James Wood

“ The smallest canton (106) of Switzerland, situated at the western extremity of the lake of the name; the surface is hilly, but not mountainous, and is watered by the Rhône and Arve; the soil is unfertile, but the patient industry of the inhabitants has made it fruitful; the cultivation of the vine, fruit-growing, and the manufacture of watches, &c., are the chief industries; 85 per cent, of the people speak French. 2. Capital (78) of the canton, occupies a splendid geographical position at the south-western end of the lake, at the exit of the Rhône ”

“ Their secret is not learned from one, but from all three; and they give grace only with fulness, buoyancy, and radiancy of soul, or life, united all in one. They are in essence the soul in its fulness of life and sympathy, pouring itself rhythmically through every obstruction, before which the most solid becomes fluid, transparent, and radiant of itself. ”

“ Garibaldi, Italian patriot, began life as a sailor, associated himself enthusiastically with Mazzini for the liberation of his country, but being convicted of conspiracy fled to South America, where, both as a privateer and a soldier, he gave his services to the young republics struggling there for life; returned to Europe, and took part in the defence of Rome against France, but being defeated fled to New York, to return to the Isle of Caprera, biding his time ”

“ Grey, Lady Jane, the ill-fated “nine days' queen,” born at Bradgate, Leicestershire; was the daughter of the Duke of Suffolk and the great-granddaughter of Henry VII.; her talents were of a rare order, and sedulously cultivated; she attained to great proficiency in Greek, Latin, and also in modern languages, while she was skilled in all the accomplishments of womanhood; a plot entered into by Suffolk and the Duke of Northumberland, whose son Lady Jane had been forced to espouse at 15, brought about her proclamation as Queen in 1553 ”

“ There is excellent harbourage for the extensive shipping, and an active export and import trade is carried on. In the city are iron-works, cotton and cloth mills, match factories, &c.; the streets are narrow and irregular, but many of the buildings, especially the ducal palaces and the cathedral, are of great historical and architectural interest; there is an excellent university, a public library, and an Academy of Fine Arts; Columbus was born here.
Genre Painting, name given to paintings embracing figures as they appear in ordinary life and in ordinary situations. ”

“ English power was established in Canada by the brilliant victory of Wolfe at Quebec (1759) ; an empire was won in India by Clive; the victory of Minden (1759) was gained in the Seven Years' War; Methodism sprang up under Wesley and Whitfield; while a great development in literature and art took place; against these, however, must be set the doubling of the National Debt, mainly due to the Seven Years' War, and a defeat by the French at Fontenoy (1745) (1683-1760) . ”

“ Gypsies, a race of people of wandering habits, presumed to be of Indian origin, found scattered over Europe, Asia, and Africa, and even in America, who appear to have begun to migrate westward from the valley of the Indus about A.D. 1000, and to have reached Europe in the 14th century, and to owe their name gypsies to their supposed origin in Egypt. They in general adhere to their unsettled habits wherever they go, show the same tastes, and follow the same pursuits, such as tinkering, mat-making, basket-making, fortune-telling. ”

“ Galileo, an illustrious Italian mathematician, physicist, and astronomer, born at Pisa, demonstrated the isochronism of the pendulum, invented the thermometer and the hydrostatic balance, propounded the law of falling bodies, constructed the first astronomical telescope, and by means of it satisfied himself of, and proved, the truth of the Copernican doctrine, that the sun and not the earth is the centre of the planetary system, and that the earth revolves round it like the other planets which reflect its light ”

“ Glasgow (815, including suburbs) , the second city of the empire and the chief centre of industry in Scotland, is situated on the Clyde, in Lanarkshire, 45 m. W. from Edinburgh and 405 from London; it is conjectured that the origin of the name is found in Cleschu (“beloved green spot”) , the name of a Celtic village which occupied the site previously, near which St. Mungo, or Kentigern, erected his church about A.D. 560; although a royal burgh in 1636, it was not till after the stimulus to trade occasioned by the Union (1707) that it began to display its now characteristic mercantile activity ”

