[1] After Walther's death upwards of L10,000 in bonds, &c., were
discovered put away and forgotten in escritoires and odd corners.
[2] This was the reason given by Baron Walther himself to the
writer's mother, an old friend of Frau von Goethe, who lived with her
family in the Goethehaus for some years after 1871.
GOETZ, HERMANN (1840-1876), German musical composer, was born at
Konigsberg in Prussia, on the 17th of December 1840, and began his
regular musical studies at the comparatively advanced age of seventeen.
He entered the music-school of Professor Stern at Berlin, and studied
composition chiefly under Ulrich and Hans von Bulow. In 1863 he was
appointed organist at Winterthur in Switzerland, where he lived in
obscurity for a number of years, occupying himself with composition
during his leisure hours. One of his works was an opera, _The Taming of
the Shrew_, the libretto skilfully adapted from Shakespeare's play.
After much delay it was produced at Mannheim (in October 1874), and its
success was as instantaneous as it has up to the present proved lasting.
It rapidly made the round of the great German theatres, and spread its
composer's fame over all the land. But Goetz did not live to enjoy this
happy result for long. In December 1876 he died at Zurich from overwork.
A second opera, _Francesco da Rimini_, on which he was engaged, remained
a fragment; but it was finished according to his directions, and was
performed for the first time at Mannheim a few months after the
composer's death on the 4th of December 1876. Besides his dramatic work,
Goetz also wrote various compositions for chamber-music, of which a trio
(Op. 1) and a quintet (Op. 16) have been given with great success at the
London Monday Popular Concerts. Still more important is the _Symphony in
F_. As a composer of comic opera Goetz lacks the sprightliness and
artistic _savoir faire_ so rarely found amongst Germanic nations. His
was essentially a serious nature, and passion and pathos were to him
more congenial than humour. The more serious sides of the subject are
therefore insisted upon more successfully than Katherine's ravings and
Petruchio's eccentricities. There are, however, very graceful passages,
e.g. the singing lesson Bianca receives from her disguised lover.
Goetz's style, although influenced by Wagner and other masters, shows
signs of a distinct individuality. The design of his music is
essentially of a polyphonic character, and the working out and
interweaving of his themes betray the musician of high scholarship. But
breadth and beautiful flow of melody also were his, as is seen in the
symphony, and perhaps still more in the quintet for pianoforte and
strings above referred to. The most important of Goetz's posthumous
works are a setting of the 137th Psalm for soprano solo, chorus and
orchestra, a "Spring" overture (Op. 15), and a pianoforte sonata for
four hands (Op. 17).
GOFFE (or GOUGH), WILLIAM (fl. 1642-1660), English parliamentarian, son
of Stephen Goffe, puritan rector of Stanmer in Essex, began life as an
apprentice to a London salter, a zealous parliamentarian, but on the
outbreak of the civil war he joined the army and became captain in
Colonel Harley's regiment of the new model in 1645. He was imprisoned in
1642 for his share in the petition to give the control of the militia to
the parliament. By his marriage with Frances, daughter of General Edward
Whalley, he became connected with Oliver Cromwell's family and one of
his most faithful followers. He was a member of the deputation which on
the 6th of July 1647 brought up the charge against the eleven members.
He was active in bringing the king to trial and signed the death
warrant. In 1649 he received the honorary degree of M.A. at Oxford. He
distinguished himself at Dunbar, commanding a regiment there and at
Worcester. He assisted in the expulsion of Barebone's parliament in
1653, took an active part in the suppression of Penruddock's rising in
July 1654, and in October 1655 was appointed major-general for
Berkshire, Sussex and Hampshire. Meanwhile he had been elected member
for Yarmouth in the parliament of 1654 and for Hampshire in that of
1656. He supported the proposal to bestow a royal title upon Cromwell,
who greatly esteemed him, was included in the newly-constituted House of
Lords, obtained Lambert's place as major-general of the Foot, and was
even thought of as a fit successor to Cromwell. As a member of the
committee of nine appointed in June 1658 on public affairs, he was
witness to the protector's appointment of Richard Cromwell as his
successor. He supported the latter during his brief tenure of power and
his fall involved his own loss of influence. In November 1659 he took
part in the futile mission sent by the army to Monk in Scotland, and at
the Restoration escaped with his father-in-law General Edward Whalley to
Massachusetts. Goffe's political aims appear not to have gone much
beyond fighting "to pull down Charles and set up Oliver"; and he was no
doubt a man of deep religious feeling, who acted throughout according to
a strict sense of duty as he conceived it. He was destined to pass the
rest of his life in exile, separated from his wife and children, dying,
it is supposed, about 1679.
