of June 1798.

The main authority for Casanova's life is his _Memoires_ (12 vols.,
Leipzig, 1826-1838; later ed. in 8 vols., Paris, 1885), which were
written at Dux. They are clever, well written and, above all, cynical,
and interesting as a trustworthy picture of the morals and manners of
the times. Among Casanova's other works may be mentioned _Confutazione
della storia del governo Veneto d'Amelot de la Houssaye_ (Amsterdam,
1769), an attempt to ingratiate himself with the Venetian government;
and the _Histoire_ of his escape from prison (Leipzig, 1788; reprinted
Bordeaux, 1884; Eng. trans, by P. Villars, 1892). Ottmann's _Jacob
Casanova_ (Stuttgart, 1900) contains a bibliography.

CASAS GRANDES ("Great Houses"), a small village of Mexico, in the state
of Chihuahua, situated on the Casas Grandes or San Miguel river, about
35 m. S. of Llanos and 150 m. N.W. of the city of Chihuahua. The railway
from Ciudad Juarez to Terrazas passes through the town. It is celebrated
for the ruins of early aboriginal buildings still extant, about half a
mile from its present site. They are built of "sun-dried blocks of mud
and gravel, about 22 in. thick, and of irregular length, generally about
3 ft., probably formed and dried _in situ._" The walls are in some
places about 5 ft. thick, and they seem to have been plastered both
inside and outside. The principal edifice extends 800 ft. from north to
south, and 250 ft. east to west; its general outline is rectangular, and
it appears to have consisted of three separate piles united by galleries
or lines of lower buildings. The exact plan of the whole is obscure, but
the apartments evidently varied in size from mere closets to extensive
courts. The walls still stand at many of the angles with a height of
from 40 to 50 ft., and indicate an original elevation of several
storeys, perhaps six or seven. At a distance of about 450 ft. from the
main building are the substructions of a smaller edifice, consisting of
a series of rooms ranged round a square court, so that there are seven
to each side besides a larger apartment at each corner. The age of these
buildings is unknown, as they were already in ruins at the time of the
Spanish Conquest. The whole district of Casas Grandes is further studded
with artificial mounds, from which are excavated from time to time large
numbers of stone axes, metates or corn-grinders, and earthern vessels of
various kinds. These last have a