effect a general confederation of the European states against France, for the restoration of peace and the political balance, and for the foundation of a federative system adapted to secure the rights of nations. All the powers were to be invited to join this confederacy. In the same year, it was partly dissolved by the peace of Presburg with Austria (26th of Dec., 1805), and completely, by the peace of Paris with Russia (20th of July, 1806). Prussia, which till then had not taken an active part, thought herself strong enough to encounter France single-handed. The accession of England and Russia (besides the previous junction of Saxony, and, probably, of other temporizing cabinets) produced the sixth coalition. The peace of Tilsit (7th and 9th of July, 1807), put an end to this union; and the peace at Vienna (14th of Oct., 1809) terminated the Austrian coalition with England (the seventh). Finally, we may mention under this head the last great alliance against France. It consisted first of Russia and England, but was increased in succession by the addition of Spain and Portugal, Sweden, Prussia, Austria, the German princes with few exceptions, Naples, and, at last, Denmark. It ended with the peace of Paris (31st of May, 1814). The return of Napoleon, however, in 1815, revived it. From this sprung the "holy alliance" of Russia, Austria and Prussia, which was joined by the king of France, at Aix-la-Chapelle (q. v.), in 1818. In England and the U. States of North America, the word coalition is used to denote the union of several parties or their leaders against another party; but it always expresses something odious. Thus, for instance, the party of Pitt denounced the coalition of Fox and North.

COAT OF ARMS; 1. the surcoat worn by a knight; 2. the ensigns armorial of a family; so called, because originally worn on some part of the armor. Their origin is to be referred to the age of chivalry, when they were assumed as emblematic of the adventures, love, hopes, &c., of the knight, and were useful for distinguishing individuals, whom it was difficult to recognise, covered, as they were, from head to foot, with armor. This, perhaps, may even have been the origin of the usage. As every thing else became hereditary in Europe, estates, dignities, titles, privileges, so the favorite emblem of the knight became the adopted badge of the family, the figures or characters employed in them began to receive names, and the language and science of heraldry (q. v.) was formed.

The right to bear arms thus became a distinctive mark of gentle birth. In France, the feudal privileges and nobility were abolished by the revolution. Under Napoleon, the imperial noblesse wore a certain number of feathers, indicative of their rank; a simple chevalier, 1; a baron, 3; a duke, 7.

COBALT occurs alloyed with arsenic, nickel and other metals, and mineralized by oxygen and by arsenic acid. It is obtained, after the ore has been roasted and calcined, in the state of an oxide, impure from the presence of other metallic oxides. When this oxide is obtained in a state of purity, and reduced to the metallic state, we are presented with a metal of a white color, inclining to gray, and, if tarnished, to red, with a moderate lustre. Its fracture is compact; it is hard, brittle, and of a specific gravity of 7.8. Like nickel, it is sensibly magnetic, and is susceptible of being rendered permanently so. It undergoes little change in the air, but absorbs oxygen when heated in open vessels. It is attacked with difficulty by sulphuric or muriatic acid, but is readily oxidized by means of nitric acid. There are but two oxides of cobalt known. The protoxide is of an ash-gray color, and is the basis of the salts of cobalt, most of which are of a pink hue. When heated to redness in open vessels, it absorbs oxygen, and is converted into the peroxide. It may be prepared by decomposing the carbonate of cobalt by heat, in a vessel from which the atmospheric air is excluded. It is easily known by its giving a blue tint to borax when melted with it, and is employed in the arts, in the form of smalt, for communicating a similar color to glass, to earthen ware, and to porcelain. Smalt, or powder blue, is made by melting three parts of fine white sand, or calcined flints, with two of purified pearl-ash and one of cobalt ore, previously calcined, and lading it out of the pots into a

vessel of cold water; after which, the dark-blue glass, or zaffre, is ground, washed over, and distributed into different shades of colors, which shades are occasioned by the different qualities of the ore, and the coarser and finer grinding of the powder. Smalt, besides being used to stain glass and pottery, is often substituted, in painting, for ultra-marine blue, and is likewise employed to give to paper and linen a bluish tinge. The muriate of cobalt is celebrated as a sympathetic ink. When diluted with water, so as to form a pale pink solution, and then employed as ink, the letters which are invisible in the cold, become blue, if gently heated. It is