GOFFER, to give a fluted or crimped appearance to anything, particularly
to linen or lace frills or trimmings by means of heated irons of a
special shape, called goffering-irons or tongs. "Goffering," or the
French term _gaufrage_, is also used of the wavey or crimped edging in
certain forms of porcelain, and also of the stamped or embossed
decorations on the edges of the binding of books. The French word
_gaufre_, from which the English form is adapted, means a thin cake
marked with a pattern like a honeycomb, a "wafer," which is
etymologically the same word. _Waufre_ appears in the phrase _un fer a
waufres_, an iron for baking cakes on (quotation of 1433 in J. B.
Roquefort's _Glossaire de la langue romane_). The word is Teutonic, cf.
Dutch _wafel_, Ger. _Waffel_, a form seen in "waffle," the name given to
the well-known batter-cakes of America. The "wafer" was so called from
its likeness to a honeycomb, _Wabe_, ultimately derived from the root
_wab_-, to weave, the cells of the comb appearing to be woven together.
GOG (possibly connected with the Gentilic _Gagaya_, "of the land of
Gag," used in Amarna Letters i. 38, as a synonym for "barbarian," or
with Ass. _Gagu_, a ruler of the land of _Sahi_, N. of Assyria, or with
_Gyges_, Ass. _Gugu_, a king of Lydia), a Hebrew name found in Ezek.
xxxviii.-xxxix. and in Rev. xx., and denoting an antitheocratic power
that is to manifest itself in the world immediately before the final
dispensation. In the later passage, Gog and Magog are spoken of as
co-ordinate; in the earlier, Gog is given as the name of the person or
people and Magog as that of the land of origin. Magog is perhaps a
contracted form of Mat-gog, _mat_ being the common Assyrian word for
"land." The passages are, however, intimately related and both depend
upon Gen. x. 2, though here Magog alone is mentioned. He is the second
"son" of Japhet, and the order of the names here and in Ezekiel xxxviii.
2, indicates a locality between Cappadocia and Media, i.e. in Armenia.
According to Josephus, who is followed by Jerome, the Scythians were
primarily intended by this designation; and this plausible opinion has
been generally followed. The name [Greek: Skythai], it is to be
observed, however, is often but a vague word for any or all of the
numerous and but partially known tribes of the north; and any attempt to
assign a more definite locality to Magog can only be very hesitatingly
made. According to some, the Maiotes about the Palus Maeotis are meant;
according to others, the Massagetae; according to Kiepert, the
inhabitants of the northern and eastern parts of Armenia. The imagery
employed in Ezekiel's prophetic description was no doubt suggested by
the Scythian invasion which about the time of Josiah, 630 B.C., had
devastated Asia (Herodotus i. 104-106; Jer. iv. 3-vi. 30). Following on
this description, Gog figures largely in Jewish and Mahommedan as well
as in Christian eschatology. In the district of Astrakhan a legend is
still to be met with, to the effect that Gog and Magog were two great
races, which Alexander the Great subdued and banished to the inmost
recesses of the Caucasus, where they are meanwhile kept in by the terror
of twelve trumpets blown by the winds, but whence they are destined
ultimately to make their escape and destroy the world.
The legends that attach themselves to the gigantic effigies (dating from
1708 and replacing those destroyed in the Great Fire) of Gog and Magog
in Guildhall, London, are connected only remotely, if at all, with the
biblical notices. According to the _Recuyell des histoires de Troye_,
Gog and Magog were the survivors of a race of giants descended from the
thirty-three wicked daughters of Diocletian; after their brethren had
been slain by Brute and his companions, Gog and Magog were brought to
London (Troy-novant) and compelled to officiate as porters at the gate
of the royal palace. It is known that effigies similar to the present
existed in London as early as the time of Henry V.; but when this legend
began to attach to them is uncertain. They may be compared with the
giant images formerly kept at Antwerp (Antigomes) and Douai (Gayant).
According to Geoffrey of Monmouth (_Chronicles_, i. 16), Goemot or
Goemagot (either corrupted from or corrupted into "Gog and Magog") was a
giant who, along with his brother Corineus, tyrannized in the western
horn of England until slain by foreign invaders.
