CONGtf D'tfLIRE 



foN(;i-;s'i ION 



413 



in 1!7 it. r., in passing through Lft presented to 



liiin ;i uKMt iitfering.' SUIT ling d\ nasties have 



il.me honour (o him hy titles MM OatAtgfH and 

 1>\ none ha- i hi- Keen done so much us by the pre- 

 sent Manchu Tartar d\ nasty, intending theivh\, 

 ii i- believed, tn riToncile the Chinese people to 

 their s\\ay. The Khun;,' list emperor, the greatest 

 of its monarch-, after visiting his temple, and |>n- 

 seining the offerings, ]iros(rateil himself three times 

 iK-l'ore the safe's image, bowing hi> head eaeh time 

 thrice to tin- Around. The law requires that there 

 shall he a temple to Confucius in every prefecture, 

 Mih prefecture. ,li-irict, ami market town in the 

 empire. These temples are not to Confucius alone. 

 They are not pantheon*, for he has never been 

 deified ; hut the worship paid to him in them is 

 extended to several of nis disciples and a crowd 

 of his most distinguished followers, amounting to 

 more than one hundred and fifty names in all, 

 selected hy imperial decree from the literati and 

 officers in all the course of time. 



Twice a year, on a certain fixed day, the 

 mjieror goes to the imperial college in Vekin, 

 and does homage to Confucius. The words of the 

 principal prayer or address on the occasion are the 

 following : ' On this month of this year, I, the 

 mperor, offer sacrifice to the philosopher K'ung, 

 the ancient Teacher, the Perfect Sage, and say, 

 O Teacher, in virtue equal to heaven and earth, 

 whose doctrines embrace both time past and 

 present, thou didst digest and transmit the six 

 classics, and didst hand down lessons for all gener- 

 ations ! Now in the second month of spring ( or 

 autumn ), in reverent observance of the old statutes, 

 with victims, silks, spirits, and fruits, I offer 

 sacrifice to thee. With thee are associated the 

 philosopher Yen, Continuator of thee ; the philo- 

 sopher Tsang, Exhibitor of thy fundamental prin- 

 ciples ; the philosopher Tsze-sze, Transmitter of 

 thee ; and the philosopher Mang, second to thee. 

 IMayest thou enjoy the otferings !' Confucius' 

 descendants are many. His lineal representative 

 has the title of fenny or duke, and large landed 

 property his by imperial grant and is considered 

 next in rank to the members of the imperial house. 

 So is the Sage's honour perpetuated. 



See Memoires cnncrnnnit fffistoirect les Sciences dcs 

 C/tinfiis (Paris, 177H-1814); Legge's Chinese Classics, 

 vol. i. ( 18I>1 ), ami Confucius Life and Teaching (6th ed. 

 1&S7 ) ; I'lath's Confucius und seine Schiilcr ( 18G7) ; and 

 Alexander's Confucius the Ureat Teachc r ( 1891 ). 



I'onu'r d'elire (Norman- French), the name 

 given in England to the king's warrant or permis- 

 sion to a dean and chapter to proceed to the election 

 of a bishop to a vacant see. Since the act of 

 Henry VI II. in 1534, the conge d'elire has always 

 been accompanied by a letter-missive from the 

 sovereign, mentioning the person to be elected by 

 name, so that in reality it is a nomination by the 

 crown. If the dean and chapter delay the election 

 beyond twelve days, the nomination is effected by 

 letters-patent from the crown ; if they delay beyond 

 twenty days, or elect another than the person 

 named, they incur the penalties of a Pnem im i n- 

 <q.v.). See BISHOP. 



Conger* or CONGER-EEL, a marine bony fish in 

 the eel family (Mur;enid;e). The body is eel-like, 

 without pelvic fins, with a continuous dorsal fin 

 beginning very far forward, and without scales. 

 The length varies from 3 to 6 feet, or even more ; 

 the colour is dark gray or bluish above, whitish 

 below ; the mouth is wide ; the tongue free ; the 

 teeth in rows, one closely packed series forming a 

 sharp edge. Four species occur widely distributed 

 in temperate and tropical seas. Conger vutgaris is 

 common on the British coasts, especially on Corn- 

 wall. Giant specimens, 10 feet in length, 18 inches 

 tn girth, over 100 Ib. in weight, are recorded ; and 



even ordinary specimen* left aground among the 

 rocks, or landed unexpectedly on lioard a boat, are 

 awkward customers to deal with. They are very 

 muscular and voracious fishes, feeding on compara- 

 tively large prev, and have remarkably strong 

 hit ing powers. They often rotate rapidly on their 



Conger-eeL 



own axis, and have a certain degree of grasping 

 power with their tails. The colour seems to vary 

 with habitat, since those from rocks are blacker 

 than those from sand-banks. They occur from the 

 shore down to about 50 fathoms, and are extremely 

 prolific. The flesh is coarse, but is often enough 

 eaten. What is called turtle soup is believed to be 

 often made mainly of conger-eel. See Day's British 

 Fishes. 



Congestion may be defined to be excess of 

 blood in the vessels of a part, and is to be re- 

 garded not as an independent disease, except in 

 a very small proportion of cases, but as one stage 

 or one manifestation of some other disease. It is, 

 however, of such importance and of so frequent 

 occurrence as to require a separate notice. Con- 

 gestions are divided into two groups viz. active, 

 due to dilatation of the arteries of the affected 

 part ; and passive, due to some cause interfering 

 with the return of blood by the veins. In active 

 congestion the flow of blood is usually increased, 

 and the excess is chiefly in the arteries. Familiar 

 instances are the phenomenon of Blushing (q.v. ) 

 and the effect of neat, especially moist heat, in 

 increasing the redness of any part to which it may 

 be applied. But the most 'important active con- 

 gestions are those which occur in connection with 

 Inflammation (q.v.), of which they constitute the 

 lirst stage. In passive congestion the flow of blood 

 is always diminished, and the excess is chiefly in 

 the veins. It may be due either to direct obstruc- 

 tion to the return of blood through the veins, or to 

 general enfeeblement of the circtuation. 



Congestion from renoiis obstruction is easily 

 illustrated by tying up the arm, as is done before 

 opening a vein*, when the veins are compressed 

 more than the arteries. If the ligature is Kept on 

 for a sufficient time, the veins swell, the fingers 

 become red, and then livid, and the whole limb is 

 swollen. Cold applied to the surface of the IKH!V 

 acts similarly on it, and contracts the veins more 

 rapidly than 'the arteries, which lie deeper ; and the 

 purple colour of the hands and face after exposure 

 to cold shows the congested state of the capinaries. 

 'Congestions,' says Dr C. J. B. Williams, 'are 

 caused in internal organs by an obstruction of 

 the veins leading from them. Thus, congestion of 

 the brain may be produced by a tight cravat or by 

 a tumour pressing on the jugular veins. Efforts 

 of straining, coughing, holding the breath, and 

 asthmatic paroxysms which impede the flow of 



