ter of arts, in 1758, having previously, in conjunction with his friend Bonnel Thornton, published a series of essays after the manner of the Spectator, under the title of The Connoisseur. This lively work, which came out weekly, was continued from Jan. 1, 1754, till towards the close of the year 1756, and tended much to establish his reputation, and procure him the friendship of most of the acknowledged wits of the day. At the desire of his relation, lord Bath, he turned his thoughts to the law, entered himself of Lincoln's Inn, and even went so far as to be called to the bar; but his genius soon turned to the more congenial study of the belleslettres. His poetical vein had some time previously displayed itself in various oc casional pieces; but his first dramatic attempt was made in the year 1760, when his Polly Honeycombe was brought out, with great temporary success, at Drury lane. The year following, he produced the well-known comedy of the Jealous Wife, which not only excited great attention at the time, but, as well as his Clandestine Marriage, has remained an established favorite ever since. The English Merchant, the Oxonian in Town, and a long list of other pieces of less note, but not deficient in merit, followed in succession, in the composition of some of which he was assisted by his friend Garrick. In 1764, his pecuniary resources were much increased by a handsome annuity bequeathed him by lord Bath; and an addition to his fortune, which he acquired three years after, by the decease of general Pulteney, enabled him, the following summer, to purchase Mr. Beard's share in Covent-garden theatre. Owing, however, to variances with his partners in the concern, he was induced to dispose of his portion of the property almost as soon as he had acquired it; and to purchase, in lieu of it, the little theatre in the Haymarket, which he bought of Foote for an annuity, and continued in the personal superintendence of it till the year 1790, when a paralytic attack not only deprived him of the use of one side, but entirely plunged his faculties into a hopeless state of derangement. He nevertheless lingered on, in a lunatic asylum at Paddington, till 1794, in which year his decease took place. Besides the writings already enumerated, and a large variety of others of the same class, his classical attainments, and the purity of his taste, are evinced by his elegant and spirited translation of Horace's Art of Poetry, published in 1783, and of the Comedies of Terence; to the

former of which is prefixed an ingenious Commentary, which places his acumen as a critic in a very respectable point of view.

COLOGNE (in German, Köln); formerly a free city of the empire, and seat of the electoral chapter of Cologne. The archbishop of Cologne was formerly a sovereign prince, and one of the most important members of the German empire. He resided at Bonn. Cologne is now the capital of the Prussian district Cologne, in the province of Cleves-Berg, the seat of an archbishop, a high-president, the government, and the court of appeal for the Rhenish provinces, a tribunal of the first instance, and many public institutions. It is one of the largest and oldest German cities on the left bank of the Rhine. It is a league in length, in the form of a semicircle, and was built by Agrippina, the wife of the emperor Claudius. The streets are narrow, dirty and lonely. With the decline of the Hanseatic league, to which it belonged, this city lost its riches, and, under the French government, its opulent clergy, and beautiful works of art. The great ware-houses are still standing as monuments of the past, but only a small number of the new buildings are distinguished for beauty. The handsomest public places are, the new market with its lime-trees, the hay market, and the old market. Cologne has 20 churches, 5 monasteries, 7060 houses, and upwards of 54,000 inhabitants, besides the garrison. One of the noblest works of Gothic architecture is the unfinished cathedral, in the form of a cross, 400 feet long, and 180 wide. It was in the course of erection from the year 1248 until the reformation. Only the choir, 200 feet high, with the chapel around it, is completed. The nave is supported by 100 columns, of which the middle ones are 40 feet in circumference; but it has only two thirds of its intended height, and is covered with a wooden roof. Each of the towers was designed to be 500 feet high; 250 feet of one is finished, and only 21 of the other. Behind the high altar is the chapel of the Magi, built of marble, in the Ionic style. In a magnificent box are deposited a few relics. On the left side of the choir is the golden chamber, with the treasury of the cathedral; but it no longer enjoys its ancient riches. Respecting the original plan of the church, which has been discovered, see George Müller's Beschreibung (Description), with 9 engravings, large folio, and 26 pages of text (1818), and Boisserée's work, Ueber den Dom zu Köln (On the

