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GARCILASO 258 GABDEN quiring a considerable reputation as a tenor singer in Cadiz and Madrid, in 1808 he obtained great success at the Italian opera in Paris, and afterward proceeded to Italy, where he was received with equal favor. From 1816 to 1824 he was constantly engaged as a singer, either in Paris or London. In 1825, with a select operatic company, composed in part of members of his own family, he crossed the Atlantic, and visited New York and Mexico. On the road between Mexico and Vera Cruz he was robbed of all his money; and after his return to Paris he was compelled to open a class for singing, as his voice had become greatly impaired by age and fatigue. Many of Garcia's pupils reached a high degree of excellence, but none equaled his eldest daughter Maria, afterward Madame Malibran. He was less success- ful as a composer, though several of his works, such as "The Caliph of Bagdad," were much admired. Garcia died in Paris, June 10, 1832. Pauline Viardot- Garcia, his second daughter, born in Paris in 1821, acquired a considerable reputation as a mezzo-soprano singer, and also composed several operettas and songs. GARCILASO (gar-the-la'so) , a Span- ish historian; born in Cuzco, Pei-u, in 1540. He was son of Garcilaso de la Vega, one of the conquerors of Peru, and was surnamed the Inca, from his mother, a princess of the royal race of the Incas, At the age of 20 he went to Spain, and lived the rest of his life at Cordova. His first work (1605) was an account of the conquest of Florida by Fernando de Soto. In 1609 appeared the first, and eight years later the second part of his great work on the history of Peru, en- titled "Royal Commentaries"; translated into English by Sir Paul Rycaut (1688), and by C. R. Markham for the Hakluyt Society (1869). He died in Cordova, Spain, in 1616. GARCINIA (named after Laurent Garcin, an Oriental traveler), in botany, a genus of guttifers, the typical one of the tribe Garciniese. The finiit of G. rnangostana is the highly-prized mangos- teen. The fruits of G. peduncidata, G. cornea, and G. kydiana are also eaten, but are not greatly valued. G. camhogia and other species of the genus furnish Gamboge {q. v.). GARD (gar), a department in the S. of Prance, on the Mediterranean; bounded on the E. by the Rhone river; ai-ea, 2,253 square miles, one-third of which is arable; pop. about 414,000. It is watered mainly by the Rhone, and by its tributaries, the Gard — from which the department has its name — and the Ceze. Of its surface the^ N. W. is occupied by a branch of the Cevennes, the remainder slopes toward the Rhone and the Medi- terranean, the coast being lined by ex- tensive and unhealthy marshes. The soil is unequal, the best land occurring in the river valleys. The famous grapes have almost disappeared before the ravages of the phylloxera. The rearing of silk- worms is widely engaged in, and the cultivation of olives and chestnuts is of value. The minerals include coal, iron, argentiferous lead, antimony, marble, and salt; and the department's iron and steel works are important. Chief city, Nimes. Pop. about 80,000. GARD, PONT DU (pon dvi), a fine Roman aqueduct, in Gard, 10 miles from Nimes, joining two mountains and pass- ing over the Gardon. It has thi'ee tier? of arches, and is 160 feet high. GARDA (gai-'da), LAKE OF (the Lacus Benacus of the Romans) , the largest lake of Italy, between Lombardy and Venetia, its N. end extending into the Austrian Tyrol. Situated 216 feet above sea-level, it has an area of 115 square miles, a length of 37 miles, a breadth of 2 to 11 miles, and a maximum depth of 1916 feet. Its chief tributaries are the Sarca and Ponale, and it is drained by the Mincio, a tributary of the Po. Along the W. shore the mulberry, fig, grape, myrtle, and citron are grown in the sheltered gardens, many of them terraced; olives flourish most on th*^' opposite bank. The clear waters of the lake abound in fish of various kinds. The mild climate in the district of the lake, and the beauty of its vicinity, have caused its shores to be lined with beau- tiful villas; and the district between Garguano and Salo, called by the people La Riviera, passes for the warmest point in northern Italy. Arco, near the head of the lake, is a favorite winter resort. GARDEN. The earliest gardens of which there is any account are those of Solomon, which are described as having been of quadrangular form, surrounded by high walls. They contained aviaries, wells, an<l streams of water. The gar- dens of Cyrus and other Persian mon- archs were of great extent, and generally laid out in romantic situations. The first allusion to terraces in gardens is to be found in the description of the celebrated hanging gardens of Babylon. The ter- races are described as being furnished with groves, containing fountains, seats, parterres, and banqueting rooms, and as combining the minute beauties of flowers and foliage with masses of light and