GOGO, or GOGHA, a town of British India in Ahmedabad district, Bombay,
193 m. N.W. of Bombay. Pop. (1901) 4798. About 3/4 m. east of the town
is an excellent anchorage, in some measure sheltered by the island of
Piram, which lies still farther east. The natives of this place are
reckoned the best sailors in India; and ships touching here may procure
water and supplies, or repair damages. The anchorage is a safe refuge
during the south-west monsoon, the bottom being a bed of mud and the
water always smooth. Gogo has lost its commercial importance and has
steadily declined in population and trade since the time of the American
Civil War, when it was an important cotton-mart.
GOGOL, NIKOLAI VASILIEVICH (1809-1852), Russian novelist, was born in
the province of Poltava, in South Russia, on the 31st of March 1809.
Educated at the Niezhin gymnasium, he there started a manuscript
periodical, "The Star," and wrote several pieces including a tragedy,
_The Brigands_. Having completed his course at Niezhin, he went in 1829
to St Petersburg, where he tried the stage but failed. Next year he
obtained a clerkship in the department of appanages, but he soon gave it
up. In literature, however, he found his true vocation. In 1829 he
published anonymously a poem called _Italy_, and, under the pseudonym of
V. Alof, an idyll, _Hans Kuchel Garten_, which he had written while
still at Niezhin. The idyll was so ridiculed by a reviewer that its
author bought up all the copies he could secure, and burnt them in a
room which he hired for the purpose at an inn. Gogol then fell back upon
South Russian popular literature, and especially the tales of Cossackdom
on which his boyish fancy had been nursed, his father having occupied
the post of "regimental secretary," one of the honorary officials in
the Zaporogian Cossack forces.
In 1830 he published in a periodical the first of the stories which
appeared next year under the title of _Evenings in a Farm near Dikanka:
by Rudy Panko_. This work, containing a series of attractive pictures of
that Little-Russian life which lends itself to romance more readily than
does the monotony of "Great-Russian" existence, immediately obtained a
great success--its light and colour, its freshness and originality being
hailed with enthusiasm by the principal writers of the day in Russia.
Whereupon Gogol planned, not only a history of Little-Russia, but also
one of the middle ages, to be completed in eight or nine volumes. This
plan he did not carry out, though it led to his being appointed to a
professorship in the university of St Petersburg, a post in which he met
with small success and which he resigned in 1835. Meanwhile he had
published his _Arabesques_, a collection of essays and stories; his
_Taras Bulba_, the chief of the _Cossack Tales_ translated into English
by George Tolstoy; and a number of novelettes, which mark his transition
from the romantic to the realistic school of fiction, such as the
admirable sketch of the tranquil life led in a quiet country house by
two kindly specimens of _Old-world Gentlefolks_, or the description of
the petty miseries endured by an ill-paid clerk in a government office,
the great object of whose life is to secure the "cloak" from which his
story takes its name. To the same period belongs his celebrated comedy,
the _Revizor_, or government inspector. His aim in writing it was to
drag into light "all that was bad in Russia," and to hold it up to
contempt. And he succeeded in rendering contemptible and ludicrous the
official life of Russia, the corruption universally prevailing
throughout the civil service, the alternate arrogance and servility of
men in office. The plot of the comedy is very simple. A traveller who
arrives with an empty purse at a provincial town is taken for an
inspector whose arrival is awaited with fear, and he receives all the
attentions and bribes which are meant to propitiate the dreaded
investigator of abuses. The play appeared on the stage in the spring of
1836, and achieved a full success, in spite of the opposition attempted
by the official classes whose malpractices it exposed. The aim which
Gogol had in view when writing the _Revizor_ he afterwards fully
attained in his great novel, _Mertvuiya Dushi_, or Dead Souls, the first
part of which appeared in 1842. The hero of the story is an adventurer
who goes about Russia making fictitious purchases of "dead souls," i.e.
of serfs who have died since the last census, with the view of pledging
his imaginary property to the government. But his adventures are merely
an excuse for drawing a series of pictures, of an unfavourable kind, of
Russian provincial life, and of introducing on the scene a number of
types of Russian society. Of the force and truth with which these
delineations are executed the universal consent of Russian critics in
their favour may be taken as a measure. From the French version of the
story a general idea of its merits may be formed, and some knowledge of
its plot and its principal characters may be gathered from the English
adaptation published in 1854, as an original work, under the title of
_Home Life in Russia_. But no one can fully appreciate Gogol's merits as
a humorist who is not intimate with the language in which he wrote as
well as with the society which he depicted.
