Connaught, Duke of, the third son of Queen Victoria, bred for the army, has held several military appointments; was promoted to the rank of general in 1893, and made commander-in-chief at Aldershot; b. 1850.


Connecticut (746), southernmost of the New England States, is washed by Long Island Sound, has New York on the W., Rhode Island on the E., and Massachusetts on the N. It is the third smallest State, rocky and uneven in surface, unfertile except in the Connecticut River valley. Streams abound, and supply motive-power for very extensive manufactures of clocks, hardware, india-rubber goods, smallwares, textiles, and firearms. There are iron-mines in the NW., stone-quarries, lead, copper, and cobalt mines. Climate is healthy, changeable, and in winter severe. Education is excellently provided for. Yale University, at New Haven, is thoroughly equipped; there are several divinity schools, Trinity College at Hartford, and the Wesleyan University at Middleton. The capital is Hartford (53); New Haven (81) is the largest town and chief port. The original colony was a democratic secession from Massachusetts in 1634. The constitution of 1639 was the first written democratic constitution on record. Its present constitution as a State dates from 1818.


Connecticut, a river in the United States which rises on the confines of Canada, and, after a course of 450 m., falls into the Atlantic at Long Island.


Connemara, a wild district with picturesque scenery in W. of co. Galway, Ireland.


Conolly, John, physician, born in Lincolnshire, studied at Edinburgh, settled in London, distinguished for having introduced and advocated a more rational and humane treatment of the insane (1794-1866).


Conrad, Cadet of the House of Hohenzollern, served under the illustrious Barbarossa; proved a capable young fellow under him; married the heiress of the Vohburgs; was appointed Burggraf of Nürnberg, 1170, and prince of the empire; "he is the lineal ancestor of Frederick the Great, twentieth in direct ascent, let him wait till nineteen generations, valiantly like Conrad, have done their part, Conrad will find he has come to this," that was realised in Frederick and his time.


Conrad, Marquis of Tyre, threw himself into Tyre when beset by Saladin, and held it till Richard Coeur de Lion and Philip Augustus arrived; was assassinated by emissaries of the Old Man of the Mountain in 1192.


Conrad I., count of Franconia, elected on the extinction of the Carlovingian line Emperor of the Germans, which he continued to be from 911 to 915; fell wounded in battle with the Huns, egged on by a rival.


Conrad II., the Salic, of the same family as the preceding; elected Emperor of Germany in 1024; reigned 15 years, extending the empire, suppressing disorders, and effecting reforms.


Conrad III., founder of the Hohenstaufen dynasty; elected Emperor of Germany in 1138; had Henry the Proud, as head of the German Guelfs, for rival; crushed him at Weinsberg; joined Louis VII. of France on a third crusade, and returning, overthrew the Guelfs again, leaving Barbarossa as his heir; d. 1152.


Conrad of Thüringia, a proud, quick, fiery-tempered magnate, seized the archbishop of Mainz once, swung him round, and threatened to cut him in two; stormed, plundered, and set fire to an imperial free town for an affront offered him; but admonished of his sins became penitent, and reconciled himself by monastic vow to the Pope and mankind about 1234.


Conradin the Boy, or Conrad V., the last representative of the Hohenstaufen dynasty of Romish Kaisers, had fallen into the Pope's clutches, who was at mortal feud with the empire, and was put to death by him on the scaffold at Naples, October 25, 1265, the "bright and brave" lad, only 16, "throwing out his glove (in symbolic protest) amid the dark mute Neapolitan multitudes" that idly looked on. See Carlyle's "Frederick the Great" for the Conrads.


Consalvi, Italian cardinal and statesman, born at Rome, secretary of Pius VII.; concluded the Concordat with Napoleon in 1801; represented the Pope at the Congress of Vienna; was a liberal patron of literature, science, and arts; continued minister of the Pope till his death (1757-1824).


Conscience, Hendrik, a brilliant Flemish novelist, born at Antwerp; rose to popularity among his countrymen by his great national romance the "Lion of Flanders," a popularity which soon extended all over Europe; his writings display great descriptive power and perfect purity of sentiment (1812-1883).


