lime. This artificial coating is supposed by some to give the ginger a better appearance; it often, however, covers an inferior quality, and can readily be detected by the ease with which it rubs off, or by its leaving a white powdery substance at the bottom of the jar in which it is contained. Uncoated ginger, as seen in trade, varies from single joints an inch or less in length to flattish irregularly branched pieces of several joints, the “races” or “hands,” and from 3 to 4 in. long; each branch has a depression at its summit showing the former attachment of a leafy stem. The colour, when not whitewashed, is a pale buff; it is somewhat rough or fibrous, breaking with a short mealy fracture, and presenting on the surfaces of the broken parts numerous short bristly fibres.
The principal constituents of ginger are starch, volatile oil (to which the characteristic odour of the spice is due) and resin (to which is attributed its pungency). Its chief use is as a condiment or spice, but as an aromatic and stomachic medicine it is also used internally. “The stimulant, aromatic and carminative properties render it of much value in atonic dyspepsia, especially if accompanied with much flatulence, and as an adjunct to purgative medicines to correct griping.” Externally applied as a rubefacient, it has been found to relieve headache and toothache. The rhizomes, collected in a young green state, washed, scraped and preserved in syrup, form a delicious preserve, which is largely exported both from the West Indies and from China. Cut up into pieces like lozenges and preserved in sugar, ginger also forms a very agreeable sweetmeat.
GINGHAM, a cotton or linen cloth, for the name of which several origins are suggested. It is said to have been made at Guingamp, a town in Brittany; the New English Dictionary derives the word from Malay ging-gang, meaning “striped.” The cloth is now of a light or medium weight, and woven of dyed or white yarns either in a single colour or different colours, and in stripes, checks or plaids. It is made in Lancashire and in Glasgow, and also to a large extent in the United States.
Imitations of it are obtained by calico-printing. It is used for
dresses, &c.
GINGI, or Gingee, a rock fortress of southern India, in the
South Arcot district of Madras. It consists of three hills, connected
by walls enclosing an area of 7 sq. m., and practically
impregnable to assault. The origin of the fortress is shrouded
in legend. When occupied by the Mahrattas at the end of the
17th century, it withstood a siege of eight years against the armies
of Aurangzeb. In 1750 it was captured by the French, who held
it with a strong force for eleven years. It surrendered to the
English in 1761, in the words of Orme, “terminated the long
hostilities between the two rival European powers in Coromandel,
and left not a single ensign of the French nation avowed by the
authority of its government in any part of India.”
GINGUENÉ, PIERRE LOUIS (1748–1815), French author, was born on the 27th of April 1748 at Rennes, in Brittany. He was educated at a Jesuit college in his native town, and came to Paris in 1772. He wrote criticisms for the Mercure de France, and composed a comic opera, Pomponin (1777). The Satire des satires (1778) and the Confession de Zulmé (1779) followed. The Confession was claimed by six or seven different authors, and though the value of the piece is not very great, it obtained great success. His defence of Piccini against the partisans of Gluck made him still more widely known. He hailed the first symptoms of the Revolution, joined Giuseppe Cerutti, the author of the Mémoire pour le peuple français (1788), and others in producing the Feuille villageoise, a weekly paper addressed to the villages of France. He also celebrated in an indifferent ode the opening of the states-general. In his Lettres sur les confessions de J.-J. Rousseau (1791) he defended the life and principles of his author. He was imprisoned during the Terror, and only escaped with life by the downfall of Robespierre. Some time after his release he assisted, as director-general of the “commission exécutive de l’instruction publique,” in reorganizing the system of public instruction, and he was an original member of the Institute of France. In 1797 the directory appointed him minister plenipotentiary to the king of Sardinia. After fulfilling his duties for seven months, very little to the satisfaction of his employers, Ginguené retired for a time to his country house of St Prix, in the valley of Montmorency. He was appointed a member of the tribunate, but Napoleon, finding that he was not sufficiently tractable, had him expelled at the first “purge,” and Ginguené returned to his literary pursuits. He was one of the commission charged to continue the Histoire littéraire de la France, and he contributed to the volumes of this series which appeared in 1814, 1817 and 1820. Ginguené’s most important work is the Histoire littéraire d’Italie (14 vols., 1811–1835). He was putting the finishing touches to the eighth and ninth volumes when he died on the 11th of November 1815. The last five volumes were written by Francesco Salfi and revised by Pierre Daunou.