In 1836 Gogol for the first time went abroad. Subsequently he spent a
considerable amount of time out of Russia, chiefly in Italy, where much
of his _Dead Souls_ was written. His residence there, especially at
Rome, made a deep impression on his mind, which, during his later years,
turned towards mysticism. The last works which he published, his
_Confession_ and _Correspondence with Friends_, offer a painful contrast
to the light, bright, vigorous, realistic, humorous writings which had
gained and have retained for him his immense popularity in his native
land. Asceticism and mystical exaltation had told upon his nervous
system, and its feeble condition showed itself in his literary
compositions. In 1848 he made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and on his
return settled down at Moscow, where he died on the 3rd of March 1852.
See _Materials for the Biography of Gogol_ (in Russian) (1897), by
Shenrok; "Illness and Death of Gogol," by N. Bazhenov, _Russkaya
Muisl_, January 1902. (W. R. S.-R.)
GOGRA, or GHAGRA, a river of northern India. It is an important
tributary of the Ganges, bringing down to the plains more water than the
Ganges itself. It rises in Tibet near Lake Manasarowar, not far from the
sources of the Brahmaputra and the Sutlej, passes through Nepal where it
is known as the Kauriala, and after entering British territory becomes
the most important waterway in the United Provinces. It joins the Ganges
at Chapra after a course of 600 m. Its tributary, the Rapti, also has
considerable commercial importance. The Gogra has the alternative name
of Sarju, and in its lower course is also known as the Deoha.
GOHIER, LOUIS JEROME (1746-1830), French politician, was born at
Semblancay (Indre-et-Loire) on the 27th of February 1746, the son of a
notary. He was called to the bar at Rennes, and practised there until he
was sent to represent the town in the states-general. In the Legislative
Assembly he represented Ille-et-Vilaine. He took a prominent part in the
deliberations; he protested against the exaction of a new oath from
priests (Nov. 22, 1791), and demanded the sequestration of the
emigrants' property (Feb. 7, 1792). He was minister of justice from
March 1793 to April 1794, and in June 1799 he succeeded Treilhard in the
Directory, where he represented the republican interest. His wife was
intimate with Josephine Bonaparte, and when Bonaparte suddenly returned
from Egypt in October 1799 he repeatedly protested his friendship for
Gohier, who was then president of the Directory, and tried in vain to
gain him over. After the _coup d'etat_ of the 18th Brumaire (Nov. 9,
1799), he refused to abdicate his functions, and sought out Bonaparte at
the Tuileries "to save the republic," as he boldly expressed it. He was
escorted to the Luxembourg, and on his release he retired to his estate
at Eaubonne. In 1802 Napoleon made him consul-general at Amsterdam, and
on the union of the Netherlands with France he was offered a similar
post in the United States. His health did not permit of his taking up a
new appointment, and he died at Eaubonne on the 29th of May 1830.
His _Memoires d'un veteran irreprochable de la Revolution_ was
published in 1824, his report on the papers of the civil list
preparatory to the trial of Louis XVI. is printed in Le _Proces de
Louis XVI_ (Paris, an III) and elsewhere, while others appear in the
_Moniteur_.
GOHRDE, a forest of Germany, in the Prussian province of Hanover,
immediately W. of the Elbe, between Wittenberg and Luneburg. It has an
area of about 85 sq. m. and is famous for its oaks, beeches and game
preserves. It is memorable for the victory gained here, on the 16th of
September 1813, by the allies, under Wallmoden, over the French forces
commanded by Pecheur. The hunting-box situated in the forest was built
in 1689 and was restored by Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover. It is
known to history on account of the constitution of Gohrde, promulgated
here in 1719.
GOITO, a village of Lombardy, Italy, in the province of Mantua, from
which it is 11 m. N.W., on the road to Brescia. Pop. (village) 737;
(commune) 5712. It is situated on the right bank of the Mincio near the
bridge. Its position has given it a certain military importance in
various campaigns and it has been repeatedly fortified as a bridge-head.
The Piedmontese forces won two actions (8th of April and 30th of May
1848) over the Austrians here.
GOITRE (from Lat. _guttur_, the throat; synonyms, Bronchocele,
Derbyshire Neck), a term applied to a swelling in the front of the neck
caused by enlargement of the thyroid gland. This structure, which lies
between the skin and the anterior surface of the windpipe, and in health
is not large enough to give rise to any external prominence (except in
the pictures of certain artists), is liable to variations in size, more
especially in females, a temporary enlargement of the gland being not
uncommon at the catamenial periods, as well as during pregnancy. In
goitre the swelling is conspicuous and is not only unsightly but may
occasion much discomfort from its pressure upon the windpipe and other
important parts of the neck. J. L. Alibert recorded cases of goitre
where the tumour hung down over the breast, or reached as low as the
middle of the thigh.
