already described, and used in taking off the grease from the flesh. It is then boarded up, or grained again, by applying the graining-board first to the grain, and then to the flesh. It is now fit for waxing, which is performed first by coloring. This is effected by rubbing, with a brush dipped in a composition of oil and lampblack, on the flesh, till it be thoroughly black: it is then sized, called black-sizing, with a brush or sponge, dried and tallowed; and, when dry, this sort of leather, called wared, or black on the flesh, is curried. The currying leather on the hair or grain side, called black on the grain, is the same with currying on the flesh, until we come to the operation of scouring. Then the first black is applied to it while wet; which black is a solution of the sulphate of iron called copperas, in fair water, or in the water in which the skins, as they come from the tanner, have been soaked. This is first put upon the grain after it has been rubbed with a stone; then rubbed over with a brush dipped in stale urine; the skin is then stuffed, and, when dry, it is seasoned, that is, rubbed over with a brush dipped in copperas water, on the grain, till it is perfectly black. After this, the grain is raised with a fine graining-board. When it is thoroughly dry, it is whitened, bruised again, and grained in two or three different ways, and, when oiled upon the grain, with a mixture of oil and tallow, it is finished.

CURRY-POWDER. (See Turmeric.)

CURTIUS, Marcus; a noble Roman youth, known by the heroic manner in which, according to tradition, he sacrificed himself for the good of his country. In the year of Rome 392 (B. C. 362), it is said, a chasm opened in the Roman forum, from which issued pestilential vapors. The oracle declared that the chasm would close whenever that which constituted the glory of Rome should be thrown into it. Curtius asked if any thing in Rome was more precious than arms and valor; and, being answered in the negative, he arrayed himself in armor, mounted a horse splendidly equipped, solemnly devoted himself to death, in presence of the Roman people, and sprang into the abyss, which instantly closed over him.

CURTIUS RUFUS, Quintus, the author of a History of Alexander the Great, in ten books, the two first of which are lost, has been supposed to be the son of a gladiator. He recommended himself by his knowledge to Tiberius, and, during his reign, received the pretorship; under Claudius, the consulship, also the emperor's 8

VOL. IV.

85

consent to celebrate a triumph, and finally the proconsulship of Africa. He died in Africa, A. D. 69, at an advanced age. We should have had more complete accounts concerning him, if the first books of his work had been preserved. Curtius deserves no great praise as a historian. His style is florid, and his narratives have more of romance than of historical certainty. The lost parts have been supplied by Christopher Bruno, a Bavarian monk, in a short and dry manner; by Freinshemius, in a diffuse style; and by Christopher Cellarius, in a style which forms a medium between the two. The best edition is by Snakenburg (Leyden, 1724, 4to.). Among the new editions are that by Schmieder (Göttingen, 1814). Buttmann, Hirt, and Niebuhr (the Roman historian), have written treatises on his life. The last named gentleman read, in 1821, before the academy of Berlin, a disquisition on the period of Curtius-a performance distinguished for critical acumen and erudition. Niebuhr thinks that the work was written under Severus, and not under Vespasian. The essay is to be found in his Kleine historische und philologische Schriften, erste Sammlung (Boùn, 1828).

CURVES (from the Latin curvus, crooked, bent), in geometry. The simplest objects are the most difficult to be defined, and mathematicians have never succeeded in giving a definition, satisfactory to themselves, of a line. It is equally difficult to give a satisfactory definition of a curve, Perhaps the simplest explanation of it is, a line which is not a straight line, nor mate up of straight lines. This definition, however, is deficient in mathematical precision. Since Descartes' application of algebra to geometry, the theory of the curves has received a considerable extension. The study of the curves known to the ancients has become much easier, and new ones have been investigated. Curves form, at present, one of the most interesting and most important subjects of geometry. Such as have not all their parts in the same plane, are called curves of a double curvature. The simplest of all curves is the circle. The spiral of Archimedes, the conchoid of Nicomedes, the cissoid of Diocles, the quadratrix of Dinostratus, &c., are celebrated curves.