Cathedral of Cologne), with engravings (1824). The church of St. Gereon has a lofty dome and three galleries. The church of St. Cunibert has an altar like the famous altar of St. Peter's church in Rome. The church of St. Peter has an admirable painting, by Rubens, of the martyrdom of the apostle Peter. In the religious establishment of St. Ursula, for noble ladies, the visitor sees, he is assured, the relics of the 11,000 virgins. These are arranged on shelves, and make a formidable appearance. The town-house in Cologne has a splendid portico, adorned with two rows of marble columns. The Jesuits' library, though it has been deprived of many works, still contains 60,000 volumes. Many paintings in the monasteries and churches were carried off or destroyed by the French. (See Boisserée.) The city, however, still contains some beautiful collections of works of art. It is favorably situated for trade, forming an intermediate point between Germany and Holland, and its commerce, particularly in Rhenish wine, or hock, is very considerable. The trade in cloth, linen, lace, cotton and silk, tobacco and earthen ware is still important; likewise, the distillation of Cologne water, or eau de Cologne, of which several million bottles are exported every year. There are 15 manufactories of it, and the traffic has been constantly increasing since the seven years' war. The bottles are made in Stollberg, three leagues from Aix. As a great city, where magazines can be conveniently established, and military provisions obtained, as a convenient place for crossing the Rhine, as an intermediate point between Wesel and Coblentz, as a point of meeting of many roads, and as constituting a part of the basis (q. v.), from which must proceed the operations of the German armies against the Netherlands and France, Cologne is of great military importance. The fortifications were restored in 1815. They are strengthened by a chain of casemated towers, which contain several stories, and each a few cannon. These are placed at some distance from the city, as separate and detached works. Cologne has thus become a strong place, though not, indeed, so important a fortress as Coblentz. The small city of Deutz, on the right bank of the Rhine, opposite Cologne, is fortified, and thus completes the double tête-de-pont. In former times, Cologne was a very powerful city, and its university famous. The merchants of Cologne, who settled in London under Elizabeth's reign, gave a great impulse to the English com

merce. The old Chronicle of Cologne, written in low German, is a highly interesting work. The eau de Cologne is famous throughout Europe and America, though only a small part of what is sold under this name is genuine. One of the best ways of distinguishing the genuine from the spurious is, to rub a few drops on the hand, when the good eau de Cologne must neither smell of any spirituous liquor, nor of musk, nor any foreign substance, but only of the ethereal odor proper to the water.

COLOMBIA, the republic of, in South America, is comprised between lat. 12° 30 N., and 6° S.; and between lon. 58° and 82° W.; extending over a surface of 1,100,000 square miles. It is bounded on the north by the Caribbean sea, east by Guiana and Brazil, south by Brazil and Peru, and west by the Pacific ocean; on the north-west, it borders on the republic of Central America. The face of the country is remarkable: the western part contains the loftiest ridges of the Andes (q. v.), while the eastern stretches out into immense plains, intersected by gigantic rivers. Towards the southern part (Quito) are found the celebrated summits of Chimborazo, Antisana, Pichincha, Cotopaxi, Colocache, &c. In this Thibet of the new world, in the valleys of the Andes, raised 10,000 feet above the surface of the ocean, the population of that part of the country is concentrated. Farther north, the height of the mountains is less, and in New Grenada, the Cordillera is divided into three parallel chains, of which only the two lateral ones are of great elevation. Besides the Andes, the principal chain is that of Caracas, running along the north coast, with summits of from 12,000 to 14,000 feet high. The principal lake is lake Maracaibo in Venezuela; the imaginary lake Parima has disappeared from the maps. The most important rivers of Colombia are the Magdalena, the Amazon (q. v.), and the Orinoco (q. v.). The Amazon receives all the streams on the eastern declivity of the Andes, south of lat. 3° N. North of that point, they flow into the Orinoco. The immense plains in the east, stretching from Merida to Guiana, and from the chain of the Caracas to the Amazon, are partly inundated and fertilized by the waters of the Orinoco, and partly composed of bare deserts called llanos. (q. v.) The climate, in a country of such extent, and of so remarkable a diversity of elevation, must differ exceedingly. In Venezuela, the year is completely divided by the rainy and the dry