Goitre usually appears in early life, often from the eighth to the
twelfth year; its growth is at first slow, but after several years of
comparative quiescence a sudden increase is apt to occur. In the earlier
stages the condition of the gland is simply an enlargement of its
constituent parts, which retain their normal soft consistence; but in
the course of time other changes supervene, and it may become cystic, or
acquire hardness from increase of fibrous tissue or from calcareous
deposits. Occasionally the enlargement is uniform, but more commonly one
of the lobes, generally the right, is the larger. In rare instances the
disease is limited to the isthmus which connects the two lobes of the
gland. The growth is unattended with pain, and is not inconsistent with
good health.
Goitre is a marked example of an endemic disease. There are few parts of
the world where it is not found prevailing in certain localities, these
being for the most part valleys and elevated plains in mountainous
districts (see CRETINISM). The malady is generally ascribed to the use
of drinking water impregnated with the salts of lime and magnesia, in
which ingredients the water of goitrous districts abounds. But in
localities not far removed from those in which goitre prevails, and
where the water is of the same chemical composition, the disease may be
entirely unknown. The disease may be the result of a combination of
causes, among which local telluric or malarial influences concur with
those of the drinking water. Goitre is sometimes cured by removal of the
individual from the district where it prevails, and it is apt to be
acquired by previously healthy persons who settle in goitrous
localities; and it is only in such places that the disease exhibits
hereditary tendencies.
In the early stages, change of air, especially to the seaside, is
desirable, and small doses of iron and of iodine should be given; if
this fails small doses of thyroid extract should be tried. If palliative
measures prove unsuccessful, operation must be undertaken for the
removal of one lateral lobe and the isthmus of the tumour. This may be
done under chloroform or after the subcutaneous injection of cocaine. If
chloroform is used, it must be given very sparingly, as the breathing is
apt to become seriously embarrassed during the operation. After the
successful performance of the operation great improvement takes place,
the remaining part of the gland slowly decreasing in size. The whole of
the gland must not be removed during the operation, lest the strange
disease known as Myxoedema should be produced (see METABOLIC DISEASES).
In _exophthalmic goitre_ the bronchocele is but one of three phenomena,
which together constitute the disease, viz. palpitation of the heart,
enlargement of the thyroid gland, and protrusion of the eyeballs. This
group of symptoms is known by the name of "Graves's disease" or "Von
Basedow's disease"--the physicians by whom the malady was originally
described. Although occasionally observed in men, this affection occurs
chiefly in females, and in comparatively early life. It is generally
preceded by impoverishment of blood, and by nervous or hysterical
disorders, and it is occasionally seen in cases of organic heart
disease. It has been suddenly developed as the effect of fright or of
violent emotion. The first symptom is usually the palpitation of the
heart, which is aggravated by slight exertion, and may be so severe as
not only to shake the whole frame but even to be audible at some
distance. A throbbing is felt throughout the body, and many of the
larger blood-vessels are, like the heart, seen to pulsate strongly. The
enlargement of the thyroid is gradual, and rarely increases to any great
size, thus differing from the commoner form of goitre. The enlarged
gland is of soft consistence, and communicates a thrill to the touch
from its dilated and pulsating blood-vessels. Accompanying the goitre a
remarkable change is observed in the eyes, which attract attention by
their prominence, and by the startled expression thus given to the
countenance. In extreme cases the eyes protrude from their sockets to
such a degree that the eyelids cannot be closed, and injury may thus
arise to the constantly exposed eyeballs. Apart from such risk, however,
the vision is rarely affected. It occasionally happens that in undoubted
cases of the disease one or other of the three above-named phenomena is
absent, generally either the goitre or the exophthalmos. The palpitation
of the heart is the most constant symptom. Sleeplessness, irritability,
disorders of digestion, diarrhoea and uterine derangements, are frequent
accompaniments. It is a serious disease and, if unchecked, may end
fatally. Some cases are improved by general hygienic measures, others by
electric treatment, or by the administration of animal extracts or of
sera. Some cases, on the other hand, may be considered suitable for
operative treatment. (E. O.*)
GOKAK, a town of British India, in the Belgaum district of Bombay, 8 m.
from a station on the Southern Mahratta railway. Pop. (1901) 9860. It
contains old temples with inscriptions, and is known for a special
industry of modelled toys. About 4 m. N.W. are the Gokak Falls, where
the Ghatprabha throws itself over a precipice 170 ft. high. Close by,
the water has been impounded for a large reservoir, which supplies not
only irrigation but also motive power for a cotton-mill employing 2000
hands.
