he did his duty,
but did not think of defending himself. He suffered much from the
attacks made on him by the followers of Bismarck, and he was closely
associated with the social ostracism of that statesman; we do not know,
however, in regard either to this or to the other events of his
administration, to what extent Caprivi was really the author of the
policy he carried out, and to what extent he was obeying the orders of
the emperor. With a loyalty which cannot be too highly praised, he
always refused, even after his abrupt dismissal, to justify himself, and
he could not be persuaded even to write memoirs for later publication.
The last years of his life were spent in absolute retirement, for he
could not return even to the military duties which he had left with
great reluctance at the orders of the emperor. He died unmarried on the
6th of February 1899, at the age of sixty-eight.

See R. Arndt, _Die Reden des Grafen v. Caprivi_ (Berlin, 1894), with a
biography. (J. W. He.)

CAPRONNIER, JEAN BAPTISTE (1814-1891), Belgian stained-glass painter,
was born in Brussels in 1814, and died there in 1891. He had much to do
with the modern revival of glass-painting, and first made his reputation
by his study of the old methods of workmanship, and his clever
restorations of old examples, and copies made for the Brussels
archaeological museum. He carried out windows for various churches in
Brussels, Bruges, Amsterdam and elsewhere, and his work was commissioned
also for France, Italy and England. At the Paris Exhibition of 1855 he
won the only medal given for glass-painting.

CAPSICUM, a genus of plants, the fruits of which are used as peppers
(see CAYENNE PEPPER for botany, &c.). As used in medicine, the ripe
fruit of the _capsicum mimum_ (or _frutescans_), containing the active
principle capsaicin (capsacutin), first isolated by Thresh in 1876, has
remarkable physiological properties. Applied locally to the skin or
mucous membrane, it causes redness and later vesication. Internally in
small doses it stimulates gastric secretions and causes dilatation of
the vessels; but if used internally in excess for a long period it will
cause subacute gastritis. In single doses in excess it causes renal
irritation and inflammation and strangury. The administration of
capsicum is valuable in atony of the stomach due to chronic alcoholism,
its hot stimulating effect not only increasing the appetite but to a
certain degr