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* POLICY. 177 POLILLO. cities. Gambling in this form is prohibited in nearly all of the United States, either under the specific name of policy, or under the more general term of lottery. The United States postal laws prohibit the mailing of advertisements or tickets of policy shops, and for this reason most estab- lishments of this sort operate in a limited locality and with some attempts at secrecy. See Gam- bling ; Lottery. The written contract by which a person un- dertakes to insure another against the happening of any event, or to pay him a certain sum upon a certain contingency, is called a policy. The policy is frequently designated by some qualify- ing word, as 'tontine.' "endowment,' or the like, according to the nature of the insurance under- taken. See IxsiB.xcE., POLIDORO iCxwABA) DA CAEAVAGGIO, po'ledo'ro da k;i'ra-va'j6 (c.1495-154.3) . An Ital- ian painter and decorator of the Higher Renais- sance. His real name was Caldara. He was born at Caravaggio, near Milan, and coming to Rome as a youth, he obtained employment as a mason upon the Vatican constructions in prog- ress, under the direction of Raphael. He was in- structed in painting by Maturino, a Florentine, with whom he afterwaids formed a partnership. The two together executed a great number of decorations in sgraffito (q.v.), the subjects of which were generally of a historical or mytho- logical character and were remarkable for the accuracy of the archieological detail, and the ef- fectiveness of their plastic handling. These deco- rations, both in the Loggie of the Vatican and upon the facades of Roman palaces, have mostlv perislied. but they are well known from engrav- ings. The sack of Rome in 1527 and the death of Maturino drove Polidoro to Naples, where he developed a powerful realistic style, which exer- cised great influence upon the character of the Xeapolitan school. The picture most typical of this last phase of his art is ''Christ Bearing the Cross" (1,5.34). in the JIuseum of Xaples. Dis- satisfied with Xaples. he afterwards went to Sicily, and, settling in Messina, he acquired posi- tion and wealth, hut was assassinated there in 1543. Consult Bertolotti, Artisfi lomiardi a Romn CMilan, ISSl). POLIESSIE. A marshy region in the west of Russia, comprising the larger part of the Gov- ernment of Minsk, the northern part of Volhynia, the eastern part of Grodno, as well as portions of the governments of Mohilev and Kiev. It is thickly wooded and noted for its unhealthful climate. The plica polonica is very common. A considerable area has been drained by the Gov- ernment since 1873 and the reclaimed regions yield good crops of hay. POLIGNAC, po'le'nyak'. An ancient French family, several of whose members played a prominent part at court after tlie time of" Louis XIV. Melchior de Poligx.c (1601-1742) was born at Puy-enVelay. in the Department of Haute-Loire. He was destined by his parents for an ecclesiastical career, and received an excel- lent education. In 1603 he was sent to Poland as ambassador, and intrigued so successfully in favor of the Prince de Conti that the latter was actually elected -Tohn Sohieski's successor in 1697. Augustus the Strong, however, proved the suc- cessful aspirant to the throne, and both Conti and Polignac had to leave Poland, in consequence of which the latter retired to his abbey at Bon- port. In 1702 he was recalled to Versailles, and rose higher than ever in the royal favor. In 1712 he was appointed French plenipotentiary at the Congress of l.'trecht, and after his return ob- tained the abbeys of Corbie and Anchin. During the Regency Polignac took part in the conspiracy of Cellamarc, and was banished to his abbey of -Anchin. In 1725 he was sent to Rome, charged with the conduct of French affairs, and signal- ized his mission by healing the quarrel that^was dividing the Gallican Church on the subject of the famous bull Unigeiiitus. (See .J.^xsexi.sm.) In 1725 he was raised to the Archbishopric of Auch, and on his return to France spent the re- mainder of his days in retirement. Polignac succeeded Bossuet at the Academic Francaise in 1704, and was also a member of the Academie des Sciences and of the Academie des Belles-Let- tres. For his life see the Memoirs of the time, notablj- those of Saint Simon and D'Argcnson. The other members of the Polignac familv who deserve mention are connected with the last phases of the Bourbon monarchy in France. In the reign of Louis XVI., Yolande Martine Gabrielle de Polastron, Duchess de Polignac (1740-93), and her hu.sband, .Jules, Duke de Polignac (died 1817), were among the most intimate and fa- vored advisers of Marie Antoinette. They ob- tained vast sums of the public money from "their connection with the Court, and were largely if not mainly responsible for the extravagance which marked the eve of the Revolution. The Polignacs — knowing the deep hatred felt toward them by the French people — were the first of the noblesse to emigrate (.July 16. 1789). From the Empress Catharine II. of Russia, the Duke re- ceived an estate in the Ukraine, and did not re- turn to France at the Restoration. He left three sons, of whom only one deserves notice — .Jules AuGU.STE Abmaxd IMarte, Prince de Polignac, born at Versailles, May 14, 1780. In 1804 he entered with his brother into a conspiracy against X'apoleon. and both were imprisoned, but they escaped when the Allies entered France, in 1814. After his return to Paris Polignac became in- timate with the Count of Artois, afterwards Charles X., showed an ardent attachment to the Roman Catholic Church, and. in consequence, re- ceived from the Pope, in 1820, the title of a Roman prince. He was appointed ambassador at the English Court in -1823: and finally, in 1820, became head of the last Bourbon Jlinistry, in which capacity he promulgated the fatal ordi- nances of July. iS30, that called France to arms, and drove Charles X. from the throne. (See July Revolution.) He then attempted to flee from the country, but was captured at Granville, tried, and condemned to imprisonment for life in the Castle of Ham. but was afterwards set at liberty by the amnesty of X'ovember 20. 1836. He took up his residence in England. He died at Saint- Germain. :March 2. IS47. POLILLO, ptVle'lyo. A group of islands in the Philippine Islands, lying about 30 miles east of the Province of Infanta. Luzon, and connected for administrative purposes with the Province of Tayabas. The area of the group is 405 square miles, and its estimated population is 1.500. The area of the chief island (Polillo) is 294 square miles: its chief town bears the same name and has a population of about 1400.