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GHATS

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GHIBERT1

Ghats or Ghauts, a somewhat V-shaped pair of mountain-ranges in India, running

Parallel to the east and west coasts of the ndian peninsula respectively and converging near Cape Comorin in the south. The range along the eastern coast is known as the Eastern Ghats and that along the west coast as the Western Ghats. The word means a landing-stairs.

The Eastern Ghats on an average have a height of about 1,500 feet, extending from near Orissa to the vicinity of Coimbatore at a distance of from 50 to 150 miles back from the Bay of Bengal coast.

The Western Ghats are much more distinct and continuous than the Eastern Ghats, but at one point there is a distinct

eip 20 miles wide across, known as Palghat ap. The Western Ghats extend from the Tapti valley to Palghat Gap, this section being about 800 miles long, and from there to Cape Comorin, a further distance of about 200 miles. The average height of the Western Ghats is about 3,000 feet, though in some places it is much greater. The range is for long distances quite near the shore, and the ascent from the coast-side is often very steep.

Ghent (gent}, a city of Belgium, capital of the province of East Flanders, is situated at the junction of the Lys and the Scheldt, 34 miles from Brussels. It is divided by canals into 26 islands, connected by 270 bridges, and is surrounded by gardens and meadows, while the former walls have been made into pleasure promenades. Among the chief buildings are the cathedral of St. Bavon, dating back to the i^th century (the belfry tower is 375 feet high), the university and the academy of painting. The cotton, woolen and linen manufactures are the chief industries. By the great canal which flows into the Scheldt, Ghent is united with the sea, and it can receive at its docks vessels drawing 17 feet of water. The harbor can contain 400 vessels. With the university, which is a state institution and has 426 students, are united a school for civil engineers and another for arts and sciences.

Ghent was a prosperous city in the time of the Merovingian Franks; in 1007 it was given by the emperor to Count Baldwin IV; and in the i2th century it became the capital of Flanders. In the various wars of which the Netherlands have been the battleground Ghent has suffered severely and has frequently been taken. Falling into the hands of the French during the Revolution, it became the capital of the department of the Scheldt, until, in 1814, it became part of the kingdom of the Netherlands. In 1830 it fell to Belgium. In 1814 was signed here the treaty of peace between America and England, called the Treaty of Ghent. Population 164,659.

Gherardi    (gd-rdr'de),     Bancroft,     an

American admiral, was born at Jackson, La., Nov. 10, 1832, and entered the United States navy from Massachusetts as midshipman i n 1846. Later he entere d and passed through the Naval Academy. He became master and lieutenant in 1855, and served on the Lancaster. In 1862 he received pro- 3 motion and took part in the engagement with Fort Macon. In 1863—64 he successively commanded the gunboat Chocorua and the steamer Port Royal of the western Gulf-blockading squadron. Aboard the latter vessel he took a prominent part in the battle of Mobile Bay. He became commander in 1866, captain in 1874, commodore in 1884 and rear-admiral in 1887. In 1886 he was appointed commandant of the Brooklyn navy-yard; in 1893 he was in chief command at the Columbian international naval parade in New York harbor; and in 1894 he was placed on the retired list.

Ghetto, the name given to a Jewry or quarter reserved for the Jews in a large city according to the custom of the middle ages, was a term first employed in Rome. There Pope Paul IV forbade Jews to venture from their ghetto without a yellow hat if male, or veil if female, to distinguish them. The term is now used of any Jewish quarter, for instance, the densely packed Jewish district in New York City. The Roman ghetto was destroyed in 1885 to make room for a new Tiber embankment.

Ghibellines. See GUELPHS.

Ghiberti (g$-b$r't$), Lorenzo, an Italian goldsmith, bronze-caster and sculptor, was born at Florence about 1378. Along with other artists he was chosen by the Florentine guild of merchants to compete for the execution of a gate of bronze. The subject of the design was The Sacrifice of Isaac, to be made as a model for one of the panels. The judges selected Ghiberti's design, both on account of the art and beauty of its conception and the delicacy and skill of its execution. He was also intrusted by his fellow-citizens with another gate, which contains ten reliefs on a large scale. He spent 50 years of the most patient labor on the gates, and ^ the grace and grandeur of these compositions are beyond praise. Michael Angelo said that "they were worthy to be the gates of Paradise." Among his other works may be mentioned

REAR-ADMIRAL GHERARDI