prepared by dissolving one part of zaffre in two of diluted nitric acid, with the aid of heat, adding to it of muriate of soda one part, and diluting with 20 parts of water. The peroxide of cobalt is of a black color, and is easily formed in the way already mentioned. It does not unite with acids; and, when digested in muriatic acid, the proto-muriate of cobalt is generated with the disengagement of chlorine. When strongly heated in close vessels, it gives off oxygen, and is converted into the protoxide.-Ores of cobalt: 1. White cobalt ore, or bright white cobalt ore, consists, principally, of cobalt and arsenic. Its color is tinwhite, liable to tarnish, with little lustre. It occurs massive and crystallized, in cubes and in octohedrons. It is hard and brittle. Specific gravity, 7.3 to 7.7. Before the blowpipe, it melts, and gives an arsenical smoke and odor. It forms a metallic globule, and gives to borax a blue color. It occurs chiefly in primitive rocks, and is frequently accompanied with bismuth. It is found most abundantly in Germany, Sweden and Norway, and also occurs in several other European countries. 2. Gray cobalt ore is an alloy of cobalt with arsenic and iron, and is sometimes accompanied with small portions of nickel and bismuth. Its color is lightgray; liable to tarnish. It occurs massive or disseminated, and is never crystallized. It has been found in the U. States, at Chatham, Conn., but has not, hitherto, been wrought advantageously. It also occurs in Bohemia, Saxony and France. 3. Red cobalt ore is a hydrated arseniate of cobalt, of a beautiful peach-blossom red color. It occurs massive, disseminated, and in minute crystals. It accompanies other ores of cobalt.

till 1791, when the regiment was relieved and sent home. Serjeant-major Cobbett here left the service, and terminated his military career. In 1792, he first came to the U. States, after a short visit to France. He began his career in Philadelphia, as a writer of political pamphlets, under the well known name of Peter Porcupine; soon after engaged in the business of a bookseller in that city, and published, at the same time, a daily newspaper, called the Porcupine. The French interest, which then prevailed in the U. States, he opposed with great violence, mingling the coarsest personal abuse with the severest political invective. Having been convicted for a libel on doctor Rush, and condemned in $5000 damages, he left the country, and returned to England in 1800. Here he published the Works of Peter Porcupine, containing a faithful Picture of the U. States, &c. (London, 1801, 12 vols., 8vo.), consisting of selections from the Porcupine, with remarks illustrating them, and of his other personal and political writings, previously published in America. This work was dedicated "to a declared enemy of republicans and levellers." In it, doctor Priestley (Observations on Priestley's Emigration), doctor Rush (in the Rush-Light), doctor Franklin, &c., were unsparingly abused. He soon after established the Weekly Political Register (commenced in 1802), which has been conducted with considerable talent, but great bitterness. In 1810, he was convicted of a libel with intention to excite a mutiny, and condemned to confinement in Newgate, and to pay a fine of £1000. Although the fine was paid by a subscription among his friends, he addressed a letter to the king in 1828, praying his majesty to restore him the sum. In 1815, he became the champion of Napoleon, whom he had previously assailed with the utmost vehemence. In 1817, he again visited America; but we soon after find him in England, where, in 1819, he published his Year's Residence in America. He was never naturalized in the U. States, objecting to the oath required, abjuring all allegiance to any other power. He now connected himself with the party called radicals; and we often find him haranguing at public meetings with great success; but, a convicted libeller on both sides of the Atlantic, twice cast out by his own country, and as often rejected by America, alternately praising, abusing, calumniating and panegyrizing the same party, his inconsistency and selfcontradictions have much diminished his influence, notwithstanding his great ad

