The Nuttall Encyclopaedia Part 105

CANDLISH, ROBERT SMITH, a Scottish ecclesiastic, born in Edinburgh; distinguished, next to Chalmers, for his services in organising the Free Church of Scotland; was an able debater and an eloquent preacher (1806-1873).

CANDOLLE. See DE CANDOLLE.

CANDOUR, MRS., a slanderess in Sheridan's "Rivals."

CANEA (12), chief commercial town in Crete, on NW. coast; trades in wax, oil, fruit, wool, and silk.

CANINA, LUIGI, Italian architect; wrote on the antiquities of Rome, Etruria, &c. (1795-1856).

CANNae, ancient town in Apulia, near the mouth of the Aufidus, where Hannibal, in a great battle, defeated the Romans in 216 B.C., but failing to follow up his success by a march on Rome, was twitted by Maherbal, one of his officers, who addressing him said, "You know how to conquer, Hannibal, but not how to profit by your victory."

CANNES (15), a French watering-place and health resort on the Mediterranean, in the SE. of France, where Napoleon landed on his return from Elba.

CANNING, CHARLES JOHN, EARL, grandson of the succeeding; after service in cabinet offices, was made Governor-General of India, 1856, in succession to Lord Dalhousie; held this post at the time of the Mutiny in 1857; distinguished himself during this trying crisis by his discretion, firmness, and moderation; became viceroy on the transfer of the government to the crown in 1858; died in London without issue, and the t.i.tle became extinct (1812-1862).

CANNING, GEORGE, a distinguished British statesman and orator, born in London; studied for the bar; entered Parliament as a protege of Pitt, whom he strenuously supported; was rewarded by an under-secretarys.h.i.+p; married a lady of high rank, with a fortune; satirised the Whigs by his pen in his "Anti-Jacobin"; on the death of Pitt became minister of Foreign Affairs; under Portland distinguished himself by defeating the schemes of Napoleon; became a member of the Liverpool ministry, and once more minister of Foreign Affairs; on the death of Liverpool was made Prime Minister, and after a period of unpopularity became popular by adopting, to the disgust of his old colleagues, a liberal policy; was not equal to the opposition he provoked, and died at the age of 57 (1770-1827).

CANO, ALONZO, a celebrated artist, born at Granada; surnamed the Michael Angelo of Spain, having been painter, sculptor, and architect (1601-1667).

CANO, SEBASTIAN DEL, a Spanish navigator, the first to sail round the world; perished on his second voyage to India (1460-1526).

CANON, the name given to the body of Scripture accepted by the Church as of divine authority.

CAnON OF COLORADO, a gorge in Arizona through which the Colorado River flows, the largest and deepest in the world, being 300 m. long, with a wall from 3000 to 6000 ft. in perpendicular height.

CANONISATION, in the Romish Church, is the solemn declaration by the Pope that a servant of G.o.d, renowned for his virtue and for miracles he has wrought, is to be publicly venerated by the whole Church, termed Saint, and honoured by a special festival. A preparatory stage is beatification, and the beatification and canonisation of a saint are promoted by a long, tedious, and costly process, much resembling a suit at law.

CANOPUS, the blue vault of heaven with its stars, revered and wors.h.i.+pped by the son of the sandy desert as a friend and guide to him, as he wanders over the waste at night alone.

CANOSA (18), a town in Apulia, abounding in Roman remains, on the site of ancient Ca.n.u.sium.

CANOSSA, a town NW. of Bologna, in the courtyard of the castle of which the Emperor Henry IV. stood three days in the cold, in January 1077, bareheaded and barefooted, waiting for Pope Gregory VII. to remove from him the sentence of excommunication.

CANOVA, ANTONIO, a great Italian sculptor, born in Venetia; gave early proof of his genius; his first great work, and which established his fame, was the group of "Theseus and the Minotaur," which was by-and-by succeeded by his "Cupid and Psyche," distinguished by a tenderness and grace quite peculiar to him, and erelong by "Perseus with the Head of Medusa," perhaps the triumph of his art; his works were numerous, and brought him a large fortune, which he made a generous use of (1757-1822).

CANROBERT, FRANcOIS, marshal of France; served for some 20 years in Algeria; was a supporter of Napoleon III., and a tool; commanded in the Crimea, first under, and then in succession to St. Arnaud; fought in Italy against Austria; was shut up in Metz with Bazaine, and made prisoner; became a member of the senate under the Republic (1809-1895).

CANT, affectation of thinking, believing, and feeling what one in his heart and reality does not, of which there are two degrees, insincere and sincere; insincere when one cants knowing it, and sincere when one cants without knowing it, the latter being of the darker and deeper dye.

CANT, ANDREW, a Scotch Presbyterian minister, who had an equal zeal for the Scotch covenant and the cause of Charles Stuart (1610-1664). A son of his was Princ.i.p.al of Edinburgh University from 1675 to 1685.

CANTABRI, the original inhabitants of the N. of Spain; presumed to be the ancestors of the Basques.

CANTACUZE'NUS, JOHN, emperor of the East; an able statesman, who acting as regent for the heir, had himself crowned king, but was driven to resign at length; retired to a monastery on Mount Athos, where he wrote a history of his time; died in 1411, 100 years old.

CANTARINI, SIMONE, an Italian painter, born at Pesaro; a pupil of Guido and a rival, but only an imitator from afar (1612-1648).

CANTERBURY (23), in E. Kent, on the Stour, by rail 62 m. SE. of London; is the ecclesiastical capital of England; the cathedral was founded A.D. 597 by St. Augustin; the present building belongs to various epochs, dating as far back as the 11th century; it contains many interesting monuments, statues, and tombs, among the latter that of Thomas a Becket, murdered in the north transept, 1170; the cloisters, chapter-house, and other buildings occupy the site of the old monastic houses; the city is rich in old churches and ecclesiastical monuments; there is an art gallery; trade is chiefly in hops and grain. Kit Marlowe was a native.

CANTERBURY (128), a district in New Zealand, in the centre of the South Island, on the east side of which are the Canterbury Plains or Downs, a great pasture-land for sheep of over three million acres.

CANTERBURY TALES, a body of tales by Chaucer, conceived of as related by a small company of pilgrims from London to the shrine of Thomas a Becket at Canterbury. They started from the Tabard Inn at Southwark, and agreed to tell each a tale going and each another coming back, the author of the best tale to be treated with a supper. None of the tales on the homeward journey are given.

CANTICLES, a book in the Bible erroneously ascribed to Solomon, and called in Hebrew the Song of Songs, about the canonicity and interpretation of which there has been much debate, though, as regards the latter, recent criticism inclines, if there is any unity in it at all, to the conclusion that it represents a young maiden seduced into the harem of Solomon, who cannot be persuaded to transfer to the king the affection she has for a shepherd in the northern hills of Galilee, her sole beloved; the aim of the author presumed by some to present a contrast between the morals of the south and those of the north, in justification possibly of the secession. It was for long, and is by some still, believed to be an allegory in which the Bridegroom represents Christ and the Bride His Church.

CANTON (1,800), chief commercial city and port of Southern China; stands on a river almost on the seaboard, 90 m. NW. of Hong-Kong, and is a healthy town, but with a heavy rainfall; it is surrounded by walls, has narrow crooked streets, 125 temples, mostly Buddhist, and two paG.o.das, 10 and 13 centuries old respectively; great part of the population live in boats on the river; the fancy goods, silk, porcelain, ivory, and metal work are famous; its river communication with the interior has fostered an extensive commerce; exports, tea, silk, sugar, ca.s.sia, &c.

CANTON, JOHN, an ingenious experimentalist in physics, and particularly in electricity, born at Stroud; discovered the means of making artificial magnets and the compressibility of water (1718-1772).

CANTu, CaeSARE, an Italian historian, born in Lombardy; imprisoned by the Austrian government for his bold advocacy of liberal views, but at length liberated; wrote, among a number of other works, literary as well as historical, a "Universal History" in 35 vols. (1807-1895).

CANUTE, or c.n.u.t, THE DANE, called the Great, son of Sweyn, king of Denmark; invaded England, and after a success or two was elected king by his fleet; the claim was repudiated by the Saxons, and he had to flee; returned in 1015, and next year, though London held out for a time, carried all before him; on the death of his sole rival became undisputed king of England, and ruled it as an Englishman born, wisely, equitably, and well, though the care of governing Denmark and Norway lay on his shoulders as well; died in England, and was buried in Winchester Minster; every one is familiar with the story of the rebuke he administered to the courtiers by showing how regardless the waves of the sea were of the authority of a king (994-1035).

CAPE BRETON (92), the insular portion of the prov. of Nova Scotia at its eastern extremity, 100 m. long and 85 broad; is covered with forests of pine, oak, &c., and exports timber and fish.

CAPE COAST CASTLE (11), capital of the Gold Coast colony.