CAXTON CAYLU3. 



CAXTON, WILLIAM ; an Englishman, memorable 

 for having first introduced the art of printing into his 

 native country. He was born in Kent, about 1410, 

 and served an apprenticeship to Robert Large, a 

 London mercer. On the death of his master, Caxton 

 went to the Netherlands, as agent for the mercers' 

 company, in which situation he continued about twen- 

 ty-three years. His reputation for probity and abili- 

 ties occasioned his being employed, in conjunction 

 with Richard Whitchill, to conclude a treaty of com- 

 merce between Edward IV. and Philip, duke of Bur- 

 gundy. He appears subsequently to have held some 

 office in the household of duke Charles, the son of 

 Philip, whose wife, the lady Margaret of York, dis- 

 tinguished herself as the patroness of Caxton. Whilst 

 abroad, he became acquainted with the then newly 

 discovered invention of printing. (See Faust, John.) 

 At the request of the duchess, his mistress, he translat- 

 ed from the French a work, which he entitled the Re- 

 cuyell of the Historyes of Troye, by Raoul le Feure, 

 which he printed at Cologne, 1471, in folio. This 

 book, considered as the earliest specimen of typogra- 

 phy in the English language, is esteemed very valu- 

 able. At the famous sale of the duke of Roxburgh's 

 library, in 1812, a copy was purchased by the duke 

 of Devonshire, for 1,060, 10*. After this, he 

 printed other works abroad, chiefly translations from 

 the French ; and, at length, having provided himself 

 with the means of practising the art in England, he 

 returned thither, and, in 1474, had a press at West- 

 minster abbey, where he printed the Game and Playe 

 of the Chesse, generally admitted to be the first typo- 

 graphical work executed in England. Caxton con- 

 tinued to exercise liis art for nearly twenty years, 

 during which time he produced between fifty and 

 sixty volumes, most of which were composed or 

 translated by himself. Caxton died about 1492, and 

 was buried, according to some accounts, at Campden, 

 in Gloucestershire ; though others state his interment 

 as having taken place at St Margaret's, Westminster. 



CAYENNE, or FRENCH GUIANA ; a province 

 or colony in South America, belonging to France ; 

 bounded N. and N. E. by the Atlantic ocean, E. and 

 S. by Brazil, and W. by Dutch Guiana ; between 

 lat. I" 50" and 6 N. ; population, 17,331, of which 

 only about 1000 are whites. This country was first 

 colonized by the French in 1635; in 1654, it was 

 taken by the British, and, in 1676, by the Dutch ; 

 but, in 1677, it was restored to the French. The 

 coast of the country is generally low, marshy, and 

 subject to inundation. The soil, in many parts, is 

 very fertile, though in others dry, sandy, and soon 

 exhausted. The climate resembles that of the West 

 Indies, though it is more salubrious. The most noted 

 article of produce is Cayenne pepper, the fruit of 

 the capsicum laccatum. Other productions are cof- 

 fee, sugar, cotton, cocoa, indigo, maize, cassia, and 

 vanilla. 



Cayenne ; an island of South America, belonging 

 to France, on the coast of the above province, sepa- 

 rated from the main-land by the river Cayenne, 

 which is about 300 miles in length. The island is 

 eighteen miles long and ten broad, and has a fertile 

 soil. 



Cayenre; a town of South America, on the north 

 point of the above island, at the mouth of the river 

 Cayenne. It is the capital of the French colony of 

 Cayenne, has a large and convenient port, and con- 

 tains about 200 houses. Lat. 4 SG'N.; Ion. 52 16' W. 



CAYENNE PEPPER, or CAPSICUM. Capsicum 

 is the name of several species of South American 

 and Indian plants, easily known by their hollow 

 pods, of a shining red or yellow colour, which con- 

 tain many small, flat, and kidney-shaped seeds. The 

 principal species are heart or bell-pepper (capsicum 



grossum), Guinea pepper (capsicum annuuni), and 

 bird-pepper, (capsicum baccatum). All the species of 

 capsicum possess the same general qualities. In hot 

 climates, but particularly in the East and West In- 

 dies, and some parts of Spanish America, the fruit 

 of these plants is much used for culinary purposes. 

