Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/217

 CONDE 213 During his absence he visited the Troad, Cy- prus, Jerusalem, and Constantinople. In 1735 the academy of sciences sent him with Bouguer and others to Peru, to measure an arc of the meridian, for the purpose of more accurately determining the dimensions and figure of the earth. He returned to France in 1743, and prepared accounts of the voyage, travels, and labors of the commission. His Relation dbregee (Pun voyage fait dans Vinterieur de VAmerique Meridionale appeared in 1745, and La figure de la terre deter minee par les observations de MM. de la Condamine et Bouguer in 1749. While in South America he made observations on the manufacture of articles of caoutchouc by the natives, and published in 1751 an ac- count of an elastic resin, giving a descrip- tion of several trees yielding caoutchouc, and to him is ascribed the introduction of the article into Europe. In 1748 he was made a fellow of the royal society of London, and in 1760 a member of the academy of sciences in Paris. He labored to promote in France the practice of inoculation for smallpox which was then followed in England. He left a number of treatises on geography, natural history, and physics, and in his day had some reputa- tion as a writer of verses. The discovery by which he is best known is that the deflection of a plumb line by a mountain is large enough to be measured. CONDiS. I. Conde-sur-1'Escaut, a town of France, in the department of Le Nord, near the Belgian frontier, 7 m. 1ST. E. of Valen- ciennes; pop. in 1866, 4,642. It is noted for its arsenal and fortifications, for its trade in coal, cattle, and corn, and its manufactories of cordage, leather, chiccory, and starch. A canal 15 m. long connects it with Mons in Bel- gium. It was taken by the Austrians in 1793. The princes of Conde took their title from this place. II. Conde-snr-Noireau, a town in the department of Calvados, at the confluence of the Noireau and Drance rivers, 24 m. S. S. W. of Caen; pop. in 1866, 6,643. It was one of the first towns to sympathize with the refor- mation, became a rallying point of the Prot- estants at the beginning of the 16th century, and a provincial synod was held there in 1674. Dumont d'Urville, the traveller, was a native of this town. C01VDE, the name of a younger branch of the Bourbon family, the successive heads of which have played important parts in French history. I. Louis I. de Bonrboii, prince de, born at Vendome, May 7, 1530, died March 13, 1569. The youngest brother of Antoine de Bourbon, king of Navarre, and uncle of Henry IV., he early distinguished himself by his gallantry during the wars against Charles V. and Philip II. of Spain. He adopted the faith of Calvin, like the rest of his family, and became the chief of the Protestant party. The rival of the Guise family, he took a secret part in the con- spiracy of Amboise in 1560, and was arrested at Orleans a few weeks later, sentenced to death, and saved only by the accession of Charles IX. to the throne, which put an end to the Guise influence. After the slaughter of Vassy in 1562, he took up arms, was defeated, and taken prisoner at Dreux by Francois de Guise. Being liberated by the edict of Amboise in 1563, he again revolted, and in 1567 nearly suc- ceeded in overtaking the king and the court at Meaux, but was shortly after defeated at St. Denis, near Paris. He was amnestied by the peace of Longjumeau in 1568 ; but being aware of the designs of the court against him, he renewed the civil war, fought at Jarnac with undaunted courage, although he had been severely wounded, and was taken prisoner and shot by Montesquieu, an officer of the duke of Anjou. II. Henri I. de Bourbon, prince de, son of the preceding, born at Ferte-sous- Jouarre in December, 1552, died at St. Jean d'Angely, March 5, 1588. After the death of his father he joined the Protestant army, then led by Coligni. He escaped the massacre of St. Bartholomew by promising to abjure Protes- tantism ; but eluding his keepers, he fled to Germany, whence he wrote to Henry III. de- manding the free exercise of his religion. Col- lecting a military force, he repaired to the camp of the duke of Alencon, now the leader of the Protestants. In 1585 he was excommu- nicated by Pope Sixtus V. together with the king of Navarre. He died of poison admin- istered by his servants. His wife, Catherine de la Tremouille, was suspected of having in- stigated the crime, and proceedings were in- stituted against her ; but Henry IV. threw the papers into the fire, and the parliament of Paris pronounced her innocent. Suspicion has, however, attached to her memory. It has been said that she committed the crime in or- der to conceal the consequences of an intrigue with a page, according to some, but according .to others with Henry IV. himself. III. Henri II. de Bourbon, prince de, son of the preceding, born at St. Jean d'Angely, Sept. 1, 1588, died in Paris, in December, 1646. He was born six months after the death of his father, was taken to court at the age of seven years, and brought up a Catholic. In 1609 Henry IV. caused him to be married to Marguerite de Montmorency, with whom he was himself enamored. ^ Conde", perceiving the attentions which the king paid to his wife, fled with her to Brussels; and Henry complained to the Spanish court on account of the favorable reception given to a prince of the blood royal who had left the kingdom without permission. Conde contin- ued his flight to Italy, and did not return to Paris until after the death of Henry. He then joined the malcontents, and, having put forth a fierce manifesto against the government, left the court. He and his adherents were declared guilty of high treason. The treaty of Loudun (1616) between the queen and Conde restored him to his estates; but he continued his in- trigues. He was arrested, thrown into the Bas- tile, and afterward imprisoned at Vincennes,