“ Guatemala (1,510) , a republic of Central America, fronting the Pacific on the W., between Mexico on the N., and San Salvador and Honduras on the S.; is for the most part mountainous, with intervening valleys of rich fertility, little explored; minerals are abundant, and gold and silver are worked, but the wealth of the country lies in its fertile soil, which produces abundance of coffee, sugar, cotton, tobacco, and fruits of all kinds; there is some manufacture of textiles, pottery, &c.; the want of good roads has hindered the development of the country ”

“ Gothenburg is the chief town. 2 (51) , a Swedish island in the Baltic, 44 m. E. of the mainland, area 1217 sq. m.; forms, with other islands, the province of Gothland or Wisby; agriculture, fishing, and shipping are the main industries; Wisby is the chief town (also called Gottland) .
Goths, a tribe of Teutons who in formidable numbers invaded the Roman empire from the east and north-east from as early as the third century, and though they were beaten back at the battle of Châlons, eventually broke it up.
Gottfried von Strasburg, a medieval German poet and one of the famous minnesingers ”

“ Geoffrey Saint-Hilaire, Étienne, zoologist and biologist, born at Étampes; he was educated for the Church, but while studying theology at Paris his love for natural science was awakened, and the study of it henceforth became the ruling passion of his life; was made professor of Zoology in the Museum of Natural History in Paris; accompanied Napoleon to Egypt as a member of the scientific commission, and returned with rich collections, while his labours were rewarded by his election to the Academy of Sciences ”

“ Grattan, Henry, great Irish patriot and orator, born in Dublin, and by birth a Protestant; studied at Trinity College, where he stood high in classics; was called to the Irish bar in 1772, and entered the Irish Parliament three years after, where he distinguished himself as the champion of legislative freedom, by maintaining that the crown had no right to legislate on matters affecting Irish interests, and particularly Irish commercial interests, without consulting the Irish Parliament, and by securing thereby in a measure the legislative independence of Ireland ”

“ Galloway, a district in the SW. of Scotland, co-extensive with Wigtown and Kirkcudbright, though formerly of considerably greater extent; the lack of mineral wealth has retarded its development, and the industry of the population is limited chiefly to agriculture, the rearing of sheep and cattle, and fishing, and it is still noted for a small but hardy breed of horses called Galloways; the province derives its name from Gall-Gael, or foreign Gaels, as the early inhabitants were called, who up to the time of the Reformation maintained the characteristics, language, &c., of a distinct people ”

“ Gesner, Konrad von, Swiss scholar and naturalist, born at Zurich; hampered by ill-health and poverty in his youth, he yet contrived by unremitting diligence to obtain an excellent education at Strasburg, Bourges, and Paris; in his twenty-first year he obtained an appointment in Zurich University, and in 1537 became professor of Greek at Lausanne; abandoning the idea he entertained of entering the Church, he determined to adopt the medical profession instead, graduated at Basel in 1540, and a year later went to Zurich to occupy the chair of Natural History and to practise as a doctor ”

“ Grouchy, Emmanuel, Marquis de, a French marshal, born at Paris; entered the army in 1780, and later gave enthusiastic support to the Revolution, laying aside his title; took part in the Vendéan campaign, the abortive attempt on Ireland, and, under Joubert, in the conquest of Italy; was a gallant and daring commander in the Piedmontese, Austrian, and Russian campaigns of Napoleon, and by skilful generalship covered the retreat of the French at Leipzig; he was among the first to welcome Napoleon back from Elba, defeated Blücher at Ligny, but failed to be forward in the field of Waterloo ”

“ Glamorganshire (687) , a maritime county in S. Wales, fronting the Bristol Channel, between Monmouth and Carmarthen; amid the hilly country of the N. lie the rich coal-fields and iron-stone quarries which have made it by far the most populous and wealthiest county of Wales; the S. country—the garden of Wales—is a succession of fertile valleys and wooded slopes; dairy-farming is extensively engaged in, but agriculture is somewhat backward; the large towns are actively engaged in the coal-trade and in the smelting of iron, copper, lead, and tin ”

“ George, St., the patron saint of chivalry and of England; adopted as such in the reign of Edward III.; believed to have been born in Armorica, and to have suffered martyrdom under Diocletian in A.D. 303; he is represented as mounted on horseback and slaying a dragon (q. v.) , conceived as an incarnation of the evil one.
Georgetown: 1 (53) , capital of British Guiana, at the mouth of the Demerara River; is the see of an Anglican bishop; is neatly laid out, and has some handsome buildings, but is considered unhealthy; the staple industries are sugar and coffee. ”

