person was clean, divine
service was performed, according to my usual
custom on this day. I gave to Mr. Fletcher
Christian, whom I had before directed to take
charge of the third watch, a written order to act
as lieutenant.
The change of temperature soon began to be
sensibly felt, and, that the people might not suf-
fer from their own negligence, I supplied them
with thicker clothing, as better suited to the
climate. A great number of whales of an im-
mense size, with two spout-holes on the back
of the head, were seen on the 11th.
On a complaint made to me by the master, I
found it necessary to punish Matthew Quintal,
one of the seamen, with two dozen of lashes,
for insolence and mutinous behavior, which was
the first time that there was any occasion for
punishment on board.
We were off Cape St. Diego, the eastern part
of the Terra de Fuego, and, the wind being un-
favorable, I thought it more advisable to go
round to the eastward of Staten-land than to
attempt passing through Straits le Maire. We
passed New Year's Harbor and Cape St. John,
and on Monday the 31st were in latitude 60° 1'
south. But the wind became variable, and we
had bad weather.
Storms, attended with a great sea, prevailed
until the 12th of April. The ship began to leak,
and required pumping every hour, which was
no more than we had reason to expect from such
a continuance of gales of wind and high seas.
The decks also became so leaky that it was ne-
cessary to allot the great cabin, of which I made
little use except in fine weather, to those people
who had not berths to hang their hammocks in,
and by this means the space between decks was
less crowded.
With all this bad weather, we had the addi-
tional mortification to find, at the end of every
day, that we were losing ground ; for, notwith-
standing our utmost exertions, and keeping on
the most advantageous tracks, we did little bet-
ter than drift before the wind. On Tuesday
the 22d of April, we had eight down on the
sick list, and the rest of the people, though in
good health, were greatly fatigued ; but 1 saw,
with much concern, that it was impossible to
make a passage this way to the Society Islands,
for we had now been thirty days in a tempestu-
ous ocean. Thus the season was too far ad-
vanced for us to expect better weather to enable
us to double Cape Horn ; and, from these and
other considerations, I ordered the helm to be
put a-weather, and bore away for the Cape of
Good Hope, to the great joy of every one on
board.
We came to an anchor on Friday the 23d of
May, in Simon's Bay, at the Cape, after a tol-
erable run. The ship required complete caulk-
ing, for she had become so leaky, that we were
obliged to pump hourly in our passage from
Cape Horn. The sails and rigging also re-
quired repair, and, on examining the provisions,
a considerable quantity was found damaged.
Having remained thirty-eight days at this
place, and my people having received all the
advantage that could be derived from refresh-
ments of every kind that could be met with, we
sailed on the 1st of July.
A gale of wind blew on the 20th, with a high
sea; it increased after noon with such violence,
that the ship was driven almost forecastle under
before we could get the sails clewed up. The
lower yards were lowered, and the top-gallant
mast got down upon deck, which relieved her
much. We lay to all night, and in the morn-
ing bore away under a reefed foresail. The sea
still running high, in the afternoon it became
very unsafe to stand on ; we therefore lay to all
night, without any accident, excepting that a
man at the steerage was thrown over the wheel
and much bruised. Towards noon the violence
of the storm abated, and we again bore away
under the reefed foresail.
In a few days we passed the Island of St.
Paul, where there is good fresh water, as I was
informed by a Dutch captain, and also a hot
spring, which boils fish as completely as if done
by a fire. Approaching to Van Dieman's land,
we had much bad weather, with snow and hail,
but nothing was seen to indicate our vicinity,
on the 13th of August, except a seal, which ap-
peared at the distance of twenty leagues from
it. We anchored in Adventure Bay on Wednes-
day the 20th.
In our passage hither from the Cape of Good
Hope, the winds were chiefly from the west-
ward, with very boisterous weather. The ap-
PIT
405
PIT
I proach of strong southerly winds is announced
by many birds of the albatross or petrel tribe ;
and the abatement of the gale, or a shift of wind
I to the northward, by their keeping away. The
thermometer also varies five or six degrees in
I its height, when a change of these winds may
be expected.
In the land surrounding Adventure Bay are
many forest trees one hundred and fifty feet
high ; we saw one which measured above thirty-
three feet in girth. We observed several eagles,
, some beautiful blue-plumaged herons, and par-
roquets in great variety.
The natives not appearing, we went in search
of them towards Cape Frederic Henry. Soon
after, coming to a grapnel close to the shore, for
it was impossible to land, we heard their voices,
like the cackling of geese, and twenty persons
came out of the woods. We threw trinkets
j ashore tied up in parcels, which they would not
1 open out until 1 made an appearance of leaving
them ; they then did so, and, taking the arti-
cles out, put them on their heads. On first
coming in sight, they made a prodigious clatter-
I ing in their speech, and held their arms over
i their heads. They spoke so quick, that it was
| impossible to catch one single word they uttered.
Their color is of a dull black ; their skin scari-
fied about the breast and shoulders. One was
J distinguished by his body being colored with
red ochre, but all the others were painted black,
with a kind of soot, so thickly laid over their
faces and shoulders, that it was difficult to as-
certain what they were like.
On Thursday, the 4th of September, we sailed
out of Adventure Bay, steering first towards the
east-southeast, and then to the northward of
cast, when, on the 19th, we came in sight of a
cluster of small rocky islands, which I named
Bounty Isles. Soon afterwards we frequently
observed the sea, in the night time, to be cov-
ered by luminous spots, caused by amazing
quantities of small blubbers, or medusae, which
emit alight, like the blaze of a candle, from the
strings or filaments extending from them, while
the rest of the body continues perfectly dark.
We discovered the island of Otaheite on the
I 25th, and, before casting anchor next morning in
Matavai Bay, such numbers of canoes had come
off, that, after the natives ascertained we were
friends, they came on board, and crowded the
deck so much, that in ten minutes I could scarce
find my own people. The whole distance which
the ship had run, in direct and contrary courses,
from the time of leaving England until reaching
Otaheite, was twenty-seven thousand and eigh-
ty-six miles, which, on an average, was one
hundred and eight miles each twenty-four hours.
Here we lost our surgeon on the 'Jth of De-
cember. Of late he had scarcely ever stirred
out of the cabin, though not apprehended to be
in a dangerous state. Nevertheless, appearing
worse than usual in the evening, he was re-
moved where he could obtain more air, but
without any benefit, for he died in an hour af-
terwards. This unfortunate man drank very
hard, and was so averse to exercise, that he
would never be prevailed on to take half a dozen
turns on deck at a time, during all the course of
the voyage. He was buried on shore.
On Monday the 5th of January, the small
cutter was missed, of which I was immediately
apprised. The ship's company being mustered,
we found three men absent, who had carried it
off. They had taken with them eight stand of
arms and ammunition ; but with regard to their
plan, every one on board seemed to be quite ig-
norant. I therefore went on shore, and engaged
all the chiefs to assist in recovering both the
boat and the deserters. Accordingly, the for-
mer was brought back in the course of the day,
by five of the natives ; but the men were not
taken until nearly three weeks afterwards.
Learning the place where they were, in a dif-
ferent quarter of the island of Otaheite, I went
thither in the cutter, thinking there would be
no great difficulty in securing them with the
assistance of the natives. However, they heard
of my arrival ; and when I was near a house in
which they were, they came out wanting their
fire-arms, and delivered themselves up. Some
of the chiefs had formerly seized and bound
these deserters ; but had been prevailed on, by
fair promises of returning peaceably to the ship,
to release them. But finding an opportunity
again to get possession of their arms, they set
the natives at defiance.
The object of the voyage being now com-
pleted, all the bread-fruit plants, to the number
of one thousand and fifteen, were got on board
on Tuesday the 31st of March. Besides these,
we had collected many other plants, some of
them bearing the finest fruits in the world ; and
valuable, from affording brilliant dyes, and for
various properties besides. At sunset of the
4th of April, we made sail from Otaheite, bid-
ding farewell to an island where for twenty-
three weeks we had been treated with the ut-
most affection and regard, and which seemed to
increase in proportion to our stay. That we
were not insensible to their kindness, the suc-
ceeding circumstances sufficiently proved ; for
PIT
406
PIT
to the friendly and endearing behavior of these
people may be ascribed the motives inciting an
event that effected the ruin of our expedition,
which there was every reason to believe would
have been attended with the most favorable issue.
Next morning we got sight of the island Hua-
heine ; and a double canoe soon coming along-
side, containing ten natives, I saw among them
a young man who recollected me, and called me
by my name. I had been here in the year 1780,
with Captain Cook, in the Resolution. A few
days after sailing from this island, the weather
became squally, and a thick body of black clouds
collected in the east. A water-spout was in a
short time seen at no great distance from us,
which appeared to great advantage from the
darkness of the clouds behind it. As nearly as
I could judge, the upper part was about two
feet in diameter, and the lower about eight
inches. Scarcely had I made these remarks,
when I observed that it was rapidly advancing
towards the ship. We immediately altered our
course, and took in all the sails except the fore-
sail ; soon after which it passed within ten yards
of the stern, with a rustling noise, but without
our feeling the least effect from it being so near.
It seemed to be travelling at the rate of about
ten miles an hour, in the direction of the wind,
and it dispersed in a quarter of an hour after
passing us. It is impossible to say what injury
we should have received, had it passed directly
over us. Masts, I imagine, might have been
carried away, but I do not apprehend that it
would have endangered the loss of the ship.
Passing several islands on the way, we an-
chored at Annamooka, on the 23d of April ; and
an old lame man called Tepa, whom I had
known here in 1777, and immediately recollect-
ed, came on board, along with others, from dif-
ferent islands in the vicinity. They were de-
sirous to see the ship, and on being taken be-
low, where the bread-fruit plants were arranged,
they testified great surprise. A few of these
being decayed, we went on shore to procure
some in their place.
The natives exhibited numerous marks of the
peculiar mourning which they express on losing
their relatives ; such as bloody temples, their
heads being deprived of most of the hair, and
what was worse, almost the whole of them had
lost some of their fingers. Several fine boys, not
above six years old, had lost both their little fin-
gers ; and several of the men, besides these, had
parted with the middle finger of the right hand.
The chiefs went off with me to dinner, and
we carried on a brisk trade for yams ; we also
got plantains and bread fruit. But the yams
were in great abundance, and very fine and
large. One of them weighed above forty-five
pounds. Sailing canoes came, some of which
contained not less than ninety passengers. Such
a number of them gradually arrived from differ-
ent islands, that it was impossible to get any
thing done, the multitude became so great, and
there was no chief of sufficient authority to
command the whole. I therefore ordered a
watering party, then employed, to come on
board, and sailed on Sunday the 26th of April.
We kept near the island of Kotoo all the af-
ternoon of Monday, in hopes that some canoes
would come off to the ship, but in this we were
disappointed. The wind being northerly, we
steered to the westward in the evening, to pass
soutli of Tofoa ; and I gave directions for this
course to be continued during the night. The
master had the first watch, the gunner the mid-
dle watch, and Mr. Christian the morning
watch. This was the turn of duty for the night.
Hitherto the voyage had advanced in a course
of uninterrupted prosperity, and had been at-
tended with circumstances equally pleasing and
satisfactory. But a very different scene was
now to be disclosed ; a conspiracy had been
formed, which was to render all our past labor
productive only of misery and distress ; and it
had been concerted with so much secrecy and
circumspection, that no one circumstance es-
caped to betray the impending calamity.
On the night of Monday, the watch was set
as I have described. Just before sunrise, on
Tuesday morning, while I was yet asleep, Mr.
Christian, with the master at arms, gunner's
mate, and Thomas Burkitt, seaman, came into
my cabin, and seizing me, tied my hands with
a cord behind my back ; threatening me with
instant death if I spoke or made the least noise.
I nevertheless called out as loud as I could, in
hopes of assistance ; but the officers not of their
party were already secured by sentinels at their
doors. At my own cabin door were three men,
besides the four within ; all except Christian
had muskets and bayonets ; he had only a cut-
lass. I was dragged out of bed, and forced on
deck in my shirt, suffering great pain in the
mean time from the tightness with which my
hands were tied. On demanding the reason of
such violence, the only answer was abuse for
not holding my tongue. The master, the gun-
ner, surgeon, master's mate, and Nelson the
gardener, were kept confined below, and the
fore hatchway was guarded by sentinels. The
boatswain and carpenter, and also the clerk,
PIT
407
PIT
were allowed to come on deck, where they saw
me standing abaft the mizzen-mast, with my
hands tied behind my back, under a guard, with
I Christian at their head. The boatswain was
| then ordered to hoist out the launch, accom-
i panied by a threat, if he did not do it instantly,
TO TAKE CARE OF HIMSELF.
The boat being hoisted out, Mr. Hayward
and Mr. Hallet, two of the midshipmen, and
Mr. Samuel, the clerk, were ordered into it. I
demanded the intention of giving this order, and
endeavored to persuade the people near me not
to persist in such acts of violence ; but it was to
no effect; for the constant answer was, " Hold
your tongue, sir, or you are dead this moment."
The master had by this time sent, requesting
that he might come on deck, which was permit-
ted ; but he was soon ordered back again to his
cabin. My exertions to turn the tide of affairs
l were continued ; when Christian, changing the
cutlass he held for a bayonet, and holding me
by the cord about my hands with a strong gripe,
threatened me with immediate death if 1 would
not be quiet; and the villains around me had
their pieces cocked and bayonets fixed.
Certain individuals were called on to get into
I the boat, and were hurried over the ship's side ;
I whence I concluded, that along with them I
was to be set adrift. Another effort to bring
about a change produced nothing but menaces
of having my brains blown out.
The boatswain and those seamen who were
to be put into the boat, were allowed to collect
twine, canvass, lines, sails, cordage, an eight-
and-twenty gallon cask of water ; and Mr. Sam-
uel got 150 pounds of bread, with a small quan-
tity of rum and wine : also a quadrant and com-
pass : but be was prohibited, on pain of death,
to touch any map or astronomical book, and any
instrument, or any of my surveys and drawings.
The mutineers having thus forced those of
the seamen whom they wished to get rid of into
the boat. Christian directed a dram to be served
to each of his crew. I then unhappily saw that
nothing could be done to recover the ship. The
officers were next called on deck, and forced
over the ship's side into the boat, while I was
kept apart from every one abaft the mizzen-mast.
Christian, armed with a bayonet, held the cord
fastening my hands, and the guard around me
stood with their pieces cocked ; but on my
daring the ungrateful wretches to fire, they un-
cocked them. Isaac Martin, one of them, I saw
had an inclination to assist me; and as he fed
me with shaddock, my lips being quite parched,
we explained each other's sentiments by looks.
But this was observed, and he was reir.oved.
He then got into the boat, attempting to leave
the ship ; however, he was compelled to letum.
Some others were also kept contrary to their
inclination.
It appeared to me, that Christian was some
time in doubt whether he should keep the car-
penter or his mates. At length he determined
on the latter, and the carpenter was ordered into
the boat. He was permitted, though not with-
out opposition, to take his tool chest.
Mr. Samuel secured my journals and com-
mission, with some important ship papers ; this
he did with great resolution, though strictly
watched. He attempted to save the time-keep-
er, and a box with my surveys, drawings, and
remarks, for fifteen years past, which were very
numerous, when he was hurried away v ith —
" Damn your eyes, you are well off to get what
you have."
Much altercation took place among the mu-
tinous crew during the transaction of this whole
affair. Some swore, " I'll de damned if he does
not find his way home, if he gets any thing with
him," meaning me; and when the carpi liter's
chest was carrying away, " Damn my f)is, he
will have a vessel built in a month;" while
others ridiculed the helpless situation of the
boat, which was very deep in the water, and
had so little room for those who were in her.
As for Christian, he seemed as if mediating
destruction on himself and every one elst
I asked for arms, but the mutineers laughed
at me, and said I was well acquainted w itii the
people among whom I was going; four cut-
lasses, however, were thrown into the bixit, af-
ter we were veered astern.
The officers and men being in the boat, they
only waited for me, of which the masi^r-at-
arms informed Christian, who then said, " ( ome,
Captain Bligh, your officers and men aie now
in the boat, and you must go with them ; if you
attempt to make the least resistance, you will
instantly be put to death;" and without further
ceremony, I was forced over the side by a tribe
of armed ruffians, where they untied my hands.
Being in the boat, we were veered astern by a
rope. A few pieces of pork were thrown to us,
also the four cutlasses. The armorer and car-
penter then called out to me to remembei that
they had no hand in the transaction. After
having been kept some time to make sport for
these unfeeling wretches, and having under-
gone much ridicule, we were at length cast
adrift in the open ocean.
Eighteen persons were with me in the boat,
PIT
408
PIT
— the master, acting surgeon, botanist, gunner,
boatswain, carpenter, master, and quarter-mas-
ter's mate, two quarter-masters, the sail maker,
two cooks, my clerk, the butcher, and a boy.
There remained on board, Fletcher Christian,
the master's mate; Peter Haywood, Edward
Young, George Stewart, midshipmen ; the mas-
ter-at-arms, gunner's mate, boatswain's mate,
gardener, armorer, carpenter's mate, carpenter's
crew, and fourteen seamen, being altogether the
most able men of the ship's company.
Having little or no wind, we rowed pretty
fast towards the island of Tofoa, which bore
north-east about ten leagues distant. The ship
while in sight steered west-north-west, but this
I considered only as a feint, for when we were
sent away, " Huzza for Otaheite !" was fre-
quently heard among the mutineers.
Christian, the chief of them, was of a respect-
able family in the north of England. This was
the third voyage he had made with me. Not-
withstanding the roughness with which I was
treated, the remembrance of past kindnesses
produced some remorse in him. While they
were forcing me out of the ship, I asked him
whether this was a proper return for the many
instances he had experienced of my friendship ?
He appeared disturbed at the question, and an-
swered with much emotion, " That — Captain
Bligh — that is the thing — I am in hell- I am in
hell." His abilities to take charge of the third
watch, as I had so divided the ship's company,
were fully equal to the task.
Haywood was also of a respectable family in
the north of England, and a young man of abili-
ties, as well as Christian. These two had been
objects of my particular regard and attention,
and I had taken great pains to instruct them,
having entertained hopes that, as professional
men, they would have become a credit to their
country. Young was well recommended ; and
Stewart of creditable parents in the Orkneys, at
which place, on the return of the Resolution
from the South Seas in 1780, we received so
many civilities, that in consideration of these
alone I should gladly have taken him with me.
But he had always borne a good character.
When I had time to reflect, an inward satis-
faction prevented the depression of my spirits.
Yet, a few hours before, my situation had been
peculiarly flattering ; 1 had a ship in the most
perfect order, stored with every necessary, both
for health and service ; the object of the voyage
was attained, and two-thirds of it now com-
pleted. The remaining part had every pros-
pect of success.
It will naturally be asked, what could be the
cause of such a revolt? In answer, I can only
conjecture that the mutineers had Mattered them-
selves with the hope of a happier life among the
Otaheitans than they could possibly enjoy in
England ; which, joined to some female con-
nections, most probably occasioned the whole
transaction.
The women of Otaheite are handsome, mild,
and cheerful in manners and conversation ; pos-
sessed of great sensibility, and have sufficient
delicacy to make them be admired and beloved.
The chiefs were so much attached to our peo-
ple, that they rather encouraged their stay
among them than otherwise, and even made
them promises of large possessions. Under
these, and many other concomitant circum-
stances, it cught hardly to be the subject of sur-
prise that a set of sailors, most of them void of
connections, should be led away, where they
had the power of fixing themselves in the midst
of plenty, in one of the finest islands in the
world, where there was no necessity to labor,
and where the allurements of dissipation are
beyond any conception that can be formed of it.
The utmost, however, that a commander could
have expected, was desertions, such as have al-
ready happened more or less in the South Seas
and not an act of open mutiny.
But the secrecy of this mutiny surpasses be-
lief. Thirteen of" the party who were now with
me had always lived forward among the sea-
men ; yet neither they, nor the messmates of
Christian, Stewart, Haywood, and Young, had
ever observed any circumstance to excite sus-
picion of what was plotting ; and it is not won
derful if I fell a sacrifice to it, my mind being
entirely free from suspicion. Perhaps, had ma-
rines been on board, a sentinel at my cabin-door
might have prevented it ; for I constantly slept
with the door open, that the officer of the watch
might have access to me on all occasions. If
the mutiny had been occasioned by any griev-
ances, either real or imaginary, I must have
discovered symptoms of discontent, which would
have put me on my guard ; but it was far other-
wise. With Christian, in particular, I was on
the most friendly terms ; that very day he was
engaged to have dined with me ; and the pre-
ceding night he excused himself from supping
with me on pretence of indisposition, for which
I felt concerned, having no suspicions of his
honor or integrity.
PITT, William, the second son of Earl
Chatham, was born May 28, 1759. In 1780, he
obtained a seat in parliament, where he exerted
PIU
409
PLA
the power of his eloquence against Lord North.
On the .removal of that minister, Mr. Pitt did
not obtain a place ; but when the Earl of Shel-
burne succeeded the Marquis of Rockingham,
he became chancellor of the exchequer. This
ministry, however, was soon displaced by the
coalition of Lord North and Mr. Fox, in 1782 ;
but the famous India bill of the latter producing
another change, at the end of 1783, Mr. Pitt be-
came first lord of the treasury, as well as chan-
cellor of the exchequer. Though in this situa-
tion he had to encounter an extraordinary com-
bination of talents and influence, he overcame
all obstacles, and carried many important meas-
ures, particularly his own India bill, a commer-
cial treaty with France, the acts against smug-
gling, and the establishment of a sinking fund.
The illness of the king, in 1788, opened a new
field for the energies of this great man, who, by
taking constitutional ground in regard to the
right of parliament to settle a regency, ingra-
tiated himself with the nation, though certain
of being removed when that appointment should
take place. The recovery of his majesty, how-
ever, fixed him more firmly in his seat. The
next great event in his life was that of being
called to oppose the power of revolutionary
France, and to secure the nation from similar
convulsions. At length he acceded to the wish
that an experiment for peace should be tried,
which took place in 1801, under Mr. Adding-
ton ; but the event proved how fallacious were
the hopes of the people; and, in 1804, Mr. Pitt
was recalled to power. But his health was now
in a very precarious state, and he died at Put-
ney, Jan. '23, 1806. His remains were deposit-
ed in Westminster Abbey. Very honorable
eulogiums were pronounced on his memory by
all parties, and his debts weie paid at the public
expense, according to a vote of parliament.
PIUS VI, Pope, or John Angelo Braschi, was
born at Cesena in 1717. He succeeded Cle-
ment XIV in 1775, and soon after made a re-
form in the public treasury. When the empe-
ror Joseph II decreed that all the religious or-
ders in his dominions were free from papal ju-
risdiction, Pius, apprehensive of the consequen-
ces of such a measure, went in person to Vienna
in 1782; but though he was honorably received,
his remonstrances were ineffectual. The French
Revolution, however, was of more serious con-
sequence to the papal see. The pope, having
favored the allies, Bonaparte entered the eccle-
siastical territory ,and compelled him to purchase
a peace. Basseville was then sent from the re-
public to Rome, where the people assassinated
him in 1793. This furnished the pretext for
another visitation, and accordingly Bonaparte
again entered Italy, made the pope prisoner in
his capital, and hurried him over the Alps to
Valence, where he died, August 29, 1799.
PIZARRO, Francisco, the conqueror of Pe-
ru, was the son of a gentleman in Truxillo. He
embarked for America as a soldier ; and in 1524,
associated at Panama with Diego de Almagro,
and Hernandez Lucque, a priest, in an enter-
prise to make discoveries. In this voyage they
fell in with the coast of Peru, but being too few
to make any attempt at a settlement, Pizarro
returned to Spain, where all that he gained was
a power from the court to prosecute his object.
However, having raised some money, he was
enabled again, in 1531, to visit Peru, where a
civil war was then raging between Huascar, the
legitimate monarch, and his half-brother Ata-
hualpa. Pizarro, by pretending to take the part
of the latter, was permitted to march into the
interior, where he made the unsuspecting chief
his prisoner, and exacted an immense ransom.
This drew fresh adventurers ; and soon after
Pizarro murdered the unfortunate Atahualpa,
by burning him at a stake. In 1535, the con-
queror laid the foundation of Lima ; but, in 1537,
a contest arose between him and Almagro, who
was defeated and executed. The son and friends
of Almagro, however, avenged his death, and
on June 26, 1541, Pizarro was assassinated in
his palace.
PLATA, United Provinces of the, or the Ar-
gentine Republic, a republic of South America,
consisting of a part of the former Spanish vice-
royalty of the Rio de la Plata, or Buenos Ayres,
contains 800,000 inhabitants. The country was
discovered by Don Juan Diaz de Solis, in 1517,
and settlements were made in 1553. The gov-
ernment was at first dependant upon that of
Peru. In 1810 the insurrection against Spain
broke out, and in 1816 the provinces of Buenos
Ayers formally declared their independence.
PLATiEA, and Platceae, a town of Bceotia,
near mount Cithajron, on the confines of Me-
garis and Attica, celebrated for a battle fought
there, between Mardonius the commander of
Xerxes king of Persia, and Pausanias the Lace-
daemonian and the Athenians. The Persian
army consisted of 300,000 men, 3,000 of which
scarce escaped with their lives by flight. The
Grecian army, which was greatly inferior, lost
but few men, and among these 91 Spartans, 52
Athenians, and 16 Tegeans, were the only sol-
diers found in the number of the slain. The
plunder which the Greeks obtained in the Per-
P01
410
POL
sian camp was immense. Pausanias received
the tenth of all the spoils, on account of his un-
common valor during the engagement, and the
rest were rewarded each according to their re-
spective merit. This battle was fought on the
22d September, the same day as the battle of
Mycale, 479 B. C, and by it Greece was deliv-
ered from the continual alarms to which she
was exposed on account of the Persian inva-
sions, and from that time none of the princes of
Persia dared to appear with a hostile force be-
yond the Hellespont. Platasa was taken by the
Thebans, after a famous siege, in the beginning
of the Peloponnesian war, and destroyed by the
Spartans, B. C. 427. Alexander rebuilt it, and
paid great encomiums to the inhabitants, on ac-
count of their ancestors, who had so bravely
fought against the Persians at the battle of Ma-
rathon, and under Pausanias.
POITIERS, anciently Pictavi, a town of
France, now capital of the department of the
Vienne, containing 21,502 inhabitants. It is
memorable for a battle between the English un-
der Edward the Black prince, and the French
under John II, fought here on Sept. 19, 1356.
The van of the army which consisted altogether
of only 8,000 men was commanded by the Earl
of Warwick ; the rear by the Earls of Salisbury
and Suffolk ; the main-body by the prince him-
self. The first division of John's army, which
consisted of 80,000 strong, was commanded by
the Duke of Orleans, the king's brother; the
second by the dauphin ; the third by the king
himself. A French detachment which ad-
vanced first to the charge, was discomfited and
overthrown, one of the marshals was slain, the
other taken prisoner ; and the remainder of the
detachment fell back, and put every thing into
disorder. In that critical moment, the Captal
de Buche unexpectedly appeared and attacked
the dauphin's line, which fell into confusion.
Landas, Bodenai, and St. Venant, now set the
example of flight, which was followed by that
of the whole division. The Duke of Orleans,
seized with a panic, thought no longer of fight-
ing, but carried off his division by a retreat,
which soon after turned into a flight. The di-
vision under king John was still, however, more
numerous than the whole English army ; and
the only resistance made that day was by his
line of battle. The prince of Wales fell with
impetuosity on some German cavalry placed in
the front ; a fierce battle ensued : but the Ger-
man generals, together with the Duke of Athens,
falling in the engagement, that body of cavalry
gave way, and left the king himself exposed to
the whole fury of the enemy. The king, spent
with fatigue, and overwhelmed by numbers,
might easily have been slain, but every English
gentleman, ambitious of taking alive the royal
prisoner, spared him in the action, exhorted him
to surrender, and offered him quarter. Several
who attempted to seize him suffered for their
temerity. In this dilemma he cried out,
" Where is my cousin, the Prince of Wales ?"
and seemed unwilling to become prisoner to
any person of inferior rank ; but being told that
the prince was at a distance, he threw down his
gauntlet, and yielded himself, together with his
son, to Dennis de Morbec, a fugitive knight of
Arras. — The moderation which Edward dis-
played on this occasion, has for ever stamped
his character. At a repast which was prepared
in his tent for his royal prisoner, he served be-
hind his chair, as if he had been one of his reti-
nue. He refused to seat himself at table with
his majesty : and John received, when a cap-
tive, those honors which had been denied him
when on a throne.
POLAND, in Polish Polska; a country in
the northern part of Europe. It was formerly
of vast extent, and although now dismembered,
a part of it retains the ancient name, and con-
tains about 4,600,000 Poles. The events of the
late unhappy struggle for independence, with
the most powerful empire of Europe, are in the
minds of every one who takes an interest in the
fate of nations. The revolution commenced
with an insurrection at Warsaw, Nov. 19, 1830.
The Polish diet on the 24th of January declared
the independence of their country. The spirit
of resistance was not quelled without a long
struggle and a horrible effusion of blood on both
sides.
Poland was formerly called the granary of
Europe; but this was when its boundaries ex-
tended from the Baltic to the Black Sea; and
when the Ukraine and Lithuania were includ-
ed. At present its limits are so circumscribed
and its arable surface so indifferently cultivated,
or naturally so infertile that the kingdom of Po-
land, strictly speaking, furnishes little more
corn than supplies its own population. The
immense supplies of wheat, sent to Dantzic,are
chiefly from the detached provinces of Galicia,
united to Austria, and from Volhynia and Po-
dolia, now belonging to Russia.
The landed estates of Poland are almost every
where large, and either belong to the crown,
to the nobles, or to religious corporations. They
are farmed by the proprietors, by means of stew-
ards ; or let out in small portions on the meyer
POL
411
POL
or leibeigener tenure. There are scarcely any
free farmers or cottagers. Bonaparte passed
an edict while Poland was under has protection
as a duchy, to annul the leibeigener tenure ; but
it is said the peasants were too much afraid to
trust to their own industry to take advantage
of it ; and it was never carried into effect. The
nobles have, generally, houses on their estates
which they occupy at least part of the year ; at
other periods it is taken care of by the steward,
who is always admitted to the table of his lord,
being himself what is called of noble descent.
The estates of religious houses are of great ex-
tent ; they are sometimes let to nobles and others
on a corn rent, who generally sublet them ; and
in a few cases they are farmed by the corpora-
tion. The postmasters on the different main
roads invariably rent a considerable portion of
land for the support of their horses. Most of
these are meteycrs, but some are free men and
pay a money rent, and there are one or two in-
stances of nobles farming the post. The houses
and offices of these postmasters afford the strong-
est resemblance to a British farm-yard.
The farm-house and farmery of the peasant
postmaster are both included in an immense
shed or barn, with a small apartment at one end
for the master's dwelling, the remaining space
divided for live stock and implements of every
description, and for the cattle, carriages, and
lodging place of travellers who may stop during
the night. Most of these places are sufficiently
wretched as inns, but in the present state of
things they answer very well for the other pur-
poses to which they are applied, and are supe-
rior to the hovels of the farmers who are not
postmasters, and who are clustered together
in villages or in the outskirts of towns. Some
villages, however, in the south of Poland, are
almost entirely built still on the same general
plan of a living-room of a large barn, the main
area of which serves for the purposes of a com-
plete farmery. The buildings of Poland, ex-
cepting those of the principal towns, are con-
structed of timber and covered with shingles.
The sheds and other agricultural buildings are
boarded on the sides ; but the cottages are formed
of logs joined by moss or clay; of frames filled
up with wicker work and clay ; or of other modes
and materials still more rude. The commonest
have no chimnies or glass windows.
The climate of Poland, though severe, is
much less precarious than that of the south of
Germany or of France. A winter of from five
to seven months, during the greater part of
which the ground is covered with snow, is suc-
ceeded by a rapid spring and warm summer ;
and these are followed by a short, cold, wet
autumn. The surface of Poland is remarkably
even ; to the traveller passing through the coun-
try it appears an interminable forest. Rye is
the bread corn of the country. The digittaria
sanguinalis is sown as a plant of luxury in a
few places, and the seeds ground and used as
meal. Potatoes are now becoming general and
succeed well in every part of the country.
Turnips or cabbages are rarely seen, even in
gardens ; few of the cottagers indeed have any
garden ; those who have, cultivate chiefly po-
tatoes and kohlrube. Many species of mush-
rooms grow wild in the woods and wastes, and
most of these are carefully gathered and cooked
in a variety of ways, as inRussia. The wastes
or commons are left entirely to nature.
The implements and operations of agricul-
ture are incredibly rude. We have seen lands
ploughed by one cow, tied by the horns to a
sharpened pole ; in other instances a pair of oxen
drag a wretched implement, formed by the pea-
sant, who is in all cases his own plough and
wheelwright as well as house carpenter and
builder. Their best or usual plough has no
mold board ; and the crop is in many cases
moie indebted to the excellence of the soil, and
the preceding winter's frost, than the farmer.
Horses are their general beasts of labor ; their
harness is willow shoots. The body of their
best market carts, in which even the lesser no-
bles visit each other, are of wicker work, and
the axle and wheels are made without any
iron.
The family of the Lechs kept possession of
this country "till the year 550, when it was vested
in 12 Palatines or Way wodes, who divided Po-
land into the same number of provinces.
To them succeeded the family of Piastus,
under whom it was raised from a dukedom to
a kingdom, and after whose extinction the race
of Jagello were invested with the regal dignity.
On°the death of Sigismund, the last of the Ja-
gello family, Henry, duke of Anjou,and brother
to Charles IX of France, ascended the Polish
throne ; but, on the death of the king of France,
he quitted Poland, and was succeeded by Ste-
phen Bathori ; this prince subdued the barbarian
Cossacks.
On the death of Ladislaus VI, his brother,
John Cassimer, a cardinal, was elected to fill
the throne ; but grieved at beholding his king-
dom laid waste by domestic and foreign war,
he abdicated the government. Under Michael
Coribut, Poland was obliged to become tributary
POL
412
POM
to the Ottoman Porte; but John Sobieski, ge-
neral of the crown, defeated the Turks, and
delivered his country from tribute.
On the death of Michael, Sobieski ascended
the throne ; and having again defeated the Turks
with great slaughter, he compelled them to raise
the siege of Vienna, in 1683.
After a glorious reign, Sobieski died; when
Frederic Augustus, elector of Saxony, was cho-
sen king, in opposition to the Prince of Conti.
Augustus was dethroned by Charles XII of
Sweden ; who placed on the throne Stanislaus ;
but Augustus was afterwards re-established by
the Czar of Russia.
On his death, Stanislaus was chosen king
a second time; but through the influence of
Germany and Russia, his election was annulled ;
and the son of the late king was invested with
the sovereignty, by the name of Augustus III.
On his death, through the intervention of Rus-
sia, Count Poniatowski was elected king, and
proclaimed by the title of Stanislaus Augustus ;
but his reign was one continued scene of con-
fusion and distress.
In 1772, the courts of Russia, Prussia, and
Vienna, in a most unprincipled manner, divided
among themselves the greater part of this un-
fortunate country.
In 1795, they completed this great political
crime, by seizing on the remaining part, and
expunging Poland from among independent
nations. At the congress held at Vienna in
1815, part of Poland was united to the Russian
empire, with the preservation of its own consti-
tution ; and, on this event, Alexander, emperor
of Russia, assumed the title of King of Poland.
What a melancholy task is his who seeks for
the records of Poland on the historical tablet for
the last fifty years ! The nation which once
carried its conquests as far as Dacia, made the
Divan tremble, and chased the flying Spalii be-
yond the Danube, the king who once paternally
planned his country's weal, the nobles who once
appeared at the signal of foreign invasion, clad
in brass and steel, the peasant who once bared
his brawny breast and stood in the last rampart
of his country, where are their names recorded?
Can we avoid recurring to the past, to that mo-
ment which promised to be so propitious, when
the hopes of the country were, after a long in-
terval of death-like sleep, awakened, but awak-
ened to slumber again, perhaps in eternal sleep ?
The giant warrior of Corsica spread before the
Poles a golden vision. He mocked Poland with
the name of liberty ! At the head of his myriad
men of war he said to the Polish mother, " that
son, which is in thy cradle, shall be free!"
" Poland shall be free." Six months passed, and
the dome which had echoed these words was
filled with the lances of the Cossacks.
POLIGNAC, Melchior de, a cardinal, was
born in 1661, at Puy, in Langu^doc. He stud-
ied at Paris, after which he was employed in
diplomatic concerns, in which he gave such sat-
isfaction, as to be rewarded with the purple.
During the regency he was banished to his
abbey of Anchin ; but afterwards he was recall-
ed, and appointed agent for French affairs at
Rome. In 1726, he was made archbishop of
Auch. He died in 1741.
POLLIO, Caius Asinius, a Roman consul
under the reign of Agustus, who distinguished
himself as much by his eloquence and writings,
as by his exploits in the field. He was with
J. Cffisar when he crossed the Rubicon. He
defeated the Dalmatians, and favored the cause
of Antony against Agustus. He was greatly
esteemed by Agustus, when he had become one
of his adherents, after the ruin of Antony. He
died in the 80th year of his age, A. D. 4.
POMPADOUR, (Jeanne Antoinette, Poisson,
Marchioness of,) the mistress of Louis XV,
was the daughter of a financier, and the wife of
M. d'Etioles, when she attracted the notice of
the king, who made her a marchioness in 1745.
She liberally encouraged the arts, and collected
a valuable cabinet of curiosities. She died in
1764, aged 44.
POMPEII, an ancient city of Campania,
buried, like Herculaneum A. D. 79. It was
first discovered in 1748.
POMPEY, (C), surnamed the Great from
the greatness of his exploits, was son of Cneius
Pompeius Strabo and Lucilia, and was born B.
C. 107. He early distinguished himself in the
field of battle, and fought with success and
bravery under his father, whose courage and
military prudence he imitated. In the disturb-
ances which agitated Rome, by the ambition
and avarice of Marius and Sylla, Pompey fol-
lowed the interest of the latter, and by levying
three legions for his service he gained his friend-
ship and his protection.
In the 26th year of his age, he conquered Sic-
,ily, which was in the power of Marius and his
adherents, and in forty days he regained all the
territories of Africa, which had forsaken the
interest of Sylla. He now appeared, not as a
dependant, but as a rival, of the dictator, Sylla;
and his opposition to his measures totally ex-
cluded him from his will.
After the death of Sylla, Pompey supported
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POM
himself against the remains of the Marian fac-
tion, which were headed by Lepidus. He was
soon made consul, and in that office he restored
the tribunitial power to its original dignity : and
in forty days removed the pirates from the Me-
diterranean, where they had reigned for many
years, and by their continual plunder and au-
dacity almost destroyed the whole naval power
of Rome.
While he extirpated these maritime robbers,
Pompey was called to greater undertakings,
and empowered to finish the war against Mi-
thridates, king of Pontus, and Tigranes, king
of Armenia. His operations against the King
of Pontus were bold and vigorous ; and in a
general engagement the Romans so totally de-
feated the enemy, that the Asiatic monarch
escaped with difficulty from the field of battle.
Pompey did not lose sight of the advantages
which despatch would ensure: he entered Ar-
menia, and received the submission of King
Tigranes.
Part of Arabia was subdued, Judea became
a Roman province, and when he had now no-
thing to fear from Mithridates, who had volun-
tarily destroyed himself, Pompey returned to
Italy with all the pomp and majesty of an east-
ern conqueror.
The Romans dreaded his approach ; they knew
his power, and his influence among his troops,
and they feared the return of another tyrannical
Sylla. Pompey, however, banished their fears ;
he disbanded his army, and the conqueror of
Asia entered Rome like a private citizen. To
strengthen himself, and to triumph over his
enemies, Pompey soon after united his interest
with that of Cossar and Crassus, and formed
the first triumvirate, by solemnly swearing that
their attachment should be mutual, their cause
common, and their union permanent.
But this powerful confederacy was soon after
broken ; the sudden death of Julia, the wife of
Pompey, and daughter of Cresar, and the total
defeat of Crassus in Syria, shattered the political
bands which held the jarring interest of Csesar
and Pompey united.
Pompey dreaded his father-in-law, and yet
he affected to despise him; and, by sufFering
anarchy to prevail in Rome, he convinced his
fellow-citizens of the necessity of investing him
with dictatorial power. But while the conqueror
of Mithridates was as a sovereign at Rome, the
adherents of Caesar were not silent. They de-
manded that either the consulship should be
given to him, or that he should be continued in
the government of Gaul. This just demand
would perhaps have been granted, but Cato op-
posed it ; and when Pompey sent for the two
legions which he had lent to Caesar, the breach
became more wide, and a civil war inevitable.
Cffisar was privately preparing to meet his
enemies, while Pompey remained indolent, and
gratified his pride in seeing all Italy celebrate
his recovery from an indisposition by universal
rejoicings. But he was soon roused from his
inactivity ; and it was now time to find his
friends, if any thing could be obtained from the
caprice and the fickleness of a people which he
had once delighted and amused by the exhibi-
tion of games and spectacles in a theatre which
could contain 20,000 spectators.
Ca?sar was now near Rome ; he had crossed
the Rubicon, which was a declaration of hostil-
ities; and Pompey, who had once boasted that
he could raise legions to his assistance by stamp-
ing with his foot, fled from the city with pre-
cipitation, and retired to Brundusium with the
consuls and part of the senators. Cresar was
now master of Rome, and in sixty da3's all Italy
acknowledged his power, and the conqueror
hastened to Spain, there to defeat the interest
of Pompey, and to alienate the hearts of his sol-
diers. He was too successful; and, when he
had gained to his cause the western parts of
the Roman empire, Ctesar crossed Italy, and
arrived in Greece, where Pompey had retired,
supported by all the power of the east, the wish-
es of the republican Romans, and a numerous
and well-disciplined army.
Pompey repelled him with great success ; and
he might have decided the war if he had con-
tinued to pursue the enemy while their confu-
sion was great, and their escape almost impos-
sible. Want of provisions obliged Cffisar to
advance towards Thessaly ; Pompey pursued
him, and in the plains of Pharsalia the two
armies engaged. The whole was conducted
against the advice and approbation of Pompey ;
and by suffering his troops to wait for the ap-
proach of the enemy, he deprived his soldiers
of that advantage which the army of Ca:sar
obtained by running to the charge with spirit,
vigor, and animation. The cavalry of Pompey
soon gave way, and the general retired to his
camp overwhelmed with grief and shame.
But here there was no safety ; the conqueror
pushed on every side, and Pompey disguised
himself and fled to the sea-coast, whence he
passed to Egypt, where he hoped to find a safe
asylum till better and more favorable moments
returned, in the court of Ptolemy , a prince whom
he had once protected and ensured on his throne.
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414
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When Ptolemy was told that Pompey claimed
his protection, he consulted his ministers, and
had the baseness to betray and to deceive him.
A boat was sent to fetch him on shore and the
Roman general left his galley after an affection-
ate and tender parting with his wife Cornelia.
The Egyptian sailors sat in sullen silence in
the boat ; and when Pompe}' disembarked Achil-
las and Septimius assassinated him. His wife,
who had followed him with her eyes to the
shore, was a spectator of the bloody scene ; and
she hastened away from the bay of Alexandria,
not to share his miserable fate. He died 13. C.
48, in the 53th or 59th year of his age, the day
after his birth-day.
PONDICHERRY, a city on the sea-coast of
the south of India, since 1672 capital of a French
colony, and contains 40,000 inhabitants. Inef-
fectually besieged by the British, under Admi-
ral Boscawen, in 1748. In 1761 it was taken,
after a tedious siege and blockade, by the army
under Colonel Coote, when 2000 Europeans
were made prisoners, and 500 pieces of cannon
and 100 mortars taken. In 1763 it was restored
to the French; in October, 1778, it surrendered
to the British, under Sir H. Monro; but was
again restored in 1783.
PONTUS, an ancient kingdom of Asia Mi-
nor. This country came into subjection to
Crcesus, king of Lydia, about 560 B. C, and
underwent the revolutions of the Lydian and
Persian empires till about 300 B. C, when it
became independent of the Macedonians under
Mithridates II. It grew very considerable un-
der Mithridates VII, who extended his empire
overall Asia Minor; but could not retain his
conquests, being defeated successively by Sylla,
Tiucullus, and Pompey ; and, after many dread-
ful defeats, this country was disposed of by the
Romans on his death in 64 B. C. Upon the
taking of Constantinople by the Latins in 1204,
Alexius Comnenus established at Trebisond,
in this country, a new empire of the Greeks,
which continued till Mohammed II put an end
to it in 1459.
POPE, Alexander, a celebrated English poet,
born in London, May 22, 1688. His application
and talent for versification were manifested at
an early age; his Pastorals being written at the
age of 16. His translation of Homer's Iliad,
his Epistle from Elo'isa to Abelard, the essay
on Man, and the Dunciad, are well known to
every English scholar. He died May 30, 1744.
His temper was soured by his bodily infirmities
which were numerous.
PORSENNA, or Porsena, a king of Etruria,
who declared war against the Romans because
they refused to restore Tarquin to his throne,
and to his royal privileges. He wras at first
successful, the Romans were defeated, and Por-
senna wTould have entered the gates of Rome,
had not Codes stood at the head of a bridge,
and supported the fury of the whole Etrurian
army, while his companions behind were cutting
off the communication with the opposite shore
This act of bravery astonished Porsenna ; but
when he had seen Mutius Scsevola enter his
camp with an intention to murder him, and
when he had seen him burn his hand without
emotion, to convince him of his fortitude and
intrepidity, he no longer dared to make head
against a people so brave and so generous. He
made a peace with the Romans, and never after
supported the claims of Tarquin. The gene-
rosity of Porsenna's behavior to the captives
was admired by the Romans, and to reward his
humanity they raised a brazen statue to his
honor.
PORTUGAL; a kingdom of Europe, bound-
ed N. and E. by Spain, S. and W. by the At-
lantic ocean. Population in 1826, 3,530,000.
Anciently Lusitania, it was successively sub-
ject to the Suevi, the Goths and the Moors.
About the beginning of the twelfth century, it
regained its liberty by the valor of Henry of
Lorraine, grandson of the French monarch, who
possessed it with the title of count. His son,
Alphonso Henriquez, having obtained a deci-
sive victory over five Moorish kings, was pro-
claimed king by the soldiers. On the death of
Ferdinand, in 1383, the states gave the crown
to his natural brother John, surnamed the Bas-
tard, who was equally politic and enterprising,
and in whose reign the Portuguese first projected
discoveries in the western ocean. In the reign
of his great-grandson, John II, who was a prince
of profound sagacity and extensive views, the
Portuguese made conquests in the interior of
Africa, and discovered the Cape of Good Hope.
Emanuel adopted the plan of his predecessors,
and sent out a fleet; which, ranging through
unknown sens, arrived at the city of Calicut, on
the coast of Malabar ; while others of his vessels
discovered Brazil, in 1501. These princes had
the merit of exciting that spirit of discovery,
which led to many subsequent improvements of
navigation and commerce. Their discoveries
on the coast of Africa, led to the voyage of Co-
lumbus, and the discovery of America. They
also established valuable colonies in Africa and
America, and an extensive empire in India.
John III, the son of Emanuel, admitted the
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new-founded order of the Jesuits, which has
since been a powerful engine of despotism and
superstition. Sebastian his grandson, heroically
led an army against the Moors in Africa, where
he perished in battle. Sebastian, leaving no
issue, was succeeded by his uncle, cardinal Hen-
ry, who also dying without children, Philip,
king of Spain, obtained the crown, A. D. 1580.
In 1604, Portugal rendered itself independent
of Spain ; and John, duke of Braganza, ascended
the throne, by the title of John IV. His son,
Alphonso VI, was deposed on account of his
cruelties ; and the sceptre was transferred to his
brother. Peter II reigned peaceably thirty
years; and, under the mild government of his
son, John V, the arts began to flourish. In the
reign of Joseph I, in 1755, the city of Lisbon
was laid in ruins by an earthquake, in which
10,000 persons lost their lives. He was suc-
ceeded by his daughter, Mary Frances Isabella ;
who for many years was so infirm in body and
mind, that the affairs of the kingdom were
managed by a regency. In 1807, the Prince
Regent retired with the queen, his mother, and
the rest of the royal family, to the Brazils, in
South America. Rio de Janeiro then became
the seat of the Portuguese government. Por-
tugal was, however, wrested by the English out
of the hands of the French in 1808. The strug-
gle between Dom Pedro, and his brother Dom
Miguel has ended in Portugal. Dom Pedro,
having secured the crown to his daughter Don-
na Maria la Gloria, expired in the midst of tri-
umph.
PRAGA, a town of Poland, taken by storm
by General Suwarrow, in 1794, when it was
plundered, set on fire, and the inhabitants and
the troops of the Polish insurgents who had
taken refuge there, together amounting to
20,000, were barbarously massacred.
PREBLE, Edward, a celebrated American
naval officer, was born in the part of Fal-
mouth now called Portland, Maine, Aug. 15,
1761. In 1779 he obtained a midshipman's
warrant on board the Protector, a state ship of
26 guns, which was captured by the English.
Preble, however, was released at New York
and returned home. When first lieutenant of
the Winthrop sloop of war, he displayed great
fallantry in cutting out a hostile brig of war in
enobscot harbor. After performing various
services, in 1803 he was invested with the
command of the Constitution, and being sta-
tioned in the Mediterranean, he not only pre-
vented a war between Morocco and the United
States, but bombarded Tripoli, and brought the
bashaw to terms. For this service he received
the thanks of Congress, and an emblematical
medal. He died Aug. 25, 1807, in the 47th year
of his age.
PRESCOTT, William, one of the heroes of
the American revolution, was born at Goshen,
in Massachusetts, in 1726. He was a lieutenant
in the continental forces at the taking of Cape
Breton, in 1758, and greatly distinguished him-
self on that occasion. He commanded at the
battle of Bunker Hill, and was the last to leave
the entrenchments. He resigned his colonel's
commission in 1777, but was present at the cap-
ture of Burgoyne as a volunteer under Gates.
He died in 1795.
PRESTON-PANS, a Scotch village 8 miles
E. of Edinburgh, memorable for the defeat of
the royalists by the troops of the Pretender in
1745.
PRUSSIA, the smallest of the great powers
of Europe, contains 13,726,833 inhabitants, and
106,852 square miles. It is generally a level
country, Silesia alone being much broken. The
productions are grain, flax, hemp, &c. Nearly
two-thirds of the inhabitants are Protestants, the
remainder Catholics. Prussia contains many
universities of high repute, and in few coun-
tries are the seeds of knowledge so general-
ly disseminated. This country was inhabited
by the Borussi, who denominated it Borussia :
which has been corrupted to Prussia.
They were conquered by the knights of the
Teutonic order ; whom Cassimer IV, king of
Poland, compelled to acknowledge themselves
his vassals ; and to allow Polish Prussia to con-
tinue under the protection of Poland.
Albert, Margrave of Brandenburgh, and grand
master of the order, had the dukedom of Prus-
sia conferred on him, by Sigismund I, king of
Poland, A. D. 1525.
Frederick William, elector of Brandenburgh,
surnamed the Great, was freed from paying
any homage to the crown of Poland.
His son Frederick, raised the duchy of Prus-
sia to a kingdom, A. D. 1701.
His son, Frederick William, was a wise and
politic prince, who amassed a prodigious treas-
ure, though he maintained an army of 60,000
men.
He was succeeded by his son Frederick II,
who was one of the first military, political, and
literary characters, that ever filled a throne ; but
very despotic in the administration of his gov-
ernment.
His reign was pregnant with striking histo-
rical events. In 1744, he added Silesia to his
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dominions ; but in 1756, Russia, Austria, and
France, leagued against him ; and he main-
tained against them the famous seven years'
war.
He was succeeded by his nephew, Frederick
William III, a weak and an impolitic prince;
he joined in the league against the French re-
public, and then deserted his allies.
Dying in 1797, he was succeeded by Frederick
William IV, who unhappily revived some obso-
lete pretensions to Hanover, in 1805; and, on
Napoleon proposing to restore that electorate
to the king of England, in 1806, Frederick took
the field ; but being totally defeated at Jena, his
kingdom was conquered by Napoleon.
His ally, the Emperor of Russia, came too
late to his assistance ; and being himself over-
thrown at Friedland, was forced to conclude a
treaty at Tilsit, in 1807 ; by which the fortresses
of Prussia were left in the hands of the French,
till a peace with England. The French have
since been expelled, and Prussia, in conjunc-
tion with the other powers of Europe, twice
assisted in deposing Napoleon, and has recover-
ed the conquered provinces.
PTOLEMY I, surnamed Lagus, a king of
Egypt, son of Arsinoe. When Alexander in-
vaded Asia, the son of Arsinoe attended him as
one of his generals. During the expedition, he
behaved with uncommon valor, and killed one
of the Indian monarchs in single combat. After
the conqueror's death, in the general division
of the Macedonian empire, Ptolemy obtained,
as his share, the government of Egypt, with
Libya, and part of the neighboring territories of
Arabia. He made himself master of Ccelosyria,
Phoenicia, and the neighboring coast of Syria ;
and when he had reduced Jerusalem, he carried
about 100,000 prisoners to Egypt, to people the
extensive city of Alexandria, which became
the capital of his dominions. He made war
with success against Demetrius and Antigonus,
who disputed his right to the provinces of Sy-
ria. The bay of Alexandria being dangerous of
access, he built a tower to conduct the sailors in
the obscurity of the night; and that his subjects
might be acquainted with literature, he laid the
foundation of a library, which, under the suc-
ceeding reigns, became the most celebrated in
the world. He also established in the capital
of his dominions, a society, called Museum, of
which the members, maintained at the public
expense, were employed in philosophical re-
searches, and in the advancement of science
and the liberal arts.
Ptolemy died in the 84th year of his age,
after a reign of 39 years, about 284 years before
Christ.
The second son of Ptolemy I succeeded his
father on the Egyptian throne, and was called
Philadelphus by antiphrasis, because he killed
two of his brothers. While Ptolemy strength-
ened himself by alliances with foreign powers,
the internal peace of his kingdom was disturb-
ed by the revolt of Magas, his brother, king of
Cyrene. The sedition, however, was stopped,
though kindled by Antiochus, king of Syria;
and the death of the rebellious prince re-estab-
lished peace for some time in the family of Phil-
adelphus. Philadelphus died in the 64th year
of his age, 246 years before the Christian era.
During the whole of his reign, Philadelphus
was employed in exciting industry, and in
encouraging the liberal arts and useful know-
ledge among his subjects. The inhabitants of
the adjacent countries were allured by promises
and presents, to increase the number of the
Egyptian subjects ; and Ptolemy could boast of
reigning over 33,339 well-peopled cities. He
gave every possible encouragement to com-
merce; and by keeping two powerful fleets,
one in the Mediterranean, and the other in the
Red Sea, he made Egypt the mart of the world.
His army consisted of 200,000 foot, and 40,000
horse, besides 300 elephants, and 2000 armed
chariots. His palace was the asylum of learn-
ed men, whom he admired and patronised. He
increased the library which his father had found-
ed, and showed his taste for learning, and his
wish to encourage genius. This celebrated
library, at his death, contained 200,000 volumes
of the best and choicest books ; and it was after-
wards increased to 700,000. Part of it was
burnt by the flames of Caesar's fleet, when he
set it on fire to save himself; a circumstance,
however, not mentioned by the general : and
the whole was again magnificently repaired by
Cleopatra, who added to the Egyptian library
that of the kings of Pergamus. It is said that
the Old Testament was translated into Greek
during his reign ; a translation which has been
called Septuagint, because translated by the
labors of 70 different persons.
The third, succeeded his father Philadelphus
on the Egyptian throne. He early engaged in
a war against Antiochus Theus, for his unkind-
ness to Berenice, the Egyptian king's sister,
whom he had married with the consent of Phil-
adelphus. With the most rapid success he con-
quered Syria and Cilicia, and advanced as far
as the Tigris; but a sedition at home stopped
his progress, and he returned to Egypt loaded
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with the spoils of conquered nations. The last
years of Ptolemy's reign were passed in peace,
if we except the refusal of the Jews to pay the
tribute of 20 silver talents, which their ances-
tors had always paid to the Egyptian monarchs.
Evergetes (as he was called by the Egyptians)
died 221 years before Christ, after a reign of
25 years : and like his two illustrious predeces-
sors, he was the patron of learning, and, indeed,
he is the last of the Lagides who gained popu-
larity among his subjects by clemency, moder-
ation, and humanity, and who commanded re-
spect even from his enemies, by valor, pru-
dence and reputation.
The fourth succeeded his father Evergetes on
the throne of Egypt, and received the surname
of Philopater by antiphrasis ; because, according
to some historians, he destroyed his father by
poison. He began his reign with acts of the
greatest cruelty and debauchery. In the midst
of his pleasures, Philopater was called to war
against Antiochus, king of Syria ; and at the
head of a powerful army, he soon invaded his
enemy's territories, and might have added the
kingdom of Syria to Egypt, if he had made a
prudent use of the victories which attended his
arms. In the latter part of his reign, the Ro-
mans, whom a dangerous war with Carthage
had weakened, but at the same time roused to
superior activity, renewed, for political reasons,
the treaty of alliance which had been made
with the Egyptian monarchs. Philopater at
last, weakened and enervated by intemperance
and continual debauchery, died in the 37th year
of his age, after a reign of 17 years, 204 years
before the Christian era.
The fifth succeeded his father Philopater, as
king of Egypt, though only in the fourth year
of his age. The Romans renewed their alliance
with him after their victories over Annibal, and
the conclusion of the second Punic war. When
Ptolemy had reached his 14th year, according
to the laws and customs of Egypt, the years
of his minority had expired. He received the
surname of Epiphanes, or Illustrious, and was
crowned at Alexandria, with the greatest so-
lemnity. Young Ptolemy was no sooner deliv-
ered from the shackles of his guardian, than he
betrayed the same vices which had character-
ized his father. His cruelties raised seditions
among his subjects ; but these were twice quel-
led by the prudence and the moderation of one
Polycrates, the most faithful of his corrupt min-
isters.
In the midst of his extravagance, Epiphanes
did not forget his alliance with the Romans ;
8 27
above all others, he showed himself eager to
cultivate friendship with a nation, from whom
he could derive so many advantages ; and dur-
ing their war against Antiochus, he offered to
assist them with money against a monarch,
whose daughter, Cleopatra, he had married, but
whom he hated on account of the seditions he
raised in the very heart of Egypt. After a reign
of 24 years, 180 years before Christ, Ptolemy
was poisoned by his ministers, whom he had
threatened to rob of their possessions, to carry
on a war against Seleucus, king of Syria.
The sixth succeeded his father Epiphanes on
the Egj'ptian throne, and received the surname
of Philometer, on account of his hatred against
his mother Cleopatra. He made war against
Antiochus Epiphanes, king of Syria, to re-
cover the provinces of Palestine and Ccelosy-
ria, which were part of the Egyptian domin-
ions ; and after several successes, he fell into
the hands of his enemy, who detained him in
confinement. During the captivity of Philo-
meter, the Egyptians raised to the throne his
younger brother, Ptolemy Evergetes, or Phys-
con, also son of Epiphanes; but he was no
sooner established in his power, than Antio-
chus turned his arms against Egypt, drove out
the usurper, and restored Philometer to all his
rights and privileges as king of Egypt. This
artful behavior of Antiochus was soon compre-
hended by Philometer ; and when he saw that
Pelusium, the key of Egypt, had remained in
the hands of his Syrian ally, he recalled his bro-
ther Physcon, and made him partner on the
throne, and concerted with him how to repel
their common enemy. This union of interest in
the two royal brothers, incensed Antiochus; he
entered Egypt with a large army, but the Ro-
mans checked his progress, and obliged him to
retire. No sooner were they delivered from the
impending war, than Philometer and Physcon,
whom the fear of danger had united, began with
mutual jealousy to oppose each other's views.
Physcon was, at last, banished by the superior
power of his brother ; and as he could find no
support in Egypt, he immediately repaired to
Rome. To excite more effectually the compas-
sion of the Romans, and to gain their assist-
ance, he appeared in the meanest dress, and
took his residence in the most obscure corner
of the city. He received an audience from the
senate ; and the Romans settled the dispute be-
tween the two royal brothers, by making them
independent of one another, and giving the
government of Libya and Cyrene to Physcon,
and confirming Philometer in the possession of
PTO
418
PTO
Egypt, and the island of Cyprus. The death of
Philometer, 145 years before the Christian era,
left Physcon master of Egypt, and all the de-
pendent provinces.
The seventh Ptolemy, surnamed Physcon, as-
cended the throne of Egypt after the death of
his brother Philometer ; and as he had reigned
for some time conjointly with him, his succes-
sion was approved, though the wife and the
son of the deceased monarch laid claim to the
crown. He ordered himself to be called Ever-
getes, but the Alexandrians refused to do it, and
stigmatized him with the appellation of Kaker-
getes, or evil-doer, a surname which he deserv-
ed by his tyranny and oppression. A series of
barbarities rendered him odious ; but as no one
attempted to rid Egypt of her tyranny, the
Alexandrians abandoned their habitations, and
fled from a place which continually streamed
with the blood of their massacred fellow citi-
zens. Physcon endeavoured to re-people the
city which his cruelty had laid desolate ; but
the fear of sharing the fate of the former in-
habitants, prevailed more than the promise of
riches, rights, and immunities. He died at
Alexandria in the 67th year of his age, after a
reign of 2d years, about 116 years before Christ.
The eighth, surnamed Lathyrus, from an ex-
crescence, like a pea, on the nose, succeeded
his father Physcon as king of Egypt. He had
no sooner ascended the throne, than his mother
Cleopatra, who reigned conjointly with hiin, ex-
pelled him, and placed the crown on the head
of his brother, Ptolemy Alexander, her favorite
son. Lathyrus, after he had exercised the great-
est cruelty upon the Jews, by his conquest of
Judaea, and made vain attempts to recover the
kingdom of Egypt, retired to Cyprus till the
death of his brother Alexander restored him to
his native dominions. In the latter part of his
reign, Lathyrus was called upon to assist the
Romans with a navy for the conquest of Athens ;
but Lucullus, who had been sent to obtain the
wanted supply, though received with kingly
honors, was dismissed with evasive and unsat-
isfactory answers, and the monarch refused to
part with troops which he deemed necessary to
preserve the peace of his kingdom. Lathyrus
died 81 years before the Christian era, after a
reign of 36 years, since the death of his father
Physcon ; 11 of which he had passed with his
mother Cleopatra on the Egyptian throne, 18 in
Cyprus, and seven after his mother's death.
The 12th, the illegitimate son of Lathyrus,
ascended the throne of Egypt at the death of
Alexander III. He received the surname of
Auletes, because he played skilfully on the flute.
His rise showed great marks of prudence and
circumspection ; and as his predecessor, by his
will, had left the kingdom of Egypt to the Ro-
mans, Auletes knew that he could not be firmly
established on his throne, without the approba-
tion of the Roman senate ; and when he had
suffered the Romans quietly to take possession
of Cyprus, the Egyptians revolted, and Auletes
was obliged to fly from his kingdom, and seek
protection among the most powerful of his allies.
The senators of Rome decreed to re-establish
Auletes on his throne ; and he was no sooner
restored to power, than he sacrificed to his am-
bition his daughter Berenice, and behaved with
the greatest ingratitude and perfidy to Rabi-
rius, a Roman who had supplied him with
money when expelled from his kingdom. Au-
letes died four years after his restoration, about
51 years before the Christian era.
The 13th, surnamed Dionrjs'ms, or Bacchus,
ascended the throne of Egypt conjointly with
his sister Cleopatra, whom he had married, ac-
cording to the directions of his father Auletes.
He was in the 13th year of his age, when his
guardian, Pompey, after the fatal battle of Phar-
salia, came to the shores of Egypt, and claimed
his protection. He refused to grant the requir-
ed assistance; and by the advice of his minis-
ters, he basely murdered Pompey, after he had
brought him to shore under the mask of friend-
ship and cordiality. To obtain the favor of
the conqueror of Pharsalia, Ptolemy cut off the
head of Pompey ; but Caesar turned with indig-
nation from such perfidy, and when he arrived
at Alexandria, he found the King of Egypt as
faithless to his cause as to that of his fallen
enemy. Caesar sat as judge to hear the various
claims of the brother and sister, to the throne;
and to satisfy the people, he ordered the will of
Auletes to be read, and confirmed Ptolemy and
Cleopatra in the possession of Egypt, and ap-
pointed the two younger children masters of
the island of Cyprus. This fair and candid de-
cision might have left no room for dissatisfac-
tion ; but Ptolemy refused to acknowledge Cae-
sar as a judge or a mediator. The Roman en-
forced his authority by arms, and three victo-
ries were obtained over the Egyptian forces.
Ptolemy, who had been for some time a prisoner
in the hands of Caesar, now headed his armies ;
but a defeat was fatal, and as he attempted to
save his life by flight, he was drowned in the
Nile, about 46 years before Christ, and three
years and eight months after the death of Au-
letes.
PUN
419
PUN
PUEBLA LA, or La Puebla de los Angeles,
a state of the Mexican confederacy, containing
20,000 square miles, and 813,300 inhabitants.
It anciently comprised the Indian republic of
Tlascala, which the Spaniards, on their arrival
in the country, found in a flourishing condition.
PULAWSKI, Count Joseph, a noble-minded
Pole, who having been banished from his na-
tive land, entered the service of the United
States, and fell in the attack on Savannah, Oct.
9 1779.
' PULTAWA or POLTAWA, a fortified town
of Russia, 450 miles S. W. of Moscow, with
9,000 inhabitants, before which Peter the Great
defeated Charles 12th of Sweden, June 27, 1709.
Charles, who had been wounded in a former
engagement, was much indisposed. The litter
in which he caused himself to be carried was
twice overturned, and the second time broken
by the enemy's cannon. After an obstinate and
bloody engagement, the Swedish army was en-
tirely routed and dispersed; 9,000 of the van-
quished were left dead on the field of battle, and
a great number surrendered themselves prison-
ers of war. Charles, with 300 of his guards,
escaped with difficulty to Bender, a Turkish
town in Moldavia.
PULTENEY, William, earl of Bath, was
born of an ancient family, in 1682. After trav-
elling through Europe, he was elected into par-
liament, and became distinguished as a zealous
whig. On the accession of George I he was
appointed a privy-councillor, and secretary at
war, being then the friend of Sir Robert Wal-
pole ; but afterwards a difference arose be-
tween them, and Pulteney became the leader
of opposition. He also joined Bolingbroke in
conducting a paper called "The Craftsman,"
the object of which was to annoy the minister.
This produced a duel between Pulteney and
Lord Iiervey ; and the king was so much dis-
pleased with the conduct of the former, that he
struck his name out of the list of privy coun-
cillors, and also from the commission of the
peace. On the resignation of Walpole, in 1741,
Pulteney was created Earl of Bath ; but from
that time his popularity ceased. He died June
8, 1764.
PUNIC WAR. The first Punic war was
undertaken by the Romans against Carthage,
B. C. 264. Sicily, an island of the highestcon-
gequence to the Carthaginians as a commercial
nation, was the seat of the first dissensions. The
Mamertini, a body of Italian mercenaries, were
appointed by the king of Syracuse to guard the
town of Messana ; but this tumultuous tribe, in-
stead of protecting the citizens, basely massa-
cred them, and seized their possessions. This
act of cruelty raised the indignation of all the
Sicilians, and Hiero, king of Syracuse, who had
employed them, prepared to punish their per-
fidy ; and the Mamertini, besieged in Messana,
and without friends or resources, resolved to
throw themselves for protection into the hands
of the first power that could relieve them. They
were, however, divided in their sentiments, and
while some implored the assistance of Carthage,
others called upon the Romans for protection.
Without hesitation or delay, the Carthaginians
entered Messana, and the Romans also hastened
to give to the Mamertini that aid which had been
claimed from them with as much eagerness as
from the Carthaginians. At the approach of
the Roman troops, the Mamertini, who had
implored their assistance, took up arms, and
forced the Carthaginians to evacuate Messana.
From a private quarrel the war became general.
The Romans obtained a victory in Sicily, but
as their enemies were masters at sea, the advan-
tages which they gained were small and incon-
siderable. Duilius at last obtained a naval vic-
tory, and he was the first Roman who ever re-
ceived a triumph after a battle by sea. The
losses which they had already sustained induc-
ed the Carthaginians to sue for peace, and the
Romans, whom an unsuccessful descent upon
Africa, under Regulus, had rendered diffident,
listened to the proposal, and the first Punic
war was concluded B. C. 241, on the following
terms : — The Carthaginians pledged themselves
to pay to the Romans, within 20 years, the sum
of 3,000 Euboic talents ; they promised to re-
lease all the Roman captives without ransom,
to evacuate Sicily, and the other islands of the
Mediterranean, and not to molest Hiero, king
of Syracuse, or his allies. The Romans, to stop
the progress of the Carthaginians towards Italy,
made stipulations with them, by which they
were not permitted to cross the Iberus, or to
molest the cities of their allies the Saguntines.
When Hannibal succeeded to the command
of the Carthaginian armies in Spain, he spurned
the boundaries which the jealousy of Rome had
set to his arms, and he immediately formed the
siege of Saguntum. The Romans were ap-
prised of the hostilities which had been begun
against their allies, but Saguntum was in the
hands of the active enemy before they had taken
any steps to oppose him. Without delay, B.
C.218, Hannibal marched a numerous army of
90,000 foot and 12,000 horse, towards Italy, re-
solved to carry on the war to the gates of Rome.
PUN
420
PUN
The battles of Trebia, of Ticinus, and of the lake
of Thrasymenus, threw Rome into the greatest
apprehensions, but the prudence and dilatory
measures of the dictator Fabius, soon taught
them to hope for better times. Yet the conduct
of Fabius was universally censured as coward-
ice, and the two consuls who succeeded him in
the command, pursuing a different plan of oper-
ations, brought on a decisive action at Cannfe,
in which 45,000 Romans were left on the field
of battle. This bloody victory caused so much
consternation at Rome, that some authors have
declared that if Hannibal had immediately
marched from the plains of Cannre to the city,
he would have met with no resistance, but
could have terminated a long and dangerous
war with glory to himself, and the most inesti-
mable advantages to his country. The news of
this victory was carried to Carthage by Mago,
and the Carthaginians refused to believe it till
three bushels of golden rings were spread be-
fore themj which had been taken from the Ro-
man knights in the field of battle. Affairs now
took a different turn, and Marcellus, who had
the command of the Roman legions in Italy,
soon taught his countrymen that Hannibal was
not invincible in the field. In different parts of
the world the Romans were .making very rapid
conquests. Hannibal no longer appeared formid-
able in Italy ; if he conquered towns in Campa-
nia or Magna Gra?cia, he remained master of
them only while his army hovered in the neigh-
borhood, and if he marched towards Rome the
alarm he occasioned was but momentary, the
Romans were prepared to oppose him, and his re-
treat was therefore the more dishonorable. The
conquests of young Scipio in Spain had now rais-
ed the expectations of the Romans, and he had
no sooner returned to Rome than he proposed to
remove Hannibal from the capital of Italy by
carrying the war to the gates of Carthage. This
was a bold and hazardous enterprise, but though
Fabius opposed it, it was universally approved
by the Roman senate, and young Scipio was
empowered to sail to Africa. The conquests of
the young Roman were as rapid in Africa as in
Spain, and the Carthaginians, apprehensive for
the fate of their capital, recalled Hannibal from
Italy. Hannibal received their orders with in-
dignation, and with tears in his eyes he left
Italy, where for sixteen years he had known no
superior in the field of battle. At his arrival in
Africa, the Carthaginian general soon collected
a large army, and met his exulting adversary
in the plains of Zama. The battle was long
and bloody, and though one nation fought for
glory, and the other for the dearer sake of lib-
erty, the Romans obtained the victory, and Han-
nibal, who had sworn eternal enmity to the gods
of Rome, fled from Carthage after he had ad-
vised his countrymen to accept the terms of the
conqueror. This battle of Zama was decisive,
the Carthaginians sued for peace, which the
haughty conquerors granted with difficulty.
During the 50 years which followed the con-
clusion of the second Punic war, the Carthagi-
nians were employed in repairing their losses
by unwearied application and industry ; but
they found still in the Romans a jealous rival
and a haughty conqueror, and in Masinissa, the
ally of Rome, an intriguing and ambitious mon-
arch. The king of Numidiamade himself mas-
ter of one of their provinces ; but as they were
unable to make war without the consent of
Rome, the Carthaginians sought relief by em-
bassies, and made continual complaints in the
Roman senate of the tyranny and oppression of
Masinissa. Commissioners were appointed to
examine the cause of their complaints ; but as
Masinissa was the ally of Rome, the interest of
the Carthaginians was neglected, and whatever
seemed to depress their republic, was agreeable
to the Romans. Cato, who was in the number
of the commissioners, examined the capital of
Africa with a jealous eye ; he saw it with con-
cern, rising as it were from its ruins ; and when
he returned to Rome, he declared in full senate,
that the peace of Italy would never be estab-
lished while Carthage was in being. The sen-
ators, however, were not guided by his opinion,
and the delenda est Carthago of Cato did not pre-
vent the Romans from acting with moderation.
But while the senate were debating about the
existence of Carthage, and while they consid-
ered it a dependent power, and not as an ally,
the wrongs of Africa were without redress, and
Masinissa continued his depredations. Upon
this the Carthaginians resolved to do their cause
that justice which the Romans had denied them ;
they entered the field against the Numidians,
but they were defeated in a bloody battle by
Masinissa, who was then 90 years old. In this
bold measure they had broken the peace ; and
as their late defeat had rendered them despe-
rate, they hastened with all possible speed to the
capital of Italy to justify their proceedings, and
to implore the forgiveness of the Roman sen-
ate. The news of Masinissa's victory had al-
ready reached Italy, and immediately some
forces were sent to Sicily, and from thence or-
dered to pass into Africa. The ambassadors of
Carthage received evasive and unsatisfactory
PUN
421
PUT
answers from the senate ; and when they saw
the Romans landed at Utica, they resolved to
purchase peace by the most submissive terms
which even the most abject slaves could offer.
The Romans acted with the deepest policy :
no declaration of war had been made, though
hostilities appeared inevitable ; and in answer
to the submissive offers of Carthage the con-
suls replied, that to prevent every cause of quar-
rel, the Carthaginians must deliver into their
hands 300 hostages, all children of senators,
and of the most noble and respectable families.
The demand was great and alarming, but was
no sooner granted, than the Romans made ano-
ther demand, and the Carthaginians were told
that peace could not continue, if they refused
to deliver up all their ships, their arms, engines
of war, with all their naval and military stores.
The Carthaginians complied, and immediately
40,000 suits of armor, 20,000 large engines of
war, with a plentiful store of ammunition and
missile weapons were surrendered. After this
duplicity had succeeded, the Romans laid open
the final resolutions of the senate, and the Car-
thaginians were then told that, to avoid hostil-
ities, they must leave their ancient habitations
and retire into the inland parts of Africa, and
found another city, at the distance of not less
than ten miles from the sea. This was heard
with horror and indignation ; the Romans were
fixed and inexorable, and Carthage was filled
with tears and lamentations. But the spirit of
liberty and independence was not yet extin-
guished in the capital of Africa, and the Cartha-
ginians determined to sacrifice their lives for
the protection of their gods, the tombs of their
forefathers, and the place which had given them
birth. Before the Roman army approached the
city, preparations to support a siege were made,
and the ramparts of Carthage were covered
with stones, to compensate for the weapons and
instruments of war which they had ignorantly
betrayed to the duplicity of their enemies. The
town was blocked up by the Romans, and a
regular siege begun. Two years were spent in
useless operations, and Carthage seemed still
able to rise from its ruins, to dispute for the
empire of the world; when Scipio,the descend-
ant of the great Scipio, who finished the second
Punic war. was sent to conduct the siege. De-
spair and famine now raged in the city, and
Scipio gained access to the city walls, where
the battlements were low and unguarded. His
entrance into the streets was disputed with un-
common fury, the houses, as he advanced, were
set on fire, to stop his progress; but when a
body of 50,000 persons, of either sex, had claim-
ed quarter, the rest of the inhabitants were dis-
heartened, and such as disdained to be prison-
ers of war, perished in the flames, which grad-
ually destroyed their habitations, 147 B. C. after
a continuation of hostilities for three years.
During 17 days Carthage was inflames; and
the soldiers were permitted to redeem from the
fire whatever possession they could. This re-
markable event happened about the year of
Rome 606. The news of this victory caused
the greatest rejoicings at Rome ; and immedi-
ately commissioners were appointed by the Ro-
man senate, not only to raze the walls ofLCar-
thage, but even to demolish and burn the very
materials with which they were made : and in
a few days, that city which had been once the
seat of commerce, the model of magnificence,
the common store of the wealth of nations, and
one of the most powerful states of the world, left
behind no traces of its splendor, of its power, or
even of its existence.
PUTNAM, Israel, a distinguished American
officer, who served both in the French and Eng-
lish wars, was born at Salem, Mass. Jan. 7,
1718. In 1739 he settled at Pomfret, Connecti-
cut, where he had purchased a tract of land.
Here he descended into a dark cavern, and kill-
ed a wolf, which had committed great depreda-
tions upon the flocks of the farmers. He en-
tered on his first campaign in the war of 1755,
being then appointed to command a company,
and he received a major's commission in 1757.
His services prior to the breaking out of the
revolutionary war were various and valuable.
The news of this great event found Putnam at
the plough. He unyoked his oxen, and set off
for the scene of action. Having levied a regi-
ment he was appointed major-general, and, on
the retreat of the Americans from Bunker Hill,
checked the pursuing forces. He was indefati-
gable and ardent in the discharge of his duty,
and his value was properly appreciated as we
see from the important duties which were en-
trusted to him.
After the battle of Monmouth, he was posted
at Reading, Connecticut, with orders to protect
the Sound, and the garrison at West Point. On
a visit to one of his outposts, attended by only
150 men, he was closely pursued by Governor
Tyron, at the head of 1200 royal troops, and
escaped by plunging on horseback, down a pre-
cipice so steep that foot passengers descended
only by an artificial stairway. Putnam com-
manded the Maryland line, stationed near West
Point, in the campaign of 1779. A paralytic
PYR
422
PYR
affection seized upon the right side of Putnam
during the latter part of his life, but did not
impair his cheerfulness and spirit. He died at
Brooklyn, Connecticut, May 29, 1790, aged 72
years.
PYRRHUS, a king of Epirus, was saved
when an infant, by the fidelity of his servants,
from the pursuit of the enemies of his father,
who had been banished from his kingdom, and
he was carried to the court of Glautias, king of
Ulyricum, who educated him with great tender-
ness. Cassander, king of Macedonia, wished
to despatch him, as he had so much to dread
from him; but Glautias not only refused to
deliver him up into the hands of his enemy,
but he even went with an army and placed him
on the throne of Epirus, though only twelve
years of age.
About five years after, the absence of Pyrrhus
to attend the nuptials of one of the daughters
of Glautias, raised new commotions. The mon-
arch was expelled from his throne by Neoptole-
mus, who had usurped it after the death of
iEacides ; and being still without resources, he
applied to his brother-in-law Demetrius for
assistance. He accompanied Demetrius at the
battle of Ipsus, and afterwards passed into
Egypt, where, by his marriage with Antigone
the daughter of Berenice, he soon obtained a
sufficient force to attempt the recovery of his
throne. He was successful in the undertaking,
but to remove all causes of quarrel, he took the
usurper to share with him the royalty, and some
time after he put him to death under pretence
that he had attempted to poison him.
In the subsequent years of his reign, Pyrrhus
engaged in the quarrels which disturbed the
peace of the Macedonian monarchy ; he marched
against Demetrius. By dissimulation he ingra-
tiated himself in the minds of his enemy's sub-
jects, and when Demetrius labored under a mo-
mentary illness, Pyrrhus made an attempt upon
the crown of Macedonia, which, if not then
successful, soon after rendered him master of
the kingdom. This he shared with Lysima-
chus for seven months, till the jealousy of
the Macedonians, and the ambition of his col-
league, obliged him to retire. Pyrrhus was
meditating new conquests, when the Tarentines
invited him to Italy to assist them against the
encroaching power of Rome. He gladly accept-
ed the invitation, but his passage across the
Adriatic proved nearly fatal, and he reached
the shores of Italy, after the loss of the greatest
part of his troops in a storm.
At his entrance into Tarentum, B. C. 280, he
began to reform the manners of the inhabitants,
and by introducing the strictest discipline among
their troops, to accustom them to bear fatigue
and to despise dangers. In the first battle
which he fought with the Romans, he obtained
the victory, but for this he was more particu-
larly indebted to his elephants, whose bulk and
uncommon appearance astonished the Romans
and terrified their cavalry. The number of the
slain was equal on both sides, and the conqueror
said that such another victory would totally
ruin him. He also sent Cineas, his chief min-
ister, to Rome, and though victorious, he sued
for peace. These offers of peace were refused.
A second battle was fought near Asculum,
but the slaughter was so great, and the valor so
conspicuous on both sides, that the Romans and
their enemies reciprocally claimed the victory
as their own. Pyrrhus still continued the war
in favor of the Tarentines, when he was invited
into Sicily by the inhabitants, who labored
under the yoke of Carthage and the cruelty of
their own petty tyrants.
His fondness for novelty soon determined him
to quit Italy ; he left a garrison at Tarentum,
and crossed over to Sicily, where he obtained
two victories over the Carthaginians, and took
many of their towns. He was for awhile suc-
cessful, and formed the project of invading Af-
rica; but soon his popularity vanished.
He had no sooner arrived at Tarentum than
he renewed hostilities with the Romans with
great acrimony, but when his army of 80,000
men had been defeated by 20,000 of the enemy,
under Curius, he left Italy with precipitation.
B. C. 274, ashamed of the enterprise.
In Epirus he attacked Antigonus, who was
then on the Macedonian throne. He gained
some advantages over his enemy, and was at
last restored to the throne of Macedonia. He
afterwards inarched against Sparta, at the re-
quest of Cleonymus, but when all his vigorous
operations were insufficient to take the capital
of Laconia, he retired to Argos where the treach-
ery of Aristeus invited him. The Argives de-
sired him to retire, and not to interfere in the
affairs of their republic which were confounded
by the ambition of two of their nobles. He
compiled with their wishes, but in the night he
marched his forces into the town, and might
have made himself master of the place had he
not retarded his progress by entering it with
his elephants.
The combat that ensued was obstinate and
bloody, and the monarch, to fight with more
boldness, and to encounter dangers with more
QUE
423
RAL
facility , exchanged his dress. He was attacked
by one of the enemy, but as he was going to
run him through in his own defence, the mo-
ther of the Argive, who saw her son's danger
from the top of a house, threw down a tile, and
brought Pyrrhus to the ground. His head was
cut off. and carried to Antigonus, who gave his
remains a magnificent funeral, and presented
his ashes to his son Helenus, 272 years before
the Christian era.
Q
QUEBEC, city ; the capital of Lower Canada,
situated on a promontory, on the northwest
side of the river St. Lawrence, 180 miles below
Montreal, containing about 40,000 inhabitants.
ft is divided into two parts, the Upper and
Lower Town. The Upper Town is built on a
bold precipice of naked rock, rising to the height
of 345 feet. Some of the most striking peculi-
arities of the place are thus forcibly described
by an American author : —
" Quebec, for an American city, is certainly
a peculiar town : a military town — most com-
pactly and permanently built — stone its sole
material — environed, as to its important parts,
by walls and gates — and defended by numerous
heavy cannon — garrisoned by troops, having
the arms, the costume, the music, the discipline
of Europe — foreign in language, features, and
origin, from most of those whom they are sent
to defend — founded upon a rock, and its higher
parts overlooking a great extent of country —
between three and four hundred miles from the
ocean — in the midst of a great continent, and
yet displaying fleets of foreign merchantmen,
in its fine capacious bay, and showing all the
bustle of a crowded seaport — its streets narrow,
populous, and winding up and down almost
mountain declivities — situated in the latitude
of the finest parts of Europe — exhibiting in its
environs the beauty of a European capital, and
yet, in winter, smarting with the cold of Sibe-
ria— governed by people of different language
and habits from the mass of the population —
opposed in religion, and yet leaving that popu-
lation without taxes, and in the full enjoyment
of every privilege, civil and religious."
Its siege and capture in 1759, by Major Gen-
eral Wolfe, was fatal both to the English and
French commanders. In 1776, General Mont-
gomery and Arnold attempted to take Quebec
by storm, but Montgomery fell, and Arnold was
compelled to retreat.
QUERETARO, one of the states of the Mex-
ican confederacy, formed in 1824, containing
15,000 square miles, and GO ,000 inhabitants. The
climate is temperate and the productions valua-
ble.
QUINCY, Josiah, junior, was born in Bos-
ton, February 23, 1744, and graduated at Har-
vard College in 1763, after which he Btudied
law, and raised himself to eminence in his
profession. Together with John Adams, Mr.
Quincy defended the soldiers who fired upon
the Bostonians on the 5th of March, and pro-
cured the acquittal of all but two, who were
punished by a slight branding. In May, 1774,
he published his Observations on the Act of
Parliament, commonly called the u Boston Port
Bill," with Thoughts on Civil Society, and
Standing Armies, — a work of great power. In
September, 1774, Mr. Quincy sailed for Lon-
don, in the hopes of benefitting his country by
his patriotic exertions in England. His ser-
vices were indeed valuable — but his application
completed the prostration of his bodily powers
which had been previously sapped by long and
hopeless disease. He died on his voyage home,
April 20th, 1775.
QUITO, recently a part of the republic of
Colombia, and formerly attached to New Gra-
nada. It now forms the republic of the Equa-
tor. The city of the same name has 90.000
inhabitants.
R.
RAAB, a city of Hungary, where the Aus-
trians commanded by the Archduke John, were
defeated by the French under Eugene Beau-
harnais, viceroy of Italy, June 14th, 1809.
RALEIGH, or Ralegh, Sir Walter, was
born in Devonshire, in 1552. He served in the
Netherlands; and in 1579, accompanied his
half-brother, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, on a voy-
age to America. On his return, he distin-
guished himself against the Irish rebels, and
was joined in a commission for the government
of Munster.
In 1584, he obtained letters patent for discov-
ering unknown countries, by virtue of which
he took possession of that part of America,
which was afterwards called, in honor of Eliza-
beth, Virginia. Soon after this he received the
honor of knighthood, was elected into parlia-
ment for Devonshire, made warden of the Stan-
naries, and also rewarded with several grants of
land in England and Ireland.
In 1588, he bore an active part in the destruc-
tion of the Spanish armada ; and the year fol-
RAM
424
REE
lowing he accompanied the King of Portugal to
his dominions, for which the queen gave him a
gold chain.
In 1592, he commanded an expedition against
Panama. Soon after this he fell under the
royal displeasure, on account of an amour with
the daughter of Sir Nicholas Throgmorton,
though Raleigh acted honorably in marrying
the lady. In 1595, he engaged in an enterprise
for the conquest of Guiana, where he took the
city of San Josef. The year following, he dis-
played great valor in the expedition against
Cadiz ; and he was also appointed to a command
in the armament sent out to intercept the Span-
ish pi ite fleet, which he would have captured
had he not been thwarted by the earl of Essex.
The ruin of that unfortunate nobleman was
hastened by Raleigh, who little thought that he
was thereby preparing the way for his own
destruction. On the accession of James, he
was deprived of his preferments, and brought to
trial at Winchester, for conspiring, with Lord
Cobham and others, to place Arabella Stewart
on the throne.
Raleigh was condemned ; but the sentence
was respited, and he lay twelve years in the
Tower. In 1616, he was released, and intrusted
with a squadron destined against Guiana ; but
the enterprise failed, after an attack on the
town of St. Thome, where Sir Walter's eldest
son was killed. When Raleigh landed in Eng-
land, he was arrested, and sent to the Tower,
from whence he endeavored to make his escape,
but was taken, and received sentence of death,
which was carried into execution in Old Palace
Yard. Oct. 29, 1618.
RAMILLIES, a village of Belgium, twen-
ty-six miles southeast of Brussels, celebrated
for a victory gained over the French by the
duke of Marlborough, May 23, 1706. The vic-
tories obtained about this time by the allies in
Spain determined Louis to assemble all his
forces in Flanders and on the Rhine. Villeroy
was sent to check the conquests of the Duke of
Marlborough. His army was attacked by Marl-
borough near the village of Ramillies with such
impetuosity, that the French were scarcely
assailed when they were vanquished. The
troops of the royal household, however, on the
right, forced the Dutch and Danish cavalry to
retreat towards the left, and would have com-
pletely routed them had not Marlborough hast-
ened to their succor. The troops of the ro}-al
household were driven back, and their ranks
broken. The detachments stationed in the
village were either put to death or made pris-
oners ; and Villeroi and the elector of Bava-
ria escaped with great difficulty. In the tu-
multuous disorder of the French troops, the
fugitives who were pursued by the enemy's
cavalry, were impeded in their retreat by the
baggage, and great numbers of them were slain.
The field of battle was strewed with 8000 killed,
and 6000 were made prisoners. Thus the most
formidable army which Louis XIV had raised
for a considerable time, as the last effort of his
despair, melted away with the glory of the
nation, of which it was the sole resource.
RANDOLPH, Peyton, president of the first
Congress, was born in Virginia, and received
his legal education in England. In 1748, hav-
ing returned to Virginia, he was appointed
king's attorney -general for the colony, although
but twenty-five years of age. April 12, 1766,
he was chosen speaker of the house of burgesses,
and resigned the office of attorney-general. As
soon as he joined the first continental congress,
he was chosen its president. His patriotic
exertions were unfortunately terminated by a
stroke of apoplexy, Oct. 21, 1775.
RAVAILLAC, a fanatic, who assassinated
Henry IV, of France, May 14th, 1610. The
king had got into his carriage at four in the
afternoon, to pay a visit to his minister Sully.
He had been followed eight days by the regi-
cide, who had a poinard in his hand, and had
not quitted the side of the carriage since its
departure from the palace of the Louvre. In
the rue de la Ferronnerie, a very narrow street,
there was a stoppage which induced the mon-
arch to alight from his carriage. While he
was stepping out, the assassin stabbed him
twice with his poinard ; the second blow was
fatal, and the corpse was conveyed to the Lou-
vre. Ravaillac was seized, and put to death by
the most horrid tortures which cruelty could
devise.
READ, George, one of the signers of the Dec-
laration of Independence, born in Maryland, in
the year 1731. In 1753, he was admitted to the
bar, although but nineteen years old, and he
commenced the practice of the law in the town
of Newcastle. Through the revolutionary war
he held a seat in Congress, and was a Senator
of the United States, after the adoption of the
constitution, until 1793, when he was made
chief-justice of Delaware. He died suddenly
in 1798.
REED, Joseph, president of the state of Penn-
sylvania, was born in New Jersey, August 27,
1741. He graduated at Princeton College, and
studied law. Through part of the revolutionary
REF
425
REF
war he served with distinction, having the rank
of adjutant-general. In 1778, he was elected
to Congress. He was now secretly offered
£10,000 bj the British agents, if he would
exert his abilities to effect a reconciliation with
the parent country. His answer deserves com-
memoration. " I am not worth purchasing ; but,
poor as I am, the king is not rich enough to
buy me." In the same year, he was elected
president of Pennsylvania; and held the office
three years. He first detected and exposed the
character of Arnold, whom he brought to trial
for mal-practices. President Reed died on the
5th of March, 1784.
REFORMATION, that great change in the
corrupted system of Christianity, begun by Lu-
ther in the year 1517. Leo X, when raised to
the papal throne, found the revenues of the
church exhausted by the vast projects of his
two ambitious predecessors, Alexander VI, and
Julius II. His own temper, naturally liberal
and enterprising, rendered him incapable of that
severe and patient economy which, the situation
of his finances required. On the contrary, his
schemes for aggrandizing the family of Medici,
his love of splendor, his taste for^pleasure, and
his magnificence in rewarding men of genius,
involved him daily in new expenses ; in order
to provide a fund for which, he tried every
device that the fertile invention of priests had
fallen upon, to drain the credulous multitude
of their wealth. Among others, he had recourse
to a sale of indulgences.
The right of promulgating these indulgences
in Germany, together with a share in the pro-
fits arising from the sale of them, was granted
to Albert, elector of Mentz, and archbishop of
Magdeburg, who, as his chief agent for retail-
ing them in Saxony, employed Tetzel, a Domi-
nician friar of licentious morals, but of an active
spirit, and remarkable for his noisy and popular
eloquence. He, assisted by the monks of his
order, executed the commission with great zeal
and success, but with little discretion or de-
cency ; and though by magnifying excessively
the benefit of their indulgences, and by dispos-
ing of them at a very low price, they carried on
for some time an extensive and lucrative traffic
among the crudulous and the ignorant ; the
extravagance of their assertions, as well as the
irregularities in their conduct came at last to
give general offence.
Whilst Luther was at the height of his repu-
tation and authority, Tetzel began to publish
indulgences in the neighborhood of Wittem-
berg, and to ascribe to them the same imaginary
virtues which had, in other places, imposed on
the credulity of the people. As Saxony was
not more enlightened than the other provinces
of Germany, Tetzel met with prodigious suc-
cess there. It was with the utmost concern that
Luther beheld the artifices of those who sold,
and the simplicity of those who bought indul-
gences.
The opinions of Thomas Aquinas and the
other schoolmen, on which the doctrine of
indulgences was founded, had already lost much
of their authority with him; and the Scriptures,
which he began to consider as the great stand-
ard of theological truth, afforded no counte-
nance to a practice equally subversive of faith
and of morals. His warm and impetuous tem-
per did not suffer him long to conceal such
important discoveries, or to continue a silent
spectator of the delusion of his countrymen.
From the pulpit, in the great church at Wit-
temberg, he inveighed bitterly against the irreg-
ularities and vices of the monks who published
indulgences ; he ventured to examine the doc-
trines which they taught, and pointed out to
the people the danger of relying for salvation
upon any other means than those appointed by
God in his word. The boldness and novelty of
these opinions drew great attention .; and being
recommended by the authority of Luther's per-
sonal character, and delivered with a popular
and persuasive eloquence, they made a deep
impression on his hearers. Encouraged by the
favorable reception of his doctrines among the
people, he wrote to Albert, elector of Mentz
and archbishop of Magdeburg, to whose juris-
diction that part of Saxony was subject, and
remonstrated warmly against the false opinions,
as well as wicked lives, of the preachers of
indulgences; but he found that prelate too
deeply interested in their success to correct
their abuses. His next attempt was to gain the
suffrage of men of learning. For this purpose
he published ninety-five theses, containing his
sentiments with regard to indulgences.
These he proposed, not as points fully estab-
lished, or of undoubted certainty, but as subjects
of inquiry and disputation ; he appointed a day,
on which the learned were invited to impugn
them, either in person or by writing; to the
whole he subjoined solemn protestations of his
high respect for the apostolic see, and of his
implicit submission to its authority. No oppo-
nent appeared at the time fixed ; the theses
spread over Germany with astonishing rapidity ;
they were read with the greatest eagerness ;
and all admired the boldness of the man, who
REF
426
REF
had ventured not only to call in question the
plenitude of papal power, but to attack the Do-
minicans, armed with all the terrors of inquisi-
torial authority.
The friars of St. Augustin, Luther's own
order, gave no check to the publication of these
uncommon opinions. Luther had, by his piety
and learning, acquired extraordinary authority
among his brethren : he professed the highest
regard for the authority of the pope ; his pro-
fessions were at that time sincere ; and as a
secret enmity subsists among all the monastic
orders of the Romish church, the Augustins
were highly pleased with his invectives against
the Dominicans, and hoped to see them exposed
to the hatred and scorn of the people.
His sovereign, the elector of Saxony, the
wisest prince at that time in Germany, secretly
encouraged his attempts, and flattered himself
that this dispute among the ecclesiastics them-
selves might give some check to the exactions
of the court of Rome, which the secular princes
had long, though without success, been endeav-
oring to oppose.
Several theses appeared in opposition to the
ninety-five published by Luther ; and the argu-
ments produced for his confutation were the
sentiments of schoolmen, the conclusions of the
canon law, and the decrees of popes. In the
mean time, these novelties in Luther's doc-
trines, which interested all Germany, excited
little attention and no alarm in the court of
Rome. Leo, fond of elegant and refined plea-
sures, intent upon great schemes of policy, a
stranger to theological controversies, and apt to
despise them, regarded with the utmost indif-
ference the operations of an obscure friar, who,
in the heart of Germany, carried on a scholas-
tic disputation in a barbarous style. He impu-
ted the whole to monastic enmity and emula-
tion, and seemed inclined not to interpose in
the contest, but to allow the Augustins and
Dominicans to wrangle about the matter with
their usual animosity.
The solicitations, however, of Luther's adver-
saries, together with the surprising progress
which his opinions made in different parts of
Germany, roused at last the attention of the
court of Rome, and obliged Leo to take meas-
ures for the security of the church against
an attack that now appeared too serious to be
despised. For this end he summoned Luther
to appear at Rome, within sixty days, before the
auditor of the chamber, and the inquisitor-gen-
eral, who had written against him, whom he
empowered jointly to examine his doctrines,
and to decide concerning them. He wrote, at
the same time, to the elector of Saxony, be-
seeching him not to protect a man whose heret-
ical and profane tenets were so shocking to
pious ears; and enjoined the provincial of the
Augustins to check, by his authority, the
rashness of an arrogant monk, which "brought
disgrace upon the order of St. Augustin, and
gave offence and disturbance to the whole
church. The professors in the university of
Wittemberg, anxious for Luther's safety, wrote
to the pope, and, after employing several pre-
texts to excuse Luther from appearing at Rome,
entreated Leo to commit the examination of his
doctrines to some persons of learning and au-
thority in Germany. The elector requested the
same thing of the pope's legate at the diet of
Augsburg ; and as Luther himself, who at that
time did not even entertain the smallest suspi-
cion concerning the divine origin of papal au-
thority, had written to Leo a submissive letter,
promising an unreserved compliance with his
will, the pope gratified them so far as to em-
power his legate in Germany, cardinal Cajetan,
a Dominican, eminent for scholastic learning,
and passionately devoted to the Roman see, to
hear and determine the cause.
Luther, having obtained the emperor's safe
conduct, immediately repaired to Augsburg.
The cardinal required him, by virtue of the
apostolic powers with which he was clothed, to
retract his errors with regard to indulgences
and the nature of faith, and to abstain for the
future from the publication of new and danger-
ous opinions. Luther, fully persuaded of the
truth of his own tenets, and confirmed in the
belief of them by the approbation which they
had met with among persons conspicuous both
for learning and piety, was surprised at this
abrupt mention of a recantation, before any
endeavors were used to convince him that he
was mistaken. He declared with the utmost
firmness, that he could not, with a safe con-
science, renounce opinions which he believed
to be true ; nor should any consideration ever
induce him to do what would be so base in
itself, and so offensive to God. At the same
time, he continued to express no less reverence
than formerly for the authority of the apostolic
see ; he signified his willingness to submit the
whole controversy to certain universities which
he named, and promised neither to write nor
preach concerning indulgences for the future,
provided his adversaries were likewise enjoined
to be silent with respect to them. All these
offers Cajetan disregarded or rejected, and still
REF
427
REF
insisted peremptorily, on a simple recantation,
threatening him with ecclesiastical censures,
and forbidding him to appear again in his pres-
ence, unless he resolved instantly to comply
with what he had required.
The judges before whom Luther had been
required to appear at Rome, without waiting
for the expiration of the sixty days allowed
him in the citation, had already condemned him
as an heretic. Leo had, in several of his briefs
and letters, stigmatized him as a child of ini-
quity, and a man given up to a reprobate sense.
As every step which was taken by the court of
Rome, convinced Luther that Leo would soon
proceed to the most violent measures against
him, he had recourse to the only expedient in
his power, in order to prevent the effect of the
papal censures. He appealed to a general coun-
cil, which he affirmed to be the representative
of the Catholic church, and superior in power
to the pope, who, being a fallible man, might
err, as St. Peter, the most perfect of his prede-
cessors, had erred.
It soon appeared that Luther had not formed
rash conjectures concerning the intentions of
the church of Rome. A bull of a date prior to
his appeal, was issued by the pope, in which
he magnified the virtue and efficacy of indul-
gences ; he required all Christians to assent to
what he delivered as the doctrine of the catho-
lic church, and subjected those, who should
hold or teach any contrary opinion, to the
heaviest ecclesiastical censures. Among Lu-
ther's followers, this bull, which they consider-
ed as an unjustifiable efFort of the pope in order
to preserve that rich branch of his revenue
which arose from indulgences, produced little
effect. But among the rest of his countrymen,
such a clear decision of the sovereign pontiff
against him, and enforced by such dreadful
penalties, must have been attended with conse-
quences very fatal to his cause, if these had not
been prevented, in a great measure, by the
death of the emperor Maximilian, whom both
his principles and his interest prompted to sup-
port the authority of the holy see. To this
event was owing the suspension of any fur-
ther proceedings against Luther for 18 months.
Perpetual negotiations, however, in order to
bring the matter to some amicable issue, were
carried on during that space. The manner in
which these were conducted having given Lu-
ther many opportunities of observing the cor-
ruption of the court of Rome, he began to utter
some doubts with regard to the divine original
of the papal authority. A public disputation
was held upon this important question at Leip-
sic, between Luther and Eccius, one of his
most learned and formidable antagonists ; but
it was fruitless and indecisive. Nor did this
spirit of opposition to the doctrines and usurp-
ations of the Romish church break out in Sax-
ony alone ; an attack no less violent, and occa-
sioned by the same causes, was made upon
them about this time in Switzerland. The Fran-
ciscans being intrusted with the promulgation
of indulgences in that country, executed their
commission with the same indiscretion, which
had rendered the Dominicans so odious in Ger-
many. They proceeded nevertheless with un-
interrupted success till they arrived at Zurich.
There Zuinglius, a man not inferior to Lu-
ther in zeal and intrepidity, ventured to oppose
them ; and being animated with a republican
boldness, he advanced with more daring and
rapid steps to overturn the whole fabric of the
established religion. The appearance of such a
vigorous auxiliary, and the progress which he
made, was at first matter of great joy to Luther.
On the other hand, the decrees of the universi-
ties of Cologne and Louvaine, which pronounc-
ed his opinions to be erroneous, afforded great
cause of triumph to his adversaries.
But the undaunted spirit of Luther acquired
additional fortitude from every instance of op-
position ; and he began to shake the firmest
foundations on which the wealth or power of
the church were established. At last, on the
15th of June, 1520, the bull, so fatal to the
church of Rome, was issued. Forty-one pro-
positions, extracted out of Luther's works, are
therein condemned as heretical, scandalous,
and offensive to pious ears; all persons are for-
bidden to read his writings, upon pain of ex-
communication ; such as had any of them in
their custody, are commanded to commit them
to the flames : he himself, if he did not, w-ithin
CO days, publicly recant his errors, and burn his
books, is pronounced an obstinate heretic ; is
excommunicated, and delivered unto Satan for
the destruction of his flesh ; and all secular
princes are required, under pain of incurring
the same censure, to seize his person, that he
might be punished as his crimes deserved.
This sentence, which he had for some time
expected, did not disconcert or intimidate Lu-
ther. After renewing his appeal to the general
council, he published remarks upon the bull of
excommunication ; and being now persuaded
that Leo had been guilty both of impiety and
injustice in his proceedings against him, he
boldly declared the pope to be that man of sin,
REF
428
REF
or antichrist, whose appearance is foretold in
the New Testament ; he declaimed against his
tyranny and usurpations with greater violence
than ever; he exhorted all Christian princes
to shake off such an ignominious yoke ; and
boasted of his own happiness in being marked
out as the object of ecclesiastical indignation,
because he had ventured to assert the liberty of
mankind. In the following year he was re-
quested to appear before his avowed enemy,
the Emperor Charles V, in the diet at Worms,
when, unmoved by the apprehensions of his
friends, who reminded him of the fate of Huss,
he instantly obeyed, and there acknowledged,
that his writings had occasionally been violent
and acrimonious ; but he refused to retract his
opinions, until they should be proved erroneous
by the scriptures.
An edict, pronouncing him an excommuni-
cated criminal, and commanding the seizure of
his person as soon as the duration of the safe
conduct which he had obtained should have ex-
pired, was immediately promulgated. Freder-
ick the Wise, elector of Saxony, who had all
along countenanced him without professing his
doctrines, now withdrew him from the storm.
As Luther was returning from Worms, a troop
of horsemen, in masks, rushed from a wood,
seized him, and conveyed him to the castle
of Wartburg, where he was concealed nine
months, encouraging his adherents by his pen,
and cheered in return by accounts of the rapid
diffusion of his doctrines. John, the successor
of Frederick, took a decisive step, and establish-
ed the reformed religion in 1527 throughout
his dominions. In a diet at Spires, held about
the same time, the execution of the edict of
Worms against the Lutherans, now too formid-
able to be oppressed with impunity, was sus-
pended until the convocation of a general coun-
cil, to remedy the disorders of the church. But
in another diet held at the same place, in 1529,
the suspension was revoked by a decree obtain-
ed through the influence of Charles ; who then
found himself at more leisure to push forward
his views against the supporters of" the reform-
ation. Against this new decree, six princes,
and the deputies of thirteen imperial cities and
towns, solemnly protested ; and from this the
appellation of Protestants became common to all
who embraced the reformed religion. At the
diet of Augsburg, in Swabia, the following
year, a clear statement of the reformed faith,
drawn up by Luther and Melancthon, was pre-
sented to Charles and the diet, on behalf of the
Protestant members of the empire ; and hence
it obtained the name of " the Confession of
Augsburg." This confession was received as
the standard of the Protestant faith in Germany.
The same or next year, the Protestant princes
made the famous league of Smalkalde, for the
mutual defence of their religion, which obliged
the emperor to grant the Protestant Luther-
ans a toleration, till the differences in religion
should be settled in a council, which he engaged
himself to call in six months. The Protestant
party gaining strength every day, instead of
being viewed only as a religious sect, as hither-
to, soon came to be considered as a political
body of no small consequence ; and having re-
fused the bull for convening a council at Man
tua, Charles summoned a general diet at Ratis-
bon, where a scheme of religion, for reconcil-
ing the two parties, was examined and proposed,
but without effect.
At length, in 1545, the famous council of
Trent was opened for accommodating the dif-
ferences in religion; but the Protestants refused
to attend or obey a council convoked in the
name, and by the authority, of the pope, and
governed by his legates. The following year
Luther died, but the work of reformation wrhich
he had begun did not die with him ; for though
Charles, having concluded a treaty with the
pope for the destruction of the reformed reli-
gion and its adherents, assembled troops on all
sides, and was at first successful in the field,
yet on the appearance of Maurice, elector of
Saxony, in arms against him, with a force
which he was wholly unprepared to resist, he
was checked in his career, and the consequences
were, the " religious peace," concluded at Pas-
sau, in Bavaria, in 1552, and the complete
security of religious freedom to the Protestant
states in Germany, which they have enjoyed
ever since. During the course of these events
the reformed opinions were extending their in-
fluence in various other countries. Before this
time, they were completely adopted in Sweden,
and had likewise obtained perfect toleration in
Denmark, where they were adopted soon after
as the doctrines of the national church. They
were, also, daily gaining converts in other king-
doms of Europe. They acquired many friends
even in Italy. They privately diffused them-
selves in Spain, notwithstanding the crowded
dungeons and busy flames of the Inquisition.
In France they had still more ample success,
where their abettors have long been contempt-
uously termed Huguenots. This appellation
was given to the Protestants in France in 15G0,
and is supposed by some to be derived from a
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REV
gate in Tours called Huguon, where they first
assembled. According to others, the name is
taken from the first words of their original pro-
test, or confession of faith, Hue nos venimus,
&c. At Geneva, they were firmly established
by Calvin ; but their principal triumph was in
Great Britain, where the papal power and juris-
diction were abolished by parliament, the king
was declared supreme head of the church, and
all the authority of which the popes were de-
prived was vested in him.
In England, that vast fabric of ecclesiastical
dominion, which had been raised with such art,
and of which the foundations seemed to have
been laid so deep, being no longer supported by
the veneration of the people, was overturned in
a moment. In the reign of Edward VI, a total
separation was made from the church of Rome
in articles of doctrine, as well as in matters of
discipline and jurisdiction.
The Roman Catholics themselves are ready
to admit, that the papal doctrines and authority
would soon have fallen into ruin in all parts
of the world, in consequence of the opposition
made to them by Luther and his adherents, had
not the force of the secular arm, and the fire
of the Inquisition, been employed to support
the tottering edifice. In the Netherlands par-
ticularly, the most grievous persecutions took
place ; so that, by the Emperor Charles V, up-
wards of 100,000 were destroyed, whilst still
greater cruelties were exercised upon the peo-
ple there by his son, Philip II. The formida-
ble ministers of the Inquisition put so many to
death, and perpetrated such horrid acts of cru-
elty and oppression in Italy, &c, that most of
the reformed consulted their safety by a volun-
tary exile, while others returned to the religion
of Rome, at least in external appearance. In
France, too, the Huguenots were persecuted
with unparalleled fury ; and, though many
princes of the blood, and of the first nobility,
had embraced their sentiments, yet in no part
of the world did the reformers suffer more.
REGULUS, M. Attillius, a consul during
the first Punic war. He reduced Brundusium ;
and, in his second consulship, he took sixty-
four, and sunk thirty, galleys of the Cartha-
finian fleet on the coast of Sicily. Afterwards
e landed in Africa ; and so rapid was his suc-
cess, that in a short time he defeated three gen-
erals, and made himself master of about two
hundred places of consequence on the coast.
The Carthaginians sued for peace, but the con-
queror refused to grant it, and soon after he was
defeated in a battle by Xanthippus, and 30,000
of his men were left on the field of battle, and
15,000 taken prisoners. Regulus was in the
number of the captives, and he was carried in
triumph to Carthage. He was afterwards sent
by the enemy to Rome to propose an accommo-
dation, and an exchange of prisoners; and, if
his commission was unsuccessful, he was bound
by the most solemn oaths to return to Carthage
without delay. When he came to Rome, Reg-
ulus dissuaded his countrymen from accepting
the terms which the enemy proposed ; and when
his opinion had had due influence on the senate,
he then retired to Carthage, agreeably to his en-
gagements. The Carthaginians were told that
their offers of peace had been rejected at Rome
by the means of Regulus ; and, therefore, they
prepared to punish him with the greatest sever-
ity. His eyelids were cut off, and he was expos-
ed for some days to the excessive heat of the
meridian sun, and afterwards confined in a bar-
rel, whose sides were every where filled with
large iron spikes, till he died in the greatest
agonies. His sufferings were known at Rome,
and the senate permitted his widow to inflict
whatever punishments she pleased on some of
the most illustrious captives of Cartharge who
were in their hands. She confined them also in
presses filled with sharp iron points ; and was
so exquisite in her cruelty, that the senate at
last interfered, and stopped the barbarity of her
punishments. Regulus died about '251 years
before Christ.
REVOLUTION , AMERICAN. For an ac-
count of the causes which produced this great
event, the reader is referred to the article United
States. In the present article we shall present
a somewhat detailed account of the war, touch-
ing briefly, however, on those events which
have been noticed under their respective heads.
The first battle of the American Revolution
was fought upon the 19th of April, 1775, at
Lexington and Concord. Stores had been col-
lected at the last named place, 18 miles from
Boston, for the American army, and General
Gage determined to destroy them. Wishing
to do it without fighting, he sent out 800 grena-
diers and light infantry, from Boston, at 11
o'clock in the evening of the 18th. as silently
as possible. It was heard of, however, in the
country. By two o'clock in the morning, 130
of the Lexington militia had assembled on the
freen, at the meeting-house, to oppose them,
'hey were dismissed, but collected again be-
tween four and five, at the beat of the drum.
The 800 British troops came marching up the
road, Major Pitcairn at their head.
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" Disperse, you rebels !" cried the major, ad-
dressing the militia; " throw down your arms,
and disperse !" They did not disperse, however.
He now rode forward, discharged a pistol, bran-
dished his sword, and ordered his soldiers to
fire. They did so, and three or four of the
Americans were killed. The soldiers shouted,
fired again, and then proceeded towards Con-
cord.
At Concord, they disabled two large cannon,
threw 500 pounds of ball into wells, and staved
about 60 barrels of flour. They fired upon the
Concord militia under Major Butterick's com-
mand. Two men were killed; a skirmish fol-
lowed, and the English retreated, as fast as
possible, to Lexington. The people were com-
ing upon them, by this time, from all parts of
the country. The British were fired upon, on
all sides, from the sheds, houses and fences.
At Lexington, where they halted to rest, they
were joined by 900 more troops, sent out from
Boston, under Lord Percy. These brought two
cannon with them; and the country people were
kept back. They still fired upon the troops,
however, and, being generally good marksmen,
made terrible havoc The regulars, as the En-
glish troops were called, reached Charlestown
at sunset, and returned the next day into Bos-
ton. Sixty-five of their number had been kill-
ed, one hundred and eighty wounded, and
twenty-eight made prisoners. Of the provin-
cials, fifty were killed, and thirty-eight wound-
ed and missing. There were never more than
three or four hundred of the latter fighting at
one time, and these fought as they pleased,
without order. The regulars were obliged to
keep in the main road; but the militia, knowing
every inch of the country, flanked them, and
fired upon them at all the corners.
The news of this first battle produced a tre-
mendous excitement throughout the country.
The dead were buried with great ceremony and
pomp. Great bodies of militia marched towards
Boston. Agreements were entered into by
thousands of people, to defend the Bostonians
to the last gasp. The English forts, arsenals,
magazines, and public money, were seized upon
by the people ; and more money was coined,
and more troops were raised.
Every body was armed, and ready for battle.
When the news of the Lexington battle reached
Barnstable, a company of militia started off" for
Cambridge at once. In the front rank was a
young man, the only child of an old farmer.
As they came to the old gentleman's house,
they halted a moment. The drum and fife
ceased. The farmer came out with his gray
head bare. " God be with you all," said he ;
" and you, John, if you must fight, fight like a
man, or never let me see you again." The old
man gave him his blessing. The poor fellow
brushed a tear from his eye, and the company
marched on.
The news of the battle reached a small town
in Connecticut, on the morning of the Sabbath.
It was nearly time to go to meeting, when the
beating of a drum, and the ringing of the bell,
attracted the attention of the people. In ex-
pectation that some great event was about to
happen, every unusual signal had a startling
effect upon the public ear. When the drum
and the bell were heard, therefore, the men
came running to the meeting-house green, in
breathless haste. Soon the clergyman was
among them, and they were all told, that some
of their countrymen had been shot by the Brit-
ish soldiers, at Lexington. The faces of the
men, as they heard it, were pale, but not from
fear ; it was immediately resolved, that thirty
persons should be equipped, and set out for
Boston. Those who could best go, were select-
ed, and went home to make preparations.
At noon, they had all returned to the little
lawn in front of the meeting-house. Theie
was a crowd of people around. There were
friends, and acquaintances, and wives, and
children. Such as were not well supplied with
clothes and equipments, were immediately sup-
plied by their neighbors. Among the crowd,
there was one remarkable individual. This
was a rich old miser, wTho was never known
to part with his money, but with extreme
reluctance. On the present occasion, his na-
ture seemed changed. He took several of
the soldiers apart, whom he supposed likely
to be destitute, and put into their hands about
thirty dollars in hard cash ; at the same time
saying, in a low voice, " Shoot the rascals !
shoot them ! If you comeback, perhaps you will
pay me; if not, God bless you."
After all the arrangements were made, the
soldiers entered the broad aisle of the church.
An affecting and fervent prayer was then offer-
ed by the clergyman, in behalf of the country,
and in behalf of these brave men, that were
about to enter upon the dangerous chances of
war. Afte'r the prayer, he made a short but
animated address, encouraging the men to do
their duty. He pronounced a blessing, and
then they departed.
General Putnam was a farmer, and was
ploughing in the field, when the tidings from
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Lexington were brought to him. He did not
stay even to unharness his cattle ; but, leaving
the plough in the unfinished furrow, he went
to his house, gave some hasty directions re-
specting his affairs, mounted his horse, and
with a rapid pace proceeded to Boston.
The Assembly was, at this time, sitting at
Watertown, a few miles from Boston. They
sent a letter, explaining the whole affair, to the
English people. They complained, that the
troops had long been insulting the provincials,
(and had now undertaken to murder them.
They begged of the government to interfere,
and prevent war ; but declared, they would
submit to no more tyranny. They called God
ito witness the justice of their cause, and pledg-
ed themselves to defend each other to the last
drop of blood.
Letters were sent also to other Colonies.
They voted to raise a large army, and, in a
(short time, 30,000 were assembled about Bos-
ton; thousands, who were not needed, were
sent home. General Putnam commanded at
Cambridge, and General Thomas at Roxbury;
ill intercourse between the English troops and
jthe country ended at once.
It must be considered, however, that this
'collection of people was very different from a
well- trained army. But they were brave, and
j Heartily devoted to the cause. The country
people supplied them with large quantities of
i vegetables and meat. But they went and came
is they pleased. They had few uniforms ; their
I nuskets were of all sizes and shapes ; they had
jjnly sixteen cannon, and half of these were not
lit for use ; and, though all the men were good
Inarksmen, only a few regiments had been
rained enough to appear like regular soldiers.
I The same might be said of the militia
] hroughout the country. But they determined
( o make the best of themselves, of their heavy
old cannon, and rusty muskets; and were in
,'rreat hopes, that, by a few short battles, the
i English would be entirely driven from the
I ountry. The English, on the other hand,
especially in England, had a mean opinion of
he American courage. One of their generals
promised, if they would give him five or six
egiments, he would drive the whole of these
|owardly rebels from one end of the continent
o the other.
The British troops soon began to feel a little
uncomfortable in Boston. The provincials had
urrounded them so completely, that no pro-
isions could enter the city. Fresh meat and
•egetables were very scarce ; and though they
had vessels enough, they could get no supplies
on the coast of New England. The people
every where had driven their cattle into the
back country.
The governor would not suffer the inhabi-
tants of Boston to leave the town. He feared
that, if they left, the Americans would fall upon
him at once. But he promised them, at last,
that, if all their arms should be handed in at
Faneuil Hall, or some other place, they should
be allowed to go away, and thirty carts should
be admitted from the country to carry off their
furniture.
About 1800 muskets, and a great many pis-
tols and bayonets, were given up accordingly ;
and several of the citizens received passports,
and left the town. But the governor soon
after pretended, that the people had deceived
him, in keeping back part of their arms, and he
refused any more passports. The poor and
sick only were suffered to go. Among these,
there were several who were terribly afflicted
with the small-pox. The disease spread among
the militia about Boston, and the Americans
were now more angry than ever, for they sus-
pected this to be a matter of design on the part
of General Gage.
While these things were passing, the other
Provinces were also preparing for war. The
people of New York refused the English troops
there all supplies. They armed and trained
themselves, seized upon the ammunition in the
arsenals, removed the women and children,
and determined, if nothing else would do, to
burn the whole of that large and beautiful city.
In New Jersey, at the news of the Lexington
battle, the people seized upon the public treas-
ure, and, at Baltimore, upon about 1500 Eng-
lish muskets. Similar steps were taken in
South Carolina, where two regiments of infan-
try, (foot soldiers.) and one of cavalry, (horse-
men,) were raised in a few days.
There was, at this time, a great deal of diffi-
culty in Virginia, between the English gover-
nor, Dunmore, and the Assembly. He feared
the people would seize on the powder of the
public magazine at Willianisburgh, and order-
ed it to be carried on board a vessel called the
Jasper, lying at anchor in the river James.
The mob crowded about his house ; and he be-
gan to talk of setting free the negro slaves, and
destroying the city. On the whole, it was clear,
that both the governor and the people were in
a humor for fighting.
They went farther than this in Connecticut.
It was there resolved to undertake an expedi-
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tion to Ticonderoga, on Lake Champlain, near
Canada. As this place was full of stores, and
stood upon the great route by which every thing
and every body passed, between Canada and
the Provinces, it was important to conquer it.
The Connecticut Assembly voted 1,800 dollars
for the purpose ; and powder, ball, and whatever
would be needed for a siege, was provided.
The troops assembled with as little display as
possible, at Castletown, on the banks of Wood
Creek, on the great road to Ticonderoga. Some
of these troops were from Connecticut, some
from the Boston army, and some were people
from the Green Mountains, in Vermont. These
latter were called Green Mountain Boys, and
were famous for skill in the use of the rifle.
The captain of one of these companies cap-
tured an English officer, a year or two after the
time we are speaking of. The Englishman
complained to the American captain, that these
riflemen gave the regulars a great deal of trou-
ble. " They aim," said he, " at an English
officer, as far as they can see his uniform plain-
ly, and shoot him dead. They hardly conde-
scend to kill any thing less than a corporal."
" They can do better still," said the Ameri-
can captain ; and he ordered up two of his
riflemen. " Is your piece in good order ? " said
he to the first. " Yes, sir," answered the Green
Mountaineer. He then stuck a knife in a tree,
about fifty paces distant, and ordered the man to
split his ball. He fired, and the ball was cut in
two pieces on the edge of the knife. The other
was ordered to shoot the ace of clubs out of a
card; and he did so. The Englishman was
amazed. These sharp-shooters had only been
four weeks from their ploughs in Vermont.
The leaders of the expedition against Ticon-
deroga, were Colonel Ethan Allen and Colonel
Easton. They were joined at Castletown by
Colonel Arnold, from the Boston army. They
marched on quietly, and arrived in the night
on the bank of the lake, opposite Ticonderoga.
They crossed over, and landed on the other
side, close by the fortress.
They entered it under the covered way, by
day-break, with a tremendous shout. The sol-
diers of the garrison were roused, ran out, half
dressed, and began firing. A hot scuffle, with
gun-breeches and bayonets, hand to hand, en-
sued. The commander of the fort came at last.
Colonel Allen ordered him to surrender. " To
whom ? " said the officer, in great astonishment.
" To the American Congress ! " said Allen, in
a voice of thunder. The commander saw it
was in vain to resist, and so he gave up the
fort. Here were found 124 fine brass cannon,
and a large quantity of ammunition.
A hundred cannon more were taken by the
Americans at Crown Point, another fort on the (
same lake, defended by a small garrison. The
next plan was to seize upon an English armed
vessel, called a corvette, which lay anchored
near fort St. John. The Americans soon rigged
out a schooner. Arnold commanded it, and sail-
ed with a fair wind for the fort, while Allen
followed slowly, with his troops, in some flat
boats.
Arnold came upon the corvette, and captured
it without the least difficulty. The wind sud-
denly shifted, and he was far on his way back,
with the prize, when he met Allen and the
boats. After taking another fort at Skeensbo-
rough, the officers and soldiers returned home.
Meanwhile, the English were skirmishing
with the provincials at Boston. There were
some islands in the harbor, where the English
found forage for their horses and cattle. The
Americans undertook to carry off these cattle
from Noddle's Island and Hog Island, and suc-
ceeded, after some fighting. They scoured
Pettick's Island and Deer Island, soon after, in
the same way. The English were put to a good
deal of trouble to get food.
They were finally so much pressed by the
American army, that General Gage found him-
self obliged to make a new effort against them.
The provincials had sent 1000 men, under
Colonel Prescott, to fortify Bunker's Hill, in
Charlestown. Instead of doing so, however,
by some mistake, he fortified Breed's Hill,
which is nearer the city. The Americans took
possession of it in the evening, and worked so
well, that, before morning, they had thrown up
a redoubt about eight rods square ; and so
silently, that the British knew nothing of it till
day-break.
The latter, when they discovered the redoubt,
began firing upon the people in the fort ; but
the Americans worked on, till they raised a
breastwork, reaching from the east side of the
redoubt to the bottom of the hill. As Breed's
Hill commands the city, the British saw they
must either be driven off, or drive off the pro-
vincials. They, therefore, opened a tremendous
fire from the batteries and armed vessels, that
floated on all the waters about Boston. Show-
ers of bombs and balls were fired. A terrible
battery was raised upon Copp's Hill, opposite
Breed's ; but all in vain. The Americans work-
ed on, and had finished a trench, or ditch before
noon, which reached to the bottom of the hill.
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It was now the 17th of June, and on this day
was fought the famous battle of Bunker Hill.
The British were determined to make a great
effort. The provincials lay ready for them on
the hill. General Putnam, of Connecticut,
commanded the whole force. They had mus-
kets, but few of them bayonets or rifles. They
were sharp-shooters, however, and were brave
men as ever breathed.
About noon of a terribly hot day, the whole
British camp seemed to be in motion. A vast
multitude of sloops and boats started from the
Boston shore, covering the water far and wide.
The soldiers landed at Moreton's Point, in
Charlestown, protected by their batteries behind
them. Here they paraded in fine order. They
were the flower of the English army, and were
commanded by General Howe and General
Pigot. But the Americans appeared a little too
strong and too cool for them ; and they waited
for a iew more companies to join them.
The Americans took this opportunity to pro-
tect themselves still more, by pulling up some
post and rail fences, which they set before them,
in two rows, and filled the space between with
fresh hay, which they gathered from the hill.
The British began to march. The militia left
to defend Charlestown, retreated. The British
entered it, and set fire to the buildings. In a
few moments, 500 wooden buildings were in
flames. The wind blew high, and the fire
streamed up, and roared in the most terrible
manner.
Thousands of people were gazing at the
scene, from the Boston steeples, and waiting
with great anxiety for the fate of the battle.
There were multitudes, also, on all the high
roofs and hills round about. Never was there
such a bustle and stir. The English marched
slowly towards the redoubt, halting now and
then, for the cannon to come up and fire. They
came, at last, within musket-shot; and the re-
doubt, which had been as still as the grave, till
this moment, blazed all at once, with a tremen-
dous volley.
The British were soon thinned off, and com-
pelled to retreat. Many fled for their lives, and
threw themselves into the boats. The green
field of battle was covered with dead bodies.
The officers ran hither and thither, to rally the
troops ; and, after some time, persuaded them
to march forward again. The Americans wait-
ed for them quietly, and received them once
more with a flood of balls. The British fled
down the hill to the shore.
General Howe was alone upon the field ; all
28 '
his officers being killed and wounded around
him. General Clinton, who had been watching
the battle from Copp's Hill, now came to his
aid with new troops. They made a third effort,
with more spirit than before. Clinton led on
the whole body ; the cannon still firing from the
ships and batteries, and the flames and smoke
of the burning town sweeping over them like
the blast of a furnace.
The powder of the Americans was now ex-
hausted, and they were compelled to draw off.
They retired to Prospect Hill, fighting with
their muskets as if they were clubs, and there
began throwing up new works. The British
intrenched themselves on Bunker Hill, and
neither army seemed willing to attack the other.
They had had fighting enough for one day.
Of 3000 British troops, 1054 were killed or
wounded. A large part of these were officers.
The sharp-shooters had taken the poor fellows
down like so many gray squirrels.
The Americans lost five pieces of cannon.
Their killed, of about 1,500 engaged in the bat-
tle, amounted to 134; their wounded to 314.
General Warren was among the dead. He was
a brave man, and was loved and lamented by
all classes of people. An English officer, who
knew him by sight, saw him in the retreat,
rallying the Americans. He borrowed a gun
of one of his soldiers, and, taking a fatal aim,
shot him in the head, and he fell dead on the
spot.
The battle of Bunker Hill, as it was called,
though fought on Breed's Hill, had no decisive
effect ; yet it roused the country, showed the
Americans that they were able to contend with
the regulars, and taught the British, that the
provincials were not exactly the cowards they
had taken them for. The capture of Breed's
Hill did them more hurt than good. They
were obliged to defend it now, and they had
not too many men before to defend the town.
Their soldiers were also worn out with fatigue,
and were much depressed by the hot weather.
The Americans began now to fortify the
town of Roxbury. Their works went up very
fast, notwithstanding the continual fire of the
British cannon. They had plenty of food, too,
while the British were near starving. The
latter could get nothing on the Boston islands,
or along the Massachusetts coast, but by hard
fighting ; and very little by that. They were
at last obliged to let most of the Bostonians pass
out of the town. They had not provisions
enough to keep them alive.
A British sloop of war, the Falcon, Captain
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Linzee,one day, " hove in sight," as the sailors
say, off that town. She had been in search of
two American schooners from the West Indies.
One of these, Captain Linzee had just captured,
and he now followed the other into Gloucester
harbor.
He anchored, and sent two barges, with tri-
teen men in each, armed with muskets and
swivels, and followed by a whale boat, in which
was a lieutenant and six privates, with orders
to seize the schooner, and bring her off. The
Gloucester people saw what was going on, and
brought out their rusty muskets along shore in
great numbers. The lieutenant, with the barge-
men, boarded the schooner at the cabin win-
dows. The militia, however, began to blaze
away at them off the shore. Three of the Brit-
ish were killed, and the lieutenant was wound-
ed in the thigh. He soon made off for the Fal-
con, as fast as his boat would carry him.
Captain Linzee now sent a cutter and the
schooner he had taken, with orders to fire on
the " saucy rebels," wherever they should see
them. He amused himself, meanwhile, by
cannonading the town. He fired a broadside
into the thickest part of the settlement, to begin
with. " Now," said he to the crew, " now, my
boys, we'll aim at that dirty old church. Well
done ! crack away ! one shot more ! knock 'em
down ! "
The balls went through the houses in every
direction ; but not a man, woman or child was
injured. Meanwhile the men of Gloucester had
gone out upon the water, and taken possession
of both schooners, the cutter, the two barges,
the boat, and every man in them all. They had
but one killed, and two wounded. The British
lost about forty men.
The Continental Congress met again at Phil-
adelphia, May 7, 1775. They were men sent
from all the Colonies but Georgia ; and though
they had no precise right, by any law, to act for
the whole country, yet the whole country were
ready to obey them. _
They chose George Washington, of Virginia,
commander-in-chief of the American army, and
appointed many other officers to act under him.
Among these were Gates, Lee, Schuyler and
Montgomery, of New York ; Pomeroy, Heath
and Thomas, of Massachusetts; Greene, of
Rhode Island ; Putnam, Wooster and Spencer,
of Connecticut ; Ward and Sullivan, of New
Hampshire. These were some of the bravest
and best men of the country.
General Washington went directly to the
army at Cambridge. He arrived there on the
3d of July. Though he used no parade, wearing
only a small sword at his side, epaulettes on
his shoulders, and a black cockade on his hat,
he was easily known, by his fine figure and
noble countenance. He was treated every
where with the greatest respect.
Having reviewed the army, he found only
14,500 men in a condition for service ; these
had to defend a line of twelve miles. They
were now arranged and trained as well and as
fast as possible, no man understanding this
business better than General Gates, who was an
old soldier, as well as Washington.
They had not 10,000 pounds of powder, at
this time, in the army, being only nine charges
to a man. Had the enemy known this, and
attacked them, they must have fled like a flock
of deer. Great efforts were made, however, and
several tons soon arrived from New Jersey.
The provincials had, at this time, no riflemen;
though light troops of this kind were exceeding-
ly needed, to bring in recruits, and provisions,
and to scour such a wild country as America
then was, abounding in rivers, swamps, moun-
tains, and woods. Congress soon raised a few
companies in Pennsylvania and Virginia ; and
1,400 of them arrived at the camp early in Au-
gust.
These troops had, some of them, marched five
or six hundred miles, and were stout and hardy
men ; many of them were more than six feet
tall. They were dressed in white frocks, or
rifle shirts, and round hats. They were terrible
fellows for sha^i-shooting ; equal to the Green
Mountain "oys already mentioned. At a re-
view, a company of them, on a quick march,
fired their balls into marks seven inches across,
at the distance of 250 yards. They often shot
down the British officers, in Boston, like so
many wild animals, at more than double the
common musket distance.
More powder was procured about this time,
from the coast of Africa, in exchange for New
England rum. This was managed so shrewdly,
that every ounce in the British forts there, was
bought up for the American army. The Mas-
sachusetts rulers passed a law, also, that no
powder should be fired at any beast, bird, or
mark ; they wished it all to be saved for the war.
Congress took measures for the coining of
money, and the raising of troops in all quarters.
The people obeyed the directions of Congress
with alacrity. Every man, from sixteen years
of age to fifty, was a member of some militia
company ; and one fourth part of the whole,
called minute men, were to keep themselves
ready for action at a moment's notice.
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Captains were to be paid twenty dollars a
month ; lieutenants and ensigns, thirteen ; cor-
porals and sergeants, eight ; and privates, six.
No province was more active than Pennsylva-
nia. Companies were raised in all the country
towns. Many of the Quakers, even though
they did not approve of fighting, were so carried
away with the general feeling, as to turn out
and train with the rest.
Three large battalions were raised in Phila-
delphia alone, besides artillery, cavalry, rifle-
men, pioneers, and others. They often manoeu-
vred in presence of Congress. The whole city
was full of the music of drums, fifes and bugles.
Among others, a company was formed of
eighty old Germans, who had, most of them,
fought a long time before in Europe. They
were called the Old Men's Company. Instead
of cockades, they wore black crape, to signify
their sorrow at taking up arms at such an age.
The captain was near a hundred years old, and
had been in seventeen battles. He had been
a soldier forty years. The drummer was ninety-
four, and the youngest in the corps was about
seventy. In the county of Bristol, a regiment
was raised, and they were clothed, armed, and
furnished with colors by the women.
About this time, Congress took the necessary
steps to keep peace with the Indian tribes. But
they never employed them to fight against the
English, though the English hired them to fight
against the Americans. One objection that the
Americans had to employing them was, that
the Indian way of fighting war entirely too
barbarous and cruel to be suffered <+.. —g civil-
ized people.
Another was, that they could not be depended
on. They were greedy for wages, but so de-
ceitful, that they could not be safely trusted.
A story told of a sergeant, who travelled through
the woods of New Hampshire, on his way to
the American army, will show the character of
the Indians.
He had twelve men with him. Their route
was far from any settlement ; and they were
obliged every night to encamp in the woods.
The sergeant had seen a good deal of the Indi-
ans, and understood them well. Early in the
afternoon, one day, as they were marching on,
over bogs, swamps and brooks, under the great
maple trees, a body of Indians, more than their
own number, rushed out upon a hill in front of
them.
They appeared to be pleased at meeting with
the sergeant and his men. They considered
them, they said, as their best friends. For
themselves, they had taken up the hatchet for
the Americans, and would scalp and strip those
rascally English for them, like so many wild
cats. " How do you do, pro ?" (meaning broth-
er,) said one ; and " How do ye do, pro?" said
another ; and so they went about, shaking hands
with the sergeant and his twelve men.
They went ofF, at last ; and the sergeant,
having marched on a mile or two, halted his
men, and addressed them. " My brave fellows,'
said he, " we must use all possible caution, or,
before morning, we shall all of us be dead men.
You are amazed; but, depend upon me, these
Indians have tried to put our suspicion to sleep.
You will see more of them by and by."
They concluded, finally, to adopt the follow-
ing scheme for defence. They encamped for
the night near a stream of water, which pro-
tected them from behind. A large oak was
felled, and a brilliant fire kindled. Each man
cut a log of wood about the size of his body,
rolled it nicely up in his blanket, placed his hat
on the end of it, and laid it before the fire, that
the enemy might take it for a man.
Thirteen logs were fitted out in this way,
representing the sergeant and his twelve men.
They then placed themselves, with loaded guns,
behind the fallen tree. By this time, it was
dark ; but the fire was kept burning till mid-
night. The sergeant knew, that if the savages
ever came, they would come now.
A tall Indian was seen, at length, through
the glimmering of the fire, which was getting
low. He moved cautiously towards them,
skulking, as an Indian always does. He seem-
ed to suspect, at first, that a guard might be
watching ; but, seeing none, he came forward
more boldly, rested on his toes, and was seen to
move his finger, as he counted the thirteen men,
sleeping, as he supposed, by the fire.
He counted them again, and retired. Another
came up, and did the same. Then the whole
party, sixteen in number, came up, and glared
silently at the logs, till they seemed to be sat-
isfied they were fast asleep. Presently they
took aim, fired their whole number of guns
upon the logs, yelled the horrid war-whoop,
and rushed forward to murder and scalp their
supposed victims. The sergeant and his men
were ready for them. They fired upon them ;
and not one of the Indians was left to tell the
story of that night. The sergeant reached the
army in safety.
Treaties having been made with the Indians,
Congress recommended, that the 20th day of
July, 1775, should be observed, in all the Pro-
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436
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vinces, as a day of fasting and prayer; and it
was so. The people were every where disposed
to implore Heaven to prevent war, and to soften
the hearts of their enemies. In Philadelphia,
Congress attended church in a body.
As they were just entering the house of wor-
ship, they received news from Georgia, that
this Province had at last concluded to join in
the common cause, with the other twelve. Un-
til this time, the people there had said and done
but little ; but they determined now to make
amends for lost time.
A Declaration of Rights was soon after writ-
ten by Congress, and sent over every part of
the country. It gave a history of the whole
difficulty, from first to last, between England
and America ; and ended with an account of
the burning of Charlestown, the seizure of the
provincial vessels by the British, and the hiring
of the savages to fight against the Americans.
" We are compelled," said they, " to submit
to tyranny, or to take up arms. We have
counted the cost of this war, and have deter-
mined to be free, as our fathers have been be-
fore us, and as we trust our children shall be
after us. We declare, before God, that we will
defend each other, and the liberties of the whole
country, to the last moment of life."
This was signed by John Hancock, president,
and by Charles Thompson, secretary, of Con-
gress. The ministers read it from their pulpits
in all parts of the nation. It was read in Cam-
bridge, to a vast multitude, and General Putnam
assembled his troops on Prospect Hill to hear
it. This was followed by a prayer from a cler-
gyman. All the troops cried, three times,
"Amen;" the artillery fired a general salute,
and the colors were seen flying, with the usual
mottoes; on one side, " An appeal to Heaven,"
and, on the other, " He who has brought us
over will defend us."
A petition was next drawn up to the English
king, and addresses were written to the people
of England, Ireland, and Canada. Congress
were resolved to leave nothing unsaid, or un-
done, that offered any chance of restoring peace.
The Canadians were persuaded to remain neu-
tral, taking no part on either side.
The British general, Carle ton, used efforts to
make them enlist as soldiers. They were offer-
ed two hundred acres of land in any part of
America they should choose, at the end of the
war. Each married man was to have fifty acres
more for his wife, and fifty for each of his chil-
dren ; with a guinea, (about five dollars,) as a
bounty, at the time of enlisting.
A few only were persuaded in this way ; a
good many Indians, however, were hired. They
collected at Montreal, in great numbers, in July,
1775. Among the rest were six famous tribes,
called the Six Nations. They swore, in the
presence of Carleton, to fight for the English
king ; and thus, soon after, the Indian war be-
gan.
It may seem strange, that, during the dis-
turbances in the various Colonies, little or no-
thing should have been done, by the English
governors, to put down the rebellion. The
truth is, they had no troops, and not much mo-
ney, at their disposal; andr before they could
be supplied, the spirit of independence had gone
too far to be repressed.
In Virginia, Governor Dunmore, being com-
pelled to leave Williamsburgh, and fearing that
it would not be safe for him to remain upon the
land, went on board a royal armed vessel. Hav-
ing collected a fleet, he resolved to harass the
Virginians as much as possible, if he could
not govern them. He was joined by all the
tories, that is, the Americans who favored the
English.
He laid waste the coast, at various places, in
the most shocking manner, murdering and
burning like a pirate. He burnt Hampton, on
the bay of Hampton, among the rest, and un-
dertook to establish his camp there. But the
Virginians soon drove him back upon the wa-
ter. He then declared all the negro slaves to
be free, and invited them to join him. A few
of them succeeded in doing so.
He landed again at Norfolk, where the tories
were numerous ; and a battle was fought, a few
miles from that city, at a place called Great
Bridge, with a regiment of Virginia militia
and minute men. The governor had only 200
regulars about him. The rest was a mere mob,
of black, white and gray.
The first attack was made by the British, on
the American entrenchment. The battle lasted
some time, with a good deal of spirit. At last,
the British captain was killed, and the troops
fell back upon the bridge. The governor did
not like fighting ; so, during the battle, he con-
tented himself with looking- on at a distance.
The negroes loved fighting as little as the gov-
ernor. They found it by no means pleasant to
have their flesh cut to pieces with bullets ; so,
after a few shots, they ran away as fast as they
could. The governor also thought it best to
retreat, and, accordingly, he and his men went
on board of their vessels.
This affair did not serve to sweeten Governor
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43?
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Dunmore's temper ; nor did it put him in a
better humor, to find that his friends, the tories at
Norfolk, had been handled roughly by the peo-
ple there, after his retreat with his negro allies.
He now returned into the bay, with a ship of
war, and sent a message ashore, declaring that,
unless the people furnished him provisions, he
should batter the town down about their ears.
They refused to supply him : so he gave them
notice, in the morning, to remove the women
and children ; and then, with his own sloop of
war, the frigate Liverpool, and two corvettes,
he blazed away upon the place, till scarcely one
stone was left upon another. The provincials,
to disappoint him of his provisions, burnt the
whole country round about.
In South Carolina, Governor Campbell ar-
rived at Charleston, from England, about the
same time with the news of the Lexington bat-
tle. The people were on their guard, and he
tried in vain to get the better of them, by invit-
ing the tories to assist him ; but the tories were
afraid to do so. He began to be frightened a
little himself, being a man of less courage than
Governor Dunmore ; so he said little or nothing
for some time.
To unmask him, the American leaders sent
privately to him one Adam Macdonald, captain
in a militia regiment. He called himself Dick
Williams, and offered his services to the gov-
ernor. The latter was delighted, and told him
all his plans. Having heard them attentively,
Adam went away, and told the whole to the
persons who employed him.
They immediately sent a committee, Mac-
donald among the number, to wait upon his
excellency, and request him to show his royal
commission, if he had any, as governor. He
declined this proposal. There were some hints
then thrown out, about putting him in confine-
ment. These came to his ears, and he retreated,
with very little ceremony or delay, to an Eng-
lish corvette, anchored in the harbor. The
Assembly requested him to return ; but he re-
fused.
Nothing more was seen of him, or his gov-
ernment, in Charleston. The tories were nu-
merous in other sections of the Province, how-
ever, and he mustered them together in great
force. The people were alarmed. The militia
were ordered out ; and the two parties were on
the eve of an engagement. But at length the
tories were dispersed, and they gave no more
trouble at that time.
The provincials in South Carolina continued
to be very active. They captured Fort John-
son, on James's Island, in Charleston harbor,
and placed batteries on Point Huddrel. The
English ships were at last driven off. The next
thing with the people was, to send an expedi-
tion after an English vessel laden with powder,
which was anchored on the bank, called the
Bar of St. Augustine, a town on the coast of
East Florida. She was taken, and 15,000
pounds of powder were carried to Charleston.
In North Carolina, the Provincial Congress
raised 1000 regular militia, and 3000 minute
men. The English governor, Martin, disliked
the appearance of things, and endeavored to
muster a force of the Irish and Scotch part of
the inhabitants. He also fortified his own house,
at Newbern, with artillery. The people seized
upon his cannon ; and he fled to a fort upon
Cape Fear River.
The provincials marched after him, led on by
Colonel Ashe. He retreated on board a vessel,
as the other governors had done. Colonel Ashe
burnt the fort to ashes the same night. The
Assembly declared the governor a traitor. He
answered them in a very long letter, which the}'
ordered to be burnt by the common hangman.
A large quantity of ball and powder was found
in his cellar and gardens, at Newbern.
In Pennsylvania, the people prepared active-
ly for war. A single mill, near Philadelphia,
manufactured five hundred pounds of powder a
week. Governor Tryon, after endeavoring a
long time to manage the Province, followed the
example of the other governors.
In other parts of the country, the enemy was
not asleep. One Captain Wallace, command-
ing an English squadron of small vessels off
Rhode Island, was doing all the damage in his
power, by ravaging the coast, and making prize
of the merchant vessels. His chief object
seemed to be, to supply himself and his force
with provisions. With this view, he made a
furious attack upon the town of Bristol, and
fired, from morning till night, upon their houses
and churches. He bored them through and
through, till, finally, the people supplied him
and his squadron with fresh meat, and he sailed
away.
About this time, a body of American troops
were sent from Massachusetts to Rhode Island,
under General Lee. He was a man of great
courage, and warm temper. He obliged all the
inhabitants, whom he went to defend, to take
the most terrible oaths, to do precisely what
Congress should command; and, at all events,
to break off all intercourse with the tools of
tyranny, " vulgarly called," as the oath said.
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" the fleets and armies of the king." Congress
were not much pleased with this manoeuvre.
It was well meant, without doubt, but it was
very rough, and of no real use.
On the 18th of October, 1775, Falmouth, now
Portland, in Maine, was bombarded by Captain
Moet, of the ship Canceaux, of 16 guns. The
whole town was consumed. He had formerly
received some affront in the place, and revenged
himself in this way. He sent the people word
at night, that he should destroy the town in the
morning ; they removed their furniture, and he
went to work early the next day with his can-
non. The town had been twice sacked by the
Indians, but never suffered so severely before.
The most important affair of this year, was
an expedition to Canada. The provincials had
done so well upon Lake Champlain, that the
scheme of another expedition in the same quar-
ter was much approved of. Congress hoped
that, if Canada was invaded at once, manj' of
the inhabitants would join the Americans.
Three thousand men, commanded by Gener-
als Montgomery, Wooster and Schuyler, were
fitted out. Boats were built for them on the
lake, at Crown Point, and the sum of 50,000
dollars was collected, to pay the expenses. Gov-
ernor Carleton, of Canada, intrenched himself,
with a strong force, at the entrance of the river
Sorel, which leads out of the lake, and which
the Americans would be obliged to pass.
The latter took possession of an island in the
lake, at the mouth of the river, and, from that
place, planned an attack on Fort St. John,
where the governor was. This fort stood on
the left bank of the Sorel, and commanded the
passage to Canada. The Americans moved on,
without cannon, to a swamp within a mile and
a half of the fort. They defeated a body of In-
dians, who attacked them in crossing a small
river, waited for reinforcements, and laid siea-e
to the fort.
Farther north, on the Sorel, was a small fort,
called Chambly. The English had no idea of
the provincials passing St. John to fall upon
Chambly ; but they did so ; took the garrison
prisoners; obtained 124 barrels of powder for
the siege of St. John, and sent the colors they
had captured to Congress. Other detachments
scoured the country between the Sorel and the
St. Lawrence ; the Canadians supplying them
every where with arms and provisions.
Just at this time, Colonel Allen and Major
Brown undertook an expedition against the city
of Montreal, which stands on an island in the
St. Lawrence. Allen found boats ready for him
at Longueville, and crossed the river in the
night, below Montreal. Here Brown was to
have joined him with his troops, but missed his
way, and Allen was left, with a small force, in
the neighborhood of the city.
It was just sunrise. The murmur of the city
was heard at a few miles' distance, and by and
by the roll of the English drums came upon the
ear. The Americans now saw that they were
discovered. Before long, a column of British
infantry came marching down the bank of the
river. There was an almost breathless silence
in Allen's small band, as they came up. Even
Allen himself stood fast, and gazed at them.
" To the boats ! to the boats !" cried a dozen
of his soldiers ; " there's a thousand of them."
"Silence! every man of ye!" roared Allen,
brandishing a huge horse-pistol. " The first
man that turns his back upon the red coats,
shall smell gunpowder." They were satisfied
with this arrangement, on the whole, examined
their rifles, and stood ready for the onset.
" Stand your ground, boys !" shouted Allen.
A party of British soldiers was moving towards
them from the main body, at double quick time.
" Let them come !" cried a tall, fine looking
hunter at his side; "let them come!" He
brought his rifle to his eye, as he spoke.
"Fire!" shouted the British officer, and in-
stantly the hunter dropped dead at the feet of
Allen. His hardy followers shrunk back. They
were sprinkled with the blood of the poor hunt-
er. " Fire ! fire !" shouted Allen, with a voice
of thunder. They fired, and a hot skirmish
commenced. Several of the English fell, and
several of the Americans : others fled. Some
defended themselves behind rocks and trees.
Allen was at last left alone, surrounded, and
compelled to surrender. He brushed a few
tears away for the fate of his friend, the young
hunter, and marched on with the English.
He was kept a prisoner more than two years,
and then was exchanged for some English offi-
cer, whom the Americans had taken. The irons
put upon him were so fastened about him, and
so heavy, that, for a long time, he could lie
down only on his back. A chest was his seat
by day, and his bed by night.
He was sent to England, to be tried as a pri-
soner of state, not as a fair and open enemy, but
as a rebel. At this time, all the Americans
were called rebels, and the English used to
speak of hanging great numbers of them, when
the war was over.
Allen was a man of very large frame, and
prodigious strength. He possessed great cour-
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439
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age, and was much inclined to daring enter-
prise. His reputation, it seems, had gone be-
fore him to England ; and he was, therefore,
kept in very close confinement. The people
were as much afraid of him, as if he had been a
whale, or a sea-serpent. They sometimes used
to come and see him in his prison ; but they
were very shy, and, if he so much as turned
round, they would run away like a flock of
startled sheep.
But the Americans were always on the watch.
They thought it probable, that the governor
would set out about this time, and were ready
for him. He embarked his 800 men in a large
number of boats, and undertook to cross the St.
Lawrence, precisely where Allen had crossed
it, at Longueville.
But Colonel Warner, with three hundred of
the Green Mountain sharp-shooters, and a few
cannon, lay among the bushes, on the river
bank, as the governor's boats came over.
The Americans waited quietly till they were
fairly within reach, and then poured out upon
them a tremendous volley of grape-shot. The
governor's party retreated in great haste, with
some loss of lives ; and nothing more was seen
of them.
News of this defeat soon came to Major Pres-
ton, the British commander of the besieged fort
of St. John. He began to think it a desperate
case with him, and so concluded to surrender to
the American general, Montgomery. This he
did on the 3d of November, 1775. He had held
out like a brave man, the siege having lasted
six weeks.
The Americans found in this fort seventeen
brass cannon, twenty-two iron ones, and a large
quantity of balls and bombs. The powder had
been used to the last kernel, and the provisions
to the last morsel. The capture was an impor-
tant one. St. John, standing on the Sorel,
which leads from Lake Champlain to the St.
Lawrence, commanded the passage to and from
Canada ; and was, therefore, called the Key of
Canada.
The next movement of the Americans was,
to take possession of the mouth of the Sorel,
where it empties into the St. Lawrence. The
point of land which is formed by the meeting
of the two rivers, was fortified with batteries,
which swept the river in such a manner, that
no English vessel could pass, without being
bored through and through. As the St. Law-
rence is wide here, the Americans provided a
fleet of boats and floating batteries, to guard the
other side, and thus completely stopped the pas-
sage up and down that river.
Just at this time, Governor Carleton had left
Montreal, which stands farther up the St. Law-
rence from the sea, with a fleet of English ships
under his command, and without having heard
of these fortifications. What added to the dif-
ficulty of his situation, was, that, the very day
after he left Montreal, another body of Ameri-
cans, under Montgomery himself, appeared un-
der the walls of that city, and called upon the
people to surrender.
This detachment had marched across the
country from Fort St. John. The land is flat
and marshy, and their journey had been slow
and difficult. It gave them great satisfaction to
have reached Montreal just as the governor had
gone off with his force. The city, having no
defence, was compelled to surrender. General
Montgomery treated the people so handsomely,
that they supplied him with a large quantity of
clothes for his troops.
These were very much needed. It was now
the middle of November, and they were weary
of a long, cold march. Some of the soldiers,
during this severe journey, would have gone
back to their snug homes in Vermont and the
other Provinces ; but General Montgomery di-
vided the clothes among them, and encouraged
them to proceed.
Governor Carleton was now unpleasantly sit-
uated on the river, with Montreal, in the posses-
sion of Montgomery, above him, and the fortifi-
cations at the mouth of the Sorel below. If he
could have been taken, all Canada would have
been easily conquered ; but he contrived, one
dark night, to pass through among the floating
batteries, in a small boat, with the oars muffled.
Thus he escaped safely to a town on the north-
ern bank, called Trois Rivieres ; and from that
place he went to Quebec.
The English fleet, which the governor had
left behind°, surrendered to the Americans, in a
day or two, with a large number of soldiers and
officers aboard. General Montgomery left gar-
risons in Montreal, and Forts Chambly and St.
John, on the Sorel, to keep the Indians in awe,
and marched on to Quebec, with a small force
of three hundred men.
While these things were going forward, Gen-
eral Washington, in his camp at Cambridge,
had conceived the plan of sending an expedi-
tion against Quebec, by way of a rough, wild
route, known only to the backwoodsmen and
hunters. This was through the District of
Maine.
He selected Colonel Arnold to command the
expedition ; a rash but brave man, who had as-
sisted, as we have seen, in the capture of Ti-
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Conderoga and Crown Point. Fourteen com-
panies were put under his command ; three of
riflemen, and one of artillery, under Captain
Lamb, being among the number. In all, there
were about eleven hundred men. A few others
joined them, of their own accord; and amono-
these volunteers was Aaron Burr, afterwards
vice-president. He was then 20 years of age.
Maine is crossed, from north to south, as a
map will show, by the river Kennebec, rising in
the mountains between Maine and Canada, and
emptying into the Atlantic Ocean, not far from
Casco Bay, near a town now called Bath. On
the other side of the same mountains, and close,
therefore, by the small upper streams of the
Kennebec, another river rises, called the Chau-
diere. This empties into the St. Lawrence
nearly opposite Quebec.
In crossing these mountains, between the
sources of the two rivers, on the two sides, & is
necessary to pass very steep and wild plJ«;s,
over marshes and torrents. No human being
dwelt there then, and nobody lives there to this
day. Such was the route Arnold and his brave
soldiers were to travel.
He left Boston in September, 1775, and ar-
rived at Newburyport, near the mouth of the
Mernmac. The vessels that waited for him
here, conveyed him and his men to the mouth
of the Kennebec. With a fresh south wind,
they sailed up the river fifty miles, to a town
called Gardiner. Here were two hundred bat-
teaux, ready for them. These were lono-, light,
flat boats, much used by the Canadians, hunt-
ers and others, in shoal waters.
Having laden these with his arms and pro-
visions, Arnold proceeded up the river to Fort
Wester, on the right bank. Here he divided
. his corps into three detachments. The rifle-
men, under Captain Morgan, moved on forward
as a vanguard, to explore the country; to sound
the fords, that is, ascertain where the river
might be crossed easily ; and to look out for the
portages. These are places where the river
ceases to be navigable, on account of shoals
falls, or rocks. The lading of the boats must,'
therefore, be carried forward upon the banks
by hand, or by beasts of burden. The batteaux
are then carried on, also, till the river becomes
deeper and smoother.
Arnold's second detachment marched the
next day after the first; and the third detach-
ment the day after that. The current of the
fiver was rapid, the bottom rocky, and often
interrupted by falls. Every hour, the water
entered some of the batteaux, and damaged the
provisions and arms. At every portage,— and
these occurred very often,— the boats were to be
unladen, and carried on the shoulders of the
troops.
In places where the river was rapid, yet free
of rocks, the batteaux were hauled up slowly
by soldiers on the banks, who dragged them
along with ropes. The army, however, ad-
vanced, and at length they had wild mountains
to cross, steep precipices to climb, vast shady
forests to pass under, and quagmires to wade
through. They had also deep valleys to tra-
verse, where the pine trees were tossing over
their heads in the stormy wind, and where the
river was rushing and foaming over the rocks,
with a noise like the ocean.
They were sometimes a whole day in travel-
ling four or five miles, with their baggage laced
on their backs, and axes in their hands to hew
a road through the wilderness. Some of the
men died at last with weariness ; many others
fell sick, and all of them were at length sorely
pressed for food.
Many a young soldier, as he lay down at
night, hungry and tired, on his pillow of green
boughs, thought of the warm bright fire-side,
where a mother was weeping for him. But
these thoughts were vain. They rose in the
morning, and pressed on patiently, brave men
as they were.
By the time they had reached the source of
Dead River, a branch of the Kennebec, their
provisions were almost exhausted. The sol-
diers were living, or rather starving, now, upon
the poor lean dogs they had taken with them,
and even this food was a luxury. At this place '
Colonel Enos received orders from Arnold to
send back the sick to Boston. He took the op-
portunity to return himself, with his whole de-
tachment. He was afterwards tried for this
desertion, by a court-martial, and acquitted, for
the reason that the men must otherwise have
starved.
But Colonel Arnold marched on. For thirty-
two days, not a single human dwelling was
met with. The army arrived at last upon the
mountains, between the Kennebec and the
Chaudiere. The little food still left was divid-
ed equally, and then the troops were directed
to look out as they could for their own living.
They discovered, finally, with inconceivable joy
the sources of the Chaudiere, and the first log-
houses of the Canadians.
These people received them well, and assisted
them. Arnold addressed a proclamation to the
Canadians, waited for his rear guard to over-
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441
REV
take him, pressed on, and arrived, November
9th, at Point Levy, nearly opposite Quebec.
The people of the city were as much amazed at
the sight of him and his men, as if they had
been so many goblins.
The English colonel, Maclean, had heard ot
their coming, however, by a letter, which Ar-
nold had given to an Indian on the Kennebec,
to carry to General Schuyler. The Indian gave
it to Maclean, and the latter removed all his
batteaux from the Point Levy side of the river,
to the other bank. The wind blew a gale too ;
and so the city had time to prepare for defence.
All the people of Quebec were immediately
armed, and brought within the walls— soldiers
or not soldiers, English, French, Scotch and
Irish, regulars and marines. The wind mode-
rated, and Arnold undertook to pass the river on
the night of November 13th. The same day,
Montgomery had taken Montreal.
One hundred and fifty men remained to make
ladders for scaling the city walls. The rest suc-
ceeded in crossing the river. The banks being
very steep here, Arnold and his men marched
down upon the edge of the river towards Que-
bec, and climbed the Heights of Abraham, close
by the city, and almost overlooking it. Here he
waited for his 150 ladder men, and hoped that
the city would surrender.
They were prepared for him, however; and
Maclean not only refused to receive the message
requiring him to surrender, but fired upon the
bearer of it. Arnold had no cannon, and only
six charges of powder to each man. Hearing,
therefore, that Maclean was about to sally out
upon him, he retired twenty miles up the river,
to Point au Tremble. He met, on his march,
the ship in which Governor Carleton was sail-
ing down to Quebec ; and heard, when he reach-
ed the point, that he had left it but a few hours
before. .
General Montgomery arrived here, and join-
ed Arnold, on the 1st of December, 1775, after
a weary march from Montreal. The weather
was excessively cold, and the roads were block-
ed up with snow. His force was about three
hundred men ; and never were people more de-
lighted to see each other, than were these three
hundred, and the little band of brave fellows,
who had followed Arnold. Montgomery had
brought clothing for the latter ; and they stood
in great need of it, indeed.
The soldiers now marched in company, and
arrived in sight of Quebec on the 5th. A sum-
mons was sent to Carleton to surrender; but
he ordered his troops to fire upon the bearer.
Montgomery then planted a battery of six can-
non within 700 paces of the walls. They were
laid upon banks of snow and ice ; the pieces
were small ;. and the fire had little effect. The
snow had now fallen in huge drifts, and the
weather was excessively cold. A council of
war was called, and an immediate assault on
the city was resolved upon.
Two detachments, under Montgomery and
Arnold, were to attack the walls of the lower
part of the town. This taken, the rest would
probably submit without fighting. On the last
day of the year 1775, between four and five in
the morning, in the midst of a heavy snow-
storm, the American columns advanced.
An Irish captain, going his rounds upon the
walls of the town, observed the guns fired by
the Americans as a signal, and at once caused
the drums to beat, and roused the garrison to
arms. Montgomery, with his detachment, pass-
ing along under Cape Diamond, came to a small
battery of cannon. The guard threw down their
arms, and fled. The Americans had nearly taken
possession of it, but the road was impeded with
immense masses of snow. Montgomery, with
his own hands, opened a path for his troops.
Two hundred of them came up at last, and
rushed on. Just then, a cannoneer, who had
fled, on seeing the Americans halt, returned to
his post, at the little battery , and, taking a match,
which happened to be still burning, fired a can-
non charged with grape-shot. The Americans
were within forty paces. Montgomery dropped
dead upon the spot, and his troops soon fled.
Arnold had made an assault, meanwhile, at
another point. But he soon received a musket
ball in the leg, which splintered the bone ; and
he was carried off to the hospital, almost by force,
as he was unwilling to quit the field. Captain
Morgan, with two companies of riflemen, now
advanced upon the battery. His sharp-shooters
killed many of the English through the embra-
sures. The guard fled. Morgan rushed forward ,
and some prisoners were taken. But here the
courage of his troops failed them. Morgan alone
stood lirm. As the morning dawned, he rallied
his riflemen with a voice of thunder, and they
rushed forward. A detachment sallied out up-
on them, at this moment, from the walls; and
the English captain summoned them to lay down
their arms
Moro-an aimed a musket at him, and shot him
dead. °The English retreated ; a hot skirmish
ensued. Some ladders were planted against the
walls, but a terrible fire was poured down upon
the men who attempted to ascend them. A de-
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tachment of the British now assaulted the Amer-
icans on another side, and they were compelled
at last, to surrender.
Arnold, with his remaining force, retreated
three miles from the city, and intrenched him-
self. Governor Carleton kept within the walls
ot Uuebec, satisfied with waiting till reinforce-
ments should reach him from England, in the
spring. So ended the famous assault upon
tiuebec. r
A braver man than Montgomery never fell
on a field of battle. The whole country wept
tor his loss. Even the Canadians lamented him,
and Larleton buried his body with all the hon-
ors of war. Colonel Barre, and Fox, and Burke
the great orators of England, pronounced his'
praises in the English parliament. Congress,
ordered a monument to be procured from France
and erected to his memory.
Having given some account of the most im-
portant events of the year 1775, the first of the
war, we come now to 1776. In the winter and
spring of this year, Boston was still surround-
ed by the American army under Washington.
Ine British in the town, meanwhile, were re-
duced to great extremity. For fuel, they used
the timber of houses, which they pulled down
for the purpose.
They were in want of food, and some armed
Ships were ordered to Georgia, to buy up rice :
but the people of that Province opposed them
with so much success, that, of eleven vessels
only two got off with their cargoes.
The Old South Church, in Washington
street, was entirely destroyed inside, and Ssed
as a ndiHg-room for a regiment of drao-oons.
Ine pulpit and pews were taken out, and the
floor covered with earth. The frame-work of
one pew, carving, silk furniture, and all, was
taken out, and used for a pig-sty. The North
Church, so called, was entirely demolished.
All this time, notwithstanding there was
much suffering in the town, the Eno-lish officers
and the tories contrived to pass the" time, when
they were not fighting the Americans, in danc-
ing, and other amusements. They had a small
theatre, and, in the evening of February 8th
were acting a farce, called " The Blockade of
Boston. ' One figure, meant to ridicule Wash-
ington, was rigged out in the most uncouth
style, with a large wig, and a long rusty sword.
Another character was an American ser-
geant, in his country dress, with an old gun on
his shoulder, eight feet long. At the moment
this figure appeared, one of the British sergeants
came running on the stage, and cried out, " The
Yankees are attacking our works on Bunker
Hill. The audience took it for a part of the
play ; but General Howe knew it was no joke
an£ called out," Officers, to your alarm-posts !"
lhe American army, at this time about Bos-
ton, was but little better provided for than the
English. Many fell sick with fatigue and ex-
posure. They had provisions enough from the
country, to be sure, while the English troops
were said to be living wholly on salt meat, and
the Boston tories upon horse-flesh. But the
whole number, in January, was reduced to less
than ten thousand ; and these, having enlisted
for a few months only, were every day going
At one time, there were hardly men enough
to man the lines. As for powder, they had but
four rounds to a man ; and but four small brass
cannon, and a few old iron pieces, full of holes
with the wood-work broken off. They were'
fitted into logs, like the barrel of a gun into the
stock, and lifted up and down, and wheeled
^lout m. this vvay, but to some good purpose,
lhe British laughed at these machines, at first,
but they soon found them no laughing matter.
They kept up a continual cannonade, in re-
turn ; firing about two thousand shot and bomb-
shells, it is said, in the course of a few months
But the whole of this firing killed only twelve
Americans. It was about this time, that a party
of the English officers, walking on Beacon Hill
in the course of the season, in the evenino-, were'
frightened by terrible noises in the air. ° They
ran down the hill with the greatest despatch.
It seems that they mistook the buzzing of a few
beetles and bugs, for the whizzing of" air-guns."
They suspected that the cunning Yankees had
contrived some queer machines for killing them,
without the noise of gunpowder.
There were two cannon kept in a gun-house
opposite the Mall, at the corner of West street
in the care of one Paddock. The British found
it out, and Paddock promised to deliver them
up. A party of school boys undertook to pre-
vent him from doing it.
The school-house was the next building to
the gun-house, separated only by a yard, com-
mon to both, and surrounded by a high fence.
The boys contrived to enter the gun-house'
windows, in the rear, in spite of an English
guard, which had been placed before the build-
ing. The guns were taken off their carriages,
carried into the school-room, and placed in a
large box under the master's desk, in which wood
was kept.
The English soon missed the guns, and began
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to search the yard. They then entered the
school- house, and examined it all over, excepting
the box, which the master placed his lame foot
upon. They were too polite to disturb him, and
excused him from rising. The boys looked on,
but lisped not a word. The guns remained in
the box for a fortnight, when one of the largest
boys carried them away in a trunk, one eve-
ning,on a wheel-barrow. A blacksmith at the
south end, kept them some time under a pile of
coal ; and they were at last put into a boat at
night, and conveyed safely to the American
camp.
The condition of the American army in the
earlv part of the year 1776 was miserable. They
soon after received five brass cannon, small arms
of all kinds, cargoes of provisions, &c. These
were all captured from the British, off the coast,
by American privateers. Privateers are armed
vessels, fitted out by private individuals.
