73 



PARIA, THE GULF OF. 



PARIS. 



74 



appointment of their magistrates, and several other privileges. This 

 state of things lasted till the fall of Venice, in 1797, when, in the par- 

 tition of the Venetian territories between France and Austria, France 

 kept for herself the Ionian Inlands and the Venetian settlements on 

 the coast of Epirus. But after the invasion of Egypt by Bonaparte 

 a Turco-Russian fleet and army attacked the Ionian Islands, and took 

 them from the French, and at the same time All Pasha of Epirus 

 attacked the French garrison of Prevesa, and massacred it with cir- 

 cumstances of great atrocity. He likewise invaded Butrinto and 

 Vonitza, from which the French had withdrawn, as well as from Parga. 

 Parga however was strong by nature, and the inhabitants, being sum- 

 moned by AH to submit, boldly refused, but admitted a Turkish bey 

 to reside among them, according to the stipulations of a treaty between 

 Turkey and Russia, to protect them against any encroachments from 

 Ali. Parga remained in this state of nominal subjection to the Porte 

 till 1806, when war broke out between Russia and the Porte ; and the 

 inhabitant* fearing that Ali would renew his attempts to subjugate 

 them, applied for protection to the Russian admiral on the station, 

 who sent them a garrison. 



By the treaty of Tilsit, in 1807, the Ionian Islands being given up 

 to France, the Russian troops which were stationed in them withdrew, 

 including the detachment at Parga, which was now garrisoned by the 

 French. In 1814, the English, having already driven the French out 

 of the Ionian Inlands, with the exception of Corfu, and placed a garri- 

 son in the island of Poxo, which lies in sight of Parga, Ali Pasha sent 

 a considerable force against Parga, which invaded its territory, took 

 some villages, and murdered or carried away the inhabitants, but the 

 Parguinotes sallied out of their town, repulsed the Turks, and killed 

 the bey, who was a nephew of Ali. The French garrison remained 

 withiu the citadel, and did not take part in the action. The I'ur- 

 guinotes, seeing that they could no longer rely on the protection of 

 France, applied to the English at Paxo, in March, 1814. General 

 Campbell, who commanded in the Ionian Islands, sent a detachment 

 with two frigates ; and the Parguinotes having surprised the citadel 

 and hoisted the English flag, the detachment was landed, and took 

 possession of the fortress on the 22nd of March, and the French gam- 

 son was sent to Corfu. After the general peace that followed the 

 downfall of Napoleon L, an agreement was entered into at Constan- 

 tinople between the English minister and the divan early in 1817, for 

 the delivery of Parga to the Porte, under the condition that those 

 inhabitants who might choose to emigrate should have an asylum in 

 the Ionian Islands, and that their immoveable property should bo 

 valued and paid for by the Porte previous to their embarkation. This 

 arrangement was formally announced to the Parguinotes by a pro- 

 clamation dated May 28, 1817. The primates and other inhabitants, 

 numbering altogether above SOOO, declared that all would leave the 

 place rather than trust themselves to the Turks. 



The proceedings for the estimation and payment of the property 

 were protracted for nearly two years through the cavils of the Turkish 

 commisaioner and the intrigue* of Ali Pasha, who wished to obtain 

 Parga without paying the money. At Uut, in May, IS]'.', the whole 

 population of Parga embarked in English vessels, having received the 

 valued amount of their property, 150,0001., and were settled at Pazo 

 and Corfu. The Turks then occupied Parga, 



The town of Parga stands on a rock forming a small peninsula. It 

 has two ports, one of them anciently called -f\viti>i \ipriy ' the port of 

 sweet waters,' now Port Veliki. The town is walled and has narrow 

 street*. The citadel on the summit of the rock is almost impregnable. 

 It is surrounded by a fertile territory, and the townsmen export oil, 

 tobacco, fruit, and tolerably good wine, 



PARIA, THE GULF OF, extends between the island of Trinidad 

 and the continent of South America, and has received iU name from 

 the adjacent portion of the continent, which was once called Paris, 

 a name afterwards superseded by that of Cumana. The gulf has 

 nearly the form of a quadrangle, extends about 100 miles, from 

 61 (/ to 63 W. long., and is about 40 miles across. A hilly pro- 

 montory, projecting from the continent of South America more than 

 70 miles, separates the gulf from the Caribbean Sea, and terminates 

 on the east with Cape Punta de la Pena, which is also called Cape 

 Paria. Opposite this cape, and about 20 miles from it, is the most 

 north-western point of the island of Trinidad. This opening contains 

 four straits formed by three rocky intervening inlands. The most 

 western of these straits, called Boca de Dragon (Dragon's Mouth), is 

 the widest, being about rix miles across to the rocky island called 

 Chacachaoares, and is that commonly used by Urge vessels. The Isla 

 de Huevos (Isle of Eggs) forms the second strait, called Ship Channel, 

 which U only two miles wide, and is used by vessels leaving the gulf. 

 Between the Isla de Huevos and the Isla de Monos (Isle of Apes) is 

 the Uuevo Channel, which U somewhat wider than the preceding, and 

 is more used by vessels entering the gulf. The Monos Channel, 

 between the Isla de Monos and the north-western point of Trinidad, 

 is the narrowest, and the current in it is the strongest. It is only 

 navigated by small vessels. As the current runs through all these 

 straits northward, the gulf can only be entered with a strong breeze. 

