Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 20.djvu/200

Rh 182 Q U I Q U I But they are quite free from the ludicrous doggerel which (not merely in English) has made the name libretto a by- word, and at the same time they have quite enough dra- matic merit to carry the reader, much more the spectator, along with them. It is not an exaggeration to say that Quinault, coming at the exact time when opera became fashionable out of Italy, had very much to do with estab- lishing it as a permanent European genre. His first piece after Psyche was a kind of classical masque, The Feast of Love and Bacchus (1672). Then came Cadmus (1674), then in the same year and the three following Alceste, Thesee, Atys (one of his best-liked pieces), and Isis. All these, it may be observed, were classical in subject, and so was Proserpine (1680), which was superior to any of them. The Triumph of Love (1681) is a mere ballet, but in Persee and Phaeton Quinault returned to the classical opera. Then he finally deserted it for romantic subjects, in which he was even more successful. Amadis (1684), Roland (1685), and Armide (1686) are his masterpieces, the last being the most famous and the best of all. It should perhaps be observed that the very artificiality of the French lyric of the later 17th century and its resemblance to alexandrines cut into lengths were aids to Quinault in arranging lyrical dialogue. Lulli died in 1687, and Quinault, his occupation gone (for the two had now worked together for more than fifteen years, and it would probably have been difficult to find another composer equally well suited to his librettist) became devout, began a poem called the " Destruction of Heresy," and died on November 26, 1688. The best edition of his works is that of 1739 (Paris, 5 vols.). QUINCE. Among botanists there is a difference of opinion whether or not the quince is entitled to take rank as a distinct genus or as a section of the genus Pyrus. It is not a matter of much importance whether we call the quince Pyrus Cydonia or Cydonia vulgaris. For practical purposes it is perhaps better to consider it as distinct from Pyrus, differing from that genus in the twisted manner in which the petals are arranged in the bud, and in the many-celled ovary, in which the numerous ovules are disposed horizontally, not vertically as in the pears. The quinces are much-branched shrubs or small trees with entire leaves, small stipules, large solitary white or pink flowers like those of a pear or apple, but with leafy calyx- lobes, and a many-celled ovary, in each cell of which are numerous horizontal ovules. The common quince is a native of Persia and Anatolia, and perhaps also of Greece and the Crimea, but in these latter localities it is doubtful whether or not the plant is not a relic of former cultivation. By Franchet and Savatier P. Cydonia is given as a native of Japan with the native name of "maroumerou." It is certain that the Greeks knew a common variety upon which they engrafted scions of a better variety which they called Kvoutviov, from Cydon in Crete, whence it was obtained, and from which the names Cydonia, Codogno (Italian), Coudougner and Coing (French), Quitte (German), and Quince have been derived. Pliny (//. N., xv. 11.) men- tions that the fruit of the quince, Malum cotoneum, warded off the influence of the evil eye ; and other legends connect it with ancient Greek mythology, as exemplified by statues in which the fruit is represented, as well as by represent- ations on the walls of Pompeii. The fragrance and astringency of the fruit of the quince are well known, and the seeds are used medicinally for the sake of the mucilage they yield when soaked in water, a peculiarity which is not met with in pears. This mucilage is analogous to, and has the same properties as, that which is formed from the seeds of linseed. In English gardens three varieties are cultivated the apple-shaped quince, the pear-shaped quince, and the Portugal quince; the last-named has larger fruits than the other two (4 inches in length, 3-3^ in width), of a rich yellow colour when ripe and with less astringency, hence it is better suited for culinary and con- fectionary purposes than the other two, but is said to be somewhat more tender. The common quince and its varieties are very largely used as " dwarfing " stocks on which choice pears are engrafted. The effect is to restrain the growth of the pear, increase and hasten its fruitful- ness, and enable it to withstand the effects of cold (see HORTICULTURE, vol. xii. p. 213). The common Japan quince, Pyrus or Cydonia japonica, is grown in gardens for the sake of its flowers, which vary in colour from creamy white to rich red, and are produced during the winter and early spring months. C. Maulei, a recently introduced shrub from Japan, bears a profusion of equally beautiful orange-red flowers, which are followed by fruit of a yellow colour and agreeable fragrance, so that, when cooked with sugar, it forms an agreeable conserve, as in the case of the ordinary quince. The fruit of the ordinary Japan quince is quite uneatable. QUINCY, a city of the United States, the county seat of Adams county, Illinois, occupies a limestone bluff 125 feet above low-water mark on the east bank of the Missis- sippi at the extreme western point of the State. The river is crossed here by the great bridge of the Hannibal and St Joseph Railroad. Quincy Bay, an arm of the river, is the finest natural harbour for steamboats on the upper Mississippi. By water Quincy is 160 miles above St Louis, and by rail 263 miles south-west of Chicago via Galesburg. Commanding an extensive view, being well built, having excellent waterworks, and forming an important centre in the railway system of the region, Quincy is both an attrac- tive and a prosperous place, with very miscellaneous in- dustries. Among the public buildings are the court-houses, St John's cathedral (1877), a medical college (1873), a city library, and several hospitals and asylums. The population in 1860 was 13,718; in 1870, 24,052 (1073 coloured); and in 1880, 27,268 (1508 coloured). Laid out in 1825 or about three years after the arrival of the first white settler, Quincy was made a town in 1834, and a city in ,1839. QUINCY, a township and seaport of the United States, in Norfolk county, Massachusetts, on a small bay of its own name in the south of Massachusetts Bay and 7 miles south-south-east of Boston by rail. It is best known for its great granite quarries, in connexion with which was constructed in 1827 the first (horse) railway in the United States, and as the birthplace of Governor John Hancock and Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams. Among the principal buildings chiefly situated in the village, which lies on an elevated plain near the centre of the township are the granite town-house, the so-called Adams Temple (a church erected in 1828), beneath the portico of which are the tombs of the two Presidents Adams, the Adams Academy, a home for infirm sailors, a public library, and the mansions of the Quincy and Adams families, whose estates occupied the greater portion of the township. Quincy, which till 1792 formed part of Braintree, had 5017 inhabitants in 1850, 6779 in 1860, 7442 in 1870 and 10,570 in 1880. QUINCY, JOSIAH, JR. (1744-1775), born in Boston, Mass., 1744, is the most eminent of a well-known family whose founder emigrated to New England in 1633. At the time of his death, at the age of thirty-one, he had won distinction as a lawyer, and his place was secured in history as among the most eloquent, the most clear-sighted, and the most devoted of the men who led the American colo- nists in the measures preliminary to the revolution In 1767 he entered upon the public discussion of political questions, maintaining with great ability and courage the