[1] The word _lut_ means bare, void of vegetation, arid, waterless,
and has nothing in common with the Lot of Holy Writ, as many have
supposed.
KERMAN, capital of the above province, situated in 30° 17´ N., 56° 59´
E., at an elevation of 6100 ft. Its population is estimated at 60,000,
including about 2000 Zoroastrians, 100 Jews, and a few Shikarpuri
Indians. Kerman has post and telegraph offices (Indo-European Telegraph
Department), British and Russian consulates, and an agency of the
Imperial bank of Persia. The neighbouring districts produce little grain
and have to get their supplies for four or five months of the year from
districts far away. A traveller has stated that it was easier to get a
mann (6½ lb.) of saffron at Kerman than a mann of barley for his horse,
and in 1879 Sir A. Houtum-Schindler was ordered by the authorities to
curtail his excursions in the province "because his horses and mules ate
up all the stock." Kerman manufactures great quantities of carpets and
felts, and its carpets are almost unsurpassed for richness of texture
and durability. The old name of the city was Guvashir. Adjoining the
city on hills rising 400 to 500 ft. above the plain in the east are the
ruins of two ancient forts with walls built of sun-dried bricks on stone
foundations. Some of the walls are in perfect condition. Among the
mosques in the city two deserve special notice, one the Masjid i Jama, a
foundation of the Muzaffarid ruler Mubariz ed din Mahommed dating from
A.H. 1349, the other the Masjid i Malik built by Malik Kaverd Seljuk
(1041-1072).
KERMANSHAH, or KERMANSHAHAN, an important province of Persia, situated
W. of Hamadan, N. of Luristan, and S. of Kurdistan, and extending in the
west to the Turkish frontier. Its population is about 400,000, and it
pays a yearly revenue of over £20,000. Many of its inhabitants are
nomadic Kurds and Lurs who pay little taxes. The plains are well watered
and very fertile, while the hills are covered with rich pastures which
support large flocks of sheep and goats. The sheep provide a great part
of the meat supply of Teheran. The province also produces much wheat and
barley, and could supply great quantities for export if the means of
transport were better.
KERMANSHAH (_Kermisin_ of Arab geographers), the capital of the
province, is situated at an elevation of 5100 ft., in 34° 19´ N., and
46° 59´ E., about 220 m. from Bagdad, and 250 m. from Teheran. Although
surrounded by fortifications with five gates and three miles in circuit,
it is now practically an open town, for the walls are in ruins and the
moat is choked with rubbish. It has a population of about 40,000. The
town is situated on the high road between Teheran and Bagdad, and
carries on a transit trade estimated in value at £750,000 per annum.
KERMES (Arab. _qirmiz_; see CRIMSON), a crimson dye-stuff, now
superseded by cochineal, obtained from _Kermes ilicis_ (= _Coccus
ilicis_, Lat. = _C. vermilio_, G. Planchon). The genus _Kermes_ belongs
to the _Coccidae_ or Scale-insects, and its species are common on oaks
wherever they grow. The species from which kermes is obtained is common
in Spain, Italy and the South of France and the Mediterranean basin
generally, where it feeds on _Quercus coccifera_, a small shrub. As in
the case of other scale-insects, the males are relatively small and are
capable of flight, while the females are wingless. The females of the
genus _Kermes_ are remarkable for their gall-like form, and it was not
until 1714 that their animal nature was discovered.
In the month of May, when full grown, the females are globose, 6 to 7
millim. in diameter, of a reddish-brown colour, and covered with an
ash-coloured powder. They are found attached to the twigs or buds by a
circular lower surface 2 millim. in diameter, and surrounded by a
narrow zone of white cottony down. At this time there are concealed
under a cavity, formed by the approach of the abdominal wall of the
insect to the dorsal one, thousands of eggs of a red colour, and
smaller than poppy seed, which are protruded and ranged regularly
beneath the insect. At the end of May or the beginning of June the
young escape by a small orifice, near the point of attachment of the
parent. They are then of a fine red colour, elliptic and convex in
shape, but rounded at the two extremities, and bear two threads half
as long as their body at their posterior extremity. At this period
they are extremely active, and swarm with extraordinary rapidity all
over the food plant, and in two or three days attach themselves to
fissures in the bark or buds, but rarely to the leaves. In warm and
dry summers the insects breed again in the months of August and
September, according to Eméric, and then they are more frequently
found attached to the leaves. Usually they remain immovable and
apparently unaltered until the end of the succeeding March, when their
bodies become gradually distended and lose all trace of abdominal
rings. They then appear full of a reddish juice resembling discoloured
blood. In this state, or when the eggs are ready to be extruded, the
insects are collected. In some cases the insects from which the young
are ready to escape are dried in the sun on linen cloths--care being
taken to prevent the escape of the young from the cloths until they
are dead. The young insects are then sifted from the shells, made into
a paste with vinegar, and dried on skins exposed to the sun, and the
paste packed in skins is then ready for exportation to the East under
the name of "pâte d'écarlate."
In the pharmacopoeia of the ancients kermes triturated with vinegar
was used as an outward application, especially in wounds of the
nerves. From the 9th to the 16th century this insect formed an
ingredient in the "confectio alkermes," a well known medicine, at one
time official in the London pharmacopoeia as an astringent in doses of
20 to 60 grains or more. Syrup of kermes was also prepared. Both these
preparations have fallen into disuse.
