Gourd
gord, the fruit of a vine allied to the squash, pumpkin, and melon. Gourds have hard, thin shells, which fit them well for ornaments and household utensils. Some of the tribes of interior Africa were found by Dr. Livingstone to have almost no other utensils; dippers, bottles, baskets, and buckets being made from the calabash gourd. The fruit of the calabash tree of the West Indies is used by the natives for similar purposes, whence its name. Some idea of the variety of shapes may be had from names selected from a catalog, as bonnet, dipper, spoon, powder horn, ostrich egg, etc. See Pumpkin ; Squash
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Gourock
a watering place of Renfrewshire, Scotland, on the Firth of Clyde, 3 miles W. N. W. of Greenock, by a railway opened in 1889, since which time it has become the starting point of Irish and other steamers. At Kempoch Point here, behind which rises Barrhill (478 feet), stands "Granny Kempoch," a prehistoric monolith associated with the witches of Renfrewshire (1662). In 1688 the first red herring ever cured in Great Britain was cured at Gourock.
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Gout
a disease of the joints, particularly of the knees and feet. Medical authorities are uncertain as to the cause and nature of gout. It is accompanied by the accumulation of a salty acid in the afflicted joints, and causes most excruciating pain. To step on a man's gouty toe is an unpardonable offense. The disease is supposed, at least by those who do not have it, to be the result of high living, especially the drinking of wine. Doctors say it is prevalent among rich and poor on both sides of the Atlantic. The traditions of literature localize the gout as an aristocratic disease peculiar to England. A predisposition to gout may be inherited. It manifests itself in middle age, and more frequently in men than in women. See Disease
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Governor's Island
a small island at the main entrance of Boston Harbor; Fort Winthrop is built on it. Also an island in New York harbor; Fort Williams, the headquarters of the Military Department of the East, U. S. A., is built on it.
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Gower
JOHN, an early English poet, a contemporary and friend of Chaucer; born about 1330. His chief works are his "Thinker's Mirror," "Voice of One Crying," and "Lover's Confession," of which the first was a moral tract relative to the conjugal duties, written in French rhymes (now lost); the second a metrical chronicle of the insurrection of the commons under Richard II., in Latin elegaic verse; and the third an English poem in eight books, containing 30,000 lines, relative to the morals and metaphysics of love, one of the earliest ducts of the English press, being printed by Caxton in 1483. He died about 1408.
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Goyaz
the central state of Brazil, in the dry plateau region, rising in the S. to an important range of mountains; area 288,546 square miles; pop. about 542,000. The Tocantins river traverses most of the state from S. to N., and receives the Araguay, which forms the W. boundary; the S. frontier is marked by the Paranahyba. The climate in the S. is healthy, but in the N. malignant fevers are common, and the cattle are subject to goiter. Stock-raising is the chief industry.
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Gozo
an island in the Mediterranean, 4 miles N. W. of Malta and belonging to Great Britain; with the adjacent smaller island of Comino, area 26 square miles; pop. over 20,000. The surface is hilly, but the soil fertile. Chief town Rabato, near the center of the island.
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Graal, The Lost Book of the
The origin of the Graal legend, which is of course speculative. Seven ancient books are cited as being the possible cradle of the story, but none of دو Grail them quite meet the case. In the Huth Merlin , a "Book of the Sanctuary is referred to, but this is a book of records, not containing any special spiritual allusion. If, and it is very doubtful if, such a book ever existed, it was most probably a Mass book, extant about 1100. Its contents would relate to a Mass following the Last Supper, in which Christ gave Himself, the Priest serving. The mystery is threefold. (1) of Origin, which is part of the mystery of the Incarnation. (2) of Manifestation, which would have taken place had the world been worthy. (3) of Removal: this world being unworthy, the Graal was said to be removed, yet not hidden, for it is always discernible by anyone worthy, or qualified to see it. As has been said, it is not probable that such a Mass-book ever existed.
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Gracchus
CAIUS SEMPRONIUS (grak'-us), a Roman politician, younger brother of Tiberius Gracchus, and like him a reformer. The patricians artfully proposed measures more popular than those which he brought forward, and turned the popular feeling away from him, when they commenced the repeal of all the reforms he had effected. On his opposing this, they raised a faction fight, and massacred thousands of his adherents in the streets and in the prisons. He had himself put to death by his own slave, that he might not fall into their hands, in 121 b. c.
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Grace
DAYS OF, in commerce, a certain number of days immediately following the day, specified on the face of a bill or note, on which it becomes due. Till the expiry of these days payment is not necessary. In Great Britain the days of grace are three: in the United States they have been abolished generally in National bank operations.
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Graces
The Three, in Greek mythology, the goddesses of grace and beauty. They presided over the dance, the banquet, and all social pleasures. Their names are Aglaia, brilliancy; Euphrosyne, mirth; and Thalia, the blooming. They are usually described as in the service of other divinities, and are patrons of music, eloquence, poetry, and all arts that delight and elevate. These three on men all gracious gifts bestow Which deck the body or adorn the mind, To make them lovely or well-favored show; As comely carriage, entertainment kind, Sweet semblance, friendly offices that bind, And all the compliments of courtesy; They teach us how to each degree and kind We should ourselves demean, to low, to high, To friends, to foes; which skill men call Civility. --Spenser. Grace Greenwood. See Lippincott ; Sara
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