Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/142

 134 GOWER GOWER, John, an English poet, born, accord- ing to tradition, in Yorkshire, though some authorities make him a native of Kent or of . about 1325, died in 1408. He was a gentleman of considerable estate, and appears to have studied law and to have contracted a friendship with Chaucer. It has been said, hut on insufficient proof, that he attained the dignity of chief justice of the court of common pleas. Like Chaucer he was a Lancastrian, and like him also a censurer of the vices of the clergy. Chaucer dedicates his "Troilus and Cressida" to Gower, calling him "moral Gower," and the latter in his Confessio Aman- tis introduces Venus calling Chaucer "my disciple and my poete." Gower's chief works are the Speculum Meditantis, a treatise on the duties of married life, in French verse, in ten books; the Vox Clamantis, a poem in seven books, describing in Latin elegiacs the insur- rection of the commons under Richard II.; and the Confessio Amantis, an English poem in eight books, said to have been written at the suggestion of Richard II. Of these works the first is supposed to have perished, the sec- ond exists in manuscript copies, and the third, which was finished about 1393, was first pub- lished by Caxton in 1483. A new edition, with the life of the author and a glossary, by Dr. Reinhold Pauli, appeared in London in 1857 (3 vols. 8vo). Some smaller poems of no great merit are preserved in manuscript in the libra- ry of Trinity college, Cambridge ; and Warton discovered in the library of the marquis of Stafford a volume of lalades in French, which was printed in 1818 by Lord Gower for the Roxburghe club. Gower is known chiefly by his Confessio Amantis, which was undoubt- edly suggested by Chaucer's English poems. Hallam says: "He is always sensible, pol- ished, perspicuous, and not prosaic in the worst sense of the word." In his latter years he was blind. GOYA, a city of the Argentine Republic, in the province and 100 m. S. of the city of Cor- rientes, on a email river of the same name, near its junction with the Parana ; pop. in 1869, 10,907, of whom only 1,839 were able to read. It is situated in a low, flat district, which in the rainy season is converted into a vast marsh. The city was founded in 1807, and considerably enlarged in 1850. Its indus- try is chiefly connected with cattle rearing. GOYAMA, a city of Brazil, in the province of Pernambuco, on the river Goyanna, here crossed by two bridges, 1,200 m. N. N. E. of Rio de Janeiro ; pop. about 9,000. There are sev- eral churches, a convent, a tannery, and public stores. A cattle fair is held weekly. The port, large and spacious, with sufficient depth f water for coasting craft, is 9 m. from the sea. The surrounding country is fertile, and in a high state of cultivation. The chief com- merce is in cotton, sugar, rum, hides, timber, fancy woods, and castor oil, which are gene- rally sent to the port of Recife. GOYAZ GOYAZ. I. A central province of Brazil, ly- ing between lat. 6 and 21 5' S., and Ion. 44 35' and 50 58' W. ; area, 284,000 sq. m. ; pop. about 151,000, besides about 12,000 indepen- dent Indians. It comprises the basin of the Tocantins above its junction with the Ara- guay, and the E. portion of the basin of the latter river, together with nearly the whole of the N. side of the basin of the Paranahyba. The surface is generally mountainous. The Cordilheira Grande traverses it from the ex- treme north to about lat. 16 S., where it unites with the Montes Pyrenees, the culmi- nating point of which, Goyaz, has an elevation of about 9,500 ft. Several sierras extend from S. to N., forming for the most part the E. boundary, and with the Cordilheira Grande and the Pyrenees encircling the basin of the Tocantins. The main ranges are intersected by numerous subsidiary ones, from which the country slopes gradually down to the sea level. The geological structure is imperfectly known. It has been appropriately described as " a met- amorphic island in a sea of sandstone, the sandstones having been swept away from the greater part of the river basins, leaving irregu- lar metamorphic rocks exposed." The great plains and valleys lying between the mountains are watered by numerous rivers, among which is the Tocantins ; this, formed by the union of the Maranhao and the Paranatinga, flows N". to its confluence with the Araguay, in the N". corner of the province, receiving in its course many considerable affluents. The Araguay, which belongs only in part to the province, is much larger than the Tocantins, and hence is properly the main stream, and is navigable for steamers, which run to Pard (Belem), at the mouth of the Amazon. Gold is found in many parts, the neighborhood of the capital being especially auriferous. Diamonds and other precious stones have been discovered in various places. The country is generally open, although there is an extensive forest tract ly- ing near the capital. The lowlands are not well fitted for cultivation ; but the highlands are fertile, producing millet, mandioca, rice, and a small species of beans. Cotton, coffee, and tobacco are produced ; the grape flourish- es, affording two vintages in the year. Mel- ons, bananas, oranges, &c., abound. The vanil- la bean, sarsaparilla, rhubarb, and senna grow spontaneously. Palms are numerous, especial- ly the beautiful species known as the ~buriti, from the fruit of which is produced a bever- age resembling wine. A considerable part of the province is especially adapted for grazing, and there are many cattle, horses, and swine. Wild animals and birds, especially macaws and parrots, are numerous. II. A city, capital of the province, on the river Vermalho, in lat. 16 20' S., Ion. 50 W., about 600 m. N. W. of Rio de Janeiro ; pop. about 8,500. It is very nearly in the centre of Brazil, being almost equidis- tant from Para, Porto Alegre, and the fron- tiers of Peru and Uruguay. The site is uneven,