86 



CASTIGLIONE CASTING. 



how to appreciate the genius of the poet, and de- 

 lighted in his conversation. Casti took advantage 

 of every opportunity of visiting other courts, and 

 joined several embassies, without office or title. 

 Catharine II. received him in the most flattering 

 manner. He visited also the court of Berlin, and 

 several other German courts. After his return to 

 Vienna, prince Rosenberg, the director of the im- 

 perial theatre, caused him to be appointed poeta Ce- 

 tareo on the death of Metastasio. After the death 

 of Joseph II., Casti requested his dismission, and re- 

 tired to Florence, where he wrote many of his works. 

 In 1783, he went to Paris. Notwithstanding his ad- 

 vanced age, the vigour and activity of his mind were 

 still unimpaired. Ills vivacity, his naivete, seasoned 

 by a delicate irony, and liis knowledge of the world, 

 made his conversation very attractive. At the same 

 time, he was remarkable for the firmness of his cha- 

 racter and the regularity of his habits. He died sud- 

 denly, Feb. 7, 1803, at the age of eighty-two. His 

 Novelle galanti were republished at Paris, 1804, under 

 the title Novelle di Giamb. Casti, in 3 vols. They are 

 forty-eight in number. Almost all are of a licentious 

 character, but written in a lively, original, and grace- 

 ful style. The same may be said of his didactic-sa- 

 tirical poem, GliAnimali parlanti, Poema epico,diviso 

 m 26 Canti, di Giamb. Casti (Milan, 1802, 5 vols.), 

 which he wrote between 1792 and 1799, and which 

 did not receive the attention it deserves until the 

 present day, probably because people formerly feared 

 to speak openly on the bitter truths which it con- 

 tains. There are two translations of it in French, 

 and one in German. It has been also translated into 

 English by Rose. Casti's Rime Anacreontiche are 

 pleasing, and his comic operas, La Grotta di Trofo- 

 nio, and // Re Teodoro in f'enezia, fyc., are full of 

 wit and originality. 



CASTIGLIONE, BALDASSARE; one of the most 

 elegant of the elder Italian writers ; born 1478, at 

 Casatico, in the territory of Mantua; studied at 

 Milan, and entered into the service of the duke 

 Ludovico Sforza, and afterwards of the duke of 

 Urbino, of whose elegant and splendid court he soon 

 became an ornament. In 1505, he was sent as an 

 ambassador to Henry VIII. of England, and, in 1507, 

 in the same capacity, to Louis XII., at Milan. In 

 1513, Castiglione appeared as ambassador at the 

 court of Leo X., where he became intimate with the 

 most distinguished literati and artists. In 1521, he 

 obtained for the new duke of Urbino, Federigo, the 

 command of the papal troops, and, in 1524, was em- 

 ployed by pope Clement VII., to conduct his nego- 

 tiations with Charles V. When Rome was plundered 

 by the constable of Bourbon, in 1527, he was accused 

 of negligence, and his health was undermined by 

 chagrin. He refused to accept the rich bishopric of 

 AviTa, which was offered to him by the emperor, un- 

 til the pope should be reconciled with Charles. He 

 died Feb. 8, 1529, at Toledo. Among his works the 

 Libro del Cortigiano is the most celebrated. It teaches 

 the art of succeeding at court. His few Italian and La- 

 tin poems are elegant. His letters (Padua, 1769) are 

 valuable contributions to political and literary history. 

 CASTILE, NEW; a province of Spain, bounded 

 N. by Old Castile, E. by Arragon and Valencia, S. 

 by Murcia, Jaen, and Cordova, and W. by Estrema- 

 dura; 220 miles long, and 160 broad. It contains 

 the following subdivisions or provinces : 



Proriiices. Sq. m. 

 Madrid, . . 1,330 

 Guadalaxara, 1,970 

 Cuenja, . . 11,410 

 Toledo, . . 8.83 

 La Mancba, . 7,620 



Pop. Capital!. 

 223,500 Madrid. 