COBBETT, William, a notorious political writer in England and America, was born in 1766, in the county of Surry, England, the son of a farmer, from whom he received the rudiments of his educationreading, writing and arithmetic. In 1783, he left the plough for London, where he became "an understrapping quill-driver," as he calls himself, to an attorney in Gray's Inn. This employment not suiting his restless disposition, he enlisted as a common soldier in 1784, and remained in England a year, spending his leisure hours in reading and study, particularly in the study of grammar. He wrote out the whole of Lowth's grammar two or three times, got it by heart, and repeated it every morning and evening. He then sailed to join his regiment in America, and remained there, in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick,

dress and his popular eloquence. Besides his works already mentioned, the principal are Parliamentary Debates, from 1803-10-11, 20 vols. 8vo.; Maitre Anglais, or English Grammar for the Use of Frenchmen, which has obtained great reputation in France, where it has passed through many editions (the examples, illustrating the rules, are severe attacks on royalty); his Life, written by himself (1816); Treatise on Cobbett's Corn* (1828); (the title-page of this work is printed on paper made of the husks of Indian corn). In the latter part of 1829, he was engaged in delivering lectures on the causes of the existing distress in England, and the best means of relieving it.

COBENTZL, Louis, count of, son of count John of Cobentzl, a diplomatist in the Austrian service, was born at Brussels in 1753. He entered first into the military service of Austria, was appointed minister at Copenhagen, after the revolution of 1771, and at the court of Frederic the Great, from 1775 to 1778. In 1779, he was sent on an embassy to Catharine II of Russia, whose favor he secured by his gallantry, and by composing and taking part himself in comedies at her private theatre. In 1795, he concluded a grand triple alliance between Russia, England and Austria, against the French republic. Being recalled to Vienna the following year. he was again employed in political negotiations. He was one of the plenipotentiaries who signed the treaty of CampoFormio, between Austria and France, in October, 1797, and was also sent to the congress of Rastadt. In the following year, he held a conference, at Seltz, with Francis de Neufchateau, a member of the executive directory, respecting the insult offered to Bernadotte at Vienna. He then returned to Petersburg, whence he was summoned, and sent to Lunéville; and there concluded a treaty of peace with France, in February, 1801. A few months after, he was appointed minister of state and vice-chancellor for the department of foreign affairs at Vienna. In 1805, he followed the Austrian court to Olmütz, and died at Vienna in 1809.

COBENTZL, John Philip, count de, cousin of the last mentioned individual, was born in Carniola in 1741. He was made a counsellor of finance in 1762, and afterwards privy counsellor at Brussels. In 1779, he was employed as a diplomatist at the con

*By this term this modest gentleman designates Indian corn or maize, the cultivation of which he has been endeavoring to introduce among his

countrymen.

clusion of the peace of Teschen. In 1790, he was sent to Brabant to treat with the insurgent Netherlanders; but the states refused to receive him, on which he retired to Luxembourg, where he published a declaration, by which the emperor of Germany revoked all those edicts which had caused the insurrection, and reëstablished the previous state of affairs. His failure on this occasion probably prevented him from being again employed till 1801, when he was sent ambassador to Paris, through the credit of his cousin, and remained there till 1805. He died Aug. 30, 1810. He was the last of the family of Cobentzl.

COBI (in Chinese, Shamo); a great desert in the central part of Asia, extending from the sources of the Indus and Ganges, beyond those of the Amour, from 23 to 24 degrees of longitude in length, and varying from 3 to 10 degrees of latitude in breadth. But little is known of this immense region, of about 847,000 square miles in extent. Its great elevation, and the salt with which it is impregnated, render it very cold. The frightful uniformity of vast fields of sand and gravel is hardly broken by the small rivers, lined with narrow tracts of pasture, by the salt lakes, and a few fertile oases interspersed here and there, like islands in the ocean. A few little hills rise out of the general. level, which extends all around the traveller, as far as the eye can reach. The small Mongolian horses wander about in large droves, and the wild djiggetai snatches a hasty meal from the pastures. The camel is commonly used by the Mongols to transport burdens.

COBLENTZ (anciently Confluentia, from its situation at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle), formerly the residence of the elector of Treves, then chief place of the French department of the Rhine and Moselle, now the capital of the Prussian circle of government (Regierungsbezirk) of Coblentz (belonging to the province of the Lower Rhine), containing 1928 square miles, with 337,470 inhabitants, is situated on a most charming spot. Opposite Coblentz is Thalehrenbreitstein, a small place on the right bank of the majestic river, at the foot of the rock, on which the Prussians rebuilt the fortifications of Ehrenbreitstein, and rendered it one of the most remarkable productions of military architecture. Over the Moselle is a bridge of 536 paces, resting upon 14 arches of stone. From this bridge there is one of the finest views on the Rhine. Coblentz (1050 houses and 14,900 inhabitants) consists

