300 



GOOSE-FISH 



GORDON 



hellebore powder is dangerous to those who may 

 eat the berries from which the poison has not been 

 removed. In regard to both these practically im- 

 portant insects, consult Miss Ormerod's Manual of 

 Injurious Insects (Lond. 1881 ). 



Goose-fish, a common name in America for 

 the Angler-fish (see ANGLER). The American 

 Goose-lish (Lophius americanus) is one of the best 

 known of the five species of Lophius, grows to a 

 length of 4 to 5 feet, and weighs from 15 to 170 Ib. 

 It is dark brown above and dirty white below, is 

 hideous in appearance ( being also known as ' wide 

 gab' and 'devil-fish'), and has a most voracious 

 appetite, preying indifferently on all kinds of fish, 

 and eating occasionally fowls, such as gulls and 

 ducks. It is practically useless for any purpose. 



GoosefOOt. See CHENOPODIUM. 



Goosegrass. See CLEAVERS. 



Gopher, a name in use in some parts of 

 America for various kinds of ground squirrel ( see 

 CHIPMUNK), for the Prairie Dog (q. v.), for the 

 Pouched Rat (q. v.), and even for the land tortoise 

 of the southern states. 



Gopher Wood. The probable identity of the 

 gopher wood of Scripture with the Cypress ( q. v. ) 

 is affirmed on account of the qualities of the wood, 

 and on account of the agreement of the radical 

 consonants of the names. 



Gdppingen, a town of Wiirtemberg, 26 miles 

 by rail ESE. of Stuttgart, has a 16th-century 

 castle, a mineral spring (alkaline carbonic acid), 

 and carries on manufactures of woollen cloth, 

 paper, toys, &c. Pop. 14,337. 



Gopiira. See INDIA, p. 109. 



Gorakhpur, capital of a district in the North- 

 west Provinces of India, on the Rapti, 430 miles 

 NW. of Calcutta, with an active trade in grain 

 and timber. Pop. (1891) 64,980. The flat, well- 

 watered district of Gorakhpur has an area of 4598 

 sq. m. , three-fifths of which is cultivated, and a 

 fourth under forest. Pop. (1891) 2,994,057, nine- 

 tenths Hindus. 



Goramy, or GOURAMI (Osphromenus olfax), 

 a fish of the family Anabasidae or Labyrinthi- 

 branchidae, a native of the Eastern Archipelago, 

 highly esteemed for the table, and introduced 

 on that account into India, Mauritius, Cayenne, 

 and the French West India Islands. Its form is 

 deep in proportion to its length, the head small, 

 and terminating in a rather sharp short snout, 

 the mouth small, the tail rounded, the dorsal and 

 anal fins having numerous rather short spines, 

 the first rav of the ventral fins extending into a 

 very long filament ; it attains the size of a large 

 turbot. It is sometimes kept in large jars by the 

 Dutch residents in Java, and fed on water-plants. 

 It was introduced into Mauritius about the middle 

 of the 18th century, and soon spread from the tanks 

 in which it was at first kept into the streams, 

 multiplying abundantly. The goramy is interest- 

 ing also on other accounts. It is one of the nest- 

 building fishes, and at the breeding season forms 

 its nest by entangling the stems and leaves of 

 aquatic grasses. Both the male and female watch 

 the nest for a month or more with careful vigilance, 

 and violently drive away every other fish which 

 approaches, till the spawn is hatched, afterwards 

 affording a similar parental protection to the 

 young fry. 



Gordian Knot. The traditional origin of 

 this famous knot was as follows. The Phrygians, 

 seeking a king, were informed by the oracle at 

 Delphi that they were to choose the first person 

 they met riding on an ox-cart towards the temple 

 of Zeus. That person was Gordius, a poor peasant, 



who accordingly was elected king. He afterwards 

 dedicated his car and yoke to Zeus, in the acropolis 

 of Gordium ( a city named after himself ), and tied 

 the knot of the yoke in so skilful a manner that an 

 oracle declared whoever should unloose it would be 

 ruler of all Asia. When Alexander the Great 

 came to Gordium, he cut the knot in two with his 

 sword and applied the prophecy to himself. 



Gordiaims, the name of three Roman em- 

 perors, father, son, and grandson. The first, 

 MARCUS ANTONIUS GORDIANUS, was descended by 

 the father's side from the famous family of the 

 Gracchi. After being aedile, in which capacity he 

 celebrated gladiatorial sports with great magnifi- 

 cence, he twice filled the office of consul. On the 

 conclusion of his second term of office he was 

 appointed proconsul of Africa. He was a man of 

 modest and gentle manners, great liberality, and 

 refined literary taste. The tyranny and injustice of 

 the Emperor Maximinus at length excited a rebel- 

 lion in Africa, the authors of which proclaimed Gor- 

 dianus emperor, although he was then (238) in his 

 eightieth year. At the same time his son was con- 

 joined with him in the exercise of imperial author- 

 ity. The younger Gordianus, however, was de- 

 feated and slain in battle by Capellianus, viceroy 

 of Mauritania, before Carthage, whereupon his 

 father put an end to his own existence, having been 

 emperor for little more than a month. MARCUS 

 ANTONIUS GORDIANUS, grandson of the preceding, 

 was raised to the dignity of Caesar along with 

 Pupienus and Balbinus, who were also elected 

 emperors in opposition to Maximinus ; and, in the 

 same year (238), after the three last named had all 

 fallen by the hands of their own soldiers, Gor- 

 dianus was elevated by the Praetorian bands to the 

 rank of Augustus. Assisted by his father-in-law, 

 Misitheus, a man distinguished for his wisdom, 

 virtue, and courage, whom he made prefect of the 

 Praetorians, Gordianus marched in 242 into Asia, 

 against the Persians, who under Shahpur (Sapor) 

 had taken possession of Mesopotamia and had 

 advanced into Syria. Antioch, which was threat- 

 ened by them, was relieved by Gordianus ; the 

 Persians were driven back beyond the Euphrates ; 

 and Gordianus was just about to march into their 

 country when Misitheus died. Philip the Arabian, 

 who succeeded Misitheus, stirred up the soldiery to 

 assassinate the emperor ( 244 ). 



Gordius. See HAIR-EEL. 



Gordon, THE FAMILY OF. This great Scottish 

 historical house takes its origin and name from the 

 lands of Gordon in Berwickshire. The first traces 

 of it are found in the beginning of the 13th century, 

 when Gordons witnessed charters by the Earls of 

 Dunbar and March, and granted lands and pas- 

 turages to the monks of Kelso. In 1305 Sir Adam 

 of Gordon held under King Edward I. of England 

 the office of joint-justiciar of Lothian, and sat at 

 Westminster as one of the representatives of Scot- 

 land. He was among the last to join the banner 

 of Bruce, who rewarded his adherence by a grant 

 of the northern lordship of Strathbogie. The grant 

 failed of effect at the time ; but it was renewed by 

 King David II. in 1357, and by King Robert II. in 

 1376. Under this last renewal Sir John of Gordon, 

 the great-grandson of Sir Adam, entered into 

 possession, and so transferred the chief seat of the 

 family from the Merse and Teviotdale to the banks 

 of the Dee, the Deveron, and the Spey. The direct 

 male line came to an end in his son Sir Adam, 

 who fell at Homildon in 1402, leaving an only 

 daughter to inherit his lands, but transmitting his 

 name through two illegitimate brothers John of 

 Gordon of Scurdarg, and Thomas of Gordon of 

 Ruthven to a wide circle of the gentry of Mar, 

 Buchan, and Strathbogie, who, calling themselves 



