Chapter 7

Authorities.—De Colyar,Law of Guarantees and of Principal and Surety(3rd ed., 1897); American edition, by J. A. Morgan (1875); Throop,Validity of Verbal Agreements; Fell,Guarantees(2nd ed.); Theobald,Law of Principal and Surety; Brandt,Law of Suretyships and Guarantee; article by de Colyar inJournal of Comparative Legislation(1905), on “Suretyship from the Standpoint of Comparative Jurisprudence.”

Authorities.—De Colyar,Law of Guarantees and of Principal and Surety(3rd ed., 1897); American edition, by J. A. Morgan (1875); Throop,Validity of Verbal Agreements; Fell,Guarantees(2nd ed.); Theobald,Law of Principal and Surety; Brandt,Law of Suretyships and Guarantee; article by de Colyar inJournal of Comparative Legislation(1905), on “Suretyship from the Standpoint of Comparative Jurisprudence.”

(H. A. de C.)

GUARATINGUETÁ,a city of Brazil In the eastern part of the state of São Paulo, 124 m. N.E. of the city of São Paulo. Pop. (1890) of the municipality, which includes a large rural district and the villages of Apparecida and Roseira, 30,690. The city, which was founded in 1651, stands on a fertile plain 3 m. from the Parahyba river, and is the commercial centre of one of the oldest agricultural districts of the state. The district produces large quantities of coffee, and some sugar, Indian corn and beans. Cattle and pigs are raised. The city dwellings are for the most part constructed of rough wooden frames covered with mud, calledtaipaby the natives, and roofed with curved tiles. The São Paulo branch of the Brazilian Central railway passes through the city, by which it is connected with Rio de Janeiro on one side and São Paulo and Santos on the other.

GUARDA,an episcopal city and the capital of an administrative district bearing the same name, and formerly in the province of Beira, Portugal; on the Guarda-Abrantes and Lisbon-Villar Formoso railways. Pop. (1900) 6124. Guarda is situated 3370 ft. above sea-level, at the north-eastern extremity of the Serra da Estrella, overlooking the fertile valley of the river Côa. It is surrounded by ancient walls, and contains a ruined castle, a fine 16th-century cathedral and a sanatorium for consumptives. Its industries comprise the manufacture of coarse cloth and the sale of grain, wine and live stock. In 1199 Guarda was founded, on the site of the Roman Lencia Oppidana, by Sancho I. of Portugal, who intended it, as its name implies, to be a “guard” against Moorish invasion. The administrative district of Guarda coincides with north-eastern Beira; pop. (1900), 261,630; area, 1065 sq. m.

GUARDI, FRANCESCO(1712-1793), Venetian painter, was a pupil of Canaletto, and followed his style so closely that his pictures are very frequently attributed to his more celebrated master. Nevertheless, the diversity, when once perceived, is sufficiently marked—Canaletto being more firm, solid, distinct, well-grounded, and on the whole the higher master, while Guardi is noticeable for spirited touch, sparkling colour and picturesquely sketched figures—in these respects being fully equal to Canaletto. Guardi sometimes coloured Canaletto’s designs. He had extraordinary facility, three or four days being enough for producing an entire work. The number of his performances is large in proportion to this facility and to the love of gain which characterized him. Many of his works are to be found in England and seven in the Louvre.

GUARDIAN,one who guards or defends another, a protector. The O. Fr.guarden,garden, mod.gardien, fromguarder,garder, is of Teutonic origin, from the basewar-, to protect, cf. O.H. Ger.warten, and Eng. “ward”; thus “guardian” and “warden” are etymologically identical, as are “guard” and “ward”; cf. the use of the correlatives “guardian” and “ward,”i.e.a minor, or person incapable of managing his affairs, under the protection or in the custody of a guardian. For the position of guardians of the poor seePoor Law, and for the legal relations between a guardian and his ward seeInfant,MarriageandRoman Law.

GUARDS,andHOUSEHOLD TROOPS.The wordguardis an adaptation of the Fr.guarde, mod.garde, O. Ger.ward; seeGuardian. The practice of maintaining bodyguards is of great antiquity, and may indeed be considered the beginning of organized armies. Thus there is often no clear distinction between the inner ring of personal defenders and the select corps of trained combatants who are at the chief’s entire disposal. Famous examples of corps that fell under one or both these headings are the “Immortals” of Xerxes, the Mamelukes, Janissaries, theHuscarlesof the Anglo-Saxon kings, and the Russian Strelitz (Stryeltsi). In modern times the distinction of function is better marked, and the fighting men who are more intimately connected with the sovereign than the bulk of the army can be classified as to duties into “Household Troops,”who are in a sense personal retainers, and “Guards,” who are acorps d’éliteof combatants. But the dividing line is not so clear as to any given body of troops. Thus the British Household Cavalry is part of the combatant army as well as the sovereign’s escort.

The oldest of the household or bodyguard corps in the United Kingdom is the King’s Bodyguard of theYeomen of the Guard(q.v.), formed at his accession by Henry VII. The “nearest guard,” the personal escort of the sovereign, is the “King’s Bodyguard of the Honourable Corps ofGentlemen-at-Arms,” created by Henry VIII. at his accession in 1509. Formed possibly on the pattern of the “Pensionnaires” of the French kings—retainers of noble birth who were the predecessors of theMaison du Roi(see below)—the new corps was originally called “the Pensioners.” The importance of such guards regiments in the general development of organized armies is illustrated by a declaration of the House of Commons, made in 1674, that the militia, the pensioners and the Yeomen of the Guard were the only lawful armed forces in the realm. But with the rise of the professional soldier and the corresponding disuse of arms by the nobles and gentry, the Gentlemen-at-Arms (a title which came into use in James II.’s time, though it did not become that of the corps until William IV.’s) retaining their noble character, became less and less military. Burke attempted without success in 1782 to restrict membership to officers of the army and navy, but the necessity of giving the corps an effective military character became obvious when, on the occasion of a threatened Chartist riot, it was called upon to do duty as an armed body at St James’s Palace. The corps was reconstituted on a purely military basis in 1862, and from that date only military officers of the regular services who have received a war decoration are eligible for appointment. The office of captain, however, is political, the holder (who is always a peer) vacating it on the resignation of the government of which he is a member. The corps consists at present of captain, lieutenant, standard bearer, clerk of the cheque (adjutant), sub-officer and 39 gentlemen-at-arms. The uniform consists of a scarlet swallow-tailed coat and blue overalls, with gold epaulettes, brass dragoon helmet with drooping white plume and brass box-spurs, these last contrasting rather forcibly with the partizan, an essentially infantry weapon, that they carry.

The Royal Company of Archers.—The king’s bodyguard for Scotland was constituted in its present form in the year 1670, by an act of the privy council of Scotland. An earlier origin has been claimed for the company, some connecting it with a supposed archer guard of the kings of Scotland. In the above-mentioned year, 1676, the minutes of the Royal Company begin by stating, that owing to “the noble and usefull recreation of archery being for many years much neglected, several noblemen and gentlemen did associate themselves in a company for encouragement thereof ... and did apply to the privy council for their approbation ... which was granted.” For about twenty years at the end of the 17th century, perhaps owing to the adhesion of the majority to the Stuart cause, its existence seems to have been suspended. But in 1703 a new captain-general, Sir George Mackenzie, Viscount Tarbat, afterwards earl of Cromarty (1630-1714), was elected, and he procured for the company a new charter from Queen Anne. The rights and privileges renewed or conferred by this charter were to be held of the crown for thereddendoof a pair of barbed arrows. Thisreddendowas paid to George IV. at Holyrood in 1822, to Queen Victoria in 1842 and to King Edward VII. in 1903. The history of the Royal Company since 1703 has been one of great prosperity. Large parades were frequently held, and many distinguished men marched in the ranks. Several of the leading insurgents in 1745 were members, but the company was not at that time suspended in any way.In 1822 when King George IV. visited Scotland, it was thought appropriate that the Royal Company should act as his majesty’s bodyguard during his stay, especially as there was a tradition of a former archer bodyguard. They therefore performed the duties usually assigned to the gentlemen-at-arms. When Queen Victoria visited the Scottish capital in 1842, the Royal Company again did duty; the last time they were called out in her reign in their capacity of royal bodyguard was in 1860 on the occasion of the great volunteer review in the Queen’s Park, Edinburgh. They acted in the same capacity when King Edward VII. reviewed the Scottish Volunteers there on the 18th of September 1905.King George IV. authorized the company to take, in addition to their former name, that of “The King’s Body Guard for Scotland,” and presented to the captain-general a gold stick, thus constituting the company part of the royal household. In virtue of this stick the captain-general of the Royal Company takes his place at a coronation or similar pageant immediately behind the gold stick of England. The lieutenants-general of the company have silver sticks; and the council, which is the executive body of the company, possess seven ebony ones. George IV. further appointed a full dress uniform to be worn by members of the company at court, when not on duty as guards, in which latter case the ordinary field dress is used. The court dress is green with green velvet facings, gold epaulettes and lace, crimson silk sash, and cocked hat with green plume. The officers wear a gold sash in place of a crimson one, and anaiguilletteon the left shoulder. All ranks wear swords. The field dress at present consists of a dark-green tunic, shoulder-wings and gauntleted cuffs and trousers trimmed with black and crimson; a bow-case worn as a sash, of the same colour as the coat, black waistbelt with sword, and Balmoral bonnet with thistle ornament and eagle’s feather. The officers of the company are the captain-general, 4 captains, 4 lieutenants, 4 ensigns, 12 brigadiers and adjutant.

