Courland, Kurland

( koor'land,) one of the Baltic provinces of the Ru ian empire, in Lat. 56°-58° N., Lon. 210-27° E.: area, about 10,500 sq. m. It is generally a level country, with ranges of low hills, and contains many lakes, bogs, forests, and downs; yet, some parts have a very fertile soil. The proprietors of land are mostly German: the peasantry, of Lettish or Esthonian extraction, are chiefly engaged in husbandry; there is little manufacturing industry or commerce. The capital is Mittau; but the most flourishing town is Libau. "The big round tears Cours'd one another down his innocent nose."-Shaks. lerity; as, to course dogs. "And course them oft, and tire them in the heat."-May. -To run through or over. -v.i. To run; to move with speed; to run or move about; as, the blood courses through the veins. "All ether coursing in a maze of light."-Thomson. Cour's enville. in New Jersey , a village of Su ex co., about 9 m. N.N.E. of Newton. Cours'er, n. A hunter; one who courses with dogs. "A leash is a leathern string, by which a... courser leads his greyhound." - Sir T. Hanmer. -A swift horse; a race-horse; a war-horse. (Used chiefly in poetry.) "Th' impatient courser pants in every vein." - Pope. ( Zool . ) A bird of the order CURSORES, 9. v. Cours'ey, n. ( Naut .) A part of a ship's hatches. Cours'ing, n. [Lat. curro , I run.] ( Sports .) The hunting hares with greyhounds, which follow the game by sight, and not by scent. C. meetings are held in open parts of the country where hares are abundant, and the owners of greyhounds enter their respective dogs for various stakes. A judge is appointed, whose duty it is to decide with respect to the merits of the dogs engaged. The sport then begins by two dogs being selected for a course. They are restrained by the slipper , a man who holds them by a long strong cord, with a spring attached to their collars. The field is then beaten for a hare. When it is found, it is allowed 80 to 100 yards start, or law , as it is called; the judge then gives the word go . and the slipper frees the dogs by means of the spring. The judge follows the greyhounds throughout the whole course, and awards the victory to the dog which shows the finest qualities of speed, endurance, and sagacity; and not nece arily to the dog which kills the hare. C. is of great antiquity, and is treated of by Arrian, who flourished A. D. 150. It was first practised by the Gauls, and was a popular sport with the ancient Greeks. It is now a very popular sport in many parts of Europe. Court, n. [O. Fr. court ; Fr. cour ; L. Lat. cortis ; Lat. cohors or cors, akin to Gr. chartos , an inclosed space.] An area or space inclosed before or behind a house; a cattle-yard; a space shut in by the wings or parts of a building, or by different houses; a place forming a kind of rece from a public street; as, a court of small tenements, a court -yard. prince. "A supplicant to your royal court I come." - Pope . -The family, retinue, and guests of a monarch; as, the court of Vienna, an attendant at court. -A levee; a drawing-room, or specified a embling of courtiers; as, to hold a court at St. James' Palace. -The judge or judges a embled for hearing and deciding causes; as, the Court of Chancery. -A judgment-seat; the hall, chamber, or place where judges a emble; as, a court of justice. -Any jurisdiction, civil, military, or ecclesiastical; as, a court of inquiry. "Most heartily do I beseech the court To give the judgment." - Shaks. -In England, the parliament consisting of the sovereign, peers, and commons, being the supreme court of the kingdom. -The art of pleasing, or of insinuation; addre to gain favor; civility; flattery; as, to pay court to a lady. "Some sort of people... are always forward in making their court to my young master." - Locke. tenure upon courtesy, a peer by courtesy, . (Etymol.) It was at the courts of princes and great feudatories that the minstrels and troubadours of the middle ages especially delighted to exercise their art; and it was there, also, that the peculiarities of chivalrous life and manners were chiefly exhibited. Hence, C. was a general term, expre ive of all the elegance and refinement which the society of those times had attained; in fact, it was synonymous with all the gentler parts of chivalry itself; and in this sense it is used both by the early trouvères and romancers, and also by poets of a later age, when affecting the use of chivalrous language, as in the first lines of the great poem of Ariosto: Le donne, i cavalier, l'arme, gli amori, Le cortesie , l'audaci imprese io canto. The transition from this wider meaning to that in which it is now employed is obvious enough. Courtesy, (kurt'se,) n. The act of civility, respect, or reverence performed by a woman, as by gently bending the knee. "Some country girl, scarce to a court'sy bred." -Dryden. equity has been formally abolished, or never existed. Bouvier .-C. OF CHANCERY, in England. See CHANCERY. Court of Love. See LOVE (COURT OF). Court'-party, n. That political party which is attached to the court. Court-plaster, n. Sticking-plaster made of silk, with some adhesive substance on one side. Courtrai, ( koor'trai ,) a fortified town of Belgium, on the Lys, 26 m. N.W. of Ghent. Manf . Linen, woollen, cottons, and lace. Here, in 1302, was fought the battle of the Spurs , in which the French were defeated by the Flemings. Here also, in 1793, the English were defeated by the French, who took po e ion of the town. Pop . (1895) 30,927. Court'right's Mills, in Illinois , a former post-office of Iroquois co. Court's hip, n . Act of courting or soliciting favor. "He paid his courtship with the crowd."- Swift . -Act of wooing in love; solicitation of a woman to marriage. "In tedious courtship we declare our pain, And ere we kindne find, first meet disdain."-Dryden. m. N.W.of Atlanta. tered. The courts of the U. S. consist of the following: 1, the Senate as a court of impeachment: 2, the su-Court-fash'ion, n. The fashion ruling at court. pre me court; 3, the circuit courts; 4, the district courts; 5, the court of claims (q.v.); 6, the supreme court of the District of Columbia; 7, the Territorial courts. -v. a. To pay court to; to endeavor to please by civilities and addre ; to propitiate; to ingratiate one's self with; as, court popular favor. -To woo; to solicit for marriage; to endeavor to gain the favor and affection of; as, to court a woman. "Ev'n now when silent scorn is all they gain, A you sand court you, though they court in vain." - Pope . -To solicit; to seek; to attempt to gain by application and addre ; as, to court the Muses. "Teach children to court commendation."- Locke. -v. n. To play the courtier; to act after the manner or fashion of the court. Cour tableau Bayou, ( köör'ta - blō ,) in Louisiana , is formed by the Benf and Crocodile bayoux, which unite abt. 8 m. N.N.E. of Opelousas, and flowing S.E. joins the Atchafalaya, on the border of St. Landry parish. Court'ais Creek, in Mi ouri, traverses Crawford co., to the Osage Fork of Maramec River. Court aud, ( kōr - to ',) n. A horse with a docked tail. ( Naut .) A short swivel-gun, formerly used on board ships.