GRACES snate sent him thither as commissioner. When he returned his popularity was gone. In the next election for tribunes his name was omit- ted. The law founding the colony near Car- thage had been unpopular, and soon after his return it was proposed to repeal it. This he resisted, uniting with Fulvius, a commissioner of the agrarian law, and inciting the populace to acts of violence. In the tumult one of the opposite party was slain by a follower of Grac- chus, and the senate named the consul Opimius dictator. He summoned Gracchus and Fulvius to answer the charge of murder. Gracchus submitted, but his partisans were in arms, and a conflict ensued. He had crossed the Tiber and taken refuge in a grove of the Furies, where, hard pressed by his enemies, he com- manded his servant to slay him. He is rep- resented as a man of surpassing eloquence. GRACES, The (Lat. Gratia, Gr. Xdpire^ my- thological beings, generally described as daugh- ters of Jupiter, but called by some daughters of Apollo, and by others of Bacchus; their maternity is still more undecided. The Spar- tans and Athenians recognized only two Cha- rites, but Hesiod enumerates three, whom he names Euphrosyne, Aglaia, and Thalia; and this number and nomenclature generally pre- vailed. The Graces were the goddesses of social festivity, happiness, and mirth, the inspirers of those virtues and amenities which render human intercourse delightful, and the patron- esses of whatever is graceful and beautiful in na- ture or in art. Great poets, painters, and sculp- tors were the peculiar objects of their favor. The Graces were commonly represented as the companions of other divinities, especially Apol- lo, Venus, and Cupid ; and their attributes are made always to harmonize with those of the deity upon whom they attend. Thus as the companions of Apollo they bear musical instru- ments, while as those of Venus they carry myrtle, roses, or dice. They are usually rep- resented as virgins in the bloom of life, em- bracing each other, and sometimes appear clothed, sometimes naked. GRACIAS, or Gracias a Dios (" Thanks to God "), an inland city of Honduras, capital of a de- partment of the same name, situated in a fer- tile plain, near the foot of a steep and craggy mountain, 77m. W. by N". of Comayagua; lat. 14 30' N., Ion. 88 50' W. Though now having only 3,000 inhabitants, Gracias was once a flour- ishing city, with a large population, attracted thither by the rich mines of the surrounding country, and was the chief entrepot for mer- chandise in transitu from Puerto Caballos to the populous region of Guatemala. It was founded in 1530 by Gabriel de Rojas, and en- larged in 1536 by Gonzalo (or more probably Pedro) de Alvarado. Until 1544 it was the seat of government of Guatemala and Nica- ragua ; but since then it has gradually fallen from its original splendor, the only traces of which are now visible in the parish church and the convent of La Merced. Although mi- GRADUATION 137 ning is still followed to a considerable extent, and opals of the finest quality are found in the vicinity, the inhabitants depend chiefly on agri- culture for subsistence. The climate is very salubrious. Near the town a mountain torrent, one of the tributaries of the Rio Santiago or Venta, plunges by two successive leaps to a depth of 1,200 feet. GRACIAS I DIGS, Cape, the K E. point of Central America, at the mouth of the large river Coco or Segovia, in lat. 15 N., Ion. 83 12' W. It was so named by Columbus, when, in his fourth voyage, after beating for many days against head winds and adverse currents, he finally succeeded in turning the angle of the continent, and taking his course southward. There is a harbor near the cape, with but 16 feet of water. GRACIOSA, one of the Azores, so called from its beautiful situation and extreme productive- ness, lat. 39 5' K, Ion. 28 4' W. ; area, 32 sq. m. ; pop. about 12,000. Its chief exports are corn, wine, brandy, fruit, hemp, and flax. Chief town, Santa Cruz. GRADUATION, the art of dividing astronomi- cal, geodetical, and other mathematical instru- ments. It was formerly done by hand with ordinary dividing instruments, and so few makers possessed the requisite skill that it was very difficult to procure good instruments for the ordinary purposes of navigation ; but now the operation is performed with great exact- ness by machines called dividing engines. Jesse Ramsden, a cloth presser, who subsequently turned his attention to engraving, being brought in contact with mathematical instrument ma- kers, was led to construct the engine which for many years was called by his name. At that time it was considered so valuable that the English commissioners of longitude entered into a contract with him (1775) to instruct a certain number of persons, not exceeding ten, in the method of making and using it, and to divide sextants and octants at certain prices as long as the engine remained in his possession, they becoming the purchasers for the sum of 315, and giving 300 in addition for the in- vention. Perfect as the instrument was then considered, it has since been greatly improved, so that it is now automatic, the whole operation of dividing a circle, after it has been placed on the engine, being performed by a motion given by the descent of a weight, or by a crank turned by hand. The engine consists of a large wheel of bell metal, the circumference being ratched into 720, 1,080, 1,440, 2,160, or 4,320 teeth, or any number which, divided by 2, 3, 4, 6, or 12, will give 360. These teeth are cut with great accuracy, and the wheel is turned on its centre by an endless screw, by which it may be moved any number of degrees or parts desired. The dividing point is fixed in a frame which admits of a free and easy motion to and from the centre. In England, Troughton, Simms, Thomas, Jones, Ross, and a few others, have been successful in making these engines,