The Royal Company of Archers.—The king’s bodyguard for Scotland was constituted in its present form in the year 1670, by an act of the privy council of Scotland. An earlier origin has been claimed for the company, some connecting it with a supposed archer guard of the kings of Scotland. In the above-mentioned year, 1676, the minutes of the Royal Company begin by stating, that owing to “the noble and usefull recreation of archery being for many years much neglected, several noblemen and gentlemen did associate themselves in a company for encouragement thereof ... and did apply to the privy council for their approbation ... which was granted.” For about twenty years at the end of the 17th century, perhaps owing to the adhesion of the majority to the Stuart cause, its existence seems to have been suspended. But in 1703 a new captain-general, Sir George Mackenzie, Viscount Tarbat, afterwards earl of Cromarty (1630-1714), was elected, and he procured for the company a new charter from Queen Anne. The rights and privileges renewed or conferred by this charter were to be held of the crown for thereddendoof a pair of barbed arrows. Thisreddendowas paid to George IV. at Holyrood in 1822, to Queen Victoria in 1842 and to King Edward VII. in 1903. The history of the Royal Company since 1703 has been one of great prosperity. Large parades were frequently held, and many distinguished men marched in the ranks. Several of the leading insurgents in 1745 were members, but the company was not at that time suspended in any way.

In 1822 when King George IV. visited Scotland, it was thought appropriate that the Royal Company should act as his majesty’s bodyguard during his stay, especially as there was a tradition of a former archer bodyguard. They therefore performed the duties usually assigned to the gentlemen-at-arms. When Queen Victoria visited the Scottish capital in 1842, the Royal Company again did duty; the last time they were called out in her reign in their capacity of royal bodyguard was in 1860 on the occasion of the great volunteer review in the Queen’s Park, Edinburgh. They acted in the same capacity when King Edward VII. reviewed the Scottish Volunteers there on the 18th of September 1905.

King George IV. authorized the company to take, in addition to their former name, that of “The King’s Body Guard for Scotland,” and presented to the captain-general a gold stick, thus constituting the company part of the royal household. In virtue of this stick the captain-general of the Royal Company takes his place at a coronation or similar pageant immediately behind the gold stick of England. The lieutenants-general of the company have silver sticks; and the council, which is the executive body of the company, possess seven ebony ones. George IV. further appointed a full dress uniform to be worn by members of the company at court, when not on duty as guards, in which latter case the ordinary field dress is used. The court dress is green with green velvet facings, gold epaulettes and lace, crimson silk sash, and cocked hat with green plume. The officers wear a gold sash in place of a crimson one, and anaiguilletteon the left shoulder. All ranks wear swords. The field dress at present consists of a dark-green tunic, shoulder-wings and gauntleted cuffs and trousers trimmed with black and crimson; a bow-case worn as a sash, of the same colour as the coat, black waistbelt with sword, and Balmoral bonnet with thistle ornament and eagle’s feather. The officers of the company are the captain-general, 4 captains, 4 lieutenants, 4 ensigns, 12 brigadiers and adjutant.

Corps of the gentlemen-at-arms or yeoman type do not of course count as combatant troops—if for no other reason at least because they are armed with the weapons of bygone times. Colonel Clifford Walton states in hisHistory of the British Standing Armythat neither the Yeomen of the Guard nor the Pensioners were ever subject to martial law. The British guards and household troops that are armed, trained and organized as part of the army are theHousehold Cavalryand theFoot Guards.

The Household Cavalry consists at the present day of three regiments, and has its origin, as have certain of the Foot guard regiments, in the ashes of the “New Model” army disbanded at the restoration of Charles II. in 1660. In that year the “1st or His Majesty’s Own Troop of Guards” formed during the king’s exile of his cavalier followers, was taken on the strength of the army. The 2nd troop was formerly in the Spanish service as the “Duke of York’s Guards,” and was also a cavalier unit. In 1670, on Monk’s death, the original 3rd troop (Monk’s Life Guards, renamed in 1660 the “Lord General’s Troop of Guards”) became the 2nd (the queen’s) troop, and the duke of York’s troop the 3rd. In 1685 the 1st and 2nd troops were styled Life Guards of Horse, and two years later the blue-uniformed “Royal Regiment of Horse,” a New Model regiment that had been disbanded and at once re-raised in 1660, was made a household cavalry corps. Later under the colonelcy of the earl of Oxford it was popularly called “The Oxford Blues.” There were also from time to time other troops (e.g.Scots troops 1700-1746) that have now disappeared. In 1746 the 2nd troop was disbanded, but it was revived in 1788, when the two senior corps were given their present title of 1st and 2nd Life Guards. From 1750 to 1819 the Blues bore the name of “Royal Horse Guards Blue,” which in 1819 was changed to “Royal Horse Guards (The Blues).” The general distinction between the uniforms of the red Life Guard and the blue Horse Guard still exists. The 1st and the 2nd regiments of Life Guards wear scarlet tunics with blue collars and cuffs, and the Royal Horse Guards blue tunics with scarlet collars and cuffs. All three wear steel cuirasses on state occasions and on guard duty. The head-dress is a steel helmet with drooping horse-hair plume (white for Life Guards, red for Horse Guards). In full dress white buckskin pantaloons and long knee boots are worn. Amongst the peculiarities of thesecorps d’éliteis the survival of the old custom of calling non-commissioned officers “corporal of horse” instead of sergeant, and corporal-major instead of sergeant-major, the wearing by trumpeters and bandsmen in full dress of a black velvet cap, a richly laced coat with a full skirt extending to the wearer’s knees and long white gaiters. There is little distinction between the two Life Guards regiments’ uniforms, the most obvious point being that the cord running through the white leather pouch belt is red for the 1st and blue for the 2nd.

The Foot Guards comprise the Grenadier Guards, the Coldstream Guards, the Scots Guards and the Irish Guards, each (except the last) of three battalions. The Grenadiers, originally the First Foot Guards, represent a royalist infantry regiment which served with the exiled princes in the Spanish army and returned at the Restoration in 1660. The Coldstream Guardsare a New Model regiment, and were originally called the Lord General’s (Monk’s) regiment of Foot Guards. Their popular title, which became their official designation in 1670, is derived from the fact that the army with which Monk restored the monarchy crossed the Tweed into England at the village of Coldstream, and that his troops (which were afterwards, except the two units of horse and foot of which Monk himself was colonel, disbanded) were called the Coldstreamers. The two battalions of Scots Foot Guards, which regiment was separately raised and maintained in Scotland after the Restoration, marched to London in 1686 and 1688 and were brought on to the English Establishment in 1707. In George III.’s reign they were known as the Third Guards, and from 1831 to 1877 (when the present title was adopted) as the Scots Fusilier Guards.

The Irish Guards (one battalion) were formed in 1902, after the South African War, as a mark of Queen Victoria’s appreciation of the services rendered by the various Irish regiments of the line.1The dress of the Foot Guards is generally similar in all four regiments, scarlet tunic with blue collars, cuffs and shoulder-straps, blue trousers and high, rounded bearskin cap. The regimental distinctions most easily noticed are these. The Grenadiers wear a small white plume in the bearskin, the Coldstreams a similar red one, the Scots none, the Irish a blue-green one. The buttons on the tunic are spaced evenly for the Grenadiers, by twos for the Coldstreams, by threes for the Scots and by fours for the Irish. The band of the modern cap is red for the Grenadiers, white for the Coldstreams, “diced” red and white (chequers) for the Scots and green for the Irish. Former privileges of foot guard regiments, such as higher brevet rank in the army for their regimental officers, are now abolished, but Guards are still subject exclusively to the command of their own officers, and the officers of the Foot Guards, like those of the Household Cavalry, have special duties at court. Neither the cavalry nor the infantry guards serve abroad in peace time as a rule, but in 1907 a battalion of the Guards, which it was at that time proposed to disband, was sent to Egypt. “Guards’ Brigades” served in the Napoleonic Wars, in the Crimea, in Egypt at various times from 1887 to 1898 and in South Africa 1899-1902. The last employment of the Household Cavalry as a brigade in war was at Waterloo, but composite regiments made up from officers and men of the Life Guards and Blues were employed in Egypt and in S. Africa.

