GIFFORD LECTURES 



and verse writing, he attracted the 

 notice of a surgeon named Cookes- 

 lev, who raised a fund on his be- 

 half, with the 

 result that after 

 two years' 

 schooling he was 

 sent to Exeter 

 College, Oxford, 

 after which he 

 travelled on the 

 Continent. 



Settling in 

 London on his 

 return to Eng- 

 land, he pub- 



William Gifford, 

 British writer 



After Hoppner 



lished in 1794 and 1795 two satires, 

 The Baviad, a paraphrase of the 

 first satire of Persius, which sup- 

 pressed the Delia Cruscans (q-v.), 

 and The Maeviad, an imitation of 

 Horace directed against the corrup- 

 tions of the drama. He edited The 

 Anti-Jacobin, 1797-98, so much to 

 the satisfaction of the Tories that 

 he was given two government ap- 

 pointments worth together 900 

 a year. His Epistle to Peter Pindar 

 (Dr. Walcot), 1800, a bitter piece 

 of invective, was followed by his 

 Autobiography and a verse trans- 

 lation of Juvenal, which still, with 

 that of Persius, 1821, remains un- 

 rivalled in vigour. 



As editor of The Quarterly 

 Review, 1809-24, he attacked 

 Keats, Hazlitt, and what was 

 known as the Cockney School of 

 Poetry. He edited the dramatic 

 works of Massinger, 1805-13, Ben 

 Jonson, 1816, and Ford, 1827. He 

 died in Pimlico, Dec. 31, 1826, and 

 was buried in Westminster Abbey. 



Gifiord Lectures. Course of 

 lectures on natural theology, in 

 connexion with the universities of 

 Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, 

 and St. Andrews. It was founded 

 by Lord Gifford (1820-87), Scot- 

 tish judge and philanthropist. 

 After studying at Edinburgh, he 

 was called to the bar in 1849 and 

 became sheriff of Orkney and Shet- 

 land and a judge of the court of 

 session. He left the sum of 80,000 

 between the Scottish universities 

 for the establishment of the lecture- 

 ships, which are exempt from any 

 dogmatic test. The lecturers have 

 included Max Miiller, Andrew Lang, 

 and William James. 



Gift. In English law, the pro- 

 mise to make a gift, except by 

 deed, is not en- Bm^^^^^M 

 forceable. But I 

 once the gift is 

 completed, it is 

 irrevocable unless 

 it has been ob- 

 tained by duress, 

 fraud, or undue in- 

 fluence. A gift is 

 only complete 

 when every legal 



3526 



step has been taken to pass the 

 property to the donee. For ex- 

 ample, "I give you my watch, or 

 this freehold house," are useless 

 unless the watch is handed over or 

 the freehold conveyed by deed. 



Gifu. Town of Japan, on the 

 island of Honshiu. It is the capital 

 of the Gifu prefecture, 70 m. E.N.E. 

 of Kioto. Pop. 55,700 See Earth- 

 quake. 



Gig. Word suggesting lightness 

 and speed applied to a two- 

 wheeled vehicle drawn by one 

 horse. It is also used of a clinker- 

 built racing boat, and of a narrow 

 ship's boat propelled either by 

 oars or sails. See Carriage. 



Gigantes. In Greek mythology, 

 a race of giants who sprang from 

 the blood of Uranus as it fell to the 

 earth when he was mutilated by 

 Cronos. The chief of the Gigantes 

 were Alcyoneus, Enceladus, and 

 Porphyrion. According to some 

 accounts they engaged in war with 

 Zeus and attempted to storm 

 Olympus. They were ultimately 

 defeated by Zeus with the help of 

 Hercules, and some of them were 

 buried under volcanoes. This le- 

 gend, however, 

 seems to confound 

 the Gigantes with 

 the Titans (q.v. ). 



Giggleswick. 

 Parish and village 

 of Yorkshire 

 (W.R.), England. 

 It stands on the 

 Kibble, 14 m. N.W. 

 of Skipton, and 

 has a station on 

 the Mid. Rly. In 

 the neighbourhood 

 are stone and slate 

 quarries. It is 

 known for its large 

 public school. 

 Founded in 1512, 

 this received a charter from Edward 

 VI in 1553, and in 1910 a new 

 scheme for its management was 

 put in force. The school has five 

 houses with accommodation for 

 over 200 boys. Pop. 946. 



Gijon (anc. Gigia). Seaport of 

 Spain, in the prov. of Oviedo. It 

 stands on the Bay of Biscay, 11 m. 

 N.N.E. of Oviedo, at the terminus 

 of various Asturian rlys., about 

 midway between the ports of 

 Bilbao and Corunna. It has a 



GILBERT 



commodious harbour, with quays, 

 arsenal, a curious 15th century 

 church, palace, and the Jovellanos 

 Institute with a fine art collection. 

 The town retains its medieval walls 

 and quaint houses. 



Among the exports are minerals, 

 fish, nuts, fruit, butter, and cheese, 

 while glass, liqueurs, tobacco, soap, 

 chocolate, and tinned goods are 

 manufactured. The Moors rebuilt 

 the fortifications with stones from 

 the Roman city. Gijon repelled 

 the Normans in 844, was burnt 

 down in 1395, but is now a pros- 

 perous town and popular seaside 

 resort. Pop. 52,226. 



Gila. River of the U.S.A. Ris- 

 ing in New Mexico on the slopes 

 of the Sierra Madre, it flows S. 

 and W. through Arizona, and 

 enters the Colorado near the Mexi- 

 can border. For upwards of half its 

 course of about 480 m. it passes 

 through mountainous country, and 

 in places precipitous canons render 

 the river impossible of approach. 



Gila Monster. Popular name 

 for the heloderm, the only veno- 

 mous lizard known. It is com- 

 mon in Texas and Mexico, and 



Gig ol British admiral, manned by naval 



S.Cribb.Southsea 



Gijon, Spain. The Pescaderia road in the old town, 

 beside the harbour 



lurks in ruins and old buildings, 

 where it feeds upon frogs, eggs, and 

 insects. Its bite is not fatal to 

 man, though it produces very 

 injurious effects. 



Gilbert. River of Queensland, 

 Australia. It rises near the Gregory 

 Range, about 20 m. S. of Gilberton, 

 and flows N.W. to the Gulf of Car- 

 pentaria after a course of 230 m. 



Gilbert. Group of small islands 

 and atolls in the Pacific Ocean. 

 They lie on the equator, between 

 long. 171 and 177 E., S.E. of the 

 Marshall Islands. The chief are 

 Butaritari, Makin, Abaian, Mara- 

 kei, Tarawa, Maiana, Kuria, Abe- 

 mama, Ananuka, Tapiteuea, No- 

 nouti, Nikunau, Onotoa, Beru, 

 Tamana, Arorae and Ocean Islands. 

 Total area, 166 sq. m. Eighteen 

 islands are inhabited ; they yield 

 pandanus fruit and coconuts, and 

 export copra and phosphates. 



