The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 1

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Title: The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 1 - A to Amide
Author: Various
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 1 - A to Amide" ***

Transcriber's note: In the pronunciation guides [=e] signifies "e macron";
[)e] "e breve"; [a:] "a with diaeresis below"; [.a] "a with dot above";
[n.] "n with dot below"; and so forth.

THE
NEW GRESHAM
ENCYCLOPEDIA

VOLUME I

* * * * *

_EDITORS_

ANGELO S. RAPPOPORT, Ph.D., B.ès L.

R. F. PATTERSON, M.A.(Cantab.), D.Litt.(Glasgow).

JOHN DOUGALL, M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S.E.; Gold Medallist
of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

* * * * *

ALGAE

[Illustration: 1, The very broad Ulva. 2, Cornucopia. 3, Caulerpa
Cactoides. 4, Acetabularia Mediterranea. 5, Bladder-locks. 6, Long-stalked
Laminaria. 7, Sugared Laminaria. 8, Bladder Wrack. 9, Serrated Wrack. 10,
Gulf-weed. 11, Thalassiophyllum Clathrus. 12, Forked Dictyota. 13,
Medicinal Coralline. 14, Corallina Rubens. 15, Delesseria Lyalii. 16,
Nitophyllum Crosieri. 17, Membrane-leaved Phyllophira. 18, Peacock's-tail
Padina. 19, Banded Taonia.]

THE

NEW . GRESHAM

ENCYCLOPEDIA

VOLUME . I

[Illustration]

_The_ GRESHAM . PUBLISHING
COMPANY . _Limited_

66 CHANDOS STREET . STRAND
LONDON W.C.2.
1922

* * * * *

LIST OF PLATES AND MAPS

* * * * *

VOLUME I

* * * * *

PLATES

Page
ALGÆ (_Coloured_) _Frontispiece_

AEROPLANE 44

AIR-SHIPS 72

ANATOMY (Human Skeleton and Muscles) 152

ARCHÆOLOGY (Antiquities of the Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages) 220

ARCHITECTURE 224

BACTERIA 348

MAPS IN COLOUR

AFRICA 52

ASIA 274

AUSTRALIA 316

* * * * *

CONTRIBUTORS TO VOLUME I

ADOLPHE ABRAHAMS, O.B.E., B.A., M.D., late Major, R.A.M.C.

GEORGE E. ALLAN, D.Sc., Lecturer in Electricity, University of Glasgow.

R. E. ANDERSON, Maker of Artificial Limbs.

F. L. ATTENBOROUGH, B.A., Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

F. F. P. BISACRE, O.B.E., M.A., B.Sc., A.M.I.C.E.

R. M. BROWN, B.Sc.

GRENVILLE A. J. COLE, F.R.S., Professor of Geology, Royal College of
Science, Ireland.

ARTHUR O. COOKE, Author of _A Book of Dovecotes_.

J. R. AINSWORTH DAVIS, M.A., F.C.P., former Principal of The Royal
Agricultural College, Cirencester.

MONTAGU DRUMMOND, M.A., Lecturer in Botany, University of Glasgow.

CHARLES J. FFOULKES, B.Litt., Major, R.M.; Curator of the Armouries, Tower
of London.

F. MORLEY FLETCHER, Director, College of Art, Edinburgh.

Rev. WILLIAM FULTON, D.D., B.Sc., Professor of Systematic Theology,
University of Aberdeen.

L. HADEN GUEST, M.C., M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P.

R. N. HAYGARTH, B.A., B.Sc., Queens' College, Cambridge.

W. A. HISLOP, M.B., late Captain, R.A.M.C.

DONALD A. MACKENZIE, Folklorist; Author of _Egyptian Myth and Legend_, &c.

MAGNUS MACLEAN, M.A., D.Sc., M.Inst.E.E., M.Inst.C.E., Editor of _Modern
Electrical Engineering_, &c.

W. LOCKWOOD MARSH, O.B.E., M.A., A.F.R.Ae.S., Lieutenant-Colonel; late
R.A.F.; Secretary of the Royal Aeronautical Society.

D. J. MACKELLOR, B.Sc., Lecturer in Electrical Engineering, Royal Technical
College, Glasgow.

R. F. PATTERSON, M.A., D.Litt., formerly Charles Oldham Shakespeare
Scholar, Cambridge University.

ANGELO S. RAPPOPORT, Ph.D., B. ès L.

JAMES RITCHIE, M.A., M.D., Professor of Bacteriology, University of
Edinburgh.

W. D. ROBIESON, M.A.

JOHN J. ROSS, M.A., F.R.A.S.

GEORGE SMITH, Procurator Fiscal.

G. ELLIOT SMITH, M.A., M.D., F.R.S., Professor of Anatomy, University of
London.

C. S. STOOKS, D.S.O., Major, Indian Army; Instructor in Military
Organization, Royal Military College, Sandhurst.

M. M. J. SUTHERLAND, D.Sc., F.I.C.

THOMAS G. WRIGHT, LL.B., Professor of Mercantile Law, University of
Glasgow.

* * * * *

KEY TO PRONUNCIATION

* * * * *

The method of marking pronunciations here employed is either (1) by marking
the syllable on which the accent falls, or (2) by a simple system of
transliteration, to which the following is the Key:--

VOWELS

[=a], as in f_a_te, or in b_a_re.

ä, as in _a_lms, Fr. _â_me, Ger. B_a_hn = á of Indian names.

[.a], the same sound short or medium, as in Fr. b_a_l, Ger. M_a_nn.

a, as in f_a_t.

[a:], as in f_a_ll.

_a_, obscure, as in rur_a_l, similar to _u_ in b_u_t, [.e] in h_e_r: common
in Indian names.

[=e], as in m_e_ = _i_ in mach_i_ne.

e, as in m_e_t.

[.e], as in h_e_r.

[=i], as in p_i_ne, or as _ei_ in Ger. m_ei_n.

i, as in p_i_n, also used for the short sound corresponding to [=e], as in
French and Italian words.

_eu_, a long sound as in Fr. j_eû_ne = Ger. long _ö_, as in S_ö_hne,
G_ö_the (Goethe).

eu, corresponding sound short or medium, as in Fr. p_eu_ = Ger. _ö_ short.

[=o], as in n_o_te, m_oa_n.

o, as in n_o_t, s_o_ft--that is, short or medium.

ö, as in m_o_ve, tw_o_.

[=u] as in t_u_be.

u, as in t_u_b: similar to [.e] and also to a.

[u:], as in b_u_ll.

ü, as in Sc. ab_u_ne = Fr. _û_ as in d_û_, Ger. _ü_ long as in gr_ü_n,
B_ü_hne.

[.u], the corresponding short or medium sound, as in Fr. b_u_t, Ger.
M_ü_ller.

oi, as in _oi_l.

ou, as in p_ou_nd; or as _au_ in Ger. H_au_s.

CONSONANTS

Of the _consonants_, B, D, F, H, J, K, L, M, N, NG, P, SH, T, V, Z, always
have their common English sounds, when used to transliterate foreign words.
The letter C is not used by itself in re-writing for pronunciation, S or K
being used instead. The only consonantal symbols, therefore, that require
explanation are the following:--

ch is always as in ri_ch_.

_d_, nearly as _th_ in _th_is = Sp. _d_ in Ma_d_ri_d_, &c.

g is always hard, as in _g_o.

_h_ represents the guttural in Scotch lo_ch_, Ger. na_ch_, also other
similar gutturals.

[n.], Fr. nasal _n_ as in bo_n_.

r represents both English _r_, and _r_ in foreign words, which is generally
much more strongly trilled.

s, always as in _s_o.

th, as _th_ in _th_in.

_th_, as _th_ in _th_is.

w always consonantal, as in _w_e.

x = ks, which are used instead.

y always consonantal, as in _y_ea (Fr. _ligne_ would be re-written
l[=e]ny).

zh, as _s_ in plea_s_ure = Fr. _j_.

* * * * *

THE NEW
GRESHAM ENCYCLOPEDIA

VOLUME I

A, the first letter in many alphabets. The sound most commonly belonging to
it, as in French, Italian, German, &c., is that which is heard in _father_,
pronounced short or long. In English the letter is made to represent at
least seven sounds, as in _father_, _mat_, _mate_, _mare_, _many_, _ball_,
_what_, besides being used in such digraphs as _ea_ in _heat_, _oa_ in
_boat_.--A, in music, is the sixth note in the diatonic scale of C, and
stands when in perfect tune to the latter note in the ratio of 3/5 to 1.
The second string of the violin is tuned to this note.

A 1, a symbol attached to vessels of the highest class in Lloyd's register
of shipping, A referring to the hull of the vessel, 1 to the rigging and
whole equipment. When A 1 has a number prefixed, as 100 A 1, 90 A 1, the
number denotes that the vessel is built according to certain
specifications. See _Shipbuilding_.

AA (ä) (Old Ger. _aha_, water; allied to Lat. _aqua_, water), the name of a
great many streams of Central and Northern Europe.

AACHEN (ä'_h_[.e]n). See _Aix-la-Chapelle_.

AALAND ISLANDS. See _Aland Islands_.

AALBORG ([=o]l'bor_h_: 'eel-town'), a seaport of Denmark, in Jutland, on
the Liimfiord, see of a bishop, with iron-founding, distilling, fishing,
&c. Pop. 33,449.

AALEN (ä'l[.e]n), a town of Germany in Württemberg, which manufactures
woollen and linen goods. It has important iron-works and tanneries. Pop.
11,347.

AALESUND ([=o]'le-s[u:]nd), seaport and fishing centre on the west coast of
Norway, on a small island. Pop. 13,858.

AALI PASHA. See _Ali Pasha_.

AALST (älst). See _Alost_.

AAR, or AARE (är), the name of several European rivers, of which the chief
(180 miles long) is a tributary of the Rhine, next to it and the Rhone the
longest river in Switzerland. It has its origin from the Upper and Lower
Glaciers of the Aar, in the Bernese Alps, traverses Lakes Brienz and Thun,
and receives the Saane, Reuss, Limmat, &c. On it are Interlaken, Thun,
Bern, Solothurn, and Aarau, to which, as to the canton of Aargau, it gives
its name.

AARAU (ä'rou), a well-built and finely-situated town in Switzerland,
capital of canton Aargau, on the River Aar. Pop. 9536.

AARD-VARK (ärd'v[.a]rk: earth-pig), Dutch name for a burrowing
insect-eating animal of South Africa, _Orycter[)o]pus capensis_, order
Edentata, resembling the ant-eater and armadillo. It is called also
_ground-hog_ and _Cape pig_.

[Illustration: Aardwolf (_Prot[)e]les crist[=a]tus_)]

AARDWOLF (ärd'w[u:]lf: earth-wolf) (_Prot[)e]les crist[=a]tus_), a
burrowing carnivore of S. and E. Africa, allied to the hyenas and civets.
It feeds on carrion, small mammals, insects, &c.

AARE. See _Aar_.

AARGAU (är'gou), or ARGOVIE ([.a]r-go-v[=e]), a northern canton of
Switzerland; area, 543 sq. miles; hilly, well wooded, abundantly watered by
the Aar and its tributaries, and well cultivated. Pop. 236,860. German is
almost universally spoken. Capital, Aarau.

AARHUUS ([=o]r'hös), a seaport and ancient town of Denmark, on the east
coast of Jutland. It has a fine Gothic cathedral, a good harbour, and
manufactures woollens, gloves, hats, tobacco, &c. Pop. 65,858.

AARON ([=a]'ron), of the tribe of Levi, brother of Moses. At Sinai, when
the people became impatient at the long-continued absence of Moses, he
complied with their request by making a golden calf, and thus became
involved with them in the guilt of gross idolatry. The office of
high-priest, which he first filled, was made hereditary in his family. He
died at Mount Hor at the age of 123, and was succeeded by his son Eleazer.

AARON'S BEARD. See _Saint John's Wort_ and _Toad-flax_.

AARON'S ROD. See _Golden-rod_ and _Mullein_.

AASEN ([=o]'zen), Ivar Andreas, Norwegian poet and philologist, was born in
1813 and died in 1896. He wrote miscellaneous poems and a drama, but he is
chiefly known as the originator of the patriotic movement known as the
_Maulstroev_. He endeavoured to give Norway a literary language distinct
from the Danish, which has long served as the literary and official
language of the country. This he attempted to do mainly by the help of the
native dialects, which he studied thoroughly, setting forth their grammar
in special works and embodying their vocabulary in his _Norsk Ordbog med
Dansk Forklaring_ (Norse Dictionary, with Explanations in Danish, 1873),
supplemented by the _Norsk Ordbog_ of Hans Ross (1890-2). Numbers of poems,
tales, &c., have been written in the language, of which Aasen was in a
sense the inventor.

AASVÄR ([=o]s'v[=a]r), a group of small islands off the Norwegian coast,
under the Arctic Circle, where there is an important herring-fishery.

AB, the eleventh month of the Jewish civil, the fifth of the
ecclesiastical, year--part of July and part of August.

ABABDA, or ABABDEH (abab'de) (GEBADEI of Pliny), a nomadic African race
inhabiting Upper Egypt and part of Nubia, between the Nile and the Red Sea,
dark-brown in colour. Their language is Arabic and they are Mahommedans in
religion. They number about 40,000.

AB'ACA, or MANILLA HEMP, a strong fibre yielded by the leaf-stalks of a
kind of plantain (_Musa text[)i]lis_) which grows in the Indian
Archipelago, and is cultivated in the Philippines. The outer fibres of the
leaf-stalks are made into strong and durable ropes, the inner into various
fine fabrics.

AB'ACO, GREAT and LITTLE, two islands of the Bahamas group, (q.v.). Pop.
about 4000.

[Illustration: Abacus for Calculations]

[Illustration: Norman Capital--_a_, the Abacus]

AB'ACUS, a Latin term applied to an apparatus used in elementary schools
for facilitating arithmetical operations, consisting of a number of
parallel cords or wires, upon which balls or beads are strung, the
uppermost wire being appropriated to units, the next to tens, &c.--The
uppermost member or division of the capital of a column, immediately under
the architrave.

ABAD'DON (Heb. destruction), the name given in _Rev._ ix. 11 as that of the
angel of the bottomless pit, otherwise called _Apollyon_. In _Job_, xxvi,
6, it designates the underworld, or Hades.

ABAKANSK', a fortified place in Siberia, near the Upper Yenisei, founded by
Peter the Great in 1707.

ABALONE (ab-a-l[=o]'ne), a name in California for a species of ear-shell
(Haliotis) that furnishes mother-of-pearl.

AB'ANA, or AMANAH, one of the two rivers of Damascus mentioned in the Bible
(2 _Kings_, v, 12). See _Barada_.

ABAN'DONMENT, a term of marine insurance, employed to designate the case
where the party insured gives up his whole interest in the property to the
insurer, and claims as for a total loss.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: G. G. Phillimore,
_Marine Insurance_, in _Encyclopedia of the Laws of England_, vol. viii;
C. R. Tyser, _Law relating to Losses under a Policy of Marine Insurance_.

AB'ANO, a village of North Italy, 5 miles from Padua, famous for its
mud-baths and warm springs. It is supposed to be the birthplace of Livy.

ABA'RIM, a mountain range of Eastern Palestine, including Nebo, on which
Moses died.

ABATEMENT, in law, has various significations. _Abatement of nuisances_ is
the remedy allowed to a person injured by a public or private nuisance, of
destroying or removing it himself. A _plea in abatement_ is brought forward
by a defendant when he wishes to defeat or quash a particular action on
some formal or technical ground. Abatement, in mercantile law, is an
allowance, deduction, or discount made for prompt payment or other reason.

AB'ATTIS, or ABATIS, in field engineering, a mass of trees cut down and
laid with their branches turned towards the enemy in such a way as to form
a defence for troops stationed behind them.

ABATTOIR (ab-at-wär'). See _Slaughter-house_.

ABAUZIT, Firmin ([.a]-b[=o]-z[=e]), a French Protestant scholar, was born
in 1679 and died in 1767. He lived chiefly at Geneva, but visited England
and was highly esteemed by Newton, who considered him not unfit to be judge
between himself and Leibnitz in the quarrel as to the invention of the
integral and differential calculus. Collections of his works were published
at Geneva (1770) and at London (1773).

ABBA, a Syrian word equivalent to 'father', which, being applied in the
Eastern Church to monks, superiors of monks, and other ecclesiastics, gave
rise to the word _abbot_. In the Syriac and Coptic Churches it is given to
bishops.

ABBADIE ([.a]b-[.a]-d[=e]), Antoine Thomson and Arnaud Michel d', French
travellers, born in Dublin in 1810 and 1815 respectively. They lived for
years in Abyssinia, and published valuable works on that country: Arnaud,
_Douze Ans dans la Haute-Éthiopie_; Antoine, _Géodésie de la
Haute-Éthiopie_, &c. Arnaud died in 1893, Antoine in 1897.

ABBAS I, the _Great_, Shah or King of Persia, born in 1557, ascended the
throne in 1586, at a time when the Turks and hordes of Usbek Tartars had
made great encroachments on the country. Having defeated the Usbeks,
recovered the provinces overrun by them, and reduced a great part of
Afghanistan, he made war against the Turks, and in 1605 defeated them near
Bussorah, thus getting back all the lost provinces. He extended his rule
beyond Persia proper, and at his death in 1628 his dominions stretched from
the Tigris to the Indus. He is looked upon by the Persians as their
greatest sovereign.

ABBAS II, HILMI, ex-Khedive of Egypt, was born in 1874. He is the eldest
son of Tewfik Pasha, and succeeded his father in 1892. During his reign he
adopted an unfriendly attitude towards England, but he failed in his
attempt to form an anti-British Cabinet in 1893. On 19th Dec., 1914, the
British Government issued a proclamation deposing Abbas Hilmi and
conferring the title of Sultan of Egypt upon Hussein Kamil, eldest living
prince of the family of Mohammed Ali-Hussein Kamil, who died in 1917. See
_Egypt_.

ABBAS MIRZA, a Persian prince and soldier, was the son of the shah Feth
Ali; born 1783, died 1833; he greatly distinguished himself in the wars
against Russia.

ABBASIDS, or ABBASSIDES (ab'as-sidz), the name of the second Arabian
dynasty which supplanted the Ommiades. It traced its descent from Abbas
(born 566, died 652), uncle of Mahomet, and gave thirty-seven caliphs to
Bagdad between 749 and 1258. Harun al Rashid was a member of this dynasty.
See _Caliphs_.

ABBATE ([.a]b-bä't[=a]), the Italian term corresponding to _Abbé_.

ABBÉ ([.a]b-[=a]), a French word for abbot, or for anyone regularly wearing
the clerical dress. Before the Revolution, all who had studied theology,
either with the view of becoming ordained clergymen or merely of obtaining
some ecclesiastical appointment or benefice, were generally so designated.
Marked out by their special dress, a short, violet-coloured robe, they were
seen everywhere--at court, the ball, the theatre, and in private families,
where they acted sometimes as tutors and sometimes as confidential
advisers. Others, again, adopted the literary profession or became teachers
in the higher educational establishments.

ABBE, Cleveland, American meteorologist and astronomer, born at New York in
1838, and educated at Harvard. He held various positions in connection with
observatories and other institutions in America, and was for some time
chief meteorologist in the United States Weather Bureau. He wrote much on
meteorology and kindred subjects. He died in 1916. His works include: _The
Mechanics of the Earth's Atmosphere_; _Relations between Climates and
Crops_, &c.

ABBEOKU'TA, a town of West Africa, in the Lagos Province of S. Nigeria, on
the Ogun River, and on the railway from Lagos to N. Nigeria, 45 miles north
of Lagos, consists chiefly of mud houses, surrounded by a mud wall. Pop.
50,000 to 100,000.

AB'BESS. See _Abbey_ and _Abbot_.

ABBEVILLE (ancient ABBATIS VILLA), a town of France, department of the
Somme, on the River Somme (which is here tidal), 108 miles N.N.W. of Paris.
The town is first mentioned in the ninth century, when it belonged to the
Abbey of St. Riquier. It has a Gothic church (St. Vulfran) (begun in the
fifteenth century and completed in the seventeenth), which has a
magnificent west front in the Flamboyant style. It manufactures woollens,
sail-cloth, chemicals, &c. Pop. 20,373.

AB'BEY, a monastery or religious community of the highest class, governed
by an _abbot_, assisted generally by a prior, sub-prior, and other
subordinate functionaries; or, in the case of a female community,
superintended by an _abbess_. An abbey invariably included a church. A
priory differed from an abbey only in being scarcely so extensive an
establishment, and was governed by a _prior_. In the English conventual
cathedral establishments, as Canterbury, Norwich, Ely, &c., the archbishops
or bishops held the abbot's place, the immediate governor of the monastery
being called a prior. Some priories sprang originally from the more
important abbeys, and remained under the jurisdiction of the abbots; but
subsequently any real distinction between abbeys and priories was lost. The
greater abbeys formed most complete and extensive establishments, including
not only the church and other buildings devoted to the monastic life and
its daily requirements, such as the refectory or eating-room, the
dormitories or sleeping-rooms, the room for social intercourse, the school
for novices, the scribes' cells, library, &c., but also workshops,
storehouses, mills, cattle and poultry sheds, dwellings for artisans,
labourers, and other servants, infirmary, guest-house, &c. Among the most
famous abbeys on the continent of Europe were those of Cluny, Clairvaux,
and Citeaux in France; St. Galle in Switzerland, and Fulda in Germany; the
most noteworthy English abbeys were those of Westminster, St. Mary's of
York, Fountains, Kirkstall, Tintern, Rievaulx, Netley; and of Scotland,
Melrose, Paisley, and Arbroath.

[Illustration: Plan of Fountains Abbey]

ABBIATEGRASSO ([.a]b-b[=e]-ä't[=a]-gr[.a]s-s[=o]), a town in the north of
Italy, 15 miles W.S.W. of Milan. Pop. 13,148.

AB'BOT (from the Syriac _abba_, father), the head of an abbey (see
_Abbey_), the lady of similar rank being called _abbess_ (_abbatissa_). An
abbess, however, was not, like the abbot, allowed to exercise the spiritual
functions of the priesthood, such as preaching, confessing, &c.; nor did
abbesses ever succeed in freeing themselves from the control of their
diocesan bishop. In the early age of monastic institutions (_circ._ A.D.
300-600) the monks were not priests, but simply laymen who retired from the
world to live in common, and the abbot was also a layman. In the course of
time the abbots were usually ordained, and when an abbey was directly
attached to a cathedral the bishop was also the abbot, but the functions
devolving on the head of a monastery were, in this case, performed by a
prior. At first the abbeys were more remarkable for their numbers than for
their magnitude, but afterwards many of them were large and richly endowed,
and the heads of such establishments became personages of no small
influence and power, more especially after the abbots succeeded (by the
eleventh century) in freeing themselves from the jurisdiction of the bishop
of their diocese. Hence families of the highest rank might be seen eagerly
striving to obtain the titles of abbot and abbess for their members. The
great object was to obtain control over the revenues of the abbeys, and for
this purpose recourse was had to the device of holding them under a kind of
trust, or, as it was called, _in commendam_. According to the original
idea, the abbot _in commendam_, or 'commendator', was merely a temporary
trustee, who drew the whole or part of the revenues during a vacancy, and
was bound to apply them to specific purposes; but ultimately the
commendator or lay abbot in many instances held the appointment for life,
and was allowed to apply the whole or a large portion of the revenues to
his own private use. Many of the abbots vied with the bishops and nobility
in rank and dignity. In England abbots long sat in the House of Lords,
ranking next after barons. Seventeen of them were present on 28th June,
1539, the last occasion when the abbots as a body sat in Parliament. The
Reformation introduced vast changes, not only in Protestant countries,
where abbeys and all other monastic establishments were generally
suppressed, but even in countries which still continued Roman Catholic;
many sovereigns, whilst displaying their zeal for the Roman Catholic Church
by persecuting its opponents, did not scruple to imitate them in the
confiscation of Church property.

ABBOT (or Lord) OF MISRULE, the personage who took the chief part in the
Christmas revelries of the English populace before the Reformation. In
Scotland he was called Abbot of Unreason.

ABBOT, George, Archbishop of Canterbury, was born in 1562 and died in 1633.
He studied at Oxford, assisted in the translation of the Bible, was made
Bishop of Lichfield in 1609, next year Bishop of London, and in 1611
Archbishop of Canterbury. He retained the favour of James I to the last,
but after the accession of Charles I his influence at Court was superseded
by that of Laud. He published several works, chiefly theological, and _A
Brief Description of the Whole World_ (1599).

AB'BOTSFORD, the country-seat of Sir Walter Scott, on the south bank of the
Tweed, in Roxburghshire, 3 miles from Melrose, in the midst of picturesque
scenery, forming an extensive and irregular pile in the Scottish baronial
style of architecture.--_Abbotsford Club_, a club established at Edinburgh
for printing works throwing light on matters of history or literature
connected with the writings of Sir Walter Scott; issued 34 vols. 1835-64.

AB'BOTT, Rev. Edwin, D.D., prolific writer on theological, educational, and
other subjects, born in London, 1838, was educated at the City of London
School and St. John's College, Cambridge, where he highly distinguished
himself; he was head master of the City of London School from 1865 to 1889,
when he retired. His _Shakespearian Grammar_ (1870) is one of his best
contributions to English philology. Among his theological and kindred
writings are: _Through Nature to Christ_; _Bible Lessons_; _Cambridge
Sermons_; _Oxford Sermons_; the elaborate article _Gospels_ in the
_Encyclopædia Britannica_ (9th edition); _From Letter to Spirit_. Other
works are: _Philochristus_ and _Onesimus_, both romances on the history of
the Early Christian Church; _Francis Bacon, an Account of his Life and
Works_; _St. Thomas of Canterbury, his Death and Miracles_; _The Anglican
Career of Cardinal Newman_ (a very depreciatory estimate); _Flatland, a
Romance of Many Dimensions_. He also wrote: _Johannine Grammar_ (1906),
_The Message of the Son of Man_ (1909), _The Fourfold Gospel_ (1913-7).

AB'BOTT, Jacob, a popular American writer, especially of entertaining and
instructive books for the young. He was born in 1803 and died in 1879. For
a time he was a teacher and later a clergyman.

AB'BOTT, Thomas Kingsmill, D.D., biblical scholar and writer on philosophic
and other subjects, born at Dublin, 1829, died 18th Dec., 1913. He studied
with distinction at Trinity College, and was successively professor in
Dublin University of moral philosophy, 1867-72; of biblical Greek, 1875-88;
and of Hebrew, 1879-1900; he was at one time librarian of the College. He
has written _Sight and Touch_, directed against the Berkeleian theory of
vision; _Elements of Logic_; _Essays, chiefly on the Original Texts of the
Old and New Testaments_; _Notes on some Epistles of St. Paul_; _Elementary
Theory of the Tides_; _Translation of Kant's Theory of Ethics_; _Kant's
Introduction to Logic_; _Commentary on Ephesians and Colossians_; &c.

ABBREVIA'TIONS, devices used in writing and printing to save time and
space, consisting usually of curtailments effected in words and syllables
by the removal of some letters, often of the whole of the letters except
the first. The following is a list of the more important:--

A.B., _artium baccalaureus_, bachelor of arts (more commonly B.A.);
also, able-bodied seaman. Abp., archbishop. A.C., _ante Christum_,
before Christ. Ac., acre. Acc., A/c, or Acct., account. A.D., _anno
Domini_, in the year of our Lord: used also as if equivalent to 'after
Christ', or 'of the Christian era'. A.D.C., aide-de-camp. Ad lib., _ad
libitum_, at pleasure. A.D.O.S., assistant director of ordnance stores.
A.D.V.S., assistant director of veterinary services. Æt. or Ætat.
_ætatis_ (_anno_), in the year of his age. A.G., attorney-general,
adjutant-general. A.H., _anno Hegiræ_, in the year of the Hegira.
A.I.A., associate of the Institute of Actuaries. A.Inst.C.E., associate
of the Institution of Civil Engineers. A.I.Mech.E., associate of the
Institute of Mechanical Engineers. A.M., _ante meridiem_, forenoon;
_anno mundi_, in the year of the world; _artium magister_, master of
arts. A.M.I.E.E., associate member of the Institute of Electrical
Engineers. A.M.I.Mech.E., associate member of the Institute of
Mechanical Engineers. A.M.Inst.C.E., associate member of the
Institution of Civil Engineers. Anon., anonymous. A.P.D., army pay
department. A.R.A., associate of Royal Academy (London). A.R.A.M.,
associate of the Royal Academy of Music. A.R.C.O., associate of the
Royal College of Organists. A.R.I.B.A., associate of the Royal
Institute of British Architects. A.R.S.A., associate of the Royal
Scottish Academy. A.U.C., _ab urbe condita_, from the building of Rome
(753 B.C.). A.V., authorized version; artillery volunteers.

B.A., bachelor of arts. Bart, or Bt., baronet. B.C., before Christ.
B.C.L., bachelor of civil law. B.D., bachelor of divinity. B.L.,
bachelor of law. B.M., bachelor of medicine. Bp., bishop. B.S.,
bachelor of surgery. B.Sc., bachelor of science. B.V.M., blessed Virgin
Mary.

C., cap., or chap., chapter. C.A., chartered accountant. Cantab.,
_Cantabrigiensis_, of Cambridge. Cantuar., _Cantuariensis_, of
Canterbury. C.B., companion of the Bath. C.B.E., commander of the
British Empire. C.C., Catholic curate; county councillor. C.D.V.,
_carte de visite_. C.E., civil engineer. Cf., _confer_, compare. Ch.B.,
_chirurgiæ baccalaureus_, bachelor of surgery. C.I., order of the Crown
of India. C.I.E., companion of the order of the Indian Empire. C.J.,
chief justice. C.M., _chirurgiæ magister_, master in surgery; common
metre. C.M.G., companion of the order of St. Michael and St. George.
C.M.S., Church Missionary Society. Co., company or county. C.O.D., cash
on delivery. Col., colonel, colony. Coll., college. Cr., creditor.
C.S., civil service; clerk to the signet. C.S.I., companion of the Star
of India. C.T.C., Cyclists' Touring Club. Curt., current, the present
month. C.V.O., commander of the Royal Victorian Order. Cwt.,
hundredweight.

d., _denarius_, penny or pence. D.C.L., doctor of civil law. D.C.M.,
Distinguished Conduct Medal. D.D., doctor of divinity. Del.,
_delineavit_, drew it. D.F., defender of the faith. D.G., _Dei gratia_,
by the grace of God. D.L., deputy lieutenant. D.Lit., D.Litt., _doctor
litterarum_, doctor of letters or literature. Do., _ditto_, the same.
D.O.M., _Deo Optimo Maximo_, to God, the best and greatest. D.P.H.,
diploma in public health. D.Phil., doctor of philosophy. Dr., doctor,
also debtor. D.Sc., doctor of science. D.S.O., Distinguished Service
Order. D.V., _Deo volente_, God willing. Dwt., pennyweight.

E., east. Ebor., _Eboracensis_, of York. E.C., Established Church.
E.C.U., English Church Union. E.E., errors excepted. e.g., _exempli
gratia_, for example. Etc. or &c., _et cetera_, and the rest.

F. or Fahr., Fahrenheit's thermometer. F.A., Football Association.
F.A.S., fellow of the Antiquarian Society. F.B.A., fellow of the
British Academy. F.C., Free Church. F.C.P., fellow of the College of
Preceptors. F.C.S., fellow of the Chemical Society. F.D., _fidei
defensor_, defender of the faith. Fec., _fecit_, he made or did it.
F.F.A., fellow of the Faculty of Actuaries. F.F.P.S., fellow of the
Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons (Glasgow). F.G.S., fellow of the
Geological Society. F.H.S., fellow of the Horticultural Society.
F.I.A., fellow of the Institute of Actuaries. Fl., flourished. F.L.S.,
fellow of the Linnæan Society. F.M., field-marshal. F.O.B., free on
board (goods delivered). F.R.A.S., fellow of the Royal Astronomical
Society. F.R.C.O., fellow of the Royal College of Organists. F.R.C.P.,
fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. F.R.C.S., fellow of the
Royal College of Surgeons. F.R.G.S., fellow of the Royal Geographical
Society. F.R.I.B.A., fellow of the Royal Institute of British
Architects. F.R.S., fellow of the Royal Society. F.R.S.E., fellow of
the Royal Society of Edinburgh. F.S.A., fellow of the Society of Arts
or Antiquaries. F.S.S., fellow of the Statistical Society. Ft., foot or
feet. F.Z.S., fellow of the Zoological Society.

Gal., gallon. G.B.E., (knight) grand cross of the British Empire.
G.C.B., (knight) grand cross of the Bath. G.C.I.E., (knight) grand
commander of the Indian Empire. G.C.M.G., (knight) grand cross of St.
Michael and St. George. G.C.S.I., (knight) grand commander of the Star
of India. G.C.V.O., (knight) grand cross of the Royal Victorian Order.
G.R., Georgius Rex, King George. G.R.I., Georgius Rex Imperator;
George, King and Emperor. G.P.O., general post office.

H.B.M., his or her Britannic majesty. H.E.I.C.S., honourable East India
Company's service. Hhd., hogshead. H.I.H., his or her imperial
highness. H.M.I.S., his majesty's inspector of schools. H.M.S., his or
her majesty's ship. Hon., honourable. H.Q., Head-quarters. H.R.H., his
(her) royal highness. H.S.H., his (her) serene highness.

Ib. or Ibid., _ib[=i]dem_, in the same place. Id., _idem_, the same.
i.e., _id est_, that is. +I.H.S., _Jesus hominum salvator_, Jesus the
Saviour of men: originally it was [Greek: IÊS], the first three letters
of [Greek: IÊSOUS] (_I[=e]sous_), Greek for _Jesus_. Incog.,
_incognito_, unknown. Inf., _infra_, below. I.N.R.I., _Iesus Nazarenus
Rex Iudæorum_, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. Inst., instant, or
of this month; institute. Inv., _invenit_, designed, invented.
I.O.G.T., Independent Order of Good Templars. I.O.U., I owe you.
I.S.O., Imperial Service Order.

J.P., justice of the peace. Jr., junior. J.U.D., _juris utriusque
doctor_, doctor both of the civil and the canon law.

K.B.E., knight commander of the British Empire. K.C., king's counsel.
K.C.B., knight commander of the Bath. K.C.M.G., knight commander of St.
Michael and St. George. K.C.I.E., knight commander of the Indian
Empire. K.C.S.I., knight commander of the Star of India. K.C.V.O.,
knight commander of the Royal Victorian Order. K.G., knight of the
Garter. K.P., knight of St. Patrick. K.T., knight of the Thistle. Kt.
or Knt., knight.

L., l, or £, pounds sterling. L.A., literate in arts. L.A.S.,
licentiate of the Apothecaries' Society. Lat., latitude; Latin. Lb. or
lb., _libra_, a pound (weight). L.C., _loco citato_, in the place
cited. L.C.J., lord chief-justice. L.C.P., licentiate of the College of
Preceptors. Ldp., lordship. L.D.S., licentiate in dental surgery.
Litt.D., _litterarum doctor_, doctor of literature. L.L., Low Latin.
L.L.A., lady literate in arts. LL.B., _legum baccalaureus_, bachelor of
laws. LL.D., _legum doctor_, doctor of laws (that is, the civil and the
canon law). LL.M., _legum magister_, master of laws. Lon. or long.,
longitude. Loq., _loquitur_, speaks. L.R.C.P., licentiate Royal College
of Physicians (with E., of Edinburgh). L.R.C.S., licentiate Royal
College of Surgeons (with E., of Edinburgh). L.R.C.V.S., licentiate of
the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. L.S., _locus sigilli_, the
place of the seal (on documents). L.S.A., licentiate of the Society of
Apothecaries. L.S.D., _libræ, solidi, denarii_, pounds, shillings,
pence.

M.A., master of arts. M.B., _medicinæ baccalaureus_, bachelor of
medicine. M.B.E., member of the British Empire. M.D., _medicinæ
doctor_, doctor of medicine. M.E., mining engineer. Messrs., messieurs,
gentlemen. M.F.H., master of fox-hounds. M.Inst.C.E., member of the
Institution of Civil Engineers. M.I.E.E., member of the Institute of
Electrical Engineers. M.I.M.E., member of the Institute of Mining and
Mechanical Engineers. M.I.Mech.E., member of the Institution of
Mechanical Engineers. Mlle., mademoiselle. Mme., madame. M.P., member
of Parliament. M.R.C.S., member of the Royal College of Surgeons.
M.R.C.V.S., member of the Royal College of Veterinary surgeons.
M.R.I.A., member of the Royal Irish Academy. MS., manuscript; MSS.,
manuscripts. Mus.D., _musicæ doctor_, doctor of music. M.V.O., member
of the Royal Victorian Order.

N., north. N.B., _nota bene_, take notice; also North Britain, New
Brunswick. N.D., no date. Nem. con., _nemine contradicente_, no one
contradicting, unanimously. No., _numero_, number. N.P., notary public.
N.S., new style, Nova Scotia. N.S.W., New South Wales. N.T., New
Testament. N.Y., New York. N.Z., New Zealand.

Ob., _obiit_, died. O.B.E., officer of the British Empire. Obs.,
obsolete. Obt., obedient. O.C., officer commanding. O.H.M.S., on his
majesty's service. O.M., Order of Merit. O.P., out of print. Op. cit.,
_opere citato_, in the work quoted. O.S., old style. O.T., Old
Testament. Oxon., _Oxoniensis_, of Oxford. Oz., ounce or ounces.

P., page; pp., pages. Par., paragraph. P.C., privy-councillor. P.E.,
Protestant Episcopal. Per cent., _per centum_, by the hundred. Ph.D.,
_philosophiæ doctor_, doctor of philosophy. Pinx., _pinxit_, painted
(it). P.M., _post meridiem_, afternoon. P.O., post office. P.O.O., post
office order. P.P., parish priest. P.P.C., _pour prendre congé_, to
take leave. Prox., _proximo (mense)_, next month. P.R.A., president of
the Royal Academy. P.R.S.A., president of the Royal Scottish Academy.
P.S., postscript. P.T.O., please turn over (the leaf).

Q., question, queen. Q.E.D., _quod erat demonstrandum_, which was to be
demonstrated. Q.E.F., _quod erat faciendum_, which was to be done.
Q.M., quarter-master. Q.M.G., quarter-master-general. Qu., query.
Quant. suff., _quantum sufficit_, as much as is needful. Q.V., _quod
vide_, which see.

R., _rex, regina_, king, queen. R.A., royal academician; Royal
Artillery. R.A.M., Royal Academy of Music. R.A.M.C., Royal Army Medical
Corps. R.A.O.D., Royal Army Ordnance Department. R.A.S.C., Royal Army
Service Corps. R.C., Roman Catholic. R.C.P., Royal College of
Physicians. R.C.S., Royal College of Surgeons. R.E., Royal Engineers.
Rev., reverend. R.I.P., _requiescat in pace_, may he rest in peace.
R.M., Royal Marines. R.N., Royal Navy. R.S.A., royal Scottish
academician. R.S.E., Royal Society of Edinburgh. R.S.L., Royal Society
of Literature. R.S.V.P., _répondez s'il vous plaît_, reply, if you
please. Rt. Hon., right honourable. Rt. Wpful., right worshipful. R.V.,
revised version.

S., south. S. or St., saint. Sc., _scilicet_, namely, viz. S.J.,
Society of Jesus (Jesuits). S.P.C.A., Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals. S.P.C.C., Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Children. S.P.C.K., Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. S.P.G.,
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. S.P.Q.R., _senatus
populusque Romanus_, the senate and people of Rome. S.S.C., solicitor
before the supreme courts. S.S.M., Society of the Sacred Mission. St.,
saint, street. S.T.D., _sacræ theologiæ doctor_, doctor of divinity.
S.T.P., _sacræ theologiæ professor_, an old-fashioned equivalent of
D.D.

T.C.D., Trinity College, Dublin. T.O., telegraph office.

U.F.C., United Free Church. U.K., United Kingdom. Ult., _ultimo_, last
(month). U.P., United Presbyterian. U.S., United States. U.S.A., United
States of America. U.S.N., United States Navy.

V., _vide_, see; also _versus_, against. V.C., Victoria Cross. Viz.,
_videlicet_, to wit, or namely. V.P., vice-president. V.S., veterinary
surgeon. W., west. W.I., West Indies. W.L.F., Women's Liberal
Federation. W.O., War Office. W.S.P.U., Women's Social and Political
Union. W.S. writer to the signet (Scotland).

Xmas, Christmas.

Y.M.C.A., Young Men's Christian Association. Y.W.C.A., Young Women's
Christian Association.

In LL.D., LL.B., &c., the letter is doubled, according to the Roman
system, to show that the abbreviation represents a plural noun.

ABD-EL-KA'DER, an Arab chief, born in Algeria, 1807; died at Damascus,
1883. He was the chief opponent of the French in their conquest of Algeria,
but at last surrendered to them in 1847, and was imprisoned till set at
liberty by Napoleon III in 1852. He afterwards resided chiefly at Damascus,
but made various journeys, and visited the Paris exhibition of 1867. He
wrote a religious philosophical work in Arabic which has been translated
into French.

ABDE'RA, an ancient Greek city on the Thracian coast, the birthplace of
Democritus (the laughing philosopher), Anaxarchus, and Protagoras. Its
inhabitants were proverbial for stupidity.

ABDICA'TION, properly the voluntary, but sometimes also the involuntary,
resignation of an office or dignity, and more especially that of sovereign
power. Abdication does not necessarily require the execution of a formal
deed, but may be presumed from facts and circumstances, as in the case of
the English Revolution in 1688, when, after long debate, it was resolved by
both Houses of Parliament that King James II, having endeavoured to subvert
the constitution of the kingdom, had "_abdicated_ the government, and that
the throne is thereby vacant". Yet the sovereign of Great Britain cannot
constitutionally abdicate without the consent of both Houses of Parliament.
The principal abdications in recent years were: Tsar Nicholas II of Russia,
14th March, 1917; King Constantine of Greece, 11th June, 1917; King
Ferdinand of Bulgaria, 6th Oct., 1918; Wilhelm II of Germany, 9th Nov.,
1918; Karl I of Austria, 13th Nov., 1918; and Marie Adelaide, Grand-Duchess
of Luxembourg, 15th Jan., 1919.

[Illustration: Abdominal Regions.]

ABDO'MEN, in man, the belly, or lower cavity of the trunk, separated from
the upper cavity or thorax by the diaphragm or midriff, and bounded below
by the bones of the pelvis. It contains the viscera belonging to the
digestive and urinary systems. What are called the _abdominal regions_ will
be understood from the accompanying cut, in which 1 is the _epigastric_
region, 2 the _umbilical_, 3 the _pubic_, 4 4 the right and left
_hypochondriac_, 5 5 the right and left _lumbar_, 6 6 right and left
_iliac_. The name is given to the corresponding portion of the body in
other animals. In insects it comprises the whole body behind the thorax,
usually consisting of a series of rings. See _Alimentary Canal_.

ABDOM'INAL FISHES (Abdomin[=a]les), a group of the soft-finned (or
malacopterous) fishes, having fins upon the abdomen, and comprising the
herring, pike, salmon, carp, &c.

ABDUC'TION, a legal term, generally applied to denote the offence of
carrying off a female either forcibly or by fraudulent representations.
Such a delinquency in regard to a man is styled _kidnapping_. There are
various descriptions of abduction recognized in criminal jurisprudence,
such as that of a child, of an heiress, or of a wife.

AB'DUL-AZ'IZ, Sultan of Turkey, was born in Feb., 1830, and succeeded his
brother Abdul-Mejid, in June, 1861. He concluded treaties of commerce with
France and England, both of which countries he visited in 1867. Deposed in
May, 1876, he committed suicide, or more probably was assassinated, in June
of the same year. He was succeeded by his son Murad V. See next article.

AB'DUL-HAM'ID, Sultan of Turkey, younger son of Abdul-Mejid, born 22nd
Sept., 1842, succeeded his brother Murad V, who was deposed on proof of his
insanity in 1876. At that time Turkey, which was at war with Serbia, was
compelled to agree to an armistice at the demand of Russia. The persecution
and oppression of the Christian population of Bulgaria had roused
remonstrances from other European countries, and a congress met at
Constantinople to consider a constitution which the Porte had proclaimed.
The conference was a failure, and in April, 1877, war was declared by
Russia. During the sanguinary struggle which ensued the Turks fought with
great bravery, but they had ultimately to sue for peace. A treaty was
signed at San Stefano in Feb., 1878, but its provisions were modified by a
congress of the Great Powers which met at Berlin. The island of Cyprus was
ceded to Britain. Serbia, Rumania, and Montenegro were freed from Turkish
suzerainty altogether; Bulgaria was left in nominal dependence; whilst
Bosnia and Herzegovina were placed under Austrian administration. In 1881
Thessaly was transferred to Greece; in 1885 E. Roumelia became united to
Bulgaria. Ever since the treaty of Berlin, Abdul Hamid saw in Germany the
future friend of Turkey. He therefore entrusted Germans with the
reorganization of his army and finances. Subsequently there were massacres
of Christians, a war with Greece (1897), and troubles in Crete and
Macedonia. In April, 1909, the Sultan was deposed, and his brother, Rashid
Effendi, proclaimed sultan as Mohammed V. Abdul Hamid died in captivity
10th Feb., 1918.

ABD-UL-LAT'IF, an Arab writer and physician, was born at Bagdad in 1161 and
died there in 1231. He was patronized by the celebrated Saladin, and
published an excellent description of Egypt, which is still extant. It was
translated into English by White, Oxford, 1800.

AB'DUL-MEJ'ID KHAN, Sultan of Turkey, born in 1823, succeeded his father,
Mahmud II, 1st July, 1839. At the time of his accession Mehemet, Pasha of
Egypt, had risen a second time against the Turkish yoke; his son Ibrahim
had inflicted a severe defeat on the Turks at Nizib (24th June, 1839), and
was advancing on Constantinople. But the intervention of the leading
European Powers checked the designs of Mehemet Ali, and saved the Turkish
empire. Abdul-Mejid was desirous of carrying out reforms, but most of them
were not enforced, or caused bloody insurrections where attempts were made
to carry them out. Owing to disputes between the Latin and Greek Churches
regarding the rights of precedence and possession of the 'holy places' in
Palestine, and to demands made by the Tsar virtually implying the right of
protectorate over the Christian subjects of the Sultan, war broke out
between Turkey and Russia in 1853. In the following year the Porte effected
an alliance with France and England (hence the Crimean War), and later on
with Sardinia. (See _Crimean War_.) Abdul-Mejid died 25th June, 1861, and
was succeeded by his brother, Abdul-Aziz.

ABECEDA'RIAN, a term formed from the first four letters of the alphabet,
and applied to the followers of Storch, a German Anabaptist (1522), because
they rejected all worldly knowledge, even the learning of the alphabet.

À BECKET, Thomas. See _Becket_.

À BECK'ETT, Gilbert Abbott, English writer, born near London in 1811. He
studied for the bar, and became one of the original staff of _Punch_, was
long a leader-writer to the _Times_ and the _Morning Herald_, and
contributed articles to the _Illustrated London News_. He wrote _Comic
History of England_, _Comic History of Rome_, and _Comic Blackstone_, and
between fifty and sixty plays. In 1849 he was appointed a metropolitan
police magistrate, which office he retained till his death in 1856.

ABEL, properly _Hebel_ (Heb. breath, vapour, vanity), the second son of
Adam. He was a shepherd, and was slain by his brother Cain from jealousy
because his sacrifice was accepted while Cain's was rejected. Several of
the fathers, among others St. Chrysostom and Augustine, regard him as a
type of the new, regenerate man.

ABEL, Sir Frederick Augustus, chemist, was born in London, 1827; died 1902.
Having adopted chemistry as a profession, he studied under Hofmann at the
Royal College of Chemistry, became professor of chemistry at the Royal
Military Academy in 1851, and was chemist to the War Department and
chemical adviser to the Government from 1854 to 1888. He did useful work in
connection with the chemistry of explosives (especially gun-cotton), the
flash-point of petroleum, &c.; was joint-inventor of cordite along with
Dewar; and was also an authority on the manufacture of steel. He was
honoured with a baronetcy, and was also a K.C.B. and a K.C.V.O. He wrote
works on gunpowder, gun-cotton, and explosives generally, and on
electricity as applied to explosive purposes. His works include: _The
Modern History of Gunpowder_; _Electricity applied to Explosive Purposes_,
&c.