 It is eaten in large quantities, both with animal and 

 vegetable food, and is mixed, in greater or less pro- 

 portion, with almost all kinds of sauces. The Cay- 

 enne pepper used hi cookery is made from the fruit 

 of different species of capsicum. This fruit, when 

 ripe, is gathered, dried in the sun, and then pounded ,- 

 and the powder is mixed with a certain portion of 

 salt, and kept for use in closely-stopped bottles. It 

 is very generally used as a poignant ingredient in 

 soups and highly-seasoned dishes. Its taste is ex- 

 tremely acrid, and it leaves a durable sensation of 

 heat on the palate, which is best rempved by butter 

 or oil. When taken in small quantities, Cayenne 

 is a grateful stimulant ; and, in medicine, it is used 

 both externally arid internally, to promote the action 

 of the bodily organs, when languid and torpid ; and 

 it is said to have been found efficacious in many 

 gouty and paralytic cases. The Guinea pepper, or 

 annual capsicum, is considered the most hardy of 

 this whole tribe of plants ; and, in many parts of the 

 south of Europe, its fruit is eaten green by the pea- 

 sants at their breakfasts, and is preferred by them to 

 onions or garlic. The fruit of all the species may 

 be used hi domestic economy, either as a pickle, or 

 when dried before a fire, and ground to powder in a 

 common pepper-mill, as Cayenne pepper. See 

 Capsicin. 



CAYES, LES, or AUX CAYES ; a seaport town 

 on the south coast of Hayti ; thirty miles S. S. E. 

 PorUw-Prince ; lat. 18 13' N. ; Ion. 74" 31' W. 

 This town, a few years since, contained 12 or 15,000 

 inhabitants. It is now very much reduced. The har- 

 bour is inferior, but the surrounding country is fertile. 



CAYLUS, ANNE CLAUDE PHILIPPE DE TUBIERES, 

 &c., count of, an archaeologist, born Oct. 31, 1692, 

 at Paris. After having served in the army during 

 the war of the Spanish succession, he left the service 

 in 1715, accompanied Bonac on his embassy to Con- 

 stantinople the following year, and visited Greece, 

 Troy, Ephesus, Byzantium, and Adrianople. In 

 1717, he returned to Paris, according to the wish of 

 his mother, and began here to arrange his extensive 

 collections. He commenced a great work on Egyp- 

 tian, Grecian, Etruscan, Roman, and Gallic antiqui- 

 ties, with numerous plates. He was a member of 

 the academy of painting and of the academy of in- 

 scriptions, and divided his labours between them. 

 He made a chemical examination of the ancient me- 

 thod of encaustic painting, investigated the mode of 

 painting on marble, the art of hardening copper, the 

 mode by which the Egyptians raised great weights, 

 the mummies, painting on wax, and many other sub- 

 jects. If he has sometimes misunderstood the ancient 

 authors, and committed some errors with respect 

 to ancient monuments, he has, nevertheless, with 

 Sfreat success, treated of the processes and materials 

 employed hi the arts by the ancients. He died in 

 1765. Integrity, simplicity, and disinterestedness 

 were united in his character with occasional traits of 

 dogmatism. He has left numerous works, tales as 

 well as antiquarian researches. Among the latter 

 is his Recueil d 'Antiquites Egyptiennes, &c. (Paris, 

 175267, seven vols.). Caylus was also an indus- 

 trious and skilful engraver, and has furnished a col- 

 lection of more than 200 engravings, after drawings 

 in the royal cabinet, and a great number of heads, 

 after the first masters. His mother, niece of Mad. 

 de Maintenon, made herself known by a spirited 

 little work Mes Souvenirs. 



