Goff

[Gr. gophos, stupid.] An English provincialism for a dolt, blockhead, or stupid foolish tellow. (Games.) See GOLF. Goffer, v . a . Same as GAUFFER, q. v. Gog and Magog, are two names that occur several times in the sacred Scriptures. In Gen. x. 2, Magog is mentioned as one of the sons of Japheth; in Ezek. xxxviii., xxxix., the prophet is told to set his face "against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Jubal, and prophesy against him;" and in Rev. xx. 8, Satan is represented as going forth "to deceive the nations, which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle." Among Christians, the terms have been used as nearly synonymous with Antichrist, and in a general sense to include all nations hostile to Christianity. These names are also employed to designate two huge warlike figures, that adorn the Guildhall of London. Many fables are given of the origin of these worthies; but nothing with certainty is known regarding them, further than that from time immemorial they have been IMG:content-0404.png:[graphic] human life and character, his encyclopedic knowledge, his sublime imagination, his exquisite sensibility and play of fancy, and his consummate style, place him high in the constellation of literary genius that appeared in the latter half of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries. His mighty influence has reached all spheres of human thought, and grows stronger with time. Ad- miration of this great poet forms a sort of masonic pa - word uniting the intellectual elements of all countries. The subject of Faust is the worldly career of man: the aspiration, the resistance, the temptation, the sins, the agony, the destruction - all mysterious and mournful - supplying food for comment and controversy - for ad- miration as for blame, to generations yet to come." Wil- helm Meister, G.'s greatest prose effort, has been well rendered into English by Carlyle's admirable transla- tion. His minor pieces, ballads, songs, and elegies, all partake of the profundity of his philosophical mind. Books innumerable, in the shape of recollections, let- ters, conversations, ., have been written about this master-mind of the "Fatherland." Especially note- worthy are the E ays on his life and works by Car- lyle, and G. H. Lewes' Life of Gæthe . A literary curios- ity was published in 1865, in the form of a Hebrew trans- lati on of Faust , under the title of Ben Abuya , by a Ger- man scholar, Dr. Max Letter is. Goethe, or Göthe, (göteh,) JOHANN WOLFGANG VON, the greatest modern poet of Germany, and the regenera- tor of German literature, was B. at Frankfort-on-the- Main, in 1749. His father was a counsellor of state, and young G. was reared amid all the elements condu- cive to a taste for, and cultivation of literature and the arts. In 1764 he proceeded to the University of Leipzig, and 4 years afterwards to that of Strasburg, in order to qualify himself for the legal profe ion. The study of law, however, gained le upon his attention than that of the natural sciences, as chemistry, physiology, . In 1771, after taking his doctor's degree, G. went to re- side at Wetzlar. Here, in 1773, he produced his roman- tic drama of Götz von Berlichingen , which excited great enthusiasm in the German literary world. About this time G. conceived a pa ion for a lady who was already betrothed, and shortly after became the wife of another; which incident, together with the suicide of a student of his acquaintance - also a sufferer from misplaced affection - G. fused together to form the plot of a novel, which, in 1774, he brought out under the title of Die Leiden des Jungen Werther ("The Sufferings of Young Werther"). This book, in its sublimity of maudlin sen- timentalism, became at once the rage. In 1775 G. was invited by the duke of Saxe-Weimar to take up his res i- dence at his court. To Weimar he accordingly repaired, and there became the central figure and ruling deity (so to speak) of a galaxy of some of the most eminent -n. A strained or affected rolling of the eye. Gætze, JOHANN AUGUST EPHRAIM, a German naturalist, B. at Aschersleben, in 1731. He made many microscopic discoveries, and wrote several books on natural history, among which are Entomological Memoirs (4 vols.), A History of Intestinal Worms, and an European Fauna (9 vols.) He was pastor of the church at Quedlinburg, and D. in 1793. Gof'fle, in New Jersey, a village of Pa aic co., abt. 3 m. N. of Patters on. Goff's Falls, in New Hampshire , a post-office of Hills- borough co. notabilities of that day, counting among them Wiel and, Schiller, Herder, and Senckendorff. G. was also, by the duke's favor, appointed a privy councillor of legation, and superintendent of the theatre, where he brought out with thorough effect the splendid chefs - d'œuvre of Schiller, in addition to his own dramatic works - Götz von Berlichingen, Iphigenie auf Tauris , Faust , Ta o , Clavigo, Stetta, and Egmont . In 1786 he visited Italy, where he remained for two years, and in 1792, accompa- nied the army of the king of Pru ia and the duke of Brunswick in its French campaign, of which he became the historiographer. On his return, G. was appointed minister of state. In 1795 appeared the first part of his Wilhelm Meister, and in 1797 Hermann und Dorothea, a hexametrical pastoral poem, and perhaps the finest of his minor productions. In 1805 the first portion of his great masterpiece, Faust , was ushered to the world, and elevated him to the highest rank of literary fame. In Goff's Mills, in New York , a post-vill. of Steuben co. Goffs'town, in New Hampshire , a post-village and township of Hills borough co., on the Merrimac River, abt. 12 m. S. of Concord. Goffs'town Centre, in New Hampshire , a village of Hills borough co., abt. 15 m. S. of Concord. Gogginsville, in Virginia , a P. O. of Franklin co. Goggle, ( gog'l ,) v. n. [Allied to jog , joggle , and to pro- vincial coggle , to be shaky; Gael. gogshuile - ach , goggle- eyed.] To strain or roll the eyes. "Which made him hang his head and scowl. And wink and goggle like an owl."-Hudibras. -pl . Instruments used to cure squinting or the distortion of the eyes which occasion it; cylindrical tubes, in which are fixed gla es for defending the eyes from cold, dust, . Gog'gled, a . Prominent; staring, as the eye. Gog'gle-eyed, a . Squint-eyed; having eyes which roll, or are prominent or distorted. Gog'magog Hills, are situate about 3 m. N. of Cam- bridge, in England. On their extreme summit we find the remains of an ancient Roman camp with a triple intrenchment. Go'gol, NIKOLAY, a Ru ian novelist and miscellaneous writer, B. probably about 1810. He is the author of a novel entitled Dead Souls (which was received with great enthusiasm by his countrymen, and was translated into English with the title of Home - Life in Ru ia), of a comedy entitled The Revisor, and two collections of short tales illustrative of rural life in Little Ru ia, his native country. The reputation of G. was seriously impaired by his subsequent writings. He spent some years abroad, returned to Ru ia in 1849, and D. at Moscow, 1851. Gohilwar', a dist. of India, prov. of Guzerat, tributary to Great Britain; Lat. 20° 50 to 22° N., Lon. 71° 12' to 72° 11′ E. Desc . Fertile, and producing nearly all the grains and fruits of India. Pop . 271,000. Goianinha, (gō-yā-nēēn'ya.) a town of Brazil, prov. of Rio-Grande-do-Norte, abt. 28 m. S. of Natal; pop . abt. 1,500. Goil, (Loch,) a branch of Loch Long, in Argyles hire, Scotland, extending N. for 4 m. to Lochgoilhead. Go'ing, n. Act of moving in any manner. - Departure. "Thy going is not lonely."- Milton . -Procedure; way: course of life; behavior; deportment; - often before on ; as, there 's pretty goings on. "He seeth all his goings ." Job xxxiv. 21. -Course of providential agency or government. "They have seen thy goings. O God." Ps . lxviii. 24. -Pregnancy; gestation. Goitre, ( goy'tr ,) n. [Fr. goître , probably a corruption of Lat. guttur , the throat. ( Med .) A preternatural en- large ment of the thyroid gland, occasioning a swelling of the throat, which frequently attains a very large size. It is also termed bronchocele and Derby shire neck, on account of its prevalence in this co. of England. It is, however, in the Alpine districts of Europe, especially in Switzerland, Savoy, and Tyrol, that it is chiefly to be met with. It is also common in certain regions of the Andes and Him a lay as. It is frequently a ociated. with cretinism. (q. v.) Little is yet known of the nature or cause of this disease. It is endemic, or common to certain regions; but from what peculiarity of these regions it is owing, it is very uncertain, though many are inclined to attribute it to a calcareous impregnation of the water. It also occurs hereditarily, independent of endemic influence. It is much more common among females than males, and usually occurs about the age of puberty. It is not of an inflammatory or malignant IMG:content-0405.jpg:[graphic][subsumed][subsumed] ing with absolute exactne the product of the world for any given year. In 1896 it was about $206,850,100. In the U. S., California has yielded two-thirds of the gold of the country, the remainder coming chiefly from Colorado, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, and South Dakota. In the East, N. and S. Carolina and Georgia have yielded some gold. In Alaska, whose gold yield hitherto has been comparatively small, placer gold has been found along the Yukon river, where mining is now being actively pursued. The great gold fields are in Siberia, Australia and South Africa. The African mines are principally situated in the South African Republic, the gold being found in an outcropping bed of conglomerate which underlies a wide area of country, and is rich in the precious metal. In 