In England, the year 177G opened with new
resolutions, on the part of the ministry, and the
majority of Parliament, to continue the war.
The party called the whigs, were violently op-
posed to it; but the tories, the ministry, and
king, regarded the Americans as rebels, and
resolved to spare no pains to punish them se-
verely.
They found it difficult to enlist soldiers in
England, for the war was unpopular with the
lower classes. Recruiting officers were sent
about, the royal standard was raised in all the
cities, and large bounties and wages were pro-
mised ; but to little purpose. In Scotland, some
thousands were raised ; and a bargain was made
with some of the small states of Germany,
for about seventeen thousand German troops.
These were called Hessians, because a part of
them came from Hesse.
In the meantime, the American army at Bos-
ton, began to form plans for seizing upon the
town, for taking the British garrison prisoners,
and for destroying their fleet in the harbor. But
they kept quietly in their quarters till March,
1770 ; the British now and then sallying out on
the American lines; and the latter returning
the compliment, by playing upon the town with
their rusty cannon.
During this month, the news came ot the
doings of the ministry in England, and of the
king's violent speech, at the close of the session
of Parliament. The whole American army was
greatly excited. The speech was publicly burnt
in the camp. At the same time, the red ground
of the American flag was changed, and, in place
of it, thirteen blue and white stripes were in-
serted, as an emblem of the thirteen Colonies,
that were united in the struggle for liberty.
These stripes are still retained in our national
flag.
There was something of the same feeling in
Congress as in the army. Stimulated by the
conduct of the king and Parliament, they re-
solved, from this time, to follow up the war, at
all hazards. Hearing that an attack would be
made upon New York, they urged General
Washington to press, as closely as possible, the
siege of Boston, so that the British might not be
able to spare troops to send against New York.
He wished to attack the town at once, but most
of his generals opposed this plan ; and he con-
cluded to fortify the heights of Dorchester,
which command the entire city on the south
side.
Heavy batteries were opened from the Ame-
rican works in Cambridge, Roxbury and Lech-
mere Point. The bombs fell into the town every
hour, and houses were constantly set on fire by
them. All this was to employ the British upon
that side, while the Americans, on the night of
the 4th of March, secretly marched over Dor-
chester Neck.
The frost rendered the roads good, and such
was the silence of the march, and the tremen-
dous roar kept up by the batteries, that 2,000
troops passed over, with 300 loaded carts, and
nothing was known of it till morning. Had the
British suspected this manoeuvre, they would
have taken measures to prevent it. By four
o'clock in the morning, two fortifications were
raised upon the two heights.
The British were amazed. " These rebels
have done more in one night," said General
Howe, who now commanded, " than my army
would have done in a week." A terrible can-
nonade now opened from the British forts, and
the shipping, upon the American fortifications
on Dorchester Heights. But few men, howev-
er were killed ; and the Americans worked on
in'hio-h spirits, taking no notice of the cannon-
balls,0 as they came, ploughing the ground
about them. ... ,
General Howe saw that he must either leave
the town, or dislodge the Americans from the
heights. He resolved upon the latter ; but a
long storm, and a very high sea, prevented his
troops from crossing over. He finally conclud-
ed to give up the town, and transport his whole
force to Halifax, in Nova Scotia.
Knowing that his shipping might be prevented
from passing out of the harbor, by the American
fortifications, he prepared a great mass ot stutt
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for setting fire to the town, and then proposed
to Washington and the selectmen, that if his
troops were suffered to pass safely, the town
should be left standing. This was agreed to.
He had 150 carrying vessels, called transports,
m the harbor ; and he embarked on board these,
°u lAe 17-h °f March> taking with him 1,500 of
the American tories. Never was such a scene
of confusion, plunder, hurrying, crying and
quarrelling; there were fathers bearing their
baggage, mothers leading their children, beasts
of burden loaded with furniture. The vessels
were crowded. The British were some days
getting out of the bay ; and had the pleasure,
meanwhile, of seeing the American army
marched into Boston, with great rejoicing.
The siege had lasted sixteen months. Pro-
visions had become so scarce, that fresh fish
sold at a shilling a pound ; geese at nine shil-
lings apiece ; a turkey at two dollars ; hams at
two ehilhngs a pound; sheep at six dollars
each ; and apples at six dollars a barrel. Two
hundred and fifty pieces of cannon were left
behind; also a quantity of wheat and other
grain, a good deal of coal for fuel, and 150
horses.
uT*ie English soldiers now began to think that
the Americans were an enemy worth conquer-
ing, and that powder was not absolutely wasted
upon them, as upon so many crows. They
were provoked by the treatment they had
received from the sharp-shooters at Breed's
Hill, and the rough compliments of the old
cannon.
The Americans, on the other side, now en-
tered upon the war with their whole hearts.
Iney were irritated more than ever at the con-
duct of the English ministry, in hiring the
Hessian soldiers. This irritation was not al-
layed by the bill which had just passed through
Farliament, compelling all persons found in
American vessels, to serve on board his majes-
ty s ships of war.
From this time, the war, on both sides, assum-
ed a more determined character. A strong
English force was sent to relieve Carleton, in
Canada. Arnold's whole force before Quebec
now amounted to only 3,000 men. Many of
Hiese were sick of the small-pox. General
Inomas died of the disease. The river was
clear of ice, April, 177G, and English reinforce-
ments were expected every day by the govern-
fT\ ,Allattack was made upon Quebec, but it
tailed of success; and Arnold was now obliged
to break up his camp and retreat, leaving his
baggage behind. Governor Carleton pursued,
till the Americans reached the mouth of the
river Sorel.
About the last of May, English forces arrived
at Quebec, amounting to 13,000 men, com-
manded by Burgoyne, Phillips, and a German
general, called Reidesel. Arnold, meanwhile,
was skirmishing with the Canadians and In-
dians, about Montreal and the Sorel. In a
short time, he went down the St. Lawrence to
Trois Rivieres, where there was a lame bodv
of English. s '
He expected to surprise them in the night,
but was misled by his guide; and, when he
arrived late in the morning, the enemy was
drawn up in battle array. A skirmish began,
and the Americans were defeated. They fled
over a wild, swampy country of woods, leaving
many prisoners behind them; and, having
crossed the St. Lawrence, at last arrived at
Fort St. John, on the Sorel.
The English pursued them to this place.
Arnold's force was too small to resist a siege.
He therefore set fire to the magazine and bar-
racks, and retreated farther south to Crown
Point. The English, having lost their batteaux,
could pursue him no farther, and soon after
returned to Quebec.
The Americans, under Arnold, had suffered
exceedingly in the retreat. They sometimes
waded in the water to the waist, and dragged
the loaded batteaux up the rapids by main
strength. Two regiments, at one time, had not
a single man in health ; another had only six
and a fourth only forty. On the first of July
they reached Crown Point. And thus ended
the courageous, but unfortunate expedition to
Canada.
During the summer of 1776, Crown Point
was taken by the British ; and the Americans,
now commanded by General Gates, withdrew
to Ticonderoga. A fleet was built on the lake,
at Skeensborough, consisting of a sloop, three
schooners, and six gondolas, which are large
flat vessels. They carried, in the whole, more
than 100 guns, and more than 400 men. Ar-
nold commanded the fleet.
By the month of October, the British had
collected a much larger naval force; and, as
nothing could be done, by way of invading the
Provinces from Canada, till Lake Champlain
should be cleared of the Americans, they sailed
up the lake, and engaged them. The two fleets
fought till night. Arnold then very skilfully
made his escape, and, in the morning, not an
American sail was to be seen.
The British fleet followed on, however, and
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found them again off Crown Point. Some of
the American vessels escaped to Ticonderoga.
Seven of them remained. They were attacked,
and the action continued some hours. Arnold
was determined that his vessels should not be
taken. He contrived, therefore, to run them on
shore, and there they were blown up. He did
not leave his own vessel till she was wrapped
in flames. Lake Champlain was now in the
power of the British ; but Gates and Arnold had
prevented them, strong as their force was, from
invading the Provinces farther south. It was
now too late in the season to attempt it.
Boston, which had been entered by the
American army on the 17th of March, was no
longer disturbed by the enemy. The British,
finding that the Provinces of North Carolina
and Virginia were too strong for them, deter-
mined to make an attack upon the city of
Charleston, in South Carolina.
Admiral Parker and General Clinton reached
Charleston harbor on the 28th of June, and,
with eleven large vessels of war, commenced a
tremendous attack upon Fort Moultrie. This
stood upon Sullivan's Island, six miles from the
city, and was built of a kind of wood called
palmetto, so spongy and soft, that the balls were
buried in it, and no splinters were thrown off.
The fort was defended by sixty pieces of
cannon. Ship after ship poured in their tre-
mendous broadsides. The whole harbor seemed
to be but a sheet of flame. The Americans
aimed well, and every shot had its effect. Some
of the English vessels were soon stranded. The
Thunder, after firing more than sixty bombs,
was disabled. The Bristol was almost destroy-
ed, and a -great number of men were killed.
The fire of the fort suddenly stopped. Their
powder was exhausted. The enemy thought
themselves sure of the victory, and the ships
moved nearer, with their flags flying, and their
drums beating. But the Americans were soon
supplied from the shore, and the battle lasted,
hotter than ever, till seven in the evening.
The English drew off" in the night, and the
enterprise was abandoned. This defence of
Fort Moultrie was one of the most gallant ac-
tions of the war.
Every man and every officer fought like a
hero. Congress voted their thanks to the whole
garrison, and to several of the officers by name.
A sword was presented to a sergeant of grena-
diers, named Jasper. In the heat of the battle,
the staff* of the fort flag had been cut down by a
ball. It fell from the parapet to the ground be-
low. Jasper sprang after it, fastened it to the
rammer of a cannon, and hoisted it again, amid
the fire of the enemy.
General Clinton arrived at Staten Island, off
the harbor of New York, about the 12th of July.
General Howe, with the army which left Boston
for Halifax, in March, had taken possession of
the island on the second of the month. Two
hundred of the inhabitants enlisted under his
banner. Some of the New Jersey people came
into his camp, and Governor Tryon, of New
York, visited him, informed him of the state of
the Province, and encouraged him to believe
that every thing must soon yield to his army.
The British plan now was, to direct the whole
English force upon the Province of New York,
and to make it, with the city of New York, the
-centre of all their operations in America. From
this point, they could march south upon the
southern Provinces ; here they could receive
stores from England by water, and provisions
from Staten and Long Islands ; and here they
could ascend the Hudson, and meet Burgoyne,
in his route south from Canada. At least, such
were the views of the English officers; but the
event will show, that these things were more
easily said than done.
The revolution in America had now reached
a point from which it could not turn backward.
The feelings of a great part of the people were
alienated from England, and a deep hostility
was planted in their bosoms. They had origi-
nally asked for justice, and that was denied.
Oppression followed, and that they resisted.
Then came the British armies, with fire and
sword, to consume their dwellings, and shed
their blood.
A high-spirited people were not likely to look
on these things but with resentment. Their
love and respect for England were originally
very strong. These, indeed, lasted up to the
period of which I am now speaking. But now
all thoughts of reconciliation were abandoned.
The people no longer asked for redress ; they
cast off their allegiance to the king, and deter-
mined to be free ; the " spirit of '76," which is
often alluded to, was the earnest voice of a na-
tion, resolving that they would risk everything
for independence.
In June, 1776, Congress had chosen five of
their members to consider the great question,
whether the Provinces should declare them-
selves a Free and Independent Nation. These
were Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Sherman, and
Livingston. They reported in favor of so doing ;
and Congress agreed with them. Independence
was solemnly declared on the fourth day of
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July . The declaration was written by Jefferson ,
and signed by John Hancock, president. It was
then signed by every other member of Congress.
This declaration has become famous among
all nations. It was drawn up by Thomas Jef-
ferson ; and then it was a great deal discussed
by the members of Congress, and many amend-
ments and alterations were made. It was a long
time before Congress could satisfy themselves.
One gentleman objected to one word, and
another to another word, till, as Franklin said
to Mr. Jefferson, it fared like the sign of a hatter
in Philadelphia, composed in these words, "John
Thompson, hatter, makes and sells hats for ready
money," with the figure of a hat at the end.
Before nailing it over his door, the hatter
submitted it to his friends for correction. One
thought the word " hatter " of no use, it be-
ing followed by the words " makes hats." So
"hatter" was struck out. A second said that
" makes " might as well be omitted ; his cus-
tomers would not care who made the hats. A
third thought "ready money" was useless; it
was not the custom of the place to sell for any
thing but money. These were brushed out, and
it now read, "John Thompson sells hats." "Sells
hats!" says the next man the hatter met;
"why, nobody will expect you to give them
away." " Sells" was knocked out, and then
"hats," because there was one painted on the
board. This, with "John Thompson," was all
that remained. The declaration was trimmed
in much the same manner. But it satisfied
every body at last.
This story, therefore, only applies to the man-
ner in which the Declaration of Independence
was discussed in Congress. As it was finally
passed and signed by the members of Congress,
it was one of the most noble efforts of the hu-
man mind.
The people received and read it with great
joy. Independence was proclaimed, with great
parade, at Philadelphia, on the 8th. Cannon
were fired, the bells rung, bonfires were kindled,
and the people seemed to be mad with joy. On
the 11th, the declaration was read to eachbrigade
of the American army, then assembled at New
York, and received with prodigious peals of
applause.
The same evening, the statue of George III,
erected in 1770, was dragged through the
streets, by the " sons of liberty ; " and the lead
it was made of was melted into musket balls.
An immense multitude, at Baltimore, received
the declaration in the same manner ; the air
ringing with shouts, and the roar of cannon.
The king's effigy was made the sport of the
populace, and burnt in the public square.
In Boston, the declaration was read from the
gallery of the State-house, to an immense crowd,
gathered from all quarters. Men, women and
children assembled to hear it, and every moment
the air sounded with the shouts of the multi-
tude. The troops were drawn up, splendidly
dressed and armed, in King street, which from
that time was called State street.
The bells rang, the people shouted, the can-
non thundered and blazed, and the striped ban-
ners waved from the steeples, till the whole air
seemed to be alive. In the evening, all the
ensigns of royalty, English lions, sceptres or
crowns, whether graven or painted, were torn
in pieces, and burnt in State street.
The Virginian Convention voted, that the
king's name should be struck out from all the
public prayers. They ordered, that the great
seal of that Commonwealth should represent
Virtue as the guardian genius of the Province,
resting one hand upon her lance, and holding
with the other a sword, trampling upon tyranny,
in the shape of a prostrate man, with a crown
fallen from his head, and a broken chain in his
hand.
Such was the declaration of independence,
and such the manner in which it was received
by the Americans. They had now declared them-
selves to the world as a free people ; but ere their
freedom could be established, they had yet to pass
through a long, bloody and desolating war.
General Washington now occupied New
York and Long Island, which lies a few miles
from the city, with seventeen thousand troops.
On the 22d of August, the English landed, in
great force, on the island, and a very hot battle
was fought, among the hills and woods. A
whole regiment of fine young men from Mary-
land were killed, some cannon were lost, and
the Americans retreated to the northern part of
the island.
Here the stormy weather kept the enemy
from attacking the camp again. But, fearing
an assault every moment, the Americans con-
cluded to pass over to the island of New York,
and join the rest of the army. This was done
in the night of August 29th. They kindled up
circles of bright fires in their camp, to deceive
the enemy, and started off in their boats at 11
o'clock in the evening.
They were so near the British all the while,
as to hear the sound of their pickaxes, and now
and then the shout of a British soldier, as he
walked on guard. They were neither seen nor
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heard, however. The fleet of boats moved off
from the shore, like an army of ghosts. Not a
word was said, no drums beat, no bugles rang,
no colors waved in the breeze.
A fair wind favored the troops ; they crossed
the water like birds. In the morning, at eight,
when the fog cleared up, which had covered
them in the passage, and the sun shone out bright
and warm upon the green shores, the wooded
hill-tops of the islands, and the smooth surface
of the bay, the American army had vanished.
The camp was deserted, the fires had gone down,
and nothing was seen, but a few distant boats,
which had come back for the cannon.
Previous to the retreat of the Americans,
several skirmishes were fought between the
two armies. Two forts, one belonging to the
English, and the other to the Americans, were
within half gun shot of each other, and were
only separated by a small creek. It was at last
agreed between the British and American offi-
cers, that the sentinels should not fire upon
each other, as they went their rounds. So they
became very civil. " Give us a quid of your
tobacco, my good friend," cried the English
guard to the American sentinel. " Oh ! cer-
tainly," said the latter. He drew his twisted
roll from his pocket, and tossed it across the
creek to the Englishman, who gnawed off a
quid, and threw it back again.
The British army now pressed the Americans
with great activity ; the latter were driven back
from point to point. They left the city of New
York, at last, and the British entered it. A few
days after, a terrible fire raged in the place, and
consumed more than a thousand houses. The
British supposed the inhabitants had set it on
fire, and were so angry, as to throw some of
them into the flames.
Washington now retreated into the back coun-
try. The British scoured the Province of New
York with their troops, and covered all the
shores with their vessels. Several strong forts
were taken, together with their garrisons.
Nothing could be done to oppose them. The
Americans were never so much discouraged.
General Washington, with his army, marched
into New Jersey, and attempted to harass the
British army there, under Cornwallis. But
they were too strong, and Washington was
obliged to retreat night and day : over mountain
and valley, he fled before them. The time the
militia had enlisted for was short, and many of
them went home. Whole companies deserted,
and the army was so small in December, that
Washington knew every man by his name.
They were so nearly naked and ragged, too,
and looked so miserable, that their own coun-
trymen would not join them. Large numbers
went over to the enemy. They were driven,
week after week, up and down the banks of the
Delaware. The infantry left the frozen ground
bloody behind them, with their bare and sore
feet. They were so closely pursued, that they
could scarcely cross a stream, and beat down
the bridges after crossing it, before the enemy
came galloping up on the other side.
The British cavalry traversed the country,
with their large, fine horses, and elegant uni-
forms. The hundred or two horsemen of the
American army, were mounted upon wretched,
worn-out horses, so lean and frightful, as to be
the constant theme of ridicule with the British
soldiers. The riders were not much better.
" Ragamuffins" had become a common name for
them.
These were gloomy times : and the Ameri-
can people began to fear, that they would be
crushed in their struggle for freedom. Many
were gntirely disheartened. Some persons base-
ly de&rted the cause of their country, in this
hour of trouble, and went over to the enemy.
But Washington remained firm and undismay-
ed. While other minds were shaken with
doubt and fear, he remained steadfast and re-
solved. Looking deeply into the future, and
placing his trust in Heaven, he seemed to pene-
trate the clouds, that shed their gloom upon the
land , and to see beyond them a brighter and a
happier day.
He always appeared before his soldiers with a
smile, and fought or fasted with them, as neces-
sity required. He inspired all around him with
courage, and wrote many letters to Congress,
entreating them to make great exertions to send
him assistance. Accordingly, they endeavored
to rouse the country, by representing to the peo-
ple the necessity of an immediate increase of
the army.
This appeal was not without its effect. Phi-
ladelphia, in a very short time, furnished Wash-
ington with a regiment of fifteen hundred noble
fellows, who were resolved to support him to the
last. They had been accustomed to the gay
company and high living of the city; but they
shouldered the musket, slept, with a mere blan-
ket around them, on the frozen ground, or
in sheds and barns ; and suffered every thing
with the poorest of the army.
The British now withdrew into winter quar-
ters. They occupied the villages for many
miles, up and down, on the eastern side of the
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Delaware, with their army. Washington was
below them, on the other side. But they were
tired of pursuing him ; and they believed that
his army would soon dwindle away, and the
whole country be conquered. They scarcely
took the trouble to set guards at night.
But Washington watched them like a lynx.
On the night of December 25th, he crossed the
Delaware, again, with a large part of his army.
The night was dark, stormy and cold. The river
was crowded with broken ice, rushing together,
and sweeping down upon its swift current. But,
notwithstanding these difficulties and dangers,
the river was passed by the American troops,
and they marched on to Trenton.
They entered that place at eight in the morn-
ing. A large body of Hessians were stationed
there. They were completely surprised ; but
they fought bravely for a short time. Five
hundred cavalry made their escape ; but some
fine cannon and more than a thousand prisoners
were taken by the Americans. Cornwallis,
who lay a few miles off, thought so little of the
American " ragamuffins," at this time, that he
mistook the noise of the cannon at Trenton for
thunder.
The British army were amazed at this unex-
pected event. They moved and marched about,
but to no purpose. Washington started off for
the mountains of New Jersey. The British
were close upon his rear. They encamped so
near him one evening, that they thought it im-
possible for him to escape. They put off attack-
ing him, however, till the next morning.
The Americans kindled up their fires, as usual,
and marched off at one o'clock, without noise.
They reached Princeton at daybreak, and fell
upon the British there so suddenly and so fierce-
ly, that sixty of them were killed, and three
hundred taken prisoners. Their commanding
officer had some fears of an attack, and had
written to the commander of the British army, a
day or two before, for a reinforcement. " Don't
be alarmed," was the answer; " with a corporal
and six men, you may scour the whole coun-
try ; don't be alarmed." They found themselves
mistaken, however, as we have seen. Wash-
ington now formed a camp at Morristown. Mil-
itia came to him from all parts.
The British treated their prisoners with cru-
elty. Hundreds were confined in the New
York prisons. They were often insulted as
rebels. A party of them was once brought
before General Howe, to be tried. An English
gentleman pleaded their youth in their favor.
" It won't do," said the general; " hang up the
rascals ! hang them up !" They were only cart-
ed through the streets, however, seated on cof-
fins. Halters were tied about their necks, and
the British soldiers hooted at them.
While these things were going on, late in
the year 1776, at New York, Sir Peter Parker
scoured the coasts of Rhode Island with a large
squadron, and overran the whole Province.
Meanwhile, a man by the name of Stuart was
sent, by the British, among the Indians in the
high, wild lands back of Virginia, and the
other southern Colonies.
The Cherokees were persuaded by him to
make war ; and they rushed in upon the settle-
ments of the whites, burning the villages, and
scalping men, women and children. But a
large American force soon marched into their
own country. Their wigwams were burnt to
the ground, and their cornfields trampled under
foot. They were frightened at last, and begged
for peace.
It once happened, during the expedition
against the Indians, that, the Americans hav-
ing marched a long way among the hills, Major
Pickens was sent ahead with twenty-five men,
as a scouting party, to examine the country.
One morning, as he and his party waded
through the tall grass on the bank of a stream
called Little River, more than two hundred
Indians came rushing out on a ridge of land
just above them. " Let us scalp them," cried
the Indian leader to his men ; " they are too
few to shoot."
But Major Pickens was prepared for their
onset. His men were sharp-shooters, and each
man had his rifle. He ordered them not to fire
until he did; to take sure aim; and, having
fired, to bury themselves in the grass, and load
their rifles. The Indian chief soon came up
within twenty-five yards of the little band,
yelling and shaking his tomahawk. Pickens
stretched out his rifle, took a deliberate aim,
and shot him dead.
The twenty-five brave riflemen now fired.
The Indians fell on all sides. They yelled
more than ever, with fury and terror, dropped
their tomahawks, and fell back among the trees.
Even there the rifles were too sure for them.
Not an Indian could show himself over a log or
a rock, but a bullet instantly whistled through
him.
One of them was seen running his gun
through the roots of a fallen tree. A rifleman
aimed at him as coolly as if he had been a
wooden mark, hit him precisely in the nose,
and laid him flat on his back. Another Indian
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lifted the dead body, and was running off with
it, — for the Indians never leave the dead, —
when another rifleman fired, and killed him.
Dozens of them were picked off in this way,
and the rest fled.
A few such skirmishes as these made the In-
dians soon tired of fighting the Americans, to
which they had been instigated by the British.
The next year, when an attempt was made to
set them upon the white inhabitants along the
frontiers, they replied to the British emissaries,
that " the hatchet was buried so deep that they
could not find it."
In the spring of 1777, General Howe amused
himself by sending out detachments from his
camp to ravage various parts of the country.
On the 2Gth of April, Governor Tryon embark-
ed at New York with a detachment; sailed
through the Sound; and landed at Fairfield,
Connecticut. They marched through the coun-
try in battle array, and reached Danbury in
twenty hours.
As they came, the few militia who were
there fled at full speed. The British began
to burn and demolish every thing except the
houses of the tories. Eighteen houses were
consumed ; and eight hundred barrels of pork
and beef, two thousand barrels of flour, and
seventeen hundred tents were carried off or
destroyed. But the militia now began to mus-
ter from the country round about.
At Ridgefield, General Arnold blocked up
the road in front of the British, who were now
returning. He had with him about five hun-
dred men. These brave fellows, who had
marched fifteen or twenty miles in the rain,
kept up a brisk fire upon the enemy, as they
came on; and stood their ground, till the Brit-
ish formed a lodgment upon a hill at their left
hand. They were then obliged to give way.
The British rushed on, and a whole platoon
fired at General Arnold, who was not more
than thirty yards distant. His horse was killed.
A soldier advanced to run him through with his
bayonet; Arnold shot him dead with his pistol,
and escaped. The British lost more than two
hundred men, but made good their retreat to
the Sound. Congress presented General Ar-
nold with a fine war-horse, richly caparisoned,
for his gallantry.
By way of retaliation, on the 24th of May,
Colonel Meigs, an American, crossed the Sound
with one hundred and seventy men, in whale-
boats, and fell upon the enemy at Sagg Harbor,
on Long Island. They burned twelve vessels,
destroyed a large quantity of forage, killed six
29
men, and brought off ninety prisoners, without
losing one of their own men. They returned
to Guilford, having been the distance of ninety
miles in twenty-five hours from the time of
their departure. Congress ordered an elegant
sword to be presented to Colonel Meigs.
General Howe made great efforts, in the
spring of 1777, to persuade the Americans to
enlist under him. They were promised large
wages and bounties ; but very few of them
could be wheedled in this way. They hated
the Germans even more than they did the Eng-
lish. But great numbers of militia crowded to
Washington's camp, at Middle Brook, New Jer-
sey. His army amounted to fifteen thousand
men.
He was so strongly intrenched among the
hills, that Howe dared not attack him. The
summer was spent in marching to and fro, in
New Jersey, without effecting much. But in
July, the British mustered a force of sixteen
thousand men, at New York. These left there,
soon after, with a large fleet. An attack was
expected every where upon the coast ; but no
one knew whither they were bound. Having
been off at 'sea, with high winds, for a long
time, they entered Chesapeake Bay at last, and
landed at Turkey Point.
They left that place September 3d, and,
marching towards Philadelphia, came up with
Washington's army at a place called Chad's
Ford, on the river Brandywine. On the 11th,
they had a warm skirmish, and the Americans
were driven back. Congress removed to York-
town, Virginia; and Howe entered Philadel-
phia, in great triumph, September 26th.
The Americans were defeated again at Ger-
man town, on the 4th of October. The battle
began early in the morning, when nothing
could be seen farther than thirty yards. Dur-
ing the whole action, which lasted nearly three
hours, the firing on both sides was directed by
the flash of each other's guns. The smoke of
the cannon and musketry, mingled with the
thick fog, rested over the armies in clouds.
The Americans saved their artillery, even to
a single cannon, which had been dismounted.
This piece belonged to General Greene's divi-
sion ; and he stopped in the midst of the re-
treat, and coolly ordered it to be placed in a
wagon. In this manner it was carried off.
General Greene's aid-de-camp, Major Burnet
wore a long cue in this battle, as the fashion
then was in the army. As he turned round to
attend to the cannon just mentioned, his cue
was cut off by a musket ball from the enemy.
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" Don't hurry, my dear major," cried Greene,
laughing ; " pray dismount, and get that long
cue of yours ; don't be in haste."
The English were driving after them at a tre-
mendous rate, cavalry, cannon, and all. The
major jumped from his horse, however, and
picked up his cue. Just at that moment, a shot
took off a large powdered curl from the head of
Greene. The major, in turn, advised him to
stop and pick it up ; but he rode on quietly, and
was the last man on the field.
About this time, a smart action was fought at
Red Bank, on the Jersey side of the Delaware,
seven miles below Philadelphia. The Ameri-
cans had erected batteries here, and upon Mud
Island, half a mile distant, in the middle of
the river. Nothing, therefore, belonging to the
British, could pass up and down between their
camp, which was now at Philadelphia, and
their fleet in the river below.
Two ranges of chevaux-de-frise' were placed
in the channel. They stretched from the isl-
and nearly to the bank.
Howe sent down two thousand Germans,
under Col. Donop, to attack the Red Bank re-
doubt. This was defended by four hundred men.
This number was so small, that half the
redoubt was left vacant, and a line was drawn
through the middle of it. The enemy came on
fiercely enough, with a brisk cannonade ; enter-
ed the empty part of the redoubt, and shouted
for victory. But it was now the garrison's turn.
They poured out such a tremendous fire, that
the Germans, after a brief conflict, fled, with
the loss of four hundred men. Their brave
commander, Donop, was killed. Late in the
season, however, these fortifications in the river
were abandoned.
Washington retired into winter quarters, at
Valley Forge, sixteen miles from Philadelphia.
His army might have been tracked, by the blood
of their feet, in marching, without shoes or
stockings, over the hard, frozen ground. Thou-
sands of them had no blankets, and were oblig-
ed to spend the night in trying to get warm, in-
stead of sleeping. They erected log-huts for
lodgings.
For a fortnight, they nearly starved. They
were sometimes without bread and without
meat. A person passing by the huts of these
poor fellows in the evening, might have seen
them, through the crevices, stretching their
cold hands over the fire, and a soldier occasion-
ally coming in or going out, with nothing but a
blanket on his shoulders. " No pay, no clothes,
no provisions, no rum," said they to each other.
But they loved Washington and their country
too well, to desert them in these trying times.
While a British force lay on the west side of
Rhode Island, under General Prescott, during
this last season, (1777,) one Barton, a militia
major, learned their situation from a deserter,
and planned an attack upon them. He collect-
ed his regiment, and asked, which of them
would hazard their lives with him. If any
were willing, they should advance two paces.
Every man came forward ; they knew Barton
well for a brave fellow.
He chose thirty-six of them, mustered five
whale-boats, and started off" at nine o'clock in the
evening. The men promised to follow him at
all hazards. He directed them to sit perfectly
still, like statues, and obey him. Barton's boat
went ahead, distinguished by a long pole run
out from the stem, with a handkerchief tied to it.
As they rowed by Prudence Island, they
heard the English guard cry, " All's well." A
noise was heard on the main land, like the
trampling of horses ; but, as the night was
very dark, nothing could be seen, and no man
whispered a word. They now landed, and set
off silently for Prescott's lodgings, which were
a mile from the shore. The Americans had
to pass by a house occupied by a company of
troopers.
" Who comes there ?" cried the sentinel.
They said nothing ; and a few trees standing
before them, their number could not be seen.
They moved on. " Who comes there ?" mut-
tered the sentinel again. " Friends," replied
Barton. "Friends," says the soldier, "ad-
vance, and give the countersign." " Poh !
poh !" said Barton ; " We have no countersign
— have you seen any rascals to-night?" He
rushed upon the guard, at this moment, like a
lion, and threatened to blow his brains out, if
he uttered a syllable. The poor fellow was hor-
ribly frightened, but they took him along with
them. They soon reached the house, burst in
the door, and rushed forward. A British sol-
dier, with only a shirt on, rushing out at the
same time, ran for the cavalry house, to give
the alarm. The men would not believe him, but
laughed at him for being frightened at ghosts.
He confessed that the creature (Barton) was
clothed in white — and so it passed off.
" Is General Prescott here ?" shouted Barton,
to the master of the house. " No, sir ! oh no,
sir !" said the poor fellow, scared almost out of
his wits. Nobody in the house seemed to know
any thing about Prescott. " Then," shouted
Barton, at the head of the staircase, " I will
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burn the house down about your ears." And
he serzed a flaming brand from the fire place.
" What noise is this ?" cries somebody in the
next chamber. Barton opened the door, and
found an elderly gentleman sitting up in bed.
" Are you General Prescott, sir?" " Yes, sir."
"You are my prisoner, then," said Barton.
Prescott was half dressed by the soldiers in
a moment, and carried off to the shore, with
a Major Barrington, who had leaped from a
chamber window.
They had scarcely rowed through the Eng-
lish fleet, when a discharge of cannon, gave the
alarm. Fifty boats pursued them in the dark.
They escaped, however, and, in six hours from
the time of starting, landed at Warwick Point.
" You have made a monstrous bold push, ma-
jor," said Prescott, as they stepped ashore.
" Thank you, sir," said Barton, with a bow ;
" we have done as well as we could." This
capture occasioned great joy throughout the
country.
Having seen Washington's army in 'their
winter quarters at Valley Forge, we shall now
follow the northern army, under Gates, and the
English under Burgoyne, through the cam-
paign of 1777. The latter intended to break his
way from Canada, up the river Sorel, through
Lakes Champlain and George, and the river
Hudson, to New York. He had under his com-
mand one of the finest armies ever seen.
The Americans were driven before him, from
Champlain almost to Albany. Burgoyne press-
ed after them ; but his route lay through the
woods, and the Americans cut large trees on
both sides of the road, so that they fell across it,
and blocked it up entirely. The country was
so covered with marshes, and crossed by creeks,
that the British were obliged to build no less
than forty bridges ; one of them was a log
bridge, extending two miles across a swamp.
July 30th, Burgoyne reached Fort Edward, on
the Hudson.
He had with his army a large number of In-
dian warriors, and they ravaged the country in
the most horrible manner. One of them mur-
dered a beautiful American girl, Miss McRea.
She was the daughter of a tory, and was to be
married to a young English officer. The latter
sent two Indians to guide her across the wood
from the fort to his own station. They quar-
relled on the way, which should have special
charge of her, and one of them, to terminate the
dispute, sunk his tomahawk in her head, and
ended her life.
The spirit of the whole country was greatly
excited by these things ; and an army of thir-
teen thousand men was collected under Gen-
eral Gates, to oppose Burgoyne. Meanwhile,
a British force, under General St. Leger, had
crossed Lake Ontario, from the St. Lawrence,
and laid siege to Fort Schuyler, on the southern
side. General Herkimer marched northward
with eight hundred militia, to relieve it. He
fell into an ambuscade, however, in the woods,
and was killed.
In his last moments, though mortally wound-
ed, he was seen sitting on a stump, still en-
couraging his men. They stood firm, and sev-
eral of the British Indians fell at their first fire.
The rest were so enraged, that they turned upon
the tories and the British, and murdered seve-
ral of them. The Rattle was heard at the fort,
and two hundred and fifty of the Americans
came out to reinforce the detachment. The
British were wholly routed. The Indians fled,
howling like wild beasts, and left their kettles,
blankets, tomahawks and deer-skins behind.
But St. Leger, with his Indians and tories,
still besieged Fort Schuyler. General Arnold
was now sent, with one thousand men, to at-
tack them. But this force was too small, and
the Americans had recourse to a stratagem to
frighten the enemy. Colonel Brooks, after-
wards governor of Massachusetts, seized upon
one Cuyler, a tory, who owned a large farm-
house. He was in great terror, lest the Ameri-
cans should plunder him ; but Brooks agreed
to let him go, and spare his property, if he
would travel to Fort Schuyler, and tell the Brit-
force there, that Arnold was coming upon them
with an immense army.
Cuyler consented. He bored his coat through
in two or three places, in the skirts, and made
all haste across the woods to the British camp.
He informed the Indians there, that Arnold was
rushing upon them with a tremendous force ;
he said he had fled before them for his life, and
showed them the bullet-holes in his old coat, in
proof of his story.
The Indians were frightened. Nothing could
persuade them to stay with St. Leger. " You
told us," said they, " there would be no fight-
ing for us ; that we should smoke our pipes ;
and when you had taken the prisoners in the
fort, we were to have the pleasure of cutting
their throats. But this won't do." According-
ly, seven or eight hundred immediately left
him. He was himself so alarmed, that he fled
with his troops, and left his baggage behind
him.
Two Indian chiefs, who, it seems, understood
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the plot, followed them in their march, and
played jokes upon the officers. One of the
chiefs had loitered behind ; and just as the offi-
cers reached a deep, muddy place, he came
running up to them, out of breath, and cried
out, "They are coming! they are coming!"
The soldiers threw down their knapsacks, and
plunged through the mire as fast as they could
go. St. Leger himself was completely plaster-
ed with mud from head to foot.
In this way, Fort Schuyler was relieved from
the siege without bloodshed. The stratagem
practised by the Americans, afforded a great
deal of amusement to the army.
About the middle of August, Burgoyne sent
five hundred Hessians and one hundred Indians,
under Colonel Baum, to take possession of a
collection of American provisions, at Benning-
ton, Vermont. But General Stark was there,
luckily, with eight hundred New Hampshire
and Vermont militia. Colonel Baum, finding
this force greater than his own, threw up tem-
porary breastworks for defence, and sent to
Burgoyne for reinforcements. Several skir-
mishes now followed, in which the Americans
had the advantage. Animated by success, they
at length ventured to make a general attack
upon the breastworks of the enemy. They
were without cannon, and destitute even of
bayonets. The Hessians, too, fought very brave-
ly for two hours.
But they were now opposed by still braver
men. The Americans rushed into the very
flash of their cannon and musketry. Stark had
said, at the outset of the battle, " My fellow
soldiers, we conquer to-day, or this night Mary
Stark is a widow." Such deep resolution
seemed to be in the breast of every man. They
could not be resisted. Multitudes of the ene-
my fell before their keen and well-directed fire.
Baum himself was killed, and most of his de-
tachment either lost their lives, or were taken
prisoners.
The Americans, not expecting another ene-
my, had dispersed themselves after the battle.
Suddenly, a reinforcement of several hundred
British troops, under Colonel Breyman, arrived
at Bennington. The Americans were now near
losing all they had gained. But it happened
that a regiment, under Colonel Warner, reached
the place soon after. These, with the militia,
immediately made an attack upon the enemy.
They fought till sunset, when the British re-
treated, and, undercover of the night, the great-
er part effected their escape.
In these two engagements, four hundred of
the enemy were killed and wounded, six hun-
dred were taken prisoners ; and two hundred
and fifty dragoon swords, eight loads of bag-
gage, and twenty horses, fell into the hands of
the Americans. A Vermont clergyman, at the
commencement of the first day's battle, mounted
a stump, and prayed for the Americans. The
British heard him, and fired at him. The stump
was bored through with their bullets, but the
clergyman was unhurt. He stepped down.
" Now give me a gun," said he ; and he fired
the first shot on the American side.
An old farmer in the neighborhood had five
sons in the battle. He was told the next day,
that one of them had come to a miserable end.
"What!" cried the gray-headed patriot, " did
he leave his post ? did he run from the enemy ?"
" Oh no, sir ; worse than that — he fell among
the slain, fighting like a hero." " Then I am
satisfied," said the old man ; " bring him in ;
let me look upon my noble boy." The corpse
was brought in ; he wept over it. He then
called for a bowl of water, and a napkin ; washed
the blood away with his own trembling hands,
and thanked God, that his son had died for his
country.
By the middle of September, the American
army under Gates was within three miles of the
great army of Burgoyne, on the Hudson. The
latter was now severely pressed for provisions,
and undertook to march on towards Albany.
The Americans met him at Stillwater, on the
19th ; a fierce battle was fought ; and the Brit-
ish could advance no farther. They pitched
their camp on the plains of Saratoga, three miles
above the village, within cannon-shot of the
American lines.
General Clinton was at this time attempting
to force a passage up the Hudson, from New
York, to reinforce Burgoyne. Spies and scouts
were constantly passing between the two armies.
One Palmer was at last caught in this business,
and brought into the camp of the American
general, Putnam, at Peekskill, New York. He
was found to be an American tory, and the
British had made him a lieutenant for his pains.
Governor Tryon wrote for his release, and
threatened vengeance if he were executed.
Putnam addressed the following note to the
governor, in reply : —
" Sir — Nathan Palmer, a lieutenant in your
service, was taken in my camp as a spy ; he
was tried as a spy ; he was condemned as a
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spy ; and you may rest assured, sir, he shall be
hanged as a spy.
I have the honor to be, &c.
Israel Putnam.
To his Excellency Governor Tryon.
P. S. Afternoon. He is hanged."
Hot skirmishes now took place every day be-
tween the two armies at Saratoga. September
23d, a cannonade was kept up, with a tremen-
dous roar and blaze, for three hours. The field
was strown with the killed. An English cap-
tain, with forty-eight men, had the command of
four fine cannon. He fought till thirty-six of
his men were killed. His horses being shot
down at last, the cannon were left to the Ameri-
cans.
Some of the American soldiers, during these
skirmishes, often placed themselves in the
boughs of high trees, the country being wild
and woody, and played with their rifles upon
the rear and flanks of the enemy. The British
officers were picked off like birds. Burgoyne
himself once narrowly escaped. His aid-de-
camp, General Phillips, was delivering a mes-
sage to him, when he received a rifle ball in his
arm. His saddle was furnished with very rich
lace, and the sharp-shooter had taken him for
Burgoyne.
October 7th, the whole British line was driven
back by a tremendous charge. The German
lines stood firm to the last, and Colonel Brooks
was ordered to attack them. He galloped
toward them at the head of his regiment, waving
his sword ; and Colonel Arnold rushed on with
him. Arnold was wounded, and carried off.
Brooks kept on, and the Germans were driven
back. Colonel Cilley,of New Hampshire, cap-
tured a cannon with his own hands, and was
seen astride upon it, in the heat of the battle,
shouting to his soldiers.
In this battle, Burgoyne had a bullet pass
through his hat, and another through the edge
of his vest. The English general Frazer fought
nobly for a long time. Colonel Morgan ob-
served him at last, called up one of his best rifle-
men, and pointed him out. " Do you see that
tall, fine looking fellow," said he, " fighting like
a lion ? It is Frazer. I honor the man — but he
must die." This was enough for the rifleman.
He aimed, and Frazer was shot dead.
On the 18th of October, 1777, the whole
British army under Burgoyne surrendered to
General Gates. There were nearly ten thou-
sand men, including Indians; forty cannon,
seven thousand muskets, and a vast quantity of
tents and cartridges. The whole country was
filled with rejoicing. The thanks of Congress
were voted to Gates and his army. But the
best effect of the victory was, that the French
now concluded to fight with the Americans
against England.
Treaties between the two nations were signed
February Gth, 1778, and a fast sailing schooner
from France reached Casco Bay, in Maine, in
about a month, with the news. It occasioned
prodigious joy in Congress, in the army at Val-
ley Forge, and over the whole country. A
French fleet arrived on the coast early in July.
General Clinton knew that they were coming,
and therefore thought it necessary to remove to
New York. He left Philadelphia on the 18th
of June, and marched through New Jersey, to-
ward the latter place. The British army had
been in possession of Philadelphia for many
months. Their departure was a most welcome
event to the inhabitants. The business of the
city was very much interrupted while they
were there, and the intercourse of the inhabi-
tants with the neighboring towns and villages,
was attended with much difficulty and vexation.
The following is the story of Captain Plun-
kett, who escaped from the British, while they
were at Philadelphia, in a curious manner. He
was an American officer, and, being taken pris-
oner, was carried to that city, and kept in con-
finement. Some years before, he had formed a
very pleasant acquaintance with a young Qua-
keress. She became apprized of his situation,
and determined to effect his release. Accord-
ingly, she privately sent him the uniform of a
British officer. The captain put it on, and or-
dered the guard to open the door. The latter,
taking him for a British officer, allowed him to
pass into the streets. He immediately went to
the house of the young Quakeress, where he
remained concealed for some time. His bene-
factress then procured for him an old market
woman's gown, bonnet and shawl. The cap-
tain dressed himself in these, and, thus disguised,
set out to leave the city. The British soldiers,
who were on guard at the gate, taking him for
a market woman, allowed him to pass; and thus
he escaped from the enemy.
The Americans contrived some machines,
which were filled with gunpowder, and sent
down the river Delaware, near to the city. They
expected that these would explode, and annoy
the British shipping; they did, in fact, no
damage, but the British were very much alarm-
ed ; accordingly, they fired cannon at every
thing they saw floating in the river. The
Americans heard of all this, and they were very
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much amused with it. Mr. Francis Hopkinson,
a man of great wit, wrote a ballad on the sub-
ject, which follows. Sir William, spoken of
in the poem, was Sir William Howe, the British
commander.
THE BATTLE OF THE KEGS.
Gallants, attend, and hear a friend
Trill forth harmonious ditty:
Strange things I'll tell, which late befell
In Philadelphia city.
'Twas early day, as poets say,
Just when the sun was rising,
A soldier stood on log of wood,
And saw a thing surprising.
As in a maze he stood to gaze, —
The truth can't be denied, sir, —
He spied a score of kegs, or more.
Come floating down the tide, sir.
A sailor too, in jerkin blue,
This strange appearance viewing,
First rubb'd his eyes, in great surprise,
Then said, " Some mischief's brewing.
" These kegs do hold the rebels bold,
Pack'd up like pickled herring;
And they're come down t' attack the town,
In this new way of ferrying."
The soldier flew, the sailor too,
And, scar'd almost to death, sir,
Wore out their shoes, to spread the news,
And ran till out of breath, sir.
Now up and down, throughout the town,
Most frantic scenes were acted ;
And some ran here, and others there,
Like men almost distracted.
Some fire cried, which some denied,
But said the earth had quaked ;
And girls and boys, with hideous noise,
Ran through the streets half naked.
Sir William he, snug as a flea,
Lay all this time a snoring,
Nor thought of harm, as he lay warm
The land of dreams exploring.
Now in a fright he starts upright,
Awaked by such a clatter:
He rubs both eyes, and boldly cries,
" Alas, what is the matter?"
At his bedside he then espied
Sir Erskine at command, sir ;
Upon one foot he had one boot,
And the other in his hand, sir.
"Arise, arise !" Sir Erskine cries;
" The rebels — more's the pity —
Without a boat, are all afloat,
And ranged before the city.
" The motley crew, in vessels new,
With Satan for their guide, sir,
Pack'd up in bags, or wooden kegs,
Come driving down the tide, sir.
" Therefore prepare for bloody war, —
These kegs must all be routed,
Or surely we despised shall be,
And British courage doubted."
The royal band now ready stand,
All ranged in dread array, sir,
With stomach stout, to see it out,
And make a bloody day, sir.
The cannons roar from shore to shore,
The small arms make a rattle ;
Since wars began, I'm sure no man
E'qr saw so sXrange a battle.
The rebel dales, the rebel vales,
With rebel trees surrounded,
The distant woods, the hills and floods,
With rebel echoes sounded.
The fish below swam to and fro,
Attack'd from every quarter;
" Why sure," thought they, " the d 's to pay,
'Mongst folks above the water."
The kegs, 'tis said, though strongly made,
Of rebel staves and hoops, sir,
Could not oppose their powerful foes,
The conquering British troops, sir.
From morn to night, these men of might
Display'd amazing courage,
And when the sun was fairly down,
Retired to sup their porridge.
An hundred men, with each a pen,
Or more, upon my word, sir,
It is most true, would be too few,
Their valor to record, sir.
Such feats did they perform that day,
Against these wicked kegs, sir,
That years to come, if they get home,
They'll make their boasts and brags, sir.
As soon as Washington heard that Clinton
had left Philadelphia, he broke up his quarters
at Valley Forge, and followed hard after him.
A hot battle was fought on the 28th, near Mon-
mouth court-house. It did not cease till the
evening. Washington slept upon his cloak
under a tree, expecting more fighting in the
morning; but the British marched off in the
night. Sixty of their soldiers were found dead
on the battle-field, without wounds. Fatigue
and the excessive heat had killed them.
In the beginning of this battle, one Molly
Pitcher was occupied in carrying water from
a spring to a battery, where her husband was
employed in loading and firing a cannon. He
was shot dead at last, and she saw him fall. An
officer rode up, and ordered off the cannon.
" It can be of no use, now," said he. but Molly
stepped up, offered her services, and took her
husband's place, to the astonishment of the
army. She fought well, and half pay for life
was given her by Congress. She wore an
epaulette, and was called Captain Molly, ever
after.
In the midst of the fight, there was a soldier,
whose gun-lock was knocked off by a bullet.
At the same instant, a soldier at his side was
killed. He picked up the dead man's musket,
and was preparing to fire, when a bullet entered
the muzzle of the gun, and twisted the barrel
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into the shape of a cork-screw. Although the
bullets were flying around him like hail-stones,
he deliberately knelt down upon the spot, un-
screwed the lock from the musket in his hand,
and fastened it to his own gun, which he had
thrown away. In a few minutes, he was again
prepared, and then engaged in the deadly con-
flict.
No other great battles were fought during the
campaign of 1778. The armies only molested
each other by sending out small detachments.
One Gray, called " No Flint Gray," because he
always ordered his soldiers to carry their flints
in their pockets, and use the bayonets only, lay
in wait in a barn, one night, for a British party.
He set guards on the road, but these fell asleep.
The enemy found out his situation, rushed
in upon him, and surprised him in profound
slumber. Sixty-seven, out of one hundred and
four of his men, were cruelly bayoneted on the
spot. Twenty were made prisoners, and a few
escaped. One of these had eleven bayonet
wounds in his body ; but he lived many years
afterward.
Colonel McLane, of Lee's famous legion of
troopers, had a narrow escape. He had planned
an attack on a small British force stationed on
a turnpike road, eight miles from Philadelphia,
and rode ahead with a single soldier, to point
out the way for his men. It was in the gray
of the morning. His comrade suddenly shouted,
" Colonel, the British !" spurred his horse, and
was out of sight in 'a moment.
There, indeed, were the enemy all about him.
They had lain in ambuscade, and thus suddenly
came upon him. A dozen shots were fired, but
his horse only was wounded in the flank. This
spurred the animal on at such a furious rate,
that he dashed through the woods like a hawk.
The colonel now came up with a farm-house by
the road-side, when a number of British officers
observed him as he passed. They thought he
was on his way to the English army, which
was directly ahead.
He dashed by, and they soon found out their
mistake, and pursued him. His horse went
with such speed, however, over fences and
fields, and every other obstacle, that, at last,
only two men continued to pursue him. These
came up with him at the ascent of a small hill,
the three horses so exhausted, that neither could
be forced out of a walk. One of the soldiers
cried, " Surrender, you rebellious rascal, or we
will cut you to pieces."
The colonel made no reply, but laid his hand
on his pistols. The man now came up, and
seized him by the collar, without drawing his
sword. The colonel drew a pistol from his hol-
ster, aimed it at the Englishman's heart, and
killed him. The other now seized him on the
other side ; a fierce struggle ensued. The colo-
nel received a severe sword-gash in his left arm ;
but he drew his second pistol that moment with
his right, placed it between the Englishman's
eyes, and killed him by a shot in the head. Colo-
nel McLane now stopped the flow of his own
blood, by crawling into a mill-pond, and at last
reached the American camp.
In the camp at Morristown, during the win-
ter and the spring of 1779, the Americans were
often without meat or bread ; and they ate peas,
barley, and almost every kind of horse-food, but
hay. Salt could only be got for eight dollars a
bushel. The snow was four feet deep. They
had nothing but a bed of straw and a blanket
at night. They made log huts in February,
which were tolerably comfortable. But many
deserted, and the rest were almost discouraged.
Small parties were often sent out by each of
the armies to annoy the other. On one occa-
sion, a man by the name of Mayhew was pur-
sued through the snow by two of the British
troopers. They gained fast upon him, and he
found he must be overtaken. So he turned
about, and asked, if they would give him quar-
ter. " Yes, you dog," shouted both of them,
"we'll quarter you." Upon this, Mayhew
resolved to give them one shot. He fired at
the foremost, who immediately yelled out,
" The rascal has broken my leg." Both of them
wheeled about, and galloped away as fast as
they could go.
Little was done on either side during the
year 1779. The British main army, under
Clinton, was at New York; and the Americans,
under Washington, were among the Highlands,
above that city, on the river Hudson. In the
spring, a British force was sent to ravage the
coast of Virginia. They destroyed every thing
in their way — villages, shipping and stores.
The Virginians sent to the British general to
ask, " what sort of war this was." He replied,
that " all rebels must be so treated."
A month or two afterwards, Governor Tryon
was sent to commit similar havoc in Connecti-
cut. Colonel Whiting had mustered the militia
at Fairfield. Tryon came to that place, and
commanded him to surrender. He gave him
an hour for consideration ; but, before that
time had elapsed, his soldiers set the town
on fire, and a great part of it was laid in ashes.
At New Haven, all possible damage was
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done. The harbor was covered over with
feathers, poured out from the beds of the peo-
ple. Desks, trunks, closets and chests were
broken open ; the women were robbed of their
buckles, rings, bonnets and aprons. East Ha-
ven was afterwards burnt, and Norwalk shared
a similar fate.
At a place near Stamford, the British came
upon General Putnam, who had one hundred
and fifty militia-men with him, and two can-
non. With these, he kept the enemy at bay
for some time. He then ordered the soldiers
into a swamp hard by, where the British troop-
ers could not follow ; and he himself rode at full
fallop down a steep rock behind the meeting-
ouse. Nearly one hundred steps had been
hewn in it, like a flight of stairs, for the people
to ascend in going to meeting. The troopers
stopped at the brink, and dared not follow him.
He escaped with a bullet-hole through his hat.
In July, a fleet of thirty-seven small vessels
was fitted out from Boston, with fifteen hun-
dred militia on board, under General Wads-
worth and General Lovell. The object was, to
drive the British from the Penobscot river, in
Maine, where they had built a fort at a place
called Bagaduce then, now Castine. They
were near succeeding, when a British fleet ap-
peared off the mouth of the river. They were
obliged to leave their vessels, and most of the
troops, after some fighting, escaped across the
wild lands of Maine, to the settlements on the
river Kennebec.
On the Hudson, the Americans were more
successful. On the 15th of July, Washington
sent General Wayne up the river with twelve
hundred men, to attack a strong British fort
called Stony Point. At eleven in the evening,
Wayne arrived within a mile or two of the fort.
The troops were now formed into two columns.
Colonel Fleury marched on in front, with one
hundred and fifty volunteers, guided by twenty
picked men. They marched silently, with
unloaded guns and fixed bayonets. A disor-
derly fellow, who persisted in loading his gun,
was run through the body by his captain.
No man was suffered to fire. The fort was
defended by a deep swamp, covered with water.
The troops marched through it. waist deep.
jThey proceeded with charged bayonets, under
a tremendous fire of cannon and musketry from
the British, till the two columns met in the
centre of the fort. The garrison, six hundred
in number, were taken prisoners, with fifteen
cannon, and a large quantity of stores. The
Americanslo st a hundred men : seventeen of the
twenty picked men, who marched in front, were
among the number.
General Lincoln commanded in the Southern
Provinces during 1779, the British still holding
possession of Savannah. He besieged them
there with the help of the French fleet, but was
driven off. Prevost, the British general, him-
self, met with the same bad luck in besieging
Charleston, South Carolina. The people resist-
ed him nobly, with some assistance from Lin-
coln, and the siege was abandoned.
But Prevost ravaged the country, burning
and plundering without mercy. The tories
joined him, and the negro slaves were hired to
serve him as spies and scouts. Peter Francisco,
an American trooper, made himself famous at
this time. A British plundering dragoon enter-
ed a hut in the country, where he happened to
be, and ordered him to " deliver up every thing,
or die."
"I have nothing to deliver," said Peter, who
was unarmed ; " do as you please." " Off with
those great silver buckles on your shoes, you
scoundrel !" said the dragoon. " Take them, if
you like," answered Peter; "I will not give
them." The soldier stooped to cut them off
with his knife, placing his sword under his
arm, with the hilt towards Peter. He seized
upon it, and struck the dragoon with such force
as to sever his head from his body at a single
blow.
Sergeant Jasper was another brave fellow,
who has been mentioned before. He once
went secretly, with a young friend of his, by
the name of Newton, to visit his brother, a sol-
dier at a British fort. As he stayed there a day
or two, his brother took him to see some Amer-
ican prisoners, just brought in. They were
all hand-cuffed. There was a young woman
among the rest, with her husband, and a beau-
tiful little boy, five years old, leaning his head
on her bosom, and weeping.
Jasper and Newton were hardly able to bear
this. They walked to a wood near by. " I
shall not live long," said Jasper. " Why so?"
said the other. " Why, the thought of that
poor woman haunts me. I shall die, if I do not
save them." " That is my mind, exactly,"
said Newton, grasping Jasper's hand. " Go
on, my brave friend ; 1 will stand by you to the
last."
After breakfast, the prisoners were sent on
towards Savannah, under a guard of ten armed
men. The two friends followed them through
the woods, but without arms. Thinking they
would stop at the Spa, a famous spring two
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miles from Savannah, they went secretly round
to that place, and concealed themselves in
the bushes. By and by, the party came up,
and the prisoners were suffered to rest at the
spring.
Two men kept guard with their muskets,
while two more came to the spring for water.
The others piled their arms up, and sat down at
a distance. The two guards now rested their
guns against a tree, and began drinking from
their canteens. " Now's the time," cried Jas-
per. At the same instant, the two heroes
sprang from the bushes, snatched the two mus-
kets, and shot down the two guards.
By this time, two of the soldiers had seized
upon their guns. But they were instantly
knock down. Jasper and Newton stood over
the pile of guns, and ordered the other six to
surrender. They were glad to do so. The
American prisoners were, now armed, and the
hand-cuffs were taken from them, and put upon
the British soldiers, and the party soon reach-
ed the American camp.
During the year 1780, nothing of great conse-
quence was done in the Northern Provinces.
The two armies lay near each other, the British
being in New York, and the Americans on the
Hudson ; but no battles were fought.
When the British troops took New York, and
the Americans had retired some distance up the
North River, De Lancey joined the British, took
a colonel's commission, and raised a regiment
of horse, which was called Le Lancey 's corps.
The other took a captain's commission in the
American army ; and now, feelings of hostility
took the place of the former friendship and kind-
ness that subsisted between them.
The British often sent out parties to procure,
in whatever way they could, cattle, sheep, &c,
for food. On one occasion, such a party had
collected a large number of these animals, and
succeeded in driving them within the British
lines, before they were discovered. The place
to which they had conveyed their plunder, was
within fifteen or twenty miles of New York, and
was considered a place of security. Captain
Moulton was one of the most active partisans in
the American army, and was often employed in
enterprises which required both daring and dex-
terity.
Being well acquainted with the country, the
posts where the British were stationed, and also
the place where they had retired with their plun-
der, he requested and obtained permission to
attempt its recapture. In this service, he had
about one hundred men under his command.
His plan was, to avoid the British posts, dash
upon his prey, take them by surprise, and make
his retreat before any alarm could be given.
Unless completely successful, the destruction of
the whole party seemed inevitable. It was about
thirty or forty miles from the head-quarters of
the American army to the scene of action, which
lay several miles within the enemy's lines.
Captain M. and his party began their march
about noon. He ordered several of his men to
keep half a mile or more in advance, to guard
against surprise. At sunset, they were about
ten or fifteen miles from the place where they
expected to find the cattle. They rested till
midnight, and then set off for the scene of ac-
tion. °They found all still and quiet on their
route. When within a mile, they halted, and
Captain M. gave directions as to the assault,
which he intended to make soon after day-break.
He ordered his men not to fire a gun, but told
them to rush upon those who guarded the cat-
tle, and kill, or take them prisoners.
These orders were strictly obeyed, and the
surprise was complete. In less than an hour,
the cattle were collected, and, with a few pris-
oners, were on their way to the American camp,
under the escort of twenty men, who were di-
rected by Captain M. to push on as fast as possi-
ble, until they had passed a large open plain,
which lay in their route. He was to stay with
the rest of the party , and destroy the stores which
they could not convey away, and was then to
follow and endeavor to overtake them, by the
time they had crossed the plain.
It was two hours after his first arrival, before
Captain M. commenced his return. His situa-
tion he knew to be extremely critical. Colonel
De Lancey was stationed but ten or twelve
miles distant, with his regiment of horse ; and
he feared he would be upon him before he could
join the rest of the party. He had just reached
the plain already mentioned, when he heard the
tramp of horses, and saw a troop of cavalry
coming at full gallop upon him. He ordered
his men to push on, hoping to cross the plain
before he was overtaken. But he had only
reached the middle, when De Lancey and his
troop had come very near.
Captain Moulton immediately halted, and
formed his men in a hollow square, ordering
the front line to kneel on one knee, and present
their bayonets, resting the butt-end of the gun
on the ground ; the others to present theirs over
the heads of their comrades. He warned them
not to fire a gun, and not to speak; but to be
unmoved, firm and steadfast. Scarcely were
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they thus formed, when the horse, to the num-
ber of two or three hundred, came on at full
charge, appearing as if they would ride over the
little band, and trample them to the earth.
But in vain did their riders urge them to the
onset. When within a rod of the bristling bay-
onets, they recoiled, and, wheeling to the right
and left, passed round the corps, and formed for
another charge, which was made with little suc-
cess. They could only bring their horses near
enough to clash their swords upon the bayonets,
but without reaching the soldiers. A few pistols
were fired, but without effect. Colonel De L.
then called upon Captain M. to surrender, but
received no answer. At length the horsemen
wheeled about, and were preparing for a third
charge. Captain M. then spoke to De Lancey :
— " If you make another assault upon us, I will
order twenty balls to be put through your heart,
though we are sacrificed the next moment ! "
De Lancey knew this to be no idle threat. He
therefore retired with his men, and left the little
patriot band to pursue their march. The next
day, they arrived at head quarters, with their
plunder and prisoners.
The most important event of this year, was
the treason of General Arnold. He commanded
a very strong fort at West Point, sixty miles
from New York, on the North River. He un-
dertook to deliver it into the possession of the
British.
Major Andre, a young British officer, went
on shore in the night from a British ship in the
river, to arrange the business with Arnold. The
two officers met privately at some distance from
the fort. Arnold agreed, for a certain sum of
money, and other considerations, to surrender
the fort, with the garrison, cannon and ammu-
nition, into the hands of the British commander.
In settling the details of this business, Andre
was detained till the next day ; and then the
boatmen refused to carry him back. He had to
return by land, and to pass by the American
camp, on his way to New York. He was fur-
nished with a horse, and exchanged his uniform
for a common coat.
He thought himself already out of danger,
when, as he trotted quietly on through the
woods, he was stopped by three Americans, who
were scouting between the out-posts of the two
armies. "Who goes there?" cried the first,
seizing his bridle. Andre was frightened, and
asked the scout where he belonged. " Below,"
answered he, meaning New York.
"So do I," said Andre, deceived; "I'm a
British officer, in great haste ; don't stop me."
"Are you, indeed?" said the scouts; "then
we'll see about that! " They found his papers
in his boots. He offered them his gold watch,
horse and purse, if they would release him ; but
they told him they knew their business too well.
He was carried to the camp, and though a brave
and accomplished young man, yet he was con-
demned and hanged, according to the usages of
war, as a spy. Even the Americans shed many
tears for him. The scouts were handsomely re-
warded.
Arnold escaped from West Point in great
haste. Andre had contrived to send him notice
of his capture. He was dining with some of his
friends, when the letter came. They saw he
was very much agitated. He started up, and
looked wild ; made an excuse to go out, and they
saw nothing more of him. He went to New
York, and joined the British army; was paid
about fifty thousand dollars, and was appointed
a general in the British service, for his intended
treason. His name was covered with everlast-
ing shame and disgrace. Even his gallantry
and decided military talents were overlooked
and forgotten in his infamy. The British them-
selves despised him. After the war, he went to
England, where he lived many years in obscu-
rity and contempt.
The head-quarters of General Washington
were at Tappan, on the Hudson, at the time he
heard of Arnold's treason. Having taken meas-
ures to put the fort in a state of security, he ap-
pointed a court-martial, to try Andre. After
a very deliberate examination, he was found
guilty, and condemned to be hanged as a spy.
When the gallant young officer heard that he
was condemned to be hanged, he wrote a very
pathetic letter to Washington, praying that he
might be shot, and die as a soldier, rather than
be executed like a felon.
No man had a kinder heart than General
Washington ; and he would gladly have granted
the request of the unfortunate young English-
man. But duty to his country would not per-
mit him to soften the sentence of the law. He
was very anxious to bring Arnold to justice, and
imagined that, if he could be taken, Andre might
be set free. He resolved to make an attempt to
effect these desirable objects, and, having form-
ed his plan, Washington sent to Major Lee to
repair to head-quarters, at Tappan. " I have
sent for you," said General Washington, "in
the expectation that you have some one in your
corps, who is willing to undertake a delicate and
hazardous project. Whoever comes forward will
confer great obligations upon me personally, and,
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in behalf of the United States, I will reward him
amply. No time is to be lost; he must proceed,
if possible, to-night. 1 intend to seize Arnold,
and save Andre."
Major Lee named a sergeant-major of his
corps, by the name of Champe, a native of Vir-
ginia, a man full of bone and muscle, with a
countenance grave, thoughtful, and taciturn, of
tried courage, and inflexible perseverance.
Champe was sent for by Major Lee, and the
plan proposed. This was for him to desert; to
escape to New York ; to appear friendly to the
enemy ; to watch Arnold, and, upon some fit
opportunity, with the assistance of some one
whom he could trust, to seize him, and conduct
him to a place on the river, appointed, where
boats should be in readiness to bear them away.
Champe listened to the plan attentively ; but,
with the spirit of a man of honor and integrity,
replied, " that it was not danger nor difficulty
that deterred him from immediately accepting
the proposal, but the ignominy of desertion, and
the hypocrisy of enlisting with the enemy."
To these objections Lee replied, that although
he would appear to desert, yet, as he obeyed the
call of his commander-in-chief, his departure
could not be considered as criminal ; and that,
if he suffered in reputation for a time, the mat-
ter would one day be explained to his credit.
As to the second objection, it was urged, that to
bring such a man as Arnold to justice, loaded
with guilt as he was ; and to save Andre, so
young, so accomplished, so beloved ; to achieve
so much good in the cause of his country, was
more than sufficient to balance a wrong, exist-
ing only in appearance.
The objections of Champe were at length sur-
mounted, and he accepted the servic"e. It was
now eleven o'clock at night. With his instruc-
tions in his pocket, the sergeant returned to
camp; and, taking his cloak, valise and orderly
book, drew his horse from the picket, and mount-
ed, putting himself upon fortune.
Scarcely had half an hour elapsed, before
Captain Carnes, the officer of the day, waited
upon Lee, who was vainly attempting to rest,
and informed him, that one of the patrol had fal-
len in with a dragoon, who, being challenged,
put spurs to his horse, and escaped. Lee, hoping
to conceal the flight of Champe, or at least to
delay pursuit, complained of fatigue, and told
the captain that the patrol had probably mistaken
a countryman for a dragoon. Carnes, however,
was not thus to be quieted ; and he withdrew to
assemble his corps. On examination, it was
found that Champe was absent. The captain
now returned, and acquainted Lee with the dis-
covery, adding, that he had detached a party to
pursue the deserter, and begged the Major's
written orders.
After making as much delay as practicable
without exciting suspicion, Lee delivers his or-
ders, in which he directed the party to take
Champe, if possible. " Bring him alive," said
he, " that he may suffer in the presence of the
army ; but kill him if he resists, or tries to escape
after being taken."
A shower of rain fell soon after Champe's de-
parture, which enabled the pursuing dragoons
to take the trail of his horse ; his shoes, in com-
mon with those of all the horses of the corps,
being made in a peculiar form, and each having
a private mark, which was to be seen in the path.
Middleton, the leader of the pursuing party,
left the camp a few minutes past twelve, so that
Champe had the start of but little more than an
hour — a period by far shorter than had been con-
templated. During the night, the dragoons were
often delayed in the necessary halts to examine
the road ; but, on the coming of morning, the
impression of the horse's shoes was so apparent,
that they pressed on with rapidity. Some miles
above Bergen, a village three miles north of
New York, on the opposite side of the Hudson,
on ascending a hill, Champe was seen not more
than half a mile distant. Fortunately, Champe
descried his pursuers at the same moment, and,
conjecturing their object, put spurs to his horse,
with the hope of escape.
By taking a different road, Champe was, for
a time, lost sight of; but, on approaching the
river, he was again perceived. Aware of his
danger, he now lashed his valise, containing his
clothes and orderly book, to his shoulders, and
prepared himself to plunge into the river, if ne-
cessary. Swift was his flight, and swift the
pursuit. Middleton and his party were within
a few hundred yards, when Champe threw him-
self from his horse, and plunged into the river,
calling aloud upon some British galleys, at no
great distance, for help. A boat was instantly
despatched to the sergeant's assistance, and a fire
commenced upon the pursuers. Champe was
taken on board, and soon after carried to New
York, with a letter from the captain of the gal-
ley, stating the past scene, all of which he had
witnessed.
The pursuers having recovered the sergeant's
horse and cloak, returned to camp, where they
arrived about three o'clock the next day. On
their appearance with the well known horse, the
soldiers made the air resound with the acclama-
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tion that the scoundrel was killed. The agony
of Lee, for a moment, was past description, lest
the faithful, honorable, intrepid Champe had
fallen. But the truth soon relieved his fears,
and he repaired to Washington to impart to
him the success, thus far, of his plan.
Soon after the arrival of Champe in New
York, he was sent to Sir Henry Clinton, who
treated him kindly, but detained him more than
an hour in asking him questions ; to answer
some of which, without exciting suspicion, re-
quired all the art the sergeant was master of.
He succeeded, however, and Sir Henry gave
him a couple of guineas, and recommended him
to Arnold, who was wishing to procure Ameri-
can recruits. Arnold received him kindly, and
proposed to him to join his legion. Champe,
however, expressed his wish to retire from war ;
but assured the general, if he should change his
mind, he would enlist.
Champe found means to communicate to Lee
an account of his adventures ; but, unfortunate-
ly, he could not succeed in taking Arnold, as
was wished, before the execution of Andre.
Ten days before Champe brought his project to
a conclusion, Lee received from him his final
communication, appointing the third subsequent
night for a party of dragoons to meet him at
Hoboken, opposite New York, when he hoped
to deliver Arnold to the officers.
Champe had enlisted into Arnold's legion,
from which time he had every opportunity he
could wish, to attend to the habits of the gene-
ral. He discovered that it was his custom to
return home about twelve every night, and that,
previously to going to bed, he always visited
the garden. During this visit, the conspirators
were to seize him, and, being prepared with a
gag, they were to apply the same instantly.
Adjoining the house in which Arnold resided,
and in which it was designed to seize and gag
him, Champe had taken off several fence-pal-
ings, and replaced them, so that with ease, and
without noise, he could readily open his way to
the adjoining alley. Into this alley he intended
to convey his prisoner, aided by his companion,
one of two associates, who had been introduced
by the friend to whom Champe had been origi-
nally made known by letter from the com-
mander-in-chief, and with whose aid and coun-
sel he had so far conducted the enterprise. His
other associate was with the boat, prepared at
one of the wharves on the Hudson River, to re-
ceive the party.
Champe and his friend intended to place
themselves each under Arnold's shoulder, and
thus to bear him, through the most unfrequented
alleys and streets, to the boat, representing Ar-
nold, in case of being questioned, as a drunken
soldier, whom they were conveying to the
guard-house.
When arrived at the boat, the difficulties
would be all surmounted, there being no dan-
ger nor obstacle in passing to the Jersey shore.
These particulars, as soon as made known to
Lee, were communicated to the commander-in-
chief, who was highly gratified with the much
desired intelligence. He requested Major Lee
to meet Champe, and to take care that Arnold
should not be hurt.
The day arrived, and Lee, with a party of
accoutred horses, — one for Arnold, one for the
sergeant, and the third for his associate, who
was to assist in securing Arnold, — left the camp,
never doubting the success of the enterprise,
from the tenor of the last received communica-
tion. The party reached Hoboken about mid-
night, where they were concealed in the ad-
joining wood ; Lee, with three dragoons sta-
tioning himself near the shore of the river.
Hour after hour passed, but no boat approached.
At length the day broke, and the major re-
tired to his party, and, with his led horses,
returned to the camp, where he proceeded to
head-quarters, to inform the general of the much
lamented disappointment, as mortifying as it
was inexplicab' e. Washington, having perus-
ed Champe's plan and communication, had in-
dulged the presumption, that at length the object
of his keen and constant pursuit was sure of
execution, and did not dissemble the joy which
such a conviction produced. He was chagrined
at the issue, and apprehended that his faithful
sergeant must have been detected in the last
scene of his tedious and difficult enterprise.
In a few days, Lee received an anonymous
letter from Champe's patron and friend, inform-
ing him, that on the day preceding the night
fixed for the execution of the plot, Arnold had
removed his quarters to another part of the
town, to superintend the embarkation of troops,
preparing, as was rumored, for an expedition to
be directed by himself; and that the American
legion, consisting chiefly of American deserters,
had been transferred from their barracks to one
of the transports, it being apprehended that, if
left on shore until the expedition was ready,
many of them might desert.
Thus it happened, that John Champe, instead
of crossing the Hudson that night, was safely
deposited on board one of the fleet of transports,
from whence he never departed, until the troops
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under Arnold landed in Virginia. Nor was he
able to escape from the British army until after
the junction of Lord Cornwallis at Petersburg,
when he deserted ; and, proceeding high up
into Virginia, he passed into North Carolina,
and, keeping in the friendly districts of that
state, safely joined the army soon after it had
passed the Congaree, in pursuit of Lord Rawdon.
His appearance excited extreme surprise
among his former comrades, which was not a
little increased, when they saw the cordial re-
ception he met with from the late Major, now
Lieutenant-Colonel Lee. His whole story was
soon known to the corps, which re-produced the
love and respect of officers and soldiers, hereto-
fore invariably entertained for the sergeant,
heightened by universal admiration of his late
daring and arduous attempt.
Champe was introduced to General Greene,
who very cheerfully complied with the promise
made by the commander-in-chief, so far as in
his power ; and, having provided the sergeant
with a good horse, and money for his journey,
sent him to General Washington, who munifi-
cently anticipated every desire of the sergeant,
and presented him with a discharge from fur-
ther service, lest he might, in the vicissitudes
of war, fall into the hands of the enemy, when,
if recognised, he was sure to die on a gibbet.
When General Washington was called by
President Adams, in 1798, to the command of
the army, prepared to defend the country against
French hostility, he sent to Lieutenant-Colonel
Lee, to inquire for Champe ; being determined
to bring him into the field at the head of a com-
pany of infantry. Lee sent to Loudon county,
Virginia, where Champe settled after his dis-
charge from the army ; when he learned that
the gallant soldier had removed to Kentucky,
where he soon after died.
We must now return to our history. Con-
gress continued to make great efforts to supply
the army, though the paper money they had
issued was worth so little, that a soldier would
give forty of these dollars for a breakfast, and a
colonel's pay would hardly find oats for his
horse. The merchants of Philadelphia raised a
large sum of better money, however, and sent
it to the army. The ladies of that city furnish-
ed a large quantity of clothing.
But the British, all this time, were overrun-
ning the two Carolinas. They had taken
Charleston on the 11th of May, 1780, after a long
siege, and a brave defence by General Lincoln.
General Gates was soon after sent to take
command of the southern army . He was joined
by hundreds of the Carolina militia. Congress
sent him some fine Maryland and Delaware
troops also. They had a very long and hard
march through the woods, finding nothing to
eat on the way, but peaches and green corn,
with now and then a flock of wild turkeys, or a
drove of wild hogs. But they were brave men,
and did not murmur. They even joked each
other on account of their thin faces, and lank
legs.
A battle took place on the 16th of August,
near Camden, South Carolina, between Gates
and the British under Lord Cornwallis. The
former was defeated, and fled eighty miles into
the back country. The lean, northern soldiers
we have just mentioned, fought nobly an hour
after all the rest had been routed like an army of
sheep. The brave Baron De Kalb was wound-
ed in eleven places. He fell from his horse, and
died in the hands of the British. He was a
Frenchman, and sent his compliments, in his
last moments, to " his gallant Maryland and
Delaware soldiers."
Generals Marion and Sumpter gave the Brit-
ish great trouble during this campaign. Small
parties of the mountain militia joined them, and
they swept down upon the enemy, wherever
they could find them in small parties. The far-
mers' wives furnished them pewter spoons and
platters, to make into bullets ; and they forged
swords of scythes and the saws of saw-mills.
In October, sixteen hundred of these moun-
taineers mustered together to attack a British
force under Major Ferguson, who had encamp-
ed not far from the mountains. For weeks,
they had no salt, bread, or spirits; they slept
upon boughs of trees, without blankets, drank
onlv from the running streams, and lived upon
wild game, or ears of corn, and pumpkins, roast-
ed by their great log-fires in the woods.
They were to assault Ferguson in three par-
ties, and Colonel Cleaveland addressed his party
in these words : " My brave boys, we have beat
the red-coats and the tories, and we can beat
them again. They are all cowards. You must
fight, each man for himself, without orders.
Fire as quick as you can, and stand as long as
you can. If you must retreat, get behind the
trees — don't run, my fine fellows, don't run !"
" Hurrah for the mountaineers !" cried they,
and rushed down upon the enemy.
The Americans were driven back at the point
of the bayonet ; but they only lay down among
the logs and rocks, and, being sharp-shooters,
killed more than two hundred of the enemy.
Ferguson was killed himself, and eight hundred
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of his soldiers surrendered. Ten of the most
savage tories, notorious rascals, were hung up
on the neighboring trees.
With the year 1781, on which we now enter,
the war drew rapidly toward a close. It was
carried on almost entirely in the Southern Prov-
inces. General Greene was appointed to com-
mand the American forces in that quarter. At
the time of his arrival, they were a miserable,
half-starved militia, of three thousand men.
They marked the frozen ground with the blood
of their bare feet, and lived half the time upon
frogs, taken from the swamps, wild game, rice,
and wretchedly lean cattle.
But they were soon reinforced ; and small
parties, under Sumpter, Marion, Morgan, and
others, often annoyed the forces of Cornwallis.
Colonel Washington laid siege to a strong block-
house near Camden, defended by a British
colonel, and a hundred tories. He had no can-
non, and few men ; but he carved out a few
pine logs in the shape of cannon, mounted them
on wheels, and summoned the tories to surren-
der. They were frightened at the appearance
of his big cannon, and surrendered. Not a shot
was fired upon either side.
On the 17th of January, Colonel Morgan,
with eight hundred militia, was attacked at a
place called the Cowpens, in South Carolina, by
Tarleton, a famous British officer, witli eleven
hundred men and two cannon. The enemy
rushed on with a tremendous shout. The front
line of militia were driven back. Tarleton pur-
sued them, at full gallop, with his troopers, and
fell upon the second line. They too were giv-
ing way.
At this moment, Colonel Washington charged
Tarleton with forty-five militia-men, mounted,
and armed as troopers. The whole line now ral-
lied under Colonel Howard, and advanced with
fixed bayonets. The British fled. Their cannon
were left behind ; three hundred British soldiers
were killed and wounded, and five hundred were
taken prisoners ; eight hundred muskets, sev-
enty negroes, and one hundred dragoon horses,
also fell into the hands of the Americans. Many
British officers were killed. Morgan always
told his sharp-shooters " to aim at the epaulettes,
and not at the poor rascals who fought for six-
pence a day."
General Greene was now driven back, by
Cornwallis, into North Carolina. The latter
pursued him through the Province, over moun-
tains and swamps, and arrived at the river Dan,
just as Greene had crossed it. Cornwallis now
found it necessary to turn about ; and so he
marched back, and Greene soon followed him
with new forces.
Sumpter joined him at Orangeburg, having
received orders to do so during his hasty retreat
before the enemy. It seems Greene could find
no man in his army who would carry the mes-
sage to Sumpter. A country girl, named Emily
Geiger, at last offered her services, and was sent.
She was taken by the British, and confined for
the purpose of being searched. She, however,
ate up the letter which she carried, piece by
piece. They released her, to go home, as they
supposed ; but she took a roundabout way,
reached Sumpter's camp safely, and delivered
her message, in her own words.
The Americans were defeated near Guilford
court-house on the 15th of March. But Corn-
wallis retreated soon after. He had suffered
great loss, and his army was small. A militia
colonel cried out in this battle, as the British
were marching up, " They will surround us."
He was frightened himself, and frightened his
soldiers so much, that they gave way, while the
enemy were one hundred and forty yards distant.
Colonel Washington, at the head of his troop-
ers, nearly captured Cornwallis in this battle.
He was just rushing upon the British general,
when his cap fell from his head. As he leaped
to the ground for it, the leading American officer
behind him was shot through the body, and ren-
dered unable to manage his horse. The animal
wheeled round, and galloped off with his rider;
and the troop, supposing it was Washington's or-
der, wheeled about also, and rode off at full speed.
Fort Watson, between Camden and Charles-
ton, surrendered, in April, with 114 men, to
General Marion. The fort was built on a mound
of earth thirty feet high ; but Marion, with his
mountaineers, had raised a work which over-
looked it in such a manner, that not a man in
the fort could show his head over the parapets,
or scarcely point his musket through a hole in
the walls, but the riflemen above would shoot
him. Greene was again defeated at Camden,
on the 25th of April, by nine hundred English,
under Lord Rawdon.
But in a month or two, the British lost six
forts, and that of Augusta was among them.
Here there were three hundred men, as a garri-
son, who almost buried themselves under
ground, while the Americans were building up
batteries within thirty yards, which swept the
fort through and through. Greene and all his
officers, and all his men, fought nobly the whole
season. " I will recover the Province," said the
general, " or die in the attempt." It is remarka-
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ble, that although his force was much inferior to
that of Cornwallis, and though he was frequently
defeated, yet, by his admirable manoeuvres, the
result of the campaign was entirely favorable to
the Americans, and injurious to the British.
Greene attacked the enemy at Eutaw Springs,
September 8th, and completely defeated them,
killing and capturing eleven hundred of their
best soldiers. In pursuing the enemy, one
Manning found himself surrounded by them.
He seized upon a small British officer; and, be-
ing himself a stout man, placed him on his
shoulders, and retreated, the English not daring
to fire at him. The little officer was horribly
frightened, but Manning took good care of him.
The war was closed by the capture of Corn-
wallis, at Yorktown, on York River, Virginia.
He had left Carolina, and now expected to over-
run Virginia. But in September, the Ameri-
cans and French, under Washington, surround-
ed him from all quarters, on the land ; while the
French fleet, riding in Chesapeake Bay, blocked
up the mouths of the rivers, and kept the Eng-
lish fleet from coming in.
It was impossible for Clinton, with all his
forces at New York, to reinforce Cornwallis.
Washington had kept him in fear all summer,
and made him believe, till the last moment, that
he was to be besieged in New York. It was not
till August 24th, that Washington left his camp
on the Hudson, and marched through New Jer-
sey and Penns3'lvania, to the head of the Chesa-
peake. The French Admiral De Grasse, who
had just arrived, carried the American forces
down the bay to Yorktown.
The army passed through Philadelphia, on
this march, in the most splendid style. The
line was more than two miles long. The streets
were crowded with spectators ; and the win-
dows, to the highest stories, were filled with la-
dies, waving their handkerchiefs, as the gallant
troops passed by. It was a magnificent specta-
cle. There was Washington, with all his gen-
erals ; the French Count Rochambeau, with all
his; General Knox, with one hundred fine can-
non; and the whole army, pressing on with
proud steps and a noble confidence. The music
was beautiful ; every body thought they would
conquer ; and, just at this time, news came, that
the French fleet had arrived in the Chesapeake.
The city rang with the shouts of the immense
multitude.
By the 7th of October, Cornwallis was com-
pletely besieged. He had raised intrench-
ments; but the allied army, the Americans and
French, had erected breast- .vorks all about him,
circle after circle, and now opened a battery of
one hundred cannon. They fired day and night.
The roar was terrible. The ground, for miles,
shook with it ; and the bombs and shells were
seen whirling and crossing each other in the
dark sky, and blazing like comets.
If they fell upon the ground, it was torn up
for a rod around, and dozens were killed when
they burst. The bombs sometimes went over
the heads of the enemy, and fell among the Brit-
ish vessels in the harbor, near the British works
at Gloucester Point, on the other side of the river.
The water spouted in columns as they fell.
One night, an attack was made upon two re-
doubts, which the British had built out so far,
that they stood in the way of some American
works just building around them. The French
were ordered to take one redoubt, and the Amer-
icans, under Lafayette, the other. The two
parties tried to out-do each other. Lafayette
carried his redoubt first, however, and sent his
aid-de-camp to the leader of the French party,
through all the fire of the batteries, to tell him he
was in. " So will I be," said the Frenchman, " in
five minutes;" and he performed his promise.
Cornwallis surrendered on the 19th. His ar-
my, of about seven thousand men, marched out,
at two o'clock, and passed between the Ameri-
can line on one side, and the French on the
other, stretched out for more than a mile. They
were all dressed in their most splendid uniforms,
with fine music, and colors flying. The Eng-
lish inarched, carrying their colors bound up,
with a slow and solemn step.
The English general rode up to Washington,
at the head of the line, and excused the absence
of Cornwallis, who feigned sickness. Wash-
ington pointed him politely to General Lincoln,
and the latter directed him to a large field, where
the whole British army laid down their arms,
and were led away prisoners. After this capture,
the English gave up all hopes of success. No
fighting of any consequence took place, after
this, upon the land.
The British troops were wholly withdrawn
from the United States of America in the fol-
lowing season. The terms of peace with Eng-
land were settled by the British and American
ambassadors at Paris, in November, 1782.
The 3d of November, 1783, was fixed upon
by Congress for the final disbanding of the
American army. On the day previous, Wash-
ington issued his farewell orders, and bade an
affectionate adieu to the soldiers who had fought
with him in the great struggle, which was now
over.
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464
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Soon after taking leave of the army, General
Washington was called to the still more painful
hour of separation from his officers, greatly en-
deared to him by a long series of common suf-
ferings and dangers.
The officers, having previously assembled in
New York for the purpose, General Washing-
ton now joined them, and, calling for a glass of
wine, thus addressed them : " With a heart full
of love and gratitude, I now take my leave of
you. I most devoutly wish that your latter days
may be as prosperous and happy, as your former
ones have been glorious and honorable."
Having thus affectionately addressed them,
he took each by the hand, and bade him fare-
well. Followed by them to the side of the Hud-
son, he entered a barge, and, while tears flowed
down his cheeks, he turned towards the com-
panions of his glory , and bade them a silent adieu.
Thus ended the American Revolution.
REYNOLDS, Sir Joshua, an eminent En-
glish painter, born at Plympton in Devonshire,
in 1723. He was particularly celebrated for his
portraits, in which he rejected the stiff, formal
style of his predecessors. In 1769 he was elect-
ed president of the royal academy and received
the honor of knighthood. He lived in habits
of intimacy with Johnson, Garrick, Burke, and
other eminent men of his time, and, although
afflicted with incurable deafness in the latter
part of his life, enjoyed conversation by means
of a trumpet. In 1791 his eyesight failed, and
the following year he died, at the age of seventy.
Mr. Burke once observed to Sir Joshua Rey-
nolds— " What a delight you have in your pro-
fession."— " No, Sir," said Dr. Johnson, taking
up the question, " Reynolds only paints to get
money — " Miss Hannah Moore, who was pre-
sent, defending Sir Joshua, insisted that the
pleasure experienced by the artist was derived
from higher and more luxuriant sources than
mere pecuniary consideration. *: Only answer
me," said the moralist, in an impressive tone,
" did Leander swim the Hellespont merely be-
cause he was fond of swimming?"
RHODE ISLAND, one of the United States,
bounded N. and E. by Massachusetts, S. by the
Atlantic ocean, and W. by Connecticut ; con-
taining 1350 square miles, and 97,212 inhabi-
tants.
COUNTIES AND SHIRE TOWNS.
Bristol - - - Bristol
Kent ... East Greenwich
Newport - - - Newport
Providence - - Providence.
Rhode Island is extensively engaged in man-
ufactures. The principal article is cotton goods.
The land in the vicinity of Narraganset bay is
very fertile, in other parts poor. Brown Uni-
versity, at Providence, is a well-endowed and
flourishing institution ; and education generally
receives careful attention. Roger Williams, a
minister who was driven from Massachusetts
on account of his religious principles, made the
first settlement in this state at Providence in
1636. He established a community in which
persecution for religion was unknown. The
official style of the state is the state of Rhode
Island and Providence Plantations. The island
which gives its name to the state is in Narra-
ganset bay, is about 15 miles long and 3 broad,
healthy and pleasant, and containing 3 town-
ships, Newport, Portsmouth, and Middletown.
RHODES, an island in the Grecian archi-
pelago, 10 miles from the southern coast of Asia
Minor, now in the hands of the Turks. It was
formerly celebrated for the fertility of its soil,
its consecration to the gods, and its wonderful
works of art, including the celebrated Colossus
(see Colossus of Rhodes). It was made a Roman
province in the reign of Vespasian, in 1309
the knights of St. John held possession of it but
were forced to surrender it to Soliman II, in
1522.
RICHARD I, king of England, surnamed
Cceur de Lion, was born at Oxford, 1157, and
was crowned at London Sept. 3, 1189 ; released
the king and people of Scotland from their oaths
of homage they had taken to his father, for
10,000 marks, Dec. 5, 1189; embarked at Do-
ver, Dec. 11 ; set out on the crusade, and joined
Philip of France on the plains of Vezelay, June
29, 1190; took Messina the latter end of the
year ; married Berengera, daughter of the king
of Navarre, May 12, 1191 ; defeated the Cypri-
ans, and took their king prisoner, 1191 ; and
was taken prisoner near Vienna, on his return
home, by Leopold, Duke of Austria, Dec. 20,
1192, by whom he was detained two years, and
was ransomed for 40.000/., and set at liberty at
Mentz. He returned to England March 20,
1194, but a war breaking out between England
and France, King Richard besieged the castle
of Chaluz, near Limoges, in Normandy, where
he was shot with an arrow, and died April 6,
1199; he was buried at Fpntevraud, and suc-
ceeded by his brother.
RICHARD II, King of England, was born
at Bourdeaux in 1367, and succeeded King Ed-
ward III in 1377. Being only eleven years old
when he came to the crown, the kingdom was
governed, during his minority, by his uncles,
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the Dukes of Lancaster and Gloucester. His
reign was disturbed by the famous rebellion of
Wat Tyler and Jack Straw. He next found
himself involved in a war with the barons, who
forced him at last to sacrifice his misleading fa-
vorites to their revenge. But the events which
proved most fatal to him were the Duke of
Gloucester's death, whom he caused to be
smothered, and his unjust seizure of the Duke
of Lancaster's goods upon his decease. Upon
these provocations, Richard, having gone to
Ireland to pacify a disturbance there, Henry,
the young Duke of Lancaster, landed in England
with some forces, which soon increased to a great
number by the discontented party. The Duke
of York, whom King Richard had left to govern
the kingdom in his absence, could gain but little
assistance to oppose the Duke of Lancaster.
The king's affairs now bore so dismal an aspect,
that he offered to resign his crown. On this,
he was conducted to London, where he was
lodged in the Tower. A parliament was sum-
moned at Westminster, in which King Richard
was charged with the breach of his coronation
oath, in thirty-two articles ; the result of which
was, his solemn resignation of the crown to his
cousin Henry, Duke of Lancaster, which was
accepted by the parliament. Thus the house
of Lancaster obtained the throne in the person
of this Henry IV of that name ; till the house
of York prevailing in the reign of Henry VI,
the Lancasterian line lost the crown. Upon
this resignation, King Richard was removed to
Pomfret Castle, where he was soon after mur-
dered, Feb. 13, 1400.
RICHARD III, formerly duke of Gloucester,
was the youngest brother of King Edward IV,
and the last king of England of the line of York.
This wicked prince, to obtain the crown and
secure it when it was in his possession, spared
nothing that stood in his way. Having first
killed King Henry VI, and Prince Edward his
son, he next procured the death of the Duke of
Clarence, his own brother, by an impeachment
of high-treason in the reign of Edward IV. Ed-
ward dying, left two sons in their nonage, Ed-
ward V, his next successor, and Richard. Be-
fore Edward could be crowned, Richard, his
uncle, seated himself on the throne by the as-
sistance of the Duke of Buckingham.
This being done, he had Edward and his
brother, then in the Tower, smothered in their
beds. There was then at the court of the Duke
of Bretagne, in France, Henry, earl of Rich-
mond, the next heir to the house of Lancaster,
whose advancement to the crown Buckingham,
30
with some others of the conspiracy, resolved
upon ; with this sage proviso, that Henry should
consent to marry the Lady Elizabeth, eldest
daughter of King Edward IV, in order to unite
the two houses of York and Lancaster ; but be-
fore the plot was carried into execution, the
duke being betrayed by an old servant of his,
lost his head without any form of trial. Henry,
in the mean time, was preparing to come over,
and landed soon after with 200 men at Milford
Haven. At last, with a body of 5000 men, he
encountered King Richard at Bosworth, in Lei-
cestershire, in 1485. The battle was sharp, and
some time doubtful ; and at last Henry gained
the day, and by this single victory obtained the
crown. Richard was killed in the field, and
was buried at Leicester. (See Bosworth Field.)
King Richard is erroneously represented as
a deformed person. He was of small stature,
but not otherwise noticeable. Walpole has
done much towards removing some of the darker
stains upon his character.
RICHELIEU, (Armand Jean du Plessis), a
cardinal and statesman, was born of a noble
family at Paris, in 1585. He studied in the
Sorbonne, and in 1007 obtained the bishopric
of Lucon. He was also appointed grand-al-
moner, and in 1G16 made secretary of state.
When Mary de Medici fell into disgrace, Rich-
elieu was banished to Avignon, where he wrote
his "Method of Controversy." Being soon
after recalled to court, he brought about a rec-
onciliation between the king and queen, for
which he was rewarded with a cardinal's hat,
and appointed prime minister, in which situa-
tion, he displayed extraordinary talents. He
subdued the Protestants, reduced Savoy, hum-
bled Spain, struck terror into Germany, and
commanded the admiration of all Europe. In
the midst of this splendor, he died Dec. 4,
1642, and was buried at the Sorbonne, where
Girardon constructed a magnificent mausoleum
to his memory.
RIDLEY (Nicholas), a Protestant martyr,
was born in Northumberland. To qualify him-
self for divinity, he went to Paris, and studied
some time in the Sorbonne. On his return he
was chosen proctor of the university, in which
capacity he signed the declaration against the
papal supremacy. He was also elected public
orator, and archbishop Cranmer made him his
chaplain. Soon after this he became master of
Pembroke Hall, with which he held some con-
siderable church preferment at Canterbury and
Westminster. On the accession of Edward VI,
he was consecrated bishop of Rochester; and,
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in 1550, was translated to London, where he
discharged the duties of his office with unwea-
ried diligence. He was also employed in all
the ecclesiastical measures of that reign, par-
ticularly in the compiling of the liturgy, and the
framing of the articles of religion. But one of
the most distinguished occurrences in the life
of this great prelate, was that of inciting King
Edward to endow the three great foundations
of Christ's, Bartholomew's, and St. Thomas's
hospitals. It was the misfortune, however, of
the bishop, to become the dupe of the Duke of
Northumberland, who prevailed upon him to
concur in the proclamation of Lady Jane Grey.
For this he was committed to the Tower, and
after a confinement of eight months, sent to
Oxford, these to hold a disputation with the tri-
umphant party. This mockery was followed
by a degradation from the episcopal dignity,
and sentence of condemnation to the flames,
which he endured with the venerable Latimer
before Baliol College, Oct. 15, 1555.
RIZZIO (David), a Piedmontese musician,
who ingratiated himself into the favor of Mary
queen of Scotland. He became her secretary
for French despatches, and was the only avenue
by which honors or emolument could be ob-
tained ; at the same time that he became more
and more obnoxious to the whole kingdom,
particularly to the nobles. He was barbarously
assassinated by Darnley, the husband of Mary,
on the suspicion of a criminal intercourse be-
tween her and Rizzio.
ROBERT II, king of Scotland, and first of
the Stuarts, succeeded David Bruce, his uncle,
in 1371. At the solicitation of Charles V of
France, he invaded England, took Berwick and
Perth, and defeated 15,000 English, who invaded
Scotland, under General Talbot. A truce being
agreed upon betwixt the English and French
soon after, in which the Scots were compre-
hended, the English invaded the Scots before
the publication, wasting the lands of the Doug-
lasses and Lindsays. The truce being ended,
the Scots invaded England; on which, Richard
II invaded Scotland with 60,000 foot and 8000
horse. The Scots, not having force enough to
fight him, invaded England again, to divert him.
The Scots designed to invade England again,
but knowing the king to be of a peaceable in-
clination, and his eldest son unfit for war, they
made application to Robert, earl of Fife, the
second, and levied 30,000 men privately for the
expedition.
The Scots divided their army into two parts ;
the greatest commanded by the king's two sons,
marched towards Carlisle. Douglas, with 300
horse and 2000 foot entered Northumberland.
The great army carried all before them without
opposition ; but Douglas, having wasted the
country as far as Durham, came before New-
castle, and threatened it with a siege. He staid
before the town two days, which were spent in
skirmishes ; and at last the generals, Douglas
and Percy agreed upon a personal rencounter,
wherein Percy was dismounted and disarmed ;
but his men coming to his rescue, he was saved.
Douglas now marched off with his men, and
attacked Otterburn castle. Douglas resolved
to stay there and answer Percy's challenge;
who, marching against him with 10,000 men,
had nearly surprised him at supper.
But the alarm being given, and the Scots ad-
vantageously posted, the battle began with great
vigor. Douglas broke into the thick of the en-
emy, and made a terrible slaughter, but before
his men came up, he had received three mortal
wounds. The English, at length, were totally
routed, 1840 slain, 1000 wounded, and 1040
taken prisoners. The Scots carried off the Fer-
cies, with four hundred prisoners of note ; dis-
missed the rest; took Douglas's corpse, with
those of other great men, along with them, and
buried them at Melrose. This victory was ob-
tained July 21, 1388, but Douglas was so deeply
lamented, that both the Scots armies returned
home as melancholy as if they had been con-
quered. King Robert died April 19, 1390, in
the 19th year of his reign.
ROBERT HI, called John Robert, succeeded
Robert II in 1390. He was the first who cre-
ated dukes in Scotland ; and his brother, the
viceroy, was made Duke of Albany ; but Doug-
las refused this new title. A war happened af-
terwards with England, in which the Earl of
March took part with the English, who invaded
the kingdom, and besieged Edinburgh castle;
the English returning without having effected
their purpose, the Scots invaded Northumber-
land, and were surprised and defeated on re-
turning with their spoil ; when Archibald Doug-
las gathered 10,000 men, but was defeated,
taken prisoner, and many of the nobles slain,
by Henry Percy of Northumberland, and George
earl of March abovementioned, May 7, 1401.
In the mean time all things went to ruin ia
Scotland, by the tyranny of the governor, who
starved his nephew, the prince, to death ; so
that the king was obliged to secure James by
sending him to France ; but landing at Flam-
borough in Yorkshire, he was detained prisoner
by the English, contrary to the truce, which so
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ROM
afflicted his father, that he died April 1, 1406,
and the government was settled upon his broth-
er ; during whose administration the English
invaded Scotland, and overran the southern
counties.
In 1419 auxiliaries were sent to France under
the Earl of Buchan, who defeated the Duke of
Clarence ; for which the Earl of Buchan was
made Lord High Constable of France. Robert,
the governor of Scotland, died in 1420, and his
son Murdo succeeded him : -during whose re-
gency more auxiliaries were sent to France,
and Douglas was created Duke of Touraine in
that kingdom ; but they were twice defeated by
the English, under John duke of Bedford, who
carried James I king of Scotland with him, be-
ing still prisoner since his arrival at Flambo-
rough. James being prevailed upon to forbid
his subjects to fight against that army where
he was in person, they answered, that they did
not acknowledge him for their king while he
was in the power of his enemy. But not long
after, Murdo, the governor, being displeased
with the insolence of his own sons, James 1 was
ransomed and brought home in 1423.
ROCKINGHAM, Charles Watson Went-
worth, Marquis of, came into power on the
dissolution of the Grenville administration, in
1765, and was appointed first Lord of the Trea-
sury. He was a nobleman possessing but a
mediocrity of understanding, and noway scal-
culated to warrant the expectation of his long
continuance in office : he was, however, a man
of disinterested principles and unaffected patri-
otism. The chief business of his administration
was to undo all that his predecessors had done,
particularly repealing the stamp and cider acts.
In 1766 he was succeeded in his office by the
Duke of Grafton.
RODNEY, Caesar, a signer of the American
declaration of independence, was born at Dover,
Delaware, about 1730. He successively filled
the offices of high sheriff, justice of the peace,
and judge of the lower courts, and represented
his county in the provincial legislature. In
1775 he was made brigadier-general. In 1777
he remained for two months in the camp near
Princeton, laboriously occupied. For four years
he was president of his state, but retired from
office in 1782, and died the following year.
RODNEY, George, Brydges, admiral, was
the son of captain Henry Rodney , a naval officer.
He was born in 1717, entered early into the
navy, and in 1742 obtained the command of a
ship. In 1749 he was appointed Governor of
Newfoundland; and on his return, in 1753,
married the sister of the Earl of Northampton.
In 1759 he was made Admiral of the Blue; and
the same year destroyed the stores, prepared at
Havre de Grace, for an invasion of England.
In 1761 he served on the West India station
with such activity, that at the conclusion of the
war he was made a baronet. In 1768 he was
elected into parliament for Northampton ; but
the contest ruined his estate. In 1771 he went
to Jamaica as commander-in-chief; and at the
expiration of the term of service, retired to
France, where overtures were made to him on
the part of that government, which he refused
with indignation. In 1779 he was again called
into employment ; and the year following, by
defeating the Spanish fleet, off Cape St. Vin-
cent, he saved Gibraltar. After this he went
to the West Indies, where, on the 12th of April,
1782, he gained a great victory over Count de
Grasse ; for which he was made a peer. He
died in London, May 24, 1792.
ROE, Sir Thomas, a statesman, was born
about 1560, at Low Lay ton, in Essex, and ed-
ucated at Magdalen college, Oxford ; after which
he became a student of one of the Inns of court.
In 1604 he was knighted, and soon after went
to make discoveries in America. In 1614 he
was sent on an embassy to the Mogul, at whose
court he remained three years. In 1621 he
went in the same capacity to Constantinople,
and during his residence there, collected a num-
ber of manuscripts, which he presented to the
Bodleian library. In 1629, Sir Thomas negoti-
ated a peace between Poland and Sweden : and
it was by his advice, that Gustavus Adolphus
entered Germany, where he gained the battle
of Leipsic. In 1640 he was chosen to repre-
sent the university of Oxford in parliament.
The next year he was sent ambassador to the
diet of Ratisbon, and on his return was made
Chancellor of the Garter. He died in 1644.
ROME, a city of Italy, the capital of the Ro-
man empire, situate on the banks of the river
Tiber, at the distance of about sixteen miles
from the sea. The name of its founder, and the
manner of its foundation, are not precisely
known. Romulus, however, is universally
supposed to have laid the foundations of that
celebrated city, on the 20th of April, according
to Varro, in the year 3961 of the Julian period,
3251 years after the creation of the world, 753
before the birth of Christ, 431 years after the
Trojan war, and in the 4th year of the sixth
Olympiad.
In its original state, Rome was but a small
castle on the summit of Mount Palatine ; and
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the founder, to give his followers the appear-
ance of a nation or a barbarian horde, was
obliged to erect a standard as a common asylum,
for every criminal, debtor, or murderer, who
fled from their native country to avoid the pun-
ishment which attended them. From such an
assemblage a numerous body was soon collected,
and before the death of the founder, the Ro-
mans had covered with their habitations, the
Palatine, Capitoline, Aventine, Esquiline hills,
with Mount Caslius, and Quirinalis.
After many successful wars against the neigh-
boring states, the views of Romulus were di-
rected to regulate a nation naturally fierce, war-
like, and uncivilized. Under the successors of
Romulus, the power of Rome was increased,
and the boundaries of her dominions extended ;
while one was employed in regulating the forms
of worship, and inculcating in the minds of his
subjects a reverence for the Deity, another was
engaged in enforcing discipline among the ar-
my, and raising the consequence of the soldiers
in the government of the state ; and a third
made the object of his administration consist in
adorning his capital, in beautifying its edifices,
and in fortifying it with towers and walls.
During 244 years the Romans were governed
by kings, but the tyranny, the oppression, and
the violence of the last of these monarchs, and
of his family, became so atrocious, that a revo-
lution was effected in the state, and the demo-
cratical government was established. The
monarchical government existed under seven
princes, who began to reign in the following
order : Romulus, B. C. 753 ; and after one
year's interregnum, Numa, 715; Tullus Hosti-
lius, 672 ; Ancus Martius, 640 ; Tarquin Pris-
cus, 616; Servius Tullius, 578; and Tarquin
the Proud, 534, expelled 25 years after, B. C.
504 ; and this regal administration has been
properly denominated the infancy of the Roman
empire.
After the expulsion of the Tarquins from the
throne, the Romans became more sensible of
their consequence : with their liberty they ac-
quired a spirit of faction, and became so jealous
of their independence, that the first of their con-
suls who had been the most zealous and ani-
mated in the assertion of their freedom, was
banished from the city because he bore the
name, and was of the family of the tyrants ; and
another, to stop their suspicions, was obliged to
pull down his house, whose stateliness and
magnificence above the rest, seemed incompati-
ble with the duties and the rank of a private
citizen.
To the fame which their conquests and daily
successes had gained abroad, the Romans were
not a little indebted for their gradual rise to
superiority ; and to this may be added the poli-
cy of the census, which every fifth year told
them their actual strength, and how many citi-
zens were able to bear arms. And, indeed, it
was no small satisfaction to a people, who were
continually making war, to see, that in spite of
all the losses which they might sustain in the
field, the increase of the inhabitants of the city
was prodigious, and almost incredible : and had
Romulus lived after the battle of Actium, he
would have been persuaded with difficulty of
the great number of inhabitants contained with-
in those walls, which, in the most flourishing
period of his reign, could scarce muster an ar-
my of 3000 infantry and 300 horse.
But when Rome had flourished under the
consular government for about 120 years, and
had beheld with pleasure the conquests of her
citizens over the neighboring states and cities,
which, according to a Roman historian, she was
ashamed to recollect in the summit of her pow-
er, an irruption of the barbarians of Gaul ren-
dered her very existence precarious, and her
name was nearly extinguished. The valor of
an injured individual, Camillus, saved it from
destruction, yet not before its buildings and
temples were reduced to ashes.
This celebrated event, which gave the appel-
lation of another founder of Rome to Camillus,
has been looked upon as a glorious era to the
Romans. But no sooner were they freed from
the fears of their barbarian invaders, than they
turned their arms against those states which re-
fused to acknowledge their superiority, or yield
their independence. Their wars with Pyrrhus
and the Tarentines, displayed their character in
a different view ; if they before had fought for
freedom and independence, they now drew their
swords for glory ; and here we may see them
conquered in the field, and yet refusing to grant
that peace for which their conqueror himself
had sued. The advantages they gained from
their battles with Pyrrhus were many. The
Roman name became known in Greece, Sicily,
and Africa, and in losing or gaining a victory,
the Romans were enabled to examine the ma-
noeuvres, observe the discipline, and contem-
plate the order and the encampments of those
soldiers whose friends and ancestors had accom-
panied Alexander the Great in the conquest of
Asia.
Italy became subjected to the Romans at the
end of the war with the Tarentines, and that
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period of time has been called the second age,
or the adolescence of the Roman empire. Af-
ter this memorable era, they tried their strength
not only with distant nations, but also upon a
new element ; and in the long wars which they
waged against Carthage, they were successful,
and obtained the sovereignty of the sea : and
though Hannibal for sixteen years kept them
in continual alarms, hovered round their gates,
and destroyed their armies almost before their
walls, yet they were doomed to conquer, and
soon to add the kingdom of Macedonia and the
provinces of Asia to their empire.
Yet while their conquests were so extensive
abroad, we find them torn by factions at home ;
and so far was the resentment of the poorer cit-
izens carried, that we see the enemy at the gates
of the city, while all are unwilling to take up
arms and to unite in the defence of their com-
mon liberty. The senators and n«bles were
ambitious of power, and endeavored to retain in
their hands that influence which had been ex-
ercised with so much success, and such cruelty,
by their monarchs. This was the continual
occasion of tumults and sedition. The people
were jealous of their liberty. The oppression
of the nobles irritated them, and the stripes to
which they were too often exposed without
mercy, were often productive of revolutions.
The plebeians, though originally the poorest
and most contemptible citizens of an indigent
nation, whose food in the first ages of the em-
pire was only bread and salt, and whose drink
was water, soon gained rights and privileges by
their opposition. Though really slaves, they
became powerful in the state ; one concession
from the patricians produced another, and when
their independence was boldly asserted by their
tribunes, they were admitted to share in the
highest offices of the state, the laws which for-
bade the intermarriage of plebeian and patrician
families were repealed, and the meanest peasant
could by valor and fortitude be raised to the dig-
nity of dictator and consul. It was not till these
privileges were obtained by the people from the
senate, that Rome began to enjoy internal peace
and tranquillity, her battles were then fought
with more vigor, her soldiers were more anima-
ted, and her sovereignty was more universally
established.
But supreme power, lodged in the hands of a
factious and ambitious citizen, becomes too often
dangerous. The greatest oppression and tyran-
ny took the place of subordination and obedi-
ence ; and from those causes proceeded the un-
parralleled slaughter and effusion of blood under
a Sylla and a Marius. It has been justly ob-
served, that the first Romans conquered their
enemies by valor, temperance, and fortitude ;
their moderation also and their justice were
well known among their neighbors, and not only
private possessions, but even mighty kingdoms
and empires, were left in their power, to be dis-
tributed among a family, or to be ensured in the
hands of a successor.
They were also chosen umpires to decide
quarrels, but in this honorable office they con-
sulted their own interest ; they artfully sup-
ported the weaker side, that the more powerful
might be reduced, and gradually become their
prey.
Under J. Ca?sar and Pompey, the rage of civil
war was carried to unprecedented excess : it
was not merely to avenge a private injury, but it
was a contest for the sovereignty ; and though
each of the adversaries wore the mask of pre-
tended sincerity, and professed himself to be the
supporter of the republic, no less than the abo-
lition of freedom and the public liberty was the
aim. What Julius began, his adopted son
achieved : the ancient spirit of national inde-
pendence was extinguished at Rome ; and after
the battle of Actium, the Romans seemed una-
ble to govern themselves without the assist-
ance of a chief, who, under the title of impera-
tor, an appellation given to every commander
by his army after some signal victory, reigned
with as much power and as much sovereignty
as another Tarquin.
Under their emperors, the Romans lived a
luxurious and indolent life, they had long forgot
to appear in the field, and their wars were left
to be waged by mercenary troops, who fought
without spirit or animosity, and who were ever
ready to yield to him who bought their allegi-
ance and fidelity with the greatest sums of
money. Their leaders themselves were not the
most prudent or the most humane ; the power
which they had acquired by bribery was indeed
precarious, and among a people, where not only
the highest offices of the state, but even the
imperial purple itself are exposed to sale, there
cannot be expected much happiness or tranquil-
lity in the palace of the emperor.
The reigns of the successors of Augustus
were distinguished by variety ; one was the
most abandoned and profligate of men, whom
his own vices and extravagance hurried out of
the world, while his successor, perhaps the
most clement, just, and popular of princes, was
sacrificed in the midst of his guards and attend-
ants, by the dagger of some offended favorite or
ROM
470
ROM
disappointed eunuch. Few indeed were the
emperors of Rome whose days were not short-
ened by poison, or the sword of an assassin. If
one for some time had the imprudence to trust
himself in the midst of a multitude, at last to
perish by his own credulity, the other consult-
ed his safety, but with no better success, in the
innumerable chambers of his palace, and changed
every day, to elude discovery, the place of his
retirement. After they had been governed by a
race of princes, remarkable for the variety of
their characters, the Roman possessions were
divided into two distinct empires, by the enter-
prising Constantine, A. D. 328. Constantino-
ple became the seat of the eastern empire, and
Rome remained in the possession of the west-
ern emperors, and continued to be the capital
of their dominions.
In the year 800 of the Christian era, Rome
with Italy was delivered by Charlemagne, the
then emperor of the west, into the hands of the
pope, who still continues to hold the sovereign-
ty, and to maintain his independence under the
name of the Ecclesiastical States.
The original poverty of the Romans has often
been disguised by their poets and historians,
who wished it to appear that a nation who were
masters of the world, had had a better begin-
ning than a race of shepherds and robbers. Yet
it was to this simplicity they were indebted for
their successes. Their houses were originally
destitute of every ornament, they were made
with unequal boards, and covered with mud,
and these served them rather as a shelter against
the inclemency of the seasons than for relaxa-
tion and ease. Till the age of Pyrrhus, they
despised riches, and many salutary laws were
enacted to restrain luxury and to punish indo-
lence. They observed great temperance in their
meals ; young men were not permitted to drink
wine till they had attained their 30th year, and
it was totally forbidden to women.
Their national spirit was supported by pol-
icy ; the triumphal procession of a conqueror
along the streets amidst the applause of thou-
sands, was well calculated to promote emula-
tion ; and the number of gladiators who were
regularly introduced, not only in public games
and spectacles, but also at private meetings,
served to cherish their fondness for war, whilst
it steeled their hearts against the calls of com-
passion ; and when they could gaze with plea-
sure upon wretches whom they forcibly obliged
to murder one another, they were not inactive
in the destruction of those whom they consid-
ered as inveterate foes or formidable rivals in
the field.
In their punishments, civil as well as milita-
ry, the Romans were strict and rigorous; a de-
serter was severely whipped and sold as a slave,
and the degradation from the rank of a soldier
and dignity of a citizen was the most ignomin-
ious stigma which could be affixed upon a se-
ditious mutineer.
The transmarine victories of the Romans
proved at last the ruin of their innocence and
bravery. They grew fond of the luxury of the
Asiatics : and conquered, by the vices and indo-
lence of those nations whom they had subdued,
they became as effeminate and as dissolute as
their captives. Marcellus was the first who in-
troduced a taste for the fine arts among his
countrymen. The spoils and treasures that
were obtained in the plunder of Syracuse and
Corinth, rendered the Romans partial to ele-
gant refinement and ornamental equipage.
Though Cato had despised philosophy, and de-
clared that war was the only profession of his
countrymen, the Romans, by their intercourse
with the Greeks, soon became fond of litera-
ture ; and though they had once banished the
sophists of Athens from their city, yet they be-
held with rapture their settlement among them
in the principal towns of Italy, after the con-
quest of Achaia.
They soon after began to imitate their pol-
ished captives, and to cultivate poetry with suc-
cess. From the valor of their heroes and con-
querors, indeed, the sublimest subjects were
offered to the genius of their poets; but of the
little that remains to celebrate the early victo-
ries of Rome, nothing can be compared to the
nobler effusions of the Augustan age.
There were no less than 420 temples at Rome,
crowded with statues, the priests were nume-
rous, and each divinity had a particular college
of sacerdotal servants. Their wars were de-
clared in the most awful and solemn manner,
and prayers were always offered in the temples
for the prosperity of Rome, when a defeat had
been sustained, or a victory won. The power
of fathers over their children was very exten-
sive, and indeed unlimited ; they could sell
them or put them to death at pleasure, without
the forms of a trial, or the interference of the
civil magistrate. Many of their ancient fami-
lies were celebrated for the great men whom
they had produced, but the vigorous and inter-
ested part they took in the government of the
republic exposed them often to danger ; and
some have observed that the Romans sunk into
indolence and luxury when the Cornelii, the
Fabii, the iEmilii, the Marcelli, <tc, who had
so often supported their spirit and led them to
ROM
471
ROM
victory, had been extinguished in the bloody
wars of Marius and of the two triumvirates.
When Rome was become powerful, she was
distinguished from other cities by the flattery
of her neighbors and citizens; a form of wor-
ship was established to her as a deity, and tem-
ples were raised in her honor, not only in the
city but in the provinces.
Emperors, from Julius Caesar to Jovian, dis-
tinguishing the length of their reign and its
commencement.
r. b. c.
Julius Caesar 16 — 46
Augustus 43 — 30
6 A.D.
Tiberius 22 — 14
Caligula 4— 36
Claudius 14— 40
Nero 14— 54
Galba, Otlio and Vitellius 14 — 69
Vespasian 10 — 69
Titus 3- 78
Domitian 15 — 81
Nerva 1 — 96
Trajan 19— 97
Adrian 21 — 116
Antoninus Pius 23 — 137
Aurelius 19 — 161
Commodus 13 — 180
Pertinax 1 — 193
Severus 17 — 194
Caracalla 7 — 211
Heliogabalus 4 — 218
Alexander 13 — 222
Maximinus 3 — 235
Gordian, jun 6 — 238
Philip 5 — 244
Decius 2-249
Callus 3 — 251
Gallienus 14 — 254
Claudius 2 — 268
Aurelian 5 — 270
Tacitus 1 — 275
Probus 6 — 276
Numerian 2 — 282
Dioclesian 20 — 284
Constantine Chlorus 3 — 304
Constantine the Great 30 — 307
ConstantiuslI 24 — 337
Julian 2 — 361
Jovian 1 — 363
Valentinian succeeded in 3G4, when the em-
pire was divided into the eastern and western
branches, of which the latter terminated in 476,
and the former in 1453, when Constantinople
was taken by the Turks.
The following description of the city of Rome
will prove interesting and useful.
Rome was built on the banks of the river
Tiber, en seven hills called Palatinus, Capito-
linus, Aventinus, Quirinalis, Ccelius, Viminalis,
and Esquilinus : as the city increased in size,
three others were added ; the Janiculum, Vatica-
nus and Hortulorum.
It was at first nearly square, containing about
1000 houses, and was almost a mile in circum-
ference ; but in its most flourishing state the
walls surrounded a space of 50 miles, and it
reckoned 4,000,000 of inhabitants. The gates,
at the death of Romulus, were four ; but at
length it had no less than 37, the principal of
which were Triumphalis, Esquilina, Flaminia,
Carmcntalis, Quirinalis and Viminalis.
Romulus divided the city into three tribes;
to these Servius Tullus added a fourth; but
Augustus found it necessary, for the better
order and government of the city, to divide it
into 14 regions or wards.
Rome abounded with magnificent buildings;
Temples, Theatres, Amphitheatres, and places
for exercise or amusements, buildings, for the
assemblies of the people, public places, piazzas
or porticoes, columns, triumphal arches and
trophies, aqueducts, public sewers and high-
roads. The chief temples were the Capitol, the
Pantheon, the temple of Janus, and that of
Saturn.
The Pantheon was built by Agrippa, son-in-
law to Augustus, and dedicated to all the gods :
it is of a circular form, and has no windows;
but its roof, which is in the shape of a dome,
has an opening on the top for the admission of
light. The top was covered with silver plates,
but their place is now supplied with lead ; the
walls in the inside were either solid marble, or
incrusted ; the front on the outside was covered
with brazen plates gilt; and the gate was of
brass, of extraordinary work and size. It is
now called the Rotunda, and is a Christian
church, consecrated to the Virgin Mary and All
Saints : the ascent to it was by 12 steps ; but
the descent is now by as many, the earth
around being so much raised by the demolition
of houses. The temple of Saturn served for
the public treasury, as being the most secure
place in the city : here were preserved the mi-
litary ensigns, among which were the public
records and registers, the great ivory tables, con-
taining a list of all the tribes, and the schemes
of the public accounts. The temple of Janus
was remarkable for its two brazen gales, one
on each side ; which were to be open in time of
war, and shut in time of peace. There were
numerous temples dedicated to Apollo, Juno,
Mars, and other gods : there were also build-
ings called curia?, where the inhabitants of each
curia or parish met to perform divine service.
The theatres were of a semi-circular form ;
sometimes so large as to contain 80,000 persons :
the seats rose one above another ; and were
ROM
472
ROM
divided into three ranges, appropriated to the
senators, knights, and commons. Amphithea-
tres were buildings of a round or oval shape,
appropriated to the greater shows of gladiators,
wild beasts, &c.
A circus was a place used for the celebration
of chariot races and other popular sports, and
for making harangues ; they were usually ob-
long, with ranges of seats for the convenience
of the spectators. The most remarkable was
the Circus Maximus : it was a mile in circum-
ference ; containing seats for 150,000 spectators,
and was extremely beautiful.
The Naumachia? were places for exhibiting
naval engagements, built nearly in the form of
a circus : some of them were of such amazing
extent, that considerable fleets engaged in them
without inconvenience. The principal public
place in Rome was the Forum Romanum : the
Campus Martius, or field of Mars, was without
the city. The Forum was a large oblong open
space, where the assemblies of the people were
held, where justice was administered, and pub-
lic business transacted : it was entirely sur-
rounded with arched porticoes, within which
were spacious halls called basilicce, where courts
of justice might sit for the decision of private
affairs. The Campus Martius was a large plain
along the Tiber, where the Roman youth prac-
tised all kinds of feats of activity, and learned
the use of arms : it was adorned with the sta-
tues of famous men, and with triumphal arches,
columns, porticoes, and other magnificent struc-
tures. The piazzas, or porticoes, were among
the most splendid ornaments of the city, being
supported on marble pillars, and adorned with
statues. They were used chiefly for walkiug
and riding under cover : under these also au-
thors recited their works, and philosophers dis-
puted. Many pillars were erected at Rome in
honor of great men, or to commemorate illus-
trious actions ; the most remarkable are those
of Trajan and Antoninus Pius. Trajan's pillar,
which is still standing in the middle of a forum,
is composed of 24 pieces of marble, so curiously
cemented as to appear but one : its height is
128 feet; and it has in the inside 185 steps for
ascending to the top, and 40 windows for the
admission of light : its diameter at the bottom
is 12 feet, and at the top ten feet. On the pillar
are represented the warlike exploits of Trajan
and his army ; on the top was a colossal statue
of that emperor, 20 feet high, holding in his
left hand a sceptre, and in his right hand a hollow
globe of gold containing his ashes ; but this has
been taken down, and a statue of St. Peter
erected in its place. The pillar of Antoninus
is another of the most precious remains of an-
tiquity : the sculpture and other ornaments
resemble those on Trajan's pillar, but the work-
manship is greatly inferior; it is 176 feet high,
the steps of ascent are 106, and the windows 56.
Triumphal arches were erected in honor of il-
lustrious generals, who had gained signal victo-
ries in war: several of them are still standing.
At first they were built of brick or stone, but
afterwards magnificently of marble ; they had
a large arched gate in the middle, and two
small ones on each side, ornamented with co-
lumns and statues, and various figures done in
sculpture. The aqueducts were, by far, the
noblest proofs of the granduer of the empire :
some of these wonderful channels brought water
from upwards of 60 miles through rocks and
mountains, and over valleys; supported on
arches in some places above 109 feet high, one
row being placed above another. The common
sewers were subterranean channels, constructed
with amazing strength, to carry the filth of the
city into the Tiber. Agrippa caused seven
streams to meet together under ground in one
channel, with such a rapid current as to carry
all before it : sometimes when these streams
were swelled with immoderate rains, they car-
ried away huge pieces of stone and timber, yet
the fabric received no detriment ; sometimes
terrible earthquakes shook the foundations of the
city, but these channels remained impregnable.
The public ways were among the greatest of
the Roman works, and were made with amazing
labor and expense. The Via Appiawas per-
haps the most noble ; it was carried to a distance
of 350 miles, and was made of stones from one
to five feet square, but so artfully joined as to
seem one ; under which there were two layers,
the first of rough stones cemented with mortar,
and the second of gravel. Although this road
has been constructed upwards of 2,000 years,
parts of it still remain entire.
Romulus, soon after the foundation of Rome,
divided the inhabitants into three tribes, and
each tribe into ten curise ; but the number of
tribes was by degrees increased to 35. The
Roman people were also divided into two ranks,
called patricians and plebeians ; to which another
order was afterwards added, called equites. The
patricians were so called from the patres, or fa-
thers, who composed the senate ; they were like-
wise called patrones, or patrons. The plebeians
were so called from plebs, the common people ;
they were also termed clientes, or clients. The
patricians were called patrones, and the pie-
ROM
473
ROM
beians clientes because the patricians were ap-
pointed to watch over and protect the plebeians,
and were their counsellors and advocates ; while
the plebeians, who were obliged to choose pat-
rons, were expected to serve them with fidelity,
to pay them all possible deference, and even to
assist with money, if requisite.
The equites, or knights did not at first form
a distinct order in the state : they were chosen
into the equestrian order by the censor, and
presented with a horse at the public expense,
and with a gold ring : they were taken promis-
cuously from among such of the patricians and
plebeians as had attained their eighteenth year,
and whose fortune amounted to 3,229/. Among
the Romans there were nobiles, novi, and igno-
biles; also ingenui, liberti, and libertini. The
nobiles were those whose ancestors had held the
office of consul, preetor, censor, or curule aedile:
they had a right to make images of themselves,
which were kept with care by their descendants,
and were carried out at funerals. Those who
were the first of their family, who had raised
themselves to any of the above offices, were
denominated homines novi, new men, or up-
starts. The Romans called those ignobiles who
had no images of their own. or of their ancestors.
They whose parents had always been free, were
called ingenui ; slaves who had been made free,
were called liberti and libertini. The Romans
had slaves, who not only did all domestic servi-
ces, but were likewise employed in various
trades and manufactures. Men became slaves
by being taken in war, by being born in a
state of servitude, or criminals were reduced to
slavery by way of punishment. The Roman
slaves were publicly sold in a market-place, and
were at the absolute disposal of the buyer, not
being esteemed as persons, but as things or
effects. Among the Romans, those who en-
deavored to ingratiate themselves with the peo-
ple were called populares; while those who
favored the interests of the senate, and the
passions of the great, received the appellation of
the optimates, — but this was a distinction of
party, and not of rank or dignity.
The senate was the chief council of state in
Rome, or a body of magistrates intrusted with
the care of putting the laws into execution, and
was instituted by Romulus, to be the perpetual
council of his newly-formed state. At its crea-
tion, it consisted of 100 persons, whom Romu-
lus chose from among such of the inhabitants
as were most illustrious for their birth, wisdom,
and integrity.
The senators were called patres, or fathers,
on account of their age, gravity, and the pater-
nal care they had of the state. Under the suc-
cessors of Romulus, and in the time of the re-
public, the number of senators was, by degrees,
increased to upwards of 1,000; but Augustus
reduced them to 600. The kings had, at first,
the sole right of naming senators; but they
were afterwards chosen by the consuls, and at
last by the censors only.
At first only patricians were admitted to a
seat in the senate ; but afterwards the plebeians
and equites were admitted. Those who were
appointed senators, w^re to be possessed of an
estate of not less than 9,175Z. sterling, and to be
upwards of 30 years of age. They were nomi-
nated and enrolled by the censors ; besides
which, several great offices qualified those who
filled them, for a place in the senate ; and mili-
tary services sometimes procured admission.
Beside a want of sufficient revenue, no one
could sit in the senate who had exercised a low
trade, or whose father had been a slave. The
senators were distinguished by an oblong stripe
of purple, sewed on the forepart of their senato-
rial gown; and black buskins reaching to the
middle of the leg, with the letter C in silver on
the top of the foot. The chief privilege of the
senators was their having a particular place at
the public spectacles, called orchestra ; it was
next the stage in the theatre, and next the arena,
or open space, in the amphitheatre. The senate
was assembled at first by the kings, and after
their expulsion by the consuls and pra?tors; it
could also be summoned by the tribunes of the
people, even against the will of the consuls.
The kings were said at one time to act accord-
ing to the counsel of the senate : afterwards
Tarquin banished or put to death the senators,
as he chose, and again, after the regal govern-
ment was abolished, the power of the senate
was raised to its highest pitch.
The senate could be held only in a temple,
that is, a place consecrated by the augurs : it
was assembled commonly within the city ; but
it met without the walls for the reception of
foreign ambassadors, and of their own generals,
who were never permitted to come within the
walls while in actual command. The senate
assembled usually three times a month, but was
often called together on other days for the des-
patch of business ; and in it nothing could be
done before the rising nor after the setting of
the sun.
Before the business of the senate commenced,
the consul, or magistrate who presided, offered a
sacrifice; and on entering the senate-house the
ROM
474
ROM
members rose to do him honor ; he then propos-
ed the business to them. The senate was con-
sulted on every thing pertaining to the admin-
istration of the state, except the creation of
magistrates, the passing of laws, and the deter-
mination of war or peace ; all which properly
belonged to the Roman people.
The magistrate presiding asked the opinion
of every member individually, beginning with
the oldest senator, or with the consuls elect ;
and all that pleased stood up and gave their
judgment upon the point : but when they only
assented to the opinion of another, they continu-
ed sitting. They who addressed the senate had
the privilege of speaking as long as they pleased,
and of introducing in their speech many things
foreign to the subject ; so that when any mem-
ber wished to hinder the passing of a decree, he
protracted his speech till after sunset. As it
was not lawful for the consul to interrupt an
orator, those who abused this right were some-
times forced to desist from speaking by the
noise and clamor of the other senators.
When as many as wished to address the sen-
ate had concluded, the presiding magistrate
made a short report of their several opinions,
and then ordered the senate to divide one party
to one side of the house, and the opposite to the
other ; the number being told, a majority decided
the debate. After the division of the senate, a
decree was made out according to the opinion
of the majority, and the names of those who had
been most anxious for the decree were usually
prefixed to it ; it was then taken to the tribunes
of the people, for their approbation or rejection.
When the opinions of the senators were ask-
ed, as related above, the decree was termed
senatus consultum ; but when in cases of little
concern, or such as required expedition, a de-
cree was made without any opinions being
asked, it was called senatus consultum per dis-
cessionem. A decree could be prevented from
passing the senate by the interposition of the
tribunes of the commons ; it might be done also
by a magistrate of equal authority with him
who proposed the business, or when the num-
ber of senators required by law was not present.
The proceedings of the senate were private
till Julius Cffisar appointed that they should be
published. When affairs of secrecy were dis-
cussed, the clerks and other attendants were
not admitted ; but what passed was written by
some of the senators.
A magistrate in the Roman republic was a
person invested with public authority, either
religious, civil, or military ; so that the same
person might act as a priest and a judge, regu-
late the police of the city, direct the affairs of
the empire, and command an army. The ma-
gistrates of Rome were elective ; and, previous
to their election, they were called candidati,
from a white shining robe which they wore
while soliciting the votes of the people. The
candidate for an office was obliged to be present
in person, and to be approved by the magis-
trates : he declared his intention generally a
year before the election ; and the interval was
spent in securing his friends, and gaining the
favor of the people by every popular art.
The Roman magistrates were variously divid-
ed : the most proper and commodious division
is into ordinary, extraordinary and provincial.
The magistrates in Rome, called ordinary, were
those who were created at stated times, and
were constantly in the republic. The chief
ordinary magistrates were the consuls, prretors,
censors, tribunes, aediles, and qucestors. The
extraordinary magistrates were such as were
not constantly and statedly elected in the re-
public, but arose out of some public disorder
or emergency. The extraordinary magistrates
were the dictator and master of horse, the de-
cemviri, military tribunes, and interrex. The
magistrates of Rome were termed provinciales
when they were appointed to the government
of a province or distant part of the empire. In
the heginning of the Roman republic, the ma-
gistrates were chosen only from the patricians ;
but afterwards, indiscriminately, from the other
orders. All magistrates were obliged, within
five days after entering on their office, to swear
that they would observe the laws ; and after the
expiration of their office, they might be brought
to trial, if they had done any thing amiss.
We must now only notice the Roman games.
The Roman games, as constituting part of
religious worship, were always consecrated to
some god, and were either stated, or vowed by
generals in war, or celebrated on extraordinary
occasions : the most celebrated games were those
of the circus. The shows exhibited in the cir-
cus maximus were chariot and horse races ;
contests of agility and strength ; a mock fight
on horseback; the combat of wild beasts; the
representation of a horse and foot battle ; and
the sham sea-fight.
The charioteers were distributed into four
parties or factions distinguished by their diffe-
rent colored dress. The spectators favored one
or the other color, as humor or caprice inclined
them. In the time of Justinian, 30,000 men
lost their lives at Constantinople in a tumult
ROM
475
ROM
raised by contention among the partisans of
these several colors. These were running,
leaping, boxing, wrestling, and throwing the
quoit : boxers covered their hands with a kind
of gloves, which had lead or iron sewed into
them, to make the stroke fall with a greater
weight. The combats between wild beasts were
various : sometimes a tiger being matched with
a lion, sometimes a lion with a bull, a bull with
an elephant, a rhinoceros with a bear, &c. : men
also fought with wild beasts, being either forced
to it by punishment, as the primitive Christians
often were ; or they fought voluntarily, or for hire.
There were naumachia? or naval combats
which were instituted for the purpose of ac-
quiring naval discipline : in later times, how-
ever, those who fought were composed of cap-
tives or condemned malefactors, who fought to
death, unless saved by the clemency of the em-
peror.
The gladiators were men who fought with
weapons in a public circus, for the entertain-
ment of the public. These shows seem to have
taken their rise from the custom of slaughter-
ing captives at the tombs of those slain in battle,
which was supposed to appease their manes,
but from which humanity recoils with horror.
Gladiators were at first composed of captives,
slaves, and of condemned malefactors, who
were regularly trained for the combat ; yet in
the more degenerate period of the empire, free-
born citizens, and even senators engaged in this
dangerous and disgraceful employment. The
gladiators were named after the arms they used :
the most remarkable were the retiarii and the
secutores. The retiarius wore a short tunic,
with his head bare : he held in his left-hand a
trident, or three-pointed spear ; and in his right,
a net, with which he endeavored to entangle
his adversary, that with his trident he might
despatch him. The secutor, or follower, was
armed with a helmet, a shield, and a sword, and
was matched with the retiarius : if the latter
missed his aim in throwing the net, he attempt-
ed by flight to gain time for a second cast ;
while the secutor pursued to prevent his design
by despatching him.
The Romans were unacquainted with drama-
tic entertainments, or stage-plays, for some cen-
turies after the building of the city : they were
'irst introduced at Rome on account of a pesti-
lence, to appease the divine wrath : the}' were
divided, as with us, into tragedy, comedy, and
pantomime. The Roman tragedy and comedy
were wholly borrowed from the Greeks, and
nearly resembled ours : their chief difference
consisted in the chorus ; this was usually a
company of actors, which remained on the
stage singing and conversing on the subject in
the intervals of the acts.
The modern city of Rome contains 144,542
inhabitants.
ROMILLY, Sir Samuel, an eminent lawyer,
was born March 1, 1757. In 1783 he was called
to the bar. At length he rose to distinction in
the Court of Chancery ; and, in the last admin-
istration of Mr. Fox, was made solicitor-general.
When the party to whom he was attached went
out of office, he also retired. He exerted him-
self in endeavoring to effect a revision of the
criminal code, with a view to the limitation of
capital punishments to a few heinous offences;
on which subject he published an able pam-
phlet ; as he also did another against the erec-
tion of the office of vice-chancellor The death
of this eminent man was most melancholy.
Shocked at the loss of his lady, who died in the
Isle of Wight, he became delirious, and de-
stroyed himself, November 2, 1818.
ROMULUS, founder of Rome, was born at
the same birth with Remus ; but of what pa-
rents it is impossible to say, as the account of
their origin is involved in much fable and mys-
tery. They undertook to build a city, hoping
that it would become a warlike and powerful
nation. Romulus marked with a furrow the
place where he wished to erect the walls ; but
their slenderness was ridiculed by Remus, who
leaped over them with the greatest contempt.
This irritated Romulus, and Remus was imme-
diately put to death, either by the hand of his
brother or one of the workmen.
When the walls were built, the city was with-
out inhabitants ; but Romulus, by making an
asylum of a sacred grove, soon collected a num-
ber of fugitives, foreigners, and criminals, whom
he received as his lawful subjects. Yet however
numerous these might be, they were despised by
the neighboring inhabitants, and none were will-
ing to form matrimonial connexions with them.
But Romulus obtained by force what was de-
nied to his petitions. The Romans celebrated
games in honor of the god Consus, and forcibly
carried away all the females who had assembled
there to be spectators of these unusual exhibi-
tions. These violent measures offended the
neighboring nations ; they made war against the
ravishers with various success, till at last they
entered Rome, which had been betrayed to them
by one of the stolen virgins. A violent engage-
ment was begun in the middle of the Roman
forum : but the Sabines were conquered, or, ac-
ROO
476
ROS
cording to Ovid, the two enemies laid down their
arms when the women had rushed between the
two armies, and by their tears and entreaties
raised compassion in the bosoms of their parents
and husbands.
The Sabines left their original possessions and
came to live in Rome, where Tatius, their king,
shared the sovereign power with Romulus.
The introduction of the Sabines into the city of
Rome was attended with the most salutary con-
sequences ; and the Romans, by pursuing this
plan, and admitting the conquered nations
among their citizens, rendered themselves more
powerful and more formidable. Afterwards
Romulus divided the lands which he had ob-
tained by conquest ; one part was reserved for
religious uses, to maintain the priests, to erect
temples, and to consecrate altars ; the other was
appropriated for the expenses of the state ; and
the third part was equally distributed among his
subjects, who were divided into three classes or
tribes.
The most aged and experienced, to the num-
ber of 100, were also chosen, whom the mon-
arch might consult in matters of the highest im-
portance, and from their age they were called
senators, and from their authority patres. The
whole body of the people were also distinguish-
ed by the name of patricians and plebeians, pa-
tron and client, who by mutual interest were
induced to preserve the peace of the state, and
to promote the public good.
Some time after, Romulus disappeared, as he
was giving instructions to the senators ; and the
eclipse of the sun, which happened at that time,
was favorable to the rumor which asserted that
the king had been taken up to heaven, 714 B.
C. after a reign of 39 years.
RONCESVALLES, a valley in Navarre,
where the army of Charlemagne, on their return
from an expedition to that country, were at-
tacked in the narrow passes of the mountains,
and all that were separated from the main body
were killed, among whom were several chiefs
of note.
ROOKE, Sir George, a gallant English ad-
miral, was born in Kent in 1050. He entered
early into the naval service, and had the com-
mand of several expeditions in the reigns of
King William and Queen Anne ; all of which
he conducted with equal skill and courage. In
1702 he attacked the French fleet in the harbor
of Vigo, and took several galleons and men-of-
war, besides destroying a number of others. In
1704 he made himself master of Gibraltar ; not-
withstanding which, such was the violence of
party, Sir George was soon afterwards super-
seded by the Whigs, who endeavored to lessen
his services by representing them as the effects
of mere chance and good fortune. He died Jan-
uary 24, 1709. When he made his will, some
of his friends wondered at the slendernessof his
circumstances, considering what employments
he had been engaged in; to whom the dying
hero said, " I do not leave much, 'tis true ; but
what I do leave was honestly gotten ; it never
cost a seaman a tear, nor the nation a farthing."
ROSCOE, William, was born in 1732, of
humble parents, and, having received a com-
mon education, was articled, at an early age, to
an attorney at Liverpool. He soon mastered,
by dint of hard study, the Latin,. French, and
Italian languages, while he, at the same time,
neither neglected his business nor the study of
the English Classics. His first poetical work,
Mount Pleasant, was written at the age of six-
teen. As a banker, Mr. Roscoe was unsuc-
cessful. His most important and celebrated
works are the Life of Lorenzo de' Medici, and
the Life of Leo X. He died in 1831 ; and his
memory is affectionately cherished by the in-
habitants of Liverpool, whose taste he endeavor-
ed to improve, and whose public works he ably
and strenuously supported.
ROSE, George, a statesman, was the son of
an episcopal clergyman at Brechin, in the shire
of Angus, and was born there, in 1744. He
was brought up under an uncle, who kept a
school near London, after which he went into
the navy, and became a purser; but, by the in-
terest of the Earl of Marchmont, he was taken
from thence, and made keeper of the records in
the Exchequer. Here his talents for business
were soon discovered, and he was appointed to
superintend the publication of the Domesday
Book ; after which he was employed to com-
plete the journals of the Lords, in thirty-one
volumes, folio. From this period his advance-
ment was rapid, and his services were duly ap-
preciated and engaged, by almost every admin-
istration. Mr. Pitt, in particular, placed un-
bounded confidence in his judgment on subjects
of trade and finance; and, when Pitt returned
to power, after the short peace, Mr. Rose was
made president of the board of trade, and trea-
surer of the navy. On the death of Mr. Pitt,
another change occurred ; but, when the ad-
ministration formed by Lord Grenville retired,
Mr. Rose resumed his former station, and con-
tinued in it till his death, which happened at
Cuffnels, his seat in Hampshire, Jan. 13, 1818.
ROSS, George, a signer of the Declaration
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of Independence, born in 1730, at Newcastle,
Delaware, was the son of a clergyman. At the
age of eighteen, having been admitted to prac-
tise law, he settled at Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
He was for some years a member of Congress,
and discharged the duties of his office to the
entire satisfaction of his numerous constituents.
In July, 1779, an attack of the gout put an end
to his life in his fiftieth year.
ROUEN, anciently Rothomagus, a city of
France, formerly capital of the province of Nor-
mandy, situated on the right bank of the river
Seine, 8G N. W. of Paris. Population 88,0U0.
It was besieged by Henry V. of England in
1418, and taken after a siege of five months, but
again fell into the hands of the French in 1449.
RUPERT Prince, the third son of Frederic,
king of Bohemia, by Elizabeth, daughter of
James I. He was born in 1619, and received
an education adapted to the military service.
In the civil wars of England, while his elder
brother became a pensioner to the parliament,
prince Rupert adhered steadfastly to his roj;al
uncle, and defeated the rebels in several en-
gagements ; for which the king honored him
with the garter, and made him a peer. The
prince, however, was more successful as a
naval commander than on the land, particularly
after the restoration, in the great Dutch war, on
the conclusion of which he led a retired life,
occupied wholly in scientific pursuits. He died
in London in 1682, and was buried in West-
minster Abbey.
RUSSELL, William, first duke of Bedford,
was the eldest son of Francis, the fourth earl of
Bedford, and was born in 1614. He received
his education at Magdalen-college, Oxford, and
at the coronation of Charles I, was created knight
of the oath. In the beginning of the civil war,
he acted against the king, and commanded the
reserve of horse in the battle of Edgehill ; but
in 1645, he joined the royal standard, and fought
with great bravery at the battle of Newbury.
His estate, in consequence, was put under se-
questration, but on his submission to the parlia-
ment it was restored. He then led a private life
tiil the return of Charles II, when he assisted at
the coronation, and was made a knight of the
garter. He also attended the coronation of
William and Mary, and in 1694, was created
Duke of Bedford. He died in 1700.
RUSSELL, William, lord, third son of the
preceding, was born about 1641. He received
a private education under puritanical teachers.
His early life, however, appears to have been
rather dissipated, till he married, in 1667, the
excellent daughter of Lord Southampton. On
becoming a member of the House of Commons,
he distinguished himself by his zeal for the ex-
clusion of the Duke of York ; and at length be-
came so far involved in a conspiracy for effecting
a revolution, that, when the Rye-house plot was
discovered, an indictment was preferred against
him, and he was condemned at the Old Bailey.
Great exertions were made to save his life, but
all without effect, and he was beheaded in Lin-
coln's-Inn-fields, July 18, 1683. After the revo-
lution an act was passed, to annul and make
void the proceedings against Lord Russell. His
widow, lady Rachel, died Sept. 29, 1723, at the
age of 87.
RUSSIA. This great empire contains half
of Europe, stretches across the north of Asia,
and includes vast possessions in North America,
thus almost girding the entire globe. It has an
area of about 8,000,000 square miles, with about
65,000,000 inhabitants. The revenue, before
the last Polish rebellion, was $55,000,000, and
the public debt, in 1824, $170,000,000. The
subject of education has received the attention
of government, but not many years ago, even
the Russian nobles were shamefully ignorant.
The condition of the peasants is deplorable :
they are the property of the crown or of indi-
viduals, and are transferred with estates, being
considered in the light of irrational live stock.
A traveller gives the following account of a
curious scene which he witnessed in Russia :
I had been some years in St. Petersburg before
my mind had become familiarized with the bru-
tal abasement of the serfs in the surrounding
country. It is strange for one used to a free
country, to observe the feudal system, in its
strictest sense, still holding its ground in a part
of the continent of Europe surrounded by en-
lightened and civilized countries, which, how-
ever, do not exert the least influence upon it.
The Russian peasant is treated more harshly
than the West Indian negro; like him, he is
not his own master, like him, he has no family ;
he, and his children, may be sold at any mo-
ment. He is forced to die upon his natal soil,
pursued through life by a tyrannical master,
who often wreaks his vengeance on his slave
by depriving him of the necessaries of life ; he
cannot go to seek subsistence in other lands, but
must die, consuming himself with silent grief.
Nay — the peasant has no wrongs — he is a mere
machine, moved only by the rod of his driver.
But let us drop this grave style, and look
upon the sunny side of Russian manners, and
nothing is so droll as the nuptial ceremonies
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which take place at the fete of St. Peter and St.
Paul, at Petrowski, a village about 15 leagues
from St. Petersburg.
This festival always attracts a crowd of curi-
ous spectators ; but it is difficult to penetrate
into the centre of the village, in the midst of
the ceremonies, without you are accompanied
by a man of some authority or rank. It was
with the painter of the empress mother, on
whose estates the ceremony takes place, that
I saw the singular spectacle.
On approaching we witnessed the arrival of
a crowd of young girls, each having a flower or
a ribbon in their hair, and mounted upon little
horses, some of which were forced to carry
double and even treble. Their mothers accom-
panied them armed with stout cudgels. The
young men appeared clad in bridal garments.
Nothing is as ugly as the Russian, particularly
those of Petrowski, and this rendered the scene
grotesque in the extreme.
The young girls were drawn up In lines
along the street of the village, and the suitors
approached, like Turks in the slave-market of
Stamboul, examined, and made comparisons;
and when one of them found a beauty that suit-
ed him, without a word, he pushed her out of
the line, and shoved her into a neighboring
house to await the conclusion of the bargain.
Parents have no right to interfere with the
choice of their children, only if the mother ob-
jects to the suitor of her girl, she commonly
amuses herself at his expense by giving him a
sound beating with her cudgel. The Lutheran
minister and the magistrate preside at these es-
pousals, registering the names of the couples,
and the definitive celebration of the marriages
takes place about eight days after.
In the ninth century, the Scandinavians,
who were Danes, Normans, or Norwegians, and
Swedes, emigrated from the north, and, cross-
ing the Baltic, settled in this country. These
intruders were called Waregers, from which
the name of Russes or Russians is derived.
After subduing Courland, Livonia, and Estho-
nia, the Waregers were offered the government
of the whole country, and, embracing the pro-
posal, deputed to the office three brothers of
known abilities and valor, whose names were
Ruric, Sineus, and Truwor. They reigned
very amicably together, and made considerable
additions to their respective territories, all of
which at length devolved on Ruric, by the deatli
of Sineus and Truwor, who left no issue.
Ruric left his dominions in 878, to his son
Igor, a minor, under the care of a relation
named Olech, who governed with great ability
and integrity during the nonage of the young
prince, and who undertook an expedition against
Constantinople, which he besieged for some
time, and at length compelled the emperor to
purchase peace at a stipulated price. On the
death of Olech, Igor undertook an unsuccessful
expedition against Constantinople, and after-
wards ravaged and desolated the country of the
Drevlians, by whom he was slain. Swetoslaw,
the son of Igor, was a great warrior, and en-
larged his dominions by the acquisition of much
territory, but was basely murdered by the prince
of the Petchenegans.
Wolodimir I, succeeded in 97G, and impru-
dently divided his dominions among his twelve
sons, who became enemies to each other, and,
after his death, replunged their country into all
the horrors of murder, massacres, and civil
wars.
In 1019, Jaroslaw, who had been appointed
to the government of' Nnvogorod, assembled his
forces, rnd attacking his brothers, dispossessed
them of their dominions, which he usurped.
He also divided his territories among his five
sons, who, being equally ambitious, and able to
injure each other, renewed all the horrors of
civil war, in 1106 At length, Wolodimir II,
being more fortunate and more enterprising
than the rest, possessed himself of the greatest
part of these territories, and was declared uni-
versal monarch. He transferred his power to
his son Wsewold II, who plunged the state into
fresh disorder, by dividing his dominions among
his sons. These dissensions afforded the Tar-
tars an opportunity of making incursions into
Russia, which they plundered and desolated,
and which was also attacked by the Poles, in
1237. To complete the misery of the Russians,
the Tartars returned, and, attacking them with
irresistible fury, made an entire conquest of
their country.
During several reigns which occupy a space
of more than 200 years, the miseries of a foreign
yoke were aggravated by the calamities of in-
testine discord and civil war. At length, in
1450, John Basilowitz I, by his invincible spirit,
and refined policy, became the conqueror and
deliverer of his country, and laid the foundation
of that grandeur which has since distinguished
Russia. Taking advantage of a war in which
the Tartars were engaged, and having in the
mean time considerably increased his forces, he
disclaimed all subjection to that people, attacked
their dominions, and made himself master of
Casan, where he was crowned.
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He was honored with the surname of Great,
and assumed the title of Czar, which signifies
Emperor, but which was more used by his suc-
cessors.
On the death of John Basilowitz in 1505, the
crown ought to have devolved to his eldest son
Demetrius, whom he had by a former wife ; but
his widow Sophia, by various artful insinua-
tions, obtained it for her own son Gabriel, who,
disliking his own name, assumed that of Basilius
Twansowitz. He engaged in a war with the
Poles and Crim-Tartars, who, penetrating to
the gates of Moscow, made the czar tremble on
his throne, and obliged him to submit to their
conditions. The Tartars entered Russia a sec-
ond time, ravaged the country, and, making
themselves masters of Moscow, compelled Basi-
lius to acknowledge himself their vassal, and to
promise to pay them an annual tribute. John
Basilowitz II, succeeded in 1533, and was one
of the greatest monarchs of Russia. He was
constantly engaged in war with the Tartars,
the Poles, the Swedes, the Danes, or the Turks,
and was almost always successful. He left
two sons ; Theodore Iwanowitz, who succeeded
him, and Demetrius, an infant, placed under
the tutelage of the knez Bogdam Bielski. This
guardian formed the design of placing his pupil
on the throne, in prejudice to his elder brother
Theodore, whose simplicity and want of talents
rendered him incapable of supporting the weight
of a diadem. But though the nobles delivered
Theodore from the enterprises of Bielski, that
weak monarch suffered all the authority to
centre in the hands of the knez Boris Gudenow,
whose sister he had married, and who, after
ordering Demetrius to be put to death, admin-
istered to Theodore a slow poison.
Finding his dissolution approaching, Theo-
dore offered the sceptre to some of his nearest
relations : but as they all refused it, he threw it
on the floor, saying, " Let him be the emperor
who picks it up." Boris Gudenow then step-
ped forward, and took it, to the great dissatis-
faction of the nation. In Theodore ended the
family of Ruric, which had governed Russia
upwards of 700 years. His reign was disturb-
ed, and terminated by the re-appearance of the
real or pretended Demetrius.
Thinking it impossible to oppose an effectual
resistance to Demetrius, Boris, in a moment of
despair, took poison, of which he died. Theo-
dore was only fifteen years of age at the time
of his father's death, and ascended the throne
in 1605. After making his public entry into
Moscow, Demetrius was crowned sovereign of
all the Russians. Notwithstanding these suc-
cesses, a party was formed against him. The
conspirators declared that Demetrius was an
impostor, whose design was to extirpate the
nobility, to overturn the religion of Russia, and
render the people slaves to Poland. An insur-
gent multitude attacked the palace ; and Deme-
trius, finding himself surrounded, leaped from
a window, broke his thigh in the fall, was taken,
and put to death. Immediately after the mur-
der of Demetrius, Zuski, the leader of the con-
spirators, was elected sovereign by the suffrages
of the people, though the nobles and senators
were divided in opinion between him and John
Galitzin.
Two noblemen, discontented with the gov-
ernment of their country, declared that Deme-
trius still existed ; and, raising an army, they
combated and defeated Zuski, but were in their
turn defeated, made prisoners, and put to death.
To this shade succeeded a real being, who has
been called a third Demetrius, and who was a
schoolmaster at Socola, a small town in Polish
Bussia. For some time the Poles gave every
assistance in their power to this pretender, and
changing sides, they aided the czar in expelling
the schoolmaster, who fled into Tartary, where
he was afterwards assassinated. Zuski was
afterwards deposed, shaven, and immured in a
convent, where he died.
In 1610 the crown was offered to Uladislaus,
son of the king of Poland, who sent before him
an army of Poles, that committed every species
of devastation. At length the delays of Ulad-
islaus, the insolence and licentiousness of the
Poles, and the impatience of the Russians, who
saw no end of their sufferings, excited the
people to discontent and insurrection. As the
election of Uladislaus was rendered of no effect
by his never appearing to accept the crown,
the Russians proceeded to the choice of a new
sovereign, and elected Michael Theodorowitz
Romanow, son of Philaretus. This great and
pacific prince died in the 49th year of his age,
and the 33d of his reign, and bequeathed the
crown to his son, then in his 16th year.
Alexis Theodorowitz succeeded to the throne
in 1645, and appointed as his first minister and
counsellor Boris Morosau, a man till then held
in estimation and respect, and possessed of great
abilities, but unfortunately tainted with the
spirit of ambition. Open traffic was made of
justice ; offices and employments were publicly
sold. These exactions and oppressions excited
the resentment of the inhabitants of Moscow,,
who, finding their petitions disregarded, and no
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grievances redressed, proceeded to the utmost
excesses. This act of popular vengeance in-
structed the czar to beware of reposing unlim-
ited confidence in his ministers, and to guide
the helm of the empire with his own hand. He
employed his subsequent life in rectifying and
repairing, by a mild and equitable administra-
tion, the faults and errors into which he had
been led in his youth, by his too great confi-
dence in favorites and ministers. He died in
the 46th year of his age. By his first wife,
Alexis left two sons, Theodore and John, and
a daughter called Sophia; and by a second, Pe-
ter, and the Princess Natalia.
Theodore succeeded to the throne in 1676, at
the age of 19 years, and possessed all the good
qualities of his father, whose example he imitat-
ed in attempting to polish Russia, and to intro-
duce into that country useful establishments.
Theodore having appointed Peter his successor
on the throne, to the exclusion of his elder
brother, John, the intrigues of the Princess So-
phia, their sister, occasioned a dreadful rebellion,
which was at length terminated with proclaim-
ing the two princes, John and Peter, joint sov-
ereigns, and associating Sophia in the govern-
ment as co-regent in 1682.
The imbecility of the elder brother, and the
youth of Peter, allowed Sophia to enjoy all the
honors of sovereignty. She married John to
a young lady of the house of Soltikoff, and form-
ed a design against the life of Peter, who, being
informed of her intention, made his escape,
raised troops, and caused Sophia to be impris-
oned and deprived of all authority.
From 1690 Peter is to be considered as sole
sovereign of Russia ; since from the period of
this revolution to the year 1696, in which John
died, the latter led a private and retired life.
Peter the Great died 1795, at the age of fifty-
three years, and was succeeded on the throne
by his widow, Catharine.
She left the throne to Peter II, grandson of
the late czar, in 1727, whose father Peter the
Great had inhumanly condemned to suffer
death. This prince was extremely beloved by
his people ; and Russia has since termed his
reign its happiest period during a hundred
years. — On the death of Peter II in 1730, the
council, the senate, the general officers, and
other persons of distinction, assembled, and
elected to the throne Anne Iwanowna, duchess
of Couriand, and second daughter of John, Pe-
ter's eldest brother. Anne successfully execut-
ed many projects conceived by Peter the Great,
and died at Petersburg, after a glorious and
happy reign often years, A. D. 1740.
Previous to her death, the late empress had
declared her niece, Anne of Mecklenburg, grand-
duchess, and her niece's son, I wan, emperor of
Russia, though lie was a very remote descend-
ant of the house of Romanow, and seemed
rather of German than Russian extraction.
However, there appeared another aspirant to
the throne, who was the Princess Elizabeth,
daughter of Peter the Great,and aunt to the grand
duchess Anne, and who finally succeeded in
the attempt. I wan, the innocent and uncon-
scious boy, who, with no ambition to rule, had
been raised to the imperial purple, was dethron-
ed, and immured in a dungeon ; and the grand
duchess and her husband were imprisoned in a
fortress, where they died.
Elizabeth, having thus obtained possession
of the throne of Russia in 1740, bent all her
thoughts to the government of the empire.
However, her reign was tarnished by the insti-
tution of a political court of inquisition, under
the name of a secret state chancery, empowered
to examine into and punish all expressions of
displeasure with the measures of government.
On the death of Elizabeth, Charles Peter Ul-
ric. only son of the Duke of Holstein, peaceably
ascended the throne of Russia in 1762, as the
declared successor of the late empress, and as-
sumed the title of Peter III. He was grandson
to Peter the Great and Catharine I, whose el-
dest daughter, the Princess Anne, had married
his father, Charles Frederic.
Peter had for a long time slighted his consort,
Catharine of the house of Anhalt-Zerbst, and
now openly lived with the Countess of Wo-
rontzoff, niece to the chancellor of that name.
Catharine indulged in the greatest licentious-
ness; and, after the dismissal of Poniatowski,
the Polish ambassador, with whom she had been
too intimate, she carried on a criminal inter-
course with Gregory OrlofF, who became an
active and a zealous member of a conspiracy
against the czar. To the conspiracy of Bestu-
chefF, supported by his nephew, the Prince of
Wolskonsky, and by Count Panin, was added
another, of which the Princess Dashkoff, a girl
only eighteen years of age, was the most active
and spirited member. Of these factions, which
acted in unison, but without the cognizance of
each other, Catharine was the animating spirit.
At length a report was propagated, that the
emperor entertained the design of declaring
Prince Iwan his successor ; of disowning the
young grand duke, Paul Petrowitz, as his son;
and of immuring Catharine for life in a prison,
and substituting in her place his mistress, the
Countess of Worontzoff.
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At seven in the morning of the 9th of July.
17- 2, Catharine entered the city of Petersburg
in the absence of the czar : and having induced
the soldiers to believe that her death, together
with that of her son. bad been decreed by the
emperor that night, the troops took the oath of
allegiance to her. She then repaired to the
church of Casan, where the archbishop of No-
vogorod placed on her head the imperial crown.
and in a loud voice proclaimed her sovereign
of all the Russias. under the name of Catha-
rine II.
The new empress now marched at the head
of the troops against her husband, who was
solacing himself with his mistress at one of his
houses of pleasure, when he was informed of
the event which had taken place at Petersburg.
Consternation immediately pervaded his whole
company. The emperor, perplexed and con-
founded, ordered, countermanded, asked advice,
adopted, and again rejected it. and at length set
out with his mistress and aid-de-camp to meet
Catharine at the castle of Peterhoff. vainly
hoping to move, by submission, the heart of a
woman who was utterly devoid of pity or com-
passion. The unfortunate Peter, after being
induced to write and sign a renunciation of the
throne of Russia, was cast into prison, where a
few days after he was murdered.
On the death of Augustus III, king of Poland,
in 1764, Catharine, who had signed a treaty of
alliance with Prussia, raised to the throne of
that kingdom Stanislaus Poniatowski, her for-
mer paramour, notwithstanding the murmurs
and resistance of the Polish nation. During
the absence of the empress at Riga, a conspiracy,
real or pretended , was formed in favor of Prince
I wan, who was barbarously put to death. The
purposes for which Poniatowski had been raised
to the throne of Poland, began gradually to de-
velop themselves : and having traced on a map
a line of demarcation, by which a great part of
the Polish territory had been assigned to Russia,
Catharine insisted on the recognition of these
limits, and the propriety of her claim. The
Poles having induced the Ottoman Porte to
take up arms in their behalf, hostilities com-
menced between Turkey and Russia, and the
empress resolved to rend the Grecian islands
from the Ottoman Porte, and to be the patroness
of liberty in Greece, and the foundress of a new
republic. At length the dismemberment of
Poland was effected by Russia. Austria, and
Prussia: and Turkey was obliged to conclude
a peace on very disadvantageous terms. The
ambition of Catharine again excited the jealousy
and the fears of the Turkish emperor by the
designs which she entertained respecting her
grandson, whose name and education suffi-
ciently denoted her intention. War was, there-
fore, again declared by the Porte against Rus-
sia, whose minister was shut up in" the castle
of the Seven Towers. Joseph II, empercr of
Germany, sent 60,000 Austrians to the assist-
ance of Catharine ; and every thing seemed to
announce the ruin of the Ottoman power. Sur-
rounding nations, however, beheld with jealousy
the designs of the empress, who threatened to
destroy the equilibrium of Europe, but who,
notwithstanding her victories and her conquests,
at length perceived that a cessation of hostilities
was very desirable. Accordingly, after some
time, peace was concluded between Russia and
the Porte, and a bloody and expensive war
terminated. The arms of Russia and Prussia
were now united in partitioning the remainder
of Poland : and Frederic William, at the head
of his forces, fought against Kosciusko, whose
talents, courage, and despair were unavailing
against multiplied and increasing numbers.
After a few bloody victories, the courts of Pe-
tersburg and Berlin succeeded in dividing the
remains of that unhappy country ; and" the
courtiers of Catharine shared among them the
ons of the proscribed.
Catharine died after a loner and prosperous
reiffn. and at a time when she hoped to drive
the Turks out of Europe, and to seize on the
throne of Constantinople.
On the death of Catharine II, in 1796. Paul
Petrowitz, her sen, who was at that time 43
years of age, was proclaimed emperor of Russia.
The first acts of the new czar were extremely
popular ; and his actions seemed to contradict
the report of his stern and capricious disposition.
However, Paul's conduct in the first days of
his reign, was soon afterwards reversed.
Paul concluded with the king of Great Bri-
tain a treatv. by which they agreed to oppose,
in the most efficacious manner, the successes
of the French arms in extending the principles
of anarchy, to promote solid and lasting peace,
and to endeavor to re-establish the balance of
power in Europe. For some time the Russians
and their allies were fortunate ; but their suc-
cesses being afterwards converted into defeats,
the emperor broke off the alliance which had
been concluded with the court of London. In-
dignant that the British government would
not acquiesce in his having appointed himself
grand-master of Malta, Paul entered into an
alliance with France, and excited a formidable
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confederacy of the maritime powers of the north
against the naval interests of Great Britain,
which was broken by the battle of Copenhagen.
His capricious and extravagant actions, some
of which bordered on frenzy, gave great offence
to many of the principal nobles ; and he was
murdered in the night of the 23d of March,
1801, though his death has been ascribed to an
apoplectic fit.
The day after his decease, his eldest son, Al-
exander Paulowitz, who was in the 24th year
of his age, was proclaimed emperor of all the
Russias, and issued several popular ukases, in
one of which he revived and confirmed all the
regulations of the empress Catharine for the
encouragement of industry and commerce.
Bonaparte not fulfilling the secret convention
which had been entered into between France
and Russia, with respect to the evacuation of
the kingdom of Naples by the French troops,
the adjusting of the affairs of Italy, and the
indemnity promised to be granted to the king
of Sardinia, Alexander ordered an additional
levy of land forces throughout his dominions
He afterwards attempted to negotiate a general
peace among the powers of Europe ; but finding
this impracticable, on account of the disposition
and views of Bonaparte, he joined Austria and
England in the coalition against France. The
Russian troops however, could not join the
Austrians till the latter had suffered several se-
vere defeats. The battle of Austerlitz termi-
nated unfavorably to the allies ; and the empe-
ror of Germany concluding a separate peace
with France immediately after that event, the
Russian troops returned into their own country.
When war broke out between France and Prus-
sia, the emperor Alexander ordered his forces
to the assistance of the latter power. However,
before they could arrive to aid their allies, the
French had over-run Prussia, and penetrated
into Poland, where they were defeated by the
Russians ; but Bonaparte, having compelled his
vassal princes to furnish their stipulated contin-
gents of troops, again advanced, and gained the
battle of Friedland, which obliged the emperor
Alexander to sign the treaty of Tilsit.
That treaty was soon after followed by a de-
claration of war, on the part of Russia, against
Great Britain ; and one immense power now
occupied Europe, arranging and controlling
every thing in conformity to its views. Russia,
which had become the willing instrument of
French policy, not only withdrew from her al-
liance with Sweden, but attacked that country.
In 1808, an army of 40,000 men was sent into
Finland, from which the Swedes were finally
expelled.
By the treaty of Tilsit. Russia bound herself
to accede to the continental system, and to ex-
clude from her ports all British manufactures
and colonial produce. Not aware of the conse-
quences of his engagements, the emperor Al-
exander had placed himself in a situation of
great difficulty. If he attempted to fulfil the
treaty by interdicting the trade between Great
Britain and the Russian empire, he deprived his
subjects of the best market for their produce,
and roused his nobility against him. On the
other hand, his apprehensions of the power of
Bonaparte were strong and well founded. He,
therefore, determined on a species of compro-
mise, and forbade the introduction of all British
produce and manufactures into his dominions,
except by special license, and in neutral ships.
Soon after the differences commenced be-
tween Napoleon and the emperor Alexander,
the former took such measures as he thought
would either awe the latter into submission, or
secure victory and success in case of hostilities:
he assembled large bodies in the north of Ger-
many ; he kept possession of a great part of
Prussia especially of the places most conven-
iently situated for an attack on Russian Poland;
and he forcibly occupied Swedish Pomerania.
Preparations were made by Russia to meet the
approaching crisis ; and before the commence-
ment of hostilities, the force that could be
brought against the French amounted to nearly
300,000 men, exclusively of the militia. On
the other hand, the emperor Francis engaged
to furnish 30,000 men to France in her war with
Russia ; the troops of the confederation of the
Rhine had been raised to their stipulated quota;
and the kings of Saxony and Naples had been
induced to embark with Napoleon in this great
enterprise. The armies of Bonaparte on the
frontiers of Russian Poland amounted to at least
300,000 infantry, and 00,000 cavalry, in a state
of the highest discipline and equipment, and
commanded by the first military talents of the
age.