“ Guadeloupe (168) , a French island among the Lesser Antilles, in the W. Indies; is subject to earthquakes; produces sugar and coffee; has belonged to France since 1816.
Guadiana, an important river of Spain, has its source in the E. of the plateau of Mancha, and for a short distance is known as the Zancara, flows in a westerly direction as far as Badajoz, where it bends to the S., then forms the border between Portugal and Spain for a short distance, bends into Alemtejo, and again, ere reaching the Gulf of Cadiz, divides the two countries ”

“ Gustavus was an enlightened ruler, but somewhat alienated his people from him by his extravagance and fondness for French modes of life; in 1788 he became embroiled in a purposeless war with Russia; he was assassinated when about to take up arms in behalf of the Bourbon cause against the French Republicans (1746-1792) .
Gustavus IV., king of Sweden from 1792 to 1809, son of preceding; his incompetency and stubbornness made him an ill ruler; territory was lost to the French, and Finland to Russia, while an attack on Norway proved a failure; popular indignation rose to a height in 1809 ”

“ Georgia: 1 (1,837) , one of the 13 original States of the American Union, lies to the S., fronting the Atlantic between Florida and S. Carolina; is divided into 136 counties, Atlanta being the capital and Savannah the chief port; it is well watered with rivers; is low and swampy for some miles inland, but it rises into plateaux in the interior, and the Appalachians and Blue Mountains intersect it in the NW.; excellent crops of wheat and fruit are grown among the hills, rice in the lowlands, while immense quantities of cotton are raised on the islands skirting the coast ”

“ Ganges, the great sacred river of India, which, though somewhat shorter than the Indus, drains a larger area and traverses a more fertile basin; it has its source in an ice-cave on the southern side of the Himalayas, 8 m. above Gangotri, at an elevation of 13,800 ft. above the sea-level ”

“ Granby, John Manners, Marquis of, an English general, eldest son of the third Duke of Rutland; rose to be commander-in-chief of the British army in Germany during the Seven Years' War; distinguished himself at Warburg; in 1763 he was master-general of the ordnance, and in 1766 commander-in-chief of the army; was the victim of some of Junius's most scathing invectives (1721-1770) .
Grand Alliance, an alliance signed at Vienna 1689 by England, Germany, and the States-General to prevent the union of France and Spain. ”

“ Gard (419) , a dep. in the S. of France, between the Cévennes and the Rhône; slopes to the Rhône and the sea, with a marshy coast; produces wine and olives, and is noted for its silkculture and breed of horses.
Garda, Lago di, the largest of the Italian lakes; stretches, amidst beautiful Alpine scenery, between Lombardy and Venetia. It is 35 m. long, and from 2 to 10 broad. Its water is remarkably clear, and has a depth of 967 ft. It is studded with many picturesque islands, and is traversed by steamers. ”

“ Grocyn, William, classical scholar, born at Bristol; was the first to teach Greek at Oxford, and the tutor in that department of Sir Thomas More and Erasmus (1442-1519) .
Grodno, a province and town of Russia; the latter (51) is on the Niemen, 148 m. NE. of Warsaw; has a Polish palace and medical school. The former (1,556) is a wide, pine-covered, swampy, yet fertile district, which produces good crops of cereals, and is a centre of the woollen industry. ”

“ Gainsborough, Thomas, one of England's greatest artists in portrait and landscape painting, born at Sudbury, Suffolk; he early displayed a talent for drawing, and at 14 was sent to London to study art; when 19 he started as a portrait-painter at Ipswich, having by this time married Margaret Burr, a young lady with £200 a year; patronised by Sir Philip Thicknesse, he removed in 1760 to Bath, where he rose into high favour, and in 1774 he sought a wider field in London; he shared the honours of painting portraits with Reynolds and of landscape with Wilson ”

“ Spiritually and bodily he was the most perfectly formed, symetrically proportioned, justly balanced, and completely cultivated man perhaps that ever lived, whose priceless value to the world lies in this, that in his philosophy and life there is found the union in one of what to smaller people appears entirely and absolutely antagonistic, of utmost scientific scepticism and highest spiritual faith and worth. ”