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CONTES DE MA MERE L'OYE. 345 CONTINENT. isli language, wliiilr has made them verj' success fill among children for 200 years. CONTES DES FEES, da fa (Fr., stories of the fairies). A collection of fairy stories from various sources by the Comtesse d'Aunoy (1710), in which many of the tales received their literary form in Frciuli. CONTES DROLATIQUES, dro'la'tek' (Fr., droll stories). A series of thirty tales by Balzac, abounding in Rabelaisian humor, and copying the style and spelling of the sixteenth centurv. They -were published variously in 1832, 1833, .and 1837. CONTES DTJ LXJNDI, du leN'de' (Fr., Mondav stories). A collection of short stories by Alphonse Daudct (1873), of which La d'eniiore classc, the touching story of the last school session held by an old French school- master in Alsace befoi'e the German occupation, attracted much attention. CONTI, kox'te'. House of. A younger branch of the House of Bourbon-Conde (see Cond£). It first appears in French history in the six- teentli century when Francois, son of Louis de Bourbon, first Prince of Conde, took the name of ^Marquis de Conti from his mother's fief of Conti-sur-Selles, in Picardy. Toward the end of the century he was made Prince of Conti. He died without heirs in 1014, and for sixteen years the title was in abeyance. In 1630 it was "bestowed upon the infant Armand de Bourbon, second son of the Prince of Conde. This second Prince' de Conti is generally regarded as the founder of the house. His son, Louis Armand, Prince de Conti, succeeded him, and on his death, in 1GS5, left the title to his younger brother, Francois Louis (1004-1700), who styled himself Prince de la Roche-sur-Yon et de Conti, and was the most noted member of the family. He had been educated under the eyes of the great Conde and embraced a military career with enthusiam. He served in Hungary against the TurlvS, but, owing to incautious letters which he wrote home, he lost the favor of Louis XIV., and on returning -was banished to Chantilly. Par- doned through the intercession of the great Conde. the Prince served with distinction imder the Duke of Luxembourg, and was present at the battles of Steenkerk (1002) and Neerwinden (1603). In 1007 he was put forward by Louis XIV. as a candidate for the Polish cro^vn, and ■was in fact elected King by a part of the nobles, but found himself powerless against the opposi- tion of Russia, the Emperor Leopold I., and the Pope, and abandoned his claim. Louis XIV. was never his friend, and feared Conti's popularity, so that the Prince spent his later life in retiiemcnt. In 1700, however, he was suni- ]uoned to take command of the Army of Flanders, but was carried oil" by an attack of the gout, Feb- ruary 22, 1709. Massillon pronounced his fu- neral oration, and Saint-Simon, in his me- moirs, speaks of him in glowing terms. His son was a worthless rone of the time of the Eegency: but his grandson, Louis Fran- cois (1717-70), Prince de Conti, distinguished himself as a brave and popiilar connnander. The last member of the house was Louis Francois Joseph (1734-1814), Prince de Conti, son of the preceding, who, after a some- what checkered career, died at Barcelona., Con- sult: Martin, Uhfoire de France, vols, ix., x.. xi. (Boston, 1804-60) ; Mcmoires of Fontenay- ilareuil, La Roehefuueauld-Doudainville (Paris, 1801-04), and Saint-Simon (London, 1880); Topin, L'liuropc ct hi liourbons (Paris, 1808); MeiHuircs of Xoailles (Paris, 1777) ; D'Argenson, Mciiioircs (London, 1803) : and Bernis, Mcmoires (Paris, 1878) ; De J5roglie, Lc secret du roi (Paris, 1879). CONTI, AuGUSTO (1822 — ). An Italian phil- osophical writer, l)orn near San ilinialo in Tuscany, He studied law at several Italian universities and practiced in Florence until 1848, when he enlisted as a volunteer for service- against Austria. Subscriuently he practiced law and taught philosophy in San Miniato ; in 1855 was made ])rofessor of philosophy in Lucca; in 1803 professor of the history of philosophy in Pisa, and in 1864 professor of mental and moral philosophy in Florence, His published works include: Lriilciiza, uinore e fcde, o i eriferl della filosofia (1862, and subsequent editions) ; titoria della filosopa (1864, and subsequent editions); L'armonia delle cose (2 vols., 1878) ; Filosofia clemeiitare (1800; ed. 9, 1879) : Dio come ordi- natore del mondo ( 1871 ) ; and // vcro ncW ordine (1876; 2d ed., 1801). In these and other works, Conti makes an earnest attempt to bring into- agreement the teachings of different philosophi- cal schools. CONTI, Niccoi.6 DEL. An Italian traveler ot the fifteenth century. He learned Oriental lan- guages and carried on an extensive traffic in the East. He traveled in Eg^-pt, Arabia, Persia, and India, and later gave a complete account of his travels to Poggio Bracciolini, secretary of Pope Eugenius IV. Poggio's manuscript relating the observations and adventures of Conti was- first published in 1723, under the title ITis- tortw de Tarietate Fortunw. Conti was one of the pioneers of European conunerce in the East, and one of the first to advocate the idea of find- ing a western way by sea ,to the' Eastern countries. Consult Giardina, / viagqi di Niccolo de' Conti (Catania, 1808). CONTINENT (ML. continens, from Lat. emi- tinerc, to touch, from coin-, together + tenere, to hold). The largest natural land division; of greater area than an island or peninsula. The outer portion of the earth is composed of two • layers, the solid rocky crust, or 'lithosjjhere,' and the water areas, or 'hydrosphere.' In the early period of its history the earth may have been surrounded entirely by the hydrosphere, but at present, and, so far as known, in all geological ages, the crust has been folded into mountain chains, forming nuclei around which the con- tinental land areas are grouped, while the waters have accumulated in the intermediate depressions. Geographers usually recognize as continents Eurasia (comprising Europe and Asia), Africa, Australia, Xorth America, and South America; the two Americas, however, are sometimes grouped as a single continent, al- though such a classification is liardly justifiable unless Africa be included with the Eurasian continent. A sixth continent may be represented by tlic land areas in the Antarctic region (((.v.). It is estimated that the land constitutes about 55,000,000 square miles, or 28 per cent, of the entire surface of the earth. The continents vary widely in form, area, relief, and distribution on the globe, yet they may have many features