GUARDI, FRANCESCO (1712-1793), Venetian painter, was a pupil of Canaletto, and followed his style so closely that his pictures are very frequently attributed to his more celebrated master. Nevertheless, the diversity, when once perceived, is sufficiently marked--Canaletto being more firm, solid, distinct, well-grounded, and on the whole the higher master, while Guardi is noticeable for spirited touch, sparkling colour and picturesquely sketched figures--in these respects being fully equal to Canaletto. Guardi sometimes coloured Canaletto's designs. He had extraordinary facility, three or four days being enough for producing an entire work. The number of his performances is large in proportion to this facility and to the love of gain which characterized him. Many of his works are to be found in England and seven in the Louvre. GUARDIAN, one who guards or defends another, a protector. The O. Fr. _guarden_, _garden_, mod. _gardien_, from _guarder_, _garder_, is of Teutonic origin, from the base _war-_, to protect, cf. O.H. Ger. _warten_, and Eng. "ward"; thus "guardian" and "warden" are etymologically identical, as are "guard" and "ward"; cf. the use of the correlatives "guardian" and "ward," i.e. a minor, or person incapable of managing his affairs, under the protection or in the custody of a guardian. For the position of guardians of the poor see POOR LAW, and for the legal relations between a guardian and his ward see INFANT, MARRIAGE and ROMAN LAW. GUARDS, AND HOUSEHOLD TROOPS. The word _guard_ is an adaptation of the Fr. _guarde_, mod. _garde_, O. Ger. _ward_; see GUARDIAN. The practice of maintaining bodyguards is of great antiquity, and may indeed be considered the beginning of organized armies. Thus there is often no clear distinction between the inner ring of personal defenders and the select corps of trained combatants who are at the chief's entire disposal. Famous examples of corps that fell under one or both these headings are the "Immortals" of Xerxes, the Mamelukes, Janissaries, the _Huscarles_ of the Anglo-Saxon kings, and the Russian Strelitz (_Stryeltsi_). In modern times the distinction of function is better marked, and the fighting men who are more intimately connected with the sovereign than the bulk of the army can be classified as to duties into "Household Troops," who are in a sense personal retainers, and "Guards," who are a _corps d'elite_ of combatants. But the dividing line is not so clear as to any given body of troops. Thus the British Household Cavalry is part of the combatant army as well as the sovereign's escort.