30 



CANZONA CAP. 



nute arose, and said, that He only was almighty, 

 whom the ocean obeyed when he proclaimed, " Thus 

 far shall thou go, and no farther." His last expedi- 

 tion was against Malcolm, king of Scotland. He 

 died four years after, A. D. 1036, at Sliaftsbury. By 

 his will, he left Norway to his eldest son, Sweyn; to 

 the second, Harold, England; to the third, Hardi- 

 canute, Denmark. 



CANZONA ; a kind of lyric poem, of Provenoal 

 origin. It is found in the Italian poetry of the thir- 

 teenth century. At first, it was quite irregular, but 

 was confined by Petrarch to more fixed and regular 

 forms. Hence it is called canzone Petrarchesca : it 

 is also called canzone Toscana, because it originated 

 in Tuscany. It is divided into several stanzas, in 

 which the nature and disposition of the verses, which 

 are of eleven and seven syllables, and the place of 

 the rhymes, are uniform. The canzona usually con- 

 cludes with a stanza which is shorter than the others, 

 and is called ripresa, congedo, comiato, signifying dis- 

 mission or taking leave. With Petrarch, uiis is rarely 

 wanting ; in the elder poets, it is often omittd. It 

 generally contains the poet's apostrophe to his song, 

 bidding it farewell, &c. There are different kinds 

 of canzonas, and different names are given to the 

 different parts. The canzona Anacreontica is divided 

 into small stanzas, consisting of short verses, with a 

 regular disposition of the rhymes through all the 

 stanzas. In the selection of his verse, however, and 

 of the disposition of the rhymes which he will observe 

 in his poem, the poet may follow his pleasure. Not 

 only light, pleasing songs of love, gayety,.and mirth, 

 but poems on solemn jind lofty subjects, and of an 

 elevated dithyrambic strain, are included under this 

 name. The latter subjects, however, are better 

 adapted to the canzona Pindarica, which was first 

 introduced into Italian poetry, in the sixteenth cen- 

 tury, by Luigi Alamanni, and owes its perfection 

 chiefly to Chiabrera. It is distinguished from that 

 of Petrarch by a bolder flight, loftier ideas, greater 

 freedom in the choice and disposition of the verses, 

 and by the form of the stanzas, which is borrowed 

 from the Greek chorus. The Pindaric canzonas are 

 divided into strophe, antistrophe, and epode, and are 

 called canzona alia Greca. 1'hose divisions are some- 

 times called ballata, contraballata, and stanza; or 

 t'olta, rivoUa, and stanza; almost all of which signify 

 the same as the Greek divisions : the Greek names 

 are the most common. There is also the canzona a 

 baUo, an old Italian poem, originally intended to be 

 sung at a dance (hallo). It is called also ballata. It 

 is not employed by the Italian poets later than the 

 sixteenth century. 



CANZONET, CANZONETTA (poetry and music); 

 in Italian poetry, a canzona (q.v.), consisting of short 

 verses, much in use with the poets of the fifteenth 

 century. Rinuccini, and, after him, Chiabrera, have 

 used it in modern times, and given it more grace. 

 Canzonets are generally expressive of tender feelings. 

 In music, canzonet signifies a short song, hi one, 

 two, or three parts ; but, hi England, it is more ge- 

 nerally applied to the two latter. 



