410 



GEORGE CADOUDAL GEORGETOWN. 



sion, tlie Orangemen and the Catholics did not nj 

 pear to irreet the monarch. After a succession of 

 leasts, George left Dublin, September 3, inul returned 

 to London. September D of the same year, the 

 king visited his Herman d, .minions, after having 

 appointed a commission of government, under the 

 (residency of his brother, the duke of York. In 

 1822, lie made a similar visit to Scotland. The 

 death of the marquis of Londonderry (q. v.), August 

 12, recalled him to London, where he arrived, Sep- 

 tember 1. He sent the duke of Wellington to the 

 congress at Verona, and, at the earnest solicitation 

 of lord Liverpool, supported by the public voice, 

 appointed Canning, although his opposition to the 

 proceedings against the queen had offended him, sec- 

 retary of foreign affairs. An alteration in the politi- 

 cal system was made by this statesman, and the neu- 

 trality of England in the French and Spanish war 

 was the result. In consequence of the illness of lord 

 Liverpool, Canning was appointed prime minister in 

 April, 1827. On his death, in August following, 

 Mr Robinson, created viscount Goderich, suc- 

 ceeded him, who was himself succeeded by the duke 

 of Wellington, in January, 1828. George IV. foun- 

 ded the royal society of literature, in 1820, and gave 

 the library of his father to the nation. It contains, 

 besides pamphlets, maps and plans, 65,250 volumes, 

 and is deposited in the British museum. The most 

 remarkable event in the latter part of the reign of 

 George IV., was the bill abolishing the disabilities on 

 the Roman Catholics (see Catholic Emancipation), 

 passed in April, 1829. The king, in the latter part 

 of his life, suffered much from the gout and other 

 disorders, having been all his life addicted to the 

 pleasures of the table. George died, June 26, 1830, 

 and was succeeded by his second brother, the duke 

 of Clarence (William IV.), who is also childless. 

 The only child of the late duke of Kent (who died 

 1820), third brother of the king, the princess Vic- 

 toria, born 1819, is the heiress presumptive to the 

 throne of Britain. 



GEORGE CADOUDAL, chief of the Chouans 

 (q. v.), was the son of a village miller, near Auray, 

 in the Morbihan. When Bretagne took up arms, 

 he entered the service as a common horseman, 

 joined the army of the Vendee with a body of Bre- 

 tons, after it had passed the Loire, and, at the siege 

 of Granville, was made an officer. He distinguished 

 himself by his strength and courage. After the 

 reverses at Mans and Savany, he took refuge in his 

 native province, where he enlisted peasants and 

 sailors out of employ, and placed himself at their 

 head. Being surprised by a republican column, he 

 was thrown into prison, in Brest, with his father. 

 Afier a long captivity, he escaped in the dress of a 

 sailor, and again took the chief command of his can- 

 ton. He now endeavoured to remove the nobles 

 from the command, and, from the year 1795, was 

 considered as the head of a plebeian party. In 1796, 

 he had the command of the division of the Morbihan. 

 In 1799, he again took up arms, was among the 

 chiefs who were accompanied by the greatest num- 

 ber of followers, and, according to the accounts of 

 the republicans, enjoyed the entire confidence of his 

 troops. He was even spoken of as generalissimo. 

 About that time, he again occupied Lower Bretagne, 

 and was the only general-in-chif who was not noole. 

 His division was most frequently engaged with the 

 republicans, and was sent to receive a supply of mus- 

 kets and cannons, which had been landed on the 

 banks of the Vilaine, by the British. He, for a long 

 time, refused the proposals of peace offered by the 

 consul Bonaparte ; but, after the engagements of 

 Grandchamp and Elven (January 25 and 26, 1800), 

 finding that all the chiefs, Frotte only excepted, had 



submitted to the republic, he resolved to conclude 

 peace. February 9, knowing that general Brune 

 was reconnoitring, he went to meet him, accompa- 

 nied only by two Chouans, at the village of Theix, 

 and, having informed the general, by one of his com- 

 panions, of his desire to speak to him, he had an 

 interview with him in the open field, and the condi- 

 tions were arranged within the space of an hour. 

 George promised to dismiss his troops, and to sur- 

 render his arms. The conditions having been rati- 

 fied by the consuls, he went to Paris, on the invita- 

 tion of Bonaparte, who endeavoured to convince him 

 and other chiefs of the Vende'e, of the propriety of 

 their submitting to the existing government. They 

 all went away satisfied with the first consul, except 

 George. He afterwards went to London, where he 

 met with a favourable reception from the French 

 princes and the British ministers. The idea of the 

 infernal machine is said to have originated with him. 

 He, however, constantly denied having had any share 

 in it. In August, 1803, George andPichegru landed 

 on the coast of Normandy, to execute a plan, which 

 had been devised in Britain, of exciting commo- 

 tions in France, and assassinating the first consul. 

 They were taken over by a captain Wright, in a 

 vessel belonging to the British navy. Piche- 

 gru, George, and Moreau were to act as chiefs 

 in this conspiracy, which was, however, detected 

 and frustrated by the police. George remained 

 concealed in the capital until March, 1804, when 

 he was arrested near the Luxemburg, after he 

 had driven about in a fiacre for two days, not 

 being able to get out of the walls of Paris. He 

 defended himself by discharging two pistols, which 

 brought two police officers to the ground. He then 

 jumped from the vehicle, and endeavoured to escape, 

 but he was surrounded by the crowd and secured. 

 He was carried to the prefecture, and thence to the 

 temple. The tribunal, before which he was tried, 

 with a great number of accomplices, found him 

 guilty of an attempt on the life of the first consul, 

 and he was condemned to death, May 11, 1804, and 

 executed at Paris, June 24. He was thirty-five 

 years old, showed, during his trial, the greatest cool- 

 ness, was very careful not to expose his accomplices 

 by his answers, and openly proclaimed his adherence 

 to the cause of the Bourbons. 



GEORGE-N OBLE ; an ancient English coin of 

 the size of a double ducat, which was coined under 

 Henry VIII., in 1540. The name is from the holy 

 knight St George, whose image is coined on it. The 

 gold is of twenty-two carats. 



GEORGETOWN ; a post-town and port of entry, 

 Washington county, and district of Columbia, on the 

 north-east bank of the Potomac, about 200 miles 

 from its mouth, and 300 from the capes of Virginia, 

 three west of the capital in Washington ; Ion. 77 5' 

 W. ; lat. 38 55' N. : population in 1810, 4948 ; in 

 1820, 7360 ; in 1830, 8441. It is separated from 

 Washington by a small river, called Rock creek, over 

 which there are two bridges. It contains a market- 

 house, a college, a Lancasterian school, a public 

 library, four banks, and houses of public worship for 

 Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and Methodists. The 

 situation is very pleasant, commanding a beautiful 

 view of the river, the city of Washington, and the 

 surrounding country. The houses are principally 

 built of brick, and many of them are elegant. On 

 the hills, near the town, there are several fine 

 country seats. The situation is very healthy, and 

 the water excellent. It is a flourishing town, and r, 

 place of considerable trade. In consequence of the 

 difficulties of navigation occasioned by a bar three 

 miles below the town, a considerable part of the pro- 

 duce is transported to Alexandria, and exported from 



