ISLA, JoséFrancisco de (1703-1781), Spanish satirist, was born at Segovia in 1703, and became a member of the Society of Jesus, in which he distinguished himself both as a teacher and as a preacher; on the expulsion of his order from Spain in 1767 he betook himself to Bologna, where after some years of impaired health he died in 1783. His first literary experiment was the Juventud Triunfante (“Triumph of Youth,” Salamanca, 1727), a cleverly disguised satirical account of a festival celebrated in 1727 at Salamanca in honour of two young Jesuits who had recently been canonized by Benedict XIII., iu which he was assisted by a brother priest named Losada; it was followed iu 1746 by his Triuηfo del Amor y de la Lealtad: Dia Grande de Navarra, being an account df the extravagant ceremonies with which the accession of Ferdinand VI. of Castile had been celebrated in Pampe-lona. This was written in so delicate a vein of satire that at first the parties chiefly ridiculed felt really flattered, and expressed their gratitude to the author; ultimately, however, its true meaning was discerned, and so strong was the reaction that he had to leave the locality. The work on which Isla’s claim to a place in the history of the literature of his country rests, however, is his Historia del Famoso Predicador Fray Gerundio de Campazas, in which in course of an imaginary biography of a preaching friar named Gerundio many of the absurdities that deformed the Spanish pulpit at that time are ably held up to ridicule. The first volume appeared at Madrid in 1758, duly approved by the ecclesiastical authorities, who probably were not unwilling that the faults then glaringly prevalent among preachers should be chastized and if possible corrected; so great was the offence given, however, to the ...

ISLAY, an island on the west coast of Scotland, the most southern of the Hebrides group, is situated in the county of Argyll, between 55° 30' and 55° 58' N. lat. and 6° 2' and 6° 35' W. long., 17 miles west of Cantire and 2 miles south-west of Jura. It has an area of 220 square miles, or more than 140,000 acres, and its rental is nearly £38,000. It is the richest and most productive of the group, and on that account has been called the “Queen of the Hebrides.” The surface generally is regular, the highest summits being Ben Varn (1500 feet) and Ben Ronastel (1050 feet). Islay House, the ancient seat of the Campbells of Islay, stands at the head of Loch-in-daal. The island is chiefly possessed by three proprietors :—G. Morrison, 67,000 acres; J. Ramsay of Kildalton, 54,250; and K. Finlay of Dunlossit, 17,676. Formerly it was occupied by small crofters and tacksmen, but since 1831 it has been gradually rearranged into large sheep and arable farms. About two-thirds of the sheep are blackfaced, the others being mostly Cheviots. Dairy farming is largely followed, and oats, barley, and the various green crops are raised. The chief difficulty in the way of reclamation of the land is the large extent occupied by peat, which has an area of 60 square miles, and is calcu-culated at its present rate of consumption to last 1500 years. The island has long been famous for the distillation of whisky, and at present contains seven distilleries, which produce about 400,000 gallons annually. Port Ellen, the principal village, had 974 inhabitants in 1881. While the population of Islay in 1831 was 14,992, it had decreased in 1851 to 12,334, in 1871 to 8143, and in 1881 to 7512....

ISLÁMÁBÁD, a town in Kashmir state, Punjab, lies in 33° 43' N. lat., 75° 17' E. long., on the north bank of the Jhelum (Jhilam), there about 80 yards wide, and crossed by a wooden bridge. The town crowns the summit of a long low ridge, extending from the mountains eastward. Below is a reservoir containing a spring’of clear water called the Anat Nâg, slightly sulphurous, from which volumes of gas continually arise. The water swarms with sacred fish. There are large manufactures of Kashmir shawls, also of chintzes, cotton, and woollen goods.