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Knight's Mechanical Encyclopedia (ed. Knight) 2 2 Browse Search
James Russell Lowell, Among my books 1 1 Browse Search
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Knight's Mechanical Encyclopedia (ed. Knight), M. (search)
del Orbe, published in 1286. A passage in the Spanish Leyes de las Partidas of the middle of the thirteenth century runs as follows: The needle which guides the mariner in the dark night, and shows him how to direct his course both in good and bad weather, is the intermediary between the loadstone and the North Star. Dante, about 1300, refers to the needle which points to the star. Marco Polo, the great traveler, was in the service of Kublai Khan, the conqueror of China, from 1274 to 1291, and was concerned in the introduction of the compass from China to Europe direct. It had previously arrived by the good old channel, India and Arabia; but Marco Polo did not know that, and his services can hardly be exaggerated. The Arabs sailed by the compass during the Khalifate of Cordova, which lasted till A. D. 1237, when it was subdued by the Moors. An authority states that it was known in Norway previous to 1266. Dr. Gilbert, physician to Queen Elizabeth, states that P. Venutu
Knight's Mechanical Encyclopedia (ed. Knight), P. (search)
) are both derived from feldspar, which consists of silica, alumina, and potash. Kaolin consists of decomposed feldspar, and petuntse is the powder of undecomposed feldspar. The radical difference seems to be that by decomposition and exposure to the air the kaolin has acquired plasticity, has become a clay. This being the case, it is easy to conceive the propriety of keeping the prepared clay in a condition to improve by exposure and age, before working it. Marco Polo, who was from 1274 to 1291 in the service of Kublai Khan, the Conqueror of China, states that the heaps of porcelain clay were exposed in China for thirty to forty years before using; so that men gathered the materials for their children and grandchildren. The other material mentioned is hoache, and probably, as the Pere d'entrecolles remarks, is steatite; which is a compound of silica and magnesia. We cannot go into all the particulars of the history of the art, nor describe the ingredients and compositions of t
James Russell Lowell, Among my books, Dante. (search)
ms, and where I felt much fear, but in the end the greatest pleasure, from the various changes of the fight. Letter of Dante, now lost, cited by Aretino. In the same year he assisted at the siege and capture of Caprona. Inferno, XXI. 94. In 1290 died Beatrice, married to Simone dei Bardi, precisely when is uncertain, but before 1287, as appears by a mention of her in her father's will, bearing date January 15 of that year. Dante's own marriage is assigned to various years, ranging from 1291 to 1294; but the earlier date seems the more probable, as he was the father of seven children (the youngest, a daughter, named Beatrice) in 1301. His wife was Gemma dei Donati, and through her Dante, whose family, though noble, was of the lesser nobility, became nearly connected with Corso Donati, the head of a powerful clan of the grandi, or greater nobles. In 1293 occurred what is called the revolution of Gian Della Bella, in which the priors of the trades took the power into their own ha