ABÉLARD (ab'e-lärd), or ABAILARD, Peter, a celebrated scholastic teacher,
born near Nantes, in Brittany, in 1079. He made extraordinary progress with
his studies, and, ultimately eclipsing his teachers, he opened a school of
scholastic philosophy near Paris, which attracted crowds of students from
the neighbouring city. His success in the fiery debates which were then the
fashion in the schools made him many enemies, among whom was Guillaume de
Champeaux, his former teacher, chief of the cathedral school of Notre-Dame,
and the most advanced of the Realists. Abélard succeeded his adversary in
this school (in 1113), and under him were trained many men who afterwards
rose to eminence, among them being the future Pope Celestin II, Peter
Lombard, and Arnold of Brescia. While he was at the height of his
popularity, and in his fortieth year, he fell violently in love with
Heloise--then eighteen years of age--niece of Fulbert, a canon of Paris.
They obtained a home in Fulbert's house under the pretext of teaching
Heloise philosophy, and their intercourse at length became apparent.
Abélard, who had retired to Brittany, was followed by Heloise, who there
gave birth to a son, named Astrolabius. A private marriage took place, and
Heloise returned to her uncle's house, but, refusing to make public her
marriage (as likely to spoil Abélard's career), she was subjected to severe
treatment at the hands of her uncle. To save her from this Abélard carried
her off and placed her in a convent at Argenteuil, a proceeding which so
incensed Fulbert that he hired ruffians who broke into Abélard's chamber
and subjected him to a shameful mutilation. Abélard, filled with grief and
shame, became a monk in the abbey of St. Denis, and Heloise took the veil.
When time had somewhat moderated his grief, he resumed his lectures; but
trouble after trouble overtook him. His theological writings were condemned
by the Council of Soissons, and he retired to an oratory called the
Paraclete, subsequently becoming head of the abbey of St. Gildas-de-Rhuys
in Brittany. For a short time he again lectured at Paris (1136), but his
doctrines once more brought persecution on him, and St. Bernard of
Clairvaux, the most powerful man in the Church in those days, had him
condemned by the Council of Sens and afterwards by the Pope. Abélard did
not long survive this, dying at St. Marcel, near Chalon-sur-Saône, 21st
April, 1142. Heloise, who had become abbess of the Paraclete, had him
buried there, where she herself was afterwards laid by his side. Their
ashes were removed to Paris in 1800, and in 1817 they were finally
deposited beneath a mausoleum in the cemetery of Père la Chaise. According
to John of Salisbury, Abélard is credited with the invention of a new
philosophical system, midway between Realism and Nominalism. In Ethics,
Abélard seems to have attached importance to the psychological element in
the action, rather than to the action itself. "The intention of sinning",
he maintained, "is worse than the actual physical sin." A complete edition
of his works was published by Cousin (2 vols., Paris, 1849-59), and the
letters of Abélard and Heloise have been often published in the original
and in translations. Pope's _Eloisa to Abélard_ is founded on them.
Abélard's autobiography, entitled _Story of my Calamities_, is still
extant.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: Charles de Rémusat, _Abélard_ (2 vols.); J. McCabe,
_Life of Abélard_.

ABELE (a-b[=e]l'), a name of the white poplar.

A'BELITE, or Abe'lian, a member of a religious sect in Africa which arose
in the fourth century after Christ. They married, but lived in continence,
after the manner, as they maintained, of Abel, and attempted to keep up the
sect by adopting the children of others.

ABELMOSCHUS (-mos'kus), a genus of tropical plants of the mallow family.
_A. esculentus_, cultivated in India, Algeria, &c., yields edible pods and
also a valuable fibre. The fruit, called _okro_ or _ochro_, is used in
soups.

ABENCERRAGES (ab-en-ser'a-jez), a powerful and distinguished Moorish family
of Granada, the chief members of which, thirty-six in number, are said to
have been massacred in the Alhambra by the king Abu-Hassan (latter half of
the fifteenth century) on account of the attachment of his sister to one of
them. There is a room in the Alhambra which is still called 'the hall of
the Abencerrages'. The legend has furnished the subject of many poems both
Arabic and Spanish (_Las Guerras Civiles de Granada_, by Gines Perez de
Hita), and formed the basis for Chateaubriand's _Aventures du dernier des
Abencérages_.

AB'EN EZRA (Ibn Ezra), a celebrated Jewish rabbi, born at Toledo about
1093, travelled in pursuit of knowledge in England, France, Italy, and
Greece, and is supposed to have died in Rhodes about 1167. He is best known
as a commentator on Scripture.

ABENSBERG (ä'b[.e]ns-ber_h_), a village of Bavaria, in the Danube valley,
below Ingolstadt, celebrated for Napoleon's victory over the Austrians,
20th April, 1809.

ABEOKU'TA. See _Abbeokuta_.

AB'ER, a prefix in Celtic geographical proper names signifying the mouth or
entrance of a river into the sea, or into another stream. It is used
chiefly in Wales and Scotland, having the same meaning as _inver_.

ABERA'VON, a municipal borough of Wales in Glamorganshire, near the mouth
of the Avon in Swansea Bay, embracing Aberavon proper and its harbour Port
Talbot. There are collieries, ironworks, copper-works, &c. Since 1918
Aberavon gives its name to a parliamentary division of the county. Pop.
(municipal borough) (1921), 15,370.

ABERBROTH'OCK. See _Arbroath_.

ABERCARN', an urban district or town of England, Monmouthshire, 10½ miles
north-west of Newport, with collieries, ironworks, &c. Pop. (1921), 20,123.

AB'ERCROMBIE, John, M.D., a Scottish writer on medical and moral science,
and an eminent physician, born in Aberdeen, 1781, died at Edinburgh in
1844. He graduated at the university of Edinburgh in 1803, and subsequently
pursued his studies in London, returning to Edinburgh in 1804, where he
acquired an extensive practice as a physician. Apart from medical
treatises, he is known from his _Inquiries concerning the Intellectual
Powers_ and his _Philosophy of the Moral Feelings_.

AB'ERCROMBIE, Patrick, a Scottish historical writer and antiquary, born at
Forfar, 1656; date of death uncertain. Educated at St. Andrews and abroad,
he took the degree of M.D., and practised as a physician in Edinburgh. In
1685 he was appointed physician to James II. His chief work is _Martial
Atchievements of the Scots Nation_, 2 vols. folio, 1711-6.

AB'ERCROMBY, Sir Ralph, a British general, born in 1734 in
Clackmannanshire, Scotland. He entered the army in 1756 as cornet in the
3rd Dragoon Guards; and he gradually passed through all the ranks of the
service until he became a major-general in 1787. He served as
lieutenant-general in Flanders, 1793-5, and was then appointed
commander-in-chief of the forces in the West Indies, where he captured the
islands of Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and Trinidad, with the
settlements of Demerara and Essequibo. On his return in 1798 he was
appointed commander-in-chief in Ireland; and he afterwards held a
corresponding command in Scotland. His next and concluding service was in
the expedition to Egypt, of which he was commander-in-chief. He landed,
after a severe fight, at Aboukir, 8th March, 1801; and on the 21st of the
same month the battle of Alexandria was fought, in which Sir Ralph was
mortally wounded.

ABERDARE (-d[=a]r'), a town of South Wales, in Glamorganshire, pleasantly
situated at the junction of the Cynon and Dare, 4 miles south-west of
Merthyr-Tydfil, with extensive coal and iron mines in the vicinity. It
belongs to the parliamentary borough of Merthyr-Tydfil. Pop. (1921),
55,010.

ABERDEEN', a university city and royal, municipal, and parliamentary burgh
of Scotland, capital of the county of same name, mainly on the north bank
of the Dee at its entrance into the North Sea, and between this river and
the Don, with a part also on the south bank of the Dee, while the municipal
limits include the adjacent Woodside. The site is in places somewhat hilly.
Aberdeen is one of the oldest towns in Scotland, and was constituted a
royal burgh by William the Lion in 1179. The streets are generally spacious
and regular, the houses built of fine grayish-white granite. There are many
handsome public buildings, as the County and Municipal Buildings, Marischal
College, Grammar School, Infirmary, Arts School, Art Gallery, Music Hall
Buildings, public library, &c. The finest street, Union Street, made in
1800, is carried over a valley by a granite bridge having an arch of 132
feet span. The small portion of the city called Old Aberdeen, long a
separate town, consists mainly of a single street, stretching northwards to
the River Don. Its chief buildings are King's College and St. Machar's
Cathedral. Noteworthy features of the college buildings are the crown-tower
and the chapel, the latter containing some very fine old carved woodwork.
The cathedral, now used as a parish church, was commenced about 1357. There
are several bridges over the Dee and Don. Over the latter is a fine old
bridge (Brig o' Balgownie) of one arch, erected according to some accounts
by Robert Bruce. There are docks 34 acres in area, an extensive tidal
harbour and basin, and a graving-dock. The shipping trade is extensive. The
industries embrace wool, jute, linen, combs, soap, preserved provisions,
chemicals, paper, shipbuilding, engineering, and especially the cutting and
polishing of granite. The fishing industry is of great importance. The city
of Aberdeen returns two members to Parliament. Pop. 158,969.--_The County
of Aberdeen_ forms the north-eastern portion of Scotland, and is bounded on
the east and north by the North Sea. Area, 1,261,521 acres. It is divided
into six districts (Mar, Formartine, Buchan, Alford, Garioch, and
Strathbogie), and is generally hilly, there being in the south-west some of
the highest mountains in Scotland, as Ben Macdhui (4295 feet), Cairntoul
(4245), Cairngorm (4090), Lochnagar, &c. Its most valuable mineral is
granite, large quantities of which are exported. The principal rivers are
the Dee and the Don, both of which enter the sea at the town of Aberdeen.
Cereals (except wheat) and other crops succeed well, and the number of
acres under cultivation is nearly double that of any other Scottish county.
Great numbers of cattle are fattened and sent to London and the south. On
the banks of the upper Dee is situated Balmoral, a favourite residence of
Queen Victoria. Aberdeenshire and Kincardine unite in sending three members
to Parliament. Pop. 300,980.--_Aberdeen University_, as now constituted,
derives its origin from two different foundations; one, the University and
King's College (Old Aberdeen), founded in 1494 by Bishop Elphinstone (who
was bishop of Aberdeen from 1483-1514) under the authority of a papal bull
obtained at the instance of James IV; the other, Marischal College and
University (New Aberdeen), founded in 1593 by Geo. Keith, Earl Marischal,
by a charter ratified by act of Parliament. The two foundations existed as
separate universities, both having the right of conferring degrees, till
1860, when they were united and incorporated into one university, the
University of Aberdeen. Holding the funds of both colleges and dating as
from the foundation of King's College in 1494, the university has about 300
bursaries or exhibitions, mostly open to public competition, and a number
of money prizes and scholarships. The classes for arts and divinity are
held in King's College, and those for law and medicine in Marischal
College. There is a full teaching staff in the faculties of arts, medicine,
science, and divinity, and two professors in that of law. There are in all
25 professors and some 900 matriculated students. The constitution of the
university is similar to that of Edinburgh and the other Scottish
universities. The library contains over 80,000 volumes. The university
unites with those of Edinburgh, Glasgow, and St. Andrews in sending three
members to Parliament.

ABERDEEN', George Hamilton Gordon, Earl of, British statesman, born 28th
Jan., 1784, died 14th Dec., 1860. He began his diplomatic life in 1801 as
attaché to Lord Cornwallis's embassy to France, which resulted in the
signing of the treaty of Amiens. In 1806 he entered Parliament as a
Scottish representative peer, and in 1813 was entrusted with a successful
mission to Austria for the purpose of inducing the emperor to join the
coalition of sovereigns against Bonaparte. In 1814 he was created a British
peer, and in 1828 he became foreign secretary in the Duke of Wellington's
administration. During the short premiership of Sir Robert Peel in 1834-5
he acted as colonial secretary, and when Sir Robert again became premier in
1841 he took office as Secretary for Foreign Affairs. He was a warm
supporter of Catholic Emancipation, and endeavoured, though without result,
to bring in a compromise bill in 1846, during the struggle which divided
the Established Church of Scotland. Quitting office with his chief in 1846,
he came, on the death of Peel in 1850, to be regarded as the leader of the
Conservative free-trade party. On the Derby ministry failing to maintain
its place, Lord Aberdeen returned to office in the end of 1852 as head of a
coalition ministry. The principal event which marked his administration was
the Crimean war; but the bad management of this irritated the country, and
the ministry resigned in 1855. This event marks the close of Lord
Aberdeen's public career. From his travels and his acquaintance with Greece
and its antiquities he was called by Byron "the travelled thane, Athenian
Aberdeen".

AB'ERDEVINE. See _Siskin_.

ABERGAVEN'NY (sometimes pron. ab-[.e]r-ge'ni, the Roman GOBANNIUM), a
municipal borough and market town of England, in Monmouthshire, situated
amid delightful scenery in the beautiful valley of the Usk. It manufactures
woollens and shoes, and has considerable trade. Pop. (1921), 9252.

ABERNETHY (ab-[.e]r-neth'i), John, an eminent English surgeon, of somewhat
eccentric habits, born in 1764 in London, a pupil of the celebrated John
Hunter. In 1787 he became assistant surgeon at St. Bartholomew's Hospital,
and shortly after lecturer on anatomy and surgery. In 1815 he was elected
principal surgeon, and under his auspices the hospital attained a celebrity
which it had never before enjoyed. He published _Surgical Observations_;
_The Constitutional Origin and Treatment of Local Diseases_; and
_Lectures_, explanatory of Hunter's opinions of the vital processes;
besides smaller essays. He died in 1831.

ABERRA'TION, in astronomy, the difference between the true and the observed
position of a heavenly body, the result of the combined effect of the
motion of light and the motion of the eye of the observer caused by the
annual or diurnal motion of the earth; or of the motion of light and that
of the body from which the light proceeds. When the auxiliary cause is the
annual revolution of the earth round the sun it is called _annual
aberration_, in consequence of which a fixed star may appear as much as
20.4" from its true position; when the auxiliary cause is the diurnal
rotation of the earth on its axis it is called _diurnal aberration_, which
amounts at the greatest to 0.3"; and when the auxiliary cause is the motion
of the body from which the light proceeds it is called _planetary
aberration_.

ABERSYCHAN (ab-[.e]r-sik'an), a town of Monmouthshire, England, about 10
miles north of Newport, in a rich coal-mining district. Pop. (1921),
27,089.

ABERTIL'LERY, an urban district or town of England, Monmouthshire, 16 miles
north-west of Newport, with tinplate works, coal-mines, &c. Since 1918 it
gives its name to a parliamentary division of the county. Pop. (1921),
38,805.

ABERYSTWITH (ab-[.e]r-ist'with), a seaport and fashionable watering-place
of Wales, county of Cardigan, on Cardigan Bay. The town is well built, and
the surrounding country is picturesque. There is here a University College
of the University of Wales, occupying a handsome Gothic building. Pop.
(1921), 12,289.

ABEYANCE, in law, a legal term meaning that the title to dignity, office,
or real or personal property is not vested in anyone, but is suspended
until the right thereto is determined by the appearance of the true owner.
Under English law, when a nobleman dies leaving no male issue, the title,
if descendible to his heirs general, as in the case of baronies by writ, is
said to be in abeyance, until the king, by his prerogative, terminates the
abeyance in favour of one of the co-heiresses. See _Property_.

ABGAR, title of the Syrian rulers at Edessa. The fourteenth prince of the
dynasty, a contemporary of the Roman emperor Tiberius (A.D. 14-37), is said
to have written a letter to our Saviour.

ABHOR'RERS, in English history a name given to the Court party in 1679-80,
who, on petitions being presented to Charles II praying him to summon
Parliament, signed counter-petitions expressing _abhorrence_ for those who
were thus attempting to encroach on the royal prerogative.

A'BIB, the first month of the Jewish ecclesiastical year, and the seventh
of the civil year, corresponding to the latter part of March and the first
of April. Also called _Nisan_.

ABIES (ab'i-es), a genus of trees. See _Fir_ and _Spruce_.

AB'INGDON, a town of England, in Berkshire, 50 miles north-west of London,
on the right bank of the Thames. It was an important place in Anglo-Saxon
times, and Offa, King of Mercia, had a palace in it. Formerly a
parliamentary borough, it now gives name to a parliamentary division of
Berks. Pop. (1921), 7167.

ABIOGENESIS (a-b[=i]-o-jen'e-sis), the doctrine or hypothesis that living
matter may be produced from non-living; spontaneous generation. See
_Generation (Spontaneous)_.

ABJURA'TION, Oath of, an oath which by an English Act passed in 1701 had to
be taken by all holders of public offices, clergymen, teachers, members of
the universities, and lawyers, abjuring and renouncing the exiled Stuarts:
superseded in 1858 by a more comprehensive oath, declaring allegiance to
the present royal family.--_Abjuration of the realm_ was an oath that a
person guilty of felony, who had taken sanctuary, might take. This oath
permitted him to go into exile, and not return on pain of death, unless by
the king's permission. In ecclesiastical language the term is applied to
renunciation of heresy.

ABKHA'SIA, a Russian district, at the western extremity and south of the
Caucasus, between the mountains and the Black Sea. The Abkhasians form a
race distinguished from their neighbours in various respects. At one time
they were Christians, but afterwards adopted Mahommedanism. Many of them
migrated into Turkish territory in 1864 and 1878.

ABLAINCOURT. See _Somme_.

AB'LATIVE, a term applied to a case of nouns, adjectives, and pronouns in
Latin, Sanskrit, and some other languages; originally given to the case in
Latin because separation from (_ab_, from _latus_, taken) was considered to
be one of the chief ideas expressed by the case.

ABNAKI, a Confederacy of Algonquin tribes, formerly occupying what is now
Maine and Southern New Brunswick. Their territory, to which they removed
after 1724, is in Canada on the St. John River and at St. Francis.

ÅBO ([=o]'b[=o]), a town and port in Finland, the see of an archbishop, and
the capital of Finland till 1819, when it was supplanted by Helsingfors.
Pop. (1919), 56,168.

ABOLITIONISTS. See _Slavery_.

ABOMA'SUM, or ABOMA'SUS, the fourth stomach of ruminating animals, next the
_omasum_ or third stomach.

ABO'MEY, or AGBO'MEY, the capital of the French territory and former
kingdom of Dahomey, in West Africa, in a fertile plain, near the coast of
Guinea. Pop. 11,000.

ABORIGINES (ab-o-rij'i-n[=e]z), the name given in general to the earliest
known inhabitants of a country, those who are supposed to have inhabited
the land from the beginning (Lat. _ab origine_). (The singular of the word
is _Aboriginal_, or sometimes _Aboriginé_.)

ABORTION, in medicine, the expulsion of the foetus before it is capable of
independent existence. This may take place at any period of pregnancy
before the completion of the twenty-eighth week. A child born after that
time is said to be _premature_. Abortion may be the result of the general
debility or ill-health of the mother, of a plethoric constitution, of
special affections of the uterus, of severe exertions, sudden shocks, &c.
Various medicinal substances, generally violent emmenagogues or drastic
medicines, are believed to have the effect of provoking abortion, and are
sometimes resorted to for this purpose. Attempts to procure abortion are
punishable by law in all civilized states. When the death of the woman
ensues as a result of the attempt, the crime is murder.--The term is
applied in botany to denote the suppression by non-development of one or
more of the parts of a flower, which consists normally of four
whorls--namely, calyx, corolla, stamens, and pistil.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: Sir
W. O. Russell, _Crimes and Misdemeanours_ (3 vols.); A. S. Taylor,
_Principles and Practice of Medical Jurisprudence_.

ABOUKIR ([.a]-bö-k[=e]r'; ancient ZEPHYRION, near ruins of Can[=o]pus), a
small village on the Egyptian coast, 10 miles east of Alexandria. In
Aboukir Bay took place the naval battle in which Nelson annihilated a
French fleet on the night of 1st and 2nd Aug., 1798, thus totally
destroying the naval power of France in the Mediterranean. Near this place,
on 25th July, 1799, Napoleon defeated the Turks under Mustapha; and on 8th
March, 1801, Sir Ralph Abercromby effected the landing of a British army
against the French.

ABOU-SIMBEL. See _Ipsambul_.

ABOUT ([.a]-bö), Edmond François Valentin, a French novelist and
miscellaneous writer, born 14th Feb., 1828, died 17th Jan., 1885. He was
educated at the Lycée Charlemagne and the École Normale, Paris; and was
sent at Government expense to the French school at Athens; on his return to
Paris, he devoted himself to literature. Principal novels: _Tolla_, _Le Roi
des Montagnes_, _Germaine_, _Madelon_, _Le Fellah_, _La Vieille Roche_,
_L'Infâme_, _Les Mariages de Province_, _Le Roman d'un Brave Homme_
(against Zola and the naturalist school), &c.; miscellaneous works: _La
Grèce Contemporaine_, _La Question Romaine_, _La Prusse en 1860_, _Rome
Contemporaine_, &c. In 1884 he was elected a member of the Academy. About
wrote in a bright, humorous, and interesting style, and his novels have
been very popular.

ABRACADAB'RA, a word of Eastern origin used in incantations. When written
on paper so as to form a triangle, the first line containing the word in
full, the one below it omitting the last letter, and so on each time until
only one letter remained, and worn as an amulet, it was supposed to be an
antidote against certain diseases.

A B R A C A D A B R A
A B R A C A D A B R
A B R A C A D A B
A B R A C A D A
A B R A C A D
A B R A C A
A B R A C
A B R A
A B R
A B
A

A'BRAHAM, originally ABRAM (Assyrian _Aburamu_, lofty father), the greatest
of the Hebrew patriarchs, was born at Ur in Chaldea in 2153 B.C. according
to Hales, in 1996 B.C. according to Ussher, while Bunsen says he lived 2850
B.C. He migrated, accompanied by his wife Sarah and his nephew Lot, to
Canaan, where he led a nomadic life, which extended over 175 years. His two
sons, Isaac and Ishmael, were the progenitors of the Jews and Arabs
respectively.

ABRAHAM, Heights or Plains of. See _Quebec_.

ABRAHAM À SANTA CLARA, a German pulpit orator, whose real name was Ulrich
Megerle, born in 1644. As a preacher he acquired so great a reputation
that, in 1669, he was appointed court-preacher in Vienna, where he died in
1709. His sermons are full of homely, grotesque humour, often of coarse
wit, and impartial severity towards all classes of society. His principal
work and masterpiece is _Judas, the Archknave_ (4 vols.), 1686-95.

ABRAHAMITES, 1, A sect of Syrian Deists of the ninth century, whose
doctrines were allied to those of the Paulicians.--2, A sect of Bohemian
Deists of the late eighteenth century, who professed to be followers of
John Huss and claimed that they followed the religion of Abraham before his
circumcision. Believing in one God, they rejected the Trinity, and accepted
nothing of the Bible except the Ten Commandments and the Lord's Prayer.
Refusing to join either the Jewish or Christian folds, they were excluded
from the edict of toleration promulgated by the Emperor Joseph II, and
expelled to Transylvania in 1783. Some were martyred, others became Roman
Catholics.

ABRAHAM-MEN, originally a set of vagabonds who had been discharged from
Bethlehem Hospital, London; but as many assumed, without right, the badge
worn by them, the term came to signify an impostor who travelled about the
country seeking alms, under the pretence of lunacy.

ABRAM, a town (urban district) of England, Lancashire, 3½ miles from Wigan;
a colliery centre. Pop. (1921), 6858.

AB'RAMIS, a genus of fishes. See _Bream_.

ABRAN'TES, a fortified town of Portugal, on the right bank of the Tagus
(here navigable), 73 miles north-east of Lisbon, with which it carries on
an active trade. Pop. 8000.

ABRANTES, Duke of. See _Junot_.

ABRAX'AS (or ABRASAX) STONES, the name given to stones or gems found in
Syria, Egypt, and elsewhere, cut into almost every variety of shape, but
generally having a human trunk and arms, with a cock's head, two serpents'
tails for the legs, &c., and the mystico-theosophical word Abraxas or
Abrasax in Greek characters engraved upon them. Eventually they came to be
used as charms and amulets. Basilides (A.D. 130) and other gnostics gave
the name of Abraxas to Almighty God, the Supreme Deity, since the numerical
value of its letters in Greek gave the sum of 365, and they believed that
365 orders of spirits emanated from God. Not all abraxas stones, however,
are of gnostic origin, just as the name of abraxas cannot be applied to all
gnostic stones. Cf. King: _The Gnostics and their Remains_, London, 1887.

ABRIN, or ABRINE, a poisonous substance, being the active principle in the
seeds of _Abrus precatorius_ (see _Abrus_). A minute quantity introduced
into the blood is fatal to many animals, but it is employed in ailments of
the eyes, and as a remedy for lupus and certain skin diseases.

ABROGA'TION, the repealing of a law by a competent authority.

ABROLHOS (a-brole'-yoce) a group of rocky islands 50 miles off the east
coast of Brazil, the largest of which is Santa Barbara. Another group
called Abrolhos lies off the west coast of Australia.

ABRO'MA, a genus of small trees, natives of India, Java, &c., one species
of which, _A. augusta_, has a bark yielding a strong white fibre, from
which good cordage is made.

ABRUPT', in botany, terminating suddenly, as if a part were cut short off.

AB'RUS, a genus of papilionaceous plants, order Leguminosæ, one species of
which, _Abrus precatorius_, a delicate twining shrub, a native of the East
Indies, and found also in tropical parts of Africa and America, has round
brilliant scarlet seeds, used to make necklaces and rosaries. Its root is
sweetish and mucilaginous, and is used as a substitute for liquorice
_(Indian liquorice_). The seeds yield a strong poison.

ABRUZZI ([.a]-br[u:]t's[=e]), a division of Italy on the Adriatic, between
Umbria and the Marches on the north, and Apulia on the south. It is united
with Molise to form a _compartimento_, comprising the four provinces of
Aquila degli Abruzzi, Campobasso, Chicti, and Teramo. The sea-coast of
about 80 miles does not possess a single harbour. The interior is rugged
and mountainous, being traversed throughout by the Apennines. The lower
parts consist of fertile plains and valleys, yielding corn, wine, oil,
almonds, saffron, &c.; area, 6387 sq. miles. Pop. 1,480,748.

AB'SALON, or AXEL, a Danish prelate, statesman, and warrior, born in 1128,
died 1201. He became the intimate friend and counsellor of his sovereign
Waldemar I, who appointed him Archbishop of Lund. He cleared the sea of the
Slavonic pirates who had long infested it, secured the independence of the
kingdom by defeating a powerful fleet of the Emperor Barbarossa, and built
the castle of Axelborg, the nucleus of Copenhagen. He ultimately became
Primate of Denmark and Sweden. Turning his thoughts to literature he caused
the _History of Denmark_ to be drawn up by Saxo Grammaticus and Svend
Aagesen.

AB'SCESS, any collection of purulent matter or pus formed in some tissue or
organ of the body, and confined within some circumscribed area, of varying
size, but always painful and often dangerous.

ABSENTEEISM, a term applied to landlords who absent themselves from their
estates and live and spend their money elsewhere; in its more extended
meaning it refers to all those whose fixed residence is outside their own
country but who derive their income from sources within it. The social,
economic, political, and moral evils resulting from such a system are
considerable and hurtful to the interests of a region, the absentee being
apt to lose his interest in things and persons and the public welfare
generally. Some economists, however, have adduced arguments in favour of
it, as it may sometimes be for the good of the community that a rich and
luxurious landlord should be absent from his estate.

The absenteeism of the Irish nobility, which became worse after the Union
with Great Britain and the transfer of Parliament from Dublin to London,
has been a constant source of mischief, whilst France before the
Revolution, Russia under the Tsars Alexander I and Nicholas I, and Hungary
in the eighteenth century suffered greatly from the practice. The first
statute concerning absentees was passed in the English Parliament in 1379,
and in 1729 a tax was levied on all moneys paid out of Ireland.

AB'SINTH, French _Absinthe_ ([.a]b-sa[n.]t), a liqueur consisting of an
alcoholic solution strongly flavoured with an extract of several sorts of
wormwood, oil of anise, &c. When taken habitually, or in excess, its
effects are very pernicious. A favourite drink of the Parisians, it was
suppressed entirely throughout France by a law passed on 12th Feb., 1915.

AB'SOLUTE, in a general sense, loosed or freed from all limitations or
conditions. In politics, an _absolute_ monarchy is that form of government
in which the ruler is unlimited or uncontrolled by constitutional checks.
In modern metaphysics _the Absolute_ represents the unconditioned,
infinite, and self-existent.

ABSOLU'TION, remission of a penitent's sins in the name of God. It is
commonly maintained that down to the twelfth century the priests used only
what is called the _precatory_ formula, "May God or Christ absolve thee",
which is still the form in the Greek Church; whereas the Roman Catholic
uses the expression "I absolve thee", thus regarding the forgiveness of
sins as in the power of the priest (the _indicative_ form). This theory of
absolution was confirmed by the Council of Trent. The passages of Scripture
on which the Roman Catholic Church relies in laying down its doctrine of
absolution are such as _Mat._ xvi. 19, xviii. 18; _John_, xx. 23. Among
Protestants absolution properly means a sentence by which a person who
stands excommunicated is released from that punishment.

ABSOLUTISM, a system of government in which the supreme power is vested in
a ruler not controlled or limited by any constitution or laws. It has
prevailed in Oriental countries, including Japan, until the latter part of
the nineteenth century. There are now no absolute monarchies in Europe.

ABSOR'BENTS, the system of minute vessels by which the nutritive elements
of food and other matters are carried into the circulation of vertebrate
animals. The vessels consist of two different sets, called respectively
_lacteals_ and _lymphatics_. The former arise from the digestive tract, the
latter from the tissues generally, both joining a common trunk which
ultimately enters the blood-vessel system. Absorbents in medicine are
substances such as chalk, charcoal, &c., that absorb or suck up excessive
secretion of fluid or gas.

ABSORP'TION, in physiology, one of the vital functions by which the
materials of nutrition and growth are absorbed and conveyed to the organs
of plants and animals. In vertebrate animals this is done by the lymphatics
and lacteals, in plants chiefly by the roots. See _Absorbents_.

In physics, _absorption of colour_ is the phenomenon observed when certain
colours are retained or prevented from passing through transparent bodies;
thus pieces of coloured glass are almost opaque to some parts of the
spectrum, while allowing other colours to pass through freely. In chemistry
absorption is the taking up of a gas by a liquid, or by a porous solid.

AB'STINENCE. See _Fasting, Temperance_.

ABSTRAC'TION, the operation of the mind by which it disregards part of what
is presented to its observation in order to concentrate its attention on
the remainder. It is the foundation of the operation of generalization, by
which we arrive at general conceptions. In order, for example, to form the
conception of a horse, we disregard the colour and other peculiarities of
the particular horses observed by us, and attend only to those qualities
which all horses have in common. In rising to the conception of an animal
we disregard still more qualities, and attend only to those which all
animals have in common with one another.

ABU (a-bö'), a granitic mountain of India in Sirohi State, Rajputána,
rising precipitously from the surrounding plains, its top forming a
picturesque and varied tract 14 miles long and 2 to 4 broad; highest point
5653 ft. It is a hot-weather resort of Europeans, and is the site of two
most beautiful Jain temples, built in 1031 and 1200.

ABU-BEKR, or FATHER OF THE VIRGIN, born 570 died 634, the father-in-law and
first successor of Mahomet. His right to the succession was unsuccessfully
contested by Ali, Mahomet's son-in-law, and a schism took place, which
divided the Mahommedans into the two great sects of Sunnites and Shiites,
the former maintaining the validity of Abu-Bekr's and the latter that of
Ali's claim.

ABUKIR'. See _Aboukir_.

ABU KLEA, a group of wells, surrounded by steep, black mountains, about 120
miles from Khartoum, in the Sudan, where, on the 17th Jan., 1885, Sir
Herbert Stewart, with 1500 men, defeated the Mahdi's troops numbering
10,000.

ABULFARA'GIUS, Gregory, a distinguished scholar, a Jew by birth (hence the
name of _Barhebræus_, often given him), author of numerous works in Arabic
and Syriac, was born in Armenia in 1226, died in 1286. About 1264 he was
consecrated Bishop of Gubas; he was afterwards translated to Aleppo and was
appointed primate of the Jacobite Christians. His principal work is a
_History of the World_ from the Creation to his own day, written in Syriac,
with an abridged version in Arabic, entitled _The Abridged History of the
Dynasties_.

ABUL'FEDA, Arab writer, Prince of Hamah, in Syria, of the same family as
Saladin, famous as an historian and geographer, was born at Damascus 1273,
died 1331. Amid the cares of government he devoted himself with zeal to
study, drew the learned around him, and rendered his power and wealth
subservient to the cause of science. His most important works are his
_History of the Human Race_ (the portion from the birth of Mahomet to his
own time being valuable), and his geography called _The True Situation of
Countries_.

ABUNDA, a Bantu race of Angola, living on the coastlands and on the
terraces rising towards the interior, and divided into 'highlanders' and
'lowlanders'. They speak Portuguese and Umbunda, a trade language.

ABUSHEHR (ä-bö-sh[=a]r'). See _Bushire_.

ABU-SIMBEL. See _Ibsambul_.

ABU'TILON, a genus of plants, order Malvaceæ, sometimes called Indian
mallows, found in the East Indies, Australia, Brazil, Siberia, &c. Several
of them yield a valuable hemp-like fibre, as _A. indicum_ and _A.
Avicennæ_. The latter, now a troublesome weed in the Middle United States,
has been recommended for cultivation, and is sometimes called American
jute.

ABUT'MENT, the part of a bridge which receives and resists the lateral
outward thrust of an arch; the masonry, rock, or other solid materials from
which an arch springs.

ABY'DOS, 1, an ancient city of Asia Minor, on the Hellespont, at the
narrowest part of the strait, opposite Sestos. Leander, say ancient
writers, swam nightly from Abydos to Sestos to see his loved Hero--a feat
in swimming accomplished also by Lord Byron.--2, an ancient city of Upper
Egypt (Egyptian Abotu), about 6 miles west of the Nile, now represented
only by ruins of temples, tombs, &c. It was celebrated as the burial-place
of the god Osiris, and its oldest temple was dedicated to him. Here, in
1818, was discovered the famous _Abydos Tablet_, now in the British Museum,
and containing a list of the predecessors of Rameses the Great, which was
supplemented by the discovery of a similar historical tablet in 1864. The
tomb of Osiris was discovered in 1898 by Amélinau. Cf. Flinders Petrie,
_The Royal Tombs of the Earliest Dynasties_ (2 vols.), London, 1900-9.

ABYSSIN'IA (Ar. _Habesha_), a country of Eastern Africa, which, with
dependencies, may be said to extend from lat. 5° to 15° N. and long. 35° to
42° E., having the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan on the W., British E. Africa on the
S., and on the S.E. and E. Somali-land and Eritrea (Italian Red Sea coast);
area, 350,000 sq. miles. Pop. over 8,000,000. The country is now divided
into 9 provinces, the principal being Harrar, Tigré, Amhara or Gondar. Each
province is governed by a ras, or prince, but Ras Michael, the governor of
Wollo and father of the deposed negus, Lij Yasu, was crowned king on 1st
June, 1914. Abyssinia proper is an elevated region, with a general slope to
the north-west. The more marked physical features are a vast series of
tablelands, of various and often of great elevations, and numerous masses
or ranges of high and rugged mountains, dispersed over the surface in
apparently the wildest confusion. Along the deep and tremendous ravines
that divide the plateaux rush innumerable streams, which impart
extraordinary fertility to the plains and valleys below. The mountains in
various parts of the country rise to 12,000 and 13,000 feet, while some of
the peaks are over 15,000 feet (Ras Dashan being 15,160), and are always
covered with snow. The principal rivers belong to the Nile basin, the chief
being the impetuous Tacazzé ('the Terrible') in the north, and the Abai in
the south, the latter being really the upper portion of the Blue Nile. The
principal lake is Lake Tzana or Dembea (from which issues the Abai),
upwards of 6000 feet above the sea, having a length of about 45 and a
breadth of 35 miles. Round this lake lies a fertile plain, deservedly
called the granary of the country.--According to elevation there are
several zones of vegetation. Within the lowest belt, which reaches an
elevation of 4800 feet, cotton, wild indigo, acacias, ebony, baobabs,
sugar-canes, coffee trees, date palms, &c., flourish, while the larger
animals are lions, panthers, elephants, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses,
jackals, hyenas, bears, numerous antelopes, monkeys, and crocodiles. The
middle zone, rising to 9000 feet, produces the grains, grasses, and fruits
of southern Europe, the orange, vine, peach, apricot, the bamboo, sycamore
tree, &c. The principal grains are millet, barley, wheat, maize, and teff,
the latter a small seed, a favourite bread-stuff of the Abyssinians. Two,
and in some places three, crops are obtained in one year. All the domestic
animals of Europe, except swine, are known. There is a variety of ox with
immense horns. The highest zone, reaching to 14,000 feet, has but little
wood, and generally scanty vegetation, the hardier corn-plants only being
grown; but oxen, goats, and long-woolled sheep find abundant pasture.--The
climate is as various as the surface, but as a whole is temperate and
agreeable; in some of the valleys the heat is often excessive, while on the
mountains the weather is cold. In certain of the lower districts malaria
prevails.--The chief mineral products are sulphur, copper, coal, and salt,
the last-named serving to some extent as money. Iron is very abundant and
is manufactured into knives, hatchets, and spears. There has been a great
intermixture of races in Abyssinia. Those who may be considered the
Abyssinians proper seem to have a blood-relationship with the Bedouin
Arabs. Their complexion varies from very dark through different shades of
brown and copper to olive, and they are usually well built. Other races are
the black Gallas from the south; the Falashas, who claim descent from
Abraham and retain many Jewish characteristics; the Agows, Gongas, &c. The
great majority of the people profess Christianity, belonging, like the
Copts, to the sect of the Monophysites. The head of the church is called
the Abuna ('our father'), and is consecrated by the Coptic patriarch of
Alexandria. Geez or Ethiopian is the language of their sacred books: it has
long ago ceased to be spoken. The chief spoken language is the Amharic; in
it some books have been published. Mohammedanism appears to be gaining
ground in Abyssinia. A corrupt form of Judaism is professed by the
Falashas.--The bulk of the people are devoted to agriculture and
cattle-breeding. The trade and manufactures are of small importance. A good
deal of common cotton cloth and some finer woven fabrics are produced.
Leather is prepared to some extent, silver filagree-work is produced, and
there are manufactures of common articles of iron and brass, pottery, &c.
Trade is carried on through Zeila and Djibouti (French Ethiopian Railway
was completed in 1915) on the Gulf of Aden, and Massowa on the Red Sea
(Italian), exports being hides, coffee, wax, gum, ivory, &c., imports
textile fabrics, &c. The Abyssinians were converted to Christianity in the
fourth century, by some missionaries from Alexandria. In the sixth century
the power of the sovereigns of their kingdom, which was generally known as
Ethiopia, had attained its height; but before another had expired the Arabs
had invaded the country, and obtained a footing. For several centuries
subsequently the kingdom continued in a distracted state, being now torn by
internal commotions and now invaded by external enemies (Mahommedans and
Gallas). To protect himself from the latter the Emperor of Abyssinia
applied, about the middle of the sixteenth century, to the King of Portugal
for assistance, promising, at the same time, implicit submission to the
Pope. The solicited aid was sent, and the empire saved. The Roman Catholic
priests endeavoured to induce the emperor and his family to renounce the
tenets and rites of the Coptic Church, and to adopt those of Rome. This
attempt, however, was resisted by the ecclesiastics and the people, and
ended, after a long struggle, in the expulsion of the Catholic priests
about 1630. The kingdom gradually fell into a state of anarchy, and was
broken up into several independent States. An attempt to revive the power
of the ancient kingdom of Ethiopia was made by King Theodore about the
middle of the last century. He introduced European artisans, and went to
work wisely in many ways, but his cruelty and tyranny counteracted his
politic measures. In consequence of a slight, real or fancied, which he had
received at the hands of the British Government, he threw Consul Cameron
and a number of other British subjects into prison, in 1863, and refused to
give them up. To effect their release an army of nearly 12,000 men, under
Sir Robert (afterwards Lord) Napier, was dispatched from Bombay in 1867.
The force landed at Zoulla on the Red Sea, and marching up the country came
within sight of the hill-fortress of Magdala in April, 1868. After being
defeated in a battle, Theodore delivered up the captives and shut himself
up in Magdala, which was taken by storm on the 13th April, Theodore being
found among the slain. After the withdrawal of the British, fighting
immediately began among the chiefs of the different provinces, but at last
the country was divided between Kasa, who secured the northern and larger
portion (Tigré and Amhara) and assumed the name of King Johannes, and
Menelek, who gained possession of Shoa. Latterly Johannes made himself
supreme and in 1881 assumed the title of emperor (_negus negusti_--king of
kings), having under him the Kings of Shoa and Gojam. Debra Tabor, about 30
miles east of Lake Dembea, was his chief residence. During the troubles in
Abyssinia the Egyptians annexed Massowa and the region adjacent, Abyssinia
being thus shut out from the sea. Afterwards the Italians gained and still
hold Massowa and the Red Sea littoral (Eritrea). Johannes fell at Metemmeh
in 1889, whilst fighting against the Mahdists, and was succeeded by Menelek
II. In 1916 Lij Yasu, who succeeded Menelek II in 1913, was deposed and
Waizeru Zauditu (born 1876) became empress.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: R. P. Skinner,
_Abyssinia of Today_. A. B. Wylde, _Modern Abyssinia_.

[Illustration: Acacia arabica, showing leaves, flowers, and fruit]

ACA'CIA, a genus of plants, nat. ord. Leguminosæ, sub-order Mimoseæ,
consisting of trees or shrubs with compound pinnate leaves and small
leaflets, growing in Africa, Arabia, the East Indies, Australia, &c. The
flowers, usually small, are arranged in spikes or globular heads at the
axils of the leaves near the extremity of the branches. The corolla is
bell- or funnel-shaped; stamens are numerous; the fruit is a dry unjointed
pod. Several of the species yield gum-arabic and other gums; some having
astringent barks and pods, used in tanning. _A. Catechu_, an Indian
species, yields the valuable astringent called catechu; _A. dealb[=a]ta_,
the wattle tree of Australia, from 15 to 30 feet in height, is the most
beautiful and useful of the species found there. Its bark contains a large
percentage of tannin, and is exported in large quantities. Some species
yield valuable timber; some are cultivated for the beauty of their flowers.

ACAD'EMY, an association for the promotion of literature, science, or art;
established sometimes by Government, sometimes by the voluntary union of
private individuals. The name Academy was first applied to the
philosophical school of Plato, from the place where he used to teach, a
grove or garden at Athens which was said to have belonged originally to the
hero Acad[=e]mus. The home of Academies as associations of learned men (not
institutes for instruction), was Hellenized Egypt and afterwards Italy of
the Renaissance. The flourishing Academies at Florence, Naples, and Rome
became the models of academies in other countries. Academies devote
themselves either to the cultivation of science generally or to the
promotion of a particular branch of study, as antiquities, language, and
the fine arts. The most celebrated institutions bearing the name of
academies, and designed for the encouragement of science, antiquities, and
language respectively, are the French Académie des Sciences (founded by
Colbert in 1666), Académie des Inscriptions (founded by Colbert in 1663),
and Académie Française (founded by Richelieu in 1635), all of which are now
merged in the National Institute. The most celebrated of the academies
instituted for the improvement of language is the Italian Accademia della
Crusca, or Furfuratorum (now the Florentine Academy), formed in 1582, and
chiefly celebrated for the compilation of an excellent dictionary of the
Italian language (_Vocabulario della Crusca_, Venice, 1612), and for the
publication of several carefully-prepared editions of ancient Italian
poets. The (Imperial) Academy of Science of St. Petersburg was projected by
Peter the Great and established by Catherine I in 1725. The Academy of
Science in Berlin was founded by Frederick I in 1700. It was opened in 1711
and had Leibnitz as its first president. In Britain the name of academy, in
the more dignified sense of the term, is confined almost exclusively to
certain institutions for the promotion of the fine arts, such as the Royal
Academy of Arts and the Royal Scottish Academy. The Royal Academy of Arts
(usually called simply the Royal Academy) was founded in London in 1768,
"for the purpose of cultivating and improving the arts of painting,
sculpture, and architecture". The number of academicians is now limited to
forty-two, among whom are two engravers. There are also thirty associates,
from whom the academicians are elected. Of the associates five are
engravers. Any person who is possessed of sufficient proficiency may be
admitted as a student and receive instruction gratis, and prizes are
annually bestowed on meritorious students. The annual exhibition of the
Academy is open to all artists whose works show sufficient merit. The Royal
Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture was founded in
1826 and incorporated in 1838. It consists of thirty academicians and
twenty associates. The Royal Hibernian Academy at Dublin was incorporated
in 1823 and reorganized in 1861. It consists of thirty members and ten
associates. A British Academy for the Promotion of Historical,
Philosophical, and Philological Studies was incorporated in 1902. (See
_British Academy_.) In the United States, the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences at Boston was founded in 1780, and since then various other
societies of similar character and name have been instituted, as the New
York Academy of Sciences, the Chicago Academy of Science, &c.

ACA'DIA (Fr. _Acadie_), the name formerly given to Nova Scotia. It received
its first colonists from France in 1604, being then a possession of that
country, but it passed to Britain, by the Peace of Utrecht, in 1713. In
1756, 18,000 of the French inhabitants were forcibly removed from their
homes on account of their hostility to the British, an incident on which is
based Longfellow's _Evangeline_. Many Acadians afterwards wandered back to
their old homes, and their descendants are at present supposed to number
270,000, 100,000 of them living in French Canada.

ACALE'PHA (Gr. _akal[=e]ph[=e]_, a nettle, from their stinging properties),
a term formerly used to denote the Medusæ, or jelly-fishes, and allied
species.

ACANTHA'CEÆ, or ACANTHADS, a nat. ord. of dicotyledonous herbaceous plants
or shrubs, with opposite leaves and monopetalous corolla, mostly tropical;
species about 1400. See _Acanthus_.

[Illustration: _a_, _b_, _c_, Spines of the dorsal, anal, and ventral fins
of Acanthopterygii]

ACANTHOP'TERI, ACANTHOPTERYGII (Gr. _akantha_, a spine, _pterygion_, a
fin), a group of fishes, distinguished by the fact that at least the first
rays in each fin exist in the form of stiff spines; it includes the perch,
mullet, mackerel, gurnard, wrasse, &c.

[Illustration: Acanthus. Examples of Greek and Roman decorative treatment]

ACANTH'US, a genus of herbaceous plants or shrubs, order Acanthaceæ, mostly
tropical, two species of which, _A. mollis_ and _A. spin[=o]sus_ (the
bear's-breech or brankursine), are characterized by large white flowers and
deeply-indented shining leaves. They are favourite ornamental plants in
British gardens.--In architecture the name is given to a kind of foliage
decoration said to have been suggested by this plant, and much employed in
Greek, Roman, and later styles.

ACAPUL'CO, a seaport of Mexico, on the Pacific, with a capacious,
well-sheltered harbour; a coaling station for steamers, but with no great
trade. Pop. 5950.

ACAR'IDA, a division of the Arachnida, including the mites, ticks, and
water-mites. See _Mite_.

ACARNA'NIA, the most westerly portion of Northern Greece, together with
Ætolia now forming a nomarchy with a pop. of 188,597. The Acarnanians of
ancient times were behind the other Greeks in civilization, living by
robbery and piracy.

AC'ARUS, the genus to which the mite belongs.

ACCA'DIANS (Akkad), the primitive inhabitants of Northern Babylonia
(Akkad), who had descended from the mountainous region of Elam on the east,
and to whom the Assyrians ascribed the origin of Chaldean civilization and
writing. This race is believed to have belonged to the Turanian family, or
to have been at any rate non-Semitic. What is known of them has been
learned from the cuneiform inscriptions. See _Babylonia_ and _Summerians_.

ACCELERA'TION is the rate of change of the velocity of a body under the
action of a force. A body falling from a height is one of the most common
instances of acceleration.--_Acceleration of the Moon_, the increase of the
moon's mean angular velocity about the earth, the moon now moving rather
faster than in ancient times. This phenomenon has not been fully explained,
but it is known to be partly owing to the slow process of diminution which
the eccentricity of the earth's orbit is undergoing, and from which there
results a slight diminution of the sun's influence on the moon's
motions.--_Diurnal acceleration of the fixed stars_, the apparent greater
diurnal motion of the stars than of the sun, arising from the fact that the
sun's apparent yearly motion takes place in a direction contrary to that of
his apparent daily motion. The stars thus seem each day to anticipate the
sun by nearly 3 minutes 56 seconds of mean time.

AC'CENT, a term used in several senses. In English it commonly denotes
superior stress or force of voice upon certain syllables of words, which
distinguishes them from the other syllables. Many English words, as
_as'pi-ra"tion_, have two accents, a secondary and primary, the latter
being the fuller or stronger. Some words, as _in-com'pre-hen'si-bil"i-ty_,
have two secondary or subordinate accents. When the full accent falls on a
vowel, that vowel has its long sound, as in _vo'cal_; but when it falls on
a consonant, the preceding vowel is short, as in _hab'it_. This kind of
accent alone regulates English verse, as contrasted with Latin or Greek
verse, in which the metre depended on _quantity_ or length of syllables. In
books on elocution three marks or accents are generally made use of, the
first or _acute_ (´) showing when the voice is to be raised, the second or
_grave_ (`), when it is to be depressed, and the third or _circumflex_ (^)
when the vowel is to be uttered with an undulating sound. In some languages
there is no such distinct accent as in English (or German), and this seems
to be now the case with French.--In music, accent is the stress or emphasis
laid upon certain notes of a bar. The first note of a bar has the strongest
accent, but weaker accents are given to the first notes of subordinate
parts of the bars, as to the third, fifth, and seventh in a bar of eight
quavers.

ACCEN'TOR (_Accentor modul[=a]ris_), or HEDGE ACCENTOR, a British bird of
the warbler family. See _Hedge Warbler_.

ACCEP'TANCE, in law, the act by which a person binds himself to pay a bill
of exchange drawn upon him. (See _Bill_.) No acceptance is valid unless
made in writing on the bill, but an acceptance may be either absolute or
conditional, that is, stipulating some alteration in the amount or date of
payment, or some condition to be fulfilled previous to payment.

AC'CESSARY, or AC'CESSORY, in law, a person guilty of an offence by
connivance or participation, either before or after the act committed, as
by command, advice, concealment, &c. An accessary _before the fact_ is one
who procures or counsels another to commit a crime, and is not present at
its commission; an accessary _after the fact_ is one who, knowing a felony
to have been committed, gives assistance of any kind to the felon so as to
hinder him from being apprehended, tried, or suffering punishment. An
accessary before the fact may be tried and punished in all respects as if
he were the principal. In high treason, all who participate are regarded as
principals.

ACCIDEN'TALS, notes introduced in the course of a piece of music in a
different key from that in which the passage where they occur is
principally written. They are represented by the sign of a sharp, flat, or
natural immediately before the note which is to be raised or lowered.

ACCIPITRES (ak-sip'i-tr[=e]z), the name given by Linnæus and Cuvier to the
rapacious birds now usually called Raptores (q.v.).

