GATINEAU
severely wounded. He settled on an estate in Virginia, and at the outbreak of the Revolution he espoused the cause of his adopted country, and in June, 1776, was
fiven the chief command of the army which ad just retreated from Canada. In the following year he succeeded Schuyler in the command of the northern army; and the defeat and surrender of the British army under Burgoyne, at Saratoga, which followed, gave Gates a brilliant reputation, though the glory belonged in some measure, at least, to Schuyler. Soon afterwards the so-called Conway cabal intrigued to give the supreme command, which Washington held, to Gates, and after that Gates held no command, until in 1780 he was made commander of the southern forces. The disastrous battle of Camden on August 16 deprived him of his military laurels. He was superseded, and was not acquitted of blame by court-martial until 1782. Two years later he freed all his slaves, and settled in New York, where he died April 10, 1806.
Gatincau. Important river 400 miles long in the province of Quebec. Empties into the Ottawa River. Of great commercial importance to the immense lumber-interests of the Ottawa Valley. The whole of the Gatineau valley, comprising an area of 10,000 square miles, is traversed by it. The water power of the cascades on this river is calculated to equal 40,000 H. P. and the rapids of St. Joseph and Des Eaux at 7,700 H. P.
Gaining, Richard Jordan, American inventor, of Gatling-gun fame, was born in Hertford County, N. C., Sept. 12, 1818. Early in life he assisted his father in constructing a machine for sowing cottonseed, and himself invented a machine for sowing rice, which he later adopted for sowing wheat. In 1862 he invented the revolving gun known by his name, and in 1886 invented a new gun-metal, consisting of steel and aluminum. He also invented a steam-plow and a hemp-breaking machine. Congress voted him $40,000 for proof-experiments in a new method of casting cannon. He died on Feb. 26, 1903.
Gaul. See FRANCE.
Gauss (gous), Karl Friedrich, a noted German mathematician, physicist and astronomer was born at Brunswick, April 23, 1777, and died in Gottingen in 1855. I*1 his 3oth year he was appointed director of the observatory at Gottingen, where he spent the remainder of his life. At 25 he had published a very important mathematical paper; at 32 he published his great work on mathematical astronomy, entitled Theory of Motion of Celestial Bodies.
In conjunction with Wilhelm Weber, professor oft physics in the University of G6 ttin-gen, he made an elaborate and profound study of the earth's magnetism and insti-
ll GAY-LUSSAC
tuted our modern system of absolute magnetic measurements. To Gauss is also due our only satisfactory and accurate method of discussing optical instruments.
Gautier (go'tyd'), Theophile, a distinguished French novelist and litterateur, was born at Tarbes, Aug. 31, 1811, and died at Neuilly, Oct. 22, 1872. He began life as an artist, but abandoned painting for literature. ( Early in his career, having become acquainted with Victor Hugo, he threw himself into the romantic movement, which at this time% manifested itself in French literature. In 1835 appeared his notable novel, Mademoiselle de Maupin, which, in spite of its licentiousness, established its author's fame. After this followed a number of essays and sketches in literary criticism, including two admirable monographs on Lamartine and Charles Baudelaire. Later he traveled considerably, producing, as the result of his tours, a series of delightful works on Spain, Algeria, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Russia, Constantinople and Athens. Returning to fiction, he wrote Captain Fracasse, Spirite and The Romance of the Mummy, all full of captivating writing; together with a number of brilliant short stories, of which the most striking, perhaps, is A Night with Cleopatra. He also produced many short plays for the stage, besides a History of French Dramatic Art (since 1845) and numberless scattered pieces in prose and verse. He possessed, with eminent descriptive powers, a delightfully facile style and great artistic taste. His last book, written during the German siege of Paris, was his Siege Pictures.
Gay, John, an English poet, was born in 1685 and died in 1732. He wrote a large number of poems and ballads, besides several operas; but little of his poetry is now read. His greatest success was The Beggar's Opera, which ran 62 nights, made the actors celebrated, and in the popular phrase, "made Rich [the manager] gay, and Gay [the author] rich." His Fables and his ballad of Black-eyed Susan also deserve mention. See Henry Morley's English Literature.
Gay-Lussac (g&'Wsak'), Joseph Louis, a French physicist and chemist, was born Dec. 6, 1778, and died at Paris, May 9,1850. His father's name was Antoine Gay, to which the title Lussac was added, in connection with the ownership of some property. Gay-Lussac was educated at the Polytechnic School in Paris, which he entered at 19. In 1804 he made a great reputation by ascending alone in a balloon to the height of 23,000 feet and there making observations on the earth's magnetism, the moisture of the air etc. For 24 years, beginning in 1808, he was professor of physic in the Sorbonne, which he left to become pro-