of the old city and the new, or Clementcity, and is, in general, well built. There are several fine public buildings. An aqueduct, constructed by the last elector, brings the finest water from a height near Metternich, over the Moselle bridge, into all quarters of the city. The chief articles of commerce are the Moselle wines and French wines. About one mile from the city is a building, formerly a Carthusian monastery, which is well worthy the attention of travellers, on account of the view which it affords of the two rivers on which the city stands. This building is now changed into a fort called Hunnenkopf. On the other side of the Moselle fort Francis is situated. These two forts protect the city on the left bank of the Rhine, and some other fortifications are to be added. These works, with those of the strong fortress of Ehrenbreitstein (q.v.), will render Coblentz one of the strongest fortresses, and a very important defence to Germany, particularly to the Prussian monarchy. The confluence of the two rivers has always given Coblentz great military importance, even in the time of the Romans, who built a strong camp here. On the road from Coblentz to Cologne is the monument of general Marceau, mentioned by lord Byron in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage.

COBRA DA CAPELLO; the Portuguese trivial name of the vipera naja; the hooded snake, or viper, of the English; serpent à lunettes of the French; a reptile of the most venomous nature, found in various degrees of abundance in different hot countries of the old continent, and in the islands adjacent. The species of the viper kind are all remarkable for the manner in which they spread out or flatten the sides of the neck and head when disturbed or irritated. In the cobra da capello, the conformation necessary to this action is found in the most perfect condition, as the animal is provided with a set of ribs or bony processes, moved by appropriate muscles on the sides of the neck, which, when expanded, give the anterior part of the body the appearance of an overhanging arch or hood; on the middle of which, posterior to the eyes, is a greenish-yellow mark, resembling the rim of a pair of spectacles. From this mark the French name is derived. When disturbed by the approach of an individual, or any noise, the cobra raises the anterior part of its body, so as to appear to stand erect, expands its hood, and is prepared to inflict a deadly wound. So exceedingly poisonous is its bite, that, in numerous instances 24

VOL. III.

which are well authenticated, death has followed within a few minutes; under ordinary circumstances, a few hours is the longest term that intervenes from the infliction of the bite till the death of the sufferer, where prompt measures for his relief have not been resorted to. So numerous are these dreadful vipers in some parts of India and Africa, that they are frequently found in dwelling-houses, and, in some instances, have taken up their quarters in the beds. Death of necessity must follow, under such circumstances, should the animal be alarmed or irritated by any sudden motion. In case a bite is received from this (or, indeed, any other) venomous creature, the first thing to be done is to make a firm and well-sustained pressure beyond the wound, on the side nearest the heart. The excellent experiments of doctor Pennock, which have been already referred to, prove that a sufficient degree of pressure thus kept up will prevent the poison from affecting the system; and this is rendered evident by the good effects derived from ligatures applied around bitten limbs, above the wound, by the natives of India, though such ligatures generally act but imperfectly. The good effects of pressure, combined with the advantage of withdrawing the poison, will be obtained by applying a well exhausted cupping-glass over the wound; a substitute for which may almost always be made of a drinking glass, small bottle, &c., if proper cups be not at hand. It would be well for persons travelling or residing where these vipers are common, to be provided with a bottle of volatile alkali, or spirits of hartshorn, which, applied to the wound several times a day, and taken internally, in doses of 30 to 40 drops, repeated according to circumstances, will avert the injurious consequence of the poison. To heighten the curiosity of the multitude, the jugglers of India select these venomous reptiles for their exhibitions, and, having extracted their fangs, keep them in cages or baskets, to exhibit as dancing snakes. When the cage is opened, the juggler begins playing upon a pipe or other instrument; whereupon the viper assumes the erect attitude, distends its hood, and remains balancing itself in this position until the music is suspended. It is, however, most probable, that this viper, in common with lizards and other animals, is peculiarly affected by musical sounds. A friend, who passed a considerable time in the kingdom of Ava, informed us, that a cobra entered a room while a gentleman was playing on

the flute, and advanced gently towards him so long as the music continued; whenever it was suspended, the animal halted, and when it was entirely stopped, it gradually withdrew. This circumstance induced them to spare the viper, which uniformly made its appearance on several successive days when the flute was played. With the exception of the spectacle mark on the back of the neck, and its distensible hood, the cobra is not especially distinguished from other vipers. Its colors are dull, being a dark-greenish-brown, lighter towards the inferior parts.

