but in a large dose it produces sickness at stomach and vomiting. Negroes are less affected by it than white people. Dr. Cullen, however, says, 'We can perceive nothing in this bark but that of a simple bitter; the virtues ascribed to it in dysentery have not been confirmed by my experience, or that of the practitioners in this country; and, leaving what others are said to have experienced to be further examined and considered by practitioners, I can only at present say that my account of the effect of bitters will perhaps explain the virtues ascribed to the simaruba. In dysentery I have found an infusion of chamomile flowers a more useful remedy.' QUATERNARY, Lat. quaternarius, quaQUATER NION, or ternio. The number four. QUATERNITY.

Air and ye elements, the eldest birth Of nature's womb, that in quaternion run Perpetual circle, multiform, and mix

And nourish all things; let your ceaseless change Vary to our great Maker still new praise. Milton. The number of four stands much admired, not only in the quaternity of the elements, which are the principles of bodies, but in the letters of the name of God.

Browne.

The objections against the quaternary of elements and ternary of principles, needed not to be opposed so much against the doctrines themselves.

Boyle.

I have not in this scheme of these nine quaternions of consonants, distinct known characters, whereby to express them, but must repeat the same.

Holder's Elements of Speech. QUATRAIN, n. s. Fr. quatrain. A stanza of four lines rhyming alternately: as,

I have writ my poem in quatrains or stanzas of four in alternate rhyme, because I have ever judged them of greater dignity for the sound and number, than any other verse in use. Dryden.

QUATRE-BRAS, a hamlet of the Netherlands, in the province of Namur, about seven miles west of Ligny, remarkable for the memorable conflict occurring here between the British and French, on the 16th of June, 1815. It derives its name from the meeting of four roads. See WATERLOO.

QUATUORVIRI, in antiquity, formerly written IIII Viri, Roman magistrates, who had the care of conducting and settling the colonies sent into the provinces. There were also quatuorviri appointed to inspect the high-ways, to take care of repairs, &c.

QUA'VER, v. n. Sax. cpavan. To shake the voice; speak or sing with a tremulous voice; tremble.

Miso sitting on the ground with her knees up, and her hands upon her knees, tuning her voice with many a quavering cough, thus discoursed. Sidney.

The division and quavering, which please so much in musick, have an agreement with the glittering of light playing upon a wave.

Bacon.

A membrane, stretched like the head of a drum, is to receive the impulse of the sound, and to vibrate or quaver according to its reciprocal motions.

Ray.

Philips.

We shall hear her quavering them half a minute after us, to some sprightly airs of the opera.

VOL. XVIII.

Addison.

If the eye and the finger remain quiet, these colors vanish in a second minute of time, but if the finger be moved with a quavering motion, they appear again. Newton's Opticks.

QUAVER, in music, a measure of time equal to half a crochet, a fourth part of a minim, ‘or an eighth part of a semibreve.

QUÂY, 2. s. Fr. quai. See below. A key; an artificial bank to the sea or river, on which goods are conveniently unladen.

Kay, key, or quay, is a wharf or place by the water side, in a sea-port, for the loading and unloading of merchandise. The verb cajore, in old writers, according to Scaliger, signifies to keep in or restrain; and hence came our term kay; the ground where keys are made being bound in with planks and posts. Dr. A. Rees.

QUAY, or KEY, a long wharf, usually built of stone, by the side of a harbour or river, and having several storehouses for the convenience of 'ading and discharging merchant ships; with posts and rings whereby they are secured; together with cranes, capsterns, and other engines, to lift the goods in or out of the vessels which tie along side.

QUEA'CHY, adj. Originally perhaps quacky, quaggy, or quashy. Unsound; boggy. Not in

use.

The boggy mears and queachy fens below.

Drayton.

Id.

Goodwin's queachy sand. QUEAN, n. s. Sax. cpean, porcpen. A low or worthless woman; a strumpet.

As fit as the nail to his hole, or as a scolding quean to a wrangling knave. Shakspeare.

This well they understand like cunning queans, And hide their nastiness behind the scenes.

Dryden. Such is that sprinkling which some careless quean Flirts on you from her mop. Swift.

Now Tam, O Tam; had they been queans
A' plump and strapping in their teens ;
Their sarks, instead o' creeshie flannen,
Been snaw-white seventeen hunder linen!

