Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume III.djvu/810

 800 CARMELITES CARMINE melites the tradition that their order was found- ' ed by the prophet Elijah upon Mt. Carmel. The account of the origin of the order given by the Bollandists, though violently opposed by the Carmelites, is generally followed. A crusader of the 12th century, Berthold, count of Limoges, made a vow in the heat of battle to embrace a monastic life if he obtained the victory; and the battle being won, he fulfilled his vow by reti- ring to a cave on Mt. Carmel, called the cave of the prophet Elijah. He was accompanied by some others, and their increasing numbers made it soon necessary to build a monastery. Berthold's successor obtained a rule from Al- bert, patriarch of Jerusalem, which was con- firmed by Pope Honorius III. in 1224. Under Alanus, their fifth general, the Carmelites mi- grated to Europe, to escape from the persecu- tion of the Saracens ; and a modified rule, suited to the western climate and manners, was adopted and approved by Innocent IV. This order, which was very severe, extended itself widely, and gained a high reputation in Europe. The female branch of the order was founded by John Soreth in the 15th century. In process of time, great relaxation having been introduc- ed into the rule, St. Teresa and St. John of the Cross (1562) set on foot in Spain a reformation, on the basis of the original rule of Albert, as modified by Innocent IV. This resulted in a division of the order into two branches the reform being known as Discalced Carmelites. The houses of this order have shared the gene- ral fate of religious communities in many parts of Europe. They have maintained houses in Ireland, and within a few years have establish- ed themselves in Kansas. A convent of Car- melite nuns founded at Port Tobacco in 1790, and subsequently removed to Baltimore, was the first convent established in the original territory of the United States. There is a second convent near St. Louis. This order was the first to admit the laity to participate in the prayers and good works by giving them the scapular worn by the friars in a reduced shape; and this, under the name of scapular of our Lady of Mount Carmel, continues to be a favorite devotion with Roman Catholics. (See SCAPULAE.) CARMINE, the coloring matter of cochineal. To separate it, cochineal is exhausted with boiling water, and the clear decanted liquid is treated with cream of tartar, alum, or acid ox- alate of potassium. The fatty and albuminous matters then coagulate, and carry down the coloring matter with them. By treating a so- lution of cochineal with an alkaline carbonate and alum, a compound of the coloring matter with alumina is obtained, known by the name of carmine-lake. The cheaper sorts of car- mine are sometimes adulterated with extract of Brazil wood and cheaper vermilion. Cochi- neal colors are used for dyeing wool and silk crimson or scarlet ; but the colors are not very durable, and are easily soiled by water or alka- lies. Carmine is also used in the manufacture of red ink, as a cosmetic, as a pigment in water colors, and in the preparation of artificial flow- ers. It is said that the color was accidentally discovered by a Franciscan monk at Pisa, who was engaged in preparing a medicine of cochi- neal and salt of tartar. Several processes are in use for the preparation of carmines, one of the best of which is thus given in the Annales de V Industrie: Two pounds of the finest cochi- neal in powder are to be put into a vessel con- taining six pailfuls of boiling soft water ; and the boiling is to be continued for two hours. when three ounces of pure saltpetre, and soon after four ounces of binoxalate of potash, are to be added. After ten minutes the boiling is to be discontinued, and the liquor is allowed to stand for four hours. It is then to be drawn off with a siphon into flat glazed dishes, and left for three weeks. A coating of mould forms upon the surface, which is to be nicely removed in one piece ; or if any fragments remain, they must be taken out with the greatest care. The liquor is again to be drawn off with a siphon, leaving the cake of carmine in the dish, when it is to be carefully dried in a clean shady place. As carmine is desired to be used principally as rouge, for imitating the soft blush upon the fairest cheeks, it is an especial object to obtain it of the highest degree of perfection ; and so delicate are the processes of the French that the result is affected by the condition of the weather, and the best carmine is only made on bright sunny days. Sir Humphry Davy re- lates an incident of an English manufacturer agreeing to pay 1,000 to a Frenchman for the secret by which the latter made so supe- rior an article ; when it appeared that the only difference in the two modes of preparation was that the Frenchman always selected such fine bright weather ap the Englishman could not hope to command hi his own country. (See COCHINEAL.) END OF VOLUME THIRD.