Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 05.djvu/360

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JUNTA 296 JUPITER In 1804 he was made governor of Paris, and, after a short stay as ambassador in Lisbon, was given in 1807 the command of the army for the invasion of Portugal, where he soon won all the strong points. For his brilliant success he was created Due d'Abrantes, and appointed governor of Portugal. He was so severely de- feated by Wellington at Vimiera that he was obliged to conclude a convention at Cintra and retire from Portugal. He subsequently served in Germany and Russia, and was made one of the scape- goats for the Great Russian disaster, and sent to govern Illyria. He died near Dijon, July 29, 1813. His wife, Lau- RETTE DE SAINT-MaRTIN-PERMON (1784- 1838), the accomplished and recklessly extravagant Duchesse d'Abrantes, gained a reputation in the literary world by her "Memoirs" (1831-1835). JUNTA (Spanish=an assembly), in Spain, a high council of state; it was originally applied to an irregularly sum- moned assembly of the states, as distin- guished from the Cortes or Parliament regularly called together by the authority of the king. In Cuba the term was adopted by the insurgents to designate the general legation of the Cuban repub- lic abroad. This legation or junta was first appointed Sept. 19, 1895, by the Constituent Assembly that formed the in- surgent Cuban government, which at the same time made T. Estrada Palma head of the junta and chief Cuban representa- tive abroad. JUNTO, THE, an English Whig min- istry in the reign of William III., the chief members of which were Admiral Russell, Somers, Lord Wharton, and Montague, the great financier. This was the first ministry ever made of one and the same party politics. It was the sug- gestion of Robert, Earl of Sunderland, to William III. Also a club formed by Benjamin Franklin for mutual improve- ment. Morals, politics, and natural philosophy, as well as the social well- being of man, were the main subjects discussed. It continued for about 30 years. JUPATI (j6-pa-te') PALM, Raphia taedigera, a fine Brazilian palm. The leaf-stalks, which are 12 to 15 feet long, are used for building houses and making baskets. JUPITER, in Roman mythology, the supreme Roman deity, identified with the Greek Zeus. He was the son of Saturn and Rhea. Jupiter was the king and father of men, but his power extended over the deities also; and everything was subservient to his will except the Fates. From him mankind received their bless- ings and miseries; they looked on him as acquainted with everything past, present, and futui'e. The oak was sacred to him, because he first taught mankind to live on acorns. His most famous temple was at Elis, in Olympia, where, every 4th year, the Olympic games were celebrated in his honor; and his most famous oracle was at Dodona, in Epirus. The Romans considered Jupiter as the especial patron of their city. He is generally repre- sented as sitting on a golden or ivory JUPITER throne, holding in one hand thunderbolts ready to be hurled, and in the other a scepter of cypress, while the eagle stands with expanded wings at his feet. White, the color of the day, was sacred to him. For Jupiter Ammon, see Ammon. In astronomy, the largest planet of the solar system. Its diameter at the equa- tor is nearly 90,000 miles, and the dis- tance from pole to pole is over 84,000 miles. Its bulk is 1,300 times that of the earth, but its density is only one-fourth that of the earth. The average dis- tance of Jupiter from the sun is 483,000,000 miles; and a railway train traveling 50 miles an hour, would require nine centuries to go from the sun to Jupiter. The latter body revolves on its axis in about 9 hours and 55 minutes, which is the length of its day and night. Though traveling in its orbit round the