Mineral kermes is trisulphide of antimony, containing a variable portion
of trioxide of antimony both free and combined with alkali. It was known
as _poudre des Chartreux_ because in 1714 it is said to have saved the
life of a Carthusian monk who had been given up by the Paris faculty;
but the monk Simon who administered it on that occasion called it
_Alkermes mineral_. Its reputation became so great that in 1720 the
French government bought the recipe for its preparation. It still
appears in the pharmacopoeias of many European countries and in that of
the United States. The product varies somewhat according to the mode of
preparation adopted. According to the French directions the official
substance is obtained by adding 60 grammes of powdered antimony
trisulphide to a boiling solution of 1280 grammes of crystallized sodium
carbonate in 12,800 grammes of distilled water and boiling for one hour.
The liquid is then filtered hot, and on being allowed to cool slowly
deposits the kermes, which is washed and dried at 100° C.; prepared in
this way it is a brown-red velvety powder, insoluble in water.
See G. Planchon, _Le Kermes du chêne_ (Montpellier, 1864); Lewis,
_Materia Medica_ (1784), pp. 71, 365; _Memorias sobre la grana Kermes
de España_ (Madrid, 1788); Adams, _Paulus Aegineta_, iii. 180;
Beckmann, _History of Inventions_.
KERMESSE (also KERMIS and KIRMESS), originally the mass said on the
anniversary of the foundation of a church and in honour of the patron,
the word being equivalent to "Kirkmass." Such celebrations were
regularly held in the Low Countries and also in northern France, and
were accompanied by feasting, dancing and sports of all kinds. They
still survive, but are now practically nothing more than country fairs
and the old allegorical representations are uncommon. The Brussels
Kermesse is, however, still marked by a procession in which the effigies
of the Mannikin and medieval heroes are carried. At Mons the Kermesse
occurs annually on Trinity Sunday and is called the procession of
Lumeçon (Walloon for _limaçon_, a snail): the hero is Gilles de Chin,
who slays a terrible monster, captor of a princess, in the Grand Place.
This is the story of George and the Dragon. At Hasselt the Kermesse (now
only septennial) not only commemorates the Christian story of the
foundation of the town, but even preserves traces of a pagan festival.
The word Kermesse (generally in the form "Kirmess" ) is applied in the
United States to any entertainment, especially one organized in the
interest of charity.
See Demetrius C. Boulger, _Belgian Life in Town and Country_ (1904).
KERN, JAN HENDRIK (1833- ), Dutch Orientalist, was born in Java of
Dutch parents on the 6th of April 1833. He studied at Utrecht, Leiden and
Berlin, where he was a pupil of the Sanskrit scholar, Albrecht Weber.
After some years spent as professor of Greek at Maestricht, he became
professor of Sanskrit at Benares in 1863, and in 1865 at Leiden. His
studies included the Malay languages as well as Sanskrit. His chief work
is _Geschiedenis van het Buddhisme in Indië_ (Haarlem, 2 vols.,
1881-1883); in English he wrote a translation (Oxford, 1884) of the
_Saddharma Pundarîka_ and a _Manual of Indian Buddhism_ (Strassburg,
1896) for Bühler Kielhorn's _Grundriss der indoarischen Philologie_.
KERNEL (O.E. _cyrnel_, a diminutive of "corn," seed, grain), the soft
and frequently edible part contained within the hard outer husk of a nut
or the stone of a fruit; also used in botany of the nucleus of a seed,
the body within its several integuments or coats, and generally of the
nucleus or core of any structure; hence, figuratively, the pith or gist
of any matter.
KERNER, JUSTINUS ANDREAS CHRISTIAN (1786-1862), German poet and medical
writer, was born on the 18th of September 1786 at Ludwigsburg in
Württemberg. After attending the classical schools of Ludwigsburg and
Maulbronn, he was apprenticed in a cloth factory, but, in 1804, owing to
the good services of Professor Karl Philipp Conz (1762-1827) of
Tübingen, was enabled to enter the university there; he studied medicine
but had also time for literary pursuits in the company of Uhland, Gustav
Schwab and others. He took his doctor's degree in 1808, spent some time
in travel, and then settled as a practising physician in Wildbad. Here
he completed his _Reiseschatten von dem Schattenspieler Luchs_ (1811),
in which his own experiences are described with caustic humour. He next
co-operated with Uhland and Schwab in producing the _Poetischer Almanack
für 1812_, which was followed by the _Deutscher Dichterwald_ (1813), and
in these some of Kerner's best poems were published. In 1815 he obtained
the official appointment of district medical officer (_Oberamtsarzt_) in
Gaildorf, and in 1818 was transferred in a like capacity to Weinsberg,
where he spent the rest of his life. His house, the site of which at the
foot of the historical Schloss Weibertreu was presented by the
municipality to their revered physician, became the Mecca of literary
pilgrims. Hospitable welcome was extended to all, from the journeyman
artisan to crowned heads. Gustavus IV. of Sweden came thither with a
knapsack on his back. The poets Count Christian Friedrich Alexander von
Württemberg (1801-1844) and Lenau (q.v.) were constant guests, and
thither came also in 1826 Friederike Hauffe (1801-1829), the daughter of
a forester in Prevorst, a somnambulist and clairvoyante, who forms the
subject of Kerner's famous work _Die Seherin von Prevorst, Eröffnungen
über das innere Leben des Menschen und über das Hineinragen einer
Geisterwelt in die unsere_ (1829; 6th ed., 1892). In 1826 he published a
collection of _Gedichte_ which were later supplemented by _Der letzte
Blütenstrauss_ (1852) and _Winterblüten_ (1859). Among others of his
well-known poems are the charming ballad _Der reichste Fürst_; a
drinking song, _Wohlauf, noch getrunken_, and the pensive _Wanderer in
der Sägemühle_.