Conscript Fathers, the collective name of members of the Roman Senate, and addressed as such, fathers as seniors and conscripts as enrolled.


Conservation of Energy, the doctrine that, however it may be transformed or dissipated, no fraction of energy is ever lost, that the amount of force, as of matter, in the universe, under all mutation remains the same.


Conservatism, indisposition to change established laws and customs that have wrought beneficially in the past and contributed to the welfare of the country; in practical politics often a very different thing, and regarded by Carlyle in his time "a portentous enbodied sham; accursed of God, and doomed to destruction, as all lies are."


Considérant, Victor Prosper, a French Socialist and disciple of Fourier; founded a colony in Texas on Fourier's principles, which proved a failure; wrote much in advocacy of his principles, of which the most important is "La Destinée Sociale"; b. 1808.


Consols, the Consolidated Fund, loans to Government made at different times and at different rates of interest, consolidated for convenience into one common loan, bearing interest at 3 per cent., reduced in 1830 to 2¾, and in 1893 to 2½.


Constable, a high officer of State in the Roman empire, in France, and in England, charged at one time with military, judicial, and regulative functions.


Constable, Archibald, Edinburgh publisher, born in Carnbee, Fife; started as a bookseller near the Cross in Edinburgh; published the Scots Magazine, the Edinburgh Review, and the "Encyclopædia Britannica," and from 1802 to 1826 the works of Sir Walter Scott, when the bankruptcy connected with the publication of these so affected him that it ruined his health, though he lived after the crash came to start the "Miscellany" which bears his name (1774-1827).


Constable, Henry, English poet, author of sonnets, 28 in number, under the title of "Diana" (1560-1612).


Constable, John, an eminent landscape-painter, born in Suffolk; his works were more generously appreciated in France than in his own country, as they well might be, where they had not, as in England, to stand comparison with those of Turner; but he is now, despite the depreciation of Ruskin, becoming recognised among us as one of our foremost landscapists, and enormous prices have been given of late for his best pictures; some of his best works adorn the walls of the National Gallery; Ruskin allows his art is original, honest, free from affectation, and manly (1776-1837).


Constable de Bourbon, Charles, Duc de Bourbon, a brilliant military leader, and a powerful enemy of Francis I.; killed when leading the assault on Rome (1489-1527).


Constance (16), a city of the Grand-Duchy of Baden, on the S. bank of the Rhine, at its exit from the lake; famous for the seat of the council (1414-1418) which condemned John Huss and Jerome of Prague to death; long famous for its linen manufacture.


Constance, Lake, or Bodensee, partly in Germany and partly in Switzerland; is about 44 m. long and 9 m. broad at most; is traversed by the Rhine from W. to E., is 1306 ft. above sea-level; is surrounded by vineyards, cornfields, and wooded slopes; its waters are hardly ever frozen, and often rise and fall suddenly.


Constant, Benjamin, a highly popular French painter of the Realistic school, born at Paris; his first picture was "Hamlet and the King"; afterwards he took chiefly to Oriental subjects, which afforded the best scope for his talent; occupies a high place in the modern French school, and has been promoted to the rank of Officer of the Legion of Honour; b. 1845.


Constant de Rebecque, Henry Benjamin de, a French politician, of liberal constitutional principles, born at Lausanne, of Huguenot parents; settled in Paris at the commencement of the Revolution, where he distinguished himself by his political writings and speeches; was expelled from France in 1802, along with Mme. de Staël, for denouncing the military ascendency of Napoleon; lived for a time at Weimar in the society of Goethe and Schiller; translated Schiller's "Wallenstein"; returned to France in 1814; declared for the Bourbons, and pled in favour of constitutional liberty; he was a supporter of Louis Philippe, and a rationalist in religion, and declared himself opposed to the supernatural element in all religions (1760-1830).


Constantia, a wine district of Cape Colony under E. flank of Table Mountain.


Constantine (50), inland city of Algeria, on a rocky height; leather-working its staple industry.


Constantine, the name of 13 emperors who reigned at Rome or Byzantium between 306 and 1453.


