to make and keep the Presbyterian church as the only religion of Scotland. The first was drawn up by John Craig in 1581 and signed by James I. Others like it followed, and in 1638 was drawn up the Solemn League and Covenant, a bond between those opposed to the Catholic and Episcopal churches in Scotland, England and Ireland. It was adopted by the English Parliament. But in Charles II's reign, the covenant-oaths were declared unlawful and, later, treasonable; yet many of the Covenanters kept on taking these paths until the Revolution of 1688 made it no longer necessary for the Scots to band together for the liberty of their church.
Cov′entry (kŭv′en-trĭ), a city of Warwickshire, England, about the middle of the kingdom, between the four English ports, London, Bristol, Liverpool and Hull. Its chief manufactures are ribbons, watches, bicycles and cloth. St. Michael's Church, built between the years 1230 and 1395, is the largest parish-church in England, its spire 200 feet in height. St. Mary's Hall, built in the 14th century, with its carved-oak roof and large painted window, is a fine example of ornamental work. In 1043 Earl Leofric and his wife, Lady Godiva, founded here a monastery. In Tennyson's Godiva is told the story of this lady's famous ride, clothed only by her long hair, through the streets of Coventry, while the people reverently kept within their houses behind closed blinds. This was the barbarous condition made by her husband, the lord of the town, when she pleaded that the citizens might be freed from harsh taxes. In memory of her there used to be splendid processions in Coventry. Here also Richard II stopped the trial by battle between the Dukes of Norfolk and Hereford, of which Shakespeare has so well told us in his Richard II. Here for a time Mary, Queen of Scots was imprisoned, and near the town was one of George Eliot's homes. Population 69,978.
Cov′erdale, Miles, editor of English versions of the Bible, was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1488. He studied at Cambridge, became a priest, and soon left the country. His edition of Tindale's and other men's translations of the Bible came out in 1535. The Psalms of this translation are still used in the Book of Common Prayer, and many of the most beautiful phrases in the famous King James' version are due to Coverdale. It was printed in German black-letter, in double columns, with wood-cuts. In 1538 Cromwell sent him to Paris to take charge of another translation, but the work was stopped and many of the sheets burned. However, the presses and type were smuggled into England, and the translation was brought out; it is known as the Great Bible. Coverdale was also editor of Cranmer's Bible, He was made bishop of Exeter, but was forced to leave England when Mary I came to the throne. He died in 1568.
Coverly, Sir Roger de, a fictitious character in Addison's paper, The Spectator, who has charmed lovers of literature for two centuries.
Covington (kŭv′ǐng-tǔn), the capital of Kenton County, northern Kentucky, on the Ohio River, opposite Cincinnati, to which it is joined by two fine suspension-bridges. Many of its people are Cincinnati business men; but it is more than a mere suburb of that city, having large distilleries and manufactures of glassware, nails and tobacco. It also has large industries in rolling-mills and in the manufacture of stoves, etc. The Licking River separates it from Newport, Ky. Covington is the seat of a Roman Catholic bishopric, and possesses good schools, churches, a hospital, orphan-asylum and public library. Population 53,270.
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Cowbird, a bird found in fields feeding near cattle, picking up the insects the animals disturb in their grazing. It sometimes rides on the back of a cow, and often may be seen just in front of one. It makes no nest, but, like the European cuckoos, lays its eggs in the nests of other birds—usually in the nest of a smaller bird. The young cowbird is larger than the other nestlings, but the deception does not seem to be noticed by the foster-mother. The male cowbird is glossy, greenish-black, with head and neck dark coffee-brown. The female is dirty brownish-gray, with whitish throat. They live in small flocks.
Cowboy. See Ranching.
Cow′ley, Abraham, an English poet, was born at London in 1618. His father died before his birth, and it was through his mother's struggles that he got a university education. It was by reading a copy of Spenser's Faerie Queene, when hardly more than a child, that he came to write poetry. When ten years old, he wrote good verses, and brought out a book of poems when 15. On the breaking out of the Civil War, he followed the queen in her flight to Paris, and wrote letters in cipher for her to King Charles. Cowley's best known works are Pindarique Odes and The Mistress. During his lifetime he was held to be the great* est of English poets, but now he is little read. This is probably because he wrote for the court and for the taste of the people of his own time. Nevertheless, some few passages of his are powerful. He also
