The Anti-Jac'obin was a famous magazine published from 1797 until 1818, the original object of which was to satirize the Jacobin principles of the Fox section of Whigs. Its principal contributors were Gifford, Canning, Frere, and Ellis. Research Anti-Jac'obin
Bibliomania (literally 'book-madness'), is a passion for possessing curious books, which reached its highest development in France and England, though originating, like Tulipomania, in Holland, towards the close of the seventeenth century. The true bibliomanist is determined in the purchase of books, less by the value of their contents, than by certain accidental circumstances attending them, as that they belong to particular classes, are made of singular materials, or have something remarkable in their history. One of the most common forms of the passion is the desire to possess complete sets of works, as of the various editions of the Bible or of single classics; of the editions in usum Delphini and cum notis variorum; of the Italian classics printed by the Academy delta Orusca; of the works printed by the Elzevirs or by Aldus.
Scarce books, prohibited books, and books distinguished for remarkable errors or mutilations have also been eagerly sought for, together with those printed in the infancy of typography, called incunabula, first printed editions (editiones principes) and the like. Other works are valued for their miniatures and illuminated initial letters, or as being printed upon vellum, upon paper of uncommon Materials, upon various substitutes for paper, or upon coloured paper, in coloured inks, or in letters of gold or silver.
In high esteem among bibliomanists are works printed on large paper, with very wide margins, especially if uncut, also works printed from copper plates, editions-de-luxe, and limited issues generally. Bibliomania often extends to the binding. In France the bindings of Derome and Bozerian are most valued; in England those of Charles Lewis and Roger Payne. Many devices have been adopted to give a factitious value to bindings. Jeffery, a London bookseller, had Fox's History of King James II bound in fox-skin;
and books have been more than once bound in human skin. The edges of books are often ornamented with paintings, etc, and marginal decoration is frequently an element of considerable value. Another method of gratifying the bibliomanist taste is that of enriching works by the addition of engravings - illustrative of the text of the book - and of preparing only single copies. Research Bibliomania
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, called also Benet College, was founded about 1352 by the united guilds of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin, two fraternities of townspeople which used to meet for prayers at St BenedictChurch and St Mary's respectively. The endowments of the college were considerably increased by Archbishop Parker, who also bequeathed to it his valuable collection of manuscripts.
Corpus Christi College, Oxford is a college founded by Richard Fox, bishop of Winchester, under the license from Henry VIII in 1516. The foundation consisted of twenty fellows and twenty scholars. Research Corpus Christi College
An epic is a poetical narrative of heroic achievements. It is largely dramatic in character, but embraces a greater area and admits many incidents, each of which might serve as a dramatic plot.
Some authorities widen the definition of an epic so as to include not only long narrative poems of romantic or supernatural adventure, but also those of a historical, legendary, mock-heroic, or humorous character. An epic is distinguished from a drama in so far as the author frequently speaks in his own person as narrator; and from lyrical poetry by making the predominant feature the narration of action rather than the expression of emotion.
Among the more famous epics of the world's literature may be noted: Homer's Iliad and Odyssey; Virgil's AEneid; the German Nibelungenlied; the Anglo-Saxon poem of Beowulf; the French Song of Roland; Dante's Divina Commedia; Tasso's Gierusalemme Liberata; Ariosto's OrlandoFurioso; Milton's Paradise Lost; Spenser's Fairy Queen; Camoens' Lusiads (Portuguese); and Firdusi's Shah Nameh (Persian). Hesiod's Theogony; the poetic Edda; the Finnish Kalewala; the Indian Mahabharata may be described as collections of epic legends. The historical epic has an excellent representative in Barbour's Bruce; and specimens of the mock-heroic and humorous epic are found in The Battle of the Frogs and Mice; Reynard the Fox; Butler's Hudibras; and Pope's Rape of the Lock. Research Epic
The term fur is sometimes distinctively applied to hairy animal skins when prepared for being made into articles of dress, etc, while the name of peltry is given to them in an unprepared state or when merely dried. The animals chiefly sought after for the sake of their furs were the beaver, raccoon, musk-rat, squirrel, hare, rabbit, the chinchilla, bear (black, grey, and brown), otter, sea-otter, seal, wolf, wolverine or glutton, marten, ermine, lynx, coypou (nutria), polecat (fitch), opossum, fox, etc. All the preparation that skins require before being sent to the market is to make them perfectly dry, so as to prevent them from putrefying. This is done by exposing them to the heat of the sun or a fire. The small skins are sometimes previously steeped in a solution of alum. When stored in large quantities they must be carefully preserved from dampness, as well as from moths. The fur-dresser, on receiving the skins, first subjects them to a softening process. He next cleans them from loose pieces of the integument by scraping them with a metalblade. Finally, the fur is cleaned and combed, after which it is handed over to the cutter, who cuts the furs out into the various shapes required to make different articles.
