Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/683

* KKYLOFF. 619 KUBELIK. education from his mother at Tver, where he learned French from the tutor in the Governor's house. In ITSo lie iniblished an opera, TJie Coffee Fortune-Teller, and its success prompted him to write a series of operas and comedies now en- tirely forgotten. In 1783 he was a petty clerk in Saint Petersburj; in the Treasuiy De])artiiient. In 1797-1801 he lived with the family of Prince Golitzin as teacher and private secretary, and in 1802 was secretary to hira while he was Governor of Riga. This position he soon gave up and he led the life f,f a gambler until 1S06, when be showed Dimitriyeff a few translations from La Fontaine and was urged to take up this line of literarj' work. Three fables appeared in 1800, several orig- inal ones in 1808-09, and in 1809 a collection of 2.3 met with great success. In 1811 another collec- tion appeared and he was elected to the Russian Academy. In 1812 he became an assistant in the Imperial Librarv at Saint Petersburg, and was chief librarian, 1810-41. In 18.38 the fiftieth an- niversary of his literary activity was celel)rated. A monument to liim was placed in the Sunnner Garden. Thanks to the genuine national spirit, the joyousness, simplicity, wit, and good humor that pervade them, his fables are the most popu- lar of Russian books, being generally placed in the hands of children as soon as they are able to read. Consult: Harrison, Kriloff's Oriijiniil Fables (London. 18S4) ; Ralston, Kriloff aiid Hi.'i Fables (London, 1869). KRYP'TON (Gk. KpvTrT6v, neu. sg. of KpvTrrds, kryptos, hidden, secret, from KpiirrtLv, kri/p- tein, to hide). A gaseous element discovered in the air, by William Ramsay and Jlorris W. Travers, in 1898. The element appears to be very similar to argon and helium (qq.v.), but as yet very little is known of its properties, only minute quantities of it having thus far been ob- tained. If its molecules, like those of argon and heli n. are made up of single atoms, then its atomic weight, being identical with the molecular weight, is twice the density (referred to hydro- gen). From determinations of its density, its discoverers thus found its atomic weight to be 81.76. Ladenburg and Kriigel give the figure 58.74. But prart of the colony, and Mows at first noi'th, then northwest, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean aboit 3.5 miles south of Saint Paul de Loanda and 220 miles south of the mouth of the Congo. Its length is over 700 miles. In its upjier course the Kuanza flows through an elevated ]ilateau, from which it drops to the low coast region in the cataract of Kanibamke. known also as Livingstone Falls. The river is navigable for over a hundred miles below Xdondo. but the entrance of ocean vessels is obstructed by a bar at its mouth. KUBA, koo'bi'i. A district town in the Rus- sian (Government of Baku, situated at an alti- tude of about 2000 feet, 95 miles northwest of Vol. XI.-^40. Baku. In the vicinity are extensive gardens, and the town carries on a considerable trade in silk, rugs, and fruit. Population, in 1897, 15,346. KUBAN, kw-ba'ny'. A territory occupying tile western ])art of Xorthcrn Caucasia, Russia, with an area of about 33,0.50 square miles (Map: Russia. F 5). It borders on the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, and is divided by the river Ku- ban into two parts, of which the northern has the character of a steppe, while the southern belongs to the region of the Caucasus Mountains and is covered to a large extent with forests. The terri- tory is watered chiclly by the Kuban and has a mild but variable climate. Agriculture and stock-raising are the chief occupations. Tobacco is cultivated extensively. There are a number of salt lakes in the territory, and the rivers are well stocked with lisli. The region contains ex- tensive mineral deposits, including petroleum, lead, coal, and silver. The oil-wells are exploited on an extensive scale. The chief manufacturing establishments are Hour-mills, tobacco-factories, distilleries, breweries, and tanneries. The terri- tory difters in its administration from other govei-nments of Russia in that it is administered by a lieutenant-general, who is invested with civil as well as military powers. The Cossacks, who constitute over 40 per cent, of the inhabit- ants, are exempted from certain taxes, and are organized on a military basis. Population, in 1S1I7. 1,922.773. of whom 94 ])er cent, were Chris- tians and the rest chielly Mohammedans. The colonization of the territory by Russia was be- gun at the end of the eighteenth century, and the original inhabitants now constitute only a small jiart of the population. Capital, Ekaterinodar (q.v.). KUBAN (ancient Hi/panis, or Vardanes). One of the chief rivers of the Caucasus, Russia. It rises near Mount Elbruz, at an altitude of nearly 14.000 feet, and tlows at first north and then 'west, finally through marshy regions, fall- ing by a number of arms partly into the Sea of Azov and (lartly into the Black Sea. Its total length is .52.5 miles. It is navigable for steamers for over 70 miles. Its chief tributaries are the Laba and the Bielaya. KUBAN'GO, or O'KAVAN'GO. A river of South Central Africa, it rises in the mountains of Portuguese West Africa, near the source of the Kunene. and flows in a generally southeast direction until it loses itself in the wide, marshy tracts of Western Rhodesia, north of Lake Xgami (q.v.) (Map: Africa. F 6). It reaches that lake through the Tonke during the rainy season, but it is also supposed that a part of its volume at higli water flows into the Zambezi through the Kuando. in which case the Kubango must be re- garded as one of the principal tributaries of the Z:imbezi. KUBELIK, kT^n'hr-k^k. Jan (1880—). A Bo- iKiiiiiin violinist, born at Miehle. near Prague. He received some musical instruction from his father, who was n market-gardener, and when only twelve years old he entered the Prague Conservatory. In 189S he began to give recitals; in 1900 he' appeared with the Berlin Philhar- monic Society, and in .Tunc of the latter year made his debut in London with a concerto by Paganini. His playing of that master's com- positions was remarkable, and upon his Ameri-