The sovereigns of France had guards in their service in Merovingian times, and their household forces appear from time to time in the history of medieval wars. Louis XI. was, however, the first to regularize their somewhat loose organization, and he did so to such good purpose that Francis I. had no less than 8000 guardsmen organized, subdivided and permanently under arms. The senior unit of theGardes du Corpswas the famous company of Scottish archers (Compagnie écossaise de la Garde du Corps du Roi), which was originally formed (1418) from the Scottish contingents that assisted the French in the Hundred Years’ War. Scott’sQuentin Durwardgives a picture of life in the corps as it was under Louis XI. In the following century, however, its regimental history becomes somewhat confused. Two French companies were added by Louis XI. and Francis I. and theGardes du Corpscame to consist exclusively of cavalry. About 1634 nearly all the Scots then serving went into the “regiment d’Hébron” and thence later into the British regular army (seeHepburn, Sir John). Thereafter, though the titles, distinctions and privileges of the original Archer Guard were continued, it was recruited from native Frenchmen, preference being (at any rate at first) given to those of Scottish descent. At its disbandment in 1791 along with the rest of theGardes du Corps, it contained few, if any, native Scots. There was also, for a short time (1643-1660), an infantry regiment ofGardes écossaises.In 1671 the title ofMaison Militaire du Roiwas applied to that portion of the household that was distinctively military. It came to consist of 4 companies of theGardes du Corps, 2 companies ofMousquetaires(cavalry) (formed 1622 and 1660), 1 company ofChevaux légers(1570), 1 ofGendarmes de la Maison Rouge, and 1 ofGrenadiers à Cheval(1676), with 1 company ofGardes de la Porteand one called theCent-Suisses, the last two being semi-military. This large establishment, which did not include all the guard regiments, was considerably reduced by the Count of St Germain’s reforms in 1775, all except theGardes du Corpsand theCent-Suissesbeing disbanded. The whole of theMaison du Roi, with the exception of the semi-military bodies referred to, was cavalry.TheGardes françaises, formed in 1563, did not form part of theMaison. They were an infantry regiment, as were the famousGardes suisses, originally a Swiss mercenary regiment in the Wars of Religion, which was, for good conduct at the combat of Arques, incorporated in the permanent establishment by Henry IV. in 1589 and in the guards in 1615. At the Revolution, contrary to expectation, the French Guards sided openly with the Constitutional movement and were disbanded. The Swiss Guards, however, being foreigners, and therefore unaffected by civil troubles, retained their exact discipline and devotion to the court to the day on which they were sacrificed by their master to the bullets of the Marseillais and the pikes of the mob (August 10, 1792). Their tragic fate is commemorated by the well-known monument called the “Lion of Lucerne,” the work of Thorvaldsen, erected near Lucerne in 1821. The “Constitutional,” “Revolutionary” and other guards that were created after the abolition of theMaisonand the slaughter of the Swiss are unimportant, but through the “Directory Guards” they form a nominal link between the household troops of the monarchy and the corps which is perhaps the most famous “Guard” in history. The Imperial Guard of Napoleon had its beginnings in an escort squadron called the Corps of Guides, which accompanied him in the Italian campaign of 1796-1797 and in Egypt. On becoming First Consul in 1799 he built up out of this and of the guard of the Directory a small corps of horse and foot, called the Consular Guard, and this, which was more of a fighting unit than a personal bodyguard, took part in the battle of Marengo. The Imperial Guard, into which it was converted on the establishment of the Empire, was at first of about the strength of a division. As such it took part in the Austerlitz and Jena campaigns, but after the conquest of Prussia Napoleon augmented it, and divided it into the “Old Guard” and the “Young Guard.” Subsequently the “Middle Guard” was created, and by successive augmentations the corps of the guard had grown to be 57,000 strong in 1811-1812 and 81,000 in 1813. It preserved its general character as acorps d’éliteof veterans to the last, but from about 1813 the “Young Guard” was recruited directly from the best of the annual conscript contingent. The officers held a higher rank in the army than their regimental rank in the Guards. At the first Restoration an attempt was made to revive theMaison du Roi, but in the constitutional régime of the second Restoration this semi-medieval form of bodyguard was given up and replaced by theGarde Royale, a selected fighting corps. This took part in the short war with Spain and a portion of it fought in Algeria, but it was disbanded at the July Revolution. Louis Philippe had no real guard troops, but the memories of the Imperial Guard were revived by Napoleon III., who formed a large guard corps in 1853-1854. This, however, was open to an even greater degree than Napoleon I.’s guard to the objection that it took away the best soldiers from the line. Since the fall of the Empire in 1870 there have been no guard troops in France. The duty of watching over the safety of the president is taken in the ordinary roster of duty by the troops stationed in the capital. The “Republican Guard” is the Paris gendarmerie, recruited from old soldiers and armed and trained as a military body.InAustria-Hungarythere are only small bodies of household troops (Archer Body Guard, Trabant Guard, Hungarian Crown Guards, &c.) analogous to the British Gentlemen at Arms or Yeomen of the Guard. Similar forces, the “Noble Guard” and the “Swiss Guard,” are maintained in the Vatican. The court troops of Spain are called “halberdiers” and armed with the halbert.InRussiathe Guard is organized as an army corps. It possesses special privileges, particularly as regards officers’ advancement.InGermanythe distinction between armed retainers and “Guards” is well marked. The army is for practical purposes a unit under imperial control, while household troops (“castle-guards” as they are usually called) belong individually to the various sovereigns within the empire. The “Guards,” as a combatant force in the army are those of the king ofPrussiaand constitute a strong army corps. This has grown gradually from a bodyguard of archers, and, as in Great Britain, the functions of the heavy cavalry regiments of the Guard preserve to some extent the name and character of a body guard (Gardes du Corps). The senior foot guard regiment is also personally connected with the royal family. The conversion of a palace-guard to a combatant force is due chiefly to Frederick William I., to whom drill was a ruling passion, and who substituted effective regiments for the ornamental “Trabant Guards” of his father. A further move was made by Frederick the Great in substituting for Frederick William’s expensive “giant” regiment of guards a larger number of ordinary soldiers, whom he subjected to the same rigorous training and made acorps d’élite. Frederick the Great also formed the Body Guard alluded to above. Nevertheless in 1806 the Guard still consisted only of two cavalry regiments and four infantry regiments, and it was the example of Napoleon’s imperial guard which converted this force into a corps of all arms. In 1813 its strength was that of a weak division, but in 1860 by slight but frequent augmentations it had come to consist of an army corps, complete with all auxiliary services. A few guardregiments belonging to the minor sovereigns are counted in the line of the German army. In war the Guard is employed as a unit, like other army corps. It is recruited by the assignment of selected young men of each annual contingent, and is thus free from the reproach of the French Imperial Guard, which took the best-trained soldiers from the regiments of the line.

The sovereigns of France had guards in their service in Merovingian times, and their household forces appear from time to time in the history of medieval wars. Louis XI. was, however, the first to regularize their somewhat loose organization, and he did so to such good purpose that Francis I. had no less than 8000 guardsmen organized, subdivided and permanently under arms. The senior unit of theGardes du Corpswas the famous company of Scottish archers (Compagnie écossaise de la Garde du Corps du Roi), which was originally formed (1418) from the Scottish contingents that assisted the French in the Hundred Years’ War. Scott’sQuentin Durwardgives a picture of life in the corps as it was under Louis XI. In the following century, however, its regimental history becomes somewhat confused. Two French companies were added by Louis XI. and Francis I. and theGardes du Corpscame to consist exclusively of cavalry. About 1634 nearly all the Scots then serving went into the “regiment d’Hébron” and thence later into the British regular army (seeHepburn, Sir John). Thereafter, though the titles, distinctions and privileges of the original Archer Guard were continued, it was recruited from native Frenchmen, preference being (at any rate at first) given to those of Scottish descent. At its disbandment in 1791 along with the rest of theGardes du Corps, it contained few, if any, native Scots. There was also, for a short time (1643-1660), an infantry regiment ofGardes écossaises.

In 1671 the title ofMaison Militaire du Roiwas applied to that portion of the household that was distinctively military. It came to consist of 4 companies of theGardes du Corps, 2 companies ofMousquetaires(cavalry) (formed 1622 and 1660), 1 company ofChevaux légers(1570), 1 ofGendarmes de la Maison Rouge, and 1 ofGrenadiers à Cheval(1676), with 1 company ofGardes de la Porteand one called theCent-Suisses, the last two being semi-military. This large establishment, which did not include all the guard regiments, was considerably reduced by the Count of St Germain’s reforms in 1775, all except theGardes du Corpsand theCent-Suissesbeing disbanded. The whole of theMaison du Roi, with the exception of the semi-military bodies referred to, was cavalry.

