It was important in the 7th and 6th centuries B

c., under the A yrians, Babylonians, and Persians. Gerry (ger'i), Elbridge. Born at Marble head, Ma ., July 17, 1744: died at Washington, D. C., Nov. 23, 1814. An American statesman. He was a member of the Continental Congre 1776-80 and 1783-85; a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in Hamburg, May 10, 1816: died at Brunswick, May 31, 1872. A German writer and traveler. In 1837 he went to America, where he traveled extensively until 1843, when he returned to Germany and adopted literature as a profe ion. During 1849 to 1852 he made a journey around the world. In 1860-61 he traveled in South America. In 1862 he accompanied the Duke of Coburg-Gotha to Egypt and Aby in i a. In 1867 he was in the United States, Mexico, and Venezuela, returning to Germany in 1868. His last years were spent in Brunswick. He was a voluminous writer of novels, tales, and stories of adventure in all parts of the world. Bearing upon America are, among others, "Streifund Jagdzüge durch die Vereinigten Staaten von Nord-amerika" ("Rambling and Hunting Excursions through the United States of North America," 1844), "Die Regula to ren in Arkansas" ("The Regulators of Arkansas," 1845), "Mi i ippibilder" ("Mi i ippi Pictures," 1847-48), "Die Flu piraten des Mi i ippi" ("The River Pirates of the Mi i ippi," 1848), "Am erik an is che Waldund Strombilder" ("American Forest and Stream Pictures," 1849), "Wie ist es denn nun eigentlich in Amerika?" ("How is it then, really, in America?" 1853), "Nach Amerika" ("To America," 1855), "Kalif ornis che Skizzen" ("California Sketches," 1856). His collected works appeared after his death in 44 volumes (1872-79). Gerster (gār's ter), Etelka. Born at Kaschau, June 16, 1856. A Hungarian singer (soprano). She was a pupil of Madame Marchesi at Vienna, and made her first appearance in 1876 at Venice as Gilda in "Rigoletto." She has sung with succe in all the principal cities of Europe. She came to America in 1878, 1880, and 1887. In 1877 she married Pietro Gardini, her director. Gertrude (ger'tröd), Saint. Died March 17, 659. An abbe of Nivelles in Brabant. She was the daughter of Pippin of Landen, majordomo to Clotaire II., and Itta. On the death of Pippin, Itta built a cloister at Nivelles, which included both a monastery and a nunnery, and Gertrude became abbe of the latter. She is commemorated throughout Brabant on March 17. Gertrude, Saint, surnamed "The Great." Born in Germany, Jan. 6, 1256: died 1311. A German mystic. She was placed in the convent of Helfta at the age of five, and studied the liberal arts with great zeal until her twenty-fifth year, when, in consequence of supernatural visions, she began to devote herself to the study of the Scriptures and the writings of the fathers. Her visions are recorded in her "Insinuationes div inæ piet at is," the first printed edition of which appeared in Gertrude. 1. In Shakspere's "Hamlet," the mother of Hamlet, and queen of Denmark. She 1662. She is commemorated Nov. 15. is a weak woman whose share in her second husband's crime is doubtful. She dies accidentally of poison prepared for Hamlet. 2. The ambitious, extravagant daughter of the goldsmith in Marston, Chapman, and Jonson's "Eastward Hoe." Gertrude of Wyoming. A poem by Thomas Campbell, published in 1809. Gertruydenberg, or Gertruidenberg (gertroi'den-berg), D. Geertruidenberg (Gar-troi'den-berg). A town in the province of North Brabant, Netherlands, 25 miles southeast of Rotter dam. It was the scene of an unsucce ful conference June 10-July 25, 1710, designed to terminate the war between Louis XIV. and the Allies. 1787; member of Congre from Ma achusetts 1789-93; commi ioner to France 1797-98; governor of Ma achusetts 1810-12; and Vice-President 1813-14. During his governorship the legislature of Ma achusetts redistricted the State in an arbitrary manner (1811), to procure a majority for the Democrats in the elections for State senators. It was erroneously thought that the redistricting was undertaken at his instigation (whence arose the word "ger rymander," in allusion to the fancied resemblance between a salamander and a map of the new districts of the State). Gers (zhar). A department of southern France, capital Auch: part of the ancient Gascony. It is bounded by Lot-et-Garonne on the north, Tarn-etGaronne and Haute-Garonne on the east, Haute-Garonne, Hautes-Pyrénées, and Ba es-Pyrénées on the south, and dio . Landes on the west. Area, 2,425 square miles. Population (1891), 261,084. Gersau (ger's ou). A village in the canton of Schwyz, Switzerland, on the Lake of Lucerne near the Righi. It was a republic from 1390 to the wars of the French Revolution. Gerson (zher-son'), Jean Charlier de. Born at Gerson, Ardennes, Dec. 14, 1363: died at Lyons, July 12, 1429. A noted French theologian. He was chancellor of the University of Paris, and was prominent in the councils of Pisa and Con stance, striving for the unity of the church and for ecclesiastical reforms. In 1419 he went to Lyons, where he