numerous court, and a well-furnished harem; and the Chinese court never intermeddles with his internal administration, provided he be punctual in paying his annual tribute, and doing homage, by performing by his ambassador the nine prostrations and knockings of the head before the celestial presence. Whenever the monarch dies, two grandees are sent from Peking to confer upon his successor the title of Qui-vang, or 'king.' The king receives the investiture kneeling, and makes the specified presents, besides 8,000 taels in money. The crown does not descend by right of primogeniture-for such a right is not known in Asiatic monarchies-but to such of his sons as the king may think fit to appoint as heir apparent; and the nomination is confirmed by the court of Peking. When the emperor of China sends an embassy to C., the king is obliged to go in person with all his guards to receive him, at a distance from his capital; whilst, on the other hand, those of the C. prince to the celestial court are received with little ceremony, and are even obliged to give precedence to a mandarin of the first rank. The army is numerous, but would not be formidable to Europeans, and is furnished with bad muskets. The ships-of-war are superior to those of China, and seemingly imitations of the Portuguese galleys; they are mounted with small cannons, and furnished with fire-pots.

COREA (STRAIT OF), a narrow sea connecting the sea of Japan, at its S extremity, with the Eastern sea of China; and lying between the peninsula of Corea on the NW, and the Japan island of Kiu-Siu on the SE.

COREGLIA, a town of Italy, in the duchy and 20 m. N of Lucca. Pop. 1.159.

CORELEY, a parish in Salop, 4 m. NNE of Tenbury. Area 1,340 acres. Pop. 525.

CORELLA, a town of Spain, in Old Castile, in the prov. and 22 m. ESE of Logrono, on the 1. bank of the Alhama. Pop. 5,500. It has extensive liquorice manufactories.

CORENTYNE. a large river of Guayana, formed by the junction of the Curuni and the Cutari, in N lat. 2° 20′ 50′′, at a point 612 ft. above sea-level. At the confluence is a noble cataract, and the united rivers form a stream about 300 yards wide, which flows towards the NNW, descending through a series of rapids to the parallel of 5o, where, at the influx of the Cabalaba, it assumes a more northerly course, and becomes navigable throughout to the sea, a distance of nearly 150 m. At Oreala, 40 m. above its mouth, it is 1 m. wide; at its mouth it is 4 m. wide; and its estuary has a breadth of 9 m. It forms the boundary between British and Dutch Guayana. CORFE, a parish in Somersetshire, 3 m. S of Taunton. Area 1,050 acres. Pop. 279.

There are two languages used in C.,-the Chinese or foreign, and the Corean or vernacular. The former is confined to the literati, who here, as in China, form a distinct order in the state, and are distinguished by two feathers stuck in their caps. They undergo many examinations, as in China, but their learning seems confined to the philosophy of Confu- CORFE-CASTLE, a parish and borough in Blandcius. The vernacular language is wholly different, ford division of Dorset, 21 m. ESE of Dorchester, and, like that of the Mandshurs, has a peculiar and 116 m. SW of London, on the W side of the alphabet, which was probably introduced at an early small river Corfe, nearly in the centre of what is period by the priests of Buddha or Fo. They write termed the isle of Purbeck. Area 9,860 acres. Pop. with pencils made of wolf's hair, and print their in 1801, 1,344; in 1831, 1,712; in 1841, 1,946.—The books with wooden blocks. The Corean language is town is composed principally of two streets, presenttoo little known to enable us to say anything satis- ing little appearance of progressive improvement. factory about it. It contains some Chinese and The inhabitants are principally employed in clayMandshurian words, as might be expected; but the works and stone quarries in the vicinity. C. seems greater part of it belongs to neither, and is accord- to have derived its name, if not its origin and all its ingly ranked by Klaproth, in his polyglot table of importance, from its castle, built on a steep rocky Asia, as a distinct language of itself, the cultivation hill, to the N of the town, from which it is separated and elucidation of which is left for some future tra- by a bridge of 4 high narrow arches, crossing a moat veller, who may have the good fortune to explore of great depth, but now dry. The castle-precincts this all but unknown region. Gutzlaff says it is are extensive, and some of the towers, arches, and similar in theory to the Japanese syllabic system; wards are still in good preservation. The parliaand has neither declension nor conjugation.-What-mentary forces, in 1645, reduced it to ruins. The ever of learning exists in C. is of Chinese origin, and is confined to the few who have embraced the system of Confucius. Buddhism is the prevailing system of doctrine and worship; and the bonzes are numerous, and have many temples and monasteries, some of them containing from 400 to 600 monks. Many of them, like the Tibetian lamas, have their heads shaved, abstain from animal food, and avoid the sight of women. It is reported that many Christians, the fruit of the Catholic missions in this country, still remain; and that the literary class is rather favourably disposed towards Christianity.

Historical remarks.] When or by whom C. was originally peopled is unknown; but we may presume that the natives are of Tartarian descent, mixed with Chinese refugees, who, at different periods of early Chinese history, successively colonized C., and mingled with the aboriginal natives. All that is known of Corean history is from the Chinese annals; and from these it would seem that C. was anciently inhabited by various nomadic tribes, who came from what is now called Mandshuria, to the N of C. This country has been successively conquered by Japanese, Mandshurs, Mongols, Chinese, and finally by the present dynasty which fills the Chinese throne. It was twice conquered by the Japanese, first in 200 B. C., and again in 1592 by the famed Taycho the secular emperor of Japan. Taycho's death prevented the complete conquest, and the Coreans, assisted by the Chinese,

reform bill has deprived this place of its most important privilege, that of sending two members to parliament. The parish is now included in the parl. borough of Wareham.

CORFE-MULLEN, a parish in Dorsetshire, 3 m. SW of Wimborne-Minster. Area 2,890 acres. Pop. 758.

CORFU', the most considerable of the Ionian islands, at the mouth of the Adriatic, between the parallels of 39° 20′ and 39° 50′ N, separated from the mainland of Albania by a strait called the Corfu channel, running from NE to SW, varying from 2 to 14 m. in breadth, and obstructed by numerous shoals. It is of an elongated triangular form, or rather resembles the blade of a sickle as implied in its ancient name Drepanon, and is about 120 m. in circuit. Its greatest length, from Cape Bianco on the SE side, in N lat. 39o 21', to Cape Saint-Catherine on the NW, in N lat. 39° 51', is 40 m.; and its greatest breadth, from Cape Palacrum on the E, to Cape Barbaro on the W, is about 20 m. Towards the S, and throughout the greater part of its length, it is very narrow, in some places not exceeding 4 m. across.

Its sur