season, the former commencing in November, and ending in April. New Grenada comprehends a remarkable variety of climate temperate, even cold and frosty, but healthy on the elevated table lands, the air is burning and pestilential on the sea-shore, and in some of the deep valleys of the interior. At Carthagena and Guayaquil, the yellow fever is endemic. (See New Grenada, Venezuela and Quito.) Among the productions of the vegetable kingdom we mention cacao, Peruvian bark, coffee and indigo, sugar, cotton and tobacco. Gold, platina, silver, cinnabar, are among the mineral riches of the republic. The principal articles of export are cacao, indigo, tobacco, coffee, hides and cattle. The imports are manufactured goods of almost every description. The contraband trade has been carried on to such an extent by the foreign colonies in the neighborhood, that it is impossible, from the custom-house returns, to form any estimate of the real value of the imports or exports. The Dutch in Curaçoa have been engaged in this trade for nearly two centuries, and the English have recently prosecuted it very extensively from Trinidad, Jamaica and Guiana; and such are the facilities afforded by the vicinity of these colonies, the extent of coast, and the navigation of the Orinoco, that it will be very difficult to suppress it. In 1825, the exports from La Guayra and Porto Cabello amounted to $1,885,257, of which more than two thirds were to the United States; the imports, during the same period, amounted to $3,428,042. M. Mollien (Voyage dans la Rép. de Colombia, Paris, 1823) estimates the total amount of exports at $8,000,000, and the imports at $10,000,000. The ports of La Guayra, Rio del Hacha, Santa Martha, Carthagena, Chagres, Porto Cabello, Panama and Guayaquil are the most frequented by foreigners. Various plans have been proposed for connecting the two oceans by canals. The small river Chagre, which falls into the Caribbean sea a little west of Porto Bello, is navigable to Cruces, five leagues from Panama. The clevation of the country between Cruces and Panama has never been accurately ascertained, but, it is supposed, would interpose no obstacle to a canal for beats, though it might be wholly impossible to construct one for large vessels. A branch of the Rio Atrato, which falls into the gulf of Darien, approaches within 5 or 6 leagues of the Pacific ocean, and the intervening country is quite level, and proper for a canal. Another branch of the Rio Atrato approaches so near to a

small river which falls into the Pacific, that a small canal has actually been dug between them, by means of which, when the rains are abundant, canoes loaded with cacao pass from sea to sea. By means of the Orinoco and its tributary streams, all the country south of the chain of Venezuela enjoys an easy communication with the sea. This river forms a natural channel for the conveyance to the ocean of the cattle and produce raised on the banks of the Apure, and its wide-spreading branches. By means of the Meta, also, a navigable communication is opened almost to the very foot of the Andes. The flour, and other productions of an extensive district near Bogotá, are conveyed to market by the Orinoco, in preference to the Magdalena. The republic is composed of the three colonial governments of Quito, New Grenada and Venezuela, and, by the law of June 23, 1824, is subdivided into twelve departments, namely,

7. Cundinamarca, 8. Boyaca, 9. Apure, 10. The Equator, 11. Guayaquil, 12. Asuay.

1. The Isthmus, 2. Magdalena, 3. Zulia, 4. Venezuela, 5. Orinoco, 6. Cauca, These are composed of 49 provinces, which are again subdivided into 218 cantons, and each canton into municipalities. The population may be estimated at about 2,711,000. It is composed of whites, Indians, mestizoes, Negroes and mulattoes; one half being of the mixed races, one quarter creoles, one eighth Indians, and the remainder, Negroes and Europeans. Travellers have observed that beauty, vigor and courage are more common in the mixed races. The creoles or whites, as they are called, have in general some Indian or black blood in their veins. Those on the sea-coast have the Spanish features, but little beard; those of the more elevated regions resemble the inhabitants of the north of Europe, but they commonly have the black, stiff hair of the Indians. The goitre is very common in some parts of Colombia ; the pure Indians and Negroes, however, are not afflicted with it. The Negroes are found principally in the maritime parts of the country. The new government has decreed that from the year 1860 all slavery shall cease in the republic. The principal towns besides those already mentioned are, Bogotá (the capital), Caracas, St. Thomas, Quito, Popayan, Cuença, Riobambo, Otobalo, Merida, Cumana, Maracaibo, Barcelona, Guanare and Truxillo. All the Indians

have been declared free since the revolution. Many of the Indian tribes have been brought into subjection to the whites, and have become partially civilized by the labors of the Catholic missionaries. They are allowed to live in villages by themselves, and to be governed by magistrates of their own choice. The principal Indians remaining unsubdued are the Coahiros, who are about 30,000 in number, and occupy a tract along the coast to the west of the gulf of Maracaibo. They often make inroads upon the neighboring settlements. The Guaraunos, who inhabit the islands formed by the mouths of the Orinoco, are about 8000 in number. The Caribs occupy the coast of Spanish Guiana, between the mouths of the Essequibo and the Orinoco. Besides these tribes, all the country on the Orinoco above the cataracts of Atures, and indeed all the immense tract between the sources of the Orinoco and those of the Amazon, are inhabited by nations of savages, who have hitherto resisted all the efforts of the Spaniards to civilize or subdue them. The Catholic religion has been declared the established religion of the state; but all others are tolerated. The establishment is composed of 2 archbishops and 10 bishops: the clergy are rich and powerful; some of them distinguished themselves in the revolution by their democratic principles. Colombia has four universities at Quito, Bogotá, Caracas and Merida; that of Bogotá is merely a theological seminary; the three others are intended for students in the other branches. Provision has also been made for the establishment of primary schools, high schools and provincial colleges; but the unsettled state of the country allows but little to be effected. Historical Sketch. The republic of Colombia is of very recent origin, although the history of the three states, by the union of which it has been formed, is coeval with the era of Columbus. Previously to the period of the revolution, they were known by the names of the vice-royalty of New Grenada, the captain-generalship of Caracas, and the presidency of Quito. Of their annals prior to the union, a brief sketch will here be given.

Quito. The provinces of Quito, having formed a component part of the Peruvian empire at the time of the Spanish conquest, continued to depend directly on the government of Peru until Sept. 1564, when they were erected into a separate presidency. In 1717, the government was suppressed, and the country incorporated into the vice-royalty of New Gre28

VOL. III.

nada. In 1722, it was again separated, and remained so until it became a part of Colombia. The revolution commenced Aug. 10, 1809, when the president, count Ruiz de Castilla, was deposed, and a junta soberana appointed to administer the government. He was reinstated the November following, and a second revolution took place in Sept., 1810. But, in a few months afterwards, the Spaniards, under Montes, regained Quito, and continued to hold the presidency until May, 1822, when the victory of Pichincha, gained by general Sucre, put an end to their power.

New Grenada. The coasts of New Grenada, which border on the Caribbean sea, were first visited by Columbus, during his fourth voyage. Ojeda and Amerigo Vespucci followed Columbus in exploring parts of the coast, and Vespucci gave the first regular description of the people who inhabited its shores. In the year 1508, Ojeda and Nicuessa obtained extensive grants in this and the adjoining country. Ojeda had the country from cape de la Vela to the gulf of Darien, which was to be styled New Andalusia; and Nicuessa was appointed to govern from the gulf of Darien to cape Gracias a Dios; the territory included within these points to be named Golden Castile. The province of Terra Firma, including both the grants of Nicuessa and Ojeda, was given, by a subsequent charter, in 1514, to Pedro Arias de Avila. Under the orders of Avila, the western coast of Panama, Veragua and Darien was explored as far north as cape Blanco, and the town of Panama was founded. In 1536, Sebastian de Benalcazar, one of the officers who accompanied Pizarro in the expedition to Peru, effected the conquest and colonization of the southern internal provinces of New Grenada; whilst Gonzalo Ximenes de Quesada, who had been sent by Lugo, the admiral of the Canaries, overran the northern districts from Santa Martha. They met with considerable opposition from the natives, but finally succeeded in reducing the country, and the whole was formed into one government, and put under a captain-general, appointed in 1547; to check whose power the royal audience was established, of which he was, however, made president. In the year 1718, New Grenada was formed into a vice-royalty. This form of government continued until 1724, when the captain-generalship was restored; but, in 1740, the vice-royalty was re-established. Under this system, the evils of which were of a very grievous nature, the inhabitants of New Grenada

continued until the invasion of Spain by the French. The desire of independence had long been prevalent; but it was not until 1810, that it began to be publicly avowed. The juntas then chosen were composed of persons generally favorable to independence. A congress from the different provinces or departments of the vice-royalty soon afterwards assembled, and, in 1811, a formal declaration of independence was made. The country has, since that period, passed through many vicissitudes of fortune. The cause of freedom and that of the royalists have been alternately triumphant, and many frightful scenes of rapine and bloodshed have occurred. In 1816, a decisive action was fought between the independents and a Spanish army under Morillo, which ended in the total defeat of the former, and the dispersion of the congress. After remaining under the dominion of the royalists for three years, Grenada was again emancipated by the army of Bolivar, who entered Santa Fé in Aug., 1819. In Dec., 1819, a union was effected with Venezuela into one republic.

Caracas, or Venezuela. The coast of this country was originally discovered by Columbus, in 1498, during his third voyage. Several attempts being made to colonize, the Spanish government came to the determination of settling the country under its own direction. These expeditions were managed by priests, and generally ill conducted; and it was found necessary to subdue the inhabitants by force. When this was partially effected, and the Spanish settlers were placed in some security, the proprietorship was sold, by Charles V, to the Weltsers, a German mercantile company. Under their management, the Spaniards and the natives suffered the most grievous tyranny. The abuses of their administration becoming at last intolerable, they were dispossessed, in 1550, and a supreme governor, with the title of captain-general, was appointed. From this period until the year 1806, Caracas remained in quiet subjection to the mother country. In 1806, a gallant but unfortunate attempt was made to liberate her from the yoke. General Miranda, a native of Caracas, formed for this purpose an expedition partly at St. Domingo and partly at New York. A landing was effected on the coast, but the force proved wholly inadequate to the designed object. Many were taken prisoners by the Spanish authorities, and several suffered death. The defeat was decisive, and gave an effectual blow, for the time, to the project of

independence. In 1810, however, Spain being overrun by the French troops, the opportunity was seized by the principal inhabitants to establish a freer form of government. For this purpose, a junta suprema, or congress, was convened in Caracas, consisting of deputies from all the provinces composing the former captain-generalship, with the exception of Maracaibo. At first, they published their acts in the name of Ferdinand VII; but the captain-general and the members of the audiencia were deposed and imprisoned, and the new government received the title of the confederation of Venezuela. The most violent and impolitic measures were now adopted by the regency and cortes of Spain towards the people of this district. The congress, finding the voice of the people decided in favor of independence, issued a proclamation, on the 5th of July, 1811, formally declaring it. A liberal constitution was established, and affairs wore a favorable aspect for the cause of freedom, until the fatal earthquake of 1812, which, operating on the superstition of the people, led to a great change in the public opinion. Monteverde, a royalist general, taking advantage of the situation of affairs, marched against Caracas, and, after defeating general Miranda, compelled the whole province to submit. In 1813, however, Venezuela was again emancipated by Bolivar, who was sent with an army by the confederation of Grenada. In 1814, he was, in his turn, defeated by Boves, and compelled to evacuate Caracas. In 1816, he again returned with a respectable body of troops, and was again defeated. Undismayed by reverses, he landed again, in December of the same year, convened a general congress, and defeated the royalists in March, 1817, with great loss. In the month following, however, Barcelona was taken by the Spanish troops. The contest was maintained for some time afterwards with various success. Bolivar was invested by the congress with ample powers, the situation of the republic requiring the energy of a dictator. On the 17th of Dec., 1819, a union between the republics of Grenada and Venezuela was solemnly decreed, in conformity with the report of a select committee of deputies from each state. This confederation received the title of the

Republic of Colombia. In conformity with the fundamental law, the installation of the general congress of Colombia took place on the 6th of May, 1821, in the city of Rosario of Cucuta. The first subject considered by this body was the constitu