[1] "Baal contends" (or Jeru-baal, "Baal founds," cf. Jeru-el), but
artificially explained in the narrative to mean "let Baal contend
against him," or "let Baal contend for himself," v. 31. In 2 Sam. xi.
21 he is called Jerubbesheth, in accordance with the custom explained
in the article BAAL.
[2] See, on this, Cheyne, _Ency. Bib._ col. 1719 seq.; Ed. Meyer,
_Die Israeliten_, pp. 482 seq.
[3] The names are vocalized to suggest the fanciful interpretations
"victim" and "protection withheld."
[4] As the account of this has been lost and the narrative is
concerned not with the plain of Jezreel but rather with Shechem, it
has been inferred that the episode implies the existence of a
distinct story wherein Gideon's pursuit is such an act of vengeance.
GIEBEL, CHRISTOPH GOTTFRIED ANDREAS (1820-1881), German zoologist and
palaeontologist, was born on the 13th of September 1820 at Quedlinburg
in Saxony, and educated at the university of Halle, where he graduated
Ph.D. in 1845. In 1858 he became professor of zoology and director of
the museum in the university of Halle. He died at Halle on the 14th of
November 1881. His chief publications were _Palaozoologie_ (1846);
_Fauna der Vorwelt_ (1847-1856); _Deutschlands Petrefacten_ (1852);
_Odontographie_ (1855); _Lehrbuch der Zoologie_ (1857); _Thesaurus
ornithologiae_ (1872-1877);
GIEN, a town of central France, capital of an arrondissement in the
department of Loiret, situated on the right bank of the Loire, 39 m.
E.S.E. of Orleans by rail. Pop. (1906) 6325. Gien is a picturesque and
interesting town and has many curious old houses. The Loire is here
crossed by a stone bridge of twelve arches, built by Anne de Beaujeu,
daughter of Louis XI., about the end of the 15th century. Near it stands
a statue of Vercingetorix. The principal building is the old castle used
as a law-court, constructed of brick and stone arranged in geometrical
patterns, and built in 1494 by Anne de Beaujeu. The church of St Pierre
possesses a square tower dating from the end of the 15th century.
Porcelain is manufactured.
GIERS, NICHOLAS KARLOVICH DE (1820-1895), Russian statesman, was born on
the 21st of May 1820. Like his predecessor, Prince Gorchakov, he was
educated at the lyceum of Tsarskoye Selo, near St Petersburg, but his
career was much less rapid, because he had no influential protectors,
and was handicapped by being a Protestant of Teutonic origin. At the age
of eighteen he entered the service of the Eastern department of the
ministry of foreign affairs, and spent more than twenty years in
subordinate posts, chiefly in south-eastern Europe, until he was
promoted in 1863 to the post of minister plenipotentiary in Persia. Here
he remained for six years, and, after serving as a minister in
Switzerland and Sweden, he was appointed in 1875 director of the Eastern
department and assistant minister for foreign affairs under Prince
Gorchakov, whose niece he had married. No sooner had he entered on his
new duties than his great capacity for arduous work was put to a severe
test. Besides events in central Asia, to which he had to devote much
attention, the Herzegovinian insurrection had broken out, and he could
perceive from secret official papers that the incident had far-reaching
ramifications unknown to the general public. Soon this became apparent
to all the world. While the Austrian officials in Dalmatia, with hardly
a pretence of concealment, were assisting the insurgents, Russian
volunteers were flocking to Servia with the connivance of the Russian
and Austrian governments, and General Ignatiev, as ambassador in
Constantinople, was urging his government to take advantage of the
palpable weakness of Turkey for bringing about a radical solution of the
Eastern question. Prince Gorchakov did not want a radical solution
involving a great European war, but he was too fond of ephemeral
popularity to stem the current of popular excitement. Alexander II.,
personally averse from war, was not insensible to the patriotic
enthusiasm, and halted between two opinions. M. de Giers was one of the
few who gauged the situation accurately. As an official and a man of
non-Russian extraction he had to be extremely reticent, but to his
intimate friends he condemned severely the ignorance and light-hearted
recklessness of those around him. The event justified his sombre
previsions, but did not cure the recklessness of the so-called patriots.
They wished to defy Europe in order to maintain intact the treaty of San
Stefano, and again M. de Giers found himself in an unpopular minority.
He had to remain in the background, but all the influence he possessed
was thrown into the scale of peace. His views, energetically supported
by Count Shuvalov, finally prevailed, and the European congress
assembled at Berlin. He was not present at the congress, and
consequently escaped the popular odium for the concessions which Russia
had to make to Great Britain and Austria. From that time he was
practically minister of foreign affairs, for Prince Gorchakov was no
longer capable of continued intellectual exertion, and lived mostly
abroad. On the death of Alexander II. in 1881 it was generally expected
that M. de Giers would be dismissed as deficient in Russian nationalist
feeling, for Alexander III. was credited with strong anti-German
Slavophil tendencies. In reality the young tsar had no intention of
embarking on wild political adventures, and was fully determined not to
let his hand be forced by men less cautious than himself. What he wanted
was a minister of foreign affairs who would be at once vigilant and
prudent, active and obedient, and who would relieve him from the trouble
and worry of routine work while allowing him to control the main lines,
and occasionally the details, of the national policy. M. de Giers was
exactly what he wanted, and accordingly the tsar not only appointed him
minister of foreign affairs on the retirement of Prince Gorchakov in
1882, but retained him to the end of his reign in 1894. In accordance
with the desire of his august master, M. de Giers followed
systematically a pacific policy. Accepting as a _fait accompli_ the
existence of the triple alliance, created by Bismarck for the purpose of
resisting any aggressive action on the part of Russia and France, he
sought to establish more friendly relations with the cabinets of Berlin,
Vienna and Rome. To the advances of the French government he at first
turned a deaf ear, but when the _rapprochement_ between the two
countries was effected with little or no co-operation on his part, he
utilized it for restraining France and promoting Russian interests. He
died on the 26th of January 1895, soon after the accession of Nicholas
II. (D. M. W.)
GIESEBRECHT, WILHELM VON (1814-1889), German historian, was a son of
Karl Giesebrecht (d. 1832), and a nephew of the poet Ludwig Giesebrecht
(1792-1873). Born in Berlin on the 5th of March 1814, he studied under
Leopold von Ranke, and his first important work, _Geschichte Ottos II._,
was contributed to Ranke's _Jahrbucher des deutschen Reichs unter dem
sachsischen Hause_ (Berlin, 1837-1840); In 1841 he published his
_Jahrbucher des Klosters Altaich_, a reconstruction of the lost _Annales
Altahenses_, a medieval source of which fragments only were known to be
extant, and these were obscured in other chronicles. The brilliance of
this performance was shown in 1867, when a copy of the original
chronicle was found, and it was seen that Giesebrecht's text was
substantially correct. In the meantime he had been appointed
_Oberlehrer_ in the Joachimsthaler Gymnasium in Berlin; had paid a visit
to Italy, and as a result of his researches there had published _De
litterarum studiis apud Italos primis medii aevi seculis_ (Berlin,
1845), a study upon the survival of culture in Italian cities during the
middle ages, and also several critical essays upon the sources for the
early history of the popes. In 1851 appeared his translation of the
_Historiae_ of Gregory of Tours, which is the standard German
translation. Four years later appeared the first volume of his great
work, _Geschichte der deutschen Kaiserzeit_, the fifth volume of which
was published in 1888. This work was the first in which the results of
the scientific methods of research were thrown open to the world at
large. Largeness of style and brilliance of portrayal were joined to an
absolute mastery of the sources in a way hitherto unachieved by any
German historian. Yet later German historians have severely criticized
his glorification of the imperial era with its Italian entanglements, in
which the interests of Germany were sacrificed for idle glory.