The preparations on each side corresponded
with the magnitude of the interests embarked
in the contest. In numbers the combatants
were not, at first, on an equality ; and in disci-
pline, in science, and in organization, the
French possessed a great superiority. On the
9th of May, 1812, Napoleon left Paris; and ar-
riving on the banks of the Niemen on the 22d
of June, he issued to his soldiers a proclamation
in his usual confident and laconic style. This
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was his only declaration of war. The French
and their allies passed the Niemen without op-
position, and obtained possession of Wilna, the
capital of Lithuania. The re-establishment of
the kingdom of Poland was now proclaimed,
and a diet assembled under the guarantee of the
French emperor; and, by these means, the na-
tional enthusiasm was raised in his favor, and
the ranks of his army were swelled by Polish
levies.
The emperor of Austria recalled his ambas-
sador from Petersburg, and furnished his con-
tingent of troops to the French. Russia, how-
ever, acquired a new and zealous, though remote,
ally in England, who formed a treaty of friend-
ship and reciprocal defence with her, and a sim-
ilar one with Sweden. In proportion as the
French advanced into the territories of Russia,
the more resistance they experienced ; and sev-
eral bloody engagements took place, without
producing any decisive effect. The first great
stand was made at the city of Smolensk, which
is in the direct road to Moscow, and for the de-
fence of which the Russians were posted. How-
ever, in the middle of the night, after a severe
engagement, a dreadful conflagration was ob-
served in the city ; and the Russians abandoned
Smolensk, and retired across the Dnieper.
Moscow was now the great object to be con-
tended for ; and the Russian main army took a
strong position to cover it from the attack of
Napoleon.
A dreadful engagement ensued ; and the re-
sult of this battle, which was named by the Rus-
sians the Battle of Borodino, was a victory
claimed by each party. The French entered
Moscow seven days after this engagement; but
in order to deprive the French of a place for
their winter quarters, the governor had ordered
the city to be set on fire ; and the French troops
had scarcely entered the Kremlin, when Mos-
cow appeared in flames in different parts. The
conflagration was so extensive, and raged with
such fury for several days, that not more than a
tenth of the buildings remained unconsumed.
The French began their retreat from Moscow,
but were closely pursued by an exasperated foe.
To add to their calamities a Russian winter set
in with deep snow. The sufferings of the
French were extreme, and their losses prodigious.
Horses died in such numbers, that the greatest
part of the artillery was left behind, and the
cavalry was nearly dismounted ; whole bodies
of men, disabled by cold and hunger, surren-
dered without resistance to the pursuers ; and
nothing appeared but disaster and dismay. It
is probable, that of nearly 400,000 troops engaged
in this frantic expedition, not 50,000, including
the Prussian and Austrian contingents, escaped
out of Russia.
Intoxicated by former successes, Napoleon
expected that he had only on this, as on former
occasions, to strike deeply into the heart of the
invaded country, and that victory would hover
round the wings of his eagles ; but the constancy
of the Russian government, the devoted patriot-
ism of the people, the valor of the Russian army,
and above all, the rigors of the season, consum-
mated the ruin of the legions of an ambitious
chief, who, in one expedition, had thus sacrificed,
of friends and foes, soldiers and peaceable in-
habitants, nearly one million of his species !
The Russian armies pursued the remnant of
the French armies into Germany, where the
former were joined by Prussia, by the princes
of Germany, and finally by Austria. Sweden
also joined the league against France. The
battle of Leipsic, which was gained by the allies
over Bonaparte, determined the fate of Germa-
ny, and shook to its foundation the mighty em-
pire raised by Napoleon. By the treaty of Vi-
enna, in 1815, the duchy of Warsaw, with the
exception of certain provinces and districts, was
ceded to the emperor of Russia, who addressed
a letter to the Polish diet, announcing the fate
of their country, and that he had assumed the
title of king of Poland.
After the death of the emperor Alexander,
Dec. 1, 1825, his brother Nicholas ascended the
throne. The principal events which have oc-
curred since the commencement of his reign,
are, the war with Turkey, and the revolt of the
Poles. The latter was not crushed without a
violent struggle, which cost the Russians a ter-
rible effusion of blood.
RUTLEDGE, John, a native of South Caro-
lina, distinguished himself by his manly elo-
quence in the first congress, and was appointed
president and commander-in-chief of South
Carolina, in 1776. In 1771) he was chosen gov-
ernor. He died Jan. 23, 1800.
RUTLEDGE, Edward, a signer of the De-
claration of Independence, was born in South
Carolina, Nov. 1749. He chose the profession
of the law, and received a part of his legal edu-
cation in England. He was a member of the
continental Congress from 1774 till 1777. In
1779 Mr. Rutledge was re-appointed to Con-
gress, but relinquished his seat from ill health.
However, he soon took the field at the head of
a company, but was taken prisoner, and re-
mained in the hands of the British nearly a year.
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In 1798, having retired from the practice of
the law, he was elected governor of South Caro-
lina, but died Jan. 23, 1800.
- RUYTER, Michael Adrian de, a Dutch Ad-
miral, was born at Flushing in 1607. In the
war with England, which broke out in 1652, he
convoyed a rich fleet through the channel, and
brought the whole into port, after an engage-
ment which lasted two days. He was next
joined in command with Van Tromp, and dis-
tinguished himself as well in the great battle
of three days, fought in February, 1653, as in
that where Van Tromp fell in July following.
In 1658, he defeated the Swedes, for which the
king of Denmark gave him a patent of nobility.
At the renewal of hostilities with England, in
the reign of Charles II, De Ruyter gained an
advantage over Prince Rupert and Monk ; but,
two months afterwards, another battle was
fought, in which the Dutch were defeated.
The following year, however, he avenged him-
self, by riding triumphantly in the Thames, and
destroying several English men-of-war at Sheer-
ness. In 1672, he attacked the combined En-
glish and French fleets ; and though the battle
was undecided, De Ruyter kept the sea, and
convoyed home a fleet of merchantmen. The
gallant commander was mortally wounded in an
engagement with the French, off Messina, and
died at Syracuse, April 11, 1676. His remains
were interred at Amsterdam, and a monument
erected to his memory.
RYE-HOUSE PLOT, took its name from a
farm called the Rye-house, the property of
Rumbal, one of the conspirators against the life
of Charles II. The particulars of this plot are,
that while schemes on a very grand scale were
concerting in the higher circles to check the
rapid strides of tyranny encroaching on the
rights and liberties of the people, others of a
subordinate class were hatching, which, though
perhaps not exactly on equally honorable prin-
ciples, were nevertheless somewhat similar as
to their final purpose. Among the abettors of
this latter class were Colonel Rumsey, an old
republican officer ; lieutenant-colonel Walcot ;
Goodenough, under sheriff of London ; Fergu-
son, an independent minister ; and several at-
torneys, merchants, and tradesmen of London.
Their object was to assassinate Charles on his
way from Newmarket ; but the house in which
the king resided there happening to take fire,
obliged him to leave that place earlier than he
intended; and thus the execution of the design
was prevented.
S.
SABINES, an ancient people of Italy, reck-
oned among the Aborigines, or those inhabitants
whose origin was not known. Some suppose
that they were originally a Lacedaemonian co-
lony, who settled in that part of the country.
The possessions of the Sabines were situated in
the neighborhood of Rome, between the river
Nar and the Anio, and bounded on the north by
the Apennines and Umbria, south by Latium,
east by the iEqui, and by Etruria on the west.
The greatest part of the contiguous nations
were descended from them, such as the Uak»
brians, the Campanians, the Sabelli, the Osci,
Samnites, Hernici, iEqui, Marsi, Brutii, &c.
The Sabines are celebrated in ancient history
as being the first who took up arms against the
Romans, to avenge the rape of their females at
a spectacle where they had been invited. After
some engagements, the greatest part of the
Sabines left their ancient possessions, and mi-
grated to Rome, where they settled with their
new allies. They were at last totally subdued
about the year of Rome 373, and ranked as Ro-
man citizens. Their chief cities were Cures,
Fidense, Reate, Crustumerium, Corniculum,
Nomentum, Collatia, &c. The character of
the nation for chastity, for purity of morals, and
for the knowledge of herbs and incantations
was very great.
SAC HE VEREL, Henry, a celebrated divine,
was the son of a clergyman at Marlborough,
where he had his education, and afterwards be-
came demy of Magdalen-college, Oxford. Sach-
everel obtained a fellowship ; and in 1708 took
his doctor's degree. The following year he
preached two sermons, one at the assizes at
Derby, and the other at St. Paul's, in both
which he asserted, that the church was in im-
minent danger. For these discourses, which
were considered as inflammatory, he was im-
peached by the House of Commons, and tried
before the Lords, in 1710; when being found
guilty of a misdemeanor, he was suspended from
preaching for three years. This only increased
his popularity, and brought the ministry into
such contempt, that they were obliged to resign
their places. At the expiration of the sentence
the doctor was presented to the rectory of St.
Andrew, Holborn. He died in 1724.
SACKVILLE, Thomas, lord Buckhurst and
earl of Dorset, was the son of Sir Richard Sack-
ville, and was born at Witham, in Sussex, in
1527. He was educated at Oxford, from whence
he removed to Cambridge, and next to the Inner
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Temple. On leaving the Temple he went
abroad; and, after his return, was made lord
Buckliurst. In 1587 he was sent on an embassy
to the United Provinces. After this he was made
knight of the garter ; and chosen chancellor of
Oxford. On the death of Burleigh he was ap-
pointed lord treasurer ; and in the next reign
created earl of Dorset. He died in 1008.
SACKVILLE, Charles, sixth earl of Dorset
and Middlesex, was born in 1C37. In 1065 he
volunteered on board the fleet; and the night
previous to the engagement with the Dutch,
wrote the famous song, '• To all you ladies now
at land." Soon after this he was made a gen-
tleman of the bed-chamber by Charles II, who
also sent him on several embassies. At the
Revolution he was appointed lord chamberlain
to king William, whom he accompanied to Hol-
land. He died at Bath, Jan. 19, 1700.
SACKVILLE, lord George, viscount, the
third son of the first duke of Dorset, was born
in 171G. He obtained a commission in the
army, and distinguished himself in the battles
of Dettingen and Fontenoy. In 1758 he was
made a lieutenant-general ; but in the year fol-
lowing fell into disgrace for his conduct at the
battle of Minden, owing to a mistake in the
orders sent to him by prince Ferdinand. He
was tried by a court-martial, and dismissed the
service ; but was restored in the next reign. In
1775 he was appointed secretary of state for the
American colonies ; but in 1783 he went out of
office, and was created a viscount. He died in
1785.
SADLER, Sir Ralph, an English statesman,
was born in 1507, at Hackney, in Middlesex.
In early life he was taken into the family of
Cromwell, earl of Essex, who introduced him
to Henry VIII, in consequence of which he had
a share in the dissolution of the monasteries,
and partook of the spoil. He was also sent on
an embassy to Scotland, to negotiate a marriage
between prince Edward and queen Mary, but
without effect. In the war which followed,
sir Ralph distinguished himself greatly, and
was made a knight banneret on the field after
the battle of Pinkie. He was also appointed
master of the great wardrobe. At the accession
of Elizabeth he was again sent to Scotland ; and
when the unfortunate Mary came to England,
she was committed to his care. He died in
1587.
SAINT HELENA, an island in the South
Atlantic, 1200 miles west of the continent of
Africa, and 1800 east of South America. The
island is a rock about 21 miles in circumference,
very high and very steep, and only accessible
at the landing-place, in a small valley at the
east side of it, which is defended by batleries of
guns ; and as the wind always blows from the
south-east, if a ship overshoots the island ever
so little, she cannot recover it again. St. He-
lena is said to have been first discovered by the
Portuguese, on the festival of the empress
Helena, mother of the emperor Constantine
the Great, whose name it still bears. The En-
glish East India Companj' took possession of it
in 1600, and held it without interruption till the
year 1073, when the Dutch took it by surprise.
The English, under the command of Captain
Munden, recovered it again within the space
of a year, and at the same time took three
Dutch East India ships that lay in the road.
This island is celebrated in modern history, as
the place to which the emperor Napoleon was
exiled by the confederate powers in August,
1815, and where he died in 1820. — See Napoleon.
SALADIN, or SALAHEDDIN YUSEF
BEN AYUB, was at first general of the army
of Noureddin, sultan of Damascus, and in 1J64
he conquered Egypt, and married the widow of
the prince of Grand Cairo. After the death of
Noureddin, he was called to the government
during the minority of the prince his son. Be-
ing advanced to this power, he resolved to
attack the Christians; and accordingly, in 1177,
having raised an army, he endeavored to sur-
prise Jerusalem, but was defeated with great
slaughter, on the 25th of November. This loss
inspiring him with revenge, in 1180 he passed
the Euphrates, took several cities, as far as
Nisibis, and made himself formidable to all his
neighbors. He took Aleppo in 1184. But not
long after, the Christians put a slop to his con-
quests, by a cessation of arms. The earl of
Tripoli being jealous of Guy, king of Jerusa-
lem, persuaded Saladin to break the truce ;
who, following his counsel, defeated the Chris-
tians, the 1st of May, 1187 : and having raised
an army of above 800,000 men, he obtained a
second victory over them, took Guy in the
flight, beheaded all the knights Templars, and
of St. John, made himself master of Acre,
Bairut, Giblet, Saide, and divers other places,
and at last of Jerusalem. Pope Urban II, upon
hearing of this news, died of grief. Saladin
severaftimes stormed thecity of Tyre, but was
often repulsed ; and after some other losses sus-
tained from the Christians, he died in 1193, in
the 57th year of his age, having reigned over
Egypt 22 years, and 19 as absolute master of
Syria. No Asiatic monarch has filled so large
SAL
486
SAL
a space in the eyes of Europe, as the antagonist
of Cceur de Lion. He was a compound of the
dignity and baseness, the greatness and the
littleness of man. As the Moslem hero of the
third holy war, he proved himself a skilful
general and a valiant soldier. He hated the
Christian cause, for he was a zealous Mussul-
man. He gained the throne by blood, artifice
and treachery ; but though ambitious', he was
not tyrannical ; he was mild in his govern-
ment ; the friend and dispenser of justice
Wars and rebellions filled all the thoughts of
Saladin, and he established no principles"of suc-
cession. Three of his numerous proo-eny be-
came sovereigns of Aleppo, Damascus, and
Egypt; others had smaller possessions; and
the emirs and atabaks of Syria again struo-o-led
for independence. — See Crusades.
SALAMANCA, capital of a province of
Spain in the southern part of the kingdom of
Leon, contains 13,920 inhabitants. Its cele-
brated university was founded in the thirteenth
century by Alphonso IX of Leon. A memo-
rable battle was fought here on the 23d of July,
1812, between the British, under lord Wel-
lington, and the French, under Marmont. On
the 16th of June, lord Wellington appeared
before the city, with his main army, when the
French general, leaving a force to defend the
fortifications, retired with his troops across the
Tonnes. He afterwards attempted to relieve
the forts, which had been formed into a depot
of stores ; but the British general compelled
him to abandon them to their fate. Major-
general Clinton was now ordered to reduce
them ; and this being accomplished, lord Wel-
lington put his army in motion against Mar-
mont, who hastily retired across the Douro.
A series of skilful movements now ensued on
both sides, until the 21st July, when the allied
army was concentrated on the Tonnes ; the
French crossed the river on the same day, and
appeared to threaten Ciudad Rodrigo. During
the 22d and 23d, Marmont practised a variety of
evolutions, to distract the attention of the Bri-
tish general from his real plan. In aiming to
surround the British, he extended and weakened
his own line ; and lord Wellington, watching
the progress of this error, seized the favorable
opportunity for striking a decisive blow. His
arrangements were soon made, and no time lost
in executing them. Major-general Pakenham,
with the third division, began a furious assault
on the flanks of the enemy's left, in which he
was supported by brigadier-general Bradford's
brigade, by the fourth and fifth divisions, and
by the cavalry under Sir Stapleton Cotton, in
front. The French, though finely posted, and
supported by cannon, were overthrown. Their
centre was driven from the hill with precipita-
tion ; the right wing, being joined by some
fugitives, maintained a show of resistance, but
they were driven in confusion from the field.
The pursuit was continued till night, when
the French guard was overtaken, attacked, and
put to flight, the cavalry leavino- the infantry
to their fate. Three whole baUalions surren-
dered, and large quantities of stores, bao-o-age
and ammunition, fell into the conquerors' hands.'
Lleven pieces of cannon, two eagles, and six
colors, were also taken ; five generals, three
colonels, three lieutenant-colonels, 150 officers
and 7000 soldiers, were made prisoners The
loss of the allies was about 700 killed, and 4000
wounded.
SALAMIS, or SALAMINA. now Colouri
an island in the Saronic gulf, on the southern
coast of Attica opposite Eleusis, at the distance
of about a league, with a town and harbor of
the same name. It was originally peopled by a
colony of Ionians, and afterwards by some of
the Greeks from the adjacent islands and coun-
tries. It is celebrated for a battle which was
fought there between the fleet of the Greeks
and that of the Persians, when Xerxes invaded
Attica. The Persian ships amounted to above
~J00, and those of the Greeks to about 380 sail
In this engagement, which was fouo-ht on the
20th of October, B. C. 480, the Greeks lost 40
ships, and the Persians about 200, besides an
immense number which were taken with all
the ammunition they contained
SALISBURY, or NEW SARUM, an an-
cient city of England in the county of Wilts.
A parliament was summoned here in the reign
of Edward I ; another was held in 1328, to in-
quire into the state of the kingdom, then under
the tyranny of queen Isabel and earl Mortimer ;
and it was here the latter broke in upon their
deliberations with an armed force. In the first
year of Richard III, Henrv Stafford, duke of
Buckingham, by whose influence and exertions
lachard was advanced to the throne, was exe-
cuted here. During the civil wars of Charles I
Salisbury was frequently laid under contribu-
tions by the contending parties. Pop 0 87(1
SALLUSTHJS, C. Crispus, a Latin' histo-
rian born at Amiternum, in the country of the
Sabines, 80 B. C. He received his education
at Rome, and made himself known as a public
magistrate in the office of quaestor and consul.
His licentiousness, and the depravity of his
SAN
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manners, however, did not escape the censure
of the age, and Sallnst was degraded from the
dignity of a senator, B. C. 50. A continuation
of extravagance could not long be supported by
the income of Sallust, but he extricated him-
self from all difficulties by embracing the cause
of Cesar. Ho was restored to the rank of
senator, and made governor of Numidia. In
the administration of hi3 province, Sallust be-
haved with unusual tyranny ; he enriched him-
self by plundering the Africans, and at Ins
return to Rome he built himself a magnificent
house, and bought gardens, which, from their
delightful and pleasant situation, still preserve
the name of the gardens of Sallust. He died
in the 51st year of his age, 35 years before the
Christian era.
SALSETTE, an island on the western coast
of Hindostan. The first account we have of
this island, is dated in 1330 ; it was then gov-
erned by a Mahometan judge. It was taken
possession of by the Portuguese in the lutn
century, and by the Mahrattas in l/oO. In
1773 during a rupture with the Mahrattas, it
was occupied by the British troops, and has ever
since remained in their possession.
SAMOS, an island in the /Egean sea, on the
coast of Asia Minor, from which it is divided
bv a narrow strait, with a capital of the same
name, built B. C. 986. It was first in the pos-
session of the Leleges, and afterwards of the
Ionians. The people of Samos were at first
governed by kings, and afterwards the form ot
their government became democratical and oli-
orarchical. Samos was in its most flourishing
Situation under Polycrates, who had made him-
self absolute there. The Samians assisted the
Greeks ao-ainst the Persians, when Xerxes in-
vaded Europe, and were reduced under the
power of Athens, after a revolt, by Pericles, B.
C 441 They were afterwards subdued by
Eumenes,king of Pergamus, and were restored
to their ancient liberty by Augustus. Lnder
Vespasian, Samos became a Roman province
SANDWICH ISLANDS, a group in the
North Pacific ocean, covering about C000 square
miles, and containing 150,000 inhabitants, were
discovered by Captains Cook and King in i 1778,
and were named by them after Lord Sandwich.
Owing to desolating wars, the present popula-
tion does not exceed 150,000, although Captain
King made it amount to 400,000. The princi-
pal islands are Hawaii (Ovvhyl.ee), Maui
(Mowee), Oahu (Woahoo), Taui (Atooi), and
Nihau (Oneehow). The climate is warm, but
healthy : many of the islands are volcanic. 1 he
most important vegetable productions are taro,
yam, breadfruit, cocoanut, strawberry, native,—
and oranges, grapes, &c. not indigenous. I he
adoption of Christianity has produced the hap-
piest effects upon the natives, who were for-
merly sunk in idolatry, sacrificing human vic-
tims upon their altars. The mission established
at Hawaii by the American Board of Foreign
Missions, has been completely successful. There
are over 900 schools in the islands. The situa-
tion of the Sandwich islands causes them to be
visited by many vessels for repairs and provis-
ions, while, in a commercial point of view, they
are by no means to be overlooked.
SARACENS (Orientals) ; the name adopted
by the Arabs after their settlement in Europe,
their original name, signifying Dwellers in the
West, becoming inappropriate after their change
of residence. .
SARAGOSSA, (in Spanish, Zaragoza) a
city of Spain, capital of Arragon, 17o miles N.
E of Madrid. The name is a corruption ot
Caesar Augustus, a Roman colony on the site
of which the modern city is built. Pop. 4o,UUU.
It is famous in history for its dreadful sieges in
1808 and 1809 ; contests in which was display-
ed the unyielding fortitude of the inhabitants
of the north of Spain. The French having
obtained possession of Navarre in June 1808,
advanced to Saragossa, and attempting to take
the city by assault, were repulsed with loss.
Returning with augmented numbers, they oc-
cupied the best positions, and invested nearly
half the town, keeping up a fire from mortars
and battering cannon. On the 4th of August
they entered the central street, but they were
unable to make much progress, and discouraged
bv intellioence from the south of Spain, retired
at last, on the 14th. The second siege was no
less obstinate and sanguinary, lhe frencn,
with o-reat reinforcements, marched in the end
of November, 1808. once more against Sara-
srossa. Their first great attack, gave them pos-
session of some important posts but with heavy
loss On the 10th of January began the bom-
bardment, which, violent as it was, caused less
injury than a contagious fever among the gar-
rison The Spaniards, however, continued to
make, under the brave Palafox, a most deter-
ined resistance, and it was not t.ll after a
bombardment of six weeks, and a very unequal
contest in mining, that Saragossa surrendered
SARATOGA, a town of New York, n a
county of the same name, 30 miles N by b.
from ^Albany, containing 2401 inhabitants.
Here General Burgoyne's army, having been
SAR
488
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enclosed by a series of daring and skilful ma-
noeuvres, were forced to capitulate to General
Gates, Oct. 17, 1777.
SARDANAPALUS, the last kin-r of As-
syria, celebrated for his luxury and voluptuous-
ness. His effeminacy irritated his officers;
Belesis and Arsaces conspired against him, and
collected a numerous force to dethrone him.
Sardanapalus quitted his voluptuousness for a
while, and appeared at the head of his armies
The rebels were defeated in three successive
battles, but at last Sardanapalus was beaten
and besieged in the city of Ninus for two
years. When he despaired of success, he burn-
ed himself in his palace, with his eunuchs, con-
cubines, and all his treasures, and the empire
of Assyria was divided among the conspirators
This famous event happened B. C. 820, accord-
ing to Eusebius.
SARDINIA, an island in the Mediterranean,
with the title of kingdom. It has an area of
9100 square miles, and 490,050 inhabitants.
Ine capital is Cagliari, and the chief town
Sassari. Its productions consist of grain oil
citrons, oranges, and other fruits ; while wine
and cattle are abundant. There are mines of
lead and silver. The Catholic is the prevailing
religion of the island. b
The Sardinian monarchy is composed in part
of the island of Sardinia, but in a much greater
proportion of Piedmont, Savoy, and the territory
of Genoa. In 1720, Victor Amadeus II ex-
changed the island of Sicily for Sardinia, and
assumed the present roval title. After a peace
of twenty years, this state became involved in
the war between France and Austria, which
T^faC £?d hy the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, in
1748. I he contest occasioned by the part which
Sardinia took in the French revolution, began
in 1792, and was maintained until 1796, when
the assumption of the command by Bonaparte
led to the overthrow of the allied forces in the'
course of a few weeks, and to the conclusion of
an unfavorable treaty of peace.
This treaty was followed in two years by the
removal of the royal family to Sardinia, and
the incorporation of their continental states
with the French territory. The prospect of
reinstatement opened by the progress of the
allies in 1799, was completely overcast by the
battle of Marengo. The continental territories
were not restored to the legitimate sovereio-n
until the overthrow of Bonaparte in 1814 "
The island of Sardinia is unknown in history
until the time of its occupancy by the Cartha-
ginians, who doubtless confined themselves to
a few maritime stations, from which they were
expelled by the Romans in the first Punic war
Ine Romans, after establishing themselves
here two centuries before the Christian era
continued in possession of the island until the
decline of the empire. It was afterwards invaded
by the Saracens. The sovereignty of the island
was acquired by the king of Arragon, and re-
tained by the crown of Spain until the 18th
century. In 1719 it was given to the duke of
Savoy. In ] 794 the inhabitants of Cao-fiari en-
couraged by the progress of the FrencTi revolu-
tion, rose in insurrection, and caused the Pied-
montese viceroy, with all the individuals of his
country, to be sent out of the island. The
other towns followed the example; and the re-
sult was, that after two years of contention, the
king granted a general pardon, declared that
the cortes or representative body, should assem-
ble at least once in ten years, and confirmed all
the ancient laws, customs, and privileges of the
inhabitants. &
SARDIS or SARDES, an ancient city of
i^ydia, formerly its capital. Cyrus took this
city in the 59th Olympiad, and subdued the
whole kingdom of Lydia, taking Croesus the
king, prisoner. In the 69th Olympiad, Arista-
goras having got twenty ships from the Athe-
nians, persuaded the people to rebel against the
Persians, and some time after took the city and
burnt it, which occasioned the wars between
the Persians and the Greeks. Antiochus Mag-
nus took this city from Achams by treason,
after a year's siege. Tamerlane likewise be-
i -foi tVu 0lty six years> and ruined it about
i r ■ rl C1,ty stood on lhe edge ofa spacious
and fruitful plain, and has still many marks of
its antiquity to be found amongst its ruins It
was anciently one of the strongest inland cities
of Asia, especially when besieged by Antiochus
Magnus. In this city Antigonus caused Cleo-
patra, the sister of Alexander the Great, to be
put to death.
SARMATIA, an extensive country in the
north of Europe and Asia, divided into Europe-
an and Asiatic. The European was bounded by
the ocean on the north, Germany and the Vis-
tula on the west, the Jumna on the south, and
the ranais on the east. The Asiatic was bound-
ed by Hyrcania, the Tanais, and the Euxine
sea. The former contained the modern king-
doms of Russia, Poland, Lithuania, and Little
1 artary ; and the latter, Great Tartary, Circas-
sia, and the neighboring country. The Sarma-
tians were a savage uncivilized nation, often
confounded with the Scythians, naturally war-
SAV
489
SAV
like, and famous for painting their bodies to ap-
pear more terrible in the field of battle. They
were well known for their lewdness, and they
passed among the Greeks and Latins by the
name of barbarians. In the time of the empe-
rors they became very powerful ; they disturbed
the peace of Rome by their frequent incursions ;
till at last, increased by the savage hordes of
Scythia, under the barbarous names of Huns,
Vandals, Goths, Alans, &c, they successfully
invaded and ruined the empire in the third and
fourth centuries of the Christian era.
SATURN, the Kronos of the Greeks, father
of the gods. As destiny had foretold that he
would be dethroned by one of his sons, he de-
voured all that were born, with the exception
of Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto, whom their
mother Rhea saved. He was dethroned by Ju-
piter and sought refuge with Janus in Italy,
where he occupied himself with agriculture.
He is represented as an old man with a scythe
in one hand, and an hour-glass in the other, to
show that time destroys every thing, and rolls
onward without interruption.
SAVILLE, George, marquis of Halifax, a
statesman, was born in Yorkshire, in 1630. He
was created a peer for his loyalty at the Resto-
ration ; and in 1682 was raised to the dignity of
a marquis, soon after which he was made lord
privy seal. At the beginning of the reign of
James II, he was appointed president of the
council, but on refusing his consent to the repeal
of the test acts, he was dismissed. In the con-
vention parliament, he sat as speaker of the
House of Lords, and concurred in all the meas-
ures of the Revolution ; but afterwards he joined
the opposition. He died in 1695.
SAVOY, an Italian duchy belonging to the
Sardinian monarchy, bordering on France,
Switzerland, and Piedmont, contains 3,750
square miles, and 501,165 inhabitants. The soil
is poor. From the year 1000 till 1580, a long
list of princes governed Savoy ; but their reigns
were uninteresting, and marked by no political
event of importance. In 1580, Charles Eman-
uel invaded the marquisate of Saluces, which
he wrested from France, and thereby gained a
frontier for his capital of Turin. He was suc-
ceeded by Victor Amadeus I, who waged war
against the Spaniards with equal euccess, in
1635. Francis Hyacinth, Charles Emanuel II,
and Charles Emanuel III, were his successors.
To the last of these princes, Turin owes some
of her most magnificent structures ; and he also
caused the amazing passage through the rock
Mount Viso to be cut. Charles Emanuel was
succeeded by his son Victor Amadeus II, in
1675, who persecuted his Protestant subjects,
the Valdenses, with all the fury and malice of a
bigot, and who was besieged in his capital, Tu-
rin, by the French, till the latter had lost four-
teen thousand men before the place, and the
ammunition of the besieged was almost ex-
hausted. The duke of Savoy was soon after
joined by prince Eugene, whom he assisted in
defeating the French, and driving them out of
Lombardy. He formally resigned his crown to
the prince of Piedmont, in 1730, Charles Em-
anuel, his son, reserving for himself a yearly
income of one hundred thousand pounds. Ac-
cordingly, Charles Emanuel HI succeeded him
in the government ; 'but being persuaded by an
interested minister, that his father was endeav-
oring to gain over the troops, and that he held
frequent conferences with physicians and apoth-
ecaries, he caused him to be dragged from his
bed, and carried to a house with latticed win-
dows, which in every thing resembled a prison,
in 1732. The old man died soon after. Some
years after the commencement of the French
revolution, Savoy was ceded by Charles Eman-
uel IV to France, and constituted one of the de-
partments, called the department of Mont Blanc.
In this state it continued till the general peace,
in 1814, when Savoy was restored to the family
of its former possessors, in the person of Victor
Emanuel, king of Sardinia.
SUCCESSION OF PRINCES.
1000 Beroald the Saxon.
1027 Humbert I White Hands.
1048 Amadeus I Count of Maurienne.
1072 Humbert II.
1108 Amadeus II.
1148 Humbert II the Saint.
1188 Thomas.
1233 Amadeus HI.
1253 Boniface, or Roland.
1263 Peter, or Charlemagne the Little.
1268 Philip.
1285 Amadeus IV or V the Great.
1323 Edward.
1329 Aimon.
1343 Amadeus VI the Green.
1383 Amadeus VII the Red.
DUKES.
1391 Amadeus VIII the Pacific.
1451 Louis.
1465 Amadeus IX the Saint.
1472 Philibert I the Hunter.
1482 Charles I the Warlike.
1489 Charles II.
1496 Philip Lackland.
SAX
490
SAX
1497 Philibert II the Fair.
1504 Charles III the Good.
1553 Emanuel Philibert, Iron Hand.
1580 Charles Emanuel I the Great.
1630 Victor Amadeus I.
1637 Francis Hyacinthus.
1638 Charles Emanuel II.
1675 Victor Amadeus II.
In 1713, the house of Savoy became regal, by
the accession of Victor Amadeus to the crown
of Sicily, which, in 1718, he exchanged with
the emperor for Sardinia.
Kings of Sardinia and Dukes of Savoy.
1718 Victor Amadeus II.
1730 Charles Emanuel III.
1773 Victor Amadeus III.
1796 Charles Emanuel IV.
In 1792, Savoy was seized by the French re-
publicans, and made a department, under the
name of Mont Blanc. In 1802, Piedmont was
also annexed to that republic.
Kings of Sardinia.
1802 Victor Emanuel.
1821 Charles Felix.
1831 Charles Albert.
SAXE, Maurice, count de, a celebrated gen-
eral, was born in 1696, at Dresden, being the
natural son of Frederic Augustus, elector of
Saxony and king of Poland, by the countess of
Konigsmark. At the age of twelve years he
was at the siege of Lisle, where he displayed
signal courage ; as he did the following year at
that of Tournay. He bore a part in the battle
of Malplaquet, and in 1711 accompanied the
king of Poland to Stralsund, where he swam
over the river, with a pistol in his hand, insight
of the enemy. On his return to Dresden, the
king raised a regiment of horse for him, which
he instructed in new evolutions. He continued
to distinguish himself in the war with Sweden ;
and in 1717 served against the Turks. In 1720
he obtained the rank of marechal de camp, in
the French army. In 1726 he was chosen duke
ofCourland; but the election being set aside,
he returned to France, where he was made lieu-
tenant-general in 1734. In 1741 he took Prague
by assault ; in 1744 he was appointed a marshal
of France ; and the next year he gained the
battle of Fontenoy. This was followed by the
capture of Brussels, and the battle of Raucoux,
for which the king of France made him mare-
chal-general of his camps and armies. In 1747
he achieved the victory of Lahfeldt ; and in
1748 took Maestricht. He died Nov. 30, 1750.
SAXONY, kingdom of, is bounded N. and E.
by Prussia, S. by Bohemia, W. by the Saxon
principalities and Bavaria. It contains 5,800
square miles, and 1,414,528 inhabitants. The
Saxons are supposed by most authors to be the
ancient Catti described by Tacitus. The gov-
ernment of the whole Saxon nation was vested
in twelve chieftains, who were chosen annually,
and who elected from among them'selves a chief
judge. In time of war they chose a king, whose
power ceased on the return of peace. Charle-
magne, on succeeding his father Pepin, in 772,
resolved to compel the Saxons to change their
religion, and embrace Christianity. Accord-
ingly, he attacked and defeated them, and
obliged their king, Wittekind, to fly into Den-
mark, who, finding himself totally unable to re-
sist the force of the victorious Charlemagne,
accepted the conditions offered him, and was
baptized with his whole family, by Lullo, bish-
op of Mentz. In 804, after a calamitous war of
thirty years, the Saxons were entirely subdued,
when Charles had defeated them in numerous
battles, and transported many thousands to
Flanders, Brabant, and other countries.
The subsequent sovereigns of Saxony have
uniformly asserted themselves to be descended
from the illustrious Wittekind ; and the reign-
ing family still pride themselves on the same
origin. They reckon among their progenitors
several great men who were honored with the
surnames of the Grave, the Pacific, the Con-
stant, the Pious, the Magnanimous, and some
of whom wore crowns, whilst others declined
them.
From the middle of the ninth century, when
the succession of the dukes of Saxony com-
menced, to the present time, are reckoned thir-
ty-six, almost without interruption, and this
proves that the generality of those princes at-
tained an advanced age, though living chiefly
amid the dangers of war. Frederic Augustus
succeeded his father as elector, in 1763, at the
age of thirteen years. The Saxons remained
neutral in the war of 1740, between Russia and
Austria. In 1756 they were tempted to take a
part by the flattering promises of Austria, but
they soon had cause to repent. In the war of
1793, the contingent furnished by Saxony against
France was not large, and no decided part was
taken in the war until 1806, when the elector
sent all his troops to the field in support of
Prussia.
The overthrow of that power enabled Bona-
parte to attach the Saxons to his cause by the
most substantial advantages. For although the
king of Saxony was under the necessity of
making his peace with the conqueror, upon any
SAY
491
SCA
terms which the latter might choose to dictate
to the vanquished party, yet in order to separate
him from the interests of the Prussian monarch
the emperor of the French treated him with
great lenity, induced him to accede to the con-
federation of the Rhine, and gave him the title
of king, with considerable accessions of terri-
tory Further additions were made to the king-
dom of Saxony in 1809 ; but these acquisitions
were only temporary.
On the irruption of the allied armies into bax-
ony, in 1813, the king quitted Dresden, and
identified his interests with the interests of
France. After the battle of Leipsic, that city
was taken by assault ; and the king of Saxony
was made prisoner with his whole court. This
country was afterwards placed under the provi-
sional occupation of Prussia ; and Frederic Wil-
liam made known his intention of uniting Sax-
ony to Prussia. However, the energetic conduct
of the king of Saxony preserved him from total
By the treaty of Vienna, in 1815, that sove-
reign ceded to Prussia certain districts and ter-
ritories belonging to the kingdom of Saxony ;
and the Saxon people, to whom the paternal
sway of their king had endeared him, passed
under the government of Prussia with extreme
reluctance.
SAY, Thomas. This distinguished naturalist,
died at New Harmony, Indiana, on the 10th
October, 1834. It may be fearlessly asserted
that few individuals, certainly none in this coun-
try, have contributed so extensively to enlarge
the boundaries of Natural Science, as Mr. Say.
To his native genius supported by untiring zeal,
and indefatigable research, the Academy of
Natural Sciences of Philadelphia is indebted for
its opening reputation. Mr. Say was among
the earliest members, if not one of the founders
of this institution.
His original communications to the society
alone, in the most abstruse departments of zoolo-
gy crustacea, insects, &c.,of the United States
occupy more than 800 printed pages of their jour-
nal ; his essays published in some of our leading
periodical journals are equally respectable, per-
haps equally numerous. His contributions to
the American Encyclopaedia, though highly val-
uable, are not so generally known. His separate
work on American Entomology, and another
on ConchoWy have met with deserved appro-
bation with the learned. With the brilliant re-
sults of his laborious exertions as naturalist to
the two celebrated expeditions by the authority
of the United States government under com-
mand of Major, now Lieutenant Colonel 8. H.
Long, the reading public is already familiar.
Some years previously he accompanied Mr. Mac-
lure, and other kindred spirits on a scientific
excursion to the Floridas. The pages of the
Academy's Journal, were subsequently enriched
by details of the fruits of this undertaking.
In the year 1825 our devoted student consent-
ed in an evil hour to forego the society of his
early friends, and the companions of his labors,
and to remove to New Harmony on the Wabash,
where he ended his useful career by a disease
brought on by the peculiar climate of the coun-
try ;bfhe correspondent of the National Gazette
to whom we are indebted for the above abstract,
from a very interesting account of Mr. Say's life
and last illness, says, " on the 10th, death came
over him like a summer cloud— he met the em-
brace as the weary traveller falls into the arms
of restoring sleep. Intellect triumphed to the
last hour."
SCANDERBEG, the name given by the
Turks to George Castriotto, king of Albania ;
his father's name was John, who being reduced
to extremity by Amurath II, was forced to put
five of his sons into his hands, of whom Scan-
derbeg was the youngest. He pleased the ty-
rant, who poisoned his brothers, but spared him.
Finding him endowed with very extraordinary
qualities, he had him educated. Having given
several instances of his courage in Amurath's
service, who was the usurper of his estates,
Scanderbeg thought it was high time to think of
making use of his valor for himself against the
tyrant. In this design he so dexterously deceived
the governor ofCroya,the chief city of Albania,
that he made himself master of that and several
other places ; and in 1433 took possession of his
hereditary dominion, and upon his being admit-
ted to the crown declared himself a Christian.
He compelled the Turks to raise the siege of
Croya, and cut to pieces the forces that were
sent against him. Amurath himself having laid
a second siege to this place, died before the
walls, without being able to take it, though he
was extremely desirous of being revenged on
Scanderbetr. Under Mahomet II he had seven
or eiffht armies to contest with, but the victory
was still on his side. It is said, that though he
had killed above two thousand Turks with his
own hand, yet was he never wounded. Ma-
homet, compelled by his valor and success, made
peace with him, while Scanderbeg took a jour-
ney to the kingdom of Naples. The Turks,
SCH
492
SCH
seeing the truce expired, laid siege again to
Croya, but to no purpose ; for Scanderbeg was
soon with them, and forced them to raise the
siege twice. He died at Lissa, a city belonging
to the Venetians, Jan. 27, 1467, in the sixty-
third year of his age.
SCANDINAVIA, a name given by the an-
cients to Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Lap-
land, which they supposed to be an island.
SCAURUS, M. jEmilius, a Roman consul,
who distinguished himself by his eloquence at
the bar, and by his successes in Spain, in the
capacity of commander. He was sent against
Jugurtha, and some time after was accused of
suffering himself to be bribed by the Numidian
prince. Scaurus conquered the Ligurians, and
during his censorship built the Milvian bridge at
Rome, and began to pave the road, which from
him was called the ^Emilian. He was origi-
nally very poor. He wrote some books, and
among these a history of his own life, all now
lost. His son, of the same name, made himself
known by the large theatre which he built dur-
ing his edileship. This theatre, which could
contain 30,000 spectators, was supported by 360
columns of marble, 38 feet in height, and adorned
with 3000 brazen statues. This celebrated edi-
fice, according to Pliny, proved more fatal to
the manners and the simplicity of the Romans,
than the proscriptions and wars of Sylla had
done to the inhabitants of the city.
SCHILLER, Frederic, a German poet of
great reputation, was born at Manheim, a small
town of Wurtemberg, Nov. 10, 1759, and was
the son of a gentleman, who, having served in
the army as a surgeon and officer, had retired to
private life, and, at the date of the birth of the
poet, was holding an inconsiderable post under
the king of Wurtemberg. Both the parents of the
poet, appear to have been persons possessed of
estimable moral qualities, and no inconsiderable
share of literary taste and talent. Schiller was
not destitute of filial gratitude, and may be sup-
posed to have expressed his own feelings in the
following passage from one of his historical
dramas. Don Carlos is addressing his father
Philip :
" How sweet and rapturous it is to feel
Ourself exalted in a lovely soul, —
To know our joys make glow another's cheek,
Our fears to tremble in another's heart,
Our sufferings bedew another's eye !
How beautiful and grand 'tis, hand in hand
With a dear son, to tread youth's rosy path,
Again to dream once more the dream of life !
How sweet and great, imperishable is
The virtue of a child, to live for ages,
Transmitting good unceasingly! How sweet
To plant what a dear son will one day reap, —
To gather what will make him rich, — to feel
How deep one day will be his gratitude !"
Schiller was placed in the school of Stuttgard,
where he may be said to have educated nim-
self, for literature and the fine arts were under
the ban of the duke of Wurtemberg, whose
pedantic pedagogues vainly endeavored to turn
the gigantic mind of Schiller from its natural
inclination. Knowing nothing of the world
but from books, forbidden to mingle in female
society, and seeing in his fellow students but
multiplied copies of a certain severe and soul-
less model, which their preceptors continually
held up for admiration and imitation, the poet
turned to his own fancy for relief, and to be-
guile the tedium of his unnatural life, wrote the
tragedy of the Robbers, an extraordinary per-
formance, full of imagination and energy, bril-
liant with the light of genius and youth, but,
to use the deliberate criticism of its author, " a
monster, for which by good fortune the world
has no original, and which I would not wish to
be immortal, except to perpetuate an example
of the offspring which Genius, in its unnatural
union with Thraldom, may give to the world."
The anonymous author of an admirable Life
of Schiller thus speaks of the effect produced by
the Robbers.
" The publication of such a work as' this
naturally produced an extraordinary feeling in
the literary world. Translations of the Robbers
soon appeared in almost all the languages of
Europe, and were read in all of them with a
deep interest, compounded of admiration and
aversion, according to the relative proportions
of sensibility and judgment in the various minds
which contemplated the subject. In Germany,
the enthusiasm which the Robbers excited was
extreme. The young author had burst upon the
world like a meteor ; and surprise, for a time,
suspended the power of cool and rational criti-
cism. In the ferment produced by the univer-
sal discussion of this single topic, the poet wa8
magnified above his natural dimensions, great
as they were : and though the general sentence
was loudly in his favor, yet he found detractors
as well as praisers, and both equally beyond the
limits of moderation.
" One charge brought against him must have
damped the joy of literary glory, and stung
Schiller's pure and virtuous mind more than
any other. He was accused of having injured
the cause of morality by his work : of havftig
set up to the impetuous and fiery temperament
of youth a model of imitation, which the young
SCH
493
SCH
were too likely to pursue with eagerness, and
which could only lead them from the safe and
beaten tracks of duty into error and destruc-
tion. It has even been stated, and often re-
peated since, that a practical exemplification of
this doctrine occurred, about this time, in Ger-
many. A young nobleman, it was said, of the
fairest gifts and prospects, had cast away all
these advantages ; betaken himself to the forests,
and, copying Moor, had begun a course of active
operations, — which, also copying Moor, but less
willingly he had ended by a shameful death.
" It is now hardly necessary to contradict
these theories ;. or to show that none but a can-
didate for Bedlam as well as Tyburn could be
seduced from the substantial comforts of exist-
ence, to seek destruction and disgrace, for the
sake of such imaginary grandeur. The Ger-
man nobleman of the fairest gifts and prospects
turns out, on investigation, to have been a Ger-
man blackguard, whom debauchery and riotous
extravagance had reduced to want ; who took
to the highway, when he could take to nothing
else, — not allured by an ebullient enthusiasm,
or any heroical and misdirected appetite for sub-
lime actions, but driven by the more palpable
stimulus of importunate duns, an empty purse,
and five craving senses. Perhaps, in his latter
days, this philosopher may have referred to
Schiller's tragedy, as the source from which he
drew his theory of life ; but if so, we believe
he was mistaken. For characters like him, the
great attraction was the charm of revelry, and
the great restraint, the gallows, — before the
period of Karl Von Moor, just as they have
been since, and will be to the end of time.
Among motives like these, the influence of the
most malignant book could scarcely be discer-
nible, and would be little detrimental, if it were.
<: Nothing, at any rate, could be farther from
Schiller's intentions than such a consummation.
In his preface he speaks of the moral effects of
the Robbers in terms which do honor to his
heart, while they show the inexperience of his
head. Ridicule, he signifies, has long been tried
against the wickedness of the times, whole car-
goes of hellebore have been expended in vain ;
and now he thinks recourse must be had to
mbre pungent medicines. We may smile at the
simplicity of this idea ; and safely conclude that,
like other specifics, the present one would fail
to produce a perceptible effect : but Schiller's
vindication rests on higher grounds than these.
His work has on the whole furnished nourish-
ment to the more exalted powers of our nature ;
the sentiments and images which he has shaped
and uttered, tend, in spite of their alloy, to
elevate the soul to a nobler pitch; and this is a
sufficient defence. As to the danger of misap-
plying the inspiration he communicates, of for-
getting the dictates of prudence in our zeal for
the dictates of poetry, we have no great cause
to fear it. Hitherto, at least, there has always
been enough of dull reality, on every side of us,
to abate such fervors in good time, and bring us
back to the most sober level of prose, if not to
sink us below it. We should thank the poet
who performs such a service ; and forbear to
inquire too rigidly whether there is a ' moral '
in his piece or not. The writer of a work which
interests and excites the spiritual feelings of
men, has as little need to justify himself by
showing how it exemplifies some wise saw or
modern instance, as the doer of a generous
action has to demonstrate its merit, by dedu-
cing it from the system of Shaftsbury, or Smith,
or Paley, or whichever happens to be the favor-
ite system for the age and place. The instruc-
tiveness of the one, and the virtue of the other,
exist independently of all systems or laws, and
in spite of all."
The tragedy of the Robbers, although written
before the completion of Schiller's college
course, did not appear until he had attained the
age of twenty-one, and was beginning to dis-
charge the duties of surgeon in the army. The
spirit and popularity of the poet's performance
were highly displeasing to the despotic duke
of Wurtemberg, who issued an order for Schil-
ler to confine himself to the studies peculiar to
his profession. The youthful poet was com-
pelled to suffer a week's confinement for the
crime of having gone to Manheim to attend the
representation of his drama, and fearing a
severer punishment for the repetition of the
offence, he fled to Manheim, and thence to the
hospitable dwelling of Madam von Wollzogen,
near Meiningen. Protected by this lady he sent
forth two new plays — Fiesco,and Court Intrigue
and Love. He was next appointed poet to the
theatre at Manheim, a post of honor and profit.
At the expiration of eighteen months, Schiller
growing dissatisfied with his situation, went
from Manheim to Leipsic, and thence to Dres-
den. At the latter place he concluded his
famous tragedy of Don Carlos.
" Schiller's Carlos is the first of his plays that
bears the stamp of any thing like full maturity.
The opportunities he had enjoyed for extending
his knowledge of men and things, the sedulous
practice of the art of composition, the study of
purer morals, had not been without their full
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effect. Increase of years had done something
for him ; diligence had done much more. The
ebullience of youth is now chastened into the
steadfast energy of manhood ; the wild enthu-
siast, that spurned at the errors of the world,
has now become the enlightened moralist, that
laments their necessity, or endeavors to find out
their remedy. A corresponding alteration is
visible in the external form of the work, in its
plot and diction. The plot is contrived with
great ingenuity, embodying the result of much
study, both dramatic and historical. The lan-
guage is blank verse, not prose, as in the former
works ; it is more careful and regular, less
ambitious in its object, but more certain of at-
taining it. Schiller's mind had now reached its
full stature : he felt and thought more justly ; he
could better express what ne felt and thought."
" The tragedy of Carlos was received with
immediate and universal approbation. In the
closet and on the stage, it excited the warmest
applauses equally among the learned and un-
learned. Schiller's expectations had not been
so high; he knew both the excellences and the
faults of his work : but he had not anticipated
that the former would be recognised so instan-
taneously. The pleasure of this new celebrity
came upon him, therefore, heightened by sur-
prise. Had dramatic eminence been his sole
object, he might now have slackened his exer-
tions ; the public had already ranked him as
the first of their writers in that favorite depart-
ment. But this limited ambition was not his
moving principle ; nor was his mind of that
sort for which rest is provided in this world.
The primary disposition of his nature urged him
to perpetual toil : the great aim of his life, the
unfolding of his mental powers, was one of those
which admit but a relative, not an absolute
progress. New ideas of perfection arise as the
former have been reached ; the student is al-
ways attaining, never has attained.
" Schiller's worldly circumstances, too, were
of a kind well calculated to prevent excess of
quietism. He was still drifting at large on the
tide of life : he was crowned with laurels, but
without a home. His heart, warm and affec-
tionate, fitted to enjoy the domestic blessings
which it longed for, was allowed to form no
permanent attachment : he felt that he was
unconnected, solitary in the world ; cut off
from the exercise of his kindlier sympathies;
or if tasting such pleasures, it was ' snatching
them rather than partaking of them calmly.'
The vulgar desire of wealth and station never
entered his mind for an instant ; but as years
were added to his age, the delights of peace and
continuous comfort were fast becoming more
acceptable than any other ; and he looked with
anxiety to have a resting-place amid his wan-
derings, to be a man among his fellowmen.
" For all these wishes Schiller saw that the
only chance of fulfilment depended on un-
wearied perseverance in his literary occupations.
Yet though his activity was unabated, and the
calls on it were increasing rather than diminish-
ed, its direction was gradually changing. The
drama had long been stationary, and of late
been falling in his estimation ; the difficulties of
the art, as he viewed it at present, had been over-
come, and new conquests invited him in other
quarters.* The latter part of Carlos he had
written as a task rather than a pleasure ; he
contemplated no farther undertaking connected
with the stage. For a time, indeed, he seems
to have wavered among a multiplicity of enter-
prises ; now solicited to this, and now to that,
without being able to fix decidedly on any.
The restless ardor of his mind is evinced by the
number and variety of his attempts ; its fluctua-
tion by the circumstance that all of them are
short in extent, or left in the state of fragments.
Of the former kind are his lyrical productions,
many of which were composed about this period,
during intervals from more serious labors. The
character of these performances is such as his
fornaKr writings give us reason to expect.
With a deep insight into life, and a keen and
comprehensive sympathy with its sorrows and
enjoyments, there is combined that impetuosity
of feeling, that pomp of thought and imagery
which belong peculiarly to Schiller. If he had
now left the drama, it was clear that his mind
was still overflowing with the elements of
poetry ; dwelling among the grandest concep-
tions, and the boldest or finest emotions ; think-
ing intensely and profoundly, but decorating its
thoughts with those graces, which other facul-
ties than the understanding are required to
afford. With these smaller pieces, Schiller oc-
cupied himself at intervals of leisure through-
out the remainder of his life. Some of them
are to be classed among the finest efforts of
his genius. The Walk, the Song of the Bell,
contain exquisite delineations of the fortunes
and history of man ; his Rittcr von Toggenburg,
his Cranes of Ibycus, his Hero and Lcander,
are among the most poetical and moving ballads
to be found in any language."
Schiller now turned his attention to history,
his first performance in this department being
The Revolt of the Netherlands, unfortunately
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a fragment, but written in an exceedingly pure
style, and displaying throughout a most pene-
trating and philosophical spirit. Of his habits
the following is an interesting account.
" He wrote and thought with an impetuosity
beyond what nature always could endure. His
intolerance of interruptions first put him on the
plan of studying by night ; an alluring but per-
nicious practice, which began at Dresden, and
was never afterwards forsaken. His recrea-
tions breathed a similar spirit : he loved to be
much alone, and strongly moved. The banks
of the Elbe were the favorite resort of his
mornings ; here, wandering in solitude amid
groves and lawns, and green and beautiful
places, he abandoned his mind to delicious
musings ; watched the fitful current of his
thoughts, as they came sweeping through his
soul in their vague, fantastic, gorgeous forms ;
pleased himself with the transient images of
memory and hope ; or meditated on the cares
and studies which had lately been employing,
and were again soon to employ him. At times,
he might be seen, floating on the river in a
gondola, feasting himself with the loveliness of
earth and sky. He delighted most to be there,
when tempests were abroad : his unquiet spirit
found a solace in the expression of his own
unrest on the face of Nature; danger lent a
charm to his situation ; he felt in harmony with
the scene, when the rack was sweeping storm-
fully across the heavens, and the forests were
sounding in the breeze, and the river was rol-
ling its chafed waters into wild eddying heaps.
" Yet before the darkness summoned him
exclusively to his tasks, Schiller commonly de-
voted a portion of the day to the pleasures of
society. Could he have found enjoyment in
the flatteries of admiring hospitality, his present
fame would have procured them for him in
abundance. But these things were not to
Schiller's taste. His opinion of the " flesh-flies "
of Leipzig we have already seen ; he retained
the same sentiments throughout all his life.
The idea of being what we call a lion is offen-
sive enough to any man, of not more than com-
mon vanity, and less than common understand-
ing : it was doubly offensive to him. His
pride and his modesty alike forbade it. The
delicacy of his nature, aggravated into shyness
by his education and his habits, rendered situa-
tions of display more than usually painful to
him ; the digito vrattereuntium was a sort of
celebrity he was far from coveting. In the cir-
cles of fashion, he appeared unwillingly, and
seldom to advantage : their glitter and parade
were foreign to his disposition : their strict cere-
monial cramped the play of his mind. Hem-
med in, as by invisible fences, among the intri-
cate barriers of etiquette, so feeble, so inviolable,
he felt constrained and helpless ; alternately
chagrined and indignant. It was the giant
among pigmies ; Gulliver, in Lillipnt, tied down
by a thousand packthreads. But there were
more congenial minds, with whom he could
associate ; more familiar scenes, in which he
found the pleasures he was seeking. Here Schil-
ler was himself; frank, unembarrassed, pliant to
the humor of the hour. His conversation was
delightful, abounding at once in rare and sim-
ple charms. Besides the intellectual riches
which it carried with it, there was a flow of
kindliness and unaffected good humor, which
can render dulness itself agreeable. Schiller
had many friends in Dresden, who loved him
as a man while they admired him as a writer.
Their intercourse was of the kind he liked,
sober, as well as free and mirthful. It was the
careless, calm, honest effusion of his feelings
that he wanted ; not the noisy tumults and
coarse delirium of dissipation. For this, under
any of its forms, he at no time showed the small-
est relish."
In 1789, Schiller, chiefly through the interest
of his friend Goethe, was appointed Professor of
History at the University of Jena, a few miles
from the town of Weimar. He was then thirty
years old, and married von Lengefeld of Rudol-
stadt, to whom he had been engaged some time
before. In 1791 he published his History of the
Thirty Years' War. ^
An ardent admirer of Shakspeare, he thus
writes in 1797 ;
" I have just been reading the plays of Shak-
speare, which treat of the war between the two
roses; and now, after finishing Richard the Third,
am filled with a real wonder. This is one of the
sublimest of tragedies, and at this moment I
cannot name even another of Shakspeare's that
is superior to it. The great destinies prepared
in the preceding pieces are here accomplished
after a truly great fashion, and according to the
most sublime conception. That the subject
excludes all that is feminine, tender, sentimen-
tal, adds very much to the high effect : all in it is
energetic and grand : nothing common disturbs
the resthetic emotion : one enjoys, as it were,
the pure form of the dread tragic. A high
Nemesis presides over the piece, the conscious-
ness of which penetrates the mind from the be-
ginning to the end. It is to be wondered at,
how the poet always succeeds in forcing the
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unpoetic matter to render up poetic booty ; and
how skilfully he represents that which cannot
be directly represented; — I refer to his art in
using symbols, where the reality cannot be
exhibited. No play of Shakspeare reminds me
so strongly of the Greek tragedy."
Wallenstein, a drama in three parts, which
cost Schiller the labor of two years, was follow-
ed speedily by Mary Stuart, a work of great
power, but not equalling the play which im-
mediately preceded it. As there is no English
version of Mary Stuart, the following anony-
mous translation of Queen Elizabeth's soliloquy
previous to her signing the death-warrant for
the execution of the queen of Scots, may be ac-
ceptable as giving some idea of the tragic in-
terest of the drama from which it is extracted.
Subjection to my subjects ! O, most vile
Of servitudes ! I'm worn and sick at heart,
With fawning on the idol I despise.
When shall I sit upon my throne in freedom ?
No longer flattering men's wishes, whims —
To win their praise ; nor sueing for support
To a vile rout best managed by a juggler.
Ah, he who has a public he must please,
Call him not king — he, only he, deserves
The name, whose deed asks no man's commendation.
Why have I reigned in law and justice ever,
Quelling my own desires — to find, when now
A deed despotic must, ay, must be done,
A shackle on my hands? Before the model
Myself have raised, I shrink, and am condemned.
Had I, like Spanish Mary, ruled these realms
With iron hand, — the queenly blood, which now
I thirst for, might be shed — and none dare murmur.
Was't then my own free choice, this luckless justice?
No 't was the offspring of necessity —
The stern necessity, which sways e'en princes.
This making Law the partner of my reign
Has gained my people's love. What, but that love,
Could, or can now, support me on my throne ?
— A throne disputed, envied, circled in,
Assaulted by a host of enemies !
Europe bands all her powers to destroy me.
On my poor head Rome's vengeful pontiff hurls
The excommunicating bann : great France
Salutes me with a Judas kiss : fast, fast,
O'er ocean bound a thousand giant ships,
To pour the Spaniards wrath unquenchable
On this lone isle, and its devoted queen.
Here then I stand — a woman 'gainst a world.
In this extremity, I must secure
My subjects' faithfulness, at any hazard ;
The bareness of my title to the crown
I must deck out with certain royal virtues :
The stains, which my own father's words have fixed
Upon my birth — in vain, in vain I seek
To hide them ! Busy-fingered hate, still by,
Lays them all bare ; and ever holds before
My blasted eyes, this Stuart — threatening spectre —
Thwarting, and maddening — O, I'll not endure it.
I must— I will have peace. Her head shall fall.
—She is the fury of my life— a spirit
Of torment conjured up by Fate against me !
Where'er some lonely flower of hope or joy
Blooms in my path — there coils this snake of Hell.
My fate's whole blackness centres in one name —
The freezer of my friends, the thief, who hath stolen
My lover's heart, the pest, that, day and night,
Haunts me, and now is pulling me to earth —
All blister on my lips in that one name —
'Tis Mary Stuart. Purge the earth of her,
And I am free — free as the mountain air.
[A long pause. In what succeeds the Queen re-
fers to a late interview with her prisoner.]
With what a look of scorn she eyed me ! Ha !
Didst think to blast me? Wretch! Poor, powerless
wretch !
Thy glance kills not. I wield a better weapon :
Its stroke is death ! it strikes, and where art thou ?
[Advancing to the table with a quick step,
and seizing the pen.]
A bastard, am I ? True, while thou dost live.
But babbling doubts of my imperial birth
Perish with thee. Quit thou my subjects' sight —
They doubt, compare, prefer, rqjbel, no more,
And I am hailed at once their true-born queen.
[ She signs the paper with rapid and firm strokes; then
drops the pen and starts back with a look of terror.]
Mary Stuart, was followed by the Maid of
Orleans, the Bride of Messina, and William
Tell. Schiller died in the spring of 1805, at
the age of forty-five, in the full vigor of his in-
tellectual powers.
SCHOMBERG, Charles, esteemed by Louis
XIII for his many important services rendered
to the crown of France. He first signalized
himself at the siege of Sommierie, in Langue-
doc ; showed great conduct at the attack of Pas
de Suse, and taking of Privas, in 1629 ; accom-
panied the king in his voyage to Savoy, in 1630 ;
was dangerously wounded at the battle of Rou-
vroi, in 1632; but afterwards worsted the Span-
iards in R.oussillon ; forced them to raise the
siege of Leucate ; overthrew them at Canet and
Sigean,in 1639; relieved Uhes, in Catalonia, in
1640 ; and took Perpignan and Saluzzo in 1642.
He died in 1656, in the 56th year of his age.
SCHOMBERG, Henry, count of Nanteuil
and Duretal, was the son of Gaspar Schomberg,
a German, and succeeded his father as general
field-marshal of the German troops in the French
king's service. He was sent ambassador ex-
traordinary to England, in 1615; at his return
he had a command in the army of Piedmont,
under the marshal Lesdiguieres, and contribu-
ted to the taking of several places in 1620. He
assisted at the reduction of the cities of Rouen,
Caen, la Fleche, Pont de Ce, and Navarreins,
as well as at the sieges of St. Jean d'Angely
and Montauban. He also shared in the honor
of taking of Roianne, Negrepelisse, Marsillar-
gues, and other places in Languedoc ; in 1627
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SCI
he was present at the action of the Isle of Re,
where the English were defeated. In 1630 he
took Pignerol, and relieved Cazal, and gained
the battle of Castelnaudary. He died at Bour-
deaux in 1632, in the forty -ninth year of his age.
He was buried in the church of the priory of
Nanteuil.
SCHOMBERG, Frederic, duke of, an emi-
nent general, was the son of count Schomberg,
by the daughter of lord Dudley, and was born in
1619. He served first in the army of the United
Provinces ; but in 1650 retired to France, where
he was esteemed next to Conde and Turenne.
In 1660 he visited England, from whence he
proceeded to Portugal, where he was created a
grandee, and obtained a pension. On his return
to France, he commanded in Flanders, and
obliged the prince of Orange to raise the siege
of Maestricht, for which he was made a mar-
shal. On the revocation of the edict of Nantes,
he went again to Portugal ; but being obliged
to quit the kingdom by the inquisition, he re-
moved to Holland, and afterwards entered into
the service of the elector of Brandenburg. In
1688 he accompanied the prince of Orange to
England ; and after the Revolution was created
a duke, with which title he received a grant of
one hundred thousand pounds. In 1689 he
commanded in Ireland, where he was killed at
the battle of the Boyne, July 1, 1690.
SCHUYLER, Philip, a general in the Amer-
ican revolution, was born at Albany, N. Y.,
in 1731 , and being appointed major general, in
1775, evinced great courage and skill through-
out the war. He was a member of the old con-
gress, and, in 1789, was appointed a senator in
the national legislature. He died Nov. 18, 1 804,
in the 73d year of his age.
SCIO or Chios (in Turkish, Saki-JJdassi) a
fertile island in the Grecian Archipelago, con-
taining 392 square miles. In April 14, 1822,
the revolt of the Sciots was punished by the
Turks, by the massacre of 40,000 persons with-
out distinction of age or sex. Such was the fero-
cious spirit exercised towards them, that in 1823,
the population had been reduced from 120,000
to 16,000.
SCIPIO. Cneius, surnamed Asina, was con-
sul A. U. C. 494 and 500. He was conquered
n his first consulship in a naval battle, and lost
17 ships. The following year he took Aleria,
n Corsica, and defeated Hanno, the Carthagi-
nian general, in Sardinia. He also took 200 of
ihe enemy's ships, and the city of Panormum
n Sicily. He was father to Publius and Cneius
ipio. Publius, in the beginning of the sec-
32
ond Punic war, was sent with an army to Spain
to oppose Hannibal ; but when he heard that
his enemy had passed over into Italy, he at-
tempted by his quick marches and secret evo-
lutions to stop his progress.
He was conquered by Hannibal near the
Ticinus, where he nearly lost his life, had not
his son, who was afterwards surnamed Africa-
nus, courageously defended him. He again
passed into Spain, where he obtained some
memorable victories over the Carthaginians,
and the inhabitants of the country.
His brother Cneius shared the supreme com-
mand with him, but their great confidence
proved their ruin. They separated their ar-
mies, and soon after Publius was furiously at-
tacked by the two Asdrubals and Mago, who
commanded the Carthaginian armies. The
forces of Publius were too few to resist with
success the three Carthaginian generals. The
Romans were cut to pieces, and their com-
mander was left on the field of battle. No soon-
er had the enemy obtained this victory, than they
immediately marched to meet Cneius Scipio,
whom the revolt of 30,000 Celtiberians had
weakened and alarmed. The general, who was
already apprized of his brother's death, secured
an eminence, where he was soon surrounded on
all sides. After desperate acts of valor he was
left among the slain, or, according to some, he
fled into a tower, where he was burnt with
some of his friends by the victorious enemy.
SCIPIO, Publius Cornelius, surnamed Africa-
nus, was son of Publius Scipio, who was killed
in Spain. He first distinguished himself at the
battle of Ticinus, where he saved his father's
life by deeds of unexampled valor and boldness.
The battle of Cannoe, which proved so fatal to
the Roman arms, instead of disheartening Scipio,
raised his expectations, and he no sooner heard
that some of his desperate countrymen wished
to abandon Italy, and to fly from the insolence
of the conqueror, than with his sword in his
hand, and by his firmness and example, he
obliged them to swear eternal fidelity to Rome,
and to put to immediate death the first man who
attempted to retire from his country. It was
soon known how able he was to be at the head
of an army; the various nations of Spain were
conquered, and in four years the Carthaginians
were banished from that part of the continent ;
the whole province became tributary to Rome ;
New Carthage submitted in one day, and in a
battle 54,000 of the enemy were left dead on
the field. After these signal victories, Scipio
was recalled to Rome, which still trembled at
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the continual alarms of Hannibal, who was at
her gates. The conqueror of the Carthaginians
in Spain was looked upon as a proper general
to encounter Hannibal in Italy ;. but Scipio op-
posed the measures which his countrymen wish-
ed to pursue, and he declared in the senate that
if Hannibal was to be conquered he must be
conquered in Africa. These bold measures
were immediately adopted, though opposed by
the eloquence, age, and experience of the great
Fabius, and Scipio was empowered to conduct
the war on the coasts of Africa. With the dig-
nity of consul he embarked for Carthage. Han-
nibal, who was victorious at the gates of Rome,
was instantly recalled to defend the walls of his
country, and the two greatest generals of the
age met each other in the field. Terms of ac-
commodation were proposed ; but in the parley
which the two commanders had together, noth-
ing satisfactory was offered, and while the one
enlarged on the vicissitudes of human affairs,
the other wished to dictate like a conqueror, and
recommended the decision of the controversy to
the sword.
The celebrated battle was fought near Zama,
and both generals displayed their military know-
ledge in drawing up their armies and in choos-
ing their ground. Their courage and intrepidi-
ty were not less conspicuous in charging the
enemy ; a thousand acts of valor were perform-
ed on both sides, and though the Carthaginians
fought in their own defence, and the Romans
for fame and glory, yet the conqueror of Italy
was vanquished. About 20,000 Carthaginians
were slain, and the same number made prison-
ers of war, B. C. 202. Only 2000 of the Ro-
mans were killed. This battle was decisive ;
the Carthaginians sued for peace, which Scipio
at last granted on the most severe and humiliat-
ing terms.
The conqueror after this returned to Rome,
where he was received with the most unbound-
ed applause, honored with a triumph, and dig-
nified with the appellation of African us. Here
he enjoyed for some time the tranquillity and
the honors which his exploits merited, but in
him also as in other great men, fortune showed
herself inconstant. Scipio offended the popu-
lace in wishing to distinguish the senators from
the rest of the people at the public exhibitions ;
and when he canvassed for the consulship for
two of his friends, he had the mortification to
see his application slighted, and the honors
which he claimed, bestowed on a man of no
character, and recommended by neither abilities
nor meritorious actions.
He retired from Rome, no longer to be a spec-
tator of the ingratitude of his countrymen, and
in the capacity of lieutenant accompanied his
brother against Antiochus, king of Syria. In
this expedition his arms were attended with
usual success, and the Asiatic monarch submit-
ted to the conditions which the conquerors dic-
tated. At his return to Rome, Africanus found
the malevolence of his enemies still unabated.
Cato, his inveterate rival, raised seditions against
him, and the Petilli, two tribunes of the people,
accused the conqueror of Hannibal of extortion
in the provinces of Asia, and of living in an in-
dolent and luxurious manner.
Scipio condescended to answer to the accu-
sation of his calumniators ; the first day was
spent in hearing the different charges, but when
he again appeared on the second day of his tri-
al, the accused interrupted his judges, and ex-
claimed, " Tribunes and fellow-citizens, on this
day, this very day, did I conquer Hannibal and
the Carthaginians: come, therefore, with me,
Romans; let us go to the capitol, and there re-
turn our thanks to the immortal gods for the
victories which have attended our arms."
These words had the desired effect ; the tribes,
and all the assembly followed Scipio, the court
was deserted, and the tribunes were left alone
in the seat of judgment.
Yet when this memorable day was past and
forgotten, Africanus was a third time summon-
ed to appear ; but he had fled before the im-
pending storm, and retired to his country-house
at Liternum. The accusation was therefore
stopped, and the accusers silenced, when one of
the tribunes, formerly distinguished for his ma-
levolence against Scipio, rose to defend him,
and declared in the assembly, that it reflected
the highest disgrace on the Roman people, that
the conqueror of Hannibal should become the
sport of the populace, and be exposed to the
malice and envy of disappointed ambition.
Some time after Scipio died in the place of his
retreat, about 184 years before Christ, in the
48th year of his age ; and so great an aversion
did he express, as he expired, for the depravity
of the Romans, and the ingratitude of their sen-
ators, that he ordered his bones not to be con-
veyed to Rome. They were accordingly in-
humated at Liternum, where his wife ./Emilia,
the daughter of Paulus VEmilius, who fell at the
battle of Cannre, raised a mausoleum on his
tomb, and placed upon it his statue, with that
of the poet Ennius, who had been the compan-
ion of his peace and of his retirement.
SCIPIO, Lucius Cornelius, surnamed Asiati-
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499
SCI
cus, accompanied his brother Africanus in his
expeditions in Spain and Africa. He was re-
warded with the consulship, A. U. C. 5G4, for
his services to the state, and he was empowered
to attack Antiochus, king of Syria, who had de-
clared war against the Romans. Lucius was
accompanied in this campaign by his brother
Africanus ; and by his own valor, and by the
advice of the conqueror of Hannibal, he soon
routed the enemy, and in a battle near the city
of Sardes he killed f>0,000 foot and 4,000 horse.
Peace was soon after settled by the submis-
sion of Antiochu3, and the conqueror, at his re-
turn home, obtained a triumph, and the sur-
name of Asiaticus. He did not, however, long
enjoy his prosperity ; Cato, after the death of
Africanus, turned his fury against Asiaticus,
and the two Petilli, his devoted favorites, pre-
sented a petition to the people, in which they
prayed that an inquiry might be made to know
what money had been received from Antiochus
and his allies. The petition was instantly re-
ceived, and Asiaticus, charged to have suffered
himself to be corrupted by Antiochus, was sum-
moned to appear before the tribunal of Teren-
tius Culeo, who was on this occasion created
prastor.
The judge, who was an inveterate enemy to
the family of the Scipios, soon found Asiaticus,
with his two lieutenants and his qusestor, guilty
of having received, the first 6,000 pounds weight
of gold, and 480 pounds weight of silver, and
the others nearly an equal sum, from the mon-
arch against whom, in the name of the Roman
people, they were enjoined to make war. Im-
mediately they were condemned to pay large
fines ; but while the others gave security, Scipio
declared that he had accounted to the public for
all the money which he had brought from Asia,
and therefore that he was innocent.
For this obstinacy Scipio was dragged to pri-
son, but his cousin Nasica pleaded his cause be-
fore the people, and the prffitor instantly ordered
the goods of the prisoner to be seized and con-
fiscated. The sentence was executed, but the
effects of Scipio were insufficient to pay the fine,
and it was the greatest justification of his inno-
i sence, that whatever was found in his house had
never been in the possession of Antiochus or his
■subjects. This, however, did not totally liber-
i ite him ; he was reduced to poverty, and re-
\ fused to accept the offer of his friends and of his
clients. Some time after he was appointed to
I settle the disputes between Eumenes and Seleu-
•,us, and at his return the Romans, ashamed of
iheir severity towards him, rewarded his merit
with such uncommon liberality, that Asiaticus
was enabled to celebrate games in honor of his
victory over Antiochus, for ten successive days,
at his own expense.
SCIPIO Nasica was son of Cneius Scipio, and
cousin to Scipio Africanus. He was refused
the consulship, though supported by the inter-
est and the fame of the conqueror of Hannibal;
but he afterwards obtained it, and in that hon-
orable office conquered the Boii, and gained a
triumph. He was also successful in an expe-
dition which he undertook in Spain. When
the statue of Cybele was brought to Rome from
Phrygia, the Roman senate delegated one of
their body, who was the most remarkable for
the purity of his manners and the innocence of
his life, to go and meet the goddess in the har-
bor of Ostia.
Nasica was the object of their choice, and as
such he was enjoined to bring the statue of the
goddess to Rome with the greatest pomp and
solemnity. Nasica also distinguished himself
by the active part which he took in confuting
the accusations laid against the two Scipios,
Africanus and Asiaticus. There was also ano-
ther of the same name, who distinguished him-
self by his enmity against the Gracchi, to whom
he was nearly related
SCIPIO, Publius iEmilianus, son of Paulus,
the conqueror of Perseus, was adopted by the
son of Scipio Africanus. iEmilianus first ap-
peared in the Roman armies under his father,
and afterwards distinguished himself as a legion-
ary tribune in the Spanish provinces, where he
killed a Spaniard of gigantic stature, and ob-
tained a mural crown at the siege of Intercatia.
He passed into Africa to demand a reinforce-
ment from king Masinissa, the ally of Rome,
and he was the spectator of a long and bloody
battle which was fought between that monarch
and the Carthaginians, and which soon produced
the third Punic war. Some time after, iEmili-
anus was made edile, and next appointed con-
sul, though under the age required for that im-
portant office.
He was empowered to finish the war with
Carthage, and as he was permitted by the sen-
ate to choose his colleague, he took with him
his friend Laelius, whose father, of the same
name, had formerly enjoyed the confidence and
shared the victories of the first Africanus. The
siege of Carthage was already begun, but the
operations of the Romans were not continued
with vigor. Scipio had no sooner appeared be-
fore the walls of the enemy, than every com-
munication with the land was cut off, and that
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they might not have the command of the sea, a
stupendous mole was thrown across the harbor,
with immense labor and expense. This, which
might have disheartened the most active ene-
my, rendered the Carthaginians more eager in
the cause of freedom and independence. All
the inhabitants, without distinction of rank, age,
or sex, employed themselves without cessation
to dig another harbor, and to build and equip
another fleet. In a short time, in spite of the
vigilance and activity of iEmilianus, the Ro-
mans were astonished to see another harbor
formed, and 50 gallies suddenly issuing under
sail, ready for the engagement.
This unexpected fleet, by immediately attack-
ing the Roman ships, might have gained the
victory; but the delay of the Carthaginians
proved fatal to their cause, and the enemy had
sufficient time to prepare themselves. Scipio
soon got possession of a small eminence in
the harbor; and, by the success of his subse-
quent operations, he broke open one of the gates
of the city, and entered the streets, where he
made hi-3 way by fire and sword. The surren-
der of above 50,000 men was followed by the re-
duction of the citadel, and the total submission
of Carthage, B. C. 147.
The captive city was set on fire ; and though
Scipio was obliged to demolish its very walls, to
obey the orders of the Romans, yet he wept bit-
terly over the melancholy and tragical scene ;
and in bewailing the miseries of Carthage, he
expressed his fears lest Rome, in her turn, in
some future age, should exhibit such a dreadful
conflagration. The return of jEmilianus to
Rome was that of another conqueror of Hanni-
bal, and like him he was honored with a mag-
nificent triumph, and received the surname of
Africanus. He was chosen consul a second
time, and appointed to finish the war which the
Romans had hitherto carried on without success
or vigorous exertions, against Numantia. The
fall of Numantia was more noble than that of
the capital of Africa, and the conqueror of Car-
thage obtained the victory only when the ene-
mies had been consumed by famine or by self-
destruction, B. C. 133.
For his conquests in Spain, iEmilianus was
honored with a second triumph, and with the
surname of Numantinus . Yet his popularity
was short ; and by telling the people that the
murder of their favorite, his brother-in-law,
Gracchus, was lawful, since he was turbulent,
and inimical to the peace of the republic, Scipio
incurred the displeasure ofthe tribunes, and was
received with hisses. His authority for a mo-
ment quelled their sedition, when he reproach-
ed them for their cowardice, and exclaimed,
" Factious wretches, do you think that your
clamors can intimidate me ; me, whom the fury
of your enemies never daunted ? Is this the
gratitude that you owe to my father Paulus,
who conquered Macedonia, and \o me ? With-
out my family, you were slaves. Is this the
respect you owe to your deliverers? Is this
your affection?" This firmness silenced the
murmurs ofthe assembly, and some time after,
Scipio retired from the clamors of Rome to
Caieta, where, with his friend Laslius, he passed
the rest of his time in innocent pleasure and
amusement, in diversions which had pleased
them when children. He afterward returned to
Rome, and again engaged in public affairs. This
active part of Scipio was seen with pleasure by
the friends of the republic, and not only the
senate, but also the citizens, the Latins, and
neighboring states, conducted their illustrious
friend and patron to his house. It seemed also
the universal wish that the troubles might be
quieted by the election of Scipio to the dictator-
ship ; and many presume that that honor would
be conferred upon him. In this, however, the
expectations of Rome were frustrated : Scipio
was found dead in his bed, to the astonishment
of the world ; and those who inquired for the
causes of this sudden death, perceived violent
marks on his neck, and concluded that he had
been strangled, B. C. 128.
SCLAVONIA, a province in the. south ofthe
Austrian empire. It formed, under the Ro-
mans, a part ofthe ancient Illyria, and derived
its present name from a tribe of Sclavi, or Slavi,
who settled here in the 6th century. It was
overrun by the Turks, and continued in their
possession about 170 years. The Franks, in
their military successes before and during the
age of Charlemagne, often encountered Sclavo-
nic tribes, and, carrying them into captivity,
the name of Slave, or Esclave, became synony-
mous with captive.
SCOTLAND ; a country of Europe forming
the northern division of Great Britain, contain-
ing 29,600 square miles, and 2,365,700 inhabi-
tants. It is divided by the Grampian mountains
into two parts, the Highlands and Lowlands.
HIGHLAND COUNTIES.
Orkney (Isles) Inverness.
Caithness Argyle
Sutherland Bute
Nairn Aberdeen
Murray Kincardine
Banf Angus
Ross Perth
Cromarty Fife
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LOWLAND COUNTIES.
Kinross Ayr
Clackmannan Wigton
Stirling Lanark
Dumbarton Peebles
West Lothian Selkirk
Mid Lothian Roxburgh
East Lothian Dumfries
Berwick Kircudbright.
Renfrew
Scotland contains many beautiful lakes, or
lochs. The southern part of Scotland is agree-
ably diversified, but the northern contains many
mountains, with few fertile valleys. Bennevis,
one of the summits of the Grampian mountains,
rises to the height of 4,387 feet. The chief
towns are Glasgow, Edinburgh, Paisley, Aber-
deen, Dundee, Greenock, Perth, Dumfermline,
Inverness, Falkirk, Kilmarnock, and Montrose.
Scotland is noted for its manufactures, the prin-
cipal of which are cotton, linen, woollen, and
iron. The Scotch are Presbyterians. The
universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, St. An-
drew's, and Aberdeen, enjoy great celebrity ;
and by the number and excellence of common
schools, the Scotch are well-informed.
This part of the island of Great Britain was
anciently called Caledonia, and the inhabitants
Caledones, who were of Celtic original, and
probably those tribes of the Britons, who had
wandered the farthest northward. In the fourth
century we find them distinguished into Scots
and Picts. In 85, Agricola, the Roman gene-
ral, attempted to conquer this part of the island,
but did not effect the conquest of more than
that part whi«h is south of the Forth and Clyde.
In 121 Adrian relinquished more, building a
wall from the Solway Frith to the river Tyne.
In 144 the Romans extended their boundaries
again as far as the wall of Agricola; but Seve-
rus, though he invaded the whole country in
208, thought proper to adhere to the boundary
of Adrian.
Upon the Romans quitting this island in 410,
the Scots regained the possession of all that is
now called Scotland, and made excursions very
far southward, though without retaining their
conquests.
About 839 the Picts are said to have been
entirely reduced by Kennet II, the first sole
king of" all Scotland. Donald, brother to Ken-
net, reigned four years, and was succeeded by
Constantine, his nephew, son of Kennet, who
being made prisoner by a party of Danes,
was beheaded by the enemy in a cave, after-
wards called the Devil's Cave. He was suc-
ceeded by his brother Eth, who, after a reign
of one year, was followed by Gregory, surnamed
the Great. The king of Ireland being a minor,
his authority was usurped by two factious no-
blemen. Gregory therefore passed over into
that country as guardian of the young king,
and after appointing a regency, he returned
into Scotland, where he finished a life of action
and of glory at Dun-o-deer, in the Garioch, in
892, and was buried with his ancestors at Icolm-
kill.
Donald VI, the worthy successor of Gregory,
rendered considerable service to Alfred, king
of England, in his wars with the Danes. He
was succeeded by Constantine III, who, depart-
ing from the policy of his predecessors, entered
into an alliance with the Danes, in the hope of
being able to extend his dominions by their
help. But he was disappointed. After failing
in an expedition against England, he resigned
his crown to Malcolm, and spent the remainder
of his life in the solitude of the cloister. The
connection of the English and Scots against
the Danes, was continued under Indulf, who
defeated these freebooters in many bloody en-
gagements. His successor Duff resigned his
principality of Cumberland to Colin, the son of
Indulf; but the latter, not contented with his
domain, excited various insurrections in the
kingdom, and at last Duff was either slain or
driven into exile.
Colin indulged in the greatest licentiousness,
and was succeeded by Kennet III, the son of
Malcolm, who vigorously prosecuted the war
against the Britons of Strathcluyd, till at last
their principality was finally subjected to the
dominion of the Scots. However, Kennet was
assassinated, and the throne was usurped by
Constantine the Bold, who fell in an engage-
ment with Grime, the son of Duff, in 993.
Grime, regardless of the claims of Malcolm,
son of Kennet, and prince of Cumberland, caus-
ed himself to be crowned at Scone, but was
defeated and slain after a reign of eight years.
In 1004, Malcolm having convened the nobil-
ity, was acknowledged sovereign, and invested
with the royal dignity. He defeated in three
different engagements the Danes, who had ef-
fected a settlement in Cambria ; and these suc-
cesses gained him the title of the most victorious
king. He died after a reign of thirty years,
and left no issue to succeed him except Dun-
can, a grandson by his daughter Beatrix.
Duncan was cut off by the hand of domestic
treachery in the seventh year of his reign, and
the throne was usurped by his murderer Mac-
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beth. Consciousness of guilt kept alive in his
breast a jealousy which prompted him to re-
peated acts of cruelty ; and he put to death Mac
Gill, then Banquo, the most powerful man in
his dominions, with the wife and infant children
of Macduff, who saved his own life by flying
into England.
Macduff applied himself to Malcolm, son of
the late king Duncan, who on the death of his
father had escaped to his principality in Cum-
berland ; and having obtained assistance from
England, they made war on the usurper, whom
they soon drove to the most inaccessible parts
of the Highlands, where, after defending him-
self for the space of two years, he was at last
killed in a sally by MacdufF. Malcolm mount-
ed the throne of his fathers ; he married Mar-
garet of England, who had fled to Scotland for
safety of her life. Malcolm engaged in war
with the king of England, and after laying
waste the open country, besieged Alnwick, in
Northumberland.
According to Scottish historians, the place
was so closely pressed, that a knight came out
of the castle with its keys on the point of a
spear, and pretending that he wished to lay
them at Malcolm's feet, that prince advanced
to receive them, and was by the traitor run
through the eye, and killed on the spot. They
also add, that the prince Edward was mortally
wounded in endeavoring to avenge his father's
death. According to English historians, Mal-
colm and his son fell in battle, and their army
suffered a total route.
Margaret, who was at this time sick at Edin-
burgh, being informed of the death of her hus-
band and son, made confession, received the
sacrament, gave her dying blessing and advice
to her children, and expired. Malcolm and
Margaret left six children; Edmund, Edgar,
Alexander, David, Matilda, and Mary. Ano-
ther of Malcolm's sons was of illegitimate birth,
and was called Duncan.
Donald, the brother of Malcolm, presented
himself as a candidate for the crown ; but the
illegitimate Duncan advanced his pretensions
with great firmness, and obliged his father's
brother to relinquish. In order to support him-
self on the throne, Duncan called in the Nor-
wegians, renouncing in their favor all claims
on the Orkney and Shetland isles. But those
barbarians rendering themselves more odious
than ever the English had been, the nobles re-
nounced their allegiance to Duncan, and placed
on the throne Malcolm's eldest son Edgar, who
had returned to Scotland with his two brothers,
and who, after a reign of eight years, which was
disturbed neither by domestic conspiracy nor
foreign wars, died in the year 1107.
He was succeeded by his brother Alexander,
who being also destitute of progeny, left the
crown to David, the last of Malcolm's sons.
Immediately on his accession a contest which
had for some time prevailed, concerning the
independence of the Scottish church, was re-
newed. Jn an advanced age David lost his
only son Henry, but, before his death, which
happened in the year 1153, he caused his grand-
son Malcolm to be proclaimed and acknow-
ledged heir to his crown.
Malcolm IV, who was only twelve or fifteen
years of age at the time of his accession, ceded
the counties of Northumberland and Cumber-
land to Henry II of England, did homage for
the earldom of Huntingdon, and meeting that
monarch at Carlisle, followed him in his expe-
dition against Toulouse in France. On his
return he was continually disturbed with insur-
rections, and was saved only by the intervention
of the clergy. He died unmarried at the age
of twenty-five years.
William was crowned immediately after his
brother's death, in 1165, and entering into a
confederacy against Henry king of England,
was defeated and taken prisoner. William ac-
cepted his liberation on the most humiliating
terms ; five castles being delivered up to the
English as sureties, and the king's brother
and twenty nobles as hostages. The accession
of Richard to the English throne was, however,
fortunate for Scotland. He released William
and his kingdom from that feudal dependency
on England, which had been unjustly extorted
from him during his captivity, and engaged to
restore his fortresses. William reigned forty-
nine years, and died in the seventy-second year
of his age.
His son and successor, Alexander II, settled
by treaty the claims which had been the sub-
jects of contest between the two crowns, and
procured for himself a reign as peaceable as
could be expected in a nation full of turbulent
nobles. Alexander III was only nine years of
age when he was crowned. Ambassadors were
sent to London to demand Henry's daughter
in marriage ; and this being easily granted, both
courts met at York, and the ceremony was per-
formed with great pomp. Alexander did hom-
age to Henry for his English possessions, which
the latter confirmed by a charter.
The king saw himself bereft of all his chil-
dren, except Margaret, who was married to
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Eric of Norway ; and in the lliird year after her
marriage she also died, leaving only an infant
daughter, on whom the crown of Scotland was
settled. Alexander was thrown from his horse
over a precipice, and perished in the fall. Ed-
ward, who was one of the most valiant and
politic monarchs that ever sat on the English
throne, being ambitious of adding Scotland to
the dominions of his crown, applied to the court
of Rome to authorise a marriage between his
son and his grand-niece, and having gained the
consent of Eric, he intrigued with the Scottish
nobles to obtain their concurrence. Every
thing seemed to favor his views, when the child
was taken ill on the passage from Norway, and
died at Orkney.
The Scots now saw full before them the un-
happy prospect of a disputed succession, war
with England, and intestine discord. In order,
therefore, to avoid the miseries of a civil war,
both parties made choice of Edward as umpire,
and agreed to aquiesce in his decree. The chief
competitors for the crown were Bruce and Ba-
liol, both descendants of David, earl of Hun-
tingdon, who was brother to the two kings,
Malcolm and William.
Edward advanced with a great army to the
frontiers of Scotland, whither he invited the
nobility and all the competitors to attend him.
However, in the character of umpire, the king
of England arrogated to himself the feudal sov-
ereignty of the kingdom, compelled all the ba-
rons to swear allegiance to him, and took pos-
session of all the fortresses with his troops.
One hundred and four commissioners being
appointed to examine the several claims, gave
their verdict in favor of Baliol, who was crown-
ed accordingly in 1292.
But Baliol renouncing his allegiance soon
after, the indignant Edward invaded Scotland
with an immense army, and compelled this
weak prince to submit and make a solemn and
irrevocable resignation of his crown into the
hands of the king of England. National ani-
mosities, and the insolence of victory, conspired
to render the English government intolerable
to the Scots, who bore with the utmost impa-
tience a yoke, to which, from the earliest period
of their monarchy, they had always been unac-
customed.
In 1296, Sir William Wallace, whose mag-
nanimous soul could no longer brook to see his
country torn by factions, deserted by its chiefs,
and oppressed by foreigners, bravely stepped
forth to re-unite the friends of liberty under his
banner, and undertook several enterprises, all
of which added to the glory of his name, and
to the number of his followers, till at length he
obtained a numerous army.
The Scots were now forced to the cruel ex-
pedient of putting to the sword every English-
man they found in arms. King Edward, who
was then in France, ordered the earl of Surrey
to suppress this daring insurrection ; and lord
Henry Percy marched at the head of an army
of forty thousand men against Wallace. The
latter retreated northward, where he was joined
by new adherents ; and when Warrene advanc-
ed to Stirling, he found Wallace encamped in
excellent order on the opposite bank of the
Forth.
A desperate engagement ensued, in which
the English were utterly defeated, and obliged
to evacuate the kingdom. This success pro-
cured Wallace the title of Guardian ; but he
still acknowledged the captive king, Baliol.
However, the cause was ruined by the jealousy
of the nobles. The English monarch returned
from France, and marched into Scotland at the
head of seventy thousand men. Wallace now
voluntarily resigned his authority, and retained
only one corps that refused to fight under any
other leader. The English army came up with
the enemy near Falkirk, and defeated and dis-
persed the Scots with great slaughter.
At length, with much difficulty, Edward
completed the conquest of Scotland, without
being able to seize or subdue the patriotic Wal-
lace. Disappointed in all his schemes for that
purpose, he did not disdain to stoop to treach-
ery ; and Sir William was basely betrayed by
a traitor, and sent to London, where he was
tried and barbarously put to death as a rebel.
Robert Bruce, the restorer of the Scottish
throne, and father of a new race of kings, was
the grandson of the competitor of Baliol for the
crown.
Having resolved to quit the court of Edward,
to whom his father and grandfather had meanly
sworn allegiance, he contrived to escape, and
to join the Scotch patriots of Lochmaben. Af-
ter collecting what forces he could, in 1306, he
attacked the English, who were unprepared,
and having gained possession of several castles,
he was solemnly crowned at Scone. King Ed-
ward immediately dispatched A_ymer de Val-
ence into Scotland, who, falling in with Bruce
at Methven, attacked him, and notwithstanding
a most vigorous resistance, totally defeated the
Scottish army.
Bruce fled almost unattended, to the Western
Isles, where he wandered about for some time
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in distress ; but Edward dying on his way to
Scotland, Bruce was delivered from a powerful
enemy, and his party daily increased. In 1313
Edward II assembled his whole forces, amount-
ing, according to the Scottish historians, to one
hundred thousand men. Robert's army did
not exceed thirty thousand men, but they were
men of tried valor. He encamped beside a
rivulet called Bannockburn, near Stirling, the
castle of which had been long besieged by the
Scots. Edward being determined to relieve it,
the two armies commenced an engagement,
which lasted for a long time, and in which both
sides displayed great bravery.
However, the English at length betook them-
selves to flight, and were pursued by the Scots,
who made a great slaughter. King Edward
with difficulty escaped to Dunbar : the flower
of his nobility fell in this battle, and the liberty
of Scotland triumphed. However, it was not
till the deposition of Edward that Robert Bruce
wrested from England a solemn renunciation
of all claims on Scotland, and secured a peace
by marrying his son David to Joan, sister to
Edward III.
Thus ended the glorious conflict of Robert
for the independence of his crown, after a reign
of 24 years. During the minority of David,
Edward, son of John Baliol, being supported
by the English, invaded Scotland in 1332, was
proclaimed king, and, like his father, did hom-
age as vassal of England. David, with his
queen, found refuge in France ; but Edward
Baliol dismembering his kingdom in favor of
the English, lost the affections of his subjects.
David returning from France, repulsed Ba-
liol, and was himself taken prisoner near Dur-
ham. Baliol resigned his claims to Edward,
who, soon after, acknowledged David as king,
and restored him to liberty on condition of his
paying a great ransom.
David, leaving no progeny, was succeeded
by Robert II, grandson of Bruce, and the first
king of the Stuart family. In 1371, the war
with England was renewed, and continued
with little interruption to the end of this reign.
Robert III refused to do homage for his crown
to Henry IV. In 1390, understanding that his
eldest son was starved to death by his uncle,
the duke of Albany, and wishing to secure his
surviving child James, he made him embark
for France; but his ill-fated stars threw the
prince into the hands of his enemies, and the
father fell a prey to his grief, on being told of
his son's captivity in the tower of London.
James was still detained in the hands of king
Henry ; and the regency of the duke of Albany,
his uncle, the murderer of his brother, was rec-
ognised in Scotland in 1405.
After a long captivity he was restored to his
kingdom, which he governed thirteen years,
when he was barbarously assassinated. New
broils attended the minority of James II, who
was only seven years old at the time of his ac-
cession in 1437. At the age of fourteen the
young king assumed the reins of government,
but he was soon after killed by the bursting of
a cannon at the siege of Roxburgh.
James III succeeded him in 1460. After
marrying Margaret of Denmark, he gave him-
self up to astrology, and through jealousyAnade
away with his own brother, the earl of Mar,
while the duke of Albany, the other brother,
escaped to France. Being invited to England,
now again at war with her northern neigh-
bor, the duke of Albany took the title of Alex-
ander, king of Scotland, by the gift of Edward,
and marched to the borders But a treaty being
concluded, Albany returned to his allegiance,
and to his brother's favor. Albany, however,
again withdrew to England ; and a fresh con-
spiracy being formed against James, the rebels
prevailed on the king's son, the young duke
ofRothsay, to head their army. An engage-
ment took place near Bannockburn, in which
the rebels were successful, and the king, in
his flight, was thrown from his horse, and car-
ried to the first hovel, where he was stabbed to
the heart by one of the insurgents.
James IV succeeded his father in 1488. At
the instigation of the French court, he rashly
entered into a war against Henry VIII, brother
of his queen, and, notwithstanding the advice
of his best counsellors, led an army into Eng-
land, where, at the memorable battle of Flodden
field, he lost the flower of his nobility and his
own life.
James V being only two years old at the
death of his father, his mother Margaret, sister
to the king of England, was appointed regent
and guardian by the will of her husband. The
young king assumed the government at the
age of thirteen, in 1513, with a council of eight;
but he soon shook off the yoke of his council.
Henry VIII having proclaimed war against
Scotland, an inroad was planned on the west-
ern borders ; but James despising and distrust-
ing his nobles, gave the command of the army
to a man of less note. This insult provoked the
troops, who refused to fight at the Raid of Sol-
way Moss, and ten thousand men laid down their
arms before five hundred English, without
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striking a blow. These sad tidings broke the
proud heart of James, who refused from that
moment to take any sustenance, and, after lan-
guishing some days, expired in the thirty-first
year of his age.
Mary, queen of Scots, was born a few days
before the death of her father. The disasters
of her reign began and ended only with her
life. At an early age Mary was sent to France,
where she was brought up at the court of Henry
II, whose eldest son Francis was destined to
be her husband. The minority of Mary Stuart
was agitated by great disturbances ; and the re-
gency was claimed by different competitors as
a privilege of blood or family appanage. At
length, the queen abandoned the helm of gov-
ernment to any adventurer who might wish to
seize it. The tempests excited by ambition and
jealousy, were increased by the gusts of religi-
ous fanaticism.
Popery struggled against the Reformation
with an already evident disadvantage ; and the
vessel of state, buffetted by those storms, was
every moment in imminent danger of sink-
ing.
At this critical situation of affairs, Mary re-
turned to assume the sovereignty of her king-
dom after the death of Francis II, who had left
her a widow at the age of eighteen years. By
assuming the title of queen of England on the
death of Henry VIII, she excited the jealousy
of Elizabeth, who succeeded to the English
throne, and who never pardoned her cousin this
assertion of her rights. The religious dissen-
sions by which Scotland was divided, were ef-
fectually subservient to the views of Elizabeth,
who gained the affections of the reformed party,
and excited their suspicions against their sove-
reign, Mary being sprung from the blood of the
Guises, and niece to the cardinal de Lorraine,
who was the scourge of the Protestants.
To their religious and political opinions the
young queen could not reconcile herself, and
hence arose a decided aversion between the
sovereign and her subjects. Her council in-
duced her to re-marry, and she gave her hand
to her cousin Henry lord Darnley. This mar-
riage displeased Elizabeth. Soon after Mary's
marriage witli Darnley, she became disgusted
with his deceit and plausibility. Darnley , think-
ing this change of disposition was occasioned
by her having conceived a passion for some
other man, unjustly suspected David Rizzio, an
Italian musician. However, he soon found
a set of willing accomplices in the execution of
vengeance against his wife ; and, accordingly,
one evening, while the queen was at supper
with the countess of Argyle, Henry conducted
the confederates by a private staircase into the
queen's apartment, where they seized Rizzio,
and after dragging him into an adjoining room,
despatched him with fifty-six wounds.
Nothing couTd exceed the grief and indigna-
tion of Mary on this occasion ; but, finding her-
self entirely in the power of the conspirators,
she was obliged to dissemble. On the 19th of
June, 15C6, at Edinburgh Castle, she bore her
oply son, afterwards James VI of Scotland, and
I of England. At length, after a series of tra-
gical disasters, Mary placed herself in the hands
of Elizabeth, by whose order she was executed
at Fotheringay castle in 1587. (See Mary
Queen of Scots.)
All the rights and pretensions of Mary now
devolved upon her son, who was considered, as
well by Catholics as Protestants, as the pre-
sumptive heir to the throne of England, and the
rightful sovereign of Scotland. The pacific
disposition and the clemency of James towards
offenders, multiplied crimes of all kinds, and
encouraged such acts of violence as brought his
government under contempt. All was foment-
ed by the intrigues of Elizabeth, who still strove
to retain James weak, by keeping his affairs
continually embroiled. On the death of Eliza-
beth, in l(i03, the lords of the privy council
proclaimed James king of England.
Before this monarch left Scotland to take pos-
session of his new kingdom, he had with great
zeal labored to civilize the northern and west-
ern Highlands. He was himself a scholar ; and
to his love of learning the Scots are indebted
for the parochial schools, which afford the com-
mon people so much advantage in point of edu-
cation, over other countries. He encouraged
trade and the fisheries, and greatly promoted
the industry of his subjects. In 1G03, he took
his farewell. By means of the king's accession
to the English throne, the regal power in Scot-
land acquired additional strength ; and James
attempted to avail himself of this cir- mstance
for the union of both the national churches and
the kingdom into one. After a reign and life
of nearly 59 years, James was seized with his
last illness, which some affirm to have been
caused by poison. Charles I entered Edinburgh
with great magnificence, and was crowned at
Holyroodhouse^ In the Parhuent which was
now summoned, the lords of the articles brought
in a bill for confirming the royal prerogative, to-
gether with the power granted to the late king
to prescribe apparel to churchmen with their
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506
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own consent. This unpopular, and indeed fri-
volous and vexatious bill, passed through Parlia-
ment, and received the royal sanction ; and un-
der Laud, archbishop of Canterbury, and Spots-
wood the historian, archbishop of St. Andrews,
the king proceeded to introduce a book of liturgy
into the public worship of the Scottish churches.
These measures excited the most general dis-
content, and produced the most violent com-
motions.
A civil war at length became unavoidable; and
the covenanters prepared for it with vigor and
resolution. They received arms, ammunition,
and money, from France, and other countries;
and no regularly established commonwealth
could take wiser measures. Lesley, a soldier
of experience and ability, the earl of Montrose,
a youth of heroic genius, with other leaders of
the party, all of them men of sense and resolu-
tion, conducted the military affairs. After
seizing and fortifying the most important places
of strength in the kingdom they invaded Eng-
land, and compelled the royal forces to retreat
to York.
At this period, the English rebels courted a
closer union with their Scottish friends, and
agreed to receive the solemn league and cove-
nant, to preserve the reformed religion establish-
ed in the church of Scotland, and to reform Eng-
land and Ireland, according to the word of God,
and the example of the purestchurches. Accord-
ingly a subsidiary army of 20,000 Scots hastened
to join Lord Fairfax, and effectually assisted him
in reducing the city of York. While the king's
affairs declined in England, the brave Montrose
had left the Scottish army, and raised the royal
standard in the north. This active nobleman,
having raised a supply of 1200 troops from Ire-
land, hastened to take the command of this
auxiliary force, and several more flocked to his
standard. He attacked and defeated a party of
the covenanters, 6000 in number, under Tulli-
bardine ; and Perth opened its gates to the vic-
tor, and was laid under contribution. At Aber-
deen, Montrose gained a second victory over
the troops under Lord Burleigh, and laid waste
the country of Argyle. Montrose gained in
succession the victories of Auldearn, Alford,
and Kilsyth, but his whole army was destroyed
at Philiphaugh by the troops under Sir David
Lesley, and he was never able afterwards to
bring a formidable force into the field, notwith-
standing all the efforts he could make.
The fortunes of Charles being now ruined in
England, he was reduced to the desperate ex-
pedient of seeking refuge in the heart of an
army which was in open rebellion against him.
The immediate consequences of this fatal step
were orders expedited to his adherents to lay
down their arms. Montrose obeyed, and retir-
ed to France. The English parliament demand-
ing of the Scottish army the person of the king,
they preferred delivering him up rather than
go to war in his defence. The kingdom was,
however, divided into two parties, and the duke
of Hamilton and the majority in parliament, in
opposition to the church, succeeded in raising a
numerous army to support the king against
Cromwell and his adherents, who appeared to
entertain designs totally hostile both to the
king's person and government : with this army
they set forward to invade England, and to res-
tore the king to his ancient rights. But the
violent party considered it the height of impiety
to fight for an uncovenanted king.
The Scotch troops, not daring to unite them-
selves with the English royalists who had re-
fused the covenant, both armies were easily
destroyed by Cromwell, who, after exercising
the severest vengeance against the friends of
Charles in Scotland, returned in triumph to
England, and brought Charles to public trial
and execution. The covenanters now declar-
ed for the young king, Charles II, then in
Holland, on condition of his becoming the pu-
pil of Presbyterianism, and taking the covenant.
Montrose was despatched to the Orkneys, to
make an attempt for the king's restoration on
better terms ; but being attacked by a much
superior force, he was defeated, and put to death
in 1650. With him were executed Spotswood,
Hay, Sibbald, and Ury of Urry, all friends to
the royal cause.
Charles II now sailed from Holland for the
Scottish coast, and threw himself entirely into
the hands of the covenanters, who required him
to sign the covenant, and exhorted him to be
faithful to that holy confederacy. Cromwell
inarched into Scotland against the now royal
covenanters, whom he attacked, and defeated at
Dunbar. Notwithstanding this defeat, the roy-
alists in Scotland increased.
Charles was crowned at Scone on the 1st of
January, 1651 ; but he was obliged to take the
covenant, and to undergo other mortifications.
Cromwell, however, succeeded in an attempt to
cut off the royalists from all their communica-
tions with the north and the Highlands ; and
when they invaded England, defeated them at
Worcester. Charles escaped, and at last took
shipping from the coast of Sussex, and arrived
safe at Feschamp in Normandy.
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After the restoration of Charles II, in 1GG0,
the Parliament was opened with unusual splen-
dor at Edinburgh ; and in the proceedings of
this assembly, the royal prerogative was exalted
to a pitch of despotism. Deprived at last of
public worship, the persecuted Presbyterians
rose in open rebellion. On the Pentland hills
they were met by the king's forces, under Dal-
ziel, and were routed with considerable slaugh-
ter, at the first onset. Commotions and insur-
rections multiplied during the whole reign of
Charles II, who attempted, sometimes by gentle
means, and sometimes by acts of severity, to
crush Presbyterianism,and to induce the people
to substitute another form of church govern-
ment.
Though the people of England, as well as the
Parliament of Scotland, had made a surrender
to the crown of all their constitutional rights,
in 1685, the history of the reign of James VII
proves how little dependence is to be placed on
those professions. James was not ignorant of
the intrigues and ambition of his son-in-law,
the prince of Orange, with whom Monmouth,
Argyle, Dalrymple, afterwards earl of Stair,
Burnet, soon to be bishop of Sarum, and the
English and Scotch exiles, found refuge. The
insurrections occasioned by Argyle and Mon-
mouth widened the breach between the unfor-
I tunate monarch and his disaffected subjects.
James proposed to his Scottish Parliament a
relaxation of the penal laws against the Roman
Catholics ; but the proposal was received with
such coldness, that the chancellor thought it
prudent to drop the bill entirely. However, the
court issued declarations in favor of Presbyte-
rians, of Quakers, of Roman Catholics, and at
last " suspended all penal and sanguinary laws
for nonconformity to the religion established by
law." The Presbyterians of Edinburgh, and the
ministers all over Scotland, gladly accepted of
this toleration, and thanked the king for his
protection.
In 1688, James, finding himself abandoned
by his friends, fled ; and his constrained flight
was pronounced an abdication of the throne of
Scotland. Indifferent as to modes of religion,
William treated with Presbyterians as well
as Episcopalians. The throne was declar-
ed vacant by the convention ; and William ac-
cepted of the crown tendered to him by a deputa-
tion from the states, and, with his spouse, took
a coronation oath. By a majority of the votes
in Parliament, William was reluctantly prevail-
j ed on to repeal the constitution of the lords
of articles, to abandon the patronage and the
supremacy over the church, and to re-establish
Presbytery.
William, after a fruitless attempt to gain the
chieftains by pecuniary offers, issued a procla-
mation denouncing military execution against
all who should not before the expiration of the
year take an oath of fealty to him. William
dying in 1702, the accession of queen Anne
gave new hopes to the pretender, son of the
late king James, and his adherents.
William had never dissolved the Convention
Parliament. The members of this Parliament
assembled, and empowered the queen to nomi-
nate commissioners for treating of an union.
The commissioners repaired to London, to treat
with those appointed in England. At length,
the whole of the articles of the union were
completed and signed by all the Scottish com-
missioners excepting one, who was Lockhart of
Carnwarth. Notwithstanding the strong op-
position which this measure experienced, on
Thursday the 16th of January, 1707, the whole
articles of the union were, without any material
alteration, approved by a legal majority in Par-
liament ; and the lord high commissioner, touch-
ing the act with the sceptre, sanctioned it with
that consent of the crown, which was requisite
to give it in Scotland the force of a law. The
treaty of union, thus finally ratified by the Sco-
tish Parliament, was immediately transmitted
to London, where it was equally honored by
the sanction of the Parliament and the royal
consent. On the 28th of April, the Scottish
Parliament was dissolved, never more to be as-
sembled; and the Scots and English were hence-
forth to be one people.
KINGS OF SCOTLAND.
Fergus I. B. C. 330
Ferftharis — 305
Mainus — 290
Dornadilla — 261
Nothatus — 233
Reutherus — 213
Reuthra — 187
Thereus — 173
Josina — 161
Finnanus — 137
Durstus — 107
Evenus I. — 98
Gillus — 79
Evenus II. — 77
Ederus — 60
Evenus III. — 12
Me tall an us ' — 5
Caractacus A. D. 32
Corbred I. — 54
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508
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Dardanus
Corbred II,
Luctacus
Mogaldus
Conarus
Ethodius I.
Satrael
Donald I.
Ethodius II.
Achiro
Nathalocus
Findocus
Donald II.
Donald HI.
Crathilinthus
Finchormarc hus
Romachus
Angusianus or JEneas
Fethelmachus
Eugenius I.
Fergus II.
Eugenius II.
Dongard
Constantine I.
Congale 1.
Goran I.
Eugenius III.
Congale II.
Kinnatellus
Aidan
Kennet I.
Eugenius IV.
Ferchard II.
Donald IV.
Ferchard I,
Maldwin
Eugenius V.
Eugenius VI.
Amberchelet
Eugenius VII.
Mordac
Etfinius
Eugenius VIII.
Fergus III.
Solvatius
Achaius
Congale III.
Don gal
Alpin
Kennet II.
Donald V.
Constantine II.
Ethus
Gregory
Donald VI.
Constantine III.
70 Malcolm I. — 938
72 Indulphus — 958
104 Duphus — 968
107 Cullenus — 972
142 Kennet III. — 973
161 Constantine IV. — 994
193 Grimus — 996
197 (Malcolm II. — 1004
216 Duncan — 1034
230 Macbeth — 1040
242 Malcolm III. — 1057
252 Donald VII. — 1093
262 Duncan II. — 1095
263 Donald VII. again — 1095
277 Interregnum — 1096
320 Edgar — 1097
368 Alexander I. — 1107
371 David I. — 1124
373 Malcolm IV. — 1153
376 William — 1165
413 Alexander II. — 1214
419 Alexander III. — 1240
451 Interregnum — 1245
457 John Baliol — 1292
479 Robert I. — 1306
501 David II. — 1329
545 Edward Baliol — 1332
548 David II. again — 1341
568 Robert II. — 1371
569 John Robert — 1390
604 James I. — 1405
606 James II. — 1437
622 James III. — 1460
63^ James IV. — 1488
646 James V. — 1513
664 Mary Stuart — 1542
684 James VI. — 1567
687 SCOTT, sir Walter, baronet, the eldest son
697 of Walter Scott, was born in the city of Edin-
698 burgh, Scotland, Aug. 15, 1771. It is proper to
715 remark that his mother was a lady of talent, the
730 friend of Burns and Ramsay, and the author of
761 some meritorious verses. Sir Walter was edu-
763 cated at the high school of Edinburgh, and at
766 the university. At an early age, he was cele-
787 brated as a story-teller, " when the applause of
819 his companions was his recompense for the dis-
824 grace and punishments which the future ro-
831 mance-writer incurred by being idle himself,
834 and keeping others idle, during hours that should
854 have been employed on their tasks."
858 Sir Walter Scott's account of his birth and
874 circumstances is characterized by his usual mod-
876 esty.
892 " My birth, without giving the least preten-
903 sion to distinction, was that of a gentleman, and
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connected me with several respectable families
and accomplished persons. My education had
been a good one, although I was deprived of its
full benefit by indifferent health, just at the pe-
riod when I ought to have been most sedulous
in improving it. The young men with whom
I was brought up, and lived most familiarly,
were those who, from opportunities, birth and
talents, might be expected to make the greatest
advances in the profession to which we were all
destined ; and I have the pleasure still to pre-
serve my youthful intimacy with no inconside-
rable number of them, whom their merit has
carried forward to the highest honors of their
profession. Neither was I in a situation to be
embarrassed by the res angusla dojni, which
might have otherwise interrupted my progress
in a profession in which progress is proverbially
slow. I enjoyed a moderate degree of business
for my standing, and the friendship of more than
one person of consideration efficiently disposed
to aid my views in life. The private fortune,
also, which I might expect, and finally inherit-
ed, from my family, did not, indeed, amount to
affluence, but placed me considerably beyond all
apprehension of want. I mention these partic-
ulars merely because they are true. Many better
men than myself have owed their rise from in-
digence and obscurity to their own talents, which
were, doubtless, much more adequate to the task
of raising them tham any which I possess. Al-
though it would be absurd and ungracious in me
to deny that I owe to literature many marks of
distinction to which I could not otherwise have
aspired, and particularly that of seeming the
acquaintance, and even the friendship, of many
remarkable persons of the age, to whom I might
not otherwise have made my way ; it would on
the other hand, be ridiculous to affect gratitude
to the public favor, either for my position in so-
ciety, or the means of supporting it with decen-
cy— matters which had been otherwise secured
under the usual chances of human affairs. Thus
much I have thought it necessary to say, upon
a subject which is, after all, of very little conse-
quence to any one but myself."
In 1792 he was called to the bar. Of his
success in his profession, and the nature of his
studies and pursuits, we will give his own ac-
count, taken from one of his interesting prefaces.
" It may be readily supposed that the attempts
which I made in literature had been unfavorable
to my success at the bar. The goddess Themis
is, at Edinburgh, and I suppose every where
else, of a peculiarly jealous disposition. She
will not readily consent to share her authority,
and sternly demands from her votaries not only
that real duty be carefully attended to and dis-
charged, but that a certain air of business shall
be observed even in the midst of total idleness.
It is prudent, if not absolutely necessary, in a
young barrister, to appear completely engrossed
by his profession; however destitute of employ-
ment he may be, he ought to preserve, if pos-
sible, the appearance of full occupation. He
should at least seem perpetually engaged among
his law papers, dusting them, as it were ; and,
as Ovid advises the fair,
Si nullus erit pulvis, tamen excute nullum.
Perhaps such extremity of attention is more es-
pecially required, considering the great number
of counsellors who are called to the bar, and how
very small a proportion of them are finally dis-
posed, or find encouragement, to follow the law
as a profession. Hence the number of deserters
is so great, that the least lingering look behind
occasions a young novice to be set down as one
of the intending fugitives. Certain it is, that
the Scottish Themis was at this time peculiarly
jealous of any flirtation with the Muses, on the
part of those who had ranged themselves under
her banners. This was probably owing to her
consciousness of the superior attractions of her
rivals. Of late, however, she has relaxed in
some instances in this particular; an eminent
example of which has been shown in the case
of my friend, Mr. Jeffrey, who, after long con-
ducting one of the most influential literary pe-
riodicals of the age, with unquestionable ability,
has been, by the general consent of his brethren,
recently elected to be their Dean of Faculty, or
President, being the highest acknowledgment
of his professional talents which they had it in
their power to offer. But this is an incident
much beyond the ideas of a period of thirty
years' distance, when a barrister who really pos-
sessed any turn for lighter literature, was at as
much pains to conceal it, as if it had in reality
been something to be ashamed of; and I could
mention one instance in which literature and
society have suffered loss, that jurisprudence
might be enriched. Such, however, was not my
case ; for the reader will not wonder that my open
interference with matters of light literature di-
minished my employment in the weightier mat-
ters of the law. Nor did the solicitors, upon
whose choice the council takes rank in his pro-
fession, do me less than justice by regarding
others among my contemporaries as fitter to
discharge the duty due to their clients, than a
young man who was taken up with running after
ballads, whether Teutonic or national. My pro-
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510
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fession and I, therefore, came to stand nearly
upon the footing on which honest Slender con-
soled himself with having established with Mis-
tress Anne Page : " There was no great love in
the beginning, and it pleased Heaven to decrease
it on farther acquaintance."' I became sensible
that the time was come when I must either
buckle myself resolutely to the " toil by day, the
lamp by night," renouncing all the Delilahs of
my imagination, or bid adieu to the profession
of the law, and hold another course. I confess
my own inclination revolted from the more se-
vere choice which might have been deemed by
many the wiser alternative. As my transgres-
sions had been numerous, my repentance must
have been signalized by unusual sacrifices. I
ought to have mentioned, that, since my four-
teenth or fifteenth year, my health, originally
delicate, had become extremely robust. From
infancy I had labored under the infirmity of a
severe lameness, but, as 1 believe is usually the
case with men of spirit who suffer under personal
inconveniences of this nature, I had, since the
improvement of my health, in defiance of this
incapacitating circumstance, distinguished my-
self by the endurance of toil on foot or horseback,
having often walked thirty miles a day, and rode
upwards of a hundred, without stopping. In this
manner I made many pleasant journeys throuo-h
parts of the country then not very accessible,
faining more amusement and instruction than
have been able to acquire since I have travel-
led in a more commodious manner. I practised
most sylvan sports, also, with some success, and
with great delight. But these pleasures must
have been all resigned, or used with great mod-
eration, had I determined to regain my station
at the bar. It was even doubtful whether I could,
with perfect character as a jurisconsult, retain a
situation in a volunteer corps of cavalry, which
I then held. The threats of invasion were at
this time instant and menacing : the call by Brit-
ain on her children was universal, and was an-
swered by many, who, like myself, consulted
rather their will than their ability to bear arms.
My services, however, were found useful in as-
sisting to maintain the discipline of the corps,
being the point on which their constitution ren-
dered them most amenable to military criticism.
In other respects the squadron was a fine one,
consisting of handsome men, well mounted and
armed at their own expense. My attention to
the corps took up a great deal of time ; and while
it occupied many of the happiest hours of my
life, it furnished an additional reason for my re-
luctance again to encounter the severe course
of study indispensable to success in the juridical
profession.
On the other hand, my father, whose feelings
might have been hurt by my quitting the bar,
had been for two or three years dead ; so that I
had no control to thwart my own inclination ;
and my income being equal to all the comforts,
and some of the elegancies, of life, I was not
pressed to an irksome labor by necessity, that
most powerful of motives; consequently, I was
the more easily seduced to choose the employ-
ment which was most agreeable. This was yet
the easier, as in 1800 I had obtained the prefer-
ment of Sheriff of Selkirkshire, about £300 a
year in value, and which was the more agreeable
to me, as in that county I had several friends
and relations. But I did not abandon the pro-
fession to which I had been educated, without
certain prudential resolutions, which at the risk
of some egotism, I will here mention ; not with-
out the hope that they may be useful to young
persons who may stand in circumstances similar
to those in which I then stood. In the first place,
upon considering the lives and fortunes of per-
sons who had given themselves up to literature,
or to the task of pleasing the public, it seemed
to me that the circumstances which chiefly af-
fected their happiness and character were those
from which Horace has bestowed' upon authors
the epithet of the irritable race. It requires no
depth of philosophic reflection to perceive, that
the petty warfare of Pope with the dunces of his
period, could not have been carried on without his
suffering the most acute torture, such as a man
must endure from musquitoes, by whose stings
he suffers agony, although he can crush them
in his grasp by myriads. Nor is it necessary to
call to memory the many humiliating instances
in which men of the greatest genius have, to
avenge some pitiful quarrel, made themselves
ridiculous during their lives, to become the still
more degraded objects of pity to future times.
Upon the whole, as I had no pretension to the
genius of the distinguished persons who had
fallen into such errors, I concluded there could
be no occasion for imitating them in these mis-
takes, or what I considered as such ; and, in
adopting literary pursuits as the principal occu-
pation of my future life, I resolved, if possible,
to avoid those weaknesses of temper which seem-
ed to have most easily beset my more celebrated
predecessors. With this view, it was my first
resolution to keep, as far as was in my power,
abreast of society ; continuing to maintain my
place in general company, without yielding to
the very natural temptation of narrowing myself
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511
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to what is called literary society. By doing so,
I imagined I should escape the besetting sin of
listening to language which, from one motive or
other, ascribes a very undue degree of conse-
quence to literary pursuits ; as if they were, in-
deed, the business, rather than the amusement
of life. The opposite course can only be com-
pared to the injudicious conduct of one who
pampers himself with cordial and luscious
draughts, until he is unable to endure whole-
some bitters. Like Gil Bias, therefore, I resolv-
ed to stick by the society of my commis, instead
of seeking that of a more literary cast; and to
maintain my general interest in what was going
on around me, reserving the man of letters for
the desk and the library. My second resolution
was a corollary from the first. I determined that,
without shutting my ears to the voice of true
criticism, I would pay no regard to that which
assumes the form of satire. I therefore resolved
to arm myself with the triple brass of Horace,
against all the roving warfare of satire, parody,
and sarcasm; to laugh if the jest was a good
one ; or, if otherwise, to let it hum and buzz it-
self to sleep. It is to the observance of these
rules (according to my best belief), that, after a
life of thirty years engaged in literary labors of
various kinds, I attribute my never having been
entangled in any literary quarrel or controversy ;
and, which is a more pleasing result, that I have
been distinguished by the personal friendship of
my most approved contemporaries of all par-
ties. I adopted, at the same time, another reso-
lution, on which it may doubtless be remarked,
that it was well for me that I had it in my pow-
er to do so, and that, therefore, it is a line of
conduct which can be less generally applicable
in other cases. Yet I fail not to record this part
of my plan, convinced that, though it may not
be in every one's power to adopt exactly the same
resolution, he may nevertheless, by his own ex-
ertions, in some shape or other, attain the object
on which it was founded ; namely, to secure the
means of subsistence, without relying exclusive-
ly on literary talents. In this respect, I deter-
mined that literature should be my staff, but not
my crutch ; and that the profits of my labor, how-
ever convenient otherwise, should not become
necessary to my ordinary expenses. With this
purpose I resolved, if the interest of my friends
could so far favor me, to retire upon any of the
respectable offices of the law, in which persons
of that profession are glad to take refuge when
they feel themselves, or are judged by others,
incompetent to aspire to its higher offices and
honors. Upon such an office an author might
hope to retreat, without any perceptible altera-
tion of circumstances, whenever the time should
arrive that the public grew weary of his en-
deavors to please, or he himself should tire of
the occupation of authorship. At this period
of my life I possessed so many friends capable
of assisting me in this object of ambition, that I
could hardly overrate my own prospects of ob-
taining the moderate preferment to which 1 lim-
ited my wishes : and, in fact*, 1 obtained, in no
long period, the reversion of a situation which
completely met them."
The preferment of which he here speaks was
to the office of Sheriff of Selkirkshire, of about
£ 300 a year in value. In 1806 he was appoint-
ed a clerk of the session in Scotland. His first
original productions were several ballads of great
merit. Sir Walter thus notices the circum-
stances which engaged him in literary pursuits.
" During the last ten years of the eighteenth
century, the art of poetry was at a remarkably
low ebb in Britain. Hayley to whom fashion
had some years before ascribed a higher degree
of reputation than posterity has confirmed, had
now lost his reputation for talent, though he still
lived admired and respected as an amiable and
accomplished man. The Bard of Memory slum-
bered on his laurels, and he of Hope had scarce
begun to attract his share of public attention.
Cowper, a poet of deep feeling and bright ge-
nius, was dead; and even while alive, the hy-
pochondria, which was his mental malady, im-
peded his popularity. Burns, whose genius our
southern neighbors could hardly yet compre-
hend, had long confined himself to song-writing.
Names which are now known and distinguished
wherever the English language is spoken, were
then only beginning to be mentioned ; and, un-
less among the small number of persons who
habitually devote a part of their leisure to litera-
ture, those of Southey, Wordsworth, and Cole-
ridge, were but little known. The realms of
Parnassus, like many a kingdom at the period,
seemed to lie open to the first bold invader,
whether he should be a daring usurper, or could
show a legitimate title of sovereignty."
" I had, indeed, tried the metrical translations
which were occasionally recommended to us at
the High School. I got credit for attempting
to do what was enjoined, but very little for the
mode in which the task was performed ; and I
used to feel not a little mortified when my ver-
sions were placed in contrast with others of ad-
mitted merit. At one period of my schoolboy
days 1 was so far left to my own desires as to
become guilty of verses on a thunder-storm,
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which were much approved of, until a malevo-
lent critic sprung up, in the shape of an apoth-
ecary's blue-buskined wife, who affirmed that
my most sweet poetry was stolen from an old
magazine. I never forgave the imputation,
and even now I acknowledge some resentment
against the poor woman's memory. She indeed
accused me unjustly, when she said I had stolen
my brooms ready made ; but as I had, like most
premature poets, copied all the words and ideas
of which my verses consisted, she was so far
right, that there was not an original word or
thought in the whole six lines 1 made one or
two faint attempts at verse, after I had under-
gone this sort of daw-plucking at the hands of
the apothecary's wife ; but some friend or other
always advised me to put my verses in the fire,
and like Dorax in the play, I submitted, though
' with a swelling heart.' In short, excepting
the usual tribute to a mistress's eyebrow, which
is the language of passion rather than poetry, I
had not for ten years indulged the wish to couple
so much as love and dove, when, finding Lewis
in possession of so much reputation, and conceiv-
ing that, if I fell behind him in poetical powers,
I considerably exceeded him in general infor-
mation, I suddenly took it into my head to at-
tempt the style by which he had raised himself
to fame."
Having now married, he resided at Ashie-
steel, a delightful retirement, in an uncommon-
ly beautiful situation, by the side of a fine river,
whose streams were favorable for angling, and
surrounded by hills abounding in game. His
Lay of the Last Minstrel, and Marmion, poems
of great originality and beauty, were produced
in 1805 and 1808, and received at once into favor.
The Lady of the Lake was published in 1810.
Speaking of this poem, the author remarks : " I
remember that about the same time a friend
started in to ' heeze up my hope,' like the min-
strel in the old song. He was bred a farmer,
but a man of powerful understanding, natural
good taste, and warm poetical feeling, perfectly
'competent to supply the wants of an imperfect
or irregular education. He was a passionate
admirer of field sports, which we often pursued
together. As this friend happened to dine with
me at Ashiesteel one day, I took the opportunity
of reading to him the first canto of the Lady of
the Lake, in order to ascertain the effect the poem
was likely to produce upon a person who was
but too favorable a representative of readers at
large. It is, of course, to be supposed, that I
determined rather to guide my opinion by what
my friend might appear to feel, than by what he
might think fit to say. His reception of my re-
citation, or prelection, was rather singular. He
placed his hand across his brow, and listened
with great attention through the whole account
of the stag hunt, till the dogs threw themselves
into the lake to follow their master, who embarks
with Ellen Douglas. He then started up with
a sudden exclamation, struck his hand on the
table, and declared, in a voice of censure calcu-
lated for the occasion, that the dogs must have
been totally ruined by being permitted to take
the water after such a severe chase. I own I
was much encouraged by the species of reverie
which had possessed so zealous a follower of the
sports as this ancient Nimrod, who had been
completely surprised out of all doubts of the
reality of the tale."
The Lady of the Lake was followed by the
Vision of Don Roderick, Rokeby, Lord of the
Isles, Harold the Dauntless, and the Bridal of
Triermain.
" The Lady of the Lake, "says Scott, " brought
out on the usual terms of division of profits be-
tween the author and publishers, was not long
after purchased by them for £500, to which
Messrs. Longman and Co. afterwards added
£100 in their own unsolicited kindness, in con-
sequence of the uncommon suocess of the work.
It was handsomely given 10 supply the loss of a
fine horse, which broke down suddenly while
the author was riding with one of the worthy
publishers." ******
"The publishers of the Lay of the Last Minstrel,
emboldened by the success of that poem, wil-
lingly offered a thousand pounds for Marmion.
The transaction being no secret, afforded Lord
Byron, who was then at general war with all
who blacked paper, an opportunity to include
me in his satire entitled English Bards and Scotch
Kevietcers. I never could conceive how an ar-
rangement between an author and his publish-
ers, if satisfactory to the persons concerned,
could afford matter of censure to any third par-
ty. I had taken no unusual or ungenerous
means of enhancing the value of my merchan-
dise.— I had never higgled a moment about the
bargain, but accepted at once what I considered
the handsome offer of my publishers. These
gentlemen, at least, were not of opinion that they
had been taken advantage of in the transaction,
which indeed was one of their own framing;
on the contrary, the sale of the poem was so far
beyond their expectation, as to induce them to
supply the author's cellar with what is always
an acceptable present to a young Scottish house-
keeper, namely, a hogshead of excellent claret."
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We must extract the account of his own
change from poetry to prose. — He is speaking
of Rokeby.
" The cause of mj failure, had, however, a far
deeper root. The manner, or style, which, by
its novelty, attracted the public in an unusual
degree, had now, after having been three times
before them, exhausted the patience of the read-
er, and began in the fourth to lose its charms.
The reviewers may be said to have apostrophiz-
ed the author in the language of Parnell's Ed-
win : —
" And here reverse the charm, he cried,
And let it fairly now suffice,
The gambol has been shown."
The licentious combination of rhymes, in a man-
ner not perhaps very congenial to our language,
had not been confined to the author. Indeed,
in most similar cases, the inventors of such nov-
elties have their reputation destroyed by their
own imitators, as Action fell under his own
dogs. The present author, like Bobadil, had
taught his trick of fence to a hundred gentlemen
(and ladies), who could fence very nearly, or
quite, as well as himself. For this there was no
remedy ; the harmony became tiresome and or-
dinary, and both the original inventor and his
invention must have fallen into contempt, if he
had not found out another road to public favor.
What has been said of the metre only, must be
considered to apply equally to the structure of
the poem and of the style. The very best pas-
sages of any popular style are not, perhaps, sus-
ceptible of any imitation, but they may be ap-
proached by men of talent : and those who are
less able to copy them, at least lay hold of their
peculiar features, so as to produce a burlesque
instead of a serious copy. In either way, the
effect of it is rendered cheap and common ; and,
in the latter case ridiculous to boot. The evil
consequences to an author's reputation are at
least as fatal as those which befall a composer,
when his melody falls into the hands of the street
ballad-singer. Of the unfavorable specimens of
imitation , the author's style gave room to a very
large number, owing to an appearance of facility
on which some of those who used the measure
unquestionably leaned too far."
" The effect of the more favorable imitations,
composed by persons of talent, was almost equal-
ly unfortunate to the original minstrel, by show-
ing that they could overshoot him with his own
bow. In short the popularity which Once at-
tended the school, as it was called, was now fast
decaying. Besides all this, to have kept his
ground at the crisis when Rokeby appeared,
33
its author ought to have put forth his utmost
strength, and to have possessed at least all his
original advantages, for a mighty and unexpect-
ed rival was advancing on the stage — a rival
not in poetical powers only, but in that of at-
tracting popularity, in which the present writer
had preceded better men than himself. The
reader will easily see that Byron is here meant,
who after a little velitation of no great promise,
now appeared as a serious candidate in the
First Canto of Childe Harold. I was astonish-
ed at the power evinced by that work, which
neither the Hours of Idleness, nor the English
Bards and Scotch Revieicers, had prepared me
to expect from its author. There was a depth
in his thought, an eager abundance in his dic-
tion, which argued full confidence in the inex-
haustible resources of which he felt himself
possessed ; and there was some appearance of
that labor of the file, which indicates that the
author is conscious of the necessity of doing
every justice to his work, that it may pass war-
rant. Lord Byron was also a traveller, a man
whose ideas were fired by having seen, in dis-
tant scenes of difficulty and danger, the places
whose very names are recorded in our bosoms
as the shrines of ancient poetry. For his own
misfortune, perhaps, but certainly to the high
increase of his poetical character, nature had
mixed in Lord Byron's system those passions
which agitate the human heart with most vio-
lence, and which may be said to have hurried
his bright career to an early close. There would
have been but little wisdom in measuring my
force with so formidable an antagonist ; and I
was as likely to tire of playing the second fiddle
in the concert, as my audience of hearing me.
Age also was advancing. I was growing in-
sensible to those subjects of excitation of which
youth is agitated. I had around me the most
pleasant but least exciting of all society, that
of kind friends and an affectionate family. My
circle of employments was a narrow one ; it oc-
cupied me constantly , and it became daily more
difficult for me to interest myself in poetical
composition : —
" How happily the days of Thalaba went by ! "
Yet, thouo-h conscious that I must be, in the
opinion ofgood judges, inferior to the place I
had for four or five years held in letters, and
feeling alike that the latter was one to which I
had only a temporary right, I could not brook
the idea of relinquishing literary occupation,
which had been so long my chief employment.
Neither was I disposed to choose the alternative
of sinking into a mere editor and commentator,
3fc=
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though that was a species of labor which I had
practised, and to which I was attached. But I
could not endure to think that I might not,
whether known or concealed, do something of
more importance. My inmost thoughts were
those of the Trojan captain in the galley race :
Non jam prima peto Mnestheus, neque vincere certo :
Quanquam O,— Sed superent, quibus hoc, Neptune, de-
disti :
Extremos pudeat rediisse : hoc vincite, cives,
Et prohibete nefas."
" Waverly, or ' Tis Sixty Years Since," a
novel published in 1814, established the reputa-
tion of the author, and was followed in rapid
succession by many others. The authorship
was acknowledged by Sir Walter Scott, at a
public dinner in 1827. These Waverly novels
exhibit a profound knowledge of human nature,
an intimate acquaintance with history, national
traditions, and manners, and a most surprising
versatility. Ivanhoe, which appeared in 1820,
without being the most finished of his works,
presents the learning and powers of its author
in a striking light.
Never were the long gathered stores of most
extensive erudition applied to the purposes of
imaginative genius with so much easy, lavish,
and luxurious power — never was the illusion
of fancy so complete — made up of so many min-
ute elements, — and yet producing such entire-
ness of effect. It is as if the veil of ages had
been, in truth, swept back, and we ourselves
had been, for a time, living, breathing, and mov-
ing in the days of Coeur de Lion — days how dif-
ferent from our own! the hot, tempestuous,
chivalrous, passionate, fierce youth of Christen-
dom. Every line in the picture is true to the
life— every thing in the words, in the gesture—
every thing in the very faces of the personages
called up before us, speaks of times of energetic
volition — uncontrolled action— disturbance
tumult — the storms and whirlwinds of restless
souls and ungoverned passions. It seems as if
the atmosphere around them were all alive with
the breath of trumpets, and the neighing of
chargers, and the echo of war-cries. And'yet,
with a true and beautiful skilfulness, the author,
has rested the main interest of his story, not upon
these fiery externals, in themselves so full of
attraction, and every way so characteristic of
the age to which the story refers, but on the
workings of that most poetical of passions which
is ever deepest where it is most calm, quiet, and
delicate, and which, less than any other is chang-
ed, even in its modes of manifestation, in con-
formity with the changes of time, manners, and
circumstances. For the true interest of this
romance of the days of Richard is placed nei-
ther in Richard himself, nor in the Knight of
Ivanhoe, the nominal hero, — nor in any of the
haughty Templars or barons who occupy along
with them, the front of the scene, but in the still,
devoted, sad, and unrequited tenderness of a
Jewish damsel— by far the most fine, and at the
same time most romantic creation of female
character the author has ever formed — and se-
cond, we suspect, to none that is to be found in
the whole annals of poetry and romance.
Besides writing his novels, Sir Walter Scott
edited various works, and produced some vol-
umes of history, and a life of Napoleon Bona-
parte, to which, however, his party prejudices
and hurried composition prevented him from
doing justice. The failure of his bookseller, an
unforeseen misfortune, darkened the close of Sir
Walter's life by pecuniary embarrassment. His
health suffered by the assiduity with which he
labored to relieve his fortunes. Shocks of paraly-
sis warned him of his approaching fate, and, after
having travelled without benefit to his health,
this truly great and good man died at his seat at
Abbotsford, in the year 1832.
Sir Walter Scott was beloved by all who
knew him, for, in private life, he had none of
that affectation of eccentricity and haughtiness,
which disfigures so many men of superior ge-
nius. He was ever a welcome visiter in the
dwellings of the poor and old, and in many of his
lonely wanderings acquired that traditional in-
formation which he reproduced in his immortal
works. An old woman, it is said, with whom
Sir Walter was intimate, having recognised
some of her own lore in one of his earlier ro-
mances, charged him with being the author.
When Sir Walter denied the fact, the old lady
exclaimed : " I'm no daft ! Do ye think 1 dinna
ken by ain kail, amang ither folks broth ? "
Hogg, the poet, the friend of Sir Walter Scott,
relates the following anecdote, illustrative of
his benevolence. Although so shy of his name
and literary assistance, which, indeed, he would
not grant to any one, on any account, save to
Lockhart, yet to poor men of literary merit his
purse strings were always open, and as far as it
was in his power to assist them. I actually
knew several unsuccessful authors who depend-
ed on his bounty for their daily bread. And
then there was a delicacy in his way of doing it
which was quite admirable. He gave them some
old papers or old ballads to copy for him, pre-
tending to be greatly interested in them, for
which he sent them a supply every week, mak-
ing them believe that they were reaping the
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genuine fruit of their own labors. There was one
day, when I was chatting with Ballantyne in
his office, where I was generally a daily visiter,
as well as my illustrious friend, I chanced to
say, that I never in my life, knew a man like
Scott, for I knew to a certainty he was at that
time feeling himself a successful author, lend-
ing pecuniary assistance to unsuccessful ones,
and the best thing of all, he never let his left
hand know what his right hand was doing. Bal-
lantyne's face glowed with delight, and the tear
stood in his eye. " You were never more right
in your life," said he, "yot» never were more
right in your life ! and I am glad that you know
and so duly appreciate the merits of our noble,
our invaluable friend. Look here," and with that
he turned up his day-book, and added, "some
word, it seems, had reached Scott, that Maturin,
the Irish poet, was lying in prison for a small
debt, and here have I, by Mr. Scott's orders,
been obliged to transmit him a bill of exchange
for sixty pounds, and Maturin is never to know
from whom or whence it came." I have said
it oft, and now say it again for the last time,
that those who knew Scott only from the few
hundreds or, I might say, hundreds of thousands
of volumes to which he has given birth and cir-
culation through the world, knew only one half
of the man, and that not the best half either.
As a friend, he was sometimes stern, but always
candid and sincere, and I always found his coun-
sels of the highest value, if I could have follow-
ed them.
SCYTHIANS, inhabitants of the southern
parts of Siberia, north-east of the Caspian Sea,
whose tribes have in different ages overrun Asia
and Europe. According to the chronicles of
Eri, there existed a race of Scythian monarchs
during 1011 years; after which they moved
southward, and occupied Mesopotamia, till then
inhabited by an Arab race 293 years, and then
extended their conquests over all nations, main-
taining their dominion 1809 years, when their
empire was divided by Assyrians from the east,
who overran Media, Parthia, and Bactria like a
mighty flood, about the epoch of the Hebrew
deluge, led by Bel, who founded Babylon and the
Assyrian empire on the ruins of the Scythian.
The same chronicles, — describe Noah as a
Scythian chief, who fled to Armenia after his
defeat ; and Bel, as the Nimrod of the Hebrews.
The empire of the Scythians, by these chroni-
cles, extended from the Indus, where they were
called Indo-Scythians, to the confines of Europe,
where they were called Celto-Scythians : the
Scythians Arabs, and Egyptians, being the most
powerful known nations, till the former were lost
in the Assyrians; or, according to the Hebrew
historians, the people of Ashur. By the same
authority we learn, that about 2000, B. C, the
Scythians overran Thrace and Greece, founding
the kingdoms of Sicyon, Argos, Athens, Co-
rinth, and Thebes ; their original irruption into
Thessaly giving rise to the fable of the flood of
Deucalien.
According to Mr. O'Connor, the chief of the
Scythians who conducted the first Tolony into
Thrace, was Japan, or Oavan, the son of Jaforth,
the son of Ardfier, the same as the Hebrew No-
ah, who, according to him, was the last supreme
chief of the Scythian empire ; this Japan left
Armenia in the second year of the reign of his
brother Og, with a colony called the Og-eageis ;
while another colony landed in the south from
Egypt, built Athens, &c, and were called Pelas-
goi. Cadmus, a Phoenician, afterwards brought
a colony of Sidonian Scythians, and settled in
Bceotia, about 1000 B. C. The Pelasgoi settled
in Italv, and Saturn conducted another colony
from Crete, to which country Evander emi-
grated in 940, and ^Eneas, from Troy, in 883.
Hence Greece was of Scythian origin, and Italy
was peopled with their descendants.
Scythes, who is the first king of this nation
mentioned in history, is fabled by the Greeks
to have been the offspring of Hercules and a
monster. Sagillus is said to have sent his son
Panasagorus, to assist the Amazons against
Theseus, king of Athens ; but the heroines in-
spiring the prince with disgust, he left them to
the mercy of their enemies, by whom they were
defeated. Maydes was a warlike prince, under
whose conduct the Scythians invaded Media,
and held the greater part of Upper Asia in sub-
jection for the space of twenty-eight years.
They also made an incursion into the land of
the Philistines, and thence marched into Egypt ;
but Psammeticus, king of that country, prevail-
ed on them to return, and thus saved his domin-
ions from plunder and desolation.
Tomyris was a Scythian heroine, whom Cy-
rus the Great demanded in marriage ; but she
refusing him, that prince led his army against
the Massagetes, who were under her dominion,
and lost his life. Jancyrus was a haughty and
magnanimous prince, who, when the Persian
heralds demanded of him earth and water, sent
to Darius a bird, a mouse, a frog, and five ar-
rows, without any farther reply.
The Persian monarch immediately supposed
that this present was sent in token of submis-
sion : but Gobrias, who knew the Scythians bet-
SEB
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ter than his master, interpreted it to denote, that
the Persians must not expect to elude the effects
of Scythian valor, unless they could fly like
birds, plunge under water like frogs, or bury
themselves in the earth like mice.
This explanation was soon justified, and the
Scythians obtained a signal victory over the
Persian army. Saulius is said to have killed
Anacharsis, a prince of the blood, for presuming
to introduce the nocturnal rites of the mother of
the gods into Scythia. Aripithes had a numer-
ous progeny, and in particular a son named Scy-
thes, whose mother had caused him to be in-
structed in all the Grecian customs.
When Scythes, therefore, ascended the throne,
he appeared to possess so great a predilection
for the effeminate luxuries of the Greeks, that
his subjects, irritated at this preference, dethron-
ed him, and elected his brother Octamasades
king in his stead. Ariantes is said to have or-
dered all his soldiers to appear before him, and
every one to throw the tip of an arrow into a
common heap, which amounted to so great a
bulk, that he caused it to be melted down and
cast into a large vessel, as a monument of the
transaction. Atheas obtained from Philip, king
of Macedon, considerable succor against an in-
vasion with which he was threatened ; and when
the enemy, terrified by the preparations of Phil-
ip, desisted from their design, he pretended that
he owed him no recompense, because a war had
not taken place. In consequence of this, an ob-
stinate battle ensued, in which the Scythians
were vanquished, and twenty thousand women
and children were made prisoners.
SEBASTIAN, Don, king of Portugal, the son
of John II, was born in 1554. He succeeded John
III, and was a man of great zeal for religion, and
of extraordinary courage, which inspired him
with the design of making an expedition into
Africa against the Moors in 1574. Taking with
him the principal nobility and gentry of Portu-
gal, he landed at Tangier on the 9th of July,
1578, and gave battle to Abdemelech at Alcacer,
the 4th of August the same year, where his army
was defeated. Abdemelech, who was sick, died
in a litter, Mahomet perished in a bog, and the
report was, that Sebastian himself was killed
there in the 25th year of his age. Notwithstand-
ing this, in 1598, a man at Venice declared him-
self to be king Sebastian ; he resembled him so
exactly in face, stature, and voice, that the Por-
tuguese that were in that city, and amongst them
one of his servants, owned him for their king.
Some days after he was seized, and conveyed
before judges, before whom he always maintain-
ed himself to be king Sebastian ; he told them
that the Moors who took him prisoner did not
know him to be the king ; that the sorrow and
repentance which seized him for having so rash-
ly undertaken that expedition, had nearly caus-
ed his death ; and that now after having suffered
in a strange country, he came to re-demand the
crown. He showed upon his body the same
marks which several had seen formerly on the
body of the king of Portugal, and discovered to
the Venetians some secrets they had formerly
proposed to him by their ambassadors, to prove
he was king Sebastian. The Spaniards, who
had upon the report of his death invaded the
crown of Portugal, treated him as a madman and
imposter, and obliged the Venetians to expel
him from their dominions ; he was seized again
in Tuscany, and brought to Naples, where they
set him upon an ass, and led him through all
the streetsof the city, exposing him to the abuses
of the rabble. Some time after they shaved his
head, and placed him to row like a slave in a
galley ; and afterwards being brought to Spain,
he died in a prison, at the same time that the
Portuguese, abhorring and detesting these bar-
barous dealings of the Spaniards, wished to have
him whom they knew to be their king, restored
to them.
SEBASTIAN, St., a considerable town of the
north-east of Spain, containing 12,000 inhabi-
tants. It has been repeatedly taken by the
French ; it fell into their hands in the short war
of 1719 ; in the revolutionary contest of 1794 ;
and in Bonaparte's invasion in 1808. On the
last occasion it remained five years in their pos-
session, and when the victory of Vittoria, by
the British, (21st June, 1813) opened a prospect
of its recapture, the French had time to throw
into it a garrison capable of making a very ob-
stinate defence. An attempt on the part of the
British, to take it by assault, on the 25th of
July, was repulsed with heavy loss. It became
necessary to make approaches with great cau-
tion, and even to incur a severe sacrifice of lives
in the final attack, on the 31st of August, when
it fell into the hands of the British.
SEJANUS, the favorite of Tiberius a native
of Vulsinum in Tuscany, who distinguished
himself in the court of Tiberius. His father's
name was Servius Strabo, a Roman knight, com-
mander of the praetorian guards. His mother
was descended from the Junian family. Seja-
nus first gained the favor of Caius Caesar, the
grandson of Augustus, but afterwards he attach-
ed himself to the interest and the views of Ti-
berius, who then sat on the imperial throne.
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The emperor, who was naturally of a suspicious
temper, was free and open with Sejanus, and
while he distrusted others, he communicated
his greatest secrets to this fawning favorite.
As commander of the praetorian guards, he
was the second man in Rome, and in that im-
portant office he made use of insinuation, and
every mean artifice to make himself beloved
and revered. His affability and condescension
gained him the hearts of the common soldiers,
and by appointing his own favorites and adhe-
rents to places of trust and honor, all the officers
and centurions of the army became devoted to
his interest. The views of Sejanus in this were
well known ; yet to advance them with more
success, he attempted to gain the affections of
the senators. In this he met with no opposi-
tion.
A man who has the disposal of places of hon-
or and dignity, and who has the command of
the public money, cannot but be the favorite of
those who are in need of his assistance. It is
even said, that Sejanus gained to his views all
the wives of the senators, by a private and most
secret promise of marriage to each of them,
whenever he had made himself independent and
sovereign of Rome. Yet, however successful
with the best and noblest families in the empire,
Sejanus had to combat numbers in the house of
the emperor ; but these seeming obstacles were
soon removed.
All the children and grandchildren cf Tiberius
were sacrificed to the ambition of the favorite
under various pretences ; and Drusus the son of
the emperor, by striking Sejanus, made his de-
struction sure and inevitable. Li via, the wife
of Drusus, was gained by Sejanus, and though
mother of many children, she was prevailed
upon to assist her adulterer in the murder of her
husband, and she consented to marry him when
Drusus was dead. No sooner was Drusus poi-
soned, than Sejanus openly declared his wish to
marry Livia. This was strongly opposed by
Tiberius ; and the emperor, by recommending
Germanicus to the senators for his successor,
rendered Sejanus bold and determined.
He was more urgent in his demands ; and
when he could not gain the consent of the em-
peror, he persuaded him to retire to solitude from
the noise of Rome and the troubles of the gov-
ernment. Tiberius, naturally fond of ease and
luxury, yielded to his representations, and retir-
ed to Campania, leaving Sejanus at the head of
the empire. This was highly gratifying to the
favorite, and he was now without a master. Pru-
dence and moderation might have made him
what he wished to be ; but Sejanus offended the
whole empire when he declared that he was em-
peror of Rome, and Tiberius only the dependent
prince of the island of Caprese, where he had
retired.
Tiberius was, upon this, fully convinced of
the designs of Sejanus ; and when he had been
informed that his favorite had had the meanness
and audacity to ridicule him, by introducing
him on the stage, the emperor ordered him to be
accused before the senate. Sejanus was deserted
by all his pretended friends, as soon as by for-
tune ; and the man who aspired to the empire,
and who called himself the favorite of the peo-
ple, the darling of the praetorian guards, and the
companion of Tiberius, was seized without re-
sistance, and the same day strangled in prison,
A. D. 31.
SELEUCUS I, one of the captains of Alex-
ander the Great, surnamed Nicator, or Victori-
ous, was son of Antiochus. After the king's
death he received Babylon as his province ; but
his ambitious views, and his attempt to destroy
Eumenes as he passed through his territories,
rendered him so unpopular, that he fled for
safety to the court of his friend Ptolemy, king
of Egypt. He was soon after enabled to recov-
er Babylon, which Antigonus had seized in his
absence, and he increased his dominions by the
immediate conquest of Media, and some of the
neighboring provinces. When he had strength-
ened himself in his empire, Seleucus imitated
the example of the rest of the generals of Alex-
ander, and assumed the title of independent
monarch. He afterwards made war against
Antigonus, with the united forces of Ptolemy,
Cassander, and Lysimachus ; and after this
monarch had been conquered and slain, his ter-
ritories were divided among his victorious ene-
mies.
When Seleucus became master of Syria, he
built a city there, which he called Antioch, in
honor of his father, and made it the capital of
his dominions. He also made war against De-
metrius and Lysimachus, though he had origi-
nally married Stratonice, the daughter of the
former, and had lived in the closest friendship
with the latter. Seleucus was at last murdered
by one of his servants called Ptolemy Ceraunus,
a man on whom he had bestowed the greatest
favors, and whom he had distinguished by acts
of the most unbounded confidence.
According to Arrian, Seleucus was the great-
est and most powerful of the princes who in-
herited the Macedonian empire after the death
of Alexander. His benevolence has been com-
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mended ; and it has been observed, that he con-
quered not to enslave nations, but to make them
more happy, lie founded no less than thirty-
four cities in different parts of his empire, which
he peopled with Greek colonies, whose national
industry, learning, religion, and spirit, were
communicated to the indolent and luxurious
inhabitants of Asia.
Seleucus was a great benefactor to the Greeks ;
he restored to the Athenians the library and
statues which Xerxes had carried away from their
city when he invaded Greece, and among the
latter were those of Harmodius and Aristogiton.
Seleucus was murdered 280 years before the
Christian era, in the 32d year of his reign, and
the 78th, or according to others, the 73d year
of his age, as he was going to conquer Macedo-
nia, where he intended to finish his days in
peace and tranquillity in that province where
he was born.
SELEUCUS II, surnamed Callinicus, suc-
ceeded his father Antiochus Theus on the throne
of Syria. He attempted to make war against
Ptolemy, king of Egypt, but his fleet was ship-
wrecked in a violent storm, and his armies soon
after conquered by his enemy. He was at last
taken prisoner by Arsaces, an officer who made
himself powerful by the dissensions which
reigned in the house of the Seleucidae, between
the two brothers, Seleucus and Antiochus ; and
after he had been a prisoner for some time in
Parthia, he died of a fall from his horse, B. C.
226, after a reign of 20 years. Seleucus re-
ceived the surname of Pogon, from his long
beard, and that of Callinicus, ironically to ex-
press his very unfortunate reign. He mar-
ried Laodice, the sister of one of his generals,
by whom he had two sons, Seleucus and Anti-
ochus, and a daughter whom he gave in mar-
riage to Mithridates, king of Pontus.
SELEUCUS III, succeeded his father Seleu-
cus II, on the throne of Syria, and received the
surname of Ceraunus, by antiphrasis, as he was
a very weak, timid, and irresolute monarch. He
was murdered by two of his officers after a
reign of three years, B. C. 223, and his brother
Antiochus, though only 15 years old, ascended
the throne, and rendered himself so celebrated
that he acquired the name of the Great.
SELEUCUS IV, succeeded his father Antio-
chus the Great, on the throne of Syria. He
was surnamed Philopater, or, according to Jo-
sephus, Soter. His empire had been weakened
by the Romans when he became monarch, and
the yearly tribute of a thousand talents to those
victorious enemies, concurred in lessening his
power and consequence among nations. Seleu-
cus was poisoned after a reign of 12 years, B. C.
175. His son Demetrius had been sent to Rom°,
there to receive his education, and he became a
prince of great abilities.
SELEUCUS V, succeeded his father Deme-
trius Nicator, on the throne of Syria, in the 20th
year of his age. He was put to death in the
first year of his reign by Cleopatra his mother,
who had also sacrificed her husband to her am-
bition. He is not reckoned by many historians
in the number of the Syrian monarchs.
SELEUCUS VI, one of the Seleucidas, son
of Antiochus Gryphus, killed his uncle Antio-
chus Cyzicenus, who wished to obtain the crown ,
of Syria. He was some time after banished
from his kingdom by Antiochus Pius, son of
Cyzicenus, and fled to Cilicia, where he was
burnt in a palace by the inhabitants, B. C. 93.
SELEUCUS, a prince of Syria, to whom the
Egyptians offered the crown of which they had
robbed Auletes. Seleucus accepted it, but he
soon disgusted his subjects, and received the
surname of Cybiosactes, or Scullion, for his
meanness and avarice. He was at last murdered
by Berenice, whom he had married.
SELEUCIA, a city in Mesopotamia, upon
the river Tigris, built by king Seleucus Nica-
nor, supposed to be Bagdad. There is also
another Seleucia surnamed Pieria, and called
by the Turks Kepse, near the mouth of the
river Orontes. Besides these, there is yet
another Seleucia, a city of Pisidia, upon the
borders of Pamphylia, situated between Antioch
on the north, and the city of Pamphylia on the
south. Also another city called Seleucia, or
rather Seleucos, situated in Syria, upon the riv-
er Belus, near Apamea, built also by the king
Seleucus.
SEMIRAMIS, a celebrated queen of Assyria.
Semiramis, when grown up, married Menones,
the governor of Nineveh, and accompanied him
to the siege of Bactria, where by her advice and
prudent directions, she hastened the king's
operations and took the city. These eminent
services, but chiefly her uncommon beauty, en-
deared her to Ninus. The monarch asked her
of her husband, and offered him instead his
daughter Sosana ; but Menones, who tenderly
loved Semiramis, refused, and when Ninus had
added threats to intreaties, he hung himself.
No sooner was Menones dead, than Semiramis,
who was of an aspiring soul, married Ninus, by
whom she had a son called Ninyas.
Ninus was so fond of Semiramis, that at her
request he resigned the crown to her, and com-
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manded her to be proclaimed queen and sole
empress of Assyria. Of this, however, he had
cause to repent ; Semiramis put him to death,
the better to establish herself on the throne, and
when she had no enemies to fear at home, she
began to repair the capital of her empire, and by
her means Babylon became the most superb and
magnificent city in the world. She visited
every part of her dominions, and left every
where immortal monuments of her greatness
and benevolence.
To render the roads passable and communi-
cation easy, she hollowed mountains and filled
up valleys ; and water was conveyed at a great
expense, by large and convenient aqueducts, to
barren deserts and unfruitful plains. She was
not less distinguished as a warrior ; many of
the neighboring nations were conquered ; and
when Semiramis was once told, as she was
dressing her hair, that Babylon had revolt-
ed, she left her toilet with precipitation, and
though only half dressed, she refused to have
the rest of her head adorned before the sedition
was quelled, and tranquillity re-established.
Semiramis has been accused of licentiousness,
and modern authors have drawn a parallel be-
tween her and Catharine of Russia, there being
a great resemblance between them in the princi-
pal events of their lives, their masculine talents,
and private immorality of conduct. The reign
of Semiramis was at last terminated by a con-
spiracy of her own son Ninyas, who is said to
have put her to death with his own hand. Her
fame was very great throughout the East. Af-
ter her death she received immortal honors in
Assyria. It is supposed that she lived about
1965 years before the Christian era, and that
she died in the sixty-second year of her age,
and the twenty-fifth of her reign.
SENATE, (see Rome.)
SENECA, M. Annaeus, a native of Corduba
in Spain, who married Helvia, a woman of
Spain, by whom he had three sons, Seneca the
philosopher, Annaeus Novatus, and Annaeus
Mela, the father of the poet Lucan. Seneca
made himself known by some declamations, of
which he made a collection from the most cele-
brated orators of the age ; and from that cir-
cumstance, and for distinction, he obtained the
appellation of declamator. He left Corduba,
and went to Rome, where he became a Roman
knight.
His son L. Annaeus Seneca, who was born
about six years after Christ, was early distin-
guished by his extraordinary talents. He was
taught eloquence by his father, and received
lessons in philosophy from the best and most
celebrated stoics of the age. As one of the
followers of the Pythagorean doctrines, Seneca
observed the utmost abstinence, and in his meals
never ate the flesh of animals ; but this he aban-
doned at the representation of his father, when
Tiberius threatened to punish some Jews and
Egyptians who abstained from certain meats.
In the character of a pleader, Seneca appear-
ed with great advantage ; but the fear of Cali-
gula, who aspired to the name of an eloquent
speaker, and who consequently was jealous of
his fame, deterred him from pursuing his fa-
vorite study, and he sought a safer employment
in canvassing for the honors and offices of the
state. He was made quaestor, but the asper-
sions which were thrown upon him on account
of a shameful amour with Julia Livilla, removed
him from Rome, and the emperor banished him
for some time into Corsica. During his banish-
ment, the philosopher wrote some spirited epis-
tles to his mother, remarkable for elegance of
language and for sublimity ; but he soon forgot
his philosophy, and disgraced himself by his
flatteries to the emperor, and in wishing to be
recalled, even at the expense of his innocence
and character.
The disgrace of Messalina at Rome, and the
marriage of Agrippina with Claudius proved
favorable to Seneca ; and after he had remained
five years in Corsica, he was recalled by the
empress to take care of the education of her son
Nero, who was destined to succeed to the em-
pire. In the honorable duty of preceptor, Sen-
eca gained applause ; and as long as Nero fol-
lowed his advice, Rome enjoyed tranquillity,
and believed herself safe and happy under the
administration of the son of Agrippina.
In the corrupt age of Nero, the preceptor had
to withstand the clamors of many wicked and
profligate ministers ; and if he had been the fa-
vorite of the emperor, and shared his pleasures,
his debauchery, and extravagance, Nero would
not perhaps have been so anxious to destroy a
man whose example, from vicious inclinations,
he could not follow, and whose salutary pre-
cepts his licentious associates forbade him to
obey. Seneca was too well acquainted with
the natural disposition of Nero to think himself
secure ; he had been accused of having amassed
the most ample riches, and of having built
sumptuous houses, and adorned beautiful gar-
dens, during the four years in which he had
attended Nero as a preceptor ; and therefore he
desired his imperial pupil to accept of the rich-
es, and the possessions which his attendance on
SEN
520
SER
his person had procured, and to permit him to
retire to solitude and study.
Nero refused, with artful duplicity, and Sen-
eca, to avoid further suspicions, kept himself at
home for some time, as if laboring under a
disease. In the conspiracy of Piso, which hap-
pened some time after, and in which some of
the most noble of the Roman senators were con-
cerned, Seneca's name was mentioned by Nata-
lis ; and Nero, who was glad of an opportunity
of sacrificing him to his secret jealousy, ordered
him to destroy himself. Seneca, very probably,
was not accessory to the conspiracy ; and the
only thing which could be produced against him
as a crimination, was trivial and unsatisfactory.
Piso, as Natalis declared, had complained that
he never saw Seneca, and the philosopher had
observed in answer, that it was not proper or
conducive to their common interest, to see one
another often. He further pleaded indisposi-
tion, and said that his own life depended upon
the safety of Piso's person. Seneca was at ta-
ble with his wife Paulina and two of his friends,
when the messenger from Nero arrived. He
heard the words which commanded him to de-
stroy himself, with philosophical firmness, and
even with joy ; and observed, that such a man-
date might have long been expected from a man
who had murdered his own mother, and assas-
sinated all his friends. He wished to dispose of
his possessions as he pleased, but this was re-
fused ; and when he heard this, he turned to his
friends, who were weeping at his melancholy
fate, and told them, that since he could not leave
them what he believed his own, he would leave
them at least his own life for an example, — an
innocent conduct which they might imitate, and
by which they might acquire immortal fame.
Against their tears and wailings he exclaimed
with firmness, and asked them whether they had
not learnt better to withstand the attacks of for-
tune, and the violence of tyranny ?
As for his wife, he attempted to calm her
emotions ; and when she seemed resolved to die
with him, he said he was glad to find his exam-
ple followed with so much constancy. Their
veins were opened at the same moment ; but
the life of Paulina was preserved, and Nero,
who was partial to her, ordered the blood to be
stopped, and from that moment, according to
some authors, the philosopher's wife seemed to
rejoice that she could still enjoy the comforts
of life.
Seneca's veins bled but slowly ; and it has
been observed, that the sensible and animated
conversation of his dying moments was collect-
ed by his friends, and that it has been preserved
among his works. To hasten his death, he
drank a dose of poison, but it had no effect ; and
therefore he ordered himself to be carried into a
hot bath, to accelerate the operation of the
draught, and to make the blood flow more free-
ly. This was attended with no better success ;
and as the soldiers were clamorous, he was
carried into a stove, and suffocated by the
steam, in the G5th year of the Christian era.
SERINGAPATAM, a celebrated city of the
south of India. In the month of February, 1792,
it was invested by the British and allied armies
under Lord Cornwallis, amounting to 400,000
men. Terrified by such a host, Tippoo Sultan
relinquished half his dominions, and paid three
and a half millions sterling to the conquerors.
Seringapatam was again invested in 1799, by
the British and Nizam's forces, and was stormed
on the 4th of May. By the conquest which
was thus made, it became the property of the
British, and is the residence of a judge, col-
lector, &c.
SERTORIUS, Quintus,aRoman general, son
of Quintus and Rhea, born at Nursia. His first
campaign was under the great Marius, against
the Teutones and Cimbri. He visited the ene-
my's camp as a spy, and had the misfortune to
lose one eye in the first battle he fought. When
Marius and Cinna entered Rome and slaugh-
tered all their enemies, Sertorius accompanied
them, but he expressed his sorrow and concern
at the melancholy death of so many of his coun-
trymen. He afterwards fled for safety into
Spain, when Sylla had proscribed him, and in
this distant province he behaved himself with
so much address and valor that he was looked
upon as the prince of the country.
The Lusitanians universally revered and loved
him, and the Roman general did not show him-
self less attentive to their interest, by establish-
ing public schools, and educating the children
of the country in the polite arts, and the litera-
ture of Greece and Rome. He had established
a senate, over which he presided with consular
authority and the Romans who followed his
standard, paid equal reverence to his person.
They were experimentally convinced of his va-
lor and magnanimity as a general, and the art-
ful manner in which he imposed upon the cre-
dulity of his adherents in the garb of religion,
did not diminish his reputation. The success
of Sertorius in Spain, and his popularity among
the natives, alarmed the Romans.
They sent some troops to oppose him, but
with little success. Four armies were found
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521
SEV
insufficient to crush or even hurt Sertorius ;
and Pompey and Metellus, who never engaged
an enemy without obtaining the victory, were
driven with dishonor from the field. But the
favorite of the Lusitanians was exposed to the
dangers which usually attend greatness.
Perpenna, one of his officers, who was jealous
of his fame and tired of a superior, conspired
against him. At a banquet the conspirators
began to open their intentions by speaking with
freedom and licentiousness in the presence of
Sertorius, whose age and character had hith-
erto claimed deference from others. Perpenna
overturned a glass of wine, as a signal for the
rest of the conspirators, and immediately Anto-
nius. one of his officers, stabbed Sertorius, and
the example was followed by all the rest, 73
years before Christ.
Sertorius has been commended for his love
of justice and moderation. The flattering de-
scription which he heard of the Fortunate Is-
lands when he passed into the west of Africa,
almost tempted him to bid adieu to the world,
and perhaps he would have retired from the
noise of war, and the clamors of envy, to end
his days in the bosom of a peaceful and solitary
island, had not the stronger calls of ambition
and the love of fame prevailed over the intruding
reflections of a moment. It has been observed,
that in his latter days Sertorius became indo-
lent, and fond of luxury and wanton cruelty ;
yet in affability, clemency, complaisance, gen-
erosity, and military valor, he not only surpass-
ed his contemporaries, but the rest of the Ro-
mans.
SERVIA, a province of European Turkey,
containing 19,000 square miles, and 960,000 in-
habitants. It was subjugated by the Turks in
1365. The implacable hatred which the Ser-
vians entertained towards their rulers led to
an insurrection in the year 1801. In December,
1806, Czerni Georges, the Servian chieftain,
besieged Belgrade, took it after an obstinate re-
sistance, and in a great measure expelled the
Turks from the country, which he ruled with
the authority of a sovereign. The forces which
were brought against him, he resisted with va-
rious success until 1814, when he withdrew
into Russia, and by a convention concluded be-
tween his country and the Porte in 1815, the
Servians acknowledged the sovereignty of the
Sultan.
SERVIUS TULLIUS, the sixth king of
Rome, was son of Ocrisia, a slave of Corniculum,
by Tullius, a man slain in the defence of his
country against the Romans. Ocrisia was
given by Tarquin to Tanaquil his wife, and she
brought up her son in the king's family, and
added the name of Servius to that which he had
inherited from his father, to denote his slavery.
