798 



CALABRl A CALAIS. 



the residence of Pythagoras, the birthplace of 

 Charonides, of Zuleucus, Praxiteles, Agathocles, 

 uiul other distinguished men. The country where 

 the luxurious Sybaris once flourished is now sunk 

 in deep barbarism. The climate was much esteemed 

 in antiquity ; but, in some places, the stagnant 

 waters, to the draining off of which no one pays 

 any attention, produce contagious diseases in the hot 

 season. The heavy dews preserve, during the 

 greater part of the year, a delightful verdure, which 

 is increased by numerous springs and streams. Pliny 

 extols the fertility of the dark soil, which, with the 

 exception of the great plain Marcesato, resembling an 

 entire waste, covers the calcarious rocks ot C. 

 Beautiful groves of pine, fir, and larch, the pitch- 

 bearing trees of ttie wood of Sila, famous in ancient 

 times, slmde the sides of the Apennines. The ever- 

 green oak, the Oriental plane-tree, the Indian chest- 

 nut, the Kerch, the aloe, the fig, various nut-trees, 

 and others, flourish here. The Calabrian ash affords 

 manna. The fields are beautifully adorned with herb- 

 age, the cinnamon, rose, and sage, and the hills with 

 strawberries and raspberries. On the coast grow the 

 evergreen, tamarisk, and arbutus. With alfthe rich 

 fruits of the torrid zone, we find here some of those 

 which belong to the north of Europe we wander 

 amid orchards of fine apples, and through green al- 

 pine meadows, with their soft herbage. In the val- 

 leys, the thorny caper mingles its bright flowers with 

 the dark-green rosemary, and the laurel overshadows 

 all the streams. From the rush (sarrachio) the Cala- 

 brian manufactures his ship-tackle, his baskets, his 

 mats, his ropes, and his nets, in which he catches 

 the tunny. The lazy and ignorant inhabitant of this 

 beautiful land has forgotten the Grecian mode of cul- 

 ture, which produced excellent wines and good oil. 

 He has corn and rice, saffron, anise, liquorice, mad- 

 der, flax, and hemp. He cultivates olives, figs, 

 almonds, and cotton. The noble sugar-cane will 

 come to perfection here. The silk of this coun- 

 try is good. The sheep, horned cattle, and horses 

 are numerous. The waters contain tunnies and eels. 

 Near Reggio a kind of muscle is found, called pinna 

 marina, from whose silky beard a splendid fabric is 

 manufactured, which is as light as it is effectual in 

 affording protection against the cold. Coral is also 

 fished up. The quarries and pits afford alabaster, 

 marble, gypsum, alum, chalk,rock-salt, lapis lazuli, and 

 the fine copper, renowned since the time of Homer. 



The condition of the people is a subject of astonish- 

 ment to all observers. The Calabrian, scarcely forty 

 leagues from the gates of the capital, is wild as a 

 Tartar, cruel as a Moor, rude and ignorant as a Ne- 

 gro of Senegal ; yet he has some good qualities. He 

 is honest, hospitable, and tender of his honour. The 

 corruption of a race of men, naturally so energetic, is 

 the fault of the government, the church, and the 

 feudal system now abolished. A few rich individuals 

 are found here among a great number of miserable 

 poor. The peasant labours little, and subsists almost 

 entirely on the spontaneous productions of nature. 

 His habitation resembles the pig-sties of the rest of 

 Europe. The feudal lords formerly exercised a dread- 

 ful tyranny over their vassals, who, weary of suffer- 

 ing, fled to the mountains, and lived by robbery. 

 Ignorance, love of revenge, cruelty and cunning are 

 the principal traits in the character of the people. 

