vent, had fully succeeded in the objects to which his ambition had prompted him. He had been made, of course, superior of the first convent, and, subsequently, when the " families " of his new congregation had multiplied, he became vicar-general, subject only to the
general of all the Franciscans.
In 1533, in a chapter of the new congregation convoked at Florence so rapidly had the order of Capuchins spread itself the celebrated Bernardino Ochino of Siena was elected vicar general, and a second time in 1541. But having shortly afterwards fallen into heresy, and taken refuge in Switzerland, the society to which he had belonged, and on which his celebrity had thrown a lustre which has never since belonged to it, fell under grave suspicions of heterodoxy. The recently established congregation ran great risk of being dissolved, and its leading members were cited by Paul 111. to Rome to give an account of their opinions. The Capuchins were forbidden to preach, and would have been abolished, but for a warm and eloquent defence pronounced in Consistory by the Neapolitan Cardinal Antonio Sanseverino, which warned the Pope of the danger of "plucking up tares and wheat together!" This privilege was restored to the society in 1545 ; and the congrega tion multiplied itself largely in Italy. Paul III. had forbidden them to extend themselves beyond the Alps; but Gregory XIII., at the request of King Charles I X. , revoked this decree, and permitted them to establish convents in any part of the world. Gregory XIV. in 1591 forbade the Capuchins by bull to hear confessions and grant absolution ; but these functions were restored to them by Clement VIII. in 1602. Paul V. in 1619 gave the congregation the rank and status of a distinct order, gave their vicar the title of Minister General, relieved him from the necessity (which heretofore had marked the quasi subjection of the society to that of the parent Fran ciscan obscrmiitive or conventual friars) of asking the confirmation of his election from the general of the Conventuals, exempted the Capuchin convents from the right of visitation previously exercised by the superiors of the elder branch, and conferred on them the much- valued privilege of carrying a cross of their own in all processions, instead of being obliged to walk after that of the elder branch. It is stated that at this time the Capuchins numbered 15,000 members. Urban VIII. was a notable protector of the order, and created his brother, who was a member of it, cardinal. It was mainly by him that the convent in the Piazza Barberini, which has been from that d;iy to the recent one when the generals of all the orders were removed from their convents, the residence of the Capuchin generals, was founded. Benedict XIV. gave the order the privilege that the preacher of the Sacred Apostolic Palace should always be a member of their society.
The Capuchins have from a very early period of their separate existence had the reputation of being great converters of heretics and infidels. It is related that they converted a thousand Calvinists in Poitou alone to the orthodox faith. From an early period they specially dedicated themselves to the work of missionaries. Up to the year 1641 the Capuchins, though sending missionaries to all parts of the world, had never had a missionary college. In that year their general, Eugenio di Rumilly of Savoy, founded a college in Rome for the express education of their members for the work of missions. In the first eighteen months after the foundation of this college thirty-six Italian Capuchins were sent to Hindustan and Brazil, and eighty Spaniards of the order to Venezuela.
The order at present maintains eighty-two missions, served (ac cording to the latest accounts) by a few more than two hundred missionaries. They have twenty-three stations in Switzerland ; in the north of Italy, nine ; in the Levant, eleven. In Asia also they have stations at Beyrout, Gazir, Saida, Damascus, Mount Lebanon, and Aleppo In Georgia there are five stations, and four in Mesopotamia In the East Indies they have fourteen missions, seven in Africa, and four in South America. It is a result which might be expected from such a field of labour, that the Capuchin Martyrology is a specially extensive one.
The saints and martyrs of the order have been recorded by Father Charles of Brussels in two volumes, under the title of Flores Scraphicce. A Bibliotcca degli scrittori Cappucini was printed in Venice in 1747. The history of the order has been written by Zachariah Boverius in Latin, Lyons, 1632-39, 2 vols. folio. A decree of the Congregation of the Index in 1651 ordered the sup pression of this work on account of the absurd tales with which it abounds. A subsequent decree of the following year, however, per mitted the publication of it on condition of certain emendations. The work has been translated into French, Italian, and Spanish. A continuation of the History of Boverius, by Father Marco of Pisa, was published in folio at Lyons, 1676. The curious reader may also consult the work of Giuseppe Zarlino, On the Origin of the Con gregation of tlie Capuchins, Venice, 1579 ; also the Annals of Wadding ; and Helyot s History of the Monastic Orders, torn. vii. ch. 21.
CAPYBARA (Hydrockcerus capybara), the largest of existing Rodents, measuring about 4 feet in length and 3 iu girth, and weighing usually over 100 tb. It is also known as the water-hog from the resemblance which it bears when walking to a pig, although when sitting on its haunches it reassumes the characteristic appearance of the Cavy family, to which it belongs. In the coarseness and scantiness of its fur, in the numerous enamel plates, embedded in cement, which stretch entirely across its molar teeth, like those of the elephant, and in the habit, when swimming, of carrying its young on its back like the hippopotamus, the capybara has been supposed to form a connecting link between the rodents and pachyderms, and in the Linnaean system of classification it was placed among the SuidcB. Its scanty fur is of a dark brown colour, its tail forms a small horny protuberance, and its feet are webbed, though not to the extremities of the toes. This pachydermatous rodent, as it has been called, is confined to South America, where it extends from Guiana southward to the Rio de la Plata, and westward to the eastern slopes of the Andes. It is a nocturnal animal, feeding on fruits and herbs, inhabiting the banks of rivers and fresh water lakes, and occasionally frequenting, according to Darwin, the mouths of such rivers as the Rio Plata where the water is entirely salt. Capybaras congregate in considerable numbers, browsing by night among aquatic plants, and in districts where they are not liable to the attacks of the jaguar, are sufficiently tame to allow themselves to be approached within a few feet ; while, under domestication, they are said to be capable of considerable attachment. When disturbed they utter a low abrupt grunt, " resembling," says Darwin, " the first hoarse bark of a large dog." apparently produced by a sudden expulsion of air ; then, rushing at full speed into the water, they dive out of sight, remaining submerged for seven or eight minutes, and reappearing only to show the upper surface of their heads. They are readily killed, seldom attempting to defend themselves, although when driven to extremity they have been known to tear the flesh from the paw of a jaguar or the leg of a horse. Their skin is of little value, and their flesh, which is made into hams, is of indifferent quality. The missionary monks of Brazil were wont to eat it during Lent, along with their turtle, in virtue of the capybara s amphibious habits. On land it is a favourite food of the jaguar, as it is of the alligator in the water. Fossil re mains of this and of another species of capybara have been found in the caves of Brazil.
Lynxes characterized by comparative slenderness of body and length of tail and ears. It is somewhat larger than a fox, of a uniform reddish brown colour above, and whitish beneath, with two white spots above each of the eyes, and with a long black tuft of hair at the tip of the ears, the latter, according to Sir W. Jardine, being only present in spring, or at the commencement of the breeding season. It is to the ear-tufts that it owes its name, which is derived from two Turkish words signifying “black-ear.” The caracal is widely distributed, being found throughout Africa and South-western Asia. It feeds on the smaller quadrupeds and birds, hunting the former in packs after the manner of wolves, and climbing trees in pursuit of the latter. It is said also to resemble the jackal in following in the wake of the lion and other large carnivora, in order to feed on what those lords of the lower creation may leave, and on this account has received the name of the " lion s provider." Like the cheetah, it was formerly trained by Eastern princes to hunt the smaller quadrupeds, and such birds as the crane and pelican ; but from its fierceness, and the extreme irritability which it displays in confine
ment, it does not seem well-fitted for domestication.