Young Servius was educated in the palace of
the monarch with great care, and though orig-
inally a slave, he raised himself to so much
consequence, that Tarquin gave him his daugh-
ter in marriage. His own private merit and
virtues recommended him to notice not less
than the royal favors, and Servius became the
favorite of the people and the darling of the sol-
diers, by his liberality and complaisance, and
was easily raised to the throne on the death of
his father-in-law. Rome had no reason to re-
pent of her choice.
Servius endeared himself still more as a war-
rior and as a legislator. He defeated the Veien-
tes and the Tuscans, and by a proper act of pol-
icy he established the census, which told him
that Rome contained about eighty-four thousand
inhabitants. He increased the number of the
tribes, he beautified and adorned the city, and
enlarged its boundaries by taking within its
walls the hills Quirinalis, Viminalis, and Esqui-
linus.
He also divided the Roman people into tribes,
and that he might not seem to neglect the wor-
ship of the gods, he built several temples to the
goddess of Fortune, to whom he deemed him-
self particularly indebted for obtaining the
kingdom. He also built a temple to Diana on
mount Aventine, and raised himself a palace
on the hill Esquilinus. Servius married his
two daughters to the grand-sons of his father-
in-law ; the elder to Tarquin, and the younger
to Aruns. This union, it might be supposed,
tended to insure the peace of his family ; but if
such were his expectations, he was unhappily
deceived.
The wife of Aruns, naturally fierce and im-
petuous, murdered her own husband to unite
herself to Tarquin, who had likewise assassina-
ted his wife. These bloody measures were no
sooner pursued, than Servius was murdered by
his own son-in-law, and his daughter Tullia
showed herself so destitute of filial gratitude
and piety, that she ordered her chariot to be
driven over the mangled body of her father, B.
C. 534.
SEVERUS, Lucius Septimius, a Roman
emperor, born at Leptis in Africa, of a noble
family. He gradually exercised all the offices
of the state and recommended himself to the
notice of the world by an ambitious mind and
a restless activity, that could, for the gratification
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522
SEV
of avarice, endure the most complicated hard-
ships. After the murder of Pertinax, Severus
resolved to remove Didius Julianus, who had
bought the imperial purple when exposed to
sale by the licentiousness of the praetorians, and
therefore he proclaimed himself emperor on the
borders of Ulyricum, where he was stationed
against the barbarians. To support himself in
this bold measure, he took, as his partner in
the empire, Albinus, who was at the head of
the Roman forces in Britain, and immediately
marched towards Rome to crush Didius and
all his partisans.
He was received, as he advanced through
the country, with universal acclamations, and
Julianus himself was soon deserted by his favo-
rites, and assassinated by his own soldiers. The
reception of Severus at Rome, was sufficient
to gratify his pride ; the streets were strewed
with flowers, and the submissive senate were
ever ready to grant whatever honors or titles
the conqueror claimed. In professing that he
had assumed the purple only to revenge the
death of the virtuous Pertinax, Severus gained
many adherents, and was enabled not only to
disarm, but to banish the praetorians, whose
insolence and avarice were become alarming,
not only to the citizens but to the emperor.
But while he was victorious at Rome, Seve-
rus did not forget that there was another compe-
titor for the imperial purple. Pescennius Niger
was in the east at the head of a powerful army,
and with the name and ensigns of Augustus.
Many obstinate battles were fought between
the troops and officers of the imperial rivals, till
on the plains of Issus, which had been above
five centuries before covered with the blood of
the Persian soldiers of Darius, Niger was totally
ruined by the loss of 20,000 men. The head
of Niger was cut off" and sent to the conqueror,
who punished in a most cruel manner, all the
partisans of his unfortunate rival. Severus
afterwards pillaged Byzantium, which had shut
her gates against him ; and after he had con-
quered several nations in the east, he returned
to Rome, resolved to destroy Albinus, with
whom he had hitherto reluctantly shared the
imperial power. He attempted to assassinate
him by his emissaries ; but when this had failed
of success, Severus had recourse to arms, and
the fate of the empire was again decided on the
plains of Gaul.
Albinus was defeated, and the conqueror was
so elated with the recollection that he had now
no longer a competitor for the purple, that he
insulted the dead body of his rival, and ordered
it to be thrown into the Rhone, after he had
suffered it to putrefy before the door of his tent,
and to be torn to pieces by his dogs. The
family and the adherents of Albinus shared his
fate ; and the return of Severus to the capital
exhibited the bloody triumphs of Marius and
Sylla. The richest of the citizens were sacri-
ficed, and their money became the property of
the emperor. The wicked Commodus received
divine honors, and his murderers were punished
in the most wanton mariner.
Tired of the inactive life which he led in
Rome, Severus marched into the east, with his
two sons Caracalla and Geta, and with uncom-
mon success made himself master of Seleucia,
Babylon, and Ctesiphon ; and advanced without
opposition, far into the Parthian territories.
From Parthia, the emperor marched towards
the more southern provinces of Asia ; he entered
Alexandria, and after he had granted a senate
to that celebrated city, viewed with the most
criticising and inquisitive curiosity, the monu-
ments and ruins of Egypt. The revolt of Bri-
tain recalled him from the east. After he had
reduced it under his power, he built a wall
across the northern part of the island, to defend
it against the frequent invasions of the Caledo-
nians. Hitherto successful against his enemies,
Severus now found the peace of his family dis-
turbed. Caracalla attempted to murder his
father as he was concluding a treaty of peace
with the Britons ; and the emperor was so shock-
ed at the undutifulness of his son, that on his
return home he called him into his presence,
and after he had upbraided him for his ingrati-
tude and perfidy, he offered him a drawn sword,
adding, " If you are so ambitious of reigning
alone, now imbrue your hands in the blood of
your father, and let not the eyes of the world
be witnesses of your want of filial tenderness/'
If these words checked Caracalla, yet he did
not show himself concerned, and Severus, worn
out with infirmities, which the gout and the
uneasiness of his mind increased, soon after
died, exclaiming he had been every thing man
could wish, but that he was then nothing.
Some say that he wished to poison himself,
but that when this was denied, he eat to great
excess, and soon after expired at York, in the
21 1th year of the Christian era, in the 06th year
of his a,gc, after a reign of seventeen years,
eight mouths, and three days. Severus has
been so much admired for his military talents,
that some have called him the most warlike of
the Roman emperors.
As a monarch, he was cruel, and it has been
SEV
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SFO
observed that he never did an act of humanity,
or forgave a fault. In his diet he was tempe-
rate, and he always showed himself an open
enemy to pomp and splendor. He loved the
appellation of a man of letters, and he even
composed a history of his own reign, which
some have praised for its correctness and verac-
ity. However cruel Severus may appear in
his punishments and in his revenge, many have
endeavored to exculpate him, and observed that
there was need of severity in an empire whose
morals were so corrupt. Of him, as of Augus-
tus, some were found to say, that it would have
been better for the world if he had never been
born, or had never died.
SEVERUS, Alexander Marcus Aurelius, a
native of Phoenicia, adopted by Heliogabalus.
His father's name was Genesius Marcianus,
and his mother's Julia JYIammcea, and he receiv-
ed the surname of Alexander, because he was
born in a temple sacred to Alexander the Great.
He was carefully educated, and his mother, by
paying particular attention to his morals and
the character of his preceptors, preserved him
from the vices and licentiousness of youth. At
the death of Heliogabalus, who had been jealous
of his virtues, Alexander, though only in the
14th year of his age, was proclaimed emperor,
and his nomination was approved by the uni-
versal shouts of the army, and the congratula-
tions of the senate. He had not long been on
the throne before the peace of the empire was
disturbed by the incursions of the Persians.
Alexander marched into the east without delay,
and soon obtained a decisive victory over the
barbarians.
At his return to Rome, he was honored with
a triumph, but the revolt of the Germans soon
after called him away from the indolence of the
capital. His expedition in Germany was at-
tended with some success, but the virtues and
the amiable qualities of Alexander, were forgot-
ten in the stern strictness of the disciplinarian.
His soldiers, fond of repose, murmured against
his severity ; their clamors were fomented by
the artifice of Maximinus, and Alexander was
murdered in his tent, in the midst of his camp,
after a reign of thirteen years and nine days,
on the 18th of March, A. D. 235. His mother
Mammasa, shared his fate with all his friends ;
but this was no sooner known than the soldiers
punished with immediate death, all such as had
been concerned in the murder, except Maxi-
minus.
SEVILLE, SEVILLA, anciently Hispalis,
i a city of Spain, in Andalusia, on the Guadal-
quivir, capital of a province of the same name,
containing 94,000 inhabitants. It is built in
the Moorish style. It opened its gates to the
Moors, in 711, and continued in their possession
more than five centuries. It was taken by the
Christians in 1247, after one of the most obsti-
nate sieges mentioned in Spanish history. In
1729, a treaty was concluded here between
Spain, England, France, and Holland. On the
invasion of Spain by Bonaparte, in 1808, Sev-
ille asserted the national independence, and re-
ceived the junta when driven from Madrid. It
surrendered, however, to the French, on the
1st February, 1810, and remained in their hands
till 27th of August, 18J2, when they were com-
pelled to leave it in consequence, not of insur-
rection on the part of the inhabitants, but of the
general evacuation of the south of Spain, con-
sequent on their defeat at Salamanca.
SEYMOUR Edward, duke of Somerset, was
the eldest son of Sir John Seymour, by Eliza-
beth, daughter of Sir Henry Wentworth. In
1533, he accompanied the duke of Suffolk to
France, and was knighted the same year. In
1544, he was appointed lieutenant-general of the
north, and commanded an expedition against
the Scots. The same year he was at the siege
of Boulogne, where he defeated the French,
who lay encamped before the place. By the
king's will, he was nominated one of his exec-
utors and governor of his son ; but Seymour
soon after was declared protector of the king-
dom. In 1548 he was appointed lord treasurer,
created duke of Somerset, and made earl mar-
shal of England. The same year he marched
into Scotland, and gained the victory of Mus-
selburgh ; but though this raised his reputation,
his fate was now fast approaching, to which
the execution of his brother, the admiral, greatly
contributed. His greatest enemy was the earl
of Warwick, and though a marriage had been
effected between their children, yet when that
nobleman became duke of Northumberland, he
accused Seymour of treason, and the latter was
executed on Tower-hill, Jan. 22, 1552.
SFORZA, James, called the Great, was bora
of mean parents, at Cotignola, in 1369. He
entered the army as a common soldier, and by
his good conduct rose to the rank of general,
and afterwards was made constable of the king-
dom of Naples. Pope John XXI II also ap-
pointed him gonfalineer of the church, and
created him a count. He compelled Alphonso
of Arragon to raise the siege of Naples; but in
pursuing the flying enemy, he fell into the
river near Pescara, and was drowned, in 1424.
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His natural son, Francis Sforza, commanded
with distinction in the service of Naples ; after
which he married the daughter of the duke of
Milan, on whose death he was chosen general
of the duchy ; but abused that trust, and usurped
the sovereignty. He also made himself master
of Genoa, and died in 1466.
SHAKSPEARE, William, the greatest dra-
matic poet that ever lived, was born at Stratford-
upon-Avon, a market-town of Warwickshire,
England, in 1564. His father was a dealer in
wool. He was the youngest of eight children,
and received but a common school education.
He knew little Latin and less Greek, but pos-
sessed some acquaintance with French and
Italian. In his eighteenth year he married
Anne Hathaway, who bore him several children.
He came to London and became an actor and
author, and was patronised by the earl of South-
ampton and queen Elizabeth, who properly ap-
preciated his merits. He finally became pro-
prietor and manager of the Globe Theatre in
Southwark, and retired on a small fortune. The
date of his death is unknown. Aubrey calls
him " a handsome, well-shaped man, verie good
company, and of a verie pleasant, reddie, and
smooth witt."
SHEFFIELD, John, duke of Buckingham-
shire, was the son of Edward, earl of Mulgrave,
and born in 1649. At the age of seventeen he
served in the fleet, and afterwards had the com-
mand of a troop of horse. In 1680, being then
lord Mulgrave, he was sent to the relief of Tan-
gier, which service he accomplished. He com-
plied very much with the measures of James
II, and yet concurred in the Revolution, for
which he was created marquis of Normanby,
and 'duke of Buckinghamshire. He died in
1720, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
SHELBY, Isaac, was born Dec. 11, 1750,
near Hagerstown, Maryland. In 1776 he com-
manded a company raised by the committee of
safety of Virginia, and marched against the
hostile Indians. After the conclusion of the
revolutionary war, throughout which he be-
haved with courage, he settled in Kentucky,
of which he was chosen governer in 1792. In
1813 he emerged from private life and joined
Gen. Harrison, on the frontier of Ohio with
4000 men. He died of apoplexy, July 18, 1826.
SHERIDAN, Richard Brinsley, a celebrated
wit, author, and statesman, was the son of
Thomas Sheridan, and was born in Dublin, Oct
30, 1751. Having quitted the Dublin school, he
was placed at Harrow, which he left in his
eighteenth year. While yet at school his wit
and humor began to appear. At an early age
he married Miss Linley, a beautiful young lady,
who, at the concerts and theatre of Bath, at-
tracted universal admiration. He did not obtain
her without difficulty, for he was forced to fight
two duels with a Captain Matthews, which
stand unequalled in the history of single com-
bats for ferocity and determination. In 1775
his comedy of the Rivals was produced with
success at Covent Garden Theatre. Although
this comedy has not the wit of the School for
Scandal, it always elicits rapturous applause.
In 1780 Mr. Sheridan was returned to parlia-
ment for Stafford, and soon became distinguish-
ed as a powerful speaker on the side of the
opposition. When the Rockingham party came
into power, he was made one of the under sec-
retaries; and, in the coalition administration,
was appointed to the Treasury. That post,
however, he did not hold long, and during the
whole of Mr. Pitt's ascendency, the talents of
Sheridan were displayed in combatting that
statesman. On the trial of Mr. Hastings he
acted a prominent part, and his eloquence had
an electrifying effect upon his auditors.
On the conclusion of Mr. Sheridan's speech
on the Begum charge, on the impeachment of
Mr. Hastings, the whole assembly, members,
peers, and strangers, involuntarily joined in a
tumult of applause, and adopted a mode of ex-
pressing their approbation new and irregular in
Westminster hall, by loudly and repeatedly
clapping their hands. A motion was immedi-
ately made and carried for an adjournment, that
the members, who were in a state of delirious
insensibility, from the talismanic influence of
such powerful eloquence, might have time to
collect their scattered senses for the exercise
of a sober judgment. The motion was made by
Mr. Pitt, who declared that this speech ': sur-
passed all the eloquence of ancient and modern
times, and possessed every thing that genius or
art could furnish, to agitate and control the
human mind."
" He has this day," said Mr. Burke, " sur-
prised the thousands who hung with raptiire on
his accents, by such an array of talents, such
an exhibition of capacity, such a display of
powers, as are unparalleled in the annals of
oratory ! a display that reflects the highest honor
upon himself — a lustre upon letters — renown
upon parliament — glory upon the country. Of
all species of rhetoric, of every kind of elo-
quence that has been witnessed or recorded,
either in ancient or modern times : whatever
the acuteness of the bar, the dignity of the
SHE
525
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senate, the solidity of the judgment seat, and
the sacred morality of the pulpit, have hitherto
furnished, nothing has surpassed, nothing has
equalled what we have this day heard in West-
minster-hall. No holy seer of religion, no
statesman, no orator, no man of any literary
description whatever, hag come up, in one in-
stance, to the pure sentiments of morality ; or,
in the other, to the variety of knowledge, force
of imagination, propriety and vivacity of allu-
sion, beauty and elegance of diction, strength
and copiousness of style, pathos and sublimity
of conception, to which we have this day list-
ened with ardor and admiration. From poetry
up to eloquence, there is not a species of com-
position of which a complete and perfect speci-
men might not from that single speech be culled
and collected."
A faint idea of the power of this speech may
be formed from the following brief extract :
" The Majesty of Justice, in the eyes of Mr.
Hastings, is a being of terrific horror — a dread-
ful idol, placed in the gloom of graves, accessible
only to cringing supplication, and which must
be approached with offerings, and worshipped
by sacrifice. The Majesty of Mr. Hastings is a
being, whose decrees are written with blood,
and whose oracles are at once secure and terri-
ble. From such an idol I turn mine eyes with
horror — I turn them here to this dignified and
high tribunal, where the Majesty of Justice
really sits enthroned. Here I perceive the
Majesty of Justice in her proper robes of truth
and mercy — chaste and simple — accessible and
patient — awful without severity, — inquisitive
without meanness. I see here enthroned and
sitting in judgment on a great and momentous
cause, in which the happiness of millions is in-
volved.— Pardon me, my lords, if I presume to
say, that in the decision of this great cause, you
are to be envied as well as venerated. You
possess the highest distinction of the human
character ; for when you render your ultimate
voice on this cause, illustrating the dignity of
the ancestors from whom you spring — justifying
the solemn asseveration which you make — vin-
dicating the people of whom you are a part —
and manifesting the intelligence of the times in
which you live — you will do an act of mercy,
and blessing to man, as no men but yourselves
are able to grant."
In 1792 Mr. Sheridan had the misfortune to
lose his wife, who left one son, Thomas Sheri-
dan. Three years afterwards he married Miss
Ogle, daughter of the dean of Winchester. But
neither the large fortune which this lady brought
him, nor the receiver generalship of Cornwall,
nor his interest in Drury Lane theatre,were able
to supply Sheridan's extravagances, and put
him beyond the reach of pecuniary embarrass-
ment. After the death of Mr. Fox, She' idan
was deprived of office." His intemperate habits
and indolence completed the ruin which the
burning of Drury Lane theatre began. Yet this
calamity was borne with equanimity. Some
of his companions found Sheridan at a neigh-
boring ale-house quietly surveying the raging
flames which were rapidly consuming his pro-
perty. On observing their astonishment, She-
ridan coolly observed, " Why shouldn't a man
enjoy his pot and pipe by his own fire-side."
Intemperance had undermined his constitu-
tion, and he died in miserable circumstances,
July 7, 1816. His plays are the Rivals, Du-
enna, School for Scandal, St. Patrick's Day, or
the Scheming Lieutenant, a Trip to Scarbo-
rough, the Camp, the Critic, or Tragedy Re-
hearsed, Robinson Crusoe, or Harlequin Friday,
and Pizarro, a tragedy translated from the Ger-
man. Byron's monody on Sheridan concludes
thus :
Ye orators ! whom yet our councils lead,
Mourn for the veteran hero of your field !
The worthy rival of the wond'rous three !
Whose words were sparks of immortality !
Ye bards ! to whom the drama's muse is dear,
He was your master — emulate him here .'
Ye men of wit and social eloquence !
He was your brother — bear his ashes hence !
While powers of mind almost of boundless
range,
Complete in kind — as various in their change ;
While eloquence — wit — poesy — and mirth,
(That humbler harmonist of care on earth),
Survive within our souls — while lives our sense
Of pride in merit's proud preeminence,
Long shall we seek his likeness — long in vain,
And turn to all of him which may remain,
Sighing that nature formed but one such man,
And broke the die— in moulding Sheridan !
Some of Sheridan's Ion mots will be long re-
membered for their uncommon brilliancy. He
once remarked that the tax upon mile-stones was
unconstitutional; "because," said he, "they
are a race that cannot meet to remonstrate."
Young Tom Sheridan once said to his father ;
" If ever I get into parliament, I mean to set up
a sign on my head — inscribed To let." ^ Ay,"
said Sheridan, " and add— unfurnished."
Sheridan was fond of practical jokes — one of
which he played off upon the duke of Devon-
shire. Sheridan was in the habit of frequenting
SHO
526
SIA
Dolly's Chop-house, where he generally called
for a devilled shin-bone of beef. One day,
coming in rather later than usual, he was told
that the only shin-bone in the larder was being
cooked for his grace the duke of Devonshire.
Sheridan, who was unacquainted with the duke,
took a seat within ear-shot of him, and began
a conversation with a friend in a loud tone of
voice. " I always imagined," said he, " that
Dolly's chop-house, was one of the neatest es-
tablishments in London, but I made a discove-
ry this morning which has convinced me that
I was mistaken." Here the duke listened very
attentively. " As I was passing the kitchen
window," continued Sheridan, " I observed a
turnspit-boy greedily gnawing a shin-bone of
beef. Presently one of the cooks ran up to him,
and giving, him a blow on the neck, compelled
him to drop his prize. ' You dirty little rascal,'
said the cook, ' could'nt you find nothing else
to eat — here I ' ve got to cook this bone for the
duke of Devonshire ! ' " Soon after the conclu-
sion of this tale, a waiter entered the room, and
advanced to his grace, with a covered dish.
''Your bone, sir ! " " Take it away ! " roared the
duke, with a face of great disgust, " I can't touch
a morsel of it." " Stay, waiter ! " said Sheridan ;
" bring it to me. If his grace can 't eat it, I
can. Fetch me a bottle of claret — I don't wish
a better luncheon."
Two young sprigs of nobility once accosted
Sheridan in Bond-street. " Sherry," said one
of them familiarly, " my friend and I have been
discussing the question whether you are knave
or fool." " Why," said the wit, taking an arm
of each and smiling, " I believe I am between
both."
SHERMAN, Roger, a signer of the Declara-
tion of Independence, was born at Newton,
Massachusetts, April 19, 1721, and was appren-
ticed to a shoemaker. In 1743 the family re-
moved to N. Milford in Connecticut, where he
entered upon trade as a country merchant.
Having, however, always displayed a desire for
knowledge, he studied with diligence, and in
1754 was admitted to the bar. In 1759 lie was
appointed judge of the court of common pleas
in Litchfield. Two years afterwards he remov-
ed to New Haven, and in 17G5, was appointed
judge of the court of common pleas and treasurer
of Yale college. After holding a seat in the
general assembly of Connecticut, he was sent to
congress in 1774. After discharging several im-
portant duties, and being made senator, he died
July 23, 1793, in the se venty-t' .ird year of his age.
SHORE, (Jane), mistress of Edward IV, a
woman of exquisite beauty and good sense, but
who had not virtue enough to resist the tempta-
tions of a beautiful man and a monarch. She
was fated to incur the indignation of the duke
of Gloucester, who had been made protector of
the realm on the death of Edward. This un-
fortunate woman was an enemy too humble to
excite the protector's jealousy ; yet as he had
aceused her of witchcraft, of which she was
innocent, he thought proper to make her an ex-
ample for those faults of which she was really
guilty. Jane Shore had been formerly deluded
from her husband, who was a goldsmith in
Lombard-street, and continued to live with Ed-
ward, the most guiltless mistress in his aban-
doned court. The charge against her was too
notorious to be denied ; she pleaded guilty, and
was accordingly condemned to walk bare-foot
through the city, and do penance in St. Paul's
church, in a white sheet, with a wax taper in
her hand, before thousands of spectators. She
lived above forty years after this sentence, and
was reduced to the most extreme indigence.
SHOVEL, Sir Cloudesley, an admiral, was
born near Clay, in Norfolk, about 1G50. In
1674 he was a lieutenant under Sir John Nar-
borough, who sent Mr. Shovel to the dey of
Tripoli with a requisition, which the Moor
treated with contempt. Sir John then despatch-
ed the lieutenant on shore again, when the dey
behaved much worse than before. On his re-
turn, Shovel stated to the admiral the practica-
bility of destroying the enemy's shipping, which
service he performed the same night without
the loss of a man. For this exploit he was ap-
pointed to the command of a ship.
After the Revolution he was knighted, and
made a rear-admiral, in which capacity he had
a share in the victory of La Hogue. In 1703
he commanded a fleet in the Mediterranean,
and the year following partook in the victory
off Malaga. In 1705 he sailed for England,
and in the night of October 22, fell by mistake
upon the rocks of Scilly, where his ship was
totally lost, with some others, and all on board
perished. His body being found by the fisher-
men, was stripped and buried; but the fact
becoming known, the remains were brought to
London, and interred in Westminster Abbey,
where a monument was erected to his memory.
SIAM, a country in the peninsula of Chin-
India containing 190,000 square miles, and
3,700,000 inhabitants. The country is moun-
tainous but the soil fertile. The inhabitants
are slothful, indolent, vain, and deceitful. Their
religion is Buddhism.
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SIBERIA, a vast territory of Asia, including
the whole northern part of that continent.
The exploration of Siberia may be dated from
the period when Russia emancipated herself
fi\om the yoke of the Tartar conquerors. At
length the czars of Muscovy having acquired
a knowledge of the country, began the system
of colonizing it, by making it a place of banish-
ment for public criminals, till the settlement
being formed, the aversion to migrate thither
was greatly abated. A body of wandering
Russian troops having sought refuge from the
Cossacks, whom they were sent to extirpate, in
| the eastern regions of this country, they there
i found established, a Tartar kingdom, of which
Sibir was the capital.
The khan or ruler having been totally defeat-
ed, Germack, the conqueror, took possession of
the kingdom but was afterwards surprised and
cut off by an ambuscade of Tartars. In the
, course of fifty years, a few Cossacks and hun-
I ters had, by their intrepid exertions, added to
' Russia a territory larger in extent than all Eu-
i rope. However, in extending their conquest,
I they came in contact with the Chinese empire,
the military force of which defeated the Rus-
sians on the banks of the Amour, where they
I were obliged to terminate their progress, and
/ which river forms the line of demarcation be-
| tween the two empires.
SICILY. This island, which is part of the
kingdom of Naples, is separated from Italy by
i the straits of Messina. It is GO leagues long,
and 3G broad, and contains 1,787,771 inhabi-
1 tants. The principal cities are Palermo, Mazara,
Syracuse, Messina, and Catania. The country
is rich and fertile, and was formerly the granary
of Italy ; but is no longer so well cultivated.
It produces grain, silk, wines, excellent fruits,
wax, and honey. The Sicilians are polished,
and fond of the fine arts, but fickle and revenge-
ful. They profess the Roman Catholic religion.
This island was anciently known by the
names of Sicania, Sicilia, and Trinacria, from
its triangular form It is situated between Italy
and Africa, lying between 3G° 30' and 38° 20'
of north latitude, and extending from the 13th
to the 16th degree of east longitude. ./Etna,
now mount Gibello, emits "flames, throws up
stones and ashes, and alarms the inhabitants by
its roaring , and its convulsions have frequently
overturned cities, and covered the island with
ruins. In the Tuscan Sea, near Sicily, lie the
iEolian and Vulcanian isles, in which Vulcan
is fabled to have had his forges, and iEolus to
have confined the winds subject to liis com-
mand. Sicily was peopled by Greeks from
Chalcia, Achaia, Doris, and from Crete, Rhodes,
and other islands, and by some colonies from
Italy. At length, Syracuse, which was found-
ed by a Corinthian, usurped the chief power,
and continued for a long tune the metropolis
of Sicily. It was at first governed by kings ;
and afterwards a democracy was established.
It exhibits a perpetual alternation of slavery
under tyrants, and of liberty under a popular
government. Gelon is said to have introduced
himself into Syracuse by his address, and to
have gained the favor of the people, who in-
vested him with absolute power, B. C. 483.
He laid the foundation of that immense com-
merce, which rendered Syracuse strong and
opulent. He proposed to assist the Greeks
against Xerxes, when the Carthaginians land-
ed in Sicily an army of 300,000 men under the
command of Hamilcar.
However, Gelon, by means of an intercepted
letter was enabled to send a body of cavalry,
that put Hamilcar to death, dispersed the troops,
and burnt the ships, while he attacked the other
camp. An assembly of the Syracusans being
convened, Gelon was invited to assume the
title of king, and invested with supreme au-
thority. The people also passed a decree, set-
tling the crown, after his death, on his two
brothers, Hiero and Thrasybulus. Gelon was
succeeded by his elder brother, Hiero, B. C.
471, whom some represent as an excellent
prince, and others as a covetous, obstinate, and
cruel tyrant.
Hiero was succeeded by his brother Thrasy-
bulus, B. C. 459, a cruel and sanguinary tyrant,
who massacred all those subjects who gave him
the least cause of offence. Incensed at this
oppressive conduct, the people took up arms,
and expelled the tyrant, who retired to Italy.
The Syracusans. attempting to subdue the
neighboring cities, the latter requested the as-
sistance of the Athenians, who had long wished
to form an establishment in Sicily. Nicias, a
prudent general, endeavored to dissuade the
Athenians from such an undertaking ; but the
senate and the people were hurried on by en-
thusiasm, and determined to sell the Syracu-
sans and their allies as slaves, and oblige the
other cities of Sicily to pay an annual tribute
to Athens. Accordingly, the Athenians set sail
and arrived before Syracuse, which they be-
sieged both by sea and land, B. C. 416. The
Syracusans were about to surrender, when Gy-
lippus, a Spartan general, arrived with assistance
from Lacedeemon.
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SIC
Nicias found himself under the necessity of
demanding a reinforcement from Athens, which
despatched another fleet, commanded by De-
mosthenes ; that eterprising general, induced
Nicias to make an assault, which was not suc-
cessful. At length the Athenian and Syracusan
armaments met, and an engagement ensued,
when the Athenians were completely defeated.
Finding no other resource left than to endeavor
to reach some towns in alliance with them, they
began their march. However, the dead and the
dying retarded their progress ; and the enemy
briskly pursued, and allowed them scarcely a
moment of rest. Nicias and Demosthenes were
made prisoners, and after being publicly scourg-
ed, were thrown from a precipice. The soldiers
were shut up in the quarries, where they received
a scanty allowance of food, and were infected
with the putrid bodies of their dead companions.
Such was the issue of this war, after it had con-
tinued nearly three years.
Sicily was soon engaged in a new contest.
The Egestines, who had invited the Athenians
into Sicily, dreading the resentment of the Sy-
racusans, offered to put their city into the hands
of the Carthaginians, from whom they request-
ed assistance against the inhabitants of Seli-
nuntum. The Carthaginians committed the
management of the war to Hannibal , the grand-
son of Hamilcar, who landed in Sicily with an
army of 300,000 men. The Selinuntines de-
fended their walls, their streets, their public
squares, and even their houses, but were every
where overpowered by numbers. Two thou-
sand six hundred of them escaped to Agrigen-
tum, and the rest were cut to pieces by the
Carthaginians, who committed dreadful cruel-
ties and atrocities The conquerors then march-
ed to Himera, before which Hamilcar had been
killed by Gelon, and which shared the same
fate as Selinuntum. Hannibal ordered 3000
Himerians to be barbarously massacred on the
spot where his grandfather had been defeated
and killed ; and after thus terminating the cam-
paign, he embarked his troops, and set sail for
Africa. The Carthaginians now returned to
Sicily with 300,000 men, and attacked Agri-
gentum. In the first sally, the besieged burnt
the machines, and made a prodigious slaughter
of the enemy.
At length, Agrigentum being greatly distress-
ed for want of provisions, the inhabitants resolv-
ed to leave the city, which was taken possession
of by the Carthaginians. The Agrigentines,
who took refuge in Syracuse, filled that city
with complaints against the Syracusan com-
manders, as if they had betrayed Agrigentum
into the hands of the enemy. This raised such dis-
turbances in Syracuse, as afforded to Dionysius,
a bold, eloquent, and aspiring man, an opportu-
nity of seizing on the sovereign power. After
procuring a guard of 1000 men, and being join-
ed by part of the garrison in Gela, he possessed
himself of the citadel, and publicly declared
himself king of Syracuse, B. C. 404. But on
the first defeat he experienced from the Cartha-
ginians, the people revolted, and united with
his enemies. Dionysius, however, found means
not only to appease the revolt, but to conclude
a peace with the Carthaginians.
Dionysius again declared war with the Car-
thaginians, from whom he took the most im-
portant of the towns which they possessed in
Sicily ; but who, nevertheless, appeared before
Syracuse, to which they laid siege. The Car-
thaginians being exhausted by a plague, were
obliged to raise the siege, and Dionysius suffer-
ed them to retire unmolested, on condition that
they paid him a large sum of money. He then
turned his arms against Italy, and took Rhegium,
the inhabitants of which he treated with his
usual inhumanity. He was succeeded by his
son Dionysius, who was surnamed the younger,
B. C. 30(5, and who was a weak and irresolute
prince. Dion, the brother of Aristomache, the
wife of Dionysius the elder, a friend and disciple
of Plato, induced the young prince to banish the
accomplices of his debaucheries and to recall
Plato. Through a cabal of courtiers, Dion and
Plato were disgraced, and obliged to retire to
Athens. Dionysius not only refused to Dion the
revenue arising from his property, but compelled
his wife Arete, who was much beloved by her
husband, to espouse Timocrates one of his cour-
tiers. These provocations incensed Dion, who
collected a small band, and arriving at Syracuse
whilst Dionysius was engaged with the war in
Italy, declared that he came not to avenge his
own private wrongs, but to emancipate Syra-
cuse and Sicily from the yoke of the tyrant.
Under this standard of liberty, Dion obtained
possession of the greater part of the city ; and
having defeated Dionysius in an engagement,
compelled the tyrant to flee into Italy. Dion,
having murdered one of his generals, was as-
sassinated in his own house by his guest and
friend Calippus.
The death of Dion, and the flight of Calip-
pus, recalled Dionysius, B. C. 350, who again
reinstated himself in the possession of his do-
minions, which he retained until he was again
expelled by an army under Timoleon. This
SIC
529
Sic
general overran Sicily as a conqueror, subdued
the tyrants of several cities, whom he sent to
Corinth to be companions of Dionysius, and de-
feated the Carthaginians, who again appeared
in the island.
For the space of twenty years, the Syracu-
sans enjoyed the fruits of Timoleon's services.
About that time, Syracuse groaned under the
tyranny of Agathocles, who exceeded all his
predecessors in cruelty and other vices. He
was soon expelled from that city by Sosistratus,
who had usurped the supreme power. He then
retired into Italy ; and during his abode in that
country, Sosistratus was obliged to abdicate the
sovereignty, and quit Syracuse. Sosistratus
and the other exiles had recourse to the Car-
thaginians, who readily espoused their cause.
Upon this, the Syracusans recalled Agatho-
cles, whom they appointed commander-in-chief,
and he defeated the combined armies of Sosis-
tratus and the Carthaginians. Agathocles,
therefore, began to exercise a sovereign power
over his fellow-citizens, and took such measures
as plainly showed that he aimed at monarchy.
On discovering his design, the people transfer-
red the command of their forces to a Corinthi-
an ; and Agathocles saved his life only by
stratagem.
Agathocles re-appeared under the walls of
Syracuse, at the head of a strong army, and,
under pretence of a war with Erbita, a neigh-
boring city, he collected a great number of sol-
diers, whom he induced to pillage Syracuse,
and to massacre the whole body of the nobility.
In a few hours more than four thousand per-
sons fell a sacrifice ; and the streets were cov-
ered with slain. He ordered the pillage and
massacre to be continued two days longer, after
which he was proclaimed king by the few sur-
vivors.
The success of Agathocles gave uneasiness to
the Carthaginians, who sent against him an ar-
my under the command of Hamilcar. This
general gained over him a complete victory,
which obliged Agathocles to confine himself
within Syracuse. Whilst the Carthaginians
besieged that city, Agathocles embarked some
of his best troops, B. C. 307, and, landing in
Africa, burned the vessels which had conveyed
his army. An engagement took place between
the Syracusans and the Carthaginians, the lat-
ter of whom were defeated with the loss of
Hanno, their general.
Syracuse was now reduced to great extremi-
ty ; but Agathocles having sent to the inhabit-
ants of that city the head of Hanno, the sight
34
of it encouraged them to support with success a
last assault. They afterwards attacked and en-
tirely routed the Carthaginian army, took Ha-
milcar prisoner, and sent his head to Agatho-
cles. As the war was prolonged, Agathocles
resolved to return to Sicily ; and having given
the necessary orders during his absence, em-
barked with him two thousand chosen men, and
arrived at Syracuse. After restoring order to
the government, and destroying a league which
had been formed against him, he set out once
more for Africa. But finding his affairs despe-
rate in that country, he determined to abandon
his troops, and making his escape put to sea.
In the first transports of their fury, the soldiers
massacred two of his sons whom he h,ad left be-
hind, and, having elected chiefs for themselves,
concluded with the Carthaginians a peace, by
which they were to be transported to Sicily,
and put in possession of the city of Selinuntum.
At length, after a series of cruelties, Agatho-
cles was burnt on the funeral pile, B. C. 289.
The government was next assumed by Mce-
non, who was expelled by Hycetas. The latter
took the modest title of praetor, but was deprived
of the sovereign power by Tcenion, who was op-
posed by Sosistratus. But being attacked by
the Carthaginians, these chiefs united and call-
ed into their assistance Pyrrhus, king of Epirus,
who was then carrying on war against the Ro-
mans. Pyrrhus re-conquered those cities w hich
had thrown off the yoke. Hiero was appointed
to command the Syracusan forces against the
Carthaginians, B. C. 275, who had regained
most of the places which they possessed before
the arrival of the Epirots. He concluded a
treaty with the Romans, the conditions of which
were faithfully peiformed on both sides. The
defeats which the Romans sustained at the lake
Thrasymene and at Cannse, could not shake his
constancy. He died at the age of ninety.
Hiero appointed his grandson Hieronymus
king, B. C, 211, with a council of fifteen per-
sons, called tutors. His vices and cruelty were
such, that a conspiracy was formed against him.
He was assassinated while passing through a
narrow street, in 208 B. C, and the people
showed so little concern for his person, that
they suffered the body to rot in the place where
it had fallen. Hieronymus was no sooner dead,
than two of the conspirators hastened to pre
vent the attempts of Andranodorus, and of
others of the king's faction. However, he soon
after, in concert with Themistus, the husband
of Hartnonia, sister of the deceased king, formed
a plot to exterminate the chief citizens of Syra-
SIC
530
SID
cuse. This being disclosed to the senate, An-
dranodorus and Themistus were condemned,
though absent, and put to death as they were
entering the senate-house. Soon after this the
guardians and tutors of the late king, and all
the royal family, were put to death.
The Carthaginians now obtained an ascen-
dency in Syracuse. Two of the generals, Hip-
pocrates and Epysides, caused the number of
the praetors to be reduced to two, and made the
choice fall on themselves. Marcellus, the Ro-
man consul, appeared at the gates of Syracuse,
B. C. 202, and demanded that the authors of the
late massacre should be delivered into his hands ;
but finding his demand treated with ridicule, he
commenced hostilities, and attempted a general
assault on the city. However, by the genius of
Archimedes, an able mathematician, without
employing the sword, two Roman armies were
repulsed on this occasion. Marcellus was,
there ??, obliged to convert the siege into a
blockade: and, at '~"<rth, he obtained posses-
sion of the city oy escalade. The soldiers
entered the houses o e Syracusans, seized all
the valuables, but o. , id no violence to the
persons of the inhalants. Acradina, the
strongest quarter of the city, held out some time
longer, but was at length taken by means of an
officer, who gave up to Marcellus one of the
gates, B. C. 200.
After the capture of Syracuse, Agrigentum
was besieged and taken. By order of the con-
sul LBBvinus, the chiefs of the latter city were
scourged and beheaded, and the people reduced
to slavery and sold by auction. After this ter-
rible example, no more cities resisted, and Sici-
ly was converted into a province of Rome, B. C.
198. Sicily remained in the hands of the Ro-
mans during many centuries. At length, in the
8th and 9th centuries, the Saracens conquered
Sicily, and the island remained in their posses-
sion 200 years. In the 11th century the Nor-
mans made the conquest of this country, and in
12G6, it submitted to Charles of Anjou, a French
prince.
In 1282, the massacre of the French, called
the Sicilian Vespers, took place here, and after
this catastrophe, the inhabitants transferred the
sovereignty of their island to Spain, with whom
it long remained, as well as that of the Neapo-
litan territory, to which Sicily became united in
1430. Both were subject to the crown of Spain
in J 700. In 1707 the Austrians obtained pos-
session of Naples and Sicily ; and by the peace
of Utrecht, in 1713, while Naples was confirmed
to them, Sicily was given to the duke of Savoy,
with the title of king. In 1720, the Austrians
prevailed on the new possessor of Sicily to ex-
change it for Sardinia, and added the former to
the kingdom of Naples. The war of 1734, how-
ever transferred the crown of the two Sicilies to
a branch of the royal family of Spain, and it re-
mained in their hands till 1799, when the royal
family were expelled from Naples. The latter
took refuge in Sicily, were afterwards restored
to Naples, but again compelled to take refuge
in Sicily.
The acquisition of Sicily is said to have been
a primary object with Napoleon, but an attempt
at invasion in 1810 was baffled by the British
troops. In 1815, the overthrow of Murat led to
the restoration of the legitimate family to the
throne of Naples, which they now possess. — See
Naples.
SIDNEY, Algernon, a republican, was the
second son of Robert earl of Leicester, by Dor-
othy, daughter of the earl of Northumberland,
and was born about 1620. In the rebellion, he
became a colonel in the army of the parliament,
a member of the house of commons, and was
nominated one of the king's judges, but did not
sign the warrant for his execution. The same
principles, however, which led him to oppose
Charles, made him hostile to Cromwell and his
son Richard. In 1659 he was one of the com-
missioners sent to mediate between Denmark
and Sweden. On the Restoration, Sidney re-
mained abroad till 1677, when he received a
conditional pardon ; but in 1683, being implica-
ted in what was called the Rye-House plot, he
was arraigned before the chief justice, Jefferies,
and found guilty, though the evidence was de-
fective, and in every sense illegal. He suffered
death with great firmness upon Tower Hill, on
the seventh of December the same year.
SIDNEY, Sir Philip, the author of the Arca-
dia, Defence of Poesy, Astrophel and Stella,
&c, was born Nov. 29, 1554, at Penshurst, in
Kent, the seat of his father, Sir Henry Sidney,
who was the friend of Edward VI, and, in the
reign of Elizabeth, became lord deputy of Ire-
land. The mother of Sir Philip was Mary,
daughter of the duke of Northumberland. While
at Paris, the French king made him gentleman
of his bed-chamber ; but the distinction was
rendered offensive by the massacre of the Pro-
testants, which took place while Sidney resided
there, in the house of the English ambassador.
When the danger was over, he went to Frank-
fort, and next to Vienna, where he distinguish-
ed himself by his skill in martial exercises. In
1576 he was sent ambassador to Vienna, osten-
SIL
531
SIX
sibly to condole with the emperor, on the death
of his father ; but secretly to promote a league
among- the protestant states against Spain, which
object he achieved.
In 1580 a tournament was held at court, where,
though Sidney displayed his prowess to great
advantage, the victory was adjudged to the earl
of Oxford, which produced a challenge ; but the
duel being prevented by the queen's commands,
our hero retired to Wilton, the seat of his bro-
ther-in-law, the earl of Pembroke. In 1585
Sidney was named as a candidate for the king-
dom of Poland, but the queen interposed her au-
thority against it, " refusing," says an historian,
" to further his advancement, out of fear that
she should lose the jewel of her times."
The Protestants of the Netherlands, having
solicited the assistance of England to relieve
them from the Spanish yoke, a military force
was sent over under the command of sir Philip,
who on his arrival at Flushing, was appointed
colonel of all the Dutch regiments. Not long
after, the earl of Leicester joined him with ad-
ditional troops, and Sidney was promoted to the
rank of general of the horse.
On the 22d of September, 1586, he fell in
with a convoy sent by the enemy to Zutphen,
and though the English troops were inferior to
the enemy, they gained the victory ; but it was
dearly purchased by the loss of their commander,
who, after one horse was shot under him,
mounted another, and continued the fight, till
he received a ball in the left thigh, which proved
fatal. As he was borne from the field, languid
with the loss of blood, he asked for water, but
just as the bottle was put to his lips, seeing a
dying soldier looking wistfully at it, he resign-
ed it, saying " this man's necessity is greater
than mine." He died on the 15th October, and
his body was brought over and interred in St.
Paul's cathedral.
SILESIA, formerly a duchy of Bohemia, but
now divided into two parts, belonging to Prus-
sia and Austria. The geographical division is
into Upper and Lower Silesia. Prussian Sile-
sia contains 12,264 square miles, and 2,396,551
inhabitants. Austrian Silesia contains 350,000
inhabitants, and 2500 square miles. The abori-
gines of Silesia appear to have been the Quadi
and Lygii. It was ceded to the sonsofBoles-
laus II in the eleventh century ; and was sub-
dued by the kings of Bohemia in the fourteenth
century. Silesia passed with Bohemia to the
house of Austria in the sixteenth century, and
continued in its undisturbed possession until the
death of Charles VI in 1740, led to a general
attack on dominions considered comparatively
defenceless when transmitted to a female. Fre-
derick II endeavored to obtain the western part
of Silesia. Austria, with the aid of England,
took up arms. The contest terminated in the
cession of part of Silesia to Prussia. The peace
of Hubertsburg, in 1763, left Silesia conclusive-
ly in the hands of Frederick. In 1807, it was
overrun by the French ; but it was not separa-
ted at the peace of Tilsit from the Prussian ter-
ritory.
SIXTUS V, Pope, was born in 1521, in the
signory of Montalto, where his father, Francis
Peretti, was a gardener. At the age of four-
teen, he was allowed to make his profession,
and in 1545 he received priest's orders, and took
the name of Father Montalto. His popularity
as a preacher procured him many friends, and
in 1555 he was appointed inquisitor-general at
Venice ; where, however, he gave so much of-
fence by his severity, as to be obliged t" return
to Rome. Pius V made him general A' his or-
der, next bishop to £u. Agatha, and in 1570
raised him to the purple. Hitherto Montalto
had been remarked for his haughty demeanor,
but now he assumed quite an opposite charac-
ter, and appeared all humility, meekness, and
condescension. He carried this hypocrisy so
far, as to treat his family with neglect, telling
them, " that he was dead to his relations and the
world." He took no part in political conten-
tions, and the other cardinals were so complete-
ly imposed upon by him, that they called him
" The ass of La Marca." In this way he went
on several years, adding to his deceit, the pre-
tence of bodily infirmities. At length Gregory
XIII died, in 1585, and the election of a new
pope was contested between three cardinals,
whose respective interests were so equal, that
they agreed to choose Montalto ; but when they
informed him of their intention, he fell into such
a fit of coughing, that they thought he would
have expired. The election, however, took
place, and no sooner was it announced, than
the pope threw his staff into the middle 6f the
chapel, and began the " Te Deum " with a loud
voice, to the astonishment of all who heard him.
He took the name of Sixtus V, and though he
administered justice with rigorous severity, the
relaxed state of manners called for it, and no
one could tax him with partiality. Among
other things, he caused the Vulgate edition of
the Bible to be revised, and he even went so far
as to have an Italian version of it printed, which
excited great alarm among the bigoted catho-
lics. Towards foreign powers he behaved with
SMI
532
SMI
spirit, and took away from their ambassadors
the liberty of granting protections, saying,
" That he was determined no one should reign
at Rome but himself." His private character
was free from reproach, and the only faults
charged upon him were, the hypocritical course
he took to gain the papacy, and the inexorable
rigor with which he acted while he enjoyed it.
He died August 27, 1590.
SMITH, John, was born at Willoughby, in
Lincolnshire, England, in 1579. He early dis-
played a roving disposition, and was fond of
feats of daring. On the death of his father, he
was apprenticed to a merchant of Lynn, whom
he soon quitted to enter the service of a noble-
man who was going to the continent. At Or-
leans he was discharged with money to defray
the expenses of his voyage home, but meeting
with a Scotchman in the Low Countries where
he had enlisted as a soldier, he was persuaded
to go to Scotland, and promised the counte-
nance of king James. Disappointed in his ex-
pectations he returned to his native town, but
finding no agreeable companions, he built him-
self a hut in the woods, and studied works on
the military art, occasionally amusing himself
with his horse and lance.
In 1596, he again set out on his travels, going
first to Flanders and thence to France, where
he fell in with some pilgrims at Marseilles, and
set sail in their company for Italy. The pil-
grims, however, attributing the storm which
overtook them to the presence of a heretic, threw
overboard Smith, who saved his life by swim-
ming to the island of St. Mary, off Nice. He was
now befriended by a master of a vessel who took
him to Alexandria whence he coasted the Le-
vant, and assisted in the capture of a Venetian
ship. With his share of the prize-money, he
made the tour of Italy, and then entered the
Austrian service, having command of a compa-
ny, with which he accompanied the Transylva-
nian army against the Turks.
At the siege of Regal, the lord Turbisha,
challenged any Christian commander to fight
with him in presence of the ladies for their par-
ticular amusement. The duty of encountering
this champion devolved by lot upon Smith, who
killed him, struck off his head and bore it in tri-
umph to the general of the Transylvanian army.
A friend of Turbisha now sent Smith a chal-
lenge which he accepted. They fought, as be-
fore, in the presence of the ladies who witness-
ed the defeat of the Turk, and his decapitation
by Smith. The latter now sent word to the
Ottomans, that, for the further gratification of
their ladies, he would encounter any champion
whom they might select. One Bonomalgro ac-
cepted the challenge, and, in the combat which
took place, Smith, although stricken to the
ground, regained his saddle at a fortunate mo-
ment, and severed the infidel's head from his
body. These brilliant exploits procured him a
sort of military triumph, after the manner of the
Romans, a splendid horse and sabre, and a ma-
jor's commission. On the capture of Regal the
prince of Transylvania gave Smith his minia-
ture set in gold, a pension, and a coat of arms
with three Turks' heads in a shield.
After this he was taken prisoner, and made
the slave of the mistress of a pacha who resided
at Constantinople. This lady, who fell in love
with the Christian hero, sent him to her bro-
ther, a pacha on the borders of the sea of Azoph.
This dignitary, suspecting the passion of the
lady, treated Smith with great severity, but the
latter found an opportunity to kill his tyrant,
and, mounting the fine charger of his fallen
foe, he made his way into Russia, whence he
travelled through Germany, France, Spain, and
Morocco, from which latter place he returned to
England. On the 19th of December, 1600, he
sailed for America, with Gosnold's expedition,
letters patent having been obtained and a coun-
cil nominated for the colony of Virginia. After
some time the weight of the administration
of the Jamestown settlement devolved upon
Smith, who was ever active and energetic. But
while exploring James river, he was taken pri-
soner by the Indian chief Powhatan, and doomed
to death ; from which he was only saved by the
courageous interposition of Pocahontas, Pow-
hatan's daughter, who procured his liberation.
Smith, having been elected president of the
colony, ably discharged the arduous duties im-
posed upon him, although its inevitable difficul-
ties were increased by mutiny, and the hostility
of the Indians. In 1609 he returned to Eng-
land ; but in 1614 he commanded an expedition
of discovery to North Virginia, now New Eng-
land. The next two vessels belonging to the
council of Plymouth, of which he had obtained
the command, were driven to England by stress
of weather. He next took command of a small
vessel which was seized by some French men-
of-war under pretence of piracy ; but was re
leased after being detained some time. He now
travelled about endeavoring to enlist men of
note in his schemes for colonizing America, but
without success. He urged upon Queen Anne
the propriety of rewarding Pocahontas, who had
been brought to England ; and he published a
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533
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History of Virginia and an account of his va-
rious voyages and hardships. He died in Lon-
don, in 1031, in the 52d year of his age.
SMITH, James, a signer of the Declaration
of Independence, born in Ireland between 1715
and 1720. He was educated at the college of
Philadelphia, studied law, and eventually settled
at York. In 1774 he was a member of an as-
sembly of delegates from all the counties of
Pennsylvania, and, in Jan. 1775, of the Penn-
sylvanian convention. Being elected a member
of conoress, he retained his seat in that body
until Nov. 1778. He died in 1800.
SMOLENSKO, a considerable town of Eu-
ropean Russia, and capital of the government
of the same name. The Russians made, here,
their first serious opposition to the advance of
the French, in the campaign of 1812. An ob-
stinate conflict took place on the 16th and 17th
of August, in which the town was bombarded,
and set on fire. The Russians were compelled
to fall back, and the French extinguished the
flames ; on quitting it in their disastrous retreat
in November following, they blew up part of
the works.
SMYRNA, in Turkish, Ismir, a city on the
western coast of Natolia, situated at the foot
of a gulf, about 50 miles from the sea, contain-
ing 130,000 inhabitants. It was originally a
colony from Ephesus, and soon attained suck
celebrity, that it was received as the thirteenth
city of Ionia. This original city was destroy-
ed by the Lydians ; and Antigonus and Lysirn-
achus rebuilt the city, though not on the same
spot. It has since been considered as the em-
porium of the Levant, but has been much in-
jured by earthquakes, plagues, and fires. In
April, 1730, it was nearly destroyed by an earth-
quake, and by a fire, June 20, 1742; had the
plague, 1743, 1752; the Armenian quarter was
burnt, May 14. 1753; had the plague, 1758,
1700; dreadful' fires, in 1703 and 1772; and
earthquakes and fire, in 1778; in March, 1790,
4000 shops, two large mosques, two public
baths, and all the magazines and provisions
were destroyed by fire ; and in 1814, the plague
swept off from 50,000 to 00,000 inhabitants.
SOBIESKI, John, was elected king of Po-
land in 1074. To him Europe owes a series of
splendid victories which checked the progress
and broke the iron power of the Moslem. To him
at the battle of Vienna Austria was indebted for
her deliverance at the hour of her extremity.
With what abominable ingratitude has she re-
paid her debt to Poland ! We cannot withhold
from the reader a sketch of this momentous battle.
The Turks offered not the least opposition to
the Poles as they crossed the bridge, and all
the imperial troops were safely assembled on
the western side of the Danube by the 7th of
September, and amounted to about 70,000 men.
They could hear from Tuln the roar of the
Turkish cannon. Vienna was, in fact, reduced
almost to its last gasp. Most of the garrison
were either killed or wounded, and disease was
making even greater ravages than the enemy's
balls. " The grave continued open without ever
closing its mouth." As early as the 22d of Au-
gust the officers had estimated that they could
not withstand a general attack three days. If
the vizier had pursued his advantage, Vienna
must have fallen into his hands. But it was
his object to avoid taking it by storm, in which
case the plunder would be carried off by the
soldiers, whereas, if he could oblige it to sur-
render, he might appropriate its spoil to his own
use. So careless was he, too, in his confidence,
that he had not yet ascertained that the Poles
were arrived, till they were in his immediate
vicinity; and when the news was afterward
brought to him that the King of Poland was
advancing, "The King of Poland !" said he,
laughing, " I know, indeed, that he. has sent
Lubomirski with a few squadrons."
The governor, Starembourg, who had assured
the Duke of Lorraine that " he would not sur-
render the place bui. with the last drop of his
blood," began himself to despair of being longer
able to hold out. A letter which he wrote at
this period contained only these words : " No
more time to lose, my lord, no more time to
lose."
The imperial army set out on the 9th of Sep-
tember for Vienna, but they had a march of
fourteen miles to make across a ridge of moun-
tains over which the Germans could not drag
their cannon, and were therefore obliged to
leave them behind. The Poles were more per-
severing, for they succeeded in getting over
twenty-eight pieces, which were all they had
to oppose to the 300 of the enemy.
On the 11th of September they readied Mount
Calemberg, the last which separated them from
the Turks. From this hill, the Christians were
presented with one of the finest and most dread-
ful prospects of the greatness of human power;
an immense plain and all the islands of the Dan-
ube covered witli pavilions, whose magnificence
seemed rather calculated for an encampment
of pleasure than the hardships of war; an innu-
merable multitude of horses, camels, and buffa-
loes ; 200,000 men all in motion ; swarms of
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534
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Tartars dispersed along the foot of the mountain
in their usual confusion ; the fire of the besiegers
incessant and terrible, and that of the besieged
such as they could contrive to make ; in fine,
a great city, distinguishable only by the tops of
the steeples and the fire and smoke that covered
it. But Sobieski was not imposed on by this
formidable sight. "This man," said he, " is
badly encamped ; he knows nothing of war; we
shall certainly beat him." — The eagle eye of
the experienced warrior was not mistaken.
On the eve of the battle, he wrote to the queen
in these words : " We can easily see that the
general of an army who has neither thought
of intrenching himself nor concentrating his
forces, but lies encamped there as if we were a
hundred miles from him, is predestined to be
beaten."
Sunday, the 12th of September, 1683, was
the important day, " big with the fate," of Leo-
pold, that was to decide whether the Turkish
crescent was to wave on the turrets of Vienna.
The cannonade on the city began at the break
of day, for which purpose the vizier on his part
had withdrawn from his army the janizaries,
all his infantry, and nearly all his artillery.
The light cavalry, the Spahis, the Tartars, and
other irregular troops, were the forces destined
to encounter the enemy ; so egregiously did
Kara Mustapha miscalculate the strength of his
opponents. They were commanded by Ibrahim
Pacha, who was regarded by the Turks as one
of the greatest generals of the age; but, unfor-
tunately for them, he was one of those who dis-
approved the war, and particularly the present
plan of it. At eight in the morning there was
some skirmishing; at eleven the Christian army
was drawn up in array in the plain ; and Kara
Mustapha, beginning to apprehend that the al-
lies were more formidable than he anticipated,
had changed his design, and came to command
his troops in person. He was stationed in the
centre, and Sobieski occupied the same situa-
tion in his army.
It was nearly five in the evening, and the
engagement had only been partial ; for Sobies-
ki's infantry had not come up, and the vizier
was to be seen under a superb crimson tent,
quietly sipping coffee, while the King of Poland
was before him. At length the infantry arriv-
ed, and Sobieski ordered them to seize an emi-
nence which commanded the vizier's position.
The promptitude and gallantry with which this
manoeuvre was executed decided the fate of the
day. Kara Mustapha, taken by surprise at this
unexpected attack, ordered all his infantry to
his right wing, and the movement put all the
line in confusion. The king cried out that they
were lost men ; he ordered the Duke of Lor-
raine to attack the centre, which was now ex-
posed and weakened, while he himself made
his way through the confused Turks straight
for the vizier's ter.t. He was instantly recog-
nised by the streamers which adorned the lances
of his guard, " By Allah!" exclaimed the cham
of the Tartars, " the king is with them!" An
eclipse of the moon added to the consternation
of the superstitious Moslems. At this moment
the Polish cavalry made a grand charge, and
at the same time the Duke of Lorraine with his
troops added to the confusion ; and the rout of
the Turks became general. The vizier in vain
tried to rally them. " And you," said he to
the cham of the Tartars, who passed him among
the fugitives, "cannot you help me?" "I
know the King of Poland!" was the answer.
'•' I told you that if we had to deal with him,
all we could do would be to run away. Look
at the sky ; see if God is not against us." The
immense Turkish army was wholly broken up,
and Vienna was saved.
So sudden and general was the panic among
the Turks, that by six o'clock Sobieski had
taken possession of their camp. One of the
vizier's stirrups, finely enamelled, was brought
to him. " Take this stirrup," said he, " to the
queen, and tell her, that the person to whom it
belonged is defeated." Having strictly forbid-
den his soldiers from plundering, they rested
under the Turkish tents.
Such were the events of the famous deliver-
ance of Vienna as they were seen by a looker-
on ; and the outline of the narrative is filled up
by one who was the best informed, and not the
least impartial, no less than the great hero him-
self. " The victory has been so sudden and
extraordinary," he writes to the queen, " that
the city, as well as the camp, was in continual
alarm, expecting to see the enemy return every
moment. — Nijjht put an end to the pursuit, and
besides, the Turks defended themselves with
fury in their flight. — All the troops have done
their duty well ; they attribute the victory to
God and us. At the moment when the enemy
began to give ground (and the greatest shock
was where I was stationed, opposite the vizier),
all the cavalry of the rest of the army advanced
towards me on the right wing, the centre and
the left wing having as yet but little to do. —
The emperor is about a mile and a half distant.
He is coming down the Danube in a chaloupe ;
but I perceive he has no great wish to see me,
SOL
535
SOM
perhaps on account of the etiquette. I am very
glad to avoid these ceremonies ; we have been
treated with nothing else up to this time. Our
darling is brave in the highest degree."
On the following day John made his entrance
into Vienna. The breach made by the Turks,
and through which they expected to march to
the destruction of the city, was the road which
admitted its deliverer. The citizens received
him with undisguised expressions of gratitude ;
and even the stern warrior Sobieski shed a tear
of joy at receiving the thanks and acclama-
tions of the victims whom he had rescued
from destruction. " Never/' said he, "did the
crown yield me pleasure like this!'' The peo-
ple could not help comparing him with their
own disgraceful sovereign, and exclaiming,
" Ah ! why is not this our master?" With dif-
ficulty could the stern looks of the empero/s
officers check these natural expressions of feel-
ing. But Sobieski did not arrogate to himp^lf
only the glory of the victory: he went to the
cathedral to return thanks, and began to sing
the Te Deum himself. A sermon was after-
wards delivered, and the preacher, in the taste
of that age of conceits a«d far-fetched puerili-
ties, chose the following text for the occasion :
— " There teas a man sent from God, whose
name icus John."
He died of apoplexy after a reign of twenty-
two years ; and was justly considered the most
accomplished sovereign that ever sat on the
throne of Poland.
SOCRATES, the most celebrated philosopher
of all antiquity, was a native of Athens. Phi-
losophy soon became the study of Socrates ; and
under Archelaus and Anaxagoras he laid the
foundation of that exemplary virtue which suc-
ceeding ages have ever loved and venerated.
He appeared like the rest of his countrymen in
the field of battle ; he fought with boldness and
intrepidity ; and to his courage two of his friends
and disciples, Xenophon and Alcibiades, owed
the preservation of their lives. But the char-
acter of Socrates appears more conspicuous and
dignified as a philosopher and moralist, than as
a warrior. His principles were enforced by
the unparalleled example of an affectionate hus-
band, a tender parent, a warlike soldier, and a
patriotic citizen in his own person. He was
born 470 B. C. and died B. C. 400, being un-
justly condemned to death.
SOLOMON, one of the most illustrious kings
of Israel, was born A. M. 2971, and succeeded
his father David. In the fourth year of his
reign, he commenced building his celebrated
temple, which he completed in seven years.
He also built the walls of Jerusalem, fortified
several other cities, and contributed much to
the prosperity of his dominions. He died in
3029, after forty years' reign.
SOLON, one of the seven wise men of Greece,
was born at Salamis, and educated at Athens
After he had devoted part of his time to philo-
sophical and political studies, Solon travelled
over the greatest part of Greece, but at his re-
turn home he was distressed with the dissen-
sions which were kindled among his country
men. All fixed their eyes upon Solon as a de-
liverer, and he was unanimously elected archon
and sovereign legislator. He flourished about
600 B. C.
SOLYMAN II succeeded his father Selim I
in 1520. Gazelles, governor of Syria, rebelling
after the death of Selim, and having made him-
self master of a part of Egypt, was defeated by
Solyman's generals, who himself resolved to
turn his arms against the Christians. Accord-
ingly, in 1521 he took Belgrade, and the next
year Rhodes. This victory was followed by
the revolt of the Egyptians and some other na-
tions, which were defeated by Ibraim Bassa;
and Solyman, in the meantime, being advanced
with his army into Hungary, won the battle of
1U~I J~ 1~«« ...1 , I „...:- IT !-:«„ nf Hun-
gary , lost his life in a morass. He made several
other expeditions into this kingdom, where he
took Buda, Pest, Gran, and some other places,
and died there himself at the siege of Zigeth or
Sigeth, the 4th of September, 1566, being sev-
enty-two years of age. In 1529 Solyman be-
sieged Vienna, but without success; and in
1535, he took and plundered Tauris ; and his
generals subdued several cities and provinces in
Europe, Asia, and Africa.
SOMERS, John, Lord, a lawyer and states-
man, was born at Worcester, March 4, 1650.
In 1688, he was one of the counsel for the seven
bishops ; and being chosen a member of the con-
vention parliament, he distinguished himself at
the conference of the two houses, on the question
about the abdication of the throne. When the
new government was established, he became,
successively, solicitor and attorney-general, and
in 1693, lord-keeper. He was next raised to
the peerage, appointed chancellor, and rewarded
with lands in the county of Surrey. In 1700
he was deprived of the seals, and soon after im-
peached by the commons ; but a misunderstand-
ing arising between the two houses, the lords
pronounced a verdict of acquittal. Lord Somers
projected the union between England and Scot-
SPA
536
SPA
land, and was one of the managers appointed
to carry that measure into effect. In 1708, he
was made president of the council ; but went
out of office again in 1710 : after which he led
a retired life, and died April 2G, 1716.
SONORA, one of the states of the Mexican
confederacy, lying on the Pacific ocean, rich in
the precious metals. It contains 188,000 inhab-
itants.
SPAIN, an extensive country of Europe, se-
parated by the Pyrenees from France, and sur-
rounded by the Mediterranean and the Atlantic
seas, and the Bay of Biscay, contains 185,000
square miles and about 13,900,000 inhabitants.
Spain is one of the most fertile countries in the
world. Its wines, silks, oil, wool, metals, and
minerals ; various fruits, as citrons, lemons,
oranges, pomegranates, almonds and figs, and its
famous horses, are as valuable as they are cele-
brated. The principal mountains are the Pyre-
nees between France and Spain ; Montserrat in
Catalonia; the mountains of the Asturias, those
of the kingdom of Leon and New Castile ; and
the Sierra Morena in Andalusia. The principal
rivers are the Duero, which rises in Old Castile,
the Tagus, the Guadiana, and the Guadalquivir,
all flowing into the ocean. The Ebro, whose
sources are in the frontiers of Arragon, dis-
charges itself into the Mediterranean. The
general divisions of the kingdom are as follows :
1. the kingdom of Navarre; 2. the Vascongados,
or Biscay ; 3. the principality of the Asturias;
4. the kingdom of Galicia ; 5. the kingdom of
Arragon; 6. the principality of Catalonia; 7.
the kingdom of Leon ; 8. Old Castile ; 9. Es-
tremadura; 10. New Castile; 11. the kingdom
of Valencia; 12. Andalusia (including the king-
doms of Cordova, Seville, and Granada) ; 13.
the kingdom of Jdurcia; 14. the Balearic isles.
The clouds which cover the primitive history
of Spain, do not begin to be dissipated, till the
period when the Phoenicians arrived, and form-
ed establishments in the country, before unciv-
ilized and unknown. It is supposed that they
landed in the island of St. Peter, where they
constructed the temple of Hercules, the remains
of which are still to be seen when the sea ebbs
more than usual. Soon afterwards, the town
of Gades, or Gadir, was erected; Calpe and
Abyla became renowned for the two columns
denominated the pillars of Hercules, on which
the Phoenicians engraved the inscription, Non
plus ultra.
The Greeks, the pupils of the Phoenicians in
the art of navigation, did not fail to share with
them the advantages of this discovery. They
established an extensive commerce in Spain,
and founded several cities, among the rest
Ampurias and the unfortunate Saguntuin ; but
the Carthaginians, possessing still greater skill
and power, soon made themselves masters of
the whole peninsula ; and such they would have"
remained, had not the Romans, who alone were
able to dispute with them this brilliant conquest,
at length succeeded in their efforts to wrest it
from them. In the hope of escaping from serv-
itude, the Spaniards sometimes endeavored to
defend themselves ; but more frequently deceiv-
ed by the phantom of a generous alliance, they
faithfully promoted the views of their different
oppressors.
Thus, three cities chose rather to perish than
io surrender; Saguntum, from attachment to
the Romans ; Astapa in Bostica, to the Cartha-
ginians, and Numantia for the sake of liberty.
Exhausted by all these calamities, Spain at
length began to breathe, and by degrees to re-
cruit her strength under the peaceable domin-
ion of the Romans. Induced by the fertility of
her soil, and the richness and variety of her
productions, that people founded numerous col-
onies in Spain ; military roads were opened in
every quarter ; aqueducts conveyed to the cities
the tribute of the waters; triumphal arches re-
minded tho oonquororo of their glory ; theatres
and circuses effaced from the minds of the van-
quished, the memory of their misfortunes. Sa-
guntum saw its walls reared once more ; Meri-
da, Tarragona, Cordova, Salamanca, Segovia,
and other towns, admired the splendor of their
new edifices, the glorious testimonies of the
predilection of Rome for this country, the rival
of Italy.
This happy administration did not last long.
Rome, when mistress of the world, soon became
as odious as Carthage. Spain had its Clodius
and its Verres; and the most beautiful province
of the empire of the Cssars was also the most
wretched. The Asturians and Cantabrians
alone preserved their independence, amid their
mountains. Augustus undertook their subjuga-
tion ; they defended themselves, and most of
them perished sword in hand. The poets of
Rome celebrated this cruel victory, but posterity
admires only its victims.
Spain was subject to the Romans till toward
the conclusion of the fourth century. The
northern nations, after having ravaged the other
countries of Europe, penetrated into Spain dur-
ing the reign of Honorius : the Suevi made
themselves masters of Galicia, and part of Por-
tugal ; the Alani and Vandals of Bcetica. The
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537
SPA
Goths, following at the heels of these ferocious
conquerors, compelled the Alani and Vandals
to retire to Africa; the Suevi made a longer re-
sistance, but, being at length conquered by
Leovigildus, they ceased to be a distinct people,
and all Spain received law from the Goths.
This invasion of barbarous nations gave a
mortal blow to the fine arts in a country cover-
ed with their master-pieces : yet what numis-
matic riches, how many monuments have es-
caped the devastation ! The Goths, tranquil
possessors of Spain, and enlightened by the
gospel, began to be civilized ; but the climate
which softened their character, repose which
enervated their courage, prepared an easy vic-
tory for new conquerors.
The cruelty of king Vitiza, who died in 711,
and the weakness of Roderic, his successor,
accelerated the fatal moment, and Spain fell a
prey to enemies till then unknown. The
Arabs, an ancient, wandering people, inhabiting
the deserts, joining the Moors, so called from
their native country. Mauritania, made an irrup-
tion into the south of Spain, as the Goths had
previously done in the north.
The fate of Spain was decided in the unfor-
tunate battle of Xerxes de la Frontera, where
Roderic lost his throne and his life. The con-
querors, finding no other obstacles, took posses-
sion of all Spain, except those same Pyrenees
which had so long preserved their ancient in-
habitants from the Roman yoke. These moun-
tains, and their caverns, afforded a refuge to
such of the Spanish Goths as, collected by Pe-
lagius,a prince of the blood-royal of that nation,
were able to avoid the yoke of the Mussulmen.
This second invasion, which might naturally
be supposed to have left the native Spaniards
no trace of their laws, their customs, and na-
tional qualities, produced a contrary effect : so
amply have the blessings bestowed on this hap-
py country seemed always to compensate the
inhabitants for the severity of fortune.
The Moors were not long before they felt
that influence which had softened the manners
of the Goths, and taught them to relish the
charms of a tranquil life. No sooner were the
new conquerors happy, than they ceased to be
barbarous. The principle of civilization was
developed among them with extraordinary ra-
pidity ; the love of letters ennobled their ideas,
and purified their taste, without diminishing
their courage. At Seville, at Grenada, at Cor-
dova, schools and public libraries were opened ;
and while Christian Europe was covered with
the clouds of ignorance, the genius of Averroes,
and a multitude of learned men, enlightened
the civilized Mussulmans. Not content with
patronizing the sciences, the Moorish kings,
themselves, cultivated them. How brilliant
were the reigns of the Abdarhamans and the
Mahomets !
Those princes united the private virtues with
military qualities; they were poets, historians,
mathematicians, philosophers, and great cap-
tains ; and many of them deserved a still more
honorable appellation, that of the best of kings.
At this new epoch of the history of Spain, a
new taste was introduced into the arts and gave
a direction to architecture in particular. The
ancient structures of the Goths did not harmo-
nize with the customs and the religion of the
Moors.
The latter, indifferent to external decorations,
reserved all their ingenuity for the interior of
their edifices. There they lavished whatever
was calculated to delight the senses and to
accord with a sedentary and voluptuous life.
Hence the singular magnificence of their pala-
ces and their mosques, that richness in their
ornaments, that finish in the smallest details,
which far surpass the beauty of the whole. The
arts were thus developing themselves among
the Moors, when a spark concealed in the As-
turias, produced a new conflagration, which
extended to all Spain, about 718.
Pelagius having fled to the mountains, not
only defended himself there with courage, but
under the banners of the cross, ventured to
conduct his troops into the countries contiguous
to his retreat. This illustrious man, concerning
whom we have, unfortunately, but few particu-
lars, had collected all the nobles of the Asturias
and the rest of Spain. This force, which long
proved invincible, was the instrument of the
conquests of different chiefs, the ablest of whom
made themselves sovereigns. By them weie
founded the kingdoms of Castile, Leon, Arra-
gon, and Navarre, successively conquered from
the Moors.
This war, which continued several centuries,
has, alternately, the air of history and of ro-
mance. It consists of battles, sieges, assaults,
and still more frequently of tournaments, ban-
quets, and challenges, given and accepted with
equal audacity. In these celebrated lists, tri-
umphed the heroes whose exploits are recorded
in the Spanish romances, and of these, Rodrigo
de Bivar, surnamed the Cid, particularly dis-
tinguished himself. Equal in virtue, and supe-
rior in power, to Bayard, he was, like him, the
object of the veneration, not only of his brethren
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in arms, but also of the enemies of his country.
Reduced to the single kingdom of Grenada,
the Moors there maintained themselves for sev-
eral centuries ; but, at length, expelled from
their last asylum, they were obliged to with-
draw to Africa in 1492. This important event
was reserved to crown the felicity of Ferdinand
and Isabella, and the arms of Gonsalvo de Cor-
dova, seconded by other chiefs of equal celeb-
rity. Sovereigns of Spain and of the New
World, Ferdinand and Isabella, after having
attained the pinnacle of prosperity, had the mis-
fortune to leave their immense possessions to a
foreign dynasty. They formed the dowry of
their daughter Joan, wife of Philip the fair,
archduke of Austria, and mother of Charles V.
Fortune, by her extraordinary favors, and
Cardinal Ximenes, by a wise administration,
\ hrew a lustre upon the reign of Charles V, at
( ne and the same time emperor of Germany
and king of Spain. The talents and genius of
this prince, seemed to have destined him for
universal monarchy ; and, to his own misfortune
and that of the world, he aspired to it. Palled,
however, with the pomp and pageantries of
grandeur, he chose to end his days in retire-
ment, and resigned the crown to his son Philip,
in 1556.
Don Philip concluded a truce with the crown
of France, for five years, but was compelled to
take up arms at the moment when most of the
European states were rejoicing in the prospect
of a durable repose. Soon after a most sanguin-
ary war ensued, which lasted between two and
three years, and depopulated some of the finest
provinces of Spain.
At length, the Christians obtained a decisive
victory ; and, upon the death of the Moorish
prince, the public tranquillity was restored. In
1588, in consequence of some depredations
committed in Europe and America, by the Eng-
lish, Philip resolved to take ample revenge on
queen Elizabeth, and ordered the whole mari-
time force of Spain to be assembled for a de-
scent upon her dominions. (See Armada.)
Philip III ascended the throne in 1597. After
the death of Elizabeth, peace was concluded
between England and Spain. During this
reign, the Moors were, at several times, trans-
ported into Africa ; and Spain sustained a loss
of about 60U,000 useful subjects. Philip IV
possessed good natural abilities ; and though
the greatest part of his reign was clouded by
misfortunes or disappointments, he certainly
was desirous of increasing the grandeur of the
Spanish monarchy. The young king, Charles
II, was inaugurated in 1666, and displayed pro-
mising abilities. Charles II was twice married ;
but he had the mortification of seeing himself
without offspring. At length, he resolved to
make a will in favor of the electoral house of
Bavaria; but the young prince whom he had
destined for his successor died soon after the
arrangement. Upon hearing that the different
powers of Europe had actually made a partition
of his territories, in order, as they said, to avoid
a general war, the king was so incensed, that
he left his crown, by a new will, to Philip, duke
of Anjou, grandson of his eldest sister and of
Louis XIV. He expired in the thirty-ninth
year of his age, and the thirty-fifth of his reign ;
and in him ended a branch of Austria which
had given five sovereigns to the Spanish nation.
Philip of Anjou was solemnly proclaimed on
the 24th of November, 1700. During the ab-
sence of the king in Italy with the French
troops, a league was formed against the house
af Bourbon, the object of which was to wrest
the crown of Spain from Philip V, and to place
it on the head of Charles, archduke of Austria,
who was also descended from a princess of
Spain. This competitor arrived in Portugal,
which had also joined the league, and assumed
the name of Charles III in 1704, and, being
supported by the English, he immediately com-
menced the campaign. The fate of these two
princes, during the course of the war, was as
various as singular; they expelled each other
alternately from the capital.
Philip V died after a turbulent reign of forty-
three years. Ferdinand VI succeeded him, in
1744. He died after a reign of fifteen years.
As Ferdinand died without issue, the Spanish
crown devolved on his brother Charles III in
1759, then king of Naples and the Two Sicilies,
who transferred his Italian possessions to his
third son, and hastened to Madrid, to receive
the homage of his new subjects. Charles seem-
ed to devote his whole attention to the internal
economy of his dominions; but his zeal for the
family compact soon roused him into action,
and induced him to proclaim war against Great
Britain and Portugal in 1761. However, this
war was unsuccessful, and on the tenth of Feb-
ruary, 1763, a treaty of peace was concluded
between the courts of Madrid, Lisbon, and Lon-
don. When the war between Great Britain
and her American colonies had subsisted for
some time, and France had taken part with the
latter, Spain was also induced to commence
hostilities with England.
Accordingly, they laid siege to Gibraltar,
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SPA
and made some great naval preparations in
1782 ; but all their exertions proved vain and
ineffectual. (See Gibraltar.) The sad catas-
trophe of their armada before Gibraltar, the re-
peated frustration of all their designs upon Ja-
maica, and the very embarrassed state of their
finances, induced the Spaniards to terminate so
long, expensive, and sanguinary a war, and to
conclude a peace with Great Britain in 1783.
Charles IV ascended the throne of Spain in
1789, and declared war against France in 1793.
After making every effort, his catholic majesty
concluded a treaty. Spain was afterwards
drawn into an alliance with the French republic,
and persuaded to commence hostilities against
Great Britain. In the summer of 1797, a Spa-
nish fleet, of twenty-seven sail of the line, was
appointed to form a junction with the French
fleet at Brest ; and, after being reinforced by a
numerous squadron of Dutch vessels, an at-
tempt was to be made on some part of the Bri-
tish dominions. However, before the intended
junction could be effected, the Spanish fleet
was met by admiral Jarvis, near cape St. Vin-
cent, and an engagement ensued, in which,
notwithstanding the great inequality, the En-
glish captured four of the enemy's vessels.
In 1801 the Spaniards declared war against
Portugal, and entered Alentejo from different
points, with an army of nearly 40,000 men.
However, his catholic majesty embraced the
earliest opportunity of terminating this affair.
In 1804, the court of Madrid issued a declara-
tion of war against England, and made great pre-
parations for prosecuting hostilities with vigor
and effect. After the junction of the French
Brest fleet with that of Spain, at Ferrol, the
united armament experienced several signal
defeats from the victorious British navy, which
terminated with the ever memorable battle of
Trafalgar, Oct. 21, 1805.
In 1807, a treaty was concluded between the
sovereigns of France and Spain, the object of
which was a partition of the kingdom of Por-
tugal. After obtaining possesion of the capital
of Portugal, and securing free access for his
troops to every part of the peninsula, the em-
peror of France waited for a favorable oppor-
tunity of rendering himself master of the whole.
In 1808, Charles IV formed the design of re-
moving the seat of government to Mexico, in
America. No sooner had this transpired, than
an attack was made on the palace of Godoy at
Aranjuez ; and though the prince of peace ef-
fected his escape, the king found it necessary
to dismiss him from all his employments. The
populace, however, still remaining in a state of
insurrection at Aranjuez and Madrid, and the
king being deprived of his prime minister,
Charles published another decree, in which he
announced that he had abdicated the throne in
favor of his son, the prince of Asturias.
The first act of Ferdinand VII was to issue an
edict, in which he declared his intention of con-
fiscating the property of the prince of peace.
Murat, to whom the command of the French
forces in Spain had been confided, no sooner
heard of the occurrences at Aranjuez, than he
hastened the march of his army towards the
capital. Anxious to conciliate the favor of Bo-
naparte, and allured by the promises of his ge-
nerals, Murat and Savary, Ferdinand was in-
duced to quit Madrid, and to repair to Bayonne,
the place chosen by the emperor of France for
the accomplishment of his designs.
Murat employed every artifice to persuade
Charles and his queen to depart for Bayonne ;
and, after liberating the prince of peace, the
royal party left the Spanish capital, and repair-
ed to the frontier of France. Although Ferdi-
nand was induced, by the threat of death, to
sign a resignation of the throne in favor of his
father, by whom all its rights were transferred
to the emperor Napoleon, in 1808.
At Madrid the whole armed populace of the
capital of Spain now rose against 10,000 French
troops, with Murat at their head. A dreadful
carnage took place, and terminated in the de-
feat of the insurgents, and the disarming of the
whole city. A junta was summoned to meet
at Bayonne, where a new constitution for Spain
was laid before them for their acceptance ; Jo-
seph Bonaparte, the new king, transferred from
the throne of Naples to that of Spain, appeared
in royal state.
Thus was effected one of the most singular
and unprincipled revolutions in a powerful
kingdom, of which history affords a record. No
sooner, however, was the French usurpation
known, than an explosion of indignant patriot-
ism burst forth from one extremity of Spain to
the other. Provincial juntas were established,
which gave a regular organization to the popu-
lar efforts ; and the junta at Seville was the first
to proclaim Ferdinand VII and war against
France. The friendship and assistance of Great
Britain were solicited, and immediately granted.
A most desperate warfare now commenced.
The success of the Spaniards was various,
but the French, with king Joseph at their head,
in a short time found themselves obliged to
evacuate Madrid. A supreme junta was form-
SPA
540
SPA
ed from the juntas of the different provinces ;
and the solemn installation of this body took
place at the palace of Aranjuez. The first act
of the supreme junta was to appoint a new-
council of war, consisting of five members; and
the national force was divided into three great
bodies, for the purpose of acting in the east, in
the west, and in the centre of the kingdom.
Napoleon now determined in person to change
the fortune of the war ; and having put his
veteran troops in motion for Spain, he proceed-
ed to Bayonne, and thence to the head-quarters
of the French army at Vittoria.
The military force of Spain was wholly una-
ble to meet, upon equal terms, French armies
commanded by the most consummate generals ;
and the campaign which followed the arrival of
Napoleon, was a series of victories to the one,
and of defeats to the other. The French ap-
peared intent on subjugating the whole coun-
try ; but Napoleon was obliged to leave Spain,
in consequence of a breach between France and
Austria. His generals, however, conducted the
war in Spain with so much ability, that the cause
of Spanish independence was rendered almost
desperate ; and in 1810, king Joseph issued a
manifesto, in which he affected to consider the
contest as decided.
The cortes of Spain assembled at Cadiz.
This body of national representatives was elect-
ed by the provinces, cities, and provincial jun-
tas ; and they were termed the General or Ex-
traordinary Cortes, and to them was intrusted
the sovereign power. They swore fealty to
king Ferdinand VII, and declared the renuncia-
tions at Bayonne null and void. They took the
title of majesty till the arrival of Ferdinand,
and assumed the legislative power of the state.
The war was still prosecuted by the Span-
iards, but not with sufficient vigor ; and the
French actively employed their superiority of
force in extending their conquests through a
considerable part of Spain. In the course of
two months, the Spaniards lost the fortresses
of Tortosa, Olivenca, and Badajos, without any
sufficient reason. The reduction of these places
was followed by that of Tarragona, in which
every outrage and cruelty suffered in a town
taken by storm, was inflicted upon the in-
habitants ; and, by this conquest, the French
became possessed of the whole coast of Cata-
lonia.
However, Lord Wellington, with the British
and Portuguese forces, recovered possession of
Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajos, in 1812; and he
soon after gave marshal Marmont a signal
defeat at Salamanca. The effects of this great
victory were felt in different parts of Spain :
king Joseph, with the central French army,
found himself obliged again to leave Madrid;
and the French deserted the long continued
blockade of Cadiz. The Spanish cortes pre-
sented the august spectacle of a public signa-
ture of the articles of that constitution which
had so long been the object of their labors.
Deputies from all parts of the monarchy were
present in this solemnity. A commission was
appointed to carry the constitution to the regen-
cy. The deputies swore to obey the constitu-
tion ; the regency took the oath of office ; and
the constitution was solemnly proclaimed.
The next important event was the battle of
Vittoria, in 1813. The French retired by Pam-
peluna ; and being driven from all their strong
posts, they at length crossed the Bidassoa, and
re-entered France. The allied forces took the
strong castle of St. Sebastian, in the operations
against which the British navy gave effectual
assistance. The progress of the allies in France
afterwards, produced the capitulation of most
of the French garrisons remaining in Spain ;
and at length the state of affairs would no longer
permit the detention of Ferdinand.
The king proceeded to Valencia in 1814,
where he was joined by most of the grandees,
and many prelates. At this place, Ferdinand
issued a royal proclamation, in which he declar-
ed his intention not only not to swear or accede
to the constitution, or to any decree of the cortes
derogating from his prerogatives as sovereign,
but to pronounce that constitution and those
decrees null and of no effect. The decree for
dissolving that body was received with enthu-
siasm by the people of Madrid. A great num-
ber of persons were arrested, whose names
comprised almost all those who had rendered
themselves conspicuous during the reign of the
cortes in favor of public liberty. Ferdinand
was received in Madrid with every demonstra-
tion of loyalty.
The court of inquisition was re-established,
though, it is said, in a milder and more equita-
ble form ; arrests and prosecutions were multi-
plied ; and Spain was effectually thrown back
to that degraded state among nations from
which she seemed about to emerge. During the
captivity of Ferdinand in France, the inhabi-
tants of Mexico and South America were divid-
ed into two parties ; the loyalists, who submit-
ed to the regency, and the independents, who
aimed to govern themselves. Ferdinand had
no sooner been reseated on his throne than he
SPI
541
STA
displayed his hatred of liberal principles, and
declared the proceedings of the cortes, uncon-
stitutional. The struggles of the Spaniards for
freedom were long quieted. But since the
death of Ferdinand in 1833, the queen regent
has thrown herself into the army of the con-
stitutionalists.
SUCCESSION OF KINGS FROM FERDINAND THE
GREAT.
Ferdinand the Great, under whom Castile
and Leon were united, from 1027 to 1035
Sancho the Strong . . . 1065
Alphonso the Valiant .... 1072
Alphonso VII. .... 1109
Alphonso VIII 1122
Sancho III. . • . . 1157
Ferdinand II. . . . . 1153
Alphonso IX. . . . . 1158
Henry I. .... 1214
Ferdinand III. .... 1216
Alphonso X. .... 1252
Sancho IV. .... 1284
Ferdinand IV. .... 1294
Alphonso XI. .... 1312
Peter the Cruel . . . . 1350
Henry II. 1368
John I. the Bastard .... 1379
Henry III 1390
John II. 1406
Henry IV. ... 1454
Ferdinand and Isabella, the first styled
Catholic 1474
Philip I. 1504
Charles 1 1516
Philip II. .... 1555
Philip III. .... 1591
Philip IV. .... 1621
Charles II 1665
Philip V. resigned .... 1700
Lewis .... 1724
Philip V. re-assumed, died . . 1725
Ferdinand VI 1745
Charles III 1759
Charles IV. ... . . 1788
who resigned the crown to his son
Ferdinand VII 1808
Maria Isabella .... 1833
SPARTA. (See Lacedamon.)
SPINOLA, Ambrose, a famous general, was
I born in Spain, of a noble Genoese family, in
1569. He commanded an army in Flanders,
and in 1604 took Ostend ; for which he was
made general of all the Spanish troops in the
Low Countries, where he was opposed by
Maurice of Nassau. In the war occasioned by
the disputed succession to the duchy of Cleves
and Juliers, Spinola took Aix-'a-Chapelle, We-
sel, and Breda. He died in 1630.
STAEL-HOLSTEIN, Anne Louisa Ger-
maine Necker, baroness de, the most distin-
guished female of her age, was the daughter of
Necker, the minister of finance, and was born in
Paris, in 1766. Her earliest productions were
Sophia, a comedy, written in 1786, and the
tragedies of lady Jane Grey and Montmorency.
In 1786 she married the baron de Stael-Holstein,
the Swedish ambassador. During the reign of
terror, she left Paris, but on the recognition of
the French republic by Sweden, her husband
returned to France in his official capacity, bring-
ing his wife with him. He died in 1798. At
Paris Madame de Slael first beheld Napoleon
on his return after the treaty of Campo-Formio.
But her early feelings of admiration for him
were soon changed into those of aversion and
hatred. She was banished from France by
Bonaparte. In her exile she published various
works, among them two novels, Delphine and
Corinne ou Italie, the last the fruits of her tour
in Italy. She visited Germany and Russia,
and produced a work upon the former. At
Geneva she married a young French officer by
the name of de Rocca,but did not acknowledge
the union until her death. In 1814 she returned
to Paris, but Napoleon's return from Elba drove
her to Coppet. She died July 14, 1817.
STANHOPE, Charles, the third earl, was
born August 3, 1753. In 1774 he stood candi-
date for Westminster, but without success. By
the interest of the earl of Shelburne, however, he
was brought into parliament for the borough of
Wycombe, which he represented till the death
of his father, in 1786, called him to the Upper
House. He distinguished himself at an early
period of the French Revolution, by an open
avowal of republican sentiments, and went so
far as to lay aside the external ornaments of the
peerage. He was also a frequent speaker, and
on some occasions was left single in a minority.
He died December 16, 1816.
STARK, John, a brigadier-general in the
revolutionary war, was born at Londonderry,
New Hampshire, Aug. 17, 1728. In the French
war of 1755 he served with distinction, and
at the battle of Breed's hill, fought at the head
of the New Hampshire troops. At Trenton and
Princeton his voice was heard, but at Benning-
ton he covered himself with glory. Previous to
the battle, he addressed his troops in a style cal-
culated to win their attention. " We must beat
them, my boys," concluded he, " or this night
Molly Stark is a widow ! " He died May 8, 1822.
STE
542
STO
STATEN ISLAND, situated S. of the
city of New York, is 14 miles long, and con-
tained, in 1830, 7,084 inhabitants. It constitutes
the county of Richmond, N. Y.
STEPHEN, king of England, usurped the
throne on the dc'ath of Henry I in the year
1135. In order to secure himself, he passed a
charter, granting several privileges to the diffe-
rent orders of the state. To the nobility, a
permission to hunt in their own forests ; to the
clergy, a speedy filling of all vacant benefices ;
and to the people, restoration of the laws of
Edward the Confessor. Matilda, however, as-
serting her claim to the crown, landed upon the
coast of Sussex, assisted by Robert, earl of
Gloucester. The whole of Matilda's retinue,
amounted to no more than one hundred and
forty knights, who immediately took possession
of Arundel castle ; but her forces every day
seemed to gain ground. Meantime Stephen
flew to besiege Arundel, where she had taken
refuge, and where she was protected by the
queen dowager, who secretly favored her pre-
tensions. This fortress was too feeble to pro-
mise a long defence, and would have been soon
taken, had it not been represented to the king,
that as it was a castle belonging to the queen
dowager, it would be an infringement on the
respect due to her to attempt taking it by force.
Stephen, therefore, permitted Matilda to come
forth in safety, and had her conveyed with se-
curity to Bristol, another fortress equally strong
with that from whence he permitted her to
retire. Matilda's forces increased every day ;
and a victory gained by the queen, threw Ste-
phen from the throne and exalted Matilda in
his room. Matilda, however, affected to treat
the nobility with a degree of disdain, to which
they had long been unaccustomed ; so that the
fickle nation once more began to pity their de-
posed king. The bishop of Winchester foment-
ed these discontents ; and when he found the
people ripe for a tumult, detached a party of
his friends and vassals to block up the city of
London, where the queen then resided, and
measures were taken to instigate the Londoners
to a revolt, and to seize her person. Matilda
having timely notice of this conspiracy, fled to
Winchester, whither the bishop followed her.
His party was soon sufficient to bid the queen
open defiance ; and to besiege her in the very
place where she first received his benediction.
There she continued for some time, but the
town being pressed by famine, she was obliged
to escape, while her brother, the earl of Glou-
cester, endeavoring to follow, was taken prison-
er, and exchanged for Stephen, who still con-
tinued a captive. Thus a sudden revolution
once more took place ; Matilda was deposed,
while Stephen was again recognised as king.
His reign, however, was soon terminated by
his death, which happened about a year after
the treaty at Canterbury, when Henry, Matil-
da's son, succeeded.
STEUBEN, Frederic William Augustus,
baron von ; a Prussian officer who entered the
American service during our revolution, and in
1778 was appointed by Congress inspector-gen-
eral of the forces, with the rank of major-gene-
ral. He was in the trenches at Yorktown where
he received the first offer of Cornwallis to cap-
itulate. Baron von Steuben was generous and
hospitable, and introduced the strictest disci-
pline into our army. He settled in Oneida
county, New York, where he had received a
grant of land, and, by the exertions of Wash-
ington and Hamilton obtained an annuity of
$"2500 from the general government. He died
in 1795 of apoplexy.
STEVENS, Edward, a native of Virginia,
commanded a battalion of riflemen, in the battle
of great bridge, near Norfolk, and behaved with
gallantry at Brandy wine, German town, Camden,
Guilford Court-house, and Yorktown. After
the war he was elected a senator of Virginia.
He died in 1820.
STEWART, Gilbert, a celebrated American
portrait-painter, born at Newport, R. I., in 1757,
died in Boston, July, 1828. He studied in Lon-
don where he pursued his profession with great
success.
STOCKHOLM, a handsome city, the capital
of Sweden, situated at the junction of lake Ma-
lar with an inlet of the Baltic, containing 79,526
inhabitants. It is built chiefly on three islands,
and has numerous fine buildings. Stockholm
was the scene of a dreadful crime perpetrated
by Christian II. He determined to destroy at
once all the Swedish nobility, in order to re-
venge the troubles they had occasioned, and to
prevent the people from revolting in future, by
depriving them of proper persons to conduct
their operations. He cut off the chief men of
the nation with the axe of the executioner. The
entire seriate were conducted to death before the
eyes of the citizens of Stockholm, who beheld
the bloody scene with apathy and unconcern.
The peasantry viewed this massacre in no other
light than as a just retribution for the oppres-
sive conduct of the nobles, who had converted
the monarchy into a kind of aristocracy. The
cruelty of Christian is almost inconceivable ; he
STO
543
STO
indiscriminately pillaged all ranks of people,
erected every where scaffolds and gibbets, and
I brandished the scythe of death over every head.
I He did not consider it as a sufficient gratifica-
' tion to deprive his victims of life ; he took a
pleasure in prolonging the duration of their suf-
ferings by the sight of the preparations which
preceded the execution, and he wished to give
them as it were a full relish of all the bitterness
of death. Among other instances of cruelty
I and barbarity, he obliged women to sew with
their own hands the sacks in which they were
to be tied up and drowned.
STOCKTON, Richard, a signer of the Amer-
ican Declaration of Independence, was born
near Princeton, Oct. 1, 1730. Having gradua-
ted at New Jersey college, he made the tour of
, Great Britain, and returned to New Jersey in
! 1768. June 21, 1776, he was chosen by the
provincial congress a delegate to the general
congress assembled at Philadelphia. On Nov.
30 of the same year, he was seized in the night by
the British and conveyed to New York, where
he was treated with such severity that his con-
stitution was broken, and after languishing a
long time, he died at Princeton, Feb. 28, 1781,
| in the 51st year of his age.
STONE, Thomas, a signer of the Declara-
tion of Independence, studied law at Frederick-
town, Maryland, and took his seat in the gene-
ral congress in May, 1775. He died on the 5th
of October, 1787.
STONY POINT. The following account of
■ this interesting place is from the pen of the Rev.
] J. N. Maffitt.
" The scenery of the Hudson river bears na-
i ture's grandest imprint. The hand that framed
, an universe of worlds has thrown together along
1 the banks of this noble stream a wild assem-
i blage of rocks and mountains. The Palisades,
| as they are called, commence on the western
side of the Hudson, just above Weehawk or
Weehawken, and extend about twelve miles up
the river. They are bold, abrupt demonstra-
tions of omnipotence, moulded by Him whose
power is not bounded by time or circumstance.
The cannon of a thousand armies might roar
out their ineffectual vengeance against this na-
tural battery, which frowns over the broad bright
stream at an elevation of from sixty to one hun-
dred and fifty feet ; and the parapet would laugh
in scorn at the power of battle.
After the Palisades terminate, a country of
hills and vales succeeds ; the former rounded up
like loaves of sugar, and the latter indented like
dimples on the cheek of beauty. Occasionally,
however, nature has projected into the stream
one of her bold fronts — a miniature formation
of those " hills of fear," which cast their sombre
shadows across the pass of the Highlands. One
of these projections is Stony Point. It stands out
in bold relief from the rural scenery just below,
and challenges the attention of the passenger
who has been relieved from the sublimity of
the basaltic rocks of the Palisades only to pre-
pare him for a wilder development of nature's
craniology. But the impressions which crowd
into the spectator's mind in this region are not
all derived from river, mountain, or valley, —
tradition and history lend a melancholy glory to
this revolutionary ground. On the right or
eastern bank stretches away the celebrated
" neutral ground " throughout the entire extent
of West Chester county, where regulars, cow-
boys, Virginia horse, and continentals, Whigs
and Tories, appeared and disappeared like the
actors of a wild and bloody tragedy. On the
left, Stony Point is allied to associations of mili-
tary achievements of unfading renown — while
farther up, the memory of Arnold's tieason,
Andre's capture, and untimely although merited
fate, twines around the memorable rocks of West
Point.
Stony Point is about forty miles above New
York and ten or fourteen below West Point.
It is a rounded, gravelly hill, of small extent,
jutting into the stream, and connected with the
main land by a low morass which is partially
overflowed with the tide waters. It was forti-
fied in the revolutionary war, and, occupied by
a small force, might have been considered as a
remote outpost to the strong fortress of West
Point. It was captured by the British in the
year 1779, and strongly repaired and garrisoned
by more than six hundred soldiers commanded
by the brave Lieut. Col. Johnson.
A few days before the sixteenth of July, in
the same year, a tall, commanding personage,
mounted on a strong charger, was seen on the
eminences above Stony Point. — He had a glass
in his hand, aud appeared to study the charac-
ter of the defences with an intensity of interest.
Johnson, who was returning the gaze of the
horseman with his spy-glass, turned to one of
his staff and remarked that the apparition on the
hill portended no good. Rumors were afloat
about the intrenchments that the same tall fig-
ure had been seen across the river on the high-
est opposite eminence the day before, like a
horseman painted against the sky. A cow-boy
said that this figure was the apparition of Wash-
ington, and that it never was seen excepting
STO
544
SUE
just before a battle or a thunder storm. But
while these idle rumors floated around the at-
mosphere of the camp, the real Washington,
from observations made with his own eyes, was
concerting a soldier-like plan for its surprise.
On the night of the sixteenth of July, by the
twinkling light of the stars that broke over and
through the clouds, two columns of soldiers
might have been seen under the brow of the
eminence in the rear of the fort. They were
stern men — the silent, thoughtful men of New-
England. The eagle-eyed Wayne was at their
head, and his heart was like that of the lion.
The regiments of Febigez and Meigs, with the
youthful Major Hull's detachment formed the
right column ; Butler's regiment, with two
companies under Major Murphy, formed the
left. The van of the right was formed of one
hundred and fifty volunteers at whose head
stood the brave Fleury ; one hundred volun-
teers under Hewart composed the van of the
left. And still further advanced, the noblest
post of all, stood two " forlorn hopes " of twen-
ty men each — one commanded by Lieut. Gib-
bins, and the other by Lieut. Knox. Wayne
stepped from man to man through the van-
guards, saw them take their flints from their
pieces and fix the death-bayonet. At twenty
minutes past eleven, the two columns moved to
the bloody work before them, one going to the
left and the other to the right to make their at-
tack on opposite sides.
The inhabitants on the eastern side of the riv-
er first heard a sharp crashing as the forlorn
hope on either side broke in the double row of
abattis ; the muskets of the sentinels flashed
suddenly amidst the darkness, and in a moment
the fortress vomited out flame and thunder as if
a volcano had been ignited, and was tossing its
lava upwards. The cry of battle not to be mis-
taken, shrill, wild and fearful, broke upon the
dull ear of night. But all was in vain for the
fortress. Under the showers of grape, and full
in the red eye of battle, the two gloomy, still,
unwavering columns moved on, and the two
vanguards met in the centre of the work. The
British made an instant surrender to avoid the
extermination which awaited the deploy of the
columns upon the intrenchments. Sixty-three
British soldiers lay dead at their guns ; five
hundred and forty -three were made prisoners,
and the spoils were two standards, two flags,
fifteen pieces of ordnance, and other materials
of war. Of the sons of New England, ninety-
eight were killed or wounded. Of Lieut. Gib-
bin's forlorn hope seventeen were no more. Of
Lieut. Knox's about the same number were
slain.
These spots, where the life-blood of the free
has been poured out like water, and where the
traces of the revolutionary ditch and mound still
remain, are altars sacred to the high recollec-
tions of freedom. Green be the turf over these
departed patriots. The bold bluff of Stony
Point is classic ground. Hither in future time
shall the poet and the sentimentalist come to
pay their tribute of affection and honor, where
' our fathers knelt
In prayer and battle for a world.' "
STRAFFORD, Earl of, Thomas Wentworth,
eldest son of sir William Wentworth, of York-
shire, was born in Chancery-lane, London,
April 13, 1593. In 1614, he succeeded to the
baronetcy, and the following year was nomina-
ted keeper of the archives for the West Riding,
in the room of sir John Saville. He was made
president of the council of York, and next lord
deputy of Ireland. In 1639 he was created earl
of Strafford, made knight of the garter, and ap-
pointed lord-lieutenant. All this increased the
number and malignity of his enemies in the
house of commons ; who, when the earl return-
ed to take his seat in the house of lords, carried
up an impeachment against him, and he was
sent to the Tower. But though the prosecu-
tors took four months to prepare their case, and
pursued it with virulence, no evidence could be
found to support the charges. Determined,
however, not to let their victim escape, Pym
and his associates brought in a bill of attainder,
which, by exciting the mob to acts of outrage,
they forced the peers to pass. The king like-
wise yielded to his fears, against his conscience,
and gave the royal assent to this illegal measure.
He suffered on Tower-hill, May 12, 1641.
STRONG, Caleb, L. L. D. a governor of
Massachusetts, was born in Northampton,
Mass., in 1744 ; and was educated at Harvard
college. In 1775 he was a member of the com-
mittee of safety, and afterwards served in the
legislature. In 1800 he was elected governor
of his native state, and held the office for seven
successive years. In 1812 he was reelected,
and held the office till 1816. He died in 1820.
He was upright, patriotic, and learned.
SUEVI. In the time of Caesar, the Suevi
were numbered among the most warlike na-
tions of Germany, and agreed in customs and
manners with the other inhabitants of that ex-
tensive country. Their situation is said to have
been between the Elbe and the Vistula. Tibe-
rius transported some thousands of them into
SUL
545
suw
Gaul, and assigned lands to others beyond the
Danube. They formed a kingdom in the vi-
cinity of the towns of Merida, Seville, and Car-
thagena, which, in the year 585, was reduced to
a province of the Gothic monarchy, by Leovi-
gild, king of the Visigoths, after it had subsist-
ed one hundred and seventy-four years.
SULLIVAN, John, for a few years before the
revolution, practised law in New Hampshire,
and resigned his seat in the Congress of 1774,
to enter the army, in which he was appointed
brigadier-general in 1775. In the battle of
Long-Island he was taken prisoner but soon
exchanged, and entrusted with the command
of the right division in the battle of Trenton.
He also commanded the right wing at the bat-
tles of Brandywine and Germantown. The
differences between Count d' Estaing and Sul-
livan caused the failure of the siege of Newport
in August, 1777. In 177!) he defeated the Six
Nations of Indians in New York. His exten-
sive calls for military stores, and strictures on
the conduct of Congress with regard to him,
were followed by his resignation of his com-
mand on the 9th of November. After the close
of the war, in 1786, he was elected president of
New Hampshire and held the office for three
years. In Oct. 1789, he was appointed judge
of New Hampshire, and died, Jan. 23, 1795.
SULLIVAN, James, brother of the prece-
ding, was born at Berwick, Maine, April 22,
1744, and studied law under his brother. He
\ was for several years governor of Massachu-
J setts, and held some high judicial offices. He
I died Dec. 10, 1808, in the 65th year of his age.
SULLY, Maximilian de Bethune, baron de
Rosni, and duke of, was born at the castle of
1 Rosni in 1559. At the age of eleven, the ba-
i ron, his father, presented him to the queen of
', Navarre, who gave him an appointment about
' the person of her son Henry, with whom Sully
j Was educated. Soon after this the queen, on
(the invitation of Charles IX went to Paris, and
/ died there, not without suspicion of poison ;
I which opinion received confirmation when the
I massacre of St. Bartholomew occurred soon af-
j terwards. In that carnage, Sully escaped by
, passing through the crowd as a student, to the
college of Burgundy, where the principal lock-
ed him up in a closet for three days. In 1576,
I the king of Navarre eluded the vigilance of his
guards, and arrived at Tours, accompanied by
I Sully, who, in the war that ensued, carried his
valor almost to excess, which made Henry say
to him one day, " I admire your courage, but
i wish you to reserve it for better occasions." In
35
all the battles and sieges that followed, he bore
a prominent part. Henry IV made him gov-
ernor of Poitou, grand master of the ports and
harbors of France, and erected, in his favor, the
lands of Sully upon the Loire, into a duchy.
On the murder of" that great monarch, in 1610,
the duke retired from court, and employed him-
self in writing his memoirs. He died at his cas-
tle at Villabon, Dec. 22, 1641.
SUMATRA, an island in the eastern seas,
the largest of the Sunda Isles, is divided ob-
liquely by the equator, and contains about 160,000
square miles ; it is fertile, but the interior is
little known.
SUMTER, Thomas, a distinguished partisan
officer, during the American revolutionary war,
whose operations were principally confined to
South Carolina, where he died in his ninety-
eighth year, June 1, 1832. In the halls of con-
gress he served his country, as well as in the
field. " Sumter," says Lee, " was younger than
Marion, who was about forty-eight years of age,
larger in frame, better fitted, in strength of
body, for the toils of war, and, like his compeer,
devoted to the freedom of his country. His as-
pect was manly and stern, denoting insupera-
ble firmness and lofty courage. Determined to
deserve success, he risked his own life and the
lives of his associates without reserve."
SUWAROFF - RIMNITZKOLY, Peter
Alexis Wasiliowitsch, Count of, prince Italin-
ski, field-marshal and generalissimo of the Rus-
sian armies, better known by the name of Su-
warrow, was born of a Swedish family, about
1730. He made his first campaign in the seven
years' war, and distinguished himself so much,
that in 1762 he was appointed colonel of infan-
try. In 1768 he was made brigadier ; soon af-
ter which he was raised to the rank of major-
general, and for his services in Poland, received
the orders of St. Anne, St. George, and Alex-
ander. In 1773 he had a command against the
Turks, whom he defeated at Turtukey ; on
which occasion he wrote to marshal Roman-
zow, as follows : — " Honor and glory to God !
Glory to you, Romanzow ! We are in posses-
sion of Turtukey, and I am in it." On the re-
newal of the war in 1787, Suwarrow defended
Kinburn, and was wounded at the siege of Oc-
zakow. September 22, 1789, he gained, in con-
junction with the Austrian general, Saxe Co-
burg, the victory of Rymnik, though the Turks
mustered four to one against the allies. This
achievement was followed by the taking of Ben-
der and Belgrade, for his share in which, Su-
warrow was created, by the emperor Joseph, a
SWE
546
SWI
count of the Roman empire, and by his own
sovereign, a count of the empire of Russia, with
the title of Rymnikski. Inl7(J0, he took Ismai-
low, where, though the plunder was immense,
Suwarrow would not take a single article for
himself. On this conquest he wrote to prince
Potemkin the following letter : " The Russian
colors wave on the ramparts of Ismailow." Af-
ter this, Suwarrow had a principal concern in
the operations which produced the partition of
Poland, for which he was made a field-marshal,
and presented with an estate. When the em-
peror Paul embarked in the confederacy against
France, Suwarrow was appointed commander
of the combined army in Italy, where he gained
many advantages, particularly the battle of No-
vi. After this he crossed the Alps, and march-
ed into Switzerland, but being disappointed of
reinforcements, he was obliged to retreat towards
the lake of Constance. He was then recalled,
and died of chagrin, May 18, 1800.
SWEDEN, united with Norway, and some-
times styled Scandinavia, comprises 291,224
square miles. Sweden itself contains 168,363
square miles, and 3,000,000 inhabitants. Some
of the largest lakes are Wenner, and Wetter.
The winters are long and cold ; the summers
short and hot. The wealth of Sweden is prin-
cipally derived from its mines of iron and cop-
per ; the principal exports being iron, copper,
alum, timber, and tar. The Swedes are viva-
cious and intelligent, honest, temperate, and
hospitable. The Goths, the ancient inhabitants
of this country, joined by the Normans, Danes,
Saxons, Vandals, &c. subdued the Roman em-
pire, and all the southern nations of Europe.
The introduction of Christianity, however, by
Ansgarius, bishop of Bremen, in 82!), seems to
present the first certain period of the Swedish
history. The history of Sweden, and indeed
of all the northern nations, even during the first
ages of Christianity, is confused and uninter-
esting, and often doubtful, but sufficiently re-
plete with murders, massacres, and ravages.
That of Sweden is void of consistency, till about
the middle of the fourteenth century, when it
assumes an appearance more regular and con-
sistent. The Swedes perished in the dissen-
sions between their prelates and lay-barons, or
between those and their sovereigns ; they were
drained of the little riches they possessed, to
support the indolent pomp of a few magnificent
bishops ; and, what was still more fatal^ the un-
lucky situation of their internal affairs exposed
them to the inroads and oppression of a foreign
enemy. These were the Danes, who, by their
neighborhood and power, were always able to
avail themselves of the dissensions in Sweden.
In this deplorable situation, Sweden remained
for more than two centuries ; sometimes under
the nominal subjection of its own princes, some-
times united to the kingdom of Denmark.
Denmark negotiated a treaty of peace with
Sweden and Great Britain, in 1814. By this
treaty Norway was surrendered to Sweden, in
return for which Denmark received Swedish
Pomerania, and the isle of Rugen.
SUCCESSION OF KINGS FROM SlGISMUND I.
Sigismund I. a. d. 3592
Charles IX. — 1606
Gustavus II (Adolphus). — 1611
Christina, (aged 6) — 1633
Charles X. — 1654
Charles XI. — 1660
Charles XII. (aged 15) — 1699
Ulrica, sister to Charles, (aged 15) — 1718
Adolphus of Holstein — 1751
Gustavus III. — 1771
Gustavus IV. — 1792
Charles XIII. — 1809
Charles XIV (Marshal Bernadotte,) — 1818
SWIFT, Jonathan, an eminent English au-
thor, was born at Cashel, in the county of Tip-
perary, November 30, 1667. He studied at
Trinity college, Dublin, but neglecting the
academical course, was refused the degree of
Arts at the usual time, and only obtained it
some years after as an especial favor. Having
studied theology, he took orders, and in 1713
was appointed to the deanery of St. Patrick's.
In 1716 he privately married Miss Johnson, the
Stella of his poems, whom he treated with great
coldness, refusing to acknowledge the union
publicly. When he found her dying, he offered
to acknowledge her as his wife : but she repli-
ed, " It is too late." While this lady was liv-
ing, he engaged the attentions of his pupil, Miss
Vanhomrigh, who died in 1723, on learning his
marriage with Miss Johnson. In 1742 the mind
of Swift was completely decayed, and he died in
1745, in his 78th year. Besides his political
writings, his most popular works are Tale of a
Tub, Battle of the Books, Gulliver's Travels,
&c.
Without much conscience, or much consist-
ency, Swift possessed a ready wit — a sarcastic
humor — a thorough knowledge of the baser
parts of human nature — and a complete famili-
arity with every thing that is low, homely, and
familiar in language. These were his gifts;-
and he soon felt for what end they were given.
Almost all his works are libels ; generally upon
SWI
547
SWI
individuals, sometimes upon sects and parties,
sometimes upon human nature. Whatever be
his end, however, personal abuse, direct, vehe-
ment, unsparing invective, is his means. It is
his sword and his shield, his panoply, and his
chariot of war. In all his writings, according-
ly, there is nothing to raise or exalt our notions
of human nature, — but there is every thing to
vilify and degrade them. We may learn from
them, perhaps, to dread the consequence of base
actions, but never to love the feelings that lead
to generous ones. There is no spirit, indeed,
of love or honor In any part of them ; but an
unvaried and harassing display of insolence
and animosity in the writer, and villany and
folly in those of whom he is writing. Though
a great polemic, he makes no use of general
principles, nor enlarges his views to a wide or
comprehensive conclusion. Every thing is par-
ticular with him, and, for the most part, strictly
personal. To make amends, however, he is
quite without a competitor in personalities.
With a quick and sagacious spirit, and a bold
and popular manner, he joins an exact know-
ledge of all the strong and weak parts of the
cause he has to manage ; and, without the least
restraint of delicacy, either of taste or of feel-
ing, he seems always to think the most effectu-
al blows the most advisable, and no advantage
unlawful that is likely to be successful for the
moment. Disregarding all the laws of polished
hostility, he uses, at one and the same moment,
his sword and his poisoned dagger — his hands
and his teeth and his envenomed breath, — and
does not even scruple, upon occasion, to imi-
tate his own yahoos, by discharging on his un-
happy victims a shower of filth, from which
neither courage nor dexterity can afford any
protection.
Against such an antagonist it was, of course,
at no time, very easy to make head; and ac-
cordingly his invective seems, for the most part,
to have been as much dreaded, and as tremen-
dous as the personal ridicule of Voltaire. Both
were inexhaustible, well directed, and unspar-
ing : but even when Voltaire drew blood, he did
not mangle the victim, and was only mischiev-
ous when Swift was brutal.
Swift had a quarrel with a pompous, prag-
matical attorney, on whom he determined to
have satisfaction by his pen. Accordingly he
turned yEsop's fable of the apples and the ordure
into verse — and when he came to the address
of the latter to the former,
" How we apples swim,"
he subjoined —
" Thus at the bar, that booby Bettsworth,
Tho' half a crown outpays his sweat's worth,
Who knows of law, nor text, nor margeant,
Calls Singleton his brother Sergeant."
Singleton was a first-rate lawyer.
Bettsworth, stung to the quick, went very
pompously to Swift, and holding out the paper,
asked him, with a menacing voice and gesture
— "jSir, are you the author of this infamous at-
tack on me ? '* " Sit down, sir," says Swift,
very calmly — " do not be in a passion, but let
me tell you a short story. When I was young,
my dear father — heaven rest his soul ! — seeing
that I had a turn for scribbling, and fearful of
the consequences, one day told me that he was
afraid that propensity would some time or other
bring me into trouble. ' And, my dear son,'
added he, ' let me give you a piece of advice.
Should any libellous matter appear in any news-
paper, and any fool or knave call on you to de-
mand whether or not you are the writer — say
no;' — and therefore, sir, I say no to you."
Bettsworth had no remedy, and went off
grumbling — saying Swift was like one of his
own vile Yahoos, besmearing people with his
filth, and out of the reach of punishment.
SWITZERLAND. The Swiss confedera-
cy, as its limits were determined by the con-
gress of Vienna, contains an area of 15,000
square miles, and 2,037,030 persons.
CANTONS.
Zurich,
Berne,
Lucerne,
Uri,
Schweitz,
Underwalden,
Glarus,
Zug,
Friburg,
Soleure,
Neufchatel,
Basle,
Schaffhausen,
Appenzell,
St. Gall,
Grisons,
Aargau,
Thurgau,
Tessin,
Pays de Vaud,
Valais,
Geneva.
The rivers, mountains, and lakes of Switzer-
land, present the most sublime scenes in na-
ture. In a cavern near the lake of Lucerne,
the three founders of the Helvetic confederacy,
are said, in Swiss traditions, to sleep. The
herdsmen call them the three Tell's, and say
that they lie there, in their antique garb, in
quiet slumber ; and when Switzerland is in her
utmost need, they will awaken and regain the
liberties of the land.
When Uri's heechen -woods wave red
In the burning hamlet's light,
Then from the caverns of the dead,
Shall the sleepers wake in might !
SWI
548
SWI
With a leap, like Tell's proud leap,
When away the helm he flung,
And boldly up the steep
From the flashing billow sprung !
They shall wake beside their forest-sea
In the ancient garb they wore,
When they linked the hands that made us free,
On the Grutli'"s moonlight shore ;
And their voices shall be heard,
And be answered with a shout,
Till the echoing Alps are stirred,
And the signal-fires bla#e out !
And the land shall see such deeds again,
As those of that proud day,
When Winkelried, on Sempack's plain,
Thruusth the serried spears made way!
And when the rocks came down
On the dark Morgartin dell,
And the crowned helms o'erthrown
Before our fathers fell!
For the Kuhreihen's* notes must never sound
In a land that wears the chain,
And the vines on Freedom's holy ground
Untrampled must remain.
And the yellow harvests wave,
For no stranger's hand to reap,
While within their silent cave
The men of Grutli sleep!
Nearly two thirds of the Swiss are Protes-
tants. Common schools are well supported,
and there are universities at Basle and Geneva.
The Swiss are hardy, industrious, temperate,
and ardently attached to liberty.
The exaggerated accounts given of the riches
and milder climate of Italy, occasioned the suc-
cessive inroads of the Camomani, the Laeves,
and Ananes, and the various troops of barbari-
ans who gloried in the name of Gauls. In all
these expeditions, the Helvetians took a consid-
erable share, and afterwards joined the Cimbri
and the Teutonea against the Romans. How-
ever, their want of discipline finally proved fa-
tal to them; and the arms of Marius and Sylla
obtained over the combined forces of Germany
the most complete and decisive victory. From
this era, the Helvetians lived in friendship and
alliance with the Romans, till the arts of Orge-
torix, one of their chieftains, involved them in
that unfortunate expedition, which ended in
their being deprived of liberty and independ-
ence, by Julius Ctesar, in 57 B. C. Helvetia
thus became a province of Rome. The decline
of the Roman power, and the irruption of the
Goths, Vandals, Huns, and other northern
* The Kuhreihen is the melody known bv the name
of the Ranz des Vaches, which was forbidden to be
played by the royal bands in Paris, because it caused
the Bwisa guards to desert, and return to their native
mountains, of which it powerfully reminded them.
tribes, hastened the downfal of the unhappy
Helvetians. Of those who settled in Helvetia,
the chief were the Burgundians and the Ale-
manni, a German nation, who made their first
appearance in 214, and settled in the duchy of
Wirtemberg. On the downfal of the western
nation, the Alemanni overran that part of Gaul
since known by the name of Alsace ; and being
joined by their countrymen in Germany, they
entered the territories of the Ripuarian Franks,
and put all to fire and sword. This unprovoked
attack, summoning Clovis king of the Salian
Franks to the defence of his allies, the Aleman-
ni were entirely defeated in a general engage-
ment, with the loss of their king ; and this na-
tion acknowledged the sovereignty of Clovis, in
496, who gradually subdued, and afterwards
civilized the greatest part of Helvetia. Under
the Franks, it remained till 888, when, upon the
death of Charles the Gross, it was seized by
Raoul, and became part of the kingdom of Bur-
gundy, which was given by Rodolf, the last
king of Burgundy, to Conrad II emperor of
Germany, in 1032; from which time it was es-
teemed a part of the empire ; but being unjust-
ly treated by Albert, dake of Austria, the in-
habitants revolted in 1308. In 1315, the seve-
ral states of which this country was composed
made their league perpetual ; and in 1G49, their
liberty was absolutely fixed by treaty. The
peace of Arau, in 1712, terminated the intestine
struggles of the Swiss, which long rent in sun-
der the bonds of their union. Under the pro-
tection of the Helvetic league, the whole terri-
tory of Switzerland became, and for ages con-
tinued, an industrious, a free, a blameless, and
a happy nation, until they were attacked by
their neighbors the French. In 1798, the direc-
tory of France, having become daring by the
peace which they had dictated to the emperor,
suddenly declared war against Switzerland. At
length, the French, partly by force, and partly
by treachery, succeeded in their attempt, and
the directory, after changing the government
from a federal into an united republic, continu-
ed to levy contributions, and impose exactions,
with the most unpardonable severity. Thus,
after enjoying the sweets of independence since
the commencement of the fourteenth century,
the republics of Switzerland were overcome by
a foreign enemy, and obliged to change the form
of their government. The treaties of Luneville
and of Amiens, held out to the Helvetic con-
federacy a guarantee of her ancient freedom
and independence, which were never fully real-
ized. By the treaty of Vienna, in 1815, the in-
SYL
549
SYR
tegrity of the nineteen cantons, as they existed
in a political body, wa» recognised as the basis
of the Helvetic system. To Switzerland were
united the Valais, the territory of Geneva, and
the principality of JNeufehatel, which form three
new cantons; and to the Helvetic confederation
were added the bishopric of Basle, and the city
and territory of Bienne, which form part of the
canton of Berne.
SYLLA, L. Cornelius a celebrated Roman,
of a noble family. He first entered the army
under the great Marius, whom he accompanied
in Numidia, in the capacity of quajstor. He
rendered himself conspicuous in military affairs,
and Bocchus, one of the princes of Numidia,
delivered Jugurtha into his hands for the Ro-
man consul. The rising fame of Sylla gave
umbrage to Marius, who was always jealous of
an equal, as well as of a superior; but the ill
language which he made use of, rather inflamed
than extinguished the ambition of Sylla. He
left the conqueror of Jugurtha, and carried arms
under Catullus. Sometime after he obtained
the praetorship, and was appointed by the Ro-
man senate to place Ariobarzanes on the throne
of Cappadocia, against the views and interest
of Mithridates, king of Pontus. This he easily
effected, one battle leaving him victorious; and
before he quitted the plains of Asia, the Roman
praetor had the satisfaction to receive in his
camp the ambassadors of the king of Parthia,
who wished to make a treaty of alliance with
the Romans. At his return to Rome, he was
commissioned to finish the war with the Marsi,
and when this was successfully ended, he was
rewarded with the consulship, in the fiftieth
year of his age. In this capacity he wished to
have the administration of the Mithridatic war ;
but he found an obstinate adversary in Marius,
and he attained the summit of his wishes only
when he had entered Rome sword in hand.
After he had slaughtered all his enemies, set
a price upon the head of Marius, and put to
death the tribune Sulpitius, who had continually
opposed his views, he marched towards Asia,
and disregarded the flames of discord which he
left behind him unextinguished. Mithridates
was already master of the greatest part of
Greece, and Sylla, when he reached the coast
of Peloponnesus, was delayed by the siege of
Athens, and of the Pirceus. His boldness suc-
ceeded, the Piroeus surrendered, and the con-
queror spared the city of Athens. Two cele-
brated battles, at Cheronaea and Orchomenos,
rendered him master of Greece. He crossed
the Hellespont, and attacked Mithridates in the
very heart of his kingdom, The artful mon-
arch, who well knew the valor and persever-
ance of his adversary, made proposals of peace ;
and Sylla did not hesitate to put an end to a
war which had rendered him master of so much
territory, and which enabled him to return to
Rome like a conqueror. Mureena was left at
the head of the Roman forces in Asia, and Sylla
hastened to Italy. In the plains of Campania,
he was met by a few of his adherents, and he
was soon informed, that if he wished to contend
with Marius, he must encounter fifteen gene-
rals, followed by twenty-five well disciplined
legions. Pompey embraced his cause, and
marched to his camp with three legions. Soon
after he appeared in the field to advantage ; the
confidence of Marius decayed with his power,
and Sylla entered Rome like a tyrant and a
conqueror. The streets were daily filled with
dead bodies, and seven thousand citizens, to
whom the conqueror had promised pardon,
were suddenly massacred in the circus. The
slaughter was continued, and no less than four
thousand seven hundred of the most powerful
and opulent were slain. Sylla at last died, in
the greatest torments, of loathsome disease,
about seventy-eight years, B. C, in the sixtieth
year of his age.
SYPHAX, a king of the Massesyli in Libya,
married Sophonisba, the daughter of Asdrubal,
and forsook the alliance of the Romans to join
himself to the interest of his father-in-law, and
of Carthage. He was conquered in a battle by
Masinissa, the ally of Rome, and given to Sci-
pio the Roman general. The conqueror carried
him to Rome, where he adorned his triumph.
Syphax died in prison, two hundred and one
years B. C, and his possessions were given to
Masinissa.
SYRACUSE, now Si.ragosa, containing
13,800 souls; a celebrated city of Sicily, found-
ed about seven hundred and thirty-two years
before the Christian era, by Archias, a Corin-
thian, and one of the Heraclida?. It was under
different governments; and after being freed
from the tyranny of Thrasibulus, B. C. 446, it
enjoyed security for sixty-one years, till the
usurpation of the Dionysii, who were expelled
by Timoleon, B. C. 343. In the age of the
elder Dionysius, an army of one hundred thou-
sand foot and ten thousand horse, and four
hundred ships, were kept in constant pay. It
fell into the hands of the Romans, under the
consul Marcellus, after a siege of three years,
B. C. 212.
SYRIA, a country of Western Asia, border-
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ing on the Mediterranean sea, forming part
of the Ottoman empire, and containing about
50,000 square miles, and 2,400,000 inhabitants.
It was subjected to the monarchs of Persia, but
after the death of Alexander the Great, Seleu-
cus, surnamed Nicator, raised it into an empire,
known in history by the name of the kingdom
of Syria, or Babylon, B. C. 312. Seleucus died
after a reign of thirty-two years, and his succes-
sors, named the Seleucidae, ascended the throne
in the following order : — Antiochus, surnamed
Soter, 280, B. C. ; Antiochus Theos, 261 ; Se-
leucus Callinicus, 24G ; Seleucus Ceraunus,
226 ; Antiochus the Great, 223 ; Seleucus Phil-
opator, 187; Antiochus Epiphanes, 175; Antio-
chus Eupator, 164; Demetrius Soter, 162;
Alexander Balas, 150 ; Demetrius Nicator, 146 ;
Antiochus the Sixth 144; Diodotus Tryphon,
147; Antiochus Sidetes, 139; Demetrius Nica-
tor restored, 130; Alexander Zebina, 127, who
was dethroned by Antiochus Grypus, 123;
Antiochus Cyzicenus, 112, who takes part of
Syria, which he calls Ccelesyria; Philip and
Demetrius Eucerus, 93; and in Coelesyria, An-
tiochus Pius; Aretas was king of Coelesyria,
85; Tigranes, king of Armenia, 83; and Anti-
ochus Asiaticus, 69, who was dethroned by
Pompey, B. C. 65; in consequence of which
Syria became a Roman province. In August,
1822, Syria was greatly damaged by an exten-
sive earthquake, when several cities were over-
thrown, and above 20,000 persons were killed
in a few seconds.
TALAVERA, a town of Spain, situated on
the Tagus, 35 miles W. of Toledo, famous for
the battle fought here July 28, 1809. between
the French under Soult, and the English under
Wellington. The French army, amounted to
47,000 men, and the allied force, to 19,000 Brit-
ish, and 38,000 Spaniards. In the afternoon
of the 27th, the French opened a cannonade on
the left of the British position, while their cav-
alry attacked the Spanish infantry, and attempt-
ed to win the town of Talavera; they were
finally repulsed. At nine in the evening the
action ceased, but Soult, the French o-eneral
ordered a night attack to be made on the height
occupied by general Hill, which he considered
the key of the English position. Of this height
the enemy gained a momentary possession, but
tUe gallant general recovered it at the point of
the bayonet. At day -break, the 28th, the French
again attacked general Hill's position, and were
repulsed, failing also in their other attempts,
they rested about eleven, and, it is said, cooked
their dinners on the field. Some refreshments
were then served out to the British troops. At
noon, Soult ordered a general attack along the
whole line, and directed his own three divisions
against general Hill's position. They were
driven back, and their retrograde movement
exposed Sebastiani's right, which suffered se-
verely. Their general at length rallied them,
and some columns under Vilatte advanced to
their support. General Anson's brigade, con-
sisting of the 1st German light dragoons, and
the 23d dragoons, with general Fane's brigade
of heavy cavalry, were ordered to charge them.
In this charge the British suffered dreadfully,
and the 23d were almost annihilated ; they,
however, deterred the enemy from any farther
attempts against the hill. The attack upon the
centre, which commenced at the same time,
was gallantly resisted by general Campbell,
supported by the Spaniards, who turned the
flank of the assailants, while the English took
their cannon. General Sherbroke repelled the
force opposed to him by a charge of bayonets
from the whole division ; but the brigade of
guards, advancing too far, exposed themselves
to the fire of the hostile batteries and retiring
columns. At this moment, when the fate of
the battle appeared worse than doubtful, sir
Arthur Wellesley secured the victory, by mov-
ing from the heights a battalion of ' the 48th,
which, with the assistance of Cotton's brigade
of cavalry, enabled the-guards to retreat under
cover. At the close of the day, the enemy
were repulsed at all points, and effectually de-
feated.
TALBOT, lord, born at Blechmore, in Shrop-
shire, in 1373. In the first year of Henry V,
he was appointed lieutenant of Ireland, where
he suppressed a rebellion, and brought the chief,
Donald M'Guire, to England. He next served
in France, to the conquest of which he greatly
contributed. In the next reign he laid siege
to Orleans, where his name struck terror into
the French soldiers, till the appearance of Joan
of Arc, as a supernatural being, turned the
scale, and the English army retreated. The
battle of Patay completed the disaster, and lord
Talbot fell wounded into the hands of the en-
emy. At the end of three years and a half, he
was exchanged ; and again led the English to
victory. He took a number of strong places,
and carried his arms to the walls of Paris, for
which he was created earl of Shrewsbury. In
1443 he concluded a treaty with the French
TAL
551
TAR
kin<r; and the following year went again to
Ireland as lord lieutenant; but in 1450 he was
recalled to serve in France, where he fell at
the battle of Chastillon, in his eightieth year,
July, 145:5.
TALLART Camille d'Hostum, count and
duke de, marshal of France, was born in 1052,
in Dauphiny. He served under Louis XIV in
Holland, in 1672. In 1693, he was made lieu-
tenant-general, and in 1697, was sent ambas-
sador to England. The war being renewed,
he assumed the command on the Rhine in 1702,
and the year following made himself master of
Landau, after defeating the prince of Hesse;
but in 1704 he lost the battle of Hochstet, and
was taken prisoner by Marlborough, to whom
he said, " Your grace has beaten the finest troops
in Europe." The duke replied, " You will ex-
cept, I hope, those who defeated them." Mar-
shal Tallart remained in England till 1712,
when he returned to Paris, and was created a
duke. In 1726, he was made secretary of state.
He died in 1728.
TALNERE, a celebrated town and fortress
of Hindostan, province of Khandeish. At the
conclusion of the late war with Holcar, it was
stipulated that this fortress should be ceded to
the British ; but when the troops were sent to
take possession, the governor refused to deliver
it up; in consequence of which, a large force,
under the command of sir Thomas Hislop, in-
vested the fortress, in February, 1818. Soon
after the batteries had opened, the governor sent
to solicit terms, but was told he must yield un-
conditionally ; a punishment for having dis-
obeyed the orders of his chief, and relusing to
acknowledge the British authority. No further
submission having been offered, some guns
were brought to the outer gate, and blew it
open, after which a corps of Europeans entered ;
the second gate was found open, and when the
troops arrived at the third gate, the governor
came out, and delivered himself up to the adju-
tant-general Conway. The troops continued
to advance, and having passed the third and
fourth o-ates without opposition, reached the
gate of the citadel. Here they were opposed
by the garrison, consisting of Arabs, who re-
fused to yield, unless paid the arrears due to
them. After some discussion, the wicket of
the gate was opened, and lieutenant-colonel
Macgregor, majors Macgregor and Gordon,
with several other officers, and twelve grena-
diers, were permitted to enter, but were imme-
diately after attacked by the Arabs, who killed
the two majors, and wounded colonel Macgre-
gor, with several other officers. During this
time one of the other gates was blown open by
the troops under colonel Conway, and the
storming party having entered, put the whole
garrison, consisting of three hundred men, to
the sword ; shortly after which the governor,
a Hindoo, was hung on one of the bastions as
a punishment for his rebellion, and for having
been the cause of the loss of so many brave
officers and men.
TARQUINIUS Lucius, surnamed Priscus,
the 5th king of Rome. He distinguished him-
self so much by his liberality and engaging
manners, that Ancus Martius, the reigning
monarch, nominated him the guardian of his
children. Tarquin reigned with moderation
and popularity. He increased the number of
the senate, and made himself friends by electing
one hundred new senators from the plebeians.
The glory of the Roman arms, which was sup-
ported with so much dignity by the former
monarchs, was not neglected in this reign, and
Tarquin showed that he possessed vigor and
military prudence in the victories which he ob-
tained over the united forces of the Latins and
Sabines, and in the conquest of the twelve na-
tions of Etruria. He laid the foundations of
the capitol , and to the industry and the public
spirit of this monarch, the Romans were indebt-
ed for their aqueducts and subterranean sewers,
which supplied the city with fresh and whole-
some water, and removed all the filth and or-
dure, which, in a great capital, too often breed
pestilence and diseases. Tarquin was the first
who introduced among the Romans the custom
to canvass for offices of trust and honor ; he
distinguished the monarch, the senators, and
other inferior magistrates, with particular robes
and ornaments, with ivory chairs at spectacles,
and the hatchets carried before the public mag-
istrates, were, by his order, surrounded with
bundles of sticks, to strike more terror, and to
be viewed with greater reverence. Tarquin
was assassinated by the two sons of his prede-
cessor, in the 80th year of his age, thirty-eight
of which he had sat on the throne, 578 years
before Christ. I .
The second Tarquin, surnamed feuperbus,
was grandson of Tarquinius Priscus. He as-
cended the throne of Rome after his father-in-
law Servius Tullius, and was the seventh and
last king of Rome. He murdered his father-
in-law, and seized the kingdom. The crown
which he had obtained with violence, he en-
deavored to keep by a continuation of tyranny.
He paid no regard to the decisions of the sen-
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ate, or the approbation of the public assemblies,
and by wishing to disregard both, he incurred
the jealousy of the one, and the odium of the
other. He was successful in his military ope-
rations, and the neighboring cities submitted;
but while the siege of Ardea was continued,
the wantonness of the son of Tarquin at Rome,
for ever stopped the progress of his arms; and
the Romans, whom a series of barbarity and
oppression had hitherto provoked, no sooner
saw the virtuous Lucretia stab herself, not to
survive the loss of her honor, than the whole
city and camp arose with indignation against
the monarch. The gates of Rome were" shut
against him, and Tarquin was for ever banished
from his throne, in the year of Rome 244. Tar-
quin died in the 90th year of his age, about
fourteen years after his expulsion from Rome.
TARQU1NIUS Sextus, the eldest of the
sons of Tarquin the proud, rendered himself
known by a variety of adventures. When his
father besieged Gabii, young Tarquin publicly
declared that he was at variance with the mon-
arch, and the report was the more easily believed
when he came before Gabii with his body all
mangled and bloody with stripes. This was
an agreement between the father and the son,
and Tarquin had no sooner declared that this
proceeded from the tyranny and oppression of
his father, than the people of Gabii entrusted
him with the command of their armies, fully
convinced that Rome could never have a more
inveterate enemy. When he had thus succeed-
ed, he despatched a private messenger to his
father, but the monarch gave no answer to be
returned to his son. Sextus inquired more
particularly about his father, and when he
heard from the messenger that when the mes-
sage was delivered, Tarquin cut off with a stick
the tallest poppies in his garden, the son follow-
ed the example by putting to death the most
noble and powerful citizens of Gabii. The
town soon fell into the hands of the Romans.
Sextus was at last killed, bravely fighting in a
battle during a war which the Latins sustained
against Rome in the attempt of re-establishing
the Tarquins on their throne.
TARTARY. Nothing is known concerning
the ancient state of this country. Some time
before 1200, we find Ung Khan, prince of the
tribe of the Koraits, a very powerful sovereign
and the greatest part of Tartary tributary lo
him; but in 1202 he was defeated and put to
death by Genghis Khan, of the tribe of the
Mongols in the Mogulestan. This great man
was acknowledged sovereign of this country,
and of all the rest of Tartary in 1206 : after
which he extended his conquests into most of
the southern parts of Asia. In 1582 the Mon-
gols revolted from the descendants of Genghis
Khan, and became subject to the Manchew
Tartars, who now reign in China. At what
time the Khalkas became independent is not
known, but they were conquered by the Chinese
Tartars in 1696. The Eluths became a separate
state about 1400, and continue independent to
this day.
TEKELI, Emeric, Count of, who went into
Transylvania in 1671, and with some others
soon distinguished himself at Prince Abafli's
court, where he became, in a little time, first
minister of state, and afterwards generalissimo
of the troops sent to assist the malcontents,
with which he made himself master of several
places in Upper and Lower Hungary.
TELL, William, a Swiss patriot, was an in-
habitant of Burgelm in Uri. In 1307, Herman
Gesler, the Austrian governor of that province,
set his cap on a pole, to which all who passed
were required to pay obeisance. This order
Tell disobeyed, for which Gesler commanded
him, on pain of death, to shoot an arrow at an
apple placed upon the head of his own son.
Tell, who was an excellent marksman, cleft the
apple without hurting the child ; after which he
declared, that if he had missed his aim, it was
his intention to have directed another arrow
through the heart of the tyrant. Gesler then
caused Tell to be taken into a boat, for the pur-
pose of conveying him out of the province ; but
in crossing the lake a storm arose, and as the
prisoner was an experienced steersman, he was
entrusted with the helm, of which he was no
sooner possessed than he steered close to a rock,
leapt on shore, and soon afterwards shot Gesler
near Kusnacht. He then retired to Stauffacher,
and on new year's day following, the Austrian
government was overthrown. Tell perished
in an inundation in 1354.
TEMPLARS and other orders of Knight-
hood. The Knights Templars formed one of
the most celebrated orders of Knighthood, and
originated in the following manner. In the
year 1119, Hugh de Paganes and Godfrey de
St. Amor, with seven gentlemen, went to
the Holy Land, where they determined to erect
and enter into a brotherhood ; and being at
Jerusalem they consulted what they should do,
that might be a service acceptable to God;
and being informed that in the town of ZaiF,
there resided many thieves that used to rob the
pilgrims that resorted to the Holy Sepulchre,
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they resolved to make the passage more free by
dispersing these robbers ; and for the encourage-
ment of these gentlemen in so good an under-
taking, the king of Jerusalem assigned them
lodgings in his pnlace adjoining to Solomon's
palace, from which place they were called
Knights Templars.
King Baldwin the second, third king of Je-
rusalem, and Guarimond the Patriarch, finding
their actions successful, furnished them with
necessary provisions ; and though their charita-
ble services made them acceptable unto all, yet
for the first nine years they were in so great
distress, they were forced to accept the charity
of well disposed people. But many Christians
resorted to them, and increased their numbers
greatly. When at war, their banner was one
naif black, the other half white, signifying that
they were white and fair to Christians, but
black and terrible to their enemies. Pope
Honorius, at the request of Stephen, patriarch
of Jerusalem, prescribed unto them an order
of life, whereby they were to wear a white gar-
ment, to which Pope Eugenius added a red
cross. They made their vows, in the presence
of the before mentioned patriarch, of obedience,
poverty, and chastity, and to live under the
rule of the regular canons of St. Augustin.
The Knights Templars (according to Dug-
dale), wore linen coifs and red caps close over
them : on their bodies shirts of mail, and swords
girded on with abroad belt : over all they had a
white cloak reaching to the ground, with a
cross on their left shoulder. They used to
wear their beards of great length, whereas most
of the other orders shaved.
The Templars being numerous and famous
for their enterprises, not only for securing the
passages, but for fighting both by sea and land
against the infidels, they became highly favored
by the Christian princes, who assigned to them
Seat revenues to be spent in God's service,
process of time, they became exceedingly
wealthy and powerful, so that they grew proud,
and withdrew themselves from their obedience
to the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and attached
themselves to the Pope. But in the end they
did not receive that favor they expected from
the Pope, for by him or through his consent,
upon some infamous crimes charged against
them, their lands and possessions were seized
upon, and otherwise disposed of, their order sup-
pressed, and they themselves imprisoned, con-
demned, and cruelly executed. According to
the opinions of many authors, they were un-
justly accused by subornation of witnesses,
merely to gain their revenues, which, according
to Dr. Heylin, were exceedingly great, having
no less than sixteen thousand lordships in Eu-
rope.
The first settlement of this order in England
(according to Dugdale) was in Holborn in Lon-
don, but their chief residence, in the reign of
king Henry II, was the Temple in Fleet-street
which was erected by them, and the church,
(built after the form of the Temple at Jerusalem)
dedicated to God and our Blessed Lady, by
Heraclius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, in the year
1185.
On Wednesday after the feast of the Epipha-
ny, in the year 1387, the first of Edward II, by
the king's special command, and a bull from
the Pope, the Knights Templars generally,
throughout England, were seized and cast into
prison ; and in a general council held at London,
being convicted of various impieties, all their
possessions were confiscated by the crown.
This order was condemned in a general
council at Vienna under Pope Clement V, in
1311, and by a general decree of the said Cle-
ment, in the seventh year of his papacy, they
were incorporated with the Knights Hospital-
lers. The badge of the order was a patriarchal
cross, enamelled red, and edged with gold,
worn on the breast pendent to a ribbon.
Having given the above notice of a celebrat-
ed order, it will not be inappropriate briefly to
review the other important orders which gave
a lustre to the institution of knighthood.
As regards those knights who, without any
other addition, are thus styled, they are of the
greatest antiquity. For according to the cus-
tom of the Romans (a gowned nation), who
bestowed on each entering upon man's estate
a virile and plain, the Germans bestowed upon
their young men, when fit to handle arms, ar-
mor and weapons. Cornelius Tacitus speaks
of this custom in the following words, which
we copy from the Britannia. " The manner
was not for any one to take arms in hand, before
the state allowed him as sufficient for martial
service. And then in the very assembly of
Counsell either some one of the princes, or the
father of the young man, or one of his kins
folke, furnish him with a shield and a javelin.
This with them standeth instead of a virile
gowne, this is the first honor done to youth :
before this they seeme to be but part of a pri-
vate house, but now within a while members
of the commonweale."
Hence the origin of knights, or, as they are
termed in the German language, Knects ; which
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was the simple form of creating a knight, used
also in former times by the Lombards, the
Franks, and the English, who are descended
from the Germans. Paulas Diaconus says that
among the Lombards, " It is the custom for the
king's son not to dine with his father, unless
he have previously received arms from some
foreign king."
It is also recorded in the annals of the French
nation, that the kings of the Franks gave arms
to their sons and others, and girded them with
a sword. King Alfred of England, when he
dubbed his nephew Athelstane a knight, gave
him a scarlet mantle set with precious stones,
and a Saxon sword with a golden scabbard.
In the course of time, the English, before
the arrival of the Normans, received their
knightly arms with religious ceremonies. In-
gulphus says : •' He that was to be consecrated
unto lawful warfare, should the evening before,
with a contrite heart, make confession of his
sins unto the Bishop, Abbot, Monk, or Priest,
and being absolved, give himself to prayer, and
lodge all night in the church, and on his going
to hear divine service the next day, to offer his
6Word upon the altar : and after the gospel, the
priest was to put the sword, being previously
blessed, upon the knight's neck, with his bene-
diction, and thus after he had heard mass again,
or received the sacrament, he became a lawful
knight." This custom did not become absolute
among the Normans.
Kings were afterward accustomed to send
their sons to neighboring courts to receive
the honors of knighthood. Thus Henry II
sent to David, king of Scots; and Malcolm,
king of Scots, to Henry II ; and Edward I of
England to the king of Castile. It was at this
time also that to the sword and girdle, already
in use, gilt spurs were added as an extra orna-
ment, whence to this day they are called in
Latin Equites aurate. Moreover, they had the
privilege of wearing and using a signet.
In the succeeding age, knights were created
from their wealth. Concerning the creation of
kniffhts, Matthew Floreligus, in the time of Ed-
ward I, has written as follows:
" The king for to augment and make goodly
show of his expedition into Scotland, caused
public proclamation to be made throughout
England, that whosoever were to be made
knights by hereditary succession, and had
wherewith to maintain that degree, should pre-
sent themselves in Westminster, at the feast
of Witsuntide there to receive every one, the
ornaments of a knight (saving the equipage or
furniture that belongeth to horses) out of the
king's wardrobe. When as therefore there flock-
ed thitherto the number of three hundred gallant
youths, the sons of Earls, Barons, and Knights,
purple liveries, fine silk scarfs, robes most richly
embroidered with gold, were plentifully bestow-
ed among them, according as was befitting each
one : and because the king's palace (large though
it were) was ' streited ' of room for so great a
multitude assembled, they cut down the apple-
trees about the new temple in London, laid the
walls along, and there set up pavilions and
tents, wherein these noble young gallants might
array and set out themselves one by one in their
gorgeous and golden garments. All the night
king also, these foresaid youths, as many as the
place would receive, watched and prayed in the
said temple. But the Prince of Wales, by com-
mandment of the king his father, held his wake,
together with the principal and goodliest men or
this company, within the church of Westmin-
ster. Now such sound was there of trumpets,
so loud a noise of minstrelsy, so mighty an ap-
plause and cry of those that for joy shouted,
that the chanting of the convent could be heard
from one side of the quire to the other.
"Well, the morrow after, the king dubbed
his son knight, and gave him the girdle of
knighthood in his own palace, and therewith
bestowed upon him the Duchy of Aquitaine.
The prince then, thus created knight, went
directly into Westminster church for to grace
with the like glorious dignity his peers and
companions. But so great was the press of
people thronging from the high altar, that two
knights were thronged to death, and very many
of them fainted, and were ready to swoon, yea,
although every one of them had three soldiers
at least to lead and protect him : the Prince
himself, by reason of the multitude pressing
upon him, having divided the people by means
of steeds of service, no otherwise than upon
the high altar girt his foresaid companions with
the orders of knighthood."
At present, those on whom the title of knight
is conferred, kneel down, when the king, with
his drawn sword, slightly taps him on the
shoulder, saying to him in French " sois cheva-
lier au nom de Dieu" that is, be thou a knight
in the name of God ; afterwards his majesty
adds, " Avauces, Chevalier" Arise, Sir Knight.
The honor of knighthood was formerly so
highly and sacredly prized, that if any thing
was promised on the faith and honor of a
knight, it was always performed in the most
scrupulous and punctilious manner, at whatever
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risk it was undertaken. When a knight was
disgraced for having offended the laws, and
sentenced to suffer death, lie was first despoiled
of his ensigns of knighthood, by taking off his
military girdle, taking away his sword, cutting
his spurs off with a hatchet, his gauntlets or
gloves were then torn from him, and the es-
cutcheon of his arms reversed.
The first account (according to Sir William
Segar) that we have of ceremonies in making
a knight in England, was in the year 506, in
the following manner : viz. a stage was erected
in some cathedral, or spacious place near it, to
which the gentleman was conducted to receive
the honor of knighthood. Being seated on a chair
decorated with green silk, it was demanded of
him, if he were of good constitution, and able
to undergo the fatigue required of a soldier ;
also, whether he was a man of good morals,
and what credible witnesses he could produce
to affirm the same.
Then the bishop, or chief prelate of the
church, administered the following oath : " Sir,
you that desire to receive the honor of knight-
hood, swear, before God and this holy book,
that you will not fight against his majesty, that
now bestoweth the honor of knighthood upon
you ; you shall also swear to maintain and
defend all ladies, gentlemen, widows, and or-
phans ; and you shall shun no adventure of
your person in any way where you shall hap-
pen to be."
The oath being taken, two lords led him to the
king, who drew his sword, and laid it upon his
head, saying " God, and Saint George (or what-
ever other saint the king pleased to name) make
thee a good knight." After this, seven ladies
dressed in white, came and girt a sword to his
side, and four knights put on his spurs. These
ce.remonies being over, the queen took him by
the right hand, and a duchess by the left, and
led him to a rich seat, placed on an ascent,
where they seated him, the king sitting on his
right hand, and the queen on his left. Then
the lords and ladies sat down upon other seats,
three descents under the king ; and being all
thus seated, were entertained with a delicate
■collation ; and so the ceremony ended.
y any knight absented himself dishonorably
from his king's service, leaving his colors,
going over to the enemy, betraying castles,
forts°&c, for such crimes he was apprehended,
and caused to be armed, and then seated on a
scaffold erected in the church, where, after the
king had sung some funeral psalms, as though
he had been dead, they first took off the knight's
helmet to show his face, then his military gir-
dle, broke his sword, cut off his spurs from
his heels with a hatchet, pulled off his gauntlets,
and afterwards his whole armor, and then re-
versed his coat of arms. After this the heralds
cried out, " this is a disloyal miscreant," and,
with many other ignoble ceremonies, he was
thrown down the stage with a rope.
The famous order of the garter was instituted
by king Edward III, Jan. 19, 1344. King Ed-
ward, being of a military genius, and engaged
in a war for recovering France, made it his
business to draw the best soldiers of Europe
into his interest. With this view he projected
a restoration of king Arthur's round table ; and
proclaimed a solemn tilting to invite foreigners
of quality and courage to the exercise. The
place for the solemnity being fixed at Windsor,
he published his royal letters of protection for
the safe coming and returning of such foreign
knio-hts as intended to venture their reputation
at those Justs and Tournaments which were to
be held on the 19th of January, 1344.
He provided a great supper to begin the so-
lemnity, and then ordering this feast to be anu-
ally kept at Whitsuntide, he for that purpose
erected a particular building in the castle,
wherein he placed a round table, of two hun-
dred feet diameter, in imitation of king Authur's
at Winchester, and thereat entertained the
knights at his own expense of a hundred pounds
per week.
The prince (Edward) commended himself
and his companions, to the patronage of St.
George, who suffered martyrdom under the
emperor Diocletian, and was a person of greater
eminence both in the Eastern and Western
churches, than any other military saint; and
that his memory might be still continued, he
gave them, for part of their daily dress, the
image of the saint (sitting on horseback, attack-
ing the dragon with a spear) hung to a blue
ribbon, to be worn all the time about their necks.
The said king issuing out his garter for the
signal of a battle that was crowned with suc-
cess, he instituted this order, giving the garter
pre-eminence among its ensigns, whence the
select number, whom he incorporated into a
fraternity, were styled Equites Aurca Perisceli-
dis, viz. the knights of the Golden Garter.
The habits and ensigns of this order, and the
forms of investiture, are thus:
They consist of the Garter, Surcoat, Mantle,
Hood, George, Collar, Cap, and Feathers ; the
four first were assigned by the founder, and the
rest by king Henry VIII.
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The garter, appointed to be worn by the
knights on the left leg between the knee and
calf, was instituted by the founder, as a tie of
association, honor and military virtue, to bind
the knights strictly to himself and each other
in friendship, and as an ensign of unity and
combination, to promote the honor of God, and
the interest of their prince and sovereign. He
also caused to be wrought in gold letters this
motto, Honi soit qui mal y pense ; declaring
thereby the equity of his intention, retorting
shame and defiance upon him who should dare
to think ill of the just enterprise in which he
had engaged, for the support of his right to the
crown. The garter is of blue velvet bordered with
gold (having the letters of the motto of the same),
and is buckled on at the time of the election.
The knight's pantaloons are of pearl-colored
silk. On the outside of the right knee is fixed
a knot of open silver lace and ribbons inter-
mixed, in the form of a large rose ; and, a little
below the knee, is placed the garter. His shoes,
which are of white shammy, with red heels,
have each a knot on the exterior side. His
doublet is cloth of silver, adorned before and
behind, and down the sleeves, with several
guards or rows of silver lace, each having a row
of small buttons set down the middle. The
cuffs are open and adorned with the before
mentioned lace and ribbons set in small loops.
At the bottom of the upper seam of each cuff,
is fixed a knot of silver ribbons that fall over
his gloves, which are of kid, laced at the top
with silver, and adorned at the opening with
a knot, like that on the cuff. His surcoat is of
crimson velvet, lined with white taffeta. His
cap is of black velvet adorned with a diamond
band, and a plume of white feathers, with a
heron sprig in the middle. The mantle is of
sky-colored velvet, adorned on the left shoul-
der with St. George's cross encircled with the
garter, wreathed on the edges with blue and
gold. The hood is of crimson velvet and lined
with white taffeta. The collar, which weighs
thirty ounces troy, of gold, was introduced by
Henry VIII, and contains twenty-six garters
enamelled, and as many knots, alluding to
the sovereign of the order, to which is pendent
the figure of St. George and the dragon, which
is a gold medal, and may be enriched with
jewels at the pleasure of the owner. The offi-
cers of the order are the prelate of the garter,
the chancellor of the garter, the register of the
garter, and black rod, the last officer being
instituted by the founder.
Another famous order was that of the Knights
of the Bath, so called from the ceremony of
bathing, that the knights underwent previous
to their inauguration. This order took its origin
in France, and its antiquity in England is traced
back to the time of Henry IV, who on the day he
was at the tower of London, dubbed forty-six
esquires knights, who had watched and bathed
the preceding night. To each of these he
gave green side-coats reaching down to their
ancles, with straight sleeves, and furred with
minivere ; they also wore upon their left shoulder
two cordons of white silk, with tassels hanging
down.
It was usual in former times to create knights
of this order from the flower of the nobility,
who had not previously received the order of
knighthood, at the coronation of kings and
queens, and at their marriages, sometimes also,
when their sons were invested prince of Wales,
or dukes, or when they solemnly received the
cincture or military girdle of knighthood, and
that accompanied with many ceremonies, which
at present are for the most part disused.
By statute January 2d, 1815, it was ordained
that, " for the purpose of commemorating the
auspicious termination of the long and arduous
contest in which this empire (Great Britain) has
been engaged," the order should be composed
of these classes, viz.
1st. Class. — To consist of Knights Grand
Crosses; number not to exceed seventy-two,
exclusive of the sovereign and princes of the
blood royal ; one-sixth of which may be ap-
pointed for civil and diplomatic purposes. The
remainder must have attained the rank of ma-
jor-general in the army, or rear-admiral in the
navy ; and must have been previously appointed
to the Second Class.
2d. Class. — Knights Commanders ; number
not to exceed, upon the first institution, one
hundred and eighty, exclusive of foreign offi-
cers, holding British commissions, of which not
exceeding ten may be admitted as honorary
knights commanders. In the event of actions
of signal distinction, or of future wars, the num-
ber of this class may be increased. To be en-
titled to the distinctive appellation of knight-
hood ; to have the same rights and privileges
as Knights Bachelors, but to take precedence
of them; to wear the badge, &c. pendent by a
ribbon round the neck, the star embroidered on
the left side.
No officer can be nominated, unless he shall
have received a medal or other badge of honor,
or shall have been especially mentioned in des-
patches in the London Gazette, as having dis-
tinguished himself in action.
No person is now eligible to this class under
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the rank of major-general in the army, or rear-
admiral of the navy.
3d. Class. — Companions of the Order; notlim-
ited in order ; not limited in number ; they are
to take precedence of Esquires, but not entitled
to the appellation, style, &c. of Knights Bach-
elors. To wear the badge assigned to the Third
Class, pendent by a narrow red ribbon to the
button-hole.
Motto of the Order — Tria juncta in uno —
the Trinity.
The Knights of the Thistle is a Scotch order.
As to the origin of this ancient order, John Les-
ly, bishop of Ross, in his History of Scotland,
says, it took its beginning from a bright cross in
Heaven, like that whereon St. Andrew the apos-
tle suffered martyrdom, which appeared to
Achaius, king of Scots, and Hungus, king of
the Picts, the night before the battle was fought
betwixt them and Athelstane, king of England,
as they were on their knees at prayer ; when
St. Andrew, their tutelary saint, is said also to
have appeared, and promised to these kings that
they should always be victorious when that sign
appeared ; and the next day these kings pre-
vailing over king Athelstane in battle, they
went in solemn procession, bare footed, to the
kirk of St. Andrew, to return thanks to God
and his apostle for their victory, vowing that
they and their posterity would ever wear the
figure of that cross in their ensigns and banners ;
the place where this battle was fought retains
to this day the name of Athelstane's Ford, in
Northumberland.
James the Fifth, king of Scotland, in 1534,
received the order of the Golden Fleece from the
Emperor Charles V", as also that of St. Michael
from Francis the First, king of France', in 1535,
and that of the Garter in 1536, from Henry VIII,
king of England ; and in memory of the recep-
tion of these orders, keeping open court, he sol-
emnized the several feasts of St. Andrew, the
Golden Fleece, St. Michael, and St. George of
England, that the several princes might know
how much he honored their orders ; he set the
arms of the princes (encircled with their or-
ders) over the gate of his palace at Linlithgow,
with the order of St. Andrew.
About the time of the Reformation this order
was scarcely used, the knights then being so
zealous for the reformed religion, that they left
their order ; and it was not resumed till the
reign of king James VII, who created eight
knights, and for their better regulation, signed
a body of statutes, and appointed the royal chap-
el at Holyrood House to be the chapel of the or-
der as it still continues. Queen Anne restored
this order to its ancient magnificence.
The order of Knights of St. Patrick was in-
stituted by king George III, Feb. 5, 1783, con-
sisting of the sovereign, a grand master, a prince
of the blood royal, thirteen knights, and seven
officers. The first investiture of knights of this
order was performed the 11th of March, 1783,
with much ceremony.
Motto — Quis separabit? — Who shall part us ?
The order of knights of St. Michael and St.
George was instituted April 27, 1818, for the
United States of the Ionian Islands, and for the
ancient sovereignty of Malta and its dependen-
cies, consisting of eight knights grand crosses,
twelve knights commanders, and twenty-four
knights, exclusive of British subjects holding
high and confidential employ in the Ionian
islands, and in the government of Malta and its
dependencies.
Motto. Auspicium mdioris avi. Ribbon.
Red with blue edges.
The order of knights Bachelors is the most
ancient, though the lowest order of knights in
England. It was accounted the first of all mil-
itary dignity, and the foundation of all honors.
The word Bachelor was added by king Henry
III, and so styled, because this title of honor
dies with the person to whom it is given, and
descends not to his posterity.
This title, which was anciently in high es-
teem, is now conferred indiscriminately upon
gownsmen, physicians, burghers, and artists,
but it is still accounted a respectable degree of
honor both in England and foreign countries.
A knight may be made as soon as a child is
baptized, the ceremony now in use being no
other than kneeling down before the king, who,
with a drawn sword, lightly touches him on the
right shoulder, with these words, Sois chevalier
au nom dc Dieu ; and then, Jlvancez, chevalier.
We shall now give an account of the Knights
of the Round Taele. Arthur, king of the
Britons, succeeded his father, Uther Pendra-
gon, who was brother to Aurelius Ambrosius,
the third son of Constantine ; he married Igren.
duchess of Cornwall, by whom he had this son
Arthur (born at Tindagal in Cornwall), who
was the eleventh king of England from the de-
parture of the Romans, and was crowned about
the year 516.
King Arthur, having expelled the Saxons
from England, conquered Norway, Scotland,
and the greatest part of France, where he was
crowned at Paris ; and, returning home, lived
with such splendor, that many princes and
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knights came from all parts to his court, to give
proof of their valor in the exercise of arms.
Upon this he erected a Fraternity of knights,
which consisted of four and twenty ; of whom
he was chief; and to avoid controversies about
precedency, he caused a Round Table to be
made, from which they were denominated
Knights of the Round Table. The said table,
according to tradition, hangs up in the castle of
Winchester, where they used to meet, and the
time of their meeting was at Whitsuntide.
None were admitted but those who gave suf-
ficient proofs of their valor and dexterity in
arms. They were to be always well armed for
horse or foot; "they were to protect and de-
fend widows, maidens, and children, relieve the
distressed, maintain the Christian faith, contri-
bute to the Church, to protect pilgrims, advance
honor, and suppress vice. To bury soldiers
that wanted sepulchres, to ransom captives,
deliver prisoners, and administer to the cure of
wounded soldiers, hurt in the service of their
country. To record all noble enterprises, that
the fame thereof may ever live to their honor
and the renown of the noble order."
That upon any complaint made to the king
of injury or oppression, one of these knights,
whom the king should appoint, was to revenge
the same. If any foreign knight came to court,
with desire to show his prowess, some one of
these knights was to be ready in arms to answer
him. If any lady, gentlewoman, or other op-
pressed and injured person, did present a peti-
tion, declaring the same, whether the injury
was done here, or beyond sea, he or she should
be graciously heard, and, without delay, one or
more knights should be sent to take revenge.
Every knight, for the advancement of chivalry,
should be ready to inform and instruct young
lords and gentlemen in the exercises of arms.
According to Guillim, there was no robe or
habit prescribed unto these knights, nor could
he find with what ceremony they were made,
neither what offices belonged to the said order,
except a register to record their noble enterprises.
The Ordo Equestris, (Equestrian order) of the
German empire is of considerable antiquity and
highly honorable, being composed of persons of
the most ancient and illustrious families in Ger-
many, and in point of rank takes place next to
the barons. It is supposed to have been de-
rived from the ancient Roman Equestrian Or-
der, which ranked next to the Senate.
Formerly all those who were admitted into
Ordo Equestris, wore round their neck a golden
chain, with a medal pendent thereto, and which
is still painted on the helmet placed over each
coat of arms. But since a great number of so-
cial and regular orders of knighthood have been
introduced all over Europe, the chain has in
general been laid aside, and is now only worn
by the principal officers of the districts of the
empire belonging to those Equites, and where
they are formed into corporations as a free state,
holding immediately under the emperor. Here,
however, it is necessary to observe, that the im-
perial patent is not sufficient to enable the
Grantee to belong to this body corporate, un-
less he holds a fee of the empire ; on the con-
trary, without such a holding, the patent gives
him only personal honor and precedency in
courts of justice and all other places indiscrimi-
nately, and that free from all hindrance or mo-
lestation whatsoever. The Ordo Equestris are
not under any particular restraint, or governed
by any laws, statutes, or ordinances, other than
such as concern the empire in general. The
title is hereditary to all the children and de-
scendants, in a right line of the grantee, both
male and female, and is entirely patrimonial
and feudal ; a circumstance elucidated and fully
confirmed by an established rule of Empire,
already mentioned, viz. That such grantee
cannot belong to the body corporate of the Ordo
Equestris, unless he holds a fee of the empire ;
and if he doth not hold such a fee, that he gains
nothing farther by his patent than personal
honor and precedency.
In June, 1757, the empress queen of Germa-
ny instituted the Military Order of Maria
Theresa, which was at first composed of an
unlimited number of knights, divided into two
classes ; the first of which wear the badge of
the order pendent to a broad striped watered
ribbon, of which two fifths are black and three
fifths yellow, sashways over the right shoulder,
and a cross or star embroidered in silver on the
left breast of their outer garment.
The second class wear the badge pendent to
a narrow striped ribbon at the button-hole. This
order continued from its first institution until
the year 1765, when the emperor added an in-
termediate class, styled Knights Commanders,
who wear the ribbon sash-ways but without
any star on the outer garment. The badge of
the order is a cross of gold enamelled white,
edged with gold, on the centre are the arms of
Austria encircled with the word Fortitudine,
and on the reverse is a cipher of the letter M.
T. F. (Maria Theresa Fundator) in gold, on an
enamelled ground. This order is conferred on
military men only.
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The ladies' order in honor of the Cross, is
another German order. A conflagration, which
happened at the emperor's palace in the year
1666, was the occasion of the foundation of this
order. The badge of the order is a golden
medal chased and pierced ; in the centre the
imperial eagle, over all a cross surmounted
with the letters I. H. S. and a small cross over
the H, with this motto, Salus ct Gloria — Safety
and Glory.
Eleonora Di Gonzaga, widow of the emperor
Ferdinand III instituted the order of Ladies
Slaves to Virtue in 1662, and declared herself
sovereign of it. The number that compose it
is limited to thirty, all to be of the Romish re-
ligion, and of the best nobility. The badge
worn by the ladies of this order is a golden sun,
encircled with a chaplet of laurel, enamelled
green, with this motto over it, Sola ubiqus tri-
umphat. It is worn pendent at the breast to a
small chain of gold, or a plain narrow black
ribbon.
The order of the Bear was instituted at the
Abbey of St. Gall, in Switzerland, by the em-
peror Frederic II, in the year 1213. St. Ursus,
being the patron of it, communicated their name
to the same ; it flourished from its institution
until the revolution by which the House of
Austria lost the Swiss cantons, when it was
abolished. The order having been upwards of
three centuries extinct, it is unnecessary to say
any thing farther of it. The collar was a gold
chain interlaced with oak leaves, to which hung
the figure of a black bear on a medallion, hav-
ing under it a hillock enamelled vest.
The order of the Elephant is a Danish order
of great celebrity. It was instituted by Chris-
tian the First, on the marriage of his son John
with Christina of Saxony, in the year 1748,
since which time it has subsisted without inter-
ruption or degradation. It is now conferred
only on princes of the blood, foreign princes, or
noblemen of the first rank. The knights of it
are addressed by the title of Excellency. On
ordinary occasions they wear the badge of the
order pendent to a sky-blue watered ribbon,
worn sashways over the right shoulder, and a
star of eight points embroidered in silver on the
left side of their outer garments. But on days
of ceremony they wear it pendent to a collar of
gold composed of Elephants and Towers. The
badge is an elephant, on his back a castle en-
amelled, and on the side of the elephant across
of Danebrog in diamonds.
The Order of the Holy Ghost is the most il-
lustrious order of knighthood in France. It was
instituted by Henry the Third, in the year 1579,
on Whitsunday, the festival on which he was
born in the year 1551, elected king of Poland
1573, and called to the throne of France in the
year 1574. The number of persons that com-
pose it is limited by the statutes to one hundred,
exclusive of the Sovereign or Grand Master.