COBURG; a Saxon principality in central Germany, bounded by a number of other small German principalities. The country is mostly mountainous, with fertile plains: minerals and forests abound in it. According to the law of August, 1821, regulating the constitution of the principality, there is a body of representatives, who have a voice in legislation, and particularly in the imposition of taxes. According to the law of Dec. 11, 1809, the feudal privileges were to be abolished by degrees. Coburg has one vote in the general assembly of the diet, and is bound to furnish a contingent of 800 men to the forces of the German confederation. The duke of Saxe-Coburg received, in the division of the former dukedom of GothaAltenburg (edict of Nov. 15, 1826), the duchy of Gotha, and several smaller territories; so that the dominions of the present duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha comprise 969 square miles, and 139,440 inhabitants, of which 201 square miles and 83,000 inhabitants are comprised in the principality of Coburg and its dependencies, which were subject to the duke previous to the large accession of territory just mentioned.

Coburg, the capital of the above dukedom, is situated in the beautiful Itzgrund (valley of the Itz), with 8100 inhabitants, an excellent school (gymnasium illustre), several manufactories, two fairs, and considerable trade.

COBURG. Frederic Josias, duke of SaxeCoburg, an Austrian field-marshal, was born in 1737; in 1788, took Choczim, and, in connexion with the Russian general Suwaroff, defeated the Turks at Focsani in 1789, and conquered Bucharest. In 1793, he commanded against the French, was victorious at Aldenhoven and Neerwinden, took Valenciennes, Condé, Cambray and Landrécy; but when the duke of York separated himself from the Austrians in order to besiege Dunkirk, Coburg was beaten at Maubeuge, Clerfayt at Tour

nay, and the English at Dunkirk; and, in consequence of this, Coburg was again defeated at Fleurus and Aldenhoven. He retreated over the Rhine, gave up his command, and died in his native city in 1815. COBURG, SAXE, prince Leopold of. (See Leopold, and Charlotte Augusta.)

COCAGNA; an annual public festival instituted by the government of Naples, in which food and wine in fountains and from barrels are given to the people. Hence it is said of a country of comfort and plenty, "It is the land of Cockaigne." Something similar were the congiaria of the ancient Romans.-Mats de cocagne; masts besmeared with soap for the public amusement, which those who have courage for the enterprise endeavor to climb, for the sake of a prize which is fixed on the top.

COCCEI, Henry, born, 1644, at Bremen, studied at Leyden in 1667, and, in 1670, in England; was, in 1672, professor of law at Heidelberg, and, in 1688, at Utrecht; in 1690, regular professor of laws at Frankfort on the Oder; repaired to the Hague, in 1702, without giving up his office, on occasion of the disputes as to the hereditary succession of the house of Orange; received for his services, in 1713, the rank of baron of the empire, and died in 1719. As a lawyer, he was the oracle of many courts, and his system of German public law (juris publici prudentia) was almost a universal academical text-book of this science. Cocceii did not owe his profound juridical learning so much to skilful teachers, for he had only heard lectures on the institutes, but to his great industry, which he carried to such an extent, that he allowed but a few hours each night to sleep, lived with the utmost temperance, and even abstained several years from taking dinner. He was mild, obliging, and of an exemplary honesty and disinterestedness. His disputations Exercitationes curiosa, and Dissert. varii Argumenti, form 4 vols. 4to.; his Consilia et Deductiones, 2 vols. in folio; his Grotius illustratus, 3 vols. in folio.-His eldest son, Samuel, baron of Cocceii, born, 1679, at Heidelberg, was, in 1702, professor at Frankfort on the Oder, and rose, through many degrees, to the dignity of grand chancellor of all the Prussian dominions. He died in 1755.— Charles Louis Cocceii, who died in 1808, in Prussia, was the last of this distinguished family.

Coccus, in zoology; a genus of insects of the order of heteroptera, family gallinsecta. Generic character: antennæ filiform, of 10 or 11 articulations in both