ill 



GIDEON GILBERT. 



for the duties of a missionary to America. He then 

 returned to the south of Germany, but, his doctrines 

 having produced great disturbances at Ratisbon, he 

 was carried beyond the frontiers, and went to Vimim. 

 Tin-nee he returned to Holland. Here he had some 

 misunderstanding with Brekling, and was banished 

 from several places. Many ot his followers, also, 

 became opposed to him, on the ground that he pro- 

 moted idleness, by preaching entire dependence on 

 divine providence ; and, having depended on them 

 for support, was soon reduced to the greatest misery, 

 and is said to have attempted several times to destroy 

 himself. He died at Amsterdam in 1710. Two years 

 before his death, he is said to have lost two nails of 

 his right foot, in the place of which, grew out a sort 

 of claws, which he considered to be eagle's claws, 

 and indications of the approaching breaking out of 

 the spirit. Gichtel wrote several works, which were 

 published by himself or his pupils. His followers 

 call themselves the Angelic Brethren. It would have 

 been unnecessary to notice this obscure fanatic, had 

 not mysticism made so much progress in Germany, 

 that even Gichtel's works have been drawn from a 

 merited oblivion. 



GIDEON (Hebrew, meaning a destroyer); the son 

 of Joash, of the tribe of Manasseh, divinely called 

 to deliver the Israelites from the oppression of the 

 Midianites. Having effected their deliverance, he 

 was chosen judge of Israel. (See Judges vi, vii, 

 viii.) 



GIEBICHENSTEIN ; a village on the Saale, half 

 a league from Halle, with 550 inhabitants. Being so 

 near that ancient university, charmingly situated, 

 distinguished by the ruins of an ancient castle, which 

 is connected with many historical reminiscences, Gie- 

 bichenstein has, with the Germans, a kind of classical 

 dignity. Whoever has studied at Halle, remembers 

 some happy hours spent at Giebichenstein. 



GIESSEN ; capital of the principality of Upper 

 Hesse, belonging to Hesse-Darmstadt, on the Lahn; 

 50 25' N. lat., 8 43' E. Ion., with 5500 inhabitants. 

 A university was founded here in 1607. Its scanty 

 funds, the vicinity of the university of Marburg, and 

 the division of the territory of Hesse-Darmstadt, have 

 prevented it from ever having much over 500 stu- 

 dents. The annual income is now about 60,000 

 guilders. The library has 27,000 vols. In 1823, 

 there were twenty-two ordinary and five extraordi- 

 nary professors, and eleven unofficial lecturers. 



GIFFORD, WILLIAM ; a celebrated critic and 

 satirist, the founder, and for a considerable period 

 the editor, of the Quarterly Review. He was born 

 at Ashburton, in Devonshire, in April, 1756. His 

 father, a plumber and glazier, having dissipated his 

 property by extravagance and intemperance, died 

 when the son was about twelve years old ; and Wil- 

 liam fell under the guardianship of a person who sent 

 him to sea with the master of a coasting vessel, but 

 in a few months removed him from that situation, and 

 apprenticed him to a shoemaker at Ashburton. Dis- 

 gusted with this occupation, and possessing a strong 

 taste for study, he was fortunate enough to attract 

 the notice of Mr Cookesley, a surgeon of the town 

 in which he resided, who raised a subscription to 

 purchase his freedom for the latter part of the term 

 of his indentures, and to pay for his education. After 

 having passed two years at school, he was, through 

 the exertions of the same friend, supplied with the 

 means of continuing his studies at Oxford, where he 

 also obtained the office of Bible reader, at Exeter 

 college. While at the university, he undertook a 

 poetical translation of the Satires of Juvenal, but the 

 death of his patron, Mr Cookesley, interrupted the 

 progress of the work ; and, at length, through a for- 

 tunate accident, he was introduced tot'arlGrosvenor, 



and quitted Oxford to reside in the family of that 

 nobleman. He afterwards travelled on the continent, 

 with lord Belgrave, for some years, and, on his return 

 to England, settled in the metropolis, devoting his 

 time to literary pursuits. In 1791, he published 

 The Baviad, a poetical satire ; and, in 1794, appeared 

 The Maeviad, a severe animadversion on the degraded 

 state of the drama. These works, though virulent 

 and coarse, display much critical ability. In 1797 

 he became editor of the Anti-Jacobin newspaper an 

 office which involved him in a quarrel with doctor 

 Wolcot, against whom he published a pamphlet in 

 verse, entitled An Epistle to Peter Pindar. His trans- 

 lation of the Satires of Juvenal was published in 

 1802, and is executed in a manner highly creditable 

 to his abilities. His next publication was an edition 

 of the plays of Massinger, with notes, and a life of 

 that dramatist ; and he afterwards edited, in a similar 

 manner, the works of Ben Johnson, Ford, and Shir- 

 ley. In 1809, he commenced the publication of the 

 Quarterly Review, of which he continued to be con- 

 ductor till 1824, when the infirmities of age obliged 

 him to resign. His death took place, December 31, 

 1826, at his residence at Pimlico, near London, and 

 he was interred on the 8th of January following, in 

 Westminster abbey. Besides the works already 

 noticed, he was the author of a translation of the 

 Satires of Persius. He enjoyed an annuity from lord 

 Grosvenor, and held the office of paymaster of the 

 band of gentlemen pensioners, with a salary of .300 

 a year ; he was also, for a time, comptroller of the 

 lottery, with a salary of .600 a year. 



GIG. See Boat. 



GIGLI, JEROME, was born at Sienna, Oct. 14, 

 1660. His lyric and dramatic productions met with 

 universal success. His modified translation of the 

 Tartuffe, his attacks upon the academy Delia Crusca, 

 and his caustic wit, applied to such a variety of sub- 

 jects, and so many people, involved him in difficulties. 

 He was compelled to retract, at Rome, all he had 

 said ; and he died, Jan. 4, 1722, so poor that the 

 expenses of his burial were defrayed by some chari- 

 table monks. A short time before his death, lie 

 burned many of his smaller writings, the overflowings 

 of his bitter humour. The works which he has left 

 are numerous, and part of them very spirited and 

 witty. This is particularly the case with some ficti- 

 tious historical and biographical memoirs, which even 

 deceived Apostolo Zeno, who gravely noticed them, as 

 authentic works, in the Giornale fife' Letterati d 'Italia. 

 The character of Gigii was frank and bold, and op- 

 posed to all hypocrisy and pretence. As a member 

 of the Arcadians at Rome, he bore the name of 

 Amaranto Sciatidico. 



GILBERT, Sir HUMPHREY ; an English navigator 

 and maritime discoverer, in the reign of queen Eliza- 

 beth. He was born in Devonshire, about 1539, and 

 studied at Eton and Oxford. Adopting the military 

 profession, he served with reputation on various occa- 

 sions. Possessing a strong propensity for speculation 

 and enterprise, he turned his attention to a scheme 

 for exploring the Arctic seas, relative to which he 

 published A Discourse of a Discovery for a new Pas- 

 sage to Cataia (1576 ; reprinted in Hakluyt's collec- 

 tion of voyages, vol. iii). In 1578, Sir Humphrey 

 Gilbert obtained from the queen a patent, empower- 

 ing him to discover and colonize in North America 

 any land then unsettled. He made a voyage to New- 

 foundland, but soon returned home unsuccessful. In 

 1583, he sailed again with a small fleet, and, having 

 landed on Newfoundland in the beginning of August, 

 he took possession of the harbour of St John's. 

 Shortly after, he embarked in a small sloop to explore 

 the coast, and was lost in a storm. 



GILBERT ; the name of two French poets: 



