or CABESSE, a name given to the finest silks in the East Indies, as those from 15 to 20 per cent inferior to them are called barina. The Indian workmen endeavour to pass them off one with the other; for which reason, the more experienced European merchants take care to open the bales, and to examine all the skins one after another. The Dutch distinguish two sorts of cabecas; namely, the moor cabeca, and the common cabeca. The former is sold at Amsterdam for about 21½ schellingen Elemish, and the other for about 18½.

CABENDA, a port-town of Congo, in Africa, and subject to the Portuguese: E. long. 12°, and S. lat. 4°.

CABIDOS, or CAVIDOS, a long measure used at Goa, and in other places of the East Indies belonging to the Portuguese, to measure stuffs, linens, &c., and equal to 4 of the Paris ell.

CABIN, in the sea-language, a small room, or apartment, whereof there are a great many in several parts of a ship; particularly on the quarter-deck, and on each side of the steerage, for the officers of the ship to lie in.

The great cabin is the chief of all, and that which properly belongs to the captain, or chief commander.

CABINET, or CABINET, the most retired place in the finest part of a building, set apart for writing, studying, or preserving anything that is precious.

A complete apartment consists of a hall, anti-chamber, chamber, and cabinet, with a gallery on one side. Hence we say, a cabinet of paintings, curiosities, &c. Cabinet also denotes a piece of joiner's workmanship, being a kind of press or chest, with several doors and drawers.

There are common cabinets of oak or of chesnut, varnished cabinets of China and Japan, cabinets of inlaid work, and some of ebony, or the like scarce and precious woods.

Formerly the Dutch and German cabinets were much esteemed in France, but are now quite out of date, as well as the cabinets of ebony, which came from Venice.

CABIRI, a term in the theology of the ancient Pagans, signifying great and powerful gods; being a name given to the gods of Samothracia. They were also worshipped in other parts of Greece, as Lemnos and Thebes, where the cabiri were celebrated in honour of them: these gods are said to be, in number, four, viz. Axicros, Axioercsa, Axioercsus, and Casmilus.

CABIRIA, festivals in honour of the cabiri, celebrated in Thebes and Lemnos, but especially in Samothracia, an island consecrated to the cabiri. All who were initiated into the mysteries of these gods, were thought to be secured thereby from storms at sea, and all other dangers. The ceremony of initiation was performed by placing the candidate, crowned with olive-branches, and girded about the loins with a purple ribbon, on a kind of throne, about which the priests, and persons before initiated, danced.

CABLAN, the name of a kingdom and city of India, beyond the Ganges.

CABLE, a thick, large, strong rope, commonly of hemp, which serves to keep a ship at anchor.

There is no merchant-ship, however weak, but has at least three cables; namely, the chief cable, or cable of the sheet-anchor, a common cable, and a smaller one.

Cable is also said of ropes, which serve to raise heavy loads, by the help of cranes, pulleys, and other engines. The name of cable is usually given to such as have, at least, three inches in diameter; those that are less are only called ropes of different names, according to their use.

Every cable, of what thickness soever it be, is composed of three strands; every strand of three ropes; and every rope of three twits: the twist is made of more or less threads, according as the cable is to be thicker or thinner.

In the manufacture of cables, after the ropes are made, they use sticks, which they pass first between the ropes of which they make the strands, and afterwards between the strands of which they make the cable, to the end that they may all twist the better, and be more regularly wound together; and also, to prevent them from twining or intangling, they hang. at the end of each strand and of each rope, a weight of lead or of stone.

The number of threads each cable is composed of is always proportioned to its length and thickness; and it is by this number of threads that its weight and value are ascertained: thus a cable of three inches circumference, or one inch diameter, ought to consist of 48 ordinary threads, and weigh 192 pounds; and on this foundation is calculated the following table, very useful for all people engaged in marine commerce, who fit out merchant-men for their own account, or freight them for the account of others.

A table of the number of threads and weight of cables of different circumferences.

| Circumf. | Threads | Weight | |---------|---------|--------| | 3 inches | 48 | 192 pounds | | 4 | 77 | 308 | | 5 | 121 | 484 | | 6 | 174 | 696 | | 7 | 238 | 952 | | 8 | 311 | 1244 | | 9 | 393 | 1572 | | 10 | 485 | 1940 | | 11 | 598 | 2392 | | 12 | 699 | 2796 | | 13 | 824 | 3284 | | 14 | 952 | 3808 | | 15 | 1093 | 4372 | | 16 | 1244 | 4976 | | 17 | 1404 | 5616 | | 18 | 1574 | 6296 | | 19 | 1754 | 7016 | | 20 | 1943 | 7772 |

Sheet-anchor Cable, is the greatest cable belonging to a ship.

Serve or plate the Cable, is to bind it about with ropes, clouts, &c., to keep it from galling in the hawse.

To splice a Cable, is to make two pieces fast together, by working the several threads of the rope, the one into the other.

Pay more Cable, is to let more out of the ship. Pay cheap the cable, is to hand it out apace. Veer more cable, is to let more out, &c.

Cabled, in heraldry, a term applied to a cross, formed of the two ends of a ship's cable; sometimes also to a cross covered over with rounds of rope, more properly called a cross-corded.

