More than one of these 7 encyclopedias carries each of the following subjects — but every one of them treats it in a sentence or two and then moves on. They are gathered here so the different accounts can sit side by side.
Carnival
Aiton's Encyclopedia: a farewell to meat. A time of feasting prior to the forty days of Lent, during which abstinence from eating meat is enjoined. It is observed throughout Roman Catholic countries as a season of merriment, revelry, feasts, dances, operas. In southern Europe much of the jollity has been handed down from the Bacchanalia, or feasts of Bacchus; and in the north, the old Yuletide banquets and drinking bouts have shaded off into carnival festivities. Whether the newspaper and the railroads are the cause or not, carnival festivities are not what they formerly were. See New Orleans
Collier's New Encyclopedia: the festival celebrated in Roman Catholic countries, and espegreat mirth and freedom during the week before the beginning of Lent. In the United States carnivals are annually celebrated at various places. That at New Orleans, known as Mardi Gras, is especially spectacular, the festivities being prolonged three days and attracting thousands of visitors.
Covered by Aiton's Encyclopedia and Collier's New Encyclopedia
Carte Blanche
Aiton's Encyclopedia: cart-blansh', literally a white card; hence a blank paper, and then an official document duly signed, but left to be filled out at the discretion of the officer or person to whom it is intrusted. The term is now used to designate full authority to act. In 1832, for instance, a memorable contest was on between the House of Commons and the House of Lords . The Tory lords refused twice to pass a reasonable house bill designed to extend suffrage to small householders and to reapportion representation in Parliament. The prime minister struggled with King William to secure the appointment of enough new lords to carry the bill through the upper house. Finally, the minister wrote on a scrap of paper which the king signed, "The king grants permission to Earl Gray . . . to create such a number of new peers as will ensure the passage of the Reform Bill." This bit of paper, now preserved in the British Museum , conferred authority which it was not necessary to use. The Tory lords stayed away when the bill was next put upon its passage, and it became a law. Disraeli wrote, "Lord Grey was armed with carte blanche."
Collier's New Encyclopedia: a blank sheet of paper to be filled up with such conditions as the person to whom it is given may think proper; hence an absolute freedom of action.
Covered by Aiton's Encyclopedia and Collier's New Encyclopedia
Cast
Aiton's Encyclopedia: a term applied by artists to an impression taken by means of wax or plaster of Paris, of a coin, bust, statue, face, or any other model. Powdered plaster of Paris is mixed into a paste, spread on the surface of the model, and suffered to harden to form a mold. It is then removed, dried thoroughly, and hardened with linseed oil. It may be made in two or more sections, the edges of which should be fitted carefully together. The mold is then filled with plaster of Paris which reproduces the features of the original model. In case of a living face, the eyebrows and hair are first anointed with sweet oil to prevent adhering, and pasteboard tubes are inserted in the nostrils to allow the model to breathe. Plaster casts may be hardened with soap, white wax, rosin, and linseed oil until they resemble marble in appearance and are able to withstand washing to remove dust and grime. See Sculpture ; Casting ; Bell
The Encyclopedia of Founding: A term used among fine-art workers, meaning impressions from sculptures, medals, and other delicate works of art; also, the taking of casts from the face and other natural objects. See PLASTER-CAST. Cast is a common term in the foundry; as, when a piece has been poured, it is said to be cast; when a moulder has finished pouring as many moulds as constitute a day's product, he is considered to be cast off.
Covered by Aiton's Encyclopedia and The Encyclopedia of Founding
Cataract
Collier's New Encyclopedia: an affection of the sight, in which the crystalline lens of the eye is more or less permeated by opaque matter, and objective vision either wholly or partially prevented . Cataract is of two kinds, viz., hard and soft. Hard cataract is most common among old people. Soft may occur at any age , but is found most frequently among children, and especially among those who have been born with this condition; in the latter case it is called congenital cataract. Traumatic cataract is so called when it is the result of a wound of the lens. Cataract is very recognizable in children, in whom it presents a bluishwhite appearance like milk and water in the pupil of the eye; in aged persons the color is much darker and less distinct, and therefore more difficult to see, but a careful examination will detect the opacity in the lens. Cataract is usually amenable to surgical treatment. CATARACT. See WATERFALL.
Aiton's Encyclopedia: . See Yosemite ; Niagara ; Victoria ; Waterpower
Covered by Collier's New Encyclopedia and Aiton's Encyclopedia
Caucasian Race
Aiton's Encyclopedia: one of the three great races of mankind. It is the white race, as distinguished from the yellow and the black races. The name is derived from the Caucasus Mountains in which the finest specimens of the race were believed to live. The original home of the white man is believed to be North Africa. Roughly speaking, Europe and North Africa, including Abyssinia, Western Asia and India, Australasia and the two Americas, exclusive of Indians and Africans, are peopled by the white race. Many tribes of dark complexion belong to the white race as determined by the shape of the head, hair, eyes, and lips. The hair is never woolly; the nose is large; the lips are not oblique; the cheek bones are small; and the features are regular. There are perhaps 770,000,000 Caucasians, about half of the human race. See Population
Collier's New Encyclopedia: the white man, one of the three more remarkable varieties of the species Man, the two others being the Yellow, or Mongolian, and the Black, or Ethiopian. The Caucasian Race occupies all Europe and western Asia as far as the Ganges, likewise northern Africa, and the greater part of America. To it belong the more highly civilized nations. The region of the Caucasus has been supposed to have been the cradle of the race, hence its name. A fair skin, elevated forehead, small cheek-bones, hair varying in color, but always smooth or wavy, together with high intellectual qualities, characterize the race.
Covered by Aiton's Encyclopedia and Collier's New Encyclopedia