ACCLIMATIZA'TION, the process of accustoming plants or animals to live and
propagate in a climate different from that to which they are indigenous, or
the change which the constitution of an animal or plant undergoes under new
climatic conditions, in the direction of adaptation to those conditions.
The systematic study of acclimatization has only been entered upon in very
recent times, and the little progress that has been made in it has been
more in the direction of formulating anticipative, if not arbitrary
hypotheses, than of actual discovery and acquisition of facts. The
best-known society founded, for the purpose of naturalizing animals and
plants, is the Société d'Acclimatation in Paris. It opened the Jardin
d'Acclimatation in 1860. See _Tropical Hygiene_. The term is sometimes
applied to the case of animals or plants taking readily to a new country
with a climate and other circumstances similar to what they have left, such
as European animals and plants in America and New Zealand: but this is more
properly _naturalization_ than acclimatization.--In agriculture the word is
used with reference to stock, principally sheep, 'acclimatized' to a
particular area, a special allowance being made by the landlord on
transference of the farm and stock in respect of the acclimatization of the
sheep. The value assigned to the advantages resulting from acclimatization
of stocks varies considerably. In Argyllshire, for instance,
Dumbartonshire, and the western portion of Perthshire the rates are high,
while in the south of Scotland and the north of England they are much
lower.

ACCOLADE (ak-o-l[=a]d'; Fr., from Lat. _ad_, to, _collum_, the neck), the
ceremony used in conferring knighthood, anciently consisting either in the
embrace given by the person who conferred the honour of knighthood or in a
light blow on the neck or the cheek, latterly consisting in the ceremony of
striking the candidate with a naked sword.

ACCOL'TI, Benedetto, an Italian lawyer, born at Arezzo in Tuscany in 1415,
died at Florence in 1466. He was secretary to the Florentine republic,
1459, and author of a work on the Crusades which is said to have furnished
Tasso with matter for his _Jerusalem Delivered_.

ACCOMMODA'TION BILL, a bill of exchange drawn and accepted to raise money
on, and not given, like a genuine bill of exchange, in payment of a debt,
but merely intended to accommodate the drawer: colloquially called a _wind
bill_ and a _kite_.

ACCOMMODA'TION LADDER, a light ladder hung over the side of a ship at the
gangway to facilitate ascending from, or descending to, boats.

ACCOM'PANIMENT, in music, is that part of music which serves for the
support of the principal melody.

ACCOR'DION, a keyed musical wind-instrument similar to the concertina,
being in the form of a small box, containing a number of metallic reeds
fixed at one of their extremities, the sides of the box forming a folding
apparatus which acts as a bellows to supply the wind, and thus set the
reeds in vibration, and produce the notes both of melody and harmony. The
accordion was invented by Damian of Vienna in 1829.

ACCOUNTANT, a person whose chief business is with accounts and the drawing
up of financial statements and balance-sheets. An accountant is an
important official in banks, railways, and certain other institutions, and
many persons carry on the business of accountant as a distinct profession,
auditing the books of merchants, joint-stock companies, &c. There are
several bodies of accountants in the United Kingdom incorporated by royal
charter, and hence specially distinguished as 'chartered accountants'
(C.A.). Since 1919 women are admitted as members of the Society of
Incorporated Accountants.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: L. R. Dicksee, _Advanced
Accounting_; G. Lisle, _Encyclopædia of Accounting_ (8 vols.).

AC'CRA, a British settlement in Africa, in a swampy situation, capital of
Gold Coast, about 75 miles east of Cape Coast Castle. Exports gold-dust,
ivory, gums, palm-oil; imports cottons, cutlery, &c. Pop. 20,000.

AC'CRINGTON, a municipal borough of England, Lancashire, 5 miles east of
Blackburn, with large cotton factories, print-works and bleaching-greens,
and coal-mines. Pop. 43,610. Accrington was created a parliamentary borough
in 1918.

ACCU'MULATOR, a name applied to a kind of electric battery by means of
which electric energy can be stored and rendered portable. In the usual
form each battery forms a cylindrical leaden vessel, containing alternate
sheets of metallic lead and minium wrapped in felt and rolled into a spiral
wetted with acidulated water. On being charged with electricity the energy
may be preserved till required for use.

ACCU'SATIVE CASE, in Latin and some other languages, the term applied to
the case which designates the object to which the action of any verb is
immediately directed, corresponding, generally speaking, to the _objective_
in English.

ACE, in aviation the name 'ace' is given to a flying-man who has
distinguished himself by bringing down a large number (sometimes given as
ten) of enemy machines. The word is used colloquially, and was borrowed
from the French Air Force during the European War.

ACEPH'ALA, in zoology, the headless Mollusca or those which want a distinct
head, corresponding to those that have bivalve shells and are also called
_Lamellibranchiata_.

A'CER, the genus of plants (nat. ord. Aceraceæ) to which belongs the maple.

ACERRA ([.a]-cher'[.a]), a town in South Italy, 9 miles north-east of
Naples, the see of a bishop, in a fertile but unhealthy region. Pop.
17,878.

ACETAB'ULUM, an anatomical term applied to any cup-like cavity, as that of
a bone to receive the protuberant end of another bone, the cavity, for
instance, that receives the end of the thigh-bone.

ACETATES (as'e-t[=a]ts), salts of acetic acid. The acetates of most
commercial or manufacturing importance are those of aluminium and iron,
which are used in calico-printing; of copper, which as verdigris is used as
a colour; and of lead, best known as sugar of lead. The acetates of
potassium, sodium, and ammonium, of iron, zinc, and lead, and the acetate
of morphia, are employed in medicine.

ACET'IC ACID, an acid produced by the oxidation of common alcohol, and of
many other organic substances. Pure acetic acid has a very sour taste and
pungent smell, burns the skin, and is poisonous. From freezing at ordinary
temperatures (58° or 59°) it is known as _glacial acetic acid_. Vinegar is
simply dilute acetic acid. Acetic acid is largely used in the arts, in
medicine, and for domestic purposes. See _Vinegar_.

ACET'IC ETHERS, or ACETIC ESTERS, acetates of alcohol radicals. The common
ester--ethyl acetate--is a volatile colourless liquid, manufactured by
distilling a mixture of alcohol, oil of vitriol, and acetic acid, and used
for flavouring purposes.

ACETONE (as'), a constituent of ordinary wood spirit, a colourless volatile
liquid used as a solvent, the simplest of the _ketones_.

ACET'YLENE, C_2H_2, is a substance composed of two elements, carbon and
hydrogen, and belonging to a class of compounds known as hydrocarbons. It
is formed in the incomplete combustion of many hydrocarbons and also of
coal-gas, and may be produced in a variety of ways, but is now made almost
entirely from calcium carbide. Acetylene has been known for a long time,
but only since 1870 has it been produced in any quantity. After the
development of the electric furnace it was found that calcium oxide,
quicklime, heated with carbon to the high temperature possible in such a
furnace, is transformed into calcium carbide, and this compound reacts with
water, generating acetylene. A great deal of heat is developed on adding
water to calcium carbide, so that care has to be taken in generating
acetylene. Various devices are in use for bringing the two substances in
contact slowly, and for keeping the temperature low. When carbon and
hydrogen combine to form acetylene a large amount of heat is used up, so
that much heat is evolved when acetylene decomposes again, and once
decomposition starts sufficient heat is developed to decompose the whole
volume of gas.

Acetylene is a colourless gas slightly soluble in water and very sparingly
soluble in brine. When pure it has little or no odour, but as ordinarily
prepared it has a strong unpleasant odour due to traces of impurities such
as sulphuretted hydrogen, phosphine, &c. The gas can be liquefied easily,
and in the liquid state is highly explosive. It burns with an exceedingly
sooty flame, but if it is allowed to pass through a very small orifice the
carbon liberated becomes incandescent and acetylene burns with an intense
white flame. It is largely used as an illuminant and for the production of
great heat. As an illuminant the gas is produced in specially-constructed
generators. It is led through iron pipes and burned from an acetylene
burner, or it may be used with special types of incandescent mantles.
Acetylene readily combines with copper and with silver to form metallic
acetylides which are very explosive, hence pipes through which acetylene is
passing must not be made of brass or copper. Acetylene mixed with air and
brought in contact with an ignited body explodes even more violently than a
mixture of air and coal-gas.

Large quantities of acetylene are generated and stored for oxy-acetylene
welding. Acetylene, burning in oxygen, gives an intensely hot flame (about
2000°-3000° C.), sufficiently hot to melt iron. Although liquid acetylene
is unstable, and even the gas, under slight pressure, is also unstable, it
may be transported safely if dissolved in acetone. Acetone dissolves a
large volume of acetylene, and this solution is quite stable and may be
stored in iron cylinders and used for various purposes. If it is to be
stored it must be carefully purified from phosphine, which is apt to cause
sudden decomposition. Recently, numerous patents have been taken out for
the preparation of compounds such as acetaldehyde, acetic acid, acetic
anhydride, &c., using acetylene as starting-point, so that many substances
may be prepared from acetylene just as many substances may be prepared from
benzene.

ACHÆANS (a-k[=e]'anz), one of the four races into which the ancient Greeks
were divided. In early times they inhabited a part of Northern Greece and
of the Peloponnesus. They are represented by Homer as a brave and warlike
people, and so distinguished were they that he usually calls the Greeks in
general Achæans. Afterwards they settled in the district of the
Peloponnesus, called after them Achaia, and forming a narrow belt of coast
on the south side of the Gulf of Corinth. From very early times a
confederacy or league existed among the twelve towns of this region. After
the death of Alexander the Great it was broken up, but was revived again,
280 B.C., and from this time grew in power till it spread over the whole
Peloponnesus. It was finally dissolved by the Romans, 147 B.C., and after
this the whole of Greece, except Thessaly, was called Achaia or Achæa.
Achaia with Elis now forms a nomarchy of the kingdom of Greece. Pop.
254,728. Cf. Freeman, _History of Federal Government in Greece and Italy_,
London, 1893.

ACHÆMENIDÆ (ak-[=e]-men'i-d[=e]) a dynasty of ancient Persian kings, being
that to which the great Cyrus belonged.

ACHAIA (a-k[=a]'ya). See _Achæans_.

ACHALZIK. See _Akhalzik_.

ACHARD ([.a]_h_'[.a]rt), Franz Karl, a German chemist, born 1753, died
1821, principally known by his invention (1789-1800) of a process for
manufacturing sugar from beetroot. In 1801 the first beet-sugar factory
ever established was started by him in Silesia.

ACHARD ([.a]-shär), Louis Amédée Eugène, born 1814, died 1875, French
journalist, novelist, and playwright. He was best known as a novelist;
wrote the novels _Belle Rose_, _La Chasse royale_, _Châteaux en Espagne_,
_Robe de Nessus_, _Chaînes de fer_, &c. His _Lettres Parisiennes_ were
published in 1838 under the pseudonym of Grimm.

ACHATES (a-k[=a]'t[=e]z), a companion of Æneas in his wanderings subsequent
to his flight from Troy. He is always distinguished in Virgil's _Æneid_ by
the epithet _fidus_, 'faithful', and has become typical of a faithful
friend and companion.

ACHEEN, or ATCHIN ([.a]-ch[=e]n') (Du. _Atjeh_), a native State of Sumatra,
with a capital of the same name, in the north-western extremity of the
island, now nominally under Dutch administration. Though largely
mountainous, it has also undulating tracts and low fertile plains. By
treaty with Britain the Dutch were prevented from extending their territory
in Sumatra by conquest; but this obstacle being removed, in 1871 they
proceeded to occupy Acheen. It was not till 1879, however, after a great
waste of blood and treasure, that they obtained a general recognition of
their authority. But they have not been able to establish it firmly, and
have had to put down many determined risings, sometimes costing them losses
both in men and guns. In the seventeenth century Acheen was a powerful
State, and carried on hostilities successfully against the Portuguese, but
its influence decreased with the increase of the Dutch power. The principal
exports are rice and pepper. Area, 20,471 sq. miles; pop. 789,664.

ACHELOUS (ak-e-l[=o]'us) (now ASPROPOT[)A]MO), the largest river of Greece,
rising on Mount Pindus, separating Ætolia and Acarnania, and flowing into
the Ionian Sea. In Greek legend, Achel[=o]us, the son of Oceanus and
Tethys, was the river-god.

ACHENBACH ([.a]'_h_en-b[.a]ch), Andreas, was a distinguished German
landscape and marine painter, born in 1815, died in 1910.

ACHENBACH, Oswald, born 1827, died 1905, brother of above, was also a
distinguished landscape painter. Both are of the Düsseldorf school, and
pupils of the famous painter Schadow.

[Illustration: Achene of Buttercup (magnified)

E, Embryo. En, Endosperm. T, Testa and pericarp.]

ACHENE, or ACHENIUM (a-k[=e]n', a-k[=e]'ni-um), in botany, a small, dry
carpel containing a single seed, the pericarp of which is closely applied
but separable, and which does not open when ripe. It is either solitary, or
several achenia may be placed on a common receptacle as in the buttercup.

ACHENSEE, a lake in Tyrol, 20 miles north-east of Innsbruck and 3018 feet
above sea-level. On its shores are beautiful villas and hotels frequented
as summer resorts.

ACHERON (ak'e-ron) (modern FANARIOTICOS), the ancient name of several
rivers in Greece and Italy, all of which were connected by legend with the
lower world. The principal was a river of Thesprotia in Epirus, which
passes through Lake Acherusia and flows into the Ionian Sea. Homer speaks
of Acheron as a river of the lower world, and late Greek writers use the
name to designate the lower world.

ACHEULIAN, a term applied by archæologists to the late stage of Chellean
civilization in the Pleistocene Age. It is named after St. Acheul in the
Somme valley, where relics of it were found. The geological horizon,
according to Professor James Geikie, is late Second Interglacial and Third
Glacial periods.

ACH'IAR, or AT'CHAR, an Indian condiment made of the young shoots of the
bamboo pickled.

ACHIEVEMENT (a-ch[=e]v'ment), in heraldry, a term applied to the shield of
armorial bearings generally, or to a hatchment (q.v.).

ACHILL (ak'il), the largest island on the Irish coast, separated from the
mainland of Mayo by a narrow sound, now bridged over. The chief occupation
is fishing. The island is mountainous, has fine scenery, and is visited by
many tourists, there being now a railway terminus here, and many recent
improvements. Pop. nearly 7000.

ACHILLÆ'A, the milfoil genus of plants.

ACHILLEION, famous castle at Corfu, which used to belong to the Empress
Elizabeth of Austria. It was acquired by the ex-Kaiser William II, who
bought it from the Archduchess Giséla, wife of Prince Leopold of Bavaria.

ACHILLES (a-kil'[=e]z), a Greek legendary hero, the chief character in
Homer's _Iliad_. His father was Peleus, ruler of Phthia in Thessaly, his
mother the sea-goddess Thetis. When only six years of age he was able to
overcome lions and bears. His guardian, Cheiron the Centaur, having
declared that Troy could not be taken without his aid, his mother, fearing
for his safety, disguised him as a girl, and introduced him among the
daughters of Lycomedes of Scyros. Her desire for his safety made her also
try to make him invulnerable when a child by anointing him with ambrosia,
and again by dipping him in the River Styx, from which he came out proof
against wounds, all but the heel, by which she held him. His place of
concealment was discovered by Odysseus (Ulysses), and he promised his
assistance to the Greeks against Troy. Accompanied by his close friend,
Patroclus, he joined the expedition with a body of followers (Myrmidons) in
fifty ships, and occupied nine years in raids upon the towns neighbouring
to Troy, after which the siege proper commenced. On being deprived of his
prize, the maiden Briseïs, by Agamemnon, he refused to take any further
part in the war, and disaster attended the Greeks. Patroclus now persuaded
Achilles to allow him to lead the Myrmidons to battle dressed in his
armour, and he having been slain by Hector, Achilles vowed revenge on the
Trojans, and forgot his anger against the Greeks. He attacked the Trojans
and drove them back to their walls, slaying them in great numbers, chased
Hector, who fled before him three times round the walls of Troy, slew him,
and dragged his body at his chariot-wheels, but afterwards gave it up to
Priam, who came in person to beg for it. He then performed the funeral
rites of Patroclus, with which the _Iliad_ closes. He was killed in a
battle at the Scæan Gate of Troy by an arrow from the bow of Paris which
struck his vulnerable heel. In discussions on the origin of the Homeric
poems the term _Achilleid_ is often applied to those books (i, viii, and
xi-xxii) of the _Iliad_ in which Achilles is prominent, and which some
suppose to have formed the original nucleus of the poem. See _Iphigenia_.

ACHILLES' TENDON, or TENDON OF ACHILLES, the strong tendon which connects
the muscles of the calf with the heel, and which may be easily felt with
the hand. The origin of the name will be understood from the above article.

ACHILLES TATIUS (a-kil'[=e]z t[=a]'shi-us), a Greek romance writer of the
fifth century A.D., belonging to Alexandria; wrote a love story in 8 books
called _Leucipp[=e] and Cleitophon_.

ACHIMENES (a-kim'e-n[=e]z), a genus of tropical American plants, with scaly
underground tubers, nat. ord. Gesneraceæ, now cultivated in European
greenhouses on account of their white, blue, and red flowers.

ACHLAMYDEOUS (ak-la-mid'i-us), in botany, wanting the floral envelopes,
that is, having neither calyx nor corolla, as the willow.

ACHOR ([=a]'kor), a disease of infants, in which the head, the face, and
often the neck and breast become incrusted with thin, yellowish or greenish
scabs, arising from minute, whitish pustules, which discharge a viscid
fluid.

ACHROMAT'IC (Gr. _a_, priv., and _chr[=o]ma, chr[=o]matos_, colour), in
optics, transmitting colourless light, that is, not decomposed into the
primary colours, though having passed through a refracting medium. A single
convex lens does not give an image free from the prismatic colours, because
the rays of different colour making up white light are not equally
refrangible, and thus do not all come to a focus together, the violet, for
instance, being nearest the lens, the red farthest off. If such a lens of
crown-glass, however, is combined with a concave lens of flint-glass--the
curvatures of both being properly adjusted--as the two materials have
somewhat different optical properties, the latter will neutralize the
chromatic aberration of the former, and a satisfactory image will be
produced. Telescopes, microscopes, &c., in which the glasses are thus
composed are called _achromatic_.

ACID (Lat. _acidus_, sour), a name applied to a number of compounds, having
more or less the qualities of vinegar (itself a diluted form of acetic
acid). Their general properties are sour taste, the power of changing
vegetable blues into reds, of evolving hydrogen in presence of magnesium,
of decomposing chalk with effervescence, and of being in various degrees
neutralized by alkalies. An acid has been defined as a compound of
hydrogen, the whole or a part of which is replaceable by a metal when this
is presented in the form of a hydroxide; being _monobasic_, _dibasic_, or
_tribasic_, according to the number of replaceable hydrogen atoms in a
molecule. See _Chemistry_.

ACIERAGE ([=a]'s[=e]-[.e]r-[=a]j), (Fr. _acier_, steel), a process by which
an engraved copper-plate or an electrotype from an engraved plate of steel
or copper has a film of iron deposited over its surface by electricity in
order to protect the engraving from wear in printing. By this means an
electrotype of a fine engraving, which, if printed directly from the
copper, would not yield 500 good impressions, can be made to yield 3000 or
more; and when the film of iron becomes so worn as to reveal any part of
the copper, it may be removed and a fresh coating deposited so that 20,000
good impressions may be got.

ACIPENSER (as-i-pen's[.e]r), the genus of cartilaginous ganoid fishes to
which the sturgeon belongs.

ACI REALE (ä'ch[=e] r[=a]-ä'l[=a]), a seaport of Sicily, north-east of
Catania, a well-built town, with a trade in corn, wine, fruit, &c. Pop.
35,587.

A'CIS, according to Ovid, a beautiful shepherd of Sicily, loved by Galatea,
and crushed to death by his rival the Cyclops Polyphemus. His blood,
flowing from beneath the rock which crushed him, was changed into a river
bearing his name, and renowned for the coldness of its water. It has been
identified as the Fiume di Jaci.

ACLIN'IC LINE (Gr. priv. _a, klin[=o]_, to incline), the magnetic equator,
an irregular curve in the neighbourhood of the terrestrial equator, where
the magnetic needle balances itself horizontally, having no dip. See
_Magnetism_.

ACNE (ak'n[=e]), a skin disease, consisting of small hard pimples, usually
on the face, caused by congestion of the follicles of the skin.

[Illustration: Acolyte]

ACOLYTES (ak'o-l[=i]ts), in the ancient Latin and Greek Churches, persons
of ecclesiastical rank next in order below the subdeacons, whose office it
was to attend the officiating priest. The name is still retained in the
Roman Church. Cf. Duchesne, _Christian Worship, its Origin and Evolution_.

ACONCAGUA ([.a]-kon-kä'gw[.a]), a province, a river, and a mountain of
Chile. The peak of Aconcagua, whose summit is just within the Argentine
Republic, rises to the height of 23,080 feet, and is probably the highest
mountain of the western hemisphere. Area of province, 5406 sq. miles. Pop.
(1919), 132,165.

AC'ONITE (_Acon[=i]tum_), a genus of hardy herbaceous plants, nat. ord.
Ranunculaceæ, represented by the well-known wolf's-bane or monk's-hood, and
remarkable for their poisonous properties and medicinal qualities, being
used internally as well as externally in rheumatism, gout, neuralgia, &c.

ACON'ITINE, an alkaloid extracted from monk's-hood and some other species
of aconite; used medicinally, though a virulent poison.

ACONQUIJA ([.a]-kon-k[=e]'_h_[.a]), a range of mountains in the Argentine
Republic; the name also of a single peak, 17,000 feet high.

A'CORN, the fruit of the different kinds of oak. The acorn-cups of one
species are brought from the Levant under the name of _valonia_, and used
in tanning.

ACORN-SHELL. See _Balanus_.

AC'ORUS, a genus of plants, including the sweet-flag. See _Sweet-flag_ and
_Calamus_.

ACOS'TA, Gabriel, afterwards Uriel, a Portuguese of Jewish descent, born at
Oporto in 1590, died by his own hand 1640. Brought up a Christian, he
afterwards embraced Judaism. Having gone to Amsterdam, where he attacked
the practices of the Jews, and denied the divine mission of Moses, he
suffered much persecution at the hands of the Jews. He left an
autobiography, published in 1687, under the title _Exemplar Humanæ Vitæ_.
He is the hero of a novel, _Die Sadducäer von Amsterdam_, and of a tragedy,
_Uriel Acosta_, both by Gutzkow.

ACOTYLE'DONS, plants not furnished with cotyledons or seed-lobes. They
include ferns, mosses, seaweeds, &c., and are also called flowerless plants
or cryptogams.

ACOUSIMETER, or ACOUMETER (Gr. _akouein_, to hear, and _metron_, measure),
an instrument used to determine the acuteness of hearing. It consists of a
small bar which gives a uniform sound when struck by a hammer.

ACOUSTICS (a-kou'stiks), the science of sound. It deals with the production
of sound, its propagation and velocity in various media; the reflection,
refraction, and interference of sound waves; the properties of musical
notes; and the general phenomena of such vibrations of elastic bodies as
affect the organ of hearing.

In order that a sound may be heard, it is necessary that an uninterrupted
series of particles of elastic matter should extend from the sounding body
to our ear. Sound is propagated by a longitudinal wave-motion in the medium
(gaseous, liquid, or solid), that is, the particles oscillate along the
line in which the wave is travelling, giving rise to regular series of
condensations and rarefactions.

The velocity of sound varies directly as the square root of the elasticity,
and inversely as the square root of the density, of the medium in which it
is propagated. The velocity of sound in air at 0° C. is 330.6 metres per
second, or 1085 feet per second; in water 1.49 kilometres per second, or
0.926 mile per second; in copper 5.01 kilometres per second, or 3.12 miles
per second.

The intensity of sound varies inversely as the square of the distance from
the sounding body. Recently sound-ranging instruments have been produced by
means of which the position of a gun can be determined.

A note produced by a musical instrument consists of a _fundamental_ of a
certain frequency, together with a number of _overtones_ of various higher
frequencies and much smaller amplitude. The _timbre_ of a note depends on
the overtones present, the _loudness_ depends on the amplitude of the
vibrations, and the _pitch_ depends on the frequency. The musical scale
consists of eight notes, C D E F G A B C, whose frequencies are in the
proportion of the numbers 24, 27, 30, 32, 36, 40, 45 and 48. The interval
between two notes is the ratio of the frequency of the higher note to the
frequency of the lower note. In order that the intervals may be the same in
all keys, a tempered scale is used in music. (See Table, p. 25.)

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Lord Rayleigh, _Theory of Sound_; H. Smith, _The Making of
Sound in the Organ and Orchestra_; J. W. Capstick, _Sound_ (Cambridge
Natural Science Manuals); E. H. Barton, _Text-book of Sound_.

ACQUI ([.a]k'w[=e]), a town of Northern Italy, 18 miles S.S.W. of
Alessandria, a bishop's see. It has warm sulphurous baths, which were known
to the Romans, and which still attract a great many visitors. Pop. 16,500.

ACRE, a standard British measure of land, also used in the colonies and the
United States. The imperial statute acre consists of 4840 sq. yards,
divided into 4 roods. The old Scotch acre contains 6146.8 sq. yards, the
old Irish acre 7840 sq. yards.

ACRE ([=a]'k[.e]r) (ancient ACCHO and PTOLEMAIS), a seaport of Syria, in
Northern Palestine, on the Bay of Acre, early a place of great strength and
importance. Taken from the Saracens under Saladin in 1191 by Richard I of
England and Philip of France; bravely defended by the Turks, assisted by
Sir Sidney Smith, in 1799 against Napoleon; in 1832, taken by Ibrahim
Pasha; in 1840, bombarded by a British, Austrian, and Turkish fleet, and
restored to the Sultan of Turkey. The town was occupied by British troops
under General Allenby in September, 1918. Pop. 10,000.

* * * * *

MUSICAL INTERVALS.--See _Acoustics_

Intervals in Intervals in
Perfect Diatonic Diatonic Scale. Tempered Scale--
Scale. Perfect on System of Mean tone.
Diatonic Scale Equal (2^{1/6} = 1.123).
Temperament. Semitone.
(2^{1/12}= 1.059).
---------------------------------------------------------------------
C 1 1.000
9/8 major tone tone.
D 9/8 = 1.125 2-2/12 = 1.123
10/9 minor tone tone.
E 5/4 = 1.250 2-4/12 = 1.260
16/15 limma semitone.
F 4/3 = 1.333 2-5/12 = 1.335
9/8 major tone tone.
G 3/2 = 1.500 2-7/12 = 1.498
10/9 minor tone tone.
A 5/3 = 1.667 2-9/12 = 1.682
9/8 minor tone tone.
B 15/8 = 1.875 2-11/12 = 1.888
16/15 limma semitone.
C' 2 2.000

Major tone ratio = 9/8 = 1.125 Limma tone ratio = 16/15 = 1.067
Minor " " = 10/9 = 1.111 Semitone " = 2^{1/12} = 1.059
Mean " " = 2^{2/12} = 1.123

NOTES OF PERFECT DIATONIC SCALE (WITH THEIR FREQUENCIES)

C,, 64. Ut_1 C, 128. Ut_2 C 256. Ut_3 C' 512. Ut_4
D,, 72 D, 144 D 288 D' 576
E,, 80 E, 160 E 320 E' 640
F,, 85.3 F, 170.7 F 341.3 F' 682.7
G,, 96 G, 192 G 384 G' 768
A,, 106.6 A, 213.3 A 426.7 A' 853.2
B,, 120 B, 240 B 480 B' 960
C'' 1024. Ut_5

PERFECT DIATONIC SCALES (TRANSITION TO KEY OF DOMINANT)

_Example_--Key of C to Key of G

C D E F G A B C' D' E' F' G'
1 9/8 5/4 4/3 3/2 5/3 15/8 2 9/4 5/2 8/3 3

G A` B C' D' E' F'# G'
1 9/8 5/4 4/3 3/2 5/3 15/8 2

A = 10/9 G. F' = 16/9 G.
A`= 9/8 G. F'# = 15/8 G.
A`= 81/80 A. = 15/8 X 9/16 F'.
= (1 + 1/18{2/7}) F'.

* * * * *

ACRI ([=a]'kr[=e]), a town of S. Italy, province of Cosenza. Pop. 4000.

AC'RITA (Gr. _akritos_, undistinguishable, doubtful), a name sometimes
given to the animals otherwise called Protozoa.

ACROCEPH'ALI, tribes of men distinguished by pyramidal or high skulls.

ACROCERAU'NIA (thunder-smitten peaks) (now CAPE GLOSSA or LINGUETTA), a
promontory of Western Greece, in Epirus, running into the Adriatic.

ACROCORIN'THUS, a steep rock in Greece, nearly 1900 feet high, overhanging
ancient Corinth, and on which stood the acropolis or citadel, the sacred
fountain of Pir[=e]n[=e] being also here. This natural fortress has proved
itself of importance in the modern history of Greece.

AC'ROGENS (-jenz), lit. summit-growers, a term applied to the ferns,
mosses, and lichens (cryptogams), as growing by extension upwards, in
contradistinction to endogens and exogens.

AC'ROLITH, an early form of Greek statuary in which the head, hands, and
feet only were of stone, the trunk of the figure being of wood draped or
gilded.

ACROP'OLIS (Gr. _akros_, high, and _polis_, a city), the citadel or chief
place of a Grecian city, usually on an eminence commanding the town. That
of Athens contained some of the finest buildings in the world, such as the
Parthenon, Erechth[=e]um, &c.

ACROS'TIC, a poem of which the first or last, or certain other, letters of
the line, taken in order, form some name, motto, or sentence. A poem of
which both first and last letters are thus arranged is called a double
acrostic. In Hebrew poetry, the term is given to a poem of which the
initial letters of the lines or stanzas were made to run over the letters
of the alphabet in their order, as in _Psalm_ cxix.--Acrostics have been
much used in complimentary verses, the initial letters giving the name of
the person eulogized. They were very popular among French poets of the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In modern times Edgar Allen Poe has
written quite remarkable acrostic verses.

ACT, in special senses: (1) In dramatic poetry, one of the principal
divisions of a drama, in which a definite and coherent portion of the plot
is represented; generally subdivided into smaller portions called _scenes_.
The Greek dramas were not divided into acts. The dictum that a drama should
consist of five acts was first formally laid down by Horace, and is
generally adhered to by modern dramatists in tragedy. In comedy, especially
since the time of Molière, more freedom is allowed, and a division into two
or three acts is common.--(2) Something formally done by a legislative or
judicial body; a statute or law passed.--(3) In universities, a thesis
maintained in public by a candidate for a degree. See _Act of God_, _of
Parliament_, _of Settlement_.

ACTA DIUR'NA (Lat., proceedings of the day), a daily Roman newspaper which
appeared under both the republic and the empire.

ACTÆ'A. See _Baneberry_.

ACTÆ'ON, in Greek mythology, a great hunter, turned into a stag by
Art[)e]mis (Diana) for looking on her when she was bathing, and torn to
pieces by his own dogs.

ACTA ERUDITO'RUM (Lat., acts of the learned), the first literary journal
that appeared in Germany (1682-1782). It was started by Otto Mencke, after
the model of the _Journal des Savants_. Among the contributors, the most
distinguished was Leibnitz.

ACTA SANCTORUM (Lat., acts of the saints), a name applied to all
collections of accounts of ancient martyrs and saints, both of the Greek
and Roman Churches, more particularly to the valuable collection begun by
John Bolland, a Jesuit of Antwerp, in 1643, and which, being continued by
other divines of the same order (_Bollandists_), now extends to sixty
volumes, the lives following each other in the order of the calendar.

ACTIN'IA, the genus of animals to which the typical sea-anemones belong.
See _Sea-anemone_.

AC'TINISM, the property of those rays of light which produce chemical
changes, as in photography, in contradistinction to the light rays and heat
rays. The actinic property or force begins among the green rays, is
strongest in the violet rays, and extends a long way beyond the visible
spectrum.

ACTINIUM, an element or elementary substance obtained in minute quantities
in connection with the study of radioactivity. It was discovered by
Debierne in 1899. In 1902 Giesel discovered another substance which he
called _emanium_, and which was considered to be identical with _actinium_.
Marckwald, however, came to the conclusion that these two substances are
not identical but closely related to each other. See _Radium_, _Chemistry_.

ACTIN'OLITE, a mineral nearly allied to hornblende.

ACTINOM'ETER, an instrument for measuring the intensity of the sun's
actinic rays. See _Actinism_.

ACTINOZO'A (lit. ray-animals), a class of animals belonging to the
sub-kingdom Coelenterata, and including sea-anemones, corals, &c., all
having rayed tentacles round the mouth.

ACTION, the mode of seeking redress at law for any wrong, injury, or
deprivation. Actions are divided into civil and criminal, the former again
being divided into real, personal, and mixed.

AC'TIUM (now LA PUNTA), a promontory on the western coast of Northern
Greece, not far from the entrance of the Ambracian Gulf (Gulf of Arta),
memorable on account of the naval victory gained here by Octavianus
(afterwards the Emperor Augustus) over Antony and Cleopatra, 2nd Sept., 31
B.C., in sight of their armies encamped on the opposite shores of the
Ambracian Gulf. Soon after the beginning of the battle Cleopatra escaped
with sixty Egyptian ships, and Antony basely followed her, and fled with
her to Egypt. The deserted fleet was not overcome without making a brave
resistance. Antony's land forces soon went over to the enemy, and the Roman
world fell to Octavianus. In 1538 a victory was gained at Actium by the
Turks over the Spanish and Venetian fleets.

ACT OF GOD, a legal term defined as "a direct, violent, sudden, and
irresistible act of nature, which could not, by any reasonable cause, have
been foreseen or resisted". No one can be legally called upon to make good
loss so arising.

ACT OF PARLIAMENT, a law or statute proceeding from the Parliament of the
United Kingdom passed in both houses, and having received the royal assent.
Before it is passed it is a _Bill_ and not an Act. Acts are either public
or private, the former affecting the whole community, the latter only
special persons and private concerns. The whole body of public Acts
constitutes the _statute law_. An Act of Parliament can only be altered or
repealed by the authority of Parliament. Acts are usually cited in this
way, "13 and 14 Vict. c. (or chap.) 21", which means the 21st Act in
succession passed in year 13th-14th of the queen's reign (that is, 1850).
Short titles, such as "the Merchant Shipping Act, 1854", are also used. Up
to the time of Edward I Acts of Parliament were in Latin; then French was
introduced, and for some time was exclusively employed. It was not till
Henry VII's reign that all Acts were in English.

ACT OF SETTLEMENT, an Act passed by the English Parliament in 1700, by
which the succession to the throne of the three kingdoms, in the event of
King William and Princess (afterwards Queen) Anne dying without issue, was
settled on the Princess Sophia, electress of Hanover, and the heirs of her
body, being Protestants. The Princess Sophia was the youngest daughter of
Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, daughter of James I. By this act George I, son
of the Princess Sophia, succeeded to the crown on the death of Queen
Anne.--Another Act of Settlement was that by which, under Cromwell's
government, a new allotment was made of almost all landed property in
Ireland, in 1652.

ACT OF TOLERATION, an Act of Parliament Passed in 1689, by which Protestant
dissenters from the Church of England, on condition of their taking the
oaths of supremacy and allegiance, and repudiating the doctrine of
transubstantiation, were relieved from the restrictions under which they
had formerly lain with regard to the exercise of their religion according
to their own forms.

ACT OF UNIFORMITY, an English Act passed in 1662, enjoining upon all
ministers to use the _Book of Common Prayer_ on pain of forfeiture of their
livings. See _Nonconformity_.

[Illustration: Quilted Acton of the fifteenth century]

ACTON, a kind of padded or quilted vest or tunic formerly worn under a coat
of mail to save the body from bruises, or used by itself as a defensive
garment. Jackets of leather or other material plated with mail were also so
called. _Gambeson_ was an equivalent term.

ACTON, a name of various places in England, one of them a western suburb of
London, pop. (1921), 61,314. Since 1918 Acton gives its name to a
parliamentary division of Middlesex, returning one member to Parliament.

ACTON, John Emerich Edward Dalberg, first Baron Acton, born 1834, died
1902, was son of Richard Acton (seventh baronet) and the daughter of the
Duc de Dalberg, afterwards wife of Earl Granville, Mr. Gladstone's
colleague. As a Roman Catholic he was educated at Oscott, and afterwards on
the Continent, partly under Döllinger, and acquired a special taste for and
profound knowledge of history. He conducted the _Home and Foreign Review_
from 1862 to 1864, and, in doing so, showed himself a strong opponent of
ultramontane pretensions. He next edited the _North British Review_, which
under him was rather overweighted with learning, and soon came to an end.
In 1869 he was raised to the peerage. He strongly opposed the
papal-infallibility movement, and took the side of Mr. Gladstone in his
attacks on Vaticanism. In 1895 he accepted the professorship of modern
history at Cambridge, delivered lectures, and planned and undertook the
editorship of the great work on modern history, _The Cambridge Modern
History_, comprising a series of contributions by various scholars, and
issued by the university press. Except essays, letters, or articles for
periodicals, he himself wrote little. Since his death have been published:
_Lectures in Modern History_ (1906); _The History of Freedom and other
Essays_ (1907); _Lectures on the French Revolution_ (1910). His library of
60,000 volumes he left to Mr. (now Lord) Morley, who handed it over to the
University of Cambridge.

ACTOR, one who represents some part or character on the stage. Actresses
were unknown to the Greeks and Romans in the earliest times, men or boys
always performing the female parts. They appeared under the Roman empire,
however. Charles II first encouraged the public appearance of actresses in
England; in Shakespeare's time there were none. See _Drama_.--BIBLIOGRAPHY:
C. F. Armstrong, _Century of Great Actors_; H. Simpson, _Century of Great
Actresses_.

ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, fifth of the books of the New Testament, written in
Greek and assigned to the author of the gospel of St. Luke. Its date is
probably A.D. 63 or 64. It embraces a period of about thirty years,
beginning immediately after the resurrection, and extending to the second
year of the imprisonment of St. Paul in Rome. Very little information is
given regarding any of the apostles, excepting St. Peter and St. Paul, and
the accounts of them are far from being complete. It describes the
gathering of the infant Church; the fulfilment of the promise of Christ to
his apostles in the descent of the Holy Ghost; the choice of Matthias in
the place of Judas, the betrayer; the testimony of the apostles to the
resurrection of Jesus in their discourses; their preaching in Jerusalem and
in Judea, and afterwards to the Gentiles; the conversion of Paul, his
preaching in Asia Minor, Greece, and Italy, his miracles and
labours.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: R. T. Knowling, _The Expositor's Greek Testament_;
J. Moffatt, _The Historical New Testament_; J. M. Wilson, _Origin and Aim
of the Acts of the Apostles_.

AC'TUARY, an accountant whose business is to make the necessary
computations in regard to a basis for life assurance, annuities,
reversions, &c.

ACU'LEUS, in botany, a prickle, or sharp-pointed process of the epidermis,
as distinguished from a thorn or spine, which is of a woody nature.

ACUPRESS'URE, a means of arresting bleeding from a cut artery introduced by
Sir James Simpson in 1859, and consisting in compressing the artery above
the orifice, that is, on the side nearest the heart, with the middle of a
needle (Lat. _acus_, a needle) introduced through the tissues.

ACUPUNC'TURE, a surgical operation, consisting in the insertion of needles
into certain parts of the body for alleviating pain, or for the cure of
different species of rheumatism, neuralgia, eye diseases, &c. It is easily
performed, gives little pain, causes neither bleeding nor inflammation, and
seems at times of surprising efficacy.

ADAGIO (It. [.a]-dä'j[=o]), a musical term, expressing a slow time, slower
than _andante_ and less so than _largo_, _lento_, and _grave_.

ADÂL', a country in Africa, east of Abyssinia and north-westward of
Tajurrah Bay, inhabited by a dark-brown race of the same name, a tribe of
the Danakils, Mahommedans in religion; towns Aussa and Tajurrah. Part of
the coast here is held by the French.

AD'ALBERT OF PRAGUE, called the apostle of the Prussians, son of a Bohemian
nobleman named Slavnik, born about 939. His real name was Voitech, but he
assumed the name of the Archbishop Adalbert, under whom he studied at
Magdeburg. He was appointed Bishop of Prague in 983, laboured in vain among
the heathenish Bohemians, resolved to convert the pagans of Prussia, but
was murdered in the attempt (997). _Boga-Rodzica_, a Polish war-song, is
said to have been composed by him.

ADA'LIA, a seaport on the south coast of Asia Minor. Pop. 28,000. The
district of Adalia has a population of over 200,000.

ADAM ([.a]-d[.a][n.]), Adolphe Charles, a French composer, more especially
of comic operas; born 1803, died 1856. Wrote _Le postillon de Longjumeau_,
_Le Brasseur de Preston_ (Brewer of Preston), _La Rose de Peronne_, _Le roi
d'Yvetot_, &c.

ADAM, Albrecht, a German painter of battles and animals, born 1786, died
1862. Three sons of his have also distinguished themselves as painters,
especially Franz, born 1815, died 1886, among whose best pictures are
several representing scenes of the Franco-Prussian war.

ADAM, Alexander, a Scottish classical scholar, born in 1741; became in 1768
rector of the High School of Edinburgh, and died there in 1809. Wrote
_Principles of Latin and English Grammar_; _Roman Antiquities_, a useful
school-book; _Summary of Geography and History_; _Classical Biography_, &c.

ADAM, Robert, an eminent Scottish architect, born in 1728, a son of William
Adam, architect. He resided several years in Italy, visited Spalatro, in
Dalmatia, and published a work on the ruined palace of Diocletian there. In
conjunction with his brother James he was much employed by the English
nobility and gentry in constructing modern and embellishing ancient
mansions. Among their works are the Register House and the University
Buildings, Edinburgh, and the Adelphi Buildings, London. Robert Adam died
in 1792, and was buried in Westminster Abbey; his brother James died in
1794.

ADAM AND EVE, the names given in Scripture to our first parents, an account
of whom and their immediate descendants is given in the early chapters of
_Genesis_. Cain, Abel, and Seth are all their sons that are mentioned by
name; but we are told that they had other sons as well as daughters. There
are numerous Rabbinical additions to the Scripture narrative of an
extravagant character, such as the myth of Adam having a wife before Eve,
named _Lilith_, who became the mother of giants and evil spirits. Other
legends or inventions are contained in the Koran.

ADAM DE LA HALE, an early French writer and musician, born 1235, died 1287.
His _Jeu de Robin et de Marion_ (first produced at Naples), may be regarded
as the first comic opera ever written. Cf. H. Guy, _Bibliographie Critique
du Trouvère_, Paris, 1900.

AD'AMANT, an old name for the diamond; also used in a vague way to imply a
substance of impenetrable hardness.

ADAMAN'TINE SPAR, a name of the mineral corundum or of a brownish variety
of it.

ADAMA'WA (also called FUMBINA), a region of West Africa, between lat. 6°
and 10° N., and lon. 11° and 17° E. Much of the surface is hilly or
mountainous, Mount Atlantika being 9000 or 10,000 feet. The principal river
is the Benue. A great part of the country is covered with thick forests.
The oil palm and bananas are staple products. Chief town Yola (Nigeria).

ADAMELLO. See _European War_.

AD'AMITES, a religious sect dating from the second century, probably of
Gnostic origin. It was so called because both men and women were said to
appear naked in their assemblies, either to imitate Adam in the state of
innocence or to prove the control which they possessed over their passions.
Practices similar to those of the Adamites arose several times in later
ages. See _Beghards_.

ADAM'NAN, St., born in Ireland about 624, was elected abbot of Iona in 679,
and died there about 703 or 704. He is best known from his _Life of St.
Columba_, valuable as throwing light on the early ecclesiastical history of
Scotland. (There are editions by Reeves, 1857; reissued with English
translation 1874; and by Fowler, 1895.) His feast is celebrated on 23rd
Sept.

ADAMS, Charles Francis, American litterateur and statesman, was a son of
John Quincy Adams, and was born in 1807. His boyhood was spent in Europe,
partly in England; but he finished his education at Harvard, and afterwards
studied law. After serving some years in the Massachusetts legislature he
was sent to Congress in 1859. In 1861 Lincoln sent him to England as
American minister, and here he remained for seven years, performing the
arduous duties of his office with the utmost tact and ability. Between 1874
and 1877 he edited a complete edition of his grandfather's works in 12
vols. He was one of the arbitrators on the _Alabama_ claims. Died in 1886.

ADAMS, John, second president of the United States, was born at Braintree
(now Quincy), Massachusetts, 19th Oct., 1735. He was educated at Harvard
University, and adopted the law as a profession. His attention was directed
to politics by the question as to the right of the English Parliament to
tax the colonies, and in 1765 he published some essays strongly opposed to
the claims of the mother country. As a member of the new American congress
in 1774, 1775, and 1776 he was strenuous in his opposition to the home
Government, and in organizing the various departments of the colonial
Government. On 13th May, 1776, he seconded the motion for a declaration of
independence proposed by Lee of Virginia, and was appointed a member of
committee to draw it up. The declaration was actually drawn up by
Jefferson, but it was Adams who fought it through Congress. In 1778 he went
to France on a special mission, but soon came back and again returned, and
for nine years resided abroad as representative of his country in France,
Holland, and England. After taking part in the peace negotiations he was
appointed, in 1785, the first ambassador of the United States to the Court
of St. James. He was recalled in 1788, and the following year elected
vice-president of the republic under Washington. In 1792 he was re-elected
vice-president, and at the following election in 1797 he became president
in succession to Washington. The commonwealth was then divided into two
parties, the Federalists, who favoured aristocratic and were suspected of
monarchic views, and the Republicans. Adams adhered to the former party,
with which his views of government had always been in accordance, but the
real leader of the party was Hamilton, with whom Adams did not agree, and
who tried to prevent his election. His term of office proved a stormy one,
which broke up and dissolved the Federalist party. His re-election in 1801
was again opposed by the efforts of Hamilton, which ended in effecting the
return of the Republican candidate Jefferson. Thus it happened that when
Adams retired from office his influence and popularity with both parties
were at an end, and he sunk at once into the obscurity of private life. He
had the consolation, however, of living to see his son president. He died
4th July, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the declaration of
independence, and on the same day as Jefferson. His works have been ably
edited by his grandson Charles Francis Adams.

ADAMS, John Couch, English astronomer, born 1819, died 1892, studied at
Cambridge, and was senior wrangler in 1843. His investigations into the
irregularities in the motion of the planet Uranus led him to the conclusion
that they must be caused by another more distant planet, and the results of
his labours were communicated in September and October, 1845, to Professor
Challis and Airy the Astronomer Royal. The French astronomer Leverrier had
by this time been engaged in the same line of research, and had come to
substantially the same results, which, being published in 1846, led to the
actual discovery of the planet Neptune by Galle of Berlin. In 1858 Adams
was professor of mathematics at Aberdeen University, and in 1859 was
appointed Lowndean professor of astronomy and geometry at Cambridge.

ADAMS, John Quincy, sixth president of the United States, son of John
Adams, second president, was born 11th July, 1767. Accompanying his father
to Europe he received part of his education there, but graduated at Harvard
in 1788. Having adopted the legal profession, in 1791 he was admitted to
the bar. He now began to take an active interest in politics, and some
letters that he wrote having attracted general attention, in 1794
Washington appointed him minister to the Hague. He afterwards was sent to
Berlin, and also on a mission to Sweden. In 1798 he received a commission
to negotiate a treaty of commerce with Sweden. On the accession of
Jefferson to the presidency in 1801 he was recalled. The Federalist party
(that of his father), which was now declining, had sufficient influence in
Massachusetts to elect him to the senate in 1803. On an important question
of foreign policy, that of embargo, he abandoned his party, and having lost
his re-election on this account, he retired to the professorship of
rhetoric at Cambridge, which he held from 1806 to 1809. In 1809 he went as
ambassador to Russia. He assisted in negotiating the peace of 1814 with
England, and was afterwards appointed resident minister at London. Under
Monroe as president he was secretary of state, and at the expiration of
Monroe's double term of office he succeeded him in the presidency (1825).
He was not very successful as president, and at the end of his term (1829)
he was not re-elected. In 1831 he was returned to Congress by
Massachusetts, and continued to represent this State till his death, his
efforts being now chiefly on behalf of the Abolitionist party. He died 21st
Feb., 1848.

ADAMS, Samuel, an American statesman, second cousin of President John
Adams, was born in Boston, 27th Sept., 1722, and was educated at Harvard
College. He early devoted himself to politics, and in connection with the
dispute between America and the mother country he showed himself one of the
most unwearied, efficient, and disinterested assertors of American freedom
and independence. He was one of the signers of the declaration of 1776,
which he laboured most indefatigably to bring forward. He sat in congress
eight years; from 1789-94 was lieutenant-governor of Massachusetts; from
1794-7 governor, when he retired from public life. He died 2nd Oct., 1803.

ADAM'S APPLE, the popular name of the prominence seen in the front of the
throat in man, and which is formed by the portion of the larynx known as
the _thyroid cartilage_. It is much smaller and less visible in females
than in males, and is so named from the supposition that it was caused by a
piece of the forbidden fruit having stuck in Adam's throat. In botany it is
the name given to the plantain tree and the _Citrus pomum_. It is the Heb.
_Ethrog_, which, according to Hebrew legend, was the fruit Adam and Eve ate
in the garden of Eden.

ADAM'S BRIDGE, a chain of reefs, sandbanks, and islands stretching between
India and Ceylon; so called because the Mohammedans believe that when Adam
was driven from paradise he had to pass by this way to Ceylon (where is
also Adam's Peak). The Brahmans call it the bridge of Rama, the hero of the
Indian Epic, the _Ramayana_.

