Imatges de pàgina
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position of about 10,000 stars, in 127 nights, with wonderful accuracy. As his departure from the cape was delayed, he employed the interval in measuring a degree of the southern hemisphere. He also received orders to superintend the construction of an accurate chart of the Isle of France and the Isle of Bourbon, though one had recently been executed by the celebrated navigator d'Après. After his return, he employed himself, with great assiduity, in comparing the different methods which had been proposed for solving the problem of the longitude. (See Longitude, Geograph.) He chose, for this purpose, the distances of the moon from the sun or the stars, showed the advantage of this method, and proposed a plan for a nautical almanac, since universally adopted. For the use of navigators with but little knowledge, he contrived ingenious and graphic means of assistance, by which they were made acquainted, in an easy manner, with a method which must otherwise have terrified them by the length of the calculations. C. divided his time between his observatory, his calculations, his duties as an academician and professor, and the publication of his different works. Now appeared his tables of the sun, his Astronomia Fundamenta novissima Solis et Stellarum observat. stabil. (Paris, 1757), the continuation of his Ephemerides. He was particularly engaged in observations of the moon, and the stars of the zodiac. Finding the method of corresponding heights too slow for the vast plan which he had formed, he fixed in his observatory a meridian telescope, which gave him the right ascension of the stars with much more ease. But, in order to attain the degree of accuracy at which he aimed, he made it a rule to admit no star into his new catalogue, which he had not observed for three or four days, comparing it each time with several of those, the places of which he had previously determined with so much care. He thus at tained a greater degree of accuracy than his celebrated rivals, Bradley and Mayer, who were furnished with better instruments, and generally contented themselves with a single observation of the stars of lesser magnitude. It is to be regretted, that this great work has not been edited with greater accuracy by the friend and scholar of C. Engaged in so many employments, C. still found time for other labors. From the manuscripts of Bouguer, who had intrusted them to him at the time of his death, he published Traité

de la Gradation de la Lumière, and wholly revised the Traité de Navigation. He afterwards published the observations of the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel and Walther, the travels of Chazelle to Egypt, and Feuillée's voyage to the Canary islands. A violent attack of the gout having interrupted his labors, he resumed them, as soon as he was able, with too much eagerness, exhausted his weak frame, and died in 1762. He bequeathed his manu scripts to his friend Maraldi, who published the Ciel Austral, preceded by an éloge of the author, by Brotier. Never was there a greater friend of labor and truth than C. The number, as well as the accuracy of his observations, is worthy of admiration, more particularly if we consider that all his astronomical labors took place within 27 years. His Journal du Voyage fait au Cap de Bonne Espérance was edited by Carlier (Paris, 1763).

CAIMACAN (lieutenant); a title of the grand signior, the grand vizier, and the governor of Constantinople.

CAIMAN. (See Cayman Islands.)
CAIMAN. (See Alligator.)

CAIN; the eldest son of Adam and Eve; the first murderer. Jealous of the favor shown to his younger brother (see Abel), he murders him in the field. The avenging voice of conscience asks him the terrible question, "Cain, where is thy brother?" which he vainly endeavors to evade "Am I my brother's keeper?" The curse is pronounced upon him; he is declared a fugitive and a wanderer on the face of the earth. His remorse and despair fill him with the apprehension of retribution-of death from the hand of whoever shall meet him. But a mark is set upon him, as a sign, lest any one should kill him. He then, continues Moses (Gen. iv. 16–24), went out and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. (q. v.) His wife bore him a son, Enoch, who built a city. Jabal, one of his descendants, is called the father of those who live in tents (scenites). Jubal, brother of Jabal, was the first musician and Tubal-cain, another brother, was the first smith. This is the last information which the Mosaic history gives of the family of Cain, unless we suppose the beautiful daughters of men (Gen. vi. 2), or the giants (Gen. vi. 4), to be his posterity. The conciseness of the sketch of antediluvian history in Genesis has left a wide field for conjecture. Why was Abel's offering preferred? What was the sign which indicated the acceptance of

CAIN-CAISSON.

the one and the rejection of the other? What was to be the effect of this preference? Did Abel manifest a more lively faith? Was his offering consumed by a fire from heaven? Were the privileges of primogeniture transferred to him from the eldest born, as was frequently done in the patriarchal times? Who were the avengers whom he feared? Preadamites, as some have gravely conjectured (Bayle, art. Cain), or descendants of Abel? Was the mark set upon Cain, or does the original signify that a sign was given him to inspire him with confidence in the promise? Josephus relates, that he became the leader of a band of robbers, committed all sorts of licentiousness, corrupted the simplicity of primitive manners by his luxury, established the right of property by setting up landmarks, and was the inventor of weights and meas

ures.