 The. tides also, which rise about six feet, run with great force. The 

 southern entry of the gulf is between the rocky cape called Punta 

 Icmcos, in the island of Trinidad, and the low alluvial shores lying 

 on both tides of the two most western of the mouths of the Orinoco, 



called Cano de Pedernales and Cano de Manamo Grande. From these 

 low shores a shoal extends nearly across the strait, which is called the 

 Serpent's Mouth. The narrow entry into the gulf can only be passed 

 with a Btrang south-west wind. The gulf itself may be considered as 

 one of the most extensive and best harbours on the globe. It offers 

 nearly everywhere excellent anchorage, especially along the coasts of 

 the island of Trinidad, in from 3 to 30 fathoms water, and the ground 

 is everywhere free of rocks. 



PARIME MOUNTAINS. [BRAZIL; ORINOCO RIVER; VENEZUELA.] 



PARIS, the metropolis of France and capital of the department of 

 Seine, is situated on the river Seine, and about 110 miles in a straight 

 line E.S.E. from its mouth. The church of St.-Genevieve, the pave- 

 ment of which is 199 feet above the level of the sea, stands in 

 48 50' 59" N. lat., 2 20' 57" E. long. The Observatory of Paris in 

 the southern part of the city stands in 48 50' 13" N. lat., 2" 20' 22" 

 E. of Greenwich. The population according to the census of 1851 

 was 996,067 within the old walls and barriers; but reckoning the 

 inhabitants of the suburbs inclosed by the new fortifications, the 

 population exceeds 1,250,000. 



Paris is mentioned by Crosar under the name of Lutetia, which was 

 the chief town of the Parisii, a Celtic tribe, and stood on the largest 

 of the islands formed here by the Seine. On this island, called llc-de- 

 la-Cite", the cathedral of Notre-Darne now stands. In B.C. 54, Caesar 

 convoked an assembly of the nations of Gaul at Lutetia. The town 

 was burnt in the following year by the Gauls to prevent its falling 

 into the hands of the Romans ; but it subsequently came with the 

 rest of Gaul into their power, and was included in the province of 

 LugdunensU Quarto, or Senonia. For the next four centuries 

 Lutetia appears to have been of little importance. About A.D. 360 it 

 took the name of the tribe to which it belonged, Parisii. It was the 

 seat of a bishop from 245 ; in 272 St.-Denys, its first bishop, suffered 

 martyrdom with his companions in the persecution of Valerian on 

 the hill of Montmartre, which is said to have derived its name from 

 this event. Lutetia was the favourite residence of Julian while he 

 governed the provinces of Gaul. Under the Romans the buildings 

 connected with the town extended beyond the island to both banks 

 of the river. Several traces of Roman altars, tombs, and aqueducts 

 have been discovered at various times on the site of Paris. 



Cuilderic I. drove the Romans from Paris in 465. His son Clovis, 

 after his conversion to Christianity, made Paris his capital in 508, and 

 was buried there in 511. Paris gave name to one of the kingdoms 

 into which the dominions of the Franks were divided. After 567 it 

 ceased to be the residence of the kings of the Franks. Several of the 

 churches and other religious establishments of Paris were founded in 

 the reigns of the Merovingian princes. A small basilica dedicated to 

 St. Stephen is said to have occupied part of the site of Notre-Dame 

 before the Fraukish invasion. Under Clovis was built over the grave 

 of St. Geneviove a church, dedicated to Si. Peter and St. Paul, which 

 was afterwards incorporated with the abbey of St-Genevieve. Childe- 

 bert who died in 558 laid the foundation of Notre-Dame, and of the 

 abbeys of St,-Germain-des-Pres and St-Germain-1'Auxerrois. The 

 Paris of Merovingian times covered the lle-cle-la-Cite, which was 

 surrounded by a wall pierced by two gates that opened upon two 

 bridges corresponding to the Grand-Font and the Petit-Font, which 

 now cross the northern and the southern arms of the Seine respectively. 

 To the east of the street that united the two bridges lay the 

 cathedral, the baptistery, and an hospital for the poor, which long 

 after became the H6tel-Dieu. On the northern side of tho island, 

 partly on the site of the Marche'-aux-Fleurs, was a building called the 

 prison of Glaucinus ; and between the cathedral and the present 

 Palais-de-Justice was the commercial part of the city. 



Charlemagne did not reside in Paris, but he established there in 

 779, with the assistance of the clergy, a school in which reading, 

 writing, calculation, and singing were taught. Under his successors 

 Paris became the patrimony of hereditary counts. In 845 the North- 

 men pillaged the city, which the inhabitants had deserted; in 856-7 

 they pillaged it a second time, and burnt some churches ; in 861 they 

 pillaged it a third time, and burnt more churches, to which and to 

 the clergy the Northmen before their conversion to Christianity had 

 a great aversion. At this time they broke down the Grand-Font to 

 enable their barks to ascend higher up the river, whither they repaired 

 to plunder the towns on the Upper Seine. After their retreat, the 

 bridge wan repaired by Charles le Chauve. In 885 the Northmen 

 under Siegfried again attacked the place. The assailants, to the 

 number of 33,000, made several attacks, in which they were foiled by 

 the bravery of Count Eudes ; the emperor Charles Le Gros came with 

 succour to the beleaguered city, but instead of fighting, he concluded 

 a disgraceful treaty with the Northmen. It was to recompense the 

 bravery of Eudes, that on the death of the emperor in 888, he was 

 elected to the throne of France in an assembly of the grandees of the 

 kingdom. The Northmen again appeared before Paris, and were 

 defeated by Eudes with fearful slaughter at the battle of Montfaucon. 



Hugues Capet, son of Hugues the Great, grandson of Robert, 

 brother of Count Eudes, and founder of the Capetian dynasty, having 

 become King of France in 987, continued to reside at Paris, which 

 thus again became the capital. Hugues and his successors resided 

 in the building now called the Palais-de-Justice. In the reign of 

 Louis VI. (1108-1137), it is probable that the fortresses or prisons of 