TheGardes françaises, formed in 1563, did not form part of theMaison. They were an infantry regiment, as were the famousGardes suisses, originally a Swiss mercenary regiment in the Wars of Religion, which was, for good conduct at the combat of Arques, incorporated in the permanent establishment by Henry IV. in 1589 and in the guards in 1615. At the Revolution, contrary to expectation, the French Guards sided openly with the Constitutional movement and were disbanded. The Swiss Guards, however, being foreigners, and therefore unaffected by civil troubles, retained their exact discipline and devotion to the court to the day on which they were sacrificed by their master to the bullets of the Marseillais and the pikes of the mob (August 10, 1792). Their tragic fate is commemorated by the well-known monument called the “Lion of Lucerne,” the work of Thorvaldsen, erected near Lucerne in 1821. The “Constitutional,” “Revolutionary” and other guards that were created after the abolition of theMaisonand the slaughter of the Swiss are unimportant, but through the “Directory Guards” they form a nominal link between the household troops of the monarchy and the corps which is perhaps the most famous “Guard” in history. The Imperial Guard of Napoleon had its beginnings in an escort squadron called the Corps of Guides, which accompanied him in the Italian campaign of 1796-1797 and in Egypt. On becoming First Consul in 1799 he built up out of this and of the guard of the Directory a small corps of horse and foot, called the Consular Guard, and this, which was more of a fighting unit than a personal bodyguard, took part in the battle of Marengo. The Imperial Guard, into which it was converted on the establishment of the Empire, was at first of about the strength of a division. As such it took part in the Austerlitz and Jena campaigns, but after the conquest of Prussia Napoleon augmented it, and divided it into the “Old Guard” and the “Young Guard.” Subsequently the “Middle Guard” was created, and by successive augmentations the corps of the guard had grown to be 57,000 strong in 1811-1812 and 81,000 in 1813. It preserved its general character as acorps d’éliteof veterans to the last, but from about 1813 the “Young Guard” was recruited directly from the best of the annual conscript contingent. The officers held a higher rank in the army than their regimental rank in the Guards. At the first Restoration an attempt was made to revive theMaison du Roi, but in the constitutional régime of the second Restoration this semi-medieval form of bodyguard was given up and replaced by theGarde Royale, a selected fighting corps. This took part in the short war with Spain and a portion of it fought in Algeria, but it was disbanded at the July Revolution. Louis Philippe had no real guard troops, but the memories of the Imperial Guard were revived by Napoleon III., who formed a large guard corps in 1853-1854. This, however, was open to an even greater degree than Napoleon I.’s guard to the objection that it took away the best soldiers from the line. Since the fall of the Empire in 1870 there have been no guard troops in France. The duty of watching over the safety of the president is taken in the ordinary roster of duty by the troops stationed in the capital. The “Republican Guard” is the Paris gendarmerie, recruited from old soldiers and armed and trained as a military body.

InAustria-Hungarythere are only small bodies of household troops (Archer Body Guard, Trabant Guard, Hungarian Crown Guards, &c.) analogous to the British Gentlemen at Arms or Yeomen of the Guard. Similar forces, the “Noble Guard” and the “Swiss Guard,” are maintained in the Vatican. The court troops of Spain are called “halberdiers” and armed with the halbert.

InRussiathe Guard is organized as an army corps. It possesses special privileges, particularly as regards officers’ advancement.

InGermanythe distinction between armed retainers and “Guards” is well marked. The army is for practical purposes a unit under imperial control, while household troops (“castle-guards” as they are usually called) belong individually to the various sovereigns within the empire. The “Guards,” as a combatant force in the army are those of the king ofPrussiaand constitute a strong army corps. This has grown gradually from a bodyguard of archers, and, as in Great Britain, the functions of the heavy cavalry regiments of the Guard preserve to some extent the name and character of a body guard (Gardes du Corps). The senior foot guard regiment is also personally connected with the royal family. The conversion of a palace-guard to a combatant force is due chiefly to Frederick William I., to whom drill was a ruling passion, and who substituted effective regiments for the ornamental “Trabant Guards” of his father. A further move was made by Frederick the Great in substituting for Frederick William’s expensive “giant” regiment of guards a larger number of ordinary soldiers, whom he subjected to the same rigorous training and made acorps d’élite. Frederick the Great also formed the Body Guard alluded to above. Nevertheless in 1806 the Guard still consisted only of two cavalry regiments and four infantry regiments, and it was the example of Napoleon’s imperial guard which converted this force into a corps of all arms. In 1813 its strength was that of a weak division, but in 1860 by slight but frequent augmentations it had come to consist of an army corps, complete with all auxiliary services. A few guardregiments belonging to the minor sovereigns are counted in the line of the German army. In war the Guard is employed as a unit, like other army corps. It is recruited by the assignment of selected young men of each annual contingent, and is thus free from the reproach of the French Imperial Guard, which took the best-trained soldiers from the regiments of the line.

1The “Irish Guards” of the Stuarts took the side of James II., fought against William III. in Ireland and lost their regimental identity in the French service to which the officers and soldiers transferred themselves on the abandonment of the struggle.

1The “Irish Guards” of the Stuarts took the side of James II., fought against William III. in Ireland and lost their regimental identity in the French service to which the officers and soldiers transferred themselves on the abandonment of the struggle.

GUARD-SHIP,a warship stationed at some port or harbour to act as a guard, and in former times in the British navy to receive the men impressed for service. She usually was the flagship of the admiral commanding on the coast. A guard-boat is a boat which goes the round of a fleet at anchor to see that due watch is kept at night.

GUÁRICO,a large inland state of Venezuela created by the territorial redivision of 1904, bounded by Aragua and Miranda on the N., Bermúdez on the E., Bolívar on the S., and Zamora on the W. Pop. (1905 estimate), 78,117. It extends across the northernllanosto the Orinoco and Apure rivers and is devoted almost wholly to pastoral pursuits, exporting cattle, horses and mules, hides and skins, cheese and some other products. The capital is Calabozo, and the other principal towns are Camaguán (pop. 3648) on the Portugueza river, Guayabal (pop. 3146), on a small tributary of the Guárico river, and Zaraza (pop. 14,546) on the Unare river, nearly 150 m. S.E. of Carácas.

GUARIENTO,sometimes incorrectly namedGuerriero, the first Paduan painter who distinguished himself. The only date distinctly known in his career is 1365, when, having already acquired high renown in his native city, he was invited by the Venetian authorities to paint a Paradise, and some incidents of the war of Spoleto, in the great council-hall of Venice. These works were greatly admired at the time, but have long ago disappeared under repaintings. His works in Padua have suffered much. In the church of the Eremitani are allegories of the Planets, and, in its choir, some small sacred histories in dead colour, such as an Ecce Homo; also, on the upper walls, the life of St Augustine, with some other subjects. A few fragments of other paintings by Guariento are still extant in Padua. In the gallery of Bassano is a Crucifixion, carefully executed, and somewhat superior to a merely traditional method of handling, although on the whole Guariento must rather be classed in that school of art which preceded Cimabue than as having advanced in his vestiges; likewise two other works in Bassano, ascribed to the same hand. The painter is buried in the church of S. Bernardino, Padua.

GUARINI, CAMILLO-GUARINO(1624-1683), Italian monk, writer and architect, was born at Modena in 1624. He was at once a learned mathematician, professor of literature and philosophy at Messina, and, from the age of seventeen, was architect to Duke Philibert of Savoy. He designed a very large number of public and private buildings at Turin, including the palaces of the duke of Savoy and the prince of Cacignan, and many public buildings at Modena, Verona, Vienna, Prague, Lisbon and Paris. He died at Milan in 1683.

