QUIRINUS 



4904 



QUOITS 



days of the city's ancient splendor were the 

 temple of Quirinus and the baths of Const a n- 

 tine and Diocletian. A palace on the hill, 

 erected by Pope Gregory XIII. is now the resi- 

 dence of the king of Italy, and is thus of world- 

 wide note. Quirinus, the god in whose honor 

 the hill is named, was one of the most impor- 

 tant of Roman deities, a god of war only 

 slightly inferior to Mars. See ROME, for map. 



Quirinal Palace, a palace in Rome, on the 

 Quirinal Hill, which since the formation of the 

 Italian kingdom has served as the royal resi- 

 dence. Previous to that time it was a summer 

 residence of the Popes, having been begun for 

 that purpose by Gregory XIII in 1574. Note- 

 worthy among the works of art which it con- 

 tains is an Annunciation by Guido Reni. 



QUIRINUS, kuriri'nus, the name given in 

 ancient Rome to a deity who held third place 

 in the Pantheon; only Jupiter and Mars out- 

 ranked him. At the time of the supremacy of 

 Rome there grew up a tradition that this god 

 was Romulus in his deified state. Extraordi- 

 nary honors were paid him, and his festival on 

 February 17 was celebrated with great pomp. 



QUIRITES, kwiri'teez, a name applied to 

 the citizens of ancient Rome with reference to 

 their civil relations. It was distinguished from 

 Romani, which was applied to the citizen body 

 in connection with military and political affairs. 

 It is supposed that Quirites was the original 

 name of a tribe of the Sabines, and as both 

 Romans and Sabines comprised the nation, it 

 was appropriate that the two terms should be 

 used to designate its citizens. 



QUIT 'CLAIM. See DEED. 



QUITO, ke'toh, the capital of Ecuador, is 

 one of the oldest cities of South America and 

 one of the most elevated in all the world. It 

 nestles in a ravine on the east side of the 

 volcano Pichincha, over a mile and three- 

 quarters above the level of the sea, or ex- 

 actly 9,350 feet. Owing to its elevation its 

 climate is always springlike, in spite of the 

 fact that it is only about fifteen miles south of 

 the equator. With lofty mountains and snow- 

 clad volcanoes all about, Quito is very much 

 shut of! from the world, although one railroad 

 connects it with its seaport, Guayaquil, 165 

 miles directly southwest. 



The plan of the city is that of a square. 

 The streets are unpaved, and most of them are 

 narrow, steep and somewhat hazardous to climb, 

 but electricity has been installed for lighting. 

 Several plazas with flower gardens and foun- 

 tains relieve the monotony of rows of low, sim- 



ple adobe structures which make up most of 

 the city. The largest of these is Plaza Mayor, 

 and facing it are several handsome buildings, 

 the cathedral, the archbishop's palace and the 

 government buildings. Besides the above, 

 throughout the city various churches and con- 

 vents, the university, several museums, a few 

 colleges and a hospital are built in more inter- 

 esting styles, departing from the simple pat- 

 terns prevailing. The usual low, unattractive 

 buildings are due to frequent earthquake vis- 

 itations. About one-fourth of the area of the 

 city is covered by establishments of the Ro- 

 man Catholic Church. 



Public fountains, fed by open ditches from 

 the mountains, furnish the city's water supply. 

 A telephone system provides a means of com- 

 munication throughout the city and suburbs, 

 and the cable, wireless telegraph and telegraph 

 connect the city with the rest of the country 

 and the world. 



The People. The population, which is chiefly 

 Spanish and Indian, was estimated at about 

 70,000 in 1910, not quite one-tenth that of Saint 

 Louis, Mo. The needlework and laces made 

 by the women of Quito are famous. Religious 

 paintings and carvings of wood, vegetable 

 ivory, gold and silver are exported. Other in- 

 dustries which keep the inhabitants of this 

 ancient city busy are leather tanning, the mak- 

 ing of shoes, sandals, carpets, woolen and cot- 

 ton cloths and drying of bird skins. There are 

 flour mills, one foundry, one ice factory and 

 two sugar factories in the city, as well as es- 

 tablishments for the making of wagons, carts, 

 bricks, tiles, chocolate, cheese and candles. 



For centuries Quito was the capital of an 

 old Indian nation of which practically nothing 

 is known. In 1470 it was captured by the In- 

 cas, and it was there that the famous Atahualpa 

 ruled in luxury and splendor from 1529 until 

 the Spaniards took all Inca lands in 1534. See 

 ATAHUALPA; INCA; ECUADOR. M.S. 



QUOITS, kwoits, a game which consists in 

 tossing iron rings, also called quoits, at a peg 

 thrust into the ground. In America horseshoes 

 are frequently substituted for quoits. The pegs 

 are set on a green, usually eighteen yards apart. 

 At these pegs the player delivers the quoits, 

 which are eight inches in diameter, with a rim 

 from one to two inches in breadth. Each 

 player casts two quoits and then yields his 

 place to an opponent. As many as desire may 

 take part. The winning side is that which first 

 secures a score of either 11 or 21, as may be 

 agreed. In a game of 11 points a ringer, a quoit 



