The Nuttall Encyclopædia/Y
Y
Yablonoi Mountains, a range of mountains which extend NE. from the
Altai chain, and run S. of Lake Baikal, near the frontier of China,
dividing the basin of the Amur from that of the Lena.
Yacu-mama, a fabulous marine monster, said to haunt the lagoons of the Amazon, and to suck into its mouth and swallow whatever comes within a hundred yards of it; before bathing in a lagoon, where he apprehends its presence, the Indian sounds a horn, the effect of which is to make it reveal itself if it is there.
Yahoo, name of a race of brutes, subject to the Houyhuhnms (q. v.), in “Gulliver's Travels,” with the form and all the vices of men.
Yajur-Veda, one of the books of the Vedas (q. v.), containing the prescribed formulæ in connection with sacrifices.
Yaksha, a species of gnome in the Hindoo mythology.
Yakutsk (5), a capital town in East Siberia, on a branch of the Lena; occupied chiefly by traders in furs, hides, &c.; is said to be the coldest town in the world.
Yale University, a well-equipped university at New Haven, Connecticut, U.S., founded in 1701, which derives its name from Elihu Yale, a Boston man, and which was given to it in recognition of his benefactions; it occupies a square in the heart of the city, has a staff of 70 professors, besides tutors and lecturers, also 1200 students, and a library of 200,000 volumes; the faculties include arts, medicine, law, theology, fine arts, and music, while the course of study extends over four years.
Yama, in the Hindu mythology “a solar hero who rules over the dead; might have lived as an immortal, but chose to die; was the first to traverse the road from which there is no return, tracing it for future generations; in the remotest extremity of the heavens, the abode of light and the eternal waters, he reigns in peace and in union with Varuna (q. v.); there by the sound of his flute, under the branches of the mythic tree, he assembles around him the dead who have lived nobly, they reach him in a crowd, convoyed by Agni (q. v.), grimly scanned as they pass by two monstrous dogs that are the guardians of the road.”
Yambo or Yambu, the port of Medina, in Arabia, on the Red Sea.
Yanaon (5), a small patch of territory belonging to France, on the Godavery, enclosed in the British province of Madras, India.
Yang-tsze-kiang, or the Blue, or Great, River, the largest river in China and in the East; rises in the plateau of Tibet, and after a course of 3200 m., draining and irrigating great part of China by the way, falls by a wide estuary into the Yellow Sea, terminating near Shanghai; it has numerous tributaries, some of great length, and is of great value to the country as a waterway; it is navigable 1000 m. from its mouth, and at Hankow, 700 m. up, is a mile in width.
Yankee, slang name for a New Englander; applied in England to the citizens of the United States generally; it is of uncertain derivation.
Yapura, an affluent of the Amazon, which rises in Columbia; has a course of 1750 m., and is navigable to steamers for 970 m.
Yarkand (60), the capital or chief city of Eastern Turkestan, 100 m. SE. of Kashgar; is in the centre of a very fertile district of the vast continental basin of Central Asia, abounding also in large stores of mineral wealth; it is a great emporium of trade, and the inhabitants are mostly Mohammedans.
Yarmouth (49), a seaport, fishing town, and watering-place of Norfolk, 20½ m. E. of Norwich and some 2 m. above the mouth of the Yare; is the principal seat of the English herring fishery, and is famous for its herrings, known as bloaters; it has a fine roadstead called Yarmouth Roads, a safe anchorage for ships, being protected by sandbanks; has a number of public buildings, in particular a parish church, one of the largest in England, and a fine marine parade.
Yarrell, William, naturalist, born at Westminster; wrote “History of British Fishes” and “History of British Birds” (1784-1856).
Yarrow, a famous Scottish stream which rises on the confines of the shires of Peebles, Dumfries, and Selkirk, passes NE. through the Loch of the Lowes and St. Mary's Loch, and joins the Ettrick 2 m. above Selkirk after a course of 25 m.
Yates, Edmund, journalist, founded The World newspaper; wrote a supremely interesting “Autobiography” (1831-1894).
