518 



GRAMMAR GRANDEE. 



the degree of M. D., and settled in the metropolis. 

 An Ode to Solitude procured him reputation in the 

 literary world. In 1759 he published a translation 

 of the Elegies of Tibullus. He then went to the 

 V>'est Indies, with a young gentleman to whom he 

 had become tutor, and, on his arrival at Basseterre, 

 in the island of St Christopher, married the daughter 

 of the governor. He engaged in medical practice at 

 that place, and was very successful. His leisure was 

 devoted to poetry ; and he produced a didactic poem, 

 in blank verse, entitled the Sugar Cane, and Bryan 

 and Pereene, a ballad. The former he published in 

 1764, during a visit to Britain. He then returned 

 to Basseterre, where he died of an epidemic fever, in 

 1767. 



GRAMMAR. See Language. 



GRAMME ; the unit of weight in France, which 

 has taken the place of the gros ; equal to 15*434 grains 

 Troy ; 453,544 grammes, making one pound avoirdu- 

 pois. All weights are formed from it by multiplication 

 or division : for instance, the decagramme, a weight 

 of 10 grammes, which is equal to 6 drams, 10-44 

 grains ; the hectogramme, a weight of 100 grammes 

 (3 oz. 4 dr. 8 gr.) ; the kilogramme, a weight of 1000 

 grammes (about 2 Ibs. 8 oz.) ; the myriagramme, a 

 weight of 10,000 grammes (about 26 Ibs. 9 oz). The 

 decigramme is a tenth of a gramme, or one grain and 

 fifty-four hundredths; the centigramme is one hun- 

 dredth of a gramme, or -154 of a grain ; the milli- 

 gramme is a thousandth part of a gramme, or -0154 

 of a grain : it supplies the place of the carat. 



GRAMMONT, PHILIBERT, count of; son of An- 

 thony, duke of Grammont. He served under the 

 prince of Conde and Turenne, but, having rashly paid 

 his addresses to a lady who was a well-known favour- 

 He of Louis XIV., he was obliged to quit France, and 

 went to England two years after the restoration. He 

 was highly distinguished by Charles II., possessing, 

 with a great turn for gallantry, much wit, humour, 

 politeness, and good nature. He seems to have been 

 indebted for his support chiefly to his profits at play, 

 at which he was very successful. He married Miss 

 Elizabeth Hamilton, daughter of Sir George Hamil- 

 ton, and died in 1707. His celebrated Memoirs were 

 written by his brother-in-law, Anthony, generally 

 called count Hamilton, who followed the fortunes of 

 James II., and afterwards entered the French service, 

 and died in 1720. 



GRAMPIAN MOUNTAINS ; a chain of moun- 

 tains in Scotland, which, stretching like a mighty 

 wall along the southern front of the Highlands, ex- 

 tends across the island, from the district of Cowal, 

 in the shire of Argyle, on the Atlantic, to Aberdeen- 

 shire, on the German ocean ; and then, forming ano- 

 ther ridge in a north-westerly direction, extends to 

 the county of Moray, and the borders of Inverness. 

 Their general height is from 1400 to 3500 feet above 

 the level of the sea ; and several peaks rise consider- 

 ably higher. The height of Benlomond, in Dumbar- 

 tonshire, is 3262 ; of Ben Ledi, 3009 ; Ben More, 

 3903 ; Ben Lawers, the chief summit, 4015 ; She- 

 challion, 3564 ; and Ben Voirlich, 3300. 



GRANADA ; an extensive maritime province, in 

 the south of Spain, nearly 200 miles in length, and 

 varying from forty to seventy in breadth. Its length is 

 nearly from E. to VV., having on the S. the Mediterra- 

 nean, on the N. a part of Andalusia ; its south-west 

 extremity approaches Gibraltar. Among the moun- 

 tains, a calcarious soil, in many places unproductive, 

 is prevalent ; but the valleys contain a rich and fer- 

 tile mould. The Viga (orchard) de Granada, where 

 the capital is situated, is one of the richest and most 

 delightful spots in the world. This fertility is owing 

 chiefly to the copious streams that flow from the 

 mountains in summer, on the melting of the snow. 