Giesebrecht's history, however, appeared when the new German empire was
in the making, and became popular owing both to its patriotic tone and
its intrinsic merits. In 1857 he went to Konigsberg as professor
ordinarius, and in 1862 succeeded H. von Sybel as professor of history
in the university of Munich. The Bavarian government honoured him in
various ways, and he died at Munich on the 17th of December 1889. In
addition to the works already mentioned, Giesebrecht published a good
monograph on Arnold of Brescia (Munich, 1873), a collection of essays
under the title _Deutsche Reden_ (Munich, 1871), and was an active
member of the group of scholars who took over the direction of the
_Monumenta Germaniae historica_ in 1875. In 1895 B. von Simson added a
sixth volume to the _Geschichte der deutschen Kaiserzeit_, thus bringing
the work down to the death of the emperor Frederick I. in 1190.
See S. Riezler, _Gedachtnisrede auf Wilhelm von Giesebrecht_ (Munich,
1891); and Lord Acton in the _English Historical Review_, vol. v.
(London, 1890).
GIESELER, JOHANN KARL LUDWIG (1792-1854), German writer on church
history, was born on the 3rd of March 1792 at Petershagen, near Minden,
where his father, Georg Christof Friedrich, was preacher. In his tenth
year he entered the orphanage at Halle, whence he duly passed to the
university, his studies being interrupted, however, from October 1813
till the peace of 1815 by a period of military service, during which he
was enrolled as a volunteer in a regiment of chasseurs. On the
conclusion of peace (1815) he returned to Halle, and, having in 1817
taken his degree in philosophy, he in the same year became assistant
head master (_Conrector_) in the Minden gymnasium, and in 1818 was
appointed director of the gymnasium at Cleves. Here he published his
earliest work (_Historisch-kritischer Versuch uber die Entstehung u. die
fruhesten Schicksale der schriftlichen Evangelien_), a treatise which
had considerable influence on subsequent investigations as to the origin
of the gospels. In 1819 Gieseler was appointed a professor ordinarius in
theology in the newly founded university of Bonn, where, besides
lecturing on church history, he made important contributions to the
literature of that subject in Ernst Rosenmuller's _Repertorium_, K. F.
Staudlin and H. G. Tschirner's _Archiv_, and in various university
"programs." The first part of the first volume of his well-known _Church
History_ appeared in 1824. In 1831 he accepted a call to Gottingen as
successor to J. G. Planck. He lectured on church history, the history of
dogma, and dogmatic theology. In 1837 he was appointed a
_Consistorialrath_, and shortly afterwards was created a knight of the
Guelphic order. He died on the 8th of July 1854. The fourth and fifth
volumes of the _Kirchengeschichte_, embracing the period subsequent to
1814, were published posthumously in 1855 by E. R. Redepenning
(1810-1883); and they were followed in 1856 by a _Dogmengeschichte_,
which is sometimes reckoned as the sixth volume of the _Church History_.
Among church historians Gieseler continues to hold a high place. Less
vivid and picturesque in style than Karl Hase, conspicuously deficient
in Neander's deep and sympathetic insight into the more spiritual forces
by which church life is pervaded, he excels these and all other
contemporaries in the fulness and accuracy of his information. His
_Lehrbuch der Kirchengeschichte_, with its copious references to
original authorities, is of great value to the student: "Gieseler wished
that each age should speak for itself, since only by this means can the
peculiarity of its ideas be fully appreciated" (Otto Pfleiderer,
_Development of Theology_, p. 284). The work, which has passed through
several editions in Germany, has partially appeared also in two English
translations. That published in New York (_Text Book of Ecclesiastical
History_, 5 vols.) brings the work down to the peace of Westphalia,
while that published in "Clark's Theological Library" (_Compendium of
Ecclesiastical History_, Edinburgh, 5 vols.) closes with the beginning
of the Reformation. Gieseler was not only a devoted student but also an
energetic man of business. He frequently held the office of pro-rector
of the university, and did much useful work as a member of several of
its committees.
GIESSEN, a town of Germany, capital of the province of Upper Hesse, in
the grand-duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt, is situated in a beautiful and
fruitful valley at the confluence of the Wieseck with the Lahn, 41 m.
N.N.W. of Frankfort-on-Main on the railway to Cassel; and at the
junction of important lines to Cologne and Coblenz. Pop. (1885) 18,836;
(1905) 29,149. In the old part of the town the streets are narrow and
irregular. Besides the university, the principal buildings are the
Stadtkirche, the provincial government offices, comprising a portion of
the old castle dating from the 12th century, the arsenal (now barracks)
and the town-hall (containing an historical collection). The university,
founded in 1607 by Louis V, landgrave of Hesse, has a large and valuable
library, a botanic garden, an observatory, medical schools, a museum of
natural history, a chemical laboratory which was directed by Justus von
Liebig, professor here from 1824 to 1852, and an agricultural college.
The industries include the manufacture of woollen and cotton cloth of
various kinds, machines, leather, candles, tobacco and beer.
Giessen, the name of which is probably derived from the streams which
pour (_giessen_) their waters here into the Lahn, was formed in the 12th
century out of the villages Selters, Aster and Kroppach, for whose
protection Count William of Gleiberg built the castle of Giessen.
Through marriage the town came, in 1203, into the possession of the
count palatine, Rudolph of Tubingen, who sold it in 1265 to the
landgrave Henry of Hesse. It was surrounded with fortifications in 1530,
which were demolished in 1547, but rebuilt in 1560. In 1805 they were
finally pulled down, and their site converted into promenades.
See O. Buchner, _Fuhrer fur Giessen und das Lahntal_ (1891); and _Aus
Glessens Vergangenheit_ (1885).
GIFFARD, GODFREY (c. 1235-1302); chancellor of England and bishop of
Worcester, was a son of Hugh Giffard of Boyton, Wiltshire. Having
entered the church he speedily obtained valuable preferments owing to
the influence of his brother Walter, who became chancellor of England in
1265. In 1266 Godfrey became chancellor of the exchequer, succeeding
Walter as chancellor of England when, in the same year, the latter was
made archbishop of York. In 1268 he was chosen bishop of Worcester,
resigning the chancellorship shortly afterwards; and both before and
after 1279, when he inherited the valuable property of his brother the
archbishop, he was employed on public business by Edward I. His main
energies, however, were devoted to the affairs of his see. He had one
long dispute with the monks of Worcester, another with the abbot of
Westminster, and was vigilant in guarding his material interests. The
bishop died on the 26th of January 1302, and was buried in his
cathedral. Giffard, although inclined to nepotism, was a benefactor to
his cathedral, and completed and fortified the episcopal castle at
Hartlebury.