In addition to his literary productions, Kerner wrote some popular
medical books of great merit, dealing with animal magnetism, a treatise
on the influence of sebacic acid on animal organisms, _Das Fettgift oder
die Fettsäure und ihre Wirkungen auf den tierischen Organismus_ (1822);
a description of Wildbad and its healing waters, _Das Wildbad im
Königreich Württemberg_ (1813); while he gave a pretty and vivid account
of his youthful years in _Bilderbuch aus meiner Knabenzeit_ (1859); and
in _Die Bestürmung der württembergischen Stadt Weinsberg im Jahre 1525_
(1820), showed considerable skill in historical narrative. In 1851 he
was compelled, owing to increasing blindness, to retire from his medical
practice, but he lived, carefully tended by his daughters, at Weinsberg
until his death on the 21st of February 1862. He was buried beside his
wife, who had predeceased him in 1854, in the churchyard of Weinsberg,
and the grave is marked by a stone slab with an inscription he himself
had chosen: _Friederike Kerner und ihr Justinus_. Kerner was one of the
most inspired poets of the Swabian school. His poems, which largely deal
with natural phenomena, are characterized by a deep melancholy and a
leaning towards the supernatural, which, however, is balanced by a
quaint humour, reminiscent of the Volkslied.
Kerner's _Ausgewählte poetische Werke_ appeared in 2 vols. (1878);
_Sämtliche poetische Werke_, ed. by J. Gaismaier, 4 vols. (1905); a
selection of his poems will also be found in Reclam's
_Universalbibliothek_ (1898). His correspondence was edited by his son
in 1897. See also D. F. Strauss, _Kleine Schriften_ (1866); A.
Reinhard, _J. Kerner und das Kernerhaus zu Weinsberg_ (1862; 2nd ed.,
1886); G. Rümelin, _Reden und Aufsätze_, vol. iii. (1894); M.
Niethammer (Kerner's daughter), _J. Kerners Jugendliebe und mein
Vaterhaus_ (1877); A. Watts, _Life and Works of Kerner_ (London,
1884); T. Kerner, _Das Kernerhaus und seine Gäste_ (1894).
KERRY, a county of Ireland in the province of Munster, bounded W. by the
Atlantic Ocean, N. by the estuary of the Shannon, which separates it
from Clare, E. by Limerick and Cork, and S.E. by Cork. The area is
1,159,356 acres, or 1811 sq. m., the county being the fifth of the Irish
counties in extent. Kerry, with its combination of mountain, sea and
plain, possesses some of the finest scenery of the British Islands. The
portion of the county south of Dingle Bay consists of mountain masses
intersected by narrow valleys. Formerly the mountains were covered by a
great forest of fir, birch and yew, which was nearly all cut down to be
used in smelting iron, and the constant pasturage of cattle prevents the
growth of young trees. In the north-east towards Killarney the hills
rise abruptly into the ragged range of Macgillicuddy's Reeks, the
highest summit of which, Carntual (Carrantuohill), has a height of 3414
ft. The next highest summit is Caper (3200 ft.), and several others are
over 2500 ft. Lying between the precipitous sides of the Tomies, the
Purple Mountains and the Reeks is the famous Gap of Dunloe. In the
Dingle promontory Brandon Mountain attains a height of 3127 ft. The
sea-coast, for the most part wild and mountainous, is much indented by
inlets, the largest of which, Tralee Bay, Dingle Bay and Kenmare River,
lie in synclinal troughs, the anticlinal folds of the rocks forming
extensive promontories. Between Kenmare River and Dingle Bay the land is
separated by mountain ridges into three valleys. The extremity of the
peninsula between Dingle Bay and Tralee Bay is very precipitous, and
Mount Brandon, rising abruptly from the ocean, is skirted at its base
(in part) by a road from which magnificent views are obtained. From near
the village of Ballybunion to Kilconey Point near the Shannon there is a
remarkable succession of caves, excavated by the sea. One of these
caves inspired Tennyson with some lines in "Merlin and Vivien," which he
wrote on the spot. The principal islands are the picturesque Skelligs,
Valencia Island and the Blasquet Islands.
The principal rivers are the Blackwater, which, rising in the Dunkerran
Mountains, forms for a few miles the boundary line between Kerry and
Cork, and then passes into the latter county; the Ruaughty, which with a
course resembling the arc of a circle falls into the head of the Kenmare
River; the Inny and Ferta, which flow westward, the one into
Ballinskellig Bay and the other into Valencia harbour; the Flesk, which
flows northward through the lower Lake of Killarney, after which it
takes the name of Laune, and flows north-westward to Dingle Bay; the
Caragh, which rises in the mountains of Dunkerran, after forming several
lakes falls into Castlemaine harbour; the Maine, which flows from Castle
Island and south-westward to the sea at Castlemaine harbour, receiving
the northern Flesk, which rises in the mountains that divide Cork from
Kerry; and the Feale, Gale and Brick, the junction of which forms the
Cashin, a short tidal river which flows into the estuary of the Shannon.
