Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 05.djvu/258

LEFT ISIS 206 ISMAILIA The worship of Isis, however, was re- peatedly revived, and furnished a theme for the indignant pen of Juvenal. ISIS, a genus of corals, the typical one of the sub-family Isidinse. The sclerobasis consists of alternate calcare- ous and homy segments, the former giv- ■ jng rise to branches. /. hippuris is from Amboyna, /. polyantha from the American seas, and /. coralloides from those of India. ISLAM (is-lam' or is'lam), the proper name of the Mohammedan religion; designating complete and entire submis- sion of body and soul to God, His will and His service, as well as to all those articles of faith, commands, and ordi- nances revealed to and ordained by Mo- hammed the prophet. ISLAND, a ti-act of land encompassed with water, whether of the sea, a river, or a lake — in contradistinction to con- tinent or terra firma. The detached por- tions of land separated from each other, and from the larger masses or continents, by water spaces more or less wide and deep, are of two very distinct kinds. Some are elongated and generally parallel to continents, others are de- tached, rounded, or in groups and sys- tems in open ocean. The former are called continental, and the later pelagic. Of the continental islands of Europe, the British Islands, the islands between Italy and Spain, and those of the Grecian Ar- chipelago, are the most important. ISLAND NO. 10, an island in the Mississippi river, at the W. extremity of Kentucky, on the border of Tennessee, about 40 miles below Columbus. It was captured by the Union forces under Gen- eral Pope in April, 1862. ISLAY (i'lii), an island of Argyll- shire, Scotland. Deeply indented on the S. by Loch Andail (12 by 8 miles), Islay has a maximum length and breadth of 25^^ and 19 miles, and an area of 246 square miles. It contains several small freshwater lakes, and attains a height of 1,444 feet. ISLE OF FRANCE. See MAURITIUS. ISLE OF MAN, in the Irish Channel, equi-distant from England, Scotland, and Ireland. Area, 220 square miles; popu- lation about 50,000. The principal towns are Douglas, Castletown, Ramsey, and Peel. Castletown is the ancient capital, but Douglas (pop. about 20,000) is the chief town and the seat of government. Physical aspect mountainous, well wa- tered, and exhibiting lovely scenery. Thei-e are peculiar breeds of ponies, cat- tle, cats, etc. Government is "home rule" under a lieutenant-governor, who, with council and House of Keys of 24 membe»s, makes up the Tynwald Court. Acts, after assent of the crown, must be proclaimed on Tynwald Hill. Industries ai'e farming, fishing, mining of lead, copper, iron, zinc, and reception of tour- ists. The Manx people are a distinct Celtic nationality. Their language and old customs are rapidly disappearing. ISLE OF PINES (Isla de Pinos). See Pines, Isle of. ISLE OF WIGHT, with the exception of the Isle of Man the largest island in the English seas, lies off the S. coast of the kingdom, separated from Hampshire by the Solent, a channel mainly ranging between 2 and 4 miles in breadth. Its extreme length, E. to W. from the Fore- land to the Needles, is about 23 miles, and its extreme breadth, N. to S., Cowes to St. Catharine's Point, is abo.ut 13 miles. The late Queen Victoria had a residence on the Isle of Wight. The area is cal- culated at 145 square miles, but was formerly estimated at much more. ISLE PEimOT (el-per-5'), a Cana- dian island in the St. Lawrence river above Montreal Island, and between Lake of Two Mountains and Lake St. Louis. ISLE ROYALE (-rwy-al' or rol'al), an island belonging to Michigan, in Lake Superior, 45 miles long, 9 miles wide; area, 229 square miles. The shores are generally rocky and broken. There are extensive veins of native copper, many of which have been worked in prehistoric times, as they are still. ISLES, LORD OF THE, a title borne by a race of Scotch chiefs. ISMAELITES. or ISMAELIANS. See ISHMAELITES. ISMAIL (iz'mil), a town and river port in Russian Bessarabia; on the N. bank of the Kilia branch of the Danube, 48 miles from its mouth. Formerly a Turkish fortress, it was taken and de- stroyed by Suwaroff in December, 1790; came into possession of Russia in 1812; was assigned to Moldavia by the treaty of Paris, 1856, its fortifications being razed; and was transferred to Russia again by the Berlin Congress of 1878. It has an active trade in corn, wool, tallow, and hides. Pop. about 37,000. ISMAILIA (iz-mal'ya or iz-ma-el'ya) , a small town on Lake Timsah, through which the Suez Canal passes. It stands on the railway from Cairo to Suez and on the Sweet Water Canal.