ADAM'S NEEDLE, a popular name of the Yucca plant.

ADAM'S PEAK, one of the highest mountains in Ceylon, 45 miles
east-south-east of Colombo, conical, isolated, and 7420 feet high. On the
top, a rocky area of 64 feet by 45, is a hollow in the rock 5 feet long
bearing a rude resemblance to a human foot, which the Brahmans believe to
be the footprint of Siva; the Buddhists, who call it Sri-pada (sacred
footmark), that of Buddha; the Mahommedans that of Adam. The last-named
believe that Adam stood here on one foot for a thousand years, lamenting
his exclusion from Eden. Devotees of all creeds meet here and present their
offerings (chiefly rhododendron flowers) to the sacred footprint. The
ascent is very steep, and towards the summit is assisted by steps cut and
iron chains riveted in the rock.

ADAMSON, Patrick, a Scottish divine and Latin poet, born 15th March, 1536,
died 19th Feb., 1592. He was educated at St. Andrews, lived some years in
France, was minister of Paisley, and afterwards Archbishop of St. Andrews,
in which position he made himself very obnoxious to the Presbyterian party.
Deprived of the revenues of the see, he died in indigence. He turned
portions of the Bible into Latin verse.

AD'ANA, town and capital of Adana vilayet, Asia Minor, on the Seihun-Irmak;
served by the Bagdad Railway. The district is claimed by Armenia. Cotton,
rice, wine, and fruit are exported. Pop. (town), 70,000; (vilayet),
1,000,000.

ADANSON ([.a]-d[.a]n-s[=o][n.]), Michel, French naturalist and traveller
(of Scottish extraction), born 1727; died 1806. He lived five years in
Senegal, and wrote a natural history of this region as well as works on
botany. The baobab genus is named _Adansonia_ after him. Adanson's statue
was erected in the Jardin des Plantes, Paris, in 1856.

ADANSO'NIA. See preceding article and _Baobab_.

ADAPTATION (from the Lat. _ad_, to, and _apt[=a]re_, to fit), the process
of modification or alteration of a thing so as to change its original
purpose and adapt it to other uses. Adaptation in biology is the power and
process by which an organism or species of animals or plants changes and
becomes modified, so as to suit the conditions of its life. In other words
it is the adjustment, or favourable reaction, of the living world to its
environment, the advantageous variation of animals and plants under changed
conditions. The term now includes both that which is hereditary and that
which is acquired. The powers of lower forms of life to adapt themselves to
changes of environment are limited, and frequently, when the conditions
vary suddenly, they are either arrested in their development or die
altogether.--In literature it is the process by which an author modifies
the work of another not in its essence but in its form and details, either
in the original or in a foreign language.

A'DAR, the twelfth month of the Hebrew sacred and sixth of the civil year,
answering to part of February and part of March.

ADDA (ancient ADDUA), a river of North Italy, which, descending from the
Rhætian Alps, falls into Lake Como, and leaving this joins the Po, after a
course of about 170 miles. On the banks of the Adda Napoleon won the battle
of Lodi in 1796.

ADDA, a species of lizard, more commonly called Skink.

AD'DAX, a species of antelope (_Hippotr[)a]gus nasomacul[=a]tus_) of the
size of a large ass, with much of its make. The horns of the male are about
4 feet long, beautifully twisted into a wide-sweeping spiral of two turns
and a half, with the points directed outwards. It has tufts of hair on the
forehead and throat, and large broad hoofs. It inhabits the sandy regions
of Nubia and Kordofan, and is also found in Caffraria.

[Illustration: Adder (_Vipera communis_)]

ADDER, a name often applied to the common viper as well as to other kinds
of venomous serpents. See _Viper_.

ADDER-PIKE (_Trach[=i]nus vip[)e]ra_), a small species of the weever fish,
called also the Lesser Weever or Sting-fish. See _Weever_.

ADDER-STONE, the name given in different parts of Britain to certain
rounded perforated stones or glass beads found occasionally, and supposed
to have a kind of supernatural efficacy in curing the bites of adders. They
are believed to have been anciently used as spindle-whorls, that is, a kind
of small fly-wheels to keep up the rotatory motion of the spindle.

ADDER'S-TONGUE, a species of British fern (_Ophioglossum vulg[=a]tum_),
whose spores are produced on a spike, supposed to resemble a serpent's
tongue.

ADDER'S-WORT, a name of snakeweed or bistort (_Polyg[)o]num Bistorta_),
from its supposed virtue in curing the bite of serpents.

AD'DINGTON, Henry, Viscount Sidmouth, born 1757, died 1844. Entered
Parliament, 1783, as a warm supporter of Pitt. Was elected speaker of the
House of Commons, 1789, and in 1801 invited by the king to form an
administration, chiefly signalized by the conclusion of the Peace of
Amiens. Quarrelled with Pitt, whom he bitterly attacked. Was home secretary
from 1812 till 1822, his repressive policy making him remarkably unpopular
with the nation at large. Retired from official life in 1824.

ADDIS ABE'BA, or ADIS ABBA'BA, a town in the south of Abyssinia, in Shoa,
ranking as capital of the country, being chief residence of the negus or
sovereign. It stands among mountains, at the height of 10,000 feet, and is
a primitive place, but now has telegraphic connection with Jibouti and
Massawa, and since 1917 is the terminus of the railway running inland from
Jibouti by way of Harar. Pop. 50,000.

AD'DISON, Rt. Hon. Christopher, P.C., M.D., Cabinet Minister. Dr. Addison
was born 19th June, 1869, and educated at Trinity College, Harrogate, and
St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London, where he was a lecturer for a time. He
was elected Member of Parliament for the Hoxton Division, Shoreditch, in
1910, and was parliamentary secretary to the Board of Education from 1914
to 1915. From 1916 to 1917 he was Minister of Munitions; he was President
of the Local Government Board from January to June, 1919, when he became
Minister of Health. He has written and edited several works on medical
subjects.

AD'DISON, Joseph, an eminent English essayist, son of the Rev. Lancelot
Addison, afterwards Dean of Lichfield, born at Milston, Wiltshire, 1st May,
1672, died 17th June, 1719. He was educated at the Charterhouse, where he
became acquainted with Steele, and afterwards at Oxford. He held a
fellowship from 1697 till 1711, and gained much praise for his Latin verse.
He secured as his earliest patron the poet Dryden, who inserted some of his
verses in his _Miscellanies_ in 1693. A translation of the fourth
_Georgic_, with the exception of the story of _Aristæus_, by Addison,
appeared in the same collection in 1694, and he subsequently translated for
it two and a half books of Ovid. Dryden also prefixed his prose essay on
Virgil's _Georgics_ to his own translation of that poem, which appeared in
1697. An early patron of his was Charles Montague, afterwards Earl of
Halifax; another was Lord Somers, who procured him a pension of £300 a year
to enable him to qualify for diplomatic employments by foreign travels. He
spent from the autumn of 1699 to that of 1703 on the Continent, where he
became acquainted with Malebranche, Boileau, &c. During his residence
abroad his tragedy of _Cato_ is supposed to have been written. During his
journey across Mont Cenis he wrote his _Letter from Italy_, esteemed the
best of his poems, and in Germany his _Dialogues on Medals_, which was not
published till after his death. His _Remarks on Several Parts of Italy in
the Years 1701-3_ was published in 1705. His political friends lost power
on the death of William III, but _The Campaign_, a poem on the battle of
Blenheim, procured him an appointment as a commissioner of appeal on
excise. In 1706 he received an under-secretaryship, in 1707 accompanied
Halifax on a mission to Hanover, in 1709 became secretary to the Viceroy of
Ireland, and keeper of the records. In 1708 he was elected Member of
Parliament for Lostwithiel, a seat he exchanged in 1710 for Malmesbury,
which place he continued to represent till his death. From Oct., 1709, to
Jan., 1711, he contributed 75 papers to the _Tatler_, either wholly by
himself or in conjunction with Steele, thus founding the new literary
school of the Essayists. For the _Spectator_ (2nd Jan., 1711, to 6th Dec.,
1712) he wrote 274 papers, all signed by one of the four letters C., L.,
I., O. His tragedy of _Cato_, produced April, 1713, ran for twenty nights,
and was translated into French, Italian, German, and Latin. His other
contributions to periodicals included 51 papers to the _Guardian_ (May to
Sept., 1713), 24 papers to a revived _Spectator_ conducted by Budgell, and
2 papers to Steele's _Lover_. On the death of Queen Anne he successively
became secretary to the lords justices, secretary to the Irish viceroy, and
one of the lords commissioners of trade. He published the _Freeholder_
(23rd Dec., 1715, to 9th June, 1716), a political _Spectator_. In August,
1716, he married the Countess of Warwick, a marriage which did not increase
his happiness. He retired from public life, March, 1718, with a pension of
£1500 a year. He formed a close friendship with Swift, and was chief of a
distinguished literary circle. He had literary quarrels with Pope and Gay,
the former of whom in revenge wrote the satire contained in his lines on
Atticus in the _Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot_. He also had a paltry quarrel
over politics with his old friend Steele. His death took place at Holland
House, its cause being dropsy and asthma. He was buried in Westminster
Abbey. Of his style as a writer so much has been said that nothing remains
to say but to quote the dictum of Johnson: "Whoever wishes to attain an
English style, familiar but not coarse, and elegant but not ostentatious,
must give his days and nights to the volumes of Addison". He had great
conversational powers, and his intimates speak in the strongest terms of
the enjoyment derived from his society, but he was extremely reserved
before strangers. His _Dialogues on Medals_ and _Evidences of the Christian
Religion_ were published posthumously in Tickell's collected edition of his
works.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: W. J. Courthope, _Addison_ (English Men of Letters
Series); _Essays from the Spectator_, edited by Henry Morley.

ADDISON'S DISEASE (from Dr. Addison, Guy's Hospital, London, who traced the
disease to its source), a fatal disease, the seat of which is the two
glandular bodies placed one at the front of the upper part of each kidney,
and called _suprarenal capsules_. It is characterized by anæmia or
bloodlessness, extreme prostration, and the brownish or olive-green colour
of the skin. Death usually results from weakness, and commonly takes place
within a year.

ADDLED PARLIAMENT, a Parliament called 5th April, 1614, in order to
legalize the customs duties imposed by James I, but which, proceeding to
the redress of grievances instead of granting supply, was dissolved, 7th
June, without passing a single Bill.

ADDRESS, a document containing an expression of thanks, congratulation,
satisfaction, or dissatisfaction, &c. It is the custom of the British
Parliament to return an address to the speech delivered by the Sovereign at
the commencement of every session.

ADDRESS, Forms of. The following are the principal modes of formally
addressing titled personages or persons holding official rank in Great
Britain:--

_The King or Queen._--Address in writing: To the King's (Queen's) most
excellent Majesty. Say: Sire or Madam, Your Majesty.

_The Royal Family._--His Royal Highness (H.R.H.) the Prince of Wales,
His Royal Highness the Duke of C----, His Royal Highness Prince A----.
A royal duke should be addressed as Sir, not My Lord Duke; and referred
to as Your Royal Highness. A princess is addressed Her Royal Highness
the Duchess of ----, Her Royal Highness Princess A----; and personally
as Madam, Your Royal Highness.

_Duke and Ducal Family._--His Grace the Duke of ----; My Lord Duke,
Your Grace. Her Grace the Duchess of ----; Madam, Your Grace. The
duke's eldest son is in law only an esquire, but in courtesy takes a
secondary title of his father, and is addressed as if he held it by
right. A younger son is addressed Lord J---- B----; My Lord, Your
Lordship; a daughter, Lady M---- B---- (Christian and surname); Madam,
Your Ladyship. A duke's, marquis's, or earl's daughter marrying a
commoner simply changes her surname for his.

_The Lord-lieutenant of Ireland_ is styled His Excellency, or, if a
duke, His Grace, and addressed according to his titular rank.

_Marquess._--The Most Honourable the Marquess of ----; My Lord
Marquess, My Lord. The eldest son has a secondary title of his father,
as in the case of a duke's eldest son; the younger sons and the
daughters are all addressed as the younger sons and daughters of a
duke.

_Earl._--The Right Honourable the Earl of ----; My Lord, Your Lordship.
The Right Honourable the Countess of----; Madam, Your Ladyship. The
eldest son is addressed by a secondary title of his father; younger
son, The Honourable G---- T----; Sir; the daughter, as duke's and
marquess's daughter.

_Viscount._--The Right Honourable the Viscount ----; My Lord, Your
Lordship. The Right Honourable the Viscountess ----; Madam, Your
Ladyship. Son: The Honourable A---- B---- (Christian and surname); Sir.
Daughter: The Honourable J---- C---- (Christian and surname); Madame;
if married, The Honourable Mrs. ---- (married name).

_Baron._--The Right Honourable Lord ----; My Lord, Your Lordship. The
Right Honourable the Lady ----; Madam, your Ladyship. Son: The
Honourable J---- C----; Sir. Daughter: The Honourable M---- H----; if
married, The Honourable Mrs. ----, same as viscount's daughter.

_Baronet._--Sir A---- B----, Baronet; Sir; more familiarly Dear Sir
A----.

_Knight._--Sir C---- D----, Kt., or K.C.S.I., K.C.B., G.C.B., &c.,
according to rank. The wives of baronets and knights are styled Lady,
Lady ----.

_Archbishop._--His Grace the Lord Archbishop of ----; My Lord
Archbishop; Your Grace. An archbishop is also styled Most Reverend.

_Bishop._--The Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of ----; My Lord. The wives
of prelates have no special title. Bishops not connected with the
English established church may be addressed--The Right Reverend Bishop
----; Right Reverend Sir.

_Dean._--The Very Reverend; Sir; Mr. Dean.

Members of the Privy Council, members and ex-members of cabinet, the
Speaker of the House of Commons, the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Chief
Justice and the Lords Justices, the Lord Advocate, the lords of the
treasury and admiralty, are called Right Honourable; the justices (not
being _lords_ justices) are styled Honourable. Ambassadors, governors
of colonies, &c., are styled Excellency.

The Lord Mayors of London, York, Dublin, &c., and the Lord Provost of
Edinburgh, are styled Right Honourable; the Lord Provost of Glasgow,
Honourable. A Mayor is addressed as Right Worshipful. Lords of Session
(Scotland) have the courtesy title of Lord, are addressed as My Lord,
Your Lordship, and also called Honourable. Sheriffs and their
substitutes are addressed in their courts in Scotland as My Lord.

In the United States persons holding official rank are similarly
addressed; thus the President is styled His Excellency, as are also
governors of states and foreign ministers; the vice-president,
lieutenant-governors, senators, representatives, judges, and mayors are
styled Honourable.

ADDUC'TOR, a muscle which draws one part of the body towards another:
applied in zoology to one of the muscles which bring together the valves of
the shell of the bivalve molluscs.

ADEL'. See _Adal._

ADELA, born 1062, died 1137, fourth daughter of William the Conqueror, wife
of Stephen, Count of Blois and Chartres, and mother of Stephen, King of
England. She proved herself an able ruler and a generous patroness of
learning while her husband was abroad with the First Crusade; and after his
death she acted as regent for his sons.

ADELAIDE (ad'e-l[=a]d), the capital of South Australia, 6 miles east from
Port Adelaide (on St. Vincent Gulf), its port, with which it is united by
railway, founded in 1837, and named after the queen of William IV. Situated
on a large plain, it is built nearly in the form of a square, with the
streets at right angles, and is divided into North and South Adelaide,
separated by the river Torrens, which is crossed by several bridges, and by
means of a dam is converted into a fine sheet of water. The public
buildings comprise the Government House, the town hall, the post and
telegraph offices, the Government offices, court-houses, the houses of
legislature, the University, South Australian Institute, &c. There is a
good service of tramway cars. Adelaide is connected by railway with
Melbourne, and is the terminus of the overland telegraph to Port Darwin. It
has a large trade. Pop. (including suburbs), (1919), 256,660.

ADELAIDE, daughter of George, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Meiningen, and wife of
the Duke of Clarence, afterwards William IV, King of England; born 1792,
died 1849; married 11th July, 1818, had two daughters, who died in infancy.
She became queen-consort on William attaining the throne in 1830, and was
for a time unpopular from being supposed to be averse to reform. On the
death of William she passed into private life, with an allowance of
£100,000 a year.

ADELARD OF BATH, an English philosophical writer of the twelfth century. He
travelled through Spain, the north of Africa, Greece, and Asia Minor, and
acquired from the Arabs much knowledge, which he put in systematic shape.
Chief works, _Perdifficiles Quæstiones Naturales_ and _De Eodem et
Diverso._

ADELSBERG (ä'd[.e]lz-ber_h_), a small town of North Italy, in Carniola,
midway between Trieste and Laibach, remarkable for the wonderful stalactite
cave in its vicinity. The most extended of the ramifications which compose
it reaches to over 2 miles from the entrance, at which the River Poik
disappears, and is heard rushing below. The stalactites and stalagmites are
of the most varied and often beautiful forms, and have received fanciful
appellations, as they resemble columns, statues, &c.

ADELUNG ([.a]d'e-l[u:]ng), Friedrich von, nephew of J. C. Adelung, was a
distinguished philologist. He was tutor to the Grand-duke Nicholas,
afterwards Emperor of Russia, and became president of the Academy of
Sciences at St. Petersburg (now Petrograd). Born 1768, died 1843.

ADELUNG, Johann Christoph, a German philologist, born 1732, died 1806. In
1759 he was appointed professor in the Protestant academy at Erfurt, and
two years after removed to Leipzig, where he applied himself to the works
by which he made so great a name, particularly his German dictionary,
_Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der hochdeutschen Mundart_ (Leipzig,
1774-86), and his _Mithridates_, a work on general philology. In 1787 he
was appointed librarian of the public library in Dresden--an office which
he held till his death.

A'DEN, a seaport town and territory belonging to Britain, on the south-west
coast of Arabia, in a dry and barren district, the town being almost
entirely closed in by an amphitheatre of rocks, and possessing an admirable
harbour. Occupying an important military position, Aden is strongly
fortified and permanently garrisoned. It is of importance also as a coaling
station for steamers, and carries on a great amount of commerce, forming an
entrepôt and place of transhipment for goods valued at £6,000,000 a year.
Its greatest drawback is the scarcity of fresh water, which is obtained
partly from wells, partly from rock-cisterns that receive the rain, and
partly by condensation from salt water--the only unfailing means of supply.
The peninsula on which it stands somewhat resembles the rock of Gibraltar,
and could be rendered as formidable. Aden was a Roman colony, and in the
Middle Ages it was a great entrepôt of the Eastern trade. It was acquired
by Britain in 1839, after which it was attacked repeatedly by the Arabs.
With the additional territory latterly acquired, the total British area is
75 sq. miles (or with the island of Perim, 80); while a large tract is
under British influence. Aden is attached to the Bombay Presidency. Pop.
46,165.

ADENANTHE'RA, a genus of trees and shrubs, natives of the East Indies, nat.
ord. Leguminosæ. _A. pavon[=i]na_ is one of the largest and handsomest
trees of India, and yields hard solid timber called red sandal-wood. The
bright scarlet seeds, from their equality in weight (each=4 grains), are
used by goldsmiths in the East as weights.

ADENI'TIS (Gr. _ad[=e]n_, a gland), in medicine, inflammation of one or
more of the lymphatic glands.

AD'ENOIDS, small growths often occurring in the back wall of the throat in
children, blocking the nostrils and commonly causing deafness. They can be
removed by a simple operation.

ADERER'. See _Adrar_.

ADERNO', a town of Sicily, 18 miles N.W. of Catania and about 10 miles
W.S.W. of Mount Etna. Pop. 25,000.

ADESSENA'RIAN, one of a sect of Christians which holds that there is a real
presence of Christ in the Eucharist, but denying that it is effected by
transubstantiation.

ADHESION, the tendency of two bodies to stick together when put in close
contact, or the mutual attraction of their surfaces; distinguished from
_cohesion_, which denotes the mutual attraction between the particles of a
homogeneous body. Adhesion may exist between two solids, between a solid
and a fluid, or between two fluids. A plate of glass or of polished metal
laid on the surface of water and attached to one arm of a balance will
support much more than its own weight in the opposite scale from the force
of adhesion between the water and the plate. From the same force arises the
tendency of most liquids, when gently poured from a jar, to run down the
exterior of a vessel or along any other surface they meet.

ADIAN'TUM, a genus of ferns; the maiden-hair fern.

ADIAPH'ORIST (Gr. _adiaphoros_, indifferent), a name given in the sixteenth
century to Melanchthon's party, who held some opinions and ceremonies to be
indifferent which Luther condemned as sinful or heretical.

ADIGE (ä'd[=e]-j[=a]), Ger. _Etsch_ (ancient ATH[)E]SIS), a river of
Northern Italy, which rises in the Rhætian Alps, and after a south and east
course of about 180 miles, during which it passes Verona and Legnago, falls
into the Adriatic, forming a delta connected with that of the Po.

AD'IPOCERE (-s[=e]r) (Lat. _adeps_, fat, and _cera_, wax), a substance of a
light-brown colour formed by animal matter when protected from atmospheric
air, and under certain circumstances of temperature and humidity. It was
first observed by Fourcroy, and a quantity discovered at the Cimetière des
Innocents, Paris. A similar substance is found in peat-bogs in Wales and
Ireland.

AD'IPOSE TISSUE, the cellular tissue containing the oily or fatty matter of
the body. It underlies the skin, surrounds the large vessels and nerves,
invests the kidneys, &c., and sometimes accumulates in large masses.

ADIRON'DACK MOUNTAINS, in the United States, a group belonging to the
Appalachian chain, extending from the N.E. corner of the State of New York
to near its centre. The scenery is wild and grand, diversified by numerous
beautiful lakes, and the whole region is a favourite resort of sportsmen
and tourists.

AD'IT, a more or less horizontal opening, giving access to the shaft of a
mine. It is made to slope gradually from the farthest point in the interior
to the mouth, and by means of it the principal drainage is usually carried
on. See _Mine_.

AD'JECTIVE, in grammar, a word used to denote some quality in the noun or
substantive to which it is accessory. The adjective is indeclinable in
English (but has _degrees_ of comparison), and generally precedes the noun,
while in most other European languages it follows the inflections of the
substantive, and is more commonly placed after it, though in German it
precedes it, as in English.

ADJUDICA'TION, in English law, is the decree of the court in bankruptcy
declaring a person bankrupt.

ADJUST'MENT, in marine insurance, is the settling of the amount of the loss
which the insurer is entitled under a particular policy to recover, and if
the policy is subscribed by more than one underwriter, of the amounts which
the underwriters respectively are liable to pay.

AD'JUTANT, an officer appointed to each regiment or battalion, whose duty
is to assist the commander. He is charged with instruction in drill, and
all the interior discipline, duties, and efficiency of the corps. He has
the charge of all documents and correspondence, and is the channel of
communication for all orders.

[Illustration: Adjutant-bird (_Leptopt[)i]lus arg[)a]la_)]

ADJUTANT-BIRD (_Leptopt[)i]lus arg[)a]la_), a large grallatorial or wading
bird of the stork family, native of the warmer parts of India, where it is
known as Hurg[)i]la or Arg[)a]la. It stands about five feet high, has an
enormous bill, nearly bare head and neck, and a pouch hanging from the
under part of the neck. It is one of the most voracious carnivorous birds
known, and in India, from its devouring all sorts of carrion and noxious
animals, is protected by law. From underneath the wings are obtained those
light downy feathers known as _marabou_ feathers, from the name of an
allied species of bird (_L. marabou_) inhabiting Western Africa, and also
producing them.

ADJUTANT-GENERAL, in Great Britain the second military member of the Army
Council, and styled Adjutant-general to the Forces. He is a general
officer, and at the head of his department at the War Office, which is
charged with all duties relative to personnel.--Among the Jesuits this name
was given to a select number of fathers, who resided with the general of
the order, and had each a province or country assigned to him.

AD'JUTATORS, in English history, representatives elected by the
parliamentary forces in 1647 to act with the officers in compelling
Parliament to satisfy the demands of the army.

ADLER, Victor, Austrian socialist leader, born in 1852. Educated as a
physician, he gave up his profession for socialist propaganda. He visited
England, and wrote a book on factory inspection in this country. He was the
founder and editor of the _Arbeiter-Zeitung_; was a member of the Lower
Austrian Diet and of the Imperial Council in 1907. His son, Dr. Friedrich
Adler, assassinated Count Stuergkh, the Austrian premier, on 20th Oct.,
1916. He died in 1918.

AD'LINGTON, a straggling place in Lancashire to the south-east of Chorley,
engaged in the cotton manufacture. Pop. (1921), 4393.

ADME'TUS, in Greek mythology, King of Pheræ, in Thessaly, and husband of
Alcestis, who gave signal proof of her attachment by consenting to die in
order to prolong her husband's life. See _Alcestis_.

ADMINISTRA'TION, in politics, the executive power or body, the ministry or
cabinet.

ADMIN'ISTRATOR, in law, the person to whom the goods of a man dying
intestate are committed by the proper authority, and who is bound to
account for them when required.

AD'MIRAL, the commander-in-chief of a squadron or fleet of ships of war, or
of the entire naval force of a country, or simply a naval officer of the
highest rank. In the British navy admirals are of four ranks--admiral of
the fleet, admiral, vice-admiral, and rear-admiral. They were also divided
formerly into three classes, named after the colours of their respective
flags, admirals of the _red_, of the _white_, and of the _blue_. In 1864,
however, this distinction was given up, and now there is one flag common to
all ships of war, namely, the white ensign divided into four quarters by
the cross of St. George, and having the union in the upper corner next the
staff.--The title _admiral of the fleet_ is conferred on a few admirals,
and carries an increase of pay along with it.--A _vice-admiral_ is next in
rank and command to the admiral: he carries his flag at the
foretop-gallant-mast head, while an admiral carries his at the main. A
_rear-admiral_, next in rank to the vice-admiral, carries his flag at the
mizzentop-gallant-mast head.--_Lord high admiral_, in Great Britain, an
officer who (when this rare dignity is conferred) is at the head of the
naval administration of Great Britain. There have been few high admirals
since 1632, when the office was first put in commission. James Duke of York
(afterwards James II) held it for several years during Charles II's reign.
In the reign of William and Mary it was vested in lords commissioners of
the admiralty, and since that time it has been held for short periods only
by Prince George of Denmark (1702-8) in the time of Queen Anne, and by
William IV, then Duke of Clarence, in 1827-8.

AD'MIRALTY, that department of the Government of a country that is at the
head of its naval service. In Britain the board of Admiralty now consists
of the First Lord of the Admiralty and seven other commissioners, four of
them being Sea Lords, and one a Civil Lord. The First Lord is always a
member of the cabinet, and it is he who principally exercises the powers of
the department. Under the 1912 Admiralty Organization Scheme, the various
members of the board are responsible for special business. Several changes
in Admiralty organization were made during the European War, but after the
cessation of hostilities the system reverted to that of peace time.

ADMIRALTY CHARTS are charts issued by the hydrographic department of the
Admiralty of Britain; they are prepared by specially appointed surveyors
and draughtsmen, and besides being supplied to every ship in the fleet, are
sold to the general public at prices much less than their cost. In
connection with these charts there are published books of sailing
directions, lists of lights, &c. The navigating charts are generally on the
scale of half an inch to a mile, and show all the dangers of the coasts
with sufficient distinctness to enable the seamen to avoid them; the charts
of larger size exhibit all the intricacies of the coast.

ADMIRALTY COURT, a court which takes cognizance of civil and criminal
causes of a maritime nature, including captures made in war, and offences
committed on the high seas, and has to do with many matters connected with
maritime affairs. In England the Admiralty Court was once held before the
Lord High Admiral, and at a later period was presided over by his deputy or
the deputy of the Lords Commissioners. It now forms a branch of the
Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty division of the High Court of Justice.
There is a separate Irish Admiralty Court. In Scotland Admiralty cases are
now prosecuted in the Court of Session, or in the Sheriff Court. In the
United States, Admiralty cases are taken up in the first instance by the
district courts.

ADMIRALTY ISLAND, an island belonging to the United States off the
north-west coast of North America, 80 or 90 miles long and about 20 broad,
covered with fine timber and inhabited by Sitka Indians.

ADMIRALTY ISLANDS, a cluster of 40 islands, north of New Guinea, in what
was once called the Bismarck Archipelago. Discovered by the Dutch explorer
Shouten in 1616, they were in German possession from 1884 to 12th Sept.,
1914, when they were occupied by an Australian force. They have since been
in British occupation. The largest is about 60 miles in length; the rest
are much smaller. They are covered with a luxuriant vegetation, and possess
dense groves of coco-nut trees. There are valuable pearl and other shell
fisheries. Capital, Lorengau. Pop. (native), 4000; (European), 50.

[Illustration: Stipule adnated to Leaf-stalk of Rose]

AD'NATE, in botany, applied to a part growing attached to another and
principal part by its whole length, as stipules adnated to the leaf-stalk.

ADOBE ([.a]-d[=o]'b[=a]), the Spanish name for a brick made of loamy earth,
containing about two-thirds fine sand and one-third clayey dust, sun-dried;
in common use for building in Mexico, Texas, and Central America. Building
material in ancient Egypt and Assyria was adobe.

ADOL'PHUS, John, 1768-1845, an able English criminal lawyer, and author of
the _History of England from the Accession of George III_ and _Biographical
Memoirs of the French Revolution_.

ADOLPHUS OF NASSAU, elected Emperor of Germany, 1292. In 1298 the college
of electors transferred the crown to Albert of Austria, but, Adolphus
refusing to abdicate, a war ensued in which he fell, after a heroic
resistance, 2nd July, 1298.

ADONAI (ad'o-n[=i]), a name bestowed upon God in the Old Testament. See
_Jehovah_.

ADO'NI, a town and district in Madras; pop. of former 30,416, of latter
179,418. It is well known for excellent silk and cotton fabrics.

ADO'NIS, son of Myrrha, a mythological personage, originally a deity of the
Phoenicians, but borrowed into Greek mythology. He was represented as being
a great favourite of Aphrodit[=e] (Venus), who accompanied him when engaged
in hunting, of which he was very fond. He received a mortal wound from the
tusk of a wild boar, and when the goddess hurried to his assistance she
found him lifeless, whereupon she caused his blood to give rise to the
anemone. The worship of Adonis, which arose in Phoenicia, was afterwards
widely spread round the Mediterranean. He is the reproductive principle,
nature's decay in winter and its revival in spring. The name Adonis is akin
to the Heb. _Adonai_, Lord. See _Tammuz_.

ADO'NIS, a small river rising in Lebanon and flowing to the Mediterranean.
When in flood it is tinged with a red colour, and so is connected with the
legend of Adonis.

ADO'NIS, a genus of ranunculaceous plants. In the corn-adonis or pheasant's
eye (_A. autumn[=a]lis_) the petals are bright scarlet like the blood of
Adonis, from which the plant is fabled to have sprung.

ADOPTIANISM, the theory according to which Christ as a man is the adopted
Son of God. Elipandus, Archbishop of Toledo, and Felix, Bishop of Urgella,
asserted this double sonship in Christ, maintaining that He was indeed the
Son of God in His divine nature, but as man He was the Son of God only by
grace and adoption. 'The Man Christ' is therefore only the adopted and not
the natural Son of God. The doctrine was vigorously opposed by Alcuin, and
condemned by the councils of Ratisbon (792) and Frankfort (794). The
theory, however, found advocates during the Middle Ages, and has given rise
to theological disputes in modern times. Adoptianism was attributed both to
Abelard and Duns Scotus.

ADOP'TION, the admission of a stranger by birth to the privileges of a
child. Among the ancient Greeks and Romans, and also some modern nations,
adoption is placed under legal regulation. In Rome the effect of adoption
was to create the legal relation of father and son, just as if the person
adopted was born of the blood of the adopter in lawful marriage. The
adopted son took the name of his adopter, and was bound to perform his new
father's religious duties. Adoption is not recognized by the law of England
and Scotland; there are legal means to enable a person to assume the name
and arms, and to inherit the property of another. In some of the United
States adoption is regulated by laws not very dissimilar to those which
prevailed among the Romans.

ADOUR ([.a]-dör), a river of France, rising in the Hautes Pyrenees, and
falling into the sea a little below Bayonne; length about 200 miles; partly
navigable.

ADO'WA, a town of Abyssinia, in Tigré, at an elevation of 6270 feet; the
chief commercial depot on the caravan route from Massawa to Gondar. Pop.
about 4000. Here the Italians suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of
the Abyssinians, 1st March, 1896.

ADRA (ä'_d_r[.a]), a seaport of Southern Spain, in Andalusia, near the
mouth of the Adra, on the Mediterranean; with marble quarries and lead
works. Pop. 9000.

ADRAMIT'TI (ancient ADRAMYTTIUM; Turk. _Edremid_), a town of Turkey in
Asia, near the head of the gulf of the same name, 80 miles north of Smyrna.
Pop. about 5000.

ADRAR', a district in the Western Sahara, peopled by Berbers possessing
camels, sheep, and oxen, and cultivating dates, wheat, barley, and melons.
Chief towns, Wadan and Shingit, which has inexhaustible beds of rock-salt.

ADREN'ALIN, or SUPRARENIN, a crystalline substance obtained from the
adrenals or suprarenal capsules of cattle and sheep, which possesses the
property of checking bleeding by its styptic or contractive powers, and is
used in medical practice, more especially in the case of bleeding at the
nose and nervous catarrh.

ADRIA (ä'dri-[.a]), a cathedral city of Northern Italy, province of Rovigo,
between the Po and the Adige, on the site of the ancient town of same name,
whence the Adriatic derives its appellation. Owing to alluvial deposits the
sea is now 17 miles distant. Pop. 11,878.

A'DRIAN, the name of six Popes. The first, a Roman, ruled from 772-795; a
contemporary and friend of Charlemagne. He expended vast sums in rebuilding
the walls and restoring the aqueducts of Rome.--ADRIAN II, a Roman, was
elected Pope in 867, at the age of seventy-five years. He died in 872, in
the midst of conflicts with the Greek Church.--ADRIAN III, a Roman, elected
884, was Pope for one year and four months only. He was the first Pope who
changed his name on the occasion of his exaltation.--ADRIAN IV, originally
named NICOLAS BREAKSPEAR, the only Englishman who ever occupied the papal
chair, was born about 1100, and died 1159. He is said to have been a native
of Hertfordshire, studied in France, and became abbot of St. Rufus in
Provence, cardinal and legate to Norway. Chosen Pope in 1154, his reign is
chiefly remarkable for his almost constant struggle for supremacy with
Frederick Barbarossa, who on one occasion had been forced to hold his
stirrup, and had been crowned by him at Rome (1155). He issued the famous
bull (1158) granting the sovereignty of Ireland, on condition of the
payment of Peter's pence, to Henry II.--ADRIAN V, previously called
OTTOBUONO FIESCHI, of Genoa, settled, as legate of the Pope, the dispute
between King Henry III of England and his nobles, in favour of the former;
but died a month after his election to the papal chair (1276).--ADRIAN VI
(the last pontifice barbaro), born at Utrecht in 1459, was elected to the
papal chair, 9th Jan., 1522. He tried to reform abuses in the Church, but
opposed the zeal of Luther with reproaches and threats, and even attempted
to excite Erasmus and Zuinglius against him. Died 1523, after a reign of
one year and a half.

A'DRIAN, a town of the United States, in Michigan, 70 miles W.S.W. of
Detroit. Its extensive water-power is employed in works of various kinds.
Pop. 9654.

A'DRIAN, Publius Ælius Hadrianus. See _Hadrian_.

ADRIANO'PLE (Turk. _Edreneh_), an important city in the Balkans, about 135
miles W.N.W. from Constantinople, on the Maritza (ancient _Hebrus_), at its
junction with the Tundja and the Arda. It has a great mosque, among the
most magnificent in the world; a palace, now in a state of decay; a grand
aqueduct, and a splendid bazaar; manufactures of silk, woollen, and cotton
stuffs, otto of roses, leather, &c., and an important trade. Adrianople
received its present name from the Roman emperor Adrian (Hadrian). In 1361
it was taken by Amurath I, and was the residence of the Turkish sovereigns
till the conquest of Constantinople in 1453. In 1829 it was taken by the
Russians, and here was then concluded the peace of Adrianople, by which
Russia received important accessions of territory in the Caucasus and on
the coast of the Black Sea. The Russians occupied it also in 1878.
Adrianople was bombarded by the Balkan allied forces in Feb., 1913, and
fell 28th March; it was recaptured by the Turks, under Enver Bey, 20th
July. Pop. 83,000.

ADRIAN'S (or HADRIAN'S) WALL. See _Roman Walls_.

ADRIAT'IC SEA, or GULF OF VENICE, an arm of the Mediterranean, stretching
in a north-westerly direction from the Straits of Otranto, between Italy
and the Balkan Peninsula (Yugo-Slavia). Length, about 480 miles; average
breadth, about 100; area, about 60,000 sq. miles. The rivers which it
receives, particularly the Po, its principal feeder, have produced, and are
still producing, great geological changes in its basin by their alluvial
deposits. Hence Adria, between the Po and the Adige, which gives the sea
its name, though once a flourishing seaport, is now 17 miles inland. An
oceanographic investigation of the Adriatic Sea took place in Feb. and
March, 1911. The principal trading ports on the Italian side are Brindisi,
Bari, Ancona, Sinigaglia, and Venice; on the east side Ragusa, Fiume,
Pirano, Pola, and Trieste (Italian).

ADSCRIPTI GLEBÆ (Lat., persons attached to the soil), a term applied to a
class of Roman slaves attached in perpetuity to and transferred with the
land they cultivated. Colliers and salt workers in Scotland were in a
similar position till 1775.

ADULA'RIA, a very pure, limpid, translucent variety of the common felspar,
called by lapidaries _moonstone_, on account of the play of light exhibited
by the arrangement of its crystalline structure. It is found on the Alps,
but the best specimens are brought from Ceylon. It is so called from
_Adula_, one of the peaks of St. Gothard, where fine specimens are got.

ADUL'LAM, CAVE OF, a cave to which David fled when persecuted by Saul, and
whither he was followed by "every one who was in distress, in debt, or
discontented" (1 _Sam._ xxii, 1, 2).--The name _Adullamites_ was given to
an English political party, consisting of R. Lowe, Lord Elcho, and other
Liberals, who opposed the majority of their party on the Franchise Bill of
1866. The term originated from a speech of John Bright on 13th March, 1866.

ADULTERA'TION, a term applied to the fraudulent mixture of articles of
commerce, foods, drugs, beverages, seeds, &c., with inferior ingredients,
and also to any accidental impurity found in a substance. The chief objects
of adulteration are to render a substance more pleasing in appearance, to
increase the weight, to make an inferior article appear as good as the
article of superior quality. Any substance added to an article to increase
its bulk, weight, colour, &c., is spoken of as an adulterant. Milk is often
adulterated with water and with colouring-matter. Butter may be adulterated
by mixing with it other fats or by the addition of colouring-matter. Nearly
every article of food can be adulterated in some way to make it appear of
finer quality. _Preservatives_ added to foods and drugs generally may be
classed as adulterants. Thus cream is preserved by adding small quantities
of boric acid. Beer sometimes contains salicylic acid added as a
preservative. Chloroform contains a small quantity of alcohol to prevent
decomposition. Methylated spirits is alcohol adulterated in several ways to
render it unfit for human consumption. Tobacco contains benzoic acid as
preservative, and sometimes saltpetre to aid burning. Many of these
adulterants are harmful, so that such added to foods and beverages must be
present only in very small quantities. Food and Drug Acts lay down the
limits of the quantities of foreign matter permitted either as preservative
or impurity. Practically every article of commerce is adulterated in some
way, and pure substances are seldom used. Cf. Walker, _The Food Inspector's
Encyclopædia_.

ADUL'TERY, the voluntary sexual intercourse of a married person with any
other than the offender's husband or wife; when committed between two
married persons, the offence is called double, and when between a married
and single person, single adultery. The Mosaic, Greek, and early Roman law
only recognized the offence when a married woman was the offender. By the
Jewish law it was punished with death. In Greece the laws against it were
severe. By the laws of Draco and Solon adulterers, when caught in the act,
were at the mercy of the injured party. In early Rome the punishment was
left to the discretion of the husband and parents of the adulteress. The
punishment assigned by the Lex Julia, under Augustus, was banishment or a
heavy fine. Under Constantius and Constans, adulterers were burned or sewed
in sacks and thrown into the sea; under Justinian the wife was to be
scourged, lose her dower, and be shut up in a monastery; at the expiration
of two years the husband might take her again; if he refused she was shaven
and made a nun for life. By the ancient laws of France this crime was
punishable with death. In Spain personal mutilation was frequently the
punishment adopted. In several European countries adultery is regarded as a
criminal offence, but in none does the punishment exceed imprisonment for a
short period, accompanied by a fine. In England formerly it was punishable
with fine and imprisonment, and in Scotland it was frequently made a
capital offence. In Great Britain at the present day, however, it is
punishable only by ecclesiastical censure. The aggrieved husband, however,
can obtain damages against his wife's seducer. In England a man can obtain
a dissolution of his marriage on the ground of his wife's adultery, and a
wife can obtain a judicial separation on the ground of her husband's
adultery, or a dissolution of the marriage if the offence is coupled with
cruelty, desertion, or bigamy. In Scotland it is not necessary to prove
cruelty. In the United States the punishment of adultery has varied
materially at different times. It is, however, very seldom punished
criminally in the States. A person divorced for adultery is by the laws of
France and Scotland prohibited from intermarrying with the co-respondent.

AD VALO'REM (Lat., according to the value), a term applied to customs or
duties levied according to the worth of the goods, as sworn to by the
owner, and not according to number, weight, measure, &c.

ADVANCE-NOTE, a draft on the owner of a vessel, generally for one month's
wages, given by the master to the sailors on their signing the articles of
agreement. The granting of such notes to British sailors was made illegal
by an Act passed in 1880.

AD'VENT (Lat. _adventus_, an arrival, 'the coming of our Saviour'), the
name applied to the holy season which occupies the four or, according to
the Greek Church, six weeks preceding Christmas, and which forms the first
portion of the ecclesiastical year, as observed by the Anglican, the Roman
Catholic, and the Greek Church.

AD'VENTISTS, a group of six American religious sects who believe in the
speedy coming of Christ, and generally practise adult immersion. The first
sect of Adventists was founded by William Miller in 1831.--There is also a
sect called _Seventh-day Adventists_, who hold that the coming of Christ is
at hand, and maintain that the Sabbath is still the seventh day of the
week.

AD'VERB, one of the parts of speech used to limit or qualify the
signification of an adjective, verb, or other adverb; as, _very cold_,
_naturally brave_, _much more clearly_, _readily agreed_. Adverbs may be
classified as follows: (1) Adverbs of time, as, _now_, _then_, _never_,
&c.; (2) of place, as, _here_, _there_, _where_, &c.; (3) of degree, as,
_very_, _much_, _nearly_, _almost_, &c.; (4) of affirmation, negation, or
doubt, as, _yes_, _no_, _certainly_, _perhaps_, &c.; (5) of manner, as,
_well_, _badly_, _clearly_, &c.

ADVERTIS'ING. Advertising on a small scale is a practice as old as
commerce; but modern advertising on a large scale cannot be dated further
back than 1785, when the _Times_ was founded. The last thirty years have
witnessed a great increase in the importance of advertisements as part of
the policy of a progressive business. Much more intelligence and vastly
more money is now spent on advertising than ever was before. America led
the way, but the British are not now far behind in the number and ingenuity
of their advertisements.

There are roughly speaking five distinct types of advertisement:--

(1) Press advertising, under which heading is included daily and weekly
newspapers, monthly magazines and year books, directories, &c.

(2) Mail-order advertising, which comprises form-letters, catalogues.

(3) Poster and showcard advertising. This includes large and small posters,
on hoardings, in railway stations or tubes, &c.

(4) Illuminated signs either outside buildings on a large scale or in
frames of various sizes inside business premises, theatres, &c.

(5) Cinema advertising--a recent development which has proved extremely
effective.

Advertising to be successful must be carefully organized. A firm wishing to
advertise must first of all settle how much money it is willing to spend on
this object. A common practice is to devote a fixed proportion of the
profits--at least five per cent--to advertising. The firm must then
carefully consider the period of time over which the expenditure agreed
upon is to be spread. Occasional or spasmodic advertising does not produce
satisfactory results; advertising must be constant and must move with the
times in order to be effective. A firm not uncommonly reviews the results
of its advertising every six months, when it also arranges its plans for
future advertisements. Mistakes in policy can thus be corrected and
successful schemes can be readopted or improved upon. Advertising on any
large scale must be handled by experts. Many thousands of pounds are wasted
yearly by firms which hand over this work to a director who has no
knowledge of how to advertise. The proper way for a firm to act, if it
wishes to enter upon a campaign of publicity, is to engage an efficient
advertising staff or to employ a reliable advertising agent. These agents
in many cases obtain their profits from the commission given to them by
newspapers--this often being about ten per cent of the cost of the space
booked. In return for this they give their advice and copy--everything,
indeed, except blocks and sketches.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: Henry Sampson, _A
History of Advertising_; _Edinburgh Review_, Feb., 1843, _On the
Advertising System_. A good account of the more recent developments of
advertising is to be found in H. G. Wells's novel _Tono-Bungay_; T.
Russell, _Commercial Advertising_.

AD VITAM AUT CULPAM (Lat., for life or till a fault), a formula often used
in regard to appointments to posts or offices, intimating that they are
held for life or till the person forfeits his position by some fault or
misdeed.

AD'VOCATE (Lat., _advocatus_--_ad_, to, _voco_, to call), a lawyer
authorized to plead the cause of his clients before a court of law. It is
only in Scotland that this word seems to denote a distinct class belonging
to the legal profession, the advocates of Scotland being the pleaders
before the supreme courts, and corresponding to the _barristers_ of England
and Ireland. These advocates all belong to the _Faculty of Advocates_,
Edinburgh, to whom the oral pleadings in the Court of Session are for the
most part limited, while they are also competent to plead in all the
inferior Scottish courts and in the House of Lords in cases of appeal from
the Court of Session. The supreme judges in Scotland, as well as the
sheriffs of the various counties, are always selected from among them.
Candidates for admission must undergo two separate examinations, one in
general scholarship and the other in law.--The _Lord-Advocate_, called also
the _King's_ or _Queen's Advocate_, is the principal law officer of the
crown in Scotland. He is the public prosecutor of crimes in the Supreme
Court, and senior counsel for the crown in civil causes. Being appointed by
the crown, he goes out of office with the administration to which he
belongs. As public prosecutor he is assisted by the solicitor-general and
by four junior counsel called advocates-depute. The lord-advocate and the
solicitor-general, in addition to their official duties, accept of ordinary
bar practice.

ADVOCATES' LIBRARY, the chief library in Scotland, located in Edinburgh,
and founded about 1682 by the Faculty of Advocates. It was increased by
donations and by sums granted by the Faculty from time to time. As the
donations were not confined to advocates the library was considered a kind
of public library, and it has continued to retain this character. In 1709
it obtained, along with eight other libraries, the right to demand a copy
of every new book published in Britain, which right it still possesses. The
number of volumes is over 600,000 and MSS. over 3200.

ADVOCA'TUS DIAB'OLI (Devil's advocate), in the Roman Catholic Church, a
functionary who, when a deceased person is proposed for canonization,
brings forward and insists upon all the weak points of the character and
life of the deceased, endeavouring to show that he is not worthy of
sainthood. The first formal mention of such an officer occurs under Pope
Leo X (1513-21). The opposite side is taken by the _Advocatus Dei_ (God's
advocate).

ADVOW'SON, in English law, a right of presentation to a vacant benefice,
or, in other words, a right of nominating a person to officiate in a vacant
church. Those who have this right are styled _patrons_. Advowsons are of
three kinds--_presentative_, _collative_, and _donative_: _presentative_,
when the patron presents his clerk to the bishop of the diocese to be
instituted; _collative_, when the bishop is the patron, and institutes or
_collates_ his clerk by a single act; _donative_, when a church is founded
by the king, or any person licensed by him, without being subject to the
ordinary, so that the patron confers the benefice on his clerk without
presentation, institution, or induction. An advowson cannot be held by
either a Roman Catholic or an alien.

AD'YTUM, a secret place of retirement in the ancient temples, esteemed the
most sacred spot; the innermost sanctuary or shrine. From this place the
oracles were given, and none but the priests were permitted to enter it.
The Holy of Holies or Sanctum Sanctorum of the Temple at Jerusalem was of a
similar character.

ADZE, a cutting instrument used for chipping the surface of timber,
somewhat of a mattock shape, and having a blade of steel forming a portion
of a cylindrical surface, with a cutting edge at right angles to the length
of the handle.

ÆDILES ([=e]'d[=i]lz), Roman magistrates who had the supervision of the
national games and spectacles; of the public edifices, such as temples (the
name comes from _ædes_, a temple); of private buildings, of the markets,
cleansing and draining the city, &c.

Æ'DUI, one of the most powerful nations of Gaul, between the Liger (Loire)
and the Arar (Saône). On the arrival of Julius Cæsar in Gaul (58 B.C.) they
were subject to Ariovistus, but their independence was restored by Cæsar.
Their chief town was Bibracte (Mont Beuvray, near Autun).

ÆGADE'AN ISLANDS, a group of small islands lying off the western extremity
of Sicily, and consisting of Maritimo, Favignana, Levanso, and Le Formiche.

[Illustration: Grecian Ibex (_Capra ægagrus_)]

ÆGAG'RUS, a wild species of ibex (_Capra ægagrus_), found in herds on the
Caucasus, and many Asiatic mountains, believed to be the original source of
at least one variety of the domestic goat.

ÆGEAN CIVILIZATION, a term applied to the pre-Hellenic civilization of
south-eastern Europe, including Crete, Greece and the Cyclades, and the
Danubian or Mid-European area. See _Crete_ and _Danubian Civilization_.