Yeddo. See Tokyo.
Yellow Sea, or Whang-hai, an inlet of the Pacific, on the NE. coast of China, bounded on the E. by the Corea, including in the NW. the Gulf of Pechili, some 600 m. long, and its average breadth 300 m.; is very shallow, and gradually silting up owing to the quantity of alluvium brought down by the rivers which fall into it.
Yellowstone, the, a river which rises in the NW. of Wyoming (q. v.), and falls into the Missouri as one of its chief tributaries after a course of 1300 m.
Yellowstone National Park, a high-lying tract of land in the State of Wyoming (q. v.) traversed by the Yellowstone, about the size of Kent, being a square about 75 m. in diameter; is set apart by Congress as a great pleasure ground in perpetuity for the enjoyment of the people; it abounds in springs and geysers, and care is taken that it be preserved for the public benefit, to the exclusion of all private right or liberty.
Yemen (3,000), a province in the SW. of Arabia, bounded on the N. by Hedjaz, bordering on the Red Sea, and forming the Arabia Felix of the ancients; about 400 m. in length and 150 m. in breadth; it is a highly fertile region, and yields tropical and sub-tropical fruits, in particular coffee, dates, gums, spices, and wheat.
Yenikale or Kertch, a strait 20 m. long, connecting the Sea of Azov with the Black Sea.
Yenisei, a river which rises in the mountainous region that borders the plateau of Gobi, its head-waters collecting in Lake Baikal, and after a course of 3200 m. through the centre of Siberia, falls by a long estuary or gulf into the Arctic Ocean; it is the highway of a region rich in both mineral and vegetable products, the traffic on which is encouraged by privileges and bounties to the trader at the hands of the Russian government.
Yeniseisk (8), a town of East Siberia, on the Yenisei, in a province of the name, and a centre of trade in it.
Yeomanry, name given to a cavalry volunteer force the members of which provide their own horses and uniforms, with a small allowance from the Government, which is increased when called out.
Yeomen, a name given in England to a class of freeholders next in rank to the gentry, and to certain functionaries in royal households.
Yeomen of the Guard, a body of old soldiers of soldierly presence, employed on ceremonial occasions in conjunction with the gentlemen-at-arms, as the bodyguard of the British sovereign; they were constituted in 1485, and number besides officers 100 men; the Beef-eaters, as they are called, are the wardens of the Tower, and are a different corps.
Yeovil (9), a town in Somerset, 4 m. S. of Bristol, is in the centre of an agricultural district, and the staple industry is glove-making.
Yetholm, a village of Roxburghshire, 7 m. SE. of Kelso; consists of two parts, Town Yetholm and Kirk Yetholm, the latter of which has for two centuries been the head-quarters of the gypsies in Scotland.
Yezd (40), a town in an oasis, surrounded by a desert, in the centre of Persia, 230 m. SE. of Ispahân; a place of commercial importance; carries on miscellaneous manufactures.
Yezidees, a small nation bordering on the Euphrates, whose religion is a mixture of devil worship and Ideas derived from the Magi, the Mohammedans, and the Christians.
Yezo or Yesso, the northernmost of the four large islands of Japan, is about as large as Ireland; is traversed from N. to S. by rugged mountains, several of them active volcanoes; is rich in minerals, and particularly coal; its rivers swarm with salmon, but the climate is severe, and it is only partially settled.
Yggdrasil. See Iggdrasil.
Yiddish, a kind of mongrel language spoken by foreign Jews in England.
Ymir, a giant in the Norse mythology, slain by the gods, and out of whose carcass they constructed the world, his blood making the sea, his flesh the land, his bones the rocks, his eyebrows Asgard, the dwelling-place of the gods, his skull the vault of the firmament, and his brains the clouds.
Yniol, an earl of Arthurian legend, the father of Enid, who was ousted from his earldom by his nephew the “Sparrow-Hawk,” but who, when overthrown, was compelled to restore it to him.
