398 



CONACRE 



CONCH 



who sang the victories of Bruce for sixty years 

 afterwards men mourned the desolation of Buchan. 

 Such of the Comyns as escaped the sword found 

 refuge, with their wives and children, in England, 

 where, although they were so poor as to be depend- 

 ants on the bounty of the English court, they 

 married into the best families, so that, in the words 

 of Mr Riddell, ' their blood at this day circulates 

 through all that is noble in the sister kingdom.' 

 See M. E. Cumming-Bruce, Family Records of the 

 Bruces and the Comyns (Edin. 1870). 



Conacre is the custom of letting land in Ireland 

 in small portions for a single crop, the rent being 

 paid either in money or in labour. 



Co limit. THOMAS JEFFERSON, D.D., American 

 biblical scholar, born in Brandon, Vermont, in 1802, 

 graduated at Middlebury in 1823, and afterwards 

 filled chairs of Languages in various colleges and 

 seminaries. In 1856 he published a translation of 

 the book of Job, and in 1857 he was appointed by 

 the American Bible Union to revise the Scriptures. 

 On this work he was engaged until 1875, and he 

 was also a member of the American committee of 

 the Old Testament Company who prepared the 

 revised version. His works include translations of 

 Gesenius' Hebrew grammar and critical English 

 versions of both Old and New Testament books. 

 Died April 30, 1891. 



Concarneail, a village of Brittany, on the 

 east coast of Finistere, 15 miles by rail SE. of Quim- 

 per. Its inhabitants are largely engaged in the 

 sardine fisheries and in pisciculture. Pop. (1886) 

 5496. 



Concealment is a technical expression in the 

 criminal law of both England and Scotland ; as in 

 concealment of pregnancy and birth, concealing 

 treasure-trove, concealing ore from a mine, conceal- 

 ment by a seller from a purchaser of any instru- 

 ment material to the title with intent to defraud, 

 &c. The concealment of another's crime may 

 expose to a charge of misprision, or it may amount 

 to a charge of accession after the fact e.g. where 

 the body of a murdered person is concealed. In 

 bankruptcy, concealment of debtor's property is a 

 serious offence. In civil transactions, but especially 

 in particular contracts, such as insurance and 

 suretyship, where a high measure of good faith is 

 expected, the concealment of a material fact may 

 often invalidate an obligation. 



Concealment of Birth. See BIRTH. 



Concepcion, ( 1 ) a province of Chili, stretching 

 from the Andes to the coast north of Arauco. It is 

 an important agricultural and cattle-raising district, 

 and has valuable coal-mines. Area, 3535 sq. m. ; 

 pop. (1885) 182,459. CONCEPCION, the capital, 

 near the mouth of the Biobio, is one of the most 

 regular and handsome towns of the republic, 

 although it has suffered severely from earthquakes. 

 Its cathedral and several or the other public 

 buildings are noteworthy, and its port, Talcahuano, 

 on Concepcion Bay, is the safest and best harbour 

 in all Chili, and ranks next to Valparaiso as a mart 

 of foreign trade. Pop. 19,000. (2) CONCEPCION 

 DEL URUGUAY, the former capital of the Argen- 

 tine province of Entre Rios, on the Uruguay, 180 

 miles SE. of Parana by the Entre Rios Rail- 

 way, with large slaughter-houses and active river- 

 trade. Pop. 10,000. (3) CONCEPCION, a town of 

 Paraguay, on the Paraguay River, about 260 

 miles above Asuncion, with trade in mate. The 

 official pop. (1879) 10,697, includes the surround- 

 ing districts ; the town has less than 2000 in- 

 habitants. (4) The name of several places in 

 Bolivia, the largest being CONCEPCION DE APOLO- 

 BAMBA, capital of the province of Caupolican, 

 formerly a Franciscan mission. Its Indian popula- 



tion cultivate coca and cacao, and collect medicinal 

 barks from the surrounding forests. (5) CON- 

 CEPCION, a town of Mexico, 50 miles W. of Chi- 

 huahua, in the upper Yaqui valley, famous for its- 

 apples. (6) CONCEPCION DE LA VEGA, a town of 

 San Domingo, 5 miles SE. of Santiago, with 9000 

 inhabitants. 



Conception, in Psychology. See IDEA. 



Conception, IMMACULATE. See IMMACULATE. 

 CONCEPTION. 



Conception of Our Lady, an order of nuns, 

 founded in Portugal in 1484 by Beatrix de Sylva, 

 in honour of the immaculate conception. It was 

 confirmed in 1489 by Pope Innocent VIII. In 

 1489 Cardinal Ximenes put the nuns under the 

 direction of the Franciscans, and imposed on them 

 the rule of St Clara. The order subsequently spread 

 into Italy and France. 



Conceptualism. See NOMINALISM. 



Concert. See Music. 



Concertina, a musical instrument invented in 

 1829 by Sir Charles Wheatstone, the sounds of 

 which are produced by free vibrating reeds of metal, 

 as in the accordion. The scale of the concertina is 

 very complete and extensive, beginning with the 

 lowest note of the violin, G, and ascending chro- 

 matically for four octaves. Violin, flute, and oboe 

 music can be performed on the concertina with good 

 effect, and it has an extensive repertoire of music 

 specially written for itself. Every sound in the 

 scale is double, and can be produced either by 

 pulling the bellows open, or, by pressing them 

 together. Concertinas are now made in France and 

 Germany, but not so perfectly as in England. The 

 keys in the German concertina are constructed on 

 the same principle as those in the accordion, which 

 play one note when the bellows are expanded, and 

 another when contracted. 



Concerto, a musical composition for a solo 

 instrument, with orchestral accompaniments, calcu- 

 lated to give the performer an opportunity to display 

 the highest mechanical skill, as well as intellectual 

 cultivation in the art. The concerto consists of 

 three movements, each of which, like the whole, 

 has a certain character, and like the symphony or 

 the sonata, to which it approximates in form, re- 

 quires a clear development and treatment of the 

 motives, and a strict adherence to the rules of 

 form. A peculiar feature, usually introduced in 

 the first movement, but frequently also in the last, 

 is the Cadenza (q. v.). When the form is in any 

 way abridged, it is then called a concertino. From 

 the beginning of the last century to the present 

 time, the pianoforte and the violin are the solo 

 instruments mostly used for the concerto. The 

 oldest violin concertos are those by Torelli, the 

 first being published in 1686. The form was de- 

 veloped by Corelli, Tartini, Bach, and Handel, and 

 reached its modern shape under Mozart, though 

 some important modifications were introduced by 

 Beethoven, whose violin concerto and pianoforte 

 concertos are regarded as the highest achievements 

 in this form. Concertos for wind-instruments have 

 been less regarded, and are generally written by 

 the performers themselves, and seldom deserve to 

 be called classical works. Weber's clarinet con- 

 certo may be mentioned as one of the few exceptions. 

 There are also concertos for various combinations of 

 solo instruments, such as Bach's for two or more 

 pianofortes, or Beethoven's for piano, violin, and 

 violoncello. 



Conch ( Gr. konche, ' a shell ' ), a marine shell, 

 especially of the Strombiis gigas ( see STROMBID^E ) ; 

 and, in art, a spiral shell used by the Tritons as a 

 trumpet, and still used by some African peoples in 

 war. The native whites of the Bahamas are called 