Burns.

QUEA'SY, adj. Of uncertain etymology. Goth. kuesa, is to sicken; sicken with nausea; fastidious; squeamish.

I, with your two helps, will so practise on Benedict, that, in despight of his quick wit and his queasy stomach, he shall fall in love with Beatrice. Shakspeare.

He, queasy with his insolence, already
Will their good thoughts call from him.
Whether a rotten slate and hope of gain,
Or to disuse me from the queasy pain
Of being beloved and loving,
Out push me first.

Id.

Donne.

The humility of Gregory the Great would not admit the style of bishop, but the ambition of Boniface made no scruple thereof, nor have queasy resolutions been harboured in their successors ever since. Browne's Vulgar Errours. Without question, Their conscience was too queasy of digestion.

Dryden Men's stomachs are generally so queasy in these cases, that it is not safe to overload them.

Government of the Tongue.
Y

QUEBEC, the capital of Canada and of British America, is situated at the junction of Charles River with the St. Lawrence, and is divided into the Old and New, or Upper and Lower towns. The former is on a rocky promontory, named Cape Diamond, the summit of which is 350 feet above the level of the river. On the highest part of the promontory is the citadel, composed of a whole bastion, a curtain, and half bastion, with a ditch, counterguard, covered way, and glacis to the south-west, with many other works, so that the fortifications may be considered as impregnable, both by nature and art, and require 5000 men to defend them properly.

The public buildings are chiefly remarkable for their great solidity; and consist of the castle of St. Louis; a Catholic church; the ancient Jesuit's College, now occupied as a barrack for the troops; a seminary for the education of Catholic clergy; a Protestant church; courthouse; the hotel-dieu, or civil hospital; a poorhouse; a new jail; a convent of Ursulines, which has thirty-six sisters; a general hospital, &c. There are two market-places; a place d'armes, a parade, and an esplanade. The castle of St. Louis, situated on the summit of the rock, is a handsome stone building, seated near the edge of a precipice, something more than 200 feet high, and supported towards the steep by a solid work of masonry, rising nearly half the height of the edifice, and surmounted by a spacious gallery, whence there is a most commanding prospect over the basin, the island of Orleans, Point Levi, and the surrounding country. The whole pile is 162 feet long, by forty-five broad, and three stories high. This building has been repaired and improved on a grand scale. The new jail was completed in 1814, at an expense of £15,000.

The Lower Town is the principal place of commerce, and occupies the ground at the foot of the promontory, which has been gradually gained, either by mining, or running out wharfs: it is considered unhealthy. The streets of both towns are in general irregular, uneven, and narrow, and few of them paved: but some considerable improvements in the style of building have of late been made, as well as in the plan of the streets. The houses are of unequal heights, and often covered with boards, though the frequent fires have caused some to use tin or painted sheet iron. Next the river are very extensive warehouses, and vessels come close to the wharfs to discharge their cargoes; at some of them the vessels remain afloat at low water, at others, which are not carried so far out, or where the river does not deepen so suddenly, the vessels lie dry at low water. The communication from the Lower to the Upper Town is by a winding street, at the top of which is a fortified gate.

Mountain Street, where formerly the ascent was so steep as to make it difficult for a carriage, is now passable for all sorts of vehicles. John Street, Buade Street, Fabrique Street, and the greater part of Palace Street, may be considered as the mercantile part of the Upper Town, being inhabited chiefly by merchants, retail traders, artizans, and tavern-keepers. St.

Louis Street, running nearly parallel to St. John Street, is much more elevated, airy, and agreeable, and by far the pleasantest part of the town; as such, most of the superior officers of the provincial government, and people of the first rank reside here.

On the south shore of the river, opposite Cape Diamond, is Point Levi, which with the former cape narrows the river to three-quarters of a mile; but between these points and Orleans Island is a basin, five or six miles wide, capable of holding 100 sail of the line. The rise of tide at the equinoxes is twenty-five feet. Charles's River, which empties itself at the town, issues from a lake of the same name, twelve miles from Quebec, and is only navigable for boats.

