Midsummer Night's Dream, A

Comedy in five acts by William Shakespeare, produced in 1595 - 96 and published in 1600 in a quarto edition from the author's fair copy. The version published in the First Folio was taken from a second quarto edition, with some reference to a promptbook. One of the �great,� or �middle,� comedies, A Midsummer Night's Dream, with a multilayered examination of love and its vagaries,

Dom

Also called �Domra, or Domb, � widespread and versatile caste of scavengers, musicians, vagabonds, traders, and, sometimes, weavers in northern India and the Himalayas. Some scholars regard the Doms as originating from an aboriginal tribe. They list seven endogamous subcastes. The Doms are completely outside Brahminic control. They have their own deities and an elaborate demonology. Considerable

Ch'ang O

Each year on the 15th day of the eighth

Riot

In criminal law, a violent offense against public order involving three or more people. Like an unlawful assembly, a riot involves a gathering of persons for an illegal purpose. In contrast to an unlawful assembly, however, a riot involves violence. The concept is obviously broad and embraces a wide range of group conduct, from a bloody clash between picketers and strikebreakers

Christchurch

Town and borough (district), administrative county of Dorset, historic county of Hampshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the Rivers Stour and Avon and adjoins the English Channel resort of Bournemouth. The site was significant during prehistoric times; Late Bronze - Early Iron Age trade with the European continent apparently focused on nearby Hengistbury

Sileru River

Also called �Machkund� river, Andhra Pradesh state, southern India. The river rises as the Machkund in the Eastern Ghats in northeastern Andhra Pradesh. Leaving the Machkund reservoir, it flows (as the Sileru) parallel to the mountain ranges at an elevation of 2,000 - 3,000 feet (600 - 900 m) in a northeast-to-southwest direction to empty into the Sabari River, opposite Konta, in Madhya Pradesh state, 60 miles (100 km) north-northwest

Gobi, Physiography

The Ka-shun Gobi is bounded by the spurs of the Tien Shan to the west and the Pei Mountains to the south and rises to elevations as high as 5,000 feet (1,524 metres). It is gently corrugated, with a complex labyrinth of wide

East Greenland Current

Cold flow of water originating in the Arctic Ocean and flowing southward and southwestward along the east coast of Greenland. See Greenland Current.

Alexis, Willibald

Alexis grew up in Berlin. After service as a volunteer in the campaign of 1815, he studied law at Berlin and Breslau but abandoned his legal career for writing after the success of his literary hoax Walladmor (1824), a parody

Extinguisher Moss

Any of the plants of the genus Encalypta (order Bryales), which form large tufts on limestone rocks, ledges, and walls. About eight species are native to North America. They are usually 1 to 3 cm (0.4 to 1.2 inches) tall, with erect capsules (spore cases) borne on setae (stalks) about 5 to 10 mm (0.2 to 0.4 inches) long. The calyptra (hoodlike covering) of each capsule resembles a candle snuffer, or extinguisher,

Fain, Agathon-jean-fran�ois, Baron

Before his appointment to the emperor's cabinet in 1806, Fain had worked since 1795 in various state archives. Napoleon made him a baron in

Literature

Strict ideological censorship by the government continued in 1994 to be the background against which all discussions of the literary scene in Iran had to be conducted. In this regard the most sensational event of the year was the death, probably in November, of the noted essayist and satirist 'Ali Akbar Sa`idi Sirjani, who died in custody, under unexplained circumstances,

Denham, Dixon

After serving in the Napoleonic Wars, Denham volunteered in 1821 to join Walter Oudney and Lieutenant Hugh Clapperton on an official expedition across the Sahara to Bornu (now in northeastern Nigeria), in the Lake Chad basin. After enduring danger and privation,

Earth Exploration

Scientific curiosity, the desire to understand better the nature of the Earth, is a major motive for exploring its subsurface regions. Another key motive is the prospect of economic profit. Improved standards of living have increased the demand for water, fuel, and other materials, creating economic incentives. Pure knowledge has often been a by-product of profit-motivated

Madog Ab Owain Gwynedd

A quarrel among Owain's sons over the distribution of their late father's estate led Madog to sail to Ireland and then westward. In a year or so he returned to Wales and assembled a group to colonize the land he had discovered. The party sailed west in 10 ships and was

Leaf Blister

Also called �leaf curl� worldwide disease of many woody plants and ferns caused by fungi of the genus Taphrina. Following cold, wet weather at budbreak, leaves become swollen, crinkled, and distorted with yellow, red, purple, brown, whitish, or gray blisters. Such leaves usually die and drop early, weakening the plant. A second growth of healthy leaves often appears later. Young peach and nectarine

Almohads

A Berber state had arisen in Tinmel in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco about 1120, inspired by Ibn Tumart and his demands for puritanical moral reform and a strict concept of the unity of God (tawhid). In 1121 Ibn Tumart proclaimed himself the mahdi (a promised

Insurance, Group life insurance

Under group life insurance an employer signs a master contract with the insurance company outlining the provisions of the plan. Each employee receives a certificate that gives evidence of participation in the plan. The amount of insurance depends on the employee's salary or job classification; usually the employer pays a portion of the premium and the employee

Bean

Seed or pod of certain leguminous plants of the family Fabaceae, originally of Vicia faba, an Old World species called broad bean, or fava bean. The mature seeds of the principal beans used for food, except soybeans (q.v.), are rather similar in composition, although they differ widely in eating quality. Rich in protein and providing moderate amounts

Cyprus, The Lusignan kingdom, Genoese rule, and Venetian rule

Guy, a Frenchman who called himself lord of Cyprus, invited families that had lost their lands in Palestine after the fall of Jerusalem to settle in Cyprus, thereby laying the basis for a feudal monarchy that survived to the end of the Middle Ages. His brother and successor, Amalric, obtained the title of king from the Holy Roman emperor Henry VI. The earliest kings of

Ibn Kathir

Ibn Kathir was educated in Damascus and upon completion of his studies obtained his first official appointment in 1341, when he joined an inquisitorial commission formed to determine

Empiricism, Fundamental distinctions

If the blurring of the distinction between concepts and propositions has confused discussions of Empiricism, another influence at least equally vexing is that which, embodied in the traditional terminology of the debate, contrasts the empirical not with the a priori but with the innate. Since logical problems are easily confused with psychological problems,

Refuse Disposal System

Although all societies have had some systematic form of refuse disposal, it was not until relatively recent times that the modern concept of solid-waste management became recognized as an essential

Insurance, Contract law

To meet the requirement of legal purpose, the insurance contract must

Hoop

Circular toy adaptable to many games, children's and adults', probably the most ubiquitous of the world's toys, after the ball. The ancient Greeks advocated hoop rolling as a beneficial exercise for those not very strong. It was also used as a toy by both Greek and Roman children, as graphic representations indicate. Most of these ancient hoops were of metal. Most later

Defiance

City, seat (1845) of Defiance county, northwestern Ohio, U.S., where the Auglaize and Tiffin rivers meet the Maumee, 60 miles (97 km) southwest of Toledo. Laid out in 1822, Defiance became a market for the farm produce of the Maumee valley and developed industrially after the completion of the Miami and Erie Canal (1845). Manufactures now include screw machine products, hand tools, ferrous castings,

Fabry, Charles

Fabry joined the staff of Marseilles University in 1894. His early studies centred on light interference, in which a primary research instrument