Of these, four cardinals, five prelates, the chan-
cellor, the master of the ceremonies, the trea-
surer, the register, and the provost, are styled
commanders, without being considered as
knights, though they usually wear the badges
or insignia of the order. All are to profess the
Roman Catholic religion ; and the knights are
to prove the nobility of their descent for a hun-
dred years and upwards ; but no proofs of this
kind are required of the commanders whose
offices or honors are commonly sold at a regu-
lated price. The king of France is sovereign
or grand master of it ; and by the statutes this
office is inalienably annexed to the crown, but
he cannot exercise its functions until after his
coronation, when he is installed, with much
ceremony, as sovereign of the order. To be a
knight of it, it is necessary for all except prin-
ces of the blood, to have attained the age of
thirty-three, and to have been admitted into the
order of St. Michael, into which even the prin-
ces must enter at sixteen years old. The Dau-
phin only is excepted from this rule, he being
received into both orders on the day of his birth.
The commandeis are not knights of the order
of St. Michael, and here arises the difference
between their styles and titles and those by
which the knights are distinguished ; the
knights being called Chevaliers dcs Ordres du
Roy ; and the commanders, if ecclesiastics,
CommandeuT de V Ordre du St. Esprit ; if lay-
men, Commandcnr des Ordics du Roy.
The Royal and Military Order of St. Louis
wTas instituted by Louis XIV, in the year 1693,
and by the statutes of it the office of the Sove-
reign or Grand Master is annexed to the crown.
It is conferred on naval and military officers,
who have distinguished themselves in the ser-
vice at any age, or at any time, but, unless they
have done so, they do not obtain it until they
have served five and twenty years as commis-
sioned officers : after that period, they expect it
as a matter of right, more than of favor ; hence
it happens that the number of knights is great
and unlimited. In this order are three classes;
the first consists of forty knights, who are styled
Chevaliers Grand Croix — Knights Grand Cross.
They wore a flame-colored watered ribbon sash-
ways, to which is pendent a cross of eight points
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enamelled white, edged with gold ; in the an-
gles four Fleurs de Lys, and on the middle a
circle, within which on one side is the image of
St. Louis in armor, with the royal mantle over
it, holding in his left hand a crown of thorns,
avid in his right hand a crown of laurel, and the
three passion nails all proper, with tliis inscrip-
tion Ludovicus Magnus instituit anno 1693. On
the reverse a sword erect, the point through a
chaplet of laurel, bound with a white ribbon,
enamelled with this motto, Bellicce virtutis prcc-
mium ; besides which they wear, embroidered
on the left side of their outer garment, a gold
star of eight points with Fleur de Lys at the an-
gles and the figures of St. Louis, with the motto
on the centre. The second class are eighty in
number, and are styled Chevaliers Comman-
deu/s, &c. These wear the ribbon and badge
in the same manner as the knights of the former
class, but have no star embroidered on their
outer garment. The third class is not limited
to any number: and the knights of it are styled
simply Chevaliers de Vordre Royale et Militaire
de St. Louis. These wear the badge of the or-
der pendent to a flame-colored watered ribbon,
at the button-hole of their outer garment. The
knights of the first class have pensions of from
four to six thousand livres a year, and when a
vacancy happens among them, it is filled by
the next seniority of the second class. The
knights of the second class have pensions of
from three to four thousand livres a year, and
the vacancies that happen among them are
filled up by the king, from among the most fa-
vored and deserving of the third class. The
knights of the third class have no pensions of
right, but it frequently happens that the poorest
and the most distinguished of them obtain small
pecuniary favors, which they term Gratification.
It is not necessary to be of a noble family to be
admitted into this order ; nor does it ennoble
the family of the person who obtains it, though
it gives him the privileges of the Noblesse; and
if there be three knights of it, in regular suc-
cession, in a plebeian family, it ennobles all the
branches of it. All knights of this order must
be Roman Catholics.
The knights of the order of Bourbon were
sometimes called knights of the Thistle, and
knights of our Lady. They were in number
twenty-six, were instituted by Louis the Good,
Duke of Bourbon, in honor of the Virgin Mary,
in the year 1370, and became extinct soon after.
Their motto was Allen or Mlons, and on the
collar of their order the word Esperance.
The collar was of gold, weighing ten marks,
fastened with a golden buckle ; it consisted of
whole lozenges, and a double role of half lozen-
ges, enamelled green, and filled with Fleurs-
de-Lis of gold, in the whole lozenges the word
Esperance, each letter within a lozenge, enam-
elled red ; and pendent to the collar was an
oval, enamelled green and red, thereon the
image of the Blessed Virgin, crowned with
twelve stars of silver, a crescent of the same
under her feet, her garments enamelled purple
and sky-color, and at the bottom of the oval a
Thistle Green.
The order of the Death's Head was first in-
stituted by the Duke of Wirtemberg, in the
year 1652, and both sexes were equally admitted
to it, but, having soon fallen into disuse, it was
revived again in the year 1709, by Louise Eliz-
abeth, widow of Philip, Duke of Saxe Mers-
burg, and daughter of the original founder.
The badge of this order is a Death's head,
enamelled white, surmounted with a cross pattee
black ; above the cross pattee another cross
composed of five large jewels, by which it hangs
to a black ribbon edged with white, and on the
ribbon these words, Memento Morii, worn at the
breast. But on the death of any of the order,
the survivors wear the badge pendent to a black
ribbon over a white one, on which is the name
of the deceased.
Some of the orders of knighthood in Palestine
and other parts of Asia were very celebrated.
The order of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem,
according to Favin, was instituted by Baldwin
I, king of Jerusalem, who made the regular
canons (which then resided in a convent adjoin-
ing to the Holy Sepulchre) knights of the said
order ; they were to guard the Holy Sepulchre,
to relieve and protect prilgrims. The Patriarch
of Jerusalem was appointed their Grand Mas-
ter, with power for conferring the order, and
receiving the vow made by the knights, which
was of chastity, poverty, and obedience. Their
habit was white, and on their breast a gold cross
potent, cantoned with four crosses of the same
without enamel, pendent to a black ribbon.
They wore the cross of yellow embroidery on
the left side of their robe. When the city of Je- '
rusalem was taken by the Saracens, the knights
retired to Italy, and settled atFemgia, and were
afterwards united to the knights of St. John of
Jerusalem.
Certain Christian merchants of Malfis in the
kingdom of Naples, who traded to Palestine,
obtained leave from the Caliph of Egypt to
dwell near the Holy Sepulchre of Christ, and
to erect a small house for the entertainment of
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themselves and pilgrims, which they named the
Hospital of Christians, with a small oratory
dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Their number
increasing, they built another house for women,
and dedicated it to St. Mary Magdalen. Their
number still increasing, they built a more con-
venient house, the others being too small, and
dedicated it to St. John the Baptist. They enter-
tained all pilgrims that came for devotion, and
cured the diseased among them. They became
eminent for their devotion, charity, and hospi-
tality. St. John Baptist, being their patron,
they -were called Brethren Hospitallers of St.
John Baptist of Jerusalem, to distinguish them
from the knights of the Holy Sepulchre ; they
took the black habit of the Hermits of St. Au-
gustin, and on the left side of the breast, they
wore a cross of white cloth, with eight points.
In war they wore crimson, with a white cross,
but in their monasteries and on the day of their
profession the black garment only. This order
increased in wealth after the suppression of the
Templars, most of whose lands were given to
them. They had in several parts of Christen-
dom 20,000 manors ; in England the Lord Prior
of the order was accounted the prime baron of
the realm.
Their first Great Master was Gerard de Sainct
Didier, by whom they were founded ; the last
master that had his residence in the Holy Land
was John de Villers,in whose time, being driven
out of Palestine, they removed to Cyprus, and
then to the isle of Rhodes, which they possessed
till the year 1523, when they were expelled by
Solyman the Magnificent, who took it by force,
through want of succor by the Christian princes.
The city was admirably defended by the knights,
under the conduct of their Great Master, Philip
de Villiers.
After the loss of the isle of Rhodes, they re-
moved to the island of Malta, which with Tri-
poli and Gaza were granted to them in fee by
the emperor Charles V., A. D. 1530, under the
tender of one falcon yearly to the viceroy of
Sicily, and to acknowledge the king of Spain
and Sicily for their protectors. In this isle
they continued a bulwark to those parts, and
from this their settlement, were called Knights
of Malta.
In May, 1563, they were besieged by Soly-
man, with a navy of 160 galleys full of Turkish
soldiers, and 100 vessels with provisions. The
siege was sustained for four months by the bra-
very of the knights, and the conduct of their
Great Master, John de Velete,so that the Turks
were obliged to raise the siege, and leave 3000
36
of their men behind, and the greater part of
their artillery, on the 8th of September in the
same year. Upon which day there is annually
a procession at Malta, in memory of their deliv-
erance.
These knights were in number 1000; 500 to
reside in the island of Malta, the remainder dis-
persed at their seminaries in Spain, Germany,
Italy, and France, and at any summons to make
their personal appearance. A seminary they
had in England till the suppression of it by
Henry VIII ; yet they continued to appoint one
to whom they gave the title of the Grand Prior
of England. Out of the following nations, they
chose their officers, viz. Provence, the Grand
Prior; Auvergne, the Marshal of the Order;
Italy, the Admiral of the Order; Arragon, the
Conservator of the Order ; England they used
to appoint the Great Colonel of the cavalry ;
Germany, the High Bailiff of the Order; Cas-
tile, the High Chancellor of the Order.
None were admitted into this order, but such
as could prove their gentility for six descents :
they swore to defend the church, to obey their
superiors, and to live upon the revenues of their
order only. There were sixteen called the
Great Crosses, out of whom the officers of their
order, as the Marshal, Admiral, Chancellor,
&c. were chosen, who, together with the Mas-
ter, punished such as were convicted of any
crime.
When the Grand Master died, they suffered
no vessel to go out of the island till another
was chosen, lest the pope should interfere in
their election, which was as follows : the several
seminaries named two knights each, allowing
also two for the English ; and those sixteen
from among themselves chose eight ; those eight
chose a knight, a Priest, and a Friar Servant;
and these three, out of the sixteen Great Crosses,
elected the Great Master, who, being chosen,
was styled, ' The most illustrious and most rev-
erend Prince, the Lord Friar N. N. Great Mas-
ter of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem,
Prince of Malta and Gaza.'
The badge of the order was a gold cross of
eight points, enamelled white, pendent to a
black watered ribbon, worn at the breast. This
order having been composed of persons of dif-
ferent countries, the badge was decorated so as
to distinguish the country of the bearer, viz.
Germany, by an Imperial crown and eagle;
France, the crown and Fleurs-de-lis, &c.
In 17f!8, the knights of Malta yielded their
dominion to the French power, from whom it
was soon after wrested by the British, in which
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crown it was finally vested by the peace of
1814.
When the Holy land began to grow famous
by the expeditions of Christian princes, the
Order of the knights Hospitallers had its begin-
ning, or rather its restoration, by Girardus; for
the origin is attributed to Schannes Hircanus
Machabeus, or John, Patriarch of Alexandria,
who, for his liberality to the poor, was surnamed
Eleemosynarius. These knights, having their
chief seat at first in the Hospital of St. John
Baptist at Jerusalem, which was re-edified by
the same Girard, took that Saint for their pa-
tron, but their rule from Pope Gelasius II ; and
Honorious II assigned them a black mantle,
with a white cross. Raimundus de Podis, the
first Master, devised the statutes of their order,
and entitles himself Servus pavperum Christi,
et Hospitalis thierosolomitani Custodem.
The Polish order of the White Eagle was
first instituted in the year 1325, by Uladislaus
V, but having soon fallen into disuse, it lay in
oblivion till the year 1705, when Augustus,
Elector of Saxony and king of Poland, revived
it as an instrument to attach to his own interest
and person several of the Polish nobility, who,
he feared, were inclined to Stanislaus, his com-
petitor. Motto, Pro fide, rege, lege.
Alphonso Henriquez, king of Portugal, insti-
tuted the Order of the Wing of St. MTchael, in
the year 1172, in commemoration of a victory
obtained by him over the Moors, whom he
imagined he overcame by the direct interposi-
tion of St. Michael, who, according to the le-
gend, appeared fighting in the king's right
wing.
The Order of St. George in Rome was insti-
tuted, according to some, by pope Alexander
VI, in the year 1498, or, according to Michaeli,
by pope Paul III, to encourage naval men to
defend the coast of the Adriatic against pirates.
The badge of it was a cross of gold within a
circle of the same, like an open crown.
The Order of St. Peter and St. Paul was in-
stituted by Leo the Tenth, in the year 1520,
to defend the sea-coasts of his territories against
the Turks who threatened them.
The Prussian Order of the Black Eagle was
instituted by Frederick I. at his coronation in
the year 1701. By the statutes of it, the num-
ber of knights, exclusive of the Princes of the
blood, is limited to thirty, who must all be ad-
mitted into the order of Generosity previous to
their receiving this, unless they be sovereign
princes; the knights to prove their nobility by
sixteen descents. The kings of Prussia are
perpetual Grand Masters of it. There belong
to it a Chancellor, who is also a knight, a Mas-
ter of the Ceremonies, and a Treasurer. The
ensign of the order is a gold cross of eight points
enamelled blue, having at each angle a spread
eagle enamelled black, and charged with a ci-
pher of the letters F. R. This each knight
wears commonly pendent to a broad orange rib-
bon, worn sash-wise over the left shoulder, and
a silver star embroidered on the left side of their
outer garment, whereon is an escutcheon con-
taining a spread eagle, holding in one claw a
chaplet of laurel, and in the other a thunderbolt,
with this motto in gold letter round it, Suum
cuique. The king chose the Black Eagle, being
the arms of Prussia ; and the color of the ribbon,
on account of his mother, a Princess of Orange.
First among the Russian orders is that of St.
Andrew. Peter the Great instituted this order
in the year 1698, and chose for its patron St.
Andrew, (on account of this Apostle's having
been, according to tradition, the founder of
Christianity among the Muscovites). His mo-
tive for instituting this order was to animate
his nobles and chief officers in their wars against
the Turks ; and he conferred it on those who
had signalized themselves in his service.
The Order of the Sword in Cyprus was insti-
tuted by Guy de Lusignan, about the end of
the twelfth century, soon after he had acquired
the kingdom of Cyprus by purchase from Rich-
ard Cceur de Lion. This order was on its insti-
tution conferred on three hundred Barons, who
were then created : it continued to flourish
until it became extinct, on the Turks conquer-
ing the island of Cyprus. Motto, Securitas
Rcgni.
The most celebrated Spanish order, was the
Order of the Golden Fleece. This order was
instituted at Bruges, in Flanders, the 10th of
January, 1492 [the day of his marriage with his
third wife, Isabella of Portugal,] by Philip,
Duke of Burgundy. The occasion of its insti-
tution is a subject of controversy among anti-
quaries : but it appears most probable, that,
having determined to institute an order of
knighthood, he chose for the badge of it the
material of the staple manufactories of his coun-
try, which was the fleece; and this emblem
might have been the more agreeable to him from
the figure it made in the heroic ages of the
world, when the Argonautic expedition was
undertaken for it. However this may be, it at
first consisted of thirty knights, including the
sovereign, who were of the first families in the
Low Countries ; and though it has undergone
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some changes since its foundation, it has ever
been ranked among the most illustrious and
distinguished orders of knighthood in Europe.
At present there are two different branches
of this order; of one of which the emperor is
sovereign ; and the king of Spain of the other,
of which we now speak. The number of knights
is not limited, though it seldom exceeds seventy
or eighty, of which there are generally a good
many of the French and Italian nobility ; but
all must prove their noble descent from the
twelfth century. They wear usually a Golden
fleece Cross, pendent to a broad plain red ribbon
round their necks ; but on days of ceremony
they wear the collar of the order, which is com-
posed of double steels, interwoven with flint
stone, emitting sparks of fire, the whole enam-
elled in their proper colors, at the end whereof
hangs on the breast the golden fleece. The fu-
sils are joined two and two together, as if they
were double BB's, the cipher of Burgundy, and
the flint stones the ancient arms of the Sove-
reigns of Burgundy of the first race ; with their
motto, Antefcrit quam flamma micet. The mot-
to of the order, is Pratium non vile laborcm.
There are four officers, viz. the chancellor, the
treasurer, the register, and a king at arms, call-
ed Toison d' or.
The Order of St. Mark, was conferred by
the duke of Venice, and by the senate, upon
persons of eminent quality, or such as had de-
served well of the State. In the year 828, the
body of St. Mark was removed from Alexandria
in Egypt (where it was buried) to the city of
Venice. This saint has been taken for their tu-
telar saint and guardian. His picture was an-
ciently painted upon their ensigns and banners.
Motto, Pax tibi, Alarce EvangeUsta Mens.
TEMPLE, Sir William, a celebrated states-
man, born in London in 1628. In 1665, he went
on a secret mission to Munster ; after which he
was employed in forming the triple alliance be-
tween England, Sweden, and Holland. He
next became the resident minister at the Hague,
and in that capacity promoted the marriage of
the prince of Orange and the princess Mary.
In 1679 he was appointed secretary of state ;
but the next year he resigned that situation, and
retired to his country seat in Surrey, where he
was often visited by Charles II, James II, and
William III. He died in 1700.
TENNESSEE, one of the United States,
bounded N. by Kentucky and Virginia; E. by
North Carolina, S. by Alabama, and Mississippi,
and W. by Mississippi river. It contains 40,000
square miles, and had, in 1830, 684,822 inhabit-
ants, of whom 142,382 were slaves.
The Cumberland mountains divide this state
into East and West Tennessee.
The western part of this state is level or gen-
tly undulating, the middle is broken by hills,
and the eastern part is mountainous. Of this
variety, Mr. Flint says, " There can be nothing
of grand and imposing in scenery, nothing
striking and picturesque in cascades and pre-
cipitous sides of mountains covered with woods,
nothing romantic and delightful in deep and
sheltered valleys, through which wind still and
clear streams, which is not found in this state."
The articles which are sent to the New Or-
leans' market are cotton, indigo, corn, whiskey,
hogs, horses, cattle, flour, gunpowder, salt- petre,
poultry, bacon, lard, butter, apples, pork, coarse
linen, tobacco, &c.
The chief towns are Murfreesborough, Nash-
ville, Knoxville, Franklin, Fayetteville, Shel-
byville, Columbia, Clarksville, Carthage, and
Gallatin. Colleges have been established at
Greenville, Knoxville, Nashville, and in Wash-
ington county. The first permanent settlement
of the whites was made by emigrants from Vir-
ginia and North Carolina, in 1757 and 1758.
The settlers were annoyed by the Indians, Cher-
okees, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Shawnees,
whose hostilities for a long time retarded the
progress of the settlements. Tennessee formed
part of North Carolina until 1790, and in 1796, it
was erected into a state.
TEWKESBURY, a market town of Glou-
cestershire. It was at this place that the last
battle was fought between the adherents of the
houses of York and Lancaster. This battle, it
is well known, proved fatal to the Lancastrians.
The field in which it was fought is still called
the Bloody Meadow, and is situated about half
a mile from the town. In the civil war in the
reign of Charles I, Tewkesbury was the scene
of many severe contests between the contend-
ingforces.
TEXAS. This portion of Mexico is attract-
ing at the present time (1835) a considerable
portion of public attention, from the purchases
made by companies, and private individuals,
with a view to the formation of settlements.
The principal settlements now formed are on
the Brazos, and Colorado Rivers, and at Gal-
veston Bay. The settlement of San Felippe
was commenced in 1824 by Col. Stephen F.
Austin, whose father belonged to Durham, in
Connecticut, and who was authorised by the
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Spanish authorities in Mexico, to introduce
three hundred families into Texas. The father,
in consequeuce of great expense, soon after ar-
riving in the country died, and left injunctions
to his son, Col. S. F. Austin to prosecute his
plans. Since 1824 the colony has been increas-
ing, and its success has gradually made known
to the citizens of the United States something
of the advantages of the soil and climate, and
attracted many settlers, particularly from Ten-
nessee, Alabama, Kentucky and other Southern
and Western States.
The country at the south is covered by
prairies, which oppose no obstacle in any direc-
tion, except where crossed by streams, and
whose soil is generally rich and often of almost
incalculable fertility, presenting attractions to
colonists. It abounds with Buffaloes, Deer,
small horses called mustangs, and wild fowl of
various descriptions.
THEBES, a celebrated city, capital of Boeo-
tia, situated on the banks of the river Isme-
nus. The manner of its foundation is not pre-
cisely known. Cadmus is supposed to have
first begun to found it by building the citadel
Cadmea. It was afterwards finished by Amphi-
on and Zethus ; but, according to Varro, it owed
its origin to Ogyges. The government of
Thebes was monarchical, and many of the sove-
reigns are celebrated for their misfortunes, such
as Lais, CEdipus, Polynices, Eteocles, &c. The
war which Thebes supported against the Ar-
gives, is famous as well as that of the Epigoni.
Under Epaminondas, the Thebans, though be-
fore dependent, became masters of Greece, and
every thing was done according to their will
and pleasure. When Alexander invaded
Greece, he ordered Thebes to be totally demol-
ished, because it had revolted against him, ex-
cept the house where the poet Pindar had been
born and educated. In this dreadful period,
6,000 of its inhabitants were slain, and 30,000
sold for slaves. Thebes was afterwards repair-
ed by Cassander, the son of Antipater, but it
never rose to its original consequence, and Stra-
bo, in his age, mentions it merely as an incon-
siderable village. The monarchical govern-
ment was abolished there at the death of Xan-
thus, about 1190 years before Christ, and Thebes
became a republic.
THEBES, an ancient celebrated city of The-
bais, in Egypt, called also Hecatonipylos on ac-
count of its hundred gates, and Diospolis, as
being sacred to Jupiter. It was ruined by Cam-
byses, king of Persia. Its most magnificent ru-
ins are those of Luxor and Karnac, of which an
account is subjoined. Although there is a same-
ness in the character of the Egyptian scenery,
it is such as is to be seen in no other land. The
Libyan and Arabian chains of mountains, per-
fectly naked, stretch on each side of the Nile
nearly to the first cataract, generally within a
few miles of the river, and sometimes close to
it, or forming its bank. At the foot of these
naked masses of u light color, often appear
groups of the most vivid and beautiful verdure,
the palin and sycamore spreading over some
lonely cottage, a herd of goats and buffaloes
winding their way, or a camel silently grazing.
The utter barrenness and desolation that often
encompass scenes and spots of exquisite fruitful-
ness and beauty, the tomb of the Sariton with
its scanty shade, and the white minaret with its
palm and cypress placed on the very verge of a
boundless desert, or amidst a burning expanse
of sand, are almost peculiar to Egypt. Then
you often pass from the rich banks of the Nile,
covered with lime and orange-trees, where
groups of Orientals are seated luxuriously in
the shade, into a wild and howling waste, where
all, even the broken monuments of past ages,
only inspire feelings of sadness and regret.
" It was evening ere we arrived at Luxor, a
poor yet populous village, erected partly amidst
the ruins of the great temple. This edifice ia
near the water's edge, and its lofty yellow pil-
lars, each thirty feet in circumference, and
ranged in long colonnades, instantly arrest the
attention. On landing, we found on the sand a
dozen grim Egyptian statues, large as life, cut
in coarse granite, after the fashion of the great
Memnnn, and in a sitting posture, close to the
edge of the water, that rippled at their feet.
The weight of each statue was enormous, and
would render the removal difficult ; or else a
traveller might well be tempted to ship one of
them, as they seemed to be no man's property.
There are two most beautiful obelisks fronting
the gateway, seventy feet high, or in reality
much loftier, as a considerable part is buried in
rubbish. Their hieroglyphics are cut deeper, and
with greater delicacy, than those on any other
obelisks in Egypt. A Frenchman, in the em-
ployment of Drovetti the consul, resided here,
who showed us much politeness ; he was an in-
telligent man, dressed in the Arab costume, and
had resided sixteen years in various parts of this
country. His companion, Moris Bonnet, had
gone to Cairo for a supply of wine and other
comforts, and he felt solitary and impatient for
his return : he possessed a small collection of
minerals and other curiosities, and had manu-
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factured a cool and delightful sort of palm-wine
out of the juice of the tree, which was very
grateful to us in the sultry heat of the day.
Sixteen years' residence in Upper Egypt is really
a trial of a man's patience and enthusiasm, and
for two Frenchmen above all beings. Suleiman
Aga, commander of the Pacha's Mamelukes at
Esneh, a town two days' sail further, was not
so resigned : this man was one of Bonaparte's
colonels, and on the ruin of his master's fortunes
he came to Egypt, and offered his services to
the Pacha, protesting at the same time he would
never consent to change his religion. Mah-
moud laughed, and said, he cared nothing about
his religion, if he only served him well; but he
must allow himself to be called by a Turkish
name, and wear the costume. Suleiman Aga
now lives in style as commandant at Esneh, and
receives travellers very hospitably ; but his soul
pines, amidst Egyptian beauty, for a suitable
companion, and he implored a fellow traveller
and friend of mine, to send him out an English
or Italian wife : he swore he would pay implicit
deference to his friend's advice, and marry the
lady the moment she arrived. The women
around him, he said, were so insipid ; and he
would live there contented could he be but
blessed with one whom he could converse with,
and whose vivacity and intelligence would
brighten his solitary hours. «*
" It is difficult to describe the stupendous and
noble ruins of Thebes. Beyond all others they
give you the idea of a ruined, yet imperishable
city ; so vast is their extent, that you wander a
long time confused and perplexed, and discover
at every step some new object of interest. From
the temple of Luxor to that of Karnac, the dis-
tance is a mile and a half, and they were for-
merly connected by a long avenue of sphinxes,
the mutilated remains of which, the heads being
broken off the greater part, still line the whole
path. Arrived at the end of this avenue, you
first pass under a very elegant arched gateway,
seventy feet high, and quite isolated. About
fifty yards farther you enter a temple of inferior
dimensions, which Drovetli has been busy in
excavating; you then advance into a spacious
area, strewed with broken pillars, and surround-
ed with vast and lofty masses of ruins, — all parts
of the great temple : a little on your right is the
magnificent portico of Karnac. the vivid remem-
brance of which will never leave him who has
once gazpd on it. Its numerous colonnades of
pillars, of gigantic form and height, are in ex-
cellent preservation, but without ornament ; the
ceiling and walks of the portico are gone ; the
plat-stone still connects one of the rows of pil-
lars, and is ornamented ; and viewed from be-
low, with a slender remain of the edifice still
attached to it, it seems almost to hang in the
sky. Passing hence, you wander amidst obe-
lisks, porticoes, and statues, the latter without
grace or beauty, but of a most colossal kind. If
you ascend one of the hills of rubbish, and look
around, you see a gateway standing afar, con-
ducting only to solitude ; detached and roofless
pillars, while others lie broken at their feet, the
busts of gigantic statues appearing above the
earth, while the rest of the body is yet buried,
or the head torn away, while others lie pros
trate or broken into useless fragments. On the
left spread the dreary deserts of the Thebais, to
the edge of which the city extends. In front is
a pointed and barren range of mountains : the
Nile flows at the feet of the temple of Luxor;
but the ruins extend far on the other side of the
river, to the very feet of those formidable preci-
pices, and into the wastes of sand ; the natural
scenery around Thebes is as fine as can possibly
be conceived. The remainder of the statue is
still here, the beautiful bust of which Belzoni
sent to the British Museum ; it was fallen and
broken off long since. Drovetti is quite inex-
cusable in causing one of the two beautiful obe-
lisks at the entrance of the temple of Karnac to
be thrown down and broken, that he might car-
ry off the upper part: such an act is absolute
sacrilege. One cannot help imagining that a
vast deal yet remains to be discovered beneath
this world of ruins, on both sides of the river;
but the pursuit requires incessant and undivided
attention A traveller must lay his account to
spend six months in excavating here, with a
body of Arabs, who work very cheaply, and
must put up with many privations, before he
could expect to be richly compensated for his
pains.
" The second visit we paid to Karnac was still
more interesting. The moon had risen, and
we passed through one or two Arab villages in
the way, where fires were lighted in the open
air, and the men, after the labors of the day,
were seated in groups round them, smoking and
conversing with great cheerfulness. It is sin-
gular that in the most burning climates of the
East, the inhabitants always love a good fire at
night, and a traveller soon catches the habit ;
yet the air was still very warm. There was no
fear of interruption in exploring the ruins, as
the Arabs dread to come here after daylight, as
they often say these places were built by Afrit,
the devil ; and the belief in apparitions prevails
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among most of the Orientals. We again en-
tered with delight the grand portico. It was a
night of uncommon beauty, without a breath
of wind stirring, and the moonlight fell vividly
on some parts of the colonnades, while others
were shaded so as to add to, rather than dimin-
ish their grandeur. The obelisks, the statues,
the lonely columns on the plain without, threw
their long shadows on the mass of ruins around
them, and the scene was in truth exquisitely
mournful and beautiful."
THEMISTOCLES, acelebrated general born
at Athens. When Xerxes invaded Greece,
Themistocles was at the head of the Athenian
republic, and in this capacity the fleet wes en-
trusted to his care. While the Lacedaemonians
under Leonidas were opposing the Persians at
Thermopylae, the naval operations of Themis-
tocles, and of the combined fleet of the Pelopon-
nesians were directed to destroy the armament
of Xerxes, and to ruin his maritime power.
This battle, which was fought near the island
of Salamis, B. C. 480, was decisive ; the Greeks
obtained the victory, and Themistocles the
honor of having destroyed the formidable navy
of Xerxes. Further to ensure the peace of his
country, Themistocles informed the Asiatic
monarch, that the Greeks had conspired to cut
the bridge which he had built across the Helles-
pont, and to prevent his retreat into Asia. This
met with equal success, Xerxes hastened away
from Greece, and while he believed on the
word of Themistocles, that his return would be
disputed, he left his forces without a general,
and his fleets an easy conquest to the victorious
Greeks. These signal services to his country,
endeared Themistocles to the Athenians, and
he was universally called the most warlike and
most courageous of all the Greeks who fought
against the Persians. He was received with the
most distinguished honors ; and by his prudent
administration, Athens was soon fortified with
strong walls, the Pireus was rebuilt, and her
harbors were filled with a numerous and power-
ful navy, which rendered her the mistress of
Greece. Yet in the midst of that glory, the
conqueror of Xerxes incurred the displeasure of
his countrymen, which had proved so fatal to
many of his illustrious predecessors. He was
banished from the city, and after he had sought
in vain a safe retreat among the republics of
Greece, and the barbarians of Thrace, he threw
himself into the arms of a monarch, whose fleets
he had defeated, and whose father he had ruin-
ed. Artaxerxes, the successor of Xerxes, re-
ceived the illustrious Athenian with kindness.
Themistocles died in the 65th year of his age,
about 44!) years before the Christian era.
THEODORIC 1, king of the Visigoths, in
Spain, succeeded Vallia, in 419. He laid siege
to Aries, but was repulsed by Aetius ; some
time after he defeated Litorius, general of the
Roman army, and led him prisoner to Toulouse.
But when the formidable forces of Attila, king
of the Huns, put all the princes of the Gauls into
a great consternation, he united his forces with
Merovee, king of France, Aetius, and Gundi-
caire, king of the Burgundians, and fought and
defeated Attila. Theodoric was killed in the
battle, in 451.
THEODORIC II, son of the first, murdered
his eldest brother Thorismond, in 453, and made
himself master of the town of Narbonne, which
was surrendered to him by Count Agrippin, in
462. Advancing into Spain, Rechaire, king of
the Suevi, his brother-in-law, gave him battle;
but having worsted, and taken Rechaire in his
retreat, Theodoric sentenced him to death, and
was himself killed soon after by the contrivance
of one of his brothers called Evaric, who as-
cended the throne in 466.
THEODOSIUS FLAVIUS, a Roman empe-
ror, surnamed Magnus, from the greatness of
his exploits. He was invested with the impe-
rial purple by Gratian, and appointed over
Thrace and the eastern provinces, which had
been in the possession of Valentinian. The
first years of his reign were marked by different
conquests over the barbarians. The Goths were
defeated in Thrace, and 4000 of their chariots,
with an immense number of prisoners of both
sexes, were the reward of the victory. Some
conspiracies were formed against the emperor,
but Theodosius totally disregarded them ; and
while he punished his competitors for the impe-
rial purple, he thought himself sufficiently se-
cure in the love and the affection of his sub-
jects. He triumphed over the barbarians, and
restored peace in every part of the empire. He
died of a dropsy at Milan, in the 60th year of
his age, after a reign of 16 years, the 17th of
January, A. D. 395. Theodosius was the last
of the emperors who was the sole master of the
whole Roman empire. His want of clemency,
however, in one instance, was too openly be-
trayed, and when the people of Thessalonica
had unmeaningly, perhaps, killed one of his
officers, the emperor ordered his soldiers to put
all the inhabitants to the sword, and no less than
6000 persons, without distinction of rank, age,
or sex, were cruelly butchered in that town in
the space of three hours. This violence irrita-
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ted the ecclesiastics, and Theodosius was com-
pelled by St. Ambrose to do open penance in
the church, arid publicly to make atonement for
an act of barbarity which had excluded hirn from
the bosom of the church, and the communion of
the faithful. In his private character Theodo-
sius was an example of soberness and temper-
ance, his palace displayed becoming grandeur,
but still with moderation. He never indulged
luxury, or countenanced superfluities. He was
fond of bodily exercise, and never gave himself
up to pleasure and enervating enjoyments. The
laws and regulations which he introduced in the
Romanempire, wereof the most salutary nature.
THEODOSIUS Second, succeeded his
father Arcadius, as emperor of the western Ro-
man empire, though only in the eighth year of
his age. The territories of Theodosius were
invaded by the Persians, but the emperor soon
appeared at the head of a numerous force, and
the two hostile armies met on the frontiers of
the empire. The consternation was universal
on both sides ; without even a battle, the Per-
sians fled, and no less than 100,000 were lost in
the waters of the Euphrates. Theodosius raised
the siege of Nisibis, where his operations failed
of success, and he averted the fury of the Huns
and Vandals by bribes and promises. He died
on the 20th of July, in the 4(Jth year of his age,
A. D. 450.
THERAMENES, an Athenian philosopher
and general in the age of Alcibiades. He was
one of the thirty tyrants of Athens, but he had
no share in the cruelties and oppression which
disgraced their administration He was accused
by Critias, one of his colleagues, because he op-
posed their views, and he was condemned to
drink hemlock, though defended by his own in-
nocence, and the friendly intercession of the
philosopher Socrates. He drank the poison
with great composure, and poured some of it on
the ground, with the sarcastical exclamation of,
"This is to the health of Critias." This hap-
pened about 404 years before the Christian era.
THERMOPYLAE, a small pass leading from
Thessaly into Locris and Phocis. It has a large
ridge of mountains on the west, and the sea on
the east, with deep and dangerous marshes, be-
ing in the narrowest part only twenty-five feet
in breadth. It is celebrated for a battle which
was fought there, B. C. 4ri0, on the 7th of Au-
gust, between Xerxes, and the Greeks under
Leonidas. Xerxes assembled his troops and
encamped on the plains of Trachis. Xerxes
having no particular quarrel with the Spartans,
sent messengers to desire them to lay down their
arms; to which the Lacedaemonians boldly re-
plied " Let Xerxes come and take them." On
the evening of the seventh day after Xerxes had
arrived at the straits of Thermopylae, twenty
thousand chosen men, commanded by Hydarnes,
and conducted by the traitor Epialtes, who had
offered to lead them through another passage in
the mountains, left the Persian camp. The
next morning they perceived a thousand Pho-
cians, whom Leonidas had sent to defend this
important, but generally unknown, pass. The
immense shower of darts from the Persians,
compelled the Phocians to abandon the passage
they had been sent to guard ; and they retired
to the highest part of the mountain. This gave
the Persians an opportunity of seizing the pas9
through which they marched, with the greatest
expedition. In the dead of the night the Spar-
tans, headed by Leonidas, and full of resent-
ment and despair, marched in close battalion to
surprise the Persian camp. Dreadful was the
fury of the Greeks ; and on account of want of
disci pline,there being no advance guard or watch,
greatly destructive to the Persians. Numbers
fell by the Grecian spears, but far more perished
by the mistakes of their own troops, who, in the
confusion that prevailed, could not distinguish
friends from foes. Wearied with slaughter, the
Greeks penetrated to the royal tent ; but Xerxes
with his favorites, had fled to the extremity of
the encampments. The dawn of day discover-
ed to the Persians a dreadful scene of carnage,
and the handful of Greeks by whom this terri-
ble slaughter had been made. The Spartans
now retreated to the straits of Thermopylae ; and
the Persians, by menaces, stripes, and blows,
could scarcely be compelled to advance against
them. The Greeks halted where the pass was
widest, to receive the charge of the enemy.
The shock was dreadful. After the Greeks had
blunted or broken their spears, they attacked
with sword in hand, and made an incredible
havoc. Four times they dispelled the thickest
ranks of the enemy, in order to obtain the sa-
cred remains of their king Leonidas, who had
fallen in the engagement. At this crisis, when
their unexampled valor was about to carry off
the inestimable prize, the hostile battalions un-
der the conduct of Epialtes, were seen descend-
ing the hill. All hopes were now dispersed,
and nothing remained to be attempted but the
last effort of a generous despair. Collecting
themselves into a phalanx, the Greeks retired
to the narrowest part of the strait ; and on a
rising ground, took post behind the Phocian
wall. As they made this movement, the The-
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bans, whom fear had hitherto restrained from de-
fection, revolted to the Persians ; declaring that
their republic had sent earth and water in token
of their submission to Xerxes ; and that they
had been reluctantly compelled to resist the pro-
gress of his arms. In the meantime, the Lace-
daemonians and Thespians were assaulted on
every side ; the wall was beaten down, and the
enemy entered the breaches. But instant death
befell the Persians that entered. In this last
struggle, the most heroic and determined cour-
age was displayed by every Grecian. It being
observed to Diocenes,the Spartan, that the Per-
sian arrows were so numerous as to intercept
the lig'it of the sun, he replied this was a favor-
able circumstance, because the Greeks thereby
fought in the shade. At length it became im-
possible for the Greeks to resist the impetuosity
and weight of the darts and other missiles con-
tinually poured upon them. They therefore
fell, not conquered, but buried under a trophy
of Persian arms. In this dreadful conflict, the
Persians lost 20,000 men, and according to some
historians, the whole of the Persian army
amounted to five millions !
THESSALY. The boundaries of Thessaly
varied, but it had the Egean sea on the east, and
the northern parts of Greece on the south. It
contained four provinces, mostly surrounded
with mountains. In the centre of Thessaly, on
the river Enipeus, were the city and plain of
Pharsalus, famous for the battle fought there
between Caesar and Pompey. The greater part
ofPompey's army was cut in pieces, or made
prisoners by the conqueror. Thessaly was gov-
erned by its own kings till it became subject to
Macedon.
THISTLEWOOD, Arthur, a disappointed
man and desperate politician, who, in 1819,
planned a conspiracy to assassinate the king's
ministers, at a cabinet dinner in Grosvenor-
square. He, and his confederates, fifteen or
sixteen in number, assembled in a stable-loft in
Cato-street, Mary-!a-bonne, on the evening on
which they proposed to effect their purpose, but
the police having notice, they were surround-
ed, and most of them captured. Thistlewood
and four others were tried at the Old Bailey,
and being convicted, were executed in the usual
manner in which death is inflicted for high
treason.
THOMPSON, Charles, secretary of the con-
tinental Congress, was born in Ireland, Nov.
1729, and came to America at the age of eleven.
He went into business in Philadelphia, where
he distinguished himself by his early opposition
to the obnoxious measures of the British minis-
try. He retired after the organization of the
constitution, and died in 1824.
THRACE, a large country of Europe, south
of Scythia, bounded by Mount Hcemus. It had
the iEgean sea on the south, on the west, Ma-
cedonia and the river Strymon, and on the east
the Euxine sea, the Propontis, and the Helles-
pont. Its northern boundaries extended as far
as the Ister, according to Pliny and others. The
Thracians were looked upon as a cruel and bar-
barous nation ; they were naturally brave and
warlike, addicted to drinking and licentious plea-
sures, and they sacrificed, without the smallest
humanity, their enemies, on the altars of their
gods. Their government was originally mon-
archical, and divided among a number of inde-
pendent princes. Thrace is barren as to its soil.
It received its name from Thrax, the son of
Mars, the chief deity of the country. The first
inhabitants lived upon plunder, and on the milk
and flesh of sheep. It forms now the province
of Romania.
THRASYBULUS, a famous general of
Athens, who began the expulsion of the thirty
tyrants of his country, though he was only as-
sisted by thirty of his friends. His efforts were
attended with success, B. C. 401, and the only
reward he received for this patriotic action, was
a crown made with two twigs of an olive branch ;
a proof of his own disinterestedness and of the
virtues of his countrymen. The Athenians
employed a man whose abilities and humani-
ty were so conspicuous, and Thrasybulus was
sent with a powerful fleet to recover their lost
power in the iEgean, and on the coast of
Asia. After he had gained many advantages,
this great man was killed in his camp by the in-
habitants of Aspendus, whom his soldiers had
plundered without his knowledge, B. C. 391.
THRASYMENUS, a lake of Italy near Pe-
rusia, celebrated for a battle fought there be-
tween Hannibal and the Romans, under Flami-
nius, B. C. 217. No less than 15,000 Romans
were left dead on the field of battle, and 10,000
taken prisoners, or, according to Livy, 6000, or
Polybius 15,000. The loss of Hannibal was
about 1500 men. About 10,000 Romans made
their escape all covered with wounds. This
lake is now called the lake of Perugia.
TIBERIUS, Claudius Nero, a Roman empe-
ror after the death of Augustus, was descended
from the family of the Claudii. His first ap-
pearance in the Roman armies was under Au-
gustus, in the war against the Cantabri ; and
afterwards in the capacity of general, he obtain-
TIB
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TIL
ed victories in different parts of the empire,
and was rewarded with a triumph. He had the
command of the Roman armies in Illyricum,
Pannonia, and Dalrnatia, and seemed to divide
the sovereign power with Augustus. At the
death of this celebrated emperor, Tiberius, who
had been adopted, assumed the reins of govern-
ment. The beginning of his reign seemed to
promise tranquillity to the world ; Tiberius was
a watchful guardian of the public peace ; he
was the friend of justice; and never assumed
the sounding titles which must disgust a free
nation, but he was satisfied to say of himself
that he was the master of his slaves, the gene-
ral of his soldiers, and the father of the citizens
of Rome. That seeming moderation, however,
which was but the fruit of the deepest policy,
soon disappeared, and Tiberius was viewed in
his real character. The armies mutinied in
Pannonia and Germany, but the tumults were
silenced by the prudence of the generals and the
fidelity of the officers, and the factious dema-
gogues were abandoned to their condign pun-
ishment. This acted as a check upon Tiberius
in Rome ; he knew from thence, as his succes-
sors had experienced, that his power was pre-
carious, and his very existence in perpetual
danger. He continued, as he had begun, to
pay the greatest deference to the senate ; all li-
bels against him he disregarded, and he observ-
ed, that, in a free city, the thoughts and the
tongue of every man should be free. While
Rome exhibited a scene of peace and public
tranquillity, the barbarians were severally de-
feated on the borders of the empire, and Tibe-
rius gained new honors, by the activity and va-
lor of Germanicus and his other faithful lieu-
tenants. He at last retired to the island of
Capreaj on the coast of Campania, where he
buried himself in unlawful pleasures. The care
of the empire was entrusted to favorites, among
whom Sejanus for awhile shone with uncom-
mon splendor. In this solitary retreat, the em-
peror proposed rewards to such as invented new
pleasures, or could produce fresh luxuries.
While the emperor was lost to himself and the
world, the provinces were harassed on every
side by the barbarians, and Tiberius found him-
self insulted by those enemies whom hitherto
he had seen fall prostrate at his feet with every
mark of submissive adulation. At last grown
weak and helpless through infirmities, he
thought of his approaching dissolution ; and as
he well knew that Rome could not exist with-
out a head, he nominated, as his successor,
Caius Caligula. Tiberius died at Misenum,
the 16th of March, A. D. 37, in the 78th year
of his age, after a reign of twenty-two years,
six months, and twenty-six days. It has been
wittily observed by Seneca, that he never was
intoxicated but once all his life, for he continued
in a perpetual state of intoxication from the
time he gave himself to drinking, till the last
moment of his life.
TICONDEROGA, a post-town of Essex
county, N. Y., on the west side of the E. end
of lake Champlain,and at the north end of lake
George. Population 1493. The fort at the
north of the outlet from lake George into lake
Champlain is in a ruinous condition.
TIGRANES, a king of Armenia, who made
himself master of Assy ria and Cappadocia. By
the advice of his father-in-law, he declared war
against the Romans. He despised these distant
enemies, and even ordered the head of the mes-
senger to be cut off who first told him that the
Roman general was boldly advancing towards
his capital. His pride, however, was soon
abated, and though he ordered the Roman con-
sul Lucullus to be brought alive into his pre-
sence, he fled with precipitation from his capi-
tal, and was soon after defeated near mount
Taurus. This totally disheartened him ; he re-
fused to receive Mithridates into his palace,
and even set a price upon his head. His mean
submission to Pompey, the successor of Lu-
cullus in Asia, and a bribe of GO ,000 talents, in-
sured him on his throne, and he received a gar-
rison in his capital, and continued at peace with
the Romans. His second son, of the same
name, revolted against him, and attempted to
dethrone him with the assistance of the king
of Parthia, whose daughter he had married.
This did not succeed, and the son had recourse
to the Romans, by whom he was put in posses-
sion of Sophene, while the father remained
quiet on the throne of Armenia. The son was
afterwards sent in chains to Rome, for bis inso-
lence to Pompey.
TILLY, John Tzerklas, count de, a celebrated
general, was born near Brussels, and is said to
have been originally a Jesuit, which order he
quitted for the army. He commanded the Ba-
varian troops under duke Maximilian, and had
a great share in the battle of Prague, Nov. 8,
1620. At that of Lutter, in Lunenburg, in
1626, he defeated the king of Denmark, with
whom he afterwards concluded a treaty. In
1631 he took the city of Magdeburg, where he
committed a horrible massacre. The same
year he was routed by Gustavus Adolphus ; and
while defending the passage of the Lech against
TIM
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TIM
the Swede, he received a mortal wound, April
30, 1632.
TIMOLEON, a celebrated Corinthian, who
slew his own brother. When the Syracusans,
oppressed with the tyranny of Dionysius the
younger, and of the Carthaginians, had solicited
the assistance of the Corinthians, all looked
upon Timoleon as a proper deliverer; but all
applications would have been disregarded, if
one of the magistrates had not awakened in
him the sense of natural liberty. " Timoleon,"
says he, " if you accept of the command of this
expedition, we will believe that you have killed
a tyrant ; but if not, we cannot but call you
your brother's murderer." This had due effect ;
and Timoleon sailed for Syracuse in ten ships,
accompanied by about 1000 men. The Cartha-
ginians attempted to oppose him, but Timoleon
eluded their vigilance. Icetas, who had the
possession of the city, was defeated, and Di-
onysius, who despaired of success, gave himself
up into the hands of the Corinthian general.
This success gained Timoleon adherents in Si-
cily ; many cities which hitherto had looked
upon him as an imposter, claimed his protec-
tion ; and when he was at last master of Syra-
cuse, by the total overthrow of Icetas, and of
the Carthaginians, he razed the citadel which
had been the seat of tyranny, and erected on
the spot a common hall. When Syracuse was
thus delivered from tyranny, the conqueror ex-
tended his benevolence to the other states of
Sicily, and all the petty tyrants were reduced
and banished from the island. A code of salu-
tary laws was framed for the Syracusans ; and
the armies of Carthage, which had attempted
again to raise commotions in Sicily, were de-
feated, and peace was at last re-established.
The gratitude of the Sicilians was shown every
where to their deliverer. Timoleon was re-
ceived with repeated applause in the public
assemblies ; and though a private man, uncon-
nected with the government, he continued to
enjoy his former influence at Syracuse; his ad-
vice was consulted on matters of importance,
and his authority respected. He ridiculed the
accusations of malevolence ; and when some
informers had charged him with oppression,
he rebuked the Syracusans, who were going to
put the accusers to immediate death. Timoleon
died at Syracuse, about 337 years before the
Christian era. His body received an honorable
burial, in a public place, called, from him, Ti-
moleonteum; but the tears of a grateful nation
were more convincing proofs of the public re-
gret, than the institution of festivals and games
yearly to be observed on the day of his death.
TIMOUR, called also Timour Lenk (the
lame) by corruption, Tamerlane, was, according
to some authorities, the son of a shepherd, and
to others, of royal descent. He was born in
1335, at Kesch,"in the ancient Sogdiana. His
first conquest was that of Balck, the capital of
Khorassan, on the frontiers of Persia. He next
made himself master of Kandahar, and after re-
ducing all ancient Persia under his dominion,
he turned back in order to subdue the people
of Transoxana. Thence he marched to lay
siege to Bagdad, which he took, and proceeding
with his victorious army into India, he subdued
the whole of that nation, and entered Delhi, the
capital of the empire. After Tamerlane had
completed the conquest of Indin, he marched
his army back, and falling upon Syria, he took
Damascus. From thence, he suddenly returned
to Bagdad, in 1401, which had partly shaken
off the yoke. He soon became master of it
acrain, and gave it up to the fury of the soldiers,
on which occasion eight hundred thousand in-
habitants are said to have been destroyed, and
the city was razed to the ground. About this
time, five Mahometan princes, who had been
dispossessed by Bajazet of their dominions, sit-
uated on the borders of the Euxine sea, implored
Tamerlane's assistance ; and at length he was
prevailed on to march his army into Asia Minor.
He began with sending ambassadors to Bajazet,
who were ordered to insist on his raising the
siege of Constantinople, and doing justice to
the five Mahometan princes, whom he had
stripped of their dominions. Bajazet disdaining
these proposals, Tamerlane declared war against
him, and put his troops in motion. Bajazet
raised the siege of Constantinople, and July 28,
1402, the ever memorable battle took place, be-
tween Cffisarea and Angora. After an obstinate
contest Bajazet was defeated and taken prisoner.
Tamerlane, who had hitherto fought with the
scymitar and with arrows, employed several
field-pieces in this engagement, and the Turks
employed cannon and the ancient Greek fire.
Tamerlane's splendid victory did not, however,
deprive the Turkish empire of a single city.
Musa, the son of Bajazet, became sultan, but
notwithstanding the protection of Tamerlane,
he was unable to oppose his brothers ; and a
civil war raged thirteen years among the family.
Soon after This, Tamerlane ravaged Syria, and
from thence he repassed the Euphrates, and re-
turned to Samarcand. He conquered nearly
as great an extent of territory as Jenghis Khan.
He was scarcely settled in his newly acquired
TOL
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TOU
empire, India, when he began to plan the con-
quest ot' China, but he died in the midst of his
glorious career, April 1, 1405.
TIPPOO SAlB, the son of Hyder Ali, and
equally distinguished for his vigilance and brav-
ery, in resisting the British during the war in
India. — See India.
TITUS Vespasian, son of Vespasian and
Flavia Domitilla, became known by his valor
in the Roman armies, particularly at the siege
of Jerusalem. In the 7i)th year of the Christian
era, he was invested with the imperial purple,
and the Roman people had every reason to ex-
pect in him the barbarities of a Tiberius, and
the debaucheries of a Nero. When raised to
the throne, he thought himself bound to be the
father of his people, the guardian of virtue, and
the patron of liberty; and Titus is, perhaps, the
only monarch who, when invested with uncon-
trollable power, bade adieu to those vices, those
luxuries, and indulgences, which, as a private
man, he never ceased to gratify. All informers
were banished from his presence, and even se-
verely punished. A reform was made in the
judicial proceedings, and trials were no longer
permitted to be postponed for years. To do good
to his subjects was the ambition of Titus; and
it was at the recollection that he had done no
service, or granted no favor one day, that he
exclaimed in the memorable words of, " My
friends, I have lost a day !" Two of the sen-
ators conspired against his life, but the emperor
disregarded their attempts. He made them his
friends by kindness, and, like another Nerva,
presented them with a sword to destroy him.
During his reign, Rome was three days on fire ;
the towns of Campania were destroyed by an
eruption of Vesuvius; and the empire was visi-
ted by a pestilence, which carried ofFan infinite
number of inhabitants. In this time of public
calamity, the emperor's benevolence and phi-
lanthrophy were conspicuous. The Romans,
however, had not long to enjoy the favors of
this magnificent prince. Titus was taken ill ;
and as he retired into the country of the Sabines,
to his father's house, his indisposition was in-
creased by a burning fever. He died the 13th
of September, A. D. 81, in the 41st year of his
age, after a reign of two years, two months,
and twenty days.
TLASCALA, a territory of the Mexican re-
public, containing 60,000 inhabitants. At the
time of the conquest by the Spaniards, the city
of Tlascala alone contained 300,000.
TOLEDO, anciently Tolelum, a handsome
city of Spain, in New Castile, capital of a pro-
vince of the same name, situated on the Tagus,
32 miles S. W. of Madrid. It was successively
the seat of government under the Goths, the
Moors, and the kings of Castile. In the year
1085, this ancient capital fell into the hands of
the Christians, and became the residence of
their kings. It was besieged in 1109, 1114, and
1227, but without success. At a subsequent
date it was less fortunate, having been besieged
and taken in 1467, and in 1641. Great part of
the town was burnt on each occasion, which,
with the removal of the government to Madrid,
has been the cause of its decline.
TOULON, a sea-port in the south-east of
France. The most remarkable event in its his-
tory is the occupation of the town and harbor
by the British, in the autumn of 1793, the sub-
sequent siege by the republican troops of France,
and the precipitate abandonment of the place
by the British troops, on the 19th of December,
1793, after burning and carrying ofF about half
the squadron contained in the port. Bonaparte
commanded part of the besieging artillery, and
directed it with great judgment.
TOULOUSE ; a city of France, capital of
Upper Garonne, containing 55,319 inhabitants.
In a historical light, it acquired an unfortunate
title to notice, by an obstinate battle fought on
the 10th of April, 1814, between the British,
under lord Wellington, and the French, under
Soult ; neither commander having been apprised
of the abdication of Bonaparte. The British
troops were successful, but suffered severely;
their loss, in killed and wounded, was between
four and five thousand men.
TOURNAMENTS. The following sketch
of the origin and mariner of constructing a tour-
nament, from the History of Chivalry, we hope
will not prove uninteresting to our readers.
The first authentic mention of a tournament
is to be found in the Chronicle of Tours, which
records the death of Geoffrey de Friuli in 1066;
adding the words qui torncamenta invcnit — who
invented tournaments. From the appearance
of these exercises in Germany about the same
time, we may conclude that this date is pretty
nearly correct ; and that if tournaments were
not absolutely invented at that precise period,
they were then first regulated by distinct laws.
In England they did not appear till several
years later, when the Norman manners intro-
duced after the conquest had completely super-
seded the customs of the Saxons.
Thus much has seemed necessary to me to
say concerning the origin of tournaments, as
there are so many common fables on the sub
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TOU
ject which give far greater antiquity to the ex-
ercise than that which it is entitled to claim.
The ceremonies and the splendor of the tour-
nament of course differed in different ages and
different countries; but the general principle
was the same. It was a chivalrous game, orig-
inally instituted for practising those exercises,
and acquiring that skill which was likely to be
useful in knightly warfare.
A tournament was usually given upon the
occasion of any great meeting, for either mili-
tary or political purposes. Sometimes it was
the king himself who sent his heralds through
the land to announce to all noblemen and ladies,
that on a certain day he would hold a grand
tournament, where all brave knights might try
their prowess. At other times a tournament
was determined on by a body of independent
knights ; and messengers were often sent into
distant countries to invite all gallant gentlemen
to honor the passage of arms.
The spot fixed upon for the lists was usually
in the immediate neighborhood of some abbey
or castle, where the shields of the various cava-
liers who purposed combatting, were exposed
to view for several days previous to the meeting.
A herald was also placed beneath the cloisters
to answer all questions concerning the cham-
pions, and to receive all complaints against any
individual knight. If, upon investigation, the
kings of arms and judges of the field found that
a just accusation was laid against one of the
knights proposing to appear, a peremptory com-
mand excluded him from the lists ; and if he
daied in despite thereof to present himself, he
was driven forth with blows and ignominy.
Round about the field appointed for the spec-
tacle were raised galleries, scaffoldings, tents,
and pavilions, decorated with all the magnifi-
cence of a luxurious age. Banners and scutch-
eons, and bandrols, silks and cloth of gold, cov-
ered the galleries and floated round the field ;
while all that rich garments and precious stones,
beauty and youth, could do to outshine the
inanimate part of the scene, was to be found
among the spectators. Here too was seen the
venerable age of Chivalry — all those old knights
whose limbs were no longer competent to bear
the weight of arms, surrounding the field to
view the prowess of their children, and judge
the deeds of the day. Heralds and pursuivants,
in the guy and many-colored garments which
they peculiarly affected, fluttered over the field,
and b inds of warlike music were stationed near
to animate the contest and to salute the victors.
The knights, as they appeared in the lists,
were greeted by the heralds and the people ac-
cording to their renown ; but the approbation
of the female part of the spectators was the
great stimulous to all the Chivalry of the field.
Each knight, as a part of his duty, either felt
or feigned himself in love ; and it was upon
these occasions that his lady might descend
from the high state to which the mystic adora-
tion of the day had raised her, and bestow upon
her favored champion a glove, a riband, a brace-
let, a jewel, which borne on his crest through
the hard-contested field, was the chief object of
his care, and the great excitement to his valor.
Often, too, in the midst of the combat, if ac-
cident or misfortune deprived the favored knight
of the gage of his lady's affection, her admira-
tion or her pity won her to supply another
token, sent by a page or squire, to raise again
her lover's resolution, and animate him to new
exertions.
The old romance of Perce-forest gives a curious
picture of the effects visible after a tournament,
by the eagerness with which the fair spectators
had encouraged the knights. " At the close of
the tournament," says the writer, " the ladies
were so stripped of their ornaments, that the
greater part of them were bareheaded. Thus
they went their ways with their hair floating
on their shoulders more glossy than fine gold :
and with their robes without the sleeves, for
they had given to the knights to decorate them-
selves, wimples and hoods, mantles and shifts,
sleeves and bodies. When they found them-
selves undressed to such a pitch, they were at
first quite ashamed ; but as soon as they saw
every one was in the same state, they began to
laugh at the whole adventure, for they had all
bestowed their jewels and their clothes upon
the knights with so good a will, that they had
not perceived that they uncovered themselves."
This is probably an exaggerated account of
the enthusiasm which the events of a tourna-
ment excited in the bosom of the fair ladies of
that day ; but still, no doubt can be entertained,
that they not only decorated their knights be-
fore the tournament with some token of their
approbation, but in the case of its loss, often
sent him even a part of their dress in the midst
of the conflict.
The other spectators, also, though animated
by less thrilling interests, took no small share
in the feelings and hopes of the different parties.
Each blow of the lance or sword, struck well
and home, was greeted with loud acclamations;
and valor met both its incitement and its reward,
in the expecting silence and the thundering
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plaudits with with each good champion's move-
ments were waited for and seen.
In the mean while, without giving encour-
agement to any particular knight, the heralds
strove to animate all by various quaint and
characteristic exclamations, such as " The love
of ladies !" " Death to the horses !" " Honor
to the brave !" " Glory to be won by blood
and sweat !" " Praise to the sons of the brave !"
It would occupy too much space to enter into
all the details of the tournament, or to notice
all the laws by which it was governed. Every
care was taken that the various knights should
meet upon equal terms, and many a precaution
was made use of to prevent accidents, and to
render the sport both innocent and useful. But
no regulations could be found sufficient to guard
against the dangerous consequences of such fu-
rious amusements ; and Ducange gives a long
list of princes and nobles who lost their lives
in these fatal exercises. The church often in-
terfered, though in vain, to put them down ;
and many monarchs forbade them in their do-
minions ; but the pomp with which they were
accompanied, and the excitement they afforded
to a people fond of every mental stimulus, ren-
dered them far more permanent than might
have been expected.
The weapons in tournaments were, in almost
all cases, restrained to blunted swords and head-
less spears, daggers and battle-axes ; but, as
may well be imagined, these were not to be used
without danger ; so that even those festivals that
passed by without the absolute death of any of
the champions, left, nevertheless, many to drag
out a maimed and miserable existence, or to
die after a long and weary sickness. And yet
the very peril of the sport gave to it an all-pow-
erful interest, which we can best conceive, at
present, from our feelings at some deep and
thrilling tragedy.
After the excitement, and the expectation,
and the suspense, and the eagerness, came the
triumph and the prize — and the chosen queen
of the field bestowed upon the champion whose
feats were counted best, that reward, the value
of which consisted more in the honor than the
thing itself. Sometimes it was a jewel, some-
times a coronet of flowers or of laurel ; but in
all cases the award implied a right to one kiss
from the lips of the lady appointed to bestow
the prize. It seems to have been as frequent
a practice to assign this prize on the field, as in
the chateau or palace whither the court retired
after the sports were concluded ; and we often
find that the female part of the spectators were
called to decide upon the merits of the several
champions, and to declare the victor as well as
confer the reward. Mirth and festivity ever
closed the day of the tournament, and song and
sports brought in the night.
Every thing that could interest or amuse a
barbarous age was collected on the spot where
one of these meetings was held. The minstrel
or menestricr, the juggler, the saltimbank, the
story-teller, were present in the hall to soothe
or to entertain ; but still the foundation of tale
and song was chivalry ; — the objects of all praise
were noble deeds and heroic actions ; and the
very voice of love and tenderness, instead of
seducing to sloth and effeminacy, was heard
prompting to activity, to enterprise, and to
honor — to the defence of virtue, and the search
for glory.
It may be here necessary to remark, that
there were several sorts of tournaments, which
differed essentially from each other ; but I shall
not pause upon these any longer than merely
to point out the particular differences between
them. The joust, which was certainly a kind
of tournament, was always confined to two per-
sons, though these persons encountered each
other with blunted arms.
The combat at outrance was, in fact, a duel,
and only differed from the trial by battle in
being voluntary, while the other was enforced
by law. This contest was often the event of
private quarrels, but was, by no means, always
so; and, to use the language of Ducange,
i: though mortal, it took place ordinarily between
two persons who most frequently did not know
each other, or, at least, had no particular mis-
understanding, but who sought alone to show
forth their courage, generosity, and skill in
arms." Sometimes, however, the combat at
outrance was undertaken by a number of knights
together, and often much blood was thus shed,
without cause.
The pas d'armcs, or passage of arms, differed
from general tournaments, inasmuch as a cer-
tain number of knights fixed their shields and
tents in a particular pass, or spot of ground,
which they declared their intention to defend
against all comers. The space before their
tents was generally listed in, as for a tourna-
ment; and during the time fixed for the defence
of the passage, the same concourse of spectators,
heralds, and minstrels was assembled.
The round table was another distinct sort of
tournament, held in a circular amphitheatre,
wherein the knights invited jousted against
each other. The origin of this festival, which
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was held, I believe, for the last time by Edward
III, is attributed to Roger Mortimer, who,
on receiving knighthood, feasted a hundred
knights and a hundred ladies at a round table.
The mornings were spent in chivalrous games,
the prize of which was a golden lion, and the
evenings in banquets and festivities. This course
of entertainments continued three days, with
the most princely splendor ; after which Mor-
timer, having won the prize himself, conducted
his guests to Warwick, and dismissed them.
From this account, taken from the history of
the Priory of Wigmore, Monestrier deduces
that those exercises called " round tables" were
only tournaments, during which the lord or
sovereign giving the festival, entertained his
guests at a table which, to prevent all ceremony
in respect to precedence, was in the form of a
circle. Perhaps, however, this institution may
have had a different and an earlier origin, though
I find it mentioned in no author previous to the
year 1279.
Chivalry, which, in its pristine purity, knew
no reward but honor, soon — as it became com-
bined with power — appropriated to itself various
privileges, which, injuring its simplicity, in the
end brought about its fall. In the first place,
the knight was, by the fact of his chivalry, the
judge of all his equals, and consequently of all
his inferiors. He was also, in most cases, the
executor of his own decree, and it would indeed
have required a different nature from humanity
to secure such a jurisdiction from frequent per-
version. The knight also took precedence of
all persons who had not received chivalry, a
distinction well calculated to do away with that
humility which was one of knighthood's strict-
est laws. Added to this was the right of wear-
ing particular dresses and colors, gold and jew-
els, which were restrained to the knightly class,
by very severe ordinances. Scarlet and green
were particularly reserved for the order of
knighthood, as well as ermine, minever, and
some other furs. Knijjhts also possessed what
was called privilege of clergy, that is to say, in
case of accusation, they could claim to be tried
before the ecclesiastical judge. Their arms
were legally forbidden to all other classes, and
the title of Sire, Monseigneur, Sir, Don, &c.
were applied to them alone, till the distinction
was lost in the course of time.
TRAFALGAR, bottle of, between the Brit-
ish fleet, under lord Nelson, and the combined
fleet of France and Spain, on the 21st of Octo-
ber, 1805. On the 19th, it was communicated
to his lordship that this fleet had put to sea, and
as he concluded that their destination was the
Mediterranean, he immediately made all sail for
the entrance of the Straits with the British
squadron consisting of twenty-seven ships, three
of them sixty-fours. On Monday, the 21st, at
day- light, the enemy was discovered off Cape
Trafalgar. The commander-in-chief immedi-
ately made the signal for the fleet to bear up in
two columns, as they formed in order of sail-
ing; a mode of attack which he had previously
directed, to avoid the inconvenience and delay,
in forming a line of battle in the usual manner,
while he gave out, as the signal, " England ex-
pects every man to do his duty." Never was
expectation more amply fulfilled, nor orders
obeyed with more perfect regularity and effect.
The enemy's line consisted of thirty-three ships,
of which eighteen were French and fifteen Span-
ish ; the French under admiral Villeneuve, who
was also commander-in-chief, and the Spaniards
under admiral Gravina. The action began at
twelve o'clock, by the leading ships of the col-
umns breaking through the enemy's line ; the
commander-in-chief about the tenth ship from
the van, and admiral Collingwood about the
twelfth from the rear, leaving the van of the
enemy unoccupied, the succeeding ships break-
ing through, in all parts, astern of their leaders,
and engaging the enemy at the muzzles of their
guns. The conflict was severe, and the enemy
fought with acknowledged bravery, but the im-
pulse of British skill and courage was irresisti-
ble. About three in the afternoon, many of the
French and Spanish ships having struck their
colors, their line gave way. Admiral Gravina,
with ten ships, joining their frigates to leeward,
stood towards Cadiz. The five headmost ships
in their van tacked, and standing to the south-
ward, to windward of the British line, were en-
gaged, and the sternmost of them taken ; the
others went off, leaving to the English nineteen
ships of the line, of which two were first rates,
with Villeneuve, commander-in-chief, and two
other flag officers. Such a battle could not
have been fought without sustaining great loss
of men. The number of killed, however, did
not exceed four hundred and twenty-three, nor
that of the wounded eleven hundred and sixty-
four. The gallant Nelson, however, already
immortalized by the battle of Aboukir, fell in
the arms of victory, just as he had achieved the
present more extensive and memorable defeat
of the enemy. About the middle of the action,
his lordship received a musket-ball in his left
breast, which was aimed at him from the top
of the ship with which he was engaged. On
TRA
575
TRI
his being carried below, he complained of acute
pain in the breast, and of privation of sense and
motion of the body and inferior extremities :
his respiration became short and difficult ; his
pulse small, weak, and irregular: he frequently
declared that his back seemed shot through;
that he felt every instant a gush of blood within
his breast, and that he had sensations which
indicated to him the approach of death. In the
course of an hour his pulse became indistinct,
his extremities and forehead cold, but he retain-
ed his wonted energy of mind, and exercise
of his faculties, to the latest moment of his
existence : and when victor}', as signal as de-
cisive, was announced to him, he expressed his
heart-felt satisfaction at the glorious event, in
the -most emphatic language. He delivered his
last orders with his usual precision, and in a
few minutes after expired without a struggle.
TRAJAN, Marcus Ulpius, a Roman emperor,
born at Italica, in Spain. After Nerva died, the
election of Trajan to the vacant throne was con-
firmed by the unanimous rejoicings of the peo-
ple, and the free concurrence of the armies on
the confines of Germany and the banks of the
Danube. The barbarians continued quiet, and
the hostilities which they generally displayed at
the election of a new emperor whose military
abilities they distrusted, were now few. Trajan,
however, could not behold with satisfaction and
unconcern the insolence of the Dacians, who
claimed f.om the Roman people a tribute which
the cowardice of Domitian had offered. Dece-
balus, their warlike monarch, soon began hosti-
lities, by violating the treaty. The emperor
entered the enemy's country, by throwing a
bridge across the rapid stream of the Danube,
and a battle was fought, in which the slaughter
was so great, that in the Roman camp, linen
was wanted to dress the wounds of the soldiers.
Trajan obtained the- victory ; Decebalus, de-
spairing of success, destroyed himself, and
Dacia became a province of Rome. An expe-
dition was now undertaken into the east, and
Parthia threatened with immediate war. Tra-
jan passed through the submissive kingdom of
Armenia, and by his well directed operations,
made himself master of the provinces of Assy-
ria and Mesopotamia. He extended his con-
quests in the cast, obtained victories over un-
known nations; and when on the extremity of
India, he lamented that he possessed not the
vigor and youth of an Alexander, that he
might add unexplored provinces and kingdoms
to the Roman empire. Trajan had no sooner
signified his intentions of returning to Italy,
than the conquered barbarians appeared again
in arms, and the Roman empire did not acquire
one single acre of territory from the conquests
of her sovereign in th« east. T».e return of
the emperor towards Rome was hastened by
indisposition. He expired in the beginning of
August, A. D. 117, after a reign of nineteen
years, six months, and fifteen days, in the sixty-
fourth year of his age. Under this emperor
the Romans enjoyed tranquillity, and for a
short time supposed that their prosperity was
complet" under a good and virtuous sovereign.
TRENCK, Fredwic, baron von der, a Prus-
sian officer, born at Koningsberg, in 1726,
aide-de-camp of Frederic the Great, served
with distinction in the Seven Years' War;
but, in consequence of an intrigue with the
sister of Frederic, was imprisoned in the for-
tress of Glatz from which he contrived to make
his escape, entering the Austrian service. In
1758, having gone to Dantzic for the purpose of
arranging the disposition of his mother's prop-
erty, he was arrested and imprisoned in the
fortress of Magdeburg, from which he was
freed in 1763 by the interference of the prin-
cess Amelia. He next went to Aix-la-Cha-
pelle, where he married the daughter of a
burgomaster of the city in 1765. Here he
engaged in literature, politics, and commerce.
On the failure of his wine-trade he returned to
Germany, where he was received with favor
and employed in various missions. In 1787,
he revisited his native country and was favor-
ably received by the successor of Frederic and
the princess Amelia. In 1791, he went to
France, but falling under suspicion, was guillo-
tined, July 25, 1794.
TRENTON, the metropolis of New Jersey,
in Hunterdon county, on the eastern bank of
the Delaware river, 30 miles N. E. of Philadel-
phia, contains 3,925 inhabitants. Here was
fought a memorable battle on the 26th of De-
cember, 1776. On the night of the 25th, the
American army, under the command of general
Washington, crossed the Delaware, during the
fury of a winter storm, and attacked the enemy,
defeating them completely. Of the British, 20
men were killed, and 1,000 taken prisoners; of
the Americans, 2 were killed, 2 frozen to death,
and 5 wounded.
TRIPOLI, the most easterly of the Barbary
States, is bounded north by the Mediterranean,
east by Barca, south by Fezzan and the Desert,
and west by Tripoli. It contains 28(),0!>0 square
miles, and 800,000 inhabitants. The pacha is
only nominally dependent on the Porte, exer-
TRI
576
TRI
cising in himself a despotic authority. After
the Vandals, Tripoli was under the dominion of
kings, natives of the country, but afterwards
fell into the hands of the Arabs, who came
from Egypt, and who carried away a great
number of slaves, both from the kingdom and
the capital. The sceptre was then assumed by
pirates or adventurers, from whom it was wrest-
ed by the Spaniards. The latter resigned it to
the knights of St. John of Jerusalem, who
were obliged to yield it to three famous cor-
sairs, Salha Rais, Sinan Dassat, and Dragut,
who were assisted with troops furnished by the
grand seignior, for this purpose, and who fully
established the authority of the Turks. How-
ever, the oppressive and intolerant conduct of
the Turks, occasioned several revolts, which
gave rise to the mixed form of government that
still apparently exists ; for it is really absolute
and despotic. Though the bey is chosen by the
militia, and seems to be the chief of a body of
republicans, he is entirely arbitrary, and never
has recourse to the divan, except on difficult
occasions.
TRIUMPH. The triumphal military pro-
cession of a victorious Roman general was a
spectacle of great splendor and interest. When
a general gained a considerable victory, he de-
manded a triumph of the senate. It was the
highest military honor which could be obtained
in the Roman state ; and was reserved for those
generals who, by hard-earned victories and glo-
rious achievements, had added to the territories
of the commonwealth, or delivered the state
from threatened danger. The triumphal pro-
cession began from the Campus Martius, with-
out the city, and passed through the most public
places of the city to the capitol ; the streets being
strewed with flowers, and the altars smoking
with incense. First went musicians of various
kinds ; the oxen destined for the sacrifice next
followed, having their horns gilt, and their
heads adorned with garlands ; then in carriages
were brought the spoils taken from the enemy,
statues, pictures, plate, armor, &c. with the
titles of the vanquished nations, and their im-
ages or representation. The spoils were suc-
ceeded by the captive kings or leaders, with
their children and attendants ; after the captives
came the lictors, having their fasces wreathed
with laurel, followed by a great company of
musicians and dancers, dressed like satyrs, and
wearing golden crowns ; and next came a long
train of persons carrying perfumes. After these
came the triumphant general, dressed in purple
embroidered with gold, with a crown of laurel
upon his head, a branch of laurel in his right
hand, and in his left an ivory sceptre with an
eagle on the top ; the general's face was painted
with vermilion, and a gold ball hung from his
neck on his breast. The chariot in which the
triumphant general stood was gilt, adorned with
ivory, and drawn by four white horses abreast,
or sometimes by elephants; that he might not
be too much elated, a slave stood behind him,
who frequently whispered in his ear — Remember
that thou art a man. The general was attended
by his relations and a great crowd of citizens
all in white ; after his car followed the consuls
and senators; and last came the victorious
army crowned with laurel, decorated with the
gifts which they had received for their valor,
and singing the general's praises, in which the
citizens as they passed along also joined.
TRIUMVIRI, were three magistrates ap-
pointed equally to govern the Roman state
with absolute power. The first triumvirate,
B. C. GO, was in the hands of Julius Cassar,
Pompey, and Crassus, who, at the expiration
of their office, kindled a civil war. The second
and last triumvirate, B. C. 43, was under Au-
gustus, M. Antony, and Lepidus, and through
them the Romans totally lost their liberty. The
triumvirate was in full force at Rome for the
space of about twelve years. There were also
officers who were called triumviri capitales,
created A. U. C. 4G4. They took cognizance
of murders and robberies, and every thing in'
which slaves were concerned. Criminals un-
der sentence of death were entrusted to their
care, and they had them executed according to
the commands of the praetors. The triumviri
nocturni watched over the safely of Rome in
the night time, and in case of fire, were ever
ready to take the most effectual measures to
extinguish it. The triumviri agrarii, had the
care of colonies, that were sent to settle in
different parts of the empire. They made a
fair division of the lands among the citizens,
and exercised over the new colony, all the
power which was placed in the hands of the
consuls at Rome. The triumviri monetales,
were masters of the mint, and had the care of
the coin, hence their office was generally inti-
mated by the following letters often seen on
ancient coins and medals: — IIIVIR. A. A. A.
F. F. i. e. Triumviri auro, argento, aere flando,
feriendo. The triumviri valetudinis, were
chosen when Rome was visited by a plague or
some pestiferous distemper, and they took par-
ticular care of the temples of health and virtue.
The triumviri senatus legendi, were appointed
TRO
577
TUN
to name those that were most worthy to be
made senators from among the plebeians. The
triumviri mensarii, were chosen in the second
Punic war, to take care of the coin and prices
of exchange.
TROMP, Martin Harpertzoon, a Dutch naval
commander, was born at the Brill, in Holland,
in 1579. He rose from the lowest station to
the rank of admiral; and in 1030 defeated a
large Spanish fleet. When the war broke out
between England and the United Provinces,
Van Tromp fought five desperate engagements,
in the last of which, July 2'J, 1653, he was killed
by a musket shot. The states-general struck
medals to his honor ; but his biographers, in
celebrating his modesty, have passed over the
circumstance of his carrying a broom at the
mast-head, to imply that he would sweep the
seas of all opponents.
TROY, a city, the capital of Troas, or ac-
cording to others, a country of which lliurn
was the capital. Of all the wars which have
been carried on among the ancients, that of
Troy is the most famous. The Trojan war
was undertaken by the Greeks, to recover
Helen, whom Paris, the son of Priam, king of
Troy, had carried away from the house of Mene-
laus. The armament of the Greeks amounted
to 1000 ships. Agamemnon was chosen general
of all the forces ; but the princes and kings of
Greece were admitted among his counsellors,
and by them all the operations of the war were
directed. The Grecian army was opposed by a
more numerous force. The king of Troy re-
ceived assistance from the neighboring princes
in Asia Minor, and reckoned among his most
active generals, Rhesus, king of Thrace, and
Memnon, who entered the field with 20,000
Assyrians and ./Ethiopians. The army of the
Greeks was visited by a plague, and the opera-
tions were not less retarded by the quarrel of
Agamemnon and Achilles. After the siege
had been carried on for ten years, some of the
Trojans, among whom were ./Eneas and Ante-
nor, betrayed the city into the hands of the
enemy, and Troy was reduced to ashes. The
poets, however, maintain, that the Greeks made
themselves masters of the place by artifice.
The greatest part of the inhabitants were put
to the sword, and the others carried away by
the conquerors. This happened, according to
the Arundelian marbles, about 1 184 years before
the Christian era. Some time after, a new city
was raised, about 30 stadia from the ruins of
the old Troy : but though it bore the ancient
name, and received ample donations from Alex-
37
ander the Great, when he visited it in his Asiatic
expedition, yet it continued to be small, and in
the age of Strabo it was nearly in ruins.
TRUMBULL, John, was born in Water-
town, Connecticut in 1750, and educated at
Yale college of which he became a tutor in
1770. He subsequently studied law in the
office of John Adams, in Boston, and became
acquainted with the leading patriots of Massa-
chusetts. In 1775 was published the first Part
of Mc' Fingal, a political satirical poem in the
style of Hudibras, which passed through thirty
editions. For many years Mr. Trumbull was
a member of the legislature of Connecticut, and
was appointed a judge of the Superior Court in
1801, and afterwards of the Court of Errors.
In 1825 he removed to Detroit, Michigan,
where he died May 12, 1831.
TRUXTON, Thomas, a captain in the United
States' navy, was born on Long island, New
York, Feb. 17, 1755. Being impressed, he
served a short time on board the President, a
British G4. In 1775 he brought some powder
to the colonies, and was afterwards captured,
but escaped. He was then appointed lieutenant
on board the Congress, a private armed ship,
and, sailing in company with another vessel in
177(3, took several valuable prizes. While in
command of the St. James of 20 guns he beat
off a British vessel of 32 guns. In the war with
France he commanded the frigate Constellation,
and captured the French frigate L' Insurgente
of 54 guns. In 1800 he retired from the service.
In 1816 he was elected high sheriff" of Phila-
delphia. He died May 5, 1 822, in his 67th jear.
TUNIS, one of the Barbary states, consists
chiefly of a large peninsula, stretching into the
Mediterranean in a north-easterly direction. It
contains about 53,000 square miles, and a popu-
lation of 1,500,000, of which 100,000 are said
to be Jews. The eastern part of the country
possesses the most luxuriant fertility, but the
western part is less favored by nature and
contains a scanty population. Rich in mines of
silver, lead, and copper, the Tunisian mountain!
have never been properly explored. The prin-
cipal articles of export are grain, olive oil, wool,
soap, sponge, orchilla weed ; gold dust, ivory,
and ostrich feathers. Tunis, the capital, an
irregularly built city, about 10 miles south-west
of the site of ancient Carthage, contains from
100,000, to 150,000 inhabitants, of whom about
30,000 are Jews. It is strongly fortified.
The city which the Romans erected on the
site of ancient Carthage, was in a flourishing
condition, when the Saracens conquered ana
2a
TUR
578
TUS
destroyed it ; and Tunis arose with considerable
magnificence. The Normans of Sicily con-
quered the Tunisians, but were forced to give
way, in turn, to Abdalmamum of Morocco. In
1530 Charles V. invaded Africa, and defeated
the Turks who, under Barbarossa had gained
possession of Tunis. In 1574 the Algerine
Turks seized upon it, and established a govern-
ment at the head of which was a pacha, subject
to the grand seignior. The head of the govern-
ment is now styled bey, and pays an annual
tribute to the grand seignior of whom he is
otherwise independent.
TURENNE, Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne,
viscomte de, a famous general, was the second
son of Henry de la Tour d'Auvergne, duke de
Bouillon, and was born at Sedan in 1611. He
first served under his uncles, the princes Mau-
rice and Henry of Nassau; and in 1634 was
made major-general. In 1644 he became mare-
chal of France ; and though he lost the battle
of Mariendal, in 1645, he soon after gained that
of Nordlingen, which restored the elector of
Treves to his dominions ; and the next year he
formed a junction with the Swedish army,
which compelled the duke of Bavaria t6 sue
for peace. But the same prince soon afterwards
broke the treaty, on which Turenne made him-
self master of his territories. In the civil wars
of France, he joined the discontented party ;
but was shortly after brought over to the king's
side. In 1654 he compelled the Spaniards to
raise the siege of Arras; and in 1655, he took
Conde, and gained the battle of the Downs,
which produced the subjugation of Flanders.
In 1667 Turenne renounced the Protestant reli-
gion ; which measure is rather supposed to have
proceeded from ambitious than pious motives.
On the renewal of the war with Holland, in
1672, he took forty towns in less than a month ;
drove the elector of Brandenburg to Berlin, and
compelled the imperial army to re-cross the
Rhine. In the midst of this career of victory,
he was killed by a cannon ball, near Acheren,
July 27, 1675.
TURGOT, M. prime minister of Louis
XVI., whose first measure was to re-establish
the unrestrained commerce of corn in the inte-
rior of France. This measure gave rise to vio-
lent tumults, which obliged the king to hold a
bed of justice at Versailles. Died 17dl, aged 49.
TURKESTAN, or Turkistan answers to
the Independent Tartary of geographers. It
is divided into Turcomania, Turkistan, Osbek-
istan, or Bucharia, and the country of the Kirg-
hises. It is extremely fertile.
TURKEY. Prior to its recent losses of ter-
ritory this empire contained 900,000 square
miles, and 22,800,000 inhabitants. Its history
has been narrated under the head of Ottoman
empire. The Turks themselves, masters of
the richest portions of the globe despise agri-
culture, and neglect mining. They are proud,
indolent, brave, and sensual.
TUSCANY, a grand duchy of central Italy,
bounded north by Modena, and the States of the
Church, east by the States of the Church, and
south west bythe Tuscan Sea, a part of the
Mediterranean. It includes Elba and a few
smaller islands, and is divided into Florence.
Pisa, and Sienna, containing 9,500 square miles,
and 1,300,530 inhabitants. The face of the
country is agreeably diversified, and the well-
watered soil produces wheat, maize, beans, peas,
clover, vines, mulberries, olives, oranges, lem-
ons, figs, and rice. The minerals are copper,
lead, quicksilver, marble, &c. The Tuscan dia-
lect is considered the purest Italian. The great
duchy of Tuscany belonged to the emperors of
Germany, who governed it by deputies till the
year 1240, when the famous distinctions of the
Guelphs, who were the partisans of the pope,
and the Ghibellines, who were in the emperor's
interest, took place. The popes then persuaded
the imperial governors in Tuscany, to put them-
selves under the protection of the church ; but
the Florentines, in a short time, formed them-
selves into a free commonwealth, and bravely
defended their liberties against both parties by
turns. Faction at last shook their freedom ; and
the family of Medici, long before they were de-
clared either princes or dukes, in fact governed
Florence, though the rights and privileges of
the people seemed still to exist. The Medici,
particularly Cosmo, who was deservedly called
the Father of his Country, being in the secret,
shared with the Venetians in the immense
profits of the East India trade, before the dis-
coveries made by the Portuguese. His reve-
nue, in ready money, which exceeded that of
any sovereign prince in Europe, enabled his
successors to rise to sovereign power ; and pope
Pius V gave one of his descendants, Cosmo,
(the great patron of the arts), the title of great
duke of Tuscany, in 1570, which continued in
his family to the death of Gaston de Medicis,
in 1737, without issue. The great duchy was
then claimed by the emperor Charles VI as a
fief of the empire, and given to his son-in-law,
the duke of Lorrain, in lieu of the duchy of
Lorrain, which was ceded to France by treaty.
Leopold, his second son, became grand duke,
TYR
579
TYR
from whom the government of Tuscany de-
scended to the grand duke Ferdinand, brother
of Francis II, emperor of Austria. By the
treaty of Luneville, (February, .1801), the grand
duchy of Tuscany received the title of kingdom
of Etruria, and was transferred to the hereditary
prince of Parma. In the subsequent incorpora-
tions of Bonaparte, it was declared an integral
part of the French empire ; but on his dovvn-
fal, in 1814, it was restored to the archduke
Ferdinand, and resumed its proper designation
of grand duchy.
TYLER, Wat, a celebrated insurgent, by
trade a blacksmith, who was the first to resist the
imposition of the poll tax, in the commencement
of the reign of Richard II. He led his men
into Smithfield, where he was met by the king,
who invited him to declare his grievances.
Tyler ordered his companions to retire, till he
should give them a signal, boldly ventured to
meet the king in the midst of his retinue, and
accordingly began the conference. He required
that all slaves should be set free ; that all com-
monages should be open to the poor as well as
rich ; and that a general pardon should be passed
for the late outrages. Whilst he made these
demands, he occasionally lifted up his sword in
a menacing manner ; which insolence so raised
the indignation of William Walworth, then
mayor of London, attending on the king, tliat
he stunned Tyler with a blow of his mace,
while one of the king's knights, riding up, des-
patched him with his sword.
TYRANTS, Thirty, an aristocratical coun-
cil, who usurped and conquered the government
of the Athenians, B. C. 404. Critias was at
' the head of this council, who condemned to
i death Niceratus, the son of Nicias, Leon, and
', Antiphon, and banished Thrasybulus and Any-
', tus. After committing innumerable atrocities,
they were deposed by the people, and ten de-
cemvirs elected in their stead.
TYRE, a city of Phoenicia, the site of which
I is now occupied by the insignificant village of
1 Tour, 18 miles S. W. of Sidon. This city was
| built in 1048, B. C. by the Sidonians, who fled
I from the Edomiles when they conquered Sidon,
after having been expelled from their own
country by David. It was taken by Nebuchad-
| nezzar in 572, after a siege of thirteen years.
1 In 538 it came under the power of the Persians.
In 332 it was taken, after a siege of six months,
I by Alexander the Great, and continued subject
i to the Seleueidce, the Macedonian kings of
Syria, till the Romans took possession of it in
I the year 65, B. C. After this it underwent the
revolutions of Syria till 1099, when it was
taken by the Franks. In 1123, the sultan
of Egypt took it from them, but they soon re-
covered it, and kept it till 1259, when the Tar-
tars, under llulaku, took it, together with the
rest of Syria ; but not keeping it long, it re-
turned to the dominion of Egypt, till it was re-
covered by the Christians, in 1263 ; but in 1292
it was finally conquered by the sultans of Egypt,
with the fate of which it has since been con-
nected.
TYROL or TIROL an Austrian province
bordering on Bavaria, lllyria, Austria, the Lom-
bardo- Venetian kingdom, Switzerland and lake
Constance, containing 1,650 square miles, and
774,457 inhabitants. It is mountainous, and, in
most respects, resembles Switzerland. The in-
habitants have the same invincible attachment
to their country, sterile as it is, and though
many of them gain their little wealth in foreign
countries, they return to get rid of it at home.
They are hardy, brave, honest, and cheerful.
This country was conquered by the Romans,
from whose hands it passed into those of the
Franks, and afterwards belonged to the dukes
of Bavaria. In 1359 it was attached to Austria,
and, with the exception of the period from 1805
to 1814, has remained in her possession.
TYRONE, earl of, a celebrated leader in the
Irish rebellion, who, in 1596 assumed the title
of King of Ulster, and entered into a corres-
pondence with Spain, whence he received a
supply of arms and ammunition. During the
violent contentions between Tyrone and the
forces of the earl of Essex, then deputy of Ire-
land, every enormity was committed by both
parties; but at length, in 1603, Tyrone's fol-
lowers being reduced, he surrendered himself
to the royal power. Thus the rebellion closed;
but the reduction of Ireland, through the gloomy
tracks of famine, pestilence, and blood, cost
England no less a sum than 1, 198,717 £.
TYRREL, Walter, a French gentleman,
who, when hunting in the New Forest with
William Rufus, let fly an arrow, which, glanc-
ing from a tree, struck the king in the breast,
and instantly killed him. Tyrrel, fearful of
suspicions, gained the sea shore, embarked for
France and joined the crusade, as a penance for
his involuntarv crime.
TYRREL, Sir James, employed by Richard,
duke of Gloucester, to murder his two nephews
in the Tower. Tyrrel chose three associates,
who, finding the young princes in bed, in a
profound sleep, suffocated them with the bolster
and pillows, and showed their naked bodies to
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Tyrrel, who ordered them to be buried at the
foot of the stairs, under a heap of stones. In
the reign of Charles II the bones of two per-
sons were found in the place indicated, which
corresponded, by their size, to the ages of Ed-
ward V and his brother; and being judged the
undoubted remains of these unhappy princes,
were deposited in Westminster Abbey, under a
marble tomb.
U.
UKRAINE, i. e. the Frontier of an extensive
country in the southern part of Russia, now
forming the governments of Kiev, Podolia,
Charkow, and Poltava. The surface is level
and it is extremely fertile.
ULM, formerly a free imperial city, is situat-
ed at the confluence of the Danube with the
Iller and Blau, and contains 11,888 inhabitants.
After the battle of Blenheim, (in 1704), it sus-
tained a siege. In 1800, it was the scene of
military manoeuvres, conducted, on the part of
Moreau, with great skill ; and it was here that
in 1805, the errors of Mack, and the combina-
tions of Bonaparte, led to the surrender of an
Austrian army. In 1810, it was transferred
from Bavaria to Wirtemberg, to which govern-
ment it continues subject.
UNITED STATES OF NORTH AME-
RICA, The, originally colonies of Great Bri-
tain, declared themselves independent in 1776.
Brief historical notices of the different states
have been given under separate heads, but a
more extended historical view is requisite in
the present article.
The following dates of the settlement of the
colonies, are given for reference.
Virginia, 1607.
New York, by the Dutch, 1614 ; occupied by
the English, 1664.
Plymouth, 1620 ; incorporated with Massachu-
setts in 1692.
Massachusetts, 1628.
New Hampshire, 1623.
New Jersey, by the Dutch, 1624 ; occupied by
the English in 1664.
Delaware, by the Dutch, 1627, occupied by the
English in 1664.
Maine, 1630 .united with Massachusetts in 1677.
Maryland, 1633.
Connecticut, 1635.
New Haven, 1637 ; united with Connecticut in
1662.
Providence, 1635; >
Rhode Island, 1638; $
united 1644.
N. Carolina, 1650.
S. Carolina, 1670.
Pennsylvania, 1682.
Georgia, 1733.
The English settlers in the northern parts of
America, were influenced by different motives
from those which actuated the Spaniards who
quitted their native country for the shores of
the New World. The latter were urged on-
ward by a reckless spirit of adventure, by the
promptings of heated imaginations, and by the
most insatiable cupidity. The former were im-
pelled by far worthier motives. Many causes
operated together in the mother country, to
favor emigration among the resolute and hardy
The people of England had been led to
examine into the nature of the power to which
they were subjected, and the monstrous doc-
trines of prerogative and religious intolerance,
were denounced by many who had courage to
think and speak for themselves upon the sub-
jects. The friends of republican institutions
multiplied with great rapidity, the natural result
of the progress of literature, and the increase
of wealth with the commons. In 1628 the
wealth of the house of commons far exceed-
ed that of the house of lords. At the same
time, the reformation which had been carried
into effect by Henry VIII, while it had purged
the country of the abuses of the Romish church,
had established a form of worship which was
regarded by many as little better than that
which had given way before it. Those who
refused to conform to the established form,
contemptuously termed Puritans by their op-
ponents, anxiously sought scope for the exercise
of religious rights, and, since the immunities
they demanded were not granted them at home,
determined to seek refuge from persecution in
a remote quarter of the globe.
King James granted, in 1606, letters patent
to two companies, called the London and
Plymouth companies, by which possession was
given them of the territories lying between the
34th and 45th degrees of N. latitude ; the S. part
to the London, and the Northern part to the
Plymouth company : the king himself having
undertaken to frame for them a code of laws.
Three ships were provided by the London com-
pany, on board of which were 105 persons, who
were expected to remain at Roanoke, which
was the place of their destination. The com-
mand of this squadron was given to captain
Christopher Newport, who sailed from London
on the 20th of December, 1606 ; and after a
tedious and disastrous passage of four months,
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by the circuitous route of the West Indies, on
the 26th of April, discovered Cape Henry, the
southern cape of the Chesapeake, a storm having
driven him in a northerly direction from his
place of destination. He soon after discovered
cape Charles, and entered Chesapeake bay.
Charmed with the appearance of the country,
the company determined to commence a settle-
ment, and soon explored the neighborhood.
Passing above Old Point Comfort, a party pro-
ceeded up a beautiful river, called by the Indians
Powhatan, and by the colonists, in honor of
James I, James river. They made a settlement
on a peninsula, and called it Jamestown. This
was the first permanent settlement made by the
English in Virginia.
Shortly after, the company received supplies
from England, and an accession to their num-
bers, swelling the amount to 200. Two vessels
were freighted for England ; one loaded with a
yellow and brilliant sand, common in many
places in the vicinity, but supposed by the colo-
nists to contain a large proportion of gold : the
other vessel was loaded with tobacco. The
most efficient member of the council was cap-
tain Smith (see Smith) who was taken by the
Indians while on an exploring expedition. He
was led to the place of execution, and his head
placed upon a stone, while Powhatan, the In-
dian chieftain, stood over him with uplifted
club, regardless of the earnest solicitations of
his daughter Pocahontas, then about 13 years
of age. The princess, finding her entreaties
unavailing, fell upon Smith, folded him in her
arms, and laid her face upon his, determined to
meet death with him she could not save. Moved
by this touching devotion, Powhatan relented,
and, two days afterwards, sent Smith to James-
town.
In 1009, the destruction of the whole colony
was planned by the Indians, but their plans
were defeated by the exertions of the princess
Pocahontas, who, in a dark night, went to
Jamestown, and put the president upon his
guard. Pocahontas married an English gentle-
man by the name of Rolfe, embraced the Chris-
tian religion, and was baptized by the name of
Rebecca. She died four years ailer at Graves-
end, on her return with her husband from Kng-
land. In 1619, 150 young women, " handsome
and uncorrnpt," were sent to Virginia and
sold to the planters for 100, and 150 pounds of
tobacco each ; tobacco being then valued at
about three shillings the pound. At the same
time 20 negroes were brought to Virginia in a
Dutch vessel, and sold to the colonists, whence
one may date the commencement of the slave-
holding system.
In 1614 captain Smith was sent from England
to explore North Virginia. He ranged the coast
from Penobscot to Cape Cod, making observa-
tions on the shores, harbors, islands, and head-
lands ; and made a map of the country, which
orr his return to England, he showed to prince
Charles (afterwards Charles I), who gave it the
name of New England. The Rev. Mr. Robin-
son with his flock, of the reformed church of
the north of England, removed to Amsterdam
in 1606, and soon after to Leyden. A variety of
motives led his congregation to turn their atten-
tion to the New World : the principal were, the
enjoyment of perfect liberty of conscience ; " the
preservation of ecclesiastical affairs distinct, from
those of the state; " and a hope of laying the
foundation of an extensive empire, that should
be purged from all religious impurities. Having
made an arrangement with the Virginia com-
pany, they sailed from Plymouth, Eng., on the
6th of September 1620, and on the 10th of
November, anchored in Cape Cod harbor.
Perceiving that they were so far north as to be
without the territory of the south Virginia com-
pany, some hesitation arose : but the winter
was at hand, and it was now too late to go in
search of a settlement within the jurisdiction
of that company. Previous to their landing,
after prayer and thanksgiving, they formed
themselves into a body politic, binding them-
selves by a written covenant to be governed by
the decisions of a majority. This instrument,
was subscribed by 41 persons, who with their
children and domestics, composed a company
of 101 persons. Mr. John Carver was chosen,
without one dissentient voice, governor for one
year.
Parties were sent on shore to make discove-
ries. Some Indians were seen but could not be
overtaken. A considerable quantity of corn
was found in heaps of sand, secured in baskets,
which served for seed the ensuing spring, and
tended to save the adventurers from famine.
On the 6th of December, Carver, Standish,
Winslow, Bradford, and others, sailed to various
places, to discover a suitable situation for a set-
tlement. Monday, Dec. 1 1 , O. S. they landed
at what was afterwards called Plymouth, and
from the excellence of the harbour, and the
favorable appearance of the land, resolved to
commence a settlement here. In 1628 the
council for New England, sold to Roswell
Young and others, a patent for all that part of
New England, lying between 3 miles N. of the
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Merrimac, and 3 miles S. of Charles river. In
1629 king Charles incorporated " the governor
and company of Massachusetts bay in New
England."
In 1637 the troops of Massachusetts and
Connecticut had several engagements with the
Pequot Indians, and finaliy subdued them.
This year was made famous by a great theolo-
gical disturbance caused by Ann Hutchinson,
a woman of considerable talents, who was ac-
cused of maintaining heresies, and supporting
them by lectures frequently given to large
audiences. The result was a synod of the
ministers, elders, and messengers of the church-
es, who, after three weeks deliberation, con-
demned as heretical eighty -two opinions which
had been disseminated in New England, and
some banishments took place, among which
was that of Mrs. Hutchinson, her husband and
children, who removed to Rhode Island. In
1640, one hundred laws, entitled " The Body
of Liberties " were established for the govern-
ment of the colony.
In 1750, a number of noblemen, merchants,
and others of London, together with some in-
fluential Virginia planters, formed a society
under the name ef the Ohio company, and ob-
tained from the crown a charter grant of six
hundred thousand acres, on and near the river
Ohio ; and soon after made preparations for
commencing establishments on the Ohio, for
the purpose of commerce with the Indians, as
well as with a view to the settlement of the
country. Information of their proceeding soon
reached the French governor in Canada, who
immediately apprehended that, if the company
could not be interrupted in their plan, a great
part of their valuable fur trade of the French
would be destroyed, and all communication cut
off between Canada and Louisiana. France
laid claim, by right of discovering the Missis-
sippi, to all the territory bordering on that river,
and on its tributary streams. The possessions
of the Ohio company were infringed upon by
the French governor of Canada, and their trade
menaced with annihilation. They therefore laid
their grievances before Dinwiddie, lieutenant-
governor of Virginia.
Dinwiddie, laid the subject before the assem-
bly, who determined to demand, in the name
of the king, that the French should desist.
George Washington, then in his 22d year, was
despatched to the French commandant on the
Ohio, who assured him that he had acted ac-
cording to orders. After his return the British
determined to attack Fort du Quesne (now
Pittsburg), and Washington, now raised to the
rank of colonel, commanded. The conduct, of
the expedition, although it was unsuccessful re-
flected great credit upon the commander.
On the arrival of Braddock, in the spring of
1775. various military operations were planned.
An expedition against Canada was successful,
but the conquered territory was speedily relin-
quished by the victors. General Braddock's
expedition against Fort du Quesne was disas-
trous in the extreme. Heedless of the advice
of Washington, who cautioned him against an
ambush, he pressed forward, and was surprised
by the Indians. Instead of retreating or scour-
ing the woods, Braddock vainly endeavored to
form his men ; and continued with wanton bra-
very on the spot where he was first attacked,
till three horses were shot under him ; when he
received a shot through the lungs and fell. The
remains of the army immediately fled, bearing
away the body of their rash and unfortunate com-
mander. Every mounted officer except Wash-
ington, was either killed or wounded, and he
was providentially preserved, for an Indian had
marked him as a victim, and fired at him several
times with a rifle that had never before deceived
him. 64 out of 85 officers, and half the privates
were killed. But Washington bore off the
wreck of the forces with consummate skill and
undaunted courage. The war was continued
until 1763, and, although the military operations
were occasionally unsuccessful, the bravery of
the British and provincial troops prevailed, and
the fall of Quebec gave a death blow to the
hopes of the French.
We now come to the commencement of those
acts which created that patriotic feeling in the
colonies, which resulted in the Declaration of
their Independence.
In 1674 the parliament of Great Britain pass-
ed an act, the preamble to which ran thus :
"Whereas it is just and necessary that ^.revenue
be raised in America, for defraying the ex-
penses of defending, protecting, and securing
the satne, «&c." The act then proceeds to lay a
duty on clayed sugar, indigo, coffee, silk, mo-
lasses, calicoes, &c, being the produce of a
colony not under the dominion of his majesty.
To this the colonists submitted ; though not with-
out complaint and remonstrance. Before this
the subject of taxing the American colonies had
been in agitation. " There is something curi-
ous," says Fox, " in discovering that even at
this early period (1635) a question relative to
North American liberty, and even to North
American taxation, was considered as the teat
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of principles friendly or adverse to arbitrary
power at home. Rut the truth is, that, among
the several controversies which have arisen,
there is no other where the natural rights of
man. on the one hand, and the authority of ar-
tificial institutions, on the other, as applied res-
pectively by the whigs and tories to the English
constitution, are so fairly put in issue, nor by
which the line of separation between the two
parties is so strongly and distinctly marked."
When a scheme for taxing the colonies was
proposed to Sir Robert Walpole, he replied : " I
will leave that for some of my successors who
may have more courage than I have, and be
less a friend to commerce than I am. It has
been a maxim with me, during my administra-
tion, to encourage the trade of the American
colonies in the utmost latitude. Nay, it has
been necessary to pass over some irregularities
in their trade with Europe ; for, by encouraging
them to an extensive, growing foreign com-
merce, if they gain £500,000, I am convinced
that, in two years afterwards, full £ 250,000 of
their gains will be in his majesty's exchequer,
by the labor and product of this kingdom.
This is taxing . them more agreeably to their
constitution and ours."
Instead of a repeal of the act imposing the
first tax, parliament, the next year, imposed a
duty on stamps. Resolutions were passed by
the popular branches of most of the colonial
legislatures, against this duty. Massachusetts
recommended a colonial congress, to consult for
the general welfare. A congress from most of
the colonies, consisting of twenty-eight mem-
bers, met at New York ;. remonstrated against
the act of parliament ; petitioned for its repeal ;
and made a declaration of the rights of the colo-
nies ; declaring that taxation and representation
were inseparable ; and that parliament had no
right to take their money without their consent.
Disturbances arose throughout the country.
Business was conducted without stamped paper,
and the validity of obligations was established
by the courts. Meanwhile the colonists enter-
ed into associations, to prevent the importation
of British goods, till the stamp act should be re-
pealed.
When information of the almost universal
opposition of the Americans to the stamp act,
reached the ears of parliament, great agitation
arose. Mr. Pitt said, " You have no right to
tax America. I rejoice that America has resist-
ed. Three millions of our fellow subjects so
lost to every sense of virtue, as tamely to give
up their liberties, would be fit instruments to
make slaves of the rest " The act was repealed,
but the repealing act had this sweeping sen-
tence, "that the parliament had, and of right
ought to have power to bind the colonies in all
cases whatsoever."'
In 1707, the chancellor of the exchequer
brought into parliament a bill for imposing a
duty to be collected in the colonies on glass,
paper, painter's colors and tea. The bill having
passed, was, the next year, sent to the colonies.
A bill was also passed for establishing at Roston
a board of commissioners, to manage the reve-
nue arising from the duties. An act was also
passed to compel the colonies to provide for the
British troops and support them at their own
expense. These various acts of parliament re-
suscitated the flames of resentment and oppo-
sition, which had been almost extinguished.
The most spirited resolutions were passed by
the colonies, among which the non-importation
resolutions were the most important.
On the 5th of March 1770, some Rritish sol-
diers, being insulted and pressed upon by a
mob in King's now State street, Boston, fired
upon the populace, killed three, and wounded
six. Captain Preston, who commanded the
party, and his men, were tried and acquitted
with the exception of two who were brought in
guilty of manslaughter. In 1773, but little tea
having been imported into America, parliament
enjoyed her supposed right without benefit, and
the Americans denied it without injury. Affairs
therefore remained in the same state, till the
East India company, who had on hand about
seventeen million pounds of tea, were allowed
by parliament to export their tea into any part
of the world, free of duty : hence to the colo-
nists, tea, though with a duty of three pence,
would be cheaper than before.
The colonists were again violently excited.
The corresponding committees, which had been
forming throughout the colonies for the last two
years, excited resistance, declaring such as aided
directly or indirectly in these violations of liber-
ty, enemies to their country. The consequence
was that the cargoes of tea. sent to New York
and Philadelphia, were sent back : and those sent
to Charleston, stored, but not offered for sale.
The tea ships, intended for the supply of Roston,
after the inhabitants had tried in vain to have
them returned, they being consigned to the re-
lations of governor Hutchinson, were entered
by about 17 persons in the disguise of Indiana,
and three hundred and forty-two chests of tea
were thrown into the dock, no other damage
being done.
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In 1774, parliament, receiving information of
the treatment of the East Indian company with
respect to their tea, were much exasperated.
Though the opposition was general, the pro-
vince of Massachusetts, and especially the town
of Boston, were considered the fomenters of dis-
obedience to their authority. Boston was there-
fore selected as the mark against which to direct
their vengeance. Hence a bill was passed, by
which the port of Boston was precluded from
the privilege of landing and discharging, or of
lading and shipping, wares and merchandise.
Another bill was also passed, essentially alter-
ing the charter of the province, making the
appointment of the council, justices, judges,
sheriffs, &c. dependent on the crown, or its
immediate agent. Another act directed the
governor to send to another colony or to Great
Britain for trial, any person indicted for murder
or any other capital offence. When these acts
arrived in America, they were circulated with
rapidity throughout the continent. But one sen-
timent of indignation and opposition governed
the people. The town of Boston recommended
an universal association to stop importations.
The house of burgesses in Virginia, which
colony had ever been forward in seconding the
spirit and measures of Massachusetts, ordered
that the day on which the Boston port bill
was to go into operation should be kept as a
day of fasting and prayer. Pamphlets, news-
paper discussions, addresses and essays, were
multiplied without number, proving the wick-
edness of the acts of parliament, and urging an
union of the colonies for resistance. Massa-
chusetts recommended a meeting of delegates
from all the colonies, the assembly electing five
for that purpose. On the fourth of September,
the deputies of eleven colonies appeared at
Philadelphia, organized themselves by choosing
Peyton Randolph president, and Charles Thomp-
son secretary, and agreed to vote by states. A
non-importation, and non-consumption agree-
ment were made ; an address to the king, a
memorial to the inhabitants of British America,
and an address to the people of Great Britain
were also made. After a few weeks they dis-
solved ; recommending the 10th of the succeed-
ing May, if their grievances should remain un-
redressed, for another session of congress.
Oct. 5, general Gage, the governor of Massa-
chusetts, as well as commander-in-chief of all
the royal forces in North America, issued writs
for holding a general assembly in Salem. He
afterwards countermanded the writs. Ninety
members met, formed themselves into a provin-
cial congress, adjourned to Concord, and chose
John Hancock president. They afterwards ad-
journed to Cambridge, and drew up a plan for
placing the province in a posture of defence, by
enlisting men, choosing general officers, &c.
In January, 1775, the earl of Chatham brought
forward a conciliatory bill in the house of peers,
which was rejected, two to one. Lord North, the
prime minister, introduced a bill for restraining
the trade of the New England colonies. Receiv-
ing information of the general opposition in the
southern colonies, he introduced another bill,
equally restraining their trade, but excepting
North Carolina, Delaware, and New York.
The time had now come for testing the nerve
of the colonists. An attempt was made by the
British troops to seize the military stores at
Concord, April 19, but they had to encounter
the armed opposition of the militia at Concord
and Lexington. Boston, was now blockaded.
Ticonderogaand Crown Point were taken. The
battle of Bunker's Hill followed, and an unsuc-
cessful expedition against Canada preceded the
Declaration of Independence.
On May 10th, 1775, the continental congress
met at Philadelphia, and on the 15th of June
unanimously elected George Washington, then
a member from Virginia, commander-in-chief
of the forces raised, and to be raised, for the
defence of the colonies. June 7, 1776, Richard
Henry Lee of Virginia, made a motion in con-
gress, for declaring the colonies free and inde-
pendent. After much debate, on the Fourth
of July, the thirteen colonies were declared
Free and Independent, under the title of
The United States of America.
An attempt was made in June and July, with
3000 British troops, under the command of
general Clinton and sir Peter Parker, to destroy
the fort on Sullivan's island, near Charleston
(S. C.) The fort was defended by col. Moultrie,
with about 400 men. After an action of 10
hours, the British were forced to retire with a
loss of about "200 men. 10 Americans were
killed, and 20 wounded.
Soon after the evacuation of Boston by the
British troops (March 17), Washington made
his head quarters at the city of New York, with
the principal part of his army. British troops,
to the amount of 24,000 men under lord Howe,
and his brother, sir Win. Howe, landed (August
22) on Long Island, near the Narrows, about
nine miles from the city. The American forces,
at this time, amounted to upwards of 17,000
men, and those principally raw recruits. A
battle was fought on Long Island (Aug. 27) in
which the Americans were defeated. The bat-
tle of White Plains took place on the 28th of
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October. The retreat of the American forces
through the Jerseys and across the Delaware
followed ; the battles of Trenton (Dec. 26) and
Princeton (Jan. 3, 1777) were also among the
events of this period-
The campaign of 1777 closed under better cir-
cumstances. General Burgoyne surrendered at
Saratoga, Oct. 17. In 177b a treaty of commerce
and alliance was made between Louis XVI and
the commissioners of the U. States, on the Gth
of February. French troops soon after arrived.
Various military operations ensued. In the
southern states, where there was no regular
American army, the partisan warfare kept up by
Marion, Sumter, Morgan, and Greene, thinned
the ranks of their enemies. On the 19th of Oc-
tober, 1781, Cornwallis surrendered at York-
town. The fall of this large British army may
be considered as the closing of the war. Gen.
Washington ordered divine service in the diffe-
rent divisions and brigades. Congress went in
solemn procession to the Dutch Lutheran church
in Philadelphia, returned thanks to Almigh-
ty God for the success of the combined armies,
and recommended a day of general thanksgiv-
ing and prayer throughout the United States.
Savannah was evacuated in July (1782) and
Charleston in December. Great Britain ac-
knowledged our independence Nov. 30, 1782.
Holland acknowledged the independence of the
United States in April ; Sweden in February,
1783 ; Denmark in the same month ; Spain in
March ; Russia in July.
The debt of the U. States, at the close of the
war, was about 40 millions of dollars. Congress
had power to make war, and to create debts,
but no power to carry on the war, nor ability to
pay debts, but by appeals or recommendations
to thirteen independent sovereignties, whose
unanimity alone, seldom to be expected, could
support public credit, or give efficacy to the
proceedings of congress. For the payment of
the public debt, a proposal was made by con-
gress to the several states to lay a duty of five
per cent., on all goods imported from foreign
countries, till the national debt should be paid.
This plan failed : some states adopting it alto-
gether, some agreeing to it in part, and some
totally rejecting it. Thus, no efficient funds
being provided, the evidences of the public debt
began to decrease in value, till they were sold at
length for two shillings in the pound.
The new Federal government was establish-
in 1789. Washington was unanimously chosen
the first president, and John Adams vice-presi-
dent. Mr. Jefferson was selected for the de-
partment of state ; col. Hamilton was appointed
secretary of the treasury ; Gen. Knox secreta-
ry of war, and Mr. Edmund Randolph attorney-
general of the United States. John Jay was
made chief justice of the supreme court of the
U. Stales; John Rutledge, James Wilson,
William Cushing, Robert Harrison and John
Blair were named associate judges. The Indi-
an war and an insurrection in the western part
of Pennsylvania, on account of the tax on do-
mestic spirits were favorably terminated. The
insults and maritime depredations committed
by the French, induced America to take up
arms in defence of her rights, but a change of
rulers in France prevented the effusion of blood.
On the retirement of Washington, John Adams
was elected to succeed him, and in 1801, Tho-
mas Jefferson was chosen the third president of
the U. States. The claim of searching Ameri-
can vessels, and impressing from them British
seamen, and the British orders in council prohi-
biting the exportation of the U. States, together
with other outrages committed by the British,
produced a declaration of war against Great
Britain in June, 1812. The successes of the
British were but few and trifling, while the
American navy triumphed in a series of bril-
liant exploits, and the gallant defence of New
Orleans by general Andrew Jackson, crowned
the American arms with laurels. Peace was
concluded at Ghent, December 24, 1814. Since
this time, the states have continued to prosper,
and but few untoward events have occurred to
cast a gloom over their prospects. The names
of our presidents are George Washington, John
Adams, Thos Jefferson, James Madison, James
Monroe, John Quincy Adams, and Andrew
Jackson. All the presidents, with the exception
of the J. and J. Q,. Adams have been reelected.
Population of the U. States in 1830.
Whites.
Under 5 years,
Of 5 and under 10,
10 "
15,
15 "
20,
20 "
30,
30 "
40,
40 "
50,
50 "
60,
60 "
70,
70 "
80,
80 "
90,
90 "
100,
upwards
Males.
972,194
782,637
671,688
575,614
952.902
592,596
369,370
230,500
134,910
58,136
15,945
1,993
274
Females.
920,104
751,649
639,063
597,713
915,662
555,565
355,425
225,928
130,866
58,034
17,272
2,484
234
Total,
2a*
5,357,102 5,172,942
UNI
586
UNI
Total whites, ...... 10,530,044
Total Free Colored Persons. . . 319,576
Total Slaves 2,009,050
Total population, .... 12,858,670
"I appeal to History !" says Philips. "Tell me,
thou reverend chronicler of the grave, can all
the illusions of ambition realized, can all the
wealth of a universal commerce, can all the
achievements of successful heroism, or all the
establishments of this world's wisdom, secure
to empire the permanency of its possessions ?
Alas ! Troy thought so once ; yet the land of
Priam lives only in song ! Thebes thought so
once ; yet her hundred gates have crumbled,
and her very tombs are but as the dust they
were vainly intended to commemorate ! So
thought Palmyra — where is she ? So thought
the countries of Demosthenes and the Spartan ;
yet Leonidas is trampled by the timid slave, and
Athens insulted by the servile, mindless, and
enervate Ottoman ! In his hurried inarch, time
has but looked at their imagined immortality ;
and all its vanities, from the palace to the tomb,
have, with their ruins, prased the very impres-
sion of his footsteps ! The days of their glory
are as if they had never been ; and the island,
that was then a speck, rude and neglected in
the barren ocean, now rivals the ubiquity of
their commerce, the glory of their arms, the
fame of their philosophy, the eloquence of their
senate, and the inspiration of their bards ! Who
shall say, then, contemplating the past, that
England, proud and potent as she appears, may
not, one day, be what Athens is, and the young
America yet soar to be what Athens was ! Who
shall say, that, when the European column shall
have mouldered, and the night of barbarism
obscured its very ruins, that mighty continent
may not emerge from the horizon, to rule, for
its time, sovereign of the ascendant !
" There lives in the bosom a feeling sublime,
Of all, ' tis the strongest tie ;
Unvarying through every change of time,
And only with life does it die. ui
' T is the love that is borne fur that lovely land,
That smiled at the hour of our birth ;
'Tis the love, that is planted by nature's hand,
For our sacred native earth.
' T was this that the patriot victor inspired,
Was strong in the strength of his arm,
With the holiest zeal his brave bosom fired,
And to danger and death gave a charm.
'T was this that the dying hero blest,
And hallowed the hour when he fell,
That throbbed in the final throb of his breast,
And heaved in his bosom's last swell.
when a thousand swords, in a thousand hands,
To the sunbeams of heaven shone bright ;
When the glowing hearts of Columbia's bands,
Were firm in Columbia's right :
When the blood of the West in the battle was poured,
In defence of the rights of the West ;
When the blood of the East, stained the point of the
sword,
At the Eastern king's behest:
Till the angel form of returning peace.
O'er the plain and the mountain smiled —
Bade the rude blast of war from its ravage to cease,
And the sweet gale of plenty breathe mild.
She smiled — and the nation's mighty woes
Ceased to stream from the nation's eyes ;
She smiled — and a fabric of wisdom arose,
And exalted its fame to the skies.
Then firm be its base as the giant rock
' Midst the ocean waves alone,
That the beating rain and the tempest shock
For numberless years has borne.
And blasted the parricide arm that shall plan
That glorious structure's fall,
But still may it sanction the rights of man;
And liberty, guardian to all.
Then sweet be the song that the minstrel should raise,
To the patriot victor's fame,
And lively the tones of the heart-gendered praise,
That should wake from the harp at his name.
Then holy the dirge that the minstrel should pour,
O'er the fallen hero's grave,
Whose hand wields the sword for his country no more,
Who has died the death of the brave."
UNITED STATES, (or Provinces) of the
Plata ; or the Argentine Republic. Buenos
Ayres, or the Confederacy of the Plata, is bound-
ed north by Bolivia, east by Paraguay, Uruguay,
and the Atlantic ocean ; south by Patagonia, and
west by Chili and Bolivia. It extends from 20°
to 41° S. Lat, and from 57° to 70° W. Lon.. hav-
ing an area of 900,000 square miles, with about
800,000 inhabitants, a large proportion of whom
are Indians. The territories lying within the
limits above described, formerly composed a part
of the Spanish vice-royalty of Buenos Ayres,
to which Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay also
belonged. In 1810 the intendancy of Buenos
Ayres broke out into an insurrection, and its
example was followed by the other intendancies
of the vice-royalty. In 1817, they declared
themselves independent, under the name of
the United States of South America, which
was afterwards changed into that of the Ar-
fentine Republic or United Provinces of the
lata. This republic consisted of 14 states or
provinces. (See Buenos J3i/res).
UNITED STATES OF MEXICO, or United
Mexican States. The Mexican confederacy, or,
as it is generally called, Mexico, is bounded on
the north by the United States ; east by the Uni-
ted States and the Gulf of Mexico ; south by the
Republic of Central America, and west by the
Pacific Ocean. It extends from Lat. 16° to 42°
UNI
587
UTR
N. and from Lon. 87° to 124° W. being about
2,000 miles in length from N. to S., and from
150 to 1,200 in breadth, with an area estimated
at about 1,600,000 square miles. This confed-
eracy consists of 19 states 5 territories and the
federal district which contains the capital. The
states are subdivided into districts as follows : —
States §• Territories,
Pop.
Capitals.
Pop.
Chiapas
93,750
Chiapas
3,000
Yucatan
500,000
Merida
10,000
Tabasco
75,000
Tabasco or Her- \ ^ ftn
mosa
\ '
Oaxaca
600,000
Oaxaca
40,000
Vera Cruz
233,700
Vera Cruz
30,000
Puebla
680,000
Puebla
70,000
Mexico
1,000,000
Tlalpan
6,000
Mechoacan
450,000
Valladolid
25,000
Queretaro
200,000
Queretaro
40,000
Guanaxuato
450,000
Guanaxuato
60,000
Xalisco
800,000
Guadalaxara
60,000
Zacatecas
272,900
Zacatecas
25,000
San Luis Potosi
250,000
San Luis Potosi 40,000
New Leon
100,000
Monterey
15,000
Tamaulipas
150,000
Aguayo
6,000
Cohahuila and
Texas
125,000
Monclova
3,000
Chihuahua
112,694
Chihuahua
30,000
Durango
175,000
Durango
25,000
Sonora and )
Cinaloa \
180,000
Villa Fuerte
4,000
Federal District
Mexico
180,000
Territory of j
Tlascala
small town
Tlascala \
of New Mex-
ico
of Colima
! 150,000
Santa Fe
3,500
150,000
Colima
small town
of Upper Cali-
fornia
| 25,000
Monterey
2,500
of Lower Cali-
! 15,000
Loreto
fornia
i '
This part of North America was discovered
by Fernando Cortez, a Spaniard, in 1519. He
soon conquered the Aztecs, who were ignorant
of the use of fire-arms, and the country became
a Spanish province under the name of New
Spain. It continued to be governed by a Span-
ish viceroy until 1810, when the revolution
began ; in 1813 the Mexican provinces declared
themselves independent. The war continued
with some interruptions and various success,
until 1819, when the insurgents were complete-
ly reduced. The struggle was renewed a few
years afterwards, and Iturbide, a Creole, who
had been in the Spanish or royal interest, join-
ing the patriots, the latter proved successful.
In 1822 Iturbide caused himself to be proclaim-
ed emperor, but he was soon after dethroned
and banished, and in 1824, a constitution was
adopted on the plan of that of the United States.
The states of the confederacy, have each a
separate government, which manages its in-
ternal concerns. The general government is
administered by a president, chosen for four
years by the legislatures of the states, and a
congress, which is composed of a senate and a
house of deputies, the former elected by the
state legislatures, and the latter by the people,
as in the United States. The official style of the
republic is the United Mexican States (Estados
Unidos Mexicanos). (See Mexico and Cortez).
United States of Central America. (See Cen-
tral America).
URUGUAY. The republic of the Uruguay
is bounded on the north and east by Brazil ;
south by the Atlantic, and west by the Uru-
guay, which divides it from the states of Corri-
entes and Entre Rios. It has an area of 80,000
square miles, and a population of 70,000 souls.
This territory formerly belonged to the Spanish
vice-royalty of the Plata, and was called the
Banda Oriental (Eastern Frontier) from its geo-
graphical position. It was afterwards claimed
by Brazil, but in 1828, after a bloody war be-
tween the Brazilians and Buenos Ayreans. the
two parties agreed to its being erected into an
independent state.
Monte Video, the capital of the republic, is
situated on the Plata, and is regularly built, but
the houses are low and the streets are not paved.
It has a good harbor, and formerly enjoyed an
extensive commerce. The prosperity of the
city has been much affected by the wars be-
tween the neighboring states, and its population
has much diminished. It now contains about
10,000 inhabitants.
Maldonado and Colonia, are small towns on
the Plata, with good harbors.
UTRECHT, a city of the Netherlands,
capital of a province of the same name, con-
taining 36,000 inhabitants. The treaty of
Utrecht was concluded in 1713, between the
allies and the French. The first stipulation of
this famous treaty was, that Philip, acknow-
ledged king of Spain, should renounce all right
to the crown of France, the union of two such
powerful kingdoms being thought dangerous to
the liberties- of Europe. It was agreed that the
duke of Berry, Philip's brother, and after him
in succession, should also renounce his right to
the crown of Spain, in case he became king of
France. It was stipulated, that the duke of
Savoy should possess the island of Sicily, with
the title of king, together with Fenestrelles, and
other places on the continent, which increase
of dominion was in some measure made out of
the spoils of the French monarchy. The
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588
VAL
Dutch had that barrier granted them, which
they so long sought after ; and if the crown of
France was deprived of some dominions to en-
rich the duke of Savoy, on the other hand the
house of Austria was taxed to supply the wants
of the Hollanders, who were put in possession
of the strongest towns in Flanders. With regard
to England, its glory and its interests were se-
cured. The fortifications of Dunkirk, a harbor
that might be dangerous to their trade in time
of war, were ordered to be demolished, and its
port destroyed. Spain gave up all right to
Gibraltar, and the island of Minorca. France
resigned her pretensions to Hudson's bay, Nova
Scotia, and Newfoundland : but was left in pos-
session of Cape Breton, and the liberty of dry-
ing fish upon the shore. Among these articles,
glorious to the English nation, their setting free
the French Protestants confined in the pri-
sons and galleys for their religion, was not the
least meritorious. For the emperor, it was
stipulated, that he should possess the kingdom
of Naples, the duchy of Milan, and the Spanish
Netherlands. The king of Prussia was to have
Upper Guelders ; and a time was fixed for the
emperor's acceding to those articles, as he had
for some time obstinately refused to assist at the
negotiation.
V.
VALENCIENNES, a fortified city of France,
on the Scheldt, containing 16,918 inhabitants.
In 1793, this town formed one of the first ob-
jects of attack by the allies, after the defeat of
Dumourier. The siege conducted under the
command of the duke of York, was long and
obstinate, and part of the town was laid in ashes
before the capitulation. It was retaken by the
French in 1794, escaped attack in the invasion
by the allied powers in 1814 and 1815, and was
definitively confirmed to France by the treaties
of these years.
VALENS, Flavius, a son of Gratian, born
in Pannonia. His brother Valentinian, took
him as his colleague on the throne, and ap-
pointed him over the eastern parts of the Roman
empire. By perseverance, Valens was enabled
to distinguish himself in his wars against the
northern barbarians. But his lenity to these
savage intruders, proved fatal to the Roman
power; and by permitting some of the Goths
to settle in the provinces of Thrace, and to
have free access to every part of the country,
Valens encouraged them to make depredations
on his subjects, and to disturb their tranquillity.
His eyes were opened too late ; he attempted to
repel them, but he failed in the attempt. A
bloody battle was fought, in which the barbarians
obtained some advantage, and Valens was hur-
ried away into a lonely house, which the Goths
set on fire. Valens, unable to make his escape,
was burnt alive in the 50th year of his age, after
a reign of 13 years, A. D. 378.
VALENTINIAN I, a son of Gratian, raised
to the imperial throne by his merit and valor.
He kept the western part of the empire for
himself, and appointed over the east, his brother
Valens. He gave the most convincing proof
of his military valor in the victories which he
obtained over the barbarians in the provinces of
Gaul, the deserts of Africa, and on the banks
of the Rhine and Danube. The insolence of
the Quadi he punished with great severity ; and
when these desperate and indigent barbarians
had deprecated the conqueror's vengeance, Va-
lentinian treated them with contempt, and up-
braided them with every mark of resentment.
While he spoke with such warmth, he broke a
blood-vessel, and fell lifeless on the ground. He
was conveyed into his palace by his attendants,
and soon after died, after suffering the greatest
agonies, from violent fits and contortions of his
limbs, on the 17th of November, A. D. 375. He
was then in the 55th year of his age, and had
reigned twelve years.
VALENTINIAN II. About six days after
the death of Valentinian, his second son, Valen-
tinian II, was proclaimed emperor, though only
five years old. He succeeded his brother, Gra-
tian, A. D. 383, but his youth seemed to favor
dissension, and the attempts and the usurpations
of rebels. He was robbed of his throne by Max-
imus, four years after the death of Gratian ; and
in this helpless situation he had recourse to Theo-
dosius, who was then emperor of the east. He
was successful in his applications ; Maximus
was conquered by Theodosius, and Valentinian
entered Rome in triumph, accompanied by his
benefactor. He was some time after strangled
by one of his officers, a native of Gaul, called
Arbogastes. Valentinian reigned nine years.
He was fond of imitating the virtues and exem-
plary life of his friend and patron .Theodosius,
and if he had lived longer, the Romans might
have enjoyed peace and security.
VALENTINIAN III, was son of Conslan-
tius and Placidia, the daughter of Theodosius
the Great, and therefore, as related to the impe-
rial family, he was saluted emperor in his youth,
and publicly acknowledged as such, at Rome,
the 3d of October, A. D. 423, about the 6th year
VAL
589
VAN
of his age. He was at first governed by his
mother, and the intrigues of his generals and
courtiers ; and when he came to years of dis-
cretion, he disgraced himself by violence, op-
pression, and incontinence. He was murdered
in the midst of Rome, A. D. 454, in the 3Gth
year of his age, and thirty-first of his reign, by
Petronius Maximus, to whose wife he had
offered violence.
VALERIANUS, Publius Licinius, a Roman,
proclaimed emperor by the armies in Rheetia,
A. D. 254. He took his son Gallienus, as his
colleague in the empire, and showed the malevo-
lence of his heart by persecuting the Christians
whom he had for a while tolerated. He also
made war against the Goths and Scythians ; but
in an expedition which he undertook against
Sapor, king of Persia, his arms were attended
with ill success. He was conquered in Meso-
potamia, and when he wished to have a private
conference with Sapor, the conqueror seized his
person, carried him in triumph to his capital,
and exposed him in all the cities of his empire,
to the ridicule and insolence of his subjects.
When the Persian monarch mounted on horse-
back, Valerian served as a footstool, and the
many other insults which he suffered, excited
indignation even among the courtiers of Sapor.
The monarch, at last, ordered him to be flayed
alive, and salt to be thrown over his mangled
body, so that he died in the greatest torments.
His skin was tanned, and painted in red ; and
that the ignominy of the Roman empire might
be lasting, it was nailed in one of the temples
of Persia. Vralerian died in the 71st year of
his age, A. I). 260, after a reign of seven years.
VALERIUS, Publius. a celebrated Roman,
surnamed Poplicola, from his popularity. He
was very active in assisting Brutus to expel the
Tarquins, and he was the first that took an oath
to support the liberty and independence of his
country. He was honored with the consul-
ship, on the expulsion of Collatinus, and he
triumphed over the Etrurians, after he had
gained the victory in the battle in which Brutus
and the sons of Tarquin had fallen. Valerius
died after he had been four times consul, and
enjoyed the popularity, and received the thanks
and the gratitude, which people redeemed from
slavery and oppression usualty pay to their de-
liverers. To do him honor, his body was buried
at the public expense. The Roman matrons
mourned his death a whole year.
VALERIUS, Corvinus, a tribune of the sol-
diers under Camillus. When the Roman army
was challenged by one of the Senones, re-
markable for his strength and stature, Valerius
undertook to engage him, and obtained an easy
victory, by means of a crow that assisted him,
and attacked the face of the Gaul, — whence his
surname of Corvinus. Valerius triumphed over
the Etrurians, and the neighboring states that
made war against Rome, and was six times hon-
ored with the consulship. He died in the 100th
year of his age, admired and regretted for many
public and private virtues.
V ALETTE, John Parisot, the 48th grand
Master of the order of St. John of Jerusalem.
During his reign the knight's galleys took above
fifty Turkish ships in less than five years, which
so enraged Soliman II, that he resolved to lay
siege to Malta, and drive the knights thence.
He appointed Mustapha Bassa, general of the
land, and Piali Bassa, commander of the sea
forces, which set out from Constantinople in
April, 1565, and arrived at Navarin, the 11th
of May. The fleet consisted of one hundred
and fifty galleys, nine men of war, &c. On the
20th of May, the Turks built two forts at the
mouth of the port of Malta, and placed fourteen
pieces of cannon in them. After a few skir-
mishes, they were forced to retire to la Marte,
where they encamped the 27th of May ; the
Bassa battered the fort of St. Elme, and after
five assaults, took the castle on the 23d of June,
but with the loss of 4000 of his best men. On
the 28th, Mustapha laid siege to the isle of St.
Michel, or city of Sengle, and the next day
raised his batteries against the borough, which
the grand Master had reinforced with 600 men.
The Turks continued their batteries, and made
a general assault the 21st of August, gained the
waft's, and planted seven standards over the gate
de Bonne Enseigne : but the knights defeated
them with great slaughter. Mustapha made
several other efforts, until the 13th of Septem-
ber, when forty-nine Christian galleys arrived
with succor, and he then embarked with great
precipitation and escaped by night. During the
sien-e, most of the fortifications were ruined.
The Turks lost 20,000 men, and about 0000
Christians died of their wounds. Valette re-
built the city, which he called by his own name.
He died in 1568.
VALMY, a village in the north-east of
France, department of the Marne. An action
was fought here in September, 1792, between
the French and Prussians. Kellerman con-
ducted it on the part of the French, and re-
ceived from it, at a future date, the title of
duke of Vnlmy.
VANDALS, The, according to the most
YEN
590
VEN
credible historians, were originally a Gothic
nation, who came out of Scandinavia with the
other Goths, and settled in the countries now
known by the names of Mecklenburg and Bran-
denburg. Afterwards, another colony fixed
their habitations in Pomerania; and, in process
of time, they extended themselves into Dal-
matia, Illyricum, and Dacia. They attacked
Greece, whence they went even to Spain ; and
from that country, under the famous Genseric,
passed over into Africa, where, for some time,
they fixed the throne of their power. This
prince reduced Carthage, Sardinia, Sicily, and
all the islands between Italy and Africa. In
475, Genseric concluded a peace with the em-
peror Zeno, whom he compelled to renounce all
claim to the provinces of Africa. Justinian
afterwards gained a complete victory over the
Vandals, and re-united the provinces of Africa
to the Greek empire.
VANE, Sir Henry, a statesman, was born in
Kent, in 1589. In 1639, he was made treasurer
of the house-hold, and soon after, principal
secretary of state ; but, on joining in the prose-
cution of the earl of Strafford, he was removed
from all his places. He died in 1054.
VANE, Sir Henry, eldest son of the preced-
ing, was born in 1612. He became governor of
Massachusetts, but his conduct was so fanatical,
that the settlement would have been ruined had
he not been compelled to quit the country. In
1640 he was elected into parliament, where he
was the principal mover of the solemn league
and covenant, and also of the self-denying ordi-
nance ; but he took no part in the king's trial,
and he resisted Cromwell to such a degree, that
the usurper sent him to Carisbrooke castle. On
the death of Oliver, he labored to institute a
perfect commonwealth, but the nation had al-
ready suffered too much by such speculations,
and the ancient order being restored, he was
brought to trial for treason, and condemned to
be beheaded, which was put in execution on
Tower-hill, June 14, 1662.
VARUS, Quintilius, a Roman pro-consul,
descended from an illustrious family. He was
appointed governor of Syria, and afterwards
made commander of the armies in Germany.
He was surprised by the enemy, under Armi-
nius, a crafty and dissimulating chief, and his
army was cut to pieces. When he saw that
every thing was lost, he killed himself, A. D.
10, and his example was followed by some of
his officers.
VENDEE, a department in the west of
France. It will be for ever memorable in the
history of the French revolution, for the re-
sistance made to the republican army in 1793,
1794, and 1795. It was attended for a time with
great success, though commenced without any
concert with the other royalists of France, and
carried on for a season with very limited support
from England. La Vendee was also the scene
of some sharp fighting in 1815.
VENEZUELA, a new republic of South
America, bounded north and east by the Carib-
bean sea and the Atlantic ocean, south by Brazil,
and west by New Granada. The northern part
is mountainous, and the climate of the plains hot.
The soil produces sugar, coffee, indigo, cotton
and tobacco. It was formerly a part of Colombia.
VENICE, capital of the government of
Venice, in the Lombardo- Venetian kingdom, is
built on small islands, intersected with canals,
on which the long, black gondolas are propelled
by an oar in the stern. Its public buildings
are numerous and splendid, but decayed. The
number of inhabitants is 110,000 ; but the former
spirit of the place is gone. With respect to
the first establishment of the Venetian govern-
ment, A. D. 421, it is said, that this multitude
of people might have been thought a numerous
seminary of philosophers, cultivating the duties
of religion and virtue, and enjoying a perfect
tranquillity. At this period the government
seems to have been consular. It was afterwards
changed into the tribunitian form, in 697, in
which it continued for nearly three hundred
years ; but the tribunes, abusing their power,
the ducal government was established. The
first doge was Paulatis, who made the nation
happy, powerful, and wealthy, and who was
succeeded by Marcello, Hypato, Theodato,
Galla, Domesco, Monegaria, and Mauritio Gal-
baio. During the dogeship of Mauritio, the
Venetians declared themselves a free and inde-
pendent people, acknowledging neither the
eastern nor the western empire. To him suc-
ceeded Giovanni and Obelerio, the ninth doge,
under whom Venice was besieged and attacked
by Pepin, in 764, who, struck with the intrepid-
ity of the Venetians, raised the siege, abandoned
the enterprise, and concluded a peace with the
republic. Under Pietro Tribuno, the seven-
teenth doge, in 903, the Huns having defeated
Berengarius, entered Italy, and, induced by the
wealth of the Venetian republic, resolved to
sack and pillage the city. However, the doge
was so bravely seconded by his troops, that the
barbarians were completely broken and defeated,
and the reputation of Venice for arms became
famous over the world. Under the government
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591
VEN
of Ordelapho, the thirty-fourth doge, the Vene-
tians subdued Croatia, in consequence of which,
the republic assumed the title of lords of Croatia;
but the Hungarians entering Dalmatia, in 1089,
attacked and defeated the Venetians, and cruelly
butchered their wounded and prisoners. Ziani,
the thirty-ninth doge, was no sooner elected,
than the republic was involved in a war with
Frederic Barbarossa, from whose persecution
the pope Alexander had retired to Venice.
However, the doge engaged the enemy at sea,
in L173, and took, sunk, and destroyed, forty-
eight of their ships, and returned in triumph to
Venice. Under the doge-ship of Pietro Grado-
nico, the forty-ninth of the Venetian princes, a
war took place with the Genoese, in 121)1, who
defeated the Venetian fleet at sea, and took
Dandolo, the commander, prisoner ; who, in
the agony of despair, dashed out his brains
against the side of the cabin where he was
confined. After Bartolomeo Gradonico, the
fifty-third Venetian prince, Andrea Dandolo
next succeeded to the ducal chair, and war
commenced with Genoa. The two hostile fleets
met and engaged on the Sardinian coast, in
1347, and the whole Genoese armament was
taken or destroyed, with the exception of the
admiral's ship alone. This defeat caused the
utmost consternation at Genoa ; and the Geno-
ese, in their despair, requested that the duke of
Milan would accept of the sovereignty of their
dominions. Marino Faliero, the fifty-fifth doge,
in 1353, formed the project of restoring the
power to the people, through hatred of the
nobles; but his design being discovered, he
was tried in due form, and after acknowledging
his crime, was beheaded in the hall of the great
council. Thus the aristocracy of Venice was
continued. During the sovereignty of Andrea
Contarini, the sixtieth doge, war again occurred
with Genoa, in 1378, and an obstinate naval
engagement ensued, in which the Genoese
were obliged to yield to the bravery of the
Venetians, who captured the whole of their
fleet. Andrea Contarini was succeeded by
Michael Morosini, and, from this period, the
meridian power and prosperity of Venice may
be dated. During the government of Michael
Steno, war was declared against Genoa, in 1403,
and a dreadful battle took place between the
hostile fleets, in which the Genoese lost seven
ships, and nearly three thousand men. Under
the government of Thomaso Moncenigo, the
Venetians successfully exerted themselves
against the Turks in the Morea, and against
several petty sovereigns whose states they in-
vaded in Dalmatia and Friuli. They also
bought Corinth, in addition to Patras and Zara,
which they had already purchased. Under
Francisco Foscari, the sixty-fifth duke of
Venice, in 1423, the Venetians waged war
against Milan, Florence, Genoa, or rather
against all Italy ; and their general, Carmag-
nola, being convicted of a treasonable corres-
pondence with the enemy, was beheaded.
Foscari ruled the state in peace, and even
with applause, during thirty-four years; but,
at the expiration of that period, his son hap-
pening to die in exile, he became extremely
melancholy, and unfit for the discharge of busi-
ness. It was therefore determined, by a giunta
of twenty-seven senators, that he should vacate
the ducal chair, that a new doge should be
elected to succeed him, and that a pension and
certain honors should be allowed him in his
retreat. Foscari died soon after of a broken
heart, in consequence of this ungrateful treat-
ment. He was succeeded by Pasquil Malipiero,
in 1462, and Christophoro Mora, under whose
government hostilities were carried on against
the Turks in the Morea; but, though the Vene-
tians were assisted by an army of crusaders, the
war proved unsuccessful. Mora was succeed-
ed by Nicolao Trono, Nicola Marcello, Pietro
Moncenigo, Andrea Vendramino, and Giovanni
Moncenigo, during all of whose reigns a vigor-
ous war was carried on with the Turks. After
Marco Barbarico, his brother Agostino succeed-
ed to the ducal chair, in 1486, during whose
sovereignty, Cyprus was annexed to the repub-
lic, and the wealth, grandeur, and power of
Venice, continued to increase. A league was
now formed between the emperor, Spain, the
pope, the Venetians, and the duke of Milan,
against the king of Fiance. Under the doge-
ship of Leonardo Loretano, the league of Cam-
bray was formed, in which the pope, king of
France, as duke of Milan, the king of Arragon
and Naples, the republic of Florence, and the
dukes of Ferrara and Savoy, agreed to a parti-
tion of the Venetian states. At length, war
was declared by France against Venice, in
1508 ; the progress of the confederates was
rapid, and the republic was plunged into the
deepest distress. However, in 1511, the siege
of Padua was raised ; and after some time, a
treaty was entered into between the pope and
the Venetians, and the league was broken. The
next year, the Venetians also took Cremona,
Bastia, and Brescia ; the emperor now secretly
signed the treaty with them, and Louis offered
terms of peace. Upon the death of Louis, in
VEN
592
VER
1515, Francis I renewed the treaty with the
Venetians ; and the emperor, the pope, Ferdi-
nand king of Arragon, the Swiss, and Sforza,
entered into another. However, after some
advantages gained on each side, peace was re-
established. Loretano was succeeded by An-
tonio Grimani, Andrea Gritti, Pietro Lando,
Francisco Donato, ^Marco Antonio Trevisiano,
Francisco Veniero, Lorenzo Priuli, Jeronimo
Priuli, and Pietro Loretano, during whose
government, in 15G9, Selim, emperor of Con-
stantinople, formed designs upon Cyprus. A
treaty was soon after formed between Spain,
the Pope, and the Venetians. On the death
of Loretano, Ludovico Moncenigo, the eighty-
fifth doge, succeeded to the government, in
1570. In the following August, the Turkish
troops landed without resistance at Port Salina,
in Cyprus, of which they at length made them-
selves masters. A treaty was set on foot, host-
ages were exchanged, and a capitulation was
effected on honorable terms. Bragadino, the
Venetian commander, after having his ears,
nose, and lips cut off, was flayed alive, by
order of Mustapha, the Turkish general. The
republic of Venice had enjoyed but a short
respite from the horrors of war, when it was
visited by the pestilence, in 1576, which cut
off twenty-two thousand men, thirty thousand
women, and eleven thousand children. Mon-
cenigo was succeeded by Sebastiano Veniero,
Nicola da Ponti, Pasquali Cicogna, Marino
Grimani, and Leonardo Denato, during whose
government a rupture, and consequent paci-
fication, with the pope took place. Leonardo
Donato was succeeded by Marcantonio Munio,
Giovanni Bembo, Nicolo Donato, and Antonio
Priuli, the ninety-fourth doge. Antonio Priuli
was succeeded by Francesco Contarino, Giovan-
ni Cornaro, Francesco Erizzo, and Francesco
Molino, the ninety-ninth doge, during whose
government the first siege of Candia took
place, and the Venetians gained several naval
victories. This was likewise the case during
the dogeships of Carlo Contarino, Francesco
Cornaro, Bertuccio Valiero, Giovanni Pesaro,
and Dominico Contarino, the hundred and
fourth doge, during whose government the
memorable siege and capture of Candia took
place. His successors were Nicolo Secredo,
Luigi Contarino, and Marconliniano Guistini-
anio, the hundred and seventh doge, during
whose government the Morea was subdued by
the Venetians, in 1G87. Giustinianio was suc-
ceeded by Francesco Morosino, and Sylvestro
Valiero, the hundred and ninth doge, in 1098,
during whose sovereignty the porte concluded
peace with Venice, and left the republic in full
possession of all her conquests. Under his suc-
cessor, Giovanni Cornaro, war broke out be-
tween the republic and the Turks, and was
brought to a conclusion by Sebastiano Monce-
nigo, who, after the death of Cornaro, in 1725,
was rewarded with the ducal crown. He was
succeeded by Carlo Razzini, whose successors
were Luigi Pisani, Pietro Grimaldi, Francesco
Loretano, Marco Foscarini, and Alvisio Monce-
nigo. Under the government of Paulo Riniero,
the republic engaged in an expensive and un-
profitable war with the regency of Tunis, in
1789. Riniero was succeeded in the ducal
chair by Luigo Manino, the last doge, during
whose government nothing important occurred,
till the invasion of Italy by the French. The
Venetians, in order to check the progress of
the republican forces, put Peschiera into the
hands of the imperialists, in 17D6; but Bona-
parte quickly becoming master of all Italy,
they endeavored to conciliate the favor of
France, by warning out of their territories the
unfortunate brother of the late king, whom
they treated with indignity and insult. At
length, the hatred of the Venetians burst forth
in the most outrageous manner. On the roads
from Mantua to Legnano, and from Cassano to
Verona, upwards ot two hundred French were
assassinated ; and at Verona all the French in
that city were murdered. These and other
outrages, of a similar nature, induced Bona-
parte to issue a proclamation, in consequence
of which the French troops over-ran and sub-
jugated, in a few days, all the Venetian domin-
ions; and the senate formally submitted to
the French commander, in 17i)7, and consented
to deliver up those persons who had been instru-
mental in the late atrocities. On the 10th of
May, the French took possession of the city of
Venice, and established a provincial govern-
ment on the republican plan. By the treaty of
Campo Formio, Venice, with most of its depen-
dencies, was ceded to the emperor of Germany;
and the treaty of Presburg united it to the king-
dom of Italy. After the abdication by Bona-
parte of the thrones of France and Italy, Venice
was united by the congress of Vienna to the
territories of the house of Austria. Thus the
ancient republic of Venice, so long mistress of
the Adriatic, finally terminated in a complete
dependency of Austria, in 1814.
VERA CRUZ, a state of the Mexican Con-
federacy, bounded east by the Gulf of Mexico,
north by the state of Tamaulipas, and west by
Puebla, and Mexico. The soil is fertile, but the
State is thinly peopled, containing but 233,000
VER
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VER
souls. The climate is unhealthy. The chief
productions are tobacco, coffee, cotton, &c.
VEllE, Francis, an English general, was the
grandson of John Vere,earl of Oxford, and was
born in J554. He served first in the Nether-
lands, under the earl of Leicester, and next un-
der lord Willoughby, who, for his conduct in
the defence of Bergen-op-Zoom, conferred on
him the honor of knighthood. After this he
threw supplies into the town of Berg, on the
Rhine, in which hazardous service he received
many wounds. In 1591 he took a fort near
Zutphen by stratagem, and was chiefly instru-
mental in the capture of Deventer. In 1590 he
was recalled from the Netherlands, and em-
ployed in the expedition against Cadiz, with the
title of lord marshal. The last great action of
this gallant commander was the defence of Os-
tend, where he succeeded in repelling, with a
small garrison of twelve hundred men, an army
of ten thousand. Sir Francis died Aug. 2d,
1608, and was buried in Westminster abbey.
VERE, Sir Horace, Baron of Tilbury, young-
er brother of the preceding, was born at Kirby-
hall in Essex, in 1565. He served with his
brother in the Netherlands, and had a consid-
erable share in the victory near Nieuport ; as he
afterwards had in the defence of Ostend. In
the reign of James 1, he commanded the forces
sent to the assistance of the elector Palatine ;
on which occasion he effected a memorable re-
treat from Spinola, the Spanish general. He
was the first person raised to the peerage by
Charles I. He died in 1635.
VERGENNES, Charles Gravier. count de,
an eminent statesman, was born at Dijon in
1717. On the accession of Louis XVI to the
throne he was made secretary of state for for-
eign affairs. In this situation, he distinguished
himself by what he, no doubt, considered a mas-
ter-stroke of policy, that of separating England
and her colonies ; but in this he only accelera-
ted a more fatal blow to his own country. He
died at Versailles, Feb. 13, 1787.
VERMONT, one of the United States of
America, bounded N. by Lower Canada, E. by
Connecticut river, separating it from New
Hampshire, S. by Massachusetts, and W. by
New York. It is 157 miles in length, and the
greatest breadth is 90 miles. Pop. 280,657.
Counties. Addison, Bennington, Caledo-
nia, Chittenden, Essex, Franklin, Grand Isle,
Orange, Orleans, Rutland, Washington, Wind-
ham, Windsor.
The principal rivers are the Connecticut, La-
moile, Onion, Otter Creek, Missisque, Deerfield,
38
&c. The Green Mountains extend througli this
state. The chief towns are Montpelier, the seat
of government, Burlington, Windsor, Brattleuo-
rough, Middlebury and Bennington. Vermont
university at Burlington, the college at Middle-
bury, and a literary, scientific, and military aca-
demy at Norwich, are flourishing institutions.
Fort Duinmer was built by Massachusetts on
Connecticut river in 1724, and in 1731 a fort
was built at Crown Point by the French from
Canada, within the present limits of Vermont.
In 1741 a boundary line was run between Mas-
sachusetts and New Hampshire. In 1749, Ben-
ning Wentworth, governor of New Hampshire,
concluding that the boundary of that colony ex-
tended as far west as that of Massachusetts,
that is, to within 20 miles of the Hudson, made
a grant of a township of land, six miles square,
which from his own first name was called Ben-
nington. Other grants were subsequently made,
and several towns planted on the west side of
Connecticut river. In the year 1764 the king
annexed the territory west of the Connecticut
river to the colony of New York ; the govern-
ment of which demanded new grants from the
settlers. This was refused : and the next year
several of the officers in attempting to exe-
cute the judgments of the courts of New York,
were resisted and wounded. At the head of
this opposition were Ethan Allen and Col. War-
ner, men of coolness, and resolution.
In 1774 the government of New York passed
a law demanding the surrender of all offenders
under severe penalties, and offering a bounty
of £50 per head, on the apprehension of eight
of the most obnoxious settlers. While prepar-
ing for civil war, the revolution commenced,
the importance of which absorbed all minor con-
siderations. In 1777 the Declaration of Inde-
pendence having left the settlers in a critical
situation, a convention of representatives from
the towns on both sides of the mountains, was
held at Westminster, and the District was de-
clared a free and independent state. It received
its name from the French words Vcrd monl, or
green mountain, which name had been conferred
by Ethan Allen on the mountains, and was af-
terwards transferred to the state. In 1790 the
dispute between New York and Vermont was
adjusted, the latter giving 20,000 dollars for the
quit claim of the former. The next year Ver-
mont was admitted into the union. The pres-
ent constitution was adopted in 1793.
VERNON, Edward, an English admiral, was
born in Westminster, of a Staffordshire family,
Nov. 12, 1684. His father was secretary of
VER
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VIE
state to king William, and reluctantly suffered
him to enter into the sea service under admiral
Hopson. In 1704 he was with sir George
Rooke, at the battle of Malaga. After a variety
of service under different commanders, he was
made vice-admiral of the blue in 1739, and sent
with a squadron to Spanish America, where he
took Porto Bello, and destroyed the fortifica-
tions ; but in 1741, he proved unsuccessful in
an attack upon Carthagena. On his return
home, he was employed in guarding the coasts
of Kent and Sussex during the rebellion ; but
Boon after he was superseded, and even struck
off the list of admirals for acting in opposition to
the ministry. He died Oct. 29, 1757.
VERONA, an ancient European city, former-
ly belonging to Venice, now to the Austrian
Lombardo Venetian kingdom, situated on the
Adige, GO miles west of Venice. Population
55,000. Its splendid antique monuments ren-
dered it attractive to every scholar. It was
taken by Charlemagne in 774 ; became subse-
quently a free town ; fell, in the course of time,
under the sway of leading families ; and in 1405,
was united to the territorial possessions of Ven-
ice. It enjoyed peace and tranquillity till the
year 170U, when Italy was invaded by the
French. It was then added to the kingdom of
Italy. In 1814, it again fell into the hands of
Austria.
VERR.ES, Caius Licinius, a Roman who gov-
erned the province of Sicily as praetor. The op-
pression and rapine of which he was guilty,
while in office, so offended the Sicilians, that
they brought an accusation against him before
the Roman senate. Cicero undertook the cause
of the Sicilians. Verres was defended by Hor-
tensius, but as he despaired of the success of
his defence, he left Rome without waiting for
his sentence, and lived in great affluence in one
of the provinces. He was at last killed by the
soldiers of Antony the triumvir, about 26 years
after his voluntary exile from the capital.
VERULAM, an ancient Roman city and
colony in Hertfordshire, the royal city of Cas-
sibellanus. It was taken by Julius Cassar, 52
years, B. C. in his second expedition into Bri-
tain, and under Dioclesian had one famous
martyr called Albanus. In 429 a British synod
was held here by St. German, bishop of A uxerre
in France, against the Pelagians. Soon after
it fell into the hands of the Saxons about 4G5,
but was re-taken by Uther Pendragon, who be-
gan his reign in 408, and reigned 18 years. It
was re-taken by the Saxons, and entirely ruined.
In 975, Offa, a king of the Mercians, built on
the other side of the little river which washed
the walls of it, a monastery in honor of St. Al-
ban. It became a great town, and is now called
St. Albans. King James I revived the memory
of this place, when he made sir Francis Bacon,
then lord chancellor of England, lord Verulam
in 1620. The venerable abbey is esteemed by
antiquarians as one of the finest in England.
Part of it is, however, in a dilapidated stale,
owing to the want of funds for repairs.
VESPASIANUS, Titus Flavius, a Roman
emperor, descended from an obscure family at
Reate. He was honored with the consulship,
not so much by the influence of the imperial
courtiers, as by his own private merit, and his
public services. He accompanied Nero into
Greece, but he offended the prince by falling
asleep while he repeated one of his poetical
compositions. This momentary resentment of
the emperor did not prevent Vespasian from
being sent to carry on a war against the Jews.
His operations were crowned with success;
many of the cities of Palestine surrendered, and
Vespasian began the siege of Jerusalem. This
was, however, achieved by the hands of his son
Titus. After the death of Otho, he was induced
by his army to become emperor; and he easily
overcame Vitellius. The choice of the army
was approved by every province of the empire ;
but Vespasian did not betray any signs of pride
at so sudden and so unexpected an exaltation,
and he behaved, when invested with the impe-
rial purple, with all the dignity and greatness
which became a successor of Augustus. In
the beginning of his reign, Vespasian attempted
to reform the manners of the Romans, and he
took away an appointment which he had a few
days before granted to a young nobleman who
approached him to return him thanks, all smell-
ing of perfumes, and covered with ointment;
adding, I had rather you had smelt of garlic.
After he had reigned with great popularity for
ten years, Vespasian died of a complaint in his
bowels, A. D. 79, in the 70th year of his age, to
the great grief of all the empire. He was the
first of the Roman emperors who was succeeded
by his own son on the throne. Vespasian has
been admired for his great virtues.
VIENNA, one of the oldest cities of Germa-
ny, the capital of the Austrian monarchy, situ-
ated on the south bank of the Danube, and con-
taining 300,000 inhabitants. Its palaces, church-
es, charitable and literary institutions, as well
as the gayety of its society make it one of the
most noted of European cities. Vienna was
captured in 1484, by the Hungarians, but after
VIL
595
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the death of their lung was restored to Austria.
In 1529, the Turks destroyed its suburbs. In
1619, the Bohemian insurgents, supported by a
party in Austria, penetrated into the city. But
the attack most generally known to the readers
of history was that of 1683, made by a Turkish
army, supported by disaffected chiefs in Hun-
gary, but repulsed by Sobieski, king of I'oland.
In the present age it was threatened by Bona-
parte in 1797, and occupied by him in 1805 and
1809. On both occasions proper discipline was
observed by the invaders, and little injury was
done.
VIENNA, Treaty of, between Austria and
France, in 1809. The decisive battle of Wa-
gram led to an armistice, which the emperor of
Germany was compelled to sue for, and which,
after a protracted negotiation, was followed by
a treaty of peace. According to the terms of
this treaty Austria ceded a great portion of her
territory ; agreed to a contribution to indemnify
France for the expenses of the war, and acknow-
ledged Joseph Bonaparte king of Spain. To the
king of Bavaria she gave up Saltzburg, and a
tract of country along the banks of the Danube,
from Passau to Lintz. To the king of Saxony
she yielded the whole of western Gallicia. To
Russia so much of the eastern part of that pro-
vince as contained a population of 40,000 souls.
To France she ceded Fiume and Trieste, with
the whole of the country south of the Saave, to
where that river enters Bosnia. She also gave
up the inhabitants of the Tyrol, on condition of
their receiving from Bonaparte a full and free
pardon. Such was the fatal effects of the battle
of Wagram, of which the Austrians gave so fa-
vorable an account, and which they claimed as
a victory.
VILLARS, Louis Hector, duke of, a French
general, was born at Moulins, in 1653. Altera
variety of services, he gained the battle of Frie-
dlingen in 1762 ; for which he was made mar-
shal of France. The following year he took
the fortress of Kehl, and put an end to the in-
surrection in the Cevennes, for which he was
created duke of Villars. In 1707 he forced the
lines at Stolhoffen ; but in 1709 he lost the bat-
tle of Malplaquet, and was wounded. In 1712
he acquired glory by forcing the intrenchments
of Denain on the Scheldt, which exploit was
succeeded by the capture of Marchiennes,
Douay, Bouchain, Landau, and Friburg. The
peace of Rastadt followed ; after which marshal
Villars was made president of the council of
war, and minister of state. In 1733 he com-
manded in Italy, with the title of marshal-gen-
eral of the French camps and armies. He died
at Turin, June 17,1734.
V1LLIERS, George, duke of Buckingham,
was the son of sir George Villiers, of Brookes-
by in Leicestershire, and was born there in 1592.
He attracted the notice of James I at the per-
formance of the play of Ignoramus, in 1615;
soon after which he was successively appointed
cup-bearer to the king, gentleman of the bed-
chamber, and knight of the garter. He also
rose to the rank of marquis, and became lord ad-
miral of England, warden of the Cinque Ports,
and master of the horse. But in 1623 lie lost
the royal favor, in a great degree, by persuading
prince Charles to visit the court of Spain, for
the purpose of paying his addresses in person to
the Infanta. Though Buckingham was created
a duke in his absence, it was supposed that if
the king had lived, his fall would have been as
rapid as his rise. The accession of Charles in
1625 increased the power of the favorite, but it
also multiplied his enemies and injured his mas-
ter. The nation hated Buckingham, and two
parliaments, for impeachinghim , were dissolved.
At this period the duke involved the kingdom
in a disgraceful war with France, and went
himself on an expedition to the Isle of Rhe,
where he lost the flower of his army. He then
returned to repair his fleet, and was about to
sail for Rochelle, when he was assassinated, at
Portsmouth, by Felton, a fanatical lieutenant,
August 23, 1628.
VILLIERS, George, the second duke of
Buckingham, was the son of the preceding, and
was born in 1627. After studying at Cambridge,
he went abroad, and on his return entered into
the royal army, for which he was deprived of
his estate by the parliament, but recovered a
great part of it in 1657, by marrying the daugh-
ter of lord Fairfax. At the restoration he was
made one of the lords of the bed-chamber, lord-
lieutenant of Yorkshire, and master of the horse.
Of these honors, however, he was deprived in
1666, for being concerned in a plot to effect a
change of government. Notwithstanding this,
he recovered the royal favor, and retained it, af-
ter perpetrating some shocking crimes ; one of
which was the killing lord Shrewsbury in a
duel, and debauching his countess; and ano-
ther, the hiring of Blood to seize the duke of
Ormond in his coach. In 1676, the duke, with
the earls of Shaftesbury and Salisbury, and lord
Wharton, were sent to the Tower, by order of
the house of peers, for contempt. On a petition
to the king, however, they were all released.
This profligate nobleman died at an obscure
VIR
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house at Kirkby Moorside, of a fever, April 16,
1688.
V1MEIRA, a village of Portuguese Estrema-
dura, 3 miles from Torres Vedras, and 28 miles
N.W. of Lisbon. It is remarkable for a battle be-
tween the British, under sir Arthur Wellesley,
and the French, under Junot, 21st August, 1808.
The French commenced the attack on various
points with their usual impetuosity, and met
with a resistance to which they had long been
unaccustomed. The flower of their troops made
a charge against general Ferguson's division,
who received them with a tremendous volley,
which brought them to the bayonet, and in one
moment their, front rank fell like grass before
the mower's scythe. They gave way, and
abandoned six pieces of cannon in their flight.
Having failed in their other attacks, they com-
menced a retreat, after sustaining a loss of
3000 men, and thirteen pieces of cannon. In
this decisive victory not more than half the
British army was engaged.
VINCENT, Cape St., the south-west point of
Portugal, noted for the naval victory gained off
it, on the 14th February , 1797, by sir John Jervis.
VIRGINIA, one of the U. States, bounded
N. and N. E.by Pennsylvania, E. by Maryland
and the Atlantic ocean, S. by North Carolina
and Tennessee, and W. by Kentucky and Ohio.
It contains 1,211,405 inhabitants, of whom
469,759 are slaves. The principal rivers are the
Potomac, Shenandoah, Rappahannock, York,
James, Appomattox, Elizabeth, Staunton, Ken-
awha, Ohio, Sandy, and Monongahela. The
Blue Ridge extends through the central part of
the State from S. W. to N. E. There are other
ranges of mountains in the State. Iron, lime-
stone, lead, coal, and chalk are found in abun-
dance. The chief towns are Richmond, Nor-
folk, Petersburg, Lynchburg, Fredericksburg,
Winchester, Portsmouth, Williamsburg, and
Sheperdstown. The university of Virginia is
established at Charlottesville, besides which
there are several other colleges.
Of the earlier occurrences in the history of
Virginia we have taken notice in the article
United States. Though Charles the Second
was highly gratified with a formal act of the
Virginia assembly, declaring ; "that they were
born under monarchy, and would never degen-
erate from the condition of their births, by being
subject to any other government;" and though
he h id given the fullest assurance that their
form of government should never be changed ;
none of the colonies suffered more than Vir-
ginia from the despotism of a royal government.
In violation of chartered rights, the colony was
divided into parts, and conveyed away by pro-
prietary grants ; not grants of uncultivated
woodlands, but of plantations that had long been
cultivated according to the encouragement and
laws of kings and charters.
Col. Nathaniel Bacon, having procured forces
under pretext of chastising the hostile Indians,
commenced a civil war, in the course of which
great outrages were committed and Jamestown
was burned. This rebellion forms a remarka-
ble era in the history of Virginia. The death
of Bacon was followed by the dispersion of his
followers. In 1712 Virginia was divided into
49 parishes, and an act was passed determining
the salary of each clergyman. The next year,
Col. Alexander Spottswood, lieutenant governor
of Virginia, made the first discovery of the pas-
sage over the Appalachian mountains. The
constitution of Virginia was adopted the day
after the Declaration of Independence, but was
recently revised and amended. Four presidents
of the United States have been Virginians.
VIRGINIA, a Roman maiden, whom her
•father, the centurion Virginius slew, when he
found that he could in no other way, preserve
her from the dishonorable designs of the decem-
vir, Appius Claudius. The Roman people, rous-
ed by the injustice of the decemvir, abolished
the decemvirate and Appius put an end to his
own life.
VITELLIUS Aulus, a Roman raised by his
vices to the throne. He was descended from
one of the most illustrious families of Rome, and
as such he gained an easy admission to the pal-
ace of the emperors. He passed through all the
offices of the state, and gained over the soldiery
by donations and liberal promises. He was at
the head of the Roman legions in Germany
when Otho was proclaimed emperor, and the
exaltation of his rival was no sooner heard in
the camp, than he was likewise invested with
the purple by his soldiers. He accepted with
pleasure the dangerous office, and instantly
marched against Otho. Three battles were
fought, and in all Vitellius was conquered. A
fourth, however, in the plains between Mantua
and Cremona, left him master of the field, and
of the Roman empire. He feasted his. eyes in
viewing the bodies of the slain and the ground
covered with blood, and regardless of the insa-
lubrity of the air, proceeding from so many car-
casses, he told his attendants that the smell of a
dead enemy was always sweet. His first care
was not like that of a true conqueror, to allevi-
ate the distresses of the conquered, or patronise
VIT
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VOR
the friends of the dead, but it v.- as to insult their
misfortunes, and to intoxicate himself with the
companions of his debauchery in the field of
battle. Each successive day exhibited a scene
of greater extravagance, which, though it de-
lighted his favorites, soon raised the indignation
of the people. Vespasian was proclaimed em-
peror by the army, and his minister Primus was
sent to destroy the imperial glutton. Vitellius
concealed himself under the bed of the porter of
his palace, but this obscure retreat betrayed
him, he was dragged naked through the streets,
his hands were tied behind his back, and a
drawn sword was placed under his chin to make
him lift his head. After suffering the greatest
insults from the populace, he was at last carried
to the place of execution, and put to death with
repeated blows. His head was cut off and fixed
to a pole, and his mutilated body dragged with
a hook and thrown into the Tiber, A. D. 69, af-
ter a reign of one year, except twelve days.
VITTORIA, battle of, was fought on the 21st
of Juae, 1813, between the army of lord Well-
ington, and that of the French generalJourdan,
in which the latter was defeated. On the 19th,
the French rear-guard was driven back toward
Vittoria ; and on the 21st a general engagement
took place, in which the French forces, com-
manded by Joseph Bonaparte, having marshal
Jourdan as his major-general, were so com-
pletely defeated, that they were under the ne-
cessity of abandoning all their artillery, ammu-
nition, baggage, and cattle. One hundred and
fifty-one pieces of cannon, and four hundred
and fifteen ammunition wagons were taken on
the field ; and among the trophies was the baton
of marshal Jourdan. The loss of the allies was
about seven hundred killed, and four thousand
wounded, but that of the French was considera-
bly greater. The operations commenced with
a successful movement of sir Rowland Hill, to
obtain the heights of Puebla, which the enemy
had neglected to strengthen, and which they
made strenuous but fruitless efforts to retake.
