Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/55

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CAKY CAS ALE CART, Lott, one of the founders of Liberia, born a slave near Kichmond, Va., in 1780, died at Monrovia, Africa, Nov. 8, 1828. In his youth he was vicious and profane, but in his 27th year he joined the Baptist church. With the change in his character came the thirst for knowledge. He soon learned to read and write, and after a time he began to preach to his countrymen. He succeeded in raising by extra work $850, with which he redeemed himself and his two children from slavery. He was then employed in a tobacco warehouse with a good salary. In 1815 he became inter- ested in Africa and in the establishment of missions there. In February, 1821, he went to Liberia, and was instrumental in the removal of the colonists from their first unhealthy po- sition to Cape Mesurado, now Monrovia. He exerted himself in the erection of cabins for the settlers, telling trees, prescribing for the sick, preaching, or fighting against the savages, who had determined to exterminate the colonists. Once, when the latter had become dissatisfied with the course of the colonization society in re- gard to the tenure of their lands, he took sides with them against the agent, Jehudi Ashmun, al- though personally his friend ; but foreseeing the evils which would follow insubordination, he acknowledged his error and submitted to the laws of the society. In September, 1826, Mr. Ashmun sailed for America, leaving the entire control of the colony in the hands of Mr. Gary. He was killed by the explosion of a cask of powder in a building where he was making preparations to repel an assault of the natives. CARYATIDES, in architecture, female figures which support a roof in lieu of columns or pilasters. Vitruvius says that the inhabitants of Caryae, an Arcadian village, joined the Persians after the battle of Thermopylae ; after the defeat of the Persians the con- federate Greeks destroyed Caryse, put the male inhabitants to death, and enslaved the women. Sculptors, in commemoration of their infamy, made use of representations of these women to sustain roofs and heavy superincumbent weights; but the use of caryatides is more ancient than the date of the story, and the Greeks probably derived this form in architecture from Egypt. CASA, Giovanni dclla, an Italian prelate and author, born near Florence, June 28, 1503, died in Rome, Nov. 14, 1556. He was of a distinguished family, studied in Bologna and Padua, and led a gay life in Borne ; but becom- ing a priest in 1538, he was employed in 1541 on a papal mission to Florence, and elected to the newly founded accademia fiorentina. In 1544 he became archbishop of Benevento, and was subsequently nuncio at Venice until after the death of Pope Paul III. (November, 1549). The new pope, Julius III., being unfriendly to him, sold the post of clerk of the camera, which 158 VOL. iv. 1 he had held for seven years. He returned to Venice, remaining there till after the -accession of Paul IV. (1555), when his hopes of becom- ing a cardinal were frustrated partly by his pro- motion being urged by France, and probably still more by the existence of his licentious poem Capitoli delforno. He did not long survive this disappointment. In point of style he was the best Italian prose writer of his day. His most celebrated work, Galateo, briefly laying down the rules of polite behavior and illustra- ting the manners of society, has been transla- ted into foreign languages and passed through many additions. His writings in Latin include translations from Plato and Aristotle. His lyrical poems, edited by Menage (Paris, 1667), are noted for their purity and delicacy. His licentious poem Capitoli (Venice, 1538-'64), has been expunged from the several editions of his complete works (3 vols., Florence, 1752 ; 4 vols., Milan, 1806). CASABIMCA, Louis, a French naval oflScer, born at Bastia about 1755, died Aug. 1, 1798. He entered the naval service when very young, and having adopted the principles of the French revolution, he was elected to the national con- vention ; on the trial of Louis XVI. he did not vote for death, but merely for imprisonment. He subsequently became a member of the council of 500 ; after which he was appointed captain of L'Orient, the flag ship of Admiral Brueys, the commander of the fleet which took Bonaparte and his army to Egypt. When this fleet was attacked by the English in the bay of Aboukir, Casablanca fought bravely to the last, and was killed with his son, then 10 years old, by the explosion of his ship. CASACALENDA, a town of S. Italy, in the province and 18 m. N. E. of Campobasso ; pop. about 6,000. It contains several churches, one of which is noted for its Tuscan architec- ture, and a convent. Wine and excellent fruit are largely produced in the surrounding country, and silkworms are reared. Some authorities identify its site with that of the ancient Calela, in the territory of Larinum, where, according to Polybius, Minucius was encamped at a dis- tance of about 16 stadia from the headquarters of Hannibal at Gerunium. CASAL, or Cazal, Manuel lyres de, a Portuguese geographer, born in the latter half of the 18th century, died at Lisbon in the second quarter of the present century. Having received an ex- cellent education, he took holy orders, but af- terward devoted himself to the exploration of Brazil. He has been styled the father of Bra- zilian geography, and his principal work, enti- tled Corografia Brasilica (2 vols., Rio de Ja- neiro, 1817), elicited the admiration of Hum- boldt and of other competent judges. CASALE, a city of Italy, capital of a district in the province of Alessandria, on the right bank of the Po, 38 m. E. N. E. of Turin, near the site of the ancient Sedula;. pop. in 1871, 25,714. The citadel, founded in 1590, was one of the strongest in Italy ; and after the cam-