ÆGEAN SEA ([=e]-j[=e]'an), that part of the Mediterranean which washes the
eastern shores of Greece, and the western coast of Asia Minor. See
_Archipelago_.

Æ'GILOPS, a genus of grasses, very closely allied to wheat, and somewhat
remarkable from the alleged fact that by cultivation one of the species
becomes a kind of wheat.

ÆGINA ([=e]-j[=i]'na), a Greek island in the Gulf of Ægina, south of
Athens, triangular in form; area about 32 sq. miles; pop. 8500. It forms
part of the nomarchy of Attica and Boeotia. Except in the west, where the
surface is more level, the island is mountainous and unproductive. The
inhabitants are chiefly engaged in trade, seafaring, and agriculture, the
chief crops being almonds, olives, and grain. The greater number of them
reside in the seaport town of Ægina. Ægina was anciently colonized by
Dorians from the opposite coast of Peloponnesus. In the latter half of the
sixth century B.C. it had a flourishing commerce, a large navy, and was the
seat of a distinct school of art. At the battle of Salamis (480 B.C.) the
Æginetans behaved with great valour. In 456 the island fell under the power
of the Athenians, and in 431 the Æginetans were expelled to make room for
Athenian settlers, but were afterwards restored. On a hill are the remains
of a splendid temple of Athena (Minerva), many of the columns of which are
still standing. Here was found in 1811 a considerable amount of sculpture
from the pediments (the _Æginetan marbles_), which is now at the Glyptothek
at Munich, and is prized as throwing light on the early history of Greek
art. Though in these figures there is a wonderfully exact imitation of
nature, yet there is a certain stiffness about them and an unnatural
sameness of expression in all. They should probably be assigned to the
period 500-480 B.C.

ÆGIS ([=e]'jis), the shield of Zeus, according to Homer, but according to
later writers and artists a metal cuirass or breastplate, in which was set
the head of the Gorgon Medusa, and with which Athena (Minerva) is often
represented as being protected. In a figurative sense the word is used to
denote some shielding or protecting power.

ÆGLE ([=e]'gl[=e]), a genus of plants. See _Bel._

ÆGOSPOT'AMI ('goat-rivers'), a place on the Hellespont, of some note in
Greek history, the Athenian fleet being here completely defeated in 405
B.C. by the Spartan Lysander, thus ending the Peloponnesian war.

ÆLFRIC (al'frik), Abbot, called _Grammaticus_ (the grammarian), was a
celebrated English author of the eleventh century. He became a monk of
Abingdon, was afterwards connected with Winchester, and died Abbot of
Eynsham. His principal works are two books of homilies, a _Treatise on the
Old and New Testaments_, a translation and abridgment of the first seven
books of the Bible, a _Latin Grammar and Glossary_, &c. He has been
frequently confounded both with Ælfric, Archbishop of Canterbury, and
Ælfric, Archbishop of York, surnamed Putta, who lived about the same time.
There was also an Ælfric of Malmesbury.

ÆLIA'NUS, Claudius, often called simply ÆLIAN, a Roman author who lived
about A.D. 221, and wrote in Greek a collection of stories and anecdotes
and a natural history of animals.

ÆLIA'NUS TACTICUS, so called to distinguish him from Claudius Ælianus,
lived at Rome, and wrote a work _On the Military Tactics of the Greeks_,
which he dedicated to the Emperor Hadrian, who was emperor from A.D. 117 to
138. This book was closely studied by soldiers of the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries.

AELST (älst), Belgian town, same as ALOST.

ÆNE'AS, the hero of Virgil's _Æn[=e]id_, a Trojan, who, according to Homer,
was, next to Hector, the bravest of the warriors of Troy. When that town
was taken and set on fire, Æneas, according to the narrative of Virgil,
with his father, son, and wife Creusa, fled, but the latter was lost in the
confusion of the flight. Having collected a fleet he sailed for Italy, but
after numerous adventures he was driven by a tempest to the coast of
Africa, where Queen Dido of Carthage received him kindly, and would have
married him. Jupiter, however, sent Mercury to Æneas, and commanded him to
sail to Italy. Whilst the deserted Dido ended her life on the funeral pile,
Æneas set sail with his companions, and after further adventures by land
and sea reached the country of King Latinus, in Italy. The king's daughter
Lavinia was destined by an oracle to wed a stranger, this stranger being
Æneas, but was promised by her mother to Turnus, King of the R[)u]t[)u]li.
This occasioned a war, which was ended by Æneas slaying Turnus and marrying
Lavinia. His son by Lavinia, Æneas Sylvius, was the ancestor of the kings
of Alba Longa, and of Romulus and Remus, the founders of the city of Rome.

ÆOLIAN HARP, or ÆOLUS' HARP, a musical instrument, generally consisting of
a box of thin fibrous wood (often of deal), to which are attached from
eight to fifteen fine catgut strings or wires, stretched on low bridges at
either end, and tuned in unison. Its length is made to correspond with the
size of the window or other aperture in which it is intended to be placed.
When the wind blows athwart the strings it produces very beautiful sounds,
sweetly mingling all the harmonic tones, and swelling or diminishing
according to the strength or weakness of the blast.

ÆOLIANS (Gr. _Aioleis_), one of the four races into which the ancient
Greeks were divided, originally inhabiting the district of Æ[)o]lis, in
Thessaly, from which they spread over other parts of Greece. In early times
they were the most numerous and powerful of the Hellenic races, chiefly
inhabiting Northern Greece and the western side of Peloponnesus, though
latterly a portion of them went to Lesbos and Tenedos and the north-west
shores of Asia Minor, where they possessed a number of cities. Their
language, the Æolian dialect, was one of the three principal dialects of
the Greek. It was cultivated for literary purposes chiefly at Lesbos, and
was the dialect in which Alcæus and Sappho wrote.

ÆOL'IPILE (Lat. _Æ[)o]li pila_, the ball of Æ[)o]lus), a spherical vessel
of metal, with a pipe of small aperture, through which the vapour of heated
water in the ball passes out with considerable noise; or having two nozzles
so placed that the steam rushing out causes it to revolve on the principle
of the Barker's mill. It was known to the ancient Greeks.

Æ'OLUS, in Greek mythology, the god of the winds, which he kept confined in
a cave in the Æolian Islands, releasing them when he wished or was
commanded by the superior gods.

Æ'ON, a Greek word signifying life, an age, and sometimes eternity, but
used by the Gnostics to express spirits or powers that had emanated from
the Supreme Mind before the beginning of time. They held both Christ and
the Holy Spirit to be æons; but as they denied the divine origin of the
books of Moses, they said that the spirit which had inspired him and the
prophets was not that exalted æon whom God sent forth after the ascension
of Christ, but an æon very much inferior, and removed at a great distance
from the Supreme Being.

ÆPYOR'NIS, a genus of gigantic birds whose remains have been found in
Madagascar, where they are supposed to have lived perhaps not longer than
200 years ago. It had three toes, and is classed with the cursorial birds
(ostrich, &c.). Its eggs measured 14 inches in length, being about six
times the bulk of those of the ostrich. The bird which laid them may well
have been the roc of Eastern tradition.

Æ'QUI, an ancient people of Italy, conspicuous in the early wars of Rome,
and inhabiting the mountain district between the upper valley of the Anio
(Teverone) and Lake Fuc[)i]nus. They were probably akin to the Volscians,
with whom they were in constant alliance. They were defeated by Cincinnatus
in 458 B.C., and again by the dictator Postumius Tubertus in 428 B.C., and
were finally subdued about 304-302 B.C. Soon after they were admitted to
Roman citizenship.

A'ERATED BREAD, bread which receives its sponginess or porosity from
carbonic acid supplied artificially, and not produced by the fermentation
caused by leaven or yeast.

A'ERATED WATERS, waters impregnated with carbonic acid gas, and forming
effervescing beverages. Some mineral waters are naturally aerated, as
Vichy, Apollinaris, Rosbach, &c.; others, especially such as are used for
medicinal purposes, are frequently aerated to render them more palatable
and exhilarating. Water simply aerated, as soda-water, or aerated and
flavoured with lemon or fruit syrups, is largely used, especially in
summer, as a refreshing beverage. There are numerous varieties of apparatus
for manufacturing aerated waters. The essential parts of an aerated-water
machine are a generator in which the gas is produced, a vessel containing
the water to be impregnated, and an apparatus for forcing the gas into the
water. This last may be effected by force-pumps or by the high pressure of
the impregnating gas itself. The quantity of gas with which the water is
charged is usually equal to a pressure of 5 atmospheres. See also _Mineral
Waters_.--Cf. W. Kirkby, _Evolution of Artificial Mineral Waters_.

AERIAL ROPEWAYS or CABLEWAYS, a means of transport or carriage in which a
great rope or cable, elevated above the ground on fixed supports, is made
use of in conveying from place to place materials or articles of various
kinds. Such a cable may be said to serve the purpose of a rail, from which
are suspended the carriages, buckets, or carriers of whatever sort are
employed to convey the materials dealt with, the cable being actuated by
means of a steam-engine and winding-gear of suitable construction. Such
cables are now much used in carrying materials over a comparatively short
space, as in quarries, excavations for canals, docks, &c.; in the
construction of bridges, in shipbuilding, &c. Besides being employed in
such works--not to mention the coaling of a battleship at sea from a coal
transport standing by--elevated ropeways miles in length have also been
constructed between places where no roads exist, or where road carriage is
much more expensive. The greatest aerial line yet in existence is in the
Argentine Republic, being built to connect a mining locality in the Andes,
about 15,000 feet above sea-level, with a station on the Northern Railway
11,500 feet lower down and about 22 miles off, the line running across deep
chasms and hollows, and being in places supported on iron towers 130 feet
high. The wire rope is said to have a length of 87 miles.

AË'RIANS, the followers of Aërius of Pontus, who in the fourth century
originated a small heretical sect, objecting to the established feast-days,
fasts or abstinences, the distinction between bishops and presbyters,
prayers for the dead, &c.

AERODYNAM'ICS, a branch of physical science which treats of the properties
and motions of elastic fluids (air, gases), and of the appliances by which
these are exemplified. This subject is often explained in connection with
hydrodynamics. See also _Meteorology_.

AERÖE, or ARRÖE (är'eu-e), an island of Denmark, in the Little Belt, 15
miles long by 5 broad, with 12,000 inhabitants. Though hilly, it is very
fertile.

A'EROLITE, a meteoric stone, meteorite, or shooting-star. See _Meteoric
Stones_.

[Illustration: "Montgolfière", or Hot-air Balloon, above Furnace]

AERONAU'TICS, the art or science of navigating the air, including Aviation
(see _Aeroplane_ and _Sea-planes_) and Aerostation (see _Balloons_ and
_Air-ships_). From the days of the mythical exploit of Dædalus and Icarus,
students of 'experimental philosophy', or scientists, of all ages, turned
their thoughts and inventive genius to the evolution of a machine by means
of which man could fly. Most of the early schemes of which any details have
survived were based upon the observation of birds and embodied the flapping
of wings affixed to the arms or legs. Among the very early experimenters
may be mentioned the monk Oliver of Malmesbury (A.D. 1050), de Pérouse
(1420), who is said to have succeeded in flying over Lake Trasimene, and
the great Leonardo da Vinci. All these produced designs for what are known
as Ornithopters, or flapping-wing machines. There was, however, another
school which believed in the future of machines which would be themselves
lighter than air. The idea in the minds of the experimenters of this school
was in the early days the replacing of the air in brass globes by a vacuum.
If the brass were thin enough it was believed that the globe would then be
sufficiently light to rise. It was, however, not realized that under such
circumstances the globe would inevitably collapse under the pressure of the
atmosphere with no corresponding internal pressure to withstand it. Among
this 'lighter-than-air' school of experimenters were the famous Roger Bacon
(twelfth century), Robert Hooke of the Royal Society (1644), and Francesco
de Lana, a Jesuit priest (1660). It was this school which ultimately
achieved success by providing the first machine of any sort to leave the
ground and rise into the air. On 5th June, 1783, the first balloon ascended
from the village of Annonay in France. It owed its inception to the genius
of two brothers, paper-makers by trade, named Etienne and Joseph
Montgolfier. Struck by the sight of smoke ascending from a chimney, after
many failures with flapping-wing models, they conceived the idea of filling
a receptacle with smoke and seeing if it would rise. They built a balloon
or 'globe' of paper and canvas, and lit a fire of wood and straw below the
aperture in it. The balloon gradually filled and rose into the air to a
height reported to be 6000 feet, though this is probably an exaggeration.
It remained in the air for ten minutes and landed 1½ miles away. This was
the forerunner of the 'Montgolfières', or hot-air balloons, which are a
feature of fêtes and Guy Fawkes' Day celebrations. It was followed by the
sending up of a 'Montgolfière' from Versailles on 18th Sept. of the same
year, carrying a basket containing a sheep, a cock, and a duck. The first
human beings to make an ascent were Pilâtre de Rozier and the Marquis
d'Arlande, who went away from Paris on 21st Nov., 1783. They passed right
over Paris, and were in the air for twenty-five minutes, during which time
they replenished the fire suspended in a brazier below the neck of the
balloon.

The real genesis of the balloon, or air-ship as we know it to-day, was due
to the discovery of hydrogen as the lightest gas, which discovery was made
in 1766 by an English chemist, Henry Cavendish. Various people claim the
credit of having been the first to call attention to the possibilities of
this gas for aerial navigation. In 1781 Dr. Joseph Black of Edinburgh
suggested to his pupils that a thin bladder filled with 'the inflammable
gas' (hydrogen) would rise into the air, but it appears doubtful whether he
ever actually made the experiment. Tiberius Cavallo the same year, before
the Royal Society, demonstrated that soap-bubbles filled with hydrogen
would rise and float in the air. The honour of building the first hydrogen
balloon belongs, however, to three Frenchmen--the brothers Robert, and
Charles, a physicist. They sent up a hydrogen-filled balloon of varnished
silk from the Champ de Mars, Paris, on 7th Aug., 1783. One of the Roberts
and Charles themselves made the second human ascent in their balloon--the
first in a hydrogen balloon as opposed to a Montgolfière (as above)--on 1st
Dec. the same year. In 1784 the same Frenchmen constructed the first
'air-ship' or navigable balloon to the order of the Duc de Chartres
(Philippe Egalité). The gas container of this was elongated in form, and it
could be propelled to some small extent by means of oars, and steered by a
rudder. In the same year a French military officer, named Meusnier,
produced a completely detailed design for an air-ship. This embodied the
first suggestion of screw-propellers, to be worked by man-power, and also
provided for a 'ballonet' into which air could be driven to replace
hydrogen lost owing to expansion during the ascent. Meusnier's design was
the genesis of the modern non-rigid air-ship, all the essential features
remaining. This air-ship was, however, never built.

[Illustration: Giffard's Steam-driven Air-ship]

The first ascent in the British Isles was made in a Montgolfière by James
Tytler at Edinburgh, on 27th Aug., 1784, though he travelled only a few
hundred yards. He was followed by Vincent Lunardi, an Italian, who ascended
from the artillery ground in London three weeks later (Sept., 1784),
landing near Ware in Hertfordshire. The first Channel crossing by air was
made in a hydrogen balloon from Dover to Calais on 7th Jan., 1785, by
Blanchard and Dr. Jeffries.

Subsequent developments in air-ships are due to the pioneer work of Giffard
(1852) (the first steam-driven air-ship), Dupuy de Lôme (1872), the
brothers Tissandier (electric propulsion) (1883), Rénard and Krebbs (1884),
Wölfert (1897), Santos Dumont (1898-1905), Zeppelin (1900), Lebaudy (1903),
Barton (English) (1905), Willows (English) (1910).

In the meantime experimental work was being carried on by the exponents of
the heavier-than-air school, who soon abandoned the flapping-wing principle
and eventually evolved the modern aeroplane. The modern aeroplane was
evolved from the brain of an Englishman, Sir George Cayley, who in 1809
contributed an article to _Nicholson's Journal_ in which he outlined the
outstretched wings, vertical and horizontal steering surfaces,
screw-propeller, 'explosion' motor, and 'stream-line' form of the modern
aeroplane. In 1842 Henson and Stringfellow, both Englishmen, constructed a
steam-driven model on this principle, which is now in the South Kensington
Museum. Wenham in 1866 contributed a valuable paper to the Royal
Aeronautical Society on the subject. In 1896 Lillienthal in Germany carried
out a number of glides with rigid wings, provided with a movable tail,
fixed to his body. He was followed by Chanute, who in America emphasized
the biplane principle in his glider. In 1896 Ader, a Frenchman, built an
'avion' which is claimed to have risen from the ground at Satory, but this
is doubtful. In 1895 a huge steam-propelled aeroplane built by Sir Hiram
Maxim burst the rails holding it down and lifted for a few feet.

[Illustration: A Handley Page Biplane, showing the principal parts]

[Illustration: Wright's Biplane Glider]

The real credit for the evolution of a man-carrying aeroplane is, however,
due to the American brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright of Dayton, Ohio.
Encouraged by the advice of Chanute, they commenced experimenting with
biplane gliders on the sand-hills at Kittyhawk. Meeting with considerable
success, they fitted a petrol motor of their own design in 1903 and made
several straight flights during the same year. In 1904 they succeeded in
making the first turn in the air. These experiments were carried out in
great secrecy, and it was not until 1908 that their first public flights
were made in France, the first taking place in October of that year. The
first aviator to fly in Europe was Santos Dumont, who, on 12th Nov., 1906,
covered 220 metres, having previously in the same year flown for shorter
distances. At this time and during the two or three ensuing years many
experiments were carried out, and flights made, by Farman, Voisin,
Esnault-Pelterie, and Blériot in France; Wright and Curtiss in America; and
Roe, Ogilvie, and Moore-Brabazon in England. A prize of £2000 offered by
MM. Deutsch de la Meurthe and Ernest Archdeacon for the first circular
flight over a distance of 1 kilometre, returning to the point of starting,
was won in Jan., 1908, by Henry Farman.

The second crossing of the Channel, and the first by a 'heavier-than-air'
machine, was effected by Louis Blériot in a machine of his own construction
with an Anzani engine from Calais to Dover on 25th July, 1909. From that
date the science of aviation (flight by heavier-than-air machines) may be
said to have begun, and progress was merely a record of improvements. By
the end of 1919 the Atlantic had been crossed four times; once by
sea-plane, once by a non-stop aeroplane flight, and twice (outward and
return) by non-stop air-ship flights. Aeroplanes had achieved a speed of
190 miles an hour, had attained to a height of over 34,000 feet, and had
covered upwards of 1900 miles in one non-stop flight.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: De St.
Fond, _Description de la Machine Aerostatique_; Cavallo, _History and
Practice of Aerostation_; Lunardi, _The First Aerial Voyage in England_;
Moedebeck, _Pocket Book of Aeronautics_; Santos Dumont, _My Air-ships_;
_The Aeronautical Classics_ (Aeronautical Society); G. Tissandier,
_Histoire des Ballons_; A. Berget, _The Conquest of the Air_.

[Illustration: Early Types of Aeroplanes
(a) Wright Biplane (1908). (b) Blériot Monoplane (1909).
(c) Santos Dumont Biplane (1906).]

AEROPLANE, a flying-machine deriving its power of sustentation from the
reaction of the air driven downwards by the rapid transit of fixed wings or
'planes' through the air. The term 'plane' for the wing of an aeroplane is
strictly a misnomer, as the word implies a flat plate, whereas a wing is
'cambered' or curved in section from front to back. This is due to the
discovery of Lillienthal (see _Aeronautics_) that a cambered 'aerofoil'
when set at an angle to a wind current gives more 'lift' than a flat plane.
The wing of an aeroplane is normally set at an angle horizontally (or
rather at an angle to the relative wind) varying from 0° to 4°. This angle
is known as the 'angle of incidence'. As the wing is driven through the air
under the influence of the propeller, the air meets the 'leading' or
'entering' edge and is divided into two streams along the top and bottom
surfaces. It does not, however, follow the surface closely, but in the case
of the lower stratum is deflected downwards at an angle to the surface,
which results in an upward reaction. The upper of the two streams of air is
correspondingly deflected upwards at an angle to the surface for a short
distance. This causes an 'area of discontinuity of flow', or eddy, which
results in 'negative pressure', causing an upward suction. This fact was
first discovered by Sir Hiram Maxim, though it was G. Eiffel who measured
the effects of the positive pressure on the lower surface and the negative
pressure on the upper surface, and found, contrary to all expectation, that
the latter is responsible for three-quarters of the total lifting effect of
the wing. In addition to the lift, the wings offer resistance to progress
through the air, which effect is known as 'drag'. The ratio of lift to drag
is a measure of the efficiency of a wing-section. A well-designed wing will
have a L/D ratio at an angle of incidence of 4° of about 16, i.e. the lift
effect in pounds will be 16 times that of the drag. The fundamental
equation of an aeroplane is R = KSV^2, where R = the resistance, K = a
constant (usually 0.003), S = area of surface, and V = the velocity in feet
per second. From this it will be seen that the resistance for the same area
increases as the square of the speed, which shows the importance of
reducing the resistance to the lowest possible degree if high speeds are to
be obtained. For this purpose it is necessary that the flow of air round
the component parts of the aeroplane caused by its passage should be as
little disturbed and broken up into eddies as possible. It is found that
the best theoretical shape for this purpose is a body of circular
cross-section tapering from front to rear, with the maximum cross-section
toward the _front_. The 'fineness ratio' (ratio of length to maximum
diameter) should be about 6 to 1, and the maximum cross-section situated
about one-third of the distance from the nose. Such a form will offer only
about 1/20 the resistance of a flat plate of similar cross-section, and is
known as a 'stream-line form'. The width of a wing from side to side at
right angles to the wind is known as the 'span', and the breadth from front
to back as the 'chord'. The ratio of span to chord is the 'aspect ratio'.
Owing to the increase in drag resulting from low aspect ratio (large chord
relative to span) the higher the aspect ratio the more efficient the wing.
This is in practice about 6, owing to structural difficulties in
constructing a wing of larger relative span. The essential parts of an
aeroplane are the wings, fuselage (body), tail (comprising fixed vertical
and horizontal surfaces behind which are hinged movable rudders and
elevators), and chassis, or landing-carriage. The majority of modern
machines are biplanes, i.e. with one set of wings superposed on the other
and connected by upright wooden members called 'struts'. Aeroplanes with
one set of wings only are called 'monoplanes'; those with three,
'triplanes'; with four, 'quadruplanes'; and with more than four,
'multiplanes'. Aeroplanes are also divided into 'tractor' and 'pusher',
according to whether the propeller is situated in front or rear of the
wings.

When the engine is started, the revolution of the propeller causes the
aeroplane to move along the ground until such a speed is reached (usually
about 35-50 miles per hour) that it is able to support its own weight in
the air when it leaves the ground. When in the air it is made to ascend or
descend by moving the elevators, which are operated by a vertical stick in
front of the pilot through control cables or levers. Steering to right or
left is effected by the rudder, which is operated by a foot-bar through
cables or levers. Lateral balance is obtained by means of 'ailerons' or
flaps on the outer extremities of the wings. If one wing tends to dip, the
aileron on that side is depressed. This increases the resistance of that
wing and so causes it to rise. By a combination of movements of the
elevators, rudder, and ailerons almost any evolution can be performed with
a modern aeroplane. A well-designed machine will, on cutting off the
engine-power, turn its nose slightly down and automatically assume its own
'gliding-angle' to the ground. The gliding-angle is the ratio of descent to
forward travel and is usually 1 in 12 to 1 in 14.

Speeds of 190 miles per hour have been attained and a height of 34,600 feet
reached. The greatest distance covered in one flight is the crossing of the
Atlantic--slightly more than 1900 miles--while an aeroplane has remained in
the air for 24 hours. Aeroplanes range in size from small single-seater
'scouts' with a duration of only some three hours, to large
multiple-engined machines with a weight, fully loaded, of from 15 to 20
tons. The essential feature of the aeroplane is, as already stated, that it
is heavier than air and therefore subject to the laws of gravity in the
event of engine failure. Its choice of a landing-ground is then dependent
upon its height at the moment and gliding-angle.

Aeroplanes are normally constructed throughout of wood, though steel is
occasionally used. The wings are built of wooden 'spars', of which there
are usually two along the length of each wing, connected together by wooden
'ribs'. The wings of a biplane are braced by the struts (see above) and by
wires. 'Landing-wires' support the weight of the wing on the ground, while
'flying-wires' prevent them folding upwards under the influence of the lift
in flight. 'Drift-wires' are to prevent the wings folding backwards under
the pressure of the air in flight. See also _Aeronautics_,
_Sea-planes_.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: H. Barber, _The Aeroplane Speaks_; H. Barber,
_Aerobatics_; Hamel and Turner, _Flying_; Borlase Mathews, _Aviation Pocket
Book_; Pippard and Pritchard, _Aeroplane Structures_; Judge, _Design of
Aeroplanes_; Judge, _Properties of Aerofoils_; Loening, _Military
Aeroplanes_.

AEROSTATIC PRESS, a contrivance for extracting the colouring matter from
dye-woods and for similar purposes. A liquid intended to carry with it the
extract is brought into contact with the substance containing it, and a
vacuum being made by an air-pump suitably applied, the pressure of the
atmosphere forces the liquid through the intervening mass, carrying the
colour or other soluble matter with it.

AEROSTAT'ICS, that branch of physics which treats of the weight, pressure,
and equilibrium of air and gases. See _Air_; _Air-pump_; _Barometer_;
_Gases, Properties of_; _Hydrostatics_; _Meteorology_; &c.

AEROTHERAPEUTICS is the treatment of disease by atmospheres artificially
prepared and differing from the normal in compression or pressure or
temperature. It is divided into:

1. _Medical atmospheres_ artificially produced by changing the proportions
of the normal gases of the atmosphere, or by adding gases to the
atmosphere. These are applied by inhalation in various ways:

(a) By the inhalation of gases--_ether_; _chloroform_; _nitrous oxide_ (see
_Anæsthetics_). _Oxygen_ under pressure in a cylinder, with outlet applied
close to the patient's mouth and nose, is used in severe cases of
pneumonia, cardiac disease, or wherever breathing is difficult. _Amyl
nitrate_ is inhaled on the breaking of the glass capsules in which it is
contained close to the patient's mouth; this treatment is used in cardiac
disease and other conditions to recover blood pressure. _Chlorine_ and
_iodine_ are used in cases of throat and bronchial affections by inhaling
the vapour itself for a short time, or by inhaling air strongly impregnated
with the substance.

(b) By inhalation of substances requiring heat for volatilization, e.g.
_mercury_ and _sulphur_. The patient, enveloped in a sheet, sits on a
chair, while the substance, placed in a vessel on the floor inside the
enveloping sheet near the patient, is heated by a spirit lamp or similar
method. _Mercury_ is used for chronic and syphilitic laryngitis and
pharyngitis; _sulphur_ for scabies and other skin diseases.

(c) By inhalation of steam or warm-water vapour with a drug added.
Apparatus of various kinds is used, the simplest of which is a wide-mouthed
jug filled with boiling water to which the drug has been added. The patient
takes a deep breath, drawing the vapour into his mouth up a napkin arranged
in the form of a tube. More complicated forms of apparatus are steam-sprays
and nebulizers for laryngeal and bronchial troubles.

(d) Cold medicated sprays and inhalations. Throat- and nose-sprays are much
used, also sprays for the administration of local anæsthetics (ethyl
chloride). Respirators are made of wire gauze with cotton wool or a sponge;
the substance is poured on and inhaled by the patient.

For (c) and (d) the following drugs are used: carbolic acid, creosote,
terebine, thymol, eucalyptol, zinc sulphate, in phthisis and bronchial
affections; and eusol, izal, lysol, &c., for disinfection and fumigation.

2. _Changes produced by variation in barometric pressure considered in
treatment of disease_:

Normal barometric pressure at sea-level, 29-30 inches; at Davos (5200
feet), 25 inches; at summit of Pike's Peak, Colorado (14,000 feet), 17½
inches; in balloon ascent (Glaisher and Coxwell) of 29,000 feet, 9¾ inches.

The effects of high pressure are seen in divers, caisson workers, miners.
The effects of low pressure are seen in balloonists, airmen. The effect of
sudden return to normal from high pressure is seen in cases of caisson
disease (q.v.). The effects of low pressure were first applied to the human
body in 1835 by V.T. Junot. He contrived a hollow copper ball, 4 yards in
diameter, capable of containing a man, and by pumping out air gradually,
produced the effects of low pressure. This principle was then applied by
him locally by cupping-glasses similar in shape to the upper part of a
wineglass. There are two types of cupping:

(a) In _wet cupping_ an incision is made in the skin of the part to be
treated. The air inside the glass is exhausted by introducing a lighted
match, then the open end of the glass is immediately applied to the surface
of the skin.

(b) In _dry cupping_ the treatment is similarly carried out, but no
incision is made.

The low pressure (partial vacuum) draws blood to the part. Cupping is used
in congestion of internal organs, e.g. lungs, kidneys.

The artificial application of air to lungs at varying pressure is carried
out by inspiring rarefied air or compressed air and expiring into rarefied
air or into compressed air. Only inspiring compressed air, or expiring into
rarefied air, can be practically applied. There are many kinds of apparatus
for this. The best is the compressed-air bath (seen at Brompton Hospital,
London), consisting of three parts--the engine, receiver, and air-chamber.

The patient is placed in this air-chamber, where he remains for two hours,
during which time the pressure is usually raised from half again to double
normal. For the first half-hour the pressure is gradually raised, and is
maintained at the same abnormal height for one hour; for the last half-hour
it is reduced again gradually to normal. The patient first experiences an
unpleasant sensation in the throat. This is relieved by swallowing or by
drinking water; then pain in the ear-drums; the voice becomes shriller.
These are early signs of the effects of high pressure, and are seen to a
more marked degree in cases where a man has descended suddenly into a mine,
caisson, &c. Compressed air-baths are used in cases of asthma, bronchitis,
emphysema, anæmia.

Respiratory gymnastics are of value for defective breathing due to badly
formed chests or injury and disease of the lungs. There are various forms
of artificial breathing exercises and many ways of using artificial aids,
e.g. breathing into bottles connected together by tubes and partly filled
with water. The water is forced from one bottle to another by the
respiratory effort of the patient.

AERSCHOT, town in Belgium, province of Brabant, on the Demer, a tributary
of the Dyle. It was occupied by the Germans in Aug., 1914. Pop. 7800.

ÆSCHINES (es'ki-n[=e]z), a celebrated Athenian orator, the rival and
opponent of Demosthenes, was born in 389 B.C. and died in 314. He headed
the Macedonian party in Greece, or those in favour of an alliance with
Philip, while Demosthenes took the opposite side. Having failed in 330 B.C.
in a prosecution against Ctesiphon for proposing to bestow a crown of gold
upon Demosthenes for his services to the State (whence the oration of
Demosthenes 'On the Crown') he left Athens, and subsequently established a
school of eloquence at Rhodes. Three of his orations are extant. Æschines
should not be confounded with his namesake, the Athenian philosopher and
intimate friend of Socrates.

ÆSCHYLUS (es'ki-lus), the first in time of the three great tragic poets of
Greece, born at Eleusis, in Attica, 525 B.C., died in Sicily 456. Before he
gained distinction as a dramatist he had fought at the battle of Marathon
(490), as he afterwards did at Artemisium, Salamis, and Platæa. He first
gained the prize for tragedy in 484 B.C. _The Persians_, the earliest of
his extant pieces, formed part of a trilogy which gained the prize in 472
B.C. In 468 B.C. he was defeated by Sophocles, and then is said to have
gone to the Court of Hiero, King of Syracuse. Altogether he is reputed to
have composed ninety plays and gained thirteen triumphs. Only seven of his
tragedies are extant: _The Persians_, _Seven against Thebes_, _Suppliants_,
_Prometheus_, _Agamemnon_, _Choephori_, and _Eumenides_, the last three
forming a trilogy on the story of Orestes, represented in 458 B.C. Æschylus
may be called the creator of Greek tragedy, both from the splendour of his
dramatic writings and from the scenic improvements and accessories he
introduced. Till his time only one actor had appeared on the stage at a
time, and by bringing on a second he was really the founder of dramatic
dialogue. His style was grand, daring, and full of energy, and his
choruses, though difficult, are among the noblest pieces of poetry in the
world. His plays have little or no plot, and his characters are drawn by a
few powerful strokes. There are English poetical translations of his plays
by Blackie, Plumptre, Swanwick, Campbell, Robert Browning, and Elizabeth
Barrett Browning.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: Bishop Copleston, _Æschylus_, in English
Classics for Modern Readers Series (Blackwood & Son); Miss J. Case,
Translation of _Prometheus Vinctus_ (Dent).

ÆSCULA'PIUS (Gr. _Askl[=e]pios_), the god of medicine among the Greeks and
afterwards adopted by the Romans, usually said to have been a son of Apollo
and the nymph Coronis. He was worshipped in particular at Epidaurus, in the
Peloponnesus, where a temple with a grove was dedicated to him. The sick
who visited his temple had to spend one or more nights in the sanctuary,
after which the remedies to be used were revealed in a dream. Those who
were cured offered a sacrifice to Æsculapius, commonly a cock. He is often
represented with a large beard, holding a knotty staff, round which is
entwined a serpent, the serpent being specially his symbol. The staff and
serpent have been adopted as a badge by the Royal Army Medical Corps.
Sometimes Æsculapius is represented under the image of a serpent
only.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: L. Dyer, _The Gods of Greece_; W. H. D. Rouse, _Greek
Votive Offerings_.

ÆS'CULUS, the genus of plants to which belongs the horse-chestnut.

ÆSIR, in Scandinavian mythology, the eleven chief gods, besides Odin. They
are: Thor, Balder, Ty or Tyr, Bragi, Heimdal, Hod, Vidar, Vali, Ull,
Forseti, and Loki or Lopt. See _Scandinavian Mythology_.

Æ'SOP, the Greek fabulist, is said to have been a contemporary of Croesus
and Solon, and thus probably lived about the middle of the sixth century
(620-550) B.C. But so little is known of his life that his existence has
been called in question. He is said to have been originally a slave, and to
have received his freedom from a Samian master, Iadmon. He then visited the
court of Croesus, and is also said to have visited Pisistratus at Athens.
Finally he was sent by Croesus to Delphi to distribute a sum of money to
each of the citizens. For some reason he refused to distribute the money,
whereupon the Delphians, enraged, threw him from a precipice and killed
him. No works of Æsop are extant, and it is doubtful whether he wrote any.
Bentley inclined to the supposition that his fables were delivered orally
and perpetuated by repetition. Such fables are spoken of both by
Aristophanes and Plato. Phædrus turned into Latin verse the Æsopian fables
current in his day, with additions of his own. In modern times several
collections claiming to be Æsop's fables have been published. Cf. J.
Jacobs, _The Fables of Æsop_.

ÆSTHET'ICS (Gr. _aisth[=e]tikos_, pertaining to perception), the philosophy
of the beautiful; the name given to the branch of philosophy or of science
which is concerned with that class of emotions, or with those attributes,
real or apparent, of objects generally comprehended under the term
_beauty_, and other related expressions. The term æsthetics first received
this application from Baumgarten (1714-62), a German philosopher, who was
the first modern writer to deal systematically with the subject, though the
beautiful had received attention at the hands of philosophers from early
times. Socrates, according to Xenophon, regarded the beautiful as
coincident with the good, and both as resolvable into the useful. Plato, in
accordance with his idealistic theory, held the existence of an absolute
beauty, which is the ground of beauty in all things. He also asserted the
intimate union of the good, the beautiful, and the true. Aristotle treated
of the subject in much more detail than Plato, but chiefly from the
scientific or critical point of view. In his treatises on _Poetics_ and
_Rhetoric_ he lays down a theory of art, and establishes principles of
beauty. His philosophical views were in many respects opposed to those of
Plato. He does not admit an absolute conception of the beautiful; but he
distinguishes beauty from the good, the useful, the fit, and the necessary.
He resolves beauty into certain elements, as order, symmetry, definiteness.
A distinction of beauty, according to him, is the absence of lust or desire
in the pleasure it excites. Beauty has no utilitarian or ethical object;
the aim of art is merely to give immediate pleasure; its essence is
imitation. Plotinus agrees with Plato, and disagrees with Aristotle, in
holding that beauty may subsist in single and simple objects, and
consequently in restoring the absolute conception of beauty. He differs
from Plato and Aristotle in raising art above nature. Baumgarten's
treatment of æsthetics is essentially Platonic. He made the division of
philosophy into logic, ethics, and æsthetics; the first dealing with
knowledge, the second with action (will and desire), the third with beauty.
He limits æsthetics to the conceptions derived from the senses, and makes
them consist in confused or obscured conceptions, in contradistinction to
logical knowledge, which consists in clear conceptions. Kant, in his
_Critique of the Power of Judgment_, defines beauty in reference to his
four categories, quantity, quality, relation, and modality. In accordance
with the subjective character of his system he denies an absolute
conception of beauty, but his detailed treatment of the subject is
inconsistent with the denial. Thus he attributes a beauty to single colours
and tones, not on any plea of complexity, but on the ground of purity. He
holds also that the highest meaning of beauty is to symbolize moral good,
and arbitrarily attaches moral characters to the seven primary colours. The
value of art is mediate, and the beauty of art is inferior to that of
nature. The treatment of beauty in the systems of Schelling and Hegel could
with difficulty be made comprehensible without a detailed reference to the
principles of these remarkable speculations. English writers on beauty are
numerous, but they rarely ascend to the heights of German speculation.
Shaftesbury adopted the notion that beauty is perceived by a special
internal sense; in which he was followed by Hutcheson, who held that beauty
existed only in the perceiving mind, and not in the object. Numerous
English writers, among whom the principal are Alison and Jeffrey, have
supported the theory that the source of beauty is to be found in
association--a theory analogous to that which places morality in sympathy.
The ability of its supporters gave this view a temporary popularity, but
its baselessness has been effectively exposed by successive critics. Dugald
Stewart attempted to show that there is no common quality in the beautiful
beyond that of producing a certain refined pleasure; and Bain agrees with
this criticism, but endeavours to restrict the beautiful within a group of
emotions chiefly excited by association or combination of simpler
elementary feelings. Herbert Spencer has a theory of beauty which is
subservient to the theory of evolution. He makes beauty consist in the play
of the higher powers of perception and emotion, defined as an activity not
directly subservient to any processes conducive to life, but being
gratifications sought for themselves alone. He classifies æsthetic
pleasures according to the complexity of the emotions excited, or the
number of powers duly exercised; and he attributes the depth and apparent
vagueness of musical emotions to associations with vocal tones built up
during vast ages. Among numerous writers who have made valuable
contributions to the scientific discussion of æsthetics may be mentioned
Winckelmann, Lessing, Richter, the Schlegels, Gervinus, Helmholtz, Ruskin,
Home, Hogarth, Burke, Taine, and others.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: Herbert Spencer,
_Principles of Psychology_; Grant Allen, _Physiological Æsthetics_; A.
Bain, _Emotions and Will_; B. Bosanquet, _History of Æsthetics_; W. Knight,
_Philosophy of the Beautiful_.

ÆSTIVA'TION, a botanical term applied to the arrangement of the parts of a
flower in the flower-bud previous to the opening of the bud.--The term is
also applied to the summer sleep of animals. See _Dormant State_.

ÆTH'ELING. See _Atheling_.

Æ'THER. See _Ether_.

ÆTHIO'PIA. See _Ethiopia_.

Æ'THRIOSCOPE (Gr. _aithrios_, clear, cloudless), an instrument (devised by
Sir John Leslie) for measuring radiation towards a clear sky, consisting of
a metallic cup with a highly-polished interior of paraboloid shape, in the
focus of which is placed one bulb of a differential thermometer, the other
being outside. The inside bulb at once begins to radiate heat when exposed
to a clear sky, and the extent to which this takes place is shown by the
scale of the thermometer. The æthrioscope also indicates the presence of
invisible aqueous vapour in the atmosphere, radiation being less than when
the air is dry.

ÆTHU'SA, a genus of umbelliferous plants. See _Fool's Parsley_.

ÆTIOLOGY (Gr. _aitia_, cause, and _logos_, discourse), the theory of the
physical causes of any class of phenomena, or the science of causation. It
is, however, mainly used in medicine, and deals with the causes and origin
of disease.

AË'TIUS, a general of the western Roman Empire, born A.D. 396; murdered
454. As commander in the reign of Valentinian III he defended the empire
against the Huns, Visigoths, Franks, Burgundians, &c., completely defeating
the Huns under Attila in a great battle at Châlons in 451. For twenty years
he was at the head of public affairs, and in the end was murdered by
Valentinian, who was jealous of his power.

ÆT'NA. See _Etna_.

ÆTO'LIA, a western division of northern Greece, separated on the west by
the Achelous from Acarnania and washed by the Corinthian Gulf on the south.
The inhabitants are little heard of in Greek history till the Peloponnesian
war, at which time they were notorious among the Greeks for the rudeness of
their manners. Ætolia, in conjunction with Acarnania, now forms a nomarchy
of the kingdom of Greece.

AFANASIEV, Alexander Nicolaievitsh, Russian folklorist, born in 1826.
Besides numerous articles and essays he wrote several monumental works:
_The Ancient Slav's Poetic View of Nature_ (3 vols., 1866-9), _Russian
Tales and Fables for Children_ (3 vols., 1870), &c. He died in 1871.

AFFIDA'VIT, a written statement of facts upon oath or affirmation.
Affidavits are generally made use of when evidence is to be laid before a
judge or a court, while evidence brought before a jury is delivered orally.
The person making the affidavit signs his name at the bottom of it, and
swears that the statements contained in it are true. The affidavit may be
sworn to in open court, or before a magistrate or other duly qualified
person; it may be made abroad before a qualified British state official.

AFFIN'ITY, in chemistry, the force by which unlike kinds of matter combine
so intimately that the properties of the constituents are lost, and a
compound with new properties is produced. Of the force itself we know
little or nothing. It is not the same under all conditions, being very much
modified by circumstances, especially temperature. The usual effect of
increase of temperature is to diminish affinity and ultimately to cause the
separation of a compound into its constituents; and there is probably for
every compound a temperature above which it could not exist, but would be
broken up. Where two elements combine to form a compound, heat is almost
always evolved, and the amount evolved serves as a measure of the affinity.
In order that chemical affinity may come into play it is necessary that the
substances should be in contact, and usually one of them at least is a
fluid or a gas. The results produced by chemical combination are endlessly
varied. Colour, taste, and smell are changed, destroyed, or created;
harmless constituents produce strong poisons, strong poisons produce
harmless compounds.

AFFINITY, in law, is that degree of connection which subsists between one
of two married persons and the blood relations of the other. It is no real
kindred (consanguinity). A person cannot, by legal succession, receive an
inheritance from a relation by affinity; neither does it extend to the
nearest relations of husband and wife so as to create a mutual relation
between them. The degrees of affinity are computed in the same way as those
of consanguinity or blood. All legal impediments arising from affinity
cease upon the death of the husband or wife, excepting those which relate
to the marriage of the survivor.

AFFIRMA'TION, a solemn declaration by Quakers, Moravians, Dunkers, and
others, who object to taking an oath, in confirmation of their testimony in
courts of law, or of their statements on other occasions on which the
sanction of an oath is required of other persons. In England the form for
Quakers is, 'I do solemnly, sincerely, and truly declare and affirm'.
Affirmation is generally allowed to be substituted for an oath in all cases
where a person refuses to take an oath from conscientious motives, if the
judge is satisfied that the motives are conscientious. False affirmation is
subjected to the same penalties as perjury.

AFFREIGHTMENT means the contract of carriage of goods by sea, by which the
shipowner undertakes to carry goods in his ship for hire or _freight_.
Unless otherwise stipulated, the merchant or freighter is only bound to pay
the freight upon delivery of the goods at the agreed destination. If the
voyage is abandoned, the merchant may claim his goods without any payment.
The merchant must load and discharge his cargo within the _lay-days_ or
stipulated time, if any; otherwise within a reasonable time. Failure
entails liability in damages--known as _demurrage_--for undue detention of
the ship. The merchant will also be liable in damages--known as
_dead-freight_--if he fails to furnish the full cargo promised. The
shipowner has a lien on the goods for their own freight and charges, but
not for a general balance. Nor has he any lien for dead-freight or
demurrage. All such liens may be validly stipulated for in the contract.
They are purely possessory as contrasted with the so-called maritime liens
for seamen's and shipmasters' wages, which are valid without possession.
There is no lien for _advance freight_, which in Scotland is repayable if
the cargo is lost at sea or delivery otherwise prevented, but not so in
England. In Scotland, accordingly, the burden of insuring advance freight
falls upon the shipowner, in England upon the merchant.

The main obligations upon the shipowner are to provide a seaworthy vessel,
carry without undue delay, and deliver the goods in the same condition as
they were shipped. Unless otherwise agreed, he is liable for damage or loss
through negligence, and if he be a common carrier, as he frequently is,
even the absence of negligence may not save him. There is nothing in
British law, however, to prevent him from contracting out of all
responsibility for the safety of goods committed to his care, and he
generally does so, either by inserting what is known as an 'exception
clause' in the document evidencing the contract, viz. the Bill of Lading,
or by giving public notice that he only accepts goods upon that footing. In
this respect the position of shipowners is more favourable than that of
railway companies and other land carriers, whose freedom of contract is
curtailed by statute.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: T. G. Carver, _Carriage by Sea_; Sir
T. E. Scrutton, _Contract of Affreightment_.

AFFRIQUE ([.a]f-r[=e]k), St., a town of southern France, department of
Aveyron.

AFGHANISTAN ([.a]f-gän'i-stän), that is, the land of the Afghans, a country
in Asia, bounded on the east by the N. W. Frontier Province, &c., on the
south by Baluchistan, on the west by the Persian province of Khorasan, and
on the north by Bukhara and Russian Turkestan. The eastern and southern
boundaries were settled in 1893, whilst the boundary towards Persia was
demarcated between March, 1903, and May, 1905. The area may be set down at
about 250,000 sq. miles. The population is estimated at 6,000,000.
Afghanistan consists chiefly of lofty, bare, uninhabited tablelands, sandy
barren plains, ranges of snow-covered mountains, offsets of the Hindu Kush
or the Himálaya, and deep ravines and valleys. Many of the last are well
watered and very fertile, but about four-fifths of the whole surface is
rocky, mountainous, and unproductive. The surface on the north-east is
covered with lofty ranges belonging to the Hindu Kush, whose heights are
often 18,000 and sometimes reach perhaps 25,000 feet. The whole
north-eastern portion of the country has a general elevation of over 6000
feet; but towards the south-west, in which direction the principal mountain
chains of the interior run, the general elevation declines to not more than
1600 feet. In the interior the mountains sometimes reach the height of
15,000 feet. Great part of the frontier towards India consists of the
Suleiman range, 12,000 feet high. There are numerous practicable avenues of
communication between Afghanistan and India, among the most extensively
used being the famous Khyber Pass, by which the River Kabul enters the
Punjab; the Gomul Pass, also leading to the Punjab; and the Bolan Pass on
the south, through which the route passes to Sind. Of the rivers the
largest is the Helmund, which flows in a south-westerly direction more than
400 miles, till it enters the Hamoon or Seistan swamp. It receives the
Arghandab, a considerable stream. Next in importance are the Kabul in the
north-east, which drains to the Indus, and the Hari Rud in the north-west,
which, like other Afghan streams, loses itself in the sand. The climate is
extremely cold in the higher, and intensely hot in the lower regions, yet
on the whole it is salubrious. The most common trees are the pine, oak,
birch, and walnut. In the valleys fruits, in the greatest variety and
abundance, grow wild. The principal crops are wheat (forming the staple
food of the people), barley, rice, and maize. Other crops are tobacco,
sugar-cane, and cotton. The chief domestic animals are the dromedary, the
horse, ass, and mule, the ox, sheep with large fine fleeces and enormous
fat tails, and goats; of wild animals there are the tiger, bears, leopards,
wolves, jackal, hyena, foxes, &c. The chief towns are Kabul (the capital),
Kandahar, Ghuzni, and Herat. The inhabitants belong to different races, but
the Afghans proper form the great mass of the people. They are allied in
blood to the Persians, and are divided into a number of tribes, among which
the Duranis and Ghiljis are the most important. The Afghans, claiming
descent from King Saul, are called by their own ancient chroniclers
Beni-Israel. They are bold, hardy, and warlike, fond of freedom and
resolute in maintaining it, but of a restless, turbulent temper, and much
given to plunder. Tribal dissensions are constantly in existence, and
seldom or never do all the Afghans pay allegiance to the nominal ruler of
their country. Their language (Pushtu) is distinct from the Persian, though
it contains a great number of Persian words, and is written, like the
Persian, with the Arabic characters. In religion they are Mahommedans of
the Sunnite sect.