Under cover of these heights, general Hill pass-
ed the Zadora at La Puebla, and took a village
in front of the enemy's line. The fourth and
light division passed the Zadora immediately
after general Hill had occupied the village Sa-
bijana ; and almost as soon as these divisions
had crossed, the earl of Dalhousie's column ar-
rived at Mendonza ; and the third division, un-
der sir Thomas Picton, crossed the bridge high-
er up, followed by the 7th division. These four
divisions, forming the centre of the army, were
destined to attack the right of the enemy's cen-
tre, while general Hill moved forward to attack
the left. The enemy abandoned iiis position in
the valley, and retreated in good order towards
Vittoria, but was soon obliged to leave the whole
artillery, ammunition, and baggage to the con-
querors.
VOLSCI,or Volci,a people of Latium, whose
territories were bounded on the south by the
Tyrrhene sea, north, by the country of the Her-
nici and Marsi, west, by the Latins and llutu-
lians, and east, by Campania. Their chief
cities were Antium, Circeii, Anxur, Corioli,
Fregellse, Arpinum, &c. Ancus, king of
Rome, made war against them ; and in the
time of the republic they became formidable
enemies, till they were at last conquered with
the rest of the Latins.
VORTIGERN, the chief of Britain, upon
the Romans quilting that island, about 447.
The Britons being threatened with an invasion
from the Scots and Picts, they addressed him
from all parts for relief, and at last made him
summoma general council of the nation, to pro-
vide against their approaching ruin. King Vor-
tigern, in the name of all the Britains, sent am-
bassadors to the Saxons, who, having first con-
sulted their gods, readily complied with his de-
sire. All things being fairly agreed on, and
the isle of Thanetin Kent bestowed upon them,
for their encouragement, they landed in the
island in 450, under the command of Hengist
and Horsa, who shortly after encountered the
Picts, then advanced as far as Stamford in Lin-
colnshire, and put them to flight. Thus the
Britons, under king Vortigern, defeated the
Picts, by the help of the Saxons. They soon
quarrelled with the Britons, and wars ensued,
which ended at last in the total overthrow and
ruin of the natives. Vortigern now retired into
Wales, and built a strong castle in Radnorshire.
His son Vortimer reigned in his stead, who bore
a strong hand against the Saxons ; but lie dying
before his father, Vortigern resumed the gov-
ernment. He had two wives ; one of them
daughter of Hengist. On being restored to the
crown, he was disposed to conclude a new trea-
ty with his father-in-law ; and both parties met
without weapons. But Hengist's design being
to murder, he ordered his men to be secretly
armed, and gave them the watchword for execu-
tion ; so that a quarrel being designedly raised,
his men, upon the signal, stabbed each his next
man ; and no less than 300 perished by this
treachery. They spared the life of Vortigern,
but they kept him in custody till he granted
Hengist, for his ransom, those provinces which
WAG
598
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were afterwards called Essex, Sussex, and
Middlesex.
W
WAGRAM, battle of, fought between the
French and Austrians, in 1809. By the 4th
of July, the French had completed the new
bridge from the Isle of Lobau across a branch
of the Danube, in which they were much favor-
ed both by the ground and by an immense
number of artillery. The Austrian army was
drawn up on the eminence behind the river
Russ, extending its right wing beyond Susses-
brunn and Kagrau, and its left beyond Mark-
grafen Neusiedel. The centre was posted near
Wagram. The French, in the night between
the 4th and 5th, crossed over to the left bank
of the Danube, and large masses appeared very
early in the morning in the plain. Not long
before noon they attacked the line of the Aus-
trian army on all ito points ; but their greatest
exertions were directed against the centre, pro-
bably with a view of forcing it. These attacks,
though repeated with the greatest impetuosity,
and supported by an immense train of artil-
lery, among which were many batteries of the
heaviest calibre, proved this day abortive. The
firing ceased at ten o'clock at night. The Aus-
trian army had, on the whole of its line, main-
tained its positions, and made a considerable
number of prisoners, among whom were many
Saxon, Badenese, Italian, and Portuguese sol-
diers. On the (3th, in the morning, at four
o'clock, the French renewed their attacks with
still larger masses, and greater impetuosity than
on the preceding day. Even thus their efforts
against the centre and the right wing were at-
tended with so little success, and the latter had
even gained such advantages as to justify the
expectation of the completest victory, when the
French, with fresh divisions, and great superi-
ority, suddenly penetrated the left wing, near
Markgrafen Neusiedel, and succeeded, after an
obstinate engagement, in compelling it to re-
treat. One of the wings of the Austrian army
being thereby exposed, the archduke Charles
directed the army to retreat by the way of
Siammersdorf and the Bisamhill ; in conse-
quence of which, the army now occupied a
new position, covering the communication with
Bohemia. This retreat was made in good
order, and without material loss. In the cen-
tre, as well as in the right wing, the French
suffered very considerably, 6000 prisoners were
taken from them, among whom were three
generals. They likewise lost twelve cannon,
with ammunition, and were in every respect
so much weakened, that they did not attempt
to pursue the Austrian army any farther. Gen-
eral Lasalle was amongst the dead. Though
the preceding account of this battle, given offi-
cially by the Austrians, may appear in some
degree of a favorable nature, yet the results
were very humiliating to Austria.
WALCHEREN, an island of the Nether-
lands. With a view to occasion a diversion
on behalf of the Austrians, and also to attempt
the capture or destruction of the French ves-
sels lying in the Scheldt, a British army of
fifty thousand men was landed in 180!', on the
island of Walcheren ; but a considerable time
having elapsed prior to the reduction of Flush-
ing, the enemy collected a numerous force,
raised several formidable batteries, and convey-
ed their ships up the river, beyond fort Lillo.
That part of the country also, where the Eng-
lish might have landed, was completely inun-
dated. Walcheren, the only fruit of this ex-
pensive and unfortunate expedition, was to have
been retained by the conquerors, for the purpose
of shutting up the mouth of the Scheldt, and of
facilitating the introduction of British manufac-
tures into Holland. This design, however,
was rendered abortive by the unhealthiness of
the climate ; and after great numbers of the
troops had fallen a sacrifice, the British army
evacuated the island on the 9th of December,
having previously destroyed the fortifications,
arsenal, docks, and basin. Some old fhips filled
with stores were also sunk at the entrance of
the Scheldt, to preclude an escape of the French
fleet, from the place of its retreat.
WALES, a principality in the west of Great
Britain from 130 to 180 miles long, and from 50
to 80 broad, with an area of 8125 square miles,
and 805,236 inhabitants. It is very mountain-
ous. The ancient history of Wales is uncer-
tain, on account of the number of petty princes
who governed it. It was formerly inhabited
by three different tribes of the Britons; the Si-
lures, the DimetBB, and the Ordo vices. These
people do not appear ever to have been entirely
subdued by the Romans; though part of their
country, as appears from the ruins of castles,
was bridled by garrisons. Though the Saxons
conquered the counties of Monmouth and Here-
ford, yet they never penetrated farther, and the
Welsh remained an independent people, gov-
erned by their own princes and their own laws.
About the year 870, Roderic, king of Wales,
divided his dominions among his three sons;
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and the names of these divisions were, Demetia,
or South Wales; Povesia, or Powis land ; and
Venedotia, or North Wales. This division
gave a mortal blow to the independency of
Wales. About the year 1112, Henry I of Eng-
land planted a colony of Flemings on the fron-
tiers of Wales, to serve as a barrier to England,
none of the Welsh princes being powerful
enough to oppose them. They made, however,
many vigorous and brave attempts against the
Norman kings of England, to maintain their
liberties. In 1237, the crown of England was
first supplied with a handle for the future con-
quest of Wales ; their old and infirm prince
Llewellin, having put himself under subjection
and homage to king Henry III. But no capitu-
lation could satisfy the ambition of Edward I,
who resolved to annex Wales to the crown of
England ; and Llewellin, prince of Wales, dis-
daining the subjection to which old Llewellin
had submitted, was opposed by the army of
Edward, which penetrated as far as Flint, and
taking possession of the isle of Anglesey, drove
the Welsh to the mountains of Snowdon, and
obliged them to submit to pay a tribute. The
Welsh, however, made several efforts under
young Llewellin; but at last, in 1285, he was
killed in battle. He was succeeded by his
brother David, the last independent prince of
Wales, who, falling into Edward's hands through
treachery, was by him most barbarously and
unjustly hanged ; and Edward, from that time,
pretended that Wales was annexed to the crown
of England. It was about this time, probably,
that Edward perpetrated the inhuman massacre
of the Welsh bards. Perceiving that his cru-
elty was not sufficient to complete his conquest,
he sent his queen to be delivered in Caernarvon
castle, that the Welsh, having a prince born
among themselves, might the more readily re-
cognise his authority. This prince was the
unhappy Edward II, and from him the title of
prince of Wales has always since descended to
the eldest sons of the English kings.
WALL OF CHINA. One of the greatest
curiosities of the artificial kind which China
affords, and which may be reckoned one of the
most astonishing remains of antiquity now in
the world, is that prodigious wall which was
built by the Chinese, to prevent the frequent
incursions of the Tartars. This wall, Du Halde
informs us, is higher and broader than the com-
mon walls of the cities of China, being about
25 feet in height and broad enough for six hoise-
men to ride abreast upon the top of it, and is
fortified all along with strong square towers,
at distances of about 200 paces, to the nuni!;,r
of 3D00, which, in the time of the Chinese m an-
archs, before the Tartars subdued the country.
were guarded by a mil!. an of soldiers. It Ira-
verses high mountains, deep valleys, and, by
means of arches, wide rivers, from the province
of Shen Si to Wanghay or the Yellow sea, a
distance of 1500 miles. The foundation and
corners are of granite, but the principal part is
of blue bricks, cemented with pure white mor-
tar, and although it has now stood above 2000
years, exposed to all winds and weathers, it is
very little decayed, and the terrace on the top
seems still as firm as ever. This amazing wall
was built by the emperor Chiholamt, according
to some authors, above 200 years before the
birth of our Saviour ; and though of such stu-
pendous length and bulk, and carried over moun-
tains and valleys, it was completed in five years,
if we may credit the Chinese tradition.
WALLACE, Sir William, and BRUCE,
Robert, were two distinguished heroes in Scot-
tish history, who achieved the independence of
their country in opposition to the unprincipled
invasion of Edward I and II of England. Sir
William Wallace was the son of a small land-
holder, who possessed the estate of Ellerslie.
near Paisley. It is probable that he had not
greatly exceeded the age of opening manhood,
at the time when his country was subdued by
the English. Many of his first deeds of hero-
ism, although imperfectly commemorated, in
the rude and often doubtful tale of Henry, the
blind minstrel, have unluckily been preserved
by no records upon the evidence of which they
might be received into the pages of authentic
history. Within less than a year after the con-
quest of Edward, when the whole country
seemed to have acquiesced in his fate, he un-
dertook the desperate enterprise of bteaking
her fetters, and by the success of his enterprises,
made himself known so advantageously to his
countrymen, that he was joined by many who
wore desirous to partake of his renown ; amongst
the rest, by sir William Douglas, and some
others of considerable rank. In May, 1207, he
led his followers to attack Ormesby,the English
justiciary, who was holding his court at Scone.
Ormesby, with difficulty, made his escape into
England, and the other officers followed his ex-
ample. From the north-east, Wallace passed
into the west, where his glory, and hatred of
the English, procured him many adherents,
amongst others, Robert Bruce, the grandson of
him who had been competitor with Baliol for
the crown. King Edward was then abroad,
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carrying on war in Guienne: but Warrene,
who had been left governor of Scotland, col-
lecting an army of forty thousand men, and
determined to re-establish his authority, sent
i hem forward, under the command of sir Henry
Piercy and sir Robert Clifford. When the
English army came up, many of the adherents
of Wallace made submissions; but he himself,
with his chosen followers, retired into the north.
Finding his forces increasing, he laid siege to
Dundee, which he relinquished on hearing of
the approach of the English army to the Forth,
and hastened to oppose their passage, which
they attempted at the bridge of Stirling. The
English, under Cressingham, first crossed the
river, when Wallace attacked them, and put
them to the sword or drove them into the
stream. Those on the other side, burning their
tents and leaving their baggage, fled to Ber-
wick. Wallace having gained this victory,
hastened back to Dundee, which now surren-
dered at his approach. He was then chosen
regent by his followers, and all Scotland was
cleared of the English. King Edward, return-
ing from France, led a powerful army into
Scotland, and advanced to Falkirk. Bruce was
now serving in the Scottish army, and was not,
as has been fabulously stated, in the army of
Edward. Both armies engaged at Falkirk,
July 22, 1298, and the English gained the vic-
tory, from their superiority of numbers and mil-
itary skill, and the dissensions of their oppo-
nents. Wallace, seeing all hope lost, rallied
the broken remnants of his forces, and retreated
beyond the Forth. All Scotland submitted to
Edward ; but the dauntless spirit of Wallace
never would surrender his country's indepen-
dence. Whether he went abroad for a short
time to France, or wandered in the fastnesses
of the Highlands, cannot be certainly known;
but in 1304, he was in Scotland, and Edward
could never believe he had secure possession
till Wallace was in his power. This was ef-
fected by the treachery of sir John Monteith ;
and Wallace vvas conducted to London, ar-
raigned, and tried as a traitor, and condemned,
as guilty of high treason against Edward, al-
though he had never acknowledged him as his
king, nor owed him allegiance. Wallace, still
undaunted, during and after his trial, asserted
the rights of his country, and bore his fate,
which was inflicted with every circumstance
of ignominy and cruelty, with the magnanimity
with which he had lived. His head was placed
on London-bridge, and his mangled limbs were
distributed over the kingdom. It was reserved
for Robert Bruce to accomplish what Wallace
had so nobly attempted. In his youth he had
acted upon apparently no regular plan ; and
although he had at times served against Ed-
ward, when the Scottish forces were able to
make a successful resistance, he soon made
submissions after their defeat, and thus avoided
drawing down upon himself the implacable re-
sentment of Edward. He appeared to have
stifled his pretensions to the crown ; but imme-
diately after the death of Wallace he determin-
ed at once to assert his own rights and his
country's independence. Arriving at Dum-
fries, from England, in February, 1306, he had
a quarrel with Comyn, of Badenoch, and stabbed
him in the church of the Minorites, because he
opposed his views. He now claimed the crown ;
and resentment of the treachery of Edward,
and of the death of Wallace, procured him nu-
merous followers. He was accordingly crowned
king of Scotland, at Scone, on the 25th of
March, the same year. An army, sent by king
Edward, soon arrived at Perth; and in a battle
fought on the 19th of June, Bruce was defeated.
He took refuge at Aberdeen, and afterwards
went towards Argyle, and was so hard pressed
by the English and their adherents, that he re-
tired to the island of Rachrin, in the north of
Ireland, and was supposed to be dead ; but early
in the next spring, he again displayed his ban-
ner in the west of Scotland, anil gained many
advantages over the English, of which, the vic-
tory at Loudon-hill was the most remarkable ;
whilst his brother, sir Edward, and sir James
Douglas, were equally active and successful.
Bruce came north in the end of the same year,
and on account of the unfavorable state of his
health, which had been injured by unceasing
hardships and privations, he remained some
time inactive. On the 22d of May, 1308, he
gained the battle of Inverary, over the earl of
Buchan and sir John Mowbray, which was the
commencement of a career of success, which
established him as king of Scotland. The
whole of the fortresses of the kingdom were
recovered, excepting Stirling, which was be-
leagured by his brother Edward, who entered
into a treaty with the governor, by which it
was agreed that it should be surrendered if not
relieved before the 24th of June, 1314. This
led to the attempt of Edward II to relieve it by
a powerful army, and brought on the battle of
Bannockburn. Bruce 's army consisted of thirty
thousand veterans, distinguished by their valor,
the skill of their leaders, and animated by every
motive which can promote heroic enterprise.
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He drew them up with a hill on his right flank,
and a morass on his left, to prevent being sur-
rounded by the numerous army of Edward.
Having a rivulet in front, he commanded deep
pits to be dug along its banks, and sharp stakes
to be planted in them, and caused the whole to
be carefully covered with turf. The English
arrived in the evening, when Bruce was riding
in the front of his army. Sir Henry Bohun,
who rode up to charge him with his spear, was
brought to the ground by his battleaxe. Early
next morning the action commenced. Sir Rob-
ert Keith, at the head of the men-at-arms, de-
stroyed the English archers. The English
horse, under the earl of Gloucester, rushing on
to the charge, fell into the pits Bruce had pre-
pared for them. Sir James Douglas, who com-
manded the Scottish cavalry, gave them no
time to rally, but pushed them off* the field.
Whilst the infantrj' continued the fight, dis-
couraged by these unfavorable events, they
were thrown into a panic by the appearance of
what they supposed another army advancing to
surround them. This was a number of wag-
oners and sumpter boys, whom king Robert
had collected and supplied with military stand-
ards, which gave them the appearance of an
army at a distance. The stratagem was decis-
ive, and an universal rout and immense slaugh-
ter ensued. This great and decisive battle se-
cured the independence of Scotland, and fixed
Bruce on the throne. He afterwards invaded
England, and laid waste the northern counties.
He also led an expedition into Ireland, in sup-
port of his brother Edward, who had been
crowned king of that country, in the course of
which he gained several victories. Peace was
at last concluded between England and Scot-
land, at Northampton, in 1323, and on tin1 7th
of June, 1329, king Robert died, in the fifty-
fifth year of his age, and was buried at Dum-
fermline, where his tomb has lately been dis-
covered. His heroic enterprises have been cel-
ebrated by Barbour, who wrote his poetical his-
tory in 1375, and have recently been the subject
of one of the poems of sir Walter Sc6tt. His
grand-daughter was the wife of Robert the sec-
ond, the first king of the house of Stuart, and
from the issue of that marriage the present roy-
al family is descended.
WALPOLE, Sir Robert, earl of Orford, was
born in 1676. In 1700 he married the daughter
of sir John Shorter, and soon after became
member for Castle Rising ; but in 1702 he was
chosen for King's Lynn, which he represented
in several parliaments. In 1708 he was made
secretary at war, and the year following trea-
surer of the navy. He was one of the managers'
of the trial of Sacheverel ; but on the change
of ministry, was committed to the Tower, and
expelled the house, for breach of trust and cor-
ruption. The borough of Lynn, however, re-
elected him, and he took an active part against
ministers during the remainder of queen Ann's
reign. Early in that of George I he became
prime minister, but some difference arising be-
tween him and his colleagues, he resigned, ana
joined the opposition. In 1720, he accepted
the paymastership of the forces, and not long
after was appointed first lord of the treasury,
and chancellor of the exchequer. In 1723, he
was sworn sole secretary of state. In 1725, he
received the Order of the Bath ; and the year
following that of the Garter. He continued in
power, though assailed by powerful enemies,
till 1742, when he resigned, and was created
eaxl of Orford. He died in 1745. His brother,
Horatio Walpole, lord Walpole, was born in
1678. He filled several offices under govern-
ment, and in 1756, was created a peer, but died
the year following.
WALSINGHAM, Sir Francis, a statesman,
was born in 1536, at Chiselhurst, in Kent. In
1573, he was appointed one of the secretaries
of state, and knighted. In 1583 he went on an
embassy to James, king of Scotland, and three
years afterwards sat as one of the commissioners
on the trial of that monarch's unfortunate mo-
ther. Sir Francis was next made chancellor of
the duchy of Lancaster ; and he was also hon-
ored with the Order of the Garter. But with
all these distinctions and services he died poor,
April 6, 1590, and was buried in St. Paul's
Cathedral.
WALTON, George, a signer of the Decla-
ration of Independence, was born in Frederic
county, Virginia, about the year 1740. He re-
moved to Georgia, studied law, and was admit-
ted to the bar in 1774. He took a prominent
part in the affairs of the revolution, and was
wounded in the defence of Savannah. He was
twice chosen governor of the state, held a seat
in the senate of the United Slates, and filled a
judicial station for several years. He died Feb.
2. 1*04.
WARBECK, Perkin, a renegado Jew of
Tournay, who was persuaded to personate the
duke of York, in the reign of Henry VII. His
cause was warmly espoused by several men of
rank, all of whom were arraigned and tried for
high treason, and three were executed. His
followers, at one period, amounted to 7000; but
2b
AVAR
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WAS
after a series of disastrous adventures, he was
induced by Henry to surrender himself, and
confess the whole of the imposture, on promise
of pardon. After attempting once or twice to
escape from custody, he was hanged at Tyburn,
and several of his adherents suffered the same
ignominious death.
WARD, Artemas, a major-general in the
American army, who commanded at Cambridge
when Washington arrived. In 1786 he was
speaker of the house of representatives of Mas-
sachusetts, and was afterwards elected to Con-
gress. He died Oct. 28, 1800.
WARREN, Joseph, a major-general in the
American army, was born at Roxbury, Massa-
chusetts, in 1740, and graduated at Harvard Uni-
versity in 1759. Having studied medicine he
commenced the practice of it in Boston with
great success. Four days before the battle of
Bunker-hill he received his military command,
and on the retreat from the redoubt, was shot
in the trenches, and expired at the age of thirty-
five.
WARSAW, capital of the kingdom of Po-
land, on the west bank of the Vistula, contained,
in 1830, 140,000 inhabitants, but owing to the
siege of Warsaw in 1831, and the subsequent
banishment of many of its patriotic citizens, its
population is at present reduced to about 60,000.
In the war with the Swedes, in the middle of
the seventeenth century, Warsaw was occupied
by these invaders, who made it the depot of
their spoils. When Charles XII advanced, at a
subsequent period, to Warsaw, it surrendered
to him without opposition. It was defended by
Kosciusko against the Prussians, in 1794, who
were obliged to raise the siege. Warsaw at
length submitted to Suwarrow and the Rus-
sians. On the final paitition of Poland, in 1795,
this part of the country fell to the share of Prus-
sia, and Warsaw had no other rank than that of
a capital of a province, until the end of 1806,
when the overthrow of the power of Prussia led
to the formation, by Bonaparte, of the inde-
pendent state, called the Duchy of Warsaw.
WARWICK, earl of, known by the appella-
tion of the king-maker, was one of the most
celebrated generals of his age. He put himself
at the head of the Yorkists, and gave battle to
the Lancasterians at St. Albans, in which he
was defeated, in 1461 . He afterwards harangued
the citizens of London, assembled in St. John's
Fields, setting forth the title of Edward, the
eldest son of the duke of York, and inveighing
against the tyranny and usurpation of the house
of Lancaster. After the decisive battle of Tou-
ton, and Edward was safely fixed on the throne,
Warwick advised him to marry, and with his
consent went over to France, to procure Bona
of Savoy as queen. But while the earl was
hastening the negotiation in France, the king
married Elizabeth Woodville. Having thus
given Warwick real cause of offence, he widen-
ed the breach, by driving him from the council.
Warwick, whose prudence was equal to his
bravery, soon made use of both to assist his re-
venge ; and formed such a combination against
Edward, that he was, in turn, obliged to fly the
kingdom, and king Henry was released from
prison, to be placed upon a dangerous throne.
A parliament was called, which confirmed Hen-
ry's title, with great solemnity, and Warwick
was himself received among the people, under
the title of the king-maker. Edward, how-
ever, did not long remain abroad ; and, having
made a descent at Ravenspur,in Yorkshire, he
proceeded with an increasing army towards
London. Nothing now, therefore, remained to
Warwick, but to cut short a state of anxious
suspense, by hazarding a battle. Edward's for-
tune prevailed. They met at Barnet, and the
Lancasterians were defeated, while Warwick
himself, leading a chosen body of troops into
the thickest of the fight, fell in the midst of his
enemies, covered with wounds.
WASHINGTON, capital of the United
States, in the District of Columbia, is situated
on the left bank of the Potomac, and contains
18,827 inhabitants. Its natural situation is plea-
sant and healthy, and it is laid out on a plan,
which, when completed, will render it one of
the handsomest and most commodious cities in
the world. Among the public edifices of the
city are the Capitol, the President's House, the
General Post Office, and four buildings for the
executive departments of the national govern-
ment. Columbian college is pleasantly situated
a mile north of the President's house. The
District of Columbia, in which Washington is
situated, was ceded to the government by the
states of Maryland and Virginia, and it became
the seat of government in 1800.
WASHINGTON, George, the third son of
Augustine Washington, was born Feb. 22, 1732,
on the banks of the Potomac, in the county of
Westmoreland, Virginia. His father died when
he was but 10 years old, and the care of his
education devolved upon his mother. That a
mother should love such a son as George proved
himself to be, and that a son should love such a
mother as Mrs. Washington certainly was, is
not at all surprising. From his earliest days she
had exerted her whole influence to imbue him
with a love of" whatever was lovely and of good
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report," and her exertions had not been in vain.
How well he repaid her for her care, may be
.seen in the following story. When about four-
teen years of age he became strongly inclined
to go to sea, with a view of enlisting in the
service of the mother country, at that time en-
gaged in a war with France and Spain.
It was surprising that a youth so young, and
who had been abroad so little, should have had
the moral courage to quit country and friends
on a purpose so full of danger. But so it was.
He was resolved to go. Preparation had been
made. A midshipman's birth had been pro-
cured for him on board a British man-of-war,
then lying in sight of his mother's house ; and
even his trunk was on board. When the pre-
cise time arrived that he was to go, he passed
into the sitting-room of his mother, to take leave
of her. She was sitting in tears. He approach-
ed her, and putting his arms about her neck,
affectionately kissed her. He was about to bid
her " farewell;" but he hesitated. Her affec-
tion and affliction unmanned him. He was
young and ambitious ; and at that early day the
spirit of patriotism, which so nobly characterised
him in after life, in respect to his country, was
stirring within him. Yet, the feelings of his
heart were stronger than any other ties ; and
here, nobly sacrificing his pride and ambition,
he relinquished his purpose, and stayed to com-
fort her who gave him birth.
His elder brother having married a connexion
of lord Fairfax, his lordship gave George Wash-
ington, in his eighteenth year, the appointment
of surveyor. In 1751 he was appointed one of
the adjutant-generals of Virginia, with the rank
of major. Soon afterwards he was sent by the
governor of Virginia to carry a letter to the
French commander on the Ohio, forbidding his
encroachment on the lands belonging to Vir-
ginia. The journey was about 400 miles, 200
of which lay through a trackless wilderness,
inhabited by Indians. He left Williamsburg
on the 31st of October, and delivered his letter
on the 12th of December. Having received an
answer he set out immediately on his return
which proved dangerous and toilsome. The
following is his own account of it :
" As I was uneasy to get back, to make are-
port of my proceeding to his honor the gov-
ernor, I determined to prosecute my journey
the nearest way, through the woods, and on
foot. I took my necessary papers, pulled off
my clothes, and tied myself up in a watch-coat.
Then, with a gun in my hand, and pack on my
back, in which were my papers and provisions,
I set out with Mr. Gist, fitted in the same man-
ner. We fell in with a party of Indians, who
had lain in wait for us. One of them fired not
fifteen steps off, but fortunately missed; we
walked on the remaining part of the night,
without making any stop, that we might get the
start so far as to be out of the reach of their pur-
suit the next day, as we were well assured that
they would follow our track as soon as it was
light. The next day we continued travelling
until quite dark and got to the river. We ex-
pected to have found the river frozen, but it was
not more than fifty yards from each shore. The
ice, I suppose, had been broken up, for it was
■driving in vast quantities. There was no way
of getting over but on a raft, which we set
about making with one poor hatchet, and fin-
ished just after sun-setting: this was one day's
work. We got it launched, then went on board
of it, and set off ; but before we were half way
over, we were jammed in the ice, in such a
manner that we expected every moment our
raft to sink and ourselves to perish. I put out
my setting pole to endeavor to stop the raft, that
the ice might pass by, when the rapidity of the
stream threw it with so much violence against
the pole, that it jerked me out into ten feet wa-
ter." At length, on the 16th of January, he
arrived at Williamsburg ; and delivered the im-
portant letter to the governor.
Having been appointed Colonel of a regiment
raised to defend the rights of the colonists
against the encroachments of the French, Wash-
ington distinguished himself greatly by his de-
fence of Fort Necessity, although he was finally
forced to capitulate. Having resigned his com-
mission, he retired in 175-1, to Mount Vernon, on
the Potomac, a country-seat which had been
bequeathed him by his brother. In 1755 he ac-
cepted the invitation of general Braddock to
enter his family as a volunteer aid-de-camp, and
accompanied him in the memorable and unfor-
tunate expedition to the Ohio, the result of
which would probably have been very different
from what it was, had Braddock followed the
prudent advice of his aid. When the troops
fell into the Indian ambuscade, the officers were
singled out by their savage foes and deliberate-
ly shot, Washington being the only aid that was
unwounded, and on him devolved the whole
duty of carrying the orders of the commander-
in-chief. Though he had two horses killed
under him, ana four balls through his coat,
he escaped unhurt, while every other officer on
horseback was either killed or wounded. Dr.
Craik, the physician who attended him in his
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last sickness, was present at this battle, and
says, " I expected every moment to see him
fall. Nothing but the superintending care of
Providence could have saved him from the fate
of all around him."
After an action of three hours, the troops gave
way in all directions, and Col. Washington and
two others brought offBraddock who had been
mortally wounded. Washington attempted to
rally the retreating troops ; but, as he said him-
self, it was like attempting to stop the wild
bears of the mountains. The conduct of the
regular troops was most cowardly. The enemy
were few in numbers, and had no expectation
of victory. The preservation of Washington
during this battle was almost miraculous. He
was exposed more than any other officer, and
was particularly the object of savage attacks
on account of his superior bravery. After the
defeat, a famous Indian warrior, who acted a
distinguished part in that bloody tragedy, was
heard to say that Washington was never born
to be killed by a bullet; " for," said he, " I had
seventeen fair shots at him with my rifle, and
yet I could not bring him to the ground."
After the expulsion of the French from Ohio,
and the cessation of hostilities on the part of
the Indians, Washington retired to his farm,
and soon after married Mrs. Custis, a lady of
large fortune, and many accomplishments. He
continued to be an active member of the gene-
ral assembly, and on the approach of hostilities
with Great Britain, was chosen to the first Con-
gress. On the 14th of June, 1775, he was cho-
sen commander-in-chief of the armies of the
United Colonies. He repaired immediately to
the head-quarters of the American army at Cam-
bridge, Massachusetts, and having forced the
British to evacuate Boston, led his army to New
York, where he was doomed to witness the de-
feat of the Americans on Long Island, on the
27th of August, but the retreat of the army was
conducted in a masterly manner. After the
battle of White Plains, the prospects of the
Americans appeared hopeless, but the successes
of Trenton and Princeton inspired the army
with fresh courage. By these, Philadelphia was
saved and New Jersey regained. On the 25th
of August 1777, the British forces under lord
Howe, which had sailed from New York, dis-
embarked at the ferry of Elk river, and on the
lOth of September, the battle of Brandywine
was fought and the Americans defeated. In
this battle, the young marquis de la Fayette
displayed great courage, and though severely
wounded, continued many hours on foot and
horseback, endeavoring to rally and encourage
the troops.
Major Ferguson, who commanded a rifle corps
a day or two previous to this battle, was the
hero of a very singular adventure which he thus
describes in a letter to a friend.
" We had not lain long, when a rebel officer,
remarkable by a' hussar dress, pressed toward
our army, within a hundred yards of my right
flank, not perceiving us. He was followed by
another, dressed in dark green and blue, mount-
ed on a bay horse, with a remarkably high
cocked hat. I ordered three good shots to stand
near, and fire at them ; but the idea disgusting
me, I recalled the order. The hussar, in re-
turning, made a circuit, but he passed within a
hundred yards of us ; upon which I advanced
from the woods towards him. Upon my call-
ing, he stopped ; but, after looking at me, again
proceeded. I again drew his attention, and
made signs to him to stop, levelling my piece at
him; but he slowly cantered away. By quick
firing, I could have lodged half a dozen balls in
or about him, before he was out of my reach. I
had only to determine ; but it was not pleasant
to fire at the back of an unoffending individual,
who was very coolly acquitting himself of his
duty ; so I let it alone.
The next day, the surgeon told me that the
wounded rebel officers informed him that gen-
eral Washington was all the morning with the
light troops, and only attended by a French
officer in the hussar dress, he himself dressed
and mounted as I have before described. I am
not sorry I did not know who it was at the
time."
The battle of Brandywine opened the way to
Philadelphia for the British, who entered it on
the 26th of September. After the unsatisfac-
tory engagement at Germantown, the Ameri-
can troops were quartered for the winter at
Valley Forge, where their sufferings were ex-
treme. One day , a quaker by the name of Potts
had occasion to go to a certain place, which led
him through a large grove at no great distance
from head-quarters. As he was proceeding
along, he thought he heard a noise. He stopped
and listened.
He did hear the sound of a human voice at
some distance, but quite indistinctly. As it was
in the direct, course he was pursuing, he went
on, but with some caution. At length he came
within sight of a man whose back was turned
towards him on his knees, in the attitude of
prayer. Potts now stopped, and soon saw Wash-
ington himself, the commander of the American
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armies, returning from bending before the God
of hosts above.
Potts himself was a pious man, and no sooner
had he reached home, that in the fulness of his
faith, he broke forth to his wife Sarah :
"All's well! all's well! Yes, — George
Washington is sure to beat the British — sure ! "
" What's the matter with thee, Isaac? " replied
the startled Sarah. " Thee seems to be much
moved about something."
" Well ! what if I am moved ? Who would
not be moved at such a sight as I have seen to-
day ? " " And what hast thou seen, Isaac ? "
" Seen ! I ' ve seen a man at prayer ! — in the
woods! — George Washington himself! And
now I say, — just what I have said, — 'All's
well ! George Washington is sure to beat the
British ! — sure ! ' "
In June, 1778, the British evacuated Phila-
delphia, and retreated upon New York closely
followed by Washington, who attacked them
at Monmouth on the 24th, and fought them with
advantage, although without gaining a decided
victory. Washington having given his orders
to La Fayette, was personally engaged inform-
ing the line of the main body near the court
house, and was speaking with col. Hartly of the
Pennsylvania line, when a cannon ball struck
just at his horse's feet, throwing the dirt in his
face and over his clothes. The general contin-
ued giving orders without noticing the derang-
ment of his toilette. " Never," says La Fayette,
" was general Washington greater in war than
in this conflict : his presence stopped the retreat,
his dispositions fixed the victory. His fine ap-
pearance on horseback, his calm courage, roused
by the animation produced by the vexation of
the morning, gave him the air best calculated
to excite enthusiasm."
In 1781 Washington, in conjunction with
count Rochambeau, planned an expedition
against New York, which was abandoned with
a view of directing their operations to the
south. Demonstrations, however, were made
against the city, and sir Henry Clinton was not
aware of the change in his intentions. The
siege of Yorktown commenced on the 28th of
September, and lord Cornwallis was compelled
to surrender after much hard fighting, on the
19th. If we are called upon to admire the con-
duct and successes of Washington in action,
our admiration is no less due to his behavior
in those intervals of repose when the American
forces had time to reflect upon their wants, and
brood over their supposed grievances. He
quelled mutiny, but he pitied the sufferings that
produced it ; and while he was resolved to en-
force subordination, he was no less determined
to administer all the comfort which it was in
his power to bestow.
On the 25th of November, 1783, Washington
made his public entry into the city of New
York. On the 4th of December, the principal
officers of the army assembled at Francis' tavern
in New York, to take a final leave of their be-
loved commander-in-chief. Soon after his ex-
cellency entered the room. His emotions were
too strong to be concealed. Filling a glass, and
turning to them he said ; " with a heart full of
love and gratitude, I now take leave of you.
I most devoutly wish that your latter days may
be as prosperous and happy as your former ones
have been glorious and honorable." Having
drank, he added, " I cannot come to each of
you, but shall be obliged to you if each of you
will come and take me by the hand." General
Knox, being nearest, turned to him. Incapable
of utterance, Washington in tears grasped his
hand, embraced and kissed him. In the same
affectionate manner, he took leave of each
succeeding officer.
Leaving the room, he passed through the
corps of light infantry, and walked to White
Hall, where a barge waited to convey him to
Paulus' Hook. The whole company followed
in mute and solemn procession, with dejected
countenances, testifying feelings of melancholy
which no pen can describe. Having entered
the barge, he turned to the company, and wav-
ing his hat, he bade them a silent adieu. They
paid him the same affectionate compliment, and
after the barge had left them they returned in
the same solemn manner, to the place where
they had assembled.
On the 23d of December, 1783, general Wash-
ington resigned his commission to congress,
then sitting at Annapolis. On this interesting
and solemn occasion he appeared in the hall of
congress. As he rose to speak, every eye was
fixed upon him. He began by expressing his
humble joy at the accomplishment of his wish-
es and exertions, in the independence of his
country. Next, he recommended to congress
and to the country the companions of his toils
and trials, and concluded as follows :
i: I consider it an indispensable duty to close
the last solemn act of my official life, by com-
mending the interests of our dearest country to
the protection of Almighty God, and those who
have the superintendence of them to his holy
keeping.
" Having now finished the work assigned
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me, I retire from the great theatre of action,
and, bidding an affectionate farewell to this
august body, under whose orders I have long
acted, I here offer my commission, and take
my leave of all the employments of public life."
Upon accepting his commission, congress,
through their president, expressed in glowing
language to Washington their high sense of his
wisdom and energy, in conducting the war to
so happy a termination, and invoked the choicest
blessings on his future life.
President Mifflin concluded as follows : —
" We join you in commending the interests of
our dearest country to Almighty God, beseech-
ing him to dispose the hearts and minds of its
citizens to improve the opportunity afforded
them of becoming a happy and respectable na-
tion. And as for you, we address to Him our
earnest prayers, that the life so beloved, may be
fostered with all his care; that your days may
be as happy as they have been illustrious ; and
that he will finally give you that reward which
the world cannot give."
A profound stillness now pervaded the assem-
bly. The grandeur of the scene, the recollec-
tion of the past, the felicity of the present, the
hopes of the future, crowded fast upon all, while
they united in invoking blessings upon the man
who, under God, had achieved so much, and
who now, in the character of a mere citizen, was
hastening to a long desired repose, at his seat
at Mount Vernon in Virginia. Congress voted
the victorious general an equestrian statue, and
the legislature of Virginia decreed to him " a sta-
tue of the finest marble and best workmanship."
But Washington was not permitted to remain
in his dignified retirement ; for the nation, aware
of the importance of securing his wisdom and
influence, chose him the first president, under
the new constitution of 17d(j. His feelings
on this occasion are expressed in a letter to a
friend, of which the following is an extract : " I
am unwilling in the evening of a life almost
consumed in public cares, to quit a peaceful
abode for an ocean of difficulties, without the
competency of political skill, abilities and incli-
nation, which are necessary to manage the
helm. I am sensible that I am embarking on a
hazardous voyage, but what returns will be
made Heaven alone can foretell. Integrity and
firmness are all I can promise ; these, be the
voyage long or short, shall never forsake me,
although I may be deserted by all men, for of all
consolations which are to be derived from these,
under any circumstances, the world cannot de-
prive me."
In the first presidency, the door of the presi-
dent's house gathered but little rust on its hin-
ges, while often was its latch lifted by the
" broken soldier." Scarce a day passed that
some veteran of the heroic time did not present
himself at head quarters. The most battered of
these types of the days of privation and trial
was " kindly, bid to stay," was offered refresh-
ment, and a glass of something to the old gene-
ral's health, and then dismissed with lighter
hearts and heavier pouches.
So passed the many ; but not so with one of
Erin's sons. It was about the hour of the
Thuesday levee, when German John, the por-
ter, opened to a hearty rap, expecting to admit
at least a dignitary of the land, or foreign am-
bassador, when who should march into the hall,
but an old fellow, whose weather beaten coun-
tenance, and well-worn apparel showed him to
be no *: carpet knight." His introduction was
short, but to the purpose. He had come to head-
quarters to see his honor's excellence, God bless
him ! He was an old soldier. In vain the por-
ter assured him that it would be impossible to
see the president at that time; a great company
was momently expected ; the hall was not a
fitting place ; would he not go to the stewards
apartment and get something to drink ? To all
which Pat replied he was in no hurry ; that he
would wait his honor's leisure ; — and taking a
chair composed and made himself comfortable.
And now passed ministers of state, and foreign
ministers, senators, judges, the great and the
gay ; meanwhile poor Pat stoutly maintained
his post, gazing on the crowd till the levee
ended. The president, about to retire to his
library, was informed that an obstinate Irish-
man had taken possession of the hall, and
would be satisfied with nothing short of an in-
terview with the president himself.
The chief good-naturedly turned into the
hall. So soon as the old veteran saw his old
commander, he roared out, " long life to your
honor's excellency ! " at the same time hurling
his hat to the ground, and erecting himself
with military precision. ': Your honor will not
remember me ; though many is the day that
I have marched under your orders, and many's
the hard knock I ' ve had too. I belonged to
Wayne's brigade — Mad Antony, the British
called him, and, by the powers, he was always
mad enough for them, I was wounded in the
battle of Germantown. Hurrah for America !
and it does my heart good to see your honor, and
how is the dear lady and the little ones ? "
Here the usually grave temperament cf
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Washington gave way, as with a smile he re-
plied that he was well, as was Mrs. Washing-
ton ; but they were unfortunate in having no
children > then pressing a token into the soldier's
hand, he ascended the staircase to his library.
The Irishman followed with his eyes the retiring
general, then looked again and again upon the
token which he had received from his honor's
oxen hand, pouched it, recovered his hat, which
he placed with military exactness a little on one
side, then took up his line of march, and as he
passed the porter, he cried out, " there now,
you Hessian fellow, you see his honor's excel-
lence has not forgotten an old soldier."
Throughout the eight years of his presiden-
tial career, Washington did nothing to forfeit
the esteem of his fellow citizens, who acknow-
ledged him, " first in peace, first in war, and
first in the hearts of his countrymen.'' An
Englishman in Philadelphia, speaking of the
presidency of Washington, was expressing a
desire to see him. While this conversation
passed, " there he goes," cried the American,
pointing to a tall, erect, dignified personage,
passing on the other side of the street. " That
general Washington ! " exclaimed the English-
man ; " where is his guard ? " " Here ! '" replied
the American, striking on his breast with em-
phasis.
On Friday, the 13th of December, 1709. ex-
posure to wret produced an inflammatory disor-
der of the throat, which terminated fatally on
the night of Saturday. The deep and wide-
spreading grief occasioned by this melancholy
event, assembled a great concourse of people
for the purpose of paying the last tribute of
respect to the first of Americans. On Wednes-
day, the 18th of December, attended by milita-
ray honors and the ceremonies of religion, his
body was deposited in the family vault at Mount
Vernon.
So short was his illness, that, at the seat of
government, the intelligence of his death pre-
ceded that of his indisposition. It was first
communicated by a passenger in the stage to an
acquaintance whom he met in the street, and
the report quickly reached the house of repre-
sentatives which was then in session. A solemn
silence prevailed for several minutes; judge
Marshal, then a member of the house, stated in
his place the melancholy information which had
been received. This informatian, he said, was
not certain, but there was loo much reason to
believe it true.
" After receiving intelligence," he added,
" of a national calamity so heavy and afflicting,
the house of representatives can be but ill fitted
for public business." He therefore moved an
adjournment, and the house adjourned.
The expression of Washington's countenance
was serious, but very pleasing: his eyes were
a mild blue ; and the flush of health gave a
glow to his cheeks. His step was always firm ;
but after the toils of the long war, his bod}'
was a little bent as he walked, and his once
smooth forehead and cheeks were marked with
care-worn furrows. General Washington, in
the prime of life, stood six feet two inches, and
measured precisely six feet when attired for the
grave.
To a majestic height was added correspond-
ing breadth and firmness ; and his whole per-
son was so cast in nature's finest mould, as to
resemble the classic remains of ancient statuary,
where all the parts contribute to the purity
and perfection of the whole. Bred in the
vigorous school of the frontier warfare, " the
earth his bed, his canopy the heavens," he ex-
celled the hunter and the woodsman in their
athletic habits, and in those trials of manhood
which distinguished the hardy days of his early
life : he was amazingly swift of foot, and could
climb the mountain steep, and " not a sob his
toil confess." -,
It matters very little, says Phillips, what im-
mediate spot may have been the birth-place of
such a man as Washington. No people can
claim, no country can appropriate him. The
boon of Providence to the human race, his fame
is eternity, and his residence creation. Though
it was the defeat of our arms, and the disgrace
of our policy, I almost bless the convulsion in
which he had his origin. If the heavens thun-
dered, and the earth rocked, yet, when the
storm had passed, how pure was the climate
that it cleared ! how bright, in the brow of the
firmament, was the planet which it revealed to
us ! In the production of Washington, it does
really appear as if Nature was endeavoring to
improve upon herself, and that all the virtues
of the ancient world were but so many studies
preparatory to the patriot of the new. Indi-
vidual instances, no doubt, there were, splendid
exemplifications of some singular qualification :
Ca?sar was merciful, Scipio was continent,
Hannibal was patient; but it was reserved for
Washington to blend them all in one, and, like
the lovely masterpiece of the Grecian artist, to
exhibit, in one glow of associate <1 beauty, the
pride of every model, and the perfection of
every master. As a general, be marshalled the
peasant into a veteran, and supplied by disci-
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plinethe absence of experience ; as a statesman,
he enlarged the policy of the cabinet into tlie
most comprehensive system of general advan-
tage ; and such was the wisdom of his views,
and the philosophy of his councils, that, to the
soldier and the statesman he almost added
the character of the sage ! A conqueror, he was
untainted with the crime of blood ; a revolu-
tionist, he was free from every stain of treason ;
for aggression commenced the contest, and his
country called him to the command. Liberty
unsheathed his sword, necessity stained, victory
returned it. If he had paused here, history
might have doubted what station to assign him ;
whether at the head of her citizens, or "her sol-
diers, her heroes, or her patriots. But the last
glorious act crowns his career, and banishes all
hesitation. Who like Washington, after havino-
emancipated a hemisphere, resigned its crown5,
and preferred the retirement of domestic life to
the adoration of a land ho might be almost said
to have created !
Happy, proud America! The lightnino- of
heaven yielded to your philosophy fThe temp-
tations of earth could not seduce your patriot-
ism ! "
_ WASHINGTON, William Augustine, a dis-
tinguished cavalry officer in the American re-
volution, was born in Virginia. He distinguish-
ed himself particularly at Guilford, and Eutaw,
where, however, he was made prisoner, and
detained until the close of the war. Durincr the
the presidency of Adams, general Washington
attached his relative to his staff with the rank
of brigadier-general. He died in 1810.
WATERLOO, a Belgic village on the road
from Charleroi to Brussels, 10 miles from the lat-
ter city, at the entrance of the forest of Soio-nies
WATERLOO, battle of, by French writers
called Mont St. Jean, near which villas it
was fought in the spring of 1815. The°Eu-
ropean confederates having outlawed Napo-
leon by a declaration at Vienna, assembled their
forces to invade France by the east and north
A I russian army of 60,000 was collected near
lurlrroie, under Blucher, and an Eno-lish
™nZrnan', Dutoh' and Flemish array of
100,000, under Wellington, in advance of Brus-
«f „n?^!lle 13th of Ja^, the French army
"» 110,000 men, under Napoleon, debouched
from Givette and Charleroi, attacked the Prus-
sians at Ligny, and drove them back with crreat
slaughter, making from ten to fifteen thousand
prisoners In lhe „„„,„„„„ lh(, ,„,-, win„. f)f
•■■ French array on the 15th, attacked the £nff-
l»h pos.Uon atQuatre Bras, cut to pieces some
Scotch regiments, and compelled the remainder
of the allies to retreat on Brussels. Marshal
Wellington now assembled all his forces in the
strong position of Waterloo, the right of which
was defended by the chateau of Hougomont ;
the left and centre by acclivities of ground, and
his rear protected by the immense forest of
Soigny. After the affair of Ligny, Napoleon
divided his force into two divisions," sending his
right wing, of 30,000 men, under Grouchy, in
pursuit of the Prussians, who made a stand at
Wavre ; while with the left and centre lie fol-
lowed the English in the direction of Waterloo
and Brussels, and finding Wellington in posi-
tion at Mont St. Jean, he bivouacked on the
17th on the grounds on the other side of the
valley, while the English and allies were pre-
paring for attack on the opposite side. At noon
on the 18th, the French commenced their attack
on the chateau of Hougomont, and endeavored
by that position to gain the heights, and turn
the right of the English army ; and here a scene
of bloody contest was maintained for some hours,
in which many thousands of the combatants
lost their lives. Another attack was commenced
ih the centre in the bottom, beneath which is
situated a farm called La Hayc Sainte. Here
likewise a dreadful slaughter took place, chiefly
of Hanoverians, and the French carried the po-
sition. In the right the French ascended the
acclivity, and advanced on the plain, but were
checked by a charge, in which Sir Thomas Pic-
ton was killed. On their left they advanced
from Hougomont, within half a mile of the vil-
lage of Mont St. Jean, but were here arrested
by other charges, in which the prince of Orange
was wounded. The enthusiastic courage of the
* rench was every where opposed by the cool
resolution of the English regiments, who formed
themselves into squares, and received and re-
pelled the attacks of the French cavalry. In
this position the two armies remained, with va-
rious local success, till about four in the after-
noon, when a body of Prussians under marshal
Bulow approached from Wavre, and secured
the English position on the left. At six in the
evening the issue remained doubtful ; the
t rench considered the victory as their own, and
an Hanoverian regiment actually fled from the
u i V?r iv passed thro"gl1 Brussels. But mar-
shal Wellington, assured of the speedy approach
of marshal Blucher with a body of Prussian
cavalry on the French right flank, maintained
ns principal position with inflexible determina-
tion; and about eight o'clock the Prussian cav-
alry, under Blucher, debouched from the woods
WES
609
WHI
on the left, overthrew and captured the French
right wing, and advanced along the valley, and
passed the centre of the French position, carry-
ing all before them. The French on the heights
and on their left wing, perceiving themselves
thus surrounded, were seized with a general
panic, a cry of sauve qui petit ran through their
ranks ; the confusion was increased by a gene-
ral charge of the British, and they fled in com-
plete rout towards the French frontiers, leaving
all their cannon and baggage in the hands of
the victors. The loss of killed and wounded on
both sides has been variously computed, but it
cannot have been less than 60,000. This battle
was followed by the most important political
consequences. The main French army was
thus dispersed without cannon and without am-
munition. Grouchy, who, with his division, re-
mained immovable during the battle at Wavre,
about nine miles distant, on hearing of its re-
sult, retreated towards Paris, and Napoleon, to
diminish the effects of his disaster, repaired in-
stantly to the same city, where the intrigues
and conflicts of parties determined him to re-
sign the crown in favor of his son and embark
for America. In the mean time, the Prussians
advanced briskly in pursuit of the disordered
French, and marshal Wellington having dis-
posed of his wounded, followed without inter-
ruption to the walls of Paris, where, after some
negotiation, the Bourbons were restored.
WAYNE, Anthony, a general in the Ameri-
can revolution, born in Pennsylvania, Jan. 1,
1745. He was educated at a Philadelphia aca-
demy. Having served his country in a civil
capacity, he raised a company of volunteers in
1775, and was elected colonel. In the retreat
from Canada he behaved with great prudence,
and on Feb. 12, 1777 was made brigadier-gene-
ral by the continental congress. He distin-
guished himself at the battle of Brandywine,
and succeeded in carrying Stony Point by as-
sault. He was in continual service throughout
the war, and, in 1792 was appointed by Wash-
ington to succeed general St. Clair in the com-
mand of the army employed against the Indians
on the western frontier. Aug. 20, 1794, he
gained a victory near Miami on the lakes, and
successfully ended the war. He died in 179(5.
WEST POINT, a village of New York, and
military post on the West bank of the Hudson,
53 miles above New York. It is the scene of
the" treachery of Arnold. Its military academy
enjoys high repute.
WEST INDIES, the great Archipelago
which lies between North and South America,
39
commonly divided into The Bahamas, Great
Antilles, Lesser Antilles, Caribbee islands, Vir-
gin islands, Leeward islands, and Windward
islands.
Population of the West India Islands.
Islands.
Hayti,
Cuba,
Porto Rico,
Antigua,
Anguilla,
Uarbadoes,
Dominica,
Grenada, &c.
Jamaica,
Montserrat,
Nevis,
St. Kitts,
St. Lucia,
St. Vincent,
Tobago,
Tortola, &c.
Trinidad,
Bahamas,
Eermudas,
Whites.
Spanish Islands.
311,051
133,100
English Islands.
1,980
3C5
14,959
840
801
37,000
330
700
1,612
972
1,301
322
477
4,201
4,240
3,905
French Islands.
10,000
286,942
31,874
29,839
2,388
81,902
15,392
24,145
322,421
6,262
9,259
19,310
13,348
23,000
12,000
5,399
24,006
9,268
4,370
Total.
800,000
704,487
323,838
35,714
3,080
102,007
19,838
28,783
414,421
7,406
11,959
23,922
18,051
27,114
14,043
7,172
44,163
16,49'J
9,250
101,865
111,000
18,000
11,000
6,000
34,000
7,000
3,000
Martinique, 10,000 81,142
Guadeloupe, with Mari- )
egalante, Desirade, > 12,800 88,000
Saintes, &x. )
Dutch Islands.
St. Eustatius, with Saba, ? 12,000
Curasao, ? 6,500
St. Martin, (in part to ) ? . nnn
France), j ,,uuu
Danish Islands.
Santa Cruz or St. Croix, 2,500 29,500
St. Thomas, 800 5,500
St. John, 150 2,600
Swedish Islands.
St. Bartholomew, ? 6,000 12,000
WHIPPLE, William, a signer of the De-
claration of Independence, born in Maine, in
1730. Having followed the sea for sometime,
he abandoned it in 1759, and commenced busi-
ness in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, from
which state he was sent to Congress, in 1776.
He was placed at the head of one of the brigades
of New Hampshire in the revolutionary war,
after the close of which, he held several civil
offices, and died in 1785.
WHITFIELD, James, Archbishop of Balti-
more, was born at Liverpool in England on the
3d of Nov. 1770. and died at Baltimore on the
19th of Oct. 1834. At the age of 17 he was be-
reaved of his father and became the protector of
his mother. To assuage her grief, and to restore
her sinking health, he accompanied her to Italy.
On his return from that country where he had
been for some time engaged in mercantile pur-
suits, he found himself in France at the time
when Napoleon had decreed that every Eng-
WIC
610
WIL
lishman in France was a prisoner. He spent
the greatest part of his exile in Lyons, where he
hecame acquainted with Ambrose Marechal, the
late archbishop of Baltimore, who was then pro-
fessor of theology in the seminary in that city.
The piety of his youth inclined his mind to the
sacerdotal state, and he commenced the study
of divinity under the direction of his learned
and pious friend. He distinguished himself by
his solid judgment and persevering industry.
In the year 1809 he was ordained priest in the
city of Lyons. After the death of his mother,
he returned to England, and was employed in
the discharge of parochial duties in the town of
Crosby.
When Dr. Marechal was elevated to the archi-
episcopal see of Baltimore, he wrote to Mr.
Whitfield, earnestly soliciting him to give his
assistance to the flock which Providence had
placed under his charge. He complied with
the request of his former friend, and landed on
our shores on the 8th of September, 1817. In
1825 he received the degree of Doctor of Divinity
from the court of Rome. At the death of the
Rev. Archbishop Marechal, his name was on
the list which was first sent to Rome to receive
the sanction of his Holiness, and he was soon
after consecrated Archbishop of Baltimore in
the Cathedral in that city.
WHITFIELD, George, founder of the sect
of Calvinistic Methodists, born 1714, and died
at Newbury port, New England, 1770, where he
lies interred. His eloquence in the pulpit was
very remarkable. He was in early life associ-
ated with the still more celebrated John Wes-
ley, (born 1703, and died 1791,) but in afterlife
they were separated by difference of opinion.
WICKLIFFE,orWycliffe, John, the "Morn-
ing Star of the Reformation." was born at a vil-
lage of the same name, in Yorkshire, in 1324.
He was nominated one of the king's commis-
sioners, to require of the pope that he would not
interfere in ecclesiastical benefices. This trea-
ty was carried on at Bruges ; but nothing was
concluded, upon which the parliament passed
an act against the papal usurpations. This en-
couraged Wickliffe to go on in exposing the
tyranny of the pope, who, in 1377, denounced
the reformer as a heretic, and required the arch-
bishop of Canterbury and the bishop of London,
to proceed in judgment upon him. Wickliffe,
however, was supported by the duke of Lan-
caster and earl Percy, who appeared with him
at St. Paul's, Feb. 19, 1378. High words en-
sued on that occasion between the bishop of
London and the temporal lords ; in consequence
of which, the populace took the bishop's part;
and plundered the duke's house in the Savoy.
Wickliffe, being thus countenanced at court,
undertook a translation of the Scriptures into
English, which work he accomplished, and
thereby increased the number of his enemies.
Of this version, which was made from the Vul-
gate, several copies are extant; but only the
New Testament has been yet printed. In 1381
Wickliffe ventured to attack the doctrine of
transubstantiation, in apiece entitled " De Blas-
phemia," which being condemned at Oxford,
he went thither and made a declaration of his
faith, and professing his resolution to defend it
with his blood. The marriage of the king with
Anne of Luxemburg, proved very advantageous
to Wickliffe ; for she was a most exemplary
princess, and a great friend to scriptural know-
ledge. By her means, the writings of the Eng-
lish reformer, were sent to Germany, where they
afterwards produced an abundant harvest. Ori
leaving Oxford, Wickliffe received a citation
from the pope to appear at Rome ; but he an-
swered, that " Christ had taught him to obey
God rather than man." He died of the palsy,
at Lutterworth, in 13S4.
^WILKES, John, a political character, was
born in Clerkenwell, where his father was a dis-
tiller, in 1727. He obtained the rank of colonel
of the Buckinghamshire militia, and a seat in
parliament for Aylesbury ; but, on publishing a
virulent papercalled the " North Briton," he was
expelled the House of Commons; and convict-
ed in the court of King's Bench. Previous to
this, however, he had gained a verdict in the
Common Pleas against the secretary of state,
for an illegal seizure of his papers by a general
warrant. In the meantime, Wilkes incurred
another prosecution for printing an obscene
poem, called an " Essay on Woman ;" and for
not appearing to receive judgment, was out-
lawed. He then went to France, where he re-
sided till 1768, when he was elected for Mid-
dlesex ; but was prevented from taking his seat,
and committed to the King's Bench prison,
which occasioned dreadful riots in St. George's
Fields. Upon this, Wilkes published another
libel, for which he was again expelled the House
of Commons ; but was rechosen, and the elec-
tion as repeatedly declared void. His popular-
ity was now at its height, and a large subscrip-
tion was made for the payment of his debts. In
1770 he was chosen an alderman of London, and
in 1774 lord mayor. The same year he was re-
turned again for Middlesex, when he was per-
mitted to take his seat without farther opposi-
WIL
611
WOL
tion. In 1779, -after three unsuccessful at-
tempts, he was elected chamberlain of London.
He died, Dec. 26, 1797.
WILLIAM I, king of England, a descendant
of Canute, was born 1027. In 1051 he paid a
visit to Edward the Confessor, in England, and
in 1058 he betrothed his daughter to Harold II.
In 10G6 he made a claim to the crown of Eng-
land, invaded England, landed at Pevensey, in
Sussex, defeated the English troops at Hastings,
October 14, when Harold was slain, and Wil-
liam assumed the title of Conqueror. He was
crowned at Westminster, December 29, 1066.
In 1072 he repelled the attack of Malcolm, king
of Scotland, in Northumberland. In 1079 he
was wounded by his son Robert, at Gerberot,
in Normandy, and in 1086 he invaded France.
He soon after fell from his horse, and contracted
a rupture : he died at Hermentrude, near Rou-
en, in Normandy, 1087. He was buried at
Caen, and was succeeded in Normandy by his
eldest son, Robert, and in England by his sec-
ond son.
WILLIAM II, was born 1057, and crowned
at Westminster, September 27, 1087. In 1090
he invaded Normandy with success. William
was killed by accident, while hunting- in the
New Forest, in 1100.
WILLIAM III, originally prince of Orange,
landed at Torbay, Nov. 4, 1688, the epoch of
the English revolution. He was crowned with
his consort Mary, Feb. 16, 1689. William,
being a Presbyterian, began his reign by repeal-
ing those laws that enjoined uniformity of wor-
ship; and though he could not entirely succeed,
a tolerrtion was granted to such dissenters as
should take the oaths of allegiance, and hold
no private conventicles. In the mean time,
James, whose authority was still acknowledged
in Ireland, embarked at Brest for that country,
and arrived at Kinsale. He soon made a pub-
lic entry into Dublin, and was well received.
After the unsuccessful siege of Londonderry,
his army encountered the royal forces, com-
manded by William in person, on the banks of
the Boyne, in 1690, when the latter gained a
splendid victory. At length, after a series of
disasters, James died Sept. 16, 1700. William,
in the mean time, became fatigued with oppo-
sing the laws which parliament were every day
laying round his authority, and thus gave up
the contest. He admitted every restraint upon
the perogative in England, upon condition of
being properly supplied with the means of
humbling the power of France. For the pro-
secution of the war with France, the nation
mortgaged the taxes, and involved themselves
in what is now called the national debt. Eng-
land received in return, the empty reward of
military glory in Flanders, and the conscious-
ness of having given their allies, particularly
the Dutch, frequent opportunities of being un-
grateful. The war with France continued
during the greatest part of William's reign, but
was at length concluded by the treaty of Rye-
wick, in 1697. William was thrown from his
horse, Feb. 21 , 1702, when his collar-bone was
fractured; and this hastened his dissolution.
He died in the following month, of an asthma
and fever, in the 13th year of his reign.
WILLIAMS Roger, was born in Wales in
1598, and having completed his collegiate edu-
cation at Oxford, took orders in the established
church, but soon embraced the doctrines of the
Puritans in consequence of which he was obliged
to come to America in 1631. His religious
principles drew down upon him the indignation
of the authorities of Massachusetts Bay, and he
was banished. He settled at Providence, Rhode
Island, where he founded a community in
which intolerance was unknown. He died in
April, 1683.
WILLIAMS, William, a signer of the De-
claration of Independence, was born at Lebanon
in Connecticut, April 8, 1731, and died Aug, 2,
1811. He was educated at Harvard college.
WILLIAMS, Otho Holland, a brigadier-
general in the American army, born in Prince
George's county Maryland, in 1748, and died
in July, 1794.
WILSON, James, a signer of the American
Declaration of Independence, was born in Scot-
land,in 1742, and came to Philadelphia in 1766.
In 1789 he was appointed judge of the supreme
court of the United States, and died in August,
1798.
WOLCOTT, Oliver, a signer of the Decla-
ration of Independence, was born in 1726, at
Windsor, in Connecticut, and graduated at
Yale college. He studied law, commenced its
practice with success, and in 1776 was elected
to the national congress. He served at the
head of a volunteer corps in the army which
forced Burgoyne to surrender. After serving
ten years as lieutenant-governor, he was chosen
governor of the state. He died Dec. 1, 1797.
WOLFE, James, was the son of lieutenant-
general Edward Wolfe, born at Weslerham,
in Kent, in 1725. He entered early into the
army, and before he was twenty, distinguished
himself at the battle of Lafeldt. At that of
Minden, he gained additional laurels as lieu
WOL
612
WOT
tenant-colonel of Kingsley's regiment, as he
afterwards did at Louisbourg, from whence he
had but just returned, when he was appointed
to command the expedition against Quebec.
The enterprise was hazardous, but general
Wolfe surmounted all obstacles, and on the
heights of Abraham encountered the enemy ;
when, in the moment of victory, he received a
ball in the wrist and another in the body , which
obliged him to be carried into the rear. In his
last agonies he was roused by the shout, " They
run !" on which he eagerly asked, " Who run ?"
and being told the French, he said, " I thank
God: I die contented," and expired Sept. 13,
1759.
WOLSEY, Thomas, a cardinal and states-
man, was born in 1471 at Ipswich, where his
father was a butcher. In 1508, being then
chaplain to Henry VII, he was made dean of
Lincoln ; and in the next reign he gained an
absolute ascendency over the young monarch
by flattering his passions and sharing in his
amusements. He was accordingly made al-
moner to the king, a privy councillor, canon of
Windsor, registrar of the garter, and dean of
York. Soon after this accumulation of honors,
he was appointed chancellor of the garter, and
rewarded with the grant of the revenues of the
bishopric of Tournay in Flanders. In 1514 he
was consecrated bishop of Lincoln, and within
a few months afterwards was elevated to the
see of York and the dignity of a cardinal. In
1516 he was appointed legate with the fullest
powers, and at the same time was made lord
chancellor. In 1519 he obtained the temporal-
ities of the see of Bath and Wells, to which
were added those of Worcester and Hereford,
with the rich abbey of St. Alban's. Wolsey
now aspired to the papacy, and on being disap-
pointed of it, received, as a compensation from
the emperor, a pension of nine thousand crowns
of gold, while his own sovereign gave him the
bishopric of Durham. On the death of Adrian
VI he made another effort to gain the tiara, but
without success. In 1528 he exchanged bur-
ham for Winchester ; but a cloud now arose,
occasioned by the king's dissatisfaction with
his conduct in the business of the divorce. Ac-
cordingly while the cardinal sat in the court of
chancery, an indictment was preferred against
him in the king's bench, on the statute of pro-
visoes, in consequence of which the great seal
was taken from him, all his goods were seized,
and articles of impeachment were soon exhibited
in parliament. The prosecution, however, was
stayed, and he received" the king's pardon; but
while he was endeavoring to reconcile himself
to his fallen state at Cawood castle, his capri-
cious master caused him to be arrested for high
treason, and hurried from Yorkshire towards
London. The agitation and fatigue brought
on a disorder, of which he died at the abbey of
Leicester, Nov. 23, 1530.
All who know any tiling of his history, know
that he was proud and ostentatious, and accus-
tomed to the use of gorgeous costume, in which
he piqued himself in outshining all the other
courtiers of Henry VIII. One day, a prodigal
nobleman, who was deeply in debt, and paid
nobody, came into court in a dress, the splen-
dor of which outshone that of Wolsey, who
being piqued, addressed the nobleman, and
said, " My lord, it would be more commendable
in yflu to pay your debts, than to lavish so
much money on your dress." " May it please
your reverence," replied the nobleman, "you
are perfectly right: 1 humbly thank you for the
hint, and now make a beginning, to show how
I value your kind admonition. My father
owed your deceased father a groat for a calf's
head : here is sixpence — let me have the change."
WORCESTER, the chief town of Worces-
tershire, England. It suffered much during the
wars between the houses of York and Lancas-
ter; but the most remarkable event here was
the famous battle between the English army
under Cromwell, and the Scotch in the cause of
Charles II, in 1050; when the royalists had 2,000
killed and 8,000 taken prisoners, most of whom
were sold as slaves to the American colonies.
WORCESTER, a handsome town of Wor-
cester county, Mass. The third permanent set-
tlement was- commenced in 1713. The town
was incorporated in 1722, and on the erection
of Worcester count}', in 1732, became the cap-
ital. Population in 1830, 4,271.
WOTTON, sir Henry, a statesman, was born
at Boughton-hall, in Kent, in 15G8. He be-
came secretary to the earl of Essex, on whose
fall he went abroad, and while at Florence was
honored with the confidence of the grand duke ;
who sent him on a secret mission to James VI
of Scotland. He died in 1639.
WOTTON, Nicholas, a statesman, was un-
cle to the preceding, and born in Kent, about
1497. During the reign of Henry VIII he was
employed on different embassies ; and in that
of Edward he was made secretary of state. In
1551 , he went on a mission to the emperor of
Germany ; after which he became resident at
the court of France. He died in London, in
1566; and was buried at Canterbury.
WYN
613
XEN
WURMSER, Dagobert Sigismund, count,
an Austrian general, was born in Alsace in
1724. In his youth he served in the French
army, and next in that of the emperor, where
he rose to the highest honors. In the revolu-
tionary war he drove the republicans out of
Alsace ; but at last was obliged to retreat before
superior numbers. In 1794, however, he took
Manheim ; and in 1796, defeated the French in
Italy. At last being obliged to throw himself
into Mantua, he was forced to capitulate. He
died in Hungary in 1797.
WURTEMBERG, or Wirtemberg, a king-
dom in the western part of Germany, contain-
ing 1 ,502,033 inhabitants. In the wars of the
French revolution, Wirtemberg was repeatedly
traversed by the hostile armies ; its territory
was, in 1796, the ground chosen for conflicts
in the advance, as well as in the celebrated re-
treat of Moreau. In 1799, it was the scene of
the defeat of the French under Jourdan ; in
1800, of their renewed success under Moreau.
WY ATT, sir Thomas, a statesman, was born
at Allington-castle, in Kent, in 1503. His fa-
ther, sir Henry Wyatt, was imprisoned in the
Tower in the reign of Richard III, where he is
said to have been preserved by a cat that fed
him daily, for which reason all the portraits of
him are painted with that animal in his arms
or by his side. On the accession of Henry VII
he was knighted ; and in the next reign made
master of the Jewel-office. He died in 1533.
Thomas became a great favorite with Henry
VIII, and by one of his jests hastened on the
reformation. The king having complained of
the delay of the court of Rome in granting the
divorce, sir Thomas exclaimed, "Lord! that a
man cannot repent him of his sin without the
pope's leave !" This witticism hastened the
king's resolution, and he soon afterwards acted
upon it as a maxim of sound reason. Wyatt,
however, fell into some trouble afterwards by
his freedom of speech, and was twice tried for
sedition, but acquitted. He died at Sherbourne,
in Dorsetshire, in 1541.
WYNDHAM, sir William, a statesman, was
born at Orchard Wyndham, in Somersetshire,
in I6r>7. In 1710, he was made secretary at
war; and in 1713, chancellor of the exchequer.
On the accession of George I he was dismissed
from office ; and when the rebellion broke out
in Scotland, he was sent to the Tower, but
never brought to trial. He continued to act in
opposition till his death, which happened at
Wells, in 1740 ; when he was succeeded in his
title and estate by his eldest son, Charles
Wyndham, who became earl of Egremont, and
died in 1763.
WYTHE, George, a signer of the Declara-
tion of Independence, was born in Elizabeth
county, Virginia, in 1726. Until 30 he lived a
life of continual dissipation, but at that age ap-
plied himself assiduously to the study of the
law, and commenced its practice with great dis-
tinction. His labors in the cause of indepen-
dence were strenuous and continued. He died,
June 8, 1806, having filled the office of chan-
cellor of the state of Virginia for several years.
X.
XANTIPPUS, a Lacedaemonian general who
assisted the Carthaginians in the first Punic
war. He defeated the Romans, 256, B. C. and
took the celebrated Regulus prisoner. Such
signal services deserved to be rewarded, but the
Carthaginians looked with envious jealousy
upon Xantippus, and he retired to Corinth after
he had saved them from destruction. Some
authors support that the Carthaginians ordered
him to be assassinated, and his body to be thrown
into the sea as he was returning home ; while
others say that they had prepared a leaky ship
to convey him to Corinth, which he artfully
avoided.
XENOPHON, an Athenian, son of Gryllus,
celebrated as a general, an historian, and a phi-
losopher. He was invited by Proxenus, one of
his intimate friends, to accompany Cyrus the
younger in an expedition against his brother
Artaxerxes, king of Persia ; but he refused to
comply without previously consulting his ven-
erable master, and inquiring into the propriety
of such a measure. Socrates strongly opposed
it, and observed, that it might raise the resent-
ment of his countrymen, as Sparta had made
an alliance with the Persian monarch ; but,
however, before he proceeded further, he advis-
ed him to consult the oracle of Apollo. Xeno-
phon paid due deference to the injunctions of
Socrates, but as he was ambitious of glory, and
eager to engage in a distant expedition, he
hastened with precipitation to Sardis, where he
was introduced to the young prince, and treated
with great attention. In the army of Cyrus,
Xenophon showed that he was a true disciple
of Socrates, and that he had been educated in
the warlike city of Athens. After the decisive
battle in the plains of Cunaxa, and the fall of
young Cyrus, the prudence and vigor of his
mind were called into action. The ten thou-
sand Greeks who had .followed the standard of
XER
614
XIM
an ambitious prince, were now at the distance
of above six hundred leagues from their native
home, in a country surrounded on every side
by a victorious enemy, without money, without
provisions, and without a leader. Xenophon
was selected from among the officers, to super-
intend the retreat of his countrymen, and though
he was often opposed by malevolence and envy,
yet his persuasive eloquence and his activity,
convinced the Greeks that no general could
extricate them from every difficulty, better than
the disciple of Socrates. He rose superior to
danger, and though under continual alarms
from the sudden attacks of the Persians, he was
enabled to cross rapid rivers, penetrate through
vast deserts, gain the tops of mountains, till he
could rest secure for awhile, and refresh his
tired companions. This celebrated retreat was,
at last, happily effected, the Greeks returned
home after a march of two hundred and fifteen
days, and an absence of fifteen months. Xeno-
phon was no sooner returned from Cunaxa,
than he sought new honors, in following the
fortune of Agesilaus in Asia. He enjoyed his
confidence, he fought under his standard, and
conquered with him in the Asiatic provinces,
as well as at the battle of Corona;a. His fame,
however, did not escape the aspersions of jeal-
ousy, he was publicly banished from Athens
for accompanying Cyrus against his brother,
and being now without a home, he retired to
Scillus, a small town in the neighborhood of
Olympia. He died at Corinth in the 90th year
of Ins age, 35!) years before the Christian era.
XERXES I, succeeded his father Darius on
the throne of Persia, and though but the second
son of the monarch, he was preferred to his
elder brother Artabazanes. Xerxes continued
the warlike preparations of his father, and
added the revolted kingdom of Egypt to his
extensive possessions. He afterwards invaded
Europe, and entered Greece with an army, the
most numerous which had ever been collected
together in one expedition; but badly armed
and disciplined, and encumbered with an useless
attendance of servants, women, and eunuchs,
it was stopped at Thermopyhc, by the valor of
three hundred Spartans, and their allies, under
king Leonidas. Xerxes, astonished that such
a handful of men should dare to oppose his pro-
gress, ordered some of his soldiers to bring them
alive into his presence ; but for three successive
days the most valiant of the Persian troops were
repeatedly defeated in attempting to execute
the monarch's injunctions, and the couratre of
the bpartans might perhaps have tr'tunn^lied
longer, if a Trachinian had not led a detach-
ment to the top of the mountain, which sudden-
ly fell upon the devoted Leonidas. The king,
himself, nearly perished on this occasion, and it
has been reported, that in the night, the des-
perate Spartans sought, for awhile, the royal
tent, which they found deserted, and wandered
through the Persian army, slaughtering thou-
sands before them. The battle of Thermopylae
was the beginning of the disgrace of Xerxes ;
the more he advanced, it was to experience new
disappointments ; his fleet was defeated at Ar-
temisiutn and Saiamis, and though he burnt the
deserted city of Athens, and trusted to the art-
ful insinuations of Themistocles, yet he found
his myriads unable to conquer a nation that was
superior to him in the knowledge of war and
maritime affairs. Mortified with the ill success
of his expedition, and apprehensive of imminent
danger in an enemy's country, Xerxes hastened
to Persia, and in thirty days he marched over all
that territory which before he had passed with
much pomp and parade in the space of six
months. Mardoniu3, the best of his generals,
was left behind with an army of 300,000 men,
and the rest that had survived the ravages of
war, of famine, and pestilence, followed their
timid monarch into Thrace, where his steps
were marked by the numerous birds of prey that
hovered round him, and fed upon the dead car-
casses of the Persians. When he reached the
Hellespont, Xerxes found the bridge of boats
which he had erected there, totally destroyed
by the storms, and he crossed the straits in a
small fishing vessel. Restored to his kingdom
and safety, he forgot his dangers, his losses and
his defeats, and gave himself up to riot and de-
bauchery. His indolence and luxurious volup-
tuousness offended his subjects, and Artabanus,
the captain of his guards, conspired against him,
and murdered him in his bed, in the 121st year
of his reign, about 404 years before the Chris-
tian era.
XIMENES, Francis, a Spanish cardinal, was
born in 1437, at Torrelaguna, in Old Castille.
In 1507, the pope gave him a cardinal's hat, and
soon after the king appointed him prime minis-
ter, which office he discharged with the great-
est honor. He was very successful in the con-
version of the Moors, three thousand of whom
were baptized in one day at Grenada. On the
death of Ferdinand, in 1516, the cardinal was
appointed regent of the kingdom ; and one of
his first acts was to introduce a reformation in
the government. He died, Nov. 8, 1517.
ZEN
615
ZEN
YORK; a city of England. It is an ancient
city , and was the seat of several of the Roman
emperors. Th# cathedral is a splendid speci-
men of Gothic architecture, and was a century
and a half in building. York in 1831 contained
23,359 inhabitants, and is regarded as the capi-
tal of the north of England.
YORKTOWN; a post-town, capital of York
county, Virginia, on the south side of York riv-
er, 29 miles N. W. of Norfolk, memorable for
the capture of Cornwallis, Oct. 19, 1781.
YPRES, a city of Belgium. In 1793 and
1794, this town was exposed to bombardment,
from both French and allies ; it fell eventually
into the power of the former, and remained in
their hands until the downfal of Napoleon, in
1814.
YUCATAN, the most easterly state of the
Mexican confederacy, very fertile and valuable,
and containing 496,000 inhabitants. It is in the
form of a peninsula, jutting out into the gulf of
Mexico. The English have a small settlement
there for procuring logwood, which is the prin-
cipal article of commerce.
YVERDUN, a town of Switzerland, popula-
tion 4,000. Here is the school of the celebrated
Pestalozzi, which was established in the year
1804.
ZACATECAS,astate of Mexico, containing
2,353 square leagues, and 272,901 inhabitants.
It is mountainous and arid, but famous for its
rich silver mines.
ZAMOSK, a strong fortress in the south-east
of Poland. In 165G it was unsuccessfully be-
sieged by the Swedes; in 1715 it was surprised
by the Saxons ; and in the civil contests of
1771, the Poles were defeated in its vicinity, by
the Prussians. In 1812 it was one of the few
towns in which the French left a garrison, after
their retreat from Russia.
ZAMOSKI, John, great chancellorof Poland,
and general of the army of that kingdom. He
was sent ambassador into France for the duke
of Anjou, whom the Polanders had chosen king.
This prince being recalled to take possession of
the kingdom of France, Stephen Bathori, prince
of Transylvania, was chosen king of Poland,
who had so great a consideration for Zamoski,
that he gave his niece to him in marriage, made
him chancellor of the kingdom, and first gave
him the command of eight thousand men in the
war of Muscovy, and afterwards of all the army
of Poland. Zamoski acquitted himself in all
these employments with much courage and
great success.
ZANGUEBAR, a large territory in the east-
ern part of Africa. Its name means " the coast
of the negroes," all the inhabitants being blacks.
ZANTE, (anciently Zacynthus;) one of the
seven Ionian islands in the Mediterranean Sea;
population 40,000. Zante, the capital, has a
population of 20,000. Its harbor is spacious, and
its environs are pleasant and picturesque. In
1820, several hundred houses were overthrown
by an earthquake. The island was in posses-
sion of the Venetians from the end of the four-
teenth to the end of the eighteenth century. In
1797, it was taken by the French, and in 1799,
by the Russians. In 1815, it became one of
the members of the Ionian Republic.
ZEALAND, a province of the Netherlands.
Population in 1829, 123.184. ZEALAND, the
largest of the Danish islands, between the Cat-
tegatand the Baltic. It contains the fortress of
Elsinore, and its capital is Copenhagen.
ZEALAND, NEW; two islands in the South
Pacific Ocean, separated by Cook's Straits.
They have recently become the theatre of an
active commerce with the British colonies.
ZENOBIA, Septimia, a celebrated princess
of Palmyra, who married Odenatus, whom Gal-
lienus acknowledged as his partner on the Ro-
man throne. After the death of her husband,
which, according to some authors, she is said
to have hastened, Zenobia reigned in the east
as regent of her infant children, who were hon-
ored with the title of Csesars. She assumed the
name of Augusta, and she appeared in imperial
robes, and ordered herself to be styled the queen
of the east. The troubles which at that time
agitated the western parts of the empire, pre-
vented the emperor from checking the inso-
lence and ambition of this princess, who boasted
to be sprung from the Ptolemies of Egypt. Au-
relian was no sooner invested with the imperial
purple, than he marched into the east, deter-
mined to punish the pride of Zenobia. He well
knew her valor, and he was not ignorant that
in her wars against the Persians, she had dis-
tinguished herself no less than Odenatus. She
was the mistress of the east ; Egypt acknow-
ledged her power, and all the provinces of Asia
Minor were subject to her command. When
Aurelian approached the plains of Syria, the
Palmyrean queen appeared at the head of seven
hundred thousand men. She bore the labors of
the field like the meanest of her soldiers, and
ZOP
616
ZUT
walked on foot fearless of danger. Two battles
were fought, the courage of the queen gained
the superiority, but an imprudent evolution of
the Palmyrean cavalry ruined her cause ; and
while they pursued with spirit the flying ene-
my, the Roman infantry suddenly fell upon the
main body of Zenobia's army, and the defeat
was inevitable. The queen fled to Palmyra,
determined to support a siege. Aurelian fol-
lowed her, and after he had almost exhausted
his stores, he proposed terms of accommoda-
tion, which were rejected with disdain by the
warlike princess. Her hopes of victory, how-
ever, soon vanished, and though she harassed
the Romans night and day by continual sallies
from her walls, and the working of her military
engines, she despaired of success when she
heard that the armies which were marching to
her relief from Armenia, Persia, and the east,
had partly been defeated and partly bribed from
her allegiance. She fled from Palmyra in the
night ; but Aurelian, who was apprized of her
escape, pursued her, and she was caught as she
was crossing the river Euphrates. She was
brought into the presence of Aurelian, and
though the soldiers were clamorous for her
death, she was reserved to adorn the triumph of
the conqueror. She was treated with great hu-
manity, and Aurelian gave her large possessions
near Tibur, where she was permitted to live the
rest of her days in peace, with all the grandeur
and majesty which became a queen of f,he east,
and a warlike princess. Her children were pa-
tronized by the emperor, and married to per-
sons of the first distinction at Rome. Zenobia
has been admired not only for her military abil-
ities, but also for her literary talents. She has
been praised for her great chastity and con-
stancy, though she betrayed too often her pro-
pensities to cruelty and intoxication when in the
midst of her officers. She fell into the hands of
Aurelian about the two hundred and seventy-
third year of the Christian era.
Z1RTEN, John Joachim Van, a Prussian
general, was bom in 1699. He distinguished
himself greatly in the se-ven years' war, particu-
larly at the battle of Prague, and the storming
of the heights of Torgau. He died in 1785.
ZIMISCES, John, a noble Armenian, who
contributed to the elevation of Nicephorus, but
who. instead of being rewarded for his services,
was sent into disgraceful exile. He afterwards
conspired with the empress, who in person
opened the chamber-door of Nicephorus to the
conspirators, who massacred him without op-
position. Zimisces was then proclaimed empe-
ror of the East, and afterwards signalized him-
self in many engagements, but was at length
taken off by poison, in the ninth year of his
reign.
ZIMMERMANN, John George, chevalier
von, an eminent physician and miscellaneous
writer, born at Brug, in the canton of Berne, in
1728. Having made choice of the medical profes-
sion, he was appointed public physician to his
native town, employing his leisure hours in writ-
ing many pieces in prose and verse, the most
popular of which is his work on Solitude.
ZISCA, John, a courageous German general,
who headed the Hussites, and obtained an im-
portant victory, but being slain, his skin was
made into a drum, to animate the Hussites with
the remembrance of his valor.
ZOPYRUS, a Persian, son of Megabyzus,
who, to show his attachment to Darius, the son
of Hystaspes, while he besieged Babylon, cut
off his ears and nose, and fled to the enemy,
telling them that he had received such a treat-
ment from his royal master because he had ad-
vised him to raise the siege, as the city was im-
pregnable. This was credited by the Babylo-
nians, and Zopyrus was appointed commander
of all their forces. When he had totally gained
their confidence, he betrayed the city into the
hands of Darius, for which he was liberally re-
warded. The regard of Darius for Zopyrus
could never be more strongly expressed than in
what he used often to say, " that he had rather
have Zopyrus not mutilated than twenty Ba-
by Ions."
ZOROASTER, a king of Bactria, supposed
to have lived in the age of Ninus, king of As-
syria, some time before the Trojan war. He
was respected by his subjects and contempora-
ries for his abilities as a monarch, a lawgiver,
and a philosopher, and though many of his doc-
trines are puerile and ridiculous, yet his follow-
ers are still found in numbers in the wilds of
Persia, and the extensive provinces of India.
ZURICH, a canton of Switzerland. ZU-
RICH a city of Switzerland. Population 14,000.
In recent times, Zurich has been the theatre of
many interesting political events, and the scene
of many conflicts. Massena defeated here the
allied forces of Russia and Austria.
ZUTPHEN, an inland town of the Nether-
lands, province of Gelderland. In the wars of
Philip II. Zutphen was besieged in 1572, by the
Spaniards, who refusing the citizens a capitu-
lation, entered the town by storm, and commit-
ted frightful ravages. It was retaken in 1591.
and in this siege sir Philip Sidney was killed.
CHRONOLOGICAL VIEW.
INCLUDING AMBASSADORS, ALLIANCES, ARCHITECTURE, BATTLES AND SIEGES, COM-
MERCE, CONSPIRACIES, DISCOVERIES, EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS,
EMINENT PERSONS, ENCROACHMENTS OF THE SEA, FAMINES, FIRES, FROSTS, LAWS,
COURTS OF JUSTICE, LIVING CHARACTERS OF EMINENCE, LONGEVITY, MASSACRES,
MILITARY AND RELIGIOUS ORDERS, MUSIC, REBELLIONS, RIOTS, SEA FIGHTS, SCULP-
TURE, STORMS, TAXATION, TREATIES, &c. &c.
AGR
ABDICATIONS : of Sylla as perpetual dic-
tator of Rome, ante C: 79; of the emperor
Dioclesian, A. D. 304 ; of Chevaline king of
the West Saxons, 593 ; Amurath II emperor
of the Turks, 1447 ; of Charles V as emperor
of Germany, and as Charles I of Spain, 1556 ;
Christiana, queen of Sweden, 1654 ; Cassimer
V, king of Poland, 1668 ; James II of England,
but really dethroned, 1688 ; Philip V of Spain,
1724, January 15th, but resumed the sceptre in
about fourteen months afterwards, on the death
of his son Louis, in whose favor he had abdi-
cated ; Victor Amadeus king of Sardinia, 1730 ;
Francis II resigns his title as emperor of Ger-
many, August 6th, 1806; Charles IV of Spain,
March 19th, 1808; Gustavus Adolphus IV,
king of Sweden, March 19th, 1809; Napoleon
deposed, 1814, and again in 1815.
AFFIRMATION of the Quakers first ac-
cepted as an oath, 1702 — alteration made in
it, December 13th, 1721. Made legally equal
to an oath in most, if not all the states of the
United States.
AGRICULTURAL Societies formed in
Great Britain, 1787. Many societies now exist
in the United States.
AGRICULTURE. The first mention of
agriculture is found in the writings of Moses.
From them we learn that Cain was a " tiller of
the ground," and that Noah " began to be a
husbandman and planted a vineyard."
The Chinese, Japanese, Chaldeans, Egyp-
tians, and Phoenicians, appear to have held
husbandry in high estimation, in the earliest
ao-es. The Carthaginians were sensible of its
blessings, and carried the art to a high degree
of perfection. The implements of Grecian ar-
chitecture were very few and simple ; the Ro-
mans used a great many implements, but par-
ticularly venerated the plough.
AGR
The agriculture of Great Britain was much
improved after its conquest by the Normans,
who were celebrated for their skill in agricul-
ture. The implements then used were very
similar to those of modern times. Many works
on agriculture have been written in England
at different periods, which have been of great
importance both to the British nation and all
the world. The establishment of a national
board of agriculture, by Sir John Sinclair, has
been of eminent service to British husbandry.
French agriculture began to flourish early in
the 17th century, under Henry IV. Many
agricultural societies were established, and
Bonaparte instituted professorships and gardens
for the exhibition of the different modes of cul-
ture and the dissemination of plants. He also
enlarged and enriched the National Garden.
The implements of agriculture in France are
generally rude and unwieldy, and the opera-
tions of husbandry unskilfully performed.
No books on agriculture were written in
Germany till the 17th century. The agricul-
ture is there every where improving. Gov-
ernment, as well as individuals, have formed
institutions for the instruction of young people
in the arts of husbandry. The culture of forests
receives particular attention in Germany. Some
of the implements of Great Britain have been
introduced ; but generally speaking the agricul-
tural tools are unwieldy and inefficient.
In 1788, Arthur Young wrote a treatise upon
rural economy in Italy. There is a great vari-
ety in the culture of land, as the climate, soil,
and surface of Italy are so varicis. Only one fifth
of the surface is considered sterile. The im-
plements and operations of agriculture in Lom-
bardy are both imperfect. The irrigation of
lands is a remarkable feature in Italian hus-
bandry.
ALL
618
ALM
The agriculture of the United States em-
braces all the products of European cultivation,
together with some, such as sugar and indigo,
which are rarely ever cultivated in any part of
Europe. The agricultural implements and
farming operations of the United States are
very similar to those of Great Britain.
AIRGUNS, invented 1646.
AIRPUMPS, invented by Otto Gnirick, in
1654.
A JAX, British ship of the line, burnt near the
Island of Tenedos, and more than 350 men per-
ished, Feb. 14th, 1807.
ALIEN LAW of the United States, passed
June 25th, 1798 ; repealed, 1800.
ALIENS, British, ordered by the United
States' Government, to report themselves to the
marshals of the district where they respectively
reside, July 10th, 1812.
ALLIANCES, the most remarkable were —
between the confederate Greeks, against Troy,
B.C. 1194 — 84. Between the Romans and the
Carthaginians B. C. 508. Between the Athe-
nians, Thebans, Corinthians and Argives,
against the Lacedemonians, B. C 395. It is
not a little remarkable, that in the long course
of Roman conquest, not one well arranged and
conducted alliance was formed and contributed
to restrain her power. In modern ages, alliances
in the true sense of the term, are recent. The
Crusades were really a species of alliance, but
with very little of the system of modern allian-
ces. The League of Cambray, formed Dec. 10th,
1508, between Louis XII, king of France, the
emperor of Germany, Maximilian I, and the
Pope, Julius II, against the Venetians, was the
first of those coalitions so disastrous or benefi-
cial, as the case may be, which have so deeply
influenced modern European policy. Those
of most importance after the league of Cham-
bray, have been, a league between Henry
VIII of England, and the emperor Charles
V against Francis I, king of France. In 1523,
by the Pope, the emperor and the Venetians,
against the king of France. Of the present
states of Germany, at Smalcalde, December
22d, 1530, to maintain the reformed religion ;
between Francis I, king of France, and Sultan
Solyman, against the emperor Charles V, 1536.
The latter confederation renewed, 1542 ; be-
tween the emperor Charles V, and Pope Paul
III, against the Protestants, 1546; between
Spain, Venice, and Pope Pius V, against Tur-
key, 1570; between England, and the States
General of Holland, 1578, against the Span-
iards; union of Utrecht, 1579, which begins
the republic of the Seven United Provinces;
the Evangelical League, formed 1626, between
the Protestant princes of Germany and Den-
mark, to which Sweden afterwards acceded,
against the emperor Ferdinand I. — this was a
very important compact, which, in 1648, pro-
duced the treaty of Westphalia ; triple alliance
between Britain, Sweden, and the States Gen-
eral, against France 1668 ; of the empire and
Holland, against France, July 15, 1672; league
of Augsburg against France, July 11, 1686;
the grand alliance between the emperor Leo-
pold I,. the States General of Holland, and
William III, king of England, against France,
May 12th, 1689 ; first treaty of partition, be-
tween France, England and Holland, August
19, 1698, second treaty of partition, 1700, March
3d, at Landen, and 25th at the Hague ; alli-
ance of Germany , England and Holland, on one
side, and France, Spain and Portugal, on the
other, 1701 ; barrier treaty of Antwerp, Nov.
15th, 1715, between Germany and Holland;
quadruple alliance between Great Britain,
France, Germany and Holland, August 2d,
1718 ; defensive alliance between Great Britain
and Prussia, 1742; quadruple alliance of War-
saw, January- 8, 1745, between Great Britain,
Austria, Holland, Poland; defensive alliance
of Stockholm, May 29th, 1747, between Prus-
sia, Poland and Sweden ; between Great Brit-
ain and Prussia, February 16, 1756; renewed
April 11, 1758 — without any regular compact,
France, Austria, Russia and Sweden, were at
the epoch of the last mentioned alliance be-
tween Great Britain and Prussia, actually in
the field against Prussia. To the United States,
if not the world, the most important of all alli-
ances or confederations was that of the British
North American colonies. This great union,
not for war, but defence, after many incipient
steps, was formed in 1775 ; announced to the
world as free and independent, July 4th, 1776;
received the general name of United States,
by a resolution of Congress, Sept. 1776, and
consummated by the adoption of a Federal con-
stitution of government, March 3d, 1789. First
coalition against France, by Great Britain, Prus-
sia, Austria, Sardinia, &c. 1793 ; second coali-
tion, April 8th, 1799 ; third, 1805. Holy Alli-
ance between Francis I, emperor of Austria,
Alexander emperor of Russia, and the king of
Prussia, and to which Denmark, Sweden and
the Netherlands, afterwards acceded, formed
1815.
ALMANACS, first published by Martin II-
kus at Bnda 1470.
AMB
619
ARC
ALPHABETIC WRITING introduced into
Europe by Cadmus, A. C. 1493.
ALUM, first discovered at Rocha, in Syria,
A. D. 1300; in Tuscany 1400; first made to
perfection in England, 1608, discovered in
Ireland, October 22d, 1757 ; in Anglesea, 1700.
ALTAR, a place on which sacrifices were
offered in ancient times, but in Christian
churches the place where the communion is
administered — first used in the latter A . D. 135 ;
consecrated 271 ; first in Britain, 034. A Ro-
man altar dug up near Carlisle, England, April,
1803.
AMBASSADORS and ministers plenipo-
tentiary, have been from time immemorial,
considered in some measure, privileged char-
acters. Those of king David, about 1030, B.
C. being insulted by the king of the Ammonites,
led to a war destructive to the aggressors.
The Roman ambassadors at Clusium B. C. 390,
mixing with the inhabitants in battle with the
Gauls, Brennus, king of the latter, considered
their conduct an act of hostility on the part of
their country, raised the siege of Clusium,
marched towards Rome, defeated the Romans at
Allia, and took, plundered and burned Rome.
In modern times the privileges of ambassadors
have been more distinctly defined. In Eng-
land during the protectorship of Oliver Crom-
well, Don Pantaleon Sa, brother to the Portu-
guese ambassador in London, committed a
murder in open day, and sought refuge in his
brother's house ; but the Protector refused to
sanction such an asylum in a case of murder,
and Sa was seized, confined, tried and hanged,
1653. About twenty years afterwards, the
prince of Furstenburg was arrested at the diet
of Ratisbon, for murder, by order of the emperor
of Germany, and the case of Sa, given as a
justification. In 1709, in England, the Russian
ambassador was arrested for debt by a lace
merchant, which led to an act of parliament
exempting ambassadors, or their immediate suit,
from arrest in civil cases. The following table
shows the respective salaries paid to the British,
and United States' ambassadors, at the principal
states of Europe, amount reduced to dollars,
and even numbers :
En irlish Embassadors. U. States Embassadors.
France . . $48,000 . . . $9,000
Spain . . . 52,000 .... 9,000
Holland . . 52,000 .... 4,500
Russia . . . 52,000 .... 9,000
British in U. S. 26,000 U.S. in Eng. 9,000
The first ambassador from Russia to England,
arrived in London 1556. First from India to
any part of Europe, was from Tippo Saib to
France, 1778. First from the United States was
Silas Deane to France, 1776. First from the
Ottoman emperor to Great Britain, 1793. First
from the new Spanish states of America, were
received by the United States, and recipro-
cated by ministers sent to Buenos Ayres, Mex-
ico, &c.
AMPHITHEATRE at Rome, built A. D.
69. Fourteen modern chapels erected within its
walls — that of Verona next in size ; and that
of Nismes next — at Fidonia fell, and killed
50,000 people. Its ruins still exist at Castel
(jlimbelio.
AMPHYCTIONIC COUNCIL, or General
Assembly of Greece, established B. C. 1497.
This is the first instance on record, of a free
representation of independent states, meeting
to deliberate and settle their concerns by the
force of reason, in place of arms.
ANATHEMA, first used by the Christians
as a punishment, A. D. 387.
ANATOMY as a science, restored about
1550 ; anatomy of plants observed 1680.
ANIMAL MAGNETISM, an imposture
that made its appearance in France, 1788, but
soon disappeared there, and broke out in Eng-
land, 1789. It has since been revived and has
some believers in Europe.
ANNUITIES or Pensions first granted in
England, 1512, when 20/. was given to a lady
of the court for services done ; and in 1536, til.
13s. Ad. thought sufficient to maintain a gentle-
woman : again in 1554, 13L 6s. 8d. deemed a
competent sum to support a student at law.
Annuities for life were regulated by law, 1777.
APOTHECARIES, first mentioned in pro-
fane history, ate. C. 1345; by Solomon in Ec-
clesiastes, ate. C. 977. Exempted from civil
offices in England, 1702 ; act for better regulat-
ing the practice of, passed 1815.
APRICOTS first planted in England 1540.
This fruit originally came from Epirus.
ARCHITECTURE. The first habitations
of man were such as nature afforded, just suf-
ficient to satisfy his simple wants, huts, grottos
and tents. As civilization advanced, men began
to build more durable and commodious habita-
tions. They fitted the stones or bricks together
more neatly, but at first without any cement.
After they had learned how to build houses,
they began to erect temples for their gods,
which were much larger, and better made than
their own habitations.
Architecture appears to have been one of the
earliest inventions, and its works have been
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regulated by hereditary imitation. Whatever
rude structure the climate or materials of any
country had forced the earlier inhabitants to
construct, the same form has been kept up in
after years by their more refined posterity.
Thus the Egyptian style of building derived
its origin from the cavern and mound ; the
Chinese from the tent; the Grecian from the
wooden cabin, and the Gothic from the bower
of trees. Architecture at length became a
fine art, and much pains was bestowed upon
temples and palaces. Colonnades, halls and
courts soon appeared, the rough trunk was
transformed into the lofty column, and the nat-
tural vault of a cavern into the splendid Pan-
theon.
The first nations who paid attention to archi-
tecture were the Babylonians, who built the
temple of Belus and the hanging gardens ; the
Assyrians, who filled Nineveh with splendid
buildings; the Phoenicians, whose cities were
adorned with magnificent structures, and the
Israelites, whose temple was considered won-
derful. Of the Persian and Egyptian architec-
ture, we have some remains, and they are all
in a style of prodigal splendor and gigantic
height.
The Greeks first introduced a more simple
and dignified style of building, called the Doric
order. The Ionic and Corinthian columns
were soon added to the Doric. After the Pelo-
ponnesian war, this noble simplicity had again
given place to excess of ornament, and after
the death of Alexander, 323, B. C, the art de-
clined, and was afterwards but little cultivated
in Greece.
The Romans had paid some attention to
architecture, but did not equal the Greeks, till
the time of Augustus, who encouraged Greek
artists to erect splendid buildings in Rome.
But when the seat of government was removed
to Constantinople, the art declined in Rome.
About this time, the Roman or Composite col-
umn originated, which was employed in tem-
ples and splendid buildings.
These beautiful works of art were almost
entirely destroyed by the Goths and Vandals ;
but Theodoric, a friend of the arts, endeavored
to restore them and even erected several new
ones. This is the era of the origin of modern
art, and the style of building it introduced is
called Gothic architecture.
Architecture has experienced different desti-
nies in different countries. It has risen and
declined at different periods. In America, the
Grecian architecture is prevailing, as it is better
adapted than the Gothic to small buildings, and
does not require splendid edifices to display its
beauty.
ARITHMETIC, by the Arabian figures,
introduced into Europe by the Saracens of
Spain, in the ninth and tenth centuries of the
Christian era.
ARMISTICE, or suspension of arms, be-
tween two or more belligerent states, but with
an agreement, that all things shall remain in
statu quo, to the termination of the agreement.
The first armistice or provisional articles of
peace between the United States and Great
Britain, was signed November 30th, 1782;
between Naples and the French general Cham-
pionet, January 7th, 1799 ; at Steyer in Austria,
between the Austrian government and general
Moreau, December 25th, 1800 ; of Treviso,
January 16th, 1801 ; at Tilsit, June 21st, 1807,
between France, Russia, and Prussia.
ARMS, or armorial ensigns, were of great
antiquity, and in some form very general, but
as now understood, coats of arms originated
with the northern nations who overturned the
Roman empire.
ARMY, standing, a body of men exclusively
set apart and employed in the profession of
arms, as distinguished from militia. (See militia).
Philip II, king of Macedonia, formed the first
regular standing army on record, and the effects
were to change the political aspect of the world.
The second standing army was that of Car-
thage, from B. C. about 260—202, under Ham-
ilear, Asdrubal and Hannibal. The Cartha-
ginian army forced the more steady Romans to
resist them by another standing army; the battle
of Zama, B. C. 202, Oct. 19th, annihilated the
former, and left the latter master of the world.
There is nothing in history so remarkable, as
that from the battle of Zama, except in the
instance of Parthia, no regular force which
deserved the name, was raised to resist the
Roman arms. Those terrific legions, however,
yielded to time, and were not followed by
another attempt to form a system of organized
armies, until under Charles VII, king of
France, 1445. Since that epoch, the whole
features of war have changed ; most nations
have now a regular standing military force.
The proportion between the troops in service
and men able to bear arms in modern times,
has been assumed as one to a hundred.
ARUNDELIAN MARBLES. These cele-
brated chronological tables were brought from
Greece to England, in 1627, by Thomas, earl
of Arundel. They were composed of a large
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number of marble slabs or blocks, which were,
however, mutilated, and in part lost during the
civil wars in England, in the middle of the
17th century. Fortunately they have been at
different times, and partly whilst the collection
was complete, edited by Seldon, Iredeaux, Mat-
taire, Chandler, &c. and though by some, their
genuineness has been doubted, they are now
by the best critics, considered real and invalu-
able remains of the literature of ancient Greece.
They contain a connected chronology in Greek
capital letters, from the reign of Cecrops, king
of Athens, B. C. 1582, to the archonship of
Astyanax in Poros, and of Diognetus at Ath-
ens, B. C.264. What remains entire are in the
possession of the university of Oxford.
ASPARAGUS first introduced into Eng-
land, 1C08.
ASTRONOMY, the science of the Heavens,
the history of which dates backward into the
morning of time. Observations on the appa-
rent and real revolutions of the stars must have
been made, and a really great advance in the
science, long before any form of record pre-
served the fruits of discovery. Some of the
principal constellations, as they are now named,
are mentioned in the book of Job. The Chal-
deans observed and recorded eclipses, both
lunar and solar, B. C. 719 — 20, and then knew
the Luni — Solar period of 223 lunations, or
6585 days 8 hours nearly. It is probable,
as far backwards in time as eight or nine cen-
turies before the Christian era, that the real
length of the tropical or solar year, was known
in China, Indostan, Chaldea, and Egypt ; and
in China and Indostan, their authenticated
records reach to B. C. 3102. The following
brief tabular history of this noble science, was
compiled from Rees' Cyclopedia, art. Astron-
omy, and will save much reference.
B. C. 721, March 19th, 8 h. 40 min. p. m. 1st
lunar eclipse on record ; 720, March 5, 11 h.
I m. p. m. 2d do.; September 1,7 h. 40 m. p.m.
3d do. ; C48 the Thoth of the era of Nabonassar,
was on February 1st, having shifted 25 days in
one hundred years; 621, April 22d, 3 hours
after midnight ; the fourth eclipse of the moon
on record ; 585, May 28th, an eclipse of the
moon predicted by Thales, and brought the
Lydian war to an end ; 502, November 19th,
II h. 36 min. p. m. the sixth lunar eclipse on
record, observed at Babylon ; 491, April 25th,
seventh lunar eclipse on record observed at
Babylon; 359, obliquity of the ecliptic, found,
23° 49' 10"; 310, August 15th, solar eclipse, 11
digits W, observed between Sicily and Africa,
by the fleet of Agathocles. Comet seen in
China same year ; 294, March 9th, conjunction
of the moon with Spica Virginis, 8° VV. from
the equinoctial point, observed by Timocharis ;
285, Dionysius of Alexandria, began his sera
June 26th, being the first who determined the
real length of the solar year to be 365 days, 5
hours and 49 minutes ; 282, Timocharis ob-
served another conjunction of the moon with
Spica Virginis, November 9th, 3£ hours after
midnight ; 262, transit of Mercury over the
Bull's Horn observed ; Mercury 23° in Taurus,
and the Sun 29° 30' in Aries; 241, September
3d, Jupiter observed in 7° 33' Virgo; 230, Era-
tosthenes, observed the obliquity of the ecliptic
to be 23° 51' 20"; 162, Hipparchus began his
astronomical observations at Rhodes, and con-
tinued them to 128, or 34 years; 146, this
astronomer observed the vernal equinox, March
24th, at mid-day. A remarkable comet appeared
in Greece ; 143, Hipparchus observed the au-
tumnal equinox, September 20th, about sunset.
From the new moon of September 28th, he
began his new lunar cycle; 141, January 17th,
2 hours before midnight an eclipse of the moon
at Alexandria; 128, Hipparchus observed the
vernal equinox to be on Thursday, March 23d,
about sunset ; and the star Cor Leonis, 29° 50'
from the summer solstitial colune ; 127. May
2d, about sunrise, Hipparchus observed the sun
7° 35' in Taurus, the moon 21° 40' in Pisces,
and their mean distance, to be 312° 32'; and
Spica Virginis 6° W. of the autumnal equinoc-
tial point; 49, comet appeared in China; 44,
great comet, supposed the same which appeared
again A. D. 531, 1106, and in 1680; 25, the
Egyptians adopt the Julian year, and fix their
Thoth, or New Year day, August 29th.
A. D. 13, a comet appeared in China; 39,
conjunction of Saturn, Jupiter and Mars; 55,
comet appeared in China ; 92, Agrippa observes
in Armenia, a conjunction of the moon with
the pleiades, November 29th, 5 hours before
midnight; 130, Ptolemy observed Mars in op-
position, December I4lh, 3 hours p. m. ; 132,
September 25th, 2h. p. m. Ptolemy observed the
autumnal equinox ; 133, May 0th, 11 h. 45
m. p. m. Ptolemy at Alexandria, observed an
eclipse of the moon. May 17th 11 h. p. m. he
observed Jupiter in 13° 15' Taurus ; and Saturn
in 9° 407 Sagitarius on June 4th, 4 h. p. m. ;
134, February 1(>, in the morning, Ptolemy ob-
served Venus, 21° 05' in Capricorn, and on Oct.
3d in the morning. Mercury in 20° 127 of Virgo ;
138, Ptolemy observed Cor Leonis 2° 30' of this
sign, and 32° W from the summer solstice ;
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140, Ptolemy observed Venus on July 18th, to
be in 18° 30' of Gemini, and 47° 15' from the
mean place of the sun. Observed the vernal
equinox at Alexandria, March 22, 1° p. m. ; 212,
a comet appeared in China; 222, August 29th,
a conjunction of some of the planets observed
at Alexandria ; 373, a comet appeared in China ;
400, a comet appeared in China ; 729, 2 comets
appeared, one before sunrise, the other after
sunset. This was no doubt a deception ; it was
one comet apparently in different parts of the
Heavens; 807, January 31st, 3 h. after mid-
night, Jupiter was eclipsed by the moon. March
17th, a spot observed on the sun ; 816, astron-
omy revived under the Caliph Almamun, and
the obliquity of the ecliptic found 23° 34' ; 819,
degree of the meridian measured on the plains
of Sinjar, near Babylon, and found to be 50|
Arabian miles ; 825, Benimula observed the
obliquity of the ecliptic, to be 23° 35'; 837, a
comet appeared in China and in Europe, which
moved in 25 days through n 25 <Q, and disap-
peared in y ; 880, September 19th, 11 h. 45'
a. m. Albategnius, or Mahomet of Aractus, an
Arabian astronomer, observes the obliquity of
the ecliptic to be 23° 35'; 882, Sept. 19th, 1 h.
15' after midnight Albategnius observes the
autumnal equinox ; and in 883, the sun's apo-
fee in 22° 27" of Gemini ; the first star of Aries
istant from the equinoctial point 18° 02'; 911,
Thebit ben Chora, found the obliquity of the
ecliptic, to be 23° 33' 30" ; 999, Aboul Wan, and
Abu Hamed, found the obliquity of the eclip-
tic, 23° 35'; 1070, Arzachel, found the obli-
quity of the ecliptic to be 23° 34'; 107G, the
same astronomer found the sun's apogee, 17° 50'
in Gemini; 1079, March 14th, 2 h. 9' p. m. the
vernal equinox observed by Arzachel; 1186,
September 16th, great conjunction of all the
planets in Libra, about sunrise, Mercury 4° 10';
Venus 3° 49' ; Mars 9° 08' Jupiter 2° 03' ; Sat-
urn 8° 06'; 1252, Alphonso X, had those astro-
nomical tables, which bear his name, published.
In this school the sun's apogee was found 28°
40' in Gemini ; 1264, July 6th, a comet reached
its perihelion, inclination of its orbit to the
ecliptic, 36° 30'; 1269, Cosah Nasirodni ob-
served the obliquity of the ecliptic, 23° 30' ;
1273, Cheouching in China, found the obliquity
of the ecliptic, 23° 33' 39" ; 1299, a comet
reached its perihelion in February, ascending
node 25° in Gemini, inclination 20°; 1337,
first comet, whose course was observed and
recorded with astronomical exactness, reached
its perihelion, June 2d, 6h. 25' a. m. ascending
node 24° 21' in Gemini, inclination 32° 11';
1341, a comet in Libra, first seen near Spica
Virginis, and disappeared near SI Leo; 1437,
Ulugh Beigh, observed the obliquity of the
ecliptic, 23° 30' 17"; 1460, Regiomontanus,
found the obliquity of the ecliptic, 23° 29^
1472, February 29th, 10 h. 23' a. m comet
reaches its perihelion, ascending node 11° 46'
20" in Capricorn ; inclination of its orbit 5°20/j
1476, Waltherus found the obliquity of the
ecliptic, 23° 30'; 1478, Waltherus found the
vernal equinox on March 11th, 8 h. 05' a. m.;
1503, Waltherus found the summer solstice to
be on June 12th, 12 h. 46° 34' at Nuremberg,
and the sun's apogee 4° 09' in Cancer ; 1510,
Wernerus found the obliquity of the ecliptic,
23° 28' 30"; 1515, Copernicus observed the
vernal equinox, March 11, 4 h. 30' a. m. at
Frauenburg. He observed Spica Virginis in
17° 03' (2" in Libra, and the sun's apogee, 6°
40' in Cancer ; 1530, Copernicus completed his
immortal work, " Astronomia Instaurata,"
&c. but it was not published until the year of
his death, 1543. This work alone did more
for astronomy than was ever done for any other
science by a single production ; 1540, September
27th, Copernicus found the obliquity of the
ecliptic 23° 28' 08" ; 1556, April 22d, 8 h. 3' a.
m. a comet reached its perihelion, ascending
node 25° 42' in Libra ; inclination of its orbit
32° 06' 30"; 1577, October 27th, 6 h. a. m. a
comet reached its perihelion ; 1582, Calendar
reformed by pope Gregory XIII; 1584, Tycho
Brahe found the vernal equinox, March 10th,
1 h. 56' p. m. at Urianiburg; 1588, Tycho ob-
served the summer solstice, June 11th, 1 h. 36'
p. m. at Urianiburg ; the sun's apogee 5° 30'
in Cancer ; 1595, Tycho Brahe found the obli-
quity of the ecliptic, 23° 29' 25"; 1610, teles-
copes introduced into use by Gallileo ; 1626,
Kepler published his Rudolphine tables, and
formed an asra in the history of man. Coper-
nicus had shown near a century before, that
the planets moved round the sun, and now
Kepler in his" Astronomia Nova Celestis,"
&c. showed in what manner, and by what
laws; they moved, and paved the way for New-
ton to show why they moved ; 1631, November
17th, 9 h. 37' a. m. Gassendi first observed a
transit of Mercury over the sun's disc ; 1639,
November 24th, old style, or December 4th,
new style, 3 h. 15' p. m. Mr. Horrox, an Eng-
lishman, was the first who ever observed a
transit of Venus over the sun's disc; 1670,
Mengoli observed the obliquity of the ecliptic
to be 23° 28' 24"; 1672, Richer found the obli-
quity of the ecliptic, 23° 28' 54" ; 1676, rings of
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BAN
Saturn discovered by Haygens, 1687, Newton's
" Principia" were published, and consum-
mated what Copernicus and Keppler had begun ;
1680, December 18th, 0 h. 6' p. m. a comet
reached its perihelion, ascending node 2° 02' in
Capricorn, inclination of its orbit 61° 22' 55".
This is supposed to be the same comet which
reached its perihelion B. C. 44, and A. D. 531
and 1105, and to have a periodic time of 575
years. In its perihelion it almost touches the
sun's surface, being only about 570,000 miles
from its centre, and moves in that part of the
orbit, above 880,000 miles hourly ; 1682, Sep-
tember 22d, 6 h. 34' a. m. autumnal equinox
observed at Paris; 1691, Flamstead found the
obliquity of the ecliptic, 23° 28' 32" ; 1703, Bi-
anchini, found the obliquity of the ecliptic, 23°
28' 15" ; 1732, the summer solstice observed at
Paris, June 2lst, 7 h. 28' 30" a. m. ; 1752, new
style introduced into England, Sept. 3d called
the 13th ; 1759, March 13th, 1 h. 50' a. m. a
comet reaches its perihelion. The elements of
the orbit of this cometary body are much more
accurately known than that of any other of
those erratic masses. Ascending node 23° 45'
35" in Taurus — inclination of its orbit 17° 40'
15". The same comet reached its perihelion
1531,1607, 1682, and 1759— periodic times 76
years 63 days ; 74 years 322 days, and 76 years
178 days, and may be expected again in the
latter part of the year 1835; 1761, June 5th,
transit of Venus over the sun's disc, extensively
observed ; 1769, June 3d, transit of Venus over
the sun's disc, still more extensively and accu-
rately observed than that of 1761. The next
transit will be, December 8th, 1874: 1781,
March 13th, Dr. Herschel discovered the most
distant, and third largest planet in the solar
system, to which he gave the name of Geor-
gium Sidus, it is, however, more commonly in
the United States, called " the Herschel," and
on the continent of Europe, Uranus; 1801,
January 1st, Mr. Piazzi, at Palermo, discovered
a primary planet, which he named Ceres ;
1802, March 28th, Dr. Olbers of Bremen, dis-
covered a primary planet to which he gave the
name of Pallas. Obliquity of the ecliptic found
this year at Paris, 23° 28' 06" ; 1804, Sept. 1st,
Mr. Harding at Lilienthal, near Bremen, dis-
covered a primary planet, to which he gave the
name of Juno ; 1807, March 29th, Dr. Olbers
of Bremen, discovered a primary planet, to
which he gave the name of Vesta. These four
planets revolve in interfering orbits, between
Mars and Jupiter, and as far as observation
has exposed its parts to human view, the dis-
covery of Vesta completed our knowledge of
the solar system.
The " Mechanise Celeste" of La Place,
published. This immortal monument of hu-
man genius, has, it may be safely said, com-
pleted the science, rendered astronomy the
most perfect, as it is the most sublime, of all the
sciences. The translation of this work by Dr.
Bowditch of Boston, has been recently com-
pleted, and in part published, and reflects upon
him the highest honor.
AURORA BOREALIS, first recorded to be
seen March 6th, 1716 ; it had been no doubt
occasionally observed from time immemorial.
AURICULAR CONFESSION, first intro-
duced, 1215.
B.
BAFFIN'S BAY, separating Greenland from
North America, discovered by captain Baffin,
in 1622.
BAIZE MANUFACTURE first introduced
into England, at Colchester, 1660.
BALL of fire fell during a thunder storm,
upon a public house in Wapping, which set fire
to it, and the house adjoining, July 4lh, 1803.
BALLOONS, said to have been invented by
Gusmac, a Jesuit, 1729, but probably invented
much earlier, and first used in France by Mont-
golfier, who ascended in one, attended by the
marquis d'Allande, and M. Rozier, November
23d, 1782; another ascent was made the same
year, by Messrs. Charles and Roberts, on De-
cember first, at Paris. Mr. Lunardi, at London,
Sept. 15th, 1784, rose from -Moorfields, being
the first ascent in England. First experiment
with balloons in this country, were made by
Dr. Rittenhouse and Francis Hopkinson, Dec.
1783. They connected several small balloons
together, and thus enabled a man to ascend to
the height of one hundred feet, and to float to
a considerable distance. Afterwards an ascent
was made by Blanchard, at Philadelphia, Jan-
uary 9, 1793. More recently, ascensions have
become very common.
BANKS. In the United States they com-
menced in the early part of the revolutionary
war. The first by a number of gentlemen in
Philadelphia, June 17th, 1780, with a capital
of $839,160; instituted for the purpose of sup-
plying the American army with provisions.
Bank of North America, incorporated by
Congress, Dec. 31, 1781 — the first at Boston,
began 1784, and the bank of New York com-
menced the same year.
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BAT
Bank of the United States, incorporated
March 2, 1791. Capital, 10,000,000, in 25,000
shares, of $400, each; 2,000,000 held by the
United States, and paid in ten equal annual
instalments. 2,493 shares sold by the United
States, in 1796-7, at advance of 25 per cent. ;
287 more in 1799, at 20 per cent, advance ;
and 2,220 in 1802, at 45 advance; making,
exclusive of dividends, a profit of 671,860
dollars to the United States. The charter ex-
pired 11th of March, 1811, and was not renewed,
but the events and necessities of the last war
with Great Britain, superinduced the creation
of a similar institution. "The United States'
Bank," with a capital of 35,000,000 of dollars,
was chartered for twenty years, April 1816, and
with power to form branches. The mother
bank at Philadelphia, went into operation Jan.
1, 1817.
BANKERS, the first were Lombard Jews,
about A. D. 808. In England, the mint was
used by merchants to lodge their money in, till
the king made free with it in 1640 ; after which
they trusted to servants, till too many of them
ran to the army ; they then lodged it with gold-
smiths, whose business was to buy and sell
plate, and foreign coins ; they at first paid 4d.
per cent, per diem, but lent it to others at higher
interest, and so became the first bankers, 1645.
BANKRUPTS, literally, "seat or bench
broker," in England first regulated by law,
1543. In 1812, enacted that members of the
house of commons becoming bankrupts, and
not paying their debts in full, shall vacate their
seats.
BARK, Jesuit, virtue of discovered 1500;
brought to Europe 1650.
BAROMETERS invented 1626 ; wheel ba-
rometers contrived, 1668; phosphoric, 1675;
pendant, 1695; marine, 1700.
BATTLES, SIEGES, &c. B. C. 1360 Ar-
gonautic Expedition.
1317 War of the Seven against Thebes.
1280-70 Siege, capture, and destruction of Troy
by the Greeks.
742-722 First Messenian war.
882-688 Second Messenian war.
490 Battle of Marathon ; Persians defeated by
the Greeks.
480 Battles of Thermopylae, Artemisium, Sala-
mis, and Himera ; defeat of the Persians by
the Greeks.
479 Naval victory gained by the Greeks at
Mycale ; victory of Platseae.
469 Battles of the Eurymedon by land and by
sea, gained by Cimon.
465-455 Third Messenian war.
431-404 Peloponnesian war between Athens
and her allies, and the Peloponnesian states ;
414, expedition of the Athenians against
Syracuse.
406, battle of iEgospotamos.
390 Battle of Allia ; Rome taken by the Gauls.
371-362 War between Thebes and Sparta ;
371 Battle of Leuctra; 362, battle of Manti-
nea and death of Epaminondas.
357 Social war. Delphian sacred war.
338 Amphissian sacred war. Battle of Chero-
nre ; Macedonian ascendency.
334 Alexander invades the Persian empire;
battle of the Granicus; 333, battle of Issus ;
331 , battle of Arbela ; 323, death of Alex-
ander and division of his empire.
265-241 First Punic war; 280, Duilius gains
a naval victory.
218-201 Second Punic war; Hannibal enters
Italy; gains the battles of Ticinus and Tre-
bia, 218: of Trasymene, 217; of Cannae,
216; defeated at Zama, 202.
201-197 First Macedonian war.
189 Battle of Magnesia ; Antiochus defeated
by the Romans.
172-168 Second Macedonian war ; battle of
Pydna, 168.
149-146 third Punic war; Carthage destroyed,
146.
111-106 Jugurthine war.
101 Marius defeats a Cimbrian horde.
91 Marsic Social war.
88-S1 Mithridatic war.
73-71 Servile war conducted by Spartacus.
48 Battle of Pharsalia ; death of Pompey.
42 Battle of Philippi ; Brutus and Cassius
defeated.
31 Naval battle of Actium ; Augustus con-
quers Antony.
A. D. 70 Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus.
263 Irruption of Franks into Gaul.
306 Constantine embraces Christianity.
395 Division of the Roman empire ; Honorius
in the west ; Arcadius in the east.
401 Alaric, king of the Visigoths, devastates
Italy ; 410, Captures Rome.
433,452 Devastations of Attila and the Huns;
451, Defeat of Attila at Chalons.
476 the Roman empire of the west overturned.
1066 Battle of Hastings, gained by William the
Conqueror.
1096 First Crusade ; 1099, Capture of Jerusa-
lem.
1147 Second Crusade.
1189 Third Crusade under Philip II, of France,
BAT
625
BAT
and Richard Creur de Lion ; 1191, Capture
of Ptolemais ; 1192, Victory of Ascalon over
Saladin.
1202 Fourth Crusade ; Capture of Constanti-
nople.
1206 Victories of Genghis Khan ; Mongul Em-
pire.
1217 Fifth Crusade; 1228, Sixth Crusade led
by the emperor Frederic II.
1248 Seventh Crusade under St. Louis.
1282 Sicilian Vespers ; massacre of the French
in Sicily.
1314 Battle of Bannockburn.
1315 Battle of Morgarten won by the Swiss.
1346 Battle of Cressy, won by the English over
the French.
1356 Battle of Poictiers; capture of the French
king by the Black Prince.
1361 Capture of Adrianople by the Turks, who
establish themselves in Europe.
1369-1405 Victories and Empire of Timour or
Tamerlane.
1388 Battle of Otterburn between Percy and
Douglas.
1403 Battle of Shrewsbury ; 1405, of Monmouth.
1415 Battle of Agincourt won by Henry V, of
England.
1445-85 Wars of the Red and White Roses in
England ; 1455, battle of St. Albans ; 1463,
of Hexham; 1471, of Tewksbury ; 1485, of
Bosworth field.
1476 Battles of Granson and Morat won by the
Swiss over Charles the Bold.
1513 Battle of Flodden field ; Scots defeated by
the English.
1515 Francis I of France, defeats the Swiss at
Marignan.
1521 Conquest of Mexico by Cortes.
1525 Francis I of France defeated and made
prisoner by Charles V, at Pavia.
1526 Battle of Mohacz ; Moldavia and Walachia
conquered by the Turks.
1528 Conquest of Peru by Pizarro.
1529 First siege of Vienna by the Turks.
1546 Religious war in Germany ; Smalcaldic
league ; Protestants defeated at Muhlberg.
1560 Religious wars in France ; 1569 Battles of
Jarnac and Moncontour.
1566 Beginning of the insurrection of the Neth-
erlands ; 1581, the United Provinces declare
their independence on Spain.
1571 Battle of Lepanto ; the Turkish fleet de-
feated.
1588 Defeat and destruction of the Spanish Ar-
mada.
1618-48 Thirty years' war; 1631, battle of Leip-
40
sic, won by Gustavus Adolphus over the
Imperialists; 1632, battle of Lutzen, death
of Gustavus.
1642 Civil war in England ; battle of Edgehill ;
1044 of Marston Moor; 1645, of Naseby ;
1651, of Worcester.
1658 Battle of Gravelines.
1600 Restoration of the monarchy in England,
and recall of the Stuarts.
1683 Siege of Vienna by the Turks; raised by
Sobieski.
1688 Descent of the prince of Orange upon
England ; revolution ; 1690, battle of the
Boyne.
1690 Battle of Fleurus. 1692, Battle of Stein-
kirk ; 1693, Battle of Nerwinden.
1692 Battle of La Hogue ; French fleet destroy-
ed by the English.
1702 Spanish succession war ; 1704, Battle of
Blenheim; 1706, of Ramilies ; 1708, of Ou-
denarde; 1709, of Malplaquet.
1709 Battle of Pultowa won by Peter the Great
over Charles XII ; rise of Russia.
1715 Rebellion in Scotland ; battle of Preston
Pans.
1716 Battle of Peterwardin gained by Eugene
over the Turks.
1740-48 War of the Austrian Succession ; 1743,
Battle of Dettengen ; 1745, Battle of Fon-
tenoy.
1745 Battle of Preston Pans ; 1746, of Falkirk ;
and Culloden.
1756-63 Seven years' war; 1757, Battle of
Prague ; of Rosbach ; of Breslan ; 1758, of
Crevelt; 1759 of Minden; of Cunersdorf ;
capture of Quebec by the English.
1775 Battle of Bunker's hill; 1776, Battle of
Long Island.
1777 Battle of Brandy wine ; of Germantown ;
of Saratoga.
1781 Battle of the Cowpens; of Guilford ; of
Eutaw Springs ; Cornwallis surrenders at
Yorktown.
1782 Attack on Gibraltar by the French and
Spanish.
1792 Battle of Jemappes (Dumouriez). '93 of
Fleury (Jourdan).
1794 Battle of Praga ; Suwarroff butchers thirty
thousand Poles.
1796 Bonaparte's Italian campaign ; battles of
Montenotte ; Millesimo ; Lodi ; Roveredo ;
Areola, &c. '97 of Rivoli ; Tagliamento.
1798 Campaign in Egypt ; battle of the Pyra-
mids ; Nelson's victory at Aboukir.
1800 Battles of Montebello ; Marengo ; Hohen*
linden.
2c
BIB
626
BLA
1802 Servile war in St. Domingo.
1805 Battles of Elchingen ; Trafalgar; Auster-
litz.
1806 Battle of Jena.
1807 Bombardment of Copenhagen ; battles of
Eylau and Friedland.
1809 Battles of Eckmuhl ; Wagram ; Talavera.
1810 Battle of Busaco ; 1811, Fuente d'Onoro.
1812 Battle of Smolensk; capture of Mos-
cow.
1813 Battles of Lutzen ; Vittoria; Dresden;
Culm ; Leipsic.
1814 Battles of Brienne ; Montmirail ; Monte-
reau ; of Lake Erie ; of Lake Champlain
and Plaltsburgh ; Baltimore.
1815 Battle of New Orleans; of Waterloo.
1817 Battle of Chacabuco ■, of Maypa.
1820 Battle of Carabobo; 1821, Insurrection in
1822 Battle ofPichincha.
1824 Battle of Junin ; of Ayacucho.
1827 Battle of Navarino ; destruction of the
Turco — Egyptian fleet.
1833 Naval victory off Cape St. Vincent won by
Napier over the Miguelite fleet.
BAYONETS invented atBayonne,in France,
1670; first used in England September 24th,
1693. S
BELLOWS invented B. C. 554.
BELLS invented by Paulinius, Bishop of
Nola in Campania, about 400; first known in
France, 550; first used in the Greek empire,
864 ; were introduced into monasteries in the
seventh or eighth century. Pope Stephen III,
placed three bells in a tower on St. Peter's at
Rome. In the churches of Europe they were
introduced in 900. They were first introduced
into Switzerland 1020. The first tunable set
in England were hung up in Croyland Abbey,
in Lincolnshire, 960 ; baptized in churches,
1020. Bells of the church of Notre Dame bap-
tized and received the names of duke and
dutchess d'Angouleme, the prince de Foix and
duchess de Damas being proxies, Nov. 15th,
1816.
BIBLE HISTORY ceases 340 years before
Christ. Septuagint version made 284 ; first
divided into chapters. 1253. The first English
edition was in 1536 ; the first authorized edition
in England was in 1539; the second translation
was ordered to be read in churches, 1549; the
present translation finished, September, 1611 ;
permitted by the pope to be translated into all
the languages of the Catholic states, February
28th, 1759 ; the following is a dissection of the
Old and New Testaments ;
la the Old Testament. In the JVeto. Total.
Books 39 27 66
Chapters 929 260 1,189
Verses 23,214 7,959 31,173
Words 592,493 181,253 773,746
Letters 2,728,100 838,380 3,566,480
The Apocrypha has 183 chapters 6081 verses,
and 125,185 words. The middle chapter, and
the least in the Bible, is the 117th Psalm ; the
middle verse is the 8th of 118th Psalm; the
middle line is the 2d book of the Chronicles,
4th chapter, and 16th verse; the word and
occurs in the Old Testament 35,535 times ; the
same word in the New Testament occurs
10,684 times ; the word Jehovah occurs 6,855
times.
Old Testament. — The middle book is Prov-
erbs, the middle chapter is the 29th of Job ; the
middle verse is in the 2d book of Chronicles,
20th chap, and 18th verse ; the least verse is the
1st book of Chronicles, 1st chap., and 1st verse.
Neic Testament. — The middle is the Thessa-
lonians, 2d; the middle chapter is between the
13th and 14th of the Romans ; the middle verse
is the 17th of the 17th chapter of the Acts ; the
least verse is the 35th verse of the 11th chapter
of the Gospel by St. John.
The 21st verse of the 7th chapter of Ezra has
all the letters of the alphabet in it.
The 19th chapter of the 2d book of Kings,
and the 37th chapter of Isaiah, are alike.
The book of Esther has 10 chapters, but
neither the words Lord nor God in it.
The following is a chronological list of differ-
ent versions and editions of the scriptures :
First translated into the Saxon language 939.
Hebrew — first printed Hebrew Bible done at
Soncinum in Italy, at Naples, 1487; complete
of the whole Bible, at Soncinum, 1488 ; at Ven-
ice, by Bomberg, 1518 — and at the same epoch
in Spain, under Cardinal Ximenes ; in 1526-28,
the first edition of B. Chairn ; Basil, 1534; in
1549, by B. Chaim ; in 1572, the Royal or
Spanish Polyglott, 8 vols, at Antwerp ; third
edition of B. Chaim's Bible, 1618; in 1623, at
Venice; Amsterdam, 1724— 27; Paris 1641,10
fol. vols. Polyglott ; London Polyglott, 1757.
BILLS OF EXCHANGE first mentioned,
1160; used in England, 1307; the only mode
of sending money from England by law. 1381.
BIRTH, remarkable— Ellen Ellis, at Beuma-
ris, in Anglesy, aged 72, was brought to bed
May 10th, 1776; she had been married 46
years, and her eldest was 45 years old. She
had not had a child for 25 years before.
BLANKETS first made in England 1340.
BUI
627
CAN
BLISTER PLASTERS, invented B. C. 60.
BLUE, Prussian, discovered at Berlin, 1704.
BLOOD, circulation of, through the lungs,
first made public by Michael Servetus,a French
physician, in 1553; Cisalpinus published an
account of the general circulation, of which he
had some confused ideas, and improved it af-
terwards by experiments, 15(39; but it was fully
confirmed by Harvey, 1628.
BOMBS, first invented at Venloo, and used
in the siege of Wachtendonch, 1588 ; first used
in the service of France, 1634.
BOMB-VESSELS, first invented in France,
1681.
BOOKS in the present form, were invented
by Attalus, king of Pergamus, 887; the first
supposed to be written in Job's time ; 30,000
burnt by order of Leo, 761 ; a very large estate
given for one on Cosmography, by king Alfred ;
were sold from 10/. to 30/. a piece, about 1400 ;
the first printed one was the Vulgate edition
of the Bible, 1462 ; the second was Cicero de
Officiis, 1466; Cornelius Nepos published at
Moscow, being the first classical book printed
in Russia, April 29th, 1762; books to the num-
ber of 200,000, burnt at Constantinople, by the
order of Leo I, 476; above 4,194,412 volumes
were in the suppressed monasteries of France,
in 1790 ; 2,000,000 were on theology, the man-
uscripts were 26,000 ; in the city of Paris alone
were 808,120 vols.
BREAD, made from the flower of gramine-
ous fruits, discovered in very early ages, but
not made with yeast by the English, until 1650.
BREADFRUIT, first introduced into the
West Indies, by captain Bligh, January 1793.
BREECHES first introduced into Eno-land,
1654.
BREVIARIES first introduced in 1080.
BRIBERY first used in England, 1554.
BRICKS first used in England by the Ro-
mans— the size ordered 1625, by Charles I.
BRIDGE, the first stone, in England, was at
Bow, near Stratford, 1087.
BUCKLES were invented about 1680.
BUILDING with stone brought into Eng-
land by Bennet, a monk, 670 ; with brick, first
introduced by the Romans into their provinces ;
first in England about 886 ; introduced into
London, by the earl of Arundel 1600, being then
almost built with wood, it was a very ugly city.
The increase of buildings in London prohibit-
ed, within three miles of the city gates, by
queen Elizabeth, and that only one family
should dwell in one house, 1580. The build-
ings from High Holborn, north and south, and
Great Queen-street, built nearly on the spot
where stood the Elms or the ancient Tyburn,
in the reign of Edward III, were erected be-
tween 1607 and 1631 The number of houses
in London and its suburbs, in 1772, were com-
puted at 122,930 ; but in 179], they amounted
to above 200,000. In St. George's fields, near
7000 have been erected within the above pe-
riod.
BULL-BAITING, first at Stamford, Lin-
colnshire, 1209 ; at Tutbury, Staffordshire, 1374 :
bull-fights in Spain, first used, 1560; bull-run-
nino-, at Tutbury ; in Staffordshire, instituted
1374.
BULLETS of stone used instead of iron ones,
1514 ; of iron first mentioned in the Fa?dra,
1550.
BULLION of gold and silver, first method of
assaying, 1354.
BURGESSES were first constituted in Scot-
land, 1326.
BURIAL-PLACE, the first Christian one in
Britain, 596 ; burials, first permitted in conse-
crated places, 750 ; in church yards, 758 ; bury-
ing in woollen in England, first began, 1666.
BURNING-GLASS and common mirrors,
the discovery attributed to Tshernhausen, a
Lusatian baron, 1680,
C.
CABLES, a method of making them in-
vented, by which 20 men are enabled to do the
work of 200. The machine is set in motion by
sixteen horses, for the cable is of the dimen-
sions of the largest ships, 1792.
CALICO, first imported into England, 1631 ;
first made in Lancashire, 1772 ; calico-printing
and the Dutch loom, first used in England,
1676.
CANALS. The first regular chain of artifi-
cial water inter-communication, of which his-
tory has transmitted to us the record, was that
between the Nile and Red Sea. This canal
route was examined with great care by the
French engineers, and several portions found
in 1798, in such a state of preservation as only
to demand cleansing.
The system of modern canal improvement
may be stated to have commenced in Italy, at
Viterbo, 1481, when sluices with double doors
were invented, and first used on a large scale,
near Milan, by Leonardi de Vinci. The canals
of the Delta of the Rhine commenced, it is true,
in the dark ages, but it was not before the end
of the fifteenth century, that they were planned
CHA
628
CHO
and constructed with scientific regularity of
design.
CANARY ISLES discovered, 1344 ; explor-
ed 1393.
CANDLES, of tallow, so expensive a luxury
in England, that splinters of wood were used
for light, A. D. 1300 — no idea of wax candles
until long afterwards.
CANDLE LIGHT introduced into churches
on the continent of Europe, 274.
CANON LAW first introduced into En-
gland, 1140.
CANONIZATION first used by papal au-
thority, A. D. 993.
CAPE BLANCO, on the coast of Africa,
discovered, 1441.
CAPE BRETON discovered by the English,
1584; yielded to France, 1632; taken by En-
gland, 1745; restored, 1748; again taken and
kept, 1758.
CAPE DE VERD islands discovered, 1447.
CARDS invented in France, first used for
Charles VI amusement, 1380; they were forbid
the use of in Castile in 1387; 128,000 packs
were stamped in England in 1775.
CARDINALS were originally the parish
priests at Rome; title began to be used, 308;
college of, founded by Pope Pascal I, 817; did
not elect the popes till I IG0 ; wore the red hat,
to remind them that they ought to shed their
blood, if required, for religion, and were declar-
ed princes of the church, 1222 ; the cardinals
set fire to the conclave, and separated, and a
vacancy in the papal chair for two years, 1314;
cardinal Carassa was hanged by order of Pius
IV, J5G0; as was cardinal Poli, under Leo X;
the title of eminence first given them by Pope
Urban VIII, about 1630.
CARRIAGES first introduced into Vienna,
1515; into London, 1580.
CARVING in marble invented, B. C. 772.
CAST-IRON, Leicester square, London,pav-
ed with, 1817.
CATALOGUES of English printed books,
were first published 1595 ; in Ireland, 1632.
CELERY first introduced into England, by
Marshal Tallard, during his captivity there,
after the battle of Blenheim, in 1704.
CELESTIAL SPHERE brought into Greece
from Egypt, by Eudoxus of Cnidus, 368.
CHAIN SHOT invented by admiral de Witt,
1666.
CHAIRS, sedan, first used in London; a
fourteen years patent for selling them granted
to Duncombe, 1634.
CHANCERY, court of, established in En-
gland, 605; present one by William I, 1066.
The first person qualified for chancellor, by edu-
cation, was sir Thomas More, 1530, the office
before being rather that of a secretary of state,
than the president of a court of justice ; first
reference to a master in, owing to the ignorance
of the chancellor, sir Christopher Hatton, 1588.
CHARITY SCHOOLS first began in En-
gland, March 25, 1688; 6000 children met at
St. Paul's, May 2, 1782; 160 schools within
London, Westminster, and the bills of mortality,
established between 1688 and 1767, inclusive.
CHERRIES brought to Rome, by Lucullus,
70 ; apricots were first introduced into England,
from Epirus ; peaches from Persia ; the finest
plums from Damascus and Armenia ; pears and
figs from Greece and Egypt ; citrons from Me-
dia ; pomegranates from Carthage, about 114
years before Christ.
CHERRY TREES first planted in Britain,
100 before Christ; brought from Flanders and
planted in Kent, with such success, that an
orchard of 32 acres, produced in one year,
£1000,1540.
CHESS, the game of, invented 608, before
Christ.
CHEST, at Chatham, for the relief of sea-
men, instituted, 1588.
CHIARO-OBSCURO, the art of printing in,
with three plates, to imitate drawings, first used,
1500.
CHIMNIES first introduced into buildings
in England, 1200 ; only in the kitchen, or large
hall, smoky ; where the family sat round a large
stove, the funnel of which passed through the
ceiling, 1300.
CHINAWARE, made in England, at Chel-
sea, in 1752 ; and in several parts of England,
in 1760 ; by Mr. Wedgewood, 1762 ; at Dres-
den, in Saxony, 1706.
CHINA, first voyage to, from the United
States, 1784 ; China porcelain first spoken of in
history, 1591.
CHOCOLATE, introduced into Europe, from
Mexico, 1520.
CHOLERA, progress of the. The severe
epidemic, which under the name of the Cholera,
Asiatic Cholera, Malignant Cholera, or Cholera
Asphyxia, has within a few years afflicted many
parts of the world, is reputed to have originated
in August, 1817, at Jessore, the capital of a dis-
trict in Bengal, lying to the northeast of Cal-
cutta. In the following September it invaded
Calcutta, soon after many other cities of Hin-
dostan ; and in a short time it extended its rav-
ages into various other countries of Asia. It
CHO
629
CIR
has been estimated that during the 14 years
from its commencement at Jessore, it carried
off no less than 18 millions of the inhabitants of
Hindostan ; and its ravages are said to have
been still greater in China. See the " Revue
Encyclopedique " for June, 1831. In 1830, it
invaded European Russia, and afterwards Po-
land, Hungary, Germany, Austria, and other
countries of Europe. In 1831, in October, it
broke out at Sunderland, in England ; in Feb-
ruary, 1832, in London; soon afterwards in
various places in the British Empire ; in Paris,
near the last of March ; at Quebec and Montreal
in June ; and at New York in July. The mor-
tality in Paris was very great, but the official
reports after the first fortnight embraced only a
part of the deaths. The number of deaths, as
reported, from the 26th of March to the 15th of
April, was 8,198; and in France, to the 1st of
August, 69,159. The number of cases in En-
gland and Scotland, as reported, from the com-
mencement of the disease to the 1st of Septem-
ber, was 47,874; deaths, 17,684; in Ireland, to
the 19th of August, 22,865 cases, and 7,119
deaths. During its second appearance in Lon-
don, no reports were published. The number
of cases in Hungary has been stated at 435,330,
and of deaths, at 188,000.
The following table exhibits the number of
cases of the Cholera and of deaths in various
places which have been visited by it, as report-
ed, and stated in different Journals.
Great Britain and Ireland.
Dublin,
Glasgow, to Aug. 15,
Liverpool, " 31,
London, to April 28,
Cork,
Limerick,
Drogheda, to July 28,
Edinburgh, " 25,
Paisley, " 25,
Belfast,
Greenock, to July 35,
Hull, " 28,
Leeds, " 26,
York, " 25,
Plymouth, " 2S,
Leith, " 25,
Warrington, " 26,
Carlisle, " 25,
9,252 2,775
4,164 1,993
4,646 1,397
2,532 1,334
3,305 843
2,497 843
1,202 488
796 467
638 368
2,559 303
534 275
726 250
544 212
384 152
354 147
194 112
248 109
214 109
Continent of Europe.
St. Petersburg, 9,247 4,757
Moscow. 8,576 4,1190
Letnberg, 4,922 2,589
Vienna, 3,984 1,893
Warsaw, 3,912 1,460
Berlin, 2,220 1,401
Prague, 3,234 1,333
Konigsberg, 2,188 1,314
Niznei Novgorod, 1,897 982
Cases.
Deaths.
Kazan,
1,487
857
Breslau,
1,276
671
Brunn,
1,540
604
Hamburg,
874
455
Macdeburg,
576
346
Elbing,
Stettin,
434
366
283
250
Halle,
303
152
America.
Quebec,
to Sept
• 1,
2,218
Montreal,
"
o
4,385
1,843
New York,
"
8,
5,842
3,197
Do.
Oct.
12,
3,471
Philadelphia,
Sepl
• 1,
2,240
740
Baltimore,
"
29,
710
Albany,
"
8,
1,146
418
Norfolk,
»
11,
400
Rochester,
"
3,
389
107
CHRISTIANITY was propagated in Spain
in 36; in Britain, 60; or as others say, in the
5th century ; in Franconia and Flanders, in the
7th century ; in Lombard)', Thuringia, and
Hesse, in the 8th century; in Sweden, Den-
mark, Poland and Russia, in the 9th century;
in Hungary and Sclavonia,in the 10th century;
in Vandalia and Prussia, in the 11th century;
in Pomerania and Norway, in the 12th century ;
in Livonia, Lithuania and part of Tarlary, in
the 13th century ; in Sclavonia, part of Turkey,
and the Canary isles, in the 14th century ; in
Africa, at Guinea, Angola, and Congo, in the
15th century ; made great progress in Prussia,
both the Indies, and in China, by the Protestant
faith, in the 16th century ; reinstated in Greece,
&c. &c. in the 17th century.
CHRISTMAS- DAY first observed as a fes-
tival, 98.
CHURCH MUSIC introduced into worship,
350; choral service first used in England, at
Canterbury, 677; changed throughout England,
from the use of St. Paul's to that of Sarum,
1418; first performed in English, May 8, 1559.
CHURCH YARDS first consecrated, 317;
admitted into cities, 740.
CINNAMON TRADE first began by the
Dutch 1506; but had been known in the time
of Augustus Ca?sar, and long before.
CIRCUMNAVIGATORS. The first was
Magellan, or rather by his fleet, as he was him-
self slain on the voyage, 1521); Groalva, 1527;
Alvaradi, 1537; Mendana, 1567; sir Francis
Drake, 1577 ; Cavendish, 1586 ; Lemaire, 1615;
Quiros, 1625; Tassman, 1642; Cowley, 1683 ;
Dampier, 1689; Cooke, 1708; Clipperton and
Sherlock, 1719; Anson, 1740; Byron, 1764;
Wallis, 1766; Cook, 1768, 1772, 1776; contin-
ued by King, 1780; and since by Portlocke,
1788; Bougainville, 1706; La Peyrouse, 1782;
D'Entrecasteux, 1791.
COL
630
COM
CIRCUMNAVIGATORS of the U. States,
the first ship with which this was performed,
returned to Boston, in December, 1790.
CLOCK MAKERS, three from Delft, first
in England, 1568.
CLOCKS, called water clocks, first used in
Rome, 158 years before Christ; clocks and dials
first set up in churches, 913; clocks made to
strike by the Arabians, 801 ; by the Italians,
1300; a striking clock in Westminster, 1368;
the first portable one made 1530; none in En-
gland that went tolerably, till that dated 154!),
maker's name, N. O. now at Hampton court
palace ; clocks with pendulums, &c. invented
by one Fromantil, a Dutchman, about 1C5(J ;
repeating clocks and watches invented by one
Barlow, 1676. Till about 1631, neither clocks
nor watches were general.
CLOTH, coarse woollen, introduced into En-
gland, 1191 ; first made at Kendal, 1390 ; med-
leys first made, 1614.
COACHES first used in England, 1580 ; an
act passed to prevent men riding in coaches as
effeminate, in 1601. Began to be common in
London, 1605. Hackney chariot3, not to ex-
ceed 200, licensed 1814.
COALS discovered near Newcastle, 1234 ;
first dug at Newcastle, by a charter granted the
town, by Henry III; first used, 1280 ; dyers,
brewers, &c. in the reign of Edward I, began
to use sea coal for fire, in 1350 ; in general use
in London, 1400.
Coal, in the United States, is found in great
abundance on both sides of the Appalachian
mountains. A coal mine near Pittsburg, took
fire, and burned many years ; the fire was final-
ly extinguished by the incumbent earth and
rocks falling into the cavity.
COFFEE, first brought "into England by Na-
thaniel Conopius, a Cretan, who made it his
common beverage, at Baliol college, Oxford, in
1641 ; first brought to Marseilles, 1644.
COFFEE TREES were conveyed from Mo-
cha to Holland, in 1616; and carried to the
West Indies in the year 1726; first cultivated
at Surinam by the Dutch, 1718; its culture
encouraged in the plantations, 1732.
COIN, silver, coined at Rome, 269 before
Christ ; before then brass money was only used ;
coin first used in Britain, 25 years before Christ.
The Mint of the United States of America, es-
tablished 1793. issued gold and silver coin ; the
copper had been delivered before.
COINING with a die first invented, 1617;
first used in England, 1620.
COLLEGES, as places of public instruction
in which acapemical degrees were granted,
were first known at Paris, A. D. 1215, and were
completely established there 1231.
Tlie following list shows the names of the
principal colleges and universities in Europe : —
Cambridge began 626, according to some others,
900; revived, 1110; Dublin, 1591; Edinburgh,
founded by James VI, 1580 ; Frankfort on the
Oder, 1506 ; Geneva, 1365 ; Glasgow, Scotland,
1450; Gcetingen, Hanover, 1734; Leipsic, Sax-
ony, 1409; Moscow, 1754; Oxford, in England,
886 ; Padua, Italy, 1 197; Paris, 792; Petersburg,
Russia, 1747; Sorbonne, Fiance, 1253; Stras-
burg, Germany, 1588; Venice, 1592; Vienna,.
1236; Utrecht, Holland, 1636; Wurtemburg,
Saxony, 1502.
COMEDY, the first acted in Athens, on a
scaffold, by Susarian and Dalon, 562 B. C. ;
those of Terence first acted 154 B. C. ; the first
in England 1551.
COMMERCE. The first mention made of
nations trading one with another appears in the
book of Genesis, chap, xxxviii. 25, when Jo-
seph's brethren sold him to a caravan of Ishma-
elites, who were conveying spices, balm and
myrrh into Egypt. The balm was from Gilead,
and the myrrh was the produce of Arabia.
They were going through the land of Canaan
to Egypt, which was then a highly cultivated
kingdom.
The central situation of Egypt has always
made it the emporium of commerce. By cara-
vans, the treasures of Asia and Africa were
brought thither. Trade was always held in
esteem, because of the wealth it brought. Of
the maritime trade of the Egyptians, we have
no regular account, for they superstitiously
neglected the sea for many ages.
Tyre and Sidon, cities of Phoenicia, are next
found rising into notice. Their country was
not rich in its productions ; industry alone made
their rocks productive ; they conveyed their
merchandise from port to port, and commerce
by feeding industry was itself enriched.
About eleven hundred years before Christ, in
the time of David, the Phoenicians, in the true
spirit of commerce, continually extended their
voyages, and finding plenty of gold in Spain,
they formed a settlement for the purpose of
trade, called Gadir, now Cadiz.
Solomon saw the advantage of commerce,
and caused ships to be built, which he sent to
Ophir, and which brought back gold, silver,
ivory, birds and other things. He had also
great traffic with Egypt, whence he obtained
horses and fine linen.
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631
COM
About 869 years before Christ, Carthage was
built, and became famous for her commerce
throughout the civilized world. In 700 B. C.
Corinth became distinguished as a maritime
power, and made great improvements in the
building of ships.
In 586 B. C. Tyre became famous. We read
an interesting account of her commerce and
splendor in the 26th, 27th, and 28th chapters of
Ezekiel. But the Tyrians drew upon them-
selves the vengeance of God, and they were
subdued first by .Nebuchadnezzar, and after-
wards more completely by Alexander 332. B. C.
The Phoenicians, after the destruction of
Tyre, still pursued and enlarged the sphere
of commerce, by means of Carthage, till that
city was destroyed by the Romans 146 B. C.
At this time, the Grecian states came into view
by their attention to naval affairs. Athens and
Sparta in turn became famous, and remained so
till their overthrow.
Alexander paid great attention to commercial
affairs, and built the cities of Alexandria and
Berenice, at which places he carried on an ex-
tensive trade with the west by means of the
Mediterranean Sea ; with the richer provinces
of the east by the Red Sea ; and with the central
countries of Asia, by the isthmus of Suez. He
kept up large fleets, and his revenues were im-
mense.
The Romans were ignorant of the value of
commerce, and as if they were determined to
root it out, destroyed Corinth, which was one
of the most commercial cities of Greece. Great
stagnation of commerce now followed, which
was felt by all the surrounding countries, till the
time of Julius Caesar, who determined to revive
it, and restored in one year both Corinth and
Carthage.
As the Romans were now masters of all
around the Mediterranean, they began to favor
commerce for their own sake. They therefore
obtained supplies from all the regions round
about, to minister either to their necessities or
their luxuries. The return they made for these
various and choice articles was in money, and
therefore this interchange can hardly be called
commerce. Indeed the Romans have never
been a commercial people, they despised the
character of a merchant, and wished to rule and
obtain riches only by the sword.
After the seat of government was removed to
Constantinople, Theodoric became kingof Italy,
and under his wise and peaceful reign, com-
merce began again to flourish, though in a re-
duced state. In the east, silk began to be a
great article of commerce, and the Persians en-
riched themselves very much in their trade with
ships from India, which stopped at their ports.
In the middle of the 5th century, the Turkish
power began to rise and carried on trade be-
tween China and Constantinople. In 732 Ven-
ice began to pay attention to commerce, and
carried on extensive traffic with the east. Many
other states in Italy also cairied on a large trade
with different countries. In 1063, Pisa and Ge-
noa, became distinguished as commercial cities.
At the accession of William the Conqueror to
the throne of England, 1066, we date the com-
mencement of commerce in that country ; as
much intercourse took place between Normandy
and England.
The Crusade we find giving the next spur to
commerce. The Crusaders, rinding in the east,
luxuries that they could not procure at home,
determined to supply themselves with these
foreign elegances, conveniences and necessi-
ties. Commerce therefore began to extend
itself with rapidity.
The discovery of the polarity of the loadstone
gave new wings to commerce; it was applied
to navigation about the year 1200. In the time
of king John, 1216, England became very rich
and populous by trade, and the people flourished
accordingly.
In 1241, the German towns began to engage
in commerce, and entered into a league for mu-
tual defence. They were called the Hanse
towns. They made themselves very rich and
powerful. Edward I of England allowed them
great privileges in trade, which were however
curtailed under Edward VI. In the time of
Elizabeth, another blow was struck at their
commerce ; but in spite of all, they became so
formidable that the governments of several states
entered into a league against them, which result-
ed in their power being weakened, and finally
sunk, in 1622.
About the year 125], we find Florence rising
into notice, in a commercial pointof view. Its
trade was immense, and its fabrics beautiful and
costly. The merchants amassed great wealth,
and became the bankers of all Europe. This
state of splendor continued for centuries.
Flanders was for some time the seat of the
principal manufactories of Europe. As far back
as the year 960, we find the Flemish trading to
great advantage. In 1253, they were famous
for their linens, and they continued eminent for
their manufactures till 1584, when Antwerp
was destroyed by the duke of Parma. This put
an end to the prosperity of the country, and her
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632
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fine manufactures were dispersed among other
nations.
Hitherto, the trade with India had been car-
ried on by caravans, but in 1497, a passage being
found round the Cape of Good Hope, the way
was now open to wealth and luxury.
In the year 1500, the Portuguese began to
make settlements in Africa, and soon after Por-
tugal became the centre of commerce, till 1580,
when the kingdom was seized by the king of
Spain.
From the reign of John in 1216 to 1317, com-
merce flourished in England. But at that time,
quarrels between the English and Flemish were
so fierce, that all commercial intercourse were
suspended. In 1331, it was again revived under
Edward III who introduced the manufacture of
woollen cloth.
In the reign of Henry VIII, the reformation
was of great service to commerce, and in the
time of Edward VI, a trade was entered into
with Russia. Queen Elizabeth greatly encour-
aged commerce. She formed several trading
companies, one to Russia, and another to Tur-
key and the Levant. The East India Company
began during her reign in 1660. Under her
patronage also, settlements were first made in
North America. These settlements soon be-
came new channels for commerce and outlets
for the manufactures of England.
The East India Company was dissolved in
1655, but the injury to commerce was so great,
that it was reestablished in 1657. Holland, at
this time was gaining great power, and her peo-
ple were famous for their trade. In 1689, the
East India Company founded Calcutta, their
principal settlement in Hindostan. The other
two are Madras and Bombay.
Under the house of Brunswick, the commerce
of England increased with great rapidity. Many
places of small importance sprang up and be-
came rich and flourishing.
The East India trade has been very success-
ful, and has flourished notwithstanding the
opposition it has encountered. The Company
have not only had great mercantile transactions,
but they also possess territory as large as half
Europe. Their trade is great with the Spice
Islands and with China.
As for the commerce of our own country,
after independence was declared, our commer-
cial resources began to develope themselves.
Our ships penetrated to the most distant seas,
and brought home with them the produce of
every clime. Our commercial prosperity is now
established on an enduring basis.
COMPANIES, SOCIETIES, &c. African
Colonization Society, originated at Washing-
ton city, December 21st, 1816 ; Auxiliary So-
cieties, soon after formed in many parts of
the United States.
Agricultural Society of New York, 1797.
Agricultural Society of Philadelphia, formed
1785; revived, 1804 ; incorporated, 1809.
Antiquarian Society in Massachusetts, 1792.
Bank of England, established, 1693. An ac-
count of the liabilities and assets of the Bank
of England, on the average of the quarter
from the 23d of Sept. to the 16th of Dec. 1834,
both inclusive.
Liabilities.
Circulation £18,304,000
Deposits 12,250,000
£30,560,000
Assets.
Securities £20,362,000
Bullion 6,720,000
£33,082,000
Bank of Amsterdam, founded 1609.
Bank of Venice, 1157.
Bank of Rotterdam, 1635. For other Banks,
see art. Banks.
Bible Societies. — Bible Society of Philadelphia,
formed May 7th, 1808; first in New York,
December 4, 1809; Salem in Massachusetts,
instituted May 15, 1811 ; of Baltimore, 1810;
the American Bible Society in New York,
established May 8th, 1815.
Boston Athenaeum, incorporated, 1807; Boston
Episcopal Charitable Society, incorporated,
1724 ; Boston Female Asylum, incorporated
1800; Boston Library, 1794.
British Museum, established 1753.
Companies first established in London, 1198;
cooks' company London, incorporated, 1481;
coopers' company, London, incorporated,
1501; cordwainers' company, London, in-
corporated, 1410; curriers' company, London,
incorporated, 1605; cutlers' company, Lon-
don, incorporated, 1417.
Deaf and dumb society, for the instruction of,
instituted at Hartford, Connecticut, June 24,
1816.
East India company, ^in England, established,
1600 ; their stock then consisting of £ 72U00,
when they fitted out four ships; and, meet-
ing with success, they have continued ever
since ; India stock sold from 360 to 500 per
cent. 1683; a new company established, 1698;
the old one reestablished, and the two united,
1700; agreed to give government £400,000
per annum for four years, on condition that
they might continue unmolested, 1769; in
great confusion, and applied to parliament for
assistance, 1773; judges sent from England,
CON
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CON
by government, faithfully to administer the
laws there, to the company's servants, April
2, 1774; board of control instituted, 1784;
charter of renewed, 1813; modified lately.
East India company, of Sweden, erected March,
1731.
South Sea company began, May 6, 1710; its
bubble, 1720 ; its directors' estates to the value
of £2,000,000, seized 1721 ; compounded with
Mr. Knight, their cashier, for £, 10,000, who
had absconded with £100,000, in 1720; and
he returned to England, 1743.
COMPASS, or the polarity of magnetised
iron, one of the greatest, and as to the date of
its discovery, most uncertain of human improve-
ments. There is, however, good evidence to
prove that the mariner's compass was in use in
Europe as early as A. D. 1180 ; variation first
observed by Columbus and his companions,
1492 ; its dip, about 1576.
CONGRESS, continental, first met in Phila-
delphia, September 5th, 1774 ; Oct. 8th, resolve
to support Massachusetts. Second congress
assembled May 10th, in Philadelphia; June 7,
style the colonies " The Twelve United Colo-
nies," Georgia not having yet acceded to the
Union; June 22, 1775, appoint eight major
generals ; May 5, 1776, declare the authority of
England abolished ; July 4, declare independ-
ence ; December 12, 1776, adjourn from Phila-
delphia to meet at Baltimore; 30th, resolve to
send commissioners to Prussia, Austria, Spain,
•fee. ; September 18, 1777, on the approach of
the British army, adjourn to meet in Lancaster,
from where they again adjourn on the 30th of
the same month to meet in Little York. Sep-
tember 14th, 1778, appoint Benjamin Franklin
minister to France, who was the first regularly
constituted ambassador from the United States,
the former foreign agents being styled commis-
sioners; October 4th, 1782, resolve against a
separate peace ; June 26th, 1783, adjourn to
Princeton, and from thence to Annapolis, where
they met November 26th; April 1st, 1789, first
assembled under the federal constitution ; Sep-
tember 22, 1790, pass an act to remove to Wash-
ington city in 1800.
CONSPIRACIES and insurrections, the
most remarkable in ancient or modern history.
A conspiracy was formed against the infant
republic of Rome, to restore the banished Sex-
tus Tarquin, and the regal government, in
which the two sons of Junius Brutus, the first
consul, being concerned, were publicly con-
demned and put to death by their father, 507,
B. C. Another by the Tarquin faction against
the Roman senators ; Publius and Marcus dis-
cover it ; the other conspirators are put to death,
496. Of Catiline and his associates, to murder
the consuls and senate, and to burn the city of
Rome, discovered by Cicero, consul for the year
62. An insurrection in Spain cost the lives of
30,000 Spaniards, and double that number of
Moors, A. D. 1560. At Malta, to destroy the
whole order, for which 125 slaves suffered death,
June 26th, 1749. At Lisbon, by several of the
nobility, who shot the king, 1758. At St. Do-
mingo and the other French West India Isl-
lands, where near 16,000 negroes were slain,
and 400 whites, and 550 plantations destroyed,
1794. Of the prince of Asturias against his
father, 1807. Of the inhabitants of Madrid
against the French, in which many persons
were killed, 1808. In Paris, for which the con-
spirators, three ex-generals and eleven officers
were executed, October 30th, 1812.« AtTraven-
core, to massacre the European officers at an
entertainment, 1812. At Lisbon, to overturn
the Portuguese government, May, 1817.
Conspiracies and insurrections in England.
Of the barons against Henry III, 1258. Of the
duke of Exeter and others, against the life of
Henry IV, discovered by dropping a paper acci-
dentally, 1400. Of Richard, duke of Glouces-
ter, against his nephews Edward V, and his
brother, whom he caused to be murdered, 1483.
Of the earl of Suffolk and others against Henry
VII, 1506. Insurrection of the London appren-
tices, 7 Henry VIII, 1527. Against queen Eliz-
abeth, by Dr. Story, 1571 ; by Anthony Bab-
bington and others, 1586; by Lopez, a Jew,
and others, 1593 ; by Patrick York, an Irish fen-
cing master, employed by the Spaniards to kill
the queen, 1594 ; of Walpole, a Jesuit, who
engaged one Squire to poison the queen's sad-
dle, 1598 ; all the conspirators were executed.
Against James I, by the marchioness de Ver-
neuil, his mistress, and others, 1605. The Gun-
powder plot discovered, Nov. 5th, 1605. Of
Sindercomb and others to assassinate Oliver
Cromwell ; discovered by his associates ; Sin-
dercomb was condemned, and poisoned himself
the day before he was to have been executed,
1656. An insurrection of the Puritans, 1657.
An insurrection of the fifth-monarchy men
against Charles II, 1660. A conspiracy of
Blood and his associates, who seized the duke
of Onnond, wounded him, and would have
hanged him if he had not escaped ; they after-
wards stole the crown, 1670 and 71. Of the
French, Spanish and English Jesuits, counte-
nanced by the pope, to assassinate Charles JI dis-
26* .
cou
634
DIA
covered by Dr. Tongue and Titus Oates, 1668 ;
another to assassinate him at the Rye-house
farm, near Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, in his
way from New Market, called the Rye-house-
Plot, 1683. Of Lord Preston, the bishop of
Ely, and others, to restore king James, 1691.
Of Granvil, a French chevalier and his associ-
ates, to assassinate king William in Flanders,
1692. A conspiracy by the earl of Aylesbury
and others, to kill the king near Richmond, as
he came from hunting, discovered by Pender-
§rass, called the Assassination Plot, 1635. Of
imon Frazer, lord Lovat, in favor of the Pre-
tender, against queen Anne, 1703. Of the
marquis Guiscard, 1710. To assassinate George
I. by James Sheppard, an enthusiastic youth,
who had been taught to consider the king as an
usurper, 1718. Of counsellor Layer and oth-
ers to bring in the Pretender, 1722. Of colo-
nel Despard and his associates to assassinate
George III and overturn the government,
1803.
COPPER MONEY first coined in Scotland
by order of parliament, 1466 ; in Ireland, 1391) ;
in France, 1580 ; in England, the first legal,
1689. Tradesmen's tokens, or half pence, were
coined in 1672 ; penny pieces first issued July
26th, 1797 ; half pence on the same principle,
issued January, 1800.
COPPER MINES first discovered in Swe-
den, 1396; in England, 1561 ; revived in Eng-
land, 1689; found in New York, 1722. The
Paris copper mine in Anglesea has a bed of
copper ore forty feet thick, and supplies be-
tween 29 and 30,000 tons annually.
COUNCILS— That at Jerusalem, when the
first controversy was discussed, 48 ; at Antioch,
269; at Aries, 314, at which three English
bishops were present; the first Nicene one,
when 328 fathers attended, against Arius, 325;
the first at Constantinople, when Pope Damasus
presided, and 150 fathers attended, 381 ; that at
Sardis, when 376 fathers attended, 400; the
first at Ephesus, when Pope Celestine presided,
and 200 fathers attended, 431 ; that at Chalce-
don,when Pope Leo presided, and 600 fathers at-
tended, 451 ; the second at Constantinople, when
Pope Virgilius presided, and 165 fathers attend-
ed, 552; one called the Milevetan council, 568;
at Constantinople, in 600; at Rome in 649; the
third at Constantinople, when Pope Agatho
presided, and 289 fathers attended, 680 ; the
second at Nice, when Pope Adrian presided,
and 350 fathers attended, 787; the fourth at
Constantinople, when Pope Adrian presided,
and 101 fathers attended, 869 ; that at Vercel-
lus, when Pope Leo IX presided, 1053; the
Lateran one, when Pope Calixtus II presided,
and 300 fathers attended, 1112; the second
Lateran one, when Pope innocent II presided,
and 1000 fathers attended, 1139; the third La*
teran one, when Pope Alexander III presided,
and 300 fathers attended, 1175; the fourth La-
teran one, when Pope Innocent III presided,
and 1185 fathers attended, 1215 and 1217; at
Lyons, 1255 and 1274 ; that at Vienna, when
Pope Clement V presided, and 300 fathers at-
tended, 1311 ; one at Constance, when Pope
John XXII, and Martin V presided, 1414 ; the
sixth Lateran one, when Pope Julian III and
Pius IV presided against Luther, 1546. There
have been several other provincial councils,
and others, as that of Avignon, in France, and
at Bituria, in Tuscany, 1431 ; at Tours, in
France, 1448 ; at Florence, in Italy, 1449 ; at
Toledo, in Spain, 1473 ; at Aspurgh, in Ger-
many, 1548 ; at Cologne in Germany, 1548; at
Treves, in Germany, 1548 ; at Cologne, in Ger-
many 1549; at Mentz, in Almaine, 1549; and
at Numnntia, in Spain, 1550.