CAOUTCHOUC. This substance, improperly 

 termed elastic gum, and more commonly, from its ap- 

 plication to remove pencil-marks from paper, India 

 rubber, is obtained from the milky juice of several 

 plants, which are natives of the torrid zone. The 

 chief of these are the h<evea Guianensis, thejatropha 

 elattica, and urceola elastica. Caoutchouc is brought 

 principally from South America. This juice, obtained 

 from incisions, is applied, hi successive layers, over a 

 mould of clay, and dried by exposure to the sun, and 

 to the smoke from burning fuel. When perfectly 

 dry, the mould is broken, leaving the caoutchouc in 

 the form of a hollow ball. In its solid state, caout- 



chouc is of a close texture, distinctly fibrous, of a 

 light brown colour, or Mm.etinu-, nearly while. Its 

 elasticity is such that it can be stretched to a great 

 extent; and, on removing the stretching force, it 

 recovers its original dimensions. Us softness and 

 pliancy are increased by heat. Boiling water renders 

 it so soft, that two slips, newly cut and pressed closely 

 together, may be firmly united. By a greater heat, 

 it is fused, and may, in i hat state, be applied, as pro- 

 posed by Mr Aitkin, to the surface of steel insiru. 

 ments, which it will cover with a transparent film, 

 that effectually preserves them from rust. It is in- 

 soluble in alcohol and in water. Sulphuric ether, 

 when purified by wasliing hi water, dissolves it ; and, 

 by evaporation, the caoutchouc may be recovered 

 unchanged. Oil of turpentine softens it, and forms 

 with it a sort of paste, that may be spread as a var- 

 nish, but is very long in drying. The fluid now com- 

 monly used to dissolve it is the purified naphtha from 

 coal tar, which is, at the same tune, a cheap and 

 effectual solvent, and which does not change its pro- 

 perties. This solution is employed to give a thin 

 covering of caoutchouc to cloth, which is thus ren- 

 dered impervious to moisture. Caoutchouc is also 

 readily soluble in cajeput oil. 



Caoutchouc, from its softness, elasticity, and im- 

 permeability to water, is applied to the formation of 

 catheters, bougies, and tubes for conveying gases. 

 These are formed by twisting a slip of it round a rod, 

 and causing the edges to adhere by pressure, when 

 softened by maceration in warm water. It is also 

 used for over-shoes ; and its solution hi oils forms a 

 flexible varnish. 



It was not until about the year 173G that this very 

 extraordinary natural production was made known 

 in Europe. It is obtained by making incisions through 

 the bark of the tree, chiefly hi wet weather. From 

 the wounds thus formed the juice flows abundantly. 

 It is of a milky-white colour, and is conducted by a 

 tube or leaf, supported by clay, into a vessel placed 

 to receive it. Some writers assert that, on mere ex- 

 posure to the ah*, it gradually hardens, and others, 

 that it goes through a certain process for this pur- 

 pose, which the Indians of South America keep a 

 profound secret. It is usually brought to Europe in 

 the form of pear-shaped bottles, which are formed 

 by spreading the juice over a mould of clay, expos- 

 ing it to a dense smbke, or to a fire, till it becomes 

 so dry as not to stick to the fingers, when, by certain 

 instruments of iron or wood, it is ornamented on the 

 outside with various figures. This done, the clay in 

 the inside is moistened with water, and picked out. 

 India rubber is remarkable for the flexibility and 

 elasticity which it acquires on attaining a solid state, 

 and also for the numerous useful purposes to which 

 it is capable of being applied. By the Indians, it is 

 sometimes formed into boots, which are unpenetrable 

 by water, and wliich, when smoked, have the appear- 

 ance of leather. Bottles are made of it, to the necks 

 of wliich are fastened hollow reeds, through which 

 the liquor contained hi them can be squirted at plea- 

 sure. One of these, filled with water, is always pre- 

 sented to each of the guests at their entertainments. 

 Flambeaux are likewise formed of this substance, 

 which give a very brilliant light ; and it is said that 

 a torch of it, an inch and a half hi diameter, and two 

 feet long, will burn twelve hours. The inhabitants 

 of Quito also prepare a species of cloth with the har- 

 dened juice of this tree. 



CAP ; the cover of the end or head of any thing. 

 The word is very often used in the mechanical arts. 



In ship-building, cap is a square piece of timber 

 placed over the nead or upper end of a mast, in 

 which is a round hole to receive die top or top-gal- 

 lant-masts, wliich are thus kept steady and firm. 



