350 GWINNETT GYMNASIUM eluding gold, which is found on the Chatta- hoochee, iron, antimony, and superior granite. The surface is hilly and the soil of the river bottoms fertile. The chief productions in 1870 were 55,102 bushels of wheat, 206,210 of In- dian corn, 31,707 of oats, 16,964 of sweet po- tatoes, 65,787 Ibs. of butter, and 1,391 bales of cotton. There were 1,058 horses, 1,855 milch cows, 2,789 other cattle, 6,115 sheep, and 8,496 swine. Capital, Lawrenceville. GWINNETT, Button, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, born in England about 1732, died in Georgia, May 27, 1777. He emigrated from Bristol to America in 1770, engaged for two years in trade in Charleston, and then purchased a tract of land on St. Catharine's island, Georgia, and devoted him- self to agriculture. He became conspicuous in 1775 as an advocate of colonial rights, was elected a representative to congress in Febru- ary, 1776, and in 1777 became president of the provincial council of Georgia. He planned a military expedition against East Florida, which he refused to intrust to his rival Gen. Mcln- tesh, whose official rank entitled him to com- mand it, and which resulted disastrously. This event led to a duel between him and Gen. Mc- Intosh, in which he was mortally wounded. GWYNN, or Gwinn, Eleanor, one of the mis- tresses of Charles II., born in London about 1650, died there about 1690. It is said that her father, Capt. Thomas Gwynn of the army, was a member of an ancient Welsh family ; but that she was born in a night cellar in the Coal Yard, Drury Lane, and was reared in the lowest haunts of vice. She was an orange vender, and wandered from tavern to tavern, entertaining the company with her songs. Af- ter being the mistress successively of the ac- tors Hart and Lacy, she went in her 16th year upon the stage, and became one of the most popular actresses of the time in light, humor- ous parts, especially where singing and dancing were introduced. About 1667 she became the mistress of Lord Buckhurst, who, it is said, for a political reward, surrendered her to his royal master. She remained on the stage till 1671, although her intimacy with Charles, which lasted till his death, commenced in 1669. Upon becoming his acknowledged mistress she was called Madam Ellen, had an establish- ment of her own, and was even made a lady of the privy chamber to Queen Catharine, and admitted to the best society of the period. The king at first refused her demand of 500 a year, although she is said subsequently to have cost him upward of 60,000 in four years. Of all his mistresses Nell was the only one who remained faithful to him, and the only one perhaps who has won any sympathy or forgiveness from posterity. Her frailty and a tendency to hard swearing seem to have been her chief faults. She was merry and open- hearted, generous to profusion, and in her prosperity ever mindful of her old friends, particularly those of the theatrical profession. Dryden, Lee, Otway, and Butler are reported to have been liberally aided by her. She in- stigated Charles to erect Chelsea hospital for disabled soldiers, presenting the land on which the building stands, and her health used regu- larly to be drunk by the pensioners on the an- niversary of Charles's birthday. She was even popular with the public, as the supposed rep- resentative at court of Protestant interests. Charles appreciated her good qualities, and among his last words were, " Let not poor Nelly starve." She bore him two sons, one of whom died in childhood, and the other was suc- cessively created a baron, an earl,' and finally duke of St. Albans. She is believed to have led a virtuous life after the death of the king, and her funeral sermon was preached by Dr. Teni- son, afterward archbishop of Canterbury. The "Memoirs of the Life of Nell Gwinn, Mistress to K. Charles II., by John Seymour, Comedian " (1752), is a panegyric. Another memoir, by Peter Cunningham, was published in 1850. GYGES, the first Lydian king of the dynasty of the Mermnadae. He was originally a chief officer at the court of his predecessor Can- daules. According to Herodotus, Candaules was proud of the beauty of his queen, and in- sisted that Gyges should conceal himself in her chamber in order to see her naked. Gyges reluctantly obeyed, and was seen by the queen as he glided from her apartment. She was indignant at this insult, and sending for Gyges gave him the choice of being immediately put to death or of killing her husband. Gyges chose the latter alternative, and after slaying his sov- ereign he shared the Lydian throne with his former mistress. His reign commenced about 716 B. C., and lasted 38 years. The wealth of Gyges, like that of his successor Croesus, was proverbial. He sent magnificent presents to Delphi, and carried on wars with Miletus, Smyrna, Colophon, Magnesia, and other cities of Asia Minor. According to a story record- ed by Plato, Gyges was the shepherd of Can- daules, and found in an earthquake gap a great brazen horse containing a corpse with a gold- en ring, by means of which he could render himself invisible at will. With this power he destroyed Candaules and usurped his throne. GYMNASIUM (Gr. -yv^s, naked), a term ap- plied anciently in Greece and Italy, and now in continental Europe, and especially in Ger- many, to schools of a higher class, but in England and America to places for physi- cal exercise. The Greek gymnasium was so called because of the preeminence given in Greece to physical culture. The education of a Greek youth was divided into three parts, grammar, music, and gymnastics; to which Aristotle added a fourth, drawing or painting. Gymnastics, however, occupied as much time as all the others together, and were continued after the mental education was finished. There was no Greek town of importance without its gymnasium, and Athens had three : the acad- emy, famous for the instructions of Plato;