In the composition of his history of Italian literature he was guided for the most part by the great work of Girolamo Tiraboschi, but he avoids the prejudices and party views of his model.
Ginguené edited the Décade philosophique, politique et littéraire till it was suppressed by Napoleon in 1807. He contributed largely to the Biographie universelle, the Mercure de France and the Encyclopédie méthodique; and he edited the works of Chamfort and of Lebrun. Among his minor productions are an opera, Pomponin ou le tuteur mystifié (1777); La Satire des satires (1778); De l’autorité de Rabelais dans la révolution présente (1791); De M. Neckar (1795); Fables nouvelles (1810); Fables inédites (1814). See “Éloge de Ginguené” by Dacier, in the Mémoires de l’institut, tom. vii.; “Discours” by M. Daunou, prefixed to the 2nd ed. of the Hist. litt. d’Italie; D. J. Garat, Notice sur la vie et les ouvrages de P. L. Ginguené, prefixed to a catalogue of his library (Paris, 1817).
GINKEL, GODART VAN (1630–1703); 1st earl of Athlone, Dutch general in the service of England, was born at Utrecht in 1630. He came of a noble family, and bore the title of Baron van Reede, being the eldest son of Godart Adrian van Reede, Baron Ginkel. In his youth he entered the Dutch army, and in 1688 he followed William, prince of Orange, in his expedition to England. In the following year he distinguished himself by a memorable exploit—the pursuit, defeat and capture of a Scottish regiment which had mutinied at Ipswich, and was marching northward across the fens. It was the alarm excited by this mutiny that facilitated the passing of the first Mutiny Act. In 1690 Ginkel accompanied William III. to Ireland, and commanded a body of Dutch cavalry at the battle of the Boyne. On the king’s return to England General Ginkel was entrusted with the conduct of the war. He took the field in the spring of 1691, and established his headquarters at Mullingar. Among those who held a command under him was the marquis of Ruvigny, the recognized chief of the Huguenot refugees. Early in June Ginkel took the fortress of Ballymore, capturing the whole garrison of 1000 men. The English lost only 8 men. After reconstructing the fortifications of Ballymore the army marched to Athlone, then one of the most important of the fortified towns of Ireland. The Irish defenders of the place were commanded by a distinguished French general, Saint-Ruth. The firing began on June 19th, and on the 30th the town was stormed, the Irish army retreating towards Galway, and taking up their position at Aughrim. Having strengthened the fortifications of Athlone and left a garrison there, Ginkel led the English, on July 12th, to Aughrim. An immediate attack was resolved on, and, after a severe and at one time doubtful contest, the crisis was precipitated by the fall of Saint-Ruth, and the disorganized Irish were defeated and fled. A horrible slaughter of the Irish followed the struggle, and 4000 corpses were left unburied on the field, besides a multitude of others that lay along the line of the retreat. Galway next capitulated, its garrison being permitted to retire to Limerick. There the viceroy Tyrconnel was in command of a large force, but his sudden death early in August left the command in the hands of General Sarsfield and the Frenchman D’Usson. The English came in sight of the town on the day of Tyrconnel’s death, and the bombardment was immediately begun. Ginkel, by a bold device, crossed the Shannon and captured the camp of the Irish cavalry. A few days later he stormed the fort on Thomond Bridge, and after difficult negotiations a capitulation was signed, the terms of which were divided into a civil and a military treaty. Thus was completed the conquest or pacification of Ireland, and the services of the Dutch general were amply recognized and rewarded. He received the formal thanks of the House of Commons, and was
