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tlie venal patriarcli. In their firft interview, flic recapitulated 

 with dignity the revolutions of her life, gently accufed the 

 ])erlidy of Niccphorus, infinuated that he owed his life to 

 licr iiiifiirpicious clemency, and, for the throne and (reafurcs 

 which (he had religned, folicited a decent and honourable 

 retreat. His avarice refufed this niodelt compenfation ; 

 and, in her exile in the ifle of Le/bos, the emprefs earned 

 a fcanty fnbfidence by the labours of her diftaff." In this 

 forlorn condition flie died in the fucceeding year. Her 

 zeal for orthodoxy, and her liberidity to the church and the 

 poor, have, in the eyes of ecclefialliciJ hiftorians, nlmoil 

 wholly obliterated her favage cruelty and injullice towards 

 her fon. It is univerfally admitted that (he was endowed 

 with a llrong underllandiiig, and with great talents for go- 

 vernment. Univ. Hift. Gibbon. 



IRESINE, in Botany, is derived from iijo,-, tvool, be- 

 caufe this plant, when it bears truit, is covered with a fort 

 of woollinefs. Ei^'i^iivi; was the appellation of an olive-branch 

 entwined with wool, fuch as was cullomary for the Greeks 

 to hang up in their houfes. in order to avert famine. — Linn. 

 Gen. 52 1. Schreb. 687. Mart. Milh Did. v. 2. Browne 

 Jam. 35S. Swartz Obf 376. JufT. 88. Lamarck Did. 

 V. J. 292. Illudr. t. 813.— Clafs and order, Dicccm Pen- 

 ian.-ina. Nat. Ord. HoJeraceit-, Linn. Amaranlht, Jull'. 



Gen. Ch. Male, Cal Perianth of two leaves, very fmall, 

 ■acute, (hilling. Cor. Petals five, fclTile, lanceolate, erect ; 

 iietlary of five fcales, the (lamens being interpofed. Slum. 

 rilaments five, crcit ; anthers rou!idifli. Female, Cal. and 

 Cor, like the mule. P'tjl. Germen ovate, fuperior ; (U'e 

 none ; ftigmas two, roundilh. Perk, none, except the 

 permanent calyx. Sc;ds few, downy. 



Eff. Ch. Calyx two-leaved. Corolla of five petals. Male, 

 Neftaries feven. Female, Stigmas two, feffiie. Seeds 

 woolly. 



Obf. Profefibr Swartz has remarked that he never found 

 this plant but with hermaphrodite flowers. He is of 

 opinion that the plant defcribcd by IJrowne might be a 

 diftinft fpecies with dioecious flowers. Swartz alfo fays 

 that Irejtnc is fo clofely allied to Celojia, that it almott ap- 

 peal's to be a fpecies of this latter genus. 



I. /. celofw'tdes . Linn. Sp. PI. 1456. (Amarantus 

 panicula flavicante gracili holofericea ; Sloan. Jam. v. i. 142. 

 t. 90. f. 2.) — A native of Virginia and the Weft Indian 

 iOands, particularly Jamaica — Root perennial. Stems varying 

 in height from two to ten or twelve feet, jointed, furrowed, 

 divided at the top. Branches oppofite, a little fpreading. 

 Leaves oppofite, on foot-llalks, lanceolate or nearly ovate, 

 acute, fmooth. Panlcks terminal. Fhivers in a fort of 

 fpike, fmall, ovate, whitifh, fcaly at their bafe. Filaments 

 shorter than the corolla ; anthers yellow. The calyx re- 

 fembles a capfuh, inclofing one or more black fliiningyTrj/j. 

 A white wool is protruded from betv/een the fegments when 

 the time of flowering is paft. 



We fufpeft that another fpecies of this genus, with nar- 

 rower leaves, is found in Jamaica. 



