Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 5.djvu/146

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.
134
CAR—CAR

6000 men ; and nearly 4000 are engaged in the cutting and polishing shops, which number about 115. In 1873 the total value of the marble extracted was 360,000. Carrara is built not far from the site of the ancient Luna, an Etrurian city of considerable importance ; and the marble was known to the Romans as Marmor Lunense. Napoleon I. founded in the town an academy of fine arts, which still exists and possesses a large collection of statues. The only native sculptors of note are Alberti Maffeoli in the 15th century and Danese Cattaneo in the IGth. The population of the town proper is about 8000, but the

commune contains 23,827.

CARREL, Armand, or more fully Jean Baptiste Nicolas Armand (1800-1836), a distinguished French publicist, was born at Rouen, 8th May 1800. His father was a merchant in good circumstances, and he received a liberal education at the college of his native town, after wards attending the military school at St Cyr. He had an intense admiration for the great generals of Napoleon, and his uncompromising spirit and bold uprightness soon marked him out as a man of independent views, and to be suspected. Entering the army as sub-lieutenant he took a secret but active part in the unsuccessful conspiracy of Belfort. On the outbreak of war with Spain in 1822, Carrel, whose sympathies were altogether with the Spanish cause, sent in his resignation, and succeeded in effecting his escape to Barcelona. He enrolled himself in the foreign legion and fought gallantly against his former comrades. Near Figui6res the legion was compelled to surrender, and Carrel became the prisoner of his old general, Damas. There was considerable difficulty about the terms of capitulation, and one council of war condemned Carrel to death. For tunately some informality prevented the sentence being executed, and he was soon afterwards acquitted and set at liberty.

His career as a soldier being then finally closed, Carrel resolved to devote himself to literature. He came to Paris and began as secretary to Augustin Thierry, the celebrated historian. His services were found to be of great value, and on his side he not only obtained admirable training in habits of composition, but was led to investigate for himself some of the most interesting portions of English history. His first work of importance (he had already written one or two historical abstracts) was the History of the Counter- Revolution in England, an exceedingly able political study of the events which culminated in the Revolution of 1688. He gradually became known as a skilful writer in various periodicals ; but it was not till he formed his connection with the National that he became a power in France. The National was at first conducted by Thiers, Mignet, and Carrel in conjunction ; but after the revolution of July, Thiers and Mignet assumed office, and the whole manage ment fell into the hands of Carrel. Under his direction the journal became the first political organ in Paris. His judgment was unusually clear, his principles solid and well founded, his sincerity and honesty beyond question ; and to these qualities he united an admirable style, lucid, precise, and well balanced. As the defender of democracy he had frequently to face serious dangers. He was once in Ste Pelagie, and several times before the tribunal to answer for his journal. Nor was he in less danger from private enmities. Before his last fatal encounter he was twice engaged in duels with editors of rival papers. The dispute which led to the duel with M. Emile de Girardin was one of small moment, and might have been amicably arranged had it not been for some slight obstinacy on Carrel s part. The meeting took place on the morning of the 22d May 1836. De Girardin was wounded in the shoulder, Carrel in the abdomen. The wound was at once seen to be dangerous, and Carrel was conveyed to the house of a friend, where he died after two days suffering. His works, with biogra phical notice by Littre", have been published in five volumes (Paris, 1858). A fine estimate of his character will be found in Mill s Dissertations, vol. i.

CARRIAGE, a term which in its widest signification includes all structures employed for the purposes of transport of merchandize and movable goods and of human beings. Such vehicles are generally mounted on wheels, but the sledge and the litter are types of the exception to this rule. Carriages, according to the definition above given, includes in these days a vast variety of forms, ranging from the humble wheel barrow and rude farm-cart up to the luxuriously appointed sleeping-cars of railways, and the state carriages of royal personages. A narrower application, however, limits the term to such vehicles as are used for the conveyance of persons, and it is in this restricted sense that the term is here used. Cars or carriages for use on railways or tramways are also excluded, and will be dealt with in other connections.

Although, doubtless, the primitive means of transport was by riding on the back of the horse, camel, elephant, or other animal, there is evidence that the use of certain kinds of carriages dates from a very remote antiquity. When Pharaoh advanced Joseph to the second place in Egypt " he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had ; " and later, Joseph, by command of the king, sent waggons out of the land of Egypt to convey Jacob and his whole family to the land of his adoption. Thus at this early period there were two distinct types of carriage in use among the civilized inhabitants of Egypt, a country which from its level character presented facilities for the development of this species of conveyance. The use of chariots in Egypt and among early nations generally was reserved for rulers and warlike leaders.

It was among the Romans that the use of carriages as a private means of conveyance was first established, and with that people carriages attained great variety of form as well as richness of ornamentation. In all times the employment of carriages depended greatly on the condition of the roads over which they had to be driven, and the establishment of good roads, such as the Appian Way, constructed 331 B.C., and others, greatly facilitated the development of carriage travelling among the Romans. In Rome itself, and probably also in other large towns, it was neces sary to restrict travelling in carriages to a few persons of high rank, owing to the narrowness and crowded state of the streets. For the same reason the transport of goods along the streets was forbidden during the ten hours between sunrise and sunset, For long journeys and to convey large parties the redo- and carruca appear to have been mostly used, but what their construction and arrange ments were is not known. During the empire the carriage which appears in representations of public ceremonials is the carpentum. It is very slight, with two wheels, some times covered, and generally drawn by two horses. If a, carriage had four horses they were yoked abreast, among the Greeks and Romans, not in two pairs as now. From the carruca are traced the modern European names, the English carriage, the French carrosse, and the Italian carrozza. The sirpea was a very ancient form of vehicle, the body of which was of osier basket-work. It originated with the Gauls, by whom it was named benna, and by them it was employed for the conveyance of persons and goods in time of peace, and baggage during war. With its name are connected the modern French banne, banneton, vannerie, and panier, all indicating basket-work. The essedum was a two-wheeled carriage, the form of which the Romans copied from the war cars of the Belga3.

These various vehicles were sometimes very splendidly ornamented with gold and precious stones ; and covered