1894 the African mines gave a yield estimated at $40,271,000; the Australian, $41,760,800; the U.S., $39,500,000; the Ru ian, $24,133,400; and other countries in much smaller proportion. The U. S. yield in 1895 was $46,830,200. See SECTION II. (Metal. and Chem.) Pure G. may be obtained by solution in nitro-hydrochloric acid ( aqua regia ). The solution is diluted and filtered, and evaporated almost to dryne , to expel the exce of acid. The remaining salt is then boiled with a solution of sulphate of iron, which precipitates the G. as a dark bluish-purple powder, which is subsequently washed with water and hydrochloric acid. It has a reddish-yellow color, but when much extended transmits a green light. When pure it is nearly as soft as lead, and is the most malleable and ductile of all the metals, but inferior to many in its tenacity. (Seo GOLD-BEATING and GOLD-LACE.) Its symbol is Au, from its Latin name Aurum , equivalent 197, and sp. gr. 19-5. Its fusing-point is about 2016°. It is not affected by air or water at any temperature. It does not combine directly with any of the non-metallic elements, except chlorine, bromine, fluorine, and phosphorus. The ordinary acids do not attack it, but it is readily di olved by a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids, the active agent being the liberated chlorine. Selenic acid acts upon it by oxidation, the acid itself being converted into selenious acid. Gold forms two oxides. The protoxide ( form . AuO.) forms a dark precipitate when pro to chloride of gold is decomposed by potash. It forms a conpound with hydrosulphite of soda, much used in photography under the name of sel d'or . It forins also a stannate of gold and tin used to impart a purple-red color to gla and porcelain under the name of purple of Ca ius. The Terozide of Gold (form. Au03) is prepared from the solution of gold in aqua regia by boiling with an exce of potash, decomposing the aurate of potash with sulphuric acid, purifying by di olving in nitric acid and precipitating by water. It forms a yellow precipitate, which is decomposed by exposure to the light or a temperature of 5000. Fulminating G. is obtained as a buff precipitate when ammonia is added to a solution of terchloride of G. It explodes violently when gently heated. With chlorine G. forms two salts, - the pro to chloride , AuCl, formed as a pale-yellow substance, sparingly soluble in water, when the terchloride is heated to 350°; and the terchloride , AuCl3, made by di olving gold in aqua regia. The terchloride is very soluble in water and alcohol, forming a yellow or orange solution, according to its strength. It has an acid reaction, and stains the skin yellow. Ether di olves it readily, even abstracting it from its aqueous solution. The ethereal solution is the aurum port a bile of the alchemists. The solution of terchloride of G. should be kept in a dark place, as it is easily reduced by the feeblest deoxidizing agents. The facility with which it deposits metallic G. , and the resistance of the deposited metal to atmospheric action, render it of great use in photography. It is used occasionally in medicine. It forms distinct double salts with a number of metallic chlorides, which are mostly yellow when in crystals, and red when deprived of water. The auro-chlorides of pota ium and sodium are much used in photography. By adding a solution of cyanide of pota ium to a weak solution or terchloride of G. , we obtain the pro to cyanide of G. It is a lemon-yellow powder, soluble in an exce of cyanide of pota ium, form resorted to. A mixture of one part of the alloy to be a ayed is made of 3 or 4 parts of silver and the same of lead. It is then fused upon a bone-ash cupel. The lead carries down all the impurities but the silver into the cupel, leaving the G. alloyed with 3 or 4 times its weight of silver. It is then beaten out and immersed in nitric acid, which di olves out the silver, leaving the G. pure. The amount of silver used must be at least 3 times that of G. , otherwise the silver diffused through the G. would be protected from the action of the acid. The first of these operations, where the G. is alloyed with the silver, is called quartation ; and the separation of the metals by nitric acid is termed parting . Sponge gold, for dentists' use, is prepared by di olving G. , from free copper, in aqua regia , and precipitating by a strong solution of oxalic acid. When the G. is all precipitated, the liquid must be decanted off carefully without disturbing the G. in the bottom. It is then washed with boiling water by filling the ve el several times and decanting until it is free from oxalic acid. The G. is now removed on to blotting-paper and gently pre ed into the form of the desired cake, but thicker. On heating this for a short time, somewhat below a red heat, it shrinks and becomes coherent. - See GILDING, GOLD-BEATING, PREC. METALS.