The lakes of Kerry are not numerous, and none is of great size, but
those of Killarney (q.v.) form one of the most important features in the
striking and picturesque mountain scenery amidst which they are
situated. The other principal lakes are Lough Currane (Waterville Lake)
near Ballinskellig, and Lough Caragh near Castlemaine harbour. Salmon
and trout fishing with the rod is extensively prosecuted in all these
waters. Near the summit of Mangerton Mountain an accumulation of water
in a deep hollow forms what is known as the Devil's Punchbowl, the
surplus water, after making a succession of cataracts, flowing into
Muckross Lake at the foot of the mountain. There are chalybeate mineral
springs near Killarney, near Valencia Island, and near the mouth of the
Inny; sulphurous chalybeate springs near Dingle, Castlemaine and Tralee;
and a saline spring at Magherybeg in Corkaguiney, which bursts out of
clear white sand a little below high-water mark. Killarney is an inland
centre widely celebrated and much visited on account of its scenic
attractions; there are also several well-known coast resorts, among them
Derrynane, at the mouth of Kenmare Bay, the residence of Daniel
O'Connell the "liberator"; Glenbeigh on Dingle Bay, Parknasilla on
Kenmare Bay, Waterville (an Atlantic telegraph station) between
Ballinskellig Bay and Lough Currane, and Tarbert, a small coast town on
the Shannon estuary. Others of the smaller villages have grown into
watering-places, such as Ballybunion, Castlegregory and Portmagee.
_Geology._--Kerry includes on the north and east a considerable area
of Carboniferous shales and sandstones, reaching the coal-measures,
with unproductive coals, east of Listowel and on the Glanruddery
Mountains. The Carboniferous Limestone forms a fringe to these beds,
and is cut off by the sea at Knockaneen Bay, Tralee and Castlemaine.
In all the great promontories, Old Red Sandstone, including Jukes's
"Glengariff Grits," forms the mountains, while synclinal hollows of
Carboniferous Limestone have become submerged to form marine inlets
between them. The Upper Lake of Killarney lies in a hollow of the Old
Red Sandstone, which here rises to its greatest height in
Macgillicuddy's Reeks; Lough Leane however, with its low shores, rests
on Carboniferous Limestone. In the Dingle promontory the Old Red
Sandstone is strikingly unconformable on the Dingle beds and the Upper
Silurian series; the latter include volcanic rocks of Wenlock age. The
evidences of local glaciation in this county, especially on the wild
slopes of the mountains, are as striking as in North Wales. A
copper-mine was formerly worked at Muckross, near Killarney, in which
cobalt ores also occurred. Slate is quarried in Valencia Island.
_Fauna._--Foxes are numerous, and otters and badgers are not uncommon.
The alpine hare is very abundant. The red deer inhabits the mountains
round Killarney. The golden eagle, once frequently seen in the higher
mountain regions, is now rarely met. The sea eagle haunts the lofty
marine cliffs, the mountains and the rocky islets. The osprey is
occasionally seen, and also the peregrine falcon. The merlin is
common. The common owl is indigenous, the long-eared owl resident, and
the short-eared owl a regular winter visitor. Rock pigeons breed on
the sea-cliffs, and the turtle-dove is an occasional visitant. The
great grey seal is found in Brandon and Dingle bays.
_Climate and Agriculture._--Owing to the vicinity of the sea and the
height of the mountains, the climate is very moist and unsuitable for
the growth of cereals, but it is so mild even in winter that arbutus
and other trees indigenous to warm climates grow in the open air, and
several flowering plants are found which are unknown in England. In
the northern parts the land is generally coarse and poor, except in
the valleys, where a rich soil has been formed by rocky deposits. In
the Old Red Sandstone valleys there are many very fertile regions, and
several extensive districts now covered by bog admit of easy
reclamation so as to form very fruitful soil, but other tracts of
boggy land scarcely promise a profitable return for labour expended on
their reclamation. Over one-third of the total area is quite barren.
The numbers of live stock of every kind are generally increased or
sustained. Dairy-farming is very largely followed. The Kerry breed of
cattle--small finely-shaped animals, black or red in colour, with
small upturned horns--are famed for the quality both of their flesh
and milk, and are in considerable demand for the parks surrounding
mansion-houses. The "Dexter," a cross between the Kerry and an unknown
breed, is larger but without its fine qualities. Little regard is paid
to the breed of sheep, but those in most common use have been crossed
with a merino breed from Spain. Goats share with sheep the sweet
pasturage of the higher mountain ridges, while cattle occupy the lower
slopes.
_Other Industries._--In former times there was a considerable linen
trade in Kerry, but this is now nearly extinct, the chief manufacture
being that of coarse woollens and linens for home use. At Killarney a
variety of articles are made from the wood of the arbutus. A
considerable trade in agricultural produce is carried on at Tralee,
Dingle and Kenmare, and in slate and stone at Valencia. The deep-sea
and coast fisheries are prosperous, and there are many small fishing
settlements along the coast, but the centres of the two fishery
districts are Valencia and Dingle. Salmon fishing is also an industry,
for which the district centres are Kenmare and Killarney.