Constantine I., called the Great, born in Moesia, son of Constantius Chlorus by Helena; on the death of his father at York, where he accompanied him, was proclaimed Emperor by the troops; this title being challenged by Maximian, his father-in-law, and Maxentius, his brother-in-law, he took up arms against first the one and then the other, and defeated them; when one day he saw a cross in the sky with the words By this Conquer in Greek, under this sign, known as the labarum, which he adopted as his standard, he accordingly marched straight to Rome, where he was acknowledged Emperor by the Senate in 312; and thereafter an edict was issued named of Milan, granting toleration to the Christians; he had still to extend his empire over the East, and having done so by the removal of Lucinius, he transferred the seat of his empire to Byzantium, which hence got the name of Constantinople, i. e. Constantine's city; had himself baptized in 337 as a Christian, after having three years before proclaimed Christianity the State religion (274-337).


Constantine Nicolaievitch, second son of the Czar Nicholas I.; was appointed grand-admiral while but a boy; had command of the Baltic fleet during the Crimean war; came under suspicion of sinister intriguing; became insane, and died in seclusion (1827-1892).


Constantine Paulovitch, Grand-duke of Russia, son of Paul I.; distinguished himself at Austerlitz; was commander-in-chief in Poland, where he ruled as despot; waived his right to the throne in favour of his brother Nicholas (1779-1831).


Constantine XIII., Palæologus, the last of the Greek emperors; had to defend Constantinople against a besieging force of 300,000 under Mahomet II., and though he defended it bravely, the city was taken by storm, and the Eastern empire ended in 1543.


Constantinople (1,000), capital of the Turkish empire, on the Bosphorus, situated on a peninsula washed by the Sea of Marmora on the S. and by the Golden Horn on the N., on the opposite side of which creek lie the quarters of Galata and Pera, one of the finest commercial sites in the world; it became the capital of the Roman empire under Constantine the Great, who gave name to it; was capital of the Eastern empire from the days of Theodosius; was taken by the crusaders in 1204, and by Mahomet II. in 1452, at which time the Greek and Latin scholars fled the city, carrying the learning of Greece and Rome with them, an event which led to the revival of learning in Europe, and the establishment of a new era—the Modern—in European history.


Constantius Chlorus, or the Pale, Roman emperor; after a struggle of three years reunited Britain with the empire, which had been torn from it by Allectus; was equally successful against the Alemanni, defeating them with great loss; died at York, on an expedition against the Picts; was succeeded by Constantine, his son (250-305).


Constituent Assembly, the legislative body which the National Assembly of France resolved itself into in 1789, a name it assumed from the task it imposed on itself, viz., of making a constitution, a task which, from the nature of it proved impossible, as a constitution is an entity which grows, and is not made, nascitur, non fit.


Consuelo, the heroine of George Sand's novel of the name, her masterpiece; the impersonation of the triumph of moral purity over manifold temptations.


Consul, (1) one of the two magistrates of Rome elected annually after the expulsion of the kings, and invested with regal power; (2) a chief magistrate of the French Republic from 1799 to 1804; (3) one commissioned to protect, especially the mercantile rights of the subjects of a State in foreign country.


Consulate, name given to the French Government from the fall of the Directory till the establishment of the Empire. At first there were three provisional consuls, Bonaparte, Siéyès, and Roger Ducos; then three consuls for ten years, Bonaparte, Cambacérès, and Lebrun, which was dissolved with the establishment of the Empire on the 20th May 1804.


Contari`ni, an illustrious Venetian family, which furnished eight Doges to the Republic, as well as an array of men eminent in the Church, statecraft, generalship, art, and letters.


Conte, Nicolas Jacques, a French painter; distinguished for his mechanical genius, which was of great avail to the French army in Egypt (1755-1805).


Conti, an illustrious French family, a younger branch of the house of Bourbon-Condé, all more or less distinguished as soldiers; François Louis especially, who was a man of supreme ability both in war and science, and had the merit to be elected king of Poland (1664-1709).


Continental System, Napoleon's scheme for interdicting all commerce between the Continent and Great Britain, carried out with various issues till the fall of Napoleon. See Berlin and Milan Decrees.