At Quebec the river begins to freeze in December, and some years the ice becomes solid and stationary, and carriages and horses cross side to side. The ice usually begins to break up in April, when a sudden thaw comes on, and generally clears the river in a few days. The first breaking up is accompanied by a noise like that of a heavy cannonade; for the current being then increased, by the melting of the ice and snow, the masses of the former are driven against each other with great fury and noise. Between Quebec and Point Levi, on the opposite shore of the St. Lawrence, a great number of ferryboats are continually passing. In the winter, when masses of ice are floating up and down with the tide, and often when there is a strong breeze, impelled at the rate of three or four knots an hour, this passage is singularly laborious; yet it is very rare that accidents happen. It is not an uncommon thing to see several large canoes, laden with provisions for the market, crossing the river as nearly in a line as they are able to keep. They are provided with strong poles, having iron hooks at the end for grappling hold of the ice, and drag ropes; the cargoes are generally secured by a strong lashing. When large sheets of ice oppose their progress, the men, by means of the poles and ropes, which they employ with uncommon ability, get the canoe upon it, and by main force drag it perhaps fifty or sixty yards, or until they find a convenient opening to launch it again among the smaller fragments. Quebec exports grain, flour, timber, lumber, ashes, &c. In return, all the manufactures of Europe are imported. The annual value of the exports and imports amount to about £1,000,000 sterling. Mr. Bouchette estimates the population of this city at 18,000 souls.

The French first chose the ground on which Quebec now stands for a settlement, in the year 1608. Its progress was slow, owing to the hostility of the natives. In 1629 it was taken by the English, but restored. In 1690 it was fortified, and from this period gradually improved. In 1711 an attempt was made by the English and Americans, under brigadier Hill, to surprise Quebec, but it proved abortive; and it remained in possession of the French till the memorable year 1759, when it was taken by the English, under the command of the brave Wolfe, who fell in the engagement: by the peace in 1763 it was ceded; with the rest of Canada, to this country. In 1775 the Americans made an

unsuccessful attempt against this city, with the loss of about 700 men, and their commander Montgomery.

Nothing can be more beautiful than the summer views between Quebec and Montreal, both banks of the river being thickly dotted with villages and farm-houses, the latter extremely neat; and in each of the former, however small, is a church.

QUECK, v. n. Sex. gepican, to wince. To shrink; show pain; complain. Not in use.

The lads of Sparta were accustomed to be whipped at altars, without so much as quecking. Bacon. QUEDAH, or KIDDEH, a Malay principality in the peninsula of Malacca, on the west coast, along which it extends about 150 miles, between 5° and 8° N. lat., and immediately opposite Prince of Wales's Island. It presents a considerable plain, covered with close wood, through which winds a river navigable for small craft up to the foot of the mountains. From Trang to Purlis this coast is sheltered by many islands, the distance being twenty-four leagues, low, and covered with woods. The water is also remarkably shallow, ships being obliged to anchor a great distance from the shore. Along this tract eleven small rivers empty themselves into the sea. Inland this country is from twenty to thirty-five miles in breadth, but the cultivated land no where exceeds twenty miles from the shore.

The smaller rivers of Quedah are navigable for prows, and some of them for larger vessels. Qualla Mooda is a shallow rapid stream, convenient on account of its communication with the tin mines; the annual produce of which is about 1000 peculs, and might be much more. The country to the south, being supplied with abundant moisture, is extremely productive of rice, and abounds with buffaloes, bullocks, and poultry. The other articles of commerce are tin, elephants' teeth, wax, &c.; and the imports the same as at the other Malay ports, chiefly opium and Spanish dollars. It was a place of considerable trade before the establishment of Prince of Wales's Island.

The principal sea-port, called Quedah by strangers, and Quallah Batany by the natives, is in lat. 6° N. Its river is navigable for vessels of 300 tons; but the entrance is choked up by a mud bank; and the road, where ships of burden anchor, is above two leagues from the shore. At the mouth there was a small brick fort, now in ruins. Both shores are muddy, swampy, and covered with jungle. Seven miles up the river is Allistar, where the king resides, to which place all vessels can ascend whose draught of water permits to pass the bar.

