GOSSE 



2542 



GOTHS 



to be almost invisible, but when blown about 

 by the wind they unite and form thicker 

 threads. The name is also applied to a va- 

 riety of gauze which is much used for ladies' 

 veils. It is very delicate in texture, yet strong. 



GOSSE, gos, EDMUND WILLIAM (1849- ), 

 English poet, student and critic of literature, 

 and one of the most active of writers. He was 

 born in London. From 1875 to 1904 he was 

 translator to the London Board of Trade, and 

 since 1904 has been librarian of the House of 

 Lords. He has specialized in the study of 

 Scandinavian literature, and has published a 

 volume of Studies in the Literature of North- 

 ern Europe. Notable among other works are 

 Fvom Shakespeare to Pope; An Inquiry into 

 the Causes of the Rise of Classical Poetry in 

 England; History of Eighteenth Century Liter- 

 ature, and History of Modern English Liter- 

 ature^ His poetry, which is contained in Mad- 

 rigals, Songs and Sonnets, On Viol and Flute, 

 In Russet and Silver, and other collections, is 

 graceful and musical, and his prose has a dis- 

 tinct charm. 



GOSSE, PHILIP HENRY (1810-1888), an Eng^ 

 lish zoologist, was born at Worcester. He 

 traveled extensively in the United States, Eng- 

 land, Canada and Jamaica to study various 

 phases of animal life, and did much to advance 

 the science of marine zoology. His influence 

 in this direction was far-reaching and perma- 

 nent. In 1856 he was made a Fellow of the 

 Royal Society. His writings include The Cana- 

 dian Naturalist, Evenings with the Microscope 

 and Marine Zoology. His son, Edmund Wil- 

 liam Gosse, is the author of many popular 

 works. See GOSSE, EDMUND WILLIAM. 



GOTH 'AM, a name applied somewhat de- 

 risively to New York City by Washington 

 Irving in 1807 in his book Salmagundi. As 

 early as the fourteenth century the "fools of 

 Gotham" are mentioned in literature, the name 

 being derived from a parish in England whose 

 inhabitants were noted for their follies and 

 their simplicity. According to the story, King 

 John, on his way through the country, sent 

 word to the Gothamites to prepare to enter- 

 tain him. They pretended to be imbeciles to 

 avoid the expense, andlhe king journeyed else- 

 where. "As wise as the men of Gotham" after 

 that grew into a proverb to mean worldly 

 wisdom. 



GOTHENBURG, got' en burg, or GOTE- 

 BORG, next 'to Stockholm the largest and most 

 important city in Sweden. It is the capital of 

 the Lan, or province, of the same name, and 



is a remarkably picturesque, well-built city, on 

 a level plain about four miles from the mouth 

 of the Gota-Elf, in the Kattegat. The chief 

 industries are cotton spinning, sawmilling, 

 shipbuilding and the manufacture of iron and 

 steel. An extensive trade is conducted, the 

 harbor, accommodating vessels drawing twenty 

 feet of water, being rarely blocked with ice. 

 One-fourth of the foreign commerce of Sweden 

 passes through" Gothenburg. The city has an 

 excellent university supported by private funds, 

 with about 2,000 students, and technical, nauti- 

 cal and commercial schools. Population in 

 1912, 173,875. 



GOTHS, -a powerful Germanic tribe of 

 ancient times, which was connected in an im- 

 portant way with the history of the Roman 

 Empire. In the fourth century before the 

 Christian Era the Goths dwelt upon the 

 shores of the Baltic Sea, but little is known 

 of them until early in the third century A. D., 

 when they were settled about the mouths of 

 the Danube River. There they grew rapidly 

 in numbers and in strength, and by the middle 

 of the century had begun to invade the Roman 

 province of Dacia. During many years of 

 warfare they held their own against the Roman 

 armies sent to drive them back, and in 272 

 Dacia was ceded to them by the Emperor 

 Aurelian. About a century later they divided 

 into the Ostrogoths (Goths of the. East) and 

 the Visigoths (Goths of the West), the former 

 dwelling on the shores of the Black Sea, the 

 latter inhabiting Dacia and the banks of the 

 Danube River. 



The Visigoths. In 395 a great army of 

 Visigoths, led by the renowned King Alaric 

 (which see), invaded Greece and laid waste 

 the Peloponnesus. Alaric ceased his depreda- 

 tions only when the governorship of Illyricum 

 was promised him. In 410 he stormed and 

 sacked Rome, and was preparing to lead his 

 forces to Sicily when he died. Under his suc- 

 cessors a powerful Visigothic kingdom was 

 established in Southern Gaul (the southern 

 part of modern France) and Spain. In 507 

 Alaric II, king of the Visigoths, was defeated 

 by the Frankish king, Clovis (which see), and 

 the territory of the Visigoths as far south as 

 the Pyrenees Mountains was added to the 

 kingdom of the Franks. The Visigothic king- 

 dom in Spain endured until 711, when the last 

 king, Roderick, was slain in a battle with the 

 Moors. 



The Ostrogoths. In the latter part of the 

 fifth century the Ostrogoths were given permis- 



