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 134 COMBALOT very superior construction. One of these tanks is said to be filled every 12th year by the waters of the Ganges, 1,200 m. distant, which enter the reservoir by a subterranean channel. Great Gopura at Combaconum. This water is held capable of purifying from sin and uncleanness every one who bathes in it, and thousands journey thither at the proper season to participate in its benefits. The great gopura or gate pyramid, at one of the entrances to the town, is referred to by Fergusson in his " Architecture " as one of the most imposing structures of its class. It has 12 stories, the lowest of granite, and the others of brick covered with the most elaborately ornamented stucco. A multitude of figures of men and animals cover it from top to bottom, forming a mass of peculiar ornamentation which greatly detracts from the imposing effect of the whole. COMBALOT, Theodore, abbe", a French priest and author, born at Chatenay (Is&re), Aug. 21, 1798, died in Paris, March 15, 1873. He studied philosophy and theology, was ordained priest hi 1821, and acquired celebrity as an elo- quent ultramontane preacher. Pope Gregory XVI. appointed him apostolic vicar, and in the latter part of his life he was vicar general of Rouen, Arras, and Montpellier. In 1844 he was sentenced to a month's imprisonment in conse- quence of his violent Memoire adresse aux eveques de France et aux peres de famille sur la guerre faite d la societe par le monopole universitaire. His other writings include La COMBE connaissance de Jesus- Christ, &c. (4th ed., 1852) ; Conference sur les grandeurs de la Sainte Vierge (1845 ; new ed., 1854) ; and Nouvelles conferences prechees d Paris, d Ly- ons, en Belgique, &c., depuis le decret dog- matique de Vimmaculee conception (2 vols., Lyons, 1864). COMBE. I. George, a Scottish phrenologist, born in Edinburgh, Oct. 21, 1788, died at Moor Park, England, Aug. 14, 1858. He studied law, and continued in practice till 1837, when he resolved to devote himself to science. On the visit of Spurzheim to Edinburgh in 1816 Combe became a convert to his system of phrenology, and advocated it in his lectures and writings. In 1819 he published " Essays on Phrenology, or an Inquiry into the System of Gall and Spurzheim," which was subse- quently developed into his " System of Phre- nology" (2 vols. 8vo, 1824). His principal work, " The Constitution of Man considered in relation to External Objects " (1828), produced a wide and deep impression. It has passed through numerous editions and been translated into several languages. The object of this work was to show that the intellectual and moral procedure of man, as well as the phys- ical procedure of the universe, is regulated by natural laws which must be studied in order to carry out successfully his physical, moral, and social improvement. In 1823, assisted by a few friends, George and Andrew Combe estab- lished the " Edinburgh Phrenological Journal," and for more than 23 years gratuitously con- tributed to its pages. In 1833 he married a daughter of Mrs. Siddons, the celebrated ac- tress. In 1837 he visited Germany; and in 1838, accompanied by his wife, he visited the United States, delivered 158 lectures in various parts of the country, and returned home in June, 1840. In 1842 he revisited Germany, and in the summer of that year delivered in Heidelberg a series of lectures on phrenology, in the German language. He was the first to spread a knowledge in England of the new re- ligious movement in Germany, of which Ronge was the chief leader, by writing " Notes on the Reformation in Germany" (London, 1845). Among his other works are: "Elements of Phrenology " (1824) ; " Lectures on Popular Education" (1833); "Moral Philosophy, or the Duties of Man, Individual, Domestic, and Social" (1840) ; "Notes on the United States of America" (3 vols., 1841); "Thoughts on Capital Punishment," and "Remarks on Na- tional Education" (1847); "Principles of Criminal Legislation and Prison Discipline Investigated" (1854); "Phrenology applied to Painting and Sculpture " (1855) ; and " Re- lation between Science and Religion" (1857). II. Abraham, elder brother of the preceding, born Jan. 15, 1785, died Aug. 11, 1827. He was a disciple of Owen, and sacrificed his for- tune in establishing "the cooperative society" in Edinburgh, in furtherance of his socialistic theories. Long after this had failed, he made I