Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume III.djvu/734

 724 CANTAGALLO CANTEMIR successor, Andronicus III., were hi constant dispute; and when in 1328 Andronious III. ascended the throne, Oantacuzenus, who had sided with him, was called to the supreme ad- ministration of affairs, and was also made gen- eralissimo of the Byzantine forces. The attacks of the Ottoman Turks gave Oantacuzenus an opportunity to display his military skill. He was unsuccessful against them, but rendered valuable service to the empire in reuniting to it Lesbos and ^Etolia, and bringing to an end the piracies of the Genoese in the ./Egean. The emperor, dying in 1341, left his son, John Pa- teologus, nine years of age, to the guardianship of Oantacuzenus. He soon aroused the jeal- ousies of the empress mother, Anne of Savoy, who declared him a traitor, and to save his life he assumed the purple at Adrianople in 1342. The civil war which resulted, and which lasted five years, was finally concluded by his admitting his ward Palaaologus as the colleague of the throne, and giving him his daughter in marriage. But the jealousy of the empress mother raised a new sedition in 1353, which continued till Paleeologus took Constantinople in 1355. A short time afterward Oantacuzenus abdicated, and retired to a monastery, where he assumed the name of Joasophas Christodulos, devoted himself to literature, and produced a history of his life and times from 1320 to 1360 (printed in Paris in 1645 in 3 vols. folio, in the collection of the Byzantine historians). He also wrote several theological works, among which is a defence of Christianity against Mohamme- danism^ which drew from Pope Gregory XI. a commendatory letter. The only part taken by Cantacuzenus in political affairs after his abdication, was his successful effort to dissuade his son Matthias from an armed attempt to secure the succession. Matthias abandoned the contest in 1357. Oantacuzenus ended his days in his monastic retirement, as did also his wife, Irene, who had retired to a convent under the name of Eugenia. It is not certain in what year he died ; but several authorities give the date as 1411, which would have made him fully 100 years old. CANTAGALLO, an inland town of Brazil, in the province and 80 m. N. E. of Rio de Ja- neiro ; pop. 4,200. The streets are regular, and the houses mostly well built. In the circular market place stands the church between two parallel streets. Oantagallo was founded by<7<z- rampeiros or gold-hunters and smugglers, who, having discovered rich mines there, quietly took possession of the place, and for a long time forwarded enormous quantities of the precious metal to the capital, the source of which the government was long unable to dis- cover. At the commencement of the present century the mines were almost exhausted, and the inhabitants were obliged to direct their at- tention to agricultural pursuits, which still con- tinue to be their chief occupation. CANTAL, a S. department of France, mostly formed of the 8. part of ancient Auvergne, bounded N. by the department of Puy-de- Dome, E. by Haute-Loire and Lozere, S. by Aveyron, and W. by Lot and Correze ; area, 2,212 sq. m. ; pop. in 1872, 231,687. It is nearly covered with mountains of volcanic origin; the highest summit is the Plomb du Cantal, from which the department takes its name. The chief rivers are the Dordogne, Alagnon, and Truyere. The climate is severe, the snow generally lying on the mountains for several months together. The principal agri- cultural portion of the department is on a level plateau between Murat and St. Flour. Chest- nuts abound and are largely used for food. Great quantities of butter and cheese are pro- duced. There are a few factories of coarse woollens and linens, coarse lace, copper and brass, &c. Many natives of the department annually emigrate in search of employment. These are generally known as Auvergnats, and distinguished for thrift and industry. The de- partment is divided into the arrondissements of Aurillac, Mauriac, Murat, and St. Flour. Capital, Aurillac. < VI'AUIM, Simone, an Italian painter, born at Pesaroin 1612, died at Verona, Oct. 15, 1648. He was the pupil and perhaps the closest imi- tator of Guido Keni, and one of the best of the Italian portrait painters. A portrait by him of his master in the academy of Bologna is said to be one of the best painted heads in the world. He was of a vain and intolerant disposition, and died in the service of the duke of Mantua, not without suspicions of poison. He executed a number of masterly etchings, which are highly prized by print collectors. < IMKJIIU. I. Demetrins, hospodar of Mol- davia, born Oct. 26, 1673, died Aug. 23, 1723. His father, Oonstantine, held the same office from 1685 to 1693, and his brother, Antiochns, from 1695 to 1701. Demetrius succeeded by appointment of the Porte in November, 1710; but in 1711 he revolted against the Porte and went to Russia, where he received from Peter the Great extensive domains in the Ukraine, with the right of sovereignty over them, and the rank of a prince of tlie Russian empire ; and he was also made privy councillor. He aided in the establishment of the academy of St. Petersburg, and was a member of the kindred institution at Berlin. He was pro- ficient in 11 languages, and the author of many works on Turkey, the music of the Turks, Moldavia, and the Mohammedan religion, the best known of which is the "Growth and De- cay of the Ottoman Empire," written in Latin, which has not been published in the original, but has been translated into various languages (English by Tindal, 2 vols. fol., London, 1734). II. Antiochns, or tonstantine Demetrius, a Russian poet and statesman, son of the preceding, born in Constantinople in 1708 or 1709, died in It- aly in 1744. lie was educated at St. Peters- burg, officiated as Russian minister at various courts of Europe, and gained distinction by his diplomatic, but still more by his literary