See W. Thomas, _Survey of Worcester Cathedral_; _Episcopal Registers_;
_Register of Bishop Godfrey Giffard_, edited by J. W. Willis-Bund
(Oxford, 1898-1899); and the Annals of Worcester in the _Annales
monastici_, vol. iv., edited by H. R. Luard (London, 1869).
GIFFARD, WALTER (d. 1279), chancellor of England and archbishop of York,
was a son of Hugh Giffard of Boyton, Wiltshire, and after serving as
canon and archdeacon of Wells, was chosen bishop of Bath and Wells in
May 1264. In August 1265 Henry III. appointed him chancellor of England,
and he was one of the arbitrators who drew up the _dictum de Kenilworth_
in 1266. Later in this year Pope Clement IV. named him archbishop of
York, and having resigned the chancellorship he was an able and diligent
ruler of his see, although in spite of his great wealth he was
frequently in pecuniary difficulties. When Henry III. died in November
1272 the archbishopric of Canterbury was vacant, and consequently the
great seal was delivered to the archbishop of York, who was the chief of
the three regents who successfully governed the kingdom until the return
of Edward I. in August 1274. Having again acted in this capacity during
the king's absence in 1275, Giffard died in April 1279, and was buried
in his cathedral.
See _Fasti Eboracenses_, edited by J. Raine (London, 1863). Giffard's
_Register_ from 1266 to 1279 has been edited for the Surtees Society
by W. Brown.
GIFFARD, WILLIAM (d. 1129), bishop of Winchester, was chancellor of
William II. and received his see, in succession to Bishop Walkelin, from
Henry I. (1100). He was one of the bishops elect whom Anselm refused to
consecrate (1101) as having been nominated and invested by the lay
power. During the investitures dispute Giffard was on friendly terms
with Anselm, and drew upon himself a sentence of banishment through
declining to accept consecration from the archbishop of York (1103). He
was, however, one of the bishops who pressed Anselm, in 1106, to give
way to the king. He was consecrated after the settlement of 1107. He
became a close friend of Anselm, aided the first Cistercians to settle
in England, and restored Winchester cathedral with great magnificence.
See Eadmer, _Historia novorum_, edited by M. Rule (London, 1884); and
S. H. Cass, _Bishops of Winchester_ (London, 1827).
GIFFEN, SIR ROBERT (1837-1910), British statistician and economist, was
born at Strathaven, Lanarkshire. He entered a solicitor's office in
Glasgow, and while in that city attended courses at the university. He
drifted into journalism, and after working for the _Stirling Journal_ he
went to London in 1862 and joined the staff of the _Globe_. He also
assisted Mr John (afterwards Lord) Morley, when the latter edited the
_Fortnightly Review_. In 1868 he became Walter Bagehot's
assistant-editor on the _Economist_; and his services were also secured
in 1873 as city-editor of the _Daily News_, and later of _The Times_.
His high reputation as a financial journalist and statistician, gained
in these years, led to his appointment in 1876 as head of the
statistical department in the Board of Trade, and subsequently he became
assistant secretary (1882) and finally controller-general (1892),
retiring in 1897. In connexion with his position as chief statistical
adviser to the government, he was constantly employed in drawing up
reports, giving evidence before commissions of inquiry, and acting as a
government auditor, besides publishing a number of important essays on
financial subjects. His principal publications were _Essays on Finance_
(1879 and 1884), _The Progress of the Working Classes_ (1884), _The
Growth of Capital_ (1890), _The Case against Bimetallism_ (1892), and
_Economic Inquiries and Studies_ (1904). He was president of the
Statistical Society (1882-1884); and after being made a C.B. in 1891 was
created K.C.B. in 1895. In 1892 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal
Society. Sir Robert Giffen continued in later years to take a leading
part in all public controversies connected with finance and taxation,
and his high authority and practical experience were universally
recognized. He died somewhat suddenly in Scotland on the 12th of April
1910.
GIFFORD, ROBERT SWAIN (1840-1905), American marine and landscape
painter, was born on Naushon Island, Massachusetts, on the 23rd of
December 1840. He studied art with the Dutch marine painter Albert van
Beest, who had a studio in New Bedford, and in 1864 he opened a studio
for himself in Boston, subsequently settling in New York, where he was
elected an associate of the National Academy of Design in 1867 and an
academician in 1878. He was also a charter member of the American Water
Color Society and the Society of American Artists. From 1878 until 1896
he was teacher of painting and chief master of the Woman's Art School of
Cooper Union, New York, and from 1896 until his death he was director.
Gifford painted longshore views, sand dunes and landscapes generally,
with charm and poetry. He was an etcher of considerable reputation, a
member of the Society of American Etchers, and an honorary member of the
Society of Painter-Etchers of London. He died in New York on the 13th of
January 1905.
GIFFORD, SANDFORD ROBINSON (1823-1880), American landscape painter, was
born at Greenfield, New York, on the 10th of July 1823. He studied
(1842-1845) at Brown University, then went to New York, and entered the
art schools of the National Academy of Design, of which organization he
was elected an associate in 1851, and an academician in 1854.
Subsequently he studied in Paris and Rome. He was one of the best known
of the Hudson River school group, though it was at Lake George that he
found most of his themes. In his day he enjoyed an enormous popularity,
and his canvases are in many well-known American collections. He died in
New York City on the 29th of August 1880.
GIFFORD, WILLIAM (1756-1826), English publicist and man of letters, was
born at Ashburton, Devon, in April 1756. His father was a glazier of
indifferent character, and before he was thirteen William had lost both
parents. The business was seized by his godfather, on whom William and
his brother, a child of two, became entirely dependent. For about three
months William was allowed to remain at the free school of the town. He
was then put to follow the plough, but after a day's trial he proved
unequal to the task, and was sent to sea with the Brixham fishermen.
After a year at sea his godfather, driven by the opinion of the
townsfolk, put the boy to school once more. He made rapid progress,
especially in mathematics, and began to assist the master. In 1772 he
was apprenticed to a shoemaker, and when he wished to pursue his
mathematical studies, he was obliged to work his problems with an awl on
beaten leather. By the kindness of an Ashburton surgeon, William
Cooksley, a subscription was raised to enable him to return to school.
Ultimately he proceeded in his twenty-third year to Oxford, where he was
appointed a Bible clerk in Exeter College. Leaving the university
shortly after graduation in 1782, he found a generous patron in the
first Earl Grosvenor, who undertook to provide for him, and sent him on
two prolonged continental tours in the capacity of tutor to his son,
Lord Belgrave. Settling in London, Gifford published in 1794 his first
work, a clever satirical piece, after Persius, entitled the _Baviad_,
aimed at a coterie of second-rate writers at Florence, then popularly
known as the Della Cruscans, of which Mrs Piozzi was the leader. A
second satire of a similar description, the _Maeviad_, directed against
the corruptions of the drama, appeared in 1795. About this time Gifford
became acquainted with Canning, with whose help he in August 1797
originated a weekly newspaper of Conservative politics entitled the
_Anti-Jacobin_, which, however, in the following year ceased to be
published. An English version of Juvenal, on which he had been for many
years engaged, appeared in 1802; to this an autobiographical notice of
the translator, reproduced in Nichol's _Illustrations of Literature_,
was prefixed. Two years afterwards Gifford published an annotated
edition of the plays of Massinger; and in 1809, when the _Quarterly
Review_ was projected, he was made editor. The success which attended
the _Quarterly_ from the outset was due in no small degree to the
ability and tact with which Gifford discharged his editorial duties. He
took, however, considerable liberties with the articles he inserted, and
Southey, who was one of his regular contributors, said that Gifford
looked on authors as Izaak Walton did on worms. His bitter opposition to
Radicals and his onslaughts on new writers, conspicuous among which was
the article on Keats's _Endymion_, called forth Hazlitt's _Letter to W.