 121,100 Guadalajara. 

 294,300 Cuenja. 

 370,600 Toledo. 

 205,600 Ciudad Real 



31,103 1,220,100 



The surface is diversified, consisting partly of exten. 

 sive plains, and partly of ranges of mountains, of 

 which the most remarkable is the Sierra de Cuenga. 

 The principal rivers are the Tagus, G uadiana, and 

 Xucar. The climate is temperate, the soil naturally 

 fertile, but the cultivation backward, and the coun- 

 try thinly inhabited. The productions are wheat, 

 barley, hemp, flax, wine, oil, saffron, honey, sheep. 

 cattle, &c. It contains one archbishopric (Toledo), 

 one bishopric (Cuenga) and formerly had three mii- 

 versities, Alcala, Toledo, and Siguenca. For further 

 information, see Spain. 



CASTILE, OLD ; a province of Spain, bounded 

 N. by Asturia and Biscay, E. by Navarre anil A i - 

 ragon, S. by New Castile, and W. by Leon ; 220 

 miles long, and, where widest, 120 broad. It con- 

 tains tlie following provinces or subdivisions : 



Prorineet. Sq. m. 



A vi hi, . . 2,600 



Segovia, . . 3,502 



Soria, . . 4,118 



Burgos, . . 7,752 



Pop. Capiuli. 

 118,100 Avila. 

 164,000 Segovia. 

 100,000 Soria. 

 470,600 Burgos. 



17,972 031,700 



The surface is diversified with mountains, plains, 

 and valleys. The soil is generally fertile, but, in 

 some parts, stony and unfruitful. The productions 

 are rye, barley, wheat, madder, in some parts, wine ; 

 but its chief wealth consists in its hundreds of 

 thousands of sheep and cattle. Its butter is excel- 

 lent, and its wool, particularly that of Segovia, is 

 much celebrated for its fineness. The country is re- 

 markably bare of trees, as is also much of New Cas- 

 tile. The rivers are the Ebro, Duero, Xalon, Car- 

 rion, and Tormes. For further information, see 

 Spain. 



CASTING, in the fine arts. See Cast. 



CASTING, in iron founding, is the running of 

 melted iron into a mould prepared for that purpose. 

 There are three sorts of casting ; the first called open 

 sand-casting, the second, sand-casting between flasks, 

 and the third, loam-casting. In most of these an 

 exact pattern, usually of wood, is employed by tlie 

 founder. The floor of every foundery is composed, for 

 several feet deep, of a loamy sand found near Wool- 

 wich, in which deep pits may be sunk to bury large 

 moulds. This floor must be kept exceedingly dry, 

 and free from any wet or moisture, otherwise, the 

 melted matter converting the watery particles into 

 vapour, would blow up the building and destroy the 

 workmen. In the place where the mould is to l>e 

 made, a layer of sand is lightly sprinkled through a 

 sieve on the floor, and the woodf n pattern pressed 

 firmly down into it, level with the surface. The sand 

 is then to be shovelled up all around, level with tlie 

 top of the pattern, and rammed down with a tool. A 

 moist sponge is then used for slightly wetting the 

 sand all round the edges of the pattern, to make its 

 particles adhere together. The next operation is 

 lifting the pattern out of the sand, by one or more 

 screws, screwed into the wood. If the pattern is small, 

 this can be easily done by one or more men ; but in 

 very large works it is effected by a crane. The cores 

 for the bolt holes through the flanches, are made by 

 sticking pieces of dry clay in the sand in the pro- 

 per places, and the core for the hole made of clay, 

 is also set into its place : the workman then uses a 

 pair of bellows for blowing away any small pieces of 

 sand which may have fallen into the mould, and then 

 sifts some finely powdered charcoal over its surface. 

 It is now ready for filling with metal. In small works 

 this is done by ladles, and in large, by small chan- 

 nels made in the sand, leading from the mould 

 to the mouth of the furnace. When the mould is 

 filled, the hot metal is covered with sand to keep the 

 air from it while it is cooling. 



