430 



CONTARIM CONTE. 



sick, by cleanliness and fearlessness ; but most com- 

 pletely by the. vigilance of the heulth-olh'rers, by 

 fumigations according to tlie prescriptions of Guy- 

 ton-Morveau, &c. \\ecan more easily secure our- 

 selves against such contagious diseases as are infec- 

 i.iou> onty in case of contact, by means of cleanliness, 

 caution in the use of vessels for eating and drinking, 

 of tobacco pipes, of wind instruments, beds, and 

 Clothes. No general preservative against contagi- 

 ous diseases is known, though many are offered for 

 sale by quacks. The examination of the persons in- 

 tended for nurses and tenders of infants is very ne- 

 cessary, as thousands of children may be infected by 

 contact with them, and the cause of the disorder re- 

 main unknown. See Epidemic. 



CONTARINI ; a noble family of Venice. 



Domenico Contarini was doge of Venice from 1043 

 to 1071. He rebuilt Grado ; and reduced the city 

 of Zara, which had revolted. 



Jacopo Contarini was doge from 1075 to 1080. Un- 

 der his reign, the Venetians forced the city of Anconato 

 acknowledge their sovereignty over the Adriatic sea. 



Andrea Contarini was doge from 1367 to 1382. 

 The Genoese, under Pietro Doria, had conquered 

 Chiozza, in 1739, and threatened even Venice. An- 

 drea Contarini reconquered Chiozza, and delivered 

 the republic from its enemies. 



Francesco Contarini was doge from 1623 to 1625. 

 Under him, Venice, in alliance with Louis XIII. of 

 France, the duke of Savoy, and the Protestant can- 

 tons of Switzerland, reconquered the Pays de Vaud, 

 in 1624, which the Austrians had taken possession of. 



Carlo Contarini was doge from 1655 to 1656. 

 Under his reign Lazaro Mocenigo, admiral of the re- 

 public, in June, 1655, gained a Brilliant victory over 

 the Turks, in the Dardanelles. 



Domenico Contarini was doge from 1659 to 1674. 

 During his government, Venice resisted, for five 

 years, the attacks of the Turks on the island of 

 Candia ; but, on September 26, 1G67, after a siege and 

 defence of unexampled obstinacy, Francesco Morosini 

 surrendered the island. Peace was then concluded. 



Francesco Contarini, in 1460, taught philosophy 

 in Padua, was ambassador at the court of Pius II., 

 commanded the Venetian troops against the Floren- 

 tines, who had attacked Sienna, and wrote the history 

 of this campaign. 



Ambrosio Contarini, from 1477 to 1483, was am- 

 bassador of the republic at the court of the king of 

 Persia, Usun Kassan. The interesting description of 

 his residence at this court first appeared in Venice, 

 1481, in Italian. 



Gasparo Contarini negotiated a permanent peace 

 between the republic and Charles V. In 1527, he 

 went as ambassador to Rome ; then to Ferrara, in 

 order to obtain the liberty of pope Clement VII., 

 whom Charles V. kept imprisoned in fort St Angelo, 

 succeeded in his mission, and became ambassador at 

 the court of the pope. After his return, he was 

 made senator of Venice. Pope Paul III. conferred 

 on him the cardinal's hat in 1535. In 1541, he was 

 papal delegate at the German diet, at Ratisbon, 

 where he distinguished himself by his moderation. 

 When the bishops rejected the twenty-two articles of 

 the Protestants, he exhorted the former not to offend 

 the people any longer by their avarice, luxury, and 

 ambition, but to visit their dioceses, support the poor 

 and the schools, and distribute the benefices accord- 

 ing to merit. After his return, he was sent as le- 

 gate to Bologna, where he died in 1542. 



Giovanni Contarini, (born at Venice, in 1549, died in 

 1605,) was one of the most distinguished painters of his 

 age, worked in the style of Titian, and was particu- 

 larly skilful in painting ceilings, e. g., his Resurrection, 

 n the church of St Francesco oU Paolo, in Venice. 



