Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 04.djvu/485

LEFT GRIS-NEZ 413 GRODNO Josephine Grassini. She made her debut at Bologna in a contralto part, appeared in "Romeo and Juliette" at Florence and at Milan, and made her first appearance in Paris and London in 1834, as Ninetta in "La Gazza Ladra," where she achieved a decided success. Every part which she assumed afterward steadily in- creased her reputation, which may be f.aid to have been established by her im- personation of the queen in "Semira- mide," and of Donna Anna in "Don Giovanni." Her fame reached its climax in her rendition of the roles of "Norma" and "Lucrezia Borgia," in which char- acters her singing and dramatic acting have never been surpassed. She was twice married; on the second occasion ti the unrivaled tenor Signor Mario Marquis de Candia, with whom she vis- ited the United States in 1854, singing in the principal cities. She died in Ber- lin, Nov. 29, 1869. GRIS-NEZ (gre-na'), CAPE, a head- land 164 feet high, in the department of Pas-de-Calais, France, opposite Dover, is the point of land nearest to the Eng- lish shore, the distance being barely 20 miles. About equally distant from Calais on the N. E. and Boulogne on the S., the cape marks the dividing line between the North Sea and the English Channel. It is surmounted by a lighthouse. GRISONS (gre-zon'), or GRAUBUN- DEN, a canton of Switzerland; the largest and the most thinly peopled; bounded by Tyrol and Lombardy; area, 2,773 square miles; capital, Chur. The whole canton is an assemblage of moun- tains intersected by narrow valleys. These last form three groups, of which the first and most important lies along the course of the Rhine, and stretches N., occupying nearly the whole of the W. portion of the canton; the second, forming the Enga- dine, extends N. E. along the course of the Inn ; and the third comprises several smaller valleys, whose streams run S., belonging to the basins of the Ticino and the Adige. Pastui-es and forests oc- cupy a large portion of the canton; cattle and timber are the principal ex- ports. Numerous mineral springs are found within the canton ; also the health resorts of Davos, the Upper Engadine, Seewis, etc. Iron, lead, copper, zinc, and silver occur. Within the Grisons, too, are several passes leading to Italy, such as the Spliigen, St. Bernardino, Bernina. The country was anciently inhabited by the Rhaetii, who are supposed to have been of Etruscan race. It was conquered by the Romans under Augustus, and added by Charlemagne to his empire in 807. During the Middle Ages the Bishop Vol. IV— Cyc— AA of Chur was the most powerful of the numerous nobles who sought to oppress the people, till they in self-defense formed themselves into leagues. One of these leagues, formed in 1424, was called the gray league from the gray home- spun worn by the unionists, and henco the German and French names of the canton — Graubiinden and Grisons, _ In 1471 these separate unions entered into a general federation, which then (1497- 1498) formed an alliance with the Swiss cantons. Pop. about 125,000. GRISWOLD, ALEXANDER VIETS, an American clergyman ; born in Sim- bury, Conn., April 22, 1766; ordained in the Protestant Episcopal Church in 1795; made bishop over "The Eastern Diocese," including all of the New Eng- land States except Connecticut, in 1811. His publications include "The Reforma- tion and the Apostolic Office" (1843); "Discourses on the Most Important Doc- trines and Duties of the Christian Re- ligion" (1830) ; etc. He died in Boston, Mass., Feb. 15, 1843. GRIZZLY BEAR, a huge bear, some- times 9 feet from the nose to the end of the very short tail, and weighing 800 pounds. The hair, which varies between gray and blackish brown, is more or less grizzled, whence the animal's English name. It inhabits North America, espe- cially the Rocky Mountains. It feeds partly on fruits and roots, and partly on animal food. GROAT, a name given in the Middle Ages to all thick coins, as distinguished from the "bracteates" or thin coins of silver or gold-leaf stamped so as to be hollow on one side and raised on the other. The silver groat current in Eng- land, introduced by Edward III., was equal to four pence. The coin was re- vived in 1836-1856 in the modem four- penny piece. Groschen, the German equivalent of groats, were till 1873-1876 current in the N. of Germany, and equal in value to one-thirtieth of a thaler, worth 2M: cents, United States currency. GRODNO (grod''n6),a town of Poland ; on the Niemen, 148 miles N. E. of War- saw. It has a medical academy and prior to the World War had manufactures in cloth and tobacco. The palace erected by Augustus III. of Poland, is a handsome edifice. At first a Russian town, Grodno fell to Lithuania in 1241. Here Stephen Bathori died in 1586; here in 1793 the Polish diet ratified the second partition of Poland; and here, too Stanislaiis Augustus, the last King of Poland, ab- dicated in 1795. The city was succes- sively captured by Russians and Aus-