CAIQUE, GRAND; a small island among the Bahamas; lon. 70° W.; lat. 19° 50 N. The Little C. lies south-west of the former.

ÇA-IRA. These famous revolutionary couplets were written on the occasion of the celebration of the capture of the Bastile, when the civic oath was taken before the altar of the country. The celebration took place on the Champ de Mars, July 14, 1790, in the midst of torrents of rain. The refrain, or chorus, runs thus:—

Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira,

En depit d' z'aristocrat' et d' la pluie,
Ah! ça ira, &c.

Nous nous mouillerons, mais ça finira. This, it will be seen, was directed against the aristocrats. The famous Marseillaise, or Marseilles hymn, which resounded throughout Europe during the wars of the young republic against the coalition of sovereigns, was directed against foreign, as the ca-ira was against the domestic, enemies of the revolution. The author and composer of the Marseillaise (Rouget de l'Isle), an officer of the engineers, narrowly escaped with his head, during the reign of terror. (See Poésies Rev. et AntiRev., Paris, 1821, 2 vols.) These poems were proscribed by the directory in 1797, and have not, of course, been restored to favor by the consulate, the empire, or since the restoration.

CAIRN; a name given to heaps of stones, common in Great Britain, particularly in Scotland and Wales, generally of a conical form, and crowned by a flat They are of various sizes, and were probably constructed for different objects. Some are evidently sepulchral,

stone.

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containing urns, stone chests, bones, &c. Others were erected to commemorate some remarkable event, and others appear to have been intended for religious rites. (See Tumuli.)

CAIRNGORM, OF BLUE MOUNTAIN; a mountain of Scotland, belonging to the Grampian hills. It is particularly celebrated for the crystals found on it, called cairngorms, of various colors and sizes. They have now become scarce. They are, in general, of a smoky or yellowish hue (smoky quartz and yellow quartz), and are used for seals and other trinkets.

CAIRO (in Arabic, Kahira, which signifies victorious); the capital city of Egypt, and one of the largest cities in the world. It lies on the east bank of the Nile, in a sandy plain, and contains Old Cairo, Boulac (the harbor), and New Cairo, which are, to a considerable degree, distinct from each other. The city itself, separate from the gardens and plantations which surround it, is 34 leagues in circuit, has 31 gates, and 2400 irregular, unpaved streets, which, during the night, are closed at the end of the quarter, to prevent disturbances; also 25,840 houses, for the most part built of brick, with flat roofs, and more than 200,000 inhabitants—Arabs or Mohammedans, Coptish Christians, Mamelukes, Greeks, Syrians, Armenians, Jews, and natives of various countries of Europe. The castle, situated on a rock containing Joseph's well, 276 feet deep, is the residence of the pacha. There are 80 public baths, 300 mosques, 2 Greek, 12 Coptish, and 1 Armenian church, 36 synagogues, and many silk, camlet, tapestry, gunpowder, leather, linen and cotton factories. The commerce of the city is very great, since it is the centre of communication between Europe, the Mediterranean sea, Asia, and the north of Africa. Here is also a Mohammedan highschool, a printing-office, and a library of 25,000 volumes. A line of telegraphs extends from hence to Alexandria, about 255 miles distant, by which intelligence is communicated in 40 minutes. In the neighborhood is an aqueduct of 317 arches; also Boulac, the harbor of C., which contains an institution for 100 scholars, supported by the pacha, and a printing-office. In 1798, C. was taken by the French. (See Egypt.)