Gifford_ in 1819. His connexion with the _Review_ continued until within
about two years of his death, which took place in London on the 31st of
December 1826. Besides numerous contributions to the _Quarterly_ during
the last fifteen years of his life, he wrote a metrical translation of
Persius, which appeared in 1821. Gifford also edited the dramas of Ben
Jonson in 1816, and his edition of Ford appeared posthumously in 1827.
His notes on Shirley were incorporated in Dyce's edition in 1833. His
political services were acknowledged by the appointments of commissioner
of the lottery and paymaster of the gentleman pensioners. He left a
considerable fortune, the bulk of which went to the son of his first
benefactor, William Cooksley.
GIFT (a common Teutonic word, cf. Ger. _die Gift_, gift, _das Gift_,
poison, formed from the Teut. stem _gab-_, to give, cf. Dutch _geven_,
Ger. _geben_; in O. Eng. the word appears with initial y, the guttural
of later English is due to Scandinavian influence), a general English
term for a present or thing bestowed, i.e. an alienation of property
otherwise than for a legal consideration, although in law it is often
used to signify alienation with or without consideration. By analogy the
terms "gift" and "gifted" are also used to signify the natural endowment
of some special ability, or a miraculous power, in a person, as being
not acquired in the ordinary way. The legal effect of a gratuitous gift
only need be considered here. Formerly in English law property in land
could be conveyed by one person to another by a verbal gift of the
estate accompanied by delivery of possession. The Statute of Frauds
required all such conveyances to be in writing, and a later statute (8 &
9 Vict. c. 106) requires them to be by deed. Personal property may be
effectually transferred from one person to another by a simple verbal
gift accompanied by delivery. If A delivers a chattel to B, saying or
signifying that he does so by way of gift, the property passes, and the
chattel belongs to B. But unless the actual thing is bodily handed over
to the donee, the mere verbal expression of the donor's desire or
intention has no legal effect whatever. The persons are in the position
of parties to an agreement which is void as being without consideration.
When the nature of the thing is such that it cannot be bodily handed
over, it will be sufficient to put the donee in such a position as to
enable him to deal with it as the owner. For example, when goods are in
a warehouse, the delivery of the key will make a verbal gift of them
effectual; but it seems that part delivery of goods which are capable of
actual delivery will not validate a verbal gift of the part undelivered.
So when goods are in the possession of a warehouseman, the handing over
of a delivery order might, by special custom (but not otherwise, it
appears), be sufficient to pass the property in the goods, although
delivery of a bill of lading for goods at sea is equivalent to an actual
delivery of the goods themselves.
GIFU (IMAIZUMI), a city of Japan, capital of the _ken_ (government) of
Central Nippon, which comprises the two provinces of Mino and Hida. Pop.
about 41,000. It lies E. by N. of Lake Biwa, on the Central railway, on
a tributary of the river Kiso, which flows to the Bay of Miya Uro.
Manufactures of silk and paper goods are carried on. The _ken_ has an
area of about 4000 sq. m. and is thickly peopled, the population
exceeding 1,000,000. The whole district is subject to frequent
earthquakes.
GIG, apparently an onomatopoeic word for any light whirling object, and
so used of a top, as in Shakespeare's _Love's Labour's Lost_, v. i. 70
("Goe whip thy gigge"), or of a revolving lure made of feathers for
snaring birds. The word is now chiefly used of a light two-wheeled cart
or carriage for one horse, and of a narrow, light, ship's boat for oars
or sails, and also of a clinker-built rowing-boat used for rowing on the
Thames. "Gig" is further applied, in mining, to a wooden chamber or box
divided in the centre and used to draw miners up and down a pit or
shaft, and to a textile machine, the "gig-mill" or "gigging machine,"
which raises the nap on cloth by means of teazels. A "gig" or "fish-gig"
(properly "fiz-gig," possibly an adaptation of Span. _fisga_, harpoon)
is an instrument used for spearing fish.
GIGLIO (anc. _Igilium_), an island of Italy, off the S.W. coast of
Italy, in the province of Grosseto, 11 m. to the W. of Monte Argentario,
the nearest point on the coast. It measures about 5 m. by 3 and its
highest point is 1634 ft. above sea-level. Pop. (1901) 2062. It is
partly composed of granite, which was quarried here by the Romans, and
is still used; the island is fertile, and produces wine and fruit, the
cultivation of which has taken the place of the forests of which
Rutilius spoke (_Itin._ i. 325, "eminus Igilii silvosa cacumina miror").
Julius Caesar mentions its sailors in the fleet of Domitius Ahenobarbus.
In Rutilius's time it served as a place of refuge from the barbarian
invaders. Charlemagne gave it to the abbey of Tre Fontane at Rome. In
the 14th century it belonged to Pisa, then to Florence, ~~6 Antonio
Piccolomini, nephew of Pius II. In 1558 it was sold to the wife of
Cosimo I. of Florence.
See Archduke Ludwig Salvator, _Die Insel Giglio_ (Prague, 1900).
GIJON, a seaport of northern Spain, in the province of Oviedo; on the
Bay of Biscay, and at the terminus of railways from Aviles, Oviedo and
Langreo. Pop. (1900) 47,544. The older parts of Gijon, which are partly
enclosed by ancient walls, occupy the upper slopes of a peninsular
headland, Santa Catalina Point; while its more modern suburbs extend
along the shore to Cape Torres, on the west, and Cape San Lorenzo, on
the east. These suburbs contain the town-hall, theatre, markets, and a
bull-ring with seats for 12,000 spectators. Few of the buildings of
Gijon are noteworthy for any architectural merit, except perhaps the
15th-century parish church of San Pedro, which has a triple raw of
aisles on each side, the palace of the marquesses of Revillajigedo (or
Revilla Gigedo), and the Asturian Institute or Jovellanos Institute. The
last named has a very fine collection of drawings by Spanish and other
artists, a good library and classes for instruction in seamanship,
mathematics and languages. It was founded in 1797 by the poet and
statesman Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos (1744-1811). Jovellanos, a native
of Gijon, is buried in San Pedro.