In Europe the furtrade was fed chiefly by Russia, which yielded great quantities of furs, especially in the Asiatic portion of her dominions. Austria, Turkey, Scandinavia, etc, also yielded a certain quantity.
The furtrade of America has long been highly important, and several great trading companies were engaged in it, of which the Dutch East India Company was first. The French early took up the furtrade in Canada, and their chain of forts and trading posts at one time extended from Hudson's Bay to New Orleans. Quebec and Montreal were at first trading posts. In 1670 Charles II granted to Prince Rupert and others a charter empowering them to trade exclusively with the aborigines of the Hudson's Bay region. A company, then and after called the Hudson's Bay Company, was formed, which for a period of nearly two centuries possessed a monopoly of the furtrade in the vast tract of country known as the Hudson's Bay Territory. In the winter of 1783-1784 another company was formed at Montreal, called, the North-west fur Company, which disputed the right of the Hudson's Bay Company, and actively opposed it. After a long and bitter rivalry the two companies united in 1821, retaining the name of Hudson's Bay Company. The monopoly which had hitherto been enjoyed by the original company about Hudson's Bay was much extended; but in 1868 an act of parliament was passed to make provision for the surrender, upon certain terms, of all the territories belonging to the company, and for their incorporation with the Dominion of Canada. In 1869 the surrender was carried out, Canada paying 300,000 pounds to the company by way of compensation. The company still possessed large stretches of valuable land, and many houses, forts, and posts in the region formerly belonging to it. Its operations even extended beyond British America into the United States and to the Sandwich Islands and Alaska. It employed a large staff of agents, traders, Indian hunters, etc. Some of its posts were situated far north, almost approaching the Arctic Ocean.
In the United States, the fur-trade, especially that trade in beaverfur, was an important element in the economic life of all the colonies in the seventeenth century, and in the struggle between England and France for the possession of North America, also in all negotiations respecting the northwest boundary of the United States. In 1809 John Jacob Astor secured the incorporation of the American Fur Company. He founded Astoria in Oregon, and attempted to connect it with Mackinaw by a line of posts and consolidate the whole north-western fur-trade. After the War of 1812 he renewed his attempt. In 1816 the American Congress passed an act excluding foreign fur-traders. Research Fur-Trade
The Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers - after their founder suggested to Justice Bennet of Derby that he 'quake and tremble at the word of the Lord' - , is a small Christian body that began about the middle of the 17th century, as a revolt of mystical Christianity against the ecclesiasticism and bibliolatry of the Reformed Churches, both Anglican and Non-conformist. Groups of dissatisfied 'seekers' were at that time meeting together, waiting for some authentic revelation from God; and this many of them believed that they received through the preaching of George Fox.
All the distinctive views and practices of the Quakers flow from the root principle of the 'inward light' - the belief that everyone has, or may have, some direct experience of God in the soul. In public worship they discard all professional ministry and arranged services except among the Pastoral body of America, and meet in silent fellowship waiting on God, giving freedom to anyone who is believed to be moved by the Spirit to preach or lead the company in vocal prayer. They do not practise the outward sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, believing that the whole emphasis of Jesus Christ and His Apostles was not upon symbolic acts, but upon inward experience and rightness of life.
They have a unique form of marriage, in which human priesthood finds no place, the man and woman simply taking one another in the presence of God and the congregation. They refuse to take judicial oaths, believing that anyone who walks in the Light will always and everywhere do his best to speak the truth. In church government every member, male or female, has a an equal voice. No question is decided by a vote; but after a time of silent worship matters are discussed in a reverent spirit and the 'clerk' or president gathers what he believes to be the sense of the meeting.
From the earliest days the conviction that the Light of God is in some measure present in everyone has given the Quakers a special sense of human brotherhood, and made them pioneers of philanthropy.
The Society Of Friends was the first Christian body in America to forbid its members to hold slaves, and in England, Quakers led by Elizabeth Fry took the lead in prison reform and also in the kindly treatment of mental patients. The same spirit is at the root of their opposition to war, which involves the double conviction unique to the Society Of Friends within the Christian church, that: 1) war is always contrary to the spirit of Christ and 2) that war is always unnecessary for a nation that will persistently act with justice to all. This twofold conviction was put into practice in Penn's 'holy experiment' - the colony of Pennsylvania having been maintained under Quaker rule for over 70 years without armed defence against Indian marauders, and without being attacked by them. Research Society Of Friends
An umbrella is a light, portable screen usually circular and supported on a central stick. They are used as protection against the rain and also sun - in which case they are usually refered to as a sunshade or parasol. Umbrellas are made of fabric, silk, paper, cotton or other materials stretched on a steel or wooden, radiating, folding frame supported on a central stick.
Umbrellas were known in England in the 17th century, but their use does not appear to have been general until the later part of the 18th century, Jonas Hanway being one of the first to make a habit of acrrying an umbrella.
By the invention of the 'Paragon' ribs, Samuel Fox, in 1852, improved upon the old umbrellas with wooden ribs, and did much tostimulate the trade of umbrella, making, among the chief centres of which were London, Manchester, Paris, Lyons, and Angers.
In the East, umbrellas were used as symbols of royalty and power from early times. In ancient Egypt and Nineveh sculptured remains show them carried in procession, and they are found pictured on Greek vases. Anglo-Saxon manuscripts show them carried by attendants over persons of rank. The Maratha princes of India were known as Lords of the Umbrella, and in Burma white umbrellas were reserved for the use of the king and the sacred white elephant; coloured ones, graduated according to their tint, belonged to corresponding grades in rank. The baldachin , the canopy of a throne or a pulpit, has the same original symbolical meaning as the umbrella. Research Umbrella
The Arctic fox or polar fox (Alopex lagopus) is a carnivorous mammal of the family Canidae, found in Arctic and alpine regions. The Arctic fox is greyish-brown in colour, turning white in the winter. It has a shorter muzzle and shorter ears than the red fox, and a very thick coat. The
Arctic fox eats voles, lemmings, birds and eggs during the summer, surviving on carrion and shellfish at the coast during the winter. Research Arctic Fox
The Bat-Eared Fox, Delalandes Fox or Bakoorvos (Otocyon megalotisis) is an insectovorous mammal of the dog family. The Bat-eared fox is found mainly in open woodlands and grassy plains in southern Africa where it feeds predominantly on insects - the only member of the dog family to do so. Bat-eared foxes are characterised by their large, wide ears which are used for hunting, have a short, narrow mouth and long legs like those of a jackal. Bat-eared foxes have for centuries been hunted by indigenous people for their pelts, but in sustainable quantities providing no danger of extinction to the fox. Research Bat-Eared Fox More pictures of Bat-Eared Fox
A bat is a nocturnal, wing-handed, flying mammals, having the forelimb peculiarly modified so as to serve for flight, and constituting the order Cheiroptera (Chiroptera). Bats are sub-divided into two groups; Megachiroptera (the megabats) and Microchiroptera (the microbats).
Bats are structurally not very different from typical mammals except for the extension of their finger bones to carry flight membranes, and their backward bending knees, though their conquest of the air is a marked difference. Echolocation in bats is associated with large ears and in some cases facial skin growths, and the ability to catch flying insects at night. This food source is seasonal, which, combined with their small size, has favoured the evolution of hibernation. Daily torpor, in which the body temperature drops to the ambient temperature is common among temperate bats, and is another energy-saving adaptation necessitated by small bodies engaged in such a high energy activity as flying. Short migrations to roosts of appropriate temperatures occur throughout the year. Mating begins in the autumn, and continues at intervals throughout hibernation. Sperm is stored and ovulation and fertilisation take place in the spring with a typical litter of just one young occurring. The parent shows a strong degree of attachment for her offspring, and when they are captured, will follow them, and even submit to captivity herself rather than forsake her charge.
Bats are common in temperate and warm regions. but are most numerous and largest in the tropics. All European bats are small, and have a mouse-like skin. The body of the largest British species, Vespertilio noctula, is less than that of a mouse, but its wings stretch about 38 cm. During the day it remains in caverns, in the crevices of ruins, hollow trees, and such-like lurking-places, and flits out at evening in search of food, which consists of insects.
Several species of the same genus are common in North America, Many bats are remarkable for having a singular nasal cutaneous appendage, bearing in some cases, a fancied resemblance to a horse-shoe. Two of these horse-shoebats occur in Britain. Bats may be conveniently divided into two sections - the insectivorous or carnivorous, comprising all European and most African and American species; and the fruit-eating, belonging to tropical Asia and Australia, with several African forms. An Australian fruit-eating bat (Pteropus edulis) commonly known as the kalong or flying-fox, is the largest of all the bats; it does much mischief in orchards. At least two species of South American bats are known to suck the blood of other mammals, and thence are called 'vampire-bats' (though this name has also been given to a species not guilty of this habit). The best known is the Desmodus Rufus of Brazil, Chilli, etc. Research Bat
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Anti-Jac'obin
