CAPITOL 



1174 



CAPSICUM 



Lee and adopted the subsequent Declaration, 

 sat in Philadelphia from September 5, 1774, to 

 December, 1776. 



4 During the course of the Revolution the dan- 

 gerous proximity of the British troops made 

 necessary frequent changes of headquarters for 

 the national governing body, and Congress met 

 in the following cities: 



Baltimore, Dec. 20, 1776, to Mar., 1777. 



Philadelphia, Mar. 4, 1777, to Sept., 1777. 



Lancaster, Pa., Sept. 27, 1777, to Sept. 30, 

 1777. 



York, Pa., Sept. 30, 1777, to July, 1778. 



Philadelphia, July 2, 1778, to June 30, 1783. 



Princeton, N. J., June 30, 1783, to Nov. 20, 

 1783. 



Annapolis, Md., Nov. 26, 1783, to Nov. 30, 

 1784. 



Trenton, N. J., Nov. 30, 1784, to Jan., 1785. 



New York, Jan. 11, 1785, to June, 1790. 



For the next ten years Philadelphia was the 

 seat of government, but that city was regarded 

 only as a temporary location, as the Constitu- 

 tion, drafted in 1787, authorized Congress to 

 exercise exclusive legislation over some district, 

 not exceeding 100 square miles, which should 

 be ceded by particular states and be acceptable 

 to Congress as the seat of government. Pres- 

 ident Washington favored a site for the capital 

 city somewhere on the Potomac, and he was 

 authorized by Congress to select a site. Mary- 

 land made a cession of 69% square miles, and 

 Virginia one of 30% square miles, on opposite 

 sides of the river (see DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA). 

 The city of Washington, which was laid out on 

 the Maryland side of the Potomac, became 

 officially the national capital in 1800. The 

 Virginia cession was subsequently returned to 

 that state. B.M.W. i 



CAPITOL. Historically the name capital is 

 applied to the Capitoline Mount, the smallest 

 and most famous of the seven hills on which 

 Rome was built ; sometimes the name is applied 

 to the great temple of Jupiter, which stood on 

 the southern of the two summits of the Capi- 

 toline. The northern summit was the site of 

 the citadel of the ancient city. The temple to 

 Jupiter, in which was carried on the worship 

 of three great deities, Jupiter, Juno and 

 Minerva, was the center of the state religion. 

 The edifice was begun by one of the legendary 

 kings of Rome, and was later destroyed and 

 rebuilt again and again, each time with greater 

 magnificence. The final structure, that of Do- 

 mitian, lasted until the tenth century. Other 

 important structures on the Capitoline Hill 

 were the temple of Jupiter Tonans (Jupiter of 

 Thunder), erected by the Emperor Augustus; 



and the Tabularium, a magnificent library built 

 in 73 B. c., for the housing of the public records. 

 See ROME. ' 



The modern application of the word relates 

 to a pretentious building in the seat of govern- 

 ment of a country, province or state, from which 

 the government administers the laws. The city 

 is thus the capital city; the building is the 

 capital. 



CAPRI, kahpre', known in ancient times as 

 Capreae, is a beautiful island belonging to 

 Italy, in the Bay of Naples, celebrated for its 

 delightful climate and invigorating air. It 

 yearly attracts over 30,000 tourists. Capri has 

 an area of five and three-fourths square miles, 

 and its highest elevation, Mount Solaro, rises 

 1,920 feet above the sea. The islanders pro- 

 duce white and red wine, oil and fruits, and 

 also engage in fishing. The towns are the 

 capital, Capri, in the eastern part, and Ana- 

 capri, in the west, built on a plateau 880 feet 

 above the sea and reached by a winding road 

 cut through the rock. Population of the 

 island, about 6,800. 



CAPRICORNUS, kaprikor' nits, meaning the 

 goat, is applied to a constellation of the south- 

 ern hemisphere and the tenth sign of the zodiac, 

 marking the winter solstice, about December 

 21. The symbol of Capricornus is V3, repre- 

 senting the horns of the animal, and it generally 

 appears in art as a figure with the forepart of 

 a goat and the hindpart of a fish. According 

 to tradition, the goat represents the god Pan, 

 who had the head of a man with the legs of 

 a goat. By some it is supposed to represent 

 Amalthea, the goat who suckled the infant 

 Hercules. The form Capricorn is the name of 

 the southern tropic. See ZODIAC; TROPICS. 

 - CAPSICUM , kap ' tsi kum, an annual shrubby 

 plant with wheel-shaped flowers and many- 

 seeded berries. 

 Although chiefly 

 natives of the 

 East and West 

 Indies, China, 

 Brazil and Egypt, 

 these plants have 

 spread to other 

 tropical or sub- 

 tropical countries. 

 Capsicum is cul- 

 tivated for its 

 fleshy fruit, which 

 at times reaches CAPSICUM 



the size of an orange; it is variously colored 

 and very sharp to the taste. The fruit or pod 