died. The authorship of the "De i mit at i one Christ i" (which see) has been attributed to him. Jean Charlier, or Gerson, one of the most respectable and considerable names of the later med iæval literature. Gerson was born in 1363, at a village of the same name in Lorraine. He early entered the Collège de Navarre, and distinguished himself under Peter d'Ailly, the most famous of the later nominalists. He became Chancellor of the University, received a living in Flanders, and for many years preached in the most constantly attended churches of Paris. He represented the University at the Council of Con stance, and, becoming obnoxious to the Burgundian party, sought refuge with one of his brothers at Lyons, where he is said to have taught little children. He died in 1429. Gerson, it is perhaps needle to say, is one of the numerous candidates (but one of the least likely) for the honour of having written the "Imitation." Saints bury , French Lit., p. 141. Gersoppa, Falls of. A cataract in the river Shiravati, India, which here breaks through the western Ghauts about 100 miles southeast of Goa. Height, 960 feet (in four falls). Louis agreed to give up - (1) to the Dutch, ten fortre es in Flanders as a barrier; (2) to the Empire, Luxembourg, Strasburg, Brisach; (3) to the Duke of Savoy, Exilles and Fenestrelles; (4) to England, Newfoundland. But though he would allow the Archduke Charles to be King of Spain, he refused to a ist the Allies to expel Philip from Madrid. Acland and Ransome , Eng. Polit. Hist., p. 128. Gerund, or Gerundio, Friar. See Fray GerunGervais (zher-vā'), Paul. Born at Paris, Sept. 26, 1816: died at Paris, Feb. 10, 1879. A French zoölogist and paleontologist. He was at first a is to Blaineville at des Plantes, and became profe or and dean of the faculty of natural sciences at Montpellier in 1846, profe or at the Sorbonne in 1865, and profe or of comparative anatomy at the Jardin des Plantes in 1868. Gervase (jer'vās), or Gervaise (jer-vāz'), of Canterbury. Born about 1150: died early in the 13th century. An English monk and chronicler. He wrote a history of the archbishops of Canterbury to the acce ion of Hubert; a chronicle of the reigns of Stephen, Henry II., and Richard I.; a "Mappa Mundi," showing the bishops' sees, monasteries, etc., in each county of England; etc. Gervase, or Gervaise, of Tilbury. Born probably at Tilbury, E ex: died probably about 1235. An English historical writer. He was called, without foundation, a grandson of Henry II. Не became a favorite of the emperor Otho IV., and wrote for his amusement "Otia Imperial i a" (about 1211), a valuable medley of the tales and superstitions of the middle ages. Gervex (zher-vā'), Henri. Born at Paris, 1848. A French painter, a pupil of Cabanel, From ent in, and Bri et: a member of the impre ionist school. Among his paintings are "Diane et Endymion" (1875), 'Retour du bal" (1879), "Le mariage civil" (1881: a decorative panel for the mairie of the 19th arrondi ement at Paris), "Ba in de La Villette" (1882: for, the same building), "La femme au masque" (1886), "A la République française" (1890: at the Salon of the Champde-Mars). Gervinus (ger-fē'nös), Georg Gottfried. Born at Darmstadt, Germany, May 20, 1805: died at Gervinus Heidelberg, March 18, 1871. A celebrated German historian and critic. He became profe or (extraordinary) at Heidelberg in 1835, and profe or of history and literature at Göttingen in 1836; was one of the seven profe ors driven from that university in 1837 for protesting against the suspension of the constitution of Hanover; and became honorary profe or at Heidelberg in 1844. His works include "Geschichte der poet is chen National-litteratur der Deutschen" (5th edition, "Geschichte der deutschen Dichtung," 1871-74: "History of German Poetry"), "Shakspere" (4 vols. 1849-50), "Geschichte des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts" ("History of the Nineteenth Century," 1856-66), etc. Geryon (jē'ri - on), or Geryones (jē - rì'ō-nēz). [Gr. Γερυών οι Γηρυόνης .] In Greek mythology, a monster with three heads or three bodies and powerful wings, son of Chrysaor and Callirrhoe, dwelling in the island of Erytheia in the far west. He po e ed a large herd of red cattle guarded by Eurytion (his shepherd) and the two-headed dog Arthrus. Hercules carried these cattle away, and slew Geryon. Gês (zhās), or Crans (kränz). A race of Brazilian Indians in northern Goyaz and western Maranhão: so named by ethnologists because the names of their numerous clans generally end in gé ('father, ancestor') or cran ('son, descendant'). The Portuguese of Maranhão called them Timbiras. Among the best-known clans ar are the Apinagés, Guapindagés, and Mac am a crans. In all the language is e entially the same. They are large, strong, the dry season, but have fixed villages and small plantations for the rainy months; never use hammocks, but sleep on raised beds made of sticks; and, in a wild state, handsome Indians; lead a wandering life during go entirely naked. Until about 1830 they were