Cusco, or Cuzco; a city of Peru, capital of an intendency of the same name, the ancient capital of the Peruvian empire; 550 miles E. S. E. Lima; lon. 71° 4 W.; lat. 13° 42′ S.; population stated from 20 to 32,000. It is a bishop's see. It was founded, according to tradition, in

86

:

1043, by Manco Capac, the first inca of Peru, on a rough and unequal plain, formed by the skirts of various mountains, which are washed by the small river Guatanay. The wall was of an extraordinary height, and built of stone, with astonishing neatness. The Spaniards, in 1534, found the houses built of stone; among them a temple of the sun, and a great number of magnificent palaces, whose principal ornaments were of gold and silver, which glittered on the walls. Cusco is, at present, a large city the houses are built of stone, and covered with red tiles; the apartments are well distributed; the mouldings of the doors are gilt, and the furniture not less magnificent. The cathedral church is large, built of stone, and of an elegant and noble architecture. About three fourths of the inhabitants are Indians. CUSHING, Thomas, was born at Boston, in 1725, and finished his education at the college of Cambridge (New England), in 1744. Both his grandfather and father had spent a considerable portion of their lives in the public service, the latter having been, for several years previous to his death, speaker of the house of representatives in Massachusetts. He engaged early in political life, and was sent, by the city of Boston, as its representative to the general court, where he displayed such qualifications for the despatch of business, that, when governor Bernard, in 1763, negatived James Otis, the father, as speaker, he was chosen in his place, and continued in the station for many consecutive years. Whilst he was in the chair, he had frequent opportunities of evincing his patriotism and aversion to the arbitrary course of the English government; and, as his name was signed to all the public documents, in consequence of his office, he acquired great celebrity, and was generally supposed to exert a much greater influence in affairs than he actually did. This circumstance led doctor Johnson, in his pamphlet Taxation no Tyranny, to make this foolish remark-"One object of the Americans is said to be, to adorn the brows of Mr. Cushing with a diadem." Though decidedly patriotic in his principles, Mr. Cushing was moderate and conciliatory in his conduct, by which he was enabled to effect a great deal of good as a mediator between the two contending parties. He was an active and efficient member of the two first continental congresses, and, on his return to his state, was chosen a member of the council. He was also appointed judge of the courts of common pleas and of probate in the

county of Suffolk, which stations he occupied until the present constitution was adopted, when he was elected lieutenantgovernor of the state, and continued so until his death, which took place Feb. 19, 1788, in the 63d year of his age, in consequence of gout.

CUSTINE, Adam Philip, count of, born at Metz, 1740, served as captain in the seven years' war. (q. v.) Through the influence of the duke of Choiseul, he obtained, in 1762, a regiment of dragoons, which was called by his name. In 1780, he exchanged this for the regiment of Saintonge, which was on the point of going to America, to the aid of the North American colonies. On his return, he was appointed maréchal de camp. In 1789, he was deputy of the nobility of Metz, and was one of the first who declared for the popular party. He subsequently entered the army of the North, and, in May, 1792, made himself master of the pass of Porentruy. In June, he received the command of the army of the Lower Rhine, and opened the campaign by taking possession of Spire, Sept. 29. Meeting with feeble opposition, he took Worms, and, Oct. 21, the fortress of Mentz capitulated. On the 23d, he took possession of Frankfort on the Maine, on which he laid heavy contributions. Thence, escaping the pursuit of the Prussians, he threw himself into Mentz, which he caused to be fortified. With the opening of the campaign of 1793, he left Mentz, which the allies were besieging, and retired to Alsace. He was now denounced, and, in April, received his dismission; but the convention, in May, invested him with the command of the northern army. But he had hardly time to visit the posts. Marat and Varennes were unceasing in their accusations against him, and at last prevailed on the committee of safety to recall him to Paris. The revolutionary tribunal began his trial Aug. 15. He made a spirited defence; but his death was determined upon. He was condemned Aug. 27, and guillotined on the 28th.

CUSTOMS. (See Revenue.)