Cabled-flute, in architecture, such flutes as are filled up with pieces, in the form of a cable.

Cabo de Istria, the capital of the province of Istria, in the dominion of Venice, situated on the gulph of Venice, about twelve miles south of Trieste: E. long. 14° 20', and N. lat. 45° 50'.

Caboched, in heraldry, is when the heads of beasts are borne without any part of the neck, full-faced.

Caboletto, in commerce, a coin of the republic of Genoa, worth about 3 d. of our money.

Cabul, the capital of a province of the same name, on the north-west of India. Both the town and province of Cabul were ceded to the Persians in 1739: E. long. 69°, and N. lat. 33° 30'.

Caburns, on ship-board, are small lines, made of spun yarn, to bind cables, seize tackles, or the like.

Cacaca, a city of Africa, in the kingdom of Fez.

Cacogoga, among ancient physicians, ointments which, applied to the fundament, procure stools. Paulus Aegineta directs to boil alum, mixed with honey, for that purpose.

Cacalia, in botany, a genus of the syngenesia polygamiæ aequalis clas. The receptacle is naked; the pappus is hairy; and the calyx is cylindrical, oblong, and has a kind of small cup at the base. There are 12 species, none of which are natives of Britain.

Cacalianthemum, in botany, a synonyme of the cacalia. See Cacalia.

Cacao, in botany. See Theobroma.

Caceres, a town of Estremadura, in Spain, about seventeen miles south-east of Alcantara: W. long. 6° 45', and N. lat. 39° 12'.

Cachan, a city of Persia, situated in a large plain, about 20 leagues from Ispahan.

It is remarkable for its manufactures of gold and silver stuffs, and of fine earthen ware.

Cachao, or Kechio, the capital of the kingdom of Tonguin, situated on the western shore of the river Domea: E. long. 105°, and N. lat. 22° 30'.

Cachectic, something partaking of the nature of, or belonging to a cachexy. See Cachexy.

Cachemire, or Kachemire, a province of Asia, in the country of the Mogul. The inhabitants are thought to have been originally Jews, because they speak much of Moses and Solomon, whom they believe to have travelled into their country.

Cachemire is also the capital of that province, situated in 76° E. long. and 34° 30' N. lat.

Cachexy, in medicine, a vicious state of the humours and whole habit. See Medicine.

Cachrys, in botany, a genus of the pentandria digynia clas. The fruit is oval and a little angled. There are but two species, viz. the libanoris, a native of Sicily; and the sícula, a native of Sicily and Spain.

Cacoethes, in medicine, an epithet applied, by Hippocrates, to malignant and difficult distempers: when applied to signs or symptoms, it imports what is very bad and threatening; and if given to tumours, ulcers, &c., it denotes a great malignancy.

Cactus, in botany, a genus of the icosandra monogyne clas. The calyx consists of one leaf, imbricated, and above the fruit. The berry has but one cell, containing many seeds. The species are twenty-three, one of which is the cochineal-plant. See Cochinea.

Cad, or Cade: See Cade.

Cadari, or Kadari, a sect of Mahometans; which attributes the actions of men to men alone, and not to the divine decree determining his will; and denies all absolute decrees, and predetermination. Ben Aun calls the cadari, the magi or manichees of the muzzulmans. which compose it: this cabbala is divided into three kinds, the gematrie, the notaricon, and the temura or themurah. The first whereof consists in taking the letters of a Hebrew word for ciphers or arithmetical numbers, and explaining every word by the arithmetical value of the letters whereof it is composed. The second sort of cabbala, called notaricon, consists in taking every particular letter of a word for an entire ciation; and the third, called themurah, i.e., change, consists in making different transpositions or changes of letters, placing one for the other, or one before the other.

Among the Christians likewise, a certain sort of magic is, by mistake, called cabbala, which consists in using improperly certain passages of scripture for magic operations, or in forming magic characters or figures with stars and talismans.

Some visionaries, among the Jews, believe, that Jesus Christ wrought his miracles by virtue of the mysteries of the cabbala.

CABALISTS, the Jewish doctors who profess the study of the cabbala.

In the opinion of these men, there is not a word, letter, or accent in the law, without some mystery in it. The Jews are divided into two general sects; the karaites, who refuse to receive either tradition or the talmud, or any thing but the pure text of scripture; and the rabbinites, or talmudists, who, besides this, receive the traditions of the ancients, and follow the talmud.

The latter are again divided into two other sects; pure rabbinites, who explain the scripture, in its natural sense, by grammar, history, and tradition; and cabbalists, who, to discover hidden mystical senses, which they suppose God to have couched therein, make use of the cabbala, and the mystical methods above mentioned.

or CABESSE, a name given to the finest silks in the East Indies, as those from 15 to 20 per cent. inferior to them are called barina. The Indian workmen endeavour to pass them off one with the other; for which reason, the more experienced European merchants take care to open the bales, and to examine all the skeins one after another. The Dutch distinguish two sorts of cabecas; namely, the moor cabece, and the common cabece. The former is sold at Amsterdam for about 2½ schellingen Elenith, and the other for about 18½.