After having been subjugated by Alexander the Great, the country of the
Afghans fell successively under the sway, actual or nominal, of Parthians,
Seleucidæ, Persians, and Arabs. Djinghiz Khan conquered Afghanistan in the
twelfth century and Timur in the fourteenth. In 1504 Sultan Baber took
Cabul and founded the Mogul dynasty in India; Afghanistan thus formed part
of the great empire of Delhi. In 1738 the country was conquered by the
Persians under Nadir Shah. On his death in 1747 Ahmed Shah, one of his
generals, obtained the sovereignty of Afghanistan, and became the founder
of a dynasty which lasted about eighty years. At the end of that time Dost
Mohammed, the ruler of Cabul, had acquired a preponderating influence in
the country. On account of his dealings with the Russians the British
resolved to dethrone him and restore Shah Shuja, a former ruler. In April,
1839, a British army under Sir John Keane entered Afghanistan, occupied
Cabul, and placed Shah Shuja on the throne, a force of 8000 being left to
support the new sovereign. Sir W. Macnaghten remained as envoy at Cabul,
with Sir Alexander Burnes as assistant envoy. The Afghans soon organized a
widespread insurrection, which came to a head on 2nd Nov., 1841, when
Burnes and a number of British officers, besides women and children, were
murdered, Macnaghten being murdered not long after. The other British
leaders now made a treaty with the Afghans, at whose head was Akbar, son of
Dost Mohammed, agreeing to withdraw the forces from the country, while the
Afghans were to furnish them with provisions and escort them on their way.
On 6th Jan., 1842, the British left Cabul and began their most disastrous
retreat. The cold was intense, they had almost no food--for the treacherous
Afghans did not fulfil their promises--and day after day they were assailed
by bodies of the enemy. By the 13th 26,000 persons, including
camp-followers, women and children, were destroyed. Some were kept as
prisoners, but only one man, Dr. Brydon, reached Jelalabad, which, as well
as Kandahar, was still held by British troops. In a few months General
Pollock, with a fresh army from India, retook Cabul and soon finished the
war. Shah Shuja having been assassinated, Dost Mohammed again obtained the
throne of Cabul, and acquired extensive power in Afghanistan. He joined
with the Sikhs against the British, but afterwards made an offensive and
defensive alliance with the latter. He died in 1863, having nominated his
son Shere Ali his successor. Shere Ali entered into friendly relations with
the British, but in 1878, having repulsed a British envoy and refused to
receive a British mission (a Russian mission being meantime at his Court),
war was declared against him, and the British troops entered Afghanistan.
They met with comparatively little resistance; the Ameer fled to Turkestan,
where he soon after died; and his son Yakoob Khan having succeeded him
concluded a treaty with the British (at Gandamak, May, 1879), in which a
certain extension of the British frontier, the control by Britain of the
foreign policy of Afghanistan, and the residence of a British envoy in
Cabul, were the chief stipulations. Not long after this settlement, the
British resident at Cabul, Sir Louis P. Cavagnari, and the other members of
the mission were treacherously attacked and slain by the Afghans, and
troops had again to be sent into the country. Cabul was again occupied, and
Kandahar and Ghazni were also relieved; while Yakoob Khan was sent to
imprisonment in India. In 1880 Abdur-Rahman, a grandson of Dost Mohammed,
was recognized by Britain as ameer of the country. He was on friendly terms
with the British during his reign, which ended with his death in 1901, his
son Habibullah being his successor. He had adopted the title of
Sirajul-Millat wa ud-din, 'Lamp of the Nation and Religion'. In a treaty
signed on 21st March, 1905, the Ameer recognized the engagements which his
father had entered into with the British Government. Encroachments by the
Russians on territory claimed by Afghanistan almost brought about a rupture
between Britain and Russia in 1885, and led to the delimitation of the
frontier of Afghanistan on the side next Russia. On 31st Aug., 1907, an
Anglo-Russian Convention relating to Afghanistan was signed. The Russian
Government recognized Afghanistan as outside the Russian sphere of
influence, whilst Great Britain undertook neither to annex nor occupy any
portion of Afghanistan. In spite of German intrigues, the Ameer refused, in
1915, the inducements held out to him to abandon his British ally. He was
assassinated on 20th Feb., 1919, and was succeeded by his third son
Amanullah. The new Ameer sought to gain popularity with his subjects by
embarking on an unprovoked war of aggression upon India. Hostilities broke
out in May, 1919, and ended with a peace treaty signed at Rawalpindi on 8th
Aug., 1919. In 1922 the first Afghan minister was appointed to London
(instead of to Delhi).--BIBLIOGRAPHY: MacGregor, _Gazetteer of
Afghanistan_; Malleson, _History of Afghanistan_; Forbes, _The Afghan
Wars_; Field-Marshal Earl Roberts, _Forty-one Years in India_; J. G. Lyons,
_Afghanistan: the Buffer State_.

AFIUM-KARA-HISSAR ('opium-black-castle'), a city of Asia Minor, 170 miles
E.S.E. of Constantinople, with manufactures of woollen goods, and a trade
in opium (_afium_), &c. Pop. about 20,000.

AFRAG'OLA, a town of Italy, about 6 miles N.N.E. of Naples. Pop. 23,155.

AFRA'NIUS, Lucius, a Roman comic dramatist who flourished about the
beginning of the first century B.C., and of whose writings only fragments
remain.

[Illustration]

AF'RICA, one of the three great divisions of the Old World, and the second
in extent of the five principal continents of the globe, forming a vast
peninsula joined to Asia by the Isthmus of Suez. It is of a compact form,
with few important projections or indentations, and having therefore a very
small extent of coast-line (about 16,000 miles, or much less than that of
Europe) in proportion to its area. This continent extends from 37° 21' N.
lat. to 34° 51' S. lat., and the extreme points, Cape Blanco and Cape
Agulhas, are nearly 5000 miles apart. From west to east, between Cape
Verde, lon. 17° 34' W., and Cape Guardafui, lon. 51° 16' E., the distance
is about 4600 miles. The area is estimated at 11,500,000 sq. miles, or more
than three times that of Europe. The islands belonging to Africa are not
numerous, and, except Madagascar, none of them are large. They include
Madeira, the Canaries, Cape Verde Islands, Fernando Po, Principe, São
Thomé, Ascension, St. Helena, Mauritius, Réunion, the Comoros, Socotra, &c.

The interior of Africa is as yet imperfectly known, but we know enough of
the continent as a whole to be able to point to some general features that
characterize it. One of these is that almost all round it at no great
distance from the sea, and, roughly speaking, parallel with the coast-line,
we find ranges of mountains or elevated lands forming the outer edges of
interior plateaux. The most striking feature of Northern Africa is the
immense tract known as the Sahara or Great Desert, which is enclosed on the
north by the Atlas Mountains (greatest height, 12,000 to 15,000 feet), the
plateau of Barbary and that of Barqa, on the east by the mountains along
the west coast of the Red Sea, on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, and on
the south by the Sudan. The Sahara is by no means the sea of sand it has
sometimes been represented: it contains elevated plateaux and even
mountains radiating in all directions, with habitable valleys between. A
considerable nomadic population is scattered over the habitable parts, and
in the more favoured regions there are settled communities. The Sudan,
which lies to the south of the Sahara, and separates it from the more
elevated plateau of Southern Africa, forms a belt of pastoral country
across Africa, and includes the countries on the Niger, around Lake Tchad
(or Chad), and eastwards to the elevated region of Abyssinia. Southern
Africa as a whole is much more fertile and well watered than Northern
Africa, though it also has a desert tract of considerable extent (the
Kalahari Desert). This division of the continent consists of a tableland,
or series of tablelands, of considerable elevation and great diversity of
surface, exhibiting hollows filled with great lakes, and terraces over
which the rivers break in falls and rapids, as they find their way to the
low-lying coast tracts. The mountains which enclose Southern Africa are
mostly much higher on the east than on the west, the most northerly of the
former being those of Abyssinia, with heights of 10,000 to 14,000 or 16,000
feet, while the eastern edge of the Abyssinian plateau presents a steep
unbroken line of 7000 feet in height for many hundred miles. Farther south,
and between the great lakes and the Indian Ocean, we find Mounts Kenya and
Kilimanjaro (19,500 feet), the loftiest in Africa, covered with perpetual
snow. Of the continuation of this mountain boundary we shall only mention
the Drakenberg Mountains, which stretch to the southern extremity of the
continent, reaching, in Cathkin Peak, Natal, the height of over 10,000
feet. Of the mountains that form the western border the highest are the
Cameroon Mountains, which rise to a height of 13,000 feet at the inner
angle of the Gulf of Guinea. The average elevation of the southern plateau
is from 3000 to 4000 feet.

The Nile is the only great river of Africa which flows into the
Mediterranean. It receives its waters primarily from the great lake
Victoria Nyanza, which lies under the equator, and in its upper course is
fed by tributary streams of great size, but for the last 1200 miles of its
course it has not a single affluent. It drains an area of more than
1,000,000 sq. miles. The Indian Ocean receives numerous rivers; but the
only great river of South Africa which enters that ocean is the Zambezi,
the fourth in size of the continent, and having in its course the Victoria
Falls, one of the greatest waterfalls in the world. In Southern Africa
also, but flowing westward and entering the Atlantic, is the Congo, which
takes its origin from a series of lakes and marshes in the interior, is fed
by great tributaries, and is the first in volume of all the African rivers,
carrying to the ocean more water than the Mississippi. Unlike most of the
African rivers, the mouth of the Congo forms an estuary. Of the other
Atlantic rivers, the Senegal, the Gambia, and the Niger are the largest,
the last being third among African streams.

With the exception of Lake Tchad there are no great lakes in the northern
division of Africa, whereas in the number and magnificence of its lakes the
southern division almost rivals North America. Here are the Victoria and
Albert Nyanza, Lakes Tanganyika, Nyasa, Shirwa, Bangweulu, Moero, and other
lakes. Of these the Victoria and Albert belong to the basin of the Nile;
Tanganyika, Bangweulu, and Moero to that of the Congo; Nyasa, by its
affluent the Shiré, to the Zambezi. Lake Tchad on the borders of the
northern desert region is now known to be much smaller than was formerly
believed, but varies in area according to the season. Lake Ngami in the far
south is now a mere swamp.

The climate of Africa is mainly influenced by the fact that it lies almost
entirely within the tropics. In the equatorial belt, both north and south,
rain is abundant and vegetation very luxuriant, dense tropical forests
prevailing for about 10° on either side of the line. To the north and south
of the equatorial belt the rainfall diminishes, and the forest region is
succeeded by an open pastoral and agricultural country. This is followed by
the rainless regions of the Sahara on the north and the Kalahari Desert on
the south, extending beyond the tropics, and bordering on the agricultural
and pastoral countries of the north and south coasts, which lie entirely in
the temperate zone. The low coast regions of Africa are almost everywhere
unhealthy, the Atlantic coast within the tropics being the most fatal
region to Europeans.

Among mineral productions may be mentioned gold, which is found in the
rivers of West Africa (hence the name Gold Coast), and in Southern Africa,
most abundantly in the Transvaal; diamonds have been found in large numbers
in recent years in the south; iron, copper, lead, tin, and coal are also
found.--Among plants are the baobab, the date-palm (important as a food
plant in the north), the doum-palm, the oil-palm, the wax-palm, the
shea-butter tree, trees yielding caoutchouc, the papyrus, the castor-oil
plant, indigo, the coffee-plant, heaths with beautiful flowers, aloes, &c.
Among cultivated plants are wheat, maize, millet, and other grains, cotton,
coffee, cassava, ground-nut, yam, banana, tobacco, various fruits, &c. As
regards both plants and animals, Northern Africa, adjoining the
Mediterranean, is distinguished from the rest of Africa in its great
agreement with Southern Europe.--Among the most characteristic African
animals are the lion, hyena, jackal, gorilla, chimpanzee, baboon, African
elephant (never domesticated, yielding much ivory to trade), hippopotamus,
rhinoceros, giraffe, zebra, quagga, antelopes in great variety and immense
numbers.--Among birds are the ostrich, the secretary-bird or serpent-eater,
the honey-guide cuckoo, sacred ibis, guinea fowl.--The reptiles include the
crocodile, chameleon, and serpents of various kinds, some of them very
venomous. Among insects are locusts, scorpions, the tsetse-fly whose bite
is so fatal to cattle, and white-ants.

The great races of which the population of Africa mainly consists are the
Eastern Hamites (who are not a distinct race but a blend), the Semites, the
Negroes, and the Bantus. To the Semitic stock belong the Arabs, who form a
considerable portion of the population in Egypt and along the north coast,
while a portion of the inhabitants of Abyssinia is of the same race. The
Hamites are represented, according to Sergi, by the Copts of Egypt, the
Berbers, Kabyles, &c., of Northern Africa, and the Somâli, Danâkil, &c., of
East Africa. The Negro races occupy a vast territory in the Sudan and
Central Africa, while the Bantus occupy the greater part of Southern Africa
from a short distance north of the equator, and include the Kaffirs,
Bechuanas, Swahili, and allied races. In the extreme south-west are the
Hottentots and Bushmen (the latter a dwarfish race), distinct from the
other races as well as, probably, from each other. In Madagascar there is a
large Malay element. To these may be added the Fulahs on the Niger and the
Nubians on the Nile and elsewhere, who are of a brownish colour, and are
often regarded as distinct from the other races, though sometimes classed
with the Negroes. In religion a great proportion of the inhabitants are
heathens of the lowest type; Mohammedanism numbers a large number of
adherents in North Africa, and is rapidly spreading in the Sudan;
Christianity prevails only among the Copts, the Abyssinians, and the
natives of Madagascar, the last-named having been converted in recent
times. Elsewhere the missionaries seem to have made but little progress.
Over a great part of the continent civilization is at a low ebb, yet in
some parts the natives have shown considerable skill in agriculture and
various mechanical arts, as in weaving and metal working. Of African trade
two features are the caravans that traverse great distances, and the trade
in slaves that still widely prevails, though it has been greatly restricted
in recent years. Among articles exported from Africa are palm-oil,
diamonds, ivory, ostrich feathers, wool, cotton, gold, esparto, caoutchouc,
&c. The population is estimated at 180,000,000. Of these a small number are
of European origin--French in Algeria and Morocco, British and Dutch at the
southern extremity.

Great areas in Africa have been apportioned among European Powers as
protectorates or spheres of influence. Among native States still more or
less independent are Egypt, Abyssinia, Waday, Bagirmi, Liberia. To Britain
belong the Cape Province, Natal, the Orange Free State and Transvaal, with
Rhodesia, &c., farther north, a region in Eastern Africa extending from the
sea to Lake Victoria and the headwaters of the Nile, Nigeria, Gold Coast,
and other tracts on the west, with Mauritius, &c.; to France belong Algeria
and Tunis, Senegambia, Zone of Morocco, territory north of the Lower Congo,
Madagascar, &c.; the Portuguese possess Angola on the west coast and
Mozambique on the east; Italy has a territory on the Red Sea, and part of
Somaliland; Spain has a part of the coast of the Sahara; the Congo State is
a colony of Belgium; Zanzibar is merged in Kenya Colony. Germany was
deprived of her possessions in Africa during the European War, and the
Peace Conference of 1919 appointed Great Britain, France, and Belgium to
act as mandatories of the League of Nations.

The name Africa was given by the Romans at first only to a small district
in the immediate neighbourhood of Carthage. The Greeks called Africa Libya,
and the Romans often used the same name. The first African exploring
expedition on record was sent by Pharaoh Necho about the end of the seventh
century B.C. to circumnavigate the continent. The navigators, who were
Phoenicians, were absent three years, and according to report they
accomplished their object. Fifty or a hundred years later, Hanno, a
Carthaginian, made a voyage down the west coast and seems to have got as
far as the Bight of Benin. The east coast was probably known to the
ancients as far as Mozambique and the island of Madagascar. Of modern
nations the Portuguese were the first to take in hand the exploration of
Africa. In 1433 they doubled Cape Bojador, in 1441 reached Cape Blanco, in
1442 Cape Verde, in 1462 they discovered Sierra Leone. In 1484 the
Portuguese Diego Cam discovered the mouth of the Congo. In 1486 Bartholomew
Diaz rounded the Cape of Good Hope and reached Algoa Bay. A few years later
a Portuguese traveller visited Abyssinia. In 1497 Vasco da Gama, who was
commissioned to find a route by sea to India, sailed round the southern
extremity as far as Zanzibar, discovering Natal on his way. The first
European settlements were those of the Portuguese in Angola and Mozambique,
soon after 1500. In 1650 the Dutch made a settlement at the Cape. In 1770
James Bruce reached the source of the Blue Nile in Abyssinia. For the
exploration of the interior of Africa, however, little was done before the
close of the eighteenth century.

Modern African exploration may be said to begin with Mungo Park, who
reached the upper course of the Niger (1795-1805). Dr. Lacerda, a
Portuguese, about the same time reached the capital of the Cazembe, in the
centre of South Africa, where he died. During 1802-6 two Portuguese traders
crossed the continent from Angola, through the Cazembe's dominions, to the
Portuguese possessions on the Zambezi. During 1822-4 extensive explorations
were made in Northern and Western Africa by Denham, Clapperton, and Oudney,
who proceeded from Tripoli by Murzuq to Lake Tchad, and explored the
adjacent regions; Laing, in 1826, crossed the desert from Tripoli to
Timbuktu; Caillié, leaving Senegal, made in 1827-8 a journey to Timbuktu,
and thence through the desert to Morocco. In 1830 Lander traced a large
part of the course of the Niger downward to its mouth, discovering its
tributary the Benue. In the south Livingstone, who was stationed as a
missionary at Kolobeng, setting out from that place in 1849 discovered Lake
Ngami. In 1851 he went north again, and came upon numerous rivers flowing
north, affluents of the Zambezi. In 1848 and 1849 Krapf and Rebmann,
missionaries in East Africa, discovered the mountains Kilimanjaro and
Kenya. An expedition sent out by the British Government started from
Tripoli in 1850 to visit the Sahara and the regions around Lake Tchad, the
chiefs being Richardson, Overweg, and Barth. The last alone returned in
1855, having carried his explorations over 2,000,000 sq. miles of this part
of Africa, hitherto almost unknown. During 1853-6 Livingstone made an
important series of explorations. He first went north-westwards, tracing
part of the Upper Zambezi, and reached St. Paul de Loanda on the west coast
in 1854. On his return journey he followed pretty nearly the same route
till he reached the Zambezi, and proceeding down the river, and visiting
its falls, called by him the Victoria Falls, he arrived at Quelimane at its
mouth on 20th May, 1856, thus crossing the continent from sea to sea. In
1858 he resumed his exploration of the Zambezi regions, and in various
journeys visited Lakes Shirwa and Nyasa, sailed up the Shiré to the latter
lake, and established the general features of the geography of this part of
Africa, returning to England in 1864. By this time the great lakes of
equatorial Africa were becoming known, Tanganyika and Victoria having been
discovered by Burton and Speke in 1858, and the latter having been visited
by Speke and Grant in 1862 and found to give rise to the Nile, while the
Albert Nyanza was discovered by Baker in 1864. In 1866 Livingstone entered
on his last great series of explorations, the main object of which was to
settle the position of the watersheds in the interior of the continent, and
which he carried on till his death in 1873. His most important explorations
on this occasion were west and south-west of Tanganyika, including the
discovery of Lakes Bangweulu and Moero, and part of the upper course of the
River Congo (here called Lualaba). For over two years he was lost to the
knowledge of Europe till met with by H. M. Stanley at Tanganyika in 1871.
Gerhard Rohlfs, in a succession of journeys from 1861 to 1874, traversed
the Sahara in different directions, and also crossed the continent entirely
from Tripoli to Lagos by way of Murzuq, Bornu, &c. During 1873-5 Lieutenant
Cameron, who had been sent in search of Livingstone, surveyed Lake
Tanganyika, explored the country to the west of it, and then travelling to
the south-west, finally reached Benguella on the Atlantic coast. During
1874-7 Stanley surveyed Lakes Victoria Nyanza and Tanganyika and explored
the intervening country; then going westward to where Livingstone had
struck the Congo he followed the river down to its mouth, thus finally
settling its course and completing a remarkable and valuable series of
explorations. In 1879 Serpa Pinto completed a journey across the continent
from Benguella to Natal, and in 1881-2 Wissman and Pogge crossed it again
from St. Paul de Loanda to Zanzibar. In recent years our knowledge of all
parts of Africa has been greatly increased, thanks to the efforts of
travellers, missionaries, and commercial agents. Steamers now ply on the
Congo, and on Lakes Tanganyika, Nyasa, and Victoria, and numerous railways
('Cape to Cairo', &c.) extend far into the continent.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: Mungo
Park, _Travels_; D. Livingstone, _Missionary Travels_; Sir H. M. Stanley,
_In Darkest Africa_; Sir H. H. Johnston, _Africa_.

AFRIDIS ([.a]-fr[=e]'diz), a tribe or clan on the north-west frontier of
India, about the Khyber Pass, who have at various times given trouble to
the British, and are included in a new (1922) scheme of Khassadars
(irregulars). In 1897-8 a campaign ('the Tirah campaign') had to be
undertaken against them, costly both in men and money, before British
authority was asserted. In 1905 the Afridis of the force called the Khyber
Rifles formed an escort for the Prince and Princess of Wales on their visit
to the famous pass, which was long in their charge.--Cf. Holdich, _The
Indian Borderland_.

AFRIKANDER BUND, an association dating from 1880 and founded for the
purpose of consolidating Afrikander influence in South Africa. For a time
it supported the policy of Cecil Rhodes, but after 1895 separated itself
from him. After the war in 1902 the Bund was reorganized, and identified
with the South African party whose policy is to further the federation of
the South African colonies under the British crown.

A'GA, formerly title of Turkish officers of a lower military rank, now of
men of great wealth and influence except learned men and ecclesiastics, to
whom the corresponding title of _effendi_, meaning 'elder brother' and
subsequently 'master', is given.

AG'ADES, a town of Africa, near the middle of the Sahara, capital of the
Saharan oasis of Aïr or Asben; at one time a seat of great traffic,
probably containing 60,000 inhabitants, now with a pop. of about 7000.

AGADIR, a little town on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, the Santa Cruz May
of the Spaniards. It was seized by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century,
and captured by Mulai Ahmed in 1536. It was once one of the most important
seaports of Morocco, but is now closed to commerce and only used as a
customs station, its place being taken by Mogador. In July, 1910, the
appearance of a French cruiser in the port of Agadir gave rise to a
Franco-German dispute, and in 1911 Germany sent the gunboat _Panther_, and
a few days later the _Berlin_, to Agadir for the protection of German
subjects. See _France_, _Germany_.

AGALLOCHUM (a-gal'o-kum), a fragrant wood obtained from _Aloex[)y]lon
Agall[)o]chum_, a leguminous tree of Cochin-China, and _Aquil[=a]ria
Agall[)o]cha_, a large tree found in north-east Bengal, abounding in resin
and an essential oil which yields a perfume used as incense.

AGAL'MATOLITE (Gr. _agalma_, image), a kind of stone, a clay-slate altered
by heat and by the addition of alkalies, which is carved into images, &c.,
by the Chinese.

AG'AMA, a name of several lizards allied to the iguana, natives of both
hemispheres.

AGAMEM'NON, in Greek mythology, son of Atreus, King of Mycenæ and Argos,
brother of Menelaus, and commander of the allied Greeks at the siege of
Troy. Returning home after the fall of Troy, he was treacherously
assassinated by his wife, Clytemnestra, and her paramour, Ægisthus,
Agamemnon's cousin. He was the father of Orestes, Iphigen[=i]a, and
Electra.

AG'AMI. See _Trumpeter_.

AGAMOGENESIS (-jen'e-sis; Gr. _a_, priv., _gamos_, marriage, _genesis_,
reproduction), the production of young without the congress of the sexes,
one of the phenomena of alternate generation. See _Generation_ and
_Parthenogenesis_.

AGANIPPE (-nip'[=e]), daughter of the river-god Parmessos, or Termessos,
nymph of a fountain on Mount Helicon, in Greece, sacred to the Muses, which
had the property of inspiring with poetic fire whoever drank of it. The
name is often given to the wife of Acrisius and mother of Danae.

AGAPE (ag'a-p[=e]; Gr. _agap[=e]_, love), in ecclesiastical history, the
love-feast or feast of charity, in use among the primitive Christians, when
a liberal contribution was made by the rich to feed the poor. For a time
the agape coincided with the _eucharist_, which, at its origin, was clearly
funerary in its intention. "For as often as ye eat this bread and drink
this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come." During the first three
centuries love-feasts were held in the churches without scandal, but in
after-times they acquired a bad reputation, not undeservedly, and they were
condemned at the Council of Carthage in 397. Some modern sects, as the
Wesleyans, Sandemanians, Moravians, &c., have attempted to revive this
feast.

AGAPEMONE (ag-a-pem'o-n[=e]; lit. 'the abode of love'), the name of a
singular conventual establishment which has existed at Spaxton, near
Bridgewater, Somersetshire, since 1859, the originator of it being a
certain Henry James Prince, at one time a clergyman of the Church of
England, who called himself the Witness of the First Resurrection. The life
spent by the inmates appears to be a sort of religious epicureanism. Some
of the proceedings of the inmates of the 'Abode of Love' have resulted in
applications to the courts of law, where parties formerly members of the
society have returned to the world and sought to regain their rights from
Prince and his followers, and such cases have caused some scandal. In 1902
Prince was succeeded by T. H. Smyth-Pigott.

A'GAR-A'GAR, a dried seaweed of the Asiatic Archipelago, the _Gracilaria
lichenoides_, much used in the East for soups and jellies, and also by
paper and silk manufacturers.

[Illustration: _Agaricus campestris_, the Common Mushroom]

AGAR'IC (_Agar[)i]cus_), a large and important genus of fungi,
characterized by having a fleshy cap or pileus, and a number of radiating
plates or gills on which are produced the naked spores. The majority of the
species are furnished with stems, but some are attached to the objects on
which they grow by their pileus. Over a thousand species are known, and are
arranged in five sections according to whether the colour of their spores
is white, pink, brown, purple, or black. The chief British representatives
are the common wild mushroom (_A. campestris_, L.), the Horse mushroom (_A.
arvensis_, Schæff.), _A. elvensis_, B. and Br., _A. silvaticus_, Schæff.,
&c. Many of the species are edible, like the common mushroom, and supply a
delicious article of food, while others are deleterious and even poisonous.

AGARIC MINERAL, or MOUNTAIN-MEAL, one of the purest of the native
carbonates of lime, found chiefly in the clefts of rocks and at the bottom
of some lakes in a loose or semi-indurated form resembling a fungus. The
name is also applied to a stone of loose consistence found in Tuscany, of
which bricks may be made so light as to float in water, and of which the
ancients are supposed to have made their floating bricks. It is a hydrated
silicate of magnesium, mixed with lime, alumina, and a small quantity of
iron.

AGA'SIAS, a Greek sculptor of Ephesus, about 400 B.C., whose celebrated
statue, known as the Borghese Gladiator, representing a soldier contending
with a horseman, is now in the Louvre, Paris.

AGASSIZ (ag'as-[=e]), Louis John Rudolph, an eminent naturalist, born 1807,
died 1873, son of a Swiss Protestant clergyman at Motiers, near the eastern
extremity of the Lake of Neufchâtel. He completed his education at
Lausanne, and early developed a love of the natural sciences. He studied
medicine at Zürich, Heidelberg, and Munich. His attention was first
specially directed to ichthyology by being called on to describe the
Brazilian fishes brought to Europe from Brazil by Martius and Spix. This
work was published in 1829, and was followed in 1830 by _Histoire Naturelle
des Poissons d'eaux douces de l'Europe Centrale_ (Fresh-water Fishes of
Central Europe). Directing his attention to fossil ichthyology, five
volumes of his _Recherches sur les Poissons Fossiles_ appeared between 1834
and 1844. His researches led him to propose a new classification of fishes,
which he divided into four classes, distinguished by the characters of the
skin, as ganoids, placoids, cycloids, and ctenoids. His system has not been
generally adopted, but the names of his classes have been taken as useful
terms. In 1836 he began the study of glaciers, and in 1840 he published his
_Études sur les Glaciers_, in 1847 his _Système Glaciaire_. From 1838 he
had been professor of natural history at Neufchâtel, when in 1846 pressing
solicitations and attractive offers induced him to settle in America, where
he was connected as a teacher first with Harvard University, Cambridge, and
afterwards with Cornell University as well as Harvard. After his arrival in
America he engaged in various investigations and explorations, and
published numerous works, including: _Principles of Zoology_, in connection
with Dr. A. Gould (1848); _Contributions to the Natural History of the
United States_ (4 vols., 1857-62); _Zoologie Générale_ (1854); _Methods of
Study in Natural History_ (1863). In 1865-6 he made zoological excursions
and investigations in Brazil, which were productive of most valuable
results. Agassiz held views on many important points in science different
from those which prevailed among the scientific men of the day, and in
particular he strongly opposed the evolution theory. Cf. _Letters and
Recollections_, edited by G. R. Agassiz.

AGASSIZ (ag'a-s[=e]), Mount, an extinct volcano in Arizona, United States,
10,000 feet in height; a place of summer resort, near the Great Cañon of
the Colorado.

AG'ATE, a semi-translucent compound mineral mass formed in the cavities of
rocks by the successive deposition of various types of silica, or by the
staining of a siliceous mass thus deposited along concentric zones. Bands
or layers of various colours blended together, the base generally being
chalcedony, and this mixed with variable proportions of jasper, amethyst,
quartz, opal, heliotrope, and carnelian. The varying manner in which these
materials are arranged causes the agate when polished to assume some
characteristic appearances, and thus certain varieties are distinguished,
as the ribbon agate, the fortification agate, the zone agate, the star
agate, the moss agate, the clouded agate, &c. In Scotland they are cut and
polished under the name of Scottish pebbles.

AGATHAR'CHUS, a Greek painter, native of Samos, the first to paint a scene
for the acting of tragedies. The view, however, that he applied the rules
of perspective to theatrical scene-painting is doubtful. He flourished
about 480 B.C.

AGATH'IAS, a Greek poet and historian, born at Myrina, Asia Minor, about
A.D. 530; author of an anthology, a collection of love poems, and a history
of his own times, which is our chief authority for the period 552-8, during
which time the Byzantine army was struggling against the Goths, Vandals,
and Franks.

AGATHOCLES (a-gath'o-kl[=e]z), a Sicilian Greek, one of the boldest
adventurers of antiquity, born 361 B.C. By his ability and energy, and
being entirely unscrupulous, he raised himself from being a potter to being
tyrant of Syracuse and master of Sicily. Wars with the Carthaginians were
the chief events of his life. He died at the age of seventy-two.

AG'ATHON, a Greek tragic poet, a friend of Euripides, and contemporary with
Socrates and Alcibiades, born about 445 B.C., died about 402 B.C. The
banquet which he gave to celebrate his first dramatic victory was made the
groundwork of Plato's _Symposium_.

[Illustration: Agave (_Agave americana_)]

AGAVE (a-g[=a]'v[=e]), a genus of plants, nat. ord. Amaryllidaceæ (which
includes the daffodil and narcissus), popularly known as American aloes.
They are generally large, and have a massive tuft of fleshy leaves with a
spiny apex. They live for many years--ten to seventy according to
treatment--before flowering. When this takes place, the tall flowering stem
springs from the centre of the tuft of leaves, and grows very rapidly until
it reaches a height of 15, 20, or even 40 feet, bearing towards the end a
large number of flowers. The best-known species is _A. americ[=a]na_, known
as the Maguey or 'tree of wonders', introduced into Spain in 1561, and now
extensively grown in the warmer parts of this continent as well as in Asia
(India in particular). This and other species yield various important
products, the chief being the fibre obtained by maceration from the leaves
and roots, and known commercially as American aloe, pita flax, or vegetable
silk. The sap when fermented yields a beverage resembling cider, the
_pulque_ beer of the Spaniards, or is distilled into an intoxicating spirit
(Mezcal or Aguardiente). The leaves are used for feeding cattle; the fibres
of the leaves are formed into thread, cord, and ropes, and are also good
material for paper-making; an extract from the leaves is used as a
substitute for soap; slices of the withered flower-stem are used as
razor-strops.

AGDE ([.a]gd), a seaport of southern France, department of Hérault, with a
cathedral, an ancient and remarkable structure. The trade, chiefly
coasting, is extensive. Pop. 9265.

AGE, a period of time representing the whole or a part of the duration of
any individual thing or being, but used more specifically in a variety of
senses. In law _age_ is applied to the periods of life when men and women
are enabled to do that which before, for want of years and consequently of
judgment, they could not legally do. A male at twelve years old may take
the oath of allegiance; at fourteen is at years of discretion, and
therefore may choose his guardian or be an executor, although he cannot act
until of age; and at twenty-one is at his own disposal, and may alienate
and devise his lands, goods, and chattels. In English law a male at
fourteen and a female at twelve may consent or disagree to marriage, but it
cannot be celebrated without the consent of the parents or guardians until
the parties are of age. A female at fourteen is at years of legal
discretion, and may choose a guardian; at seventeen may be an executrix;
and at twenty-one may dispose of herself and her lands. So that full age in
male or female is twenty-one years, which age is completed on the day
preceding the anniversary of a person's birth, who till that time is an
infant, and so styled in law. In France majority is attained at twenty-one,
whilst the marriageable age is eighteen for males and fifteen for females,
subject to consent of parents or guardians. In England no one can take a
seat in Parliament under twenty-one, be ordained a priest under
twenty-four, nor made a bishop under thirty. In France a seat in the
Chamber of Deputies may be taken only at twenty-five and in the Senate at
forty. The law of Scotland divides life into three periods--pupilarity,
minority, and majority. The first extends up to the time of legal puberty,
that is, twelve years for a female and fourteen for a male, when they may
marry; the second extends from this point up to twenty-one years, which is
the time when majority is attained.

The term is also applied to designate the successive epochs or stages of
civilization in history or mythology. Hesiod speaks of five distinct
ages:--1. The _golden_ or _Saturnian age_, a patriarchal and peaceful age.
2. The _silver age_, licentious and wicked. 3. The _brazen age_, violent,
savage, and warlike. 4. The _heroic age_, which seemed an approximation to
a better state of things. 5. The _iron age_, when justice and honour had
left the earth. The term is also used in such expressions as the _dark
ages_, the _middle ages_, the _Elizabethan age_, &c.

The _Archæological Ages_ or _Periods_ are three--the Stone Age, the Bronze
Age, and the Iron Age, these names being given in accordance with the
materials chiefly employed for weapons, implements, &c., during the
particular period. The Stone Age of Europe has been subdivided into
two--the Palæolithic or earlier, and Neolithic or later. The word _age_ in
this sense has no reference to the lapse of time--or not necessarily
so--but simply refers to the stage at which a people has arrived in its
progress towards civilization; thus there are races still in their stone
age. The Palæolithic or earlier stone age in Europe was doubtless immensely
earlier than the Neolithic, the latter being marked by implements of much
greater finish than the former. See _Stone Age_.

AGEN ([.a]-zha[n.]), one of the oldest towns in France, capital of
department Lot-et-Garonne on the Garonne, 74 miles south-east of Bordeaux;
see of a bishop; manufactures sailcloth and other articles, and has an
extensive trade. The river is here crossed by a stone bridge, a suspension
bridge, and a canal aqueduct. Pop. 23,294.

AGENOR (a-j[=e]'nor), a mythical Greek hero, King of Phoenicia, and father
of Europa and Cadmus. Also one of the bravest among the Trojans, slain by
Neoptolemus.

A'GENT, a person appointed by another to act for or perform any kind of
business for him, the latter being called in relation to the former the
_principal_. Ambassadors were originally styled diplomatic agents.--In
India, it is the name for an officer to whom political power is given to
deal with native states.--_Army Agent_ is a kind of military banker,
authorized by the Government to manage the monetary affairs of a regiment.
There are only a few of these agents, and consequently each has in charge
the affairs of a number of different regiments.--_Crown Agents_ are
officials appointed by the secretary of state for the colonies to act as
commercial and financial agents in this country for the different British
colonies that are not self-governing; those that are self-governing appoint
their own agents, who are designated _agents-general_.--_Agent_ in
mechanics is the general force producing a movement.

AGERATUM (a-jer'a-tum), a genus of composite plants of the warmer parts of
America, one species of which, _A. mexic[=a]num_, is a well-known
flower-border annual with dense lavender-blue heads. From it have been
derived several varieties with flowers of different colours used chiefly as
bedding plants.

AGER PUBLICUS. See _Agrarian Law_.

AGESILAUS (a-jes-i-l[=a]'us), a king of Sparta, born in 444 B.C., and
elevated to the throne after the death of his brother Agis II. He acquired
renown by his exploits against the Persians, Thebans, and Athenians. Though
a vigorous ruler, and almost adored by his soldiers, he was of small
stature and lame from his birth. He died in Egypt in the winter of 361-360
B.C. His life has been written by Xenophon, Plutarch, and Cornelius Nepos.

AGGLOM'ERATE, in geology, a collective name for masses consisting of
angular fragments ejected from volcanoes. When a rock mass consists largely
of fragments worn and rounded by water it is called a _conglomerate_, and
such masses were originally, no doubt, gravels and shingles on sea beaches
and river channels.

AGGLU'TINATE LANGUAGES, languages in which the modifying suffixes are, as
it were, glued on to the root, both it and the suffixes retaining a kind of
distinctive independence and individuality, as in the Japanese, Turkish,
and other Turanian languages, and the Basque language.

AGG'REGATE, a term applied in geology to rocks composed of several
different mineral constituents capable of being separated by mechanical
means, as granite, where the quartz, felspar, and mica can be separated
mechanically.--In botany it is applied to flowers composed of many small
florets having a common undivided receptacle, the anthers being distinct
and separate, the florets commonly standing on stalks, and each having a
partial calyx.

AGGRY BEADS, glass beads of various forms and colours, prized by the
natives of West Africa as ornaments, and as having magical and medicinal
virtues. Their origin and history are not well known. Such beads have been
found in various parts of the world, including North and South America, and
often in graves. Some authorities believe that the oldest of them are the
work of the ancient Egyptians, or the Phoenicians, while the later are
probably of Venetian origin.

AGHA, see _Aga_.

AGHRIM, see _Aughrim_.

AGINCOURT ([.a]-zha[n.]-kör), a village of Northern France, department Pas
de Calais, famous for the battle of 25th Oct., 1415, between the French and
English. Henry V, King of England, eager to conquer France, landed at
Harfleur, took the place by storm, and wished to march through Picardy to
Calais, but was met by a French army under the Constable d'Albret. The
English numbered about 15,000 men, while the French numbers are variously
given as from 50,000 to 150,000. The confined nature and softness of the
ground were to the disadvantage of the French, who were drawn up in three
columns unnecessarily deep. The English archers attacked the first division
in front and in flank, and soon threw them into disorder. The second
division fled on the fall of the Duc d'Alençon, who was struck down by
Henry himself; and the third division fled without striking a blow. Of the
French 10,000 were killed, including the Constable d'Albret, with six dukes
and princes. The English lost 1600 men killed, among them the Duke of York,
Henry's uncle. After the battle the English continued their march to
Calais.

AGIO ([=a]'ji-[=o]), the difference between the real and the nominal value
of money, as between paper money and actual coin. It is used to denote both
the difference between two currencies in the same country and the
variations in the currencies of different countries. The term is derived
from the It. _aggiungere_, to add, augment, hence _agiotage_. See _Disagio_
and _Balance of Trade_.

AGIRA ([.a]-j[=e]'r[.a]), (ancient AGYRIUM), a town of Sicily south-west of
Etna. Pop. 22,485.

AGIS ([=a]'jis), the name of four Spartan kings, the most important of whom
was Agis IV, who succeeded to the throne in 244 B.C., and reigned four
years. He attempted a reform of the abuses which had crept into the
State--his plan comprehending a redistribution of the land, a division of
wealth, and the cancelling of all debts. Opposed by his colleague Leonidas,
advantage was taken of his absence, in an expedition against the Ætolians,
to depose him. Agis at first took sanctuary in a temple, but he was
treacherously seized and strangled, after going through the form of a
trial.

AGISTMENT (from the Lat. _ad_, to, and Fr. _giste_, lodging), a term
designating the pasturing of horses, cattle, or sheep of another. See
_Bailment_.

AGITATORS, an alternative form of _Adjutators_, a name given to the
representatives elected in 1647 by the different regiments of the English
parliamentary army.

AGLAIA (a-gl[=a]'ya), wife of Hephaistos, in Greek mythology, one of the
three Graces, the other two being Euphrosyne and Thalia.

AGLOSSA, a sub-order of anurous amphibia, the frogs, without a tongue.

AGNANO ([.a]-nyä'n[=o]), until 1870 a lake of Italy, west of Naples,
occupying probably the crater of an extinct volcano, but now drained.

AG'NATES, in the civil law, relations on the male side, in opposition to
_cognates_, relations on the female side.

AGNELLO PASS, see _European War_.

AGNES, St., a virgin martyr who, according to the story, suffered martyrdom
because she steadfastly refused to marry Sempronius, the prefect of Rome,
and adhered to her religion in spite of repeated temptations and threats,
A.D. 303. She was first led to the stake, but as the flames did not injure
her she was beheaded. Her festival is celebrated on 21st Jan. For
superstitions connected with St. Agnes' Eve see Keats's poem _The Eve of
St. Agnes_. Tintoret's most remarkable picture is _The Martyrdom of St.
Agnes_.

AGNES, St., the most southerly of the Scilly Islands. A lighthouse was
erected here as early as 1680; another on the Wolf Rock near the island was
completed in 1858.

AGNESI ([.a]-ny[=a]'s[=e]), Maria Gaetana, a learned Italian lady, born at
Milan in 1718. In her ninth year she was able to speak Latin, in her
eleventh Greek; she then studied the oriental languages, and at the age of
thirteen mastered Hebrew, besides French, Spanish, and German. She was
called the 'Walking Polyglot'. She next studied geometry, philosophy, and
mathematics. She was appointed, in 1750, professor of mathematics in the
University of Bologna, ultimately took the veil, and died in 1799. Her
sister, Maria Theresa, composed several cantatas and three operas.

[Illustration: Agni--Moore's _Hindoo Pantheon_]

AG'NI, the Hindu god of fire, second only to Indra, and one of the eight
guardians of the world, and especially the lord of the south-east quarter.
He is celebrated in many of the hymns of the Rig Veda. He is often
represented as of a red or flame colour, and rides on a ram or a goat. He
is still worshipped as the personification of fire, and the friction of two
sticks for procuring the temple fire is still regarded as the symbol of
Agni's miraculous rebirth.

AGNOETÆ, a monophysitic sect of the sixth century.

AGNOLO, Baccio d' (b[.a]ch'[=o] d[.a]n'yo-l[=o]), a Florentine wood-carver,
sculptor, and architect; designed some of the finest palaces, &c., in
Florence, such as the Villa Borghese, the Palais Bartolini, &c.; born 1460,
died 1543.

AGNO'MEN (Lat.), an additional name given by the Romans to an individual in
allusion to some quality, circumstance, or achievement by which he was
distinguished, as _Africanus_ added to P. Cornelius Scipio.

AGNONE ([.a]-ny[=o]'n[=a]), a town of S. Italy, province of Molise, famous
for the excellence of its copper wares. Pop. 6000.

AGNOSTICS (ag-nos'tiks; Gr. _a_, not, _gign[=o]skein_, to know), a modern
term invented by Huxley in 1869 and applied to those who disclaim any
knowledge of God, the origin of the universe, immortality, &c. The
agnostics, or adherents of this doctrine, hold that the mind of man is
limited to a knowledge of phenomena and of what is relative, and that,
therefore, the infinite, the absolute, and the unconditioned, being beyond
all experience, are consequently beyond its range. Agnosticism is therefore
the attitude of 'solemnly suspended judgment', and cannot be identified
with atheism. The agnostics do not deny the existence of a Divine Being,
but merely maintain that we have no scientific ground for either belief or
denial.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: Sir Leslie Stephen, _An Agnostic's Apology_; R.
Flint, _Agnosticism_; J. Ward, _Naturalism and Agnosticism_.

AGNUS CASTUS, a shrub, _Vitex Agnuscastus_, nat. ord. Verbenaceæ, a native
of the Mediterranean countries, with white flowers and acrid, aromatic
fruits. It had anciently the imagined virtue of preserving chastity--hence
the term _castus_ (Lat., chaste).

AGNUS DEI (d[=e]'[=i]; Lat., 'the Lamb of God'), a term applied to Christ
in _John_, i, 29, and in the Roman Catholic liturgy a prayer beginning with
the words 'Agnus Dei', generally sung before the communion. The term is
also commonly given to a medal, or more frequently a disk of wax, round,
oblong, or oval, consecrated by the pope, stamped with the figure of a lamb
supporting the banner of the cross; supposed to possess great virtues, such
as preserving those who carry it in faith from accidents, &c. Jean Châtel,
the assassin of Henri IV, was found covered with such medals.

AGON'IC LINE (Gr. _a_, not, and _g[=o]nia_, an angle), in terrestrial
magnetism a name applied to the line which joins all the places on the
earth's surface at which the needle of the compass points due north and
south, without any declination. See _Magnetism_.

AG'ONY COLUMN, a column in the advertising sheet of some of the daily
journals, in which disappearances, losses, mysterious appeals and
correspondence, and generally any advertising eccentricity appear.

AG'ORA, the market-place of a Greek town, corresponding to the Roman
_forum_. The Agora of Athens is situated in a valley partially enclosed by
the Acropolis, Areopagus, Pnyx, and Museum.

AGOS'TA. See _Augusta_.

AGOUARA ([.a]-g[u:]-ä'r[.a]), a name given to the crab-eating racoon
(_Proc[)y]on cancriv[)o]rus_) of S. America.

AGOULT ([.a]-gö), Marie de Flavigny, Comtesse d', a French writer of
fiction, history, politics, philosophy, and art; daughter of Vicomte de
Flavigny; born at Frankfort in 1805, died at Paris 1876. She contributed
many articles to the _Revue des Deux-Mondes_, &c., under the pseudonym of
_Daniel Stern_, and wrote _Lettres Républicaines_ (1848); _Histoire de la
Révolution de 1848_; _Esquisses Morales et Politiques_; _Trois Journées de
la Vie de Marie Stuart_; _Florence et Turin_ (a series of artistic and
political studies); _Dante et Goethe_; dialogues, and numerous romances,
&c.

AGOUTA (a-gö'ta), _Solen[)o]don paradoxus_, an insectivorous mammal
peculiar to Hayti, of the tanrec family, somewhat larger than a rat. It has
its tail devoid of hair and covered with scales, its eyes small, and an
elongated nose like the shrews. Another species (_S. cub[=a]nus_) belongs
to Cuba.

AGOUTI (a-gö'ti), the name of several rodent mammals, forming a family by
themselves, genus Dasyprocta. There are eight or nine species, all
belonging to S. America and the W. Indies. The common agouti, or
yellow-rumped cavy (_D. agouti_), is of the size of a rabbit. It burrows in
the ground or in hollow trees, lives on vegetables, doing much injury to
the sugar-cane, is as voracious as a pig, and makes a similar grunting
noise. Its flesh is white and good to eat.

AGRA (ä'gra), a city of India, in the United Provinces, on the right bank
of the Jumna, 841 miles by rail from Calcutta. It is a well-built and
handsome town and has various interesting structures, among which are the
imperial palace, a mass of buildings erected by several emperors; the Motí
Masjid or Pearl Mosque (both within the old and extensive fort); the mosque
called the Jama Masjid (a cenotaph of white marble); and, above all, the
Taj Mahal, 'a dream in marble', a mausoleum of the seventeenth century,
built by the Emperor Shah Jehan (1628-58) for his favourite queen, Mumtaz
Mahal. It is made of white marble, and is adorned throughout with exquisite
mosaics. Its cost is estimated at £800,000, and 20,000 workmen, under the
direction of Austin of Bordeaux, were engaged on it for twenty-two years.
There are several Protestant and Roman Catholic churches, a government
college, and three other colleges or high schools, besides a medical
college. Agra has a trade in grain, sugar, &c., and some manufactures,
including beautiful inlaid mosaics. It was founded in 1566 by the Emperor
Akbar, and was a residence of the emperors for over a century. Pop.
185,449. The Agra division has an area of 10,078 sq. miles, and a pop. of
5,007,900.

AGRAFFE', a sort of ornamental buckle, clasp, or similar fastening for
holding together articles of dress, &c., often adorned with precious
stones.

AGRAM, or ZAGREB, a city in Yugo-Slavia, capital of the former Hungarian
province of Croatia and Slavonia, near the River Save; contains the
residence of the ban or governor of Croatia and Slavonia, Government
buildings, cathedral (being the see of a Roman Catholic archbishop),
university, theatre, &c.; carries on an active trade, and manufactures
tobacco, leather, and linens. Pop. 79,038.

AGRA'PHIA. See _Aphasia_.

AGRARIAN LAWS, laws enacted in ancient Rome for the division of the public
lands, that is, the lands belonging to the State (_ager publicus_). As the
territory of Rome increased, the public land increased, the land of
conquered peoples being always regarded as the property of the conqueror.
The right to the use of this public land belonged originally only to the
patricians or ruling class, but afterwards the claims of the plebeians on
it were also admitted, though they were often unfairly treated in the
sharing of it. Hence arose much discontent among the plebeians, and various
remedial laws were passed with more or less success. Indeed an equitable
adjustment of the land question between the aristocracy and the common
people was never attained.

AGRAVAINE, Sir, one of the knights of the Round Table.

AGREEMENT OF THE PEOPLE. See _Levellers_.

AGRIC'OLA, Gnæus Julius, lived from A.D. 37 to 93, a Roman consul under the
Emperor Vespasian, and governor in Britain, the greater part of which he
reduced to the dominion of Rome; distinguished as a statesman and general.
His life, written by his son-in-law, the historian Tacitus, gives the best
extant account of Britain in the early part of the period of the Roman
rule. He was the twelfth Roman general who had been in Britain, but was the
only one who effectually subdued the southern portion of it and reconciled
the Britons to the Roman yoke. This he did by teaching them the arts of
civilization and to settle in towns. He constructed the chain of forts
between the Forth and the Clyde, defeated Galgacus at the battle of Mons
Graupius, and sailed round the island, discovering the Orkneys.

AGRIC'OLA, Georg (originally Bauer, that is, peasant = Lat. _agricola_),
born in Saxony 1490, died at Chemnitz 1555, German physician and
mineralogist. Though tinged with the superstitions of his age, he made the
first successful attempt to reduce mineralogy to a science, and introduced
many improvements in the art of mining. A complete edition of his works was
published at Basel in 1550 and 1558.