_Communications._--The Great Southern & Western railway almost
monopolizes the lines in the county. The principal line traverses the
centre of the county, touching Killarney, Tralee and Listowel, and
passing ultimately to Limerick. Branches are from Headford to Kenmare;
Farranfore to Killorglin, Cahersiveen and Valencia harbour, Tralee to
Fenit and to Castlegregory; and the Listowel and Ballybunion railway.
All these are lines to the coast. The Tralee and Dingle railway
connects these two towns. The only inland branch is from Tralee to
Castleisland.
_Population and Administration._--The population (179,136 in 1891;
165,726 in 1901) decreases to an extent about equal to the average of
the Irish counties, but the emigration returns are among the heaviest.
The chief towns are Tralee (the county town, pop. 9867); Killarney
(5656), Listowel (3605) and Cahersiveen or Cahirciveen (2013), while
Dingle, Kenmare, Killorglin and Castleisland are smaller towns. The
county comprises 9 baronies, and contains 85 civil parishes. Assizes
are held at Tralee, and quarter sessions at Cahersiveen, Dingle,
Kenmare, Killarney, Listowel and Tralee. The headquarters of the
constabulary force is at Tralee. Previous to the Union the county
returned eight members to the Irish parliament, two for the county,
and two for each of the boroughs of Tralee, Dingle and Ardfert. At the
Union the number was reduced to three, two for the county and one for
the borough of Tralee; but the divisions now number four: north,
south, east and west, each returning one member. The county is in the
Protestant diocese of Limerick and the Roman Catholic dioceses of
Kerry and Limerick.
_History._--The county is said to have derived its name from Ciar, who
with his tribe, the _Ciarraidhe_, is stated to have inhabited about the
beginning of the Christian era the territory lying between Tralee and
the Shannon. That portion lying south of the Maine was at a later period
included in the kingdom of Desmond (q.v.). Kerry suffered frequently
from invasions of the Danes in the 9th and 10th centuries, until they
were finally overthrown at the battle of Clontarf in 1014. In 1172
Dermot MacCarthy, king of Cork and Desmond, made submission to Henry II.
on certain conditions, but was nevertheless gradually compelled to
retire within the limits of Kerry, which is one of the areas generally
considered to have been made shire ground by King John. An English
adventurer, Raymond le Gros, received from this MacCarthy a large
portion of the county round Lixnaw. In 1579-1580 attempts were made by
the Spaniards to invade Ireland, landing at Limerick harbour, near
Dingle, and a fortress was erected here, but was destroyed by the
English in 1580. The Irish took advantage of the disturbed state of
England at the time of the Puritan revolution to attempt the overthrow
of the English rule in Kerry, and ultimately obtained possession of
Tralee, but in 1652 the rebellion was completely subdued, and a large
number of estates were afterwards confiscated.
There are remains of a round tower at Aghadoe, near Killarney, and
another, one of the finest and most perfect specimens in Ireland, 92 ft.
high, at Rattoe, not far from Ballybunion. On the summit of a hill to
the north of Kenmare River is the remarkable stone fortress known as
Staigue Fort. There are several stone cells in the principal Skellig
island, where penance, involving the scaling of dangerous rocks, was
done by pilgrims, and where there were formerly monastic remains which
have been swept away by the sea. The principal groups of sepulchral
stones are those on the summits of the Tomie Mountains, a remarkable
stone fort at Cahersiveen, a circle of stones with cromlech in the
parish of Tuosist, and others with inscriptions near Dingle. The remote
peninsula west of a line from Dingle to Smerwick harbour is full of
remains of various dates. The most notable monastic ruins are those of
Innisfallen, founded by St Finian, a disciple of St Columba, and the
fine remains of Muckross Abbey, founded by the Franciscans, but there
are also monastic remains at Ardfert, Castlemaine, Derrynane, Kilcoleman
and O'Dorney. Among ruined churches of interest are those of Aghadoe,
Kilcrohane, Lough Currane, Derrynane and Muckross. The cathedral of
Ardfert, founded probably in 1253, was partly destroyed during the
Cromwellian wars, but was restored in 1831. Some interesting portions
remain (see TRALEE). There is a large number of feudal castles.
KERSAINT, ARMAND GUY SIMON DE COETNEMPREN, COMTE DE (1742-1793), French
sailor and politician, was born at Paris on the 29th of July 1742. He
came of an old family, his father, Guy François de Coetnempren, comte de
Kersaint, being a distinguished naval officer. He entered the navy in
1755, and in 1757, while serving on his father's ship, was promoted to
the rank of ensign for his bravery in action. By 1782 he was a captain,
and in this year took part in an expedition to Guiana. At that time the
officers of the French navy were divided into two parties--the reds or
nobles, and the blues or _roturiers_. At the outbreak of the Revolution,
Kersaint, in spite of his high birth, took the side of the latter. He
adopted the new ideas, and in a pamphlet entitled _Le Bon Sens_ attacked
feudal privileges; he also submitted to the Constituent Assembly a
scheme for the reorganization of the navy, but it was not accepted. On
the 4th of January 1791 Kersaint was appointed administrator of the
department of the Seine by the electoral assembly of Paris. He was also
elected as a _député suppléant_ to the Legislative Assembly, and was
called upon to sit in it in place of a deputy who had resigned. From
this time onward his chief aim was the realization of the navy scheme
which he had vainly submitted to the Constituent Assembly. He soon saw
that this would be impossible unless there were a general reform of all
institutions, and therefore gave his support to the policy of the
advanced party in the Assembly, denouncing the conduct of Louis XVI.,
and on the 10th of August 1792 voting in favour of his deposition.
