QUARTZ QUATRE-BRAS. 



775 



it is always set. The ancients were much in the 

 habit of engraving upon this variety of quartz. The 

 rose quartz is cut into vases and cups, and, when of 

 a delicate colour, and free from flaws, is highly 

 esteemed. The yellow quartz is one of the most 

 frequent stones employed for watch seals, having 

 almost entirely supplanted the carnelian, which was 

 formerly so much in vogue ; it is called topaz by 

 the jewellers. Chalcedony receives a high polish, 

 exhibiting a slight degree of unctuosity. The an- 

 cients have left us many beautiful specimens of this 

 variety of quartz, wrought into cameos and cups. 

 They obtained it from the region of the Nasamones, 

 in Africa, and from the environs of Thebes, in 

 Egypt. The Japanese cut an immense quantity of 

 carnelian into the form of the fruit of the olive, 

 which they perforate, to be worn as beads. The 

 carnelians, which are sold at Bombay, are brought 

 from the province of Guzerat, in India, and the finest 

 pieces come from the gulf of Cambay. Lapidaries 

 distinguish two varieties of carnelian, viz. those 

 having a pale colour, with a tinge of yellow, and 

 those of a lively and deep-red colour. The last 

 are the most rare, and the most highly esteemed, 

 also, on account of their beauty. The Japanese 

 are said to possess the art of heightening the colour 

 of the pale carnelians. What is called white carne- 

 lian, is simply chalcedony. The carnelian was 

 much in vogue among the Romans ; and the mo- 

 derns possess numerous specimens of ancient work- 

 manship in this stone. The sardonyx (an intermix- 

 ture of chalcedony and carnelian, the colours fading 

 gradually together, and not arranged in distinct 

 lines) was also in high estimation, in early times, 

 and still continues to be employed in jewelry. The 

 onyx, or banded agate, which exhibits two, three 

 or more colours, disposed in parallel lines, consti- 

 tuted the most valuable material for the exercise of 

 the glyptic art, as the workman was enabled to 

 make use of the different colours to represent his 

 subject in a natural manner; for example, the white 

 and the red of chalcedony and carnelian were de- 

 voted to the representation of human flesh, while 

 black, green, yellow, &c., were appropriated to 

 drapery and other parts of his design. Among the 

 finest cameos of ancient execution, may be mentioned 

 the following, now preserved in the royal library 

 of Paris : the Apotheosis of Augustus; the Myste- 

 ries of Ceres and Bacchus; the Apotheosis of Ger- 

 manicus (which is engraved upon an onyx of four 

 differently coloured bands, and in which Germanicus 

 is represented as borne on the wings of an eagle) ; 

 Tiberius ; a Quarrel between Neptune and Minerva. 

 The onyx, as well as the heliotrope and agatized 

 wood, are also cut into thin plates for various kinds 

 of inlaid work. The most important applications 

 of this species to useful purposes, depend upon its 

 being composed of silex. Quartz enters into the 

 composition of glass, both white and coloured. It 

 is added to the mass of porcelain, in the state of an 

 impalpable powder, and forms part of the paste, 

 also, in other kinds of pottery. It is used as a flux 

 in the melting of several kinds of ores, particularly 

 those of copper, and in other metallurgical pro- 

 cesses. The use of flint in gun-locks is well known. 

 Lydian stone is employed for trying the composition 

 of mixtures of gold and silver. Sandstone yields 

 various applications for architectural and other pur- 

 poses, as the construction of melting-furnaces, mill- 

 stones, &c. A variety of sandstone from Villa 

 Rica, in Brazil, which is flexible, deserves to be 

 spoken of in this place. Its flexibility is probably ow- 

 ing to scales of mica disseminated through its mass. 

 Sand, with slaked lime, forms mortar. It is also 

 used, in some countries, for the improvement of roads. 



QUASSIA. The quassia simaruba is a tree of 

 moderate size, inhabiting various parts of intertro- 

 pical America, in a sandy soil. The bark, both of 

 the trunk and roots, is of a pale yellow colour, and 

 gives out a yellowish, milky and bitter juice. The 

 leaves are alternate, very large, and pinnate, 

 composed of alternate and almost sessile leaflets, 

 and destitute of a terminal one. The flowers are 

 monoecious, and disposed in large axillary panicles; 

 and the fruit is composed of five capsules, each 

 having the form and size of an olive. The bark is 

 the purest bitter known, and has long been employ- 

 ed by the inhabitants of Guiana. It is found, in 

 commerce, in the form of long, rolled strips. 



The Q. amara is a lofty tree, not unlike the com- 

 mon ash in its general appearance, inhabiting the 

 same countries. The flowers are in terminal ra- 

 cemes, and of a bright red. All parts of the tree 

 are intensely bitter, but the bark is now esteemed 

 the most powerful. Quassia has no sensible odour. 

 Its taste is that of a pure bitter, more intense and 

 durable than that of almost any other known sub- 

 stance. It is said to be sometimes used in brewing 

 malt liquors, as a substitute for hops. 



QUATRAIN, in versification ; a strophe of four 

 verses; for example, the two first strophes of a 

 sonnet; but the quatrain may form an independent 

 whole. 



QUATRE-BRAS AND LIGNY, BATTLES OF, 

 on June 16, 1815. These two battles are to be 

 considered as the first act of the great and bloody 

 drama of Waterloo, (q. v.) Napoleon's plan, at 

 the opening of the campaign of 1815, was to fight 

 his enemies singly, as he felt himself unequal to 

 meet their combined forces. The chief purpose of 

 his movements, therefore, was to anticipate their 

 concentration. The Russians and Austrians, yet 

 on their march towards the Rhine, might be 

 left out of the calculation ; but Wellington, with 

 102,000 British, Netherlandish, and Brunswick 

 troops, and Blucher, with 120,000 Prussians, were 

 near the French frontiers, between Brussels and 

 Liege, yet in detachment cantonments, on account 

 of the difficulty of obtaining provisions. Their 

 united forces were much superior to those of 

 Napoleon, which, according to the French ac- 

 counts, amounted to 150,000. It was, therefore, 

 necessary for him to prevent the union of Welling- 

 ton and Blucher, and to beat them separately. 

 Several circumstances held out a prospect of suc- 

 cess ; he was perfectly acquainted with the ground, 

 could determine how much time was necessary to 

 concentrate the different corps of the enemy ; and 

 Blucher and Wellington would need at least two 

 days to effect a union. Blucher, as the most hasty, 

 was to be first attacked, and driven back to the 

 Rhine ; after which it would not be difficult to beat 

 the more cautious Wellington. The calculations 

 seemed excellent, but were not successfully accom- 

 plished. Napoleon found the enemy, on the morn- 

 ing of June 15, yet apparently in perfect quiet. 

 His rapid advance, in three columns, over the 

 Sambre, towards Charleroy, was equivalent to a 

 surprise. The first Prussian corps, under general 

 Ziethen, forming, as it were, Blucher's advanced 

 guard, retired, according to standing orders, with 

 equal skill and coolness, though not without con- 

 siderable loss, towards Fleurus, gaining time, as 

 had been intended, to concentrate the other corps, 

 and prepare for action in the rear of Fleurus. 

 Towards noon, Napoleon, then at Charleroy, deve- 

 loped his plan more fully. On the road leading 

 north from Charleroy to Brussels, which is thirty 

 miles distant, lie the positions Gosselies, Frasnes, 

 Quatre-Bras (a hamlet consisting of a few houses, 