AGRICOLA, Johann, the son of a tailor at Eisleben, was born in 1492, and
called, from his native city, _master of Eisleben_ (_magister Islebius_);
one of the most active among the theologians who propagated the doctrines
of Luther. In 1537, when professor in Wittenberg, he stirred up the
Antinomian controversy with Luther and Melanchthon. He afterwards lived at
Berlin, where he died in 1566, after a life of controversy. Besides his
theological works he composed a work explaining the common German proverbs.

AGRICOLA, Johann Friedrich, German musician and composer, born near
Altenburg 1720, died at Berlin 1774; pupil of Sebastian Bach; wrote several
operas, including _Iphigenia in Tauris_. He wrote under the pseudonym of
'Olibrio'.

AGRICOLA, Rodolphus, German scholar, born at Groningen 1443, died at
Heidelberg 1485. After travelling in France and Italy he was appointed
professor of philosophy at Heidelberg, and did good service in
transplanting the revived classical learning into Germany.

AG'RICULTURE is the art of cultivating the ground, more especially with the
plough and in large areas or fields, in order to raise grain and other
crops for man and beast; including the art of preparing the soil, sowing
and planting seeds, removing the crops, and also the raising and feeding of
cattle or other live stock. This art is the basis of all other arts, and in
all countries coeval with the first dawn of civilization. At how remote a
period it must have been successfully practised in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and
China we have no means of knowing, but there is sufficient evidence of
agriculture having attained considerable development many centuries before
the Christian era. Egypt was renowned as a corn country in the time of the
Jewish patriarchs, and had probably been so for centuries before. The
hieroglyphics on ancient monuments furnish records of the early development
of agriculture in Egypt and of the use of the plough and other agricultural
implements. The advanced methods of the Egyptians and Syrians were
introduced into Europe by the Saracens. Land culture also attained a more
or less considerable development in ancient China and Hindustan. Among the
ancient Greeks the implements of agriculture were very few and simple.
Hesiod, who wrote a poem on agriculture as early as the eighth century
B.C., mentions a plough consisting of three parts, the share-beam, the
draught-pole, and the plough-tail, but antiquarians are not agreed as to
its exact form. The ground received three ploughings, one in autumn,
another in spring, and a third immediately before sowing the seed. Manures
were applied, and the advantage of mixing soils, as sand with clay or clay
with sand, was understood. Seed was sown by hand, and covered with a rake.
Grain was reaped with a sickle, bound in sheaves, thrashed, then winnowed
by wind, laid in chests, bins, or granaries, and taken out as wanted by the
family, to be ground. Agriculture was highly esteemed among the ancient
Romans, and very full accounts are contained in the works of Pliny, Virgil,
Cato, Varro, and Palladius. The Romans used a great many different
implements of agriculture. The plough is represented by Cato as of two
kinds, one for strong, the other for light soils. Varro mentions one with
two mould-boards, with which, he says, "when they plough, after sowing the
seed, they are said to ridge". Pliny mentions a plough with one
mould-board, and others with a coulter, of which he says there were many
kinds. Fallowing was a practice rarely deviated from by the Romans. In most
cases a fallow and a year's crop succeeded each other. Manure was collected
from various sources, and irrigation was practised on a large scale.

The Romans introduced their agricultural knowledge among the Britons, and
during the most flourishing period of the Roman occupation large quantities
of corn were exported from Britain to the Continent. During the time that
the Angles and Saxons were extending their conquests over the country
agriculture must have been greatly neglected; but afterwards it was
practised with some success among the Anglo-Saxon population, especially,
as was generally the case during the Middle Ages, on lands belonging to the
Church. Swine formed at this time a most important portion of the live
stock, finding plenty of oak and beech mast to eat. The feudal system
introduced by the Normans, though beneficial in some respects as tending to
ensure the personal security of individuals, operated powerfully against
progress in agricultural improvements. War and the chase, the two ancient
and deadliest foes of husbandry, formed the most prominent occupations of
the Norman princes and nobles. Thriving villages and smiling fields were
converted into deer forests, vexatious imposts were laid on the farmers,
and the serfs had no interest in the cultivation of the soil. But the monks
of every monastery retained such of their lands as they could most
conveniently take charge of, and these they cultivated with great care,
under their own inspection, and frequently with their own hands. The
various operations of husbandry, such as manuring, ploughing, sowing,
harrowing;, reaping, thrashing, winnowing, &c., are incidentally mentioned
by the writers of those days; but it is impossible to collect from them a
definite account of the manner in which those operations were performed.

While there is much in the writings of the old English chroniclers
concerning the tenure of land, upon which subject the _Domesday Book_ gives
much enlightenment, there is a great lack of information as to the manner
in which the land was cultivated. Information began to be recorded in the
middle of the thirteenth century, but only one treatise is known to have
been written, namely, _La Dite de Husbanderye_, an essay in Norman French
by Walter de Henley. This work was superseded by another treatise, the best
of the early works on the subject, and published in the reign of Henry VIII
(in 1523) by Sir A. Fitzherbert, judge of the Common Pleas. It is entitled
the _Book of Husbandry_, and contains directions for draining, clearing,
and enclosing a farm, for enriching the soil, and rendering it fit for
tillage. Lime, marl, and fallowing are strongly recommended. The subject of
agriculture attained some prominence during the reign of Elizabeth. The
principal writers of that period were Tusser, Googe, and Sir Hugh Platt.
Tusser's _Five Hundreth Pointes of Good Husbandry_ (first complete edition
published in 1580) conveys much useful instruction in metre, but few works
of this time contain much that is original or valuable. The first half of
the seventeenth century produced no systematic work on agriculture, though
several on different branches of the subject. About 1645 the field
cultivation of red clover was introduced into England, the merit of this
improvement being due to Sir Richard Weston, author of a _Discourse on the
Husbandry of Brabant and Flanders_, to whom also belongs the credit of
first growing turnips in England. The Dutch had devoted much attention to
the improvement of winter roots, and also to the cultivation of clover and
other artificial grasses, and the farmers and proprietors of England soon
saw the advantages to be derived from their introduction. Potatoes had been
introduced during the latter part of the sixteenth century, but were not
for long in general cultivation. A number of writers on agriculture
appeared in England during the Commonwealth, the most important works on
the subject being Blythe's _Improver Improved_ and Hartlib's _Legacy_. The
former writer speaks of a rotation, or rather alternation of crops, and
well knew the use of lime, as also of other manures. In the eighteenth
century the first name of importance in British agriculture is that of
Jethro Tull, a gentleman of Berkshire, who began to drill wheat and other
crops about the year 1701, and whose _Horse-hoeing Husbandry_ was published
in 1731. Tull was a great advocate of the system of sowing crops in rows or
drills with an interval between every two or three rows wide enough to
allow of ploughing or hoeing to be carried on. This enabled the ground to
be cleared with crops still growing, thus obviating the necessity for 'bare
fallow' and leading to the _four-course_ or Norfolk Rotation of Charles,
second Viscount Townshend, the first agriculturist to cultivate turnips on
a large scale. After the time of Tull and Townshend no great alteration in
British agriculture took place till Robert Bakewell and others effected
some important improvements in the breeds of cattle, sheep, and swine in
the latter half of the eighteenth century. The raising and maintenance of
live stock, especially of sheep, was a characteristic of English farming
from a very early time, and for several centuries the country had almost a
monopoly in the supply of wool. To Bakewell we owe the well-known breed of
Leicester sheep. By the end of the century it was a common practice to
alternate green crops with grain crops, instead of exhausting the land with
a number of successive crops of corn. A well-known writer on agriculture at
this period, and one who did a great deal of good in diffusing a knowledge
of the subject, was Arthur Young. Scotland was for a long time behind
England in agricultural progress. Great progress was made during the
eighteenth century, however, especially in the latter half of it, turnips
being introduced as a field-crop, and new implements such as the
swing-plough and the thrashing-machine coming into general use. The
construction of good roads through the country also gave agriculture a
great impulse. During the wars caused by the French revolution (1795-1815)
the high price of agricultural produce led to an extraordinary improvement
in agriculture all over Britain. The establishment of the institution
called the National Board of Agriculture was also of very great service to
British husbandry at this period. Though a private association, it was
assisted by an annual parliamentary grant, and prizes were given by it for
the encouragement of experiments and improvements in agriculture. It
existed from 1793 to 1816.

Among other societies which have greatly furthered the progress of
agriculture in Britain, the chief in existence at the present day are the
Smithfield Club, inaugurated in 1798; the Royal Agricultural Society of
England, established in 1838; the Highland and Agricultural Society of
Scotland, founded in 1783; and the Royal Agricultural Society of Ireland,
instituted in 1841. The objects of these and similar societies are such as
the following: To encourage the introduction of improvements in
agriculture; to encourage the improvement of agricultural implements and
farm buildings; the application of chemistry to agriculture; the
destruction of insects injurious to vegetation; to promote the discovery
and adoption of new varieties of grain, or other useful vegetables; to
collect information regarding the management of woods, plantations, and
fences; to improve the education of those supported by the cultivation of
the soil; to improve the veterinary art; to improve the breeds of live
stock, &c. Shows are held, at which prizes are distributed for live stock,
implements, and farm produce.

Through the efforts of the above-mentioned and other societies, the
investigations of scientific men, the general diffusion of knowledge among
all classes, and the necessity of competing with producers in foreign
countries, agriculture made vast strides in Britain during the nineteenth
century and the beginning of the twentieth. Among the chief improvements we
may mention deep ploughing and thorough draining. By the introduction of
new or improved implements the labour necessary to the carrying out of
agricultural operations has been greatly diminished, and advancement in
this direction has been promoted by the necessities of the Great War.
Labour-saving machinery is likely to be used in future on an increasingly
large scale. Science, too, has been called in to act as the handmaid of
art, and in its application we owe very much to the researches conducted at
the Rothamsted Experimental Station, founded in 1834 by Lawes, who endowed
the Lawes Trust in 1889. Gilbert and he worked together from 1843 to the
end of last century. It is primarily by the investigations of the chemist
and physicist that agriculture has been put on a really scientific basis.
The physiology of plants and animals, and the complex properties of soils,
have all been investigated, and most important results obtained. Artificial
manures, in great variety to supply the elements wanted for plant growth,
have come into common use, and the free nitrogen of the air is now worked
up into various substances by which the nitrate of soda imported from South
America can be replaced. An improvement in all kinds of stock is becoming
more and more general, feeding is conducted on more scientific principles,
and improved varieties of crop-plants are created by applying the
principles of Mendel and other scientists. Much attention is also devoted
to seed-testing, and the applications of electricity to agriculture are
being developed.

As a result of the new conditions, to be a thoroughly-trained and competent
agriculturist requires a special education, partly theoretical, partly
practical. In many countries there are now agricultural schools or colleges
supported by the State, and many such institutions exist in Britain. In
Scotland, the Edinburgh chair of Rural Economy was founded in 1790; in
Ireland, the Glasnevin Institution was inaugurated in 1838; and the
establishment of the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, dates from
1845. In the United States nearly all the States have now colleges, or
departments of colleges, devoted to the teaching of agriculture, and large
allotments of public land have been made for their support. There are also
numerous experimental stations. In Britain there has been a Board of
Agriculture since 1889, under a cabinet minister, which was constituted a
ministry in 1919; previously there was only a department under a committee
of the Privy Council.

It is probable that on the whole the agriculture of Britain is farther
advanced than that of any other region of similar size. Wheat, barley, and
oats are the chief cereals in Britain; the chief roots are turnips and
potatoes; other crops (besides grass and clover) are beans, peas, mangold,
hops, and flax. In Europe at large the principal cereals are wheat, oats,
barley, and rye, wheat being mostly grown in the middle and southern
regions, such as France, Spain, part of Germany, Austria, Hungary, Italy,
and southern Russia, the others in the more northern portion, while maize
is grown in the warmest parts. Turnips are comparatively little grown out
of Britain, beet-root in some sense taking their place; potatoes, however,
are largely cultivated, except in the south. In the United States maize is
the chief corn crop, next to which comes wheat, then oats; potatoes are an
important crop, but turnips are only grown to a very small extent. In
Canada large quantities of wheat are grown (more especially in Manitoba and
the North-West), much is also now produced in the Australian colonies, in
India, Argentina, &c.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: W. Fream, _Elements of Agriculture_;
C. W. Burkett, _Agriculture for Beginners_; _Encyclopædia of Agriculture_
(Gresham Publishing Company).

AGRIGENTUM (-jen'tum) (modern GIRGENTI), an ancient Greek city of Sicily,
founded about 580 B.C., and long one of the most important places on the
island. The town is also famous as the birthplace of the philosopher
Empedocles. Extensive ruins of splendid temples and public buildings yet
attest its ancient magnificence. See _Girgenti_.

AG'RIMONY (Agrimonia), a genus of plants, nat. ord. Rosaceæ, consisting of
slender perennial herbs found in temperate regions. _A. Eupatoria_, or
common agrimony, was formerly of much repute as a medicine in England. Its
leaves and rootstock are astringent, and the latter yields a yellow dye.
The plant is a common weed on the borders of cornfields and on roadsides.

AGRIPPA, Herod. See _Herod Agrippa_.

AGRIPPA, Marcus Vipsanius, a Roman statesman and general, the son-in-law of
Augustus; born 63 B.C., died 12 B.C. He was prætor in 41 B.C.; consul in
37, 28, and 27; ædile in 33; and tribune from 18 till his death. He
commanded the fleet of Augustus in the battle of Actium. To him Rome is
indebted for three of her principal aqueducts, the Pantheon, and several
other works of public use and ornament.

AGRIP'PA, von Nettesheim, Cornelius Henry, born in 1486 at Cologne,
soldier, doctor, and, by common reputation, a magician. In his youth he was
secretary to the Emperor Maximilian I; he subsequently served seven years
in Italy, and was knighted. On quitting the army he devoted himself to
science, became famous as a magician and alchemist, and was involved in
disputes with the churchmen. After an active, varied, and eventful life he
died at Grenoble in 1534 or 1535. His works were published at Lyons in
1550.

AGRIPPI'NA, the name of several Roman women, among whom we may mention: 1.
The youngest daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, and wife of C.
Germanicus; a heroic woman, adorned with great virtues. Tiberius, who hated
her for her virtues and popularity, banished her to the Island of
Pandataria, where she starved herself to death in A.D. 33. 2. A daughter of
the last mentioned, and the mother of Nero, by Domitius Ahenobarbus. Her
third husband was her uncle, the Emperor Claudius, whom she subsequently
poisoned to secure the government of the Empire through her son Nero. After
ruling a few years in her son's name he became tired of her ascendency, and
caused her to be assassinated (A.D. 60).

AGROPYRON, a genus of grasses most of which are perennials. The root-stalks
of _Agropyron repens_ (_Radix Graminis_) have aperient and diuretic
properties.

AGROSTEM'MA. See _Corncockle_.

AGROS'TIS, a genus of grasses, consisting of many species, and valuable as
pasture-grasses. The bent-grasses belong to the genus.

AG'TELEK, a village in Hungary, near the road from Pesth to Kassa, with
about 600 inhabitants, celebrated for one of the largest and most
remarkable stalactitic caverns in Europe.

AGUA ([.a]g'w[.a]), an active volcano of Central America, in Guatemala,
rising to the height of 15,000 feet. It has twice destroyed the old city of
Guatemala, in its immediate vicinity.

AGUARA ([.a]-gwä'r[.a]). See _Agouara_.

AGUARDIENTE ([.a]-gwär-d[=e]-en'te), a popular spirituous beverage of Spain
and Portugal, a kind of coarse brandy, made from red wine, from the refuse
of the grapes left in the wine-press, &c., generally flavoured with anise;
also a Mexican alcoholic drink distilled from the fermented juice of the
agave.

AGUAS CALIENTES ([.a]g'w[.a]s k[.a]-l[=e]-en't[=a]s; lit. 'warm waters'), a
town 270 miles N.W. of Mexico, capital of the State of its own name, named
from the thermal springs near it; has manufactures of cottons and a
considerable trade. Pop. 45,198.--Aguas Calientes State has an area of
2,968 sq. miles, and a pop. of 124,500.

AGUE ([=a]'g[=u]), a kind of fever, which may be followed by serious
consequences, but generally is more troublesome than dangerous. According
to the length of the interval between one febrile paroxysm and another,
agues are denominated _quotidian_ when they occur once in twenty-four
hours, _tertian_ when they come on every forty-eight hours, _quartan_ when
they visit the patient once in seventy-two hours. Ague arises from marsh
miasmata, a temperature above 60° being, however, apparently required to
produce it. To cure the disease and prevent the recurrence, quinine and
various other bitter and astringent drugs are given with complete success
in the majority of cases.

AGUE-CAKE, a tumour caused by enlargement and hardening of the spleen,
often the consequence of ague or intermittent fever.

AGUESSEAU ([.a]-ges-[=o]), Henri François d', a distinguished French jurist
and statesman, born at Limoges in 1668; was in 1690 advocate-general at
Paris, and at the age of thirty-two procureur-général of the Parliament. He
risked disgrace with Louis XIV by successfully opposing the famous papal
bull _Unigenitus_. He was made chancellor in 1717, was deprived of his
office in 1718 on account of his opposition to Law's system of finance, but
had to be recalled in 1720. In 1722 he had to retire a second time; but was
recalled in 1727 by Cardinal Fleury, and in 1737 again got the
chancellorship, which he held till 1750. He died in 1751.

AGUILAR ([.a]-g[=e]-lär'), a town of Spain, province of Cordova, in
Andalusia, in a good wine-producing district, and with a trade in corn and
wine. Pop. 12,635.

AGUILAR (a-gi-lär'), Grace, an English writer, born at Hackney 1816, died
at Frankfort 1847. Of Jewish parentage, she at first devoted herself to
Jewish subjects, such as _The Women of Israel_, _The Jewish Faith_, &c.;
but her fame rests on her novels, _Home Influence_, _A Mother's
Recompense_, _Home Scenes and Heart Studies_, &c., most of which were
published posthumously by her mother.

AGUILAS ([.a]-g[=e]'l[.a]s), a flourishing seaport of Southern Spain,
province of Murcia, with copper and lead smelting works. Pop. 15,967.

AGULHAS ([.a]-g[u:]l'y[.a]s), Cape, a promontory, forming the most southern
extremity of Africa, about 90 miles south-east of the Cape of Good Hope,
rising to 455 feet above the sea, with a lighthouse.

AGU'TI. See _Agouti_.

A'HAB, the seventh King of Israel, succeeded his father Omri, 918-897 or
875-853 B.C. At the instigation of his wife Jezebel he erected a temple to
Baal, and became a cruel persecutor of the true prophets. He was killed by
an arrow at the siege of Ramoth-Gilead. He was succeeded by his son
Ahaziah.

AHAG'GAR, a mountainous region of the Sahara, south of Algeria, with some
fertile valleys, inhabited by the Tuaregs.

AHANTA. See _Gold Coast_, _West Africa_.

AHASUE'RUS, in Scripture history, a king of Persia, probably the same as
Xerxes, the husband of Esther, to whom the Scriptures ascribe a singular
deliverance of the Jews from extirpation.--_Ahasuerus_ is also a Scripture
name for Cambyses, the son of Cyrus (_Ezra_, iv, 6), and for Astyages, King
of the Medes (_Dan._ ix, 1). Ahasuerus is also the traditional name of the
wandering Jew.

A'HAZ, the twelfth King of Judah, succeeded his father Jotham, 742-727 or
734-715 B.C. Forsaking the true religion, he gave himself up completely to
idolatry, and plundered the temple to obtain presents for Tiglath-Pileser,
King of Assyria.

AHAZI'AH.--1. Son of Ahab and Jezebel, and eighth King of Israel, died from
a fall through a lattice in his palace at Samaria after reigning two years
(896, 895 B.C.).--2. Fifth or sixth King of Judah, and nephew of the above.
He reigned but one year, and was slain (884 B.C.) by Jehu.

AHITH'OPHEL, privy-councillor to David, and confederate and adviser of
Absalom in his rebellion against his father. When Hushai's advice
prevailed, Ahithophel, despairing of success, hanged himself.

AHMEDABAD, or AHMADABAD (ä-m_a_d-ä-bäd), a town of India, presidency of
Bombay, in district of its own name, on the left bank of the Sábarmatí, 310
miles north of Bombay. It was founded in 1412 by Ahmed Shah, and was
converted by him into a great capital, adorned with splendid edifices. It
came finally into the hands of the British in 1818. It is still a handsome
and populous place, enclosed by a wall, with many noteworthy buildings;
manufactures of fine silk and cotton fabrics, cloths of gold and silver,
pottery, paper, enamel, mother-of-pearl, &c. There were disturbances here
in 1919. (See _Rowlatt Act_.) Pop. 216,777.--Area of district, 3949 sq.
miles; pop. 795,094.

AHMED MIRZA, Shah of Persia, born in 1898. He succeeded his father,
Mohammed Ali, when the latter was deposed on 16th July, 1909.

AHMEDNAG'AR, a town of India, presidency of Bombay, in district of its own
name, surrounded by an earthen wall; with manufactures of cotton and silk
cloths. Near the city is the fort, built of stone and 1½ miles round. Pop.
(including military) 42,032.--Area of district, 6645 sq. miles; pop.
945,305.

AHMED SHAH, born 1724, died 1773, founder of the Durâni dynasty in
Afghanistan. On the assassination of Nadir he proclaimed himself shah, and
set about subduing the provinces surrounding his realm. Among his first
acts was the securing of the famed Koh-i-noor diamond, which had fallen
into the hands of his predecessor. He crossed the Indus in 1748, and his
conquests in Northern India culminated in the defeat of the Mahrattas at
Panipat (6th Jan., 1761). Affairs in his own country necessitated his
withdrawal from India, but he extended his empire vastly in other
directions far beyond the limits of modern Afghanistan. He was succeeded by
his son Timur.

AHRIMAN (ä'ri-man; in the Zend _Angromainyus_, 'spirit of evil or
annihilation'), according to the dualistic doctrine of Zoroaster, the
origin or the personification of evil, sovereign of the Devas or evil
spirits, lord of darkness and of death, being thus opposed to Ormuzd
(_Ahuramazda_), the spirit of good and of light.

AH'WAZ, a small Persian town on the River Karun, province of Khuzistan, at
the head of river navigation, a place of some commercial note. In the
neighbourhood are the vast ruins of a city supposed to date from the time
of the Parthian Empire.

AI (ä'[=e]). See _Sloth_.

AID, a subsidy paid in ancient feudal times by vassals to their lords on
certain occasions, the chief of which were: when their lord was taken
prisoner and required to be ransomed, when his eldest son was to be made a
knight, and when his eldest daughter was to be married and required a
dowry. From the Norman Conquest to the fourteenth century the collecting of
aids by the Crown was one of the forms of taxation, being afterwards
regulated by Parliament.

AI'DAN, Saint, Bishop of Lindisfarne, was originally a monk of Iona, in
which monastery Oswald I, who became king of Northumberland in 635, had
been educated. At the request of Oswald, Aidan was sent to preach
Christianity to his subjects, and established himself in Lindisfarne as the
first Bishop of Durham. He died in 651.

AIDE-DE-CAMP ([=a]d-d[.e]-k[.a][n.]), a military officer who conveys the
orders of a general to the various divisions of the army on the field of
battle, and at other times acts as his secretary and general confidential
agent.

AIDIN ([.a]-i-d[=e]n'), or GUZEL HISSAR, a town in Asia Minor, about 60
miles south-east of Smyrna, with which it is connected by rail; has fine
mosques and bazaars, is the residence of a pasha, and has an extensive
trade in cotton, leather, figs, grapes, &c. Pop. 35,000.

AIGRETTE' (French), a term used to denote the feathery crown attached to
the seeds of various plants, such as the thistle, dandelion, &c. (called in
botany _pappus_).--It is also applied to any head-dress in the form of a
plume, whether composed of feathers, flowers, or precious stones.

AIGUES MORTES ([=a]g mort; Lat. _Aquæ Mortuæ_, 'dead waters'), a small town
of Southern France, near the mouths of the Rhone, department of Gard; with
ancient walls and castle; near it are lagoons, from which great quantities
of salt are extracted. Pop. 4000.

AIGUILLE ([=a]'gwil; Fr., lit. a needle), a name given in the Alps to the
needle-like points or tops of granite, gneiss, quartz, and other
crystalline rocks and mountain masses; also applied to sharp-pointed masses
of ice on glaciers and elsewhere.--It is also the name given to a
peculiarly-shaped French mountain in Isère, 6500 feet high.

AIGUN ([=i]-g[u:]n'), a town of China, in Manchuria, on the Amur, with a
good trade. Pop. 15,000.

AI'KIN, John, M.D., an English miscellaneous writer, born 1747, died 1822.
He practised as physician at Chester, Warrington (where he taught
physiology and chemistry at the Dissenters' Academy), and London; turned
his attention to literature and published various works of a miscellaneous
description, some in conjunction with his sister Mrs. Barbauld, including
the popular _Evenings at Home_ (1792-5), written with the view of
popularizing scientific subjects. His _General Biographical Dictionary_ (in
10 vols.) was begun in 1799 and finished in 1815. He was editor of the
_Monthly Magazine_ from 1796 till 1807.

AI'KIN, Lucy, daughter of the preceding, was born in 1781, and died 1864.
In 1810 she published _Poetical Epistles on Women_, which was followed by a
number of books for the young and a novel _Lorimer_ (1814). In 1818
appeared her _Memoirs of the Court of Queen Elizabeth_, a very popular
work. She afterwards produced similar works on the reigns of James I (1822)
and Charles I (1833), and a _Life of Addison_ (1843). In 1824 she had
published the literary remains and biography of her father. She carried on
an interesting correspondence with Dr. Channing from 1826-42, which was
published in 1874.

AIKMAN, William, an eminent Scottish portrait-painter, born in Forfarshire
in 1682, died in 1731. He studied at Edinburgh and in Italy, visited
Turkey, and spent the later portion of his life in London, where he enjoyed
the friendship of most of the distinguished men of Queen Anne's time. The
portrait of President Duncan Forbes (1685-1747) in the National Gallery is
attributed to him.

AILAN'TO, or AILANTHUS (meaning tree of the gods), a tree, genus Ailantus,
nat. ord. Simarubaceæ. The _A. glandul[=o]sa_, a large and handsome tree,
with pinnate leaves 1 or 2 feet long, is a native of China, but has been
introduced into Europe and North America. A species of silk-worm, the
ailanthus silk-worm (_Saturnia cynthia_), feeds on its leaves, and the
material produced, though wanting the fineness and gloss of mulberry silk,
is produced at less cost, and is more durable. The wood is hard, heavy,
yellowish-white, and will take a fine polish. The tree has been in
cultivation in England since 1751.

AILERON. See _Aeronautics_, _Aeroplane_.

AIL'RED (contracted form of ETHELRED), a religious and historical writer,
supposed to have been born in 1097, but whether in Scotland or in England
is not known, died 1166; abbot of Rievaulx, in the North Riding of
Yorkshire. Wrote lives of Edward the Confessor and St. Margaret, Queen of
Scotland, _Genealogy of the Kings of England_, _The Battle of the
Standard_, &c.

AILSA CRAIG, a rocky islet in the Firth of Clyde, 10 miles from the coast
of Ayr, of a conical form, 1097 feet high, and about 2 miles in
circumference, precipitous on all sides except the north-east, where alone
it is accessible, frequented by innumerable sea-fowl, including
solan-geese, and covered with grass. On it is a lighthouse.

AILU'RUS. See _Panda_.

AIMARD ([=a]-mär), Gustave, French novelist, born 1818, died 1883. He lived
for ten years among the Indians of North America, and wrote a number of
stories dealing with Indian life, such as _Les Trappeurs de l'Arkansas_
(1858), _La Loi de Lynch_ (1859), _Les Nuits Mexicaines_ (1863), _Les
Bohèmes de la Mer_ (1865), which have been popular in English translations.
His work is not unlike that of Fenimore Cooper.

AIN (a[n.]), a south-eastern frontier department of France, mountainous in
the east (ridges of the Jura), flat or undulating in the west, divided into
two nearly equal parts by the River Ain, a tributary of the Rhône; area,
2248 sq. miles; pop. (1921), 315,757. Capital, Bourg.

AINGER ([=a]n'j[.e]r), Rev. Alfred, born in 1837, died in 1904, was
educated at King's College, London, and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, took
orders after gaining his degree, and in 1866 was appointed reader of the
Temple Church, London. He was made Master of the Temple in 1893, while
holding also a canonry in Bristol Cathedral, to which he had been appointed
in 1887. He was highly successful as a preacher, but is chiefly known by
his literary labours, especially those connected with Lamb and Hood, whose
works he edited. The volumes on Lamb and on Crabbe in the 'English Men of
Letters' series are by him, and he wrote a memoir of Hood for his edition
of the works. A volume of his sermons under the title of _The Gospel of
Human Life_ was published after his death in 1904. Cf. Edith Sichel, _Life
and Letters of Canon Ainger_.

AINMILLER ([=i]n'mil-er), Max Emanuel, a German artist who may be regarded
as the restorer of the art of glass-painting, born 1807, died 1870. As
inspector of the State institute of glass-painting at Munich he raised this
art to a high degree of perfection by the new or improved processes
introduced by him. Under his supervision this establishment (which
afterwards became his own) produced a vast number of painted windows for
ecclesiastical and other buildings, among the principal being a series of
forty windows, containing a hundred historical and scriptural pictures, in
Glasgow Cathedral. Some of his work is in St. Paul's Cathedral, and his
finest productions are the windows in the Cathedrals of Cologne and
Regensburg.

AINOS ([=i]'n[=o]z; that is, men), the native name of an uncivilized race
of people inhabiting the Japanese island of Yesso, as also Sakhalien, and
the Kurile Islands, and believed to be the aboriginal inhabitants of Japan.
They do not average over 5 feet in height, but are strong and active. They
are very hairy, wear matted beards, and have black hair which they allow to
grow till it falls over their shoulders. Their complexion is dark brown,
approaching to black. They support themselves by hunting and fishing. There
are numerous legends relating to the Ainos. According to one of these, of
Japanese origin, they descended from the constellation of the Bear, whilst
another mentions as their ancestor a certain Okikurumi who came down from
heaven. The Ainos call themselves Ainu Utara, and the Chinese refer to them
as the Tungi (barbarians of the East). They are very superstitious, and
worship a number of gods, such as the universal god (Opitta-Kamui), the sun
(Tsup-Kamui), the bear (Isho-Kamui), &c. Cf. J. Batchelor, _The Ainu and
their Folklore_.

AINSWORTH, Henry, a Puritan divine and scholar, born 1571, died 1622. He
passed great part of his life in Amsterdam, being from 1610 pastor of a
'Brownist' church there (the Brownists being forerunners of the
Independents). He was a voluminous writer, a controversialist and
commentator, and a thorough Hebrew scholar.

AINSWORTH, Robert, born in Lancashire, 1660, earned his living by keeping a
private school in or near London, and died there in 1743. Among other
learned works he compiled the well-known _Latin and English Dictionary_,
first published in 1736, which passed through many editions, but is now
entirely superseded.

AINSWORTH, William Francis, an English physician, geologist, and traveller,
born 1807. He was surgeon and geologist to the Euphrates expedition under
Colonel Chesney, and published _Researches in Assyria, Babylonia, and
Chaldæa_ (1838); _Travels in Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, and Armenia_ (1842);
_Travels in the Track of the Ten Thousand Greeks_ (1844), &c. Died 1896.

AINSWORTH, William Harrison, an English novelist, born 1805, died 1882. He
was the son of a Manchester solicitor and intended for the profession of
law, but devoted himself to literature. He wrote _Rookwood_ (1834), _Jack
Sheppard_, illustrated by Cruickshank (1839), and about forty other novels,
including _Guy Fawkes_, _Tower of London_, _Windsor Castle_, _Lancashire
Witches_, _Flitch of Bacon_, &c. His literary models were at first Sir
Walter Scott and afterwards Victor Hugo's _Nôtre Dame de Paris_.

AIN-TAB ([.a]-in-täb'), a town of Northern Syria, 60 miles north of Aleppo;
with manufactures of cottons, woollens, leather, &c., and an extensive
trade. There is here an American Protestant mission. Pop. 45,000.

AINU. See _Ainos_.

AIR, the gaseous substance of which our atmosphere consists, being a
mixture mainly of about 78 per cent by volume of nitrogen and 21 per cent
of oxygen. The latter is absolutely essential to animal life, while the
purpose chiefly served by the nitrogen appears to be to dilute the oxygen.
Oxygen is more soluble in water than nitrogen, and hence the air dissolved
in water contains about 10 per cent more oxygen than atmospheric air. The
oxygen therefore available for those animals which breathe by gills is
somewhat less diluted with nitrogen, but it is very much diluted with
water. For the various properties and phenomena connected with air see such
articles as _Atmosphere_, _Aeronautics_, _Air-pump_, _Barometer_,
_Combustion_, _Respiration_, &c.

AIR, in music (in It. _aria_), a continuous melody, in which some lyric
subject or passion is expressed. The lyric melody of a single voice,
accompanied by instruments, is its proper form of composition. Thus we find
it in the higher order of musical works; as in cantatas, oratorios, operas,
and also independently in concertos.--_Air_ is also the name often given to
the upper or most prominent part in a concerted piece, and is thus
equivalent to _treble_, _soprano_, &c.

AÏR, or ASBEN. See _Asben_.

AIRA. See _Hair-grass_.

AIR BEDS AND CUSHIONS, often used by the sick and invalids, are composed of
india-rubber or of cloth made air-tight by a solution of india-rubber, and
when required for use filled with air, which thus supplies the place of the
usual stuffing materials. They tend to prevent bed-sores from continuous
lying in one position. They are also cheap and easily transported, as the
bed or cushion, when not in use, can be packed in small compass, to be
again inflated with air when wanted.

AIR-BLADDER. See _Swimming-bladder_.

AIR-BRAKE, a brake operated by air pressure, usually applied to brake,
simultaneously, all the wheels of a moving train. In the Westinghouse type,
by means of an ingenious 'triple valve' carried one on each carriage, the
train pipe is made to serve the dual purpose of supply and control. An
air-pump on the engine compresses air into the main receiver, from which it
flows through a reducing valve into the train pipe. The pressure, acting on
the under side of the triple valve, moves the valve to its extreme
position, thereby opening a passage to an auxiliary receiver on the
carriage and also putting the brake cylinder into communication with the
atmosphere. A spring in the brake cylinder keeps the brakes in the 'off'
position.

To apply the brakes, the pressure is lowered in the train pipe. The air
pressure in the auxiliary receiver reverses the triple valve, thus
admitting air to the brake cylinder and closing the outlet to atmosphere.

To remove the brakes, air from the main receiver is passed into the train
pipe, and the triple valve is restored to the 'off' position. See
_Traction_.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: W. W. Wood, _Westinghouse Air-brake_; R. H.
Blackhall, _Air-brake Catechism_.

AIR-CELLS, cavities in the cellular tissue of the stems and leaves of
plants which contain air only, the juices of the plants being contained in
separate vessels. They are largest and most numerous in aquatic plants, as
in the _Vallisneria spir[=a]lis_ and the _Victoria regia_, the gigantic
leaves of which latter are buoyed up on the surface of the water by their
means.--The minute cells in the lungs of animals are also called air-cells.
There are also air-cells in the bodies of birds. They are connected with
the respiratory system, and are situated in the cavity of the thorax and
abdomen, and sometimes extend into the bones. They are most fully developed
in birds of powerful and rapid flight, such as the albatross.

AIRD, Thomas, a Scottish poet and miscellaneous writer, friend of Professor
Wilson, De Quincey, and Carlyle, long editor of a newspaper in Dumfries;
born 1802, died 1876. He wrote _The Devil's Dream on Mount Aksbeck_; _The
Old Bachelor_, &c.

AIRDRIE, a municipal and parliamentary burgh of Scotland, in Lanarkshire,
near the Monkland Canal, 11 miles east of Glasgow, in the centre of a rich
mining district, with a large cotton-mill, foundries and machine shops,
breweries, &c., and collieries and ironworks in its vicinity. Pop. 24,160.

AIR-ENGINE, an engine in which air heated, and so expanded, or compressed
air is used as the motive power. A great many engines of the former kind
have been invented, some of which have been found to work pretty well where
no great power is required. They may be said to be essentially similar in
construction to the steam-engine, though of course the expansibility of air
by heat is small compared with the expansion that takes place when water is
converted into steam. Engines working by compressed air have been found
very useful in mining, tunnelling, &c., and the compressed air may be
conveyed to its destination by means of pipes. In such cases the waste air
serves for ventilation and for reducing the oppressive heat.

AIRE ([=a]r), a river of England, W. Riding of Yorkshire, rising to the
south-east of Penyghent and flowing in a south-easterly direction to join
the Ouse above Goole, having passed through Leeds on its way; length, 70
miles. It is navigable up to Leeds, and forms an important portion of the
Aire and Calder Navigation system, which connects Goole, Hull, &c., with
Liverpool. The Calder enters the Aire at Castleford. The district specially
known as _Airedale_ is the valley of the Aire above Leeds.--A large breed
of terrier, of which there are several varieties, is known as the _Airedale
terrier_, a strongly-built animal, rather long in the legs, with a hard,
close coat.

AIRE, a river of France, in the Argonne region, a tributary of the Aisne.

AIRE-SUR-L'ADOUR ([=a]r-s[.u]r-l[.a]-dör), a small but ancient town of
France, department of Landes, the see of a bishop. Pop. 3000.

AIRE-SUR-LA-LYS ([=a]r-s[.u]r-l[.a]-l[=e]), an old fortified town of
France, department of Pas de Calais, 10 miles south-east of St. Omer. Pop.
5000.

AIR-GUN, a gun from which the bullet is propelled by means of compressed
air. Until about the middle of the nineteenth century air-guns were made
with a metal reservoir in the butt; this reservoir was charged with air by
means of a pump, and although one pumping put in enough air for six or
seven shots, the process of loading was awkward and laborious. The
well-known 'Gem' air-gun was worked by means of a spring, which compressed
the air; the great defect of this gun was that the barrel was used as a
cocking-lever, and so was apt to become bent and inaccurate. The 'Gem' was
a smooth-bore gun, and early attempts at rifled air-guns failed, as the
pellet was apt to stick in the barrel, owing to the low velocity not
allowing it to take the grooves. The 'Quackenbush' air-gun made an attempt
to get over this difficulty; its slugs were felted, and the felt took the
rifling and greatly increased the accuracy of the weapon, but, of course,
the ammunition was much more expensive than ordinary air-gun pellets. The
B.S.A. air-rifle is an excellent weapon which has overcome all the early
difficulties of construction. It has a fixed barrel, a separate
cocking-lever, and a rotating breech-plug, and the muzzle velocity of its
16-grain pellet is 600 feet per second, which compares not unfavourably
with the 1000 feet per second of the 40-grain bullet of a .22 long-rifle
cartridge. An air-gun is a splendid weapon for practising markmanship, as
it is almost noiseless, and as its ammunition costs little. It does not
need to be elaborately cleaned, as a miniature rifle does; an occasional
oiling is all that it requires to keep it in order, and with care it should
fire an indefinite number of shots without losing its accuracy.

AIROLO ([.a]-i-r[=o]'l[=o]), a small town of Switzerland, canton Ticino, at
the southern end of the St. Gothard Tunnel, and the first place on this
route at which Italian is spoken. Pop. 2000.

AIR-PLANTS, or EPIPHYTES, are plants that grow upon other plants or trees,
apparently without receiving any nutriment otherwise than from the air. The
name is restricted to flowering plants (mosses or lichens being excluded)
and is suitably applied to many species of orchids. The conditions
necessary to the growth of such plants are excessive heat and moisture, and
hence their chief localities are the damp and shady tropical forests of
Africa, Asia, and America. They are particularly abundant in Java and
tropical America.

[Illustration: Fig. 1.--Air-pump (sectional view)]

AIR-PUMP, an apparatus by means of which air or other gas may be removed
from or compressed into an enclosed space. It was invented by Otto von
Guericke of Magdeburg about the year 1654, and described in 1657 by Gaspar
Schott. An ordinary suction-pump for water is on the same principle as the
air-pump; indeed, before water reaches the top of the pipe the air has been
pumped out by the same machinery which pumps the water. An ordinary
air-pump (see fig. 1) consists essentially of a cylinder or barrel with a
piston and valves. The barrel is connected to the vessel from which the air
is to be pumped. A is the vessel to be exhausted, C the air-pump cylinder,
P the piston, VV valves in the piston, and O the connection to the vessel
A. When the piston moves downwards from the position shown, it cuts off the
connection with A by passing over O. The length L is made long enough so
that O is kept covered up during the downstroke. The air filling the space
D is compressed, and so lifts the valves VV and passes out through them.
This goes on till the end of the downward stroke, when the volume is very
small indeed. When the upward motion begins, the valves VV close, and the
piston rises and creates a vacuum in D. When the piston rises sufficiently
to uncover O (as in figure), air rushes from A into the highly-exhausted
space D and fills it. The process is repeated indefinitely, and A is
gradually exhausted.

[Illustration: Fig. 2.--Toepler Pump Fig. 3.--Sprengel Pump]

Air-pumps for compressing air are constructed on the same principle, but
the valves act the reverse way. The bicycle pump is a well-known example of
this form of pump. In the Fleuss or Geryk pump greater efficiency is
attained by having layers of oil in the barrel and above the piston. In
nearly all pumps for producing the high vacua necessary, e.g. for the
electric glow-lamp and the X-ray tube, mercury is employed. In one form,
the Toepler pump, a reservoir containing mercury is connected by a flexible
tube to the receiver. (See fig 2. T tube connecting pump to vessel to be
exhausted; R, reservoir, raised above A to drive air in B and C through D
and out into open air; R is then lowered, and B and C fill with air from
receiver. Process then repeated.) By alternately lowering and raising the
reservoir, gas is first withdrawn from the receiver and then expelled
through D, which also acts as a barometer. The process is repeated until
the desired degree of exhaustion is reached. In a second type, the Sprengel
pump, a stream of mercury from a reservoir situated above the vessel to be
exhausted falls in drops through a narrow vertical tube which communicates
with the vessel. (See fig. 3. A, reservoir; B, tube leading to vessel to be
exhausted; C, bubbles of air carried down by mercury.) The air is entrapped
between the falling drops of mercury, and is carried down and expelled with
it. In the filter-pump, water is used instead of mercury, the pump being
connected to an ordinary water-tap.

A more recent form, the Gaede pump, is of the rotary type. (See fig. 4. C,
iron case; G, glass front; P two-chamber porcelain drum rotated
counter-clockwise about axle A. As mercury leaves chamber R, air enters
from receiver by tube T and opening B. When B is immersed, mercury enters
and air is driven into case C and removed through tube S.) A porcelain
drum, divided into two cells, rotates within an air-tight case more than
half filled with mercury. Each cell has an opening which, when above the
mercury surface, places the cell in communication with the receiver. When
the opening is immersed, the entrapped air passes by another channel into
the outer case, from which it is removed by another less efficient pump.
The pump will reduce the pressure within a 6-litre bulb from 10 millimetres
to .00001 millimetre of mercury in fifteen minutes. Langmuir's pump employs
the principle of the aspirator. A current of mercury vapour passes from a
mercury boiler past a tube communicating with the apparatus to be
exhausted, and sucks the air from it; the mercury is condensed in the upper
part of the pump, returns by side tubes to the boiler and leaves the
extracted air in this condenser. A less efficient pump is employed to
remove the air from the mercury condenser as it accumulates. This pump is
said to be simple and rapid in action, and capable of exhausting an
11-litre bulb from atmospheric pressure to .00001 millimetre in eighty
seconds.

[Illustration: Fig. 4.--Gaede Pump]

Air-pumps are largely used in steam engineering, both on land and at sea,
to extract the air which enters the condenser with the steam (see
_Condenser_). Several varieties of air-pumps are in use. 1. The ordinary
piston-pump (fig. 1) in which the piston extracts air by first sucking it
into the cylinder and then expelling it to the atmosphere. The opening
leading to the condenser is closed during the stroke in which the air is
expelled. Two or three cylinders are usually provided on each air-pump set,
the former type being known as a 2-throw pump and the latter a 3-throw
pump. One of the best-known makes is the _Edwards_ air-pump. Piston
air-pumps are driven either by the main engine through a suitable
mechanism, or by a separate electric motor. The amount of power required to
drive them varies with the size of the set, and with large engines of over
10,000 h.p. it is about ½ per cent or less. Vacua as high as 29 inches
(Bar. 30 inches) can be readily maintained on large plants by this type of
pump, provided the condenser is suitably designed. In well-maintained
plants bad vacua are commonly due to deficient air extraction, which may
arise from the low-pressure air-piping not being air-tight, or from the
air-pump being too small. 2. The water-ejector type uses the momentum of a
jet of water to extract the air entrained with it. Well-known types of this
plant are the ordinary barometric jet-condenser and the _Leblanc_ air-pump.
In the latter type, a rotating wheel, which carries vanes, forcibly throws
sheets of water into a pipe communicating with the condenser. The sheets of
water lie across the pipe, and the space between them is filled up with air
sucked from the condenser. This water, with the entrained air, is thrown
out, against the atmospheric pressure, by the momentum imparted to the
water sheets by the rotating wheel. Very high vacua can be obtained with
the Leblanc pump, but the power required to drive it is more than is
required with a 3-throw piston-pump. (Cp. Sprengel pump above). 3. A
steam-ejector is also used, a jet of steam taking the place of the sheets
of water in the Leblanc type. Parsons' _augmentor condenser_ works on this
principle. A small jet of steam sucks the air from the main condenser and
compresses it into a small so-called augmentor condenser. The pressure in
this condenser is a little higher than the pressure in the main condenser,
but it is sufficient to enable an ordinary 3-throw pump to be used
efficiently. The steam used to extract the air is condensed in the
augmentor condenser by cold water, and the interior of the augmentor
condenser is connected to the inlet of an ordinary 3-throw pump. The
3-throw pump is called upon to deal with the air at a slightly higher
pressure than the condenser pressure, and the vacuum in the main condenser
is improved by the drop of pressure which exists between the augmentor
condenser and the main condenser. In a well-designed plant, for instance, a
3-throw pump might be used to maintain a vacuum of 29 inches in the
augmentor condenser, while the steam jet would provide another ½ inch of
vacuum, giving 29½ inches vacuum in the main condenser. The _pressure_ in
the main condenser is thereby reduced from 1 inch Hg. to ½ inch Hg.; a
reduction of _one-half_. (Cp. Langmuir's pump above--using a mercury-vapour
jet instead of a steam jet.)--BIBLIOGRAPHY: S. P. Thompson, _The
Development of the Mercurial Air-Pump_; E. Hausbrand, _Evaporating,
Condensing, and Cooling Apparatus_.

AIR-RAIDS. Apart from various sporadic bomb-dropping attacks by the
Italians in Tripoli in 1913, the first air-raid proper was made by a
Zeppelin on Antwerp during the investiture of that city by the Germans in
1914. Later on this new method of warfare was developed to a considerable
extent by both sides during the Great European War, both air-ships and
aeroplanes being used. Air-craft for this purpose have been likened to
long-range guns, with the advantage of greater precision, because the
target is in view, and very much longer effective range--the Germans, for
example, used to raid London, and on one occasion Edinburgh, from bases
situated in North Germany and on the Schleswig coast. Air-raids are of
great value in affecting the _moral_ of the enemy country by bringing home
the effects of war in its most terrifying aspect to the civilian population
at home, and thus causing the dislocation of traffic and diminishing the
output of munitions. Their practical value is in attacking and destroying
munition-factories, army head-quarters, naval bases, &c., in addition to
such important work as the demolition of ammunition-dumps, and cutting
lines of communication behind the front.

Various protective devices against raiding aircraft have been invented.
Among these are high-angle guns, capable of throwing shells to a height of
some 30,000 feet, though possibly the most effective defence is small
high-speed aeroplanes armed with machine-guns and capable of reaching great
heights in a short space of time. For use at night, kite-balloons (see
_Balloons_) are sent up in clumps connected together by cables. From the
cables is suspended a network of steel wires, which is invisible to the
hostile air-craft, and in which they may become entangled and so brought
down. These have been raised to a height of as much as 12,000 feet. For
raiding purposes two types of aeroplane--in addition to air-ships--have
been developed. 'Day bombers' carry out raids in daylight at heights of
12,000 to 20,000 feet on points from 50 to 100 miles behind the lines.
'Night-bombers' are slower machines which raid well into the enemy's
territory--up to 200 or more miles--at heights varying from 8000 to 12,000
feet. It is usual for night-raids to be carried out by squadrons of
machines flying in formation, each machine carrying about a ton of bombs
(in 1918). Air-ships can carry 5-10 tons of bombs to places up to 1000
miles distant from their bases.

During the last months of the war, our Independent Air Force dropped 500
tons of bombs on German objectives, and this raiding over a wide area of
industrial Germany played no small part in causing that loss of spirit
among the enemy which led eventually to their request for an armistice, and
their virtual capitulation.