CUSTOS ROTULORUM; an officer, in England, who has the custody of the rolls and records of the sessions of the peace, and also of the commission of the peace itself. He is usually a nobleman, and always a justice of the peace, of the quorum in the county where he is appointed. He may execute his office by a deputy, and is empowered to appoint the clerk of the peace; but he is prohibited from selling his office under divers penalties.

with the horn, in a press of such power, that, allowing a man's strength to be 200 pounds, it will be equal to 43,000 pounds. By this process, the horn receives considerable extension. If the horn is not previously black, the handles are dyed black by means of a bath of logwood and green vitriol. The clear horn handles are sometimes stained so as to imitate the tortoise-shell.The manufacture of penknives is divided into three departments: the first is the forging of the blades, the spring and the iron scales; the second, the grinding and polishing of the blades; and the third, the handling, which consists in fitting up all the parts, and finishing the knife. The blades are made of the best cast steel, and hardened and tempered to about the same degree with that of razors. In grinding, they are made a little more concave on one side than the other: in other respects, they are treated in a similar way to razors. The handles are covered with horn, ivory, and sometimes wood; but the most durable covering is stag-horn. The most general fault in penknives is that of being too soft. The temper ought to be not higher than a straw color, as it seldom happens that a penknife is so hard as to snap on the edge.-The beauty and elegance of polished steel is nowhere displayed to more advantage than in the manufacture of the finer kinds of scissors. The steel employed for the more valuable scissors should be cast steel of the choicest qualities it must possess hardness and uniformity of texture, for the sake of assuming a fine polish; and great tenacity when hot, for the purpose of forming the bow or ring of the scissors, which requires to be extended from a solid piece, having a hole previously punched through it. It ought also to be very tenacious when cold, to allow that delicacy of form observed in those scissors termed ladies' scissors. After the scissors are forged as near to the same size as the eye of the workman can ascertain, they are paired, and the two sides fitted together. The bows and some other parts are filed to their intended form; the blades are also roughly ground, and the two sides properly adjusted to each other, after being bound together with wire, and hardened up to the bows. They are afterwards heated till they become of a purple color, which indicates their proper temper. Almost all the remaining part of the work is performed at the grinding mill, with the stone, the lap, the polisher and the brush. The very large scissors are partly of iron and partly of steel, the shanks and bows

being of the former. These, as well as those all of steel, which are not hardened all over, cannot be polished: an inferior sort of lustre, however, is given to them by means of a burnish of hardened, polished steel, which is very easily distinguished from the real polish by the irregularity of the surface. (For swords, see Sword.)

CUTTER; a small vessel, furnished with one mast, and rigged as a sloop. Many of these fast-sailing vessels are used by smugglers, and are also employed for the purpose of apprehending them. In the latter case, they are called revenue cutters. The clippers-a kind of vessels built at Baltimore—are particularly adapted for fast sailing, but require great skill in navigating them, to avoid being upset. (See Boat, Ship.)

CUTTY-STOOL; a low stool; the stool of repentance; a small gallery in the Scottish kirks, placed near the roof, and painted black, in which offenders against chastity sit during service, professing repentance, and listening to the minister's rebukes.

CUT-WATER; the sharp part of the head of a ship below the beak, so called because it cuts or divides the water before it comes to the bow, that it may not come too suddenly to the breadth of the ship, which would retard it.

CUVIER, George Leopold Christian Frederic Dagobert, baron of; born Aug. 25, 1769, at Montbéliard, then belonging to the duchy of Würtemburg. His bril liant talents very early excited great expectations. His father was an officer. As the son's health was too feeble to allow him to become a soldier, he resolved to be a clergyman. He was obliged to pass an examination for the stipend, by the help of which he expected to study at Tübingen. A malicious examiner rejected him. The affair, however, was marked by so much injustice, that prince Frederic, brother of the duke, and governor of the district, thought it his duty to compensate Cuvier by a place in the Charles academy at Stuttgart. Here he gave up his intention of becoming a clergyman. In Stuttgart, he studied at first the science of law, though he was particularly fond of natural history. To this period of his life he is indebted for his accurate knowledge of the German language and literature. The narrow circumstances of his parents compelled him to accept the office of private instructer in the family of count D'Hericy, in Normandy. Here he was at liberty to devote his leisure to natural science. Cu