CAT 



t>37 



C A T 







by all means, to make their situation here as comfort- 

 able to them as we can." 



As a sovereign, Cuthaiine ranked among the 



most powerful princes of her age ; and it is a 

 uffic-ient evidence of her fortitude, abilities, and de- 

 :i, that, though a foreigner and usurper, she 

 maintained her authority in the midst of disaffection 

 and rebellion, extended the boundaries of her em- 

 pire, and made her vices be forgotten in her greatness, 

 und her apparent regard for the public good. " Her 

 aex," says one of her biographers, " giving a bolder 

 relief to the great qualities displayed by her upon 

 the throne, will place her above all comparison in 

 history ; and we must recur to the fabulous ages of 

 an Isid or a Semiramis, to find a woman who has ex- 

 ecuted, or rather undertaken such daring projects." 

 Among these projects, however, her usurpation of 

 Courland, and the partition of Poland, will ever stand 

 against her as monuments of her rapacious injustice, 

 though they have been equalled in later times, and 

 may be attempted to be justified by the general prac- 

 tice of nations, who, in their rage for conquest, are 

 seldom guided by the principles of justice and good 

 faith. See Segur, Vie de Catharine I L Imperati ice de 

 Uussic ; Tooke's Life of Catharine II ; Coxe's Tra- 

 vels, vols. i. and iii ; and Rulhiere, Histoire ou Anec- 

 dotes sur la Revolution de Russie. (/?) 



CATHARINE'S, ST, an island on the coast of 

 Brazil, situated in Long. 47 37' west, and between 27 

 19' 10" and 27 4-y of south latitude. It is about six 

 miles broad in its narrowest part, and is separated 

 from the continent by a channel about 400 yards 

 wide. The surface of this island is diversified with 

 mountains, plains, and swamps. The mountains of 

 the interior, and the conical rocks which rise abrupt- 

 ly from the sea, are of primitive granite. Close to 

 the fort, on the left hand of the entrance to the har- 

 bour, is a vein of grunstein in different states of de- 

 composition, which ultimately changes into clay of a 

 quality superior to that which is found in the valleys. 

 The island is covered with trees that are perpetually 

 green, but from their being intermixed with briars 

 and thorns, the forests are impassable, and are said 

 to be infested with noxious serpents. The houses 

 are erected on the margin of the sea ; and the sur- 

 rounding woods, abounding in orange trees and aro- 

 matic plants, yield a most delightful fragrance. 



The soil in the interior of the island, though rather 

 humid, is surprisingly fertile ; it consists chiefly of a 

 rich vegetable decomposition, and yields almost spon- 

 taneously all sorts of fruits, vegetables, and grain. 

 The cultivated lands are under considerable improve- 

 ment. They were formerly covered with large trees ; 

 but as great quantities have of late years been cut 

 down for the purposes of ship-building, good timber 

 is now scarce. Flax, from which the fishermen make 

 their lines, nets, and cordage, grows here of a good 

 quality. The produce of St Catharine's consists in 

 rice, maize, mundioca, coffee, oranges, lemons, ci- 

 trons, cotton, sassafras, and guiacum. Sugar and in- 

 digo are raised in small quantities, and the potatoes 

 are reckoned the finest in the world. 



The climate is healthful and serene. The preva- 

 lent winds which are from the south-west and north- 

 east, moderate the solstitial heats. The former pre- 

 vail from September to March, and the latter from 

 April to August. The genial nature of the climate 



is indicated by a profusion of the line n flower*. The * 

 rose and the jessamine are in bloom all the year rouud. rinc'f 

 Myrtles are very common, and a beautiful variety of r , 

 the passion flower is found in equal abundance. The _"' _^_ 

 ]<iincipal animals are opossums, monkeys, and arma- 

 dillos. The beautiful coral snake occurs among the 

 iiuiucrous tribe of serpents; and the principal bird* 

 are, cr.tnes, hawks, parrots, humming birds, and tou- 

 cans. The sea produces a great variety of excellent 

 fish, and so well is the market supplied, that a quan- 

 tity sufficient to dine 12 persons may be had 

 for a shilling. A large ox cost 8 piastres, (when La 

 Perouse visited the island,) a hog of 1501b. cost 4 

 piastres, and turkics were sold for a piastre the pair. 

 In 1801- the price of meat watt about lAd. per pound, 

 and poultry, eggs, and the finest vegetables, were 

 both abundant and cheap. 



A the inhabitants require all the produce of the 

 island for their own consumption, their trade is of 

 course inconsiderable. Numerous coasting vessels 

 from Bahia, 1 jrnambuco, &c. bound for the La 

 Plata, touch here ; and the island is amply supplied 

 with artisans of all descriptions. 



From the landing place, which is at the bottom of 

 a verdant slope of about 500 yards, the town has a 

 very beautiful appearance, and its fine cathedral ap- 

 pears in the distance. The town consists of several 

 streets. The houses, which have two or three sto- 

 ries with boarded floors, are well built, and they are 

 provided with neat gardens. The number of inhabi- 

 tants is between five and six thousand. On entering 

 the port of St Catharine's by the north there are se- 

 veral islands. On one of them, to the westward of 

 the entrance, is the fort of Santa Cruz, the moot con- 

 siderable in the island. Off this fort, there is a safe 

 anchorage for a fleet of ships of war, and ships of 

 300 tons may enter the harbour. There are several 

 watering places on the island. The fort of Santa 

 Cruz is only a large enclosed battery, and is incapa- 

 ble of making a regular defence. The garrison in 

 1785 consisted of 50 men, ill paid and clothed. Here 

 are other four forts, Porto Groed, Ratones, Estreito, 

 and Concep5o. 



The island of St Catharine's is divided into 4? pa- 

 rishes, 1st, Nossa Senhora de Dereito ; 2d, St An- 

 tonio ; 3d, Laguno ; and 4th, Riberon. The divi- 

 sions on the opposite part of the coast, called 1st, St 

 Jose ; 2d, St Miguel ; Nossa Senhora de Rosario, 

 are under the jurisdiction of the governor of St Ca- 

 tharine's, who, in some instances, is subject to the go- 

 vernment of Rio de Janeiro, and, in others, to the 

 captaincy of St Paul's. The inhabitants are in general 

 hospitable and obliging to strangers. The ladies are 

 handsome and lively, and are chiefly employed in the 

 manufacture of lace. 



The population of the island and of its dependen- 

 cies on the opposite coast, amounts to about 30,000, 

 See La Perouse's Voyage, vols. i. and ii. ; but espe- 

 cially Mawe's Travels in the Interior of Brazil, 

 particularly in the Gold and Diamond Districts of 

 that CbiaMm by authority of the Prince Regent of 

 Portugal. London, 1812. (*) 



CATHARTOC A RP US, a genus of plants of the 

 class Decandria, and order Monogynia. See BOTA- 

 NY, page 221. 



CATHEDRAL. S,>e CIVIL ARCHITECTURE. 



CATHETER. See 



