Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/613

 CINNAMON STONE CINTRA 601 epidermis being easily removed. It is then slowly dried, rolling up in the form of a quill. It is assorted according to its quality into three varieties ; the inferior kinds not worth export- ing are used in preparing the oil of cinnamon, which is obtained by distillation. The best stick cinnamon is almost as thin as paper, of a light yellowish brown color, and of a sweet aromatic taste. That most esteemed is pro- duced from the late government gardens in Ceylon, which since 1840 have been sold to private capitalists. That least valued comes from the forests. Cinnamon is used medici- nally as an aromatic and moderate astringent. It contains a small quantity of tannin, upon which its astringency depends. Though seldom prescribed alone, it enters into many officinal preparations. The oil is used in perfumery, pharmacy, and sometimes instead of the spice. Ground cinnamon is frequently adulterated with cassia (which is often substituted for it), and with baked wheat flour, sago meal, or East India arrowroot. The adulteration is not dif- ficult of detection. The Chinese cinnamon, which is the product of the cinnamomum cas- sia, is properly called cassia; but it is often designated by the name of the superior article, and sold as cinnamon. Sometimes it is found little inferior to the real cinnamon. The im- ports of cinnamon into Great Britain for 1870 amounted to 2,215,434 Ibs., valued at $1,264,- 375; for 1871, to 1,584,638 Ibs., valued at $720,730. Of>the imports for 1871, 18,512 Ibs. were from Egypt, 75,413 from China, 1,430,- 518 from Ceylon, and 60,195 from other coun- tries] 'Nearly the entire export from Ceylon is to Great Britain. CINNAMON STONE, a variety of garnet of a cinnamon brown shade. It is found at numer- ous localities in the metamorphic rocks in this and other countries. That brought from Cey- lon is used in jewelry. (See GAENET.) CINO DA PISTOJA, an Italian poet and jurist, whose real name was GUITTONCINO or GTJIT- TONE, born at Pistoja in 1270, died there, Dec. 24, 1336. He belonged to the noble Sinibaldi family, and became a judge at Pistoja, whence he fled in 1307, during the conflict between the parties of the white and the black. He was a prominent Guelph, and a friend of Petrarch and of Dante, who often makes complimentary allusions to him. He employed his exile in missions for his party in Lombardy and France, went with the army of the emperor Henry VII. to Rome, and subsequently held an office in Naples. Still later he taught jurisprudence at Treviso, Perugia, and Florence. His first innamorata, Sebraggia, who died soon after he married her, became the theme of his poetry, which ranks next to that of Petrarch. Subse- quently he celebrated in song the marchioness Malaspina, whose family is often gratefully re- ferred to by Dante. The most complete collec- tion of the Rime di Messer Cino, or Poesie (Rome, 1559), was published by Campi in Pisa (1813; new ed., 182fi), and the most recent is by Carducci (Florence, 1864). His commentary on Roman law, Lectura Cini de Pistoria super Codice (Pavia, 1483, and Lyons, 1526), passed through many editions. ( IMl-ll KS. Henri Coiffler de Raze, marquis, a favorite of King Louis XIII. of France, born in 1620, beheaded at Lyons, Sept. 12, 1642. His father, the marquis of Effiat, was indebted for his fortune to Cardinal Richelieu, who also chose the son as a companion for the king. The young man ingratiated himself so much into the affections of his sovereign, that he was appointed grand master of the wardrobe and of the horse. He aspired not only to have a share in the government, but also to the hand of the beautiful Maria de Gonzaga, princess of Mantua, who afterward became queen of Po- land. The cardinal made light of his preten- sions, but Cinq-Mars took offence at this con- temptuous treatment and resolved to resent it. In conjunction with several discontented noble- men, he opened negotiations with Spain ; but Richelieu succeeded in procuring a copy of their agreement, brought it to the knowledge of the king, and obtained an order for the ar- rest of his favorite. Cinq-Mars was thrown into prison in company with his youthful friend De Thou, a councillor of the parliament of Paris, and both were sentenced to death, and beheaded at Lyons. CINQUE PORTS, the five English channel ports of Hastings, Romney, Hythe, Dover, and Sandwich, on the S. E. coast of England, to which were afterward added the towns of Winchelsea and Rye. These ports, lying op- posite to France, received peculiar privileges in the early days of English history, on condi- tion of providing in time of war a certain number of ships at their own expense. Ac- cording to Camden, the first warden was ap- pointed by William the Conqueror ; but their charters are traced to the times of Edward the Confessor. They are governed by an of- ficer called the lord warden of the cinque ports. Formerly each of them sent two members to parliament, under the title of barons of the cinque ports; but since 1831 this privilege has been restricted to Hastings, Dover, and Sand- wich. The duke of Wellington was lord warden of the cinque ports, and died at the official resi- dence, Walmer castle. CINTRA, a town of Portugal, in the province of Estremadura, on the edge of a granitic sier- ra, which forms a continuation of the Estrella range, 15 m. W. N. W. of Lisbon ; pop. about 3,000. It is a place of resort for the wealthy inhabitants of the capital, and for English and other foreigners, whose villas are scattered over the neighboring slopes, and stud the beautiful valley of Collares, west of the town. Fruits of every description abound in the sur- rounding country ; the climate is mild and pleasant ; and the scenery, though perhaps surpassed in other parts of Portugal, has been made famous by Byron's glowing description of it in " Childe Harold." The kings of Por-