The Bay of Gijon is the most important roadstead on the Spanish coast
between Ferrol and Santander. Its first quay was constructed by means of
a grant from Charles V. in 1552-1554; and its arsenal, added in the
reign of Philip II. (1556-1598), was used in 1588 as a repairing station
for the surviving ships of the Invincible Armada. A new quay was built
in 1766-1768, and extended in 1859; the harbour was further improved in
1864, and after 1892, when the Musel harbour of refuge was created at
the extremity of the bay. It was, however, the establishment of railway
communication in 1884 which brought the town its modern prosperity, by
rendering it the chief port of shipment for the products of Langreo and
other mining centres in Oviedo. A rapid commercial development followed.
Besides large tobacco, glass and porcelain factories, Gijon possesses
iron foundries and petroleum refineries; while its minor industries
include fisheries, and the manufacture of preserved foods, soap,
chocolate, candles and liqueurs. In 1903 the harbour accommodated 2189
vessels of 358,375 tons. In the same year the imports, consisting
chiefly of machinery, iron, wood and food-stuffs, were valued at
L660,889; while the exports, comprising zinc, copper, iron and other
minerals, with fish, nuts and farm produce, were valued at L100,941.
Gijon is usually identified with the _Gigia_ of the Romans, which,
however, occupied the site of the adjoining suburb of Cima de Villa.
Early in the 8th century Gijon was captured and strengthened by the
Moors, who used the stones of the Roman city for their fortifications,
but were expelled by King Pelayo (720-737). In 844 Gijon successfully
resisted a Norman raid; in 1395 it was burned down; but thenceforward it
gradually rose to commercial importance.
GILAN (GHILAN, GUILAN), one of the three small but important Caspian
provinces of Persia, lying along the south-western shore of the Caspian
Sea between 48 deg. 50' and 50 deg. 30' E. with a breadth varying from
15 to 50 m. It has an area of about 5000 sq. m. and a population of
about 250,000. It is separated from Russia by the little river Astara,
which flows into the Caspian, and bounded W. by Azerbaijan, S. by Kazvin
and E. by Mazandaran. The greater portion of the province is a lowland
region extending inland from the sea to the base of the mountains of the
Elburz range and, though the Sefid Rud (White river), which is called
Kizil Uzain in its upper course and has its principal sources in the
hills of Persian Kurdistan, is the only river of any size, the province
is abundantly watered by many streams and an exceptionally great
rainfall (in some years 50 in.).
The vegetation is very much like that of southern Europe, but in
consequence of the great humidity and the mild climate almost tropically
luxuriant, and the forests from the shore of the sea up to an altitude
of nearly 5000 ft. on the mountain slopes facing the sea are as dense as
an Indian jungle. The prevailing types of trees are the oak, maple,
hornbeam, beech, ash and elm. The box tree comes to rare perfection, but
in consequence of indiscriminate cutting for export during many years,
is now becoming scarce. Of fruit trees the apple, pear, plum, cherry,
medlar, pomegranate, fig, quince, as well as two kinds of vine, grow
wild; oranges, sweet and bitter, and other Aurantiaceae thrive well in
gardens and plantations. The fauna also is well represented, but tigers
which once were frequently seen are now very scarce; panther, hyena,
jackal, wild boar, deer (_Cervus maral_) are common; pheasant, woodcock,
ducks, teal, geese and various waterfowl abound; the fisheries are very
productive and are leased to a Russian firm. The ordinary cattle of the
province is the small humped kind, _Bos indicus_, and forms an article
of export to Russia, the humps, smoked, being much in demand as a
delicacy. Rice of a kind not much appreciated in Persia, but much
esteemed in Gilan and Russia, is largely cultivated and a quantity
valued at about L120,000 was exported to Russia during 1904-1905. Tea
plantations, with seeds and plants from Assam, Ceylon and the Himalayas,
were started in the early part of 1900 on the slopes of the hills south
of Resht at an altitude of about 1000 ft. The results were excellent and
very good tea was produced in 1904 and 1905, but the Persian government
gave no support and the enterprise was neglected. The olive thrives well
at Rudbar and Manjil in the Sefid Rud valley and the oil extracted from
it by a Provencal for some years until 1896, when he was murdered, was
of very good quality and found a ready market at Baku. Since then the
oil has been, as before, only used for the manufacture of soap. Tobacco
from Turkish seed, cultivated since 1875, grows well, and a considerable
quantity of it is exported. The most valuable produce of the province is
silk. In 1866 it was valued at L743,000 and about two-thirds of it was
exported. The silkworm disease appeared in 1864 and the crops decreased
in consequence until 1893 when the value of the silk exported was no
more than L6500. Since then there has been a steady improvement, and in
1905-1906 the value of the produce was estimated at L300,000 and that of
the quantity exported at L200,000. The eggs of the silk-worms, formerly
obtained from Japan, are now imported principally from Brusa by Greeks
under French protection and from France.
There is only one good road in the province, that from Enzeli to Kazvin
by way of Resht; in other parts communication is by narrow and
frequently impassable lanes through the thick forest, or by intricate
pathways through the dense undergrowth.
The province is divided into the following administrative districts:
Resht (with the capital and its immediate neighbourhood), Fumen (with
Tulam and Mesula, where are iron mines), Gesker, Talish (with
Shandarman, Kerganrud, Asalim, Gil-Dulab, Talish-Dulab), Enzeli (the
port of Resht), Sheft, Manjil (with Rahmetabad and Amarlu), Lahijan
(with Langarud, Rudsar and Ranehkuh), Dilman and Lashtnisha. The revenue
derived from taxes and customs is about L80,000. The crown lands have
been much neglected and the revenue from them amounts to hardly L3000
per annum. The value of the exports and imports from and into Gilan,
much of them in transit, is close upon L2,000,000.
Gilan was an independent khanate until 1567 when Khan Ahmed, the last of
the Kargia dynasty, which had reigned 205 years, was deposed by Tahmasp
I., the second Safawid shah of Persia (1524-1576). It was occupied by a
Russian force in the early part of 1723; and Tahmasp III., the tenth
Safawid shah (1722-1731); then without a throne and his country occupied
by the Afghans, ceded it, together with Mazandaran and Astarabad, to
Peter the Great by a treaty of the 12th of September of the same year.
Russian troops remained in Gilan until 1734, when they were compelled to
evacuate it.
The derivation of the name Gilan from the modern Persian word _gil_
meaning mud (hence "land of mud") is incorrect. It probably means "land
of the Gil," an ancient tribe which classical writers mention as the
Gelae. (A. H.-S.)
GILBART, JAMES WILLIAM (1794-1863), English writer on banking, was born
in London on the 21st of March 1794. From 1813 to 1825 he was clerk in
a London bank. After a two years' residence in Birmingham, he was
appointed manager of the Kilkenny branch of the Provincial Bank of
Ireland, and in 1829 he was promoted to the Waterford branch. In 1834 he
became manager of the London and Westminster Bank; and he did much to
develop the system of joint-stock banking. On more than one occasion he
rendered valuable services to the joint-stock banks by his evidence
before committees of the House of Commons; and, on the renewal of the
bank charter in 1844, he procured the insertion of a clause granting to
joint-stock banks the power of suing by their public officer, and also
the right of accepting bills at less than six months' date. In 1846 he
was elected a fellow of the Royal Society. He died in London on the 8th
of August 1863. The Gilbart lectures on banking at King's College are
called after him.