In 1786 an agreement was entered into with the king of Quedah for the cession of Pulo Penang, now Prince of Wales's Island, to the British; and, in May 1792, a regular treaty of peace and amity, to continue as long as the sun and moon give light, was concluded; by this the East India Company engaged to pay the king 6000 dollars annually, while they remained in possession of the island. In 1802 a new arrangement was entered into, by the conditions of which Yeng de per Tuan, king of Quedah, agreed to

make over to the East India Company all that part of his sea-coast between Qualla Karrican and the river side of Qualla Moodah, and measuring inland from the sea sixty orlongs; which tract of country the company engaged to protect from all enemies and pirates. The king agreed to permit the free exportation of provisions, and other articles, to Prince of Wales's Island, and engaged not to permit any European to settle in his dominions. The treaty stipulated for the apprehension and delivery of insurgents, felons, debtors, and slaves; and, in consideration of the benefits accruing to the company, they agreed to pay his majesty of Queda 10,000 dollars annually.

QUEDLINBURG, a large town of Prussian Saxony, on the Bude, thirty miles S.S.W. of Magdeburg. It is surrounded by an earthen mound, and divided into the Old and New Town, which has three suburbs. The abbey church is handsome, but the others are only remarkable as antiquities. Until 1802 there was a Lutheran abbey for ladies in this neighbourhood, which was admitted to rank with the principalities of the empire. In that year it was secularised. Here are manufactures of woollen, a high school, and several hospitals; and the poet Klopstock was born here.

Dryden.

forty-five years, means no more than that the duraThat queen Elizabeth lived sixty-nine, and reigned tion of her existence was equal to sixty-nine, and the duration of her government to forty-five annual revolutions of the sun.

The meanest hind in fair Scotland
May rove their sweets amang;
But I, the queen of a' Scotland,
Maun lie in prison strang.
Within the garden's peaceful scen
Appeared two lovely foes
Aspiring to the rank of queen.

The Lily and the Rose.

Locke.

Burns.

Cowper.

QUEEN, in law. The queen of England is either queen regnant queen consort, or queen dowager. The queen regent, regnant, or sovereign, is she who holds the crown in her own right; as the first, and perhaps the second, queen Mary, queen Elizabeth, and queen Anne; and such a one has the same powers, prerogatives, rights, dignities, and duties, as if she had been a king. But the queen consort is the wife of the reigning king; and she, by virtue of her marriage, is participant of divers prerogatives above other women. She is a public person, distinct from the king; and not, like other married women, so closely connected as to have lost all legal or separate existence. For the queen is of ability to purchase lands, and to convey them, to make

leases, to grant copyholds, and do other acts of ownership, without the concurrence of her lord. She is also capable of receiving a grant from the king, which no other wife is from her husband. The queen of England has separate courts and officers, distinct from the king's, not only in matters of ceremony, but even of law; and her attorney and solicitor-general are entitled to a place within the bar of his majesty's courts, together with the king's counsel. She may likewise sue and be sued alone, without joining her husband. She may also have a separate property in goods as well as lands, and has a right to dispose of them by will. In short, she is in all legal proceedings looked upon as a feme sole, and not as a feme covert; as a single, not as a married woman. For which the reason given is this: Because the wisdom of the common law would not have the king (whose continual care and study is for the public, and circa ardua regni) to be troubled and disquieted on account of his wife's domestic affairs; and therefore it vests in the queen a power of transacting her own concerns, without the intervention of the king.

court.

The queen has also many exemptions, and minute prerogatives. For instance: she pays no toll; nor is she liable to any amercement in any But in general, unless where the law has expressly declared her exempted, she is upon the same footing with other subjects; being, to all intents and purposes, the king's subject, and not his equal. Nevertheless, it is equally treason to compass or imagine the death of our lady the king's companion, as of the king himself and to violate or defile the queen consort amounts to the same high crime; as well in the person committing the fact, as in the queen herself, if consenting. If, however, the queen be accused of any species of treason, she shall, whether consort or dowager, be tried by the peers of parliament.

The husband of a queen regnant, as prince George of Denmark was to queen Anne, is her subject; and may be guilty of high treason against her but, in the instance of conjugal infidelity, he is not subjected to the same penal

restrictions.

:

QUEEN DOWAGER is the widow of the king, and as such enjoys most of the privileges belonging to her as queen consort: but it is not high treason to violate her chastity, or conspire her death, because the succession is not endangered thereby; but no man can marry her without special license from the king, on pain of forfeiting his lands and goods.

