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 GIEN he had fulfilled his mission, the Israelites so- licited him to become their king, but he de- clined, and held for 40 years the office of judge. GIEN, a town of France, in the department of Loiret, on the right bank of the Loire, crossed here by a fine stone bridge of 12 arches, 38 m. S. E. of Orleans; pop. in 1866, 6,717. It is built on a hill, and has an ancient castle, now used for public offices. The lower part of the town is often overflowed by the rising of the Loire. Pottery, leather, and fine car- riages are manufactured, and there is a trade in wine, wool, saffron, coal, &c. Gien is first mentioned at the close of the 8th century as the site of a castle built by Charlemagne. The castle was restored and enlarged in 1494 by Anne of Beaujeu, daughter of Louis XI. GIESEBRECHT, Friedrich Wilhelm Benjamin yon, a German historian, born in Berlin, March 5, 1814. His father, Karl Heinrich Ludwig, was a dramatist, and his uncle, Heinrich Ludwig Theodor, was a poet and historian. He stud- ied under Eanke, and became a professor at the gymnasium of Berlin, in 1857 at the uni- versity of Konigsberg, and in 1862 at that of Munich, where he also presides over the his- torical seminary, and succeeded Sybel as per- manent secretary of the historical committee. He wrote the history of the emperor Otho II. for Ranke's Jahrbucher des deutschen Reichs (Berlin, 1840) ; and having discovered and pub- lished the Annales Altahenses, a long missing manuscript of the llth century, the Prussian government enabled him to reside from 1843 to 1845 in Italy to collect original materials for his most important work, QescMchte der deutschen Kaiserzeit (3 vols., Brunswick, 1863-'5 ; 3d ed., 1868). In 1874 he undertook a revised edition and continuation of Heeren and Ukert's Eu- ropaischen Staatengeschichte (72 vols., Gotha, 1823-'74 et seq.*). GIESELER, Johann Karl Ludwig, a German church historian, born at Petershagen, March 3, 1792, died in Gottingen, July 8, 1854. He interrupted his studies in the university of Halle to serve as a volunteer in the campaign of 1813. In 1815 he resumed his studies, which he combined with teaching. In- 1818 appeared his HistoriscJi-lcritischer VersucJi uber die Entstehung und die fruhern Schiclcsale der Bchriftlichen Evangelien, and in 1819 he was appointed professor of theology in the university of Bonn, and in 1831 at Gottingen. His principal work is Lehrluch der Kirchen- geschichte. The five volumes published during his lifetime brought the history down only to the peace of Westphalia in 1648 ; but from the notes and manuscripts which he left, it was continued to the present century by his pupil Redepenning. An English translation of the entire work has been published under the edi- torial care of Prof. Henry. B. Smith (4 vols., New York, 1856-'8). It is especially valuable for the fulness of its citations, the source for each important statement being given at length in notes, which in volume far exceed the text. GIFFORD 803 GIESSEN, a town of Germany, capital of the province of Upper Hesse, in the grand duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt, situated at the confluence of the Wieseck with the Latin, 30 m. 1ST. of Frank- fort ; pop. in 1871, 12,245. It was originally fortified, but its ramparts have been levelled and converted into promenades. The town is well though irregularly built, and contains an old castle, a hospital, arsenal, and two churches. The university, which was founded in 1607, has 58 teachers and about 400 students, a library of 40,000 volumes, an observatory, botanical garden, and museum. Its school of organic chemistry under Liebig has been especially distinguished. Besides the university Giessen has a gymnasium and several other superior schools. Its manufactures consist of hosiery, hats, soap, candles, red and white leather, jew- elry, weapons, liqueurs, vinegar, and tobacco. It has also breweries and oil mills, and a con- siderable trade in cattle. GIFFORD, Helen Selina, counters of, an Eng- lish poetess, born in 1807, died June 13, 1867. She was a daughter of Richard Brinsley Sheri- dan, and sister of the duchess of Somerset and of the Hon. Mrs. Norton. She married in 1825 Price Blackwood, a captain in the navy, afterward fourth Baron Dufferin, who died July 21, 1841. In order to be better able to attend her intimate friend, the earl of Gifford, in his illness, she married him in 1862, about ten weeks before his death. She was cele- brated for her wit, and in her early days for her beauty, and wrote many songs and bal- lads, including " The Irish Emigrant's Lament " and " The Farewell of Terence." The present Earl Dufferin, governor general of Canada, is her eldest son. GIFFORD, Robert Swain, an American painter, born in Naushon, Mass., Dec. 23, 1840. He studied in New York wi'th Albert Van Beest, and in 1869 made an extensive sketching tour through California and Oregon, and furnished for Appleton's "Picturesque America" (1872- '3) views of the Columbia river, northern Cali- fornia, and the coast of California. He spent the year 1870 and a part of 1871 in Europe, Egypt, and northern Africa, making sketches. Among his best works are " The Rock of Gib- raltar" and "A Lazy Day in Egypt." GIFFORD, Sandford Robinson, an American painter, horn in Greenfield, Saratoga co., N. Y., July 10, 1823. His childhood and youth were passed at Hudson, and in 1842 he entered Brown university, where he remained till 1844, when he went to New York and studied draw- ing, perspective, and anatomy, with a view to figure painting; but in 1845 he determined to devote himself to landscapes. In 1851 he be- came an associate of the national academy, and in 1854 an academician. In May, 1855, he went to Europe, spent the summer sketching in England and Scotland, passed the following winter in Paris, and in the summer of 1856 made a pedestrian tour through Belgium, Hol- land, Switzerland, and Italy. The next winter