GOKCHA, (GOK-CHAI; Armenian _Sevanga_; ancient _Haosravagha_), the
largest lake of Russian Transcaucasia, in the government of Erivan, in
40 deg. 9' to 40 deg. 38' N. and 45 deg. 1' to 45 deg. 40' E. Its
altitude is 6345 ft., it is of triangular shape, and measures from
north-west to south-east 45 m., its greatest width being 25 m., and its
maximum depth 67 fathoms. Its area is 540 sq. m. It is surrounded by
barren mountains of volcanic origin, 12,000 ft. high. Its outflow is the
Zanga, a left bank tributary of the Aras (_Araxes_); it never freezes,
and its level undergoes periodical oscillations. It contains four
species of _Salmonidae_, and two of _Cyprinidae_, which are only met
with in the drainage area of this lake. A lava island in the middle is
crowned by an Armenian monastery.
GOLCONDA, a fortress and ruined city of India, in the Nizam's Dominions,
5 m. W. of Hyderabad city. In former times Golconda was the capital of a
large and powerful kingdom of the Deccan, ruled by the Kutb Shahi
dynasty which was founded in 1512 by a Turkoman adventurer on the
downfall of the Bahmani dynasty, but the city was subdued by Aurangzeb
in 1687, and annexed to the Delhi empire. The fortress of Golconda,
situated on a rocky ridge of granite, is extensive, and contains many
enclosures. It is strong and in good repair, but is commanded by the
summits of the enormous and massive mausolea of the ancient kings about
600 yds. distant. These buildings, which are now the chief
characteristics of the place, form a vast group, situated in an arid,
rocky desert. They have suffered considerably from the ravages of time,
but more from the hand of man, and nothing but the great solidity of
their walls has preserved them from utter ruin. These tombs were erected
at a great expense, some of them being said to have cost as much as
L150,000. Golconda fort is now used as the Nizam's treasury, and also as
the state prison. Golconda has given its name in English literature to
the diamonds which were found in other parts of the dominions of the
Kutb Shahi dynasty, not near Golconda itself.
GOLD [symbol Au, atomic weight 195.7(H = 1), 197.2(O = 16)], a metallic
chemical element, valued from the earliest ages on account of the
permanency of its colour and lustre. Gold ornaments of great variety and
elaborate workmanship have been discovered on sites belonging to the
earliest known civilizations, Minoan, Egyptian, Assyrian, Etruscan (see
JEWELRY, PLATE, EGYPT, CRETE, AEGEAN CIVILIZATION, NUMISMATICS), and in
ancient literature gold is the universal symbol of the highest purity
and value (cf. passages in the Old Testament, e.g. Ps. xix. 10 "More to
be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold"). With regard
to the history of the metallurgy of gold, it may be mentioned that,
according to Pliny, mercury was employed in his time both as a means of
separating the precious metals and for the purposes of gilding.
Vitruvius also gives a detailed account of the means of recovering gold,
by amalgamation, from cloth into which it had been woven.
_Physical Properties._--Gold has a characteristic yellow colour, which
is, however, notably affected by small quantities of other metals; thus
the tint is sensibly lowered by small quantities of silver, and
heightened by copper. When the gold is finely divided, as in "purple of
Cassius," or when it is precipitated from solutions, the colour is
ruby-red, while in very thin leaves it transmits a greenish light. It is
nearly as soft as lead and softer than silver. When pure, it is the most
malleable of all metals (see GOLDBEATING). It is also extremely ductile;
a single grain may be drawn into a wire 500 ft. in length, and an ounce
of gold covering a silver wire is capable of being extended more than
1300 m. The presence of minute quantities of cadmium, lead, bismuth,
antimony, arsenic, tin, tellurium and zinc renders gold brittle,
1/2000th part of one of the three metals first named being sufficient to
produce that quality. Gold can be readily welded cold; the finely
divided metal, in the state in which it is precipitated from solution,
may be compressed between dies into disks or medals. The specific
gravity of gold obtained by precipitation from solution by ferrous
sulphate is from 19.55 to 20.72. The specific gravity of cast gold
varies from 18.29 to 19.37, and by compression between dies the specific
gravity may be raised from 19.37 to 19.41; by annealing, however, the
previous density is to some extent recovered, as it is then found to be
19.40. The melting-point has been variously given, the early values
ranging from 1425 deg. C. to 1035 deg. C. Using improved methods, C. T.