 Once offended, a Calabrian is irreconcilable. Heredi- 

 tary hatred, therefore, divides most of the families, 

 and an individual never goes abroad without carrying 

 arms under his black mantle. In the night, they 

 barricade their houses. They have no idea of social 

 pleasures, and the rich think only of scraping to- 

 gether money. The females are not beautiful : they 

 marry early, and soon fade. Even those of the higher 



classes cannot, in general, tead or write. The 

 husbands are so jealous, that they always confine 

 their wives, and treat them severely. The recourse 

 to lawsuits and chicanery is common, although the 

 administration of justice is wretchedly defective. The 

 clergy are as ignorant as they are corrupt, and super- 

 stition rules all classes. Even the robber carries re- 

 lics in his bosom, which he supplicates for assistance in 

 his enterprises. The language of the people is a cor- 

 ruption of the Italian, difficult to be understood, hut. 

 Full of original and pointed expressions. The classes 

 which are in some degree well informed express 

 themselves with great ease and warmth. _ Their ges- 

 tures are extremely lively. They have great powers 

 of persuasion. If they cannot attain their end in this 

 way, they revenge themselves by murder. They are 

 well-formed, muscular, and of a brown complexion. 

 They have animated countenances, and eyes full of 

 lire and expression, but passionate hearts and giddy 

 heads. They are, like the Sardinians and the Corsi- 

 cans, the savages of Europe. See Sejour d'un Officier 

 Francois en Calabre, Paris, 1810. 



In regard to government, the country is divided 

 into Calabria Citra on the north, and Calabria < flint 1. 

 and II. on the south. The former contains Cosenza, 

 which has 15,000 inhabitants; the latter, Reggio, 

 which has 16,500, and Catanzaro, the capital city, 

 which has 11,000. These, alone, among the few 

 cities, are of importance, on account of their manu- 

 factures and commerce. There are some silk manu- 

 factories at Monteleone (the Grecian Hipponium, call- 

 ed, by the Romans, Vibona, now containing 15,000 

 inhabitants, and the ruins of a temple of Ceres). The 

 seaport Crotona has some commerce. The city of 

 Gerace is built of the ruins of Locri. Pizzo, where 

 Murat was seized, Oct. 13, 1815, is called, from that 

 event, the most faithful city, and is freed from all city 

 taxes and excise. Many marks of the earthquake, 

 which, in February, 1783, laid waste the southern 

 part of C., destroyed 300 cities and villages, and 

 buried 30,000 men, are still to be seen. 



CALAHOHRA (anciently Calagurris) ; a town of 

 Spain, in Old Castile, near the south side of the 

 Ebro, on the borders of Navarre ; 136 miles N. N. E. 

 of Madrid; Ion. 2W.; lat. 42'16'N.; population, 

 7200. It is a bishop's see, and contains three par- 

 ish churches and three convents. In the year of 

 Rome 682, this town, then called Calagurris, siding 

 with Sertorius, was besieged by Afranius, one of 

 Pompey's generals, and the inhabitants reduced to such 

 extremity, that they fed on their wives and children ; 

 whence the Romans were wont to call any grievous 

 famine/awie* Calagurritana. Quintilian was born here. 



CALAIS ; A French sea-port on the channel which 

 separates England from France, called by the French 

 the Pa* de Calais and La Manche ; by the English, 

 the English channel. This strongly fortified city is 

 protected by a citadel and the fort of Nieuve- 

 let. It contains 8,500 inhabitants, and has a 

 harbour which is too shallow for large ships, and 

 is important only because passage boats run con 

 tinually from here to Dover. The strait is twenty- 

 four miles wide, and the passage by the steam- 

 boat seldom exceeds five hours. In 1346, C. was 

 taken by Edward III., king of England, after such a 

 bold defence as made the siege one of the most re- 

 markable in history. It remained in the possession 

 of the English until 1558, when it was lost, together 

 with all the English possessions in France. Near the 

 harbour there is a monument erected to commemor- 

 ate the return of Louis XVIII.. April 24, 1814. In 

 the year 1819, 15,577 travellers landed here, and 

 11,033 embarked from this port. 



CALAIS, Pas de (i. e., straits of Calais) ; a depart- 

 ment of France, formerly the province of Artois, lying 