CAISSON; 1. a chest filled with combustibles, and buried under ground, in order to explode at a particular time. It is also a covered wagon for the provisions and ammunition of an army. 2. In architecture, a kind of chest, case, or flat-bot

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CAISSON-CALABASH-TREE.

tomed boat, used in the construction of bridges, large enough to contain an entire pier, which is built in it; the caisson is then sunk to the bed of the river, and the sides removed from the bottom, which is left as a foundation for the pier.-Floating vessels, under the same name, are used to close the entrances of docks and basins. A groove is worked in the masonry of the entrance, and a vessel of the shape of the opening, with a projection corresponding to the groove, a hanging scuttle on each side, and furnished with pumps, is floated into it at high tide. The scuttles being opened, the caisson sinks, and fills up the groove. The scuttles are then shut, and the water is prevented from entering the dock, or from discharging itself from the basin. If the dock is to be filled, the scuttles are opened, till the water is nearly on a level on each side, when the scuttles are again shut, the caisson emptied by the pumps, and then floated off.

CAIUS, or, in the Greek inanner of writing, GAIUS; a learned lawyer of the time of Adrian and Antoninus Pius (117161), of whose life but very little is known. Of his numerous works, his Institutes are particularly important; first, as having been, for centuries, down to the time of Justinian, one of the most common manuals of law; secondly, as having been the foundation of the official compendium of the law, which occupies an important place in the reform of the judicial system by Justinian; and, thirdly, as the only tolerably full, systematic and well-arranged source of the old Roman law. Some parts of this work have been known for a considerable time. Two leaves of a manuscript of it were discovered in the library of the cathedral chapter at Verona, as early as the beginning of the last century, by Scipio Maffei; but the manuscript itself was first discovered in 1816, by Niebuhr, who staid two days at Verona, on his way to Rome as Prussian ambassador. The parchment, on which the Institutes of C. were written, had been used to copy the letters of St. Jerome. Maffei Lad perceived it to be a Codex Rescriptus, without, however, having very accurately examined it. Niebuhr saw that an old juridical work lay here concealed, and von Savigny, professor of law in Berlin, at that time at Paris, happily conjectured that it might be the Institutes of C. The academy of sciences at Berlin sent, in 1817, two professors, Bekker, the philologist, and Göschen, the jurist, to Italy, to investigate this discovery with accuracy. The present professor, Bethmann Hol

weg offered his services to them, and, by their united efforts, the greatest part of the book has been brought into order, and that part which was before illegible wholly restored. The fragments of C. were printed at Berlin, 1820. The manuscript has been again examined, by professor Blume, and many additional discoveries have been made, which have been introduced into a new edition (Berlin, 1825). They have opened new views upon many points of the history of Roman law, and have also destroyed many acute and learn ed hypotheses.

CAJEPUT OIL; the volatile oil obtained from the leaves of the cajeput-tree-the cajeputa officinarum (the melaleuca leucadendron of Linnæus). The tree which furnishes the cajeput oil is common on the mountains of Amboyna, and the other Molucca islands. It is obtained, by distillation, from the dried leaves of the smaller of two varieties. It is prepared, in great quantities, in the island of Banda, and sent to Holland in copper flasks. As it comes to us, it is of a green color, very limpid, lighter than water, of a strong smell, resembling camphor, and of a strong, pungent taste. It burns entirely away, without leaving any residuum. It is often adulterated with other essential oils, colored with the resin of milfoil. In the genuine oil, the green color depends on the presence of copper; for, when rectified, it is colorless.

CALABAR, OLD; a country of Africa, on a river of the same name, in Upper Guinea. Duke Town, the principal place on the river, is in lon. about 8° E., lat. 5° 4′ N., and contains 2000 inhabitants. Creek Town, eight miles N., contains 1500 inhabitants. Old Town was formerly the capital. The inhabitants are represented as cruel, treacherous and dishonest. New Calabar, situated on a river of the same name, 80 miles W. of Old C., contains about 300 houses, and is the centre of the Dutch commerce in this country.

CALABASH-TREE. The calabash-tree (crescentia cujeta) is a production of the West Indies and the continent of America, about the height and dimensions of an apple-tree, with crooked, horizontal branches, wedge-shaped leaves, palewhite flowers on the trunk and branches, and a roundish fruit, from two inches to a foot in diameter. The uses to which the fruit of the calabash-tree is applied are very numerous. Being covered with a greenish-yellow skin, which encloses a thin, hard, and almost woody shell, it is employed for various kinds of domestic

CALABASH-TREE-CALABRIA.

vessels, such as water-cans, goblets and cups of almost every description. So hard and close-grained are these shells, that, when they contain any fluid, they may even be put several times on the fire as kettles, without any injury. When intended for ornamental vessels, they are sometimes highly polished, and have figures engraven upon them, which are variously tinged with indigo and other colors. The calabash contains a pale-yellow, juicy pulp, of an unpleasant taste, which is esteemed a valuable remedy in several disorders, both external and internal.