Heycock and F. H. Neville determined it to be 1061.7 deg. C.; Daniel
Berthelot gives 1064 deg. C., while Jaquerod and Perrot give
1066.1-1067.4 deg. C. At still higher temperatures it volatilizes,
forming a reddish vapour. Macquer and Lavoisier showed that when gold is
strongly heated, fumes arise which gild a piece of silver held in them.
Its volatility has also been studied by L. Eisner, and, in the presence
of other metals, by Napier and others. The volatility is barely
appreciable at 1075 deg.; at 1250 deg. it is four times as much as at
1100 deg. Copper and zinc increase the volatility far more than lead,
while the greatest volatility is induced, according to T. Kirke Rose, by
tellurium. It has also been shown that gold volatilizes when a
gold-amalgam is distilled. Gold is dissipated by sending a powerful
charge of electricity through it when in the form of leaf or thin wire.
The electric conductivity is given by A. Matthiessen as 73 at 0 deg. C.,
pure silver being 100; the value of this coefficient depends greatly on
the purity of the metal, the presence of a few thousandths of silver
lowering it by 10%. Its conductivity for heat has been variously given
as 103 (C. M. Despretz), 98 (F. Crace-Calvert and R. Johnson), and 60
(G. H. Wiedemann and R. Franz), pure silver being 100. Its specific heat
is between 0.0298 (Dulong and Petit) and 0.03244 (Regnault). Its
coefficient of expansion for each degree between 0 deg. and 100 deg. C.
is 0.000014661, or for gold which has been annealed 0.000015136 (Laplace
and Lavoisier). The spark spectrum of gold has been mapped by A.
Kirchhoff, R. Thalen, Sir William Huggins and H. Kruss; the brightest
lines are 6277, 5960, 5955 and 5836 in the orange and yellow, and 5230
and 4792 in the green and blue.
_Chemical Properties._--Gold is permanent in both dry and moist air at
ordinary or high temperatures. It is insoluble in hydrochloric, nitric
and sulphuric acids, but dissolves in _aqua regia_--a mixture of
hydrochloric and nitric acids--and when very finely divided in a heated
mixture of strong sulphuric acid and a little nitric acid; dilution with
water, however, precipitates the metal as a violet or brown powder from
this solution. The metal is soluble in solutions of chlorine, bromine,
thiosulphates and cyanides; and also in solutions which generate
chlorine, such as mixtures of hydrochloric acid with nitric acid,
chromic acid, antimonious acid, peroxides and nitrates, and of nitric
acid with a chloride. Gold is also attacked when strong sulphuric acid
is submitted to electrolysis with a gold positive pole. W. Skey showed
that in substances which contain small quantities of gold the precious
metal may be removed by the solvent action of iodine or bromine in
water. Filter paper soaked with the clear, solution is burnt, and the
presence of gold is indicated by the purple colour of the ash. In
solution minute quantities of gold may be detected by the formation of
"purple of Cassius," a bluish-purple precipitate thrown down by a
mixture of ferric and stannous chlorides.
The atomic weight of gold was first determined with accuracy by
Berzelius, who deduced the value 195.7 (H = 1) from the amount of
mercury necessary to precipitate it from the chloride, and 195.2 from
the ratio between gold and potassium chloride in potassium aurichloride,
KAuCl4. Later determinations were made by Sir T. E. Thorpe and A. P.
Laurie, Kruss and J. W. Mallet. Thorpe and Laurie converted potassium
auribromide into a mixture of metallic gold and potassium bromide by
careful heating. The relation of the gold to the potassium bromide, as
well as the amounts of silver and silver bromide which are equivalent to
the potassium bromide, were determined. The mean value thus adduced was
195.86. Kruss worked with the same salt, and obtained the value 195.65;
while Mallet, by analyses of gold chloride and bromide, and potassium
auribromide, obtained the value 195.77.
_Occlusion of Gas by Gold._--T. Graham showed that gold is capable of
occluding by volume 0.48% of hydrogen, 0.20% of nitrogen, 0.29% of
carbon monoxide, and 0.16% of carbon dioxide. Varrentrapp pointed out
that "cornets" from the assay of gold may retain gas if they are not
strongly heated.
_Occurrence and Distribution._--Gold is found in nature chiefly in the
metallic state, i.e. as "native gold," and less frequently in
combination with tellurium, lead and silver. These are the only certain
examples of natural combinations of the metal, the minute, though
economically valuable, quantity often found in pyrites and other
sulphides being probably only present in mechanical suspension. The
native metal crystallizes in the cubic system, the octahedron being the
commonest form, but other and complex combinations have been observed.