Contrat, Social, Rousseau's theory of society that it is based on mere contract, each individual member of it surrendering his will to the will of all, under protection of all concerned, a theory which led to the conclusion that the rule of kings is an usurpation of the rights of the community, and which bore fruit as an explosive in the Revolution at the end of the century.


Convention, National, a revolutionary convention in France which, on September 20, 1792, succeeded the Legislative Assembly, proclaimed the Republic, condemned the king to death, succeeded in crushing the royalists of La Vendée and the south, in defeating all Europe leagued against France, and in founding institutions of benefit to France to this day; it was dissolved on October 26, 1795, to make way for the Directory.


Conversations Lexicon, a popular German encyclopædia of 16 vols., started in 1796, and since 1808 published by Brockhaus, in Leipzig.


Conversion, "the grand epoch for a man," says Carlyle, "properly the one epoch; the turning-point, which guides upwards, or guides downwards, him and his activities for evermore."


Convocation, an assemblage of the English clergy, with little or no legislative power, summoned and prorogued by an archbishop under authority of the Crown; one under the Archbishop of Canterbury, held at Canterbury, and one under the Archbishop of York, held at York, consisting each of two bodies, an Upper of bishops, and an Under of lesser dignitaries and inferior clergy, in separate chambers, though they originally met in one.


Conway, a port in Carnarvon, on the river Conway, with a massive castle, one of those built by Edward I. to keep Wales in check; is a favourite summer resort, and is amid beautiful scenery.


Conway, Hugh, the nom de plume of Frederick Fargus, born in Bristol; bred to the auctioneer business; author of "Called Back," a highly sensational novel, and a success; gave up his business and settled in London, where he devoted himself to literature, and the production of similar works of much promise, but caught malarial fever at Monte Carlo and died (1847-1885).


Conway, Moncure, an American writer, born in Virginia; began life as a Unitarian preacher; came to England as a lecturer on war; became leader of the advanced school of thought, so called; was a great admirer of Emerson, and wrote, among other works, "Emerson at Home and Abroad"; b. 1832.


Conybeare, William Daniel, an English clergyman, devoted to the study of geology and palæontology, and a Bampton lecturer (1787-1857).


Conybeare, William John, son of the preceding; author, along with Dean Howson, of the "Life and Epistles of St. Paul," and of an "Essay on Church Parties" (1815-1857).


Cook, Dutton, novelist, dramatic author, and critic; born in London, and bred a solicitor; contributed to several periodicals, and the "Dictionary of National Biography" (1822-1883).


Cook, Edward T., journalist, born at Brighton; educated at Oxford; had been on the editorial staff of the Pall Mall Gazette and the Westminster Gazette, became, in 1893, editor of the Daily News; is an enthusiastic disciple of Ruskin; wrote "Studies on Ruskin"; b. 1857.


Cook, Eliza, a writer of tales, verses, and magazine articles; born in Southwark; daughter of a merchant; conducted, from 1849 to 1854, a journal called by her name, but gave it up from failing health; enjoyed a pension of £100 on the Civil List till her death; was the authoress of "The Old Arm-Chair" and "Home in the Heart," both of which were great favourites with the public, and did something for literature and philanthropy by her Journal (1818-1889).


Cook, James, the distinguished English navigator, born at Marton, Yorkshire; was the son of a farm labourer; began sea-faring on board a merchantman; entered the navy in 1755, and in four years became a master; spent some nine years in survey of the St. Lawrence and the coasts of Newfoundland; in 1768, in command of the Endeavour, was sent out with an expedition to observe the transit of Venus, and in 1772 as commander of two vessels on a voyage of discovery to the South Seas; on his return, receiving further promotion, he set out on a third voyage of farther exploration in the Pacific, making many discoveries as far N. as Behring Strait; lost his life, on his way home, in a dispute with the natives, at Owhyhee, in the Sandwich Islands, being savagely murdered, a fate which befell him owing to a certain quickness of temper he had displayed, otherwise he was a man of great kindness of heart, and his men were warmly attached to him (1728-1779).


Cook, Joseph, a popular lecturer, born near New York; delivered Monday Lectures at Boston in the discussion of social questions, and the alleged discrepancy between science and religion or revelation; b. 1838.


Cook, Mount, the highest point, 12,350 ft., in the Southern Alps, Canterbury Island, New Zealand.


Cook Strait, strait between the North and the South Island, New Zealand.


Cooke, Sir Antony, an eminent scholar, tutor to Edward VI.; of his daughters, one was married to Lord Burleigh and another to Sir Nicholas Bacon, who became the mother of Lord Bacon (1506-1576).


Cooke, Benjamin, composer, born in London; organist in Westminster Abbey; author of "How Sleep the Brave," "Hark! the Lark," and other glees, as well as some excellent church music (1739-1793).


Cooke, George Frederick, an actor, famous for his representation of Richard III.; stood in his day next to Kemble in spite of his intemperate habits (1756-1811).


Cooke, T. P., an actor in melodrama; began life at sea; took to the stage; his most popular representations were William in "Black-eyed Susan" and Long Tom Coffin in the "Pilot" (1786-1864).


Coolgardie, a mining district and head-quarters of rich gold-fields in W. Australia.


Coolies, labourers from India and China, who now emigrate in large numbers, especially from China, often to where they are not wanted, and where they, as in the British Colonies and the United States, are much disliked, as they bring down the wages of native labourers.


Coomassie, the capital of the negro kingdom of Ashanti, 130 m. NNW. of Cape Coast Castle; once a large populous place; was much reduced after its capture by Wolseley in 1874, though it is being rebuilt.


Cooper, Anthony Ashley. See Shaftesbury.


Cooper, Sir Astley, English surgeon, born in Norfolk; was great in anatomy and a skilful operator, stood high in the medical profession; contributed much by his writings to raise surgery to the rank of a science; was eminent as a lecturer as well as a practitioner (1768-1841).


Cooper, James Fenimore, an American novelist, born in Burlington, New Jersey; having a passion for the sea, he entered the navy as a midshipman in 1808, but in three years resigned his commission, married, and settled to literature; his novels, which are well known, achieved instant popularity, made him a great favourite with boys, in which he showed himself an expert in the narration of events, the description of scenes, as well as in the delineation of character; he came to loggerheads with the newspaper press, had recourse to actions for libel, conducted his own cases himself, and was always successful (1789-1851).


Cooper, Thomas, a self-taught man, born in Leicester; bred a shoemaker; became a schoolmaster, a Methodist preacher, and then a journalist; converted to Chartism; was charged with sedition, and committed to prison for two years; wrote here "Purgatory of Suicides"; after liberation went about lecturing on politics and preaching scepticism; returning to his first faith, he lectured on the Christian evidences, and wrote an autobiography (1805-1892).


Cooper, Thomas Sidney, a distinguished animal-painter, born in Canterbury; struggled with adversity in early life: rose to be supreme in his own department of art; he has written an account of his career; b. 1803.


Cooperage, a system of barter which has for some time gone on in the North Seas, consisting of exchange of spirits and tobacco for other goods or money, a demoralising traffic, which endeavours are now being made to suppress.


Cooper's Hill, a hill of slight elevation near Runnymede, with a Government civil engineering college, originally for the training for the service in India, now for education in other departments of the Government service, forestry especially.


Coorg (173), an inland high-lying province, about the size of Kent, on the eastern slope of the W. Ghâts, on the SW. border of Mysore, under the Indian Government; it is covered with forests, infested with wild animals; the natives, a fine race, are distinguished for their loyalty to the British.


Coote, Sir Eyre, a general, born in co. Limerick, Ireland; distinguished himself at Plassey; gained victories over the French in India; afterwards routed Hyder Ali at Porto Novo; died at Madras (1726-1783).


Cope, Charles West, a painter, born at Leeds; his pictures have for subjects historical or dramatic scenes, and were very numerous; executed the frescoes that adorn the Peers' corridor at Westminster; was professor of Painting to the Royal Academy (1811-1890).


Cope, Sir John, a British general; was in command at Prestonpans, and defeated by the Pretender there in 1745, in connection with which his name is remembered in Scotland as not having been ready when the Highlanders attacked him, by the song "Heigh! Johnnie Cowp, are ye wauken yet?" d. 1760.


