Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/130

 122 GOSHEN sides and abdomen tinged with brown ; black- ish brown longitudinal streaks on the fore ii. ck, and transverse blackish gray lines on the breast, sides, and belly; quills brown, si<liy on their inner webs; tail with four or live broad brownish black bands, and narrowly tipped with white. The young birds are dark brown above, with light markings; the tail ashy; the under parts white, with yellowish red tinges, each feather with a longitudinal stripe ending in a brown ovate spot. This is one of the boldest and most rapid of the genus, and follows with untiring wing the flocks of wild pigeons and ducks ; it seldom alights un- less to devour its prey, and when thus engaged stands very erect. The nest is of large size, flat, and made of coarse materials ; the eggs are of a bluish white color, sometimes with light brownish spots. The European goshawk resembles the American, but the transverse bands on the under surface are much more reg- ular. It equals the gerfalcon in size, but not in strength and courage; though an ignoble bird, and falling obliquely on its prey, it is used in falconry for the weaker and ground game, such as hares and rabbits, or birds of low flight like grouse and ducks. GOSHEN, in Biblical geography, the district of Egypt in which Jacob and his family set- tled, and where his descendants remained till their deliverance by Moses. The locality is generally fixed in Lower Egypt, E. of the Pelusiac branch of the Nile. (.OSRKV, a town and village, one of the county seats of Orange co., New York, on the Erie railway, at the junction of two branches, 48 ra. N. N. W. of New York; pop. of the town in 1870, 8,903 ; of the village, 2,205. It is celebrated for its excellent butter, which is made chiefly for the New York market. The village contains a female seminary, several classical schools, two national banks, and two weekly newspapers. GOSLAR, a town of Hanover, Prussia, 26 m. 8. E. of Hildesheim, on the Gose, at the base of the Rammelsberg; pop. in 1871, 8,923. Its most important public edifices are the town house, which was erected in the 15th century, the imperial palace, now in part a ruin, and the Gothic church, whose library contains a con- siderable number of Luther's manuscripts. In the vicinity are slate quarries, from which N. Germany is supplied with that material. The inhabitants are chiefly engaged in mining and quarrying. It was founded about 920, was the residence of several German emperors, and was a free imperial city till 1801. GOSNOLD, Bartholomew, an English voyager, died in Virginia, Aug. 22, 1607. He joined Raleigh in his attempt to colonize Virginia, and aftor th.- t'.iilure of that enterprise was I'l.i- o-l in command of an expedition fitted out for planting a settlement in New England. He sailed from Falmonth, March 26, 1602, with one small vessel and a company of 32 persons, Ji of whom were colonists. Instead of follow- GOSPORT ing the usual route by the Canaries and West Indies, he steered directly across the Atlantic, and in seven weeks reached Massachusetts bay, first seeing land probably not far N. of Nahant. Thence he turned S., and landed on Cape Cod, to which he gave the name it still bears. Sail- ing around the promontory, and stopping at the island now known as No Man's Land, but which he called Martha's Vineyard, Gosnold anchored at the mouth of Buzzard's bay, and resolved to plant his colony on an island which he called Elizabeth (now known by its Indian name of Cuttyhunk). The adventurers here built and fortified a house, but the hostility of the Indians, scarcity of provisions, and disputes about a division of the profits, disheartened them, and the whole party returned to Eng- land, accomplishing the voyage in five weeks, and taking a cargo of sassafras root, cedar, furs, and other commodities. The result of the expedition was such as to encourage many others to follow the same short route across the ocean, and pursue the explorations which Gosnold had begun. Gosnold next turned his eyes toward Virginia, and succeeded in or- ganizing a company for colonization in that region, the heads of which were Edward Wing- field, a merchant, Robert Hunt, a clergyman, and Capt. John Smith. A charter was granted them by James I., April 10, 1606, which was the first instrument of that nature under which the English were planted in America ; and on Dec. 19, 1606, Gosnold set sail with three small vessels and an ill-assorted band of 105 adventurers. After a tedious voyage, a storm having driven them into Chesapeake bay (April 26, 1607), they sailed up James river, which they named after the king, disembarked about 50 m. above its mouth, and founded the settle- ment of Jamestown. Sickness and various disasters destroyed 50 of their number before autumn, among whom was Gosnold. GOSPEL (Sax. god&pell, corresponding to the Gr. eiayyAwv, a joyful message), either the whole system of the doctrines of Christ, or one of the four histories of his life and teachings written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The extant spurious gospels, forming a part of the apocrypha of the New Testament, are the " History of Joseph the Carpenter," the " Gos- pel of the Infancy," the "Gospel of Thomas the Israelite," the " Protevangelion " of James, the " Gospel of the Nativity of Mary," and the "Gospel of Nicodemus, or Acts of Pilate." Many others, not extant, are mentioned by the church fathers. (See APOCRYPHA.) GOSPORT, a seaport town of Hampshire, England, opposite Portsmouth, on the W. side of the entrance to the harbor of the latter ; pop. in 1871, 7,366. It is situated on level ground and surrounded by fortifications, which form part of those of Portsmouth and Portsea. It contains two churches and four chapels for Protestants and one for Roman Catholics. The most conspicuous establishment is the royal Clarence victualling yard for supplying vessels.