GUARINI, GIOVANNI BATTISTA(1537-1612), Italian poet, author of thePastor fido, was born at Ferrara on the 10th of December 1537, just seven years before the birth of Tasso. He was descended from Guarino da Verona. The young Battista studied both at Pisa and Padua, whence he was called, when not yet twenty, to profess moral philosophy in the schools of his native city. He inherited considerable wealth, and was able early in life to marry Taddea de’ Bendedei, a lady of good birth. In 1567 he entered the service of Alphonso II., duke of Ferrara, thus beginning the court career which was destined to prove a constant source of disappointment and annoyance to him. Though he cultivated poetry for pastime, Guarini aimed at state employment as the serious business of his life, and managed to be sent on various embassies and missions by his ducal master. There was, however, at the end of the 16th century no opportunity for a man of energy and intellectual ability to distinguish himself in the petty sphere of Italian diplomacy. The time too had passed when the profession of a courtier, painted in such glowing terms by Castiglione, could confer either profit or honour. It is true that the court of Alphonso presented a brilliant spectacle to Europe, with Tasso for titular poet, and an attractive circle of accomplished ladies. But the last duke of Ferrara was an illiberal patron, feeding his servants with promises, and ever ready to treat them with the brutality that condemned the author of theGerusalemme liberatato a madhouse. Guarini spent his time and money to little purpose, suffered from the spite and ill-will of two successive secretaries,—Pigna and Montecatini,—quarrelled with his old friend Tasso, and at the end of fourteen years of service found himself half-ruined, with a large family and no prospects. When Tasso was condemned to S. Anna, the duke promoted Guarini to the vacant post of court poet. There is an interesting letter extant from the latter to his friend Cornelio Bentivoglio, describing the efforts he made to fill this place appropriately. “I strove to transform myself into another person, and, like a player, reassumed the character, costume and feelings of my youth. Advanced in manhood, I forced myself to look young; I turned my natural melancholy into artificial gaiety, affected loves I did not feel, exchanged wisdom for folly, and, in a word, passed from a philosopher into a poet.” How ill-adapted he felt himself to this masquerade life may be gathered from the following sentence: “I am already in my forty-fourth year, the father of eight children, two of whom are old enough to be my censors, while my daughters are of an age to marry.” Abandoning so uncongenial a strain upon his faculties, Guarini retired in 1582 to his ancestral farm, the Villa Guarina, in the lovely country that lies between the Adige and Po, where he gave himself up to the cares of his family, the nursing of his dilapidated fortunes and the composition of thePastor fido. He was not happy in his domestic lot; for he had lost his wife young, and quarrelled with his elder sons about the division of his estate. Litigation seems to have been an inveterate vice with Guarini; nor was he ever free from legal troubles. After studying his biography, the conclusion is forced upon our minds that he was originally a man of robust and virile intellect, ambitious of greatness, confident in his own powers, and well qualified for serious affairs, whose energies found no proper scope for their exercise. Literary work offered but a poor sphere for such a character, while the enforced inactivity of court life soured a naturally capricious and choleric temper. Of poetry he spoke with a certain tone of condescension, professing to practise it only in his leisure moments; nor are his miscellaneous verses of a quality to secure for their author a very lasting reputation. It is therefore not a little remarkable that the fruit of his retirement—a disappointed courtier past the prime of early manhood—should have been a dramatic masterpiece worthy to be ranked with the classics of Italian literature. Deferring a further account of thePastor fidofor the present, the remaining incidents of Guarini’s restless life may be briefly told. In 1585 he was at Turin superintending the first public performance of his drama, whence Alphonso recalled him to Ferrara, and gave him the office of secretary of state. This reconciliation between the poet and his patron did not last long. Guarini moved to Florence, then to Rome, and back again to Florence, where he established himself as the courtier of Ferdinand de’ Medici. A dishonourable marriage, pressed upon his son Guarino by the grand-duke, roused the natural resentment of Guarini, always scrupulous upon the point of honour. He abandoned the Medicean court, and took refuge with Francesco Maria of Urbino, the last scion of the Montefeltro-della-Rovere house. Yet he found no satisfaction at Urbino. “The old court is a dead institution,” he writes to a friend; “one may see a shadow of it, but not the substance in Italy of to-day. Ours is an age of appearances, and one goes a-masquerading all the year.” This was true enough. Those dwindling deadly-lively little residence towns of Italian ducal families, whose day of glory was over, and who were waiting to be slowly absorbed by the capacious appetite of Austria, were no fit places for a man of energy and independence. Guarini finally took refuge in his native Ferrara, which, since the death of Alphonso, had now devolved to the papal see. Here, and at the Villa Guarina, his last years were passed in study, law-suits, and polemical disputes with his contemporary critics, until 1612, when he died at Venice in his seventy-fifth year.

ThePastor fido(first published in 1590) is a pastoral drama composed not without reminiscences of Tasso’sAminta. The scene is laid in Arcadia, where Guarini supposes it to have been the custom to sacrifice a maiden yearly to Diana. But an oracle has declared that when two scions of divine lineage are united in marriage, and a faithful shepherd has atoned for the ancient error of a faithless woman, this inhuman rite shall cease. The plot turns upon the unexpected fulfilment of this prophecy, contrary to all the schemes which had been devised for bringing it to accomplishment, and in despite of apparent improbabilities of divers kinds. It is extremely elaborate, and, regarded as a piece of cunning mechanism, leaves nothing to be desired. Each motive has been carefully prepared, each situation amply developed. Yet, considered as a play, thePastor fidodisappoints a reader trained in the school of Sophocles or Shakespeare. The action itself seems to take place off the stage, and only the results of action, stationary tableaux representing the movement of the drama, are put before us in the scenes. The art is lyrical, not merely in form but in spirit, and in adaptation to the requirements of music which demands stationary expressions of emotion for development. The characters have been well considered, and are exhibited with great truth and vividness; the cold and eager hunter Silvio contrasting with the tender and romantic Mirtillo, and Corisca’s meretricious arts enhancing the pure affection of Amarilli. Dorinda presents another type of love so impulsive that it prevails over a maiden’s sense of shame, while the courtier Carino brings the corruption of towns into comparison with the innocence of the country. In Carino the poet painted his own experience, and here his satire upon the court of Ferrara is none the less biting because it is gravely measured. In Corisca he delineated a woman vitiated by the same town life, and a very hideous portrait has he drawn. Though a satirical element was thus introduced into thePastor fidoin order to relieve its ideal picture of Arcadia, the whole play is but a study of contemporary feeling in Italian society. There is no true rusticity whatever in the drama. This correspondence with the spirit of the age secured its success during Guarini’s lifetime; this made it so dangerously seductive that Cardinal Bellarmine told the poet he had done more harm to Christendom by his blandishments than Luther by his heresy. Without anywhere transgressing the limits of decorum, thePastor fidois steeped in sensuousness; and the immodesty of its pictures is enhanced by rhetorical concealments more provocative than nudity. Moreover, the love described is effeminate and wanton, felt less as passion than as lust enveloped in a veil of sentiment. We divine the coming age ofcicisbeiandcastrati. Of Guarini’s style it would be difficult to speak in terms of too high praise. The thought and experience of a lifetime have been condensed in these five acts, and have found expression in language brilliant, classical, chiselled to perfection. Here and there the taste of the 17th century makes itself felt in frigid conceits and forced antitheses; nor does Guarini abstain from sententious maxims which reveal the moralist rather than the poet. Yet these are but minor blemishes in a masterpiece of diction, glittering and faultless like a polished bas-relief of hard Corinthian bronze. That a single pastoral should occupy so prominent a place in the history of literature seems astonishing, until we reflect that Italy, upon the close of the 16th century, expressed itself in thePastor fido, and that the influence of this drama was felt through all the art of Europe till the epoch of the Revolution. It is not a mere play. The sensual refinement proper to an age of social decadence found in it the most exact embodiment, and made it the code of gallantry for the next two centuries.

The best edition of thePastor fidois the 20th, published at Venice (Ciotti) in 1602. The most convenient is that of Barbéra (Florence, 1866). For Guarini’s miscellaneousRime, the Ferrara edition, in 4 vols., 1737, may be consulted. His polemical writings,Verato primoandsecondo, and his prose comedy calledIdropica, were published at Venice, Florence and Rome, between 1588 and 1614.

The best edition of thePastor fidois the 20th, published at Venice (Ciotti) in 1602. The most convenient is that of Barbéra (Florence, 1866). For Guarini’s miscellaneousRime, the Ferrara edition, in 4 vols., 1737, may be consulted. His polemical writings,Verato primoandsecondo, and his prose comedy calledIdropica, were published at Venice, Florence and Rome, between 1588 and 1614.

(J. A. S.)

GUARINO,also known asVarinus, and surnamed from his birthplaceFavorinus,PhavorinusorCamers(c.1450-1537), Italian lexicographer and scholar, was born at Favera near Camerino, studied Greek and Latin at Florence under Politian, and afterwards became for a time the pupil of Lascaris. Having entered the Benedictine order, he now gave himself with great zeal to Greek lexicography; and in 1496 published hisThesaurus cornucopiae et horti Adonidis, a collection of thirty-four grammatical tracts in Greek. He for some time acted as tutor to Giovanni dei Medici (afterwards Leo X.), and also held the appointment of keeper of the Medicean library at Florence. In 1514 Leo appointed him bishop of Nocera. In 1517 he published a translation of theApophthegmataof Joannes Stobaeus, and in 1523 appeared hisEtymologicum magnum, sive thesaurus universae linguae Graecae ex multis variisque autoribus collectus, a compilation which has been frequently reprinted, and which has laid subsequent scholars under great though not always acknowledged obligations.

