Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/221

CAPSULE are carpels. The methods of dehiscence are nu- merous, but quite uniform within a phint group. (Japsules are often called 'pods,' a more inclu- sive term. The term is also sometimes applied in a general way to spore-cases. See Fruit.

CAPSULE. A term in medicine for a thin membranous covering, casing, or envelope, like a poucli or bag, containing some part or organ. The capsule of the kidney is a smooth, fibrous membrane closely investing the kidney and form- ing its outer coat. The capsule of the lens of the eye is a transparent, elastic, brittle, and structureless membrane. The word is also ex- tensively used for a small gelatinous case or envelope in which medicines are inclosed be- fore administration, to prevent the patient's tasting an unpleasant drug, or for convenience of carrying, as well as to secure a more soluble coating than that of many pills.

CAPTAIN (OF. capitain, Med. Lat. capifa- ncus, from Lat. caput, head, chief). A title found in almost every language to denote a chief of a small number of men. In the United States Army, a captain ranks next above a first lieutenant and below a major, and commands a company, troop, or battery. A captain present for duty with his command is responsible for its discipline and etliciency. He is accountable for the public property that constitutes its equip- ment: for the proper performance of duties con- nected with the subsistence, pay, and clothing of its members -, and for the correct keeping and rendition of all company accounts, reports, and returns. The captain recommends the non-com- missioned officers of the company, who are ap- pointed by the colonel, and from the sergeants he selects the first sergeant. In camp or bar- racks the captain maintains a careful super- vision over the cooking and messing of his men, and is responsible for the camp and garrison equipage, and the arms and the clothing of his company. See Army Obg. izatiox ; and Raxk

AXD COMMASD. A captain in the navy is the commanding officer of a man-of-war, and in most navies this title is given to officers next in rank to rear- admirals. Its origin as a naval title is dis- puted, but it seems to have come into use about the time that war-vessels took on their present character by combining the navigating with the lighting force; previous to this the master (which is still the proper designation of the commander of a merchant ship) had charge of the navigation, in which he had sailors to assist him; while the fighting was done by soldiers )iut on board for the purpose and commanded by a military officer. In the British Navy the rank was first clearly defined in 1747, and those captains who commanded post-ships (i.e. rated ships), it of three years' standing, took rank with colonels of the army, and they appeared as post-captains in the royal navy list until 1824. Before and since this latter date, in the British 'Sa'^■ and in that of the United States, the name post-captain was used to distinguish command- ing officers of frigates and larger ships from commanders and master-commanders who were called rnptnin by courtesy. Until 18G2 the rank of captain was the highest in the United States Xavy (see Admiral), but captains who had commanded squadrons were addressed by the courtcsv title of commodore, .ccording to the order of the President of June 7, 1901, captains may be ordered to command a division of ships, a vessel of the first rate, or second rate, or one not rated. The numl>er of captains on tlie active list of the United States Navy is, by law, sev- enty, but this number is exclusive of those who may have been promoted one or more numbers for service during the war with Spain. They rank with colonels of the army and receive the same pay while at sea (.$3500, with an addition of 10 per cent, for each five years of service until the maximum of $4500 is reached), but while on shore duty receive 15 per cent. less.

CAPTAIN, The. A play by Fletcher, assisted by citlier .Jonson or Middleton, or both, pub- lished in folio in 1647. Its earliest recorded pro- duction is ^lay 20, 1613, when Ilemings's com- pany appeared in it at Court. It contains the dainty lyric "Come hither, ye that love."

CAPUA, kap'u-a. It. pron. kil'poo-a. An archiepiscopal city of south Italy, in the Province of Caserta, in a fertile but unhealthful situation on the left bank of tlie Volturno, IS miles north of Xaples (Map: Italy, J 6). As the only fort- ress guarding Xaples on the north, it was of great importance to the former Kingdom of Xaples. In the Seventeenth Century its defenses were greatly extended and improved by Vauban. The cathedral, dating from the Eleventh Centurj", but almost entirely modernized, has in the entrance court granite columns from ancient Casilinum, on whose site Capua was built, in the Xinth Cen- tury: in the Church of the Annunziata are an- cient bas-reliefs: and beneath the arch of the Piazza de' Giudici — the marketplace — are many ancient inscriptions. The Museo Campano con- tains reliefs and inscriptions from the amphi- theatre of ancient Capua, ancient and mediicval sarcophagi, and various statues, heads, coins, etc. On the bridge over the Volturno — restored in 1756 — is a statue of Saint Xepomuc : the Torre Mignana inside, and the Cappella de' Morti out- side the town, commemorate the bloody attack on Capua in 1501 by Ciesar Borgia. Xot far from the city is the field where the soldiers of Gari- baldi and of Piedmont defeated King Francis II. of Xaples, October 1. 1860. For ancient Capua, see Saxta Maria Capua Vetebe. Population, in 1881, 14.000: in 1901, 14,285.

CAPUANA, ka-pwii'na, LuiGi (1839—). An Italian critic, novelist, and dramatic vriter. Together with Giovanni Verga, he has long stood at the head of the small group of Italian realists, or lerists, as they choose to style them- selves. He was born at ilineo. May 27, 1839, chose journalism as a profession, and became dramatic critic of the Florence yozimw. He first attracted attention by publishing a volume of his tlieatrical criticisms, II teatro itnliaiio contem- poraneo (1865), vigorously attacking many mediocre but highly successful plays of that period. In 1877 he went to Milan and joined the staff of the Corricrc della Sera, the leading even- ing paper in that city. Two years later Ciariitta, his most important novel, ajjpearcd, followed liy a long series of volumes, chiefly of short stories, which include Storia Fosca (1882); Homo (1883); Fumniido (1889); Profumo (18S1); Le pccsnne : La sfinfie. He has also published several volumes of literary criticism. Edouard Rod de- votes an interesting chapter to Capuana in his volume, (liacomo Lcopardi (Paris, 1888).