3. One of the first seven deacons appointed by the Church at Jerusalem along with Stephen (Acts vi, 5), A.D. 29. Dorotheus makes him to have been one of the seventy disciples of our Lord, and according to the Pseudo-Hippolytus he "died at the time of the martyr- dom of Stephen" (p. 953, ed. Migne).
Nicaragua, a republic of Central America, bound- ed on the N. by the republic of Honduras, on tlie W. by the Pacific Ocean, on the S. by the republic of Costa Rica, and on the E. bj' the Caribbean Sea, is situated in lat. 10= 45'-loO N., long. 83° 20'-87° 31', and has an area of about 57,000 square miles.
General Features. — Nicaragua is traversed by two ranges of mountains — the western, which follows the direction of the coast-line, at a distance of from ten to twenty miles from the Pacific ; and the eastern (a part of the great range of the Cordilleras), which runs near- ly parallel to it, and sends off several spurs towards the Caribbean Sea. The former is generally high and vol- canic, but sinks at times almost to the level of the plains. Between the two ranges lies a great interior basin, containing the lakes of Nicaragua and Managua. The principal rivers are the Rio Coco, or Segovia, form- ing part of the boundary between Honduras and Nic- aragua, the Escondido, or Blewfields, and the San Juan, all of which flow into the Caribbean Sea. The eastern coast of Nicaragua is called the Mosquito Coast ; it for- merly constituted an independent territory known as the Mosquito kingdom, and enjoyed the protectorate of Great Britain. It became a part of Nicaragua in 1860. Nicaragua is in manj' places densely wooded, the most valuable trees being mahoganj', logwood, Nicaragua-wood, cedar, and Brazil-wood. The pastures are splendid, and support vast herds of cattle. The chief products are sugar-cane (softer and juicier than the Asiatic variety), cocoa, cotton, indigo, tobacco, maize, and rice, with nearly all the fruits and edibles of the tropics — plantains, bananas, tomatoes, bread-fruit, arrowroot, citrons, oranges, limes, lemons, pineapples, gtiavas, etc. The chief vegetable exports are sarsa- parilla, aloes, ipecacuanha, ginger, copal, gum-arabic, caoutchouc, etc. The northern part of Nicaragua is rich in minerals — gold, silver, copper, iron, and lead — but the mines are not so carefully worked now as they were under the Spaniards.
Population. — Of the 250,000 inhabitants of Nicaragua, 220,000 belong to the uncivilized, and 30,000 (being whites) to the civilized races. The former may be divided proportionately as follows : Indians of unmixed blood, 550 in 1000; mestizos Qadinos, from whites and Indians ; zambos, from negroes and Indians ; and mu- lattoes, from whites and blacks), 400; whites, 45; ne- groes, 6. The ladino element predominates in Jalapa, Ocotal, Matagalpa, Corinto, Leon, Libertad, IManagua, Blewfields, Acoyapa, Rivas, and San Juan del Sur; the mulatto in Granada Nandaime, San Carlos, and Sau VII.-D
Juan del Norte. Masaya is almost entirely Indian, and Indians occupj' a large part of the basin of the two lakes. Tiie coast basins of the Pacific are peopled by Indians of Aztec descent. The uncivilized Indian tribes occupy the river basins of the Atlantic slope; the Pan- tasmas, Poyas, and Carcas in the several upper basins of the Coco, Rio Grande, and Mico, the lower basins of \vhich are peopled by Mosquitos, Zambos, and black Caribs ; and the Wawas, Toonglas, and Ramas in the upper basins of the rivers of the same names. Most of the Nicaraguans live in towns, many going daily long distances to their jilantations, which are often reached by paths so obscure as to escape the notice of the trav- eller. The chief occupation is the raising of cattle, and large quantities of cheese are made on some of the es- tates. The Indians, who are generally a sober race, are the principal producers. The half-breeds, as a class, are indolent, thriftless, and ignorant. Baptism is con- sidered indispensable, but the marriage ceremony is often omitted. Petty thefts are common, but robberies and murders are unusual. Every few years a revolution breaks out, the population divides into two parties, and all business is suspended until the insurgents are put down or a change of rulers eifectod. Indeed, the in- cessant political distractions of the country have no- toriously all but destroyed its material prosperity.
Relif/ious and Educational Status. — Education is in a low condition. In 1868 radical changes were effected in public instruction, but the reform was only on paper. There are two universities, so called, one at Leon, with faculties of law, medicine, and theology, and in 1872 with 56 students, and an intermediate course with 102 students; and one at Granada, which has a faculty of law and an intermediate course, with 162 students. At that time there were in the republic 92 male primary schools, with 3871 pupils, and 9 female primary schools, with 532 pupils. Education is wholly secular, the su- preme direction being in the hands of the executive. Instruction is gratuitous, and teachers are paid from the public funds. There is no public library in the coun- try, no museum, and no newspaper. According to the constitution of the state the religion is Roman Catholic, and the republic is, ecclesiastically, a suffragan bishop- ric subordinate to the archbishop of Guatemala. There are 117 parishes, of which about 100 have incumbents. There are no religious orders, all convents having been suppressed in 1829. Freedom of worship is nominally granted, but is not really practiced to any extent. The Moravians have a mission school at Blewfields, and sev- eral schools at other places on the Mosquito Coast; in all 8 schools, with about 500 pupils of both sexes. The Moravians also have a church, and it is the only Prot- estant church in Nicaragua.