390 COS COSHOCTON functions which now belong to manager, prompter, and scene decorator. Subsequently, however, the coryphaeus yielded his high office to the choragus, and his duty became limited to the leadership of the dramatic chorus. COS, Stanko, or Stanchio (called Neropis in Thucydides, and NympJicea in Pliny), an island of Asiatic Turkey, in the ^Egean sea, near the coast of Asia Minor, in lat. (W. point) 36 49' 54" K, Ion. 26 53' 49" E. ; length about 23 m., circumference 65 m. ; area, about 90 sq. m. ; pop. about 8,000. It produces silk, salt, cattle, and wine resembling lachryma Christi, and exports fruits and wine to Egypt. The capital of the island, of the same name, in the northeast, has a mixed Greek and Turkish population, is the seat of a Greek bishop and of a Turkish pasha, and contains many relics of the Grecian era. Cos is famous now as it was in antiquity for its fertility, its wines, dyes, and delicate transpa- rent fabrics. Though mountainous in the south and west, the island in its extensive fruitful plains in the north and east still retains that natural productiveness mentioned by Strabo. The ancient city of Cos contained the famous temple of ^Esculapius, with its celebrated school of physicians, and its votive anatomical models. It was colonized by ^Eolians, joined the Dorian confederacy, was first fortified by Alcibiades, became a free state under the em- peror Claudius, was destroyed by an earth- quake, and rebuilt by Antoninus Pius. The island was the birthplace of Apelles, Philetas, and Hippocrates. COSEL, a town of Prussia. See KOSEL. COSEL, Conntess of, mistress of Augustus II., king of Poland and elector of Saxony, born in Holstein in 1680, died in the prison of Stolpen in March, 1765. She was a daughter of the Danish colonel Brockdorf, and married the Saxon minister Von Hoymb ; but on forming an illicit connection with Augustus she was divorced from her husband, assumed the name of Madame de Cosel, was presented by the emperor Joseph I. with the title of countess, and by her lover with a magnificent palace at Dresden (still known there under her name), and held for a number of years sovereign sway over the heart and the councils of Augustus, to whom she bore three children, until her ex- travagance, arrogance, and jealousy caused her to be imprisoned in the fortress of Stolpen (1716). She was in the enjoyment of a pen- sion, which continued to be paid to her after the death of Augustus in 1733. Frederick the Great, during his occupation of Saxony, paid it in depreciated coins called Ephraims, after a Jew of Leipsic of the name of Ephraim, by whom they were made. Incensed at the de- ception, the countess nailed the coins on the walls of her prison. She seemed, however, so fond of the society of the same Ephraim and of other Jews, that she was supposed to have be- come a convert to Judaism. The coins known as the florins de Cosel, struck from 1705 to 1707, and bearing an obscene device, were issued by King Augustus in payment of a wager with his mistress. COSENZA. I. A S. province of Italy (also known as Calabria Citeriore), bounded N. by the province of Potenza, E. by the gulf of Taranto, S. by Catanzaro, and W. by the Med- iterranean; area, 2,841 sq. m. ; pop. in 1872, 440,272. The greater part of the province is mountainous, the Apennines traversing it in its entire length ; near the gulf of Taranto it has an extensive and beautiful plain. The princi- pal river is the Crati ; among the smaller ones are the Busento, Esaro, and Trionto. The vine, the olive, silk, and fruits of all kinds are cultivated, and the breeding of horses, mules, and hogs is pursued on a large scale. The Sila mountain contains alabaster and mineral salt. The province is divided into the dis- tricts of Castrovillari, Cosenza, Paola, and Ros- sano. II. A city (anc. Conseritia), capital of the province, situated at the confluence of the rivers Crati and Busento, in a valley of its own name, surrounded by vine-covered hills, 11 m. from the Mediterranean, and 150 m. S. E. of Naples; pop. about 10,000. Two bridges of- stone unite the two portions of the city. Co- senza is the seat of an archbishop, and possesses a handsome court house, a cathedral, several churches and convents, a theatre, and several hospitals. The royal college has six professors, and there are also two academies and other educational establishments. It is a fortified city, with a citadel of considerable strength. Extensive silk works are carried on, and cutlery and earthenware are manufactured. Wine, flax, and manna are produced in the surround- ing district. The extensive forest region of Sila adjoins the town. Consentia was the capital of the Bruttii, and taken from them by the Romans. Alaric the Goth besieged it, and died within its walls (410). The Saracens took the city, and were dispossessed by the Nor- mans. Isabella of Aragon, the wife of Philip III. of France, died here on her husband's re- turn from Tunis with the remains of St. Louis. COSHOCTON, an E. central county of Ohio ; area, 516 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 23,600. It has an undulating and in some places hilly surface, and the soil varies between sand and clay, but is generally productive. It is drained by Mus- kingum river and its branches, Vernon river, and several small streams. Iron and coal are the most important minerals. It is traversed by the Ohio canal and the Pittsburgh, Cincin- nati and St. Louis railroad. The chief pro- ductions in 1870 were 332,391 bushels of wheat, 1,098,184 of Indian corn, 401,308 of oats, 108,471 of potatoes, 27,013 tons of hay, 676,102 Ibs. of butter, and 547,709 of wool. There were 8,836 horses, 8,022 milch cows, 12,251 other cattle, 132,173 sheep, and 22,219 swine ; 7 manufactories of carriages and wag- ons, 1 of paper, 1 of sashes, doors, and blinds, 6 of tin, copper, and sheet-iron ware, 1 of woollen goods, 7 flour mills, 7 saw mills, and 5 tanneries. Capital, Coshocton.