Vincenzo Contarini, born at Venice in 1577, died 

 in 1617 ; a scholar, whose reputation was, in early 

 life, so great, tliat the magistrates of Padua esta- 

 blished a new chair of Latin and Greek eloquent , 

 only to retain the learned youth of twenty-six years 

 of age in their city. He lectured there until 1614. 



Siinone Contarini, born at Venice in 1563 died in 

 1633, was Venetian ambassador at the court, of the 

 duke of Savoy, Philip II. of Spain, Mohammed III., 

 in Constantinople, pope Paul V., and die emperor 

 Ferdinand II. ; and became afterwards, advocate of 

 San Marco. As such, he made another journey to 

 Constantinople. When, in 1630, the plague ra-d 

 at Venice, he could not be induced to leave the city. 

 but remained lo make the arrangements which the 

 evil required. 



CONTAT, LOUISE (madame de Parny, known on 

 the French stage as mademoiselle), was lx)rn at 1'a- 

 ris in 1760, and made her debut as Atalide in Bajazct, 

 at the theatre Francois (1776), but afterwards devot- 

 ed her brilliant talents entirely to comedy. She was 

 the pupil of Mme Preville, and her earlier manner 

 was formed on that of her instructress. She was 

 discriminating, but cold in her action ; dignified, but 

 stiff in her movements ; forcible, but monotonous in 

 her delivery. It was only when she appeared in a 

 new class of cliaracters, that she ceased to be an 

 imitator. She had already appeared with great ap- 

 plause in the parts which the French call the grandes 

 coquettes, when Beaumarchais produced for her Su- 

 zanne, the spirituelle and fascinating soubrette, in 

 which, by the author's confession, she far surpassed 

 his own conceptions of that character. Her versatil- 

 ity of talent was displayed in the Coquette Corrigee 

 in Julie in the Disstpateur, in Mme de Volmar (Mar- 

 riage Secret), and in Mme Evrard (Vieux Celibataire). 

 Beauty, grace, vivacity, archness, and ease were unit- 

 ed with dignity, tenderness, delicacy, and judgment. 

 She restored to the stage the masterpieces of Moliere, 

 which had long been neglected by the public. After 

 a theatrical career of 32 years, 24 of which were a 

 continual series of triumphs, she retired from the 

 stage in 1808, and became the centre of a brilliant 

 circle of friends. Mme de Parny was remarkable 

 for her powers of conversation. She was lively or 

 severe, grave or gay, as the occasion required ; and 

 her remarks were always characterized by sound and 

 ingenious views, elegant taste, and varied informa- 

 tion. A few weeks \iefore her death, she threw into 

 the fire a large collection of anecdotes and other writ- 

 nigs, in prose and verse, from her pen, because they 

 contained some strokes of personal satire. She died, 

 in 1813, after five months of severe suffering from a 

 cancer in the breast, during which she manifested 

 the greatest firmness, and even maintained her usual 

 cheerfulness and gayety of spirit. M. Arnault, from 

 whom this account is borrowed, owed his liberty and 

 life, in 1792, to her interference, at the risk of her 

 own life. 



CONTE, NICHOLAS JACQCES, a painter, and che- 

 mist, but particularlydistinguished for the ingenuity of 

 his mechanical contrivances, was born at St Ceneri, 

 near Seez (department of Orne), in 1755, and died in 

 1805. His mechanical genius was displayed at the 

 age of twelve years, by the construction of a violin 

 (which was used at several concerts), with no other 

 instrument than a knife. At the age of eighteen, 

 without having received any instructions, lie execut- 

 ed several paintings for the hospital of Seez. This 

 success did not prevent him from the cultivation of 

 the physical and mathematical sciences. He went 

 to Paris, and invented a hydraulic machine, which 

 was mentioned with approbation by the academy of 

 sciences. In 1793, he was appointed one of the 

 committee tor making experiments in regard to the 