Shortly after, he was sent on a mission to the _armée du Centre_,
visiting in this way Soissons, Reims, Sedan and the Ardennes. While thus
occupied he was arrested by the municipality of Sedan; he was set free
after a few days' detention. He took an active part in one of the last
debates of the Legislative Assembly, in which it was decided to publish
a _Bulletin officiel_, a report continued by the next Assembly, and
known by the name of the _Bulletin de la Convention Nationale_. Kersaint
was sent as a deputy to the Convention by the department of
Seine-et-Oise in September 1792, and on the 1st of January 1793 was
appointed vice-admiral. He continued to devote himself to questions
concerning the navy and national defence, prepared a report on the
English political system and the navy, and caused a decree to be passed
for the formation of a committee of general defence, which after many
modifications was to become the famous Committee of Public Safety. He
had also had a decree passed concerning the navy on the 11th of January
1793. He had, however, entered the ranks of the Girondins, and had voted
in the trial of the king against the death penalty and in favour of the
appeal to the people. He resigned his seat in the Convention on the 20th
of January. After the death of the king his opposition became more
marked; he denounced the September massacres, but when called upon to
justify his attitude confined himself to attacking Marat, who was at the
time all-powerful. His friends tried in vain to obtain his appointment
as minister of the marine; and he failed to obtain even a post as
officer. He was arrested on the 23rd of September at Ville d'Avray, near
Paris, and taken before the Revolutionary Tribunal, where he was accused
of having conspired for the restoration of the monarchy, and of having
insulted national representation by resigning his position in the
legislature. He was executed on the 4th of December 1793.
His brother, GUY PIERRE (1747-1822), also served in the navy, and took
part in the American war of independence. He did not accept the
principles of the Revolution, but emigrated. He was restored to his rank
in the navy in 1803, and died in 1822, after having been _préfet
maritime_ of Antwerp, and prefect of the department of Meurthe.
See Kersaint's own works, _Le Bon Sens_ (1789); the _Rubicon_ (1789);
_Considérations sur la force publique et l'institution des gardes
nationales_ (1789); _Lettre à Mirabeau_ (1791); _Moyens présentés à
l'Assemblée nationale pour rétablir la paix et l'ordre dans les
colonies_; also E. Chevalier, _Histoire de la Marine française sous la
première République_; E. Charavay, _L'Assemblée électorale de Paris en
1790 et 1791_ (Paris, 1890); and Agénor Bardoux, _La Duchesse de
Duras_ (Paris, 1898), the beginning of which deals with Kersaint,
whose daughter married Amédée de Duras. (R. A.*)
KERVYN DE LETTENHOVE, CONSTANTINE BRUNO, BARON, (1817-1891), Belgian
historian, was born at Saint-Michel-les-Bruges in 1817. He was a member
of the Catholic Constitutional party and sat in the Chamber as member
for Eecloo. In 1870 he was appointed a member of the cabinet of Anethan
as minister of the interior. But his official career was short. The
cabinet appointed as governor of Lille one Decker, who had been
entangled in the financial speculations of Langand-Dumonceau by which
the whole clerical party had been discredited, and which provoked riots.
The cabinet was forced to resign, and Kervyn de Lettenhove devoted
himself entirely to literature and history. He had already become known
as the author of a book on Froissart (Brussels, 1855), which was crowned
by the French Academy. He edited a series of chronicles--_Chroniques
relatives à l'histoire de la Belgique sous la domination des ducs de
Bourgogne_ (Brussels, 1870-1873), and _Rélations politiques des Pays Bas
et de l'Angleterre sous le regne de Philippe II._ (Brussels, 1882-1892).
He wrote a history of _Les Hugenots et les Gueux_ (Bruges, 1883-1885) in
the spirit of a violent Roman Catholic partisan, but with much industry
and learning. He died at Saint-Michel-les-Bruges in 1891.
See _Notices biographiques et bibliographiques de l'académie de
Belgique_ for 1887.
KESHUB CHUNDER SEN (KESHAVA CHANDRA SENA) (1838-1884), Indian religious
reformer, was born of a high-caste family at Calcutta in 1838. He was
educated at one of the Calcutta colleges, where he became proficient in
English literature and history. For a short time he was a clerk in the
Bank of Bengal, but resigned his post to devote himself exclusively to
literature and philosophy. At that time Sir William Hamilton, Hugh
Blair, Victor Cousin, J. H. Newman and R. W. Emerson were among his
favourite authors. Their works made the deepest impression on him, for,
as he expressed it, "Philosophy first taught me insight and reflection,
and turned my eyes inward from the things of the external world, so that
I began to reflect on my position, character and destiny." Like many
other educated Hindus, Keshub Chunder Sen had gradually dissociated
himself from the popular forms of the native religion, without
abandoning what he believed to be its spirit. As early as 1857 he joined
the Brahma Samaj, a religious association aiming at the reformation of
Hinduism. Keshub Chunder Sen threw himself with enthusiasm into the work
of this society and in 1862 himself undertook the ministry of one of its
branches. In the same year he helped to found the Albert College and
started the _Indian Mirror_, a weekly journal in which social and moral
subjects were discussed. In 1863 he wrote _The Brahma Samaj Vindicated_.
