804 



CALDEKWOOD CALEDONIA. 



composition of these pieces, and, in fact, eclipsed all 

 licit the Spanish literature, so rich in this department 

 of fancy, had hitherto produced. These subjects were 

 particularly suited to his religious turn of mind ; and 

 he set a peculiar value on nis performances of this 

 kind, so as even to disparage his other works, which 

 deserve no mean reputation. Religion is the ruling 

 idea, the central point, of his poems. Whatever sub- 

 ject he handles, lie exhibits true poetical genius. 

 Even allowing that he is inferior in richness orinven- 

 tion to Lope de Vega, he certainly excels him in fine- 

 ness of execution, elevation of feeling, and aptness of 

 expression. If we find in him much that is foreign to 

 our modes of thinking and feeling, to our accustomed 

 views and manner of expression, we shall have occa- 

 sion much uftener to admire his unrivalled genius. 

 The Spanish nation esteem C. among the greatest 

 poetical geniuses. Many faults in his writings are to 

 be attributed to the age and circumstances of the au- 

 thor. Among his dramatic works are many pieces of 

 intrigue, full of complicated plots, and rich in inter- 

 esting incidents. There are, besides, heroic comedies 

 and historical plays, some of which merit the name of 

 tragedies. To this class belongs the Constant Prince, 

 which deserves an honourable place among romantic 

 tragedies of the first rank. Besides these, C. has left 

 95 autos sacrnmentalet, 200 loas (preludes) and 100 

 tatrnetts (farces). He wrote his last play in the eighty- 

 first year of his age. The smaller poems of C., his 

 songs, sonnets, ballads, &c., notwithstanding the ap- 

 plause which they received from his contemporaries, 

 are now forgotten ; but his plays have maintained 

 their place on the stage even more than those of Lope 

 de Vega. The number of his collected plays amounts 

 to 128. He wrote, however, many more, some of 

 which were never published. The most complete 

 edition of his works is that published by D. Juan de 

 Vera Tassis y Villarroel (Madrid, 1685, 9 vols.). A. 

 W. Schlegel and Cries have given masterly transla- 

 tions of his pieces into German. The former has 

 published five plays in two vols. (Berlin, 18031806); 

 the latter ten plays in five vols. (Berlin, 18151822). 

 These were followed by the translations of baron 

 Malsburg, of which sjx vols. (Leipsic, 1819 1825) 

 ?Iave appeared. Goethe and Schlegel have the merit 

 if having opened the German stage to the genius of 

 C., as Schroder, before them, had done to that of 

 Shakspeare. The Constant Prince shows, perhaps, 

 in the highest degree, the skill of C. as a tragic 

 poet. It turns on one of the most perplexing of all 

 subjects, viz., the idea of destiny, managed in a truly 

 poetical way, in a tragedy terminating happily. The 

 great fertility of C.'s invention has heaped up an 

 abundance of materials, from which foreign theatres 

 might be much enriched. It is to be regretted that his 

 works have not been chronologically arranged. We 

 might then have traced the growth of mysticism in his 

 mind, and seen it striking root more deeply as he ad- 

 vanced in life. At the age of sixty-two he was ad- 

 mitted into the fraternity of San Pedro. In 1687 he 

 was elected their capelan mayor. He left them all 

 his property, for which they erected a splendid monu- 

 ment to his memory. He died May 25, 1687, aged 

 eighty-seven. Among his imitators, Tirso de Molina 

 is worthy of mention, as the author of the Inflexible 

 Stranger, which has been often imitated, and is the 

 groundwork of the celebrated opera of Dbn Juan. 