IRETON, Htvny, in Biography, a celebrated com- 

 mander and ilatefman of the parhaincntary party in the civil 

 wars of Charles I., was dcfcended of a good family, and 

 brought up to the profefiion of the law. In the conte'.ls 

 of the period in which he flourjfhcd, Ireton i>ined the par- 

 liament army, and by his fuperior talents, and the iiitereft 

 of Cromwell, whofe daughter he married, rofe to the high 

 office of commiflary-geneial. At tlic famous battle of 

 Nafeby he was wounded and taken prifoner. By his addrefs 

 he foon obtained his liberty, and had a great (hare in all 

 thole political tranfatlions which threw the parliament into 

 4te power of the army, and afterwards changed the confti- 



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tution from a raonarcliy to a republic. His cotfticilsliad great 

 influence with his father-in-law ; and his education as a lawyer 

 caufed him to be employed in drawing up many of the pub- 

 lic papers of his party. From Ins fuggeftion, Cromwell 

 fecretly called, at Windfor, a council of the chief otScera, 

 in order to deliberate concerning the lettlement of the na- 

 tion, and the future difpofal of the kir.g's perfon, and he Lad 

 a principal hand in fraining the ordinance for the king's 

 trial, at « hich he fat as or.e of the judges. Throi:gh his 

 inftigation Fairfax put to de^th, by martial law, Lucas a!:d 

 Lifle, taken at the fiege of Colchefter. Tl js unufual fcvc- 

 rity was loudly exclaimed againft by all the prifoners. Lord 

 Capel reproached Ireton witli it ; ar.d challenged liim, as 

 they were all engaged in the fame honourable cnufc, lo excr- 

 cife the fame unpaitial vengeance upon all. Ireton accom- 

 panied Cromwell to Ireland in 16*59, ^"'^ '" ^^^ foHowirg 

 year was left by him in ihat illand as lord-deputy. Having 

 fiinlhed his military career with the capture of Limerick, he 

 was feized with a pefti'.ential difeafe in that place, of which 

 he died in November 1651 ; fincerely lamented by the re- 

 publicans, who revered him as a foldier, a ttatefman, and a 

 faint. According to Hume, he was " fierce in his nature, 

 though prob.-ibly fincere in his intentions ; he propofed, by 

 arbitrary power, to eftablifh Lberty, and in the profeciitioii 

 of his imagined religious purpofes, he thought himfelf dif- 

 penfed from all the ordinary rules of morality, by which 

 inferior mortals mull allow themfelves to be governed." 

 And again he was " much celebrated for his vigilance, in- 

 duftry, and capacity, even for the llrift execution of juilice^ 

 in that unlimited command which he pofiefied in Ireiaud." 

 He was obfervcd to be inflexible in all his purpofes, and 

 it was believed by many that he was animated with a fincei-e 

 and paffionate love of liberty, and never could have betm in- 

 duced by any motive to fubmit to the fmalleft appearance of 

 regal government. In gratitude for his great public fervices, 

 the parliament voted an eftate of 20C0.^ per ann. to his family, 

 and honoured him with a magnificent funeral at Weftmir.- 

 fter Abbey, a circumflance which, if he could have forefeen, 

 fays Ludlow, " he would certainly have made it his defire 

 that his body might have found a grave where his foul left 

 it ; fo much did he defpife thofe pompous and expenfive 

 vanities ; having erefted for himfelf a more glorious monu- 

 ment in the hearts of good men, by his affeftion to his coun- 

 try, his abilities of mind, his impartial jnilice, his diligence 

 in the public fervice, and his other virtues." Ludlow's 

 Memoirs. Hume Hift. Life of Cromwell in the Biog. 

 Brit. 



IREW, in Geography, a town on the S.E. coaft of tha 

 ifland of Timor. S. lat. 8 ' 45'. E. long 1 26" 3'. 



IRGANONG, a town of Hindooftan, in Baglana ; 2 

 miles S.E. of Saler Mouler. 



IRGISKOE, a town of Rufiia, in the government of 

 Saratov, fituated on the Irgis, which runs into the Volga, 

 near Vol(l<: ; 96' miles E. of Volfl<. 



IRI, a towqi of Africa, in the kingdom of Congo. 



IRJAB, a town of Candahar, taken by Timur Bee in 

 1 39S ; 46 miles S.E. of Cabul. N. lat. ^^ ' 50'. E. long. 

 69- S'. 



IRI ARTE Ic.NACio, in Bkgraphy, a Spani(h painter 

 of landfcapes, of whom Murillio faid, that he would only 

 afcribe the beauty of his works to divine infpiration. He 

 was fecrctary to the academy at Seville, where he died, in 

 1685. 



IRIDES, in Botany, the i8th natural order in JufTieu's 

 Syllcm, and the 8th of his 3d clafs. It is equivalent to the 

 F.nfatx of Linnajus, which latter appellation is properly, in 

 our opinion, retained by Mr. Gawler (now Ker), in his 



illnftration 