The following are his principal works on banking, most of which have
passed through more than one edition: _Practical Treatise on Banking_
(1827); _The History and Principles of Banking_ (1834); _The History
of Banking in America_ (1837); _Lectures on the History and Principles
of Ancient Commerce_ (1847); _Logic for the Million_ (1851); and
_Logic of Banking_ (1857).
GILBERT, ALFRED (1854- ), British sculptor and goldsmith, born in
London, was the son of Alfred Gilbert, musician. He received his
education mainly in Paris (Ecole des Beaux-Arts, under Cavelier), and
studied in Rome and Florence where the significance of the Renaissance
made a lasting impression upon him and his art. He also worked in the
studio of Sir J. Edgar Boehm, R.A. His first work of importance was the
charming group of the "Mother and Child," then "The Kiss of Victory,"
followed by "Perseus Arming" (1883), produced directly under the
influence of the Florentine masterpieces he had studied. Its success was
great, and Lord Leighton forthwith commissioned "Icarus," which was
exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1884, along with a remarkable "Study
of a Head," and was received with general applause. Then followed "The
Enchanted Chair," which, along with many other works deemed by the
artist incomplete or unworthy of his powers, was ultimately broken by
the sculptor's own hand. The next year Mr Gilbert was occupied with the
Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, in Piccadilly, London, a work of great
originality and beauty, yet shorn of some of the intended effect through
restrictions put upon the artist. In 1888 was produced the statue of
H.M. Queen Victoria, set up at Winchester, in its main design and in the
details of its ornamentation the most remarkable work of its kind
produced in Great Britain, and perhaps, it may be added, in any other
country in modern times. Other statues of great beauty, at once novel in
treatment and fine in design, are those set up to Lord Reay in Bombay,
and John Howard at Bedford (1898); the highly original pedestal of which
did much to direct into a better channel what are apt to be the
eccentricities of what is called the "New Art" School. The sculptor rose
to the full height of his powers in his "Memorial to the Duke of
Clarence," and his fast developing fancy and imagination, which are the
main characteristics of all his work, are seen in his "Memorial
Candelabrum to Lord Arthur Russell" and "Memorial Font to the son of the
4th Marquess of Bath." Gilbert's sense of decoration is paramount in all
he does, and although in addition to the work already cited he produced
busts of extraordinary excellence of Cyril Flower, John R. Clayton
(since broken up by the artist--the fate of much of his admirable work),
G. F. Watts, Sir Henry Tate, Sir George Birdwood, Sir Richard Owen, Sir
George Grove and various others, it is on his goldsmithery that the
artist would rest his reputation; on his mayoral chain for Preston, the
epergne for Queen Victoria, the figurines of "Victory" (a statuette
designed for the orb in the hand of the Winchester statue), "St Michael"
and "St George," as well as smaller objects such as seals, keys and the
like. Mr Gilbert was chosen associate of the Royal Academy in 1887, full
member in 1892 (resigned 1909), and professor of sculpture (afterwards
resigned) in 1900. In 1889 he won the _Grand Prix_ at the Paris
International Exhibition. He was created a member of the Victorian Order
in 1897. (See SCULPTURE.)
See _The Life and Work of Alfred Gilbert, R.A., M.V.O., D.C.L._, by
Joseph Hatton (_Art Journal_ Office, 1903). (M. H. S.)
GILBERT, ANN (1821-1904), American actress, was born at Rochdale,
Lancashire, on the 21st of October 1821, her maiden name being Hartley.
At fifteen she was a pupil at the ballet school connected with the
Haymarket theatre, conducted by Paul Taglioni, and became a dancer on
the stage. In 1846 she married George H. Gilbert (d. 1866), a performer
in the company of which she was a member. Together they filled many
engagements in English theatres, moving to America in 1849. Mrs
Gilbert's first success in a speaking part was in 1857 as Wichavenda in
Brougham's _Pocahontas_. In 1869 she joined Daly's company, playing for
many years wives to James Lewis's husbands, and old women's parts, in
which she had no equal. Mrs. Gilbert held a unique position on the
American stage, on account of the admiration, esteem and affection which
she enjoyed both in front and behind the footlights. She died at Chicago
on the 2nd of December 1904.
See _Mrs Gilbert's Stage Reminiscences_ (1901).
GILBERT, GROVE KARL (1843- ), American geologist, was born at
Rochester, N.Y., on the 6th of May 1843. In 1869 he was attached to the
Geological Survey of Ohio and in 1879 he became a member of the United
States Geological Survey, being engaged on parts of the Rocky Mountains,
in Nevada, Utah, California and Arizona. He is distinguished for his
researches on mountain-structure and on the Great Lakes, as well as on
glacial phenomena, recent earth movements, and on topographic features
generally. His report on the _Geology of the Henry Mountains_ (1877), in
which the volcanic structure known as a laccolite was first described;
his _History of the Niagara River_ (1890) and _Lake Bonneville_
(1891--the first of the Monographs issued by the United States
Geological Survey) are specially important. He was awarded the Wollaston
medal by the Geological Society of London in 1900.
GILBERT, SIR HUMPHREY (c. 1539-1583), English soldier, navigator and
pioneer colonist in America, was the second son of Otho Gilbert, of
Compton, near Dartmouth, Devon, and step-brother of Sir Walter Raleigh.
He was educated at Eton and Oxford; intended for the law; introduced at
court by Raleigh's aunt, Catherine Ashley, and appointed (July 1566)
captain in the army of Ireland under Sir Henry Sidney. In April 1566 he
had already joined with Antony Jenkinson in a petition to Elizabeth for
the discovery of the North-East Passage; in November following he
presented an independent petition for the "discovering of a passage by
the north to go to Cataia." In October 1569 he became governor of
Munster; on the 1st of January 1570 he was knighted; in 1571 he was
returned M.P. for Plymouth; in 1572 he campaigned in the Netherlands
against Spain without much success; from 1573 to 1578 he lived in
retirement at Limehouse, devoting himself especially to the advocacy of a
North-West Passage (his famous _Discourse_ on this subject was published
in 1576). Gilbert's arguments, widely circulated even before 1575, were
apparently of weight in promoting the Frobisher enterprises of 1576-1578.
On the 11th of June 1578, Sir Humphrey obtained his long-coveted charter
for North-Western discovery and colonization, authorizing him, his heirs
and assigns, to discover, occupy and possess such remote "heathen lands
not actually possessed of any Christian prince or people, as should seem
good to him or them." Disposing not only of his patrimony but also of the
estates in Kent which he had through his wife, daughter of John Aucher of
Ollerden, he fitted out an expedition which left Dartmouth on the 23rd of
September 1578, and returned in May 1579, having accomplished nothing. In
1579 Gilbert aided the government in Ireland; and in 1583, after many
struggles--illustrated by his appeal to Walsingham on the 11th of July
1582, for the payment of moneys due to him from government, and by his
agreement with the Southampton venturers--he succeeded in equipping
another fleet for "Western Planting." On the 11th of June 1583, he sailed
from Plymouth with five ships and the queen's blessing; on the 13th of
July the "Ark Raleigh," built and manned at his brother's expense,
deserted the fleet; on the 30th of July he was off the north coast of
Newfoundland; on the 3rd of August he arrived off the present St John's,
and selected this site as the centre of his operations; on the 5th of
August he began the plantation of the first English colony in North
America. Proceeding southwards with three vessels, exploring and
prospecting, he lost the largest near Cape Breton (29th of August);
immediately after (31st of August) he started to return to England with
the "Golden Hind" and the "Squirrel," of forty and ten tons respectively.