QUEEN ANN'S COUNTY, a county of Maryland, bounded north by Kent; east by Delaware; south-east by Caroline county; south by Talbot county; and west by Chesapeake Bay. The

chief town is Antreville.

QUEEN-APPLE, N. S. Queen and apple. species of apple.

Her cheeks with kindly claret spread,
Aurora-like new out of bed,

A

Or like the fresh queen-apple's side, Blushing at sight of Phoebus' pride. Sidney. The queen-apple is of the summer kind, and a good cyder-apple mixed with others.

Mortimer.

Id. The winter queening is good for the table. QUEEN CATHERINE'S FORELAND, the northeast point of Terra del Fuego, at the east entrance into the straits of Magellan, discovered by Frobisher in 1576.

QUEEN CHARLOTTE'S FORELAND, the southeast extremity of New Caledonia. Long. 167° 14′ E., lat. 22° 15′ N. Also the name of the south-west point of New Hanover, in the eastern seas; discovered by captain Carteret in 1767. It is a high bluff point, and the land around has a great number of little hummocks or hills. Long. 148° 27′ E., lat. 2° 29′ S.

QUEEN CHARLOTTE'S ISLAND, an island in the Pacific, about six miles long and one broad, discovered in 1767 by captain Wallis. He describes it as sandy and level, full of trees, without underwood, and abounding with scurvy-grass. The canoes appeared to be about thirty feet long, four feet broad, and three and a half deep. Two of these, being brought along-side of each other, were fastened at the distance of about three feet, by cross beams, passing from the larboard gunwale of one to that of the other, in the middle, and near to each end. The inhabitants were handsome, of a middle stature, and dark complexion, with long black hair. Long. 138° 4′ W., lat. 19° 18' S.

QUEEN CHARLOTTE'S ISLANDS, a group in the North Pacific Ocean, of which we know very little, except that they lie off the west coast of North America; the largest being of a triangular forın, about 170 miles long, and in some places sixty broad. These islands were observed by captain Cook, who imagined them to form part of the continent. They were first discovered to be islands by Dixon, in 1787. Being visited by captain Gray, of the United States, he called them Washington's Islands, and found several convenient harbours. Vancouver coasted along the shore, and observed that near the sea the land was elevated, but rose gradually into rugged and uneven mountains towards the interior of the principal island. He understood that the inhabitants cultivated a species of tobacco. Long. from 131° to 133° 7′ W., lat. 52° to 54° 22′ N.

QUEEN CHARLOTTE'S ISLANDS, another group discovered by captain Carteret in 1767, consisting of Egmont's Island or New Guernsey, Lord Howe's Island or New Jersey, and several others. Carteret sent a cutter, with the master and a party of men, on shore; when a quarrel ensued, respecting the cutting down of a cocoa-tree, in which many Indians were killed, and, on the side of the English, the master and three of the seamen were wounded, and soon after died. Captain Carteret, being desirous to get in some water, veered the ship close to the shore, but was himself induced to order several shots to be fired, by which several Indians seem to have been killed, before he could attain his purpose. These islands were discovered in 1595 by Mendana, the principal being called by him Santa Cruz. The others are very inconsiderable.

'The inhabitants of Egmont Island,' says Carteret, are extremely nimble, vigorous, and active, and seem to be as well qualified to live in the water as upon the land; for they were in and

out of their canoes almost every minute. The canoes that came out against us from the west end of the island might probably, upon occasion, carry about a dozen men, though three or four manage them with amazing dexterity; we saw, however, others of a large size upon the beach, with awnings or shades over them. We got two of their bows, and a bundle of their arrows, from a canoe; and with these weapons they do execution at an incredible distance. One of them went through the boat's washboard, and dangerously wounded a midshipman in the thigh. Their arrows were pointed with flint, and we saw among them no appearance of any metal. The country in general is woody and mountainous, with many valleys intermixed. Several small rivers flow from the interior part of the country into the sea, and there are many harbours upon the coast. Long. 163° 30′ to 165° 10′ E., lat. 9° 50′ to 11° 20′ S.