Copenhagen (380), the capital of Denmark, and the only large town in it; lies low, and is built partly on the island of Seeland and partly on the island of Amager, the channel between which forms a commodious harbour; is a thriving place of manufacture and of trade, as its name "Merchants' Haven" implies; has also a university, an arsenal, and numerous public buildings.


Copernicus, Nicolas, founder of modern astronomy, born at Thorn, in Poland, and educated at Cracow and Bologna; became canon of Frauenburg, on the Frisches Haff; studied medicine; was doctor to a wealthy uncle, with whom he lived, and became his heir when he died; his chief interest lay in the heavenly bodies, and his demonstrations regarding their movements, which yet he deferred publishing till he was near his end; and indeed it was only when he was unconscious and dying that the first printed copy of the work was put into his hands; it was entitled "De Orbium Revolutionibus," and was written in proof of the great first principle of astronomy, that the sun is the centre of the solar system, and that the earth and planets circle round it; the work was dedicated to Pope Paul III., and was received with favour by the Catholic Church, though, strange to say, it was denounced by Luther and Melanchthon as contrary to the Scriptures of truth (1473-1543).


Copiapó, a river, a village, a city, and a district in Chile.


Copley, John Singleton, portrait and historical painter, born in Boston, U.S.; painted Washington's portrait at the age of eighteen; came to England in 1776, having previously sent over for exhibition sundry of his works; painted portraits of the king and the queen; began the historical works on which his fame chiefly rests, the most widely known perhaps of which is the "Death of Chatham," now in the National Gallery (1737-1815).


Coppée, François, a poet, born in Paris; has produced several volumes of poetry, excellent dramas in verse, and tales in prose; his poetry is the poetry of humble life, and "has given poetic pleasure," as Professor Saintsbury says, "to many who are not capable of receiving it otherwise, while he has never sought to give that pleasure by unworthy means"; b. 1842.


Copper Captain, a Brummagem captain; the name given to Percy in Beaumont and Fletcher's play, "Rule a Wife and Have a Wife."


Copper Nose, name given to Oliver Cromwell, from a brownish tinge on his nose.


Copperheads, secret foes in one's own camp, so called from a set of serpents which conceal their purpose to attack.


Coppermine, a river in NW. Canada which falls into the Arctic Ocean after a broken course of 250 m.


Coppet, a Swiss village in the Canton de Vaud, on the Lake of Geneva; celebrated as the abode of Mme. de Staël, her burial-place and that of Necker, her father.


Copts, the Christian descendants of the ancient Egyptians, who are Monophysites in belief, some regarding the Patriarch of Alexandria and some the Pope as their head; they adhere to the ancient ritual, are prelatic, sacramentarian, and exclusive; they speak Arabic, their original Coptic being as good as dead, though the grammar is taught in the schools.


Copyright, the sole right of an author or his heirs to publish a work for a term of years fixed by statute, a book for 42 years, or the author's lifetime and 7 years after, whichever is longer; copyright covers literary, artistic, and musical property. By the Act an author must present one copy of his work, if published, to the British Museum, and one copy, if demanded, to the Bodleian Library, Oxford; the University Library, Cambridge; the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh; and Trinity College Library, Dublin.


Coquelin, Benoit Constant, a noted French actor, born at Boulogne; played in classical pieces and others, composed for himself in the Théâtre Français from 1860 to 1886; since then in London, S. America, and the United States; without a rival in the broader aspects of comedy; b. 1841.


Coquerel, Athanase, a pastor of the French Reformed Church, born in Paris, where he preached eloquently from 1830 till his death; was elected in 1848 deputy for the Seine to the national Assembly, but retired from political life after the coup d'état; wrote a reply to Strauss (1795-1858).


Coquerel, Athanase, a Protestant pastor, son of preceding, born at Amsterdam; celebrated for his liberal and tolerant views, too much so for M. Guizot; edited Voltaire's letters on toleration; his chief work, "Jean Calas et sa Famille" (1820-1875).


Coquimbo (14), capital of a mining province of Chile (176) of the name; exports minerals and cattle.


