cou 



302 



COU 



Ooutamb 

 f ■oupang. 



Prom his state of exile Coulomb was afterwards recalled 

 to Paris, to resume his labours relative to the new mea- 

 sures ; but he did not remain long in that metropolis. 

 He was pressed to rejoin his wife and family, and to 

 take charge of the small property which was their only 

 resource ; and he did not again return to Paris till the 

 establishment of the National Institute, of which he was 

 sleeted a member. His health, too, which had long 

 been in a declining state, required the assistance of art; 

 and he suffered extremely from the effects of a nervous 

 temperament, which produced a vivacity of character, 

 and an impatience of temper, which he found it very 

 troublesome to restrain. 



He was now appointed one of the inspectors general of 

 studies ; an office which he accepted after much hesita- 

 tion, but which he filled with great credit and usefulness. 

 The general debility with which he was afflicted, was 

 now greatly increased by a slow fever, which threatened 

 his existence, and which reduced him so much, that he 

 was unable to take any nourishment. The skill of his 

 medical friends was employed in vain, either in assua- 

 ging his distress, or in restoring his health ; and he died 

 on the 23d August 1806, at the age of 70, leaving be- 

 hind him two sons, with no other inheritance but that 

 which was derived from the virtues and the talents of 

 their father. 



The public as well as the private character of Coulomb 

 were universally admired. In the various rela'ions of 

 domestic life, he conducted himself with the utmost pru- 

 dence and affection. Severe to himself, and indulgent 

 to others, he united the most easy manners with a gra- 

 vity of character which inspired respect. He was unas- 

 suming, generous, and disinterested, without possessing 

 any of the failings by which these virtues are frequently 

 obscured. 



Beside the works which we have had occasion to men- 

 tion, Coulomb wrote an able dissertation on the force 

 of steam, which was read to the academy in 1775, and 

 published in their memoirs; and he intended, at the 

 earnest request of his scientific friends, to collect all his 

 memoirs into a separate volume. He had proceeded so 

 far in this work, as to transmit to his bookseller a note, 

 containing the order in which he wished them to be 

 printed. 



The English reader will find an account of several 

 of Coulomb's experiments on windmills, and an abstract 

 of his experiments on friction, in Ferguson's Lectures, 

 vol. ii. Appendix ; and in our articles Electricity, 

 Hydrodynamics, Magnetism, and Mechanics, we 

 shall have frequent occasion to follow him in his career 

 of discovery. (n>) 



COUNCIL. See Ecclesiastical History. 



COUPANG, a town in the island of Timor,, is the 

 capital of what was formerly the Dutch part of the island, 

 and is situated on the south-west end of the island, at the 

 bottom of a deep bay, which affords excellent anchorage 

 for shipping. There is a fort here, called Concordia, 

 where all thejEuiopcaus reside. It is close to the water's 

 edge, and was built by the Dutch in l6iS, when they 

 expelled the Portuguese from that part of the island. 

 The Chinese and the natives reside in a village without 

 the fort. There is a small fresh water river to the east 

 of the fort, which is navigable for a long boat at high- 

 water. The governor of Coupang has authority over 

 Rotti, Savu, and some of the other adjacent islands. 



The Dutch districts in Timor were lately taken posses- CmrUv' 

 sion of by the English. The only trade carried on at V— "V""" 

 Coupang is with Batavia, from which the Europeans ob- 

 tain necessary articles, and a small quantity of piece 

 goods, iron, steel, opium, &c. The exports to Batavia, 

 which are given in exchange for these commodities, are 

 slaves, gold dust, and wax. China weights are in com- 

 mon use at Coupang, and Dutch money passes here as 

 at Batavia. East Long. 124° 5', South Lat. \0° 9'. (m) 



COURLAND, the Duchy of, in the ci-devant 

 kingdom of Poland, is bounded on the north by the gulf 

 of Riga, on the west by the Baltic sea, on the east by 

 Lithuania, properly so called, and on the south by Sa-? 

 mogitia. It stretches in length about 250 miles, and its 

 average breadth may be estimated at about 60 miles. It 

 is in breadth, indeed, very irregular, extending in some 

 places 80 miles, in others scarce 30, and towards the east 

 terminating in a point. It is situated in E. long, between 

 2F and 26°, and between 56° 30' and 57° 30' N. lat. 

 constituting now a province of Russia, and one of its 

 great divisions subject to a distinct jurisdiction. 



The duchy of Courland is divided into three parts, viz. 

 Courland properly so called, Semigallia, and the district 

 of Pilten. The latter of these has its own particular con- 

 stitution. Courland and Semigillia are divided into 

 great governments, and these again into circles or dis- 

 tricts called parishes. 



The duchy of Courland swells into gentle hills. The 

 soil is fertile, producing corn, hemp, and flax, in abun- 

 dance. The country for the most part is open, but in 

 some places it is clothed with forests of pine and fir, 

 There occur also occasionally groves of fine oak, and 

 there is no want of shrubs and underwood. Courland is 

 noted for its breed of horses : black cattle also are reared 

 in plenty ; and the country is frequented by a great va- 

 riety of wild animals, such as deer, bears, lynxes, wolves, 

 martens, elks, and others. 



Courland exports a great part of the produce of its 

 soil, its corn, hemp, and flax. Besides these there are 

 various other productions, which, either in a natural or 

 prepared estate, may partly be disposed of abroad, such 

 as its timber, masts for ships, potass, skins, turpentine, 

 wax, amber, iron, copper, chalk, &c. 



In return for these articles, Courland imports coffee, 

 tea, wines, cloth, salt, and other foreign merchandise, in 

 sufficient quantity to supply the internal consumption. 

 The hemp seed of Courland, which is sent out of the 

 country in great quantity, is the most esteemed of all the' 

 seed of this kind that is obtained from the north. The 

 Dutch have been accustomed to make oil of it ; and it 

 has been usually sown throughout Flanders and France, 

 as well as pretty generally in other parts of Europe. 

 The Dutch alone have been in use to send not less than: 

 25 vessels annually into Courland, on account of this 

 trade. The situation of the duchy on the Baltic sea is 

 very favourable for the prosecution of its commerce. 

 The principal ports, Libau, and Windaw, have no great 

 depth of water. The inhabitants of these two cities have, 

 however, been in the practice of sending out many ves- 

 sels to sea. Under their duke Jacob, some of those 

 ships proceeded as far as to America, and colonies were 

 established by this people in the island of Tobago. The 

 two ports together employ annually from 800 to 1000 

 vessels, of two, three, and four hundred tons. 



The most considerable towns of Courland are Windaw,,, 