Vines are cultivated on the sides of the hills, but the 

 wine is indifferent. Silk is more attended to. Along 

 the coast are raised indigo, collee, and sugar. 



GRANADA ; a celebrated city in the south of 

 Spain, and capital of the province of that name. The 

 situation is highly romantic. The town exhibits to 

 the approaching traveller the form of a half-moon, 

 its streets rising above each other, with a number or' 

 turrets and gilded cupolas, the whole crowned by the 

 Alhambra, or palace of the ancient Moorish kings, 

 and, in the back ground, the Sierra de Nevada, co- 

 vered with snow. But, on entering the gates, all this 

 grnndeur disappears ; the streets are found to be nar- 

 row and irregular; the buildings display visible marks 

 of decay, and are inferior to those of many other 

 towns in Spain. Granada is built on two adjacent 

 hills, and divided into four quarters. The river 

 Darro flows between the two hills, and traverses the 

 town, after which it falls into the larger stream of the 

 Xenil, which flows outside the walls. In point of 

 extent, Granada is nearly as great as in the days of 

 its prosperity. The cathedral is an irregular but 

 splendid building; the archbishop's palace is also 

 extensive and elegant ; likewise the mansion occu- 

 pied by the captain-general of the province. But 

 the grand ornament of Granada is the Alhambra. 

 Though now, like the town, in a state of decay, Us 

 remains sufficiently show its original splendour. 1 1 

 commands a beautiful prospect ; but a still finer is 

 afforded by another Moorish palace, called the Gene- 

 raliffe, built on an opposite hill, and the retreat of 

 the court during the heat of summer. Granada has 

 various manufactures, such as silk and woollen stuffs ; 

 it has also a tannery, and a manufactory of gunpowder 

 and saltpetre. Granada is the seat of a university. 

 Population, 66,600; 123 miles E. Seville; 224 S. 

 Malaga ; Ion. 3 46' E.; lat. 37 16' N. 



GRANADE. See Grenade. 



GRAND BANK OF NEWFOUNDLAND; Ion. 

 49 45' to 54 45' W.; lat. 41 50' to 50 24' N. 

 This noted fishing-bank extends from N. to S., and 

 is almost of a triangular shape. Between it and the 

 island on the west, there is a broad channel of deep 

 water. About 3000 small vessels, belonging chiefly 

 to Great Britain and America, are annually employed 

 in the cod-fishery on this bank. 



GRANDEE. In the kingdom of Castile, and in 

 that of Arragon, there was a distinction of rank 

 among the nobles of the country, who belonged 

 partly to the higher, and partly to the lower, nobili- 

 ty. The ricos hombres (literally, rich men) made up 

 the former ; the knights (cavalleros) and gentlemen 

 (hidalgos) the latter. The circumstances of the 

 establishment of the new Christian states which were 

 founded and enlarged amid perpetual struggles against 

 the Moors, procured an important share in the public 

 affairs, for the descendants of the men who consti- 

 tuted the first armed associations for the deliverance 

 of their country. These were the higher nobility. 

 They limited the power of the king ; they surrounded 

 him, as his counsellors, by birthright, .and had a 

 priority of claim to the highest offices of state. As 

 early as the thirteenth century, these rights were 

 legally recognised as belonging to certain noble 

 families, which had gained the respect of the people 

 by their opulence and long possession of the favour 

 of their princes ; and even the name grandee occurs 

 about that age, in the code of laws (las siete partidas) 

 which Alfonso X. established in the kingdom of Cas- 

 tile. This distinction belonged only to the principal 

 members of the higher nobility, as many were reck- 

 oned in this class who were not called grandee-;. 

 But none were called grandees, who were not ricos 

 hombres, i. e., descended from a family of the ai> 

 rient nobility. The grandees consisted partly of the 