GUARINO [GUARINUS] DA VERONA(1370-1460), one of the Italian restorers of classical learning, was born in 1370 at Verona, and studied Greek at Constantinople, where for five years he was the pupil of Manuel Chrysoloras. When he set out on his return to Italy he was the happy possessor of two cases of precious Greek MSS. which he had been at great pains to collect; it is said that the loss of one of these by shipwreck caused him such distress that his hair turned grey in a single night. He supported himself as a teacher of Greek, first at Verona and afterwards in Venice and Florence; in 1436 he became, through the patronage of Lionel, marquis of Este, professor of Greek at Ferrara; and in 1438 and following years he acted as interpreter for the Greeks at the councils of Ferrara and Florence. He died at Ferrara on the 14th of December 1460.

His principal works are translations of Strabo and of some of theLivesof Plutarch, a compendium of the Greek grammar of Chrysoloras, and a series of commentaries on Persius, Juvenal, Martial and on some of the writings of Aristotle and Cicero. See Rosmini,Vita e disciplina di Guarino(1805-1806); Sabbadini,Guarino Veronese(1885); Sandys,Hist. Class. Schol.ii. (1908).

His principal works are translations of Strabo and of some of theLivesof Plutarch, a compendium of the Greek grammar of Chrysoloras, and a series of commentaries on Persius, Juvenal, Martial and on some of the writings of Aristotle and Cicero. See Rosmini,Vita e disciplina di Guarino(1805-1806); Sabbadini,Guarino Veronese(1885); Sandys,Hist. Class. Schol.ii. (1908).

GUARNIERI,orGuarnerius, a celebrated family of violin-makers of Cremona. The first was Andreas (c.1626-1698), who worked with Antonio Stradivari in the workshop of Nicolo Amati (son of Geronimo). Violins of a model original to him are dated from the sign of “St Theresa” in Cremona. His son Joseph (1666-c.1739) made instruments at first like his father’s, but later in a style of his own with a narrow waist; his son, Peter of Venice (b. 1695), was also a fine maker. Another son of Andreas, Peter (Pietro Giovanni), commonly known as “Peter of Cremona” (b. 1655), moved from Cremona and settled at Mantua, where he too worked “sub signo Sanctae Teresae.” Peter’s violins again showed considerable variations from those of the other Guarnieri. Hart, in his work on the violin, says, “There is increased breadth between the sound-holes; the sound-hole is rounder and more perpendicular; the middle bouts are more contracted, and the model is more raised.”

The greatest of all the Guarnieri, however, was a nephew of Andreas, Joseph del Gesù (1687-1745), whose title originates in the I.H.S. inscribed on his tickets. His master was Gaspar di Salo. His conception follows that of the early Brescian makers in the boldness of outline and the massive construction which aim at the production of tone rather than visual perfection of form. The great variety of his work in size, model, &c., represents his various experiments in the direction of discovering this tone. A stain or sap-mark, parallel with the finger-board on both sides, appears on the bellies of most of his instruments. Since the middle of the 18th century a great many spurious instruments ascribed to this master have poured over Europe. It was not until Paganini played on a “Joseph” that the taste of amateurs turned from the sweetness of the Amati and the Stradivarius violins in favour of the robuster tone of the Joseph Guarnerius. SeeViolin.

GUASTALLA,a town and episcopal see of Emilia, Italy, in the province of Reggio, from which it is 18 m. N. by road, on the S. bank of the Po, 79 ft. above sea-level. It is also connected by rail with Parma and Mantua (via Suzzara). Pop.(1901), 2658 (town); 11,091 (commune). It has 16th-century fortifications. The cathedral, dating from the 10th century, has been frequently restored. Guastalla was founded by the Lombards in the 7th century; in the church of the Pieve Pope Paschal II. held a council in 1106. In 1307 it was seized by Giberto da Correggio of Parma. In 1403 it passed to Guido Torello, cousin of Filippo Maria Visconti of Milan. In 1539 it was sold by the last female descendant of the Torelli to Ferrante Gonzaga. In 1621 it was made the seat of a duchy, but in 1748 it was added to those of Parma and Piacenza, whose history it subsequently followed.

GUATEMALA(sometimes incorrectly writtenGuatimala), a name now restricted to the republic of Guatemala and to its chief city, but formerly given to a captaincy-general of Spanish America, which included the fifteen provinces of Chiapas, Suchitepeques, Escuintla, Sonsonate, San Salvador, Vera Paz and Peten, Chiquimula, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Totonicapam, Quezaltenango, Sololá, Chimaltenango and Sacatepeques,—or, in other words, the whole of Central America (except Panama) and part of Mexico. The name is probably of Aztec origin, and is said by some authorities to mean in its native form Quauhtematlan, “Land of the Eagle,” or “Land of Forest”; others, writing it U-ha-tez-ma-la, connect it with the volcano of Agua (i.e.“water”), and interpret it as “mountain vomiting water.”

The republic of Guatemala is situated between 13° 42′ and 17° 49′ N., and 88° 10′ and 92° 30′ W. (For map, seeCentral America.) Pop. (1903), 1,842,134; area about 48,250 sq. m. Guatemala is bounded on the W. and N. by Mexico, N.E. by British Honduras, E. by the Gulf of Honduras, and the republic of Honduras, S.E. by Salvador and S. by the Pacific Ocean. The frontier towards Mexico was determined by conventions of the 27th of September 1882, the 17th of October 1883, the 1st of April 1895, and the 8th of May 1899. Starting from the Pacific, it ascends the river Suchiate, then follows an irregular line towards the north-east, till it reaches the parallel of 17° 49′ N., along which it runs to the frontier of British Honduras. This frontier, by the convention of the 9th of July 1893, coincides with the meridian of 89° 20′ W., till it meets the river Sarstoon or Sarstun, which it follows eastwards to the Gulf of Honduras.

