Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/608

* COWPEB. 524 COWRY. he was only six years old, Cowper, who was naturally a'delicate and sensitive child, became, as a boy, vciy deeply melancliolj' and deprcssi'd. Just after his mother's death he was placed in the school of a Dr. Pitman, in Market street, Hertfordshire. Removed because of cruel treat- ment by another boy, he was sent, at the age of ten, to ^^■estminster School. The period he spent liore was very miserable, and laid the foundation of that settled gloom which oppressed him till death. It is to the remembrance of these vvretclied days that we are indebted for the fierce invective that burns in the Tirocinium, or a Re- rieic of Schools (1784). Shortly after leaving Westminster, Cowper was articled to a Mr. Chap- man, an attorney in London. Upon leaving Chapman's office he entered the Middle Temple. In 1754 he was called to the bar, but never practiced. His father died in 1756, and left him a small patrimony. In 1759 he removed to the Inner Tem]de. but his hatred of the law was so great that he seldom opened a book that bore on his profession. Yet he was industrious enough ; he scribbled poetry, read Homer, and, in conjunction with his brother, translated some of the books of Voltaire's Ecnriade. In 1703 his cousin !Major Cowper ofl'cred him the ofBce of clerk of the journals of the House of Lords, which he accepted, but having to undergo an examination at the bar of the House, he was seized with nervousness, and could not appear. He even attempted suicide, but fortiniately failed for want of courage. In December, 1763, he was removed to the private asylum of Dr. Cotton at Saint Albans, a prry to the deepest remorse. After his removal from Saint Albans (1705) he went to reside in the town of Huntingdon. Here he met Mrs. I'nwin — the Mary of his poems — an accfuaintance Avhich ripened into the deepest friendship, and continued till death. After a few months in lodgings he resided with the Unwins, and enjoyed much tranquil happiness under that religious roof. Soon after the death of JMr. Unwin (1707) Mrs. Unwin and Cowper removed to Olney in Buckinghamshire. Here Cowper's malady returned. At this time he was engaged to marry Mrs. L^nwin. She carefull_y tended him tlirough his long and slow recovery. He found anuisemcnt in gardening, writing playful poems, and in building the famous summer house. Mrs. Unwin also suggested, as a subject suited to his genius. The Proc/rcss of Error. During the winter of 1780-81 he wrote Truth, Table Talk, The Progress of Error, and Expostulation, pub- lished in 17S2. In 1781 Cowper made the ac- quaintance of Lady Austen, who suggested to him The Task, urged him to translate Homer, and — what the world is perhaps still more grateful for — she related to him the history of John Gilpin. The Task was begim in the summer of 1783, and published in 1785. Its success was great, and Cowper began to he considered the first poet of his day. In 1784 he began the translation of Homer, which appeared in 1791. It was received with great applause. Though Cowper wrote after this the beautiful and tender poem To Marti, his powers rapidly declined. He died at East Dere- ham. Norfolk. The centenary of his death was apjiropriately observed at Olney. Cowper's poetry is eminently healthy, natural, and un- afTected. He and Burns brought back nature to English poetry. Besides being a poet, he was perhaps the most delightful letter-writer in the English language. Nothing can surpass the eharm of his epistles — full of humor, gentle sarcasm, anecdote, acute remark, and a tender shadow of melancholy thrown over and toning down the whole. The standard edition of Cow- per's works is Southey's (15 vols., London, 1834- 37, reprinted in Bohn's Library). Consult, also: The Globe Edition of Poetical Works, ed. Benham (London, 1870) ; the Aldine Edition, by Bruce (London, 1896) ; The Vnpuhlished and Uncol- lected Poems, ed. Wright (London, 1900) : and the lives of Cowper. by G. Smith (London, 1880) and by Wright (London, 1892). COWPER'S GLANDS (discovered by the English anatomist William Cowper). Two small yellow glands, which are situated beneath the anterior portion of the membranous urethra in the male. The glands are of the racemose variety ( see Gl.vnds ), each one being made up of a nuriiber of small lobes, which are again sub- divided into lobules. The acini are lined with low cuboidal epithelium, of the clear mucous type. The gland secretes mucus, which is carried by a small duct to the posterior part of the bulbous urethra. The vulvovaginal glands, or glands of Bartholin of the female, are the ana- logues of Cowper's glands. COW-PILOT. A small fish {Pomacentris saxatilis) so called in Bermuda because it is believed always to aecomjian}- the cowfish (Os- tracium ) . It is one of the demoiselles, and is also called 'mojarra.' COW-POX. See Vaccination; also Small- pox. COWRY (Hind, kauri, Beng. kari, from Skt. kapardika, shell). A gastropod mollusk of the family Cypra^idae, whose shells are shaped some- what like coffee-beans, richly enameled and often beautifully marked. They are most abundant and attain their largest size in the seas of warm climates. The money cowry (Cijprcea moncta) has long been in general use as a substitute for coin inniany parts of Asia and Africa. It is yellow, or wliite, about an inch long, and nearly as broad ; is found on the Indian coasts, and in particular abundance on those of the Maldive A LIVING COWRY. The animal i8 shown in tlie attitude of creepins (toward the left). The mantle i.s. however, withdrawn somewhat, revealing the normally clothed and protected shell. The short siphon.s and long tentacles appear, the last bearing the eyes, one of which appears as a black dot. Islands, and has been one of their principal ex- jiorts. In Bengal 3200 cowries were reckoned ( in 1900) equal to a rupee, so that a cowry was then about equal in value to ^f^j of a cent. Yet cowries to the value of 200',000 rupees are said to have been at one time imported annually into Bencal. JIany tons of cowries are annually used in trade with west-central .friea, but their circulation is fast disappearing. Consult Stearns, "Ethno-eonchology: A Study of Primitive