Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/713

 POMERANUS Wendish monarchy, and from 1062 had local dukes, whose line terminated with the death of Bogislas XIV. in 1637. It was frequent- ly overrun by the Polish monarchs. Chris- tianity was introduced in the 12th century. After the extinction of the Pomeranian dukes, the electoral house of Brandenburg had a claim to the whole country by right of for- mer treaties ; but as during the thirty years' war the province had come into the possession of Sweden, the former obtained only Further Pomerania (E. of the Oder). At the peace of Stockholm in 1720 Sweden gave up to Prussia the greater portion of Hither Pome- rania, along with the islands of Wollin and Usedom, but continued to hold the district be- tween Mecklenburg, the Baltic, and the riv- er Peene, with the island of Etigen. This she ceded to Denmark as a compensation for Nor- way; and by the convention of June 4, 1815, it was given up to Prussia in exchange for the duchy of Lauenburg and the sum of 2,600,000 thalers. See Die Erwerbung Pommerns durch die Hotienzollern, by Bohlen (Berlin, 1865). POMERANUS, or Pommer. See BUGENHAGEN. POMEROY, a city and the capital of Meigs co., Ohio, on the Ohio river, about midway between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, at the ter- minus of the Atlantic and Lake Erie and the Springfield, Jackson, and Pomeroy railroads (in progress), 80 m. S. E. of Columbus; pop. in 1850,1,638; in 1860, 6,480 ; in 1870, 5,824; in 1875, about 7,000. It is the fifth place on the river above Cincinnati in trade and commerce. Its prosperity rests mainly on the mines of bi- tuminous coal within its limits and the imme- diate vicinity, yielding about 16,000,000 bush- els annually, of which 10,000,000 are shipped. It is also in the centre of the salt basin of the Ohio valley, and there are 26 salt furnaces with- in its limits and in the neighborhood, produ- cing about 6,000,000 bushels a year. The manufacture of bromine from the " bittern," or water from which the salt has been ex- tracted, is carried on very extensively. Iron and nails, flour, carriages, boats, and furniture are also manufactured. The city contains two banks, a Roman Catholic orphan asylum, gra- ded schools, two weekly newspapers, and 15 churches. Coal mining was first systematically commenced in 1833. The place was incorpo- rated as a village in 1841, and as a city in 1868. POMONA (Lat. pomum, a fruit), the Roman goddess of fruit trees and gardens. The Latin poets represent her as beloved by 'several of the rural deities, Sylvanus, Vertumnus, Picus, &c. Vertumnus obtained her affection and married her. She had a temple in Rome, with a priest called flamen Pomonalis to preside over her worship. In works of art she is gen- erally represented as a young and robust fe- male, seated on a basket of flowers and fruit, holding apples in her right hand and a branch in her left. In the Florentine museum is an antique marble statue of Pomona crowned with leaves and ivy berries, and holding up with POMPADOUR 693 both hands a fold of her flowing robe filled with grapes and other fruit. POMONA, an island. See OEKNEY ISLANDS. POMPADOUR, Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, mar- chioness de, mistress of Louis XV., born in Paris, Dec. 29, 1721, died in Versailles, April 15, 1764. She was the natural daughter of a butcher. Her mother gave her a good educa- tion, and married her in 1741 to a farmer of the taxes named Le Normand d'Etioles, shortly after which she first attracted the attention of the king while he was with a royal hunting party in the forest of Senart ; but it was not until after the death of Mme. de Chateauroux (1744) that she became openly the king's fa- vorite. She accompanied Louis during the cam- paign of Fontenoy in May, 1745, and on her return was presented at court by the title of marchioness de Pompadour. She patronized learning and the arts, embellished Paris, and with the assistance of Voltaire and Bernis or- ganized brilliant fetes. Even after she had lost to a great degree her hold upon the king's affections, she retained her power by making herself necessary to his comfort. She soon undertook to save him from the fatigues of government. She interfered with the finances, made and unmade ministers, and favored by turns the Jansenists, the Quietists, the infidels, and the parliament, that she might have the support of all parties. Flattered by Maria Theresa, who sent her an autograph letter, and irritated by the sarcasms of Frederick II. on the dynastie des cotillons, she brought about the alliance of France and Austria against Prussia which resulted in the disastrous seven years' war. In 1757, after the attempt of Da- miens to assassinate the king, she was obliged to quit the court ; but being soon recalled, she caused the ministers D'Argenson and Machault, who had advised her dismissal, to be disgraced. Her influence upon military appointments was one of the chief causes of the ill success of the war. She recalled Marshal d'Estre"es after the French victory at Hastenbeck, and pre- vented the recall of Soubise after the defeat at Rossbach. She dismissed 'the minister Ber- nis, who advised peace, and replaced him by Choiseul. But in Choiseul, to her dismay, she soon found a master. He assisted her in- deed to procure the suppression of the Jesuits, but it soon became apparent that his power depended no longer on her favor. She died hated by the nation and little regretted by the king. Besides an annual income of nearly 1,500,000 livres, she had received the terri- tories of La Celle, Crecy, and St. Remy ; the chateaux of Aulnay, Brinborion, and Bellevue ; and splendid establishments at Paris, Ver- sailles, Fontainebleau, and Compiegne. ' She gave freely to the poor, patronized inventors, artists, and men of letters, and made magnifi- cent collections of works of art and curiosities. She drew and engraved with considerable skill. The Memoires and Lettres published under her name are not authentic. See Madame de