Physical Description.—Guatemala is naturally divided into five regions—the lowlands of the Pacific coast, the volcanic mountains of the Sierra Madre, the so-called plateaus immediately north of these, the mountains of the Atlantic versant and the plain of Peten. (1) The coastal plains extend along the entire southern seaboard, with a mean breadth of 50 m., and link together the belts of similar territory in Salvador and the district of Soconusco in Chiapas. Owing to their tropical heat, low elevation above sea-level, and marshy soil, they are thinly peopled, and contain few important towns except the seaports. (2) The precipitous barrier of the Sierra Madre, which closes in the coastal plains on the north, is similarly prolonged into Salvador and Mexico. It is known near Guatemala city as the Sierra de las Nubes, and enters Mexico as the Sierra de Istatan. It forms the main watershed between the Pacific and Atlantic river systems. Its summit is not a well-defined crest, but is often rounded or flattened into a table-land. The direction of the great volcanic cones, which rise in an irregular line above it, is not identical with the main axis of the Sierra itself, except near the Mexican frontier, but has a more southerly trend, especially towards Salvador; here the base of many of the igneous peaks rests among the southern foothills of the range. It is, however, impossible to subdivide the Sierra Madre into a northern and a volcanic chain; for the volcanoes are isolated by stretches of comparatively low country; at least thirteen considerable streams flow down between them, from the main watershed to the sea. Viewed from the coast, the volcanic cones seem to rise directly from the central heights of the Sierra Madre, above which they tower; but in reality their bases are, as a rule, farther south. East of Tacana, which marks the Mexican frontier, and is variously estimated at 13,976 ft. and 13,090 ft., and if the higher estimate be correct is the loftiest peak in Central America, the principal volcanoes are—Tajamulco or Tajumulco (13,517 ft.); Santa Maria (12,467 ft.), which was in eruption during 1902, after centuries of quiescence, in which its slopes had been overgrown by dense forests; Atitlán (11,719), overlooking the lake of that name; Acatenango (13,615). which shares the claim of Tacana to be the highest mountain of Central America; Fuego (i.e.“fire,” variously estimated at 12,795 ft. and 12,582 ft.), which received its name from its activity at the time of the Spanish conquest; Agua (i.e.“water,” 12,139 ft.), so named in 1541 because it destroyed the former capital of Guatemala with a deluge of water from its flooded crater; and Pacaya (8390), a group of igneous peaks which were in eruption in 1870. (3) The so-called plateaus which extend north of the Sierra Madre are in fact high valleys, rather than table-lands, enclosed by mountains. A better idea of this region is conveyed by the native name Altos, or highlands, although that term includes the northern declivity of the Sierra Madre. The mean elevation is greatest in the west (Altos of Quezaltenango) and least in the east (Altos of Guatemala). A few of the streams of the Pacific slope actually rise in the Altos, and force a way through the Sierra Madre at the bottom of deep ravines. One large river, the Chixoy, escapes northwards towards the Atlantic. (4) The relief of the mountainous country which lies north of the Altos and drains into the Atlantic is varied by innumerable terraces, ridges and underfalls; but its general configuration is admirably compared by E. Reclus with the appearance of “a stormy sea breaking into parallel billows” (Universal Geography, ed. E. G. Ravenstein, div. xxxiii., p. 212). The parallel ranges extend east and west with a slight southerly curve towards their centres. A range called the Sierra de Chama, which, however, changes its name frequently from place to place, strikes eastward towards British Honduras, and is connected by low hills with the Cockscomb Mountains; another similar range, the Sierra de Santa Cruz, continues east to Cape Cocoli between the Polochic and the Sarstoon; and a third, the Sierra de las Minas or, in its eastern portion, Sierra del Mico, stretches between the Polochic and the Motagua. Between Honduras and Guatemala the frontier is formed by the Sierra de Merendon. (5) The great plain of Peten, which comprises about one-third of the whole area of Guatemala, belongs geographically to the Yucatan Peninsula, and consists of level or undulating country, covered with grass or forest. Its population numbers less than two per sq. m., although many districts have a wonderfully fertile soil and abundance of water. The greater part of this region is uncultivated, and only utilized as pasture by the Indians, who form the majority of its inhabitants.Guatemala is richly watered. On the western side of the sierras the versant is short, and the streams, while very numerous, are consequently small and rapid; but on the eastern side a number of the rivers attain a very considerable development. The Motagua, whose principal head stream is called the Rio Grande, has a course of about 250 m., and is navigable to within 90 m. of the capital, which is situated on one of its confluents, the Rio de las Vacas. It forms a delta on the south of the Gulf of Honduras. Of similar importance is the Polochic, which is about 180 m. in length, and navigable about 20 m. above the river-port of Telemán. Before reaching the Golfo Amatique it passes through the Golfo Dulce, or Izabal Lake, and the Golfete Dulce. A vast number of streams, among which are the Chixoy, the Guadalupe, and the Rio de la Pasion, unite to form the Usumacinta, whose noble current passes along the Mexican frontier, and flowing on through Chiapas and Tabasco, falls into the Bay of Campeche. The Chiapas follows a similar course.There are several extensive lakes in Guatemala. The Lake of Peten or Laguna de Flores, in the centre of the department of Peten, is an irregular basin about 27 m. long, with an extreme breadth of 13 m. In an island in the western portion stands Flores, a town well known to American antiquaries for the number of ancient idols which have been recovered from its soil. On the shore of the lake is the stalactite cave of Jobitsinal, of great local celebrity; and in its depths, according to the popular legend, may still be discerned the stone image of a horse that belonged to Cortes. The Golfo Dulce is, as its name implies, a fresh-water lake, although so near the Atlantic. It is about 36 m. long, and would be of considerable value as a harbour if the bar at the mouth of the Rio Dulce did not prevent the upward passage of seafaring vessels. As a contrast the Lake of Atitlán (q.v.) is a land-locked basin encompassed with lofty mountains. About 9 m. S. of the capital lies the Lake of Amatitlán (q.v.) with the town of the same name. On the borders of Salvador and Guatemala there is the Lake of Guija, about 20 m. long and 12 broad, at a height of 2100 ft. above the sea. It is connected by the river Ostuma with the Lake of Ayarza which lies about 1000 ft. higher at the foot of the Sierra Madre.The geology, fauna and flora of Guatemala are discussed underCentral America. The bird-life of the country is remarkably rich; one bird of magnificent plumage, the quetzal, quijal or quesal (Trogon resplendens), has been chosen as the national emblem.Climate.—The climate is healthy, except on the coasts, where malarial fever is prevalent. The rainy season in the interior lasts from May to October, but on the coast sometimes continues till December. The coldest month is January, and the warmest is May. The average temperatures for these months at places of different altitudes, as given by Dr Karl Sapper, are shown on the following page.The average rainfall is very heavy, especially on the Atlantic slope, where the prevailing winds are charged with moisture from the Gulf of Mexico or the Caribbean Sea; at Tual, a high station on the Atlantic slope, it reaches 195 in.; in central Guatemala it is only 27 in. Towards the Atlantic rain often occurs in the dry season, and there is a local saying near the Golfo Dulce that “it rains thirteen months in the year.” Fogs are not rare. In Guatemala,as in other parts of Central America (q.v.), each of the three climatic zones, cold, temperate and hot (tierra fria,tierra templada,tierra caliente) has its special characteristics, and it is not easy to generalize about the climate of the country as a whole.Locality.Altitude(Feet).Fahrenheit Degrees.January.May.Puerto Barrios67481Salamá30206877Campur30506473Chimax42806168Guatemala48706067Quezaltenango77105062Natural Products.—The minerals discovered in Guatemala include gold, silver, lead, tin, copper, mercury, antimony, coal, salt and sulphur; but it is uncertain if many of these exist in quantities sufficient to repay exploitation. Gold is obtained at Las Quebradas near Izabal, silver in the departments of Santa Rosa and Chiquimula, salt in those of Santa Rosa and Alta Vera Paz. During the 17th century gold-washing was carried on by English miners in the Motagua valley, and is said to have yielded rich profits; hence the name of “Gold Coast” was not infrequently given to the Atlantic littoral near the mouth of the Motagua.The area of forest has only been seriously diminished in the west, and amounted to 2030 sq. m. in 1904. Besides rubber, it yields many valuable dye-woods and cabinet-woods, such as cedar, mahogany and logwood. Fruits, grain and medicinal plants are obtained in great abundance, especially where the soil is largely of volcanic origin, as in the Altos and Sierra Madre. Parts of the Peten district are equally fertile, maize in this region yielding two hundredfold from unmanured soil. The vegetable products of Guatemala include coffee, cocoa, sugar-cane, bananas, oranges, vanilla, aloes, agave, ipecacuanha, castor-oil, sarsaparilla, cinchona, tobacco, indigo and the wax-plant (Myrica cerifera).

Physical Description.—Guatemala is naturally divided into five regions—the lowlands of the Pacific coast, the volcanic mountains of the Sierra Madre, the so-called plateaus immediately north of these, the mountains of the Atlantic versant and the plain of Peten. (1) The coastal plains extend along the entire southern seaboard, with a mean breadth of 50 m., and link together the belts of similar territory in Salvador and the district of Soconusco in Chiapas. Owing to their tropical heat, low elevation above sea-level, and marshy soil, they are thinly peopled, and contain few important towns except the seaports. (2) The precipitous barrier of the Sierra Madre, which closes in the coastal plains on the north, is similarly prolonged into Salvador and Mexico. It is known near Guatemala city as the Sierra de las Nubes, and enters Mexico as the Sierra de Istatan. It forms the main watershed between the Pacific and Atlantic river systems. Its summit is not a well-defined crest, but is often rounded or flattened into a table-land. The direction of the great volcanic cones, which rise in an irregular line above it, is not identical with the main axis of the Sierra itself, except near the Mexican frontier, but has a more southerly trend, especially towards Salvador; here the base of many of the igneous peaks rests among the southern foothills of the range. It is, however, impossible to subdivide the Sierra Madre into a northern and a volcanic chain; for the volcanoes are isolated by stretches of comparatively low country; at least thirteen considerable streams flow down between them, from the main watershed to the sea. Viewed from the coast, the volcanic cones seem to rise directly from the central heights of the Sierra Madre, above which they tower; but in reality their bases are, as a rule, farther south. East of Tacana, which marks the Mexican frontier, and is variously estimated at 13,976 ft. and 13,090 ft., and if the higher estimate be correct is the loftiest peak in Central America, the principal volcanoes are—Tajamulco or Tajumulco (13,517 ft.); Santa Maria (12,467 ft.), which was in eruption during 1902, after centuries of quiescence, in which its slopes had been overgrown by dense forests; Atitlán (11,719), overlooking the lake of that name; Acatenango (13,615). which shares the claim of Tacana to be the highest mountain of Central America; Fuego (i.e.“fire,” variously estimated at 12,795 ft. and 12,582 ft.), which received its name from its activity at the time of the Spanish conquest; Agua (i.e.“water,” 12,139 ft.), so named in 1541 because it destroyed the former capital of Guatemala with a deluge of water from its flooded crater; and Pacaya (8390), a group of igneous peaks which were in eruption in 1870. (3) The so-called plateaus which extend north of the Sierra Madre are in fact high valleys, rather than table-lands, enclosed by mountains. A better idea of this region is conveyed by the native name Altos, or highlands, although that term includes the northern declivity of the Sierra Madre. The mean elevation is greatest in the west (Altos of Quezaltenango) and least in the east (Altos of Guatemala). A few of the streams of the Pacific slope actually rise in the Altos, and force a way through the Sierra Madre at the bottom of deep ravines. One large river, the Chixoy, escapes northwards towards the Atlantic. (4) The relief of the mountainous country which lies north of the Altos and drains into the Atlantic is varied by innumerable terraces, ridges and underfalls; but its general configuration is admirably compared by E. Reclus with the appearance of “a stormy sea breaking into parallel billows” (Universal Geography, ed. E. G. Ravenstein, div. xxxiii., p. 212). The parallel ranges extend east and west with a slight southerly curve towards their centres. A range called the Sierra de Chama, which, however, changes its name frequently from place to place, strikes eastward towards British Honduras, and is connected by low hills with the Cockscomb Mountains; another similar range, the Sierra de Santa Cruz, continues east to Cape Cocoli between the Polochic and the Sarstoon; and a third, the Sierra de las Minas or, in its eastern portion, Sierra del Mico, stretches between the Polochic and the Motagua. Between Honduras and Guatemala the frontier is formed by the Sierra de Merendon. (5) The great plain of Peten, which comprises about one-third of the whole area of Guatemala, belongs geographically to the Yucatan Peninsula, and consists of level or undulating country, covered with grass or forest. Its population numbers less than two per sq. m., although many districts have a wonderfully fertile soil and abundance of water. The greater part of this region is uncultivated, and only utilized as pasture by the Indians, who form the majority of its inhabitants.