CALDERWOOD, David, an eminent Scottish divine 

 and ecclesiastical historian, in the reign of James VI., 

 was born in 1575. In 1604 he was settled as a mini- 

 ster near Jedburgh, where he distinguished himself 

 by his opposition to episcopal authority. In 1617 he 

 was banfshed the realm for his contumacy, and went 

 to Holland, where, in 1623, he published his famous 

 work entitled " Altare Damascenum." Some time 



afterwards he returned to Scotland, and became min- 

 ister of the church of Pencaitland, near Edinburgh. He 

 then engaged in writing the history of the church of 

 Scotland, in continuation of that of Knox, still exist- 

 ing in manuscript, but an abridgment of it has been 

 published. He died in 1650. 



CALEB, of the tribe of Judah, born B. C. 1530, was 

 sent with Joshua and ten others to examine the land 

 of Cannan. When Joshua had conquered the country 

 C. reminded the Jews of the promise, which had been 

 made by God, that they should enjoy this country. 

 He obtained the city of "Hebron for his share of the 

 spoil, besieged and captured it, and droye out three 

 giants, or Anakim. He then marched against Kir- 

 jath-Sepher, and offered his daughter Achsah to the 

 first who should enter it. Othniel, his nephew, was 

 the successful aspirant for the fair Jewess. 



CALEDONIA ; the ancient name of Scotland (q. v.). 



CALEDONIA ; a town in New York, on the west side 

 of the Genesee, 20 miles southwest of Rochester, 

 235 west of Albany. The village is situated on the 

 great road from Albany to Buffalo, produces wheat 

 in great quantities, and has several beds of gypsum ; 

 also limestone, iron ore, salt, and sulphur springs. 

 Great or Big springs, situated on the north side of the 

 village, are regarded as a curiosity. The waters, 

 which are impregnated with sulphur and lime, boil up 

 in great quantities from the earth in a pond or reser- 

 voir of five acres. In this pond, except at the places 

 where the water boils up, grows a singular weed, five 

 or six feet high, and so thick as to be almost impe- 

 netrable. The surface of the water is covered with 

 a frothy substance, which, when dried, has a very 

 offensive smell. The temperature of the water is 

 always nearly the same, extremely cold, but never 

 freezes. A fine mill-stream issues from this pond ; 

 and the quantity of water is little affected by rain or 

 drought. 



CALEDONIA, NEW ; a country of North America, 

 west of the Rocky mountains, extending about 500 

 miles from north to south, and nearly 400 from east 

 to west. It is mountainous ; abounds in lakes, the 

 largest of which are Stuart's lake and Natteotain 

 lake. The largest rivers are Eraser's and Natteotain 

 rivers. The thermometer sometimes falls 32 degrees 

 below zero ; but the seasons are generally milder than 

 in the same parallel east of the Rocky mountains. 

 The summer is never very hot. The natives call 

 themselves Td- cullies. The whites call them Carriers. 

 They are estimated at 5,000. 



CALEDONIA, New; a large island in the Pacific 

 ocean, from 220 to 250 miles long, and 50 broad. It 

 is rendered dangerous of approach by formidable 

 reefs, extending 270 miles beyond the island. The 

 danger is increased by the current setting directly on 

 the breakers. Lon. 163 to 167 E. ; lat. 20 to 

 22 26' S. It was discovered by Cook, in his second 

 voyage (1774), who remained on the coast a week. 

 D'Entrecasteaux was the first who sailed completely 

 round it (1792 and 1793). A chain of mountains, 

 2,500 feet high, extends through the island, from the 

 summits of which the sea is visible on both sides. 

 The island produces the bread-fruit tree, banana, 

 sugar-cane, arum, and cocoa, although the soil is by 

 no means fertile. The animals are very few. A spi- 

 der called nookee forms threads so large as to offer a 

 sensible resistance before breaking. They are eaten 

 by the people. Their other articles of food are not 

 more choice. Like the Ottomacs of South America, 

 described by Humboldt, they eat steatite a softj 

 friable, greenish earth, containing magnesia, silex, 

 and iron. Cook and Forster described them as gen- 

 tle, simple, kind, and honest. D'Entrecasteaux re- 

 presents them as cruel, perfidious, and thievish. The 

 women were hired for a nail. Recent observation 



