568 



CURRAN CURRANTS. 



limicola, whose most remarkable cliaracteristic is, 

 tliat the bill is wholly or partially covered by a soft, 

 sensitive skin, which enables them to obtain their 

 food from the mud with futility, though unable to dis- 

 cover it by sight. The genus is cliaracterized by a 

 very long, slender, almost cylindrical, compressed, and 

 arcuated bill, having the upper mandible longer than 

 the lower, furrowed for Uiree-fourtlis of its length, 

 and dilated and rounded towards the tip. The nostrils 

 are situated in the furrow, at the base, and are lateral, 

 longitudinal, and oblong. The tongue is very short 

 and acute. The feet are rather long, slender, and 

 four-toed ; the tarsus is one half longer tlian the mid- 

 dle toe. The fore toes are connected, at the base, 

 oy a short membrane, to the first joint. The nails 

 are compressed, curved, acute, and the cutting edge 

 of the middle one is entire. The first primary is the 

 longest ; the tail, which is somewhat rounded, consists 

 of twelve feathers. The plumage of the curlew is 

 generally dull, being grayish-brown, rusty-wliite, and 

 blackish, in both sexes, which are similar in size. 

 The young bird also differs very little from the parents, 

 except that the bill is much shorter and straighter, 

 Their favourite resorts are marshy and muddy places, 

 in the vicinity of water, over which they run with 

 great quickness. They feed on various worms, small 

 fishes, insects, and molluscous animals, and are very 

 shy, wary, and vigilant of the approach of man. They 

 are monogamous, and pass most of their time separate 

 from the rest of their species. Their nests are built on 

 tufts or tussocks in the marshes, and during incuba- 

 tion, both parents assiduously devote themselves to 

 their charge. The eggs are usually four, being much 

 larger at one end than the other, or pyriform in shape. 

 The young, as soon as hatched, leave the nest to seek 

 their own subsistence. At the period of migration, 

 the curlews unite to form large flocks, and their flight 

 is high, rapid, and protracted. They utter a loud, 

 whistling note, easily recognized when once heard, 

 but not easy to be characterized by description. 

 Three species of curlew are inhabitants of America 

 the long-billed curlew (N. longirostris, Wills.), the 

 Esquimaux curlew (N. Hudsonicus, Lath.) and the 

 boreal curlew (N.borealis, Lath.). 



CURRAN, JOHN PHILPOT, a celebrated Irish ad- 

 vocate, was born at Newmarket, near Cork, in 1750. 

 He was educated at Trinity college, Dublin, after 

 which he repaired to London, and studied at one of 

 the inns of court. In due time, he was called to the 

 bar; shortly after wliich he married Miss O'Dell, an 

 Irish lady of a very respectable family. By the in- 

 fluence of his talents, he gradually rose to great re- 

 putation ; and, during the administration of the duke 

 of Portland, he obtained a silk gown. In 1784, he 

 was chosen a member of the Irish house of commons. 

 His abilities now displayed themselves to advantage, 

 and he became the most popular advocate of his age 

 and country. During the distracted state of Ireland, 

 towards the close of the last century, it was often 

 his lot to defend persons accused of political offences, 

 when Mr Fitzgibbon (afterwards lord Clare), then 

 attorney-general, was his opponent. The profes- 

 sional rivalry of these gentlemen degenerated into 

 personal rancour, which at length occasioned a duel, 

 the result of which was not fatal to either party. On 

 a change of ministry during the vice-royalty of the 

 duke of Bedford, Mr Curran's patriotism was re- 

 warded with the office of master of the rolls. This 

 situation he held till 1814, when he resigned it, and 

 obtained a pension of 3000 a-year. With this he 

 retired to England, and resided chiefly m the neigh- 

 bourhood of London. He died in consequence of a 

 paralytic attack, at Brompton, Nov. 13, 1817, at the 

 fc^e of sixty-seven. 



Curran possessed talents of the highest order : his 



wit, his drollery, his eloquence, his pathos, were ir- 

 resistible ; and the splendid and daring style of his 

 oratory formed a striking contrast with his personal 

 appearance, wliich was mean and diminutive. As a 

 companion, he could be extremely agreeable ; and 

 his conversation was often highly fascinating. In 

 his domestic relations, he was very unfortunate ; ;ind 

 he seems to have laid himself open to censure. The 

 infidelity of his wife, which was established by a 

 legal verdict, is said to have been a subject on which 

 he chose to display his wit, in a manner that betrayed 

 a strange insensibility to one of the sharpest mis-cries 

 which a man can suffer. Mr Curran appears never 

 to have committed anything to the press, but he is 

 said to have produced some poetical pieces of con- 

 siderable merit. A collection of his forensic speeches 

 was published 1805 (I vol. 8vo.), Memoirs of liis 

 life liave been published by his son, by Mr Charles 

 Phillips, and by Mr O'Regan. 



CURRANTS. Red currants, black currants, and 

 gooseberries are the fruit of well known shrubs, 

 which are cultivated in gardens, and which also grow 

 wild, in woods or thickets, in various parts of Europe 

 and America. The utility of all these fruits in do- 

 mestic economy has long been established. The juice 

 of the red species, if ooiled with an equal weight 

 of loaf sugar, forms an agreeable substance, called 

 currant jelly, which is much employed in sauces and 

 for other culinary purposes, and also in the cure of 

 sore throats and colds. The French frequently mix 

 it with sugar and water, and thus form an agreeable 

 beverage. The juice of currants is a valuable 

 remedy in obstructions of the bowels ; and, in febrile 

 complaints, it is useful on account of its readily 

 quenching thirst, and for its cooling effect on the 

 stomach. This juice, fermented with a proper quan- 

 tity of sugar, becomes a palatable wine, which is 

 much improved by keeping, and which with care, 

 may be kept for twenty years. The inner bark of 

 all the species, boiled with water, is a popular 

 remedy in jaundice, and, by some medical men, has 

 been administered in dropsical complaints. White 

 and flesh-coloured currants have, in every respect, 

 the same qualities as the red species. The berries 

 of the black currant are larger than those of the red, 

 and, in some parts of Siberia, are even said to attain 

 the size of a hazel-nut. They are occasionally made 

 into wine, jelly, rob, or sirup. The two latter are 

 frequently employed in the cure of sore throats ; and 

 from the great use of black currants in quinsies, they 

 have sometimes been denominated squinancy, or 

 quinsy berries. The leaves are fragrant, and have been 

 recommended for their medicinal virtues. An infu- 

 sion of them in the manner of tea is very grateful, 

 and, by many persons, is preferred to tea. The ten- 

 der leaves tinge common spirits so as to resemble 

 brandy ; and an infusion of the young roots is useful 

 in fevers of the eruptive kind. The dried currants 

 of the shops do not belong to this family, but are a 

 small kind of grape. None of these fruits are so 

 much esteemed for the table as gooseberries. For 

 culinary purposes, gooseberries are generally em- 

 ployed before they are ripe ; but this is founded on 

 erroneous notions of their chemical properties, 

 since, either for sauces or wine, though they are 

 more cool and refreshing, they do not possess the 

 delicate flavour and rich saccharine qualities which 

 belong to the ripe fruit. Wine made of gooseberries 

 has great resemblance to Champagne. The skins of 

 the fruit, after the juice has been expressed, afford, 

 by distillation, a spirit somewhat resembling brandy. 

 Vinegar may be made from gooseberries. Some of 

 the kinds are bottled while green, and kept for win- 

 ter use ; and the others are, for the same purpose, 

 preserved with sugar. Gooseberries vary much in 