COUNTIES first division of, in England,
A. D. 900.
CROWN, the first Roman that wore one,
was Tarquin, 616 B. C. ; first used in England,
872 ; the first tiara, or Tripple one, used by the
popes, 1364 ; the first single one used by them
was in 553; the first double one in 1303.
CUSTOM HOUSE, London, first built,
1559; burnt down 1814; rebuilt and opened
for business, 1817.
CYPHER, or the Arabic numerical figures,
introduced into Europe by the Moors of Spain,
in 813.
D.
DECIMAL ARITHMETIC introduced into
common use in Europe, about 1600.
DEGREES academical first granted at Paris
1213.
DELPHOS, temple of, burnt, 548 before
Christ.
DELFT earthenware first made at Faenza
1450.
DE LA PLATA, river of, discovered 1512.
DIAMONDS first polished and cut at Bru-
ges, 1489.
DIAMOND MINES discovered in Brazil,
1730 ; that at Coulour in the East Indies, 1640 ;
that at Golconda, in 1584 ; one sent from Bra-
zil for the court of Portugal, weighed 1680
carats, or twelve ounces and a half, valued at
DIS
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DIS
224 millions sterling. Governor Pitt's weighed
127 carats, and 106 after cutting, and sold for
£135,000, to the king of France. That which
belonged to Aurung Zebe weighed 793 carats,
in a rough state, and when cut 279 carats, worth
JE77l.),^44. The grand duke of Tuscany's weigh-
ed 139 carats. A diamond of immense value
is in the possession of the Rajah of Mattan in
Borneo. He refused an offer made for it by the
Governor of Batavia, of $150,000, and two large
brigs of war, with their guns and ammunition.
It is said to be shaped like an egg.
DISCOVERIES, Geographical, in modern
times.
861. Feroe Islands — discovered about this time
by a Scandinavian vessel.
871. Iceland — discovered by some Norwegian
chiefs, who were compelled to leave their na-
tive country. According to some accounts it
had been visited before this, by a Scandina-
vian pirate, Naddodd.
950. Greenland — discovered by the Icelanders
about this period. The first colony estab-
lished there was destroyed by a pestilence in
the 14th century, and by the accumulation of
ice which prevented all communication be-
tween Iceland and Greenland.
1001. Winenland — a part of the continent of
America, is supposed to have been discovered
by the Icelanders. It was called Winenland,
or Vinland, from the abundance of a species
of vine found there. The Icelandic chroni-
cles are full and minute respecting this dis-
covery.
1344. Madeira — The discovery of this island,
attributed to an Englishman, Robert Ma-
cham ; it was revisited in 1419 by Juan Gon-
zalez, and Tristan Vaz, Portuguese.
1345. Canary Isles — discovered by some Geon-
ese and Spanish seamen, having been known
to the ancients.
1364. Guinea — the coast of, discovered by some
seamen of Dieppe, about this period.
1418. Porto Santo — discovered by Vaz and Zar-
co, Portuguese.
1419. Madeira — discovered by the same naviga-
tors. It was first called St. Lawrence, after
the Saint's day on which it was seen : — and
subsequently Madeira, on account of its
woods.
1434. Cape Bojador or Nun — doubled for the
first time by the Portuguese.
1440 ) Senegal River — discovered by the Portu-
1445 $ guese.
1446. Cape Verd — discovered by Denis Fernan-
dez, a Portuguese.
1448. Azores Islands — discovered by Gonzallo
Velio, a Portuguese.
1449'. Cape Verde Islands — discovered by An-
tonio de Noli, a Genoese in the service of
Portugal.
1471 . Island of St. Thomas, under the Equator,
discovered.
1484. Congo — discovered by the Portuguese,
under Diego Cam.
1486 Cape of Good Hope — discovered by Bar-
tholomew Diaz. It was originally called
" The Cape of Tempests,-' and was also nam-
ed " The Lion of the Sea," and " The Head of
Africa." The appellation was changed by
John II, King of Portugal, who augured fa-
vorably of future discoveries from Diaz hav-
ing reached the extremity of Africa.
1492. Lucayos (or Bahama) Islands. — These
were the first points of discovery by Colum-
bus. San Salvador, one of these Islands, was
first seen by this great navigator, on the
night of the 11th or 12th of October, in this
year.
„. ' . , J f discovered by Columbus
in his first voyage.
) discovered by Colum-
> bus in his second voy-
Jage.
1497. Cape of Good Hope — doubled by Vasco
di Gama, and the passage to India discovered.
1497. Newfoundland — discovered by John Ca-
bot, who first called it Prima Vista and Bac-
calaos. The title of Prima Vista still belongs
to one of its capes, and an adjacent island is
still called Baccalao.
1498. Continent of America — discovered by Co-
lumbus.
Malabar, Coast of — discovered by Vasco di
Gama.
Mozambique, Island of — discovered by Vas-
co di Gama.
1499. America, Eastern Coasts of — discovered
by Ojede and Amerigo Vespucci. (It is con-
tended by some that this preceded by a year
the discovery of the American Continent by
Columbus.)
1500. Brazil — discovered 24th April by Alva-
rez de Cabral, a Portuguese, who was driven
on its coast by a tempest. He called it the
Land of the Holy Cross. It was subsequently
called Brazil, on account of its red wood ; and
was carefully explored by Amerigo Vespucci,
from 1500 to 1504.
1501. Labrador and River St. Lawrence — dis-
covered by Cortereal, who sailed from Lis-
Hispaniola, or
St. Domingo, ]
1493. Jamaica
St. Christopher's
Dominica
DIS
636
DIS
bon on a voyage of discovery for the Portu-
guese.
1502. Gulf of Mexico. — Some of the shores of
this Gulf explored by Columbus on his last
voyage.
St. Helena, the Island of — discovered by
Jean de Nova, a Portuguese.
1506. Ceylon — discovered by the Portuguese.
Ceylon was known to the Romans in the
time of Claudius.
1506. Madagascar, Island of — discovered by
Tristan da Cunha, and revisited by the Por-
tuguese navigator Fernandez Pereira, in 1508.
This island was first called St. Lawrence,
having been discovered on the day of that
saint.
1508. Canada — visited by Thomas Aubert.
Known before to fishermen who 'had been
thrown there by a tempest.
Ascension Isle — discovered by Tristan da
Cunha.
Sumatra, Island of — discovered by Siquey-
ra, a Portuguese.
1511. Sumatra — more accurately examined by
the Portuguese.
Molucca Isles — discovered by the Portu-
guese.
Sunda Isles — discovered by Abreu, a Por-
tuguese.
1512. Maldives.-~A Portuguese navigator, who
was wrecked on these islands, found them in
occasional possession of the Arabians.
Florida — discovered by Ponce de Leon, a
Spanish navigator.
1513. Borneo and Java. — The Portuguese be-
came acquainted with these islands.
1513. South Sea. — The Great Ocean was discov-
ered this year from the mountains of Darien,
by Nunez de Balboa, and subsequently navi-
gated by Magellan. The supposition of the
New World being part of India now ceased.
1515. Peru — discovered by Perez de la Rua.
1516. Rio Janeiro — discovered by Dias de Solis.
1516. Rio de la Plata — discovered by the same.
1517. China, discovery of — by sea, by Fernand
Perez d'Andrada.
1517. Bengal — discovered by some Portuguese
thrown on the coast by a tempest.
1518. Mexico — discovered by the Spaniards.
Conquered by Cortes, in 1519.
1519. Magellan, Straits of — passed by Magellan
with a fleet of discovery, fitted out by the
Emperor Charles V. The first voyage round
the world was undertaken by this navigator;
and his vessel performed the enterprise, al-
though the commander perished.
1520. Terra del Fuego — discovered by Magellan.
1521. Ladrune Islands — discovered by Magellan.
1521. Philippines. — This archipelago discovered
by Magellan, who lost his life here in a
skirmish.
1524. New France. — The first voyage of discov-
ery made by the French under Francis the
First, one of whose ships, after reaching Flor-
ida, coasted along as far as 50 degrees north
latitude, and gave to this part the name of
New France.
1524. North America — travelled over from Flor-
ida to Newfoundland by Verazzani, a Floren-
tine, in the service of France.
1525. New Holland — discovered by the Portu-
guese about this time : this immense tract
was for some time neglected by Europeans,
but was visited by the Dutch, at various peri-
ods, from 1619 to 1644. This fine country is
now colonized by the English, and every year
adds something to our knowledge of its ex-
tent and its peculiarities.
1527. New Guinea — discovered by Saavedra, a
Spaniard, sent from Mexico, by Cortez.
1530. Guinea, the first voyage to — made by an
English ship for elephants' teeth.
1534. Canada — visited by Cartier, of St. Malo ;
a settlement having previously been made in
1523, by Verazzani, who took possession in
the name of Francis I of France.
1535. California — discovered by Cortez.
1537. Chile — discovered by Diego de Alrnagro,
one of the conquerors of Peru.
1541. Labrador — discovered by a French engi-
neer, Alphonze.
1541. India — the first English ship sailed to, for
the purpose of attacking the Portuguese.
1542. Japan — discovered by the Portuguese,
Antonio de Meta and Antonio de Peyxoto,
who were cast by a tempest on its coasts.
1545. Potosi, Mines of — discovered by the Span-
iards.
1552. Spitzbergen — observed by the English, but
mistaken for part of Greenland. Visited by
Barentz, a Dutch navigator, in search of a
northeast passage, in 1596.
1553. White Sea. — This sea, which had not been
visited since the time of Alfred, was now sup-
posed to be discovered by Chancellor, the
English navigator.
Nova Zembla — discovered by Willoughby,
an English seaman.
1575. Salomons Isles — discovered by Mendana,
a Spaniard, sent by the Governor of Peru.
1576. Frobisher's Strait — discovered by the En-
glish navigator whose name it bears.
DI9
637
DIS
Greenland— further explored by Frobisher,
who also penetrated further between this
country and Labrador.
1577. JYew Albion— discovered by Drake, who
was the second to attempt a voyage round the
world, which he performed in three years
1580. Siberia— discovered by Yermak Timophe-
ievitch, Chief of Cossacks. ...
1587. Davis's Strait— discovered by the English
navigator whose name it bears, m his voyage
for the discovery of a northwest passage.
1594. Falkland Islands— discovered by tlie En-
glish navigator, Hawkins.
1595. Marquesas-discovered by Mendana a
Spaniard, on his voyage from Peru to found a
colony in the Solomon Isles.
Solitary Island— discovered by Mendana on
the above-named voyage.
1606. Archipelago del Espiritu Santo— discover-
ed by Quires, a Portuguese, sent from Peru.
These islands are the Cyclades of Bougain-
ville, and the New Hebrides of Cook.
Ota heite— supposed to be discovered by
Quires, who named it Sagittaria.
1607. > Hudson's Bay— discovered by the eel-
1610. 5 ebrated English navigator, Hudson, on
his third voyage. Venturing to pass the win-
ter in this Bay on his fourth voyage, he was,
with four others, thrown by his sailors into a
boat, and left to perish.
1607. Chesapeake Bay — discovered by John
1615. Straits of Le Maire— discovered, with the
island of Staten on the east, by Le Maire, a
merchant of Amsterdam, and Schouten, a
merchant of Horn. .
1616. Cape Horn-doubled by Le Maire and
Schouten, Dutch navigators, who called it
after the town of which Schouten was a na-
tive These enterprising men performed a
voyage round the world in about two years.
1616. Van Dieman's hand— discovered by the
1616. Baffin's Bay— discovered by William Baf-
fin, an Englishman. The nature and extent
of this discovery were much doubted, till the
expeditions of Ross and Parry proved that
Baffin was substantially accurate in his state-
ment. _
1636. Frozen Ocean— In this year the Russians
discovered that this ocean washed and bound-
ed the north of Asia. The first Russian ship
sailed down the Lena into this sea.
1642. New Zealand— with the southern part ot
Van Dieman's Land, discovered by Tasman,
a Dutch navigator.
1654. Bourbon, Isle of— occupied by the French.
1673. Louisiana — discovered by the 1 rencn.
This country received its name from La taalle,
a Frenchman, who explored the Mississippi,
in lti82- ^ x>
1686. Easter Island— discovered by Roggewem,
a Dutch navigator.
1690 Kamschatka— the principal settlement ot
the Russians on the coast of Asia, discovered
by a Cossack chief, Morosko. This country
was taken possession of by the Russians in
1692. Japan.— Carefully visited by Kampfer, a
German. , . ..
1699 New Britain.— This island, and the straits
which separate it from New Guinea, discov-
ered by Dampier. This enterprising seaman
made a voyage round the world at the period
of this discovery.
1711 Kurile Isles— occupied by the Russians.
The people of these islands, which are 21 in
number, still pay tribute to Russia, lhey
are principally volcanic.
1728 Behring's Strait-explored and designated
by a Danish navigator in the service ot Rus-
sia, whose name it bears. Behnng thus es-
tablished that the continents of Asia and
America are not united, but are distant irom
each other about 39 miles.
1728. Kamschatka— ascertained by Behung to
be a peninsula. ivt^-iv,
1741 Aleutian Isles— on the coast of North
America, discovered by Behnng. A more
accurate survey of these islands was made
under the Russian Government, by Captains
Billing and Sarytchef, from 1781 to 1798
1765. Duke of York's Island — discovered by
Byron. _
'Isles of Danger— discovered by Byron.
1767. Otaheite— discovered by Walhs.
1768 Cook's Strait— discovered by Ca.pt Cook
on his first voyage round the world, which
occupied from 1768 to 1771. _ .
1770. New South Wales— discovered by Captain
1772° Island of Desolation-4he first land south
of India, discovered by Kergue en and called
by his name. Subsequently called the Island
of Desolation by Captain Cook.
1774. New Caledonia— discovered by Cook in
his second voyage, 1772-1775.
1778. Icy Cape— discovered by Captain Coot.
1778. Sandwich Islands-discovered by Cook in
his third voyage, which commenced in 177b.
He lost his life in 1779.
1797. Bass's Straits.— Mr. Bass, Surgeon ot H.
DUE
638
EAR
B. M. S. Reliance, penetrated as far as West-
ern Port, in a small open boat, from Port
Jackson, and was of opinion that a Strait ex-
isted between New South Wales and Van
Dieman s Land. In 1799, Lieut. Flinders
circumnavigated Van Diemen's Land, and
named the Strait after Mr. Bass.
1804,5, 6. Missouri — explored to its sources by
Captains Lewis and Clarke, and the origin
and source of the Columbia ascertained.
1819. Barroro's Straits — discovered by Lieut.
Parry, who penetrated as far as Melville
Island, in lat. 74°26'N., and long. 113° 47' W.
The Strait was entered on the 3d of August.
The lowest state of the thermometer was 55
degrees below zero of Fahrenheit.
1819. New South Shetland — discovered by Mr.
Smith, of the brig William, bound to Valpa-
raiso.
1819. ) North America, The northern limits of —
1822. 5 determined by Capt. Franklin, from the
mouth of the Coppermine river to Cape Turn-
again.
1821 . Asia, The northern limits of — determined
by Baron Wrangel.
1825-0. North America — Franklin's second ex-
pedition, in which the coast between the
mouths of the Coppermine and M'Kenzie's
rivers, and the coast from the mouth of the
latter to 149.J W. Long, were discovered.
1827. North America. — In August of this year,
Captain Beechey, in H. B. M. S. Blossom,
discovered the coast from Icy Cape to Point
Barrow, leaving about 140 miles of coast
unexplored between this Point and Point
Beechey. Point Barrow is in 156^ degrees
West longitude.
1830. Africa — Lander descends the Quorra or
Niger from Boussa, to the Gulf of Guinea,
determining the long agitated question of the
termination of that river.
1830-32. North America — Capt. Ross examines
the northeastern coast, and proves that the
continent reaches to Lancaster Sound.
DISTAFF spinning, first introduced into
England by Bonavera, an Italian, 1505.
DISTILLATION of spirituous liquors began
in the 12th century. In Ireland in 1590.
DISTILLING 'first practised in Spain by the
Moors, 1150.
DRURY LANE THEATRE built 1662;
destroyed by fire 1672 ; rebuilt 1674; pulled
down 1791 ; rebuilt 1794; burnt 1809; rebuilt
and opened to the public, November 10, 1812.
DUELLING introduced into Europe as a
public mode of trial, A. D. 1096; became com-
mon as a manner of settling points of honor,
about 1520.
E.
EARTHQUAKES and VOLCANIC ERUP-
TIONS. B. C. 427 Eruption of Etna and
Earthquake ravaged environs of Catania.
373 Helice and Bura destroyed by an earth-
quake, attended by a frightful inundation.
144 Isle of Hiera rose from the jEgean Sea
during an earthquake.
A. D. 79 Eruption of Vesuvius destroys Her-
culaneum and Pompeii.
115 Antioch destroyed by an earthquake.
1137 Catania swallowed up by an earthquake.
1138 Ninth eruption of Vesuvius, after which
it is quiescent for 168 years.
1302 Ischia ravaged by a volcanic eruption pre-
ceded by violent earthquakes.
1538 Monte Nuovo, a hill 440 feet high, form-
ed near Naples.
1573 Island of little Kameni rises near Hiera.
1631 Eruption of Vesuvius destroys Torre del
Greco with 3,000 persons.
1666 New eruption of Vesuvius after a pause
of 35 years ; since this period in constant ac-
tivity with rarely an interval exceeding ten
years.
1669 Eruption of Etna ; Mount Rossi, 450 feet
high, formed; 14 villages and towns, and
part of Catania destroyed.
1692 Jamaica ravaged by an earthquake, and
many of the inhabitants swallowed up by
rents in the ground ; three quarters of the
houses of Port Royal with the ground they
occupied sank with their tenants under water.
1693 Shocks of earthquake in Sicily, which
levelled Catania, and 49 other places to the
ground, and destroyed 100,000 persons.
1699 Earthquakes in Java, when no less than
208 severe shocks were counted ; the fish kill-
ed in the rivers by the mud which filled them,
and great numbers of wild animals destroyed.
1706 Eruption of Teneriffe, attended by shocks
which caused many springs to disappear and
hills to rise up from the plains.
1725 Eruption of the volcano Leirhnukur, in
Iceland, during which a tract of high land
sank down and formed a lake, and a hill rose
from the bed of a lake.
1730-36 Five years' convulsion of Lancerote ;
the earth was rent, and discharged pestilen-
tial vapors ; smoke and flames rose from the
sea with loud explosions; fiery streams of
lava of great extent devastated the land, chok-
EAR
639
ECL
*d up rivers, and running into the sea, killed
great numbers of fish ; 30 volcanic cones from
300 to 600 ft. high from their base were formed
1737 Earthquake in Kamschatka, which caused
an inundation of the sea, formed new hills,
lakes, and bays.
1746 Earthquake in Peru ; 200 shocks expe-
rienced in the first 24 hours ; Lima destroyed }
several new bays formed; nineteen ships
sunk and four carried a great distance up the
country by the rise of the sea; several volca-
noes burst forth in the vicinity, and poured
forth torrents of water, which overflowed ex-
tensive tracts. ,
1750 Conception or Fenco in Chili destroyed
by an earthquake, and overwhelmed by the
1755 Earthquake destroyed Lisbon (Nov. 1),
and 60,000 persons perished in six minutes.
The sea first retired, and then rolled in, rising
50 ft above its usual level ; the largest moun-
tains in Portugal rocked and split asunder,
and sent forth flames and clouds of dust. 1 he
shock was felt nearly all over Europe, in the
north part of Africa, in the Atlantic, and even
in the West Indies; a vast wave swept over
the coast of Spain, in some places 60 feet in
heio-ht, and near Morocco the earth opened,
swallowed up about 10,000 persons with their
herds, and then closed over them.
1759 The volcano of Jorullo in Mexico rose
durino- an earthquake from the plain of Mal-
pais, Forming a hill 1600 feet high.
1766 Violent shocks agitate Venezuela occurring
hourly for above a year.
1772 Eruption of the volcano Papandayang in
Java : a tract of country 15 miles long by six
broad was engulfed, 40 villages swallowed up
or overwhelmed, and the cone of the volcano
was reduced in height 4,000 feet.
1777 During the eruption of the volcano on the
side of which the city of Guatimala was built,
the ground gaped open and swallowed the
whole city with its 8,000 families.
1783 Earthquake in Calabria destroyed all the
towns and villages, 20 miles round Oppido,
and 40,000 persons were swallowed up or
overwhelmed ; the shocks continued for four
years.
1783 Eruption of the volcano Asamayama in
Niphon, preceded by an earthquake, during
which the earth yawned and swallowed many
towns.
1797 Earthquake in Quito destroyed many
towns and villages.
1806 An island 60 miles in circuit with several
low conical hills upon it rose from the sea
amono- the Aleutian islands.
1811 Earthquake in South Carolina, and in the
valley of the Mississippi; the latter was con-
vulsed to such a degree between the mouths
of the Ohio and the St. Francis as to create
lakes and islands; and deep chasms were
formed in the ground, from which vast vol-
umes of water, sand, and coal were thrown
up to the height of 60 or 70 feet.
181'> The city of Caraccas destroyed by an
earthquake, and 10,000 persons buried under
its ruins. . a
1815 Eruption of the volcano Tomboro in bum-
bava, attended by whirlwinds, which com-
mitted great ravages, and by a sudden rising
of the sea, which submerged towns and con-
siderable tracts. Of 12,000 inhabitants of the
island only 26 survived.
1819 An earthquake in Cutch destroyed many
towns and villages ; deepened the eastern arm
of the Indus from one to eighteen feet ; sub-
merged some tracts and elevated others.
1822 Aleppo destroyed by an earthquake.
1802 Chili ravao-ed by an earthquake, the shocfc
of which waslelt for a distance of 1200 miles ;
the coast in the neighborhood of Valparaiso
for a distance of 100 miles was raised above
its former level from two to four, and even
six or eight feet: the whole tract thus raised
had an area of about 100,000 square miles.
1827 Earthquake commits great ravages arouna
Bogota. ,,
1831 The island of Sciacca rose from the sea
near the southern coast of Sicily : the depth
of the sea at this spot was 600 feet, and the
island was 100 feet above the surface : circuit
3 240 feet • in the winter of 1831, the island
w'as swept away by the waves, leaving only
ECLIPSES, the most remarkable, of the sun,
observed at Sardis, and predicted by Thales,
585 B. C. At Athens, 424 B. C. At Rome,
caused a total darkness at noon-day, A D. <2J1.
At Constantinople, 968. In France, June 29,
1033 dark at noon-day. In England March
21 1140 occasioned a total darkness. Another
June 22 1191, entire darkness, and the stars
very visible at ten in the morning. In the same
year the true sun, and the appearance of anoth-
er so that astronomers alone could distinguish
the difference by their glasses. Another, IdSl.
A total eclipse of the sun in England when
the darkness was so great, that the stars faintly
appeared, and the birds went to roost in the
morning about ten, April 22d, 1715. Great
EMI
640
EMI
Eclipse in the United States 1806; another 1811-
another 1831. One occurred in 1834, and three
more will take place in the course of five years.
During the present century about 25 more will
occur.
Eclipses of the moon, total, observed by the
Chaldeans at Babylon, 721 B. C. At Syracuse,
413 B. C In Asia Minor, 219 B. C. At Rome
predicted by Q. Sulpitius Gallus, 168 B C
Another, which terrified the Roman troops, and
prevented their revolt, A. D. 14. Eclipses of
the moon are of frequent occurrence
EDDYSTONE LIGHTHOUSE,' near Ply-
mouth, England, first built, 1696; blown down
November 26, 1703 ; rebuilt 1700 ; burnt down
December, 1755; rebuilt October, 1759: again
burnt down 1770 ; rebuilt 1774
ELECTRICITY, first idea of, given by two
globes of brimstone, 1467; electric spark dis-
covered at Leyden, 1746 ; first known it would
hre spirits, 1756 ; that of the aurora borealis and
of lightning in 1769.
ELGIN MARBLES purchased by the Eng-
n • .government at £ 35,000, and added to the
British Museum, 1815.
EMINENT PERSONS. Aben, Ezra, learn-
j- ^W£h rabbi> °f Toledo in Spain, born 1099,
died 1174. '
Abernethy, John, eminent Irish Protestant
divine, born 1680, died 1740, aged 60.
Ainsworth, Robert, eminent English lexicog-
rapher, born 1660, died 1743.
Alberoni, cardinal, celebrated statesman, born
at Placentia, in Italy, 1664, died 1752, aged 86.
tie was the son of a gardener.
Alcibiades, Athenian general, born B, C. 443
died 403. '
Alcuin, or Albinus Flaccus, philosopher,
flourished in the eighth century. He was a
light in the dark ages, and famous for encour-
aging learning and science ; a native of Eng-
land. He founded the university of Paris, by
order of Charlemagne.
Aldrovandi, Ulysses, eminent naturalist, born
at Bologna, 1522, died 1605, aged 83.
Alfred, son of Ethelred II king of England
had his eyes put out by earl Godwin, and 600
of his train murdered at Guilford : he died soon
after at Ely.
Allen, Rev. Moses, born Sept. 14, 1748. He
zealously joined the cause of his country ; was
taken prisoner at Savannah, December, 1778 •
and was drowned Feb. 8, 1779, in an attempt to
escape from a British prison ship.
Allen, Paul, American poet, historian and
editor, born at Rhode Island, and died in Balti-
more, August 19th, 1826, in the 55th year of his
age.
Allen, William Henry, born iii Rhode Island
1784 ; a gallant officer of the United Stales navy'
killed in battle on board the Argus, Aug. 1813.'
Anacharsis, a Scythian philosopher who re-
sided most part of his life in Greece, where he
flourished, B. C. 600.
Anderson, Jas. writer on commerce, died 1764.
Andrews, John, D. D. provost of the Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania, born in Cecil county
Maryland, 1746, died in Philadelphia.
Anthony ,Mark, Roman general and triumviri,
born B. C. 86, killed himself in Egypt after the'
battle of Actium, 30 B. C.
Anthony, Francis, English physician, born
looO, died 1623 ; he was the inventor, and made
a fortune by vending a panacea, called Jiurum
potahile.
Arbaces, founder of the Median monarchy
B. C. 820. J '
Arc, Joan of, a much celebrated French
woman, born in Lorraine about A. D. 1400
ruined the English cause in France, was finally
taken prisoner by them, and burned to death by
the English at Rowen, 1431.
Arius, founder of the Arian sect,died A.D. 336.
Armstrong, John, Scots physician and poet
born at Castleton, Scotland, 1709, died 1779.
Arne, Thomas Augustus, musician, flourished
from about 1736, to his death, 1778.
Arnold, Samuel, musical composer of emi-
nence, born 1739, died 1802.
Arundel, earl of, who brought the Arundelian
marbles, from Greece to England ; died 1645.
Asaph, St. bishop of Llan-Elvy, in North
Wales, to which he gave his own name, flour-
ished A. D. 590.
Aspasia, a Greek courtezan, one of those very
rare examples of mental power and moral weak-
ness, became the wife of Pericles, flourished at
Athens, B. C. 430.
Aspasia of Phocaea, successively wife to Cy-
rus the younger, and of his brother Artaxerxes
Mnemon.has been confounded with Aspasia of
Athens, though different in country and char-
acter.
Athanasius, St. a very celebrated Christian
bishop, born it is supposed, about 296. He was
the Catholic champion in the Arian controver-
sy ; ordained bishop of Alexandria, A. D. 327
which he held 46 years to his death, 373.
Atticus, Pomponius, the friend of Cicero, and
an example amid blood and violence, of the best
effects of stoical philosophy, born B. C. 100
died 33.
EMI
641
EMI
Atterbury, Francis, eminent English prelate,
born 1662, made bishop of Rochester, 1713 ; but
in 1722 deprived and banished by act of parlia-
ment ; died at Paris, 1731.
Bainbridge, Commodore William, a distin-
guished commander in the American navy. He
was born at Princeton, N. J. on the 7th of May,
1774 ; died at Philadelphia, July 27, 1833, in
his 60th year.
Banks, sir Joseph, English philosopher, a
most distinguished man in science and litera-
ture, and president of the royal society, born
1740.
Baranzano Redemptus, deserves a place in
history, as one of the founders of inductive
science, was contemporary and correspondent
of chancellor Bacon ; born in Piedmont, 1590,
died at Montargis, 1C22.
Barberac, John, eminent jurisconsult, and
writer on the laws of nations, born at Beziers,
1674, died 1747.
Barclay, Robert, apologist for the quakers,
born 1648, died 1690, aged only 42.
Baretti, Italian lexicographer, author of an
esteemed English and Italian Dictionary, was
born at Turin, 1716; came to England and be-
came one of the companions of Johnson, Burke,
&c. died 1789, aged 73.
Barneveldt, John Olden, grand pensionary of
Holland, born 1547, became one of the greatest
diplomatists of his age, but by adopting the
opinions of Arminius, was involved in the relig-
ious controversies which then distracted his
country. By his influence in great part, Spain,
in 1609, acknowledged the independence of the
seven united provinces ; under frivolous charg-
es he was beheaded, 1619, aged 72.
Barrow, Isaac, eminent English divine and
mathematician, born in London 1630, died 1677.
Barthelemy, John James, eminent French
writer, author of " the travels of the younger
Anacharsis," born at Cassis in Provence 1716,
died April 30th, 1795, in his 80th year.
Basil, St. bishop of Ancyra, died 378, aged 51.
Bass, Edward, first bishop of Massachusetts,
born 1726, died 1803, aged 77.
Bassi, Laura, an Italian lady of great literary
acquirements, flourished 1732, to her death at
Bologna, 1778.
Baxter, Richard, eminent English non-con-
formist divine, and religious writer, born 1615,
died 1691, aged 76.
Bayard, John, eminent patriot in our revolu-
tion, born in Maryland, 1738, died 1807, aged
68 years.
Beatty, William, captain in the Maryland line
under colonel Howard ; was particularly dis-
tinguished in the battle of the Cowpens, and in
other battles of the revolution, and fell in battle.
Beccaria, Cassar, marquis of Bonesana, author
of the "treatise on crimes and punishments,"
born 1720, died November, 1794, aged 74.
Behmen, Jacob, called by his followers " the
German Theosophist;" born 1577, died 1624,
aged 49.
Bentham, Jeremy, a celebrated jurist, died,
in London, June 6, 1832, aged 85. He was
born February 15, (old style) 1747-8, in Lon-
don, was educated at Queen's College, Oxford,
attained the degree of A. M. in 1767, attended
the lectures of Sir William Blackstone, after-
wards entered at Lincoln's Inn, and was called
to the bar, but soon abandoned the profession,
and devoted himself to the composition of his
voluminous writings on jurisprudence, govern-
ment, and various branches of political and
moral science. Mr. Bentham had a high repu-
tation for talents, and held a correspondence
with many of the most distinguished statesmen
of Europe. As a writer, he was very obscure,
but he had able friends who attempted to render
some of his numerous works intelligible. A part
of them have been arranged and translated into
French, by his friend and admirer M. Etienne
Dumont, of Geneva, and printed partly in Paris,
and partly in London. This eccentric man,
who made utility the basis of his philosophy,
bequeathed his body to the dissectors, in order
to benefit the science of anatomy.
Bernard, of Menthon, founder of two monas-
teries in the Alps on Mountjoux, since called
from him, Great and Little St. Bernard. These
mountain monasteries are hospitals, in which
poor travellers are received, fed, lodged, and if
sick or wounded, treated with the utmost care.
Though subjected to the changes of nine hun-
dred years, these hospitable institutions still
subsist; their illustrious founder was born in
the Genevois, A. D. 903, and died at Novara,
988, aged 85.
Bernoulli, Daniel, a great mathematician,
born at Groningen, February 9, 1700, and died
at Basil, March 17, 1782, aged 82 years.
Bertholdus, to whom the discovery of gun-
powder has been ascribed, died A. D. 1340.
Biddle, Nicholas, captain in the U. States'
navy, during the revolutionary war, born in
Philadelphia, in 1750. On the night of March
7lh, 1778, he was blown up with his ship, the
U. States frigate Randolph, of 36 guns, and 315
men, in an action off Barbadoes, with the Brit-
ish ship Yarmouth, of 64 guns, Capt. Vincent.
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Black, Joseph, Scots chemist and physician,
died 1799, aged 71.
BJackmore, sir Richard, English poet and
physician, born 1650, and died October 8, 1729,
aged 79.
Blair, James, a Scots Episcopalian divine,
founder of the college of William and Mary,
Virginia. Mr. Blair was born in Scotland, about
1660; in 1683, he was sent out to America, as
a missionary, by Dr. Compton, bishop of Lon-
don ; and by the same prelate, was appointed
in 1685, his commissary in Virginia. It was
at the latter epoch, that he conceived the plan,
and by unwearied exertions, succeeded in
founding a college at Williamsburg. The pa-
tent for the college was granted by William and
Mary, about 1693, and from its founders named
" William and Mary College," of which Mr.
Blair was first president; and having filled the
ministry sixty, and the presidency of the col-
lege fifty years, died 1743, aged about 83 years.
Bland, Theodoric, M. D. served as colonel in
the revolutionary army, in the Virginia line,
with much reputation ; died a member of Con-
gress, from Virginia, June 1st, 1790, in his 49th
year.
Blount, sir Charles, born 1654, died 1693,
aged 39.
Bodmer, "the Father of German Literature,"
was born at Zurich, 1698, died 1783, aged 85.
Bonaparte, Madame Letitia, mother of the
emperor Napoleon, died at Rome, October, 1832,
aged 82. Her maiden name was Letitia Ram-
olini. She was born at Ajaccio, Aug. 24, 1750 ;
was one of the most beautiful young women of
Corsica, was married in the midst of civil dis-
cord and contention to Charles Bonaparte, an
officer who fought with Paoli ; was possessed
of great firmness of character ; and was left a
widow in 1785, having borne 13 children, of
whom five sons and three daughters survived
their father ; all of whom became celebrated.
Botzaris, Mark, one of the gallant defenders
of liberty in modern Greece, was born in Alba-
nia, in 1780, and is said to have been, at an early
period of his life, in the French service. When
the Greeks rose to throw off the Ottoman yoke,
he ardently espoused the cause of his country,
and was chosen stratarch of Western Greece.
The Turks having invaded Etolia with a large
army, he, at the head of two hundred and fifty
volunteers, made a nocturnal attack on the en-
emy's camp, and put great numbers of them to
the sword ; but towards the close of the contest
he received a mortal wound. His companions
in arms, by a desperate effort succeeded in
bearing him from the field, and he expired at
Missolonghi on the following day, August 23,
1823.
Boy dell, John, patron of the arts and engraver
by profession ; born at Donington, England,
January 19, 1719; came to London on foot,
bound himself an apprentice to an engraver ;
began to publish 1745-6, and in 1790, had ex-
pended in the promotion of the arts in general,
and the Shakespeare Gallery in particular,
£350,000 sterling, or 1,554,000 dollars. Died
in London, December 7, 1804, having nearly
reached the age of eighty-six years.
Boyle, Charles, fourth earl of Orrery, gene-
rally supposed the inventor of the noble astro-
logical instrument, which bears his title, born
1676, died 1731, aged 55. He patronised Row-
ley, the real inventor of the Planetarium, called
the Orrery.
Bracton, Henry, eminent English law writer,
flourished 1244.
Bradford, William, eminent lawyer of Penn-
sylvania; born in Philadelphia, September 14,
1755, died August 23, 1795, aged 40.
Bradford, William, one of the first printers in
English America, born 1658, died 1752, aged 94.
Bradford, William, printer and editor of one
of the first public papers in Philadelphia, called
the Pennsylvania Journal, died 1791, aged 73.
Bradley, James, eminent English astronomer,
born 1692; succeeded Dr. John Keil, as Savil-
lian professor of astronomy, at Oxford, in 1721 ;
discovered the aberration of the fixed stars, and
mutation of the earth's axis ; was appointed as-
tronomer royal, February, 1741-2, died July 13.
1762, aged 70.
Braho, Tycho, eminent astronomer, born in
Sweden, December 19th, 1646, died at Prague,
October 22d, 1601, aged 55.
Braxter, Carter, one of the signers of the
declaration of independence, born in Virginia,
Sept. 10, 1736, died in Richmond, Oct. 10, 1797.
Briggs, Henry, English mathematician, in-
ventor of Logarithmic numbers, born 1556,
died 1630, aged 74.
Briggs, Isaac, eminent mathematician, died
at Sandy Spring, Maryland, January, 1825,
aged 62 years.
Brindley, James, self taught English mecha-
nician, and the very able coadjutor of the duke
of Bridgewater, in the construction of canals,
locks, bridges, aqueducts, &c. born 1716, died
September"27th, 1772, aged 55.
Brooke, eminent English law writer, flourish-
ed 1550-58.
Brooke, Henry, author of " The Fool of Qual-
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ity," an excellent novel, born in Ireland, 1700,
died October, 1803, aged 77.
Brooke, Robert, born at London, June 3d,
1602; an early emigrant to Maryland, arrived
June 29th-, 1050; "he was the first who did
seat Patuxent, about 20 miles up the river, at
Delia Brooke." He died, July 20th, 1655.
Battel creek, in Calvert county, Maryland, is
so named from the town of Battel, in Sussex,
whence Mr. Brooke removed, when he set out
for America.
Browne, John, Scots M. D. author of the
" Elements of Medicine," born 1735, died 1768,
aged 53.
Bruno, founder of the Carthusians, died A.
D. 1101, aged 71.
Buchan, Dr. William, author of " Domestic
Medicine," &c. died Feb. 25th, 1805, aged 76.
Buchanan, George, Scots poet and historian,
born 1506, died 1582, aged 76.
Buchanan, George, M. D. one of the founders
and first commissioners engaged in 1729, to set-
tle and purchase the land of the city of Balti-
more, died 1745.
Buchanan, Claudius, eminent missionary to
the East Indies, died Feb. 9th, 1815.
Burgh, James, author of " The dignity of
Human Nature," died 1775, aged 61.
Burrows, William, born October 6, 1785; a
gallant officer in the United States navy, who
fell a victim in the moment of his glory, 6th
Sept. 1813, commanding the Enterprize, which
engaged the Boxer ; he received a mortal
wound early in the action, and when the
sword of the enemy was presented to him, he
exclaimed, "I am satisfied — I die content;"
and soon after expired. Action forty-five min-
utes.
Burkitt, William, English divine, and author
of " A Commentary on the New Testament,"
born in England 1650, died 1703, aged 53.
Burlamaqui, John James, author of principles
of Natural Laws; born at Geneva, 1694, died
there 1750, aged 56.
Burleigh, lord Exeter, made minister of state
to queen Elizabeth, 1560, died 1598.
Burnet, Gilbert, bishop of Salisbury, and
author of" the History of the Reformation of
the Church of England;" " History of his own
Times," &c. born in Scotland 1643 ; died
March 17th, 1715, aged 72.
Burton, Robert, author of" the Anatomy of
Melancholy," died 1639, aged 63.
Butler, Joseph, bishop of Durham, and author
of " the Analogy of Religion," &c. born in
England 1692, died 1753, aged 60.
Butler, Samuel, English poet, author of Hu-
dibras, born in 1600, died 1680, aged 80.
Butler, Richard, officer of the revolutionary
war, colonel of Morgan's rifle corps, and shared
at Saratoga, and many other places, the renown
of that admirable body. After a life of honor,
colonel Butler fell, in the defeat of St. Clair'a
army, by the Indians, November 4, 1791.
Butler, Thomas, brother of Richard, and a
brave United States' officer, joined the army in
1776 ; was at Brandywine battle on the 11th of
September of that year ; served through the
war, and was very severely wounded in the
war with the Indians, at the battle where his
brother fell. His latter years were imbittered
by disputes with general Wilkinson, which was
closed by death, Sept. 7th, 1805, aged 51. He
would not yield to the general order, which re-
quired officers and soldiers to cut the hair close
to the head.
Butler, Zebulon, was born at Lyme in Mas-
sachusetts, 1731 ; entered into military service
early in life, and served through the French
war, from 1755 to 1763. When the revolution-
ary war commenced, he was appointed colonel
in the Connecticut line. Died July 28th, 1795,
in his 64th year.
Cadwallader, John, an early patriot of the
American revolution, was born in Philadelphia,
1743 ; appointed brigadier general and had a
share in the operations at Trenton and Prince-
ton in the winter of 1776 — 7 ; died February
10th, 1786 in his 44th year.
Calmet, a learned Benedictine, died in France
October 25, 1757, aged 86.
Calvert, George, baron of Baltimore, founder
of Maryland, was of Flemish descent, born at
Kipling, in Yorkshire, England, 1582, and edu-
cated at Oxford ; in 1619, he was made by
Charles I, king of England, one of the principal
secretaries of state ; resigned that office, 1624,
made baron of Baltimore, 1625, obtained a pa-
tent for Maryland, June 20th 1632, and died at
London the same year.
Camper, Adrian Gilles, revived Craniology,
and was eminent as a comparative anatomist,
flourished 1789.
Canning, George, eminent English states-
man, and late premier of England, died August
8th, 1827, aged 57.
Carey, Wm., D.D. of the English Baptist mis-
sion at Serampore, was born Aug. 17, 1761. He
was the son of a poor man, and commenced bu-
siness in life as a shoemaker. By industry and
application he acquainted himself with Hebrew
and various other languages. In 1793, he left
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England for India. He translated the Scriptures
into Bengalee, and into all the principal langua-
ges of Northern Hindostan, and compiled also
a voluminous Bengalee Dictionary ; died 1834.
Carroll, Charles, of Carrollton, the last sur-
viving signer of the Declaration of Indepen-
dence. He was born at Annapolis, on the 20th
of September, 1737 ; was descended from a re-
spectable Irish family ; was of the Catholic reli-
gion, and inherited a very large estate ; died
Nov. 14, 1832
Cassini de Thury, Cseser Francois, 2nd son of
James, director of the royal observatory after
his father, born at Paris, June 17, 1714, died
September 4th, 1784, aged 70. The family hav-
ing been at the head of the royal observatory,
at Paris, 113 years.
Cato, the Censor, born B. C. 235, died 149,
aged 86.
Catullus, Latin poet, died B. C. 16, aged 71.
Cave, Edward, editor of the first periodical
Magazine in England, born 1691, died 1754,
aged 63.
Caverly, sir Hugh, the first who used gun-
powder in the service of England, died 1389.
Caxton, William, the first who introduced
printing into England, born 1412, died 1491,
aged 79.
Chaise, Francis de la, French Jesuit, and con-
fessor to Louis XIV, king of France, from 1675,
to his death, 1709. It is supposed with every
rational probability that Father de la Chaise, in-
stigated the revocation of the edict of Nantz.
Chambers, Ephraim, the first person, who in
England, undertook a work in the form now
known as a Cyclopaedia, or Encyelopoedia ; his
dictionary was the origin of what is now term-
ed Rees' Cyclopaedia. He was born about 1680,
died May 15th, 1740.
Chastellux, marquis of, French general in the
revolutionary war, and who published travels
in America, born 1734,
Chew, Benjamin, born in Maryland, Novem-
ber 29, 1722; eminent lawyer, member of con-
gress, 1776, who preferred reform rather than
revolution, and retired from public concerns;
died 20th January, 1810.
Churchill, John, duke of Marlborough, cele-
brated English general, born in Devonshire,
1750, died at Windsor Lodge, 1722, aged 72.
Clark, Rev. Adam, LL. D., F. S. A., &c, a
distinguished Methodist preacher and divine, a
man of great talents and extensive learning,
particularly in the oriental languages and bibli-
cal literature, and author of a well known and
learned commentary on the Scriptures, and va-
rious other publications. He was born in 1763,
in the county of Londonderry, in Ireland, his
father being of an English family, and his mo-
ther a Scotchwoman. By invitation of Mr. John
Wesley he became a pupil in Kingswood school
then recently established, and was sent out by
Mr. Wesley, an itinerant preacher, in 1782, at
the early age of 19. He was greatly admired
as a preacher : at first his youth attracted great
numbers of hearers ; but afterwards the extent
of his resources, from the gifts of nature and
the fruits of study, commanded attention wher-
ever he went ; and hardly any man ever drew
so large congregations, or of so mixed a charac-
ter. He continued to travel in various circuits,
till 1805, when he took up his residence in Lon-
don, where he passed a considerable part of his
subsequent life. To his great talents and learn-
ing he united the virtues of the humble Chris-
tian ; was greatly respected by all denomina-
tions; and though catholic in his feelings, he
was strongly attached to the body of Christians
with which he was connected ; died, August
26, 1834, at Bays water, near London, of the
cholera, aged 72.
Clark, Abraham, one of the signers of the de-
claration of independence, born in New Jersey,
15th February, 1726; died by a stroke of the
sun, 1794, in the 69th year of his age.
Clayton, John, an eminent English botanist,
author of " The Flora Virginica," was born in
England, about 1685 ; came an infant with his
father to America, and in 1722, became clerk of
the county of Gloucester, Virginia, which office
he held 51 years, to his death, 1773, aged 88.
Clerke, Charles, able English naval comman-
der, the companion, friend and successor of cap-
tain James Cook, died on the coast of Kams-
chatka, August 22d, 1779, aged 39.
Clinton, Charles, was born in the county of
Longford, Ireland, 1690 ; came to America,
1729 ; died 1773, aged nearly 83.
Cloriviere, Joseph Peter Picot, director of the
monastery of the Visitation in George-Town, D.
C. born at Broons, in Brittany, France, 4th No-
vember, 1768. In the French Revolution, he
sided with the royal party; reputed inventor of
the famous infernal machine, and in conse-
quence was compelled to leave his country ; be-
came subsequently a priest in Baltimore and
Charleston, South Carolina, in the former of
which places he took orders from aichbishop
Carroll, in 1812; and in 1819 was appointed
over the monastery in George-Town, where he
closed his life, on September 30th, 1826, aged
57 ; a distinguished and respectable man.
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Clum, Mrs. near Litchfield, England, died
Jan. 28th, 1772, aged 138, and had lived 103
years in one house.
Colden, Cad wallader, mathematician and phi-
losopher, born at Demse, in Scotland, February
17th, 1688; came to America, 1708, and to
which he removed his family 1710, settled in
New- York. He died, September 28th, 1776, on
the day of the conflagration of New-York, aged
88.
Cole, William, a great botanist, born in Eng-
land, 1626, died 1662, aged 36
Condillac, Stephen Bonnet de, French meta-
physician, died 1780.
Confucius, Chinese philosopher, born, B. C.
555.
Copernicus, Nicholas, restorer of the Pytha-
gorean, or true system of the Universe, born at
Thorn, in Prussia, February 19, 1473 ; he com-
pleted his astronomical system, in 1530 ; not
published until 1543, and then only under the
authority, and at the expense of cardinal Ni-
cholas Schoenburg. A copy of this treatise, the
" Jlstronomia Instaurata, sive de Revolutionibus
Orbium Celestrum," reached the hand of its il-
lustrious author, only a few hours before his
death, May 22d, 1543, in his 71st year.
Corneille, Thomas, brother to the more fa-
mous Peter Corneille, French dramatist and his-
torian, died 1709.
Correa, de Serra Abbe, eminent Portuguese
naturalist and statesman, was born at Serpa, in
Portugal, 1754, several years ambassador from
Portugal to the United States, returned to his
native country, about 1818, and died.
Correlli, signora, received the triumph of a
coronation at Rome, July 1776.
Cosmo de Medicis, died 1464, aged 75.
Crabbe, Rev. George, LL. B., a distinguished
poet. He was born at Aldborough, in Suffolk,
December 24, 1754 ; and, after having received
a very limited classical education, he was ap-
prenticed to the business of a surgeon and apo-
thecary; but he had little fondness for his pro-
fession ; and having cultivated a taste for poetry,
he repaired to London, at about the age of 24,
as a literary adventurer. After having attempt-
ed in vain to gain the favorable notice of the
public, the " youth to fortune and to fame un-
known" ventured, without an introduction, to
make application to the celebrated Edmund
Burke, and committed to him a large quantity of
miscellaneous composition. Mr. Burke received
him with kindness; selected from among other
poems " The Library" and " The Village," (the
former of which was scon afterwards published,
and the latter in 1783); and introduced him to the
acquaintance of Mr. Fox, and Sir Joshua Rey-
nolds. Sir Joshua submitted to Dr. Johnson
the manuscript of <; The Village," " which,"
said the famous critic, in his letter on returning
the poem, " I read with great delight; it is ori-
ginal, vigorous, and elegant." After a short
preparation, in which he was assisted by Mr.
Burke, Mr. Crabbe was ordained a deacon in
1781. " The Newspaper" was published in
1785 ; " The Parish Register" in 1807 ; " The
Borough" in 1810; "Tales in Verse" in 1812;
and " Tales of the Hall" in 1819. Mr. Crabbe
has been characterized by the Edinburgh Re-
view as " the satirist of low life." " He is a
writer," says Mr. Hazlitt, " of great power, but
of a perverse and morbid taste. — His poems are
a sort of funeral dirge over human life, but
without pity, without hope. He has neither
smiles nor tears for his readers." He died at
Trowbridge, in Wiltshire, Feb. 8th, 1832, aged
77.
Crebillon, the elder, French tragic poet, died
1762, aged 88.
Cropper, John, a gallant officer in the revolu-
tionary war, and personally distinguished by
general Washington, died January 15th, 1822,
aged 66.
Cruden, Alexander, author of a Concordance
to the Bible, born in Scotland, 1701, died in
London, 1770, aged 69.
Ctebius, supposed inventor of the pump,
flourished B. C. 120.
Cudworth, Ralph, author of " The Intellec-
tual System," died 1688, aged 71.
Cullen, Dr. William, of Edinburgh, died
February 5, 1790, aged 80.
Cuvier, Baron, a Peer of France, Perpetual
Secretary of the Academy of Sciences, Profes-
sor of Natural History in the College of France,
and the greatest naturalist of the age ; be was
born at Montbelliard, in Upper Rhine, in Au-
gust, 1769, and died at Paris, May 13, 1832.
Dacier, Andrew, French, classical translator,
died 1722, aged 71.
Dalton, John, English M. D. who adapted
Milton's Mask of Comus to the stage, and gave
the benefit to the grandaughter of the poet;
died 1763, aged 54.
Darke, William, usually called major Darke,
a brave veteran officer, born in Philadelphia
county, 1736, served in the war of 1755-63;
again in the revolutionary war, and finally in
the Indian war, under general St. Clair, on No-
vember 4th, 1791, died November 26th, 1801,
aged 66.
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Darnley,lord, king of Scotland, and father of
James VI, murdered February 10, 1567.
Davenant, Charles, English statistical writer,
and amongst the first of that class in that king-
dom, died 1714, aged 58.
Davidson, William, a native of Lancaster
county, Pennsylvania, born 174G, and in 1750,
removed by his parents to Mecklenburg, North
Carolina. At the opening of the revolutionary
war, he entered the army, in which he rose to
the rank of general, and fell defending the pas-
sage of Catawba River against Lord Corn-
wallis, February 1st, 1781.
Daun, Leopold count, marshal of the German
empire, and during the seven years' war, the
most successful opponent of Frederic the great,
died 1766, aged 61.
Day, John, printer, the first who introduced
the Greek and Saxon characters into England,
died 1584.
Deane, Silas, member of congress, died in
extreme poverty in England, 1781.
Defoe, Daniel, author of Robinson Crusoe,
died 1731.
De l'lsle, Joseph Nicholas, French astrono-
mer, died 1772.
De l'Isle,Wm., French geographer, died 1726.
De Lima, John Taverra, a native of Portugal,
died 1738, aged 198.
Denham, Sir John, poet, born in Dublin 1615,
died 1668, aged 53.
Derham, William, English divine and ma-
thematician, died in 1735, aged 78.
Dickenson, John, distinguished American
statesman and patriot, entered public office 1764,
died in 1808.
Didot, Francis Ambrose, eminent French
printer, died July 10, 1804, aged 74.
Digges, Dudley, English statesman, died
1639, aged 56.
Doddridge, Philips, eminent English divine,
died 1751, aged 49.
Domat, John, eminent French judge and ju-
rist, born 1625, died at Paris 1696, aged 71.
Dow, Rev. Lorenzo, a celebrated but eccen-
tric Methodist preacher. He was a native of
Connecticut; and in his course of 30 years'
preaching, he travelled over England and Ire-
land, and visited almost every part of the United
States. He is supposed to have preached to
more persons than any other man of his time.
He died at Georgetown, D. C. Feb. 2d, 1834.
Draco, the lawgiver, flourished B. C. 624.
Drake, sir Francis, born 1545 ; set sail on
his voyage round the world 1577; died 1595,
aged 50.
Drayton, Michael, English poet, died 1631,
aged 58.
Drayton, William Henry, an American pat-
riot and political writer, author of " Freeman"
born 1742, died a member of Congress, 1779,
aged 37.
Drelincourt, Charles, French Protestant di-
vine, died 1669, aged 74.
Drummond, William, poet, died 1649, aged
63.
Dry den, John, eminent English poet, died
1700, aged 69.
Dlucos, Charles Dineau, French historian
and didactic writer, died 1772, aged 57.
Duncan, king of Scotland, murdered by Mac-
beth, A. D. 1054.
Duncan, William, author of " Logic," died
1760 aged 43.
Dunstan, St. archbishop of Canterbury, from
959 to 988, was one of the violent apostles of
clerical celibacy.
Dyer, John, English poet, born 1700, died
1758, aged 58.
Edward, the black prince, English hero, son
of Edward III, died in France, 1376. aged 46.
Ellwood, Thomas, an eminent member of the
society of Friends; at 21 he joined the society,
and became as a preacher and writer, one of
their most efficient members to his death, 1713,
in his 74th year.
Elstol, William, a Saxon scholar, died 1714.
Epicurus, founder of the sect which bore his
name; born at Athens, B. C. 342, died 271,
aged 71 .
Epimenides, a Cretan philosopher, contem-
porary with Solon, said to have lived 157 years.
Erastothenes, one of the greatest mathema-
ticians, of antiquity ; the first in Europe who
measured a degree of the meridian, and the
first who accurately determined the inclination
of the earth's axis to the plane of the ecliptic,
died B. C. 195, aged 80.
Eumenes of Pergamos, one of the generals
of Alexander the Great, put to death B. C. 315.
Euripides, one of the most ancient and great-
est Greek tragic poets, died B. C. 405, aged 75.
Eusebius, Pamphylus bishop Csssarea, flour-
ished A. D. 270-340.
Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia, an Arian,
flourished 338-41.
Eusebius, bishop of Emessa, theological wri-
ter, flourished 340-60.
Eusebius, bishop of Verceil, theological wri-
ter, flourished 354-70.
These bishops of the same name and age are
almost invariably confounded.
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Evelyn, John, English historian and poet,
died 1698, aged 44.
Evelyn, John, English natural philosopher,
died 170(5, aged 77.
Evremont, Saint, died September 9th, 1703,
aged i)0.
Farenheit, Gabriel Daniel, inventor of the
Thermometer which bears his name, born at
Hamburg, flourished 1720.
Fancoutt, Samuel, the first who opened a
circulating library in London ; he came to that
city about 1740, and set up his library ; died in
poverty 1768, aged 90.
Farinello, eminent Italian opera singer, died
in England, about 1780.
Farquhar, George, dramatic writer, died 1707,
aged 29.
Falstolf, Sir John, celebrated English general,
flourished under the Henries IV, V and VI,
and died about 1460.
Fayette, Mary Magdalen Proche de la Vergne,
countess of, dramatic, historical and biographi-
cal writer, flourished at the court of Louis XIV
1670-93.
Ferdinando, Marc de Paleotti, hanged in
England for murder, February 28th, 1718; he
was brother to the duchess of Shrewsbury.
Ferarr, Lawrence, Earl, committed to the
tower of London for murdering his steward,
Feb. 13, 1760; tried, found guilty April 18, and
hanged at Tyburn May 5, 1760.
Fletcher, Andrew, commonly called Fletcher
of Salton, Scots political writer, died 1716,
aged 63.
Fleury, Claude, French ecclesiastical writer,
and coadjutor of Fenelon, as preceptors, died
1723, aged 83.
Fontenelle, Bernard le Bovier de, author of
Plurality of Worlds, born 1657, and lived to
Jan. 1757, or to nearly 100 years.
Fordyce, James, brother of David, eminent
Scots divine, and author of Sermons to Young
Women, died 1796, aged 76.
Forrest, Uriah, a brave officer of the Mary-
land line, in the American revolutionary war,
born in St. Mary's county, 1756; losing a leg
in the battle of Germantown, was forced to re-
tire from service.
Forster, John Reinhold, -author of Northern
Voyages, born in Polish Prussia 1729 ; circum-
navigated the earth with captain Cook; died
January 9, 1779, aged 70.
Fortescue, sir John, English law writer, flour-
ished about 1460.
Foster, sir Michael, eminent English crown
lawyer, died 1763, aged 74.
Fothergill, Dr. John, born in Yorkshire. Eng-
land, 1712, in 1748, published his treatise on
putrid sore throat ; died 1780, aged 68.
Fox, Richard, bishop of Exeter, eminent
English statesman, died 1528, aged 68.
Freneau, Philip, a poet of the American rev-
olution ; died at Freehold, N. J., Dec. 18th,
1832, aged about 80.
Frith, John, an early martyr to the reforma-
tion in England, was burned about 1533;
Frith's work on the Eucharist; is supposed to
have been the first English treatise on the side
of the reformed doctrines.
Froisart, John, early French historian, died
1402, aged 69.
Fromage, Peter, eminent French Catholic mis-
sionary, born at Laon, 1678, died 1740, aged 62.
Fuller, Rev. Dr. Thomas, eminent English
divine and ecclesiastical writer, born 1608, died
1661, aged 53.
Fust, or Faustus of Mentz, one of the earliest
printers in Europe, died about 1466.
Gallilei, Gallileo,one of the greatest revivers
of modern science, born at Pisa, 1564 ; made
professor of mathematics in the university of
Pisa, 1590; removed to Venice 1592, where he
exercised the duties of a similar office, till 1611 ;
in 1609, he had made the first Telescope, died
1642, in his 78th year.
Ganesvoort, Gen. Peter, was born in Albany,
N. Y. July 16th, 1749; joined the American
army as a major, 1775, but raised to the rank of
colonel the ensuing year; on August 2d, 1777,
he was besieged with his command in fort Stan-
wix, where Rome in Oneida county now stands,
by Colonel St. Leger, with a body of British
tories and Indians, who after a most gallant de-
fence, were repelled and forced to retreat, on
August 22d. He continued in the army to the
close of the war, though from March 1782 in
the immediate service of New York ;' he was
appointed by president Madison, a brigadier
general, in which service he continued to his
death, July 2d, 1812, aged 63.
Garden, Alexander, eminent botanist, born
in Scotland, 1730, removed to Charleston, S.
Carolina, 1752, died in London 1791, aged 61.
Garth, Dr. Samuel, English poet, flourished
1691-1719.
Gascoigne, sir William, eminent English
lawyer and judge, born 1350, died 1413, aged 63.
Gassendi, Peter, eminent French astrono-
mer and philosopher, one of the great restorers
of inductive philosophy, died 1655, aged 63.
Gay, John, eminent English poet, died 1732.
aged 44.
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Gebhard, Rev. John G. born Feb. 2d, 1750,
at Waldorf, in Germany ; educated at the uni-
versity of Heidelberg, emigrated to America,
1771, died in the state of New York, August
17th, 1826, in the 77th year of his age, and the
55th of his ministry.
Gebee, Claude, usually called Claude de Lor-
raine, eminent landscape painter, died 1682,
aged 82.
Gerard, French nobleman, and first grand
master of the knights of St. John of Jerusalem,
flourished A. D. 1100.
Gessner, John Mathias, eminent German
philologist, died 1761, aged 70.
Gessner, Solomon, German philologist, died
1605, aged 46.
Gibson, Col. John, an officer of the revolu-
tionary war, born at Lancaster, Pennsylvania,
May 23d, 1740, served under Gen. Forbes when
that officer took Fort du Quesne ; entered the
army as a colonel early in the war, and contin-
ued through it; died at Braddock's Field, near
Pittsburg, April 10th, 1822, aged nearly 82.
Gibson, Col. George, an officer of the revo-
lutionary army, a native of Lancaster, Pennsyl-
vania, settled early in life at Pittsburg, joined
the army as a colonel, and served to the end of
1778. In the war with the Indian tribes, Col.
Gibson again commanded a regiment, and shar-
ed the fatal dangers of St. Clair's campaign and
defeat, in the latter of which he received a mor-
tal wound, which terminated an honorable and
eventful life at Fort Jefferson, Dec. 11th, 1794.
Gilbert, sir Humphrey, half brother to sir
Walter Raleigh, and one of the earliest English
adventurers, who attempted to form a colony in
America, born 1539 ; in 1576, published " A
treatise to prove a passage by the north-west to
the East Indies." In 1578, he obtained a patent
to make a settlement in North America, and in
that year made a voyage to Newfoundland, re-
turned to Europe, and in 1583, on his homeward
bound voyage, from another trip to America,
was lost with all his crew.
Gill, Dr. John, eminent scriptural commen-
tator, died 1771, aged 74.
Glanvil, Joseph, eminent English philosopher,
died 1680, aged 44.
Glauber, John Rodolph, from whom the well
known salt takes its name, flourished 1640-60.
Glisson, Francis, eminent English M. D.
President of the College of Physicians, London,
died 1677, aged 80. The man who was one of
the founders of the Royal Society, and eulo-
gized by Boerhaave and Haller.
Glover, Richard, Eng. poet, died 1785, aged 73.
Gluck, le Chevalier Christopher, eminent
German musical composer, died at Vienna,
1787, aged 71 .
Godfrey, Thomas, inventor of the Quadrant
commonly called Hadley's. By the latter he
was cheated out of the credit of the invention;
bom in Philadelphia, where he died in Decem-
ber, 1749.
Godeau, eminent French ecclesiastical histo-
rian, died 1672, aged 67.
Goethe, John Wolfgang von, died at Weimar,
Germany, March 22, 1832, aged 82. He was
an eminent author and a romantic poet, held in
great repute by his countrymen and admirers ;
and styled " the patriarch of German litera-
ture ;" according to a writer in " The Foreign
Quarterly Review," " the first man of his na-
tion and time ; " and according to Prince Puck-
ler Muskau, " the third in the great triumvi-
rate with Homer and Shakspeare."
He was born on the 28th of August, 1749, at
Frankfort on the Maine. At the age of 15, he
went to the University of Leipsic ; and after
passing four years there, he resided awhile in
Alsace, and then returned to his native city.
About the year 1776, on the invitation of the
Grand Duke, he went to Weimar, where he
passed the remainder of his life, loaded by his
patron with honors, ennobled, made a privy
counsellor, and for many years prime minister.
Owing in part to the liberal patronage of the
Grand Duke, the little court of Weimar was a
distinguished focus of German literature ; and
in the early years of the present century, this
place reckoned among its residents more than
twenty writers of note, at the head of whom
were Goethe, Schiller, Wieland, Herder, and
for a time, Kotzebue. Some of the most cele-
brated of the productions of Goethe are the
"Sorrows of Werther," "Faust," and " Wilhelm
Meister's Apprenticeship." The edition of his
works published at Stuttgard and Tubingen, in
1830, comprises 40 volumes. He left his MSS.
to the care of Dr. Eckermann, whom he ap-
pointed editor of his posthumous productions;
and an edition of his whole works now publish-
ing, will comprise fifty-five volumes. — He main-
tained for many years a tranquil empire over
the literature of his country, which was implic-
itly acquiesced in by the candidates for literary
fame ; yet his works have been much complain-
ed of as characterized by unintelligible mysti-
cism, and as of irreligious and immoral ten-
dency.
Gordon, Lord George, died in Newgate, Nov.
1, 1793.
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Gore, Capl. John, the friend and companion
of Capt. Cook, was born in Virginia, 1735; early
in life he entered the British navy, and made
his first voyage round the world with Commo-
dore Byron. In 176S, he was appointed second
lieutenant of the Endeavour, under Captain
Cook, and again circumnavigated the earth.
In 177G, he was appointed first lieutenant of the
Resolution, and by the successive deaths of
Captains Cook and Clerke, returned to Europe,
October, 1730, commander of the squadron.
Ended his days as one of the captains of Green-
wich Hospital, Aug. 10th, 1790, aged 55.
Granville, Geo., Eng. poet, died 1735, aged 63.
Greene, Col. Christopher, a relation of Gen.
Nathaniel Greene, and a native of Warwick,
Rhode Island, was born 1737, and in May, 1775,
entered the service as a lieutenant. He was
with Montgomery at Quebec, where he became
a prisoner. Soon after his exchange, he joined
his regiment, to the command of which he rose
in 1777. He fell May 22d, 1781, in an action
with some tories near New York.
Greenville, Sir Richard, commander of the
first English colony sent to North America, was
born 1540; in June, 1558, landed on the shores
of the Roanoke, and left a small colony which
was subsequently, it is probable, destroyed by
the savages, as no trace of them could be ever
afterwards discovered. Greenville shared with
Howard, Drake, Raleigh, Hawkins and Frobi-
gher, the renown of defeating the Spanish Ar-
mada. In 1591, he was made Vice Admiral of
a squadron sent out to the West Indies. In
this expedition he fell in with a superior force,
and in the action his ship was taken and him-
self mortally wounded.
Greenville, Sir Bevil, grandson of Admiral
Greenville, was born 1596, and slain in the bat-
tle of Lansdown, near Bath, 1643.
Grenville, Lord William Wyndham, was a
distinguished statesman and powerful debater,
born Oct. 25, 1759. the third son of George
Grenville, Prime Minister of England in 176'3-
5. The secret of the authorship of " Junius "
is said to have been entrusted to Lord Gren-
ville, and that it would be disclosed after his
death ; and the office of making the disclosure,
some have supposed, has been confided to his
nephew, Lord Nugent. He died at his seat,
Dropmore, in Buckinghamshire, on the 12th of
January, 1834, aged 74.
Grimston, sir Harbottle, English law writer,
died 1683.
Guido of Arezzo, musical composer, of the
11th century.
Guise, Francis de Lorraine, duke of, celebrat-
ed French general, murdered at Orleans, 15C3,
aged 44.
Guise, Henry de Lorraine, duke of, son of
Francis, who with his brother Cardinal de Lor-
raine, was murdered 1588, at the instigation of
Henry III king of France.
Gunter, Edmund, eminent English mathe-
matician, author of the scale and chain which
bears his name, died 1626, aged 45.
Hale, sir Matthew, eminent English Judge,
died 1676, aged G7.
Hammond, James, eminent English elegiac
poet, died 1740, aged 30.
Harris, John, the first compiler of a dictionary
of arts and sciences in England, died a beggar,
1719, aged 49.
Hartley, David, eminent English metaphysi-
cian, died 1757, aged 53.
Harvey, Dr. William, who discovered the
circulation of the blood, died June 3d, 1658,
aged 80.
Hauser, Caspar, a personage whose history
is enveloped in mystery, died at Anspach,
Bavaria, of wounds inflicted by an unknown
assassin, Dec. 17th, 1833. On the 26th of May,
1828, a youth, apparently about 16 or 17 years
of age, was found at one of the gates of N urem-
berg ; but he was unable to give any account
of himself, nor could it be discovered who
brought him there, whence he came, or who he
was. He was 4 feet and 9 inches in height ;
was very pale ; had a short delicate beard on
his chin and upper lip ; his limbs were slender ;
his feet bore no marks of having been confined
in shoes; he scarcely knew how to use his
fingers or hands ; and his attempts to walk re-
s' mbled the first efforts of a child. When
sp ken to he understood nothing that was said
to him, and only replied in a few words of un-
intelligible gibberish ; and his countenance was
expressive of gross stupidity. He held in his
hand a letter addressed to the captain of one of
the cavalry companies of Nuremberg, dated
"Bavarian Frontiers; place nameless." Its
purport was that the bearer had been left with
the writer, who was a poor laborer, in October,
1812, and who, not knowing his parents, had
brought him up in his house, without allowing
him to stir out of it. A note accompanying the
letter contained these words : — " His father was
one of the light cavalry : send him, when he is
17 years old, to Nuremberg, for his father was
stationed there. He was born April 30, 1812.
I am a poor girl, and cannot support him : his
father is dead," A pen being put into his
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hands, he wrote in plain letters Caspar Hauscr.
He appeared to be hungry and thirsty, but man-
ifested great aversion to eating or drinking any
thing that was offered to him except bread and
water.
He fell into the hands of persons who treated
him kindly, and taught him the use of language ;
and he manifested the most amiable and grate-
ful disposition. But he could give no account
of himself, except that, as far back as he could
remember, he had always inhabited a small cell,
continually seated on the ground, with his feet
naked, and having no covering except a shirt
and trousers, and he had never seen the sky.
When he awoke from sleep he was accustomed
to find near him some bread and a pitcher of
water ; but he never saw the face of the person
who brought them; and it was at Nuremberg
that he first learnt there were other living crea-
tures besides himself and the man with whom
he had always been. — Preyious to his death
Hauser resided at Anspach, where he had a
little employment in the registrar-office, and
Lord Stanhope had also provided for his sup-
port. Some time before his assassination, an
ineffectual attempt had been made upon his life
by the same assassin, as is supposed, that finally
inflicted the fatal blow with a dagger.
Heath, Gen. William, born at Roxbury, Mas-
sachusetts, in 1737, and died in his native place,
Jan. 24th, 1814, aged 77. Amongst the first to
take up arms in favor of his insulted country,
was appointed by the provincial congress of
Massachusetts, in 1775, a brigadier general;
was by the continental congress, in 1776, raised
to the rank of major general, and served through
the war.
Hedwig, John, eminent botanist, died 1797,
aged 67.
Herodotus, the father of history, born at Hal-
icarnassus in Caria, B. C. 484, flourished B. C.
440 ; time of his death unknown. His history
includes a period of 234 years, from B. C. 713
to 47!).
Hervey, James, English divine and poet, au-
thor of" Meditations," &c. died 1758, aged 44.
Hay ward, Thomas, one of the signers of the
declaration of independence, born in South
Carolina, 1746; died March, 1809.
Hill, Aaron, dramatic English poet, died 1750,
aged 65.
Hillhouse, James, a man very highly respect-
ed for his private virtues and his great and long
continued public services ; was born at Mont-
ville, Conn., Oct. 21, 1754, and died at New
Haven, Dec. 29, 1832, in his 79th year.
Hoadley, Benjamin, eminent English divine
and bishop of Winchester, died 1761, aged 85.
Hobbes, Thomas, celebrated English writer,
died 1679, aged 91.
Hogarth, William, eminent English painter,
died 1764, aged 67.
Holbein, Hans, eminent Swiss painter, died
1554, aged 56.
Holt, sir John, eminent English lawyer and
judge, died 1709, aged 67.
Holwell, John Zephaniah, commander, and
one of the few survivors of a party of 146 En-
glish, who were confined by the Nabob of Ben-
gal in 1756, in what was called, " The Black
Hole" at Calcutta. Mr. Holwell wrote an ac-
count of this dreadful affair, which he survived
42 years, dying in 1798, aged 89.
Home, Henry, Lord Kaimes, eminent critic,,
born in Scotland, 1696, died 1782, aged 86. _
Hooker, Rev. Richard, author of Ecclesias-
tical Polity, died 1600, aged 47.
Hoole, John, English poet, translator of the
Orlando Furioso,and Jerusalem Delivered, died
1803, aged .76.
Hudson, Henry, eminent naval commander
and discoverer in North America, flourished
from 1607 to 1610. In the latter year, whilst
navigating the bay which now bears his name,
his crew mutinied, and put him, his son, and
seven others on shore, where they no doubt
perished.
Hume, David, philosopher and historian, died
August 25th, 1776, aged 65.
Humphrey, Col. David, patriot of the Ameri-
can revolution, born in Connecticut, 1752; in
1780 was appointed one of the aids to Gen.
Washington, with whom he remained through
the residue of the war, and at its termination
accompanied him to Virginia. Col. Humphrey
was distinguished for his gallantry and military
skill at the siege of York. He remained with
Gen. Washington, until 1790, with the excep-
tion of two years residence in France. In 1790,
he was appointed minister to Portugal, and for
the residue of his life was alternately in public
and private life. He died, Feb. 21st, 1818,
aged 66.
Hunter, John, eminent surgeon, died very
suddenly in St. George's hospital, 1793, aged 65.
Hyde, Edward, Earl of Clarendon, grand-
father to Queens Mary II and Anne, and author
of a history of the grand rebellion, died at
Rouen, 1674, aged 66.
Jane, the insane, daughter of Ferdinand and
Isabella, became mother of the emperors Charles
V and Ferdinand I. The death of her husband
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affected her reason ; she became insane in 150G,
and remained so to her death, 1555, 49 years.
Jasper, sergeant, distinguished for gallantry
in the revolutionary war; June 28th, 1776, in
the celebrated attack of sir Peter Parker, on
Fort Moultrie, he replaced the American flag
after it was shot away by a cannon ball. He
with the aid of sergeant Newton, waylaid, sur-
prised and captured, a British guard of ten men,
releasing an American of the name of Jones,
whom they were conducting to certain death at
Savannah. This extraordinary exploit was
performed within about two miles from the
British lines ; killed in the attack on Savannah
Oct. 9, 1779.
Je-rome, St. died A. D. 420, aged 80.
John, eminent Swiss naturalist, born at Zu-
rich, 1709, died 1790, aged 81.
Jones, sir William, English poet, statesman,
and oriental scholar, born in London, 1746, died
in Indostan, April 27th, 1794, aged 47.
Julius Csesar, much celebrated Roman gen-
eral, born B. C. July 10th, 100; murdered
March 15th, 44, aged 56.
Justin, a Latin historian, flourished it is sup-
posed under Antoninus Pius.
Kaufman, Angelica, eminent female painter;
died 1807, aged 67.
Kenrick, William, dramatic writer, died 1777.
Klopstock, Frederick Theophilus, eminent
German poet, born 1724, died 1803, aged 79.
Kneller, sir Godfrey Theophilus, eminent
German poet, aged 75.
Laud, Archbishop, beheaded, 1645, aged 71.
La Place, marquis, Peter Simon, author of the
" Mechanique Celiste," born 1749, died 1827.
Lavater, the physiognomist, died in his native
city, Zurich.
Lawrence, sir Henry, a celebrated portrait
painter, born at Bristol, England, 1769, died
Jan. 9, 1830.
Lee, Francis Lightfoot, one of the signers of
the Declaration of Independence, born Oct. 14,
1734.
Lenox, Earl of, Regent of Scotland, murder-
ed 1571.
Leo IX, the first Pope who kept an army,
1054.
Lever, sir Ashton, collector of a museum,
died 1788.
L'Enclos, Ninon de, died 1706, aged 80.
Linnasus, Charles Von, eminent botanist, died
at Upsal in Sweden, January 10, 1778, aged 71.
Liverpool, Lord, distinguished premier of
England, born June 17th, 1769, died December
18th, 1828.
Livius, Titus, eminent Roman historian, died
A. D. 18, aged 76.
Long, Gabriel, the last of Gen. Morgan's
captains, died at his residence in Culpepper
county, Virginia, Feb. 3d, 1827. It is said that
this intrepid soldier fought in eighteen battles.
Longinus, eminent critic, put to death by the
Roman emperor Aurelian, A. D. 273.
Loyala, Ignatius, founder of the Jesuits, died
1556, aged 65.
Lucan, Latin epic poet, born at Corduba, in
Spain, A. D. 37; put to death by Nero, 64,
aged 27.
Lucius, the first Christian king of Britain,
reigned 77 years, founded the first church in
London, which was made the see of an arch-
bishop, alterwards removed to Canterbury,
A. D. 179.
Lucretius, Latin poet, born at Rome, B. C.
95, died 52, aged 43.
Lyttleton, Lord,Eng. poet, died 1773, aged 73.
Mackintosh, sir James, Kt, M. P., D. L. C,
&c, was born October, 24, 1765, at Alldowrie
in the county of Inverness, Scotland, and was
educated at King's College, Aberdeen, where
he had for a fellow-student the celebrated Rob-
ert Hall. He died in London, May 30th, 1832.
Macklin, Charles, famous comedian, died
July 11th, 1797, aged 97.
Magellan, Ferdinand, whose ship was the first
which was navigated round the world ; killed
on the voyage, 1520.
Malbone, Edward G., an eminent miniature
painter, died 1807.
Malebranche, Nicholas, philosopher, born at
Paris 1638, died 1715, aged 77.
Malherbe, Francis, French poet and critic,
died 1628, aged 72.
Malthus, celebrated English writer on politi-
cal statistics, died Dec. 30, 1834.
Margaret, Countess of Richmond and Derby,
mother of king Henry VII, died June 29, 1509.
Margaret, Countess of Salisbury, daughter
of the duke of Clarence, brother of Edward IV ;
beheaded May 27th, 1541, aged 70.
Marechal, Ambrose, Catholic archbishop of
Baltimore, born at Orleans, France, 1768; died
in Baltimore January 29th, 1828, aged 60.
Maria Theresa, empress of Germany, mother
of the unfortunate Maria Antoinette, queen of
France, born 1717 ; married the duke of Lor-
raine, 1736; succeeded her father, 1740; died
1780, aged 63.
Marion, Gen. Francis, a brave and active
officer in the southern war of the revolution,
died in South Carolina, 1795,
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Marlborough, John Churchill, duke of, cele-
brated English general, born at Ashe, in Dev-
onshire, 1650; died 1723, aged 73.
Martial, Marcus Valerius, Latin satiric poet,
died A. D. 104, aged 75.
Martin, Luther, eminent lawyer, first attor-
ney general of Maryland, which office he held
during the war, and nearly forty years ; became
a chief justice of the city court of Baltimore ;
died July 10th, 1826, in his 82d year. He was
one of the Convention that formed the Consti-
tution of the United States.
Mary I, Queen of England, daughter of Hen-
ry VIII and Catharine of Arragon, born 1516;
succeeded her brother Edward VI, 1553; died
November, 1558, aged 42, leaving the dreadful
character of " The Bloody Mary."
Mary, of Medicis, queen of Henry IV, of
France, died 1642, aged 69.
Mason, George, member of the Convention
which framed the Constitution, which he refus-
ed to sign ; member of Congress from Virginia,
died 1792, aged 67.
Massinger, Philip, English dramatic writer,
died 1640, aged 56.
Mather, Increase, eminent American divine,
born at Dorchester, Massachusetts, 1635; died
1723, aged 84.
Mather, Cotton, son of Increase Mather, also
eminent divine and writer, born 1662; died
1727, aged 65.
Maurice, elector of Saxony, and successful
supporter of the Protestant cause in Germany,
killed in the battle of Sievenhausen, 1553, aged
32 years.
Maurice, of Nassau, prince of Orange, and
grandson by his mother, to Maurice of Saxony,
pre-eminent Dutch general, died 1625, aged 58.
McKean, Thomas, one of the signers of the
Declaration of American Independence ; colonel
in the army of the revolution; he prepared the
constitution of the state of Delaware, which was
adopted unanimously, July 28th, 1777; he re-
ceived from the executive council of Pennsyl-
vania his commission as chief justice, which
office he held twenty-two years, and at the time
of this appointment, lie was speaker of the
house of assembly in Pennsylvania, president
of Delaware, and a member of the congress,
and soon after was elected president of that dis-
tinguished body ; October 23d, 1781 , he address-
ed a letter to congress resigning his office of
president ; congress next day unanimously re-
solved that Thomas McKean be requested to
resume the chair, and act as president. To
this he acceded. He was governor of Pennsyl-
vania nine years; born March 19th, 1734, died
June 24th, 1817, in his 84th year, being one of
four survivors of the signers of the Declaration
of Independence.
Medici, John de, Pope Leo X, born at Flor-
ence 1475, died 1521, a lover and patron of
learned men.
Medici, Lorenzo, grandson of Cosmo, and the
most eminent of his family, born 1448, died
1492, aged 44.
Melancthon, Philip, illustrious reformer, and
coadjutor of Luther, born 1495; died 1560,
aged 65.
Melmoth, William, eminent English lawyer
and religious writer, died 1743, aged 77.
Melmoth, William, son of the preceding, ele-
gant English writer, born 1710, died 1799, aged
89 years.
Menasseh, Ben Israel, a very learned and
eminent Jewish rabbi, and writer, flourished
1720-59.
Mercator, Gerard, improver of a method of
projecting maps which bears his name, died
1594, aged 82.
Mercer, Gen. Hugh, a most respectable and
valuable officer in the revolutionary war ; killed
in the battle of Princeton, January, 1777. He
was a native of Scotland.
Metastasio, l'Abate Pietro, eminent Italian
poet, born 1698, died at Vienna, 1782.
Metius, James, died 1612, inventor of tele-
scopes.
Meton, astronomer of Athens, inventor of
the Cycle which bears his name, flourished
B. C. 432-10.
Mickle, William Julius, Scotch poet, and
translator of the Lusiad, born 1734, died 1789,
aged 55.
Mifflin, Thomas, major general in the revo-
lutionary war ; president of congress; and in
that character received the resignation of Wash-
ington in a public audience at Annapolis; was
nine years governor of Pennsylvania, died Jan.
20, 1800, in the 57th year of his age.
Milton, John, was born in London, Dec. 9th,
1608, died November 8th, 1674.
Moliere, John Baptist, much celebrated
French dramatic writer, born at Paris, 1620,
died 1673, aged 53.
Monro, Dr. Alexander, entitled the father of
the medical school of Edinburgh, died 1787,
aged 70.
Montague, Michael de, French essayist, died
1592, aged 59.
Montague, lady Mary Wortley, writer, born
1690, died 1762, aged 72.
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Montcalm, Louis Joseph D. killed on the
plains of Abraham 1759 ; he was commander ot
the French army.
Montecuculi, Raymond de; great Italian gen-
eral died 1681, aged 73i
Montesquieu, author of the Spirit of Laws,
born 1689, died 1755. .
Montgolfier, inventor of air balloons, born
1747, died 1799. ,
Mooie, Dr. John, author, born 1730, died
More, Hannah, a deservedly celebrated lady,
who was born at Stapleton, in Gloucestershire
in 1744 She was one of the five daughters ot
a village schoolmaster, whose means were not
sufficient to give his children many of the ad-
vantages of education ; but this deficiency was
supplied by their own talents and perseverance
The literary abilities of Hannah early attracted
notice, and a subscription was formed for estab-
lishing her and her sisters in a school of their
Her first literary production, " The Search
after Happiness, a pastoral drama," was written
when she was only 18 years of age, though not
published till 1773. By the encouragement ot
Mr Garrick, she tried her strength in tragic
composition, and wrote "The Inflexible Cap-
tive, a Tragedy," which was printed in 1704.
Her tragedy of " Percy," the most popular ot
her dramatic compositions, was brought out in
1778 and ran 14 nights successively ; and her
"last tragedy, " The Fatal Falsehood," was pro-
duced in 1779. Shortly after, her opinions on
public theatres underwent a change, and, as
she has stated in the preface to the third vol-
ume of her works, " she did not consider the
stage, in its present state, as becoming the
appearance or countenance of a Christian.
" Early in life she attracted general notice by
a brilliant display of literary talent, and was
honored by the intimate acquaintance ot John-
son and Burke, of Reynolds and Garrick, and
of many other highly eminent individuals, who
equally appreciated her amiable qualities, and
her superior intellect. But, under a deep con-
viction, that to live to the glory of God, and to
the good of our fellow creatures, is the great
object of human existence, and the only one
which can bring peace at the last, she quitted
in the prime of her days, the bright circles of
fashion and literature, and, retiring into the
neighborhood of Bristol, devoted herself to a
life^of active Christian benevolence, and to the
composition of various works, having for their
object the religious improvement of mankind.
Her practical conduct beautifully exemplified
the moral energy of her Christian principles
Her first prose publication was " 1 noughts
on the Manners of the Great," printed in l/u8 ;
followed in 1791, by her " Estimate of the > Re-
ligion of the Fashionable World. In 1795,
she commenced at Bath, in monthly numbers,
" The Cheap Repository," a series ot admirable
tales for the common people, one ot which
is the well-known " Shepherd of Salisbury
Plain " The success of this seasonable publi-
cation was extraordinary ; and within a year
the sale reached the number of 1,000,000 cop-
ies. Her " Strictures on the Modern System
of Female Education" appeared in 1799 ; "Hints
towards Forming the Character cf a Young
Princess," in lb05 ; " Coslebs in search of a
Wife " in 1809, (which passed through at least
six editions in less than a year ;) « Practical
Piety " in 1811 ; " Christian Morals, in iai<i ;
« Essay on the Character and Writings ot St.
Paul" in 1815; and "Moral Sketches of the
Prevailing Opinions and Manners, Foreign and
Domestic" with Reflections on Prayer.' The
collection of her works comprises 1 1 volumes
octavo. *
Near the beginning of the present century,
Mrs. More left Bath and retired to Barley
Wood, a cottage delightfully situated in the
village of Wrington, the native place of John
Locke In 1819, she lost her last surviving
sister Martha, and some years after being con-
fined to her room, she quitted Barley Wood, tor
Clifton, where, and at Bristol, she had some val-
uable friends, though not a single relation of
whom she had any knowledge in the world.
She is said to have realized upwards of A»iO,dUU
by her writings; and her charitable bequests
exceeded £10,000. She died at Windsor-terrace,
Clifton, in the year 1833, aged 88.
Morgan, John, M. D.F. R. S. a learned phy-
sician, born in 1735. In prosecuting his pro-
fessional studies, he visited many of the most
eminent universities of Europe, and while there,
thouo-h very young, was so distinguished as to
be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. Be-
fore his return home, he projected the plan of
the medical school of Philadelphia to be con-
nected with the college, which was effected
(himself the first professor), and the first com-
meneement was held in 1709; he was active in
establishing the American Philosophical Soci-
ety in 1769 ; was director general of hospitals
in the army of the United States ; he published
several scientific tracts, died Oct. 15, 1789, in
the 54th year of his age.
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654
EMI
Morris, Robert, born in January 1733-4 O.
S. in Lancashire, arrived in this country at the
age of 13 years ; one of the signers of the dec-
laration of independence, and during the war
of the revolution, supported the credit of the
United States; established the first bank in
Philadelphia, the bank of North America, 1781,
which lent for the public service of the govern-
ment within the first six months after its organ-
ization, $480,000 ; without the financial talents
and services of this distinguished man, it is
probable all the physical force of the country
would have proved unavailing to establish the
independence of the United States ; when the
paper of the congress of United America was
worth nothing, the paper of Robert Morris sup-
plied the deficiency; his personal credit was
decidedly better than the credit of the U. States
government; he was one of the convention
which framed the constitution of the U. States;
a member of the first senate of the United States ;
his most intimate friends were Washington,
Hamilton, and Governor Moiris. When offered
the appointment of fiist secretary of the treas-
ury by Washington, he declined, but recom-
mended his friend Alexander Hamilton. His
unfortunate land speculations imbittered his
old age, which ought to have been surrounded
with all the ease and happiness that earthly
gratitude could bestow ; died 8th May, 1806.
Morris, Lewis, one of the signers of the dec-
laration of independence, born at Morrisania
1726; had three brothers, all distinguished;
Staats, a number of parliament; Richard, judo-e -
of the admiralty, and chief justice of New York,
and governor ; an orator, statesman and mem-
ber of eongress, died Jan. 1798, in the 72d year
of his age.
Morrison, Robert, LL. D. senior member of
the Chinese mission, died Aug. 1st, 1834. He
translated portions of the scrfptures into Chi-
nese, and was the author of a Chinese grammar
and dictionary.
Mozart, musical composer, born January 27,
1756, died December 1792.
Murray, William Vans, born in Maryland
1761, died 1803, aged 42; he was a distinguished
and eloquent member of congress ; minister to
the Batavian Republic, and with Chief Justice
Ellsworth, and Mr. Davie, as envoy extraodi-
nary, he assisted in negotiating the treaty of
Paris, of 1800.
Murray, William, earl of Mansfield, born in
1705, died in 1793, chief justice of the king's
bench of England, which he held with great
reputation upwards of 30 years.
Murray, Lindley, a grammarian, was born at
Pennsylvania in 1745, and died in 1826.
Napier, John, inventor of logarithms for the
use of navigators, born in 1550, died in 1617.
Nash, Francis, brigadier general in the Amer-
lcan revolution, killed at the battle of German-
town, in 1777.
Nayler, James, enthusiastic convert to qua-
kerism, born in 1616; sentenced to be whipped
and imprisoned for life, by parliament, for blas-
phemy, but in two years was liberated, ami
died in 1666.
Necker, James, French financier, died in 1804,
aged 72, a native of Geneva.
Nelson, Robert, author of " The Companion
for the Festival and Fasts," born in 1656, and
died in 1715.
Nepos, Cornelius, a Latin historian, who
flourished in the time of Julius Csesar.
Newton, sir Thomas, author of " Disserta-
tions on the prophecies," born 1703, and died
in 1782.
Nisbet, Charles, D. D. of Scotland, presi-
dent of the College of Carlisle in Pennsylvania,
held that office with reputation until his death
in 1804.
Nonius, inventor of the angles of 45 degrees
in every meridian, died 1577.
Norwood, Richard, measured a degree in
England 1632, which was the first accurate
measure.
Nugent, Thomas, L. L. D. author of a French
Dictionary, died May 27, 1779.
Occum Sampson, A. Mohegan Indian, con-
verted to Christianity ; a missionary among the
Western Indians ; died 1792.
Oglethorpe, James, an able British general,
and distinguished philanthropist, served under
Prince Eugene, founder of the state of Georgia,
and died in 1785, aged 97.
O'Leary, Arthur, of Ireland, distinguished by
his writings, religious and political ; a friend
to freedom and toleration, died in 1802, aged
73 years.
Origen, born at Alexandria, and died in 254.
Orleans, Duke of, son of Charles V, mur-
dered by his uncle the Duke of Burgundy, in
1407. ° "
Orono, chief of the Penobscot tribe, labored
to promote Christianity, died in 1801, aged 113
years ; his wife died in 1809, aged 115.°
Orpheus, ancient Greek poet, flourished be-
fore Homer, a distinguished musician, poet and
physician.
Ossian, a Gaelic poet, supposed to have flour-
ished in the 3d century.
EMI
655
EMI
Otway, Thomas, poet, and dramatic writer,
born in 1651, and died in 1(385.
Paw. John, governor of the colony of Vir-
ginia" an ardent patriot, member of congress
after the adoption of the federal constitution, and
governor of the state of Virginia, died in 1808.
Paine, Robert Treat, a distinguished poet,
born in 1773, died in 1811.
Paley, Dr. William, elegant writer on Ethics,
oom in 1743, died in 1805.
Parr, Thomas, died in 1G75, aged 1d2 years,
and lived in ten reigns.
Parhurst, John, a learned divine, born in
1728, and died 1797, author of a Hebrew and
English Lexicon.
Parnell, Thomas, poet, born 16/9, died 1717,
author of the •' Hermit."
Pascal, Blaize, author of " Provincial Let-
ters," born in 1623, died in 1662.
Patrick, Saint, apostle and saint of Ireland,
supposed a native of Wales, died in 460.
Patterson, William, senator of the United
States, governor of New Jersey, and afterwards
judge of the supreme court of the U. States,
• died in 1806. „
Paul, Saint, of Tarsus, put to death by Nero,
A. D. 66.
Pendleton, Edmund, eminent lawyer and
statesman of Virginia, member of congress in
1774, died in 1803.
Penn, John, one of the signers of the decla-
ration of independence, born in Virginia, May
7, 1741, died Oct. 26, 1803, in the 83d year of
his age, a great and distinguished man.
Pennant. Thomas, wrote a number of valua-
ble books, and died in 1798, aged 72.
Peronse, De La, celebrated French navigator,
lost in 1788.
Perrault, Charles, died in 1733, aged 77.
Perrier, M. Casimir, Prime Minister of France ;
the son of a rich merchant ; born Oct. 12, 1777,
at Grenoble, and died at Paris, of cholera, May
16, 1832, aged 54.
Perry, Oliver Hazard, a distinguished captain
in the American navy, gained a signal victory
over the British naval forces on Lake Erie in
1813, died in lb20.
Peter, Saint, chief of the apostles, son of John
and brother of Andrew, a bold and powerful
preacher. Nero caused him to be crucified,
with his head down, A. D. 66.
Petronius, Arbiter, writer of antiquity, bled
to death by order of Nero, A. D. 65.
Pike, Zebulon Montgomery, brigadier gen-
eral of the United States, killed at York, in Up-
per Canada, 1813,
Pilate, Pontius, Roman governor of Judea,
hanged himself A. D. 37.
PHes, Roger de, eminent painter, born 1635,
and died in 1709.
Pindar, poet, died 435 B. C, aged 80.
Piron, Alexis, French poet and satirist, died
in 1773, aged 84.
Pitt, William, earl of Chatham, illustrious
English statesman, born in 1708, died in 1778.
Plato, died at Athens 347, B. C.
Playfair, John, D. D. of Scotland, born 1749,
professor of mathematics at Edinburgh, and
died 1819.
Pliny, the elder, the most learned of ancient
writers, died in 79, A. D.
Pliny, the younger, born 62, died 116.
Plutarch, philosopher and historian, born in
Greece, died A. D. 140.
Pocahontas, an Indian princess, celebrated in
the annals of Virginia, married Mr. Rolfe, and
from them descended familiesin Virginia; died
in England in 1616.
Porson, Richard, professor of the Greek lan-
guage, in the University of Cambridge, had the
reputation of being the best Greek scholar in
England, yet his learning scarcely produced
him a living ; born in 1759, and died in 1808.
Porta, John Baptist, invented the Camera
Obscura, died in 1515.
Portuguese, ambassador's brother, beheaded
in England for murder, in 1654.
Powhatan, a powerful Indian chief in Vir-
ginia, hostile to the English ; he was the father
of Pocahontas, and on her marriage became
reconciled to the whites, and died in 1618.
Pratt, Charles, earl of Camden, eminent Eng-
lish lawyer and statesman, born in 1713, died
1794.
Pratt, Ephraim, of Plymouth, Mass., died in
1804, aged 116; he could then number nearly
1500 descendants.
Price, Dr. Richard, divine and politician,
died in 1791, aged 68.
Priestly, Dr. Joseph, a very celebrated dis-
senting clergyman and philosopher ; he died
in 1804 in Pennsylvania, aged 71.
Prior, Matthew, English poet and statesman,
born 1664, and died in 1731.
Prynne, William, eminent English lawyer
and writer, under Charles I, born in 1600, tried
by the star chamber 1033, stood in the pillory,
May 1634; again 1637; took his seat in the
long parliament, Nov. 28, 1640 ; died Oct. 24,
1669.
Puffendorf, Samuel, German civilian, born
1631, died 1694.
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656
Poh . wb ft ' a, n°bIe and tWWtoed
fhSrf Wll0ra.fter maklng great efforts for the
freedom of his own country, offered his servi
waV; „rLUdnited ^ dunn* the ""faST
ssiBasacfflR^^ at yavannah'
Pythagoras, died 407, A. C. aged 71
in SgaJiSr: author of " E,nb!ems'" born
157^ dled°inai04"inent Spanish ^ b°™ in
inS; d'd^S"0118 Engli3h — dian,born
coSt i'nCfeyIiTEdnird' a jud^e of the saP'eme
court of Massachusetts, and agent for the
colony at the court of St. James; died in Oct!
EMI
D <3rf()ntUS' Curtius' Roman historian ; lived A.
Rabeleis, Francis, a celebrated French phy-
sician and satirist. H y
acrfr/co16' rrenCh dramatic writer; died IG99,
Ratcliffe, Dr. John, an English physician of
uncommon eminence, born in 1650, and died in
Reikes, Robert, born in 1735, in 1781 he plan-
ned the institution of Sunday schools; died at
Cxloucester, his native place, in 18J1
^Ramsay, Allan, Scots poet, born 1606, died
Ramsay, David, M.D. eminent physician, his-
torian and statesman of S. Carolina, died 1815
Ha„tahn|,Say'r»arth%L- Wife of the Preceding;
daughter of Henry Laurence, president of con-
gress, died in 1811.
Randolph, Edmund, eminent lawyer of Vir-
ginia, member of congress in 1779, afterwards
governor of Virginia; first attorney general of
the United States ; second secretary of state of
the United States, died in 1813
Randolph, John, or, as he himself wrote his
name, John Randolph of Roanoke, a man distin-
guished for genius, eloquence, and eccentricity
He arrived in Philadelphia a few days before his
death, in a state of extreme debility, purposing
to proceed to Europe, with the hope of a partial
restoration of his health.
, "e wa» born in Virginia, on the 2d of June,
1773 ; and was descended from Pocahontas, the
daughter of Powhatan, a great Indian chief,
through his grandmother, whose maiden name
was Jane Boiling, the great grandaughter of
Jane Rolfe (married to Robert Boiling), the
daughter of John Rolfe and Pocahontas ; so that
he was of the 7th generation from Pocahontas.
His father died ,n 1775, leading three sons and a
7sf ?% le'rattd hiS mother was married in
J f'° I'" (f?rfe JUcker> wh0 was the cruar-
dian to Rando Pl, during his minority. Mr
Randolph s early life was spent at different pla!
ces under different instructers,of most of whom
iie said he "never learned any thing. " He
passed a short time at Princeton CoFlege, at
Columbia College, and at William and Mary
College and was a little while a student at law
under Edmund Randolph. Of himself he re-
marks, "With a superficial and defective edu-
cation 1 commenced politician." He was
elected a member of Congress in 1799 and
continued a member of the House of Represen-
tatives, with the exception of three intervals of
two years each, (during one of these intervals
he was ,n the U. S. Senate) till 1829; and he
was afterwards appointed minister plenipoten-
tiary to Russia. Mr. Randolph was never mar-
ried. He was possessed of a large and valua-
ble estate on the Roanoke, and had, at the time
I/, 1 9nh' 318KtVJS' a"d 18° h0™s> of which
about 120 were blood horses. He died at Phi-
ladelphia, May 24, 1833, aged 60.
Raphael Sanzio, an illustrious painter, often
fy]%™hG dmne RaPhael," born in 1483, died
in 1520.
Rapin an eminent historian, born in Lan<me-
doc, in 1661 , died in 1725. °
Raynal, historian, died March 1796, aged 84
Redman, first president of the college ofphv-
sieians in Philadelphia, died in 1808
Reichstadt, Duke of. Napoleon Charles-
Francis- Joseph, Duke of Reichstadt son of Na-
poleon, Emperor of France, was born at Paris,
March 20, 1811, the only offspring of the mar!
nage of Napoleon with the Archduchess Maria
Louisa; and immediately upon his birth he
received the title of King of Rome; but the
downfall of the father entirely changed the con-
dition and prospects of the son. He died at
the palace of Schoenbrunn, near Vienna, of con-
sumption, July 22, 1832, aged 21.
Reid, Dr. Thomas, distinguished metaphysi-
cian, born in 1709, died in 1796.
1r^nJbrJandt' famous F]emish painter, born in
1606, died in 1668.
Richardson, Samuel, eminent English writer,
bom in 1689, died in 1761.
RichHeu, cardinal, died 1642, atred 57
Rittenhouse, David, of Pennsylvania, emi-
nent and self-taught philosopher, invented an
orrery, died 1796, aged 65.
Robertson, Doctor William, historiographer
of Scotland, born in 1721, died 1793.
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657
EMI
Robespierre, a revolutionary monster, born hi
1759, and executed in July, 1794.
Robin Hood, famous robber, died in 1247.
Rochef'oucault, duke of, French writer, born
in 1U13, and died in 1680.
Rochester, licentious wit and poet, died 1G80,
aged 32.
Rollin, French author, born in 1661, died
1741.
Romayn, John B., D. D. of New York, died
in 1825.
Rousseau, Jean Jacques, born in Geneva in
1711, died in 1778.
Rowe, Nicholas, dramatic poet, died in 1718.
Rowe, Elizabeth, authoress in verse and
prose, born in 1664, and died in 1737.
Roy, Rajah Rammohun, died at Stapleton
Park, the residence of Dr. Lant Carpenter, near
Bristol, England, on the 27th of Sept. 1833.
This learned Bramin, who has for several years
attracted much attention, was the son of Ram
Hant Roy, and was born in the province of
Burdwan, in Bengal, his paternal ancestors
being Bramins of a high order. He studied
several years, at the celebrated seminary of Be-
nares, and travelled in Persia and other oriental
countries. His literary attainments were ex-
tensive. " He was acquainted," says Mr. Arnot,
" more or less, with ten languages, — Sanscrit,
Arabic, Persian, Hindostanee, Bengalee, En-
glish, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and French. The
two first he knew critically, as a scholar ; the 3d,
4th, 5th, and 6th, he spoke, and wrote fluently ;
in the eighth perhaps his studies did not extend
much beyond the originals ,of the Christian
Scriptures ; and in the latter two, his knowledge
was apparently limited. He has published works
in Sanscrit, Arabic, Persian, Bengalee, and
English."
Rammohun Roy was about six feet high, and
large in proportion, but his person, though not
wanting in apparent symmetry, was unwieldy
and without activity. His features were lar«-e,
manly, and fine ; his countenance very dark,
with a sallow tinge*)f ill health; but his eye
was full of Asiatic fire. — In politics he was a
zealous republican ; expressed warmly his
hearty approbation of all liberal institutions ;
associated chiefly with the liberal portion of the
community ; and took a very deep interest in
the progress of the measure of English parlia-
mentary reform. — He has left two sons in India,
one thirty and the other fifteen years of age.
Rubens, sir Peter Paul, famous Flemish
painter, born in 1577, and died in 1640.
Rumford, count, real name Benjamin Thomp-
son, born in the state of New Hampshire, was
a colonel in the British army ; a lieutenant gen-
eral in the Bavarian service ; member of many
scientific institutions ; author upon mechanical
and philosophical subjects ; died near Paris in
1814.
Rumsey, an ingenious mechanic of Virginia,
original inventor of the mode of propelling boats
by steam, in 1782; he died in London sudden-
ly, in 1790
Rush, Benjamin, M. D. distinguished physi-
cian, professor and statesman, member of con-
gress, and one of the signers of the declaration
of independence, born Dec. 24th, 1745 ; died
April 17th, 1813, in the 68th year of his age.
Rushworth, editor of " Historical Collec-
tions," died in 1690, aged 83.
St. Clair, Arthur, served under Gen. Wolfe,
major general in the army of the revolution,
served with great reputation, was president of
congress ; died in great poverty in 1818 ; he
was a native of Scotland, and came to America
in 1755.
St. Pierre, author of " Studies of Nature,"
died in 1814, aged 77.
Sancho, Ignatius, the African, born in 1729,
and died in 1780 ; intimate with Garrick and
Sterne.
Sappho, famous poetess, born at Myttelene,
in the island of Lesbos, 610 B. C.
Saurin, James, eminent divine, died in 1730.
Savage, Richard, English poet, died in jail in
1743 ; son of the countess of Macclesfield, by
the earl of Rivers.
Schrevelius, lexicographer, from Holland,
died 1667, aged 52.
Scott, Thomas, commentator on the bible,
died 1821.
Seabury, Samuel, the first bishop in the
United States, died 1796.
Seeker. Thomas, archbishop, born in 1693,
died in 1768.
Sesostris, or Rameses the Great, was a Pha-
raoh of the Diospolitan family under whom
Egypt rose to its greatest height of political
power and internal splendor. This greatest of
the Egyptian kings extended his conquests, and
retained dominion from the Indus to the Niger,
from the Persian Gulf to the Straits of Gibraltar.
He enriched Egypt with the spoils of these
many powerful kingdoms and the commerce of
India, and employed his treasures in building
cities, raising banks about others, or elevating
with immense cost the whole surface of their
soil, to defend them from the inundations of the
Nile. He built palaces more magnificent than
EMI
G58
EMI
have ever before or since been erected by the
hand of man. Champollion remarks that these
constructions seem to be the conceptions of men
one hundred feet high ! Lost in admiration, he
dares not attempt to describe his feelings before
these structures of unequalled majesty and
beauty. But the highest glory of Rameses the
Great, remains to be told. He voluntarily re-
signed the power his ancestors had wrested
from a savage race of tyrants from whom the
founder of their dynasty had delivered their
native country ; and gave to the people the in-
valuable right of possessing property in the soil.
He published a written code of laws more than
1500 years B. C. and the wisdom of his institu-
tions was so great, that his vast empire long
enjoyed the benefits of a wisely administered
government. Many portraits of" this monarch
exist. . One of these was taken by Cham-
pollion with the greatest care from a colossal
statue erected by him at Memphis, thirty-four
and a half feet high ; it had fallen with its face
to the earth, and thus each lineament has been
admirably preserved — presenting to our view
certainly one of the greatest curiosities of the age.
Sewall, LL. D. eminent lawyer, member of
congress, and chief justice of Massachusetts.
Sharp, Granville, advocate for the abolition
of slavery, died in 1813.
Shenstone, William, died in 17G3, aged 49.
Shippen, William, professor of anatomy in
the Pennsylvania University, from the estab-
lishment of the medical school until his death,
in 1808.
Shore, Rt. Hon. John, Lord Teignmouth, in
the peerage of Ireland, president of the British
and Foreign Bible Societv, died in London, on
the 1 4th of February, 1834, aged 82.
Simonides, Greek poet, flourished about 500
years, B. C.
Simpson, Robert, writer and professor of
mathematics ; died in 1765.
Sloane, Sir Hance, eminent physician and
naturalist, born in Ireland, in 1660, died in 1752.
Smith, Adam, author of "Wealth of Nations,"
died 1790, aged 07.
Smith, Isaac, patriot officer of the revolution,
member of congress ; judge of the supreme
court of New Jersey, and died in 1807, aged 08.
Smith, William, D. D. eminent for eloquence
and the advancement of literature ; for many
years provost of the college of Philadelphia,
and died in 1803.
Smith, Samuel Stanhope, D. D., LL. D. an
eminent Presbyterian clergyman, and president
of Princeton, college ; he died in 1819,
Smollet, Dr., physician, historian, naturalist,
and poet, born in 1720, died in 1791.
Socinus, founder of the Socinian sect, born
1525, died in 1562.
Sophocles, Greek tragic poet, died 410 B. C.
Sotheby, William, F. R. S. and S. A. a gen-
tleman of considerable fortune and liberal edu-
cation, a respectable poet, and distinguished as
a translator. Some of his principal works are
the Battle of the Nile, Saul, several tragedies,
Oberon (a faithful translation from the German
of Wieland), the Georgics of Virgil translated
into English verse, and the translation of the
Iliad and Odyssey of Homer, in four volumes
octavo, with the designs of Flaxman. Mr.
Sotheby was the oldest English poet. He died
in London, Dec. 30th, 1833, aged 76.
Spurzheim, John Caspar, M. D., the celebrat-
ed phrenologist, and author of various works on
the science of phrenology. He was born on
the 31st of December, 1776, at the village of
Longvich near Treves, on the Moselle, in Ger-
many, was educated at the university of Treves,
became acquainted, about the year 1800, with
Dr. Gall, the founder of the doctrine of craniol-
ogy, as it was then called, and afterwards be-
came an associate and fellow laborer in defend-
ing and propagating their opinions in different
countries of Europe. After having given lec-
tures in various cities on the continent of Eu-
rope, and in Great Britain and Ireland, he sail-
ed to America, and on the 17th of September
commenced a course of lectures on phrenology
at Boston, and soon after another course at
Cambridge ; he died after an illness of about
three weeks, in Boston, Mass. Nov. 10th, 1832,
much lamented by those who had made his ac-
quaintance.
Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield, eminent
statesman, &c. &c. died 1773, aged 79.
Statius, Roman poet, died about 102, A. D.
aged 91 .
Steele, sir Richard, English writer, died in
1729.
Stewart, Dugald, celebrated philosophical
writer, born in Scotland, 1753; died 1828.
Sterne, Lawrence, born in 1713, died 1768.
Stuart, Robert, Lord Castlereagh, marquis of
Londonderry, eminent statesman and minister,
died by suicide in 1822.
Stuart, Gilbert, eminent American portrait
painter, born 1755, died 1828.
Suetonius, born at Rome, and flourished 110.
Summerfield, John, a very popular preacher
of the Methodist church, died at New York, in
1825, aged 27.
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659
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Swedenborg Emanuel, an eminent mathe-
matical, philosophical, and mystical writer, died
in 1772, aged 84.
Tacitus, born A. D. 56.
Tasso, an Italian poet, died in 1595, aged 51.
Taylor, Doctor Jeremy, eminent theological
writer, died in 1667, aged 54.
Taylor, George, one of the signers of the
declaration of independence from Pennsylva-
nia, born in Ireland in 1716 ; signed the dec-
laration of independence August 2d, 1776, be-
fore which time no member of congress had
affixed his name to that instrument ; died Feb.
23d, 1781, aged 65.
Teniers, Flemish painter, died in 1649.
Terence, born at Carthage, a slave in Rome ;
his master Terentius Nucanus gave him a good
education and his liberty, in the year of Rome
560 ; he was drowned 159 B. C.
Theocritus, Greek pastoral poet, flourished
260 B. C.
Thespis, famous Greek tragic poet, and first
representer of tragedy at Athens ; carried his
company in a wagon, from which he perform-
ed his pieces; flourished 536 B. C.
Thomson, James, English pastoral poet, born
in 1700, died 1748.
Thornton, Matthew, one of the signers of the
declaration of independence, from New Hamp-
shire, born in Ireland about the year 1714; ed-
ucated a physician, and practised medicine in
Londonderry, New Hampshire ; he died in
Massachusetts, June 24th, 1803, in the 89th
year of his age.
Thucydides, historian, died 391 B. C.
Thurlow, Lord, eminent chancellor of Eng-
land, died in 1806.
Tilghman, William, a great and good man,
an eminent and learned lawyer, was born in
Talbot county, on the eastern shore of Mary-
land, about a mile from Easton, Aug. 12, 1756.
He died in Philadelphia, April 30, 1827.
Tibullus, poet, died A. D. 17.
Tillotson, archbishop of Canterbury, died in
1694.
Titian, Tiziano Vecelli, the greatest painter
of the Venetian school, died in 1576, aged 96.
Todd, Eli, M. D., physician of the Retreat
for the Insane in Hartford. He was born in
New Haven about the year 1769 ; graduated at
Yale College in 1787; established himself in
his profession at Farmington, Conn, in 1819,
removed to Hartford, and took the lead in
founding the Retreat for the Insane. He was
a man of superior talents and extensive acquire-
ments, and greatly respected and beloved as a
physician, a philanthropist, and a Christian.
He died at Hartford, Connecticut, November
7th, 1833.
Tooke, Thomas, a learned English writer,
author of the " Pantheon," died in 1721.
Toussaint, Louverture, a mulatto of St. Do-
mingo, rose to the command of the blacks of
that island, formed a constitution, adopted the
wisest and most humane regulations ; treacher-
ously betrayed and imprisoned by the French,
and died in Paris, not without suspicion of vio-
lence, in 1803.
Trumbull, Jonathan, eminent lawyer of Con-
necticut, patriot of the revolution, chief justice
of the supreme court of Connecticut, and gov-
ernor of that state, died in 1785.
Vandyck, sir Anthony, illustrious painter,
born at Antwerp in 1599; died in England in
1641.
Varro, born 28 B. C. ; he was 80 years old
when he wrote his " De Re Rustica."
Vattel, native of Switzerland, author of valu-
able writings on jurisprudence, and on natural
law, died in 1770.
Viner, Charles, author of the " Abridgement
of English Law," died 1757.
Volney, a distinguished French writer, died
in 1802.
Voltaire, Marie Francis Avonet, born Feb. 20,
1694; died May 30, 1778.
Wakefield, Mrs. Priscilla, author of many
popular and useful works for children and
young persons, and one of the earliest promot-
ers of those provident institutions, called Sav-
ings Banks. She died in London, Sept. 12th,
1832, in her 82d year.
Walker, John, writer of a pronouncing dic-
tionary of the English language, died in 1807,
Waller, English poet, died in 1687.
Walpole, Horace, earl of Oxford, author of
numerous publications, died in 1797.
Walton, Izaak, author of the " Complete An-
gler," died in 1683.
Washington, William, a distinguished officer
of the revolution, died in 1810.
Watts, Isaac, poet and author, died 1748.
Wayne, Anthony, distinguished major gene-
ral during the revolution, and afterwards in a
contest with the Indians, gained a great victory ;
died in 1796.
Wesley, Samuel, an English divine and poet,
author of a folio volume entitled the Life of
Christ, an heroic poem, printed in 1697, embel-
lished with sixty handsome engravings ; he died
1735.
Wesley, John, son of the preceding, founder
EMI
660
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of the sect called Methodists, died 1791, at a
very advanced age.
West, Benjamin, a very eminent painter,
born in Pennsylvania, in 1738, of the Quaker
society ; went to Rome, thence to England,
where he became successor to sir Joshua Rey-
nolds, the President of the Royal Academy ; he
died in 1820.
Whipple, William, one of the signers of the
declaration of independence, from New Hamp-
shire, born in 1730, died in 1785.
White, Henry Kirke, born in Nottingham,
March 21st, 1785, died October 19th, 1806, aged
21. His parents were in humble life. In early
childhood he gave promise of great genius. His
first distinguished composition, a tale of a Swiss
emigrant, was written at seven years of age ;
and at eleven, he in one day wrote twelve sep-
arate themes, one for each boy in his class ; at
the age of fourteen, he was placed at a stocking
loom, but his soaring genius could not be hap-
py there ; to all kinds of trade he had an ex-
treme aversion. His temper and tone of mind
at this period, are displayed in an address to
Contemplation. About a year after this, he
entered upon the study of the law. He applied
himself to the study of Latin during his leisure
hours, in which language he received only some
trifling instruction, yet in ten months he ena-
bled himself to read Horace with facility, and
had made some progress in Greek, studying at
the same time the Italian, Spanish, and Portu-
guese languages, in all which he became a tol-
erable proficient. Chemistry, astronomy, and
electricity, were among his studies ; he paid
some attention to drawing and music, and had
a turn for mechanics ; close application to study,
and the stridings of a Herculean intellect, wore
out a constitution naturally feeble. Rigidly
correct in morals, and amiable in all the rela-
tions of life, his feelings inclined towards deism ;
but an inquiring mind, open to conviction,
could not resist the sublime truths of the holy
scriptures ; he read, and believed, and from this
moment religion engaged all his anxiety, as of
all concerns the most important. The proofs
of his indefatigable industry, which his papers
evinced, were astonishing ; law, electricity,
chemistry, the Latin and Greek languages, to
the highest branches of critical knowledge, his-
tory, chronology, divinity, the Fathers, poetry,
tragedies, &c. &c. had been studied, under-
stood, and commented upon, by a youth, who
died at the age of 21 years, though borne down
by poverty and ill health.
Wilberforce, William, one of the most cele-
brated philanthropists of modern times, and
whose able, zealous, long -continued, and ulti-
mately successful exertions in favor of the abo-
lition of the slave-trade, have given him a high
rank among the benefactors of the human race.
He was born Aug. 24,1759, at Hull ; was edu-
cated at St. John's College, Cambridge, where
he formed an intimacy with William Pitt; was
elected a member of parliament for Hull in
1780 ; for the county of York in 1784 ; and in
1787, he brought forward a motion for the abo-
lition of the slave trade, and the question, after
a long and laborious struggle, was finally car-
ried during the ministry of Mr. Fox, June 10,
1806. In 17W,Mr. Wilberforce published his
celebrated " Practical View," a work which has
been translated into most European languages,
and of which about fifty editions have been
printed in Great Britain and America. He died
in London, July 28th, 1833, in his 74th year.
His remains were consigned to the sanctuary
of the illustrious dead in Westminster Abbey ;
and his " funeral train included the great and
the good of all parties."
Wilson, Thomas, LL. D. bishop of Sodor and
Mann, a most excellent prelate, and an eminent
writer in theology ; he died in 1755.
Wilson, Alexander, a distinguished natural-
ist ; author of the " American Ornithology ;"
he died in 1813, aged about 40.
Windham, William, celebrated English ora-
tor and statesman ; secretary of war, member
of parliament, died in 1810.
Winder, William H. eminent lawyer of Ma-
ryland, brigadier general in the army of the
United States during the second war with Great
Britain, died in 1824.
Winthrop, John, first governor of Massachu-
setts, emigrated with the first colonists, and
died in 1649.
Winthrop, John, F. R. S. son of the preced-
ing, governor of the colony of Connecticut, died
in 1676 ; a man of great learning and talents.
Winthrop, Fitz John, F. R. S.son of the pre-
ceding, and distinguished, like his father, for
learning and piety; governor of Connecticut;
died in 1707.
Winthrop, John, LL. D., F. R. S , professor
of mathematics and natural philosophy in the
Harvard college, died 1779.
Winthrop, James, LL. D., son of the preced-
ing, distinguished for his devotion to literary
pursuits; died in 1821.
Wisler, Caspar, M.D. an eminent physician,
and professor of anatomy and surgery in the
University at Philadelphia, died in 1818.
EMI
661
ENC
Wirt, Hon. William, was born at Bladens-
burg, Md., on the 8th of November, 1772, and
was ihe youngest of six children. In 1795, he
married the eldest daughter of Dr. George Gil-
mer, a distinguished physician, and took up his
residence at Pen Park, the seat of his father-in-
law, near Charlottesville, and here he was in-
troduced to the acquaintance of Jefferson, Mad-
ison, Monroe, and other persons of celebrity ;
but he soon contracted habits of great dissipa-
tion, from which he is said to have been recov-
ered by a sermon which he heard from a blind
preacher, James Waddell, whom he has cele-
brated in his " British Spy." In 1799, his wife
died, and he was soon after elected clerk of the
House of Delegates. Having performed the
duties of this office two years, he was, in 1802,
appointed chancellor of the Eastern District of
Virginia, and then took up his residence at
Williamsburg ; and in the same year he married
the daughter of Colonel Gamble of Richmond.
He soon after resigned his chancellorship, and
at the close of the year 1803, removed to Nor-
folk, and entered upon the assiduous practice
of his profession. Just before he removed to
Norfolk, he wrote the letters published in the
Richmond Argus, under the title of" The Brit-
ish Spy," which were afterwards collected into
a small volume, and have passed through ten
editions. In 1806, he took up his residence at
Richmond, and, in the following year, he
greatly distinguished himself in the trial of Col.
Burr. In 1812, he wrote the greater part of a
series of essays, which were originally pub-
lished in the Richmond Enquirer under the
title of "The Old Bachelor," and have since,
in a collected form, passed through several edi-
tions. The "Life of Patrick Henry," his
largest literary production, was first published
in 1817.
In 1816, he was appointed by Mr. Madison
the United States' Attorney for the District of
Virginia; and in 1817, by Mr. Monroe, Attor-
ney General of the United States, a post which
he occupied with distinguished reputation till
1819, through the entire administrations of Mon-
roe and Adam's. In 1830, he took up his resi-
dence at Baltimore, for the remainder of his life.
As a public and professional man, Mr. Wirt
was ranked among the first of his time. He
died at Washington City, Feb. 18, 1834, aged 62.
Wisner, Benjamin B., a distinguished calvin-
istic clergyman, of Boston ; died Feb. 9, 1835,
aged 40 years. He was several years Secretary
of the American Board of Commissioners for
Foreign Missions.
Witherspoon, John, D. D. LL. D. distin-
guished Scotch clergyman, one of the signers
of the declaration of independence ; for many
years president of Princeton college, both be-
fore and after the revolution, which he retained
until his death in 1784 ; born 5th Feb. 1722.
Woollett, William, a most eminent engraver,
the first in his profession, died in 1785.
Wooster, David, major general in the Amer-
ican revolutionary army ; killed in 1777.
Woovcrman, Dutch landscape painter, died
in 1688, aged 68.
Wren, Sir Christopher, illustrious English
architect, and builder of the Cathedral of St.
Pauls, died 1723, aged 91.
Yorke, Philip, Earl of Hardwick, chancellor
of England, died in 1764, aged 74.
Yorke, Charles, son of the preceding, chan-
cellor of England, and died suddenly Thursday
after, in 1770 ; he was an elegant and profound
scholar.
Young, Edward, an English poet and divine,
author of" Night Thoughts," died in 1765.
Zeno, stoic philosopher, strangled himself
364 B. C. aged 98.
Zimmerman, eminent physician and philoso-
pher, author of a work on Solitude, died 1795.
EMPEROR OF GERMANY, made elec-
tive 996, renounced that title and assumed that
of emperor of Austria, August 11, 1804.
ENCROACHMENTS OF THE SEA. 950
The islands of Ammiano and Costanziaco in
the Gulf of Venice swept away by the sea.
1044-1309 Irruptions of the sea on the coast of
Pomerania cause terrible ravages, and give
rise to the popular story of the submersion of
Vineta.
1106 Malamacco, a large town in the Venetian
lagoons, engulfed by the sea.
1218 The gulf of Jahde near the mouth of the
Weser formed by inundations.
1219-20-21-46 & 51. A succession of violent
storms separated the island of Wieringen
from the continent, and prepared the rupture
of the isthmus which connected North Hol-
land with Friesland.
1277-78-80-87 The fertile canton of Reiderland,
with the town of Torum, and fifty market
towns, villages, and monasteries, swallowed
up by the sea, which formed the gulf of Dol-
lart over their site.
1282 The Zuider Zee formed by the rupture of
the isthmus uniting North Holland and Fries-
land and many towns swept away.
1240 The island of Northstrand separated from
EFS
662
EXC
the continent, and a tract of the coast of
Sleswic swallowed up.
1300-1500-1649 Violent storms carry off three-
fourths of Heligoland.
1300 The town of Ciparum in Istria swallowed
up by the sea.
1303 A large part of the island of Rugen, and
several villages on the coast of Pomerania
engulfed by the waves.
1337 Fourteen villages on Kadsand in Zeeland
destroyed by an inundation.
1421 The sea engulfs the district of Bergse-
weld, and overflows 22 villages, forming the
large gulph of Biesbosch.
1475 A strip of land at the mouth of the Hum-
ber with several villages carried away by the
sea.
151 0 The Baltic forms the mouth of the Frisch
HafF3600 yards wide.
1530-32 A part of the islands of North and
South Beveland with several towns and many
villages swallowed up.
1634 An inundation of the sea engulfs the island
of Northstrand, destroying 1338 houses, tow-
ers, and churches, and swallowing up 50,000
head of cattle, and 6,400 human beings.
1926 A violent storm changed the salt-pans of
Araya in Cumana, into a large gulf.
1770-1785 Heligoland divided into two isles by
the encroachments of the sea.
1784 The lake of Aboukir on the coast of
Egypt formed by a storm.
1803 The sea carried off the ruins of the priory
at Crail in Scotland.
ENGRAVING on metal plates, first known
in Europe B.C. 504, by a map on brass brought
from Quoniaby Anazagoras of Samos ; and yet
it was not until A. D. 1423, that impressions were
taken on paper from engraved plates ; the art
of taking impressions from engravings on cop-
per as now used, 1511 ; in mezzotinto, and im-
proved by prince Rupert, of Palatine, 1648 ; to
represent wash, invented by Barable, a French-
man, 1761 ; crayon engraving invented at Pa-
ris by Bonnet, 1769.
Engraving on wood invented in Flanders,
1423; revived by Alb. Durer, 1511; on glass
invented 1799, at Paris, by Boudier.
Engraving on steel became common about
1830. It is now preferred for fine work, to
copper.
Engraving, Lithographic, invented by Sene-
felder, a German, about 1796.
EPSOM MINERAL SPRING first discov-
ered 1630.
ERA, that of Nabonassar, was 747 B. C. ;
Phillipic, or death of Alexander, 324, B. C. ; of
Seleucida?, 312 B. C. ; the Christians made their
era the birth of Christ, which was A.M. 4004,
but did not use this reckoning till the year 600,
using in the mean time the civil account of the
empire ; the Mahometans began their Hegira
(for so they term their computation) from the
flight of their prophet from Mecca, when he
was driven thence by the Philarchee, A.D. 622;
the Grecians reckon by Olympiads, the first of
which is placed in the year of the world 3187;
but this account perishing under the Constan-
tinopolitan emperors, they reckoned by indic-
tions, every indiction containing fifteen years,
and the first beginning A. D. 313, which among
chronologers are still used ; the Romans reck-
oned first from the building of their city, which
was A. M 3251, and afterwards from the 16th
year of the emperor Augustus, A. M. 3936,
which reckoning was used among the Span-
iards till the reign of Ferdinand the Catholic;
the Jews had divers epocha ; as 1st, from the
creation of the world in the beginning of time;
2d, from the universal deluge, A. M. 1656; 3d,
from the confusion of tongues, A. M. 1771 ; 4th,
from Abraham's journey out of Chaldea into
Canaan, A. M. 2008; 5th, from the departure
of the children of Israel out of Egypt, A. M.
2515; 6th, from the year of the jubilee, A. M.
2540 ; 7th, from the building of Solomon's tem-
ple, A. M. 2999; and 8th, from the captivity
of Babylon, A, M. 3397; but in historical com-
putation of time, are used only the two most
ordinary epochs, the world's creation, and
Christ appearance in the flesh ; the Christian
era began to be used in Italy, &c. in 525, and
in England in 816.
ETCHING on copper invented with aqua
fortis, 1512.
ETNA, celebrated volcanic mountain in the
island of Sicily, rising to 10,936 English feet,
which, on that parallel, is above the region of
perpetual snow. The irruptions of this remark-
able mountain reach beyond history ; in mod-
ern times, beside many of lesser note, there
were eruptions in 1169, 1408, 1444, 1535, 1669,
and 1694, when the city of Catanea, with the
adjacent country was destroyed, and 18,000
people perished ; again in 1699 and 1787.
EXCISE, the first used in England, 1643.
EXCHEQUER, court of, instituted on the
model of the Normans, 1074; exchequer bills
invented, 1695; first circulated by the bank,
1706.
FIR
663
FIR
F.
FAIRS and markets first instituted in Eng-
land by Alfred, about 886. The first fairs took
their rise from wakes ; when the number of
people then assembled brought together a vari-
ety of traders annually on these days. From
these holidays they were called feriaee, or fair.
FANS, muffs, masks and false hair, first de-
vised by the harlots in Italy, and brought into
England from France, 1572.
FAMINE which lasted seven years, 1708 B.
C. ; at Rome, when many persons threw them-
selves into the Tiber, 440 B. C. ; in Britain, so
that the inhabitants ate the barks of trees, 272
A. C. ; one in Scotland, where thousands were
starved, 306; in England and Wales, where
40,000 were starved, 310 ; all over Britain, 325;
at Constantinople, 446 ; in Italy, where parents
ate their children, 450; in Scotland, 576 ; all
over England, Wales and Scotland, 739 ; an-
other in Wales, 747 ; in Wales and Scotland,
792; again in Scotland, 803 ; again in Scotland,
when thousands were starved, 823; a severe
one in Wales, 836; in Scotland, which lasted
four years, 954 ; famines in England, 864, 974,
976, 1005 ; in Scotland, which lasted two years,
1047 ; in England, 1050, 1087; in Eno-land and
France, from 1103 to 1195; in England 1251,
1315, 1318, 1335, 1348 ; in England and France,
called the dear summer, 1358; in England 1389
and 1438, so great that bread was made of fern
root ; in 1565 two millions were expended on
the importation of corn ; one in 1748 ; another
in 1798; in the province of Vellore, in 1810,
by which 6000 people perished ; in the diocess
of Drontheim, in Norway, in consequence of
the intercepting of supplies by Sweden, 5000
persons perished, 1813.
FESTIVALS of Christmas, Easter, Ascen-
sion, and the Pentecost, or Whitsuntide, first
ordered to be observed by all Christians, 68.
Rogation days appointed 469; jubilees in the
Romish church instituted by pope Boniface VIII
1300; (at first they were observed every hun-
dred years, but future popes reduced them to
50. and then to every period of 25 years.)
FEUDAL LAWS, the tenure of land, by
suit and service, to the lord or owner of it, in-
troduced into England by the Saxons, about 600;
the slavery of this tenure increased under Wil-
liam I, 1068. This was dividing the kingdom
into baronies, giving them to certain persons,
and requiring those persons to furnish ihe king
with money, and a staled number of soldiers.
FIRES. Ajax, a British ship of the line,
burned offTenedos, Feb. 14th, 1807, when 350
men perished.
Alexandria, Jan. 18th, 1827, a most distress-
ing conflagration in a most inclement season.
Congress made the sufferers a donation of
$20,000.
Bombay in the East Indies, Feb. 27th, 1803,
when the city was almost entirely destroyed.
Boston, March 21, 1673, castle at the harbor
burned ; August 8th, 1679, 80 houses, 70 ware-
houses, and a number of vessels destroyed ;
Feb. 2, 1798 theatre in Federal street destroyed ;
Nov. 3d, 1818, the fine and spacious exchange
consumed.
Casan, in Russia, almost totally destroyed,
Sept. 8th, 1815.
Charleston, South Carolina, 200 houses of,
consumed July 15th, 1778.
Constantinople, Sept. 4th, 1778, 2,000 houses
consumed ; Oct. 22, 1782, 10,000 houses and 50
mosques destroyed ; July 8, 1783, 7,000 houses
destroyed; 1791, upwards of 30,000 houses in
the course of the year; Sept. 22d, 1818, great
injury and many thousand houses consumed;
Jan. 28th, 1820, destructive conflagration and
insurrection.
Copenhagen, one third of destroyed, June 9,
1795.
Kingston, Jamaica, Feb. 8th, 1782, confla-
gration at, when property was destroyed to the
amount of £500,000.
London, 982, a fire which destroyed great
part of the city; July 10, 1212, London Bridge,
when 2000 people perished ; Sept 2. 1666, a fire
broke out near the monument and burnt four
days and four nights, destroying 113,000 houses,
the city gates, Guild Hall, &c. ; 86 churches,
amongst which was St. Paul's cathedral, and
400 streets ; the ruins of this city were 436
acres; in 1676, (i00 houses were burnt ; Dec. 4,
1716, 150 houses were burnt down at Wapping ;
Dec. 23d, 1759, 50 houses were destroyed, dam-
age estimated at £70,000 ; Sept. 18th, 1790, 20
persons lost their lives by fire ; Sept. 14, 1791,
several vessels and sixty houses destroyed ;
July 22d, and 23d, 1794, 680 houses were con-
sumed, with an East India warehouse, in which
35.000 bags of saltpetre were consumed, and
£40,000 worth of sugar were destroyed in one
sugarhouse. The whole loss was estimated at
above £1,000,000 sterling ; Aug. 17, 1794, Ast-
ley's theatre and 19 houses were burnt; Feb.
11, 1800, three large warehouses of West India
Goods, valued at £300,000 were destroyed;
Oct. 6th, same year, 30 houses and goods to the
amount of £ 80,000 were burnt, and many lives
FOU
664
FOU
were lost ; Feb. 12th 1814, the custom-house,
and a whole range of buildings destroyed ;
May 23d, 1817, extensive damage done in Fleet
street ; 1834, both houses of Parliament burned.
New Orleans, March 21st, 1788, a most ruin-
ous conflagration, by which far ihe greater part
of the city was reduced to ashes.
New York, Dec. 29, 1773, government house
destroyed ; September 21st, 1776, a great fire by
which about 1000 houses were consumed with
Trinity Church, the Charity School, Lutheran
Church, &c. ; Aug. 7, 1778, 300 houses destroy-
ed ; Dec. 9th, 1790, destructive fire in Maiden
Lane, between 60 and 70 houses were destroyed ;
Dec. 18, same year, about 40 houses were con-
sumed ; loss estimated at $106,700; May 19, in
1811, 100 houses destroyed; Aug. 31st, 1816,
21 houses destroyed. It appears that from the
2d of Jan. to the 3d Dec. 1828, property was de-'
stroyed by fires to the amount of $680,402.
Philadelphia, Dec 26th 1794, German Luthe-
ran or Zion church; Jan. 27th, 1797, fire in
the printing office and dwelling house of An-
drew Brown, in Chesnut-street — his wife and
three children perished, and he lingered until
the 4th of Feb. when he expired ; Dec. 17th,
1799, Rickett's circus, &c, destroyed ; April
11th, 1811, a destructive fire in Locust-street;
May 8th, 1816, a very destructive fire in Coates-
street. The most lamentable fire that ever oc-
curred in Philadelphia was that of the Orphan
Asylum, Jan. 23d, 1822, in which twenty-three
of the orphans perished.
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 300 houses de-
stroyed Dec. 26th, 1802.
Venice, destructive fire at, Jan. 14, 1789.
Washington City, Aug. 24th, 1814, the Capi-
tol, President's House, many private houses, the
bridge over the Potomac, dockyard, &c. by the
British troops.
FIRE ENGINE, to force water, invented
1663.
FONTS for baptism, instituted, A. D. 167.
FORT St. GEORGE, in India, first settled
by the English East India Company, 1620.
FORTIFICATION, the present mode intro-
duced, about 1500.
FOUNDING OF CITIES, TOWNS, KING-
DOMS, STATES, &c. Aix la Chapelle built,
795.
Albany, city, capital of New York, in Albany
county : next to Jamestown, Virginia, the old-
est town in the United States. Settled by the
Dutch about 1614.
Alexandria, in Egypt, built in 17 days, the
walls whereof were six miles in circuit, 332 B.C.
9
Amsterdam first settled, 1203; walled, 1482;
taken possession of by the French, January 18,
1795.
Annapolis, Virginia : made a post town in
1694; created from the village of Severn.
Antioch built, 300 B. C.
Antwerp first mentioned in history, 517;
walled, 1256; pillaged by its garrison, 1576;
ruined, 1585; declared a free port, 1784; sur-
rendered to the French, 1794.
Areopagus first erected at Athens, 1272 B.C.
Argos, the kingdom of, began 1586 B. C.
Arragon, erected into a kindom, 912.
Ashford, post town, Windham county, Con-
necticut; incorporated in 1714.
Assyria, kingdom of, began under Ninus,
2059 B. C ; lasted above 1264 years, ended with
Sardanapalus ; out of its ruins were formed the
Assyrians of Babylon, those of Nineveh, and
the Medes.
Athens, kingdom of, began 1556 B. C.
Attleborough, post town, Bristol county,
Massachusetts ; incorporated in 1694.
Babylon, the city of, founded by Nimrod,
2640 ; walled, 1243 ; taken by Cyrus, 588 ; by
Darius, after 19 months siege, 5)1 B. C.
Babylonish' monarchy founded 2217 B. C.
Bagdad built, 762.
Balbec built 144 ; totally obliterated by an
earthquake, 1759.
Baltimore, city and port of entry in Baltimore
county, Maryland. Founded in 1729. In 1765
contained but fifty houses. Erected into a city
in 1797. Its medical college was founded in
1807. St. Mary's college, a Catholic institution,
incorporated in 1806. Battle of Baltimore
fought the 13th and 14th of September, 1814.
Barnstable, seaport and capital of Barnstable
county, Mass., on Barnstable bay. Settled by
the R'ev. John Lathrop, October 11, 1639.
Bavaria, dukedom of, founded 1180 ; made an
electorate, 1028 ; erected into a kingdom by
Bonaparte, 1805.
Beaufort, town, North Carolina, incorporated
in 1723.
Bennington, a post town in the county of
Bennington, Vermont, founded in 1749. As
the grant of the township was made by Gov.
Wentworth of New Hampshire, it was called
from his christian name, Benning. Stark's
victory gained here, August 16, 1777.
Berne, in Switzerland, made an imperial city,
1290 ; ancient government of, overturned by
the French, re-established, Dec. 24, 1813.
Bethlehem, borough and post town, North-
hampton county, Pennsylvania. Commenced
2b*
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in 1741 by the Moravians, who removed hither
from Savannah, because the inhabitants com-
pelled the in to bear arms.
Beverly, post town and seaport, Essex coun-
ty, Massachusetts. This town was incorporat-
ed in 1(363, and the early settlers gathered to-
gether and erected a church in 1657.
Billerica, post town, Middlesex county, Mass.
Founded in 1656.
Bohemia, kingdom of, founded, 550.
Biadenburgh created a marquisate, 925 ; cre-
ated a dukedom, 1526.
Braintree, town, Norfolk county, Massachu-
setts. First church was gathered in 1639. It
originally belonged to Boston, and was called
Mount VVollaston.
Bridgewater, post town, Plymouth county,
Massachusetts. Settled 1651. Attacked by
Indians and injured severely, May 8, 1676.
Britanny, founded as a kingdom, 383 ; made
a duchy, 874 ; annexed to the crown of France,
1150.
British isles; they were inhabited originally
by a people called Britons, of the same stock
With the ancient Gauls or Celtae. The Ro-
mans first invaded them under Julius Caesar,
54 B. C. but made no conquests. The emperor
Claudius, and his generals Plautius, Vespasian,
and Titus, subdued several provinces after 30
pitched battles with the natives, A. D. 43 and
44. The conquest was completed by Agricola
in the reign of Domitian, 85.
Brookfield, post town, Worcester county,
Massachusetts. Settled in 1660. Township
granted in 1667. August 2, 1675, two or three
hundred ambuscaded Indians attacked a party
of inhabitants, and killed several. Burnt by
the Indians in 1675. Incorporated 1718.
Brookline, town, Norfolk county, Massachu-
setts. Incorporated 1705.
Bruges founded, 700 ; fortified, 890.
Brunswick built, 361.
Burgundy, the dukedom of, established, 890 ;
the kingdom founded, 413 ; again in 814 ; unit-
ed to the German empire, 1035 ; disunited by a
revolt, and divided into four sovereignties, 1074.
Byzantium, now Constantinople, founded
715 B. C.
Calcutta seized and settled by the Eno-lish,
1689. e '
Cambridge, England, once a city called Gran-
ta, built by Carsiurus ; university chartered,
538; founded, 900; the town burnt by the
Danes, 1010; university revived, 1110.
Cambridge, post town, Middlesex county,
Massachusetts. Name changed from Newtown
to Cambridge in 1638, when Harvard Universi-
ty was founded.
Canterbury built, 912 B. C. ; paved, 1477.
Carthage founded by the Tyrians, 1259; built
by queen Dido, 1233 ; destroyed, 146 ; rebuilt,
123 B. C.
Castile and Arragon kingdom begun, 1035.
Charlestown, Middlesex county Massachu-
setts. Founded in 1629 by a company of one
hundred persons. Burned by the British, June
17, 1775.
Chelmsford, now Lowell, post town, Middle-
sex county, Massachusetts. Incorporated in
1655. It was attacked by Indians in 1676.
Chelsea, Massachusetts, formerly a ward of
Boston, under the name of Winnesimmet or
Romney Marsh. Incorporated in 1738.
Chichester built by Ciffa, 516 ; paved, 1576.
China empire founded, 2100 B. C; but its
history does not extend above the Greek Olym-
piads ; the first dynasty, when prince Yu reign-
ed, 2207 B. C. ; before this time the Chinese
chronology is imperfect.
Cologne made an imperial city, 959 ; made
archiepiscopal, 742; electoral, 1021.
Concord, post town, Middlesex county, Mas-
sachusetts. Settled in 1635.
Constantinople changed its name from By-
zantium, 329 ; was made the seat of an emperor,
1268 ; Cadies or justices introduced, to decide
the disputes between the Greeks and Turks,
1390 ; taken by Mahomet II May 29, 1452, who
put an end to the eastern empire, 1453 ; walled
twenty miles round, 413.
Copenhagen founded, 1169; made a city,
1319 ; made the capital of Denmark, 1443.
Corinth, kingdom of, established, 1355 B. C.
Cork, in Ireland, built, 1170.
Corsica dependent on Genoa till 1730 ; ceded
to France, 1770; offered to Germany for
£ 150,000 in 1781 ; surrendered its sovereignty
to Great Britain, 1794 ; relinquished, in 1796.
Cracow, in Poland, founded, 700.
Cronstadt built by Peter the Great, of Russia,
1704.
Danbury, post town, Fairfield county, Con-
necticut. Founded about 1693.
Dantzick founded, 1169; first walled in, 1398;
admitted to a suffrage in the election of kings
of Poland, 1632 ; put themselves under the pro-
tection of Prussia, 1703 ; compelled to acknow-
ledge Stanislaus king of Poland, 1707 ; the king
of Prussia seized upon the territory round the
city, 1789.
Dauphiny annexed to the kingdom of France,
1349.
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Dedham, post town, and capital of Norfolk
county, Massachusetts. Commenced in 1637,
Delft city founded, 1072.
Denmark united to Norway, 1412; separated
from it, 1521 ; crown made hereditary, 1C60 ;
Pomerania and the isle of Rugen annexed to it
in exchange for Norway, by treaty, Jan. 14,
Domingo, St. given up by the French gover-
nor, Rochambeau, to the black troops, Nov. 19,
1803.
Dorchester, town, Norfolk county, Massachu-
setts. Settled 1630. Church gathered 1636.
Dover castle built by Julius Caesar ; town
fortified, 1525.
Dresden founded, 808.
Dublin city walls built about 838 ', its first
charter granted, 1173; its castle built, 1220;
university founded, 1591 ; students admitted to
its university, January, 1594.
Dunkirk founded, 966.
East Indies were discovered by the Romans,
but authors differ as to the time ; but with
certainty we know, that Alexander the Great
made extensive conquests in this country, 327
B. C. ; by the Portuguese, 1497 ; conquered
in 1500, and settled by them in 1506. — The first
settlement was Goa.
Edinburgh built, 950 ; fortified, and castle
erected, 1074 ; made the metropolis of Scotland
by James III, 1482: James II was the first
king crowned there, 1437.
Egypt, the kingdom of, began, 2188 B.C., and
lasted 1633 years ; reduced to a province, 31
A. D. ; and subdued by the Turks, in 1525 ; the
French army entered it in 1798, and overthrew
it, but were expelled by the English in 1801.
Elbing,in Prussia, founded, 1240.
Elsineur, in Denmark, built 2 B. C.
Exeter, post town, Rockingham county, New
Hampshire. Church and town founded in 1638.
Falmouth, town, Cumberland county, Maine.
Incorporated in 1718. Burned by the British,
October 18, 1775, when one hundred and thirty
nine dwelling houses, and two hundred and
thirty -eight stores were destroyed.
Fayetteville, post town, Cumberland county,
North Carolina. Founded in 1785.
Flanders erected into an earldom, 793 ; made
part of France, 1795 ; annexed to Holland,
1813.
Florence founded, 1408 B. C.
Fribourg, in Switzerland, founded, 1179.
Gallipolis, post town and capital of Gallia
county, Ohio. Land granted to French settlers
in 1795.
Geneva republic founded, 1512.
Genoese republic founded, 1096. — Genoa aft'
nexed to the French empire, 1805. — Transferred
to the king of Sardinia, 1814.
Georgetown, post town, Lincoln county,
Maine. Incorporated in 1718.
Georgia colony settled, June 22, 1732 ; incor-
porated, July 31, 1752.
Germany was divided anciently into several
independent states, which made no figure in
history till 25 B. C, when they withstood the
attempts of the Romans to subdue them, who
conquered some parts ; but by the repeated ef-
forts of the Germans were entirely expelled
about A. D. 290 —In 432, the Huns, driven
from China, conquered the greatest part of this
extensive country ; but it was not totally sub-
dued till Charlemagne became master of the
whole, A. D. 802.
Goree Isle first planted by the Dutch, 1617.
Grand Cairo built by the Saracens, 969.
Gravesend erected to protect the river
Thames, 1513.
Grecian empire founded by Alexander, 331 ;
commenced, 81 1.
Groningen built, 433 B. C.
Guilford, borough, post town and seaport,New
Haven county, Connecticut. Settled in 1639.
Haddam, post town, Middlesex county, Con-
necticut. Incorporated 1668.
Hadley, post town, Hampshire county, Mas-
sachusetts. Settled in 1658. On Septetnber
1st, 1658, the town was attacked by Indians
during the services of the Sabbath. The sava-
ges were repelled by an aged man, who sudden-
ly appeared and headed the inhabitants, and
disappeared as suddenly after the victory. This
man, regarded as an angel at the time, was
afterwards discovered to be Goffe, one of the
regicide judges.
Hamburgh founded, 804; walled, 811; dis-
franchised, and incorporated with France, Jan.
1810; restored to independence by the allied
sovereigns, 1814.
Hanover, hitherto but a village, walled, 1556;
obtained the privileges of a city, 1578 ; made
the ninth electorate, 1692; annexed to West-
phalia, by Bonaparte, March 18, 1810 ; regained
to England, Nov. 6, 1813; principality of Hil-
desheim annexed to it, 1813; erected into a
kingdom, 1814 ; assembly of the states of the
new kingdom opened by the duke of Cambridge,
Dec. 15, 1814 ; East Friesland and Harlingen
added to it, 1815.
Harrisburg, the metropolis of Pennsylvania,
founded in 1786.
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Harwich, post town, Barnstable county, Mas-
sachusetts. Its Indian name was Satucket.
Incorporated 1694.
Heptarchy, in England, commenced, 455;
ended, &2-1.
Hingham, post town, Plymouth county, Mas-
sachusetts. Settled in 1635.
Holland, originally part of the territory of the
Belgae, conquered by the Romans, 47 B. C>— A
sovereignty founded by Thierry, first count of
Holland, A. D. 86S; continued till 1417, when
it pnssed by surrender to the duke of Burgundy,
A. D. 1534 ; being oppressed by the bishop of
Utrecht, the people ceded the country to Spain.
The Spanish tyranny being insupportable, they
revolted and formed the republic, now called the
United Provinces, by the union of Utrecht, 1579.
The office of stadtholder, or captain general of
the United Provinces, made hereditary in the
Prince of Orange's family, not excepting fe-
males, 1747. — A revolt formed, but prevented
by the Prussians, 1787.— Invaded by the French
in 1793, who took possession of it, Jan. 1795,
and expelled the stadtholder. — Erected into a
kingdom by the command of Bonaparte, and
the title of king given to his brother Louis,
June 5, 1806. The throne abdicated by Louis,
July 1, 1810. United to France by a decree of
Bonaparte, July 9, 1810.
Holliston, post town, Middlesex county,
Massachusetts. Settled in 1710. Incorporated
1724. Visited in 1753 by a malignant fever,
which carried off fifty-three persons out of a
population of 400.
Hull founded, 1296; incorporated by the
lame of Kingston, 1299.
Ilium built, 1359 B. C.
Ionian islands ceded to Britain, as a free and
ndependent state, by the allied sovereigns in
ongress, Nov. 5, 1815.
Ipswich, post town, and port of entry, Essex
:ounty, Massachusetts. Settled 1634.
Ireland ; the original inhabitants of this coun-
ry are supposed to have been of the Celtic
tock ; it was divided formerly among a num-
er of petty sovereigns.
Italy, kingdom of, began, 476; ended, 964;
egan again, 1805 ; and Bonaparte the Corsican
.-owned king, May 26.
Jersey, Guernsey, Sark, and Alderney, were
opendages of the duchy of Normandy, and
nited to the crown of England, by the first
-ince of the Norman line.
Jerusalem built 1800 B. C. ; destroyed by
'itus, 70; rebuilt by Adrian, 130; again de-
royed, 136 ; taken by the Saracens, 637 ; taken
by the Crusaders, July 14, 1099, when 70,000
infidels are said to have been massacred ; taken
from the Christians by Saladin, 1190,
Kent, kingdom of, began, 455 ; ended, 823.
Liverpool was incorporated, 1299;
London fortified by the Romans, 50 ; walled,
and a palace built, 294 ; made a bishopric, 653;
repaired by Alfred, 885; greatly damaged by a
fire, 982, 1027, and 1130"; not paved, 1090;
houses of timber thatched with straw, but to
prevent fire, ordered to be built with stone, and
covered with slates, 1192, but the order not ob-
served ; a charter by king John to the London-
ers to choose a mayor out of their own body,
annually (this office formerly was for life,) to
elect and remove their sheriffs at pleasure, and
their common-councilmen annually, 1208; a
common hunt first appointed, 1226 ; aldermen
first appointed, 1242; the houses still thatched
with straw, Cheapside lay out of the city, 1246;
all built of wood, 1300 ; their privileges taken
away, but restored on submission, 1366; the
first lord mayor sworn at Westminster that went
by water,1433 ; the lord mayor's show instituted,
1453; a sheriff fined £50 for kneeling too near
the lord mayor, when at prayers in St. Paul's
cathedral, 1486; the Thames water first con-
veyed into the city, 1582 ; the city chiefly built
of wood, and in every respect very irregular,
1600 ; the New River brought to London, 1613 ;
the lord mayor and sheriffs arrested at the suit
of two pretended sheriffs, April 24, 1652 ; the
greatest part of the city destroyed by fire, 1666 ;
Pilkington and Shute, the city sheriffs, sent
prisoners to the Tower, for continuing a poll
after the lord mayor had adjourned it, 1682;
the charter of the city declared forfeited to the
crown, June 12, 1682; privileges taken away,
but restored, 1688; builtamansion house, 1737;
furnished and inhabited the same, 1752; repair-
ed London bridge, 1758, when government
granted them £ 15,000 and permitted them to
pull down the gates, 1760; began Blackfriars
bridge, Oct. 31, 1760 ; the common council or
dered to wear blue mazarine gowns, Sept. 14,
1761 ; lost their cause against the dissenters
serving sheriffs, July 5, 1762; the city remon-
strated on the king's paying no attention to their
petition for a redress of grievances, and was
censured, March, 1770; Brass Crosby, Esq.
lord mayor, and alderman Oliver, sent to the
Tower by the house of commons, for committing
their messenger, March, 1771 ; trade greatly
injured by bankruptcies, 1772; regulation of
admitting the livery at Guildhall, by Mr. Stone'a
scheme, 1774 ; the common councilmen discon
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tinued the wearing of their mazarine gowns in
court, in 1775 ; the city abandoned to the mercy
of an ungoverned mob, July 3, 1780; rebuilt
the compters near Newgate, 1789; from the
year 1768 to the year 177(5, the corporation of
London expended the following sums for public
uses, which show the opulence of the city : in
new paving, repairing old pavements, lighting,
cleansing, and purchasing old houses to widen
streets, £200,000 ; £200,000 for the new bridge
at Blackfriars ; several large sums for new roads,
embanking the river, and other contingencies ;
£200,000 for repairing the royal exchange ; the
jail of Newgate cost £100,000. London is now
supposed to contain 160,000 houses, 7000 streets,
to cover 3000 acres, and to be in circumference
23 miles, and its population 1 ,200,000.
Londonderry, post town, Rockingham coun-
ty, New Hampshire. Settled by one hundred
Scotch families, (who came from Londonderry,
Ireland, their temporary residence,) in 1719.
Lubec was founded, 1140.
Lucca republic founded, 100.
Lyons, in France, founded 43 B. C; opposed
the national convention, by whom it was be-
sieged, 1793.
Macedon, kingdom of, began, 814 B. C.
Madrid built, 936 B. C., but remained an ob-
scure village in 1515.
Man, isle of, formerly subject to Norway ;
then to John and Henry III of England, and
afterwards to Scotland ; governed by its lords,
from 1043 ; conquered by Henry IV 1341.
Medford, post town, Middlesex county, Mas-
sachusetts. Settled in 1630. A ship of thirty
tons built here in 1633.
Michilimackinack. A fort built here by the
French in 1673.
Middletown, city, port of entry, and capital
of Middlesex county, Connecticut, commenced
1651.
Milan, the capital of this celebrated dukedom
is reputed to have been built by the Gauls,
about 408 B. C.
Modena made a duchy, 1451.
Mogul empire — The first conqueror was Jen-
ghis Khan, a Tartarian prince, who died, 1236.
Morocco, empire of, anciently Mauritania,
first known, 1008. — Possessed by the Romans,
25 B. C, and reduced by them to a province,
50. — From this time it underwent various revo-
lutions, till the establishment of the Almova-
rides. — The second emperor of this family built
the capital, Morocco. — About 1 116, Abdallah,
the leader of a sect of Mahometans, founded the
dynasty of Almahides, which ended in the last
sovereign's total defeat in Spain, 1312. — At this
period Fez and Tremecen, then provinces of
the empire, shook off their dependence. — Mo-
rocco was afterwards seized by the king of Fez;
but the descendants of Mahomet, about 1550,
subdued and united again the three kingdoms,
and formed what is at present the empire of
Morocco.
Moscow founded, 1156.
Munich, in Bavaria, founded, 962; walled.
1157.
Nantucket, island of, Massachusetts: First
settlement commenced at Madakit harbor, 1659.
Naples founded, 323 B. C.
Naples, anciently Capua and Campania,
kingdom of, began, 1020. — Great part of the
country was inhabited, in ancient times, by the
Etruscans, who built Nola and Capua.
Netherlands declared themselves a free state,
1565 and 1789 ; became a province to France in
1794 ; placed under the sovereignty of the house
of Orange, 1814.
Newcastle-upon-Tyne built, 1079; incorpo-
rated by king John, 1213.
New Haven, city, seaport, and semi-metrop-
olis of Connecticut. Built 1638. Its college
was projected in 1654. Plundered by the Brit-
ish, July 5, 1779. Made a city 1784.
New London, city and port of entry, New
London county, Connecticut. Settled in 1648.
Burnt by Benedict Arnold, after his treason,
Sept. 6, 1781. Made a city 1784.
New Orleans, city, port of entry and capital
of Louisiana. Founded in 1717. Dreadful
hurricane occurred in 1722.
Newtown, Massachusetts, originally intended
as a fortified place, and commenced in 1631.
(See Cambridge .)
Normandy erected into a dukedom, 876.
Northumberland kingdom began, 547 ; ended,
828.
Norwalk, post town, Fairfield county, Con-
necticut. Settled in 1651. Burnt by the Brit-
ish, July 12,1779.
Norway attached to Sweden, and Charles
XIII of Sweden proclaimed king of, November
4,1814.
Norwich, city, New London county, Connec-
ticut. Settled in 1660. Made a city in 1784.
Nottingham built, 924.
Ottoman empire begun, 1293.
Oxford university, founded by Alfred, 886;
its castle built, 1071 ; archdeaconry erected,
1092; Beaumont place finished, about 1128;
chancellor's court established, 1244; bishoprick
taken from Lincoln, and founded, 1541 ; first
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public lecture in Arabic read there, 1G36; new
theatre built, 1669 ; a terrible fire at, 1644 ; again,
1C71; library built, 1745; hospital begun, May 1 ,
1772 ; observatory built, 1772 ; visited by Geo.
Ill, &c. Oct. 12, 1785.
Padua built, 1269 B. C; surrounded with a
wall, &c. by the Venetians, 1019.
Paris founded, 357; made the capital of
France, 510 ; the city of, consumed by fire, 588 ;
first paved with stones, 1186; barricadoes of,
1588, to oppose the entry of the duke of Guise ;
again, Aug. 27, 1748, in opposition to the re-
gency ; first parliament there, 1302.
Persian empire founded, 536 B. C.
Petersburgh, in Muscovy, built by the czar,
Peter 1, 1703.
Pisa republic founded, 1403.
Plymouth, seaport and capital of Plymouth
county, Massachusetts. First company of Pil-
grims landed Dec. 23, 1620. First house built
Dec. 25, of the same year.
Poland, once the country of the Vandals, who
left it to invade the Roman empire ; it was
made a duchy, 694 ; kingdom of, began, by the
favor of Otho III, emperor of Germany, under
Boleslaus, 999.
Portland, city and port of entry, Cumberland
county, Maine. Incorporated 1786.
Portugal, kingdom of. began, 1139 ; united to
Spain in 1580, and continued so till 1640, when
they shook off the Spanish yoke.
Providence, city and port of entry, Provi-
dence county, Rhode Island. Settled by Roger
Williams in 1636. Thirty houses destroyed by
the Indians, March 29, 1676.
Prussia, anciently possessed by the Venedi,
wljose kings were descended from Athirius, first
king of the Heruli, on the Baltic, 320 B. C.
Ratisbon built, 1187 B. C.
Riga, founded in 1128,by a colony of Bre-
meners.
Roman empire began, 44 B. C; ended, 63
A. D.; began in the west, 74 ; ended, 92 ; began
in the east. 364 ; ended, 1553 ; it was 2000 miles
broad, and 3000 in length.
Rome, its foundation laid by Romulus, its
first king, 753 B. C. according to most chronol-
ogers; by sir Isaac Newton's chronology, 627,
B.C.
Rostock founded, 1169.
Roxbury, town, Norfolk county, Massachu-
setts. Settled in 1630.
Russia, or Muscovy, anciently Sarmatia, and
inhabited by the Scythians ; not renowned till
the natives attempted to take Constantinople,
A. D. 864.
Salem, seaport and capital of Essex county,
Massachusetts In 1678 contained but eighty-
five houses. The first pavement finished, 1773.
Sardinia conquered by the Spaniards. 1303,
in whose possession it was till 1708, when it
was taken by an English fleet, and given to the
duke of Savoy, with the title of king.
Savoy, part of Gallia Narbonensis, which
submitted to the Romans, 118 B. C.
Saybrook, post town, Middlesex county,
Connecticut. Fort erected in 1635. An eccle-
siastical constitution, called the " Saybrook
Platform," adopted by the Synod, Sept. 1708.
Scotland, anciently Caledonia, history of, be-
gan, 328 B. C, when Fergus I was sent over by
the people of Ireland ; received the Christian
faith, A. D. 203.
Sicily first peopled from Italy, 1262 B. C.
Southwark annexed to London, 1550.
Spain, New, established, 1520.
Spain was first civilized by the Phcenicians,
who possessed great part of it ; these called in
the Carthaginians; it was afterwards invaded
by the Rhodians ; the Carthaginians however
made new conquests, 209 ; and after the de-
struction of ancient Tyre, became the most pow-
erful in this country. — Conquered by the Ro-
mans, 216 B. C.
Springfield, post town and capital of Hamp-
den county, Massachusetts. Settled in 1636.
Burnt by the Indians in 1675.
Stockholm built, 1253.
Sweden, anciently Scandinavia, kingdom of,
began, 481.
Switzerland inhabited formerly by the Hel-
vettii, who were subdued by Csesar, 57 B. C.
Syracuse, in the isle of Sicily, founded, 709
B.C.
Thebes built by Cadmus, 493 B. C.
Trenton, the metropolis of New Jersey.
Founded by William Trent in 1724.
Troy built, 1480 ; the kingdom of, began
1446 B. C.
Vandals began their kingdom in Spain, 412;
ended, 534.
Venice. — The first inhabitants of this country,
were the Veneti ; conquered by the Gauls, and
made a kingdom, about 356; conquered for the
Romans, by Maicellus, 221 B. C.
Vienna was very obscure till 1151 ; it was
walled and enlarged by Henry I,, of Austria,
1122, with the ransom of king Richard I, of
England.
Wallachia, incorporated with Russia, 1810.
Wales first inhabited by Britons, on their
being expelled England by the Saxons, 685;
FRO
670
GAR
divided into North Wales, South Wales, and
Powis Land, 970 ; conquered and divided by
William I, among the conquerors, 1091 ; Grif-
fith the last king died, 1137; the sovereign,
from that time, was a prince only.
Washington city, in America, founded, 1791.
Waterford, in Ireland, built 1162.
Wirtemberg erected into a county in 1078 ;
into a duchy, at the diet of Worms, 1495; into
a kingdom, 1803.
Woburn, post town, Middlesex county, Mas-
sachusetts. Settled in 1642.
York built, 1223 B. C.
FROST, in Britain, lasted five months, 220.
The Pontus sea was entirely frozen over for the
space of 20 days, and the sea between Constan-
tinople and the Scutari, 401 ; so severe a frost
all over Britain, that the rivers were frozen up
for above two months, 508 ; one so great that
the Danube was quite frozen over, 558 ; the
Thames frozen for six weeks, when booths were
built on it, 695; one that continued from Oct.
1, to February 26, 760; one in England which
lasted nine weeks, 827; carriages were used on
the Adriatic sea, 859; the Mediterranean sea
was frozen over, and passable in carts, 860 ;
most of the rivers in England frozen for two
months, 908; the Thames frozen thirteen
weeks, 923 ; one that lasted 120 days, which
began December 22, 987 ; the Thames frozen
five weeks, 998 ; a frost on midsummerdav, so
vehement, that the corn and fruits were destroy-
ed, 1035 ; the Thames frozen fourteen weeks,
1063 ; a frost in England from November to
April, 1076; several bridges in England being
then of timber, broken down by a frost. 1114;
a frost from January 14 to March 22, 1205 ;
one of fifteen weeks, 1207 ; the Mediterranean
sea was frozen over, and the merchants passed
with their merchandise in carts, in 1234 ; the
Cattegatt, or sea between Norway and Den-
mark, was frozen, and that from Oxslo, in Nor-
way, they travelled on the ice to Jutland, in
1294 ; the sea between Norway and the prom-
ontory of Scagernit frozen over, and from Swe-
den to Gothland, 1296; the Baltic was covered
with ice fourteen weeks, between the Danish
and Swedish islands, in 1306 ; the Baltic was
passable for foot passengers and horsemen, for
six weeks, in 1323 ; the sea was frozen over,
and passable from Stralsund to Denmark, in
1349 ; the Baltic was quite frozen over from
Pomerania to Denmark, in 1402; the whole sea
between Gothland and Geland was frozen, and
from Restock to Gezoer, in 1408; the ice bore
riding on from Lubec to Prussia, and the Bal-
tic was covered with ice from Mecklenburgh
to Denmark, in 1423, 1426, and in 1459; the
sea between Constantinople and Iskodar, waa
passable on ice in 1420; in 1709, the Adriatic
sea was frozen and the olive trees killed in the
south of Europe ; in 1779-80, the ice was driven
out of the mouth of the Mississippi into the
Mexican gulf — a circumstance never known
before or since ; in 1788, which lasted only
from November to January, 1789, when the
Thames was crossed opposite the custom house,
the tower Execution dock, Putney, Brentford,
&c. ; it was general throughout Europe, partic-
ularly in Holland, at the same time ; the most
severe on Dec. 25th, 1796, that had been felt in
the memory of man ; severe one in January,
1814, when booths were erected on various
parts of the Thames, and the antiquarian soci-
ety of Newcastle recorded, that the rapid river
Tyne was frozen to the depth of twenty inches;
severe frost at Quebec, Aug. 7, 1815. In the
United States, lat. 42, January, 1835, thermom-
eter 30 degrees below zero. In Maine, 40 de-
grees below.
FRUITS of foreign countries first brought
into Italy, 70 B. C, and flowers, sundry sorts
before unknown, were brought into England in
the reigns of Henry VII, and VIII, from about
1500 to 1578. Among others of less note, the
musk and damask roses, of great use in medi-
cine, and tulips. Several sorts of plum trees
and currant plants; also saffron, woad, and
other drugs for dyeing, attempted to be culti-
vated, but without success.
G.
GAMUT in music invented by Guy L'Are-
tin, 1025.
GANSEVOORT FORT, built 1812.
GARDENING introduced into England from
the Netherlands, from whence vegetables were
imported, till l5()9; the pale gooseberry, with
salads, garden roots, cabbages, &c. 'brought
from Flanders, and hops from Artois 1520; rye
and wheat, from Tartary and Siberia, where
they are yet indigenous; barley and oats un-
known, but certainly not indigenous in Eng-
land ; rice from Ethiopia; buckwheat, Asia;
borage, Syria ; cresses, Crete ; cauliflower, Cy-
prus ; asparagus, Asia ; chervil, Italy ; fennel,
Cnnary Islands; annise and parsley, Egypt;
garlic, the East; shallots, Siberia; horserad-
ish, China; kidney beans, East Indies ; gourds,
Astracan; lentils, France; potatoes, Brazil;
tobacco, America; cabbage, lettuce, &c. Hoi-
GRI
671
HAN
land. Jassamine comes from the East Indies ;
the elder tree from Persia ; the tulip from
Cappadocia ; the daffodil, from Italy ; the lily,
from Syria ; the tube rose from Java and Cey-
lon ; the carnation and pink, from Italy, &c. ;
rananculus, from the Alps ; apples, from Syria ;
apricots, from Epirus ; artichokes, from Hol-
land; celery, from Flanders; cherries, from
Pontus ; currants, from Zante ; damask and
musk roses, from Damascus, as well as plums ;
hops, from Artois and France ; gooseberries
from Flanders ; gilliflowers, carnations, the
Provence rose, &c. from Thoulouse, in France ;
oranges and lemons from Spain ; beans and peas
from Spain.
GAS, use of, introduced in London, for
lighting shops and streets, 1814 ; first into the
United States, at Baltimore, 1821.
GAUZE, lawn, and thread manufactures,
began at Paisley, in Scotland, in 1759, which in
1784 yielded £575,185, and employed 26,664
hands. In gauze alone, £350,900.
GAZETTES, of Venetian origin, and so
called from the price being gazetta, a small
piece of money ; the first published in England,
was at Oxford, Nov. 7, 1665.
GEORGIUM SIDUS discovered by Hersch-
el, 1781.
GILDING with leaf gold on bole ammoniac,
art of, invented by Margaritone, 1273 ; on wood,
1680.
GIPSIES quitted Egypt when attacked by
the Turks in 1515, and wandered over almost
all Europe.
GLASS, the art of making it, known to the
Romans at least before 79 ; known to the Chi-
nese about 200 ; introduced into England by
Benedict, a monk, 674 ; glass windows began
to be used in private houses in England, 1180 ;
glass first made in England into bottles and
vessels, 1557 ; the first plate glass for looking
glasses and coach windows, made at Lambeth,
1673 ; in Lancashire, 1773 ; window glass first
made in England, 1557.
