GIPSY 



2497 



GIRARD COLLEGE 



Berlin and four in private collections, which 

 originally formed a series of twenty-six illus- 

 trative of the lives of Christ and Saint Fran- 

 cis that is, representative of the circumstances 

 in the two lives which seem to have had certain 

 likenesses. A mosaic of the Navicella, or 

 Christ saving Saint Peter from the waves, is 

 now preserved in the portico of Saint Peter's 

 Church at Rome. 



GIPSY, jip'sy. See GYPSY. 



GIRAFFE, jira}', or CAMELOPARD , ka 

 mel'opard, the tallest of all animals, a full- 

 grown male being eighteen feet high, three 

 times the height of a tall man. It is found 

 only in Africa, and is a shy, forest-loving, cud- 



THE GIRAFFE 

 In natural position, and when grazing. 



chewing animal which feeds on grass and leaves 

 of trees. The Swiss naturalist Rutimeyer fit- 

 tingly described it as "a most fantastic form 

 of deer." 



Its great height is due to an extraordinary 

 length of neck, in which, however, there are 

 but seven vertebrae. The body is short and 

 slopes sharply down to the. tail, which ends in a 

 tuft of hair, and to the casual observer it seems 

 that the front legs are longer than the hind 

 ones; however, the long, slender legs, cloven- 

 hoofed, are all the same length. On the long 

 head are two ears of moderate size and two 

 short, bony projections resembling horns. The 

 upper lip, which extends far beyond the nos- 

 trils, and the eighteen-inch tongue lend help 

 in the tearing of twigs and leaves from trees. 

 The nostrils can be closed to guard against 

 157 



thorns when feeding, and against blowing sand. 

 The eyes are large, lustrous and appealing, 

 and so placed that the animal can see behind 

 him, in front and at the sides. Excepting a 

 short mane on the neck, a giraffe's hair is 

 short and smooth. It is reddish white, marked 

 with darker spots. Like several other animals 

 of hot, dry countries, giraffes can exist for 

 many days without drinking. When grazing, 

 the animal stands with its front legs far apart, 

 to bring its head nearer to the ground. 



This animal, keen of smell, hearing and 

 sight, walks very slowly, but when pursued 

 runs so fleetly in a rocking, camel-like gallop 

 it is not easily overtaken by a horse. But 

 when once reached it is easily killed, and 

 giraffes have been hunted so vigorously for 

 their hides, which are made into whips in use 

 all over South Africa, that they are now rarely 

 seen. 



The giraffe requires very careful attention 

 and constant care in captivity or it will die. 

 It is one of the animals arousing most interest 

 in parks and zoological gardens, not only for 

 its remarkable appearance, but for its amusing, 

 hopping antics when playing. 



The name camelopard is given because the 

 animal is formed somewhat like a camel and is 

 spotted like a leopard. The name giraffe 

 means to walk slowly. M.R.T. 



GIRARD, jirard", COLLEGE, a school 

 founded in 1848 by the will of Stephen Girard 

 at Philadelphia, -PaT, for the education of the 

 "poor white male orphan." He fixed the age 

 of admission between six and ten, while the 

 age of le'aving is from fourteen to eighteen. 

 At first, the institution was placed in trust of 

 the city council of Philadelphia, but that plan 

 was found impracticable, so it is now man- 

 aged by the board of directors of city trusts, 

 which includes the mayor. By one of the 

 peculiar terms of the will "no ecclesiastic, mis- 

 sionary or minister of any sect whatsoever" 

 can be employed in any capacity in the school. 

 When it was organized there were 100 stu- 

 dents, but now it has a capacity of 1,520. 

 Forty acres of campus are inclosed by a ten- 

 foot stone wall, and there are twenty buildings 

 in addition to the main building. All branches 

 of work up through high school and along 

 mechanical lines are taught to fit boys for 

 earning their own living. By wise investment 

 the endowment of the school has increased to 

 almost $29,000,000. 



Stephen Girard (1750-1831), an American 

 financier and philanthropist, was the chief 