He also travelled about the country lecturing and preaching. The steady
development of his reforming zeal led to a split in the society, which
broke into two sections, Chunder Sen putting himself at the head of the
reform movement, which took the name "Brahma Samaj of India," and tried
to propagate its doctrines by missionary enterprise. Its tenets at this
time were the following: (1) The wide universe is the temple of God. (2)
Wisdom is the pure land of pilgrimage. (3) Truth is the everlasting
scripture. (4) Faith is the root of all religions. (5) Love is the true
spiritual culture. (6) The destruction of selfishness is the true
asceticism. In 1866 he delivered an address on "Jesus Christ, Europe and
Asia," which led to the false impression that he was about to embrace
Christianity. This helped to call attention to him in Europe, and in
1870 he paid a visit to England. The Hindu preacher was warmly welcomed
by almost all denominations, particularly by the Unitarians, with whose
creed the new Brahma Samaj had most in common, and it was the committee
of the British and Foreign Unitarian Association that organized the
welcome soirée at Hanover Square Rooms on the 12th of April. Ministers
of ten different denominations were on the platform, and among those who
officially bade him welcome were Lord Lawrence and Dean Stanley. He
remained for six months in England, visiting most of the chief towns.
His eloquence, delivery and command of the language won universal
admiration. His own impression of England was somewhat disappointing.
Christianity in England appeared to him too sectarian and narrow, too
"muscular and hard," and Christian life in England more materialistic
and outward than spiritual and inward. "I came here an Indian, I go back
a confirmed Indian; I came here a Theist, I go back a confirmed Theist.
I have learnt to love my own country more and more." These words spoken
at the farewell soirée may furnish the key to the change in him which so
greatly puzzled many of his English friends. He developed a tendency
towards mysticism and a greater leaning to the spiritual teaching of the
Indian philosophies, as well as a somewhat despotic attitude towards the
Samaj. He gave his child daughter in marriage to the raja of Kuch Behar;
he revived the performance of mystical plays, and himself took part in
one. These changes alienated many followers, who deserted his standard
and founded the Sadharana (General) Brahma Samaj (1878). Chunder Sen did
what he could to reinvigorate his own section by a new infusion of
Christian ideas and phrases, e.g. "the New Dispensation," "the Holy
Spirit." He also instituted a sacramental meal of rice and water. Two
lectures delivered between 1881 and 1883 throw a good deal of light on
his latest doctrines. They were "The Marvellous Mystery, the Trinity,"
and "Asia's Message to Europe." This latter is an eloquent plea against
the Europeanizing of Asia, as well as a protest against Western
sectarianism. During the intervals of his last illness he wrote _The New
Samhita, or the Sacred Laws of the Aryans of the New Dispensation_. He
died in January 1884, leaving many bitter enemies and many warm friends.
See the article BRAHMA SAMAJ; also P. Mozoomdar, _Life and Teachings
of Keshub Chunder Sen_ (1888).
KÉSMÁRK (Ger. Käsmark), a town of Hungary, in the county of Szepes, 240
m. N.E. of Budapest by rail. Pop. (1900), 5560. It is situated on the
Poprad, at an altitude of 1950 ft., and is surrounded on all sides by
mountains. Among its buildings are the Roman Catholic parish church, a
Gothic edifice of the 15th century with fine carved altars; a wooden
Protestant church of the 17th century; and an old town-hall. About 12 m.
W. of Késmárk lies the famous watering-place Tatrafüred (Ger. Schmecks),
at the foot of the Schlagendorfer peak in the Tatra Mountains. Késmárk
is one of the oldest and most important Saxon settlements in the north
of Hungary, and became a royal free town at the end of the 13th century,
In 1440 it became the seat of the counts of Szepes (Ger., _Zips_), and
in 1464 it was granted new privileges by King Matthias Corvinus. During
the 16th century, together with the other Saxon towns in the Szepes
county, it began to lose both its political and commercial importance.
It remained a royal free town until 1876.
KESTREL (Fr. _Cresserelle_ or _Créçerelle_, O. Fr. _Quercerelle_ and
_Quercelle_, in Burgundy _Cristel_), the English name[1] for one of the
smaller falcons. This bird, though in the form of its bill and length
of its wings one of the true falcons, and by many ornithologists placed
among them under its Linnaean name of _Falco tinnunculus_, is by others
referred to a distinct genus _Tinnunculus_ as _T. alaudarius_--the last
being an epithet wholly inappropriate. We have here a case in which the
propriety of the custom which requires the establishment of a genus on
structural characters may seem open to question. The differences of
structure which separate _Tinnunculus_ from _Falco_ are of the
slightest, and, if insisted upon, must lead to including in the former
birds which obviously differ from kestrels in all but a few characters
arbitrarily chosen; and yet, if structural characters be set aside, the
kestrels form an assemblage readily distinguishable by several
peculiarities from all other _Falconidae_, and an assemblage separable
from the true Falcons of the genus _Falco_, with its subsidiary groups
_Aesalon_, _Hypotriorchis_, and the rest (see FALCON). Scarcely any one
outside the walls of an ornithological museum or library would doubt for
a moment whether any bird shown to him was a kestrel or not; and Gurney
has stated his belief (_Ibis_, 1881, p. 277) that the aggregation of
species placed by Bowdler Sharpe (_Cat. Birds Brit. Mus._ i. 423-448)
under the generic designation of _Cerchneis_ (which should properly be
_Tinnunculus_) includes "three natural groups sufficiently distinct to
be treated as at least separate subgenera, bearing the name of
_Dissodectes_, _Tinnunculus_ and _Erythropus_." Of these the first and
last are not kestrels, but are perhaps rather related to the hobbies
(_Hypotriorchis_).