GLOBE of the earth, the first voyage round
it was by sir Francis Drake, 1580 ; the second
by Magellan, 1591 ; the third by sir Thomas
Cavendish, 1586; by lord Anson in 1740; by
captain Cook in 1768 ; and by Peyrouse in
1793-4.
GRAPES brought to England and planted
first at Blaxhall,in Suffolk, 1552; cultivated in
Flanders 1276.
GREEN DYE for cotton, invented by Dr. R.
Williams, 1777.
GRISTMILLS invented in Ireland, 214.
GUINEAS were first coined, 1673, from gold
brought from the coast of Guinea.
GUNPOWDER invented, 1330; first made
in England, 1418; first used in Spain, 1344.
GUNS, great, invented, 1330; used by the
Moors at the siege of Algesiras, in Spain, in
1344 ; used at the battle of Cressy, in 1346; when
Edward had 4 pieces of cannon, which gained
him the battle ; they were used at the siege of
Calais, in 1347; in Denmark, 1354; at sea by
Venice against Genoa, 1377; first used in Spain
1406; first made in England of brass, 1635
of iron, 1547 ; invented to shoot whales, 1731
first used in England, at the siege of Berwick,
1405 ; bombs and mortars invented, 1634.
H.
HABEAS CORPUS ACT in England, pass-
ed, 1641, and May 27, 1679; attempt made in the
senate of the United States to suspend it, but
rejected by the house of representatives, 1806.
HACKNEY COACHES first used, 20 in
number, in London, 1625.
HAIR POWDER in use, 1590; a guinea per
year tax on those who wear it, 1795.
HANDKERCHIEFS first manufactured at
Paisley, in Scotland, 1748, when £15,886 worth
were made ; in 1784 the manufacture yielded
above £164,385.
HANSEATIC LEAGUE. In the middle
of the thirteenth century, the sea and land were
infested with pirates and robbers. The German
trade being exposed to accidents by land and
sea, Hamburg and Lubeck in the year 1241, en-
tered into a confederacy, in which they agreed
to defend each other from all attacks and from
every act of violence. This league was soon
after joined by Brunswick ; it was named by
way of eminence, the Hanse, meaning a league
for mutual defence. Many other towns joined
and in a short time, became so numerous that
in 1260, a meeting of the members was held at
Lubeck, and continued to meet there every
three years.
In the fourteenth century, this league attain-
ed every where a high political importance, and
enjoyed extensive and uncommon privileges,
till at last it became the mistress of lands and
seas and crowns. So it continued for a length
of time, till the travelling becoming more se-
cure, and the circumstances that gave it rise
being changed, the Hanseatic League began to
fall, and in 1630, the last diet was held at Lu-
beck. The largest number of the Hanse towns
was eighty-five.
HIE
672
HIE
HATS invented at Paris, 1404 ; first made in
London, 1510.
HEMP and flax first planted in England,
1533. There are 180,0001b. of rough hemp used
in the cordage and sails of a first rate man of
war.
HERALDRY had its rise, 1100.
HERRING FISHERY, first practised by
the Hollanders, 1164 ; herring pickling first
invented 1397.
HIEROGLYPHICS : Or sacred engraving,
was the name given first to the sculptures and
inscriptions on the monuments of Egypt — it is
now often used to denote simply picture writ-
ing, which is seen in its rudest state, upon the
buffalo skins of our North American Indians,
&c. But a new charm has been given to sim-
ilar sculptures, and indeed to the study of anti-
quity in general by Champollion's discovery of
the key to these so long inexplicable mysteries.
This indefatigable scholar, after many years
of toil has at last succeeded in deciphering
every inscription presented to him ! He discov-
ers that these hieroglyphics were usually em-
ployed as mere alphabetic letters; that when
thus read, they give us regular composition in
the Coptic or old Egyptian language. As the
Coptic is understood by many learned men, we
are in a fair way of knowing all that the Egyp-
tian records so formed can teach. These monu-
mental records of the earliest ages are of two
kinds.
A. The com- fdemotic.a and demode by Herodotus and
mon, I Diodorus.
called < enchoria by the Rosetta inscription.
I epistulugraphica by Clement of Alexan-
[ dria.
i. Hieratic, or sacerdotal writing,
which may be called hierographic.
B. The sacred,
divided by
Clement of
Alexandria
into
b. Hiero-
glyphic,
compos-
ed of
a. Cyriologic, by means of
the first letters of the al-
phabet.
1.
A. Symbol-
ical, com-
prising
the
Cyriologic,
by imita-
1 tion.
] 2. Tropical or
metaphor-
ical.
(^.Enigmatical.
The hieroglyphic, writing is eminently monu-
mental. It is from the nature of the signs which
it employs a species .of painting, and it presents
a various and picturesque aspect, which distin-
guishes it essentially from every other method
of writing. The hieroglyphic characters do in
fact exhibit images of almost every material
object in creation. But the whole number of
those used alphabetically, observed by Cham-
pollion, after more than 20 years' study, was
only 864, viz. celestial bodies, 10; human fig-
gures in various positions 120; human limbs,
taken separately, 60 ; wild quadrupeds, 24 ; do-
mestic quadrupeds, 10; limbs of animals, 22;
birds, whole or in parts, 50 ; fishes, 10 ; reptiles,
whole or in parts, 30; insects, 14; vegetables,
plants, flowers and fruits, 60; buildings, 24;
furniture, 100 ; coverings for feet and legs,
head-dresses, weapons, ornaments and sceptres,
80 ; tools and instruments of various sorts, 150 ;
vases, cups and the like, 30 ; geometrical figures,
20 ; fantastic forms, 50. The figures are ar-
ranged in columns, vertical or horizontal, and
grouped together, as circumstances requiied, so
as to leave no spaces unnecessarily vacant.
We cannot go into a larger detail of the other
methods of Egyptian writing, which may be
understood by an attentive examination of the
table above, but give a familiar specimen of the
phonetic and alphabetic. To write the name
Boston, (See cut fig. A.) for B. the Egyptians
would look for some familiar object, the name
of which began with B. say a censer, which is
called in Egyptian Berhe, and the engraving
would be the more appropriate to use, from the
church-going character of the inhabitants of
Boston, &c. ; in looking round for an object
whose name begins with O. the literary char-
acter of the city would suggest the reed, an
instrument of writing, anciently, and now so
used in the East ; this, in Egyptian, is Oke ; for "
S. take a star ; Sion, for T. a hand, tot, for O,
again, to have a variety, instead of the Egyptian
tufted reed, as above, they might take an abbre-
viation of it, the curled line ; forN. we have the
vulture, noure, or, better, the sign for inunda-
tion, neph. Fig. 6. gives a periectly Egyptian
specimen of the symbolical style, in what is
generally called an anaglyph. It is a female
winged sphinx found upon a block of black gran-
ite. The sphynx was an emblem of strength, and
wisdom, the body being that of a lion, and the
head human. The name Tmauhmot, (daugh-
ter of Horus, a king of the eighteenth dynasty
of Egypt,) is read in the oval. This then is a
symbolical image of the queen herself; and
the flowers of lotus, uuderneath, are evidently,
though emblematically, taken for the Nile, and
for the whole country of Egypt. The sphynx
instead of a paw, has a hand, raised in the atti-
tude of protection. The whole then seems to
be in ptaise of a monarch, and to signify " a
monument raised to the memory of queen
Tmauhmot, styled the Guardian and Protec-
tress of the land of Egypt, by her wisdom and
strength."
Hieroglyphics. See p. 672.
Sesostris. See p. 657.
JUD
673
LAB
HOUR GLASSES were invented in Alex-
andria, 240, and introduced at Rome, 158 years
B. C. y
HUDSON'S BAY discovered by captain
Hudson, 1(507.
HUGUENOTS murdered at Paris, Au<r. 24
1672. e '
HURRICANE, violent winds, particularly
in the torrid zone, and in a manner particularly
destructive in the West Indies : The following
is a list of the most remarkable of these pheno^
mena. 1G70, 1674, 1675, Barbados; 1691, An-
tigua; 1700, 1702, Barbados; 1707, Caribbee
Islands in general; 1712, Jamaica ; 1720, Bar-
bados ; 1722, Jamaica, August 31 ; 1733, Carib-
bee Islands in general; 1744, Jamaica; 1764,
Martinico, Carthagena, and particularly over
some of the Caribbee Islands; 1772, most of the
Caribbee Islands; 1780, October 3d, Jamaica,
1828, February 18, violent gale at St. Ubes,'
Portugal, British ship Terror, and 100 men lost!
I.
INDIGO, first produced in Carolina 1747;
cultivated in the open air at Vaucluse, in
France, 1808.
INOCULATION first tried on criminals,
1721.
INSURANCE on shipping began in England,
1560.
INSURANCE OFFICES established in
London, and its vicinity, 1696.
INSURANCE POLICIES were first used in
Florence in 1523 ; first society established at
Hanover, 1530; that at Paris, 1740.
INTEREST first mentioned as legal, 1199
at 10 per cent.; in 1300, at 20 per cent. ; in
1558, at 12 per cent.; in 1571, at 10 per cent. ;
in 1625, at 8 per cent. ; in 1749, the funds were
reduced from 4 to 3£ and 3 per cent.
IRON discovered by the burning of mount
Ida, 1406 B. C. ; first cast in England at Back-
stead, Sussex, 1544 ; first discovered in Amer-
ica, in Virginia, 1715; bullets first used in Eng-
land, 1550. &
ITALIAN method of book-keepino\ pub-
lished in England, 1569.
JUPITER'S SATELLITES discovered by
Jansen, 1590. J
JURIES first instituted by Ethelred, 979-
the plaintiff and defendant in those times used
to feed them ; whence the common law of de-
nying sustenance to a jury after hearing evi-
dence.
JUSTINIAN published his codex of the
civil law, 529 ; and four years after, his work
of the same kind, called the digest.
K.
KAMTSCHATKA discovered by the Rus-
sians, 1739.
KING of the Romans in Germany, first in-
stituted, 1096. J'
KINGDOMS, origin of, by Nimrod, at Bab-
ylon, 2233 years B. C.
KING'S SPEECH, the first delivered, 1107
by Henry I. '
KING'S EVIL, supposed to be cured by the
touch of the kings of England. The first who
touched for it was Edward the Confessor, 1058.
It was dropped by George I.
^L?i? iNG the P°Pe's foot first practised, 709
KNEE ordered to be bent at the name of
Jesus, 1275.
KNITTING stockings invented in Spain,
about 1550. r '
KNIVES first made in England, 1563.
L.
J.
JEREMIAH wrote his Lamentations, 610
B. C.
JOSHUA, book of, written 1415 B. C.
JUDE, St. wrote his epistle, 71 ; festival in-
stituted, 1030.
LABOR, price of— A. D. 1352, 25 Edward
111, wages paid to haymakers, was but one pen-
ny a day. A mower of meadows 5d. per day, or
6d. an acre ; reapers of corn, in the first week
of August, 2d. in the second 3d. per day, and
so till the end of August, without meat, drink,
or other allowance, finding their own tools ; a
master carpenter 3d. a day, other carpenters 2d.
per day, a master mason 4d. per day other
masons 3d. per day ; and their servants Ud. per
day. By the 34th of Edward III, 1361, chief
masters of carpenters and masons 4d. a day
?.^ ue u°thf tS, 2d- or 2d- as ihey are worth I
13th Richard II, 1389, the wages of a bailiff of
husbandry 13s. Ad. per year, and his clothing
once a year at most; the carter 10s.; shepherd
10s.; oxherd 6s. 8d.; cowherd 6s. M-; BWlne.
herd 6s. ; a woman laborer 6s. ; driver of
plough 7s From this up to the time of 23d of
Henry VI, the price of labor was fixed by the
justices by proclamation. In time of harvest a
mower Ad. a day ; without meat and drink 6d •
LAW
674
LAW
reaper or carter 3d. a day ; without meat and
drink 5<2. ; woman laborer, and other laborers,
2d. a day ; without meat and drink 4},d. per day.
By the 11th Henry VII, 1496, there was a like
rate of wages, only with a little advance ; as,
for instance, a freemason, master carpenter,
rough mason, bricklayer, master tiler, plumber,
glazier, carver, joiner, was allowed from Easter
to Michaelmas to take (>d. a day, without meat
and diink, or with meat and drink 4d. from
Michaelmas to Easter to abate aid.; a master,
having under him six men, was allowed a Id. a
day extra. By the 6th of Henry VIII, 1515,
the wages of shipwrights were fixed as follows :
a master ship carpenter, taking charge of the
work, having men under him, 5d. a day in the
summer season, with meat and drink ; other
ship carpenter, called an hewer, Ad.; an able
clincher, 3d.; holder 2d.; master caulker Ad.; a
mean caulker 3d.; a day laborer, by the tide, Ad.
LACK, Flanders, more valuable than gold —
one ounce of fine Flanders thread has been sold
in London for £4. Such an ounee made into
lace may be sold for £40, which is ten times
the price of standard gold, weight for weight.
LACTEALS, the, discovered by chance, in
opening a dog, by Asellius, July 23, 1662; in
birds, fish, &c. by Mr. Hewson, surgeon, of
Lond in-, 1770.
LAKE OF HARANTOREEN,in the coun-
ty of Kerry, Ireland, a mile in circuit, sunk into
the ground with all its fish, March 25, 1792.
LAMP for preventing explosion by fire-damp
in coal mines, invented by sir Humphrey Davy,
1815.
LAND CARRIAGE, fish first brought to
London by, 1761.
LAND, piece of, in Findland, 4000 square
ells in extent, sunk fifteen fathoms, but most
of the inhabitants escaped, February, 1793. A
tract of, amounting to 120 English acres, and
of the depth of sixty feet, slid, with a tremend-
ous crash, into the river Nid, near Drontheim
in Norway, March 7, 1816.
LANCASTRIAN SCHOOLS of education
established in most of the principal towns of
England, 1810.
LANTERNS invented by king Alfred, 890.
LAWNS AND THREAD GAUZE were
in Y7M, manufactured at Paisley to the value of
£164,385 16*. 6.5d.
LA VVS. COURTS OF JUSTICE, OATHS,
TAXES, &c.
Abjuration oath, first required, 1701.
Admiralty, court of, erected, 1357 ; incorpo-
rated June 22, 1768.
Adultery punished by cutting off the nose
and ears, 1031 ; made capital, 1650.
Affirmation of the Quakers first accepted ag
an oath, 1702; alteration made in it, December
13, 1721.
African bill, to supply that trade with cali-
coes, 1765.
Agrarian law introduced at Rome, 486 B. C.
By this law the public lands were divided be-
tween all the citizens.
Ale and ale-houses in England made mention
of in the laws of lira, king of Wessex ; first
licensed, 1551.
Aliens forbidden to hold church livings, and
juries for their trials to be half foreigners, 1430;
prevented from exercising any trade or handi-
craft by retail, 1483.
Allegiance, oath of, first administered, 1606.
Almanack stamps increased, 1781.
Ambassadors first protected by a law, 1709;
their protection restrained, 1773.
American duties, act passed, 1764 ; on tea,.
1767.
Arbitration act passed in England, 1698.
Armorial bearings introduced into England,
to distinguish nobles, 1100; taxed, 1798, 1808.
Arrest, vexatious ones, prevented by an act,
May 17, 1733; for less than £10 forbidden,
1779; for less than £20, or on a bill of ex-
change for £15, June 14, 1810.
Artificers' bill, to prevent their seduction,
1787.
Assaying of gold and silver, legally establish-
ed, 1354.
Assize of bread and ale in England establish-
ed, 1266; again, legally, 1710.
Auction and sales tax began, t779.
Bachelors' tax, 1695 and 1796.
Bankrupts in England first regulated by law,
1543. Enacted that members of the house of
commons becoming bankrupts, and not paying
their debts in full, shall vacate their seats, 1812.
Birth of children taxed, 1695, 1783.
Boston port bill, for its removal, 1775.
Bread ordered not to be sold, till 24 hours old,
to lessen its consumption, March, 1800.
Brokers regulated in London, by law, 1697.
Buckingham house bought for the queen of
England, 1775.
Bonaparte, bill for detaining him in custody
in the island of St. Helena, passed April 9, 1816.
Burials taxed in England, 1695, 1783.
Buttons and button holes of cloth prohibited
by law, 1721.
Canon law first introduced into England,
1140.
LAW
675
LAW
Caps. — A law enacted that every person
above seven years of age, should wear on Sun-
days and holidays, a cap of wool, knit made,
thickened and dressed in England, by some of
the trade of cappers, under the forfeiture of
three farthings for every day's neglect, except-
ing maids, ladies and gentlewomen, and every
lord, knight, and gentleman, of twenty marks
of land, and their heirs, and such as have borne
office of worship in any city, town, or place
and the wardens of the London companies
1571. ^ '
Chancery, court of, in England, established
605. The first person qualified for chancellor
by education, was sir Thomas More, 1530, the
office before being rather that of a secretary of
state, than the president of a court of justice.
Christenings taxed in England, 1783.
Circuits, justiciary, established, 1176 ; in
Scotland. 1712.
Clergy forbidden drunkenness by law, in En-
gland, 741.
Clocks and watches taxed, 1797; repealed
1798. V '
Common pleas in England, court of, estab-
lished 1215.
Copy-right secured, by an act passed 1710;
farther secured, in England, by an act passed
in 1814.
Corn, bill to permit the exportation of, passed
1814, to permit the importation when British
wheat shall be at 80*. per quarter, 1815.
Courts of justice instituted at Athens, 1272
B. C.
Criminals ordered for transportation instead
of execution, 1590 ; Henry VIII executed 72 000
during his reign.
Curfew bell established by William the con-
queror, 1068; abolished in 1100.
East-India company's act in England, passed,
171 8.
Exchequer chamber, court of, erected by Ed-
ward III, 1359 ; improved by Elizabeth, 1584.
Feodal or feudal laws, the tenure of land by
suit and service to the lord or owner of it in-
troduced into England by the Saxo.is about 600
The slavery of this tenure increased under
William I, 1068. This was dividing the king-
dom into baronies, giving them to certain per-
sons, and requiring those persons to furnish the
king with money, and a stated number of sol-
diers. It was discountenanced in France by
Louis XI, about 1470; restored, and limited bv
Henry VII, 1495; abolished by statute, 12
Charles II, 1662. '
Fiery ordeal enforced in England, 1042.
Forgery first punished with death in England
1634. s '
French tongue abolished in the English courts
of justice, 1362.
Game acts passed in England, 1496, 1670
1753, 1784, 1785, and 1808.
Gipsies expelled out of England, 1563.
Gladiators, the combats of. abolished, 325.
Hackney coaches established by act of parlia-
ment, June 24, 1694 ; regulated 1784 1786
1800, 1815. ' '
Hanover succession established by law, 1701.
Harlots obliged to wear striped hoods of party
colors, and their garments the wrong side out-
wards, 27 Edward III, 1355.
Hat tax commenced, October 1, 1784 ; stamps
for ditto, 1796; repealed, 1811.
Juries first instituted, 970; trial by, in civil
causes, in Scotland, passed into a law, March,
Justices of the peace first appointed in Eng-
land, 1076. s
Justinian published his codex of the civil
law, 529 ; and four years after, his work of the
same kind, called the Digest.
Land tax, the first in England, 991 , amount-
ed annually to £ 82,000, in 1018; every hide
of land taxed 3s. in 1109.
Laws primitive.— The laws of Moses were
given, B. C. 1452; those of Minos in Crete,
1406; of Lycurgus, at Sparta, 884; those of
Draco, and Solon at Athens, the former 623, the
latter 580 ; of the Twelve Tables at Rome, 451 ;
of Locri by Dalericus,450 ; and of Thurium,in
Italy, by Charondas, 446.
Latin tongue abolished in courts of law, 1731.
Laws of the land first translated into Saxon
590; published, 610. '
Laws of Edward the confessor composed
1065. V '
Legacies taxed, 1780; advanced, 1796, 1808.
Licenses for public houses first granted, 155]-
for brewers and exciseable articles enforced'
1784. '
Longitude, a reward promised by parliament
for the discovery of, 1714.
Lords lieutenants of counties instituted, Julv
24,1549. ' y
Luxury restricted by an English law, where-
in the prelates and nobility were confined to
two courses every meal, and two kinds of food
in every course, except on great festivals; it
also prohibited all who did not enjoy a free es-
tate of £100 per annum, from wearing furs
skins or silk ; and the use of foreign cloth was'
confined to the royal family alone, to all others
LAW
676
LEA
it was prohibited, 1337. An edict was issued
by Charles VI, of France, which says, " Let no
one presume to treat with more than a soup
and two dishes," 1340.
Magna charta granted by king John, June
12, 1215.
Mail coaches first established to Bristol, 1784 ;
to other parts of England, and an act to regu-
late and encourage them, 1785, and exempt
them from tolls.
Maiming and wounding made capital, 1C70.
Marriages taxed, 1695, 1784.
Marriage act passed, June, 1753; amended
1781. . . .
Marriages of the royal family restrained by
an act passed 1772.
Mortmain act passed, in 1279; and another,
May 21), 1736.
Mutiny act first passed, in 1689.
Nantz, edict of, passed by Henry IV, by
which Protestants enjoyed toleration in France,
1598; revoked by Louis XIV, 1685; by this
infamous policy 50,000 French Protestants left
France, and came to England, and other parts
of Europe.
Naturalization, first law for in England, 1437
and 1709.
Naturalization of Jews, bill passed 17o3; re-
pealed December following.
Navigation act first passed, 1381 ; again 1541 ;
again for the colonies, 1646, 1651 ; which secur-
ed the trade of the British colonies, 1660 and
1778.
New style act passed 1752.
Notes and bills first stamped, 1782 ; advanced
1796, 1808, 1815.
Ordeal by fire and water, abolished 1261.
Papal authority abolished by law, 1391.
Papists excluded the throne of England, 1689 ;
their estates valued at £375,284 15s. 3£<Z. per
annum, in 1719; taxed £100,000, November
23, 1722.
Parliament of England, began under the
Saxon government ; the first regular one was
in king John's reign, 1204; the epoch of the
house of commons, January 23, 1265; peer's
eldest son, Francis Russell, son of the earl of
Bedford, was the first who sat in the house of
commons, 1549 ; the lord mayor and an alder-
man of London committed to the Tower, by the
house of commons, 1771.
Pleading introduced 786; changed from
French to English, 1362.
Polygamy forbidden by the Romans, in 393.
Poor? the first act for the relief of, in Eng-
land, 1597.
Popery abolished in England, by law, 1536.
Registers, parochial, first appointed in Eng-
land, 1530.
Registers of births, baptisms, marriages, and
buriafs. law for the better regulation of, passed
July 28, 1813.
Roman Catholics in England relieved by an
act passed 1776, and 1791.
Roman Citholics in Ireland, relieved by an
act passed 1792.
Salic law first quoted 1327.
Secretaries of state first appointed in England;
lord Cromwell was so made by Cardinal Wool-
sey, 1529.
Septennial parliament, act passed 1716.
Shoes — the people had a way of adorning
their feet ; they wore the beaks or points of
their shoes so long, that they encumbered
themselves in their walking, and were forced
to tie them up to their knees; the fine gentle-
men fastened theirs with chains of silver, or
silver gilt, and others with laces. This ridicu-
lous custom was in vogue from the year 1382,
but was prohibited, on the forfeiture of 20s. and
the pain of cursing by the clergy, 1467.
Slave— a statute made in England, enacting
that a runagate servant, or any one who lives
idly for three days, be brought before two jus-
tices of the peace, and marked V. with a hot
iron on the breast, and adjudged the slave of
him who brought him for two years ; he was to
take the said slave, and give him bread, water,
or small drink, and refuse meat, and cause him
to work by beating, chaining, or otherwise;
and if, within that space, he absented himself
fourteen days, was to be marked on the fore-
head or cheek, by a hot iron, with an S. and be
his master's slave for ever ; second desertion,
felony ; lawful to put a ring of iron round his
neck, arm or leg; a beggar's child might be
put apprentice, and on running away, a slave
to his master, 1547 ; obtained their freedom by
arrival in England, 1772.
Stamp act in America, passed 1764 ; repealed
March 18. 1766. .
Swearing on the Gospel, first used in Eng-
land, 528. °
Tithes first granted in 854.
Transportation of felons introduced 1590.
Treason requiring two witnesses, in England,
1552; 3 . ' . .
Tribute of wolves' heads paid in Lngland,
971 ; paid bv the English to the Danes in one
year, 48,000/. 997.
LEADEN PIPES for conveying water in-
vented, 1236.
LIV
677
LIV
LETTERS invented by Memnon, the Egyp-
tian, 1822 B. C.
LIBRARY, the first private one, the prop-
erty of Aristotle, 334 B. C. ; the first public
library in history was founded at Athens, by
Hipparchus, 526 B. C. ; the second of any note
was founded at Alexandria, by Ptolemy Phila-
delphus, 284. It was burnt when Julius Cssar
set fire to Alexandria, 47 B. C. (400,000 valuable
books in MS. are said to have been lost by this
catastrophy.) The first library at Rome was
established, 167; at Constantinople, founded
by Constantine the Great, about A. D. 335 ;
destroyed, 477; a second library formed from
the remains of the first at Alexandria, by Ptole-
my's successors, and reputed to have consisted
of 700,000 volumes, was totally destroyed by
the Saracens, who heated the water of their
baths for six months, by burning books instead
of wood, by command of Omar, caliph of the
Saracens, 642; the Vatican at Rome, by pope
Nicholas V, 1446; rebuilt and the library con-
siderably improved by Sixtus V, 1588 ; the im-
perial of Vienna, by Maximilian I, about 1500;
the royal of Paris, by Francis I, about 1520;
the escurial at Madrid, by Philip II, 1557; of
Florence, by Cosmo de Medicis, 1560; the Bod-
loian at Oxford, founded 40 Eliz, 1598 ; the
Cotton ian, formerly kept at Cottonhouse, West-
minster, founded by sir Robert Cotton, about
1600 ; appropriated to the publie use and bene-
fit, 13 William III, 1701 ; partly destroyed by
fire, 1731 ; removed to the British museum,
1753 ; the Radcliffeian, at Oxford, founded by
the will of Ur. Radcliffe, who left £40,000 to
the university for that purpose, 1714 ; at Cam-
bridge, 1720, to which George I gave £5,000
to purchase Dr. Moore's collection.
LINEN first made in England, 1253; the
luxurious wore linen, but the generality woollen
6hirts. Table linen very scarce in England,
1386.
LIVING CHARACTERS. Allston, Wash-
ington, American painter.
Baillie, Joanna, a single lady, native of Scot-
land, distinguished for her writings.
Beecher, Dr. Lyman, an eloquent calvinLstic
preacher, native of New Haven, Conn.
Bernadotte, king of Sweden, born in 1764, at
Pau, at the foot of the Pyrenees, in France.
Bowditch, Nathaniel, celebrated mathemati-
cian, and translator of the Mechanique Celeste,
of La Place, native of Salem, Mass.
Bryant, William Cullen, an American poet
of high reputation, native of Cornington, Mass.
Bulwer, Edward Lytton, novelist.
Bonaparte, Joseph, brother to Napoleon, born
in 1768, at Ajaccio, in Corsica.
Calhoun, John, native of South Carolina,
born in 1781.
Campbell, Thomas, poet, born at Glasgow,
Sept. 7, 1777.
Canterbury, archbishop of, born in 1755.
Cass, Lewis, born 1782, at Exeter, New-
Hampshire.
Charles X, late king of France, born in 1757.
Chateaubriand, Francois Auguste, Viscount
de, born in Combourg in Britany, 1769.
Clay, Henry, born in Hanover Co. Virginia,
in 1770.
Cobbett, William, native of Surrey, England.
Constantine, Grand Duke of Russia and vi-
ceroy of Poland.
Cooper, James Fennimore, novelist, born at
Bordentown, N. J. 1789.
Edgeworth, Maria, native of Edgeworthtown,
Ireland.
Gallatin, Albert, native of Geneva.
Gait, John, novelist and traveller, born at
Greenock, 1779.
Greenough, Horatio, American sculptor, born
at Boston, in 1800.
Hogg, James, the Ettrick Shepherd, native
of Ettrick, Scotland.
Humboldt, baron Frederick, traveller, born
at Berlin, Prussia, 176!).
Hunt, Leigh, born in England, 1784.
Hyde de Neuville, count, native of France —
minister to the United States.
Irving, Washington, native of the city of
New York, born about 1783.
Jackson, Andrew, President of the United
States, born at Wraxaw, S. C. in 1767.
Jeffery, Francis, celebrated lawyer, now Lord
of Session — born at Edinburgh, in 1773.
Kemble, Charles, an actor of some merit, born
in Wales, 1775.
Livino-ston, Edward, born at Clermont, N.
Y. in 1764.
Lockhart, John G. native of Scotland, born
about 1794, son in law of Sir Walter Scott, and
editor of London Quarterly Review.
Louis Philippe, king of the French, born at
Paris, Oct. 6, 1773.
Lyndhurst, Lord John Singleton Copley, born
at Boston, 1773.
Macomb, Alexander, major general, born at
Detroit, 1782.
Madison, James, born in Virginia, March 5,
1750, (old style,) where he now resides ; edu-
cated at Princeton College, N. J. member of
the Virginia Legislature, 1 775 ; one of the coun-
LIV
678
LON
cil of Virginia, 1776 ; elected a member of the
congress of the revolution ; prominent member
of the convention which framed the constitution
of the United States. With Alexander Hamil-
ton and John Jay, wrote the Federalist, being
an able defence of the constitution; elected a
member of the first congress under the consti-
tution, and remained many years a distinguish-
ed member of that body ; became Secretary of
State March 5, 1801, and President of the U.
States March 4, 1809, and remained in that
office eight years.
Marshall, John, Chief Justice of the United
States, native of Virginia, born 1755.
Martineau, Harriet, popular writer on politi-
cal economy, and the improvement of society ;
native of England.
Mc Lane, Louis, born in Delaware, 1786.
Metternich-Winebourg, prince, born in Aus-
tria, in 1775.
Montgomery, James, poet, born in Ayrshire,
in 1771.
Moore, Thomas, celebrated poet, native of
Dublin.
Opie, Mrs., born at Norwich, 1771.
Peele, Sir Robert, Eng. statesman, born 1787.
Percival, James G., a poet and scholar, born
at Berlin, Conn. 1795.
Rossini, Gioachimo, the first living musical
composer, born in Romagna, in 1792.
Sedgwick, Catherine, daughter of Hon. The-
odore Sedgwick, a native of Stockbridge, Mas-
sachusetts.
Southey, Robert, a celebrated writer, born at
Bristol, England, in 1774.
Talleyrand, Perigord, prince de, a celebrated
politician, born in France, 1754.
Thorwaldsen, Albert, the first living sculp-
tor, born at Copenhagen, in 1772.
Trumbull, John, painter, born at Lebanon,
Conn., in 1756.
Van Buren, Martin, born at Kinderhook, N.
Y. 1782.
Webster, Daniel, born at Salisbury, N. H.,
1782.
Wellington, Duke of, Arthur Wellesley,
born in Ireland, May 1769.
Wilkie, David, painter, born in Fifeshire,
Scotland in 1785.
William, IV, king of England, born August,
21, 1765.
Wilson, John, professor at Edinburgh, born
at Paisley, 1789.
Wordsworth, William, poet, born in 1770.
LOADSTONE, polar attraction of, known
in France before 1180.
LOCUSTS, the country of Palestine infested
with such swarms of, that they darkened the
air, and after devouring the fruits of the earth,
they died, and their intolerable stench caused a
pestilential fever, 406. A similar circumstance
occurred in France, 873; a large swarm of,
flew over the city of Warsaw, June 17, 1816;
swarms of, made their appearance near Aschers-
leben, June 24, 1816.
LOGLINE in navigation used, 1570.
LOGWOOD first cut in the bay of Hondu-
ras and Campeachy by the Eno-lish, 1662.
LONGEVITY. Jane Simonds, 119, 1772,
in Fishmonger's almshouse.
Clun, widow 138, 1772, near Litchfield Eng.
McFindley, Charles, of Tipperary, 143, a cap-
tain in reign of Charles I, 1773.
Bealey, Wm. 130, 1774, in Londonderry, Ire-
land.
Gordon, Peter, 131, 1775, at Auclerless N.
Britain.
Movet, Mr., surgeon, 139, 1796, near Dum-
fries.
Brookman, Sarah, 166, 1776, Glastonbury,
England.
Cockey, Thomas, 132, 1778, Surrey, Eno-.
Horton, Mary Brook, 148, 1787, Stafford-
shire, England.
Scot, Judith, 162, 1792, Islington, Eng.
Lopez, Catharine, 134, 1806, at Jamaica, W.
Indies.
LONGEVITY OF THE LEARNED. Greek
— Zenophilus, 169 }rears of age, died — B. C. ;
Theophrastus, 106, 288; Zenophanes, 100,
500; Democritus, 100, — ; Isocrates, 98, 338,
Thales, 92, 348; Carneades, 90, — ; Pyrrho,
90, 284 ; Sophocles, 91 , 406 ; Simonides, 90, 468 ;
Zeno, 97, 204 ; Pythagoras, 90, 510 ; Hyppo-
cratr.^, 80, — ; Chrysippus, 83,204 ; Diogenes,
88, — ; Pharycides, bo, — ; Solon, 62, 558;
Periander, 87, 579; Plato, 81, 348; Thucydi-
des, 80, 391 ; Zenocrates, 81, 314; Zeneplion,
89,359; Polybius, 81, 124 ; Socrates, poisoned,
70, 400 ; Anaxagoras, 72, 428 ; Euripides, 76,
407; iEschylus, 70, 456; Aristotle, 03, 322;
Anaximander, 64, 547 ; Pindar, 69, 452 —
Greek authors 30— died above 100, 4; 90,8;
80, 1 1 ; 60, 7. Roman — Varro, 87 years of age,
died 28 years B. C. ; Lucian, 80, — ; Epicurus,
73, 168; Cicero, 63, 43; Livy, by a violent
death, 67, A. D. 17; Pliny, the elder, 56, 79,
Pliny, the younger, by a violent death, 52. 113 ;
Ovid, 59, 17; Horace, 57, — ; Virgil, 51, B. C.
19.
LONGEVITY OF MODERN AUTHORS.
Adams, John, died July 4, 1826, aged 91 years
MAR
679
MAS
Bacon, Roger, 1204, 80 ; Bacon, chancellor,
1625, 57; Boerhaave, 1738, 70; Boyle, 1691,
65; Brahe Tycho, 1601, 55; Burnet, 1725, 85;
Camden, 1623,72; Copernicus, 1543, 71 ; Eras-
mus, 1536, 69; Fontenelle, 1557, ICO; Fother-
gill, 1780, 68; Franklin, Benjamin, 1790,84;
Frederick II, 1786, 74; Gallileo, 1623, 76;
Grolius, 1645, 62 ; Hale, sir Matthew, 1G76,
67; Haller, 1777,69; Hales, 1761, 84 ; Halley,
1742, 85; Hoadley, 1761, 83; Hobbes, 1G79,
92; Jefferson, Thomas, July 4th, 1826, 84;
Johnson, Samuel, 1784, 75; Locke, 1704,73;
Liebnitz, 1715, 69; Milton, 1674, 60 ; Murray,
Lindley, 1826, 80; Newton, 1727,84; Puffen-
dorff, 1693,62; Robertson, 1793, 72; Scaliger,
J. J. 1609, 69 ; Scaliger, J. C. 1558, 74 ; Selden,
1654,70; Sherlocke, 1762, 84: Sloane, Hans,
1752, 92 ; Swedenborg, 1772, 83; Voltaire, 1779,
85 ; Vossius, J. Gerard, 1649, 72 ; Vossius, Isaac,
1683, 70 ; Whiston, 1762, 95.
LOOKING-GLASSES made only at Ven-
ice, 1300.
LOOMS, the power-loom invented by the
Rev. Mr. Cartwright, a clergyman of Kent, in
England, 1787.
LOTTERIES, the first mentioned by histori-
ans for sums of money, 1630; established 1693.
M.
MAGNIFYING GLASSES invented by
Roger Bacon, 1260.
MALT LIQUOR used in Egypt 450 B. C.
MAMMOTH, a complete one discovered on
the boarders of the Frozen Ocean, 1799; the
skeleton of one found in the ice at the mouth
of the river Lena, in Siberia, 1809; the skele-
ton of an enormous one discovered in erecting
a causeway in the county of Hout in Germany,
1814.
MANUFACTURES OF ENGLAND, at
the close of the last century, were computed at
82 millions. In the statistical researches pub-
lished by the prefect of the Seine in 1823, the
shawls and fancy tissues made at Paris are val-
ued in round numbers at £15,000,000; the
goldsmiths work and jewelry at £27,000,000;
the clock and watch making at £19,000,000;
the gilt bronzes at £50,000,000; and on these
goods alone, the mere wages paid to workmen
in the city, amount annually to £22,000,000 or
$ 97,680,000.
MARK, St. wrote his gospel, 44.
MARRIAGE in Lent forbidden, 354 ; forbid-
den the priests, 1015 ; first celebrated in church-
es, 1226; banns of, first published in churches,
about 1200; act of solemnizing it by justices of
the peace, 1653 ; first celebration of a marriage
in Virginia, 1008.
MASSACRES, of all the Carthaginians in
Sicily, 3U7 B. C. ; 2,000 Tyrians crucified, and
8,000 put to the sword for not surrendering
Tyre to Alexander, 331 B. C. The Jews of
Antioch fall upon the other inhabitants and
massacre 100,000, for refusing to surrender their
arms to Demetrius Nicanor, tyrant of Syria,
154 ; a dreadful slaughter of the Tuetones and
Ambrones, near Aix, by Marius the Roman
general, 200,000 being left dead on the spot,
102 ; the Romans throughout Asia, women and
children not excepted, cruelly massacred in one
day, by order of Mithridates, king of Pontus,
89 ; a great number of Roman senators massa-
cred by Cinna, Marius, and Sertorius, and sev-
eral of the patricians despatched themselves to
avoid their horrid butcheries, 86; again, under
Sylla, and Catiline his minister of vengeance,
82 and 79 ; at Prceneste, Octavianus Caesar
ordered 300 Roman senators, and other persona
of distinction to be sacrificed to the manes of
Julius Caesar, 44 ; at the destruction of Jerusa-
lem, 1,000,000 Jews were put to the sword, A.
D. 70 ; Cassius, a Roman general, under the
emperor M. Aurelius, put to death 37,000 of the
inhabitants of Seleucia, 197; at Alexandria, of
many thousand citizens, by order of Antoninus
213; the emperor Probus put to death 700,000
of the inhabitants upon his reduction of Gaul,
277; of eighty christian fathers, by order of the
emperor Gratian, at Nicomedia ; they were put
into a ship, which was set on fire, and driven
out to sea, 370 ; of Thessalonica, when upwards
of 7,000 persons, invited into the circus, were
put to the sword by order of Theodosius, 390 ;
Belisarius put to death above 30,000 citizens of
Constantinople for a revolt, on account of two
rapacious ministers set over them by Justinian,
532; of the Latins, by Andronicus, 1184 (at
Constantinople) ; the Sicilians massacred the
French throughout the whole island, without
distinction of sex or age, on Easter-day, the
first bell for vespers being the signal ; this hor-
rid affair is known in history by the name of
the Sicilian vespers, 1282; at Paris 1418; of
the Swedish nobility at a feast, by order of
Christian II, 1520; of 70,000 Huguenots, or
French protestants, throughout the kingdom of
France, attended with circumstances of the
most horrid treachery and cruelty ; it began at
Paris in the night of the festival of St. Barthol-
omew, August 25, 1572, by secret orders from
Charles IX, king of France, at the instigation
MAS
MET
1592 yj t,le/lurklS' When C5>°°0 were sk
l ' agreat number of protestantsat Tlmm' ,"?"" »"««""uuiis 01 ine island of
who were put to death under a pretended S KnV?^ Whlch was> h°wever, most severe-
sentence of the chancellor of Poland £ befnJ rfodv of^r IT the TUrks in ■ few 4* a
concerned in a tumult occasioned by apl X t f u rtr°°pS ,andin£ and putting the
procession, 1724; at Batavia, where KS it fi tT" rk,,hJorce to the sword; April g23d*
Chinese were killed by the natives, Oct 1740 nn h lnhab,tantS and Sarriso" of Missi-'
in England, 300 English nobles, bv Fwl / !°"gh'' ,wf r« ™<-dered under circumstances of
2W *S SKS"""* "• at Lonti^
accumulated horror's " ^^umstances of
SATTHE W, ST. wrote his gospel, 44
was the most bloody, the churches beino- '„" tion of h, . 77^ J^, extraordinar3' eA-hibi-
sanctuary; amongst the rest Gunilda, sister of i„ A™, ese'£alled 1 FalhnS Stars>?' took place
Swe.n.k.ngofDenmar k, left in hostage for the descrXTh' November "th, 1833. It is thus
performance of a treaty but newly concluded des"lhed ^ an eyewitness :
of the Jews, (some few pressing into Westinin f on T'lifTf'™ rniles southwest of Boa-
ster Hall, at Richard I's cornatL, were put o lookin a /"'r b,ef°re five in the ™™*g, «»
death by the people, and a false alarm be nj hoc ?f Z °f the™d™ *™ several % ars
given, Uwt the king had ordered a general mas? S downward, leaving behind a long
sacre -of them, the people in man/parts of En- £fi£?£?i Th's/Xcitfd our attention and
gland from an aversion to them; slew all thev m " P f ed f"end who was sleePing «
inet ; ,n York, 500, who had taken die er in a*r2$acent ™om, we sallied forth,
he castle, killed themselves, rather than f.H r r, SC«e T,aS ■ lndeed beautiful, and almost
into the hands of the people,)'l 89 of he En Sf „°n a" S,des °f as> "early without ces.
ghsh, by the Dutch atAmb^na,i;o4. of the" the?' ^ ^^ Wer<? breaming through
Protestants in Ireland, when 40,000 were killed £?„ hea7ens5 sometimes one alone, sometimes
641 ; of the Macdonalds at G 'lenco , in Scot-' ™ '.ST! V™''6 tJ°gether' Some of th*>»
and, for not surrendering in time according if, and S00n dlsaPPeared ; others were
king William's proclamation thoiMi witlfout ZTr h»»™\™* had a longer and more glori!
the king's knowledge, 1(392;' se vera 1 dreadful rI '"i W« ^re standing among some
massacres in France during the revolution *rees> the strong shadows of which werl often
from 1789 to 1794 ; massacreV 600 . egroe bv bv "P™ ^ gr°Und' aS the mete0rs hurried
the French at St. Mark's, 1802; massacre It Th
Algiers, March 10, 180U; insnrrecS and „.pThere Was a bo^ wth us whose exclamations
dreadful massacre at Madrid, Mav 2 1808 Z "ft™* &,nd descriPtive. « See there,
dreadful massacre of the Mamelukes' in the f^.Th' ?*"* he, " there goes a whole hand-'
citadel of Cairo, March 1 1811 ' !, there s one> cracked all to pieces ! Look
MASSACRES IN THE TJ STATFS „p vP™er?' that one 's made a mark on the sky
-ie first settlers of Vi„ri„£ V- Zl^IR8'0* hKe a Ple<* °f chalk !"
Chicago, on their retreat from The place by the above it ' TU' M the ^ttering ™*
savages August 15th, 1812; of the American ThL »h! * VeStUfe' be fina11^ r°1]ed UP'
wounded prisoners at Frenchtown, on the r ve" whole of * "T 7°" ^M See,n, nearI-y over the
Raisin, January 22d, 1813, by the indiais with of . America, and far out to sea.
the privity of the British Int"ans, with Other similar phenomena have been observed
from tune to time, in different countries
MET
681
MIL
METEORIC STONES.— A shower of them
fell in Connecticut, December 14th, 1807. It
was observed about a quarter past six. The day
had just dawned, and there was little light ex-
cept from the moon, which was just setting. It
seemed to be half the diameter of the full moon ;
and passed, like a globe of fire, across the north-
ern margin of the sky. It passed behind some
clouds, and when it came out it flashed like
heat lightning. It had a train of light, and ap-
peared like a burning firebrand carried against
the wind. It continued in sight about half a
minute, and, in about an equal space after it
faded, three loud and distinct reports, like those
of a four pounder near at hand, were heard.
Then followed a quick succession of smaller re-
ports, seeming like what soldiers call a running
fire. The appearance of the meteor was as if
it took three successive throes, or leaps, and at
each explosion a rushing of stones was heard
through the air, some of which struck the
ground with a heavy fall.
The first fall was in the town of Huntington,
near the house of Mr. Merwin Burr. He was
standing in the road, in front of his house, when
the stone fell, and struck a rock of granite about
fifty feet from him, with a loud noise. The
rock was stained a dark lead color, and the
stone was principally shivered into very small
fragments, which were thrown around to a
distance of twenty feet. The largest piece was
about the size of a goose egg, and was still
warm.
The stones of the second explosion fell about
five miles distant, near Mr William Prince's
residence, in Weston. He and his family were
in bed, when they heard the explosion, and also
heard a heavy body fall to the earth. They
afterwards found a hole in the earth, about
twenty-five feet from the house, like a newly
dug post-hole, about one foot in diameter, and
two feet deep, in which they found a meteoric
stone buried, which weighed thirty-five pounds.
Another mass fell half a mile distant, upon a
rock, which it split in two, and was itself shiv-
ered to pieces. Another piece, weighing thir-
teen pounds, fell half a mile to the northeast,
into a ploughed field.
At the last explosion, a mass of stone fell in
a field belonging to Mr. Elijah Seely, about
thirty rods from his house. This stone falling
on a ledge, was shivered to pieces. It ploughed
up a large portion of the ground, and scattered
the earth and stones to the distance of fifty or a
hundred feet. Some cattle that were near, were
very much frightened, and jumped into an en-
closure. It was concluded that this last stone,
before being broken, must have weighed about
two hundred weight. These stones were all of
a similar nature, and different from any com-
monly found on this globe. When first found,
they were easily reduced to powder by the fin-
gers, but by exposure to the air they gradually
hardened.
Other showers of meteoric stones have been
known, but this is one of the most remarkable.
It is supposed that the meteor was more than
a mile in diameter.
MICROSCOPES first used, 1621 ; the double
ones, 1624; solar microscopes invented, 1740.
MILITARY and RELIGIOUS KNIGHTS,
and TITLES OF HONOR.
Admiral, the first in England, 1297.
iEdiles first created at Rome, 971 B. C.
Alexander, St. knighthood began in Russia,
1700.
Aldermen of London first appointed, 1242.
Andrew, St. order of knighthood instituted in
Scotland, 80); renewed in Scotland, 1452,
1605 ; in Russia, 1698.
Baron,the title first by patent in England,1388.
Baronets first created in England, Kill.
Bath, order of knighthood, instituted in Eng-
land at the coronation of Henry IV, 1399; re-
newed, 1725.
Cincinnatus order began in America, 1783.
Common council of London first appointed,
1208.
Consuls first made at Rome, 307 B. C.
Creation by patents to titles first used by Ed-
ward III, 1344.
Decemviri, first creation of, 450 B. C.
Defender of the Faith, the title of, given to
the king of England, 1520.
Dennis, St. order began in France, 1267.
Dey of Tunis first appointed, 1570.
Dictators began at Rome, 498 B. C.
Duke, title of, first given in England to Ed-
ward, son of Edward III, March 17, 1336.
Earl first used by king Alfred in 920, as a
substitute for that of king.
Earl, the first created in England, October
14, 1066.
Electors of Germany began, 1298.
Eminence, the title of, first given to cardinals,
1644.
Esquire, first used to persons of fortune, not
attendants on knights, 1345.
Garter, order began, April 23, 1349; altera-
tion in, 1557, and 1788. It is remaikable, that
this is the only order which has been granted
to foreign princes.
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Golden Fleece, order of knighthood, began
in Flanders, 1492.
King of England, the title first used, 820 ; of
Ireland, 1542; of Great Britain, 1605.
King of France, the title assumed by the
king of England, and his arms quartered with
the English, and the motto "Dieu et mon Droit,"
first used, Feb. 21, 1340; relinquished Jan. 1,
1801.
King of the French began, 1791 ; abolished,
1792.
Knighthood first used in England, 897.
Legion of Honor, instituted by Bonaparte,
confirmed by Louis XVIII, 1814.
Lord mayors of London first appointed annu-
ally, 1208.
Louis, St. order of knighthood, began May
10, 1698; abolished, 1791.
Majesty, the title used to Henry VIII, of
England.
Poet Laureat, the first in England, 1487.
Pope, the title first assumed, 154.
MISSISSIPPI BUBBLE, in France, ceased
June 27, 1720, when its amount was one hun-
dred million pounds sterling.
MONASTERY, the first founded, where the
sister of St. Anthony retired, 270 ; the first
founded in France, near Poictiers, by St. Mar-
tin, 360; Constantine IV sends for a great
number of friars and nuns to Ephesus, orders
them to change their black habits for white,
and to destroy their images; on their refusal,
he orders their eyes to be put out, banishes
them, and sells several monasteries, appropriat-
ing the produce, 770 ; they were totally sup-
pressed by act of parliament in 1539.
MONEY, first mentioned as a medium of
commerce in the twenty-third chapter of Gen-
esis, when Abraham purchased a field as a sep-
ulchre for Sarah, in the year of the world,
2139; first made at Argos, 894 B. C; has in-
creased eighteen times its value from 1290 to
1640; and twelve times its value from 1530 to
1800.
MOUNT AUBURN. A retired and orna-
mented place of sepulture, about four miles
from Boston, was publicly dedicated, as a cem-
etery, Sept. 24, 1831. There are upwards of
fifty acres enclosed, and the whole is under the
direction of the Massachusetts Horticultural
Society, which was incorporated for the pur-
pose by the Massachusetts Legislature, June,
1831. The lots however are purchased by in-
dividuals and are permanently secured to them,
and their legal representatives. The grounds
are planted with shrubbery, flowers and trees,
and are laid out in walks. Various monuments,
tombs and cenotaphs have been erected, and it
is probably as a " city of the dead " destined to
rival the far famed Pere la Chaise of Paris.
MULBERRY TREES first planted in Eng-
land, 4609; in the English provinces of North
America, about 1750, for cultivating silk.
MUSIC. According to Mosaic records, Jubal
the son of Lamech, played on musical instru-
ments even before the deluge. At a later period,
we find mention made of the harp, the trumpet
and the drum. The oldest song, is that which
Meriam sang after the passage of the Red Sea.
Music reached its highest perfection among the
Hebrews, at the time of David and Solomon.
The Greeks are said to have received the art
of music from Lydia and Arcadia. But it was
not till the 6th century that much of the science
of music was understood. Labus, a Greek, who
lived about 546 B. C, wrote something on the
theory of music. In the time of Pericles, Da-
mon is said to have been a distinguished teacher
of music.
In the time of Plato and Aristotle, many im-
provements in music were made; these philos-
ophers considering music useful as a means of
education. At the time of Alexander, Aristox-
enus distinguished himself as a writer on music.
He composed many treatises, and made many
great changes and improvements. He intro-
duced the chromatic scale. We have on the
whole but little light on the subject of the mu-
sic of the ancients, as the existing writings are
very obscure and unintelligible.
The Romans seem to have received their sa-
cred music from the Etruscans, and their war-
like music from the Greeks. Stringed instru-
ments were introduced into Rome, 186 B. C.
Under Nero, music was cultivated as a luxury.
After his death, five hundred singers and musi-
cians were dismissed.
In the middle ages, the progress of music was
promoted by its being consecrated to the service
of religion, and education was not thought com-
plete without some knowledge of music. Guido,
of Arezzo, made great improvements in the
manner of writing the notes in music, and in
the fifteenth century still farther improvement
was made by Johannes de Muris.
At the same period, music was treated scien-
tifically in the Netherlands, France and Spain.
The invention of the opera in the sixteenth
century, has chiefly contributed to the splendor
and variety of modern vocal music, and in the
eighteenth century, there were immense im-
provements made in musical instruments.
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The merit of the advancement of vocal music
is claimed by the Italians; that of instrumental
music by the Germans and French.
MUSICAL NOTES as now used, 1330.
MUSKETS first used in France at the siege
of Arras, 1414; in general use, 1521.
MUSLINS from India, first in England,
1670 ; first manufactured there, 1781.
N.
NATIONAL DEBT in England, first con-
tracted in Henry VII's reign, £14,301.
NEEDLES were first made in England by a
native of India, 1545, the art lost at his death ;
recovered by Christopher Greening, in 1560,
who was settled with his three children, Eliza-
beth, John, and Thomas, by Mr. Darner, ances-
tor of the present earl of Dorchester, at Long
Gredon, in Bucks, where the manufactory has
been carried on from that time to the present
day.
NEW STYLE first introduced into Europe,
1582 ; into Holland and the Protestant states,
1700; in England, 1752.
NEWSPAPER, first published in England,
entitled the " English Mercury," July 28, 1588 ;
after the revolution, first daily paper was called
the "Orange Intelligencer," and from that time
to 1692, there were twenty-six newspapers ; in
1709, there were eighteen weekly and one daily
paper, the " London Courant; " in 17D5, there
were published in London, Scotland, and Ire-
land, one hundred and fifty-eight papers; in
1809, there were two hundred and seventeen
newspapers in the United Kingdom ; the num-
ber conveyed by post in England, in 1794,
amounted to near 12,000,000 per annum.
The first printing press in North America,
opened at Cambridge, 1639. Among the first
books printed were an Indian version of the
Bible, and Sandy's translation of Ovid. Two
licensers were appointed in Massachusetts,
1662; presses were forbidden in Virginia, 1683;
the first printer in Connecticut, 1709.
NIAGARA FALLS. It is said that the
best station for viewing this magnificent natu-
ral curiosity is on the Canada side of the river,
though a greater variety of interest is said to be
on the American side. The surface of the
country about the Falls is fiat and uninteresting,
and from one side gives little indication of the
approach to any remarkable scene ; the noise of
the fall of waters, gradually increases, and the
mist rises in dense volumes, forming clouds in
the air. The illustrative engraving was drawn
upon the spot by Mr. Bakewell, to whom we
are indebted for the description ; a strict regard
to pictorial proportion has been dispensed with,
in order to present all the leading features in
one view. From the hotel (A) there is a gra-
dual descent to a very steep bank (B) about
140 feet high, which caps the limestone rock ;
having descended, you walk over planks
laid on the marshy ground, to the extent of
200 yards, which leads to the brink of the pre-
cipice (c), where the whole scene bursts at
once on the sight. You are here on a level
with the river immediately before it rushes
down the dreadful abyss. The loud, solemn,
all-pervading roar of the waters is indescribably
awful. The water from violent agitation is per-
fectly white for some distance below the Falls,
producing a thick cream colored foam which is
seen floating down the stream in large apparent
masses. The sublimity of the scene cannot be
exceeded. We find ourselves suddenly in the
presence of a Superior Power, and feel an im-
pressive consciousness of our own nothingness.
This Fall (from its concave form called the
Horse-shoe Fall) is 600 yards wide, and 158 feet
perpendicular. The descent of the rapids im-
mediately above the P'alls ( d ) is 58 feet, making
the whole 216 feet. Goat's Island (e) which
divides the American and Canada Falls, pre-
sents a bare face of perpendicular rock ( h ),
which extends about 500 yards north and south.
The American Falls are about 200 yards in
width, and 164 feet in height. A spiral stair-
case (f) is erected, by which a descent can be
made nearly to the bottom of the Falls. The
ferry ( g ) is rather more than a quarter of a
mile from the Falls, in a direct line. The small
town of Manchester ( i ) is situated about half a
mile above the Falls, and several large mills
give a cheerful appearance to this part of the
picture. Such is the comparative tranquillity
of the water at the ferry, that you may be taken
across by a boy to the landing place on the
side immediately below the American Falls.
The waters which expand to form the Ameri-
can and Canada Falls, after uniting, are here
contracted into a stream not more than 160 yards
broad. The river is confined between perpen-
dicular rocks, and the quantity of water that
falls is estimated to be 100,000,000 tons in an
hour ! A railed platform ( m ) has been con-
structed on the rocks extending over the water
from the island to the commencement of the
curve, which forms the concave central part of
the Horse-shoe. In regard to the History of the
Falls, we copy the following from an eloquent
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article by the Rev. Mr. Greenwood, of Boston,
written upon visiting the Falls in 1831. " These
Falls are not without their history ; but like
their depths, it is enveloped with clouds. Geolo-
gists suppose, and with good apparent reason,
that time was when the Niagara fell over the
abrupt bank at Queenstown, between six and
seven miles below the place of the present Falls,
and that it has, in the lapse of unknown and
incalculable years, been wearing away the gulf
in the intermediate distance, and toiling and
travelling through the rock, back to its parent
lake."
NINEVEH destroyed by the Medes, 612 B.C.
NON-IMPORTATION law, March, 18U.
NON-INTERCOURSE law conditionally
repealing the embargo, March, 1809; against
England and France, passed by congress, May
], 1810 ; repealed as to France, Nov. 1810.
NOOTKA,in the northwest of America, dis-
covered, 1778; settled by the English, 1789 ;
captured by the Spaniards, 1790, but afterwards
confirmed to the English by treaty.
NORTHEAST PASSAGE to Russia dis-
covered, 1553.
NOTARY PUBLIC, began in the first cen-
tury.
NOTES and bills first stamped, 1782.
NOVA ZEMBLA discovered, 1553.
O
OPERA, first in London, 1692; by Handel,
1735; opera house burnt, 1789; new one built,
1790 ; another in the strand, 1816 ; opera house
in Rome, roof fell in, January 18, 1762.
ORATORIO, the first in London, was per-
formed in Lincoln's-inn play-house, Portugal
street, in 1732.
ORGANS brought to Europe from the Greek
empire, were first invented and applied to relig-
ious devotion in churches, 758.
ORRERY invented, 1670.
OTAHEITE, or George Ill's island, discov-
ered June 18, 1765.
OWHYHE island discovered, 1778, where
captain Cooke was killed.
OXFORD UNIVERSITY, founded by Al-
fred, 886.
PADLOCKS invented at Nuremburg, 1540.
PAINTING. The earliest account we have
of the existence of painting is in the reign of
Ninus, about 2000 B. C. Egypt was decidedly
the birthplace of the arts and sciences, though
but few of its paintings remain, and their date
is uncertain. The Greeks were very little ad-
vanced in the art of painting at the time of the
Trojan war.
The first important fact in the history of
painting is, that 700 years B. C, a king of Lydia
purchased a picture of a Greek artist, and paid
him its weight in gold. In the year 400, Zeu-
xis introduced a new style of painting into
Greece, and at this period much progress was
made in the art. About the year 328 B. C.
Apelles commenced a new era in painting,
and many distinguished painters were his con-
temporaries.
Before Greece was taken by the Romans,
the art of painting had arrived at a high degree
of perfection, but at that time the spirit which
had animated her arts had departed, and with
her liberty, her arts perished.
The first name worthy of record in the annals
of Italian painting is Cimabue, a native of
Florence, who painted in fresco 1300 A. D.
In 1445, Leonardo de Vinci was born at Flor-
ence. Many subsequent painters nre indebted
to this great artist for his improvements in the
art. During his time, the use of oil in painting
was discovered.
Michael Angelo Buonarotti was born in the
year 1474. He erected an academy of painting
and sculpture at Florence, and is considered as
the founder of the Florentine School. Raph-
ael, born 1483, was the founder of the Roman
School. Titian, born 1477, was the founder of
the Venetian School. Corregio, born 1494,
founded the Lombard School. The establish-
ment of these four schools embraces the golden
age of painting.
Of the German schools there are three dis-
tinct ones, the German, Flemish and Dutch.
The Gothic style of painting originated in Ger-
many, and terminated at the beginning of the
15th century.
Albert Durer, born in 1471, was the prince
of German artists, and the De Vinci of his
country. The head of the Flemish School was
sir Peter Paul Reubens, born at Antwerp in
1577. What Reubens did for the Flemish
School, Rembrandt did for the Dutch, he gave
it a character. He died in 1674.
There seems to have been no regular Span-
ish school of painting, although many Spanish
artists have distinguished themselves, particu-
larly Velasquez and Murillo. The Spanish
style holds an intermediate rank between the
Venetian and Flemish.
fa
Pi
fa
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PED
It is difficult to assign a decided era to the
beginning of painting in Fiance. The first
name worthy of particular mention, is Jaques
Blanchard, who was born in Paris, A. D. 1600.
His paintings were very popular, and one of
them is still preserved in the church of Notre
Dame. Poussin flourished about the same time,
and painted many pictures for the Gallery of
the Louvre.
Louis XIII founded the first school of France.
Of this, the great master is Le Brun, born in
1690. His best performances, are five large
pictures from the life of Alexander. At this
period. Claude Lorraine flourished.
In the 18th century, French painters were
numerous, but the art gradually sunk into me-
diocrity. The name of Vernet, however, de-
serves to be mentioned. He excelled in marine
pieces.
The founder of the modern school of paint-
ing in France was David, who was born in
1750. He remedied many of the defects of his
contemporaries, and produced many fine pic-
tures.
Painting did not begin to flourish in England
till (he reign of Henry VIII. Before that pe-
riod, nothing like genius was observable in the
rude productions of the artists. During this
reign, Hans Holbein, under the patronage of
the monarch, settled in England as a portrait
painter. ,
During the reign of Charles I, a gallery of
pictures by the great masters, was established
at White Hall. Vandyke and Jamesone flour-
ished at this time. In 1697, Win. Hogarth was
born. His style was one in which he acquired
lasting celebrity, and was wholly his own.
A royal academy was planned in England in
1768, of which sir Joshua Reynolds was made
president. He was born in 172:3, and very
early in life gave proofs of his future genius.
His influence on the taste of Great Britain was
great, and will be lasting.
Gainsborough and Wilson laid the founda-
tion of the English school of landscapes. Barry
was an historical painter of great eminence.
The close of the 18th century produced many
names worthy of record. Fuseli was made
keeper of the Royal Academy. Among other
pictures, he painted 47 pictures from Milton's
works, in the year 1790. Sir Thomas Lawrence
was considered the first portrait painter in Eu-
rope. He was presidentof the Royal Academy
at the time of his death in 1830. The celebrated
living artist John Martin, was born in 1789.
All his pictures have been engraved by himself.
The United States has produced many artists
of reputation ; among others, Benjamin West,
who died 1820, aged 82 ; also Gilbert C. Stuart,
born 1755, who was one of the first portrait
painters of his time. Among living artists,
Allston approaches the old masters in his style ;
Leslie has great fame ; Newton has executed
several clever things. There are several others
of some note.
PALMYRA , ruins of, in the deserts of Syria,
discovered 1678.
PAPER CURRENCY established in Amer-
ica, May 15, 1775.
PAPER MONEY first used in America,
1740.
PAPER made of cotton was in use in 1000;
that of linen rags, in 1319 ; the manufacture of,
introduced into England at Dartford, in Kent,
1588; scarcely any but brown paper made in
England, till 1690; white paper first made in
England, 1690.
PARCHMENT invented by king Attalus,
887.
PARROT, an extraordinary one belonging
to Colonel Kelly, died at the age of 30, at his
house in Piccadilly, October 9th, 1802. This
bird appeared to possess in some degree the
faculty of reason, for when it made a mistake
in either woids or tune of the numberless songs
it was master of, it would correct itself and
beo-in the song again.
PATENT granted for titles, first used 1344 ;
first granted for the exclusive privilege of pub-
lishing books, 1591.
PEARL ASHES manufactory first set up in
Ireland, 1783.
PEARLS, artificial, were invented, 1686.
PEDESTRIANS— Powell, a lawyer, walked
from London to York and back again in six
days, being a distance of above 402 miles, Nov.
27, 1773 ; walked it again when of the age of
57 years, June 20th, 1788; Captain Barcley
finished at Newmarket, the task of walking a
thousand miles in a thousand successive hours,
walking one mile in each hour, April 1809;
Thomas Standen, near Silver Hill barracks,
completed a similar, but more arduous task, by
walking eleven hundred miles in as many suc-
cessive hours, July 14, 1811 ; Aiken, Mr. started
from Westminster to go to a spot near Ashford
in Kent, and return, the distance being 108
miles, which he performed in nine minutes
less than 24 hours, July 31st, 1813; Baker, of
Rochester, a thousand and one miles and three
quarters in twenty days, November 20, 1815;
Eaton completed the task of walking eleven
PLA
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hundred miles in eleven hundred successive
hours, walking a mile in each hour, upon Black-
heath, December 27, 1815.
PENDULUMS for clocks invented, 1(556.
PENN\ POST set up in London and sub-
urbs, by one Murray, an upholsterer, 1681, who
afterwards assigned the same to one Dockwra ;
afterwards claimed by the government, who
allowed the latter a pension of £200 a year, in
1711 ; first set up in Dublin, 1774 ; it was im-
proved considerably in and round London, July,
1794 ; made a two-penny post in 1801.
PENS for writing were first made from quills
in 635.
PERGAMOS (now Bergamo) a city of My-
sia, in Asia Minor, and referred to in Rev. ii.
12, is situated on a river, which was formerly
called Caycus, now Gremakli, with a harbor,
about fifteen miles from the sea. Pergamos
was anciently a kingdom, which began in the
year 470 from the building of Rome, and con-
tinued 153 years, when the last king, Attalus
III, dying without children, made the Roman
people his heir. In this city was a celebrated
library, by Plutarch, said to contain 200,000
volumes. It was transported to Alexandria by
Anthony and Cleopatra. In 1820, the popula-
tion of Bergamo was estimated at 15,000. The
streets are wider and cleaner than in most other
cities of Natolia.
PERSIA, king of, Feeth Ali Schah, died
1834 ; succeeded by Abbas Mirza.
PETER, St., wrote his first epistle, GO; his
second epistle, 66.
PHYSIC, the practice of, was confined to ec-
clesiastics, from about 1206 to about 1500.
PIAZZA PLANET, discovered 1801.
PISTOLS first used by the cavalry, 1544.
PITCH and tar made from pit-coal, discov-
ered at Bristol, 1779.
PLAGUE— the whole world visited by one,
767 B. C. ; in Rome, when 10,000 persons died
in a day, 78; in Chichester, when 34,000 died,
1772; in Scotland, which swept away 40,000
inhabitants, 954 ; in England, 1025, 1247, and
1347, when 50,000 died in London, 1500 in Lei-
cester, &c. ; in Germany, which cut off 90,000
people, 1348; in Paris and London very dread-
ful, 1367; again 1379 ; in London, which killed
30,000 persons, 14(17; again, when more were
destroyed than in fifteen years war before, 1477 ;
again, when 30,000 died in London, 1499 ; again,
1548 ; airain, 15!!4 ; which carried off in London,
a fourth part of its inhabitants, 1604 ; at Con-
stantinople, when 2110,000 persons died, 1611;
at London, when 35,417 died, 1625, and 1631 ;
at Lyons, in France, died 60,000, 1632; again
at London, which destroyed 68,000 persons, in
1665; at Messina, February, 1743 ; at Algiers,
1755; in Persia, when 80,000 persons perished
at Bassorah, 1773; at Smyrna, that carried off
about 20,000 inhabitants, 1784 ; and at Tunis,
32,000, 1784 ; in the Levant, 1786 ; at Alexan-
dria, Smyrna, &c. 1791 ; in Egypt, in 1792,
where nearly 800,000 died ; the yellow fever
destroyed 2,000 at Philadelphia, in 1793; on
the coast of Africa, particularly at Barbary,
3,000 died daily ; at Fez, 247,000 died in June,
1799; 1,800 died at Morocco, in 1800, in one
day ; in Spain and at Gibraltar, where great
numbers died in 1804 and 1805 ; at Malta,
where it committed great ravages, 1813; in
lesser Asia, Syria, and the adjacent islands, by
which Smyrna is computed to have lost 30,000
persons, 1814 ; in the kingdom of Naples, where
it committed considerable ravages, 1816. (See
Cholera.)
PLASTER OF PARIS, the way first found
out for taking a likeness in, 1470.
PLATE GLASS MANUFACTORY estab-
lished at Lancashire, in 1773; first in France,
1688.
PLAYS first performed in England, 1378;
that by the parish clerks, in 1390. Suppressed
by parliament, in 1647; restored 1659.
POET LAUREAT, the first was Bernard
Andrews, 1486; John Kay, 1490; Rev. John
Skelton, died June 21st, 1529; Edmund Spen-
cer died, 1598; Samuel Daniel, died 1619;
Ben Johnson, 1619, died August 6th, 1637; sir
Willian Davenant, died April 7th, 1668 ; John
Dryden, esq. 1668, dismissed as a papist, 1688;
Thomas Shadwell, died December 1692; Na-
hum Tate died August 12th, 1715 ; Nicholas
Rowe, died December 6, 1718 ; Rev. Laurence
Eusden, died December 27th, 1757; William
Whitehead, died April 14th, 1785; Reverend
Thomas Wharton, K. D. died May 21st, 1790;
Henry James Pye, Esq. his successor.
POLICY of insurance in writing first used at
Florence, 1569.
POLIGAMY forbid by the Romans in 393.
POMPEII, ruins of. — By recent accounts
from Naples it appears that the excavations are
still carried on at Pompeii with activity. Dur-
ing the last month, (November. 1834) the whole
of the street leading from the Temple of For-
tune to the gate of I sis, and which crosses the
centre of the city, has been discovered. Great
progress has also been made in the traverse
streets, one of which leads to the theatre, and
the other to the temple of Augustin. At the
POP
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PYR
extremity of the first, an altar has been found,
richly decorated with the protecting genius,
represented in the form of a serpent. Two
houses in the street of Fortune have, at length,
been entirely excavated, and a great many very
curious articles in bronze, iron, and ivory have
been discovered.
POPE, the title of, formerly given to all bish-
ops. The emperor, in GOG, confined it to the
bishops of Rome ; Hygenus was the first bishop
of Rome that took the title, 154 ; the pope's
supremacy over the Christian church established
by Boniface III, G07 ; custom of kissing the
pope's toe began 708; pope Stephen 111, was
the first who was carried to the Lateran on
men's shoulders, 752 ; the pope's temporal gran-
deur commenced, 755; Sergius II, was the
first pope that changed his name on his elec-
tion, 844 ; John XIX, a layman, made pope by
dint of money, 1024 ; the first pope that kept an
army was Leo IX, 1054. Their assumed au-
thority carried to such excesses as to excom-
municate and depose sovereigns, and to claim
the presentation of all church benefices, by
Gregory VII, and his successors, from 1073 to
1500; pope Gregory obliged Henry IV, empe-
ror of Germany, to stand three days in the
depth of winter, barefooted at his castle-gate, to
implore his pardon, 1077; pope Celestine III,
kicked the emperor Henry IV's crown off his
head, while kneeling, to show his prerogative
of making and unmaking kings, 1191 ; the
pope's authority first introduced into England,
1079 ; the pope demanded an annual sum for
every cathedral and monastery in Christendom,
but refused, 1226 ; collected the tenths of the
whole kingdom of England, 122G ; residence of
the pope removed to Avignon, where it con-
tinued 70 years, 1308 ; their demand on Eng-
land refused by parliament, 13G3; three at one
time in 1414 ; Leo X made a cardinal at four-
teen years old; elected pope, March 11, 1513,
aged 3<i ; died 1521; Clement VII began to
reign, who brought pluralities to their consum-
mation, making his nephew, Hippolito, Cardi-
nal de Medicis, commendatory universal, grant-
ing to him all the vacant benefices in the world,
for six months, and appointing him usu-fructu-
ary from the first day of his possession, 1523;
Rome sacked and Clement imprisoned, 1527;
moved their residence to Avignon, 1531 ; kiss-
ing the pope's toe, and some other ridiculous
ceremonies abolished, and the order of Jesuits
suppressed by the late pope Clement XIV,
1773 ; visited Vienna to solicit the emperor in
favor of the church, March 1782; suppressed
monasteries, 1782 ; destitute of all political in-
fluence in Europe 1787.
POST HORSES and stages established in
Eno-land, 1483
POST OFFICES first established in Paris
14G2; in England, 1581 ; the mail conveyed in
stage coaches in England, began in 1785.
POTATOES first brought to England from
America, by Hawkins, in 1503; introduced into
Ireland by sir Walter Raleigh, in 1586, and
were not known in Flanders till 1G50.
POTTERY, great discoveries made in it by
Mr. Wedgewood, 17G3.
PRESBYTERIAN MEETING HOUSE,
the first in England at Wandsworth, in Sur-
rey, Nov. 20, 1572.
PRESSING SEAMEN commenced in 1355.
PRINCE OF WALES, the title of, first
given to the king's eldest son, 128G.
PRINTING invented by J. Faust, 1441 ; first
made public by John Gottenburgh, of Mentz,
1458; wooden types first used, 1470; brought
into England by William Caxton, 1471, who
had a press in Westminster Abbey till 1494 ;
first patent granted for it, 1591 ; first introduced
into Scotland, 1509 ; first used at Lyons, 1488;
first set up at Constantinople, in 1784 ; printing
in colors invented, 162G.
PROMETHEUS struck fire from flints about
1715 ; he being the first person is said to have
stolen it from heaven.
PUMPS invented 1425.
PYRAMIDS, colossal structures of the an-
cient Egyptians. The cause of their erection
is unknown. Some maintain that they were
consecrated to the sun ; others, that they served
as a kind of gnomon for astronomical observa-
tions ; according to Diderot, for the preserva-
tion and transmission of historical information;
according to others, and this was the prevailing
opinion among the ancients, that they were
designed as sepulchres, or chambers for mum-
mies. Among the most renowned are those of
Cheops and Cephrenes ; in building the former,
100,000 men were employed 20 years. There
have been various statements regarding the
size of these immense structures. Herodotus
gives 800 feet as the height of the largest one,
and says that this also is the length of its base
on each side. Strabo makes it G25, Diodorus
GOO feet. The French ascertained it to be 480
feet wide. The largest was built by Cheops,
and is supposed to contain the bones of that
kinor.
The Egyptian Pyramids are quadrangular
and hollow, having a broad base, contracting
REB
688
REL
gradually towards the top, sometimes terminat-
ing in a point, sometimes in a plain surface.
They are built of large though not very hard
limestone. There are about 40 of them all ;
these are included within the space of a few
miles in the vicinity of Memphis. The group
near Gises, are the most remarkable. That of
Cheops, before mentioned, is one of them, and
is the largest.
Q.
QUADRANT, solar, introduced 290 B. C.
QUICKSILVER, use of, discovered in refin-
ing silver ore, 1540.
QUILLS were first used for pens in 635.
R.
RAILROADS, first used near Newcastle
upon Tyne, about 1650.
RAIN, violent in Scotland, for five months,
553 ; a continual rain in Scotland, for 5 months,
918; so violent in England the harvest did not
begin till Michaelmas, 1330; so heavy that the
corn was spoiled, 1335 ; from the beginning of
October to December, 1338; from midsummer
to Christinas, so that there was not one day or
night dry together, 1348; in Wales, which de-
stroyed 10,000 sheep, September 19, 1752 ; in
Languedoc, which destroyed the village of Bar
le Due, April 26, 1776; in the island of Cuba,
on the 21st of June, 1791, when 3,000 persons
and 11,700 cattle of various kinds perished, by
the torrents occasioned by the rain. Quantity
of rain which fell at Philadelphia in 1827 and
1828, as indicated by the rain guao-e, was, in
1827, 38.50 inches ; in 1828, 37.39 inches.
REBELLIONS remarkable in British his-
tory : against William I, in favor of Edward
Atheling, by the Scots and Danes, A. D. 1069 ;
against William II in favor of his brother Robert,
1088 ; of the Welsh, who defeated the Normans
and English, 1095; in England, in favor of the
empress Maude, 1139; prince Richard against
his father Henry II, 1189; of the barons,°April
1215; compromised by the grant of magna
charta, June 15, following ; of the lords spiritual
and temporal against Edward II, on account of
his favorites the Gavestons, 1312; and again on
account of the Spensers, 1321 ; of Walter, the
tiler, of Deptford, vulgarly called Wat Tiler,
occasioned by the brutal rudeness of a tax-
gatherer, to his daughter — having killed the
collector in his rage, he raised a party to oppose
the tax itself, which was a grievous poll-tax,
1381 ; of Henry, duke of Lancaster, who caused
Richard II to be deposed, 1399 ; in Ireland,
when Roger, earl of March, the viceroy and
presumptive heir to the crown, was slain, 1399;
against Henry IV, by confederated lords, 1403;
under the earl of Northumberland, who was
defeated at Bramham More, and slain, 1458 ; of
Jack Cade, in favor of the duke of York, 1450;
in favor of the house of York, 1452, which
ended in the imprisonment of Henry VI, and
seating Edward IV, of York, on the throne,
1466; under Warwick and Clarence, 1470,
which ended with the expulsion of Edward IV,
and the restoration of Henry VI the same year;
under Edward IV, 1471, which ended with the
death of Henry VI ; of the earl of Richmond,
against Richard III, 1485, which ended with
the death of Richard ; under Lambert Simnel,
who pretended to be Richard Ill's nephew,
1486, which ended the same year, in discover-
ing that Simnel was a baker's son : he was par-
doned ; under Perkin Warbeck, 1492, which
ended in the execution of Warbeck, 1499 ; under
Flamoc, 1497, owing to taxes, which ended
with the battle of Blackheath ; of the English, -
on account of destroying the monasteries, 1536,
ended the same year; in favor of lady Jane
Grey, against queen Mary, 1553, which ended
in the death of lady Jane ; of the Roman Cath-
olics against queen Elizaoeth, 1559; under the
earl of Essex, against Elizabeth, 1600, which
ended in his death, 1601; against Charles J,
1639, which ended, with his death, 1659 ; of
the Scotch, 1666; under the duke of Mon-
mouth, 1685, which ended in his death; of the
Scotch, under the old pretender, 1715 ; of the
Scotch, under the young pretender, 1745.
REFLECTING TELESCOPES invented,
1657.
RELIGIOUS ORDERS, SECTS, &c. Albi-
genses had their origin 1160 ; Anabaptists began
1525, arrived in England 1549; Anchorites be-
gan 1255; A ngelites 494; Antinomian sect began
1538; Antonines began 329; Arian sect began
290 ; Armenian began 1229 ; Augustines began
389, first appeared in England 1350 ; Bartholo-
mites sect founded at Genoa 1307 ; Begging fri-
ars established in France 1587; Begumes began
1208; Benedictines founded 548; Bethlehem?
ites began 1248 ; Bohemian brethren, the sect
of, began in Bohemia, 1467; Brigantines began
1370; Brownists sect began 1660; Calvinists
sect began 1546; Canons, regular, began 400;
Capuchins began 1525 ; Cardinals began 853,
red hats given them 1242, the purple 1464, the
title of eminence 1644 ; Carmelites began 1141 ;
REV 689 RIO
Carthusians began 1084 ; St. Catharine's began 1795; Venice Mav 17 1707- R™.Q v u
1373; Cdestinesbeganl272; Chap.ines befan 26, \™?^J&?^^j$?tt*'
1248; Dominicans began 1215; Flagellantes, R[CE was cultivated in Ireland 'in ]&5 ■ in
20CSCCSetrie'dai°nSeE ^1 n;d ^.Tora ^ S^S"* ?° \ ** ** fi-t cultivation In Sou*
, ' f,™ lnT ^»glancl, 1^17, Gray friars Carolina, by chance, 1702.
began 1122; Hermits began 1257, revived RIOTS in British History .-Some rioters
^or^-ta^n^drXrdS^S^i^j Sia^^ ffS £ and E™ w^
monks of the order of, banished fromSt. ptter" Surlt^the'cathedraTLd 2S£j K
burg, January 2 1816 ; Jesus, the sisters of, so- went thither, and saw the ringleaders executed8
ciety began 102b; Lutheran sect began 1517 ; 1271 A riot in London ir , I„„j . iraj in '
Mahon^etan sect began 622; Manichees' sect Lamb kflled I by' "the™ IZ^td^
began 343; Methodism commenced 1734; Mi- tence of pulling down bawdy housed four of
nors began 1009; Monks first associated 328; the ringleader! hanged, Sslnother at
hSnE ™&OVUvi*S,Fl?r%& appeared in B°- Guildhall, at the election of sheriffs IS sev
hernia 1457; in England 1737; Predestinarian eral considerable persons were concerned" thev
sect began 37 1 ; Protestants began 1529 ; Puri- seized the lord maPyor; buTthe city."eutenancj
tans began lo45 ; Quakers' sect began 1650; raised the militia and released Wm.tFHi/
b::Tl780egTl16Sf'' fWedfenbTanf Se,Ct b"»*h and Dumfries - acSui o "tneunfdn"
bngt n ^'^PP'818 0^er of monks solemnly 1707; in London on account of Dr Sacheverers
installed at PorRmgeard department of May- trial ; several dissenting meeting houts broke
REPRISALS AT SEA were firs, g,«„,ed, TSl$° m^V^^tum.
REVOLUTIONS rem.rk.b,e in ancient hi,. J^Z' V^^X^SiS^ltS^.
tne ixreat, o4b B C, the Macedonian empire the master of the house ; quelled bv the «r,,™if
founded on the destruction of the Persian, on 1716 Riofer* in h7„L!I 7J . guards,
the defeat of Darius Codomanus, by Alexander turnnik" nue led Nft f dem°1,shed the
ihe> firo-it vu n n . *u„ d J ■ CAa'"1fl turnpiKe . quelled atter a smart en^a^ement
£Lh J. j*v he Roman empire estab- with the posse comitatus, 1735. Of the Soital
from whom it is also called the monarchy of the Birmingham and obK « 1 £** ^^ l°
1808': Persia, in 74S.„d "7I& Rus.ia TiW ?™!l'""»l "'« d'""e»» »f P'»vi5io„s, I7C0 ;„d
740 '»d 1703, Sweden i„ 1772™d'lS wftoVt^EnST * ?* *° ".JS'
Vrnerica, in ,775; France, ,„ 1789; HoILnd! ESj » £* »£»%£ %£)£&
RIO
690
ROS
and private buildings in London, June G, 1780,
for winch many were hanged. At Glasgow,
among the cotton manufacturers, when several
were killed by the soldiers, September 4, 17e7.
A riot at Maidstone, at the trial of A. O'Connor
and others, May 22, 1793, at which the earl of
Thanet, Mr. Ferguson and others, were active
in endeavoring to rescue O'Connor, and for
which they were tried and convicted, April 25,
1799. In different parts of England, owing to
the high price of bread, September, 1800. Of
weavers, near Manchester, May 24, 1808. At
Liverpool, occasioned by a paity of the 19th
regiment of light dragoons having quarrelled
with a press-gang, June 27, 1809. O. P. riot
at Covent Garden Theatre, September, 1809,
for old prices; terminated January 4, 1810. In
Piccadilly, in consequence of the warrant of
the speaker of the house of commons to commit
sir Francis Burdett to the Tower, April 6-9,
1810. At the Liverpool theatre, in imitation of
the O. P. at Covent Garden, July, 1810. At
Bridport, on account of the price of bread, which
was quelled by the exertions of the principal in-
habitants, May 6, 1816. At Biddeford, to pre-
vent the exportation of a cargo of potatoes, May
20, 1816. At Bury, to destroy a machine called
a spinning jenny, in which the rioters were de-
feated by the magistrates and principal inhabi-
tants, May 22, 1816. At Littleton and Ely, by
a body of insurgent fenmen,on the same day —
quelled by the military, after bloodshed, May
24. At Halstead, Essex, to liberate four per-
sons who had been taken up for destroying ma-
chinery, May 28, 1816. At Preston, on account
of a diminution of wages, August 17, 1816.
Among the convicts in Newgate, which was
quelled by threats of withholding from them
their allowance of food, August 26, 1816. At
Nottingham, by the Luddites, who destroyed
more than thirty frames, October 12, 1816. At
Merthys-Tydvil, in Glamorganshire, by the
workmen in the iron works, on account of a
reduction of wages, October 18, 1816. By the
colliers, at Calder iron works, near Glasgow,
on account of a suspension of wages, in conse-
quence of arrests for debt, which continued for
several days, October 19, 1816. In the town of
Birmingham, October 28, 1816. In London, in
consequence of a popular meeting in Spa fields,
for the purpose of presenting a petition to the
prince regent, from the distressed manufactur-
ers and mechanics ; the shops of several gun-
smiths were attacked for arms, and in that of
Mr. Beckwith on Snowhill, a Mr. Piatt, who
happened to be in the shop, was shot in the
body by one of the rioters, December 2, 1816*.
Several of the rioters were apprehended, and
one of the name of Watson was tried for high
treason and acquitted, June 16, 1817. At Dun-
dee, on account of the sudden rise in the price
of meal ; upwards of one hundred shops of va-
rious descriptions were plundered, and the
house of Mr. Lindsey, an extensive corn dealer,
set on fire, December 7, 1816. At Preston, by
the unemployed and distressed workmen, Sep-
tember, 1816. At Almwick in Wales, to pre-
vent a vessel laden with flour from leaving the
wharf, March, 1817.
ROADS in the Highlands of Scotland were
begun by Gen. Wade, in 1726, and finished
in 1737 ; in England first repaired by act of
parliament, 1524.
ROSARY, or beads, first used in Romish
prayers, 1093.
ROSBACH, in the upper circle of Saxony,
totally disappeared, in October, 17G2, supposed
by an earthquake.
ROSS'S EXPEDITION.— The following
account of this expedition is condensed from an
excellent article upon the subject, which ap-
peared in the People's Magazine in 1834.
The news of the safe return of Captain Ross
has been received both in Great Britain and the
United States with unfeigned sensations of joy.
The hardy navigator with his nephew, Com-
mander Ross, and the whole of his party except
three, two of whom died on the passage out,
and one at a later period, arrived at Hull on
Friday morning, the 18th of October, 1833.
It was in 1829 that Captain Ross fitted out
his expedition to determine the practicability of
a new passage, which had been confidently
stated to exist, particularly by Prince Regent's
Inlet, but in consequence of the loss of the fore-
mast of his vessel, the Victory, he was obliged
to refit at Wideford, in Greenland. The ac-
counts of his departure from thence on the 27th
July, 1829, formed the last authentic intelli-
gence received of the expedition By the sub-
sequent details it will be perceived that he was
picked up by the Isabelle of Hull, — the very
ship — by a singular coincidence, in which he
made his first voyage to the Arctic regions.
By Captain Ross's account it appears, that
the first season (that of 1829,) was the mildest
that had ever been recorded, and the sea was
more clear of ice than had been experienced
during any preceding voyages. On the 13th
of August, Captain Ross reached the spot where
the stores of his majesty's late ship, the Fury,
were landed.
SAP
691
scu
On the 1st of September, 1832, he visited
Leopold South Island, now established to be
the north-east point of America, in latitude 73,
56, and longitude 90 west. From the summit
of the lofty mountain on the promontory he
could see Prince Regent"s Inlet, Barrow's
Strait, and Lancaster Sound, which presented
one impenetrable mass of ice, just as it had ap-
peared in 1818.
The circumstance that Captain Ross was res-
cued by the ship he commanded in 1818, is a
curious and happy conclusion of the voyage,
the result of which has established that there is
no new north-west passage south of seventy-
four degrees.
The true position of the magnetic pole has
been discovered, and much valuable informa-
tion obtained for the improvement of geograph-
ical and philosophical knowledge. Captain
Ross had a good opportunity of verifying his
former survey of the coast of Baffin's Bay,
which every master of a Greenland ship can
testify to be most correct.
On the whole it may be said that this expedi-
tion has done more than any that preceded it ;
and let it be remembered that Captain Ross and
his nephew were volunteers, serving without
pay, for the attainment of a great national ob-
ject, in prosecuting which they have lost their
all.
RUM imported into England in 1789, was
3,300,000 gallons ; in 1796 there were import-
ed 4,190,198 gallons.
SAILCLOTH first made in England, 1590;
cotton sailcloth made at Baltimore and at Pat-
terson, N. J. and brought into use in the United
States, 1824.
SAINT HELENA first possessed by the
English, 1G00.
SAINT LAWRENCE river discovered and
explored by the French, 1508.
SALT MINES in Staffordshire discovered,
1670; rock salt was discovered about 950; in
Poland, in 1289.
SALTPETRE first made in England, 1625.
SANCTUARIES, or cities of refuge, were
instituted by the Jews immediately after their
establishment in Palestine about 1400 B. C. ;
such use, or rather abuse, was made of the
heathen temples, particularly those of Hercules;
Christian churches commenced to be used as
such, A. O. 617; abolished in England, 1534.
SAPPHO, a Greek poetess, who after the
death of her husband, is said to have become
enamoured of Phaon,and, in consequence of his
neglect, to have thrown herself into the sea.
SATELLITE, moon or secondary planets;
of which there is known to exist, attending the
Earth one, Jupiter four, Saturn nine, if his two
rings are included, and the Herschel six, mak-
ing twenty in all — eighteen globular, and the
two rings of Saturn circular. Of these bodies,
except the moon of the earth, the attendants of
Jupiter were first discovered. Simon Marius,
astronomer to the elector of Brandenburg, in
November, 1609, observed three little stars
moving round the body of Jupiter, and in 1610
discovered a fourth ; similar observations were
made at the same time in Italy by Galileo.
Satellite of Saturn, the fourth, was first dis-
covered by Huygens, March 25th, 1655; four
more were discovered by Cassini, between 1671-
84; and Dr. Herschel, 1787-89, discovered two
more, and completed the list of the attendants
of Saturn.
Satellite of the Herschel, or Georgian planets,
six in number, were all discovered by Dr. Her-
schel, from January 11th, 1787, to March 26th,
1794. The existence of these satellites of the
Georgian planet, rests upon the authority of
Dr. Herschel alone.
SAXON GREEN, in dying, invented 1744.
SCARCITY-ROOT, a kind of parsnep, in-
troduced and propagated in England, 1787.
SCENES first introduced into theatres, 1533.
SCULPTURE. The antiquity of sculpture
is proved by referring to the Bible. In the
book of Exodus, we read of Laban's images, of
the golden calf made by Aaron, and of the stat-
ues of the cherubim. Herodotus tells us that
the Egyptians first carved figures of animals in
stone. Almost all the sculpture of Egypt was
employed for sacred purposes ; it was of stu-
pendous magnitude. The pyramids, colossal
statues, and sphynx are gigantic works of art,
and strike those who behold them with aston-
ishment. The eras of Egyptian sculpture ex-
tend through the dominion of the Greeks and
Romans. Under the latter, much improvement
was made in the art.
Hindoo sculpture strongly resembles that of
Egypt, but is generally very inferior. Chinese
sculpture also slightly resembles the Egyptian.
Daedalus may be considered the first sculptor in
Greece, as before his time, the attempts at the
art were rude and imperfect, though there were
schools established at Sicyon, Egina, Corinth
and Athens. Dosdalus was born 1234 B. C.
He formed something like a school of sculpture
scu
692
scu
at Athens. The first statues were formed of
wood, and metal was also used in various parts
for sculpture.
About G4G B. C. statues in marble were exe-
cuted, and a school called the Chian School,
was founded by Malas. The marble was pro-
cured from the Ionian islands, where a school
was also established called the Ionian School.
In 517 B. C, great improvements were intro-
duced in the art of sculpture in marble.
After the battle of Marathon, 490 B.C., sculp-
ture flourished and the schools produced many
eminent artists, among whom was Phidias. He
executed statues in bronze, marble, and a com-
position mostly of ivory. His works were nu-
merous and splendid, and he stands without a
rival among the ancient masters. From this
period till the fall of Greece, many eminent
sculptors appeared, but after the death of Alex-
ander, the arts began to decline, and continued
in this state for nearly two hundred years, when
Greece became a Roman province.
Italian sculpture may be divided into two
distinct classes, the Etruscan and the Roman.
The sculptors were mostly Greeks, as the Ro-
mans possessed only sufficient knowledge to
value the genius of others. After Constantine,
the annals of ancient art may be considered as
closed.
Schools for sculpture were formed in Italy
in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and
before the close of the thirteenth, a school was
founded by Nicolas Pisano, a native of Pisa.
Before the close of the next century, sculpture
was successfully practised throughout Italy.
Donatello, born in 1383, was a very eminent
sculptor, and executed many magnificent stat-
ues. His pupils were the chief masters of the
fifteenth century. In the sixteenth century,
Michael Angelo commenced his career. Many
eminent sculptors were his contemporaries,
among whom was Torrigiani. After Bernini
in 1610, the art rapidly declined in Italy, till it
was again revived by Canova. This distin-
guished artist was born in Possagno, in the
Venetian territory in 1757. His statues, mon-
umental works, and tablets in relievo, are emi-
nently beautiful. He died in 1823, lamented by
all who knew him.
Thorwaldsen, the Dane, is the chief master
of the modern school of sculpture. He was
born at Copenhagen, in 1772. His designs are
very original, and his taste and execution verv
fine. y
The first eminent French sculptor appears to
have been Jean Goujon. At the conclusion of the
sixteenth century, John of Bologna established
a school for sculpture in France. At the head
of this school stood Girardon and Puget. The
former was an artist of great merit, but the lat-
ter was a favorite with his countrymen, who
compared him with Michael Angelo. He was
born at Marseilles, in 1062. The succeeding
artists imitated his style.
The French sculptors of the present day are
more distinguished for science, than for feeling
or invention. Their statues have correct pro-
portions, but no sentiment nor expression.
Berruguete, a pupil of Michael Angelo, found-
ed the first regular school in Spain, of which
Paul de Cespides was the chief ornament. He
was very eminent. In the seventeenth century,
Hernandez executed many noble works. Pujol
and Montaguez, were also celebrated artists. In
the eighteenth century, Salvador and Philip di
Castro contributed greatly to the improvement
of sculpture in Spain.
Before the seventeenth century, we find little
said of German sculpture, and even subsequent-
ly to that period, there are not many distin-
guished artists. The art in Germany rather
languishes, though there were some artists of
great eminence at the commencement of the
last century.
When the Romans conquered Great Britain,
the natives learned the art of sculpture from
their conquerors, and for two hundred years
after, continued to cast great works in bronze.
In 1242, many statues of kings, queens and
saints were executed for the adornment of a
cathedral at Wells, but they are ill designed,
and rude.
Edward III encouraged sculpture and archi-
tecture, and the cathedrals were filled with
splendid monuments and statues. Westminster
Abbey has many specimens of English art at
this period.
The first name of eminence in British art, is
that of Gibbons about 1652. Charles I, em-
ployed him in ornamenting his palaces, and his
chapel at Windsor. His chief excellence lay in
ornamental carving, of which there are exqui-
site specimens at Chatsworth, the seat of the
Duke of Devonshire. Cibber, born in 1G30, at
Holstein, rose to great eminence. Roubilliac,
though a Frenchman, is ranked among British
sculptors, as all his celebrated works weie exe-
cuted in England.
Thomas Banks was born in 1735. He studi-
ed the art at Rome, and after practising there
SEA
693
SEA
seven years, he returned to fill his own coun-
try with his noble works. Joseph Nollekins
flourished at the same time. He was famous
"for his busts, of which he executed great num-
"bers, from distinguished persons. John Bacon,
tiorn in ] 740, was another eminent sculptor;
his works are very numerous.
Mrs. Darner born in 1748 deserves mention
among the artists of the eighteenth century.
Flaxman, born in 1755, is distinguished as a
sculptor in modern days. He successfully
awoke the dormant energies of sculpture, and
restored the simple and grand style of antiquity.
The school of sculpture now in England,
headed by the celebrated Chantrey, is based
upon sound principles, and will soon attain a
high degree of excellence.
Greenough, an American artist now in Ttaly,
promises to add the name of an American, to
those of other countries, renowned in the annals
of sculpture.
SEA FIGHTS IN MODERN TIMES.
898 Fight between England and the Danes,
when Alfred defeated 120 ships of Dorsetshire.
1389 Eighty French ships taken by the English.
1416 The Duke of Bedford took 500 French
and 3 Genoese vessels.
1449 The French fleet taken by the Earl of
Warwick.
1571 Oct. 7, between the Christian powers and
the Turks, in which the latter lost 25,000,
with 4000 prisoners and 335 vessels.
1588 Between the English fleet and Spanish
Armada.
1653 July 29th, the Dutch lost 30 men-of-war,
and Admiral Tromp was killed.
1664 Dec. 4th, the Duke of York took 130 of
the Bourdeaux fleet.
1692 May 19th, the French fleet entirely de-
feated, and 21 large men of war destroyed.
1702 Oct. 12, the Vigo fleet taken by the
Dutch and English.
1704 Aug 24th, the French are beaten by the
English and entirely relinquish to them the
dominion of the sea.
1775 A British vessel captured by the Ameri-
cans ; the first capture in the war of the rev-
olution.
1779 Sept. 23, Paul Jones captured the British
frigate Serapis.
17S2 April 12, Admiral Rodney defeated the
French going to attack Jamaica.
1794 June 1, Lord Howe totally defeated the
French fleet.
1797 Oct. 1 1 , the Dutch fleet defeated by Ad-
miral Duncan on the coast of Holland.
1798 Aug. 1, the famous battle of the Nile.
The French fleet of 17 ships totally defeated
by Nelson.
1801 April 2, the Danish fleet of 28 sail taken
by Lord Nelson off* Copenhagen.
1804 Stephen Decatur succeeded in obtaining
possession of the frigate Philadelphia from
the harbor of Tripoli. He then set fire to
her, and 20 of the enemy were destroyed.
Lieutenant Decatur did not lose a man. The
same year in August and September, Com-
modore Preble made several famous attacks
upon the town, fortress and naval forces of
Tripoli.
1805 Oct. 21 , French and Spanish fleets totally
defeated off Cape Trafalgar, and Lord Nelson
was killed in the action.
1808 June 14, French squadron in the harbor
of Cadiz surrendered to the Spanish patriots.
1811 May 16, rencontre between the British
sloop of war Little Belt, and the United
States frigate President, Commodore Rodgers.
1812 August 13, the British sloop of war Alert,
taken by the United States frigate Essex,
Captain Porter.
Aug. 19, the British frigate Guerriere taken
by the United States frigate Constitution,
Captain Hull.
Oct. 18, the British brig Frolic, by the
United States sloop Wasp, Captain Jones;
same day, the Wasp and Frolic were captured
by the British 74 Poictiers, Capt. Beresford.
Oct. 25, British frigate Macedonian, cap-
tured by the frigate United States, Commo-
dore Decatur.
Dec. 29, British frigate Java, captured by
the United States ship Constitution, Captain
Bainbridge.
1813 Feb. 25, Peacock, British sloop of war,
captured by the United States ship of war
Hornet, of inferior force. The Peacock sunk
with a great part of her crew.
June 1, United States frigate Chesapeake,
captured by the British ship Shannon; a
most distinguished action in the naval history
of the United States, in which the gallant
commander, James Lawrence, fell.
June 3, United States armed vessels Growl-
er and Eagle, taken after a smart action, by
the British gun-boats.
Aug. 14, United States sloop of war Argus,
taken by the sloop of war Pelican.
Sept. 4, British ship Boxer taken by the
Enterprize.
Sept. 13, Commodore Oliver Perry, in a
gallant action of the United States squadron,
SIG
694
SOU
under his command, captured the British
fleet on Lake Erie.
1814 March SO, the United States frigate Essex,
taken by the British frigate Phoebe, and sloop
of war Cherub, after a desperate and sanguin-
ary defence.
April 21, United States ship Frolic, taken
by a British squadron.
April 29, British ship Epervier, taken by
the United States ship Wasp.
Sept. 1, British ship Avon, taken by the
Wasp.
1815 Jan. 15, United States frigate President,
Decatur commander, captured by a British
squadron, consisting of the Endymion, Tene-
dos and Pomone frigates, and the Majestic
razee — a distinguished and gallant action on
the part of Decatur, who, after being captur-
ed, refused indignantly to deliver his sword to
any other than the commander of the squad-
ron.
Feb. 20, the British ships Cyane and Le-
vant, taken by the United States frigate
Constitution.
Marcli 23, the United States ship Hornet
captures the British ship Penguin.
1827 Famous battle of Navarina ; the Turkish
navy annihilated, by the combined English,
French, and Russian fleets, under command
of Admiral Sir E. Codrington.
SEXTANT invented by Tycho Brahe, in
1550.
SHIP. — The first seen in Greece arrived at
Rhodes from Egypt, 1485 B. C; the first double
decked one built in England was of 1000 tons
burden, by order of Henry VII, 1509; it was
called the Great Harry, and cost £ 14,000 ; be-
fore this, twenty-four gun ships were the largest
in the navy, and these had no port-holes, the
guns beinir on the upper decks only. Port-holes
and other improvements were invented by De-
charges, a French builder at Brest, in the reign
of Louis XII, 1500: there were not above four
merchant ships of 120 tons burden, before 1551.
SHIP BUILDING, the art of, attributed to
the Egyptians, as the first inventors, the first
ship being brought from Egypt to Greece by
Danaus, 1485 B. C. The first, ship of the bur-
den of 800 tons was built in England in 1597.
SHOEING OF HORSES introduced, 481
SHOES of the present fashion first worn in
England, 1033; but the buckle was not intro-
duced till lf>70.
SIDE-SADDLES first used in England, 13S0.
SIGNALS at sea first devised by James II,
1GG5.
SIERRA LEONE coast discovered, 1460;
nearly destroyed by a French frigate in 1795.
SILK, wrought, brought from Persia to
Greece, 325 B. C. From India, A. D. 274;
known at Rome in Tiberius's time, when a law
passed forbidding men to debase themselves by
wearing silk, fit only for women; Heliogabulus
first wore a garment all of silk, 220 ; silkworms
were brought to Europe 300 years later ; in
1130, Greek manufacturers of silk brought by
Roger, king of Sicily, to Europe, settled at Pa-
lermo, where they taught the Sicilians, not only
to breed up the silk-worms, but to spin and to
weave silk ; which art was carried afterwards
to Italy and to the south of France ; Venice in-
veigled silk weavers from Greece and Palermo,
in Sicily, 1207; silk mantles worn by some no-
blemen's ladies at a ball, at Kennelworth castle,
in 1286; silk manufactured in England, 1604;
first silk manufacture in France, 1521 ; silk
worms and mulberry trees propagated by Henry
IV through all France, 1559; broad silk manu-
factuie from raw silk introduced into England,
1620 ; Lombe's famous silk throwing machine,
erected at Derby, in 1719.
SILVER first coined at Rome, 269 B. C.
SILVER PLATE, or vessels, first made use
of in England, by Welfred, a Northumbrian
bishop, 709 ; silver knives and forks, spoons
and cups, 1300.
SINCAPORE is an island with a town of
the same name, near the south coast of Malacca,
which gives name to the narrow sea called the
Siraits of Sincapoura.long. 103, 30 east, lat. ],
12 noith. This town which a few years since
had only about 200 inhabitants, was stated in
1820 to have about 10,000, and to have become
a place of considerable commerce. It belongs
to the English.
SLAVE TRADE from Congo and Angola,
begun by the Portuguese in 1482: begun with
England, 1563 ; in South America, 1550 ; abol-
ished by the Quakers, 1784 ; by the French
convention, 1794; by the British parliament,
1807; by the Prince of the United Netherlands,
1814 ; in France by Bonaparte, Marcli 29, 1815 ;
abolished in Pennsylvania, 1784 ; in 1768, there
were 104,000 brought in the West Indies, at
£15 each, amounting to £ 1 ,582,000, sterling,
chiefly by barter ; by the French convention,
February 4, 1794.
SOAP first made at London and Bristol,
1524.
SOUTH SEA ACT passed, May 6, 1716;
its bubble, 1720, by which many thousands were
ruined.
sov
695
sov
SOVEREIGNS OF FRANCE.
Charlemagne began a d. 768
Louisl... 814
Charles the Bald 843
Louis II, the Stammerer 877
Louis 1.1, Carloman 879
Charles the Fat 884
Hugh 888
Charles the Simple 898
Robert 922
Ralph 923
Louis IV 926
Lotharius 954
Louis V 986
Hugh Capet 987
Robert the Pious 997
Henry I 1031
Philip 1 1060
Louis Vf, the Gross 1108
Louis VII 1137
Philip H (Augustus) 1180
Louis VIII 1223
Louis IX (St. Louis) 1226
Philip I II, the Bold 1270
Philip IV, the Fair 1285
Louis X, King of Navarre .... 1314
Philip, King of Navarre 1316
Charles IV, the Fair, King of
Navarre 1322
Philip VI, the Fortunate 1328
John I, the Good 1350
Charles V, the Wise 1364
Charles VI 1380
Charles VII, the Victor 1422
Louis XI, the Prudent 1461
Charles VIII, the Affable 1483
Louis XII 1498
Francis I 1515
Henry II 1547
Francis II 1559
Charles IX 1560
Henry III 1574
Henry IV, the Great 1589
Louis XIII 1610
Louis XIV, the Great 1643
Louis XV 1715
Louis XVI 1774
Republick 1792
Napoleon, Emperor of the
French 1804
Louis XVIII 1814
Charles X 1824
Louis Philippe I, King of the
French 1830
OF GERMANY.
Charlemagne began a. d. 800
Louis I 814
Louis II 843
Carloman 876
Louis III, the Younger 876
Charles the Fat . 876
Arnold 887
Louis IV, the Infant 899
Conrad I 911
Henry I, the Fowler 919
Otho the Great 933
Otho II . 973
Otho III 983
Henry II, I he Saint 1009
Conrad II, the Salick 1024
Henry III began a. d.
Henry IV
Henry V
Lotharius II, the Saxon
Con rad III
Frederick I (Barbarossa)
Henry VI
Philip and Otho IV
Frederick II
Conrad IV
William of Holland
Richard, D. of Cornwall
Rodolph of Hapsburgh
Adolphus of Nassau
Albert I, of Austria
Henry VII
Louis of Bavaria, and Fred-
erick of Austria
Charles IV
Winceslaus
Robert
Sigismund
Albert II, of Austria
Frederick III
Maximilian I
Charles V
Ferdinand I
Maximilian II
Rodolph II
Matthias
Ferdinand II
Ferdinand III
Leopold I
Joseph I
Chailes VI
Charles VII, of Bavaria
Francis I, of Lorrain
Maria Theresa
Joseph II
Leopold II
Francis II *
Confederation of the Rhine ..
Germanic Confederation
OF PAPAL STATES.
Adrian I beaan t.
Leo III
Stephen V
Paschal I
Eugene II
Valentine
Gregory IV
Sergius II
Leo IV
Benedict III
Nicholas I
Adrian II
John VIII
Marrin I
Adrian III
Stephen VI
Fnnnnsiis
Stephen VII
Romanua Formosus
John IX
Benedict IV
. 772
795
816
817
820
824
827
843
847
855
858
868
873
883
884
885
891
897
9T1
901
905
Leo V 4 began a. r>. 906
Christopher ° 906
SergiusIII 907
Anastatius 910
Lando 912
John X 912
Leo VI 928
Stephen VIII 929
John XI 931
Leo VII 936
Stephen IX 940
Martin II 943
Apapet II 946
John XII 956
Bened ict V 965
John XIII 966
Domne II 973
Benedict VI 973
Benedict VII 974
John XIV 984
JohnJXV 985
John XVI 986
Gregory V 996
Silvester II 999
John XVII 1003
John XVIII 1003
Sergius IV 1009
Benedict VIII 1012
John XIX 1024
Benedict IX 1033
Gregory VI 1044
Clement II 1047
Damasia II 1048
Leo IX 1049
Victor II 1055
Stephen X 1057
Nicholas II 1058
Alexander II 1061
Gregory VII 1073
Victor III 1085
Urban II 1087
Pascal II 1099
Gelasius II 1118
Calixtus II 1119
Honorius II 1125
Innocent II 1130
Celestine II 1143
Lucius II 1144
Eugene III 1145
Anastasitis IV 1154
Adrian IV 1155
Alexander III 1459
Lucius III 1181
Urban III 1185
Gregory VIII 1187
Clement III 1187
Celestine III 1190
Innocent III 1196
Honorius III 1217
Gregory IX 1227
Celestine IV 1241
Innocent IV 1243
Alexander IV 1254
Urban IV I2r,2
Gregory X 1264
Clement IV 1265
Innocent V 1276
Adrian V 1276
John XX 1276
Nicholas III 1277
Martin IV 1281
sov
696
sov
Honorius IV began a. d. 1285
Nicholas IV 1288
Celestine V J294
Boniface VIII 1295
Benedict X 1303
Clement V 1305
John XXI 1316
Alexander II 1327
Benedict XI 1334
Clement VI 1342
Innocent VI 1353
Urban V 13ti3
Gregory XI 1371
Urban VI 1378
Boniface IX 1390
Innocent VII 1404
Gregory XII 1406
Alexander V 1409
John XXII 1410
Martin V 1417
Eugene IV 1431
Nicholas V ft47
Calixtus III 1455
Piusll 1458
Paul II 1464
SixtuslV 1471
Innocent VIII 1484
Alexander VI 1492
PiusIII 1503
Julius II 1503
LeoX 1513
Adrian VI 1522
Clement VII 1523
Paul III 1534
Julius III 1550
Marcellinus II 1555
Paul IV 1556
Pius IV 1559
Pius V 1566
Gregory XIII 1572
Sixtus V 1585
Urban VII 1590
Gregory XIV 1590
Innocent IX 1591
Clement VIII 1592
Leo XI 1605
Paul V 1605
Gregory XV 1621
Urban VIII 1623
Innocent, X 1644
Alexander VII 1655
Clement IX 1667
Clement X 1670
Innocent XI 1676
Alexander VIII 1689
Innocent XII 1691
Clement XI 1700
Innocent XIII 1721
Benedict XIII 1724
Clement XII 1730
Benedict XIV 1740
Clement XIII 1758
ClementXIV 17f9
Pius VI 1775
Pius VII 1800
Leo XII 1823
Pius VIII 1829
OF RUSSIA.
Rivick began a. d. 862
Oleg 879
Ighor I began a. d. 913
Swatoslaw I 945
Jaropolk I 972
Waldimir the Great 980
Swatopolk 1015
Jaroslaw I, of Kiew 1018
Isaslaw 1 1051
Swatoslaw II 1073
Wsewolod I 1078
Swatopolk II 1093
Waldimir II 1113
Mistislaw 1125
Jaropolk II 1132
Wsewolod II 1138
Isaslaw II 1146
Jurje I, Duke 1149
Andrej 1157
Michel I 1175
Wsewolod HI 1177
Jurje II.... 1213
Constantine 1217
Jaroslaw II 1238
Alexander Newskoi 1245
Jaroslaw III 1262
Wasilej 1 1270
Dimitrej 1275
Andrej II 1281 ■
Danilo 1294
Micbailow 1305
Jurje III 1317
Iwan I, of Moscow 1328
Semen 1340
Iwan II 1353
Dimitrej II 1359
Dimitrej III 1363
Wasilej II 1389
Wasilej III 1425
Iwan Wasilej I 1462
Wasilej IV 1505
Iwan Wasilejevitch 1533
Feodore I 1584
Boris Godunow 1598
Wasilej Schuiskoi 1606
Michel Fediowitsch 1613
Alexej Michel 1645
Feodore II 1676
Iwan Alexander 1682
Peter the Great 1685
Catharine I 1725
Peter II 1727
Anne 1730
Iwan III 1740
El izabeth 1741
Peter III 1762
Catharine II 1762
Paul I 1796
Alexander 1801
Nicholas 1825
OF SWEDEN.
Regnard Lobrock .. began a.d. 825
Eric the Victor 9^6
OlafSckotkong 994
Edmund JflCObSOtl 1026
Edmund III 1051
Stenkill 1056
Eric VII 1066
Eric VIIT 1066
Hncnn I?n>dR 1067
In so and Haldstan 1080
Philip and Ingo II 1H2
Swerker began a.d. 1133
Eric IX 1155
Charles Swerkerson 1161
Canute Erickson 1167
Swerker II 1199
EricX 1210
John I 1216
Eric XI 1222
Waldamar I 1250
Magnus Ladulos 1275
Birger 1290
Magnus II 1319
Albert of Mecklen 1363
Margaret 1389
Eric XIII 1412
Christopher III 1440
Chailes VIII 1448
John II 1483
Christian II 1520
Gustavus Vasa 1523
Eric XIV 1560
John III 1569
Sigismund 1592
Charles IX 1604
Gustavus Adolphus 1611
Christiana 1632
Charles X 1654
Charles XI 1660
Charles XII 1697
Ulrica Eleanora 1719
Frederick 1720
Adolphus Frederick 1758
Gustavus III 1771
Gustavus IV, Adolphus 1792
Charles XIII 1809
Charles John XIV(Bernadotte) 1818
OF OTTOMAN EMPIRE.
Othman I began a. d. 1300
Orcan I 1326
Amurath I 1359
Bajazet 1 1390
Mohammed I 1413
Amurath II 1421
Mohammed II* 1451
Bajazet II 1481
Selim I 1512
Solvman I 1520
Selim II 1566
Amurath III 1574
Mohammed III 1595
Achmet 1 1604
Mustapha 1 1617
Othman II 1618
Amurath IV 1623
Ibrahim I 1640
Mohammed IV 1648
Solvman II 1687
Achmet II 1691
Mustapha II 1695
Achmet III 1703
Mahmoud I 1730
Othman III 1754
Mustapha III 1757
Abdul Hamed 1774
Selim III 1789
Mustapha IV 1807
Mahmoud II 1808
• Mohammed II the first Turkish Kmperor
of Cnnstnutinuple, which city he couquereil
iu A. D. 1453.
STO
697
STO
OF PRUSSIA.
Frederick I began a. d 1701
Frederick William I 1713
Frederick II, the Great 17 10
Frederick William II 1786
Frederick William III 1797
OF SARDINIA.
Victor Am. II .... began a. d. 1730
Charles Emanuel III 1730
Victor Amadeus III 1773
Charles Emanuel IV 1790
' Victor Emanuel 1802
Charles Felix 1821
Charles Amadeus 1831
OF PORTUGAL.
John V began a. d. 1705
Joseph Emanuel 1750
Maria 1777
John VI 1799
Pedro IV 1826
Donna Maria 1828
Don Miguel 1828
Donna Maria 1834
OF DENMARK.
Frederick IV began a. d. 1699
Christian VI 1730
Frederick V began a. d. 1746
Christian VII 1766
Frederick VI 1808
OF NAPLES.
Charles II began a. d. 1713
ChailesIIl 1735
Ferdinand IV 1759
Joseph Napoleon 1808
Joachim I, (Murat) 180S
Ferdinand I* 1815
Francis I 1825
• Ol die United Kingdom of the Two .Sici-
lies, formerly Ferdinand IV, of Naples, and
intermediately Ferdinand III of Sicily.
OF BELGIUM.
Leopold I began a. d. 1S31
OF POLAND. a. d.
Stanislaus (Lescinsky) began 1704
Augustus II 1709
Augustus III 1733
Stanislaus (Poniatovvski) 1784
1st Partition . ..< 1772
2d Partition 1793
3d Partition 1795
Dutchy of Warsaw formed by
Napoleon, and the King of
Saxony made Grand Duke 1807
Alexander began a. d. 1815
Nicholas 1825
OF BAVARIA.
Maximilian Joseph began a. d. 1805
Louis 1825
OF WIRTEMBURG.
Frederick bean a.d. 1806
William 1816
OF HOLLAND.
Louis Napoleon .. began a. d. 1806
United to France 1810
William I, (lately King of the
Netherlands) 1815
OF SAXONY.
Frederick Augustus began a. d. 1806
Anthony 1827
Frederick, Regent 1831
OF GREECE.
Otho I began a.d. 1832
OF HANOVER.
George I (George III of Great
Britain) began a.d. 1814
George II (George IV) 1820
William I (William IV) 1830
SPEAKER of the House of Commons first
chosen, 1340.
SPEAKING TRUMPETS invented by Kir-
cher, a Jesuit, 1052.
SPECTACLES invented by Spina, a monk
of Pisa, 1299.
SPHERE invented by Archimedes, of Syra-
cuse, 209 B. C.
SPINNING WHEEL invented at Bruns-
wick, 1530 ; another invented by Mr. Swindell,
at Stockport in Yorkshire, which finishes, on
each spindle, three lays of thirty hanks to the
pound in an hour, 1785.
SPURS in use before 1400.
STEAM ENGINE invented by Savary, for
taking ballast or gravel out of rivers, and for
raising great quantities of water, and patents
granted for, 1018.
STEAMBOAT, Rumsey's, succeeded in
North River, New York, October, 1807.
STEAM applied to the purpose of inland
navigation in America, 1810.
STEREOTYPE PRINTING invented by
William Ged, a goldsmith, of Edinburgh, 1725.
STIRRUPS first used in the sixth century.
STOCKINGS, silk, first worn by Henry II,
of France, 1547; Howell says, that in 1500
queen Elizabeth was presented with a pair of
black silk knit stockings by her silk woman,
and she never wore cloth ones any more ; he
adds that Henry VIII wore ordinarily cloth
hose, except there came from Spain by great
chance a pair of silk stockings, for Spain very
early abounded in silk ; his son, Edward VI,
was presented with a pair of Spanish silk stock-
ings by sir Thomas Gresham, and the present
was then much taken notice of— consequently
the invention of knit silk stockings came from
Spain; the weaving of them was invented by
the Rev. Mr. Lee, of Cambrido-e, 1589.
STONE BUILDINGS firs" introduced into
England, 074.
STONE BULLETS in use in England so
late as 1514.
STONE, artificial, for statutes, &c. discover-
ed by a Neapolitan, 1770; introduced into Eng-
land by Mrs. Coade, near London.
STOPS in literature, introduced 1520; the
colon 1580 ; semicolon 1599.
STORMS. 234 A storm in Canterbury threw
down 200 houses and killed several families.
344 Hailstones fell that were larger than hen's
eggs.
701 Storm at Lincoln, which threw down 100
houses.
944 1500 houses blown down at London.
1194 A violent storm almost desolated a great
part of Germany and Denmark.
1359 When Edward III was on his march with-
in two leagues of Chartres, a storm of pierc-
ing wind, rain, and hail killed 0000 of his
horses, and 1000 of his best troops.
1479 A storm of hail, when the hailstones
measured eighteen inches round.
STO
698
TAV
1510 A violent hailstorm in Italy is said to
have destroyed nearly all the beasts, birds
and fishes in the country.
1515 A hurricane in Denmark rooted up whole
forests, and blew down the steeple of the
great church, at Copenhagen.
1658 Sept. 3, the day that Cromwell died, a
violent and terrible storm extended all over
Europe.
1697 April 29, a storm of hail in Cheshire and
Lancashire did great damage ; some of the
hailstones weighing half a pound.
1703 Nov. 27, the most terrible hurricane that
ever happened in England, attended with
lightning. Whole groves of trees were torn
up by the roots, many houses and churches
were unroofed, many ships were cast away
and 1500 seamen lost their lives.
1737 Oct. 11, a storm took place in India, when
20,000 vessels were cast away, 300,000 people
were lost, and the water rose 40 feet higher
than usual.
1751 Aug. 10, a storm at Jamaica occasioned
£300,000 damage.
1772 July 16, a hailstorm at St. Jago, where
the hailstones were as large as oranges.
1773 A most terrible storm near Boston.
1782 April 22, a storm in the East Indies, which
destroyed 7000 inhabitants.
1784 Great damage done by a storm in New
England.
1786 July 17, a hurricane in Devonshire, Eng-
land, removed 13 elm trees 200 yards, where
they remained and took root.
1791 A storm of thunder and lightning, which
melted the bells of a church in Kent and did
great damage.
1798 Sept. 25, £100,000 damage done by a
storm at Halifax, Nova Scotia.
1810 Nov. 10, a tremendous storm at Boston,
which deluged the country all around.
1814 Dec. 17, a violent gale prevailed through
Great Britain and Ireland, by which great
damage was done.
1815 September, a tremendous gale from the
southeast swept the Atlantic coast of North
America, and did great damage, particularly
in New England. The sea water was carried
in the form of spray 25 miles inland. It is
called the Great September Gale.
1816 A tremendous gale of wind which did
much damage to the shipping on the English
coast.
1818 A most destructive storm raged at Hin-
dostan.
1820 A severe gale in September from the
southeast, in New England, and the middle
states, along the coast.
STUCCO WORK revived by D'Udine, about
1500.
STYLE altered by pope Gregory, who took
twelve days off the calendar in 1582; the Gre-
gorian style received at Paris, by taking off ten
days, December 15, 1582; received at London,
by taking eleven days off the calendar, Sept. 2,
1752. See article Dominical Letter.
SUGAR first mentioned by Paul Eginetta, a
physician, 625; produced in Sicily, 1148; first
produced in Madeira, 1419; in the Canary
islands, 1503 ; carried to the West Indies, by
the Poituguese and Spaniards, 1510 ; cultivated
at Barbados, 1041 ; sugar refining first discov-
ered by a Venetian, 1503; practised first in
England, in 1569.
SUN, spots seen in, for the first time, 1611;
spot observed in 1779; several spots observed
that in the centre of the apparent size of the
earth's diameter. June, 1816.
SUNDAY SCHOOLS first established in
Yorkshire, 1784 ; became general in England
and Scotland, in 1789.
SUNDIALS invented 558 B. C.; the first
erected at Rome was that by Papirius Cursor,
when time was divided into hours, 308 B. C;
first set up against churches, 613.
SUPREMACY OF THE POPE above the
emperor introduced, 607 ; the first prince that
shook off the yoke of Rome, and settled the
supremacy in himself, was Henry VIII, 1533.
SURNAMES first introduced into England
by the Normans, 1102; became common, 1200.
SURVEY OF ENGLA'ND made, at first,
by order of Alfred, 900 ; by William the Con-
queror. 1080 ; by Charles II, 1068.
'SWEARING on the holy gospel first used
A. D. 528.
SYDNEY. The principal town in New Hol-
land, founded in 1788, as a British settlement
for the colony of convicts originally intended
for Botany Bay. It is well built and is a flour-
ishing town.
T.
TANNING LEATHER, a new and expe-
ditious method invented, 1795.
TAPESTRY invented by sir Francis Crane,
1619; for the encouragement of which king
James I gave £2000 to build a house at Mort-
lake, in Surrey, 1619.
TAVERNS restrained by an act of Edward
VI, 1552, to forty in London.
TAX
699
TOA
TAXATION of England from William I, to
William III.
Reigns.
Taxation.
Reigns.
Taxation.
William I
£40 1,000
Edward IV \
William II
350,0 10
Edward V >
£100,000
Henry 1
30 1,0 10
Richard [II )
Stephen
250,000
Henry VII
400,000
Henry II
200,0 i 1
Henry VIII
800,000
Richard
150,000
Edward VI
400,000
John
100,000
Mary
450,000
Henry III
80,000
Elizabeth
500,000
Edward I
150,000
James
600 ,000
Edward II
100,000
Charles
895,819
Edward III
154,139
Commonwealth
1,517,247
Richard II
130,000
Charles II
1,800,000
Henrv IV
100,000
James II
2,000,000
Henrv V
76,643
William III
3,895,205
Henry VI
64,976-
Anne
4,691,803
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TAXES were raised arbitrarily in England,
1100; amounted to £7,513.340 in 1751 ; and to
£16,500,000 in 1797.
TEA first brought into Europe by the Dutch
East India. Company, early in 1501 ; destroyed
at Boston by the inhabitants, 1773.
TELEGRAPHS invented, 1687; put into
practice by the French, in 1794 ; by the Eng-
lish, Jan. 28, 1796.
TELESCOPES invented by Z. Jansen, a
spectacle maker at Middleburgh, 1590 ; the first
reflecting one made on the principles of sir
Isaac Newton, 1692.
THEATRE ; that of Bacchus at Athens, the
first ever erected, built by Philos, 420 B. C. ;
the ruins still exist ; first introduced into Eng-
land, 1566 ; the first royal license for one in
England was in 1574, to James Burbage and
four others, servants to the earl of Leicester, to
act plays at the Globe Bankside, or in any part of
England ; plays were opposed by the Puritans,
1633, and suspended till 1660, when Charles II
licensed two companies, Killigrew's and Da-
venant's ; till this time boys performed wo-
men's parts; Italian opera first introduced in
the United States, at the Park Theatre in New
York, with great success, 1825.
THERMOMETERS first invented by Dre-
bel.a Dutchman, 1620 ; improved by Reaumur,
1730, and Fahrenheit, 1749.
THREAD first made at Paisley, in Scotland,
in 1722.
THU1LLERIES in Paris, built, 1677.
TIDES, the first theory of, by Kepler, 1598.
TILES first used in England, 1246.
TILTS AND TOURNAMENTS instituted
in Germany, 919.
TIME-MEASURE BAROMETER intro-
duced by Scipio Nasica, 159; king Alfred's
time-keeper, was six large wax tapers, each 12
inches long; as they burnt unequally, owing
to the wind, he invented a lantern made of
wood and thin scraped plates of ox horns,
glass being a great rarity, 887. The ancients
had three sorts of time measures, hour glasses,
sun-dials, and a vessel full of water with a hole
in its bottom.
TIN found in Germany, 1241 ; in no place
before but in Devonshire and Cornwall, in Bar-
bary, 1640; in India, 1740; in New Spain,
1782.
TOAD, a live one found in a block of stone,
at Newark, April 1 5th , 1806; another found
alive in the heart of an oak tree, about thirty
inches in diameter, at Rainfurd, Lancashire,
January 1S10.
TRE
700
TRE
TOBACCO first discovered in St. Domingo,
in 1496; afterwards by the Spaniards in Yuca-
tan, 1520; first brought into England, 1583 ;
allowed to be cultivated in Ireland, 1779.
TOURNAMENTS began in 170; instituted
by Henry, emperor of Germany, 919.
TOWERS, high, first erected to churches,
in 1000.
TRAGEDY, the first acted at Athens, on a
wagon, by Thespis, 585 B. C.
TREATIES. Abo, peace of, 1743.
Aix-la-Chapelle, peace of, 1668.
do. 1748.
Akermann, peace of, 1826.
Alt Ranstadt, peace of, 1706.
Amiens, peace of, 1802.
Armed, neutrality, treaty of, 1800.
Arras, treatv of, 1435.
do^ 1482.
Augsburg, league of, 1686.
JBaden, peace of, 1714.
Barrier Treaty, 1715.
Basle, peace of, 1795.
Bayonne, treaty of, 1808.
Belgrade, peace of, 1739.
Berlin, peace of, 1742.
decree, 1806.
convention of, 1808.
Breda, peace of 1667.
Cambray, league of, 1508.
peace of, 1529.
Campo Formio, treaty of, 1797.
Carlowitz, peace of, 1699.
Carlsbad, congress of, 1319.
Cateau Cambresis, peace of, 1559.
Chambord, treaty of, 1552.
Chaumont, treaty of, 1814.
Chierasco, treaty of, 1631.
Cintra, convention of, 1808.
Closterseven, convention of, 1757.
Coalition, first, against France, 1792.
second
do.
1799.
third
do.
1805.
fourth
do.
1806.
fifth
do.
1809.
sixth
do.
1813.
Concordat 1801.
Conflans, treaty of, 1465.
Constantinople, peace of, 1712.
Copenhagen, peace of, 1660.
Definitive treaty of peace between Great Brit-
tain and America, 1783.
Definitive treaty of peace between Great Brit-
ain and Holland 1784.
Dresden, peace of, 1745.
Family Compact, 1761. Falczi, peace of, 1711.
Fontainbleau, peace of, 1679.
treaty of, 1 785.
concordat at, 1813.
Friedwald, treaty of, 1551.
Fuessen, peace of, 1745.
Ghent, pacification of, 1576.
peace of, 1814.
Golden Bull, 1356.
Grand Alliance, 1689.
Hague, treaty of the, 1659.
do. 1669.
Halle, treaty of, 1610.
Hamburg, peace of 1762.
Hanover treaty, 1725.
Heilbron, treaty of, 1633.
Holy Alliance, 1815.
Hubertsberg, peace of, 1763.
Interim, 1548. Kiel, treaty of, 1814.
Kutchuk Kainarji, peace of 1774.
Laybach, congress of, 1821. League, 1676.
Leipsick, alliance of, 1631.
Leoben, peace of, 1797.
Liebau, treaty of, 1656.
Lisbon, peace of, 1668.
London, treaty of, 1829.
Lubeck, peace of, 1629.
Luneville, peace of, 1801.
Methuen treaty, 1703. Milan decree, 1807.
Minister, peace of, 1648.
Naumberg, treaty of, 1554.
Nice, treaty of, 1518.
Nimeguen, peace of, 1678.
Nipchoo, treaty of, 1727.
Noyou, treaty of, 1516.
Nuremburg, treaty of, 1532.
Nystett, peace of, 1721. Oliva, peace of, 1660.
Pacquigni, peace of, 1475.
Paris, peace of, 1763. do. treaty of, 1796.
Paris, peace of, 1810. do. capitulation of, 1814.
Parisj treaty of, 1814. do. peace of, 1814.
Paris, peace of, 1815. do. treaty of, 1815.
Paris, treaty of, 1817.
Partition, first treaty of, 1698.
second treatv of, 1700.
Passarowitz, peace of, 1718.
Passau, treaty of, 1552.
Petersburg, peace of, 1762.
treaty of 1772.
do. 1805.
Peterswalden, convention of, 1813.
Pilnitz, convention of, 1791.
Poland, partition of, 1795.
Pragmatick Sanction, 1439. do. 1713.
Prague, peace of, 1653.
Presburg, peace of 1805.
Public Good, league for the, 1464.
TUR
701
WAN
Pyrenees, treaty of the, 1659.
Quadruple Alliance, 1718.
Radstadt, peace of, 1714. do. congress of, 1797.
Ratisbon, peace of, 1G30.
Religion, peace of, 1555.
Rhine, confederation of, 1806.
Ryswick, peace of, 1697.
St. Germain, peace of, 1570.
St. Germain en Laye, peace of, 1679.
St. Ildefonso, alliance of, 1796.
Seville, peace of, 1792.
Siorod, peace of, 1613.
Smalcald, league of, 1529.
Stettin, peace of, 1570
Stockholm, peace of, 1719.
treaty of, 1724.
do. 18L3.
Temeswar, truce of, 1664.
Teschen, peace of, 1779.
Teusin, peace of, 1595.
Tilsit, peace of, 1807.
Tolentino, treaty of, 1793.
Toplitz, treaty of, 1817.
Tripple Alliance, 1717.
of the Hague, 1668.
Troppau, congress of, 1820.
Troyes, treaty of, 1420.
Turkmauchay, peace of, 1828.
Ulm, peace of, 1620.
Utrecht, union of, 1579, do. peace of, 1713.
Valencay, treaty of, 1813.
Verona, congress of, 1822.
Versailles, peace of, 1783.
Vienna treaty, 1725.
treaty of alliance of, 1731.
definitive peace of, 1737.
peace of, 1809.
treaty of March 23d, 1815.
May 31st, 1815.
June 4th, 1815.
Vossem, peace of, 1673.
Warsaw, treaty of, 1768.
alliance of, 1683.
Westminster, peace of, 1674.
Westphalia, peace of, 1648.
Wilna, treaty of, 1561.
Worms, edict of, 1521.
Wurzbourg, treaty of, 1610.
TRUMPETS first sounded before the kings
of England, by order of Offa, king of Mercia,
790. B
TULIPS first brought into England, 1578.
TURKEYS came into England, 1523.
TURNPIKES first legally erected in Eng-
land, 1663 ; yielded in 1783 about £508,000.
U.
UNION of the crowns of England and Scot-
land, 1603; of the two kingdoms attempted,
1604, but failed ; again ditto, 1670 ; carried into
effect, May 1st, 1707, and thence the island is
called Great Britain; union of Britain and
Ireland took place, January 1, 1801.
V.
VACCINE inoculation, introduced 1799, by
Dr. Jenner, who received £10,000 for the dis-
covery, from parliament, 1802.
VATICAN LIBRARY founded, 1448.
VENEREAL DISEASE was brought into
Europe in the first voyage of Columbus, and
broke out in the French army at Naples, 1494;
whence the French term, mal de Naples; in
the Netherlands and England it obtained the
appellation of mal de France, though in the
latter country it was known so early as the
12th century ; about the same period, too, at
Florence, one of the Medici family died of it.
VESUVIUS, Mount, threw out such a quan-
tity of flame and smoke, that the air was dark-
ened, and the cities of Pompeii and Hercula-
neum were overwhelmed by the burning lava,
with 250,000 people A. D. 79. Herculaneum
was discovered in 1737, and several curiosities
have been dug out of it ever since ; but every
thing combustible had the marks of being burnt
by fire.
VINES planted in Germany and North Gaul,
276.
VIOLINS invented about 1477; and intro-
duced here by Charles II.
VCLCANO, in the isle of Ferro, broke out
September 13th, 1777, which threw out an im-
mense quantity of red water, that discolored
the sea for several leagues ; a new volcano
appeared in one of the Azore islands, May 1st,
1808; volcano in the sea, near St Michaels,
broke out February, 1811; Volcano at Albay,
in Manilla, burst forth February 1st, 1814, the
eruption lasted ten days ; five populous towns,
and the greater part of Albay, were destroyed,
1200 persons killed, and many more dreadlully
burnt; Tomboro mountain, in the island of
Sambaron, burst forth, by which much ship-
ping and many lives were lost, May, 1815.
W.
WANDERING JEW. This poetical per-
sonage owes his existence to the story of our
WAR
702
WAR
Saviour's resting upon a stone before the house
of a Jew, when bearing his cross. Upon this
Jew's driving our Saviour away, Jesus turned
to him and said, " Thou shalt wander on the
earth till I return." Driven by fear and re-
morse, the Jew has since wandered from place
to place, and has never yet found a grave.
This story has furnished materials for many
writers.
WARS of England, France, Spain, &c, from
1068. With Scotland, 1068; peace with Scot-
land, 1091 ; peace with France, 1113 ; war with
France, 1116; peace with France, 1118; peace
with Scotland, 1139; war with France, 1161 ;
peace with France, 1186; war with France,
with success, 1194; peace with France, 11!!5;
war with France, 1201; war, civil, renewed,
1215 ; war ended, 1216 ; war with France, 1224 ;
war ended, 1243 ; war, civil, 1262; war, civil,
ended, 1267 ; war with France, 1294 ; war with
Scotland, 1296 ; peace with France, 1299 ; peace
with Scotland, March 30, 1323; war again with
Scotland,1327 ; war ended, 1328 ; war again with
Scotland, 1333 ; war with France, 1339 ; peace
with France, May 8th, 1360; war with France,
1368 ; war, civil, 1400 ; war with Scotland, 1400;
peace with France, May 31st, 1420 ; war with
France, 1422 ; civil war between York and Lan-
caster, 1452; peace with France, October, 1471;
war, civil, 1486 ; war with France October 6lh,
1492; peace with France, November 3d, follow-
ing ; peace with Scotland, 1502; war with
France, February 4th, 1512 ; war with Scotland,
1513; peace with France, August 7th, 1514;
war with France, 1522; war with Scotland,
1522; peace with France, 1527; peace with
Scotland, 1542; war with Scotland directly
after ; peace with France and Scotland, June
7,1546; war with Scotland, 1547; war with
France, 1549; peace with both, March 6th,
1550; war, civil, 1553; war with Scotland,
June, 1557; war with France, 1557; peace
with France, 1559; peace with Scotland, 1560;
war with France, 1562 ; peace with France,
1564 ; war with Scotland, 1570 ; war with Spain,
1588; peace with Spain, August 18, 1604 ; war
with Spain, 1624 ; war with France, 1627 ;
peace with Spain and France, April 14, 1629;
war, civil, 1642; war with the Dutch, 1651;
peach with the Dutch, April 5th, 1654 ; war
with Spain, 1655; peace with Spain, Septem-
ber 10th, 1660; war with France, January 26th,
1666 ; war with Denmark, 19th October follow-
ing ; peace with the French, Danes and Dutch,
August 24th, 1667 ; peace with Spain, Feb. 13,
1668 ; war with the Algerines, September 6th,
1669; peace with the Algerines, November 19,
1671 ; war with the Dutch, March, 1672 ; peace
with the Dutch, February 28, 1674 ; war with
France, May 7, 1679; peace, general, Septem-
ber 20, 1689; war with France, May 4th, 1702;
peace of Utrecht, July 13th, 1713; war with
Spain, Dec. 1718 ; peace with Spain, 1721 ; war
with Spain, October 19, 1739 ; war with France,
March 31, 1744 ; peace with France, &c. Octo-
ber 18th, 1748; war with France, 1756; war
with Spain, January 4, 1762 ; peace with France
and Spain, February 10, 1763; peace between
Russia and the Turks, 1773; war, civil, in
America, commenced June 14, 1774 ; war with
France, February 6, 1778; war with Spain, April
17th, 1780 ; war with Holland, December 21st,
1780 ; peace with France, Spain, Holland and
America, 1783 ; war with France, 1793, by the
English, Prussians, Austrians, Sardinians, and
Italian states ; peace between Prussia and
France, 1795 ; peace between France and Spain,
1795; peace between France and Naples, 1796 ;
peace between the French and Sardinians,
1796; war between England and Spain, Nov.
11, 1796; war between France, Naples and
Sardinia, November, 1798 ; peace between Aus-
tria and France, February 9, 1801 ; war between
Spain and Portugal, February 28th, 1801 ; peace
between Naples and France, March, 1801 ; peace
between Portugal and Spain, June 10th, 1801;
peace between France and Portugal, September
29, 1801 ; peace between France and the Porte,
October 17th, 1801 ; peace between England,
France, Spain and Holland, March 27th, 1802;
war between England and France, April 29th,
1803; war between England and Spain, Dec.
14th, 1804; war between France, Russia and
Austria, Sept., 1805 ; peace between France and
Austria, December 27th, 1805; war between
Sweden and France, October 31st, 1805; war
between England and Prussia, April. 1806; war
between Prussia and France, October, 1806;
peace between France and the elector of Sax-
ony, December 11, 1806; peace between Eng-
land and Prussia, January 28, 1807 ; peace be-
tween France and Russia, July 19th, 1807 ; war
between England and Denmark, November 4,
1807; war between Russia and Sweden, Feb.
10, 1808; war between Denmark and Sweden,
Feb. 29, 1808 ; war between Prussia and Swe-
den, March 6th, 1808; war between Spain and
France, June 6, 1808; peace between England
and Spain, June 6,1808; peace between Swe-
den and Russia, Sep., I7th, 1809; peace be-
tween France and Austria, October 15th, 1809;
peace between France and Sweden, January
WAV
703
WAV
6,1810; peace between England and Russia,
August 1, 1812; peace between England and
Sweden, August 4-17th, 1812; war between
England and America, June 18th, 1812; war
between Sweden and Denmark, September 13,
1813 ; peace between Sweden and Denmark,
January 14, 1814 ; peace between France and
the allies (England, Russia and Prussia) May
30th, 1814; peace between France and Spain,
July 20th, 1814; peace between England and
America, December 24th, 1814; peace between
Saxony and Prussia, May 18th, 1815; wars with
Spain, between 1589 and 1593, cost queen Eliz-
abeth £ 1 ,300,000, besides the double subsidy of
£280,000 granted by parliament. In the Irish
rebellion, she spent £3,400,000 in ten years;
the expenses of the war of 1756, cost England
£90,000,000.
The following is a list of wars between Eng-
land and France, with the terms, of their dura-
tion, since the one which commenced in 1116 :
lllti, lasted twenty-five years; 1141, one year;
1201, fifteen ; 1224, nineteen ; 1294, five ; 1339,
twenty -one ; 1368, fifty-two; 1422, forty-nine ;
1492, one month ; 1512, two years ; 1521, six;
1549, one ; 1557, two ; 1562, two ; 1627, two ;
1666, one ; 1689, ten ; 1702, eleven ; 1744, four ;
1756, seven; 1778, five; 1793, which termi-
nated March 27, 1802 ; 1803, which terminated
May, 1814.
WATCHES invented at Nuremberg, in
Germany, 1477 ; first used in astronomical ob-
servations, 1500. The emperor Charles V, was
the first who had any thing that might be called
a watch, though some call it a small table-clock,
1530. Watches first brought to England from
Germany, 1577. Spring pocket ones invented
by Hooke, 1658.
WATER first conveyed to London by leaden
pipes, 21st Henry III, 1237 ; it took nearly fifty
years to complete it.
WATERMILLS for grinding corn were in-
vented by Behsarius, while besieged in Rome
by the Goths, 555. The ancients parched their
corn, and pounded it in mortars; afterwards
mills were invented, which were turned by
men and beasts with great labor ; and yet Pliny
mentions wheels turned by water.
WAVERLEY, Author of In a former part
of this work we have given the life of Sir Walter
Scott. We now add the chronology of his vari-
ous works, showing the date of their publication.
1799. Goetz de Berlichigen, a tragedy, trans-
lated from Goethe, 1 volume.
1802. Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, 3
volumes, 8vo.
1804. Sir Tristam, 1 volume, 8vo.
1805. The Lay of the Last Minstrel, 1 vol-
ume, 8vo.
1806. Ballads and Lyrical Poetry, 1 volume,
8vo.
1807. Marmion, 1 volume, 8vo. The Works
of Dryden, 18 volumes, 8vo.
1809. Papers and Letters of Sir Ralph Sadler,
2 volumes, 8vo. Collection of Papers of Lord
Somers, 13 volumes, 8vo.
1810. The Poetical Works of Miss Seaward,
3 volumes, 8vo. The Lady of the Lake, 1 vol-
ume, 8vo.
181 1. The Vision of Don Roderick, 1 volume,
8vo.
1813. Rokeby, 1 volume, 8 vo.
1814. The Works of Swift, 19 volumes, 8vo.
The Bridal of Triermain, 1 volume, 8vo. Mon-
umental Antiquities on the Frontier of England
and Scotland, 2 volumes 4to. Waverley, 3 vol-
umes, 12mo.
1815. Letters of Paul, 1 volume, 8vo. The
Battle of Waterloo, 2 volumes, 8vo. Guy Man-
nering, 8 volumes, 12mo.
1816. The Antiquary, 5 volumes, 12mo. Tales
of My Landlord, 1st series. The Black Dwarf
and Old Mortality, 4 volumes, 12 mo.
1817. Rob Roy, 3 volumes, 12mo.
1818. Tales of My Landlord, 2d series. The
Heart of Mid Lothian, 4 volumes, 8vo.
1S19. Tales of My Landlord, 3d series. The
Bride of Lamermuir, and the Legend of Mon-
trose, 4 volumes. Provincial Antiquitfes and
Picturesque Views of Scotland, 4 volumes,
12mo. Poems, &c. of P. Corey, 1 volume, 8vo.
1820. Ivanhoe, 2 volumes, 12mo. The Mo-
nastery, 3 volumes, 12mo. The Abbot, 3 vol-
umes, 12 ino.
1821. Kenilworlh, 3 volumes, 12mo.
1822. The Pirate, 3 volumes, 12mo. Nigel,
3 volumes, 12mo. Halidown Hill, 1 volume, 8vo.
1823. Peverel of the Peak, 4 volumes, 12mo.
Quentin Durward, 3 volumes, 12mo.
1824. St. Ronan's Well, 3 volumes, 12mo.
Redgauntlet, 3 volumes, l2mo.
1825. Tales of the Crusaders; the Betrothed
and Talisman, 4 volumes, 12mo.
1826. Woodstock, 3 volumes, 12mo.
1827. Chronicles of the Canongate, 1st series,
2 volumes, 12ino. Life of Napoleon, 3 volumes,
8vo.
1828. Anne of Geirstein. Third series of the
Chronicles of the Canongate, translated under
the title of Charles the Bold, 3 volumes, 12mo.
Memoirs of Madame la Rochejacquelin, 1 vol-
ume, 8vo. Letters from Malchi Malgrowther
woo
704
ZOD
on Public Funds, 1 volume, 8vo. Tales of a
Grandfather, on the History of Scotland, 1st
series, 3 volumes, 18mo.
1829. Tales of a Grandfather, on the History
of Scotland, 2d series, 3 volumes, 18mo. Ser-
mon by a Layman, &c. 3 volumes, 8vo.
1830. The Airshyre Tragedy, 1 volume, 8vo.
Tales of a~Grandfather, 3d series, 3 volumes, 8vo.
1831. Tales of a Grandfather, 4th series, 3
volumes, 8vo. Letters on Demonology, 1 vol-
ume, 8vo. Last series of the Chronicles of the
Canongate, 4 volumes, 8vo.
To these may be added about four volumes in
prose, comprising biographical notices, essays,
&c. inserted originally in the Supplement to
the Encyclopedia Britanica. The articles fur-
nished also by Sir Walter Scott to the different
Reviews, &c. would besides make up not less
than 4 volumes, 8vo. ; and during the last four
years he has a revision of his works, added to
the amount of 6 volumes, 8vo. in notes and
prefaces.
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES invented,
869 B. C.j fixed to a standard in England, 1257 ;
regulated, 1492. See art. money, weights and
measures.
WHALE FISHERY, the first by the Dutch,
1596; by the Eno-fish at Spitzbergen, 1598.
WHALEBONE found by the English ships
at Cape Breton, 1521; first mentioned brought
home with oil, 1617.
WHALES killed at Newfoundland and Ice-
land for their oil only, 1578; the use of their
bones and fins not then known, consequently
no stays worn by ladies.
WHIG AND TORY factions took their rise
about 1 649, and were at their greatest height
about 1704.
WIGS, full bottom, were first worn by the
judges, in 1674.
WINDMILLS invented 1299.
WINES sold by apothecaries as a cordial,
1300 ; in England, sold at 20s. per ton ; and the
second sort at 13s. Ad., 1389. In 1790 there
were 140,000 pipes of wine made in Portugal.
WINE from raisins first made in England, in
1635.
WOOD CUTS invented, 1460.
WOOLLEN CLOTH, manufacturers of, in
all civilized countries, and in very remote ages,
and probably of linen also. Diodorus Sicilus,
who wrote in Augustus Cassar's time, 21 B. C.
relates that in the isle of Malta, several mercan-
tile wares were made, particularly very fine
cloth. Strabo, speaking of Turtetania, in Lusi-
tania, says, in 34, that cloths were formerly the
exports of that country, but that they have now
another woollen manufacture of most excellent
beauty, such as that of the Corai, a people of
Asia, from whence the rams were brought at a
talent each, or £100.
Woollen cloth manufactories commenced at
Sedan in France, 1646 ; the first made in Eng-
land in 1331 i medley cloths first, made, 1614;
greatly improved by the Walloons, 1688 ; first
dyed and dressed in England, in 1667. Its ex-
port from Great Britain in 1787 was £3,687,795
12s. 2d. value. In 1779, 272,755 pieces of broad
cloth, containing 8,806,688 yards, and 180,168
pieces of narrow cloth, containing 6,377,277
yards, were manufactured in the West Riding
of Yorkshire, being an increase on the year
1778, a produce of 48,596 pieces, or 1,672,574
yards of broad cloth, and 315,602 pieces, or
1,196,964 yards of narrow cloth.
WORSHIPPING IMAGES introduced into
England, 763; forbidden in Hungary, 1785.
Y.
YEAR, the Julian, regulated by Julius Caesar,
45 B. C. The Solar Year, found to consist of
365 days, 5 hours, and 49 minutes, 285; intro-
duced by Caesar, 45 B. C.
YORK, Upper Canada, capitulated to the
Americans, April 27, 1813.
YORK, Cathedral of, set on fire and greatly
damaged, by Martin a maniac in 1829. It has
since been repaired.
YORK, NEW, City and State; chronol-
ogy of,
Discovery of Cabot 1497
Hudson's discovery of the bay and ) jgQ~
river 5
First buildings in the city 1621
First Dutch governor 1629
City taken by the English 1664
Retaken by the Dutch 1673
Fell into the hands of the English 1674
First Colonial legislature 1683
Seventeen chests of tea thrown into ) 1773
the river by the citizens )
City taken by the British 1776, ) 1783
evacuated 25th November )
First congress under the constitu- ) 1789
tion met at the city )
Population of the city 200,000) 1835
probably
Z.
ZODIAC, sign of the, invented by Anaxi-
mander, 547 B. C.
705
REVIEW OF THE NINETEENTH
CENTURY.
la France, at the commencement of the cen-
mry, there existed a consular government — Bo-
naparte being first consul— a government raised
upon the ruins of a sad and memorable revolu-
tion ; in 1802, Bonaparte became consul for
life ; in 1304, Emperor ; in 1S08, he deprived the
Pope, who crowned him, of his territories; in
1S09. he divorced his wife ; in 1810, he married
Marie Louise. Between the commencement of
his career and its close, he created three king-
doms, Bavaria, Saxony, and Wirtemberg. He
made his brother Joseph, King of Spain ; his
jrother Louis, King of Holland ; his brother Je-
rome, King of Westphalia; his brother-in-law
Murat, King of Naples; and his son-in-law Eu-
rrene Viceroy of Italy. Facts astounding in
themselves, not more strongly illustrative of the
revolutions of the present century as connected
with France and its Emperor, than as exhibiting
the generality of revolutions as to the other na-
tions in which those family promotions were
made.
Keeping our eye then upon France, we see in
1814 the exiled and denounced Bourbons re-
stored to their throne— Russian cossacks bivouac
in the Champs Elysees, and English soldiers
mount guard at the Tuileries — Bonaparte is
banished to Elba — his family are dethroned and
degraded — from Elba he escapes, returns to
Paris, is again in the ascendant; reigns for his
Hundred Days, and then, by a series of victories
crowned and consummated by that of Waterloo,
is beaten down never to rise again : unable to es-
cape, he makes a merit of surrendering to Eng-
land, and for the sake of peace in Europe, is
sent to St. Helena, where he dies. On his de-
parture, the Bourbons again succeed; Louis
XVIII, dies at a good old age in his palace ; and
is succeeded by Charles X. The son of the Due
de Berri, murdered before his infant's birth, is
heir presumptive to the throne — a new revolu-
tion breaks out — Charles X. abdicates — his mi-
nisters are tried and imprisoned for life — the
throne is occupied by his nephew, as Citizen
King of the French — the son of Bonaparte dies
■ — the widow of the Due de Berri is imprisoned —
marries a second husband — has another child, —
and France, altogether in the strictest alliance
' with England, her oldest and most inveterate en-
emy, is only kept from a revolution, by the un-
I flinching severity of the" liberal" king, who was
I forced upon the throne by the last one. All these
events have occurred during this century
In Portugal, after the measures of the French
had driven the prince Regent and his family to
the Brazils, the English rescued that country
from French tyranny. In 1821, the King (as he
had then become by the death of his fatiier) re-
turned to his throne ; in 1820, his eldest son, Don
Pedro, having formally dissolved the union be-
tween Brazil and Portugal, caused himself to be
proclaimed Emperor of Brazil ; Don John VI,
died in 1826, when Don Pedro claimed the crown
of Portugal for his daughter, Donna Maria ; Don
Miguel, "second son of Don John, claimed the
throne, as the law of the land and the decree of
Lamego warranted. In the meantime, a revolu-
tion occurred in Brazil, and the emperor took to
flight — his son, a child, is now the emperor. The
struggle between the brothers is too familiar to
need a word of remark ; the claim of Don Pedro
for his daughter is at present successful, and
Donna Marfa, a child, occupies the Portuguese
throne.
Spain, on the renewal of the war in 1 803, was
compelled by France to take active measures
against England; in 1804, she declared war
against England ; in 1805, Nelson, with his
hearts-blood, bought the glorious victory of Tra-
falgar, in which the Spanish fleet, combined with
that of France, was destroyed ; in 1808, Bona-
parte threw off" the mask as to Spanish affairs ;
Charles IV, abdicated, and Ferdinand VII, was
proclaimed. At this period, Charles IV, having
been induced to declare his abdication a com-
pulsory act, was also induced to throw himself
for safety on Bonaparte's kindness. Then it
was that Bonaparte invited Ferdinand to come
and meet him on his road to Madrid— the king
was deceived and went — he arrived at Vittoria,
where he was surrounded by French troops, and
where he received a letter from Bonaparte, ad.
dressed him, not as King but as Prince of Aus-
trias, assuring him that he, Bonaparte, not only
as his friend, but as the general protector and
benefactor of Europe, was visiting Spain merely
with a view to make such reforms as might be
most agreeable to the popular feeling, and best
tend to the pacification of the country.
Upon the receipt of this friendly communica-
tion Ferdinand continued his journey to Bay-
onne where he dined with his illustrious friend
and patron; and, after dinner, heard from his
imperial host, tint he thought it good to fill the
throne of Spain by placing one of his own bro-
thers on it. Ferdinand found himself in fact a
prisoner, and was shortly after compelled to re-
nounce his crown at the desire of his father, ex-
pressed in the presence of Bonaparte himself,
to whom that father had the day before sold hi3
706
kingdom and his birth-right for a stipulated sum.
This compulsory step caused the patriotic re-
volution in Spain. Joseph Bonaparte arrived
at Madrid to assume the legal power; but the
inherent force of the nation was irresistible, and
he was driven from his precarious dignity. Then
came the Peninsular war with all its glories, and
its expenditure of blood and treasure. In 1814,
Ferdinand returned to his country. He married
four times ; and by his last wife had one daugh-
ter, which daughter he proclaimed heir to the
throne, to the exclusion of his brother Don Car-
los. This declaration he subsequently annulled,
but, eventually, confirmed. Don Carlos, at his
brother's death, asserted his claims to the sov-
reignty, with, as it is said, the support and con-
currence of a great majority of the people. Fo-
reign interference has hitherto thwarted the
views of Don Carlos, whose consort, harassed
by misfortunes, privations, and anxieties, has
fallen a victim to persecution, and died in the
parsonage house of a village near Gosport. The
success of the widow of Don Ferdinand, has
enabled her to proclaim her daughter as Queen
of Spain, she herself assuming the title and
character of Regent. By this revolution, for
such it is, the Spanish throne is occupied by a
child.
Belgium and Holland have been separated;
Antwerp has been besieged by the French ; the
Prince of Saxe Coburg, widower of the Princess
Charlotte of Wales, has been made King of the
Belgians, and married a daughter of the occupier
of the French throne. The affairs of Greece,
which have been so long unsettled, are as unset-
tled still, with this difference, that England has
furnished her with a King, in the person of
Prince Otho of Bavaria, whose revenue is de-
rived from that country, but whose period of
domination is fortunately not to be calculated
upon with any degree of certainty.
In Russia, after the murder of Paul, Alexander
succeeded, and did not die without some suspi-
cion of foul play. He was succeeded by his
brother, Nicholas the First, whose elder brother,
Constantine, with a most remarkable diffidence,
or indifference to imperial sway, declined the
throne in his favor.
It must be evident that, if the extent, or pre-
tensions of this article would admit of our taking
a review of the public affairs of all the nations
in the world during thp period to which it refers,
it would exhibit a series of mutations calculated
equally to justify our opinion of the eventful-
ness of the last thirty-four years, with those we
have hastily touched. Let us, however, be par-
ticular hi looking at results relating to England.
In England the circumstances connected with
the succession have been complicated and ex-
traordinary. In 1820, George the Third died,
having survived his fifth son, the Duke of Kent,
six days. The Princess Charlotte died, with hei
infant, in 1818; Queen Charlotte in 1818; the
Duchess of York in 1820; in 1821, Queen Caro-
line ; in 1827, the lamented Duke of York ; in
1828, the Queen of Wirtemberg, princess royal
of England ; and in 1830, his late majesty. The
present king has no surviving issue ; and the
crown hereafter devolves upon the daughter of
his late majesty's fifth son — a child.
In 1814, the electorate of Hanover was erect-
ed into a kingdom, the crown of which belongs
to the King of England, but is separated from
it whenever a queen governs that empire ; con-
sequently upon the accession of the princess
Victoria to the British throne, the Duke of Cum-
berland, as next heir to the crown, becomes
King of Hanover — the Salic law in that king-
dom excluding females.
There are peculiarities of circumstance in the
mortality of the royal family of England (which
it would neither be right, nor indeed have we
space to enter into them,) which render the
cause and order of these events more remark-
able. Not less so have been the casualties by
which the ministers of the crown and many
eminent men have been removed from their sta-
tions during the period to which these observa-
tions refer. After the death of Pitt, avowedly
accelerated, if not actually caused, by his devo-
tion to his country, how soon died his great op-
ponent, Fox? Lord Granville is dead: Percival
was murdered ; Lord Liverpool stricken by a
calamity which left his body living after the
mind was dead ; Windham and Huskisson, both
victims of accidents: Canning prematurely lost;
and Lord Londonderry fallen by his own hand ;
Nelson, and Moore, and Abercrombie in battle;
with a host of heroes equally deserving the tears
and praises of their countrymen.
Remember that such men as Thurlow, Ersk-
ine, Gilford, Law, Kenyon, Grattan, Curran,
have lived and died within this century. In lite-
rature, and wit, and poetry, can we forget She-
ridan, Murphy, Cumberland, Cowper, Byron,
and Scott ! in science, Banks and Davy ; in
art, West and Lawrence ; or the stage, Siddons
and Kemble. — All these are gone, — faded from
the scenes which they exalted and adorned. We
mention but the very leaders, but taking every
branch of art and science into calculation, the
aggregate amount of loss within the last thirty-
707
four years will, hereafter, when time and reflec-
tion shall have overcome jealousy and envy, be
found vastly to exceed that which England has
sustained during any other period of equal du-
ration.
But now let us look at things less questionable.
In the present century, the bright career of the
Duke of Wellington may be said to have been
;-un ; for although his services before and up to
the capture of Seringapatam, in 1799, had raised
his character and spread his fame, it was in this
century that his celebrated battle of Assaye was
fought. From his arrival in Europe, until the
pear 181">, he gained that series of victories
which have immortalized him. But that is not
ill that we have to illustrate our point ; besides
the splendid days of Oporto, Vimiera, Talavera,
Buzaco, Salamanca, Badajos, Vittoria, Nice,
Toulouse, St. Jean de Luz, the Pyrenees, and
Waterloo, we are able to show that more
Teneral actions were fought, and more lives lost
jy the fortune of war from 1800 to 1815 than
;ver were fought in a period of ten times the
same extent ; — among them, Marengo, Alexan-
Iria, Austerlitz, Corunna, Aspen and Essling,
Wagram, Borossa, Elbuera, Borodino, Lutzen,
Poplitz, Leipzic, Orthes, Ligny, besides others,
imounting to nearly two hundred general act/mis.
But, then, let us see what has taken place in
jivil life. England has been united with Ireland;
.he test and corporation acts have been repealed;
hirty millions of taxes have been removed; the
Roman Catholics have been emancipated ; sla-
very has been abolished ; parliament has been
reformed ; the poor-laws have been changed ; the
•.onstitution of the church of Ireland has been
tltered ; several bishops have been reduced ; the
Sast India Company's privileges have been ab-
rogated ; the bank has resumed cash payments ;
>ank notes are now a legal tender ; the game
aws have been repealed, since which time
)oaching has increased in a ten-fold degree; beer
mouses have been permitted in order to better
he morals of the lower classes, which are said
o have produced drunkenness to an unparal-
eled extent; for humanity's sake, forgery has
<een made punishable with transportation and
lot death, since which forgery has increased
ery much in the same ratio as drunkenness and
-oachmg. It would, however, greatly exceed
>ur limits, as we have already said, to enter into
ninute details of the wonderful alterations
•/hich have been worked during the century ;
ve shall, therefore, select a few of those which
trikes the senses most forcibly, and which, from
ircurnstances and localities, are most familiar.
Well then, say we, this introduction of steam,
or rather its adaptation to vessels and locomo-
tive carriages, has been — and it is in its infancy
yet — one of the greatest strides ever made in so
short a space of time. Next comes gas. Let
any body read Mr. Davies Giddy's, now Mr.
Davies Gilbert's, formal denunciation in the
House of Commons of the bare idea of obtaining
light and profit from gas, and the case will be
made as strong as we can wish it. Not only is
the use of gas as a light universal, but if any
body will take the trouble, or rather give them-
selves the pleasure, of visiting the gallery of
national sciences, in the Lowther arcade, they
will find cookery performed by gas in the most
perfect and satisfactory manner.
During this century England has acquired the
Cape, Ceylon, Curacoa, Demarara, St. Eusta-
tius, Mauritius, Bourbon, Maderia, Malta, Mar-
tinique, Senegal, and Surinam — several of
which have been ceded, but what are these? —
what are her conquests in Egypt ? — what her
successful warfare at Nepaul or in the Burmese
country ? — what her wonderful extension of ter-
ritory in India ? — what her sovereignty of the
Ionian Islands ? — what the recollections of the
share she has borne in the actions of the world,
under Providence, compared with the strides
she has made in art, science, and mechanism
since 1800?
In 1800 would any man have believed — and
in 1800 men fancied they travelled at a most ex-
traordinary pace — would any man have believed
that he could leave London in a stage-coach in
the morning and eat his supper by eleven o'clock
at night in Manchester ? or if his credulity could
have been stretched so as to admit of such a
possibility, would he have suffered himself to
be told with impunity that if he chose, instead
of supping at Manchester, he might proceed to
Liverpool in one hour and three-quarters — a
distance of upwards of thirty miles — that he
might steam himself over to Dublin in time for
breakfast the next morning, all of which he may
now do, supposing the conveyance ready ? but,
as it is, and without any hurry or trouble, a man
breakfasts at the Bull and Mouth in London on
the Monday, and breakfasts in Dublin on the
Wednesday, accoiding to the ordinary and es-
tablished rules of stage coach, rail-road, and
steam travelling.
Within the present century, vaccination has
superseded, nay, annihilated, that tremendous
affliction the small-pox — an event to which the
wonderful decrease in the mortality of all classes,
proportionably to the general increase of the
708
population, may , in a great degree, be attributed ,
despite the evidence to the contrary afforded
in the report of the parliamentary committee.
Again, reducing as we must, our sphere of ob-
servation, for want of room, let us look at the
metropolis within the present century ; hovels
and alleys have disappeared, and palaces and ter-
races risen in their places. Look at those splen-
did bridges, Waterloo and London — the vast
iron bridge across the Thames in the city, and the
extremely useful one at Vauxhall — see those
stupendous works, the West India Docks, East
India Docks, St. Catherine Docks, Surry Canal
Docks, all erected within this century — the mag-
nificent Custom-house, the healthy and spacious
Bedlam, the London University, the Kir 's Col-
lege.— Within this century Ranelagh has van-
ished from the earth, the Pantheon has become
a bazaar, every theatre in London, except the
opera house, which had just risen from a confla-
gration, has been either burned or pulled down
— Covent garden, Drury lane, the English Opera
House, the Surry theatre once, and Astley's
twice, been burned and rebuilt — the Haymarket
pulled down, the Royalty pulled down, both re-
built, and the latter, under the title of the Bruns-
wick, destroyed in the twinkling of an eye.
Carlton House, with all its splendor and
gaieties, and all the associations of wit and
mirth has, with the noble and joyous company
which made its walls ring with festivity, van-
ished. The Prince ! Fox, Sheridan, Fitzpatrick,
Hanger, Erskine, the Duke of Norfolk, and fifty
others, are in their graves, the scene of their
revels exists no more, splendid terraces and
magnificent squares occupy its site. The
wretched streets between Pall Mall and Oxford
street have given place to grand and commodi-
ous drives and promenades.
The interior of St. James's Park, which was
a swampy meadow for the dull diversion of
smoke dried cows, has become a beautiful gar-
den ; and Buckingham House, built in the full
uniform of bad taste — " red with white facings"
— has given place to a palace much censured
originally, and lately much disfigured; but
which still is a palace worthy of the country. In
the Regent's Park, groves, canals, villas, par-
ades, dioramas, (what did we know of dioramas
in 1801).') crescents, and terraces, ranges of
splendid buildings, occupy a space previously
monopolized by grazing cattle; while a naviga-
ble can;i I which circumvents London, nd forms
a unlit litch round her assail hie parts, in
case of rebellion, brings all the commodities of
the world floating to the very doors of ware-
houses in the most inland part of the me-
tropolis.
Of greater things, look at the Breakwater at
Plymouth, at the Tunnel under the Thames, —
even unfinished as it is, and unprofitable as it
ever will be, it is a triumph of science and per-
severance— look at those bridges hanging, as it
were, in air, spanning arms of the sea, which, in
1800, no man would have thought possible by
such means. That pretty toy, the chain pier at
Brighton, is a toy that no man would have im-
agined in 1800. Who, in 1800, would have ex-
pected to find water without digging for it ? —
Who would have engraved upon stone ? Who
would have thought of calculating sums by ma-
chinery ? Who would have thought of stuffing
cushions with iron for softness ? Who would
have worn a caoutchouc cloak or Indian rubber
shoes to keep them from the wet ?
We pass by the revolution in Greece, the war
in Poland ; we omit the discoveries in Africa,
which have let in the light to the very heart of
that vast peninsula, and displayed the entire
course of the mysterious Niger ; we omit the
changes and discoveries in Asia, and pause for
a moment to contemplate the great strides of
revolution in this Western Hemisphere.
The peninsula of South America, within this
present century has passed from colonial vas-
salage, to a state of independence, with the ex-
ception of Brazil, and the small possessions
of two European powers in Guiana. Mexico
and Guatimala have also thrown off the yoke ;
and thus the continental portions of the new
world, have become separated forever from that
kingdom to which they owed their discovery,
and under whose sway they existed for three
entire centuries.
If we look to the United States, the revolu-
tions have been even greater and more aston-
ishing than in any other country. It is true tha'
our form of government is the same ; but ou.
territory is more than doubled ; our population
is almost tripled, and our station among nations
has risen to that of the most commanding eleva-
tion. Steam navigation, canals, and railroads, ',
have their entire history within the present cen- ■, j
tury ; our large cities are doubled in their pop- \ j
ulation ; and thousands of towns and villages
have sprung up, studding to a vast extent what I
was before a wilderness, and seeming to the dis-
tant spectator to come into existence as the stars V
emerge from the grey mist of twilight, and
sparkle in the sky.
/ii
O
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