Owing to the softness of the metal, large crystals are rarely well
defined, the points being commonly rounded. In the irregular crystalline
aggregates branching and moss-like forms are most common, and in
Transylvania thin plates or sheets with diagonal structures are found.
More characteristic, however, than the crystallized are the irregular
forms, which, when large, are known as "nuggets" or "pepites," and when
in pieces below 1/4 to 1/2 oz. weight as gold dust, the larger sizes
being distinguished as coarse or nuggety gold, and the smaller as gold
dust proper. Except in the larger nuggets, which may be more or less
angular, or at times even masses of crystals, with or without associated
quartz or other rock, gold is generally found bean-shaped or in some
other flattened form, the smallest particles being scales of scarcely
appreciable thickness, which, from their small bulk as compared with
their surface, subside very slowly when suspended in water, and are
therefore readily carried away by a rapid current. These form the "float
gold" of the miner. The physical properties of native gold are generally
similar to that of the melted metal.
Of the minerals containing gold the most important are sylvanite or
graphic tellurium (Ag, Au) Te2, with 24 to 26%; calaverite, AuTe2,
with 42%; nagyagite or foliate tellurium (Pb, Au)16 Sb3(S, Te)24, with
5 to 9% of gold; petzite, (Ag, Au)2Te, and white tellurium. These are
confined to a few localities, the oldest and best known being those of
Nagyag and Offenbanya in Transylvania; they have also been found at
Red Cloud, Colorado, in Calaveras county, California, and at Perth and
Boulder, West Australia. The minerals of the second class, usually
spoken of as "auriferous," are comparatively numerous. Prominent among
these are galena and iron pyrites, the former being almost invariably
gold-bearing. Iron pyrites, however, is of greater practical
importance, being in some districts exceedingly rich, and, next to the
native metal, is the most prolific source of gold. Magnetic pyrites,
copper pyrites, zinc blende and arsenical pyrites are other and less
important examples, the last constituting the gold ore formerly worked
in Silesia. A native gold amalgam is found as a rarity in California,
and bismuth from South America is sometimes rich in gold. Native
arsenic and antimony are also very frequently found to contain gold
and silver.
The association and distribution of gold may be considered under two
different heads, namely, as it occurs in mineral veins--"reef gold,"
and in alluvial or other superficial deposits which are derived from
the waste of the former--"alluvial gold." Four distinct types of reef
gold deposits may be distinguished: (1) Gold may occur disseminated
through metalliferous veins, generally with sulphides and more
particularly with pyrites. These deposits seem to be the primary
sources of native gold. (2) More common are the auriferous
quartz-reefs--veins or masses of quartz containing gold in flakes
visible to the naked eye, or so finely divided as to be invisible. (3)
The "banket" formation, which characterizes the goldfields of South
Africa, consists of a quartzite conglomerate throughout which gold is
very finely disseminated. (4) The siliceous sinter at Mount Morgan,
Queensland, which is obviously associated with hydrothermal action, is
also gold-bearing. The genesis of the last three types of deposit is
generally assigned to the simultaneous percolation of solutions of
gold and silica, the auriferous solution being formed during the
disintegration of the gold-bearing metalliferous veins. But there is
much uncertainty as to the mechanism of the process; some authors hold
that the soluble chloride is first formed, while others postulate the
intervention of a soluble aurate.
In the alluvial deposits the associated minerals are chiefly those of
great density and hardness, such as platinum, osmiridium and other
metals of the platinum group, tinstone, chromic, magnetic and brown
iron ores, diamond, ruby and sapphire, zircon, topaz, garnet, &c.
which represent the more durable original constituents of the rocks
whose distintegration has furnished the detritus.
_Statistics of Gold Production._--The supply of gold, and also its
relation to the supply of silver, has, among civilized nations, always
been of paramount importance in the economic questions concerning money
(see MONEY and BIMETALLISM); in this article a summary of the modern
gold-producing areas will be given, and for further details reference
should be made to the articles on the localities named. The chief
sources of the European supply during the middle ages were the mines of
Saxony and Austria, while Spain also contributed. The supplies from
Mexico and Brazil were important during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Russia became prominent in 1823, and for fourteen years contributed the
bulk of the supply. The United States (California) after 1848, and
Australia after 1851, were responsible for enormous increases in the
total production, which has been subsequently enhanced by discoveries in
Canada, South Africa, India, China and other countries.