GOSS 



3617 



Goss. Porcelain invented by 

 William Henry Goss (1833-1906). 

 It is remarkable for the delicate 

 ivory of its body and the brilliance 

 of the enamels employed in the 

 heraldic decoration which was its 

 earliest distinguishing feature. The 

 ware is made at the Falcon pot- 

 teries, Stoke-on-Trent. See Pottery. 

 Goss, SIR JOHN (1800-80). 

 British organist and composer. 

 Born at Fareham, Hampshire, 

 Dec. 27, 1800, he became a choris- 

 ter at the Chapel Royal in London. 

 In 1838 he succeeded his master, 

 Thomas Attwood, as organist of S. 

 Paul's Cathedral, and he held that 

 post until 1872, being knighted on 

 his retirement. He composed many 

 anthems, edited the Church Psal- 

 ter and Hymnbook, and wrote The 

 Organist's Companion. Goss died 

 May 10, 1880. 



Gossamer. Fine filaments of 

 cobweb, which may be seen in 

 autumn floating in the air or en- 

 tangled in the bushes. They are 

 spun by the young of certain spi- 

 ders, which are thus carried on the 

 wind for considerable distances. 

 The word is applied to a gauzy 

 textile fabric. 



Gosse, SIR EDMUND WILLIAM 

 (b. 1849). English man of letters. He 

 was bora in London, Sept. 21, 1849, 

 his father 

 being Philip 

 H. Gosse, the 

 naturalist, and 

 his mother a 

 Hebrew and 

 Greek scholar. 

 He was edu- 

 cated at pri- 

 vate schools in 

 Devonshire. 

 By the in- 

 fluence of 

 Charles Kings- 

 ley, he became assistant librarian 

 at the British Museum, 1867-75, 

 and translator to the Board of 

 Trade, 1875-1904. He was librarian 

 to the House of Lords, 1904-14. 



Distinguished as poet, critic, 

 translator, and biographer, as a 

 poet his work has much in common 

 with the French ballade. In col- 

 laboration with J. A. Blaikie, he 

 wrote Madrigals, Songs, and Son- 

 nets, 1870, then came On Viol and 

 Flute, 1873, which led to his friend- 

 ship with Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 

 and his marriage, in 1875, with that 

 artist's sister-in-law. His collected 

 poems were isued in 1911. 



In 1871-72 he travelled in Scandi- 

 navia, and afterwards did much to 

 introduce the work of Ibsen and 

 Bjornson to English readers. His 

 Gossip in a Library, 1891 ; Questions 

 at Issue, 1893 ; Critical Kit-Kats, 

 18,96; French Profiles, 1905; Por- 

 traits and Studies, 1912, are notable 



volumes. So, also, is his Father and 

 Son, 1907, a book crowned by the 

 French Academy in 1913. His 

 Collected Essays appeared in 5 

 vols. in 1913 ; his Diversions of a 

 Man of Letters in 1919. 



He is the author of biographical 

 studies of Gray, 1882 ; Congreve, 

 1888 ; P. H. Gosse, 1890 ; Donne, 

 2 vols., 1899 ; Jeremy Taylor, 1904 ; 

 Patmore, 1905 ; Ibsen, 1908 ; and 

 A. C. Swinburne, 1917. In 1876 he 



the Baltic at Mem, below Soder- 

 koping. Its total length is 240 m., 

 the canalised portion being 55 m. 

 It considerably reduces the sea 

 journey between Gothenburg and 

 Stockholm. The canal has 58 locks, 

 a maximum alt. of 300 ft., and is 10 

 ft. deep. The work was begun in 

 1716, continued in 1753, and com- 

 pleted 1810-32. See Canal. 



Goteborg. Swedish name for 

 the town at the mouth of the Gota 

 river. See Goth- 

 enburg. 



Goteborg and 

 Bohus. Lan or 

 government of 

 Sweden. It is 

 bounded on the 

 W. by the Skag- 

 erak and the 

 Kattegat, area 

 1,948 sq. m. Its 

 coast-line is 

 broken by 



published a 

 drama, King 

 Erik; in 1892, 

 a romance of 

 16th century 

 life, The Secret 

 of Narcisse; in 

 1901, an ironic 

 fantasy, Hypo- 

 lympia, or the 

 Gods in the Is- 

 land. He is 

 the author of 

 several literary 

 histories. He 

 was knighted in 

 1925. 



Gosse, PHILIP HENRY (1810-88). 

 British naturalist. Born at Wor- 



Gotha, Germany. The castle square viewed from the 

 arcades of the Hall of Commerce. Top, left.the ducal castle 



numerous inlets, while manv is- 

 lands fringe the mainland. Pop. 

 416,508. The capital is Gothen- 



cester, April 6, 1810, he spent his burg (q.v.) or Goteborg. 



early years as a farmer in Canada 

 and a schoolmaster in the U.S.A. 

 Returning to England in 1839, he 

 was sent to Jamaica to collect 

 birds and insects for the British 

 Museum. He then devoted his 

 attention to marine zoology, and 



published and illustrated several ^ 



books on the subject. He died at throne -Toom," 

 Torquay, Aug. 23, 1888. fi ne library, and 



Gota. River of S.W. Sweden, a rich museum in 

 Issuing from Lake Weiier, at its S. which is included 

 extremity, it flows S.S.E. to the a picture gallery. 

 Kattegat through two arms, the There is a well- 

 southern one passing Gothenburg, timbered park S. of the palace. The 

 About 65 m. long, it is navigable old Rathaus (1574), in the Haupt- 



Gotha. Town of Thuringia, 

 Germany. It stands on the slope 

 of a hill 15 m. W.S. W. of Erfurt. 



The Friedenstein 



Palace, built 

 about 1645, con- 

 tains, in addition 

 to a theatre and 



Gotba arms 



throughout its course. The catar- 

 act at Troll hatten is surmounted by 

 locks constructed 1793-1800. 

 Gota Canal. Waterway of S. 



Markt, has an elaborate fagade. 



Gotha has an observatory, many 

 schools, and several banks ; while 

 the famous map-making firm of 



Sweden, connecting the Kattegat Justus Perthea (founded 1785) 



with the Baltic. Starting from employs many skilled hands. 



Gothenburg, and utilising the Gota The principal manufactures in- 



river and Lake Wener, the canal elude porcelain, pianos, woollen 



leads to Lake Wetter and then con- goods, and machinery, etc. Pop. 



tinues E. through small lakes to 39,553. 



C 5 