Obstinately refusing to leave the "frigate" and sail in his "great ship,"
he shared the former's fate in a tempest off the Azores. "Monday the 9th
of September," reports Hayes, the captain of the "Hind," "the frigate was
near cast away, ... yet at that time recovered; and, giving forth signs
of joy, the general, sitting abaft with a book in his hand, cried out
unto us in the 'Hind,' 'We are as near to heaven by sea as by land.'....
The same Monday night, about twelve, the frigate being ahead of us in the
'Golden Hind,' suddenly her lights were out, ... in that moment the
frigate was devoured and swallowed up of the sea."
See Hakluyt, _Principal Navigations_ (1599); vol. iii. pp. 135-181;
Gilbert's _Discourse of a Discovery for a New Passage to Cataia_,
published by George Gascoigne in 1576, with additions, probably
without Gilbert's authority; Hooker's _Supplement_ to Holinshed's
_Irish Chronicle_; Roger Williams, _The Actions of the Low Countries_
(1618); _State Papers, Domestic_ (1577-1583); Wood's _Athenae
Oxonienses_; _North British Review_, No. 45; Fox Bourne's _English
Seamen under the Tudors_; Carlos Slafter, _Sir H. Gylberte and his
Enterprise_ (Boston, 1903), with all important documents. Gilbert's
interesting writings on the need of a university for London,
anticipating in many ways not only the modern London University but
also the British Museum library and its compulsory sustenance through
the provisions of the Copyright Act, have been printed by Furnivall
(_Queen Elizabeth's Achademy_) in the Early English Text Society
Publications, extra series, No. viii.
GILBERT, JOHN (1810-1889); American actor, whose real name was Gibbs,
was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on the 27th of February 1810, and
made his first appearance there as Jaffier in _Venice Preserved_. He
soon found that his true vein was in comedy, particularly in old-men
parts. When in London in 1847 he was well received both by press and
public, and played with Macready. He was the leading actor at Wallack's
from 1861-1888. He died on the 17th of June 1889.
See William Winter's _Life of John Gilbert_ (New York, 1890).
GILBERT, SIR JOHN (1817-1897), English painter and illustrator, one of
the eight children of George Felix Gilbert, a member of a Derbyshire
family, was born at Blackheath on the 21st of July 1817. He went to
school there, and even in childhood displayed an extraordinary fondness
for drawing and painting. Nevertheless, his father's lack of means
compelled him to accept employment for the boy in the office of Messrs
Dickson & Bell, estate agents, in Charlotte Row, London. Yielding,
however, to his natural bent, his parents agreed that he should take up
art in his own way, which included but little advice from others, his
only teacher being Haydon's pupil, George Lance, the fruit painter. This
artist gave him brief instructions in the use of colour. In 1836 Gilbert
appeared in public for the first time. This was at the gallery of the
Society of British Artists, where he sent drawings, the subjects of
which were characteristic, being "The Arrest of Lord Hastings," from
Shakespeare, and "Abbot Boniface," from _The Monastery_ of Scott. "Inez
de Castro" was in the same gallery in the next year; it was the first of
a long series of works in the same medium, representing similar themes,
and was accompanied, from 1837, by a still greater number of works in
oil which were exhibited at the British Institution. These included "Don
Quixote giving advice to Sancho Panza," 1841; "Brunette and Phillis,"
from _The Spectator_, 1844; "The King's Artillery at Marston Moor,"
1860; and "Don Quixote comes back for the last time to his Home and
Family," 1867. In that year the Institution was finally closed. Gilbert
exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1838, beginning with the "Portrait
of a Gentleman," and continuing, except between 1851 and 1867, till his
death to exhibit there many of his best and more ambitious works. These
included such capital instances as "Holbein painting the Portrait of
Anne Boleyn," "Don Quixote's first Interview with the Duke and Duchess,"
1842, "Charlemagne visiting the Schools," 1846. "Touchstone and the
Shepherd," and "Rembrandt," a very fine piece, were both there in 1867;
and in 1873 "Naseby," one of his finest and most picturesque designs,
was also at the Royal Academy. Gilbert was elected A.R.A. 29th January
1872, and R.A. 29th June 1876. Besides these mostly large and powerful
works, the artist's true arena of display was undoubtedly the gallery of
the Old Water Colour Society, to which from 1852, when he was elected an
Associate exhibitor, till he died forty-five years later, he contributed
not fewer than 270 drawings, most of them admirable because of the
largeness of their style, massive coloration, broad chiaroscuro, and the
surpassing vigour of their designs. These qualities induced the leading
critics to claim for him opportunities for painting mural pictures of
great historic themes as decorations of national buildings. "The
Trumpeter," "The Standard-Bearer," "Richard II. resigning his Crown"
(now at Liverpool), "The Drug Bazaar at Constantinople," "The Merchant
of Venice" and "The Turkish Water-Carrier" are but examples of that
wealth of art which added to the attractions of the gallery in Pall
Mall. There Gilbert was elected a full Member in 1855, and president of
the Society in 1871, shortly after which he was knighted. As an
illustrator of books, magazines and periodicals of every kind he was
most prolific. To the success of the _Illustrated London News_ his
designs lent powerful aid, and he was eminently serviceable in
illustrating the _Shakespeare_ of Mr Howard Staunton. He died on the 6th
of October 1897. (F. G. S.)
GILBERT, SIR JOSEPH HENRY (1817-1901); English chemist, was born at Hull
on the 1st of August 1817. He studied chemistry first at Glasgow under
Thomas Thomson; then at University College, London, in the laboratory of
A. T. Thomson (1778-1849), the professor of medical jurisprudence, also
attending Thomas Graham's lectures; and finally at Giessen under Liebig.
On his return to England from Germany he acted for a year or so as
assistant to his old master A. T. Thomson at University College, and in
1843, after spending a short time in the study of calico dyeing and
printing near Manchester, accepted the directorship of the chemical
laboratory at the famous experimental station established by Sir J. B.
Lawes at Rothamsted, near St Albans, for the systematic and scientific
study of agriculture. This position he held for fifty-eight years, until
his death on the 23rd of December 1901. The work which he carried out
during that long period in collaboration with Lawes was of a most
comprehensive character, involving the application of many branches of
science, such as chemistry, meteorology, botany, animal and vegetable
physiology, and geology; and its influence in improving the methods of
practical agriculture extended all over the civilized world. Gilbert was
chosen a fellow of the Royal Society in 1860, and in 1867 was awarded a
royal medal jointly with Lawes. In 1880 he presided over the Chemical
Section of the British Association at its meeting at Swansea, and in
1882 he was president of the London Chemical Society, of which he had
been a member almost from its foundation in 1841. For six years from
1884 he filled the Sibthorpian chair of rural economy at Oxford, and he
was also an honorary professor at the Royal Agricultural College,
Cirencester. He was knighted in 1893, the year in which the jubilee of
the Rothamsted experiments was celebrated.