Guatemala is richly watered. On the western side of the sierras the versant is short, and the streams, while very numerous, are consequently small and rapid; but on the eastern side a number of the rivers attain a very considerable development. The Motagua, whose principal head stream is called the Rio Grande, has a course of about 250 m., and is navigable to within 90 m. of the capital, which is situated on one of its confluents, the Rio de las Vacas. It forms a delta on the south of the Gulf of Honduras. Of similar importance is the Polochic, which is about 180 m. in length, and navigable about 20 m. above the river-port of Telemán. Before reaching the Golfo Amatique it passes through the Golfo Dulce, or Izabal Lake, and the Golfete Dulce. A vast number of streams, among which are the Chixoy, the Guadalupe, and the Rio de la Pasion, unite to form the Usumacinta, whose noble current passes along the Mexican frontier, and flowing on through Chiapas and Tabasco, falls into the Bay of Campeche. The Chiapas follows a similar course.

There are several extensive lakes in Guatemala. The Lake of Peten or Laguna de Flores, in the centre of the department of Peten, is an irregular basin about 27 m. long, with an extreme breadth of 13 m. In an island in the western portion stands Flores, a town well known to American antiquaries for the number of ancient idols which have been recovered from its soil. On the shore of the lake is the stalactite cave of Jobitsinal, of great local celebrity; and in its depths, according to the popular legend, may still be discerned the stone image of a horse that belonged to Cortes. The Golfo Dulce is, as its name implies, a fresh-water lake, although so near the Atlantic. It is about 36 m. long, and would be of considerable value as a harbour if the bar at the mouth of the Rio Dulce did not prevent the upward passage of seafaring vessels. As a contrast the Lake of Atitlán (q.v.) is a land-locked basin encompassed with lofty mountains. About 9 m. S. of the capital lies the Lake of Amatitlán (q.v.) with the town of the same name. On the borders of Salvador and Guatemala there is the Lake of Guija, about 20 m. long and 12 broad, at a height of 2100 ft. above the sea. It is connected by the river Ostuma with the Lake of Ayarza which lies about 1000 ft. higher at the foot of the Sierra Madre.

The geology, fauna and flora of Guatemala are discussed underCentral America. The bird-life of the country is remarkably rich; one bird of magnificent plumage, the quetzal, quijal or quesal (Trogon resplendens), has been chosen as the national emblem.

Climate.—The climate is healthy, except on the coasts, where malarial fever is prevalent. The rainy season in the interior lasts from May to October, but on the coast sometimes continues till December. The coldest month is January, and the warmest is May. The average temperatures for these months at places of different altitudes, as given by Dr Karl Sapper, are shown on the following page.

The average rainfall is very heavy, especially on the Atlantic slope, where the prevailing winds are charged with moisture from the Gulf of Mexico or the Caribbean Sea; at Tual, a high station on the Atlantic slope, it reaches 195 in.; in central Guatemala it is only 27 in. Towards the Atlantic rain often occurs in the dry season, and there is a local saying near the Golfo Dulce that “it rains thirteen months in the year.” Fogs are not rare. In Guatemala,as in other parts of Central America (q.v.), each of the three climatic zones, cold, temperate and hot (tierra fria,tierra templada,tierra caliente) has its special characteristics, and it is not easy to generalize about the climate of the country as a whole.

Natural Products.—The minerals discovered in Guatemala include gold, silver, lead, tin, copper, mercury, antimony, coal, salt and sulphur; but it is uncertain if many of these exist in quantities sufficient to repay exploitation. Gold is obtained at Las Quebradas near Izabal, silver in the departments of Santa Rosa and Chiquimula, salt in those of Santa Rosa and Alta Vera Paz. During the 17th century gold-washing was carried on by English miners in the Motagua valley, and is said to have yielded rich profits; hence the name of “Gold Coast” was not infrequently given to the Atlantic littoral near the mouth of the Motagua.

The area of forest has only been seriously diminished in the west, and amounted to 2030 sq. m. in 1904. Besides rubber, it yields many valuable dye-woods and cabinet-woods, such as cedar, mahogany and logwood. Fruits, grain and medicinal plants are obtained in great abundance, especially where the soil is largely of volcanic origin, as in the Altos and Sierra Madre. Parts of the Peten district are equally fertile, maize in this region yielding two hundredfold from unmanured soil. The vegetable products of Guatemala include coffee, cocoa, sugar-cane, bananas, oranges, vanilla, aloes, agave, ipecacuanha, castor-oil, sarsaparilla, cinchona, tobacco, indigo and the wax-plant (Myrica cerifera).

Inhabitants.—The inhabitants of Guatemala, who tend to increase rapidly owing to the high birth-rate, low mortality, and low rate of emigration, numbered in 1903 1,842,134, or more than one-third of the entire population of Central America. Fully 60% are pure Indians, and the remainder, classed asLadinosor “Latins” (i.e.Spaniards in speech and mode of life), comprise a large majority of half-castes (mestizos) and civilized Indians and a smaller proportion of whites. It includes a foreign population of about 12,000 Europeans and North Americans, among them being many Jews from the west of the United States. There are important German agricultural settlements, and many colonists from north Italy who are locally calledTiroleses, and despised by the Indians for their industry and thrift. About half the births among the Indians and one-third among the whites are illegitimate.

No part of Central America contains a greater diversity of tribes, and in 1883 Otto Stoll estimated the number of spoken languages as eighteen, although east of the meridian of Lake Amatitlán the native speech has almost entirely disappeared and been replaced by Spanish. The Indians belong chiefly to the Maya stock, which predominates throughout Peten, or to the allied Quiché race which is well represented in the Altos and central districts. The Itzas, Mopans, Lacandons, Chols, Pokonchi and the Pokomans who inhabit the large settlement of Mixco near the capital, all belong to the Maya family; but parts of central and eastern Guatemala are peopled by tribes distinct from the Mayas and not found in Mexico. In the 16th century the Mayas and Quichés had attained a high level of civilization (seeCentral America,Archaeology), and at least two of the Guatemalan languages, Quiché and Cakchiquel, possess the rudiments or the relics of a literature. The QuichéPopol Vuh, or “Book of History,” which was translated into Spanish by the Dominican friar Ximenes, and edited with a French version by Brasseur de Bourbourg, is an important document for students of the local myths. In appearance the various Guatemalan tribes differ very little; in almost all the characteristic type of Indian is short but muscular, with low forehead, prominent cheek-bones and straight black hair. In character the Indians are, as a rule, peaceable, though conscious of their numerical superiority and at times driven to join in the revolutions which so often disturb the course of local politics; they are often intensely religious, but with a few exceptions are thriftless, indolent and inveterate gamblers. Theirconfradias, or brotherhoods, each with its patron saint and male and female chiefs, exist largely to organize public festivals, and to purchase wooden masks, costumes and decorations for the dances and dramas in which the Indians delight. These dramas, which deal with religious and historical subjects, are of Indian origin, and somewhat resemble the mystery-plays of medieval Europe, a resemblance heightened by the introduction, due to Spanish missionaries, of Christian saints and heroes such as Charlemagne. The Indians are devoted to bull-fighting and cock-fighting. Choral singing is a popular amusement, and is accompanied by the Spanish guitar and native wind-instruments. The Indians have a habit of consuming a yellowish edible earth containing sulphur; on pilgrimages they obtain images moulded of this earth at the shrines they visit, and eat the images as a prophylactic against disease. Maize, beans and bananas, varied occasionally with dried meat and fresh pork, form their staple diet; drunkenness is common on pay-days and festivals, when large quantities of a fiery brandy calledchichaare consumed.

Back to IndexNext