30, and was employed to negotiate the
marriage of the duke of Normandy, the future king John the Good of
France, with the daughter of the king of Bohemia. In 1335 he became
bishop of Nevers, in 1339 of Arras, and contributed to bring the county
of Flanders into the kingdom of France. Created cardinal priest of St
Susanna in 1344, he was employed by the pope on important missions,
notably to negotiate peace or an armistice between France and England.
Having become bishop of Ostia in 1353, he was sent next year to Charles
IV. of Germany, and induced him to come to Italy to be crowned emperor
at Rome, 1355. In 1356 he went to France to try to arrange a peace with
England, and died in 1361 at the priory of Montaud near Avignon.

See A. Mazon, _Essai historique sur l'etat du Vivarais pendant la
guerre de cent ans_ (Paris, 1889), with references there.

COLOMBO, the capital and principal seaport of Ceylon, situated on the
west coast of the island. Pop. (1901) 154,691. Colombo stands to the
south of the mouth of the river Kelani. The coast-land is here generally
low-lying, but broken by slight eminences. The great artificial harbour,
enclosed by breakwaters, is bounded on the south by a slight promontory.
This is occupied by the quarter of the city known as the Fort, from the
former existence of a fort founded by the Portuguese and reconstructed
by the Dutch. In 1869 the governor, Sir Hercules Robinson (afterwards
Lord Rosmead), obtained authority to demolish the fortifications, which
were obsolete for purposes of defence, and required 6000 men to man them
properly. The levelling of the walls and filling up of the moat made the
Fort much more accessible and healthy, and since then it has become the
business centre of the city. Here are situated Queen's House, the
governor's residence; the secretariat or government offices, and other
government buildings, such as the fine general post office and the
customs house. Here also are most of the principal hotels, which have a
peculiarly high reputation among European hotels in the East. A lofty
tower serves as the principal lighthouse of the port and also as a
clock-tower. On the south side of the Fort are extensive barracks. The
old banqueting-hall of the Dutch governors is used as the garrison
church of St Peter.

To the north-east of the Fort, skirting the harbour, are the Pettah, the
principal native quarter, the districts of Kotahena and Mutwall, and
suburbs beyond.