GILBERT, MARIE DOLORES ELIZA ROSANNA ["LOLA MONTEZ"] (1818-1861), dancer
and adventuress, the daughter of a British army officer, was born at
Limerick, Ireland, in 1818. Her father dying in India when she was seven
years old, and her mother marrying again, the child was sent to Europe
to be educated, subsequently joining her mother at Bath. In 1837 she
made a runaway match with a Captain James of the Indian army, and
accompanied him to India. In 1842 she returned to England, and shortly
afterwards her husband obtained a decree _nisi_ for divorce. She then
studied dancing, making an unsuccessful first appearance at Her
Majesty's theatre, London, in 1843, billed as "Lola Montez, Spanish
dancer." Subsequently she appeared with considerable success in
Germany, Poland and Russia. Thence she went to Paris, and in 1847
appeared at Munich, where she became the mistress of the old king of
Bavaria, Ludwig I.; she was naturalized, created comtesse de Landsfeld,
and given an income of L2000 a year. She soon proved herself the real
ruler of Bavaria, adopting a liberal and anti-Jesuit policy. Her
political opponents proved, however, too strong for her, and in 1848 she
was banished. In 1849 she came to England, and in the same year was
married to George Heald, a young officer in the Guards. Her husband's
guardian instituted a prosecution for bigamy against her on the ground
that her divorce from Captain James had not been made absolute, and she
fled with Heald to Spain. In 1851 she appeared at the Broadway theatre,
New York, and in the following year at the Walnut Street theatre,
Philadelphia. In 1853 Heald was drowned at Lisbon, and in the same year
she married the proprietor of a San Francisco newspaper, but did not
live long with him. Subsequently she appeared in Australia, but
returned, in 1857, to act in America, and to lecture on gallantry. Her
health having broken down, she devoted the rest of her life to visiting
the outcasts of her own sex in New York, where, stricken with paralysis,
she died on the 17th of January 1861.
See E. B. D'Auvergne, _Lola Montez_ (New York, 1909).
GILBERT, NICOLAS JOSEPH LAURENT (1751-1780), French poet, was born at
Fontenay-le-Chateau in Lorraine in 1751. Having completed his education
at the college of Dole, he devoted himself for a time to a
half-scholastic, half-literary life at Nancy, but in 1774 he found his
way to the capital. As an opponent of the Encyclopaedists and a
panegyrist of Louis XV., he received considerable pensions. He died in
Paris on the 12th of November 1780 from the results of a fall from his
horse. The satiric force of one or two of his pieces, as _Mon Apologie_
(1778) and _Le Dix-huitieme Siecle_ (1775), would alone be sufficient to
preserve his reputation, which has been further increased by modern
writers, who, like Alfred de Vigny in his _Stello_ (chaps. 7-13),
considered him a victim to the spite of his philosophic opponents. His
best-known verses are the _Ode imitee de plusieurs psaumes_, usually
entitled Adieux a la vie.
Among his other works may be mentioned _Les Familles de Darius et
d'Eridame, histoire persane_ (1770), _Le Carnaval des auteurs_ (1773),
_Odes nouvelles et patriotiques_ (1775). Gilbert's _Oeuvres completes_
were first published in 1788, and they have since been edited by
Mastrella (Paris, 1823), by Charles Nodier (1817 or 1825), and by M.
de Lescure (1882).
GILBERT (or GYLBERDE), WILLIAM (1544-1603), the most distinguished man
of science in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and the
father of electric and magnetic science, was a member of an ancient
Suffolk family, long resident in Clare, and was born on the 24th of May
1544 at Colchester, where his father, Hierome Gilbert, became recorder.
Educated at Colchester school, he entered St John's College, Cambridge,
in 1558, and after taking the degrees of B.A. and M.A. in due course,
graduated M.D. in 1569, in which year he was elected a senior fellow of
his college. Soon afterwards he left Cambridge, and after spending three
years in Italy and other parts of Europe, settled in 1573 in London,
where he practised as a physician with "great success and applause." He
was admitted to the College of Physicians probably about 1576, and from
1581 to 1590 was one of the censors. In 1587 he became treasurer,
holding the office till 1592, and in 1589 he was one of the committee
appointed to superintend the preparation of the _Pharmacopoeia
Londinensis_ which the college in that year decided to issue, but which
did not actually appear till 1618. In 1597 he was again chosen
treasurer, becoming at the same time consiliarius, and in 1599 he
succeeded to the presidency. Two years later he was appointed physician
to Queen Elizabeth, with the usual emolument of L100 a year. After this
time he seems to have removed to the court, vacating his residence,
Wingfield House, which was on Peter's Hill, between Upper Thames Street
and Little Knightrider Street, and close to the house of the College of
Physicians. On the death of the queen in 1603 he was reappointed by her
successor; but he did not long enjoy the honour, for he died, probably
of the plague, on the 30th of November (10th of December, N.S.) 1603,
either in London or in Colchester. He was buried in the latter town, in
the chancel of Holy Trinity church, where a monument was erected to his
memory. To the College of Physicians he left his books, globes,
instruments and minerals, but they were destroyed in the great fire of
London.
Gilbert's principal work is his treatise on magnetism, entitled _De
magnete, magneticisque corporibus, et de magno magnete tellure_ (London,
1600; later editions--Stettin, 1628, 1633; Frankfort, 1629, 1638). This
work, which embodied the results of many years' research, was
distinguished by its strict adherence to the scientific method of
investigation by experiment, and by the originality of its matter,
containing, as it does, an account of the author's experiments on
magnets and magnetical bodies and on electrical attractions, and also
his great conception that the earth is nothing but a large magnet, and
that it is this which explains, not only the direction of the magnetic
needle north and south, but also the variation and dipping or
inclination of the needle. Gilbert's is therefore not merely the first,
but the most important, systematic contribution to the sciences of
electricity and magnetism. A posthumous work of Gilbert's was edited by
his brother, also called William, from two MSS. in the possession of Sir
William Boswell; its title is _De mundo nostro sublunari philosophia
nova_ (Amsterdam, 1651). He is the reputed inventor besides of two
instruments to enable sailors "to find out the latitude without seeing
of sun, moon or stars," an account of which is given in Thomas
Blondeville's _Theoriques of the Planets_ (London, 1602). He was also
the first advocate of Copernican views in England, and he concluded that
the fixed stars are not all at the same distance from the earth.
It is a matter of great regret for the historian of chemistry that
Gilbert left nothing on that branch of science, to which he was deeply
devoted, "attaining to great exactness therein." So at least says Thomas
Fuller, who in his _Worthies of England_ prophesied truly how he would
be afterwards known: "Mahomet's tomb at Mecca," he says, "is said
strangely to hang up, attracted by some invisible loadstone; but the
memory of this doctor will never fall to the ground, which his
incomparable book _De magnete_ will support to eternity."
An English translation of the _De magnete_ was published by P. F.
Mottelay in 1893, and another, with notes by S. P. Thompson, was
issued by the Gilbert Club of London in 1900.