QUEEN CHARLOTTE'S SOUND, a northern bay of the south island of New Zealand, where captain Cook erected a post with a union flag, and took possession of the country in the name and for the use of king George III. In sailing either in or out with little wind, attention must be had to the tides, which flow about nine or ten o'clock at the full and change of the moon, and rise and fall between seven and eight feet. The variation of the compass was found, from good observation, to be 13° 5' E. The land about consists wholly of high hills and deep valleys, well stored with a variety of hard timber, fit for all purposes except masts. The sea abounds with fish; so that, without going out of the cove where they lay, the Endeavour's crew caught every day, with hooks and lines, a quantity sufficient to serve the ship's company: the inhabitants, amounting to about 400, had straggling houses along the shore. See ZEALAND, New.

QUEEN'S COUNTY, anciently called Leix, a shire in the province of Leinster and kingdom of Ireland, so named from queen Mary of England. It is about thirty miles in length by twenty-five in breadth, contains about 130,000 inhabitants, 23,000 houses, and its superficies measures 235,000 acres. Here are nine baronies, viz. Ballyadams, Cullinagh, Maryborough East, Maryborough West, Portenehinch, Slieumargue, Stradbally, Tinnehinch, and Upper Ossory. The ecclesiastical subdivision is made into twenty-nine parishes, and twenty-three parts of parishes. The chief towns are Ballynakill, Maryborough (so named also from Mary queen of England), the Assizes Town, Mountrath, part of the elegant town of Portarlington, Stradbally, and Mountmellick. There are here many noble seats, and many resident gentry. Much of the boggy districts has been reclaimed, by which both the climate and soil have benefited. Between the King's and Queen's counties is that great natural boundary, seventeen miles in length, called the Sliebh-bloom Range, or the Ard-naerin Mountains. The first appellation appears to signify the mountain dedicated to Beal's Day;' the second means 'The height of Ireland.' In the whole length of this great chain there is but one pass, called the Gap of Glandine, and even this a difficult one. A remarkable circumstance

relating to the Sliebh-Bloom mountains is, that the north side of the whole range is singularly fertile, while the south is completely barren. Here also are the sources of the only two rivers of consequence in the county, the Barrow and the Nore; the former rendered navigable by deepening and by lateral cuts, but the latter unmanageable from its rapidity and sudden floods. The Queen's County abounds in mineral productions; the great bed of coal, called the Leinster district, lies between the rivers Nore and Barrow, and rests upon limestone: this coal is of the non-flaming species called stone, and sometimes Kilkenny coal; the vein reaching this last district. The limestone of this region exhibits many remarkable appearances; such as great dislocations, parallel disturbances in the coal strata, and an apparent change in their nature; the occurrence of irregular beds and veins of siderocalcite, or brown spar, traversing the limestone; and, lastly, the vast caves discovered at or near the junction of the calcareous and coal strata. The soil of this county in general is gravelly, favorable for the growth of corn; and the pasture is found peculiarly adapted for the cheese farmer, who sometimes deceives the factor by imposing his cheese as English-made. Queen'sCounty cheese is held in high estimation at home. The ancient families of this district were the O'More's, Fitzpatrick's, and Wandesford's. Many beautiful specimens of military and ecclesiastic antiquities still survive, amongst which the celebrated fortified rock called Dunamaze' should not be omitted: this still interesting place, formerly the citadel of the O'More's of Leix, was occupied as a post of defence and security as early as the third century. The ruins now visible were erected by the chieftain O'More. Abbey Leix and Aghaboe are the most interesting of the monastic remains. Queen's County returns three members to the imperial parliament, two for the county, and one for the borough of Portarlington.

QUEEN'S-COUNTY, a county of New-York, in the west part of Long Island; bounded north by Long Island Sound; east by Suffolk county; south by the Atlantic; and west by King's county. Chief towns, Jamaica and North Hempstead.

QUEENBOROUGH, a borough and market town, situate at the western extremity of the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, at the mouth of the Medway, forty-five miles east from London. The houses are neat, uniform, and regularly built. The church is a plain, ancient structure. Here is a small copperas manufactory, and in the town is a guildhall and a prison. This place is a distinct liberty, and it is governed by a mayor, four jurats, and two bailiffs. Its magistrates hold quarterly courts, and also general sessions, every half year. It returns two members to parliament, the right of election being in the corporation and burgesses, in number about 150. Market on Monday.

QUEENSFERRY, a royal borough and parish on the south bank of the Frith, where the river is not above two miles broad; nine miles west of Edinburgh. It was so named from the celebrated queen Margaret, wife of Malcolm