continually at war with the whites. Latterly the Apinagês and some others have been drawn into mi ion villages. They still number many you sands. Von Martius united the Ges with the Cayapós, Chavantes, Acroás, Tecunas, and many other tribes in eastern, central, and northern Brazil, in what he called the Gés or Crans stock; but this cla ification has been generally abandoned, and the true position of the Gés is doubtful. Geselschap (Ga-sel's chap), Eduard. Born at Amsterdam, March 22, 1814: died at Dü eldorf, Jan. 5, 1878. A genre painter, a pupil of the Dü eldorf Academy. His works, of which the earlier are of a romantic character, include "Götz von Berlichingen before the Council of Heilbronn" (1842), "Finding of the Body of Gustavus Adolphus" (1848), "Night Camp of Wal lens tein's Soldiers in an Old Church" (1849). Gesenius (ge-sē'ni-us; G. pron. gā-zā nē-ös), Fried rich He in rich Wilhelm. Born at Nordhausen, Pru ia, Feb. 3, 1786: died at Halle, Pru ia, Oct. 23, 1842. A noted German Orientalist and biblical critic, profe or at Halle from 1810. His works include "Hebräisches und chaldaisches Handwörterbuch" ("Hebrew and Chaldaic Lexicon," 1810-12: translated by Edward Robinson), "Hebräische Grammatik" (1813), Hebrew "Thesaurus" (1829 1858), translation of and commentary on Isaiah (1820-21), "Phœniciæ monument a" (1837), etc. Gesner (ges'ner), Johann Matthias. Born at Roth, near Nuremberg, Bavaria, April 9, 1691: died at Göttingen, Aug. 3, 1761. A German cla ical scholar. He became profe or of rhetoric in the University of Göttingen in 1734. He edited a number of Latin cla ics, including Quintilian (1738), Claudian (1759), Pliny the Younger (1739), and Horace (1752). Gesner (incorrectly Ge ner), Konrad von. Born at Zurich, Switzerland, March 26, 1516: died at Zurich, Dec. 13, 1565. A celebrated Swi naturalist and scholar. He became pro fe or of Greek at Lausanne in 1537, and was afterward profe or of physics at Zurich. Among his works are "Bibliotheca universal is" (1545-55), "Hist or i a animalium" (1550-87), "Opera botanica" (published by Schmiedel 1753-59). Gesoriacum (jes-ō-ri'a-kum). An ancient seaport of Gaul: the modern Boulogne. Ge i (jes'sē), Romolo. Born at Ravenna, Italy, April 30, 1831: died at Suez, May 1, 1881. An African traveler. In the Egyptian service, and under Gordon Pasha, he surveyed the Nile above Dufile, and es tablished the fact that the Albert Nyanza belongs to the system of the Nile. Later he became governor of Bahrel-Ghazal. In 1880 he returned with his troops to Khartum, but floating vegetation prevented the progre of his steamer until Marno came to his relief in 1881. His notes have been published by his son in "Sette ann i nel Sudan egiziano" (Milan, 1891). Ge ler (ges'ler), Hermann. In Swi legendary history, an imperial magistrate in Uri and Schwyz, shot by Tell in 1307, according to the "Chronic on Helveticum." See Tell , William . Ge ner (ges'ner), Salomon. Born at Zurich, Switzerland, April 1, 1730: died there, March 2, 1788. A Swi idyllic poet, landscape-painter, and engraver. His works include "Idyls" (1756), "Death of Abel" (a prose idyl, 1758), "The First Boatman (1762). Gesta Romanorum (jes'tä rō-ma-norum). [L., 'deeds of the Romans.'] A popular collection of stories in Latin, compiled, perhaps in England, at the end of the 13th or the beginning of the 14th century. This compilation long retained its popularity; 1484; printed again in 1488; and went through six or seven editions in this country during the succeeding century. The earliest printed Latin texts contained 150 or 151 sections. In the next following editions the number quickly rose to 181, and these 181 tales form the commonly received text. There was a German edition at Augsburg in 1489 containing only 95 tales, of which some are not in the accepted Latin version. In like manner, including tales not in the Latin anonymous text, there is an English series of 43 or 44 sections. The name of the work, "Gesta Romanorum" (Deeds of the Romans), commonly applied to any records of the history of Rome, is justified by little more than the arbitrary, but not invariable, reference of tale after tale to the life or reign of Roman emperors, ancient or then modern, as Conrad, or Frederic, or Henry II. The book itself refers to the "Gesta Romanorum"as simply the Annals of Rome. Thus one tale, to illustrate "the Sin of Pride," begins with the sentence, "We read in the 'Gesta Romanorum' of a prince called Pompey,' and proceeds to tell about Cæsar and Pompey, adding a moral in the usual form. It may be that a first collection of these tales was, like this one, in accordance with the title, and gave only illustrations out of Roman history, each with its ready-made moral or "application" added for the preacher's use; but that by the addition of more striking marvels and much livelier matter, with omi ion of familiar bits of ancient history, the original convenient form of Story and Application and the original name also being retained, the work itself was developed to its later shape.