IRRITABILITY. 798 IRVING. many of these are f;ir inferior in sensitiveness to structures whose reactions arc less evident. IRRITANCY (from irrilani, from Lat. ir- riltirc, to render void, from irritus, inrilus, in- valid, from in-, not -|- ratus, decided, p.p. of rcri, to think). In Scotch law, the forfeiture of an estate as the result of a breacli of condition, e.vpress or implied, or the happening of an event upon which the termination of the estate is made to depend. The irritant or fatal condition, or pro- viso, may be an incident of the estate f;ranti'd, as the duty annexed to a feudal freehold, or it may he the result«of an expressed ])ro ision. known as an irritant c'lausp, contained in the deed creatin<^ the estate alfeeted by it. See Co.NUlTlON ; FOB- FEITIUK. , IRRITANT (from Lat. irrllarc. tn irritate, annoy). An agent that causes increased circula- tion, pain, increased function, or muscular eon- traction, when applied to an animal tissue. Among the irritants are many vegetable and the mineral acids, strong alkalies, bichloride of mer- cury, nitrate of silver, mustard, croton oil. tur- pentine, etc. The term has been sometimes vaguely applied to nedieines which produce irri- tation of nerves in distant parts when taken internally, as instanced in the action of strych- nine U])oii the spinal cord. Heat is a mechanical or kinetic irritant. Light is also an irritant to the retina, and in diseases of the eye is often a powerful one. Electricity is an irritant when applied in certain forms. See CoL'NTKli-lui!lT..T. IRTYSH, ir'tish. An affluent of the Obi. and fourth in iiuportanee among the rivers of Siberia (Map: Asia G .3). It rises in the southwest range of the Altai Mountains in China, whence it flows in a northwest direction through Lake Zaisan-or, past the city of Tobolsk, until it reaches the Obi, after a course of 2ti.'i.'i miles. Its chief affluents are the liukhtarma. the Om, and the Tara from the right; and the Isliim, the Tobol, and the Konda from the hft. The basin of the Irtysh. comprising the governments of Tomsk, Tobolsk, Perm, and Orenburg, the ter- ritories of Akmolinsk, Turgay, and Semi])alatinsl<, and some Chinese territory, covers the immense area of 038,000 square miles. The Irtysh is ice- free aliout 200 days in the year, and is navigable for nearly 2000 miles. The principal ports are Semipalatinsk,Pavlodar, Omsk, Tara, and Tobolsk. IRTTN, e-roon'. A frontier town of Spain, in the Province of Guipfizcoa, situated on the Ridas- soa River, here forming the French boundary, five miles from its mouth in the liay of Biscay (Map: Spain. El). It is a military st;ition and a first-class port of entry. It contains an interesting old church, restored in liiOS, and has manufactures of leather, tiles, and bricks. Popu- lation, in IPOO, 0009. I'RTIS. ( ' ) . beggar of Ithaca, an attendant of Penelope's suitors. (2) The hero of Chap- man's eomeuy The Blind Beggar of Alexandria. IRVINE, Pi'vln. A seaport in .Vvrshire, Scot- land, on the Irvine, a mile above its mouth, in the Firth of Clyde (Map: Scotland. D 4). Ship- building, iron-founding, and the manufacture of chemicals, book-muslins, jaconets, and checks are the chief branches of industry. Duntonknoll Quarry yields a stone largely used for tin making of bakers' ovens. Xeighhoring coal-mines yield the principal article of export. The principal features of the town are the nuinieiiial building, a line bridge, and the academy, an educational institution of high repute. The town owns its waterworks. Mentioned as early as 1184, Ir- vine is described as a chartered burgh in the reign of Kobert Hruee. Its chief relics of an- tiipiily are the square tower of Stanecastle and the Xorman Seagatecastle. Population, in 1901, 9(10:1. IRVINE, William (I74I-1804). An Ameri- can soldier, lie was born in Ireland, graduated at Dublin University, and was surgeon on an English warship during the Seven Years' War, at the close of which (1703) he emigrated to America, and settled at Carlisle, Pa. In 1774 he was a member of the Provincial Convention, and in January, 177(1, was appointed colonel of the Sixth Pennsylvania Regiment. At the battle of Three Rivers, in June, 177C, lie was made prisoner, and. though soon paroled, was not exchanged until Jlay, 1778, He became a briga- dier-general Jlay 12, 1779, serving with Lord Stirling on his exiie.iition against Slaten Island, and with General 'ayne at IJulls Ferrv, in July, i;80. In 1782-83 he'had command at" Fort Pitt of the troops for the defense of the western fron- tier, and ill 178.1 acted as agent of his .State for the distribution of the public lands among the soldiers. During his term of olliee he reeom- inended the ])Urcliasc of the 'triangle' tract, which gave Pennsylvania her outlet on Lake Eric. He was elected to Congi-css in 178(i, and was made one of a commission of three to adjust the accounts of the Confederation with the various States. He also was a member of the convention called to revise the State Constitution, and of that by which the Federal Constitution was rati- fied for Pennsylvania. From 1793 to 1795 he was again a member of Congress, and in 1794, during the Whisky Insurrection (q.v. ), com- mandril the Pennsylvania militia. He subse- quently removed to Phihulelphia. and at the time of his death was president of the Pennsylvania branch of the Society of the Cincinnati. IRVING, er'vlng. Enw.Rn (1792-18,34). An eloquent ;ind distinguished Scotch clergyman. He was born at Annan, Dumfriesshire, August 4, 1792. He studied at the LIniversity of Edinburgh, and, after completing his curriculum fir the min- istry, became a school-teacher at Haddington and later at Kirkaldy. .i the former [ilace. one of his pupils was .lane Welsh, and at the latter began liis friendship with her future husliand. Thomas Carlyle. His early attcm]its at jucaching were not successful, lint in 1819 he became asoi>tant to Dr. Thomas Chalmers in Glasgow. Here he felt himself overshadowed by his more famous colleague, and in 1822 he accepted a call to the Caledonian Church, Hatton Garden, London. His success as a preacher in the nietro|)olis was un- paralleled. In brief time he transformed a ])Oor and obs<-ure congregation into a rich and fashion- able one, and exrliaiiged the humble chapel ffir a handsome structure on Regent Square. In 1823 he published his first important work. The Oracles of find: Four Orationfi. iiith an Ariju- mcnl on ■ludfiment to Come. At the close of 182.5 he began to announce his convictions in regard to the second personal advent of Clirist, which he declared to be near at hand. This was followed by his translation of a Spanish work. The Cnminf] of Ike ^^r/tsinh in Glort/ and Majesty, which professed to be written by a.