CALABRESE; the appellation of a painter, by name Mattia Preti, a native of Calabria; born 1643, died 1699.

CALABRIA; a mountainous country, lying on the sea-coast, about 164 miles in length, and from 20 to 50 broad, forming the southern part of the Italian peninsula. It extends, in the southern part of Naples, along the Apennines and the Tyrrhenian sea, to the capes of Spartivento and Squillace on the south, and to the gulf of Tarento in the Mediterranean sea on the east. In a space of 6800 square miles, it contains more than 890,000 inhabitants, among whom are many Arnauts. The accurate accounts of this country, so famous in fable and history, but hitherto not very accessible to travellers, we owe to the war which the French, under Joseph and Jerome, carried on against the proud and fanatical natives, until 1810. În ancient times, C. was a part of Magna Græcia, the residence of Pythagoras, the birth-place of Charonidas, of Zaleucus, Praxiteles, Agathocles, and other distinguished men. The country where the luxurious Sybaris once flourished is now sunk in deep barbarism. The climate was much esteemed in antiquity; but, in some places, the stagnant waters, to the draining off of which no one pays any attention, produce contagious diseases in the hot season. The heavy dews preserve, during the greater part of the year, a delightful verdure, which is increased by numerous springs and streams. Pliny extols the fertility of the dark soil, which, with the exception of the great plain Marcesato, resembling an entire waste, covers the calcarious rocks of C. Beautiful groves of pine, fir and larch, the pitchbearing trees of the wood of Sila, famous in ancient times, shade the sides of the Apennines. The evergreen-oak, the Oriental plane-tree, the Indian chestnut, the beech, the aloe, the fig, various nuttrees, and others, flourish here. The Calabrian ash affords manna. The fields

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are beautifully adorned with herbage, the cinnamon rose and sage, and the hills with strawberries and raspberries. On the coast grow the evergreen tamarisk and arbutus. With all the rich fruits of the torrid zone, we find here some of those which belong to the north of Europe-we wander amid orchards of fine apples, and through green Alpine meadows, with their soft herbage. In the valleys, the thorny caper mingles its bright flowers with the dark-green rosemary, and the laurel overshadows all the streams. From the rush (sarrachio) the Calabrian manufactures his ship-tackle, his baskets, his mats, his ropes and his nets, in which he catches the tunny. The lazy and ignorant inhabitant of this beautiful land has forgotten the Grecian mode of culture, which produced excellent wines and good oil. He has corn and rice, saffron, anise, liquorice, madder, flax and hemp. He cultivates olives, figs, almonds and cotton. The noble sugar-cane will come to perfection here. The silk of this country is good. The sheep, horned-cattle and horses are numerous. The waters contain tunnies and eels. Near Reggio a kind of muscle is found, called pinna marina, from whose silky beard a splendid fabric is manufactured, which is as light as it is effectual in affording protection against the cold. Coral is also fished up. « The quarries and pits afford alabaster, marble, gypsum, alum, chalk, rock-salt, lapis lazuli, and the fine copper, renowned since the time of Homer. The condition of the people is a subject of astonishment to all observers. The Calabrian, scarcely 40 leagues from the gates of the capital, is wild as a Tartar, cruel as a Moor, rude and ignorant as a Negro of Senegal; yet he has some good qualities. He is honest, hospitable, and tender of his honor. The corruption of a race of men, naturally so energetic, the fault of the government, the church, and the feudal system now abolished. A few rich individuals are found here among a great number of miserable poor. The peasant labors little, and subsists almost entirely on the spontaneous productions of nature. of nature. His habitation resembles the pig-sties of the rest of Europe. The feudal lords formerly exercised a dreadful tyranny over their vassals, who, weary of suffering, fled to the mountains, and lived by robbery. Ignorance, love of revenge, cruelty and cunning are the principal traits in the character of the people. Once offended, a Calabrian is irreconcilable. Hereditary hatred, therefore, divides