Yoga, in the Hindu philosophy a state of soul, emancipation from this life and of union with the divine, achieved by a life of asceticism and devout meditation; or the system of instruction or discipline by which it is achieved.
Yogin, among the Hindus one who has achieved his yoga, over whom nothing perishable has any longer power, for whom the laws of nature no longer exist, who is emancipated from this life, so that death even will add nothing to his bliss, it being his final deliverance or Nirvâna, as the Buddhists would say.
Yokohama (130), principal port of entry of Japan, 18 m. SW. of Tokyo (q. v.), situated in a spacious bay, the centre of trade with the West and the head-quarters of foreign trade generally; foreigners are numerous, and the exports include silk, tea, cotton, flax, tobacco, &c.
Yokuba (150), the largest town in Sokoto, in the Lower Soudan, with a large trade in cotton, tobacco, and indigo.
Yonge, Charlotte Mary, popular novelist, born at Otterbourne, Hants; has written “Cameos of History of England,” “Landmarks of History,” &c.; has edited the Monthly Packet for 30 years; b. 1823.
Yoni, a Hindu symbol of the female principle in nature, and as such an object of worship. See Linga.
Yonkers (48), a city of New York, U.S., on the Hudson River. 15 m. N. of New York; has factories of various kinds, and some beautiful villas occupied by New York merchants.
Yonne (344), a department of the NE. of France, watered by the Yonne, a tributary of the Seine, with forests and vineyards which yield large quantities of wine.
Yorick, a jester at the court of Denmark, whose skull Hamlet apostrophises in the churchyard; also a sinister jester in “Tristram Shandy.”
York (67), the county town of Yorkshire, situated at the confluence of the Foss with the Ouse, 188 m. N. of London and 22 m. NE. of Leeds; is an interesting historic town, the seat of an archbishop, and a great railway centre; known among the Romans as Eboracum, it was the centre of the Roman power in the North, relics of which as such still remain; its cathedral, known as the Minster, is one of the grandest in England; it is built on the site of a church erected as early as the 7th century, and was finished as it now exists in 1470; it is 524 ft. in length, and the transepts 250 ft., the breadth of the nave 140 ft., the height of the central tower 216 ft., and of the western one 201 ft. There are other buildings of great antiquity, and the Guildhall dates from the 15th century. It is the military head-quarters of the northern district of England.
York, Cardinal, the last of the line of the Stuart royal family, who died in 1807, 19 years after his brother Charles Edward.
York, Duke of, title often given to the second son of the English sovereign, and conferred in 1892 upon Prince George, second son of the Prince of Wales (afterwards King Edward VII.), and held by him till 1901. In that year the Duke and Duchess visited Australia, in order to inaugurate the new Commonwealth. Henry VIII. and Charles I. were Dukes of York, while their elder brothers were alive, and James II., till he became King.
Yorke, Oliver, the name assumed by the editor of Fraser's Magazine when it first started.
Yorkshire (3,208), the largest county in England, is divided into three Ridings (i. e. thirdings or thirds) for administrative purposes, North, East, and West, with a fourth called the Ainsty, under the jurisdiction of the Lord Mayor and aldermen of York; of these the West is the wealthiest and the most populous; contains a large coal-field, and is the centre of the woollen manufacture of the county; the East being mainly agricultural, with iron-works and shipbuilding-works; and the North mainly pastoral, with industries connected with mining and shipping. Leeds (q. v.) is the largest town.
Yorktown, a small town in Virginia, U.S., on the York River, where Lord Cornwallis surrendered to Washington in 1781.
Yosemite Valley, the most remarkable gorge in the world, in the centre of California, 140 m. E. of San Francisco, 6 m. long and from ½ to 24 m. broad, girt by perpendicular walls thousands of feet deep and traversed by the river Merced in a succession of falls of great height, the whole presenting a scene of mingled grandeur and beauty; it was discovered in 1851, and steps are being taken by Congress to preserve it as a place of public resort and recreation.
Youghal, a seaport in co. Cork, on the estuary of Blackwater, 27 m. E. of Cork; has some structures of interest, and exports chiefly agricultural produce.