The ordinary kestrel of Europe, _Falco tinnunculus_ or _Tinnunculus
alaudarius_, is by far the commonest bird of prey in the British
Islands. It is almost entirely a summer migrant, coming from the south
in early spring and departing in autumn, though examples (which are
nearly always found to be birds of the year) occasionally occur in
winter, some arriving on the eastern coast in autumn. It is most often
observed while hanging in the air for a minute or two in the same spot,
by means of short and rapid beats of its wings, as, with head pointing
to windward and expanded tail, it is looking out for prey--which
consists chiefly of mice, but it will at times take a small bird, and
the remains of frogs, insects and even earthworms have been found in its
crop. It generally breeds in the deserted nest of a crow or pie, but
frequently in rocks, ruins, or even in hollow trees--laying four or five
eggs, mottled all over with dark brownish-red, sometimes tinged with
orange and at other times with purple. Though it may occasionally snatch
up a young partridge or pheasant, the kestrel is the most harmless bird
of prey, if it be not, from its destruction of mice and cockchafers, a
beneficial species. Its range extends over nearly the whole of Europe
from 68° N. lat., and the greater part of Asia--though the form which
inhabits Japan and is abundant in north-eastern China has been by some
writers deemed distinct and called _T. japonicus_--it is also found over
a great part of Africa, being, however, unknown beyond Guinea on the
west and Mombasa on the east coast (_Ibis_, 1881, p. 457). The southern
countries of Europe have also another and smaller species of kestrel,
_T. tinnunculoides_ (the _T. cenchris_ and _T. naumanni_ of some
writers), which is widely spread in Africa and Asia, though specimens
from India and China are distinguished as _T. pekinensis_.
Three other species are found in Africa--_T. rupicola_, _T.
rupicoloides_ and _T. alopex_--the first a common bird in the Cape,
while the others occur in the interior. Some of the islands of the
Ethiopian region have peculiar species of kestrel, as the _T. newtoni_
of Madagascar, _T. punctatus_ of Mauritius and _T. gracilis_ of the
Seychelles; while, on the opposite side, the kestrel of the Cape Verde
Islands has been separated as _T. neglectus_.
The _T. sparverius_, commonly known in Canada and the United States as
the "sparrow-hawk," is a beautiful little bird. Various attempts have
been made to recognize several species, more or less in accordance with
locality, but the majority of ornithologists seem unable to accept the
distinctions which have been elaborated chiefly by Bowdler Sharpe in his
_Catalogue_ and R. Ridgway (_North American Birds_, iii. 150-175), the
former of whom recognizes six species, while the latter admits but
three--_T. sparverius_, _T. leucophrys_ and _T. sparverioides_--with
five geographical races of the first, viz. the typical _T. sparverius_
from the continent of North America except the coast of the Gulf of
Mexico; _T. australis_ from the continent of South America except the
North Atlantic and Caribbean coasts; _T. isabellinus_, inhabiting
continental America from Florida to Fr. Guiana; _T. dominicensis_ from
the Lesser Antilles as far northwards as St Thomas; and lastly _T.
cinnamominus_ from Chile and western Brazil. _T. leucophrys_ is said to
be from Haiti and Cuba; and _T. sparverioides_ peculiar to Cuba only.
This last has been generally allowed to be a good species, though Dr
Gundlach, the best authority on the birds of that island, in his
_Contribucion á la Ornitologia Cubana_ (1876), will not allow its
validity. More recently it was found (Ibis, 1881, pp. 547-564) that _T.
australis_ and _T. cinnamominus_ cannot be separated, that Ridgway's _T.
leucophrys_ should properly be called _T. dominicensis_, and his _T.
dominicensis T. antillarum_; while Ridgway has recorded the supposed
occurrence of _T. sparverioides_ in Florida. Of other kestrels _T.
moluccensis_ is widely spread throughout the islands of the Malay
Archipelago, while _T. cenchroides_ seems to inhabit the whole of
Australia, and has occurred in Tasmania (_Proc. Roy. Soc. Tasmania_,
1875, pp. 7, 8). No kestrel is found in New Zealand, but an approach to
the form is made by the very peculiar _Hieracidea_ (or _Harpe_)
_novae-zelandiae_ (of which a second race or species has been described,
_H. brunnea_ or _H. ferox_), the "sparrow-hawk," "quail-hawk" and
"bush-hawk" of the colonists--a bird of much higher courage than any
kestrel, and perhaps exhibiting the more generalized and ancestral type
from which both kestrels and falcons may have descended. (A. N.)