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most of the families, and an individual never goes abroad without carrying arms under his black mantle. In the night, they barricade their houses. They have no idea of social pleasures, and the rich think only of scraping together money. The females are not beautiful: they marry early, and soon fade. Even those of the higher classes cannot, in general, read or write. The husbands are so jealous, that they always confine their wives, and treat them severely. The recourse to lawsuits and chicanery is common, although the administration of justice is wretchedly defective. The clergy are as ignorant as they are corrupt, and superstition rules all classes. Even the robber carries relics in his bosom, which he supplicates for assistance in his enterprises. The people are naturally intelligent. Their language is a corruption of the Italian, difficult to be understood, but full of original and pointed expressions. The classes which are in some degree well informed express themselves with great ease and warmth. Their gestures are extremely lively. They have great powers of persuasion. If they cannot attain their end in this way, they revenge themselves by murder. They are well-formed, muscular, and of a brown complexion. They have animated countenances, and eyes full of fire and expression, but passionate hearts and giddy heads. They are, like the Sardinians and the Corsicans, the savages of Europe. (See Sejour d'un Officier Français en Calabre, Paris, 1810.) In regard to government, the country is divided into Calabria Citra on the north, and Calabria Oltra I and II on the south. The former contains Cosenza, which has 15,000 inhabitants; the latter, Reggio, which has 16,500, and Catanzaro, the capital city, which has 11,000. These, alone, among the few cities, are of importance, on account of their manufactures and commerce. There are some silk manufactories at Monteleone (the Grecian Hipponium, called, by the Romans, Vibona, now containing 15,000 inhabitants, and the ruins of a temple of Ceres). The seaport Crotona has some commerce. The city of Gerace is built of the ruins of Locri. Pizzo, where Murat was seized, Oct. 13, 1815, is called, from that event, the most faithful city, and is freed from all city taxes and excise. Many marks of the earthquake, which, in February, 1783, laid waste the southern part of C., destroyed 300 cities and villages, and buried 30,000 men, are still to be seen.

CALAHORRA (anciently Calagurris); a

town of Spain, in Old Castile, near the south side of the Ebro, on the borders of Navarre; 136 miles N. N. E. of Madrid lon. 2° W.; lat. 42° 16' N.; population, 7200. It is a bishop's see, and contains three parish churches and three convents. In the year of Rome 682, this town, then called Calagurris, siding with Sertorius, was besieged by Afranius, one of Pompey's generals, and the inhabitants reduced to such extremity, that they fed on their wives and children; whence the Romans were wont to call any grievous famine fames Calagurritana. Quintilian was born here.

CALAIS; a French sea-port on the channel which separates England from France, called by the French the Pas de Calais and La Manche; by the English, the English channel. This strongly-fortified city is protected by a citadel and the fort of Nieuvelet. It contains 8,500 inhabitants, and has a harbor which is too shallow for large ships, and is important only because passage boats run continually from here to Dover. The strait is 24 miles wide, and the passage by the steam-boat seldom exceeds 5 hours. In 1346, C. was taken by Edward III, king of England, after such a bold defence as made the siege one of the most remarkable in history. It remained in the possession of the English until 1558, when it was lost, together with all the English possessions in France. Near the harbor a monument has been erected to commemorate the return of Louis XVIII, April 24, 1814. In the year 1919, 15,577 travellers landed here, and 11,033 embarked from this port.

CALAIS, Pas de (i. e., straits of Calais), a department of France, formerly the province of Artois, lying east of the channel, and south of the straits. Population, in 1827, 642,969; chief place, Arras (See Departments.)

CALAIS, straits of. (See Dover, straits of.)

CALAITE. (See Turquoise.)

CALAMANCO; a woollen stuff, princi pally manufactured in the Netherlands. The English manufactures of it have de clined of late years. The warp is some times mixed with silk or goats' hair This stuff is made plain, colored, striped or watered.

CALAMATA. (See Greece.)
CALAMINE. (See Zinc.)

CALAMINES, or CALAMIANES; a cluster of islands in the Indian sea, among those called the Philippine islands. They are 17 in number, one of which is 30 miles

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