Young, Arthur, writer on agriculture, born at Whitehall; was trained to mercantile life, which he abandoned in disgust, and took to farming, which he studied at home and abroad and practised on scientific lines, and became Secretary of the Board of Agriculture on its establishment in 1793; he elevated agriculture to the rank of a science and imparted dignity to the pursuit of it (1741-1820).
Young, Brigham, Mormon polygamist chief, born at Whittingham, Vermont, U.S., son of a small farmer; had no schooling, wrought as carpenter, fell in with Joe Smith's brother, and embraced Mormonism in 1832; became one of the apostles of the Church and a preacher, and finally the head in 1851 after the settlement of the body at Utah; with all his fanaticism he was a worldly-wise man and a wise manager of secular affairs; died rich, leaving his fortune to 17 wives and 56 children (1810-1877).
Young, Charles Mayne, tragedian, born in London, made his début in 1798; married in 1805 a gifted young actress, Julia Anne Grimani, with whom he had often played in lover's parts, and whom, after a brilliant partnership of 16 months on the stage together, he the year after lost in giving birth to a son; he survived her 50 years, but the love with which he loved her never faded from his heart; appeared in the Haymarket, London, in 1807 in the character of Hamlet; played afterwards other Shakespearian characters, such as Iago, Macbeth, and Falstaff in Covent Garden and Drury Lane, and took leave of the stage in 1832 in the same character in which he first appeared on it in London, and died at Brighton (1777-1856).
Young, Edward, poet, born in Hampshire, educated at Westminster School; studied at Corpus Christi, Oxford, and obtained a Fellowship at All-Souls' College; wrote plays and satires, but is best known to fame as the author of “Night Thoughts,” which has been pronounced “his best work and his last good work,” a poem which was once in high repute, and is less, if at all, in favour to-day, being written in a mood which is a strain upon the reader; it is “a little too declamatory,” says Professor Saintsbury, “a little too suggestive of soliloquies in an inky cloak, with footlights in front”; his “Revenge,” acted in 1721, is pronounced by the professor to be “perhaps the very last example of an acting tragedy of real literary merit”; his satires in the “Love of Fame; or, The Universal Passion,” almost equalled those of Pope, and brought him both fame and fortune; he took holy orders in 1727, and became in 1730 rector of Welwyn, in Hertfordshire; his flattery of his patrons was fulsome, and too suggestive of the toady (1681-1765).
Young, James, practical chemist, born in Glasgow; discovered cheap methods of producing certain substances of value in the chemical arts, and made experiments which led to the manufacture of paraffin (1811-1889).
Young, Robert, a notorious impostor; forged certificates, and obtained deacons' orders and curacies, and could by no penalty be persuaded to an honest life, and was hanged in the end for coining in 1700.
Young, Thomas, physicist, born in Somersetshire, of Quaker parents; studied medicine at home and abroad; renounced Quakerism, and began practice in London in 1800; was next year appointed professor of Natural Philosophy in the Royal Institution, 1802; made Secretary of the Royal Society, and was afterwards nominated for other important appointments; his principal work is a “Course of Lectures on Natural Philosophy and the Mechanical Arts,” published in 1807, in which he propounded the undulatory theory of light, and the principle of the interference of rays; the hieroglyphic inscriptions of Egypt occupied much of his attention, and he is credited with having anticipated Champollion in discovering the key to them (1773-1829).
Young Men's Christian Association, an association founded in London in 1844, for the benefit of young men connected with various dry-goods houses in the city, and which extended itself over the other particularly large cities throughout the country, so that now it is located in 1249 centres, and numbers in London alone some 14,000 members; its object is the welfare of young men at once spiritually, morally, socially, and physically.
Young People's Society of Christian Endeavour, a society established in 1881 by Dr. F. E. Clark, Portland, Maine, U.S., in 1898; has a membership of three and a quarter million; it is undenominational, but evangelical apparently, and its professed object is “to promote an earnest Christian life among its members, to increase their mutual acquaintanceship, and to make them more useful in the service of God.”
Youngstown (45), a town in Ohio, U.S., with large iron factories; is in the heart of a district rich in iron and coal.
Ypres (16), an old Belgian town in West Flanders, 30 m. SW. of Bruges; was at one time a great weaving centre, and famous for its diaper linen; has much fallen off, though it retains a town-hall and a cathedral, both of Gothic architecture in evidence of what it once was; it was strongly fortified once, and has been subjected to many sieges; the manufacture of thread and lace is now the most important industry.
Yriarte, Charles, French littérateur, born in Paris, of Spanish ancestry; has written works dealing with Spain, Paris, the Franco-German War, Venice, &c.; b. 1832.
Yriarte, Thomas de, Spanish poet; studied at Madrid; was editor of the Madrid Mercury; his principal works “Musica,” a poem, and “Literary Fables” (1750-1790).
Ystad, a seaport in the extreme S. of Sweden, with a commodious harbour, and a trade chiefly in corn.
Ystradyfodwg (88), a township in Glamorgan, in a rich mining district.
Yttrium, a rare metal always found in combination with others, and is a blackish-gray powder; the oxide of it, yttria, is a soft whitish powder, and when ignited glows with a pure white light.
Yucatan, a peninsula in Central America dividing the Gulf of Mexico from the Caribbean Sea, and one of the few peninsulas of the world that extend northwards; is a flat expanse; has a good climate and a fertile soil, yielding maize, rice, tobacco, indigo, &c.; abounds in forests of valuable wood; forms one of the States of the Mexican Republic; it bears traces of early civilisation in the ruins of temples and other edifices.
Yuga, a name given by the Hindus to the four ages of the world, and, according to M. Barth, of the gradual triumph of evil, as well as of the successive creations and destructions of the universe, following each other in the lapse of immense periods of time.
Yukon, a great river of Alaska, rises in British territory, and after a course of 2000 m. falls, by a number of mouths forming a delta, into the Behring Sea; it is navigable nearly throughout, and its waters swarm with salmon three months in the year, some of them from 80 to 120 lbs. weight, and from 5 to 6 ft. long.
Yule, the old name for the festival of Christmas, originally a heathen one, observed at the winter solstice in joyous recognition of the return northward of the sun at that period, being a relic in the N. of the old sun worship.
Yule, Sir Henry, Orientalist, born at Inveresk, Mid-Lothian; was an officer in Bengal Engineers, and engaged in surveys in the East; was president of the Royal Asiatic Society; wrote numerous articles for Asiatic societies; his two great works, “The Book of Marco Polo the Venetian” and the “Anglo-Indian Glossary,” known by its other title as “Hobson Jobson” (1820-1889).
Yumboes, fairies in African mythology, represented as about two feet in height, and of a white colour.
Yung-ling, a mountain range running N. and S., which forms the eastern buttress of the tableland of Central Asia.
Yunnan (4,000), the extreme south-western province of the Chinese Empire; is fertile particularly in the S.; yields large quantities of maize, rice, tobacco, sugar, and especially opium, and abounds in mineral wealth, including gold, silver, mercury, as well as iron, copper, and lead; the country was long a prey to revolt against the Chinese rule, but it is now, after a war of extermination against the rebels, the Panthays, the Burmese, reduced to order.
Yuste, St., called also St. Just, a village in Estremadura, Spain, the seat of a monastery where Charles V., Emperor of Germany, spent the last 18 years of his life, and where he died.
Yves, the patron-saint of lawyers; was a lawyer himself, and used his knowledge of the law to defend the oppressed; is called in Brittany “the poor man's advocate.”
Yvetot (7), an old town in the dep. of Seine-Inférieure, 24 m. NW. of Rouen, with manufactures of textile fabrics, and a trade in agricultural produce, the seigneurs of which long bore the title of king, “Roi d'Yvetot,” a title satirically applied by Béranger to Napoleon, and often employed to denote an insignificant potentate with large pretensions.