Coraïs, a distinguished Hellenist, born in Smyrna, of the mercantile class; settled in Paris, where he devoted himself to awakening an interest in Greek literature and the cause of the Greeks (1748-1833).


Coram, Thomas, English philanthropist, the founder of the Foundling Hospital, born at Lyme Regis; a man of varied ventures by sea and land; settled in London; was touched by the sufferings of the poor, where, with warm support from Hogarth, he founded the said institution; his charity so impoverished him that he ended his days as an object of charity himself, being dependent on a small annuity raised by subscription (1667-1751).


Corato (30), a town in a fertile region in S. Italy, 25 m. W. of Bari.


Corble-steps, or Crow-steps, steps ascending the gable of a house, common in old Scotch gables as well as in the Netherlands and elsewhere in old towns.


Cor`bulo, a distinguished general under Claudius and Nero, who conquered the Parthians; Nero, being jealous of him, invited him to Corinth, where he found a death-warrant awaiting him, upon which he plunged his sword into his breast and exclaimed, "Well deserved!" in 72 A.D.


Corcy`ra, an Ionian island, now Corfu (q. v.).


Corday, Charlotte, a French heroine, born at St. Saturnin, of good birth, granddaughter of Corneille; well read in Voltaire and Plutarch; favoured the Revolution, but was shocked at the atrocities of the Jacobins; started from Caen for Paris as an avenging angel; sought out Marat, with difficulty got access to him, stabbed him to the heart as he sat "stewing in slipper-bath," and "his life with a groan gushed out, indignant, to the shades below"; when arrested, she "quietly surrendered"; when questioned as to her motive, she answered, "I killed one man to save a hundred thousand"; she was guillotined next day (1763-1793).


Cordelia, the youngest and favourite daughter of King Lear.


Cordeliers, (1) the strictest branch of the Franciscan Order of Monks, so called from wearing a girdle of knotted cord; (2) also a club during the French Revolution, founded in 1789, its prominent members, Danton, Camille Desmoulins, and Marat; was a secession from the Jacobin Club, which was thought lukewarm, and met in what had been a convent of the Cordeliers monks; it expired with Danton.


Corderius, a grammarian, born in Normandy; being a Protestant settled in Geneva and taught; author of Latin "Colloquies," once very famous (1478-1567).


Cordilleras, the name of several chains of mountains in S. America.


Cordite, a smokeless powder, invented by Sir F. A. Abel, being composed principally of gun-cotton and glycerine.


Cordon Blue, formerly the badge of the Order of the Holy Ghost, now the badge of highest excellence in a cook.


Cordouan, a lighthouse at the mouth of the Gironde.


Cor`dova (70), a city on the Paraná, in the Argentine; also a town (48) in Andalusia, Spain, on the right bank of the Guadalquivir, in a province of the name, 80 m. NE. of Seville; once a Moorish capital, and famous for its manufacture of goat leather; has a cathedral, once a magnificent mosque.


Corea (6,511), an Eastern Asiatic kingdom occupying the mountainous peninsula between the Yellow and Japan Seas, in the latitude of Italy, with Manchuria on its northern border, a country as large as Great Britain. The people, an intelligent and industrious race, are Mongols, followers of Confucius and Buddha. After being for 300 years tributary to China, it passed under Japanese influence, and by the Chinese defeat in the war with Japan, 1894-95, was left independent. The climate is healthy, but subject to extremes; rivers are ice-bound for four months. Wheat, rice, and beans are grown. There are gold, silver, iron, and coal mines, and great mineral wealth. There are extensive manufactures of paper, and some silk industry. Three ports are open to foreigners; but most of the trade is with Japan; exports hides, beans, and paper; imports cotton goods. The capital is Seoul (193).


Corelli, Arcangelo, an Italian musical composer, celebrated for his skill on the violin; his compositions mark a new musical epoch; he has been called the father of instrumental music (1653-1713).


Corelli, Marie, a novelist, a prolific authoress, and very popular; her first work "The Romance of Two Worlds," one of her latest "The Sorrows of Satan"; b. 1864.


Corfe Castle, a village in the Isle of Purbeck, Dorsetshire, round a castle now in ruins, and the scene of martyrdoms and murders not a few in its day.