AIR-SHIPS

[Illustration]

AIR-SHIPS, lighter-than-air craft provided with means of propulsion and
steering. The air-ship, unlike the aeroplane, is not dependent upon its
engines for its power to remain in flight, but derives its sustentation
from the hydrogen gas with which it is filled. Hydrogen, first weighed by
Henry Cavendish in 1766, is the lightest gas known, being 14.47 times
lighter than air. In the pure state it has a lifting force of 71.155 lb.
per 1000 cu. feet, but for calculation purposes is usually assumed to
contain 5 per cent of impurities, giving a 'lift' of approximately 68 lb.
per 1000 cu. feet. Hydrogen is, when mixed with air, highly inflammable,
and helium has therefore been suggested as a substitute. This has a lift,
when pure, of about 65 lb. per 1000 cu. feet, but is only found in a few
places in America and is therefore at present too expensive to be used in
quantities. The lift of any given quantity of hydrogen depends upon the
difference between its weight and that of an equal volume of air. As the
amount, and therefore weight, of air contained in a given space varies with
the barometric pressure and temperature, the lift of hydrogen given above
varies also. These figures are based upon a temperature of 60° F. and a
barometric pressure of 30 inches. As an air-ship rises from the ground, the
density, and therefore pressure, of the air decreases, which causes the
hydrogen in the envelope to expand proportionately. Rise in temperature has
the same effect. When an air-ship ascends, the gas therefore expands, and
at a certain point would burst the envelope were valves not provided to
allow some of the gas to escape. It is important to realize that as the
expansion occurs at a rate corresponding to the decrease in density no
alteration in lift occurs so long as gas is not lost through the valves.
This would continue indefinitely if the gas-chamber were capable of
stretching indefinitely, but with the cotton-fabric used in practice a
height is reached when gas commences to escape from the automatic valves.
From this moment the lift of the air-ship begins to decrease. At a certain
point this decrease will have reached such a point that the air-ship is 'in
equilibrium', i.e. she weighs precisely the same as the volume of air she
displaces. This is known as the 'maximum height'. Up to 10,000 feet it is
roughly true that 1/30 of the lift is lost per 1000 foot rise.

The simplest form of air-ship is the _non-rigid_, which consists of a
rubberized cotton-fabric gas-container (the 'envelope'), from which the
'car', containing engines, crew, &c., is hung by flexible steel-wire ropes.
To resist the bending moment introduced by the weight of the car, the
envelope is inflated with hydrogen under pressure--usually about 25 mm. of
water. So long as this pressure is greater than any local compression due
to bending or loading in the fabric, the envelope will retain its shape. On
coming down from a height, owing to the loss of gas, as already explained,
the pressure will be reduced, and something must be done to restore it or
the envelope will buckle. Fabric bags, known as 'ballonets', are therefore
fitted inside the envelope, and as the air-ship descends air is forced into
these bags, which supplies the lost pressure and maintains the shape of the
envelope. The height to which a non-rigid air-ship can go, on returning
from which the ballonets will be just full of air and the pressure the same
as at starting, is known as the 'maximum ballonet height'. Ballonets are
usually equivalent in volume to rather less than a quarter of the total
volume of the air-ship--giving a maximum ballonet height of 6000 to 7000
feet. Usually from two to three ballonets are provided, according to the
size of the air-ship. During the Great European War British non-rigid
air-ships were constructed varying in size from a capacity of 70,000 cu.
feet to 360,000 cu. feet. The former had one 75-h.p. engine, and the latter
two of 375 h.p. each. Owing to difficulties in maintaining the shape and
distributing the weight of the car over a long envelope, it is generally
considered that 500,000 cu. feet probably represents the maximum size in
which the non-rigid form of construction can be used. Above this size the
_semi-rigid_ type is used. In this case the envelope remains as in the
non-rigid, but a girder or 'keel' is introduced between the envelope and
the car, the weight of which is therefore taken by the keel and thence
distributed to the envelope instead of being taken direct from the envelope
as in non-rigids. There has been little development of non-rigids in Great
Britain. The most prominent types are the Italian 'Forlanini', 'Verduzzio',
and military air-ships. The keel, in all these examples, is not a rigid
girder in the vertical sense, as it consists of a number of sections
connected together by links. It is designed to resist compression only so
long as it is held straight by the pressure of the envelope, and is not
capable of taking a bending moment. When a size of about
1,000,000-cu.-foot-hydrogen capacity is reached it becomes economical to
use the _rigid_ method of construction. This is totally distinct from the
other two types, as the non-rigid envelope is replaced by a rigid hull of
sufficient strength to retain its shape without the assistance of any
internal gas-pressure. The hull consists of a number of longitudinal
members--usually built-up girders of 'duralumin', an aluminium
alloy--connected together at distances of 25-30 feet by a number of
'transverse frames', or rings, forming bulkheads. The transverse frames are
also of duralumin girders, and are braced by 'radical wires' running from
the joints of these girders to a ring in the centre. Between each pair of
these transverse frames is a gas-bag containing hydrogen. The gas-bags are
made of rubberized cotton on to which is stuck 'gold-beater's skin', made
from the lining of the intestines of an ox. This is done to prevent
hydrogen leakage. This is necessary, as the fabric of the gas-bags of a
rigid air-ship is lighter and contains less rubber than the envelope of a
non-rigid.

A '[Delta]'-shaped keel runs along the interior of the ship, its weight
being taken on the two bottom longitudinal girders. The chief function of
the keel is to distribute the load of the various weights to the transverse
frames of the air-ship. In it are slung the petrol-tanks, water-ballast
tanks, bombs, &c., and living accommodation for the crew is also provided
there. Along the bottom runs a walking-way from which access is gained to
the cars and various parts of the air-ship. The cars containing the
engines, wireless-cabin, and pilot's cabin are suspended from the
transverse frames. Some of the cars, instead of being slung below the
centre-line, are slung in pairs some little way up the side of the
air-ship.

All air-ships are steered by means of rudders and, in the vertical sense,
elevators, in precisely the same way as aeroplanes. Up to the end of 1919
speeds of 84 miles per hour had been reached and air-ships had climbed to
24,000 feet. The greatest distance covered in one flight was 4500 miles,
while the longest time in the air was effected by R34 on her voyage to
America, which occupied 108 hours--4 days 8 hours. Rigid air-ships of
2,750,000-cu.-foot capacity had been built with a length of nearly 300 feet
and a gross lift of 60 tons. See also _Aeronautics_,
_Balloons_.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: L. Sazerac de Forges, _La Conquête de l'Air_;
Santos Dumont, _My Airships_; Hildebrandt, _Airships: Past and Present_;
Major G. Whale, _British Airships: Past, Present, and Future_.

AIRY, Sir George Biddell, a distinguished English astronomer, was born at
Alnwick, 27th July, 1801, and educated at Hereford, Colchester, and Trinity
College, Cambridge, where he was senior wrangler in 1823. At Cambridge he
was Lucasian professor of mathematics, and subsequently Plumian professor
of astronomy and experimental philosophy, in the latter capacity having
charge of the observatory. In 1835 he was appointed Astronomer Royal, and
as such his superintendence of the observatory at Greenwich was able and
successful. He resigned this post with a pension in 1881. His important
achievement is the discovery of a new inequality in the motions of Venus
and the earth. He wrote much and made numerous valuable investigations on
subjects connected with astronomy, physics, and mathematics. Among separate
works published by him may be mentioned _Popular Astronomy_, _On Sound and
Atmospheric Vibrations_, _A Treatise on Magnetism_, _On the Undulatory
Theory of Optics_, _On Gravitation_. He died 2nd Jan., 1892. He left an
autobiography, published in 1896.

AISLE ([=i]l; from Lat. _ala_, a wing), in architecture, one of the lateral
divisions of a church in the direction of its length, separated from the
central portion or nave by piers or pillars. There may be one aisle or more
on each side of the nave. The cathedrals at Chichester, Milan, and Amiens
have five aisles, Antwerp and Paris seven, and that of Cordova nineteen
aisles in all. The nave is sometimes called the central aisle. See
_Cathedral_.

AISNE ([=a]n), a north-eastern frontier department of France; area, 2838
sq. miles. It is an undulating, well-cultivated, and well-wooded region,
chiefly watered by the Oise in the north, its tributary the Aisne in the
centre, and the Marne in the south. It contains the important towns of St.
Quentin, Laon (the capital), Soissons, and Château Thierry. In the European
War (1914-18) severe fighting took place on the Aisne, and a great battle
was fought on 12th Sep., 1914. General Nivelle's offensive on the Aisne
began in April, 1917. Pop. (1921), 421,575.

AÏVA'LIK, or KIDONIA, a seaport of Asia Minor, on the Gulf of Adramyti, 66
miles north by west of Smyrna, carrying on an extensive commerce in
olive-oil, soap, cotton, &c. Pop. 21,000.

AIX ([=a]ks), a town of Southern France, department Bouches-du-Rhône, on
the River Arc, the seat of an archbishop. It is well built, has an old
cathedral and other interesting buildings, including a university, a
library (over 100,000 vols.), museum, &c.; manufactures cotton and woollen
goods, oil, soap, hats, flour, &c.; warm springs, now less visited than
formerly. Aix was founded in 123 B.C. by the Roman consul Gaius Sextius
Calvinus, and from its mineral springs was called _Aquæ Sextiæ_ (Sextian
Waters). Between this town and Arles, Marius gained his great victory over
the Teutons, 102 B.C. In the Middle Ages the counts of Provence held their
court here, to which the troubadours used to resort. Pop. 29,836.

AIX, or AIX-LES-BAINS ([=a]ks-l[=a]-ba[n.]), a finely-situated village of
France, department of Savoie, 8 miles north of Chambéry, on the side of a
fertile valley, with much-frequented hot springs known to the Romans by the
name of _Aquæ Gratianæ_, and with ruins of a Roman triumphal arch, and of a
temple of Diana. Pop. 8900.

AIX-LA-CHAPELLE ([=a]ks-l[.a]-sh[.a]-pel; Ger. _Aachen_), a city of Rhenish
Prussia, 38 miles west by south of Cologne, pleasantly situated in a fine
vale watered by the Wurm, formerly surrounded by ramparts, now converted
into pleasant promenades. It is well built, and though an ancient town has
now quite a modern appearance. The most important building is the
cathedral, the oldest portion of which, often called the nave, was erected
in the time of Charles the Great (Charlemagne) as the palace chapel about
796. It is in the Byzantine style, and consists of an octagon, surrounded
by a sixteen-sided gallery and surmounted by a cupola, in the middle being
the tomb of Charlemagne. The adjoining Gothic choir, begun in 1353 and
finished in 1413, forms the other chief division of the cathedral; it is
lofty and of great elegance, and has fine painted windows. Another
noteworthy building is the Rathaus (town hall), erected in the fourteenth
century. Aix-la-Chapelle, with the adjoining Burtscheid, which may be
considered a suburb, is a place of great commerce and manufacturing
industry, the chief productions being woollen yarns and cloths, needles,
machinery, cards (for the woollen manufacture), railway and other
carriages, cigars, chemicals, silk goods, hosiery, glass, soap, &c. A
considerable portion of its importance and prosperity arises from the
influx of visitors to its sulphur and chalybeate springs and
baths.--Aix-la-Chapelle was known to the Romans as _Aquisgranum_. It was
the favourite residence of Charles the Great, who made it the capital of
all his dominions north of the Alps, and who died here in 814. During the
Middle Ages it was a free imperial city and very flourishing. Thirty-seven
German emperors and eleven empresses have been crowned in it, and the
imperial insignia were preserved here till 1795, when they were carried to
Vienna. The town was in possession of France from 1794 to 1814. Pop.
156,143.--_Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle_, a congress held in 1818, by which
the army of the allies in France was withdrawn after France had paid the
contribution imposed at the peace of 1815, and by which independence was
restored to France.--A _treaty_ of peace concluded at this city, 2nd May,
1668, as a result of the Triple Alliance, put an end to the war carried on
against Spain by Louis XIV in 1667, after the death of his father-in-law,
Philip IV, in support of his claims to a great part of the Spanish
Netherlands, which he urged in the name of his queen, the infanta Maria
Theresa. By this France obtained Lille, Charleroi, Douai, Tournai,
Oudenarde, &c. The _second peace_ of Aix-la-Chapelle, 18th Oct., 1748,
terminated the Austrian war of succession.

AJACCIO ([.a]-y[.a]ch'[=o]), the capital of Corsica, on the south-west
coast of the island, on a tongue of land projecting into the Gulf of
Ajaccio, the birthplace of Napoleon and the seat of a bishop, with coral
and sardine fisheries, and a considerable trade. There are here a
cathedral, a college with library and museum, marble statue of Napoleon,
monument of the Bonaparte family, &c. Ajaccio is connected by railway with
Bastia and other places, and is becoming a winter resort for people with
weak lungs. Pop. 20,946.

AJAN'TA, a village and ravine of India, in the north-west of the Nizam's
dominions, about 50 miles north-north-east of Aurangabad. The ravine, 4
miles N.W. of the village, is celebrated for its cave temples and
monasteries, twenty-nine in number, excavated out of a wall of almost
perpendicular rock about 250 feet high. They are all richly ornamented with
sculpture, and covered with highly-finished paintings, representing
subjects of almost all kinds. The oldest are assigned to about 200 B.C.,
the most modern to about A.D. 600, and they may be said to furnish a
continuous record of Buddhist art during 800 years, the faith at the latter
date being practically expelled from India.

A'JAX (Gr. _Aias_), the name of two Grecian chiefs who fought against Troy,
the one being son of O[)i]leus, King of Locris, surnamed the Little, the
other son of Telamon, the Great or Telamonian Ajax. The latter was from
Salamis, and sailed with twelve ships to Troy, where he is represented by
Homer as the boldest and handsomest of the Greeks, after Achilles. He had
more than one combat with Hector, against whom he was well matched. On the
death of Achilles, when his arms, which Ajax claimed, were awarded to
Ulysses, he became insane and killed himself. This is the subject of
Sophocles' tragedy _Ajax_. The other Ajax was hardly of less importance as
a champion on the Greek side in the Trojan war. At the fall of Troy he
entered the temple of Pallas Athena and seized Cassandra. He lost his life
during his homeward voyage, either by shipwreck or by a flash of lightning
sent by Athena, who was offended at the violation of her temple.

AJMERE, AJMIR, or AJMER, a British commissionership or province in India,
Rajputána, divided into the two districts of Ajmere and Mairwara (or
Merwara); area, 2711 sq. miles. The surface of the province, which is
entirely surrounded by native States, is hilly in the north and west, where
there is a branch of the Aravali range, but level in the south and east.
The soil is partly fertile, but there are large barren sandy plains, and
there are no rivers of any importance. There are a large number of tanks
which collect the water of small streams, and are useful for irrigation.
The province suffered severely from famine in 1899-1900, the population
being reduced by 12 or 13 per cent. Pop. 501,395.--_Ajmere_, the capital,
an ancient city, a favourite residence of the Mogul emperors, is 279 miles
S.W. of Delhi, at the foot of Taragarh Hill (2853 feet), on which is a
fort. It is surrounded by a wall, has well-built streets, and possesses a
Government college, as also Mayo College for Rajput nobles, a Scottish
mission, a mosque that forms one of the finest specimens of early
Mahommedan architecture extant, and an old palace of Akbar, now the
treasury. There is a trade in cotton, sugar, salt, &c., and the town is an
important station on the Rajputána railway. Pop. 86,200.

AJOWAN' (_Ptych[=o]tis Ajowan_), an umbelliferous plant cultivated in
India, Persia, and Egypt, the seeds of which are used in cookery and in
medicine, having carminative properties. The seeds much resemble caraway
seeds, have a strong smell of thyme, and are exported in some quantity to
Europe as a source of _thymol_, now so well known.

AJU'GA, a genus of plants belonging to the labiate family. See _Bugle_.

AJ'UTAGE, a short tube of a tapering shape fitting into the side of a
reservoir or vessel to regulate the discharge of water from it. Also, the
nozzle of a tube for regulating the discharge of water to form a _jet
d'eau_.

AKABAH', Gulf of, an arm of the Red Sea, on the east side of the Peninsula
of Sinai, which separates it from the Gulf of Suez; nearly 100 miles long.
The village of Akabah, at the northern extremity of the gulf, is supposed
to be near the site of the _Ezion-geber_ of the Old Testament; and here
also was Elath, long a place of note. Akabah still carries on a small
trade. It was captured by the Arabs in 1917.

AKAGAMASEKI. Same as _Simonoseki_.

AKAROID RESIN, a resin obtained from some of the grass-trees of Australia,
used in varnishes.

AKASSA, a seaport of Southern Nigeria, on a small island nearly opposite
the chief mouth of the Niger. There are here engineering and other works,
at which ships may be repaired, belonging to the Government.

AK'BAR (that is 'very great'), a Mogul emperor, the greatest Asiatic prince
of modern times. He was born at Amerkote, in Sind, in 1542, succeeded his
father, Humayun, a grandson of Sultan Baber, at the age of thirteen, and
governed first under the guardianship of his minister, Beyram, but took the
chief power into his own hands in 1560. He fought with distinguished valour
against his foreign foes and rebellious subjects, conquering all his
enemies, and extending the limits of the empire farther than they had ever
been before, although on his accession they embraced only a small part of
the former Mogul Empire. Although a Mohammedan by birth, he abandoned Islam
and founded a new religion which he called 'Divine Faith' (_Diu-i-Olahi_).
His contemporaries bestowed upon him the title of 'Guardian of Mankind'. He
was also a generous patron of literature, and commissioned the Jesuit
missionary, Jerome Xavier, to translate the four gospels into Persian. His
government was remarkable for its mildness and tolerance towards all sects;
he was indefatigable in his attention to the internal administration of his
empire, and instituted inquiries into the population, character, and
productions of each province. The result of his statistical labours, as
well as a history of his reign, were collected by his minister, Abul Fazl,
in a work called _Akbar-Nameh_ (Book of Akbar), the third part of which,
entitled _Ayini-Akbari_ (Institutes of Akbar), was published in an English
translation at Calcutta (1783-6, 3 vols.), and reprinted in London. He died
in 1605. His mausoleum at Secundra, near Agra, is a fine example of
Mohammedan architecture. Cf. V. A. Smith, _Akbar, The Great Mogul_.

AKEE' (_Blighia sap[)i]da_), a tree of the nat. ord. Sapindaceæ, much
esteemed for its fruit. The leaves are somewhat similar to those of the
ash; the flowers are small and white, and produced in branched spikes. The
fruit is lobed and ribbed, of a dull orange colour, and contains several
large black seeds, embedded in a succulent and slightly bitter arillus of a
pale straw colour, which is eaten when cooked. The akee is a native of
Guinea, from whence it was carried to the West Indies by Captain Bligh in
1793.

À KEMPIS, Thomas. See _Thomas à Kempis_.

AKEN (ä'ken), a Prussian town, province of Saxony, on the left bank of the
Elbe, with manufactures of tobacco, cloth, beetroot sugar, leather, &c.
Pop. 7358.

A'KENSIDE, Mark, a poet and physician, born in 1721, at
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, died in London in 1770. He was the son of a butcher,
and was sent to the University of Edinburgh to qualify for the ministry,
but chose the study of medicine instead. After three years' residence at
Edinburgh he went to Leyden, and in 1744 became Doctor of Physic. In the
same year he published the _Pleasures of Imagination_, which he is said to
have written in Edinburgh, and which was translated into French by Baron
d'Holbach (1769). In 1746 he wrote his much-praised _Hymn to the Naiads_.
Having settled in London, he became a fellow of the Royal Society, and was
admitted into the College of Physicians. In 1759 he was appointed first
assistant and afterwards head physician to St. Thomas's Hospital. In his
later days he wrote little poetry, but published several medical essays and
observations. The place of Akenside as a poet is not very high, though Dr.
Johnson praised the blank verse of his poems, and his somewhat cumbrous
_Pleasures of Imagination_ was once considered one of the most pleasing
didactic poems in our language.

AKERMANN', a fortified town and seaport in Bessarabia, near the mouth of
the Dniester, with a good port. The vicinity produces quantities of salt,
and also fine grapes from which excellent wine is made. A treaty was signed
here, 6th Oct., 1826, between Russia and the Porte, by which Moldavia,
Walachia, and Serbia were released from all but nominal dependence on
Turkey. Pop. 40,000.

AKHALZIK, or ACHALZIK ([.a]-_h_[.a]l'tsik), a town of Russia in Asia, in
the Trans-Caucasian government of Tiflis, 97 miles west of Tiflis, with a
citadel. It was taken by the Russians in 1828. Pop. 15,977.

AK-HISSAR ('white castle'), a town in Asia Minor, 46 miles N.E. of Smyrna,
occupying the site of the ancient Thyatira, relics of which city are here
abundant. Here the Emperor Valens defeated the usurper Procopius in 366,
and Murad defeated the Prince of Aïdin in 1425. Pop. 20,000.

AKHTYRKA ([.a]_h_-tir'k[.a]), a cathedral town of the Ukraine, government
of Kharkov, with a good trade and some manufactures. Pop. 31,918.

AKJERMANN ([.a]k-yer-m[.a]n'). Same as _Akermann_.

AKKAD, the northern portion of ancient Babylonia occupied by the earliest
Semitic invaders when the southern portion was Sumer (or Sumeria) and
occupied by non-Semites. There was also a city of the same name, the
Biblical Accad (_Gen._ x), which was prominent before 2000 B.C. Its ruins
were unearthed between 1917 and 1919. See _Babylonia_.

AKKAS, a dwarfish race of Central Africa, dwelling in scattered settlements
to the north-west of Lake Albert Nyanza, about lat. 3° N., lon. 29° E.
Their height averages about 4½ feet; they are of a brownish or coffee
colour; head large, jaws projecting (or prognathous), ears large, hands
small. They are timid and suspicious, and live almost entirely by the
chase, being exceedingly skilful with the bow and arrow. They were first
seen by the traveller G. A. Schweinfurth in 1870.

AKMOLINSK', a Russian province in Central Asia, largely consisting of
steppes and wastes; the chief rivers are the Ishim and Sari-Su; and it
contains the larger part of Lake Balkash. Capital, Omsk. Area, about
225,070 sq. miles. Pop. 1,523,700.--_Akmolinsk_ is a place of some
importance for its caravan trade. Pop. 11,000.

AKO'LA, a town of India, in Berar, the residence of the commissioner of
Berar, on the River Morna, 150 miles W. by S. of Nagpur; with walls and a
fort, and some trade in cotton. Pop. 29,289.

AK'RON, a town of the United States, in Ohio, 100 miles N.E. of Columbus,
on an elevated site. Being furnished with ample water-power by the Little
Cuyahoga, it possesses large flour-mills, woollen factories, manufactures
of iron goods, &c. In the vicinity extensive beds of mineral paint are
worked. Pop. (1920), 208,435.

AKSU' ('white water'), a town of Eastern or Chinese Turkestan, 300 miles
from Kashgar, in the valley of the Aksu. It is an important centre of trade
between Russia, China, and Tartary, and has manufactures of cotton cloth,
leather, and metal goods. Formerly the residence of the kings of Kashgar
and Yarkand. Pop. 30,000.

AKYAB', a seaport of Lower Burmah, capital of the province of Arracan, at
the mouth of the River Kuladan or Akyab, of recent upgrowth, well built,
possessing a good harbour, and carrying on an important trade, its chief
exports being rice and petroleum. Pop. 35,680.

AL, the article in the Arabic language. It appears in English words derived
from the Arabic, such as Algebra, Alchemy, Alcove.

ALABAMA (al-a-b[.a]'ma), one of the United States, bounded by Tennessee,
Georgia, Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, and Mississippi; area, 51,998 sq.
miles. The southern part, bordering on the Gulf of Mexico and Florida, is
low and level, and wooded largely with pine, hence known as the 'pine-woods
region'; the middle is hilly, with some tracts of level sand or prairies;
the north is broken and mountainous. The State is intersected by the Rivers
Alabama, Tombigbee, Mobile, Coosa, Tallapoosa, Tennessee, &c., some of them
navigable for several hundred miles. The soil is various, being in some
places, particularly in the south, sandy and barren, but in most parts is
fertile, especially in the river valleys and in the centre, where there is
a very fertile tract known as the 'cotton belt'. The climate in general is
warm, and in the lowlying lands skirting the rivers is rather unhealthy. In
the more elevated parts it is healthy and agreeable, the winters being mild
and the summers tempered by breezes from the Gulf of Mexico. The staple
production is cotton, especially in the middle and south, where rice and
sugar are also grown; in the north the cereals (above all maize) are the
principal crops. Alabama possesses extensive beds of iron ore and coal,
with marble, granite, and other minerals; and coal and iron mining, and the
smelting and working of iron, are now important industries. The manufacture
of cotton goods is extensively carried on. The foreign trade is
concentrated in Mobile, whence cotton is the principal export. The State
sends eight representatives to Congress. Its principal towns are
Montgomery, the seat of government, and Mobile, the chief port. There is a
State university at Tuscaloosa, a university connected with the Methodist
Episcopal body, several State normal colleges, besides professional
schools, &c., in the principal towns. Alabama became a State in 1819. It
was one of the slave States. Pop. (1920), 2,348,174.

ALABAMA, a river of the United States, in the State of Alabama, formed by
the junction of the Coosa and the Tallapoosa. After a course of 300 miles
it joins the Tombigbee and assumes the name of the Mobile.

ALABAMA, The, a ship built at Birkenhead to act as a privateer in the
service of the Confederate States of North America during the civil war
begun in 1861. She was a wooden screw steamer with two engines of 350 h.p.
each, 1040 tons burden, and carried eight 32-pounders. Before she was
launched her destination was made known to the British Government, but
owing to some legal formalities the orders given for her detention did not
reach Liverpool till the day after she had left that port (29th July,
1862). She received her armament and stores at the Azores, and entered on
her destructive career, capturing and burning merchant vessels, till she
was sunk in a fight with the Federal war steamer _Kearsarge_, off
Cherbourg, 19th June, 1864. As early as the winter of 1862 the United
States Government declared that they held themselves entitled at a suitable
period to demand full compensation from Britain for the damages inflicted
on American property by the _Alabama_ and several other cruisers that had
been built, supplied, or recruited in British ports or waters. After a long
series of negotiations it was agreed to submit the final settlement of the
question to a court of arbitration, consisting of representatives of
Britain and the United States, and of three other members, appointed by the
King of Italy, the President of Switzerland, and the Emperor of Brazil.
This court met at Geneva, 17th Dec., 1871, and a claim for indirect damages
to American commerce having been abandoned by the United States Government,
the decree was given in Sept., 1872, that Britain was liable to the United
States in damages to the amount of 15,500,000 dollars (about £3,229,200).
After all awards were made to private claimants about 8,000,000 dollars
still remain unclaimed.

ALABANDITE, or MANGANBLENDE, a black submetallic mineral.

ALABAS'TER, a name applied to a granular variety of gypsum or hydrated
sulphate of lime. It was much used by the ancients for the manufacture of
ointment and perfume boxes, vases, and the like. It has a fine granular
texture, is usually of a pure white colour, and is so soft that it can be
scratched with the nail. It is found in many parts of Europe; in great
abundance and of peculiarly excellent quality in Tuscany. From the finer
and more compact kinds, vases, clock-stands, statuettes, and other
ornamental articles are made, and from inferior kinds the cement known as
plaster of Paris. A variety of carbonate of lime, closely resembling
alabaster in appearance, is used for similar purposes under the name of
_Oriental alabaster_. It is usually stalagmitic or stalactitic in origin
and is often of a yellowish colour. It may be distinguished from true
alabaster by being too hard to be scratched with the nail.

ALAC'TAGA (_Alact[)a]ga jac[)u]lus_), a rodent mammal, closely allied to
the jerboa, but somewhat larger in size, with a still longer tail. Its
range extends from the Crimea and the steppes of the Don across Central
Asia to the Chinese frontier.

ALADDIN, son of Mustafa, a poor tailor of China. A magician, who pretended
to be his uncle, gave him a magic ring and sent him to fetch 'the wonderful
lamp' from a cave. Aladdin secured the lamp, but refused to give it to the
magician, who shut him in the cave. Aladdin was rescued by the Genie of the
Ring, and by means of the Genie of the Lamp acquired great wealth, built a
magnificent palace, and married the Sultan's daughter. Afterwards the
magician got possession of the lamp, and caused the palace to be
transported into Africa. Aladdin was arrested, but was again saved by the
Genie of the Ring. He poisoned the magician, recovered the lamp, and by its
means restored his palace to its original site.

ALAGO'AS, a maritime State of Brazil; area, 22,577 sq. miles; pop.
946,617.--_Alagoas_, the former capital of the province, is situated on the
south side of an arm of the sea, about 20 miles distant from Maceio, to
which the seat of government was transferred in 1839. Pop. about 4000.

ALAIS ([.a]-l[=a]), a town of Southern France, department of Gard, 87 miles
N.W. of Marseilles, with coal, iron, and lead mines, which are actively
worked, and chalybeate springs, which have many visitors during the autumn
months. The treaty of Alais, signed on 28th June, 1629, ended the Huguenot
wars in France. Pop. 29,800.

ALAJUELA ([.a]-l[.a]-_h_u-[=a]'l[.a]), a town of Central America, in the
State of Costa Rica. Pop. 12,000.

ALA-KUL, a lake in Russian Central Asia, near the borders of Mongolia, in
lat. 46° N. lon. 81° 40' E.; area, 660 sq. miles.

ALAMANNI. See _Alemanni_.

ALAMAN'NI, Luigi, an Italian poet, of noble family, born at Florence in
1495. Suspected of conspiring against the life of Cardinal Giulio de'
Medici, who then governed Florence in the name of Pope Leo X, he fled to
Venice, and when the cardinal ascended the papal chair under the name of
Clement VII he took refuge in France, where he henceforth lived, being
employed by Francis I and Henry II in several important negotiations. He
died in 1556. His principal works are a didactic poem, _La Coltivazione_, a
splendid imitation of Virgil's _Georgics_ (1546); a comedy entitled
_Flora_; two epics, _Girone il Cortese_ (1548) and _L'Avarchide_, an
imitation of the _Iliad_ (1570); and a collection of eclogues, satires,
psalms, &c., partly in blank verse, the invention of which is contested
with him by Trissino, a contemporary.

AL'AMO, a fort in Bexar county, Texas, United States, celebrated for the
resistance its occupants (140 Texans) made to a Mexican force of 4000 from
23rd Feb. to 6th March, 1836. At the latter date only six Texans remained
alive, and on their surrendering they were slaughtered by the Mexicans.

AL'AMOS, a town of Mexico, State of Sonora, the capital of a mining
district. Pop. 12,000.

ÅLAND (o'land) ISLANDS, a numerous group of islands and islets, about
eighty of which are inhabited, formerly in Russia, situated in the Baltic
Sea, near the mouth of the Gulf of Finland; area, 468 sq. miles. The
principal island, Åland, distant about 30 miles from the Swedish coast, is
18 miles long and about 14 broad. The fortress of Bomarsund, here situated,
was destroyed by an Anglo-French force in Aug., 1854. The inhabitants, who
are of Swedish extraction, employ themselves mostly in fishing. The islands
were ceded by Sweden to Russia in 1809, and proclaimed a province of
Finland in 1918. A referendum of the inhabitants, taken in Dec., 1918,
decided in favour of union with Sweden, but on 22nd Oct., 1921, an
agreement for the neutralization of the islands was signed at Genoa. Pop.
18,000.

ALA'NI, or ALANS, one of the warlike tribes which migrated from Asia
westward at the time of the decline of the Roman Empire. They are first met
with in the region of the Caucasus, where Pompey fought with them. From
this centre they spread over the south of modern Russia to the confines of
the Roman Empire. About the middle of the fifth century they joined the
Vandals, among whom they became lost to history.

ALARCON' Y MENDO'ZA, Don Juan Ruiz de, one of the most distinguished
dramatic poets of Spain, born in Mexico about the end of the sixteenth or
the beginning of the seventeenth century. He came to Europe about 1622, and
in 1628 he published a volume containing eight comedies, and in 1634
another containing twelve. One of them, called _La Verdad Sospechosa_ (The
Truth Suspected), published in 1630 in a collection bearing the name of
Lope de Vega, furnished Corneille with the groundwork and greater part of
the substance of his _Menteur_. Hence Corneille's declaration in the
preface to that play that he had borrowed the subject from Lope de Vega.
His _Tejedor de Segovia_ (Weaver of Segovia) and _Las Paredes Oyen_ (Walls
have Ears) are still performed on the Spanish stage. He died in 1639.

AL'ARIC I, King of the Visigoths, was born about the middle of the fourth
century, probably in 370, and is first mentioned in history in A.D. 394,
when Theodosius the Great gave him the command of his Gothic auxiliaries.
The dissensions between Arcadius and Honorius, the sons of Theodosius,
inspired Alaric with the intention of attacking the Roman Empire. In 396 he
ravaged Greece, from which he was driven by the Roman general Stilicho, but
made a masterly retreat to Illyria, of which Arcadius, frightened at his
successes, appointed him governor. In 400 he invaded Italy, but was
defeated by Stilicho at Pollentia (403), and induced to transfer his
services from Arcadius to Honorius on condition of receiving 4000 lb. of
gold. Honorius having failed to fulfil this condition, Alaric made a second
invasion of Italy, during which he besieged Rome three times. The first
time (408) the city was saved by paying a heavy ransom; the second (409) it
capitulated, and Honorius was deposed, but shortly afterwards restored. His
sanction of a treacherous attack on the forces of Alaric brought about the
third siege, and the city was taken 24th Aug., 410, and sacked for six
days, Alaric, however, doing everything in his power to restrain the
violence of his followers. He quitted Rome with the intention of reducing
Sicily and Africa, but died at Cosenza in 410. Legend has it that he was
buried beneath the river-bed of the Busenzo, the course of which was
temporarily turned aside for the purpose.

AL'ARIC II, King of the Visigoths from A.D. 484 to 507. At the beginning of
his reign the dominions of the Visigoths were at their greatest extent,
embracing three-fourths of the modern Spain and all Western Gaul to the
south of the Loire. His unwarlike character induced Clovis, King of the
Franks, to invade the kingdom of the Visigoths. In a battle near Poitiers
(507) Alaric was slain and his army completely defeated. The _Breviarium
Alaricianum_, a code of laws derived exclusively from Roman sources, was
compiled by a body of Roman jurists at the command of this King Alaric.

ALARM, in military language, a signal, given by beat of drum, bugle-call,
or firing of a gun, to warn a camp or garrison of a surprise intended or
actually made by the enemy. A place, called the _alarm-post_, is generally
appointed at which the troops are to assemble when an alarm is
given.--_Alarm_ is also the name given to several contrivances in which
electricity is made use of, as a _fire-alarm_, by which intelligence is at
once conveyed to the proper quarter when a fire breaks out; a
_burglar-alarm_, an arrangement of wires and a battery in a house intended
to set a bell or bells ringing should a burglar attempt to gain entrance.

ALARM-CLOCK, one which can be set so as to ring loudly at a certain hour to
wake from sleep or excite attention.

ALA-SHEHR ([.a]-l[.a]-sh[=a]r') (ancient PHILADELPHIA), a town in Asia
Minor, 100 miles east of Smyrna, famous as the seat of one of the first
Christian churches, and still having a vast number of interesting remains
of antiquity, consisting of fragments of beautiful columns, sarcophagi,
fountains, &c. It is a place of some importance, carrying on a thriving
trade, chiefly with Smyrna, to which runs a railway. Pop. 15,000.

ALAS'KA, a territory belonging to the United States, comprising all that
portion of the north-west of North America which lies west of the 141st
meridian of west longitude, together with an irregular strip of coast-land
(and the adjacent islands), extending south to lat. 54° 40' N., and lying
between Canada and the Pacific (the boundary being adjusted in 1903); total
area, about 590,884 sq. miles. The chief river is the Yukon, a great
stream, now navigated in summer for most of its course. The principal
mountains (among which are several volcanoes) are Mounts McKinley (20,470
feet) and Wrangell (17,400 feet). The climate of the interior is very
severe in winter, but in summer the heat is intense; on the Pacific coast
it is mild but moist. Alaska produces excellent timber. Numbers of
fur-bearing animals abound, such as the fur-seal, sea-otter, beaver, fox,
mink, marten, &c.; and the fur trade has long been valuable. The coasts and
rivers swarm with fish, and salmon and cod are caught and exported. Gold is
now mined in several localities, especially Cape Nome, where a town has
sprung up. The aboriginal inhabitants consist of Esquimaux and Indians.
Alaska, called Russian America until 1867, was sold to the United States
for 7,200,000 dollars, the acquisition being ratified by Congress on 20th
June, 1867. It has a legislative assembly consisting of eight senators and
sixteen representatives, and the legislature meets biennially since 1913.
The capital was formerly Sitka, on Baranoff Island, but is now Juneau, on
Gastineau Channel. Pop. 64,356, latest estimate being
75,000.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: A. W. Greely, _Handbook of Alaska_; J. Muir,
_Travels in Alaska_.

ALASKITE, an igneous rock consisting of quartz and felspar. See _Granite_.

ALAS'SIO, a seaport of North Italy, on the Gulf of Genoa, a winter resort
of people from England. Pop. 5000.

ALASTOR, in Greek mythology, is a surname of Zeus (cf. Lat. Jupiter
_Vindex_) describing him as the avenger of evil deeds. The name or epithet
is also used to designate any deity or demon who avenges wrongs committed
by men. _Alastor_ is the title of a poem by Shelley.

ALATAU ([.a]-l[.a]-tou'), the name of three considerable mountain ranges of
Central Asia, on the Russian and Chinese frontiers.

ALATYR ([.a]-l[.a]-tir'), a town in Russia, government Simbirsk, at the
confluence of the Alatyr with the Sura, with a considerable trade. Pop.
11,000.

ALAU'DA, a genus of insessorial birds, which includes the larks. See
_Lark_.

A'LAVA, a hilly province in the north of Spain, one of the three Basque
provinces; area, 1175 sq. miles; covered by branches of the Pyrenees, the
mountains being clothed with oak, chestnut, and other timber, and the
valleys yielding grain, vegetables, and abundance of fruits. There are iron
and copper mines, and inexhaustible salt springs. Capital, Vittoria. Pop.
97,692.

[Illustration: A, Alb with its Apparels _a_, _b_, and Girdle _c_; B, Amice;
C, Stole]

ALB (from Lat. _albus_, white), a clerical vestment of the Catholic Church
worn by priests while officiating in the more solemn functions of divine
service. It is a long robe of white linen reaching to the feet, bound round
the waist by a cincture, and fitting more closely to the body than the
surplice. It is now little used except during Mass. After the Reformation
the _alb_ was not used in the Church of England, but since the ritualistic
revival in the nineteenth century it has again been introduced into a
number of churches.

ALBA, the name of several towns in ancient Italy, the most celebrated of
which was Alba Longa, a city of Latium, according to tradition built by
Ascanius, the son of Æneas, 300 years before the foundation of Rome, at one
time the most powerful city of Latium. It ultimately fell under the
dominion of Rome, when the town was destroyed, it is said. In later times
its site became covered with villas of wealthy Romans.

ALBA (anciently ALBA POMPEIA), a town of Northern Italy, about 30 miles
S.E. of Turin, is the see of a bishop, has a cathedral, bishop's palace,
church with fresco paintings by Perugino, &c. Pop. 6872.

ALBA, Duke of. See _Alva_.

ALBACETE ([.a]l-b[.a]-th[=a]'t[=a]), a town in Southern Spain, capital of
the province of the same name, 106 miles N.N.W. of Cartagena, with a
considerable trade, both direct and transit, and manufactures of knives,
daggers, &c. Pop. 24,805.--The province has an area of 5737 sq. miles, and
a pop. of 273,380.

ALBA LONGA. See _Alba_.

ALBAN, St., the earliest British martyr, flourished in the third century,
and was, it is said, converted from Paganism by a confessor whom he had
saved from his persecutors. He refused to sacrifice to the gods, and was
executed outside the city of Verulamium (St. Albans) in 285 or 305.

ALBANI ([.a]l-bä'n[=e]), Francesco, a famous Italian painter, born at
Bologna in 1578, died in 1660. He studied with Guido Reni under the Flemish
painter Calvaert and the Caracci. It is said that his second wife, Doralice
Fioraventi, bore him twelve children of such beauty that they served him as
models for his paintings. Among the best known of his compositions are _The
Sleeping Venus_, _Diana in the Bath_, _Danaë Reclining_, _Galatea on the
Sea_, _Europa on the Bull_.

ALBA'NI, Madame, maiden name Marie Louise Emma Cecile Lajeunesse, famous
singer, was born near Montreal in 1852, was trained at home by her father,
and studied also in Paris and Milan. She made her first public appearance
in Europe at Messina, in Bellini's _La Sonnambula_, and in 1872 sang in the
Royal Italian Opera in London. Since then she has attained the position of
one of the world's foremost singers, both in opera and oratorio. In 1878
she was married to Mr. Ernest Gye, the operatic manager. She adopted the
professional name of Albani from Albany, in the United States, where as a
girl she sang in the Roman Catholic cathedral. In 1911 she published her
memoirs under the title of _Forty Years of Song_.

ALBA'NIA, an extensive region stretching along the coast of the Adriatic
for about 290 miles, and having a breadth varying from about 90 to about 50
miles. The boundary on the east is formed by a range of mountains, and the
country is composed of at least nine ridges of hills, of which six are in
Lower or Southern Albania (ancient Epirus) and the remainder in Central and
Upper or Northern Albania. There are no large rivers, and in summer many of
the streams are completely dry. The Drin or Drino is the largest. The most
beautiful lake is that of Ochrida, 20 miles long, 8 broad at the widest
part. The Lake of Scutari, in Upper Albania, is the largest. Among trees
Albania has many species of oak, the poplar, hazel, plane, chestnut,
cypress, and laurel. The vine flourishes, together with the orange, almond,
fig, mulberry, and citron; maize, wheat, and barley are cultivated. Its
fauna comprises bears, wolves, and chamois; sheep, goats, horses, asses,
and mules are plentiful. The chief exports are live stock, wool, hides,
timber, oil, salt-fish, cheese, and tobacco. The chief ports are Prevesa,
Valona, and Durazzo. The population, about 850,000, consists chiefly of
Albanians or Arnauts, or, as they call themselves, Skupetars, i.e.
inhabitants of the mountains (by the Turks they are called Arnauts, by the
Greeks Arbanites, and by the Serbs Arbanasi). They are spread along the
coasts of the Adriatic and Ionian Seas. History and legend afford little or
no record of the arrival of the Albanian race in the Balkan Peninsula. It
may, however, be safely asserted that the Albanians are the direct
descendants of the earliest Aryan immigrants, who were represented in
historical times by the kindred Illyrians, Macedonians, and Epirots. The
majority live in Albania, the rest in Montenegro, Greece, Southern Italy,
Sicily, Bessarabia, and Asia Minor. As regards religion they are either
Christians or Mohammedans. They are divided into several tribes, among whom
the Suliotes are partly of Greek origin. The Albanian language is a branch
of the Indo-European languages, and related to the long-ago extinct
language of the Messapians. The language consists of numerous dialects,
which may be divided into those of the Tosks in the south and the Gheggas
in the north. Though their country became a province of the Turkish
dominions in 1431, they maintained for centuries a certain degree of
independence, which the Porte never found it possible to overcome. On 28th
Nov., 1912, the complete independence of Albania was proclaimed at Valona,
a provisional government was founded under Ismail Kemal Bey, and Albanian
autonomy was agreed to at the Ambassadorial Conference in London on 20th
Dec. On 21st Feb., 1914, the crown was offered to Prince William of Wied,
who arrived at Durazzo on 7th March. The prince was supported and advised
by an International Commission of Control, but he left the country at the
outbreak of hostilities in 1914. Attempts made by Essad Pasha to establish
a military government failed, and the country was overrun by the Austrians,
who captured Durazzo on 28th Feb., 1916. On 3rd June, 1917, the general in
charge of the Italian forces proclaimed Albania an independent country, and
a provisional government was set up at Durazzo. Albanian independence was
recognized by the Powers and Albania admitted to the League of Nations in
Dec., 1920.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: H. F. Tozer, _Researches in the Highlands of
Turkey_; W. Peacock, _Albania, The Foundling State_.

ALBA'NO, a city and lake in Italy, the former about 15 miles south-east of
Rome, and on the west border of the lake, amid beautiful scenery. An
ancient tomb in the Etruscan style was for a long time looked upon as the
sepulchre of the Horatii and Curiatii. Here are also the ruins of the
villas of Pompey and Domitian. Pop. 8000.--The lake, situated immediately
beneath the Alban Hill, is of an oval form, 6 miles in circumference,
surrounded by steep banks of volcanic tufa 300 or 400 feet high, and
discharges its superfluous waters by an artificial tunnel at least 2000
years old.

ALBANS, St. See _St. Albans_.

AL'BANY, the original Celtic name probably at first applied to the whole of
Britain, but afterwards restricted to the Highlands of Scotland. It gave
the title of duke formerly to a prince of the blood-royal of Scotland. The
first duke was Robert Stuart (1345-1420), son of Robert II by his mistress
Elizabeth Mure, and brother of Robert III. He was virtual ruler of the
kingdom during the latter years of his brother's reign, and acted as regent
for his nephew James I (kept a prisoner in England) till his own death.
Another nephew, David, Duke of Rothesay, is said to have been starved to
death in Falkland Castle at his instigation. His son Murdoch, second duke,
succeeded him as regent, and was put to death by James for
maladministration. The third duke was Alexander, second son of James II and
brother of James III. A large part of his life was passed in France. His
son John was the fourth who bore the title. He was regent of Scotland
during the minority of James V (1515-23).

AL'BANY, a city of the United States, capital of the State of New York on
the west bank of the Hudson, 132 miles north of New York city, from and to
which steamboats run daily. The Erie Canal and the numerous railway lines
centring here from all directions greatly contribute to the growth and
prosperity of the city, which carries on an extensive trade. It is a great
mart for timber, and has foundries, breweries, tanneries, &c. Albany was
settled by the Dutch between 1610 and 1614, and the older houses are in the
Dutch style, with the gable-ends to the streets. There is a university, an
observatory, and a State library with 90,000 volumes. The principal public
buildings are the capitol or State-house, which cost about £5,000,000, and
the State-hall for the public offices, a State arsenal, and numerous
churches. Pop. (1920), 113,344.

AL'BANY, Louisa Maria Caroline, Countess of, a princess of the
Stolberg-Gedern family, was born in 1753, and married, in 1772, the
pretender, Charles Edward Stuart, after which event she bore the above
title. To escape from the ill-treatment of her husband she retired, in
1780, to the house of her brother-in-law at Rome, where she met the poet
Alfieri, whose mistress she became. After the death of Alfieri in 1793 she
opened her famous political and literary salon frequented by the Duchess of
Devonshire, the Duchess of Hamilton, Cardinal Consalvi, Samuel Rogers,
Thomas Moore, Lamartine, and Chateaubriand. She died at Florence in 1824,
where she was buried at the Church of Sta Croce, by the side of Alfieri,
whom she is supposed to have married secretly.

ALBA'TA, a name sometimes given to German silver.

[Illustration: Wandering Albatross (_Diom[=e]dea ex[)u]lans_)]

AL'BATROSS, a large marine swimming bird of several species, of which the
wandering albatross (_Diomed[=e]a ex[)u]lans_) is the best known. The bill
is straight and strong, the upper mandible hooked at the point and the
lower one truncated; there are three webbed toes on each foot. The upper
part of the body is of a greyish brown, and the belly white. It is the
largest sea-bird known, some measuring 17½ feet from tip to tip of their
expanded wings. They abound at the Cape of Good Hope and in other parts of
the southern seas, and in Behring's Straits, and have been known to
accompany ships for whole days without ever resting on the waves. From this
habit the bird is regarded with feelings of attachment and superstitious
awe by sailors, it being reckoned unlucky to kill one. Coleridge has
availed himself of this feeling in his _Ancient Mariner_. The albatross is
met with at great distances from the land, settling down on the waves at
night to sleep. It is exceedingly voracious, whenever food is abundant,
gorging to such a degree as to be unable to fly or swim. It feeds on fish,
carrion, fish-spawn, oceanic mollusca, and other small marine animals. Its
cry is harsh and disagreeable. Its nest is a heap of earth; its eggs are
larger than those of a goose.

ALBATROSS, a name applied to a certain type of German aeroplanes, much used
for scouting purposes during the European War.

ALBAY ([.a]l-b[=i]'), a province, town, bay, and volcano in the south-east
part of the Island of Luzon, one of the Philippines. The province is
mountainous but fertile; the town regularly built, with a pop. of 34,000;
the bay capacious, secure, and almost landlocked; and the volcano, which is
always in activity, forms a conspicuous landmark.

ALBEMARLE, Duke of. See _Monk, George_.

AL'BENDORF, a village in Prussia, province of Silesia, 50 miles S.W. of
Breslau, remarkable for the pilgrimages made to its church, chapels,
statues, &c. Pop. 1800.

ALBERONI, Cardinal Giulio (j[=u]'li-o [.a]l-b[=a]-r[=o]'n[=e]), born in
1664 in North Italy, and educated for the Church. In his youth he laboured
as a gardener, but thanks to the protection of the Duc de Vendôme, whose
secretary he became, and afterwards of the Duc de Parma, he rose to high
position. The latter sent him as his minister to Madrid, where he gained
the affection of Philip V. He rose by cunning and intrigue to the position
of Prime Minister, became a cardinal, was all-powerful in Spain after the
year 1715, and endeavoured to restore it to its ancient splendour. In
pursuance of this object he invaded Sardinia and Sicily, and indeed
entertained the idea of stirring up a general war in Europe. The alliance
of France and England, however, rendered his schemes abortive, and led to
his dismissal and exile in 1720. He wandered about a long time under false
names, but on the accession of Pope Innocent XIII he was restored to all
the rights and honours of a cardinal. He died in 1752, and was buried at
Piacenza.

ALBERT, Prince, Albert Francis Augustus Charles Emmanuel, Prince of
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and Prince Consort of England, second son of Ernest I,
Duke of Saxe-Coburg, was born at the Rosenau, a castle near Coburg, on 26th
Aug., 1819. In 1837 he entered the University of Bonn, where he devoted
himself to the studies of political and natural science, history,
philosophy, &c., as well as to those of music and painting. On leaving the
university he made a tour through the chief cities of Italy with Baron
Stockmar. On 10th Feb., 1840, he married his cousin, Queen Victoria of
England. Leopold I, King of the Belgians and uncle of Queen Victoria, was
greatly instrumental in bringing about the marriage. An allowance of
£30,000 a year was settled upon the prince, who was naturalized by Act of
Parliament, received the title of Royal Highness by patent, was made a
field-marshal, a Knight of the Garter, of the Bath, &c. Other honours were
subsequently bestowed upon him, the chief of which was the title of Prince
Consