on considerable trade, chiefly with New York. Shoemaking is a considerable business, and large quantities of oysters are obtained here. The borough was incorporated in 1815, and is pleasantly situated about two miles from the harbor. The Indian name of Guilford was Menunkatuck.

GUILLEMINOT, Armand Charles, count, lieutenant-general, created peer of France October, 1823, was born in the Belgic provinces, in 1774, and received a careful education. During the insurrection of Brabant against Austria, in 1790, he fought in the ranks of the patriots. On their subjection by the power of the house of Hapsburg, he fled to France, where he received a place in the staff of general Dumouriez. Being imprisoned in Lille, after the defection of this general, he escaped by flight, and concealed himself in the ranks of the French army. He was soon received into the staff of general Moreau, to whom he remained gratefully attached, even in his misfortunes. In the year 1805, Napoleon employed him in the army in Germany, and, in 1806, appointed him his aid-de-camp. In 1808, he served in Spain, as chief of the staff of marshal Bessières, and after the victory at Medina del Rio-Secco, was made general of brigade, and an officer of the legion of honor. In 1809, he was employed by Napoleon on a mission to the Persian court. He remained some time in the East, and several months at Constantinople, and received the Turkish order of the crescent and the Persian order of the sun. In the campaigns of 1812 and 1813, he distinguished himself in the battles of the Moskwa, of Lützen and Bautzen. He rendered essential service by repelling the attack of the Swedes upon Dessau (September 28, 1813), and, in consequence, was promoted by Napoleon to the rank of general of division. After the restoration, Louis XVIII named him grand officer of the legion of honor, and gave him the cross of St. Louis; he also appointed him, at the return of Napoleon from Elba, chief of the general staff in the army which the duke of Berri was to command. He held the same rank in the army which, in June, 1815, was assembled under the walls of Paris; and he signed, in the name of marshal Davoust, the capitulation of that city. He was afterwards appointed director of the topographical military bureau in the ministry of war; and, in 1816 and 1817, in conjunction with the commissioners of the Swiss confederacy, settled the boundary

line between France and Switzerland, as was stipulated by the treaty of 1815. In the war with Spain, in 1823, general Guilleminot received the important post of major-general in the French army, at the express desire of the duke of Angoulème, but against the will of the duke of Belluno, then minister of war, who desired the place for himself. In this capacity, he directed the whole campaign, from April 7 to the liberation of king Ferdinand (October 1, 1823), who rewarded him with his order. Guilleminot then distributed the French army of occupation in the fortresses, concluded a contract with the Spanish government for its supply, &c., and returned, in the middle of December, to Paris, where an embassy to Constantinople was given him. General Guilleminot, by his proclamation, dated Andujar (August 8, 1823), which was intended to put a stop to the arbitrary treatment of the constitutionalists by the Spanish royalists, had rendered himself obnoxious to the absolutists. The duke of Angoulême, however, reposed entire confidence in him; for Guilleminot, as majorgeneral, had executed, with great prudence, the plan of reducing Spain by moderation, of restraining the political fanaticism of the soldiers of the faith and of the people; and, by a liberal policy, inducing the Spanish leaders, Morillo and Ballesteros, and the commanders of the castles, to capitulate, and the members of the cortes to disagree; and had happily attained the object of the six months' campaign, the taking of Cadiz. In 1826, he was permitted to return from Constantinople to Paris, to defend himself before the house of peers, in the trial of Ouvrard, relative to the contracts for supplying the French army in Spain. Being acquitted of any blame in the affair, he returned to Constantinople in August of the same year. General Guilleminot is one of the best informed of the French officers, and we may expect from him a history of the late wars. (For his conduct in the affairs of Greece, see Greece.)

GUILLOTIN, Joseph Ignatius, a French physician, was born at Saintes, in 1738. He was at first a Jesuit, and professor in the Irish college at Bordeaux, but afterwards studied medicine, and lived in Paris.

He was one of the commissioners appointed to examine the pretended cures of Mesmer, which he contributed much to discredit. A pamphlet (in 1788) on some abuses in the adininistration, gained him great popularity, and caused his election into the national convention. Here

place is held by the Fantees. Of late years, another power, before almost unknown to Europeans, has occupied a conspicuous place. This is Ashantee, the sovereign of which has waged repeated and successful wars against the Fantees. Cape Coast Castle is the capital of the British settlements on the Gold coast; and forts are also maintained at Acra, Dixcove, Succondee, Commendo and Anamaboe. That at Winnebah has been given up. The Slave coast extends from the Rio Volta to the bay and river of Lagos, which separate it from Benin. Of all the parts of native Africa yet explored by Europeans, this is the one where cultivation and the arts have been carried to the greatest perfection. The country here was in a most flourishing and prosperous state, when it received a fatal blow, about the middle of last century, by the invasion of the king of Dahomey, who, having conquered it, reduced the principal towns to ashes, and massacred a great proportion of the population. This coast has since continued to form part of the territory of Dahomey, and is governed by a viceroy, who resides at Griwhee; but, under this ferocious and military tyranny, it has never recovered its ancient wealth and prosperity.

GUINEA; an English gold coin, worth 21 shillings sterling. Guineas were first coined, in the reign of Charles II (1662), of gold which the English procured from Guinea, and hence the name. Till 1718, they were of the value of 20 shillings sterling. (See Coin.)

GUINEA CLOTH. Mariners give the name of Guinea to a much greater extent of the African coast than is recognised by geography; and, in commerce, several articles made for the African trade are called by this name. Guinea cloth is a kind of calico, calculated for the African market, where it is an important article of barter. There are also Guinea knives, &c. GUINEA PEPPER. (See Cayenne Pepper.) GUINEA PIG (cavia cobaya). This well known little animal is a native of South America, and is now domesticated both in Europe and this country. As writers make but little mention of its habits and manners in a wild state, most that is known respecting it has been derived from observations on the domesticated animal. It is a restless, grunting little quadruped, seldom remaining quiet more than a few minutes. It feeds on bread, grain, fruit or vegetables, giving a decided preference to parsley. It breeds when only 2 months old, and generally brings forth every 2 months, having from 4 to 12 young ones

at a time; hence the produce of a single pair might be a thousand in the year. From their being so prolific, they would become innumerable, were not vast numbers of the young eaten by cats, killed by the males, or destroyed by other means. As they are very tender, multitudes perish from cold and moisture. In the space of 12 hours after birth, the young are able to run about. In their habits, they are so extremely cleanly, that if the young, by any accident, are dirtied, the female takes such a dislike to them as never to suffer them to approach her. The principal employment of the male and female seems to consist in smoothing each other's hair, which being performed, they turn their attention to the young, whose hair they take particular care to keep unruffled, biting them if they prove refractory. Their sleep is short, but frequent; they eat rapidly, like the rabbit, a little at a time, but often. They repose flat on their belly, and, like the dog, turn round several times before they lie down. Their manner of fighting is very singular, and appears extremely ridiculous. One of them seizes the neck of his antagonist with its teeth, and attempts to tear the hair from it; in the mean time, the other turns his tail to the enemy, kicks up like a horse, and, by way of retaliation, scratches the sides of his opponent with his hind feet. Their skins are scarcely of any value, and their flesh, though edible, is not savory. Buffon observes of them, "By nature they are gentle and tame; they do no mischief, but they are equally incapable of good, for they never form any attachments: mild by constitution; docile through weakness; almost insensible to every object, they have the appearance of living machines, constructed for the purposes of propagation and of representing a species."

GUISCARD, Robert, duke of Apulia and Calabria, a son of the celebrated Tancred de Hauteville, was born in 1015. Hauteville had many sons, and his estate in Normandy was small. This induced his three eldest sons, William the Ironarms (Bras-de-fers), Dagobert and Humphrey to go to Italy and offer their services to the Italian princes, then engaged in continual wars. Fortune, courage and cunning enabled William the Ironarms, who knew how to take advantage of the weakness of the Italian princes, to get possession of Apulia. Robert Guiscard, who, in the mean time, had grown up, burned with the desire of sharing the splendid fortune of his brother in Italy. A little band of adventurers was soon

found, in those times, so prone to adventurous enterprises, who were ready to follow him in the expectation of a rich booty. Robert, who was no ways inferior in courage to his brothers, soon distinguished himself in many battles; and the soldiers, moved by his exploits, unanimously proclaimed him, after the death of his brother Humphrey, count of Apulia a dignity which he accepted without hesitation, although to the prejudice of the rights of his brother's children. He then conquered Calabria, in the possession of which he was confirmed by pope Nicholas II, although that pontiff had not long before excommunicated him for his outrages. Robert, grateful for this favor, bound himself to pay to the holy see an annual sum; and from this the feudal claims of the papal see on Naples, which exist to this day, are derived. In Apulia itself, Guiscard ruled with absolute power. This country had, till his reign, preserved a number of privileges, and some forms of a constitution; but scarcely was he at the head of the state, when he destroyed them; and hence naturally arose discontents and conspiracies among the nobility, who, at that time, were alone in possession of any rights. Robert punished many of these with death, and reduced the others to submission. He now began to think of conquering Sicily, the investiture of which the pope had already promised him. He sent, therefore, his youngest brother, Roger, whose valor had already been displayed in many battles, at the head of 300 resolute warriors, to take possession of this island. Roger made himself master of the city of Messina, with this small band, in 1060. In the following year, the two brothers united conquered the Saracens on the plains of Enna; but the misunderstanding which broke out between the victors, prevented them from deriving all the advantages which might have resulted from this victory. Guiscard had promised Roger the half of Calabria, in case his expedition to Sicily should prove successful; but he was now unwilling to allow him more than two cities. The complaints of Roger irritated his brother, who determined to imprison him. But the soldiers of the former made themselves masters of the person of Robert himself, and Roger was magnanimous enough not to take advantage of this success. Guiscard, touched with this generosity, was reconciled to his brother, and fulfilled his promise. Roger now

conquered nearly the whole of the island, and became the first count of Sicily. Guiscard, in the mean time, besieged all those cities in Lower Italy which, as yet, were in the hands of the Saracens. Some of these detained him a long time; as, for instance, Salerno and Bari, before the latter of which places Guiscard was encamped for four years, and endured all the violence of the weather and the dangers of the war, in a miserable hut, composed of branches of trees and covered with straw, which he had caused to be built near the walls of the city. He at length succeeded in conquering all the provinces which now form the kingdom of Naples, and he would have extended his victorious course still farther, had he not been excommunicated by Gregory VII, on account of his attack on Benevento, and obliged to confine his ambition within these limits. The betrothment of his daughter Helen to Constantine Ducas, the son and heir of Michael VII, gave him afterwards an opportunity of interfering in the affairs of the Greek empire. He fitted out a considerable fleet, and sent his son Boëmond to the conquest of Corfu, while he himself went to attack Durazzo. A tempest and a contagious disease had nearly frustrated this expedition. Alexis Comnenus, then emperor of Constantinople, approached with superior forces. The armies joined battle under the walls of Durazzo, where the victory at first inclined to the side of the Greeks; but the courage of Guiscard gave the battle a different turn. He rallied the already flying bands of his soldiers, led them anew to the combat, and gained a complete victory over forces six times as numerous as his own. Durazzo was compelled to surrender. Robert penetrated into Epirus, approached Thessalonica, and filled the capital with terror. In the midst of this victorious career, he was recalled by the information that Henry IV (q. v.), emperor of Germany, had entered Italy. He gave the command to Boëmond, and hastened home to assist Gregory VII, who was besieged in the castle of St. Angelo, against the Germans. Henry IV was compelled to retreat; Gregory was released, and conducted to Salerno as a place of safety. Guiscard now hastened again to Epirus, where he repeatedly defeated the Greeks, and, by means of his fleet, made himself master of many of the islands of the Archipelago. He was upon the point of advancing against Constantinople, when his

death took place in the island of Cephalonia, July 17, 1085, in the 70th year of his age. His army retreated, and the Greek empire was saved. Guiscard's corpse was put on board a galley, which running aground at Venusa, the remains of the victorious prince were deposited in the church of the Holy Trinity. His sons Boëmond and Roger, after much dispute, divided the conquests of their father, the former receiving Tarentum, and the latter Apulia. Robert Guiscard left behind him the glory of having protected learning, and of being highly estimable in all his private relations. His appearance was martial, his frame powerful, and his courage unbounded. The school of Salerno claims him as its founder.

GUISCHARD, Charles Gottlieb, an able writer on military tactics, was a native of Magdeburg. After studying at the universities of Halle, Marburg and Leyden, he entered into the service of Holland, and, while thus employed, found leisure to prepare materials for his Mémoires militaires sur les Grecs et les Romains, which appeared in 1757 (in 2 vols., 4to.), and met with great approbation. The same year, he entered as a volunteer into the allied army, and acquired the esteem of prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, who recommended him to the king of Prussia. He was a favorite of Frederic the Great. A dispute having once arisen between them respecting the name of the commander of Cæsar's tenth legion, in which Guischard proved to be right, Frederic gave him the name of this commander (Quintus Icilius), by which he was afterwards frequently called. Besides the work already mentioned, he was the author of Mémoires Critiques et Historiques sur plusieurs Points d'Antiquité militaire (4 vols., 8vo.), upon which work Gibbon bestows very high encomiums. Guischard died in 1775.

GUISE; the name of a celebrated noble family in France, a branch of the house of Lorraine. Claude de Guise, fifth son of René, duke of Lorraine, born in 1496, established himself in France, and married Antoinette de Bourbon in 1513. His valor, his enterprising spirit, and his other noble qualities, obtained for him great consideration, and enabled him to become the founder of one of the first houses in France. In 1527, for the sake of doing him honor, his county of Guise was changed to a duchy, and made a peer

age.

At his death, in 1550, he left six sons and five daughters, of whom the eldest married James V, king of Scot

land. The splendor of the house was principally supported by the eldest son, Guise (Francis, duke of Lorraine), born in 1519, and called Le Balafré (the scarred), from a wound which he received in 1545, at the siege of Boulogne, and which left a permanent scar on his face. He showed distinguished courage, in 1553, at Metz, which he defended with success against Charles V, although the emperor had sworn that he would rather perish than retreat without having effected his object. In the battle of Renti, Aug. 13, 1554, he displayed remarkable intrepidity. He also fought with success in Flanders and in Italy, and was named lieutenantgeneral of all the royal troops. The star of France began again to shine as soon as he was placed at the head of the army. In eight days, Calais was taken, with the territory belonging to it, in the middle of winter. Thus the English lost the city without recovery, after having held it 210 years. He afterwards conquered Thionville from the Spaniards, and proved that the good or ill fortune of whole states often depends on a single man. Under Henry II, whose sister he had married, and still more under Francis II, he was the virtual ruler of France. The conspiracy of Amboise, which the Protestants had entered into for his destruction, produced an entirely opposite effect. The parliament gave him the title of savior of his country. After the death of Francis II, his power began to decline. Then grew up the factions of Condé and Guise. On the side of the latter stood the constable of Montmorency and marshal de St. André; on the side of the former were the Protestants and Coligny. The duke of Guise, a zealous Catholic, and an enemy to the Protestants, determined to pursue them sword in hand. After having passed the borders of Champagne, at Bassi, March 1, 1562, he found the Calvinists singing the psalms of Marot in a barn. His party insulted them; they came to blows, and nearly 60 of these unhappy people were killed, and 200 wounded. This unexpected event lighted the flame of civil war throughout the kingdom. The duke of Guise took Rouen and Bourges, and won the battle of Dreux, Dec. 19, 1562. On the evening after this victory, he remained, with entire confidence, in the same tent with his prisoner, the prince of Condé, shared his bed with him, and slept quietly by the side of his rival, whom he regarded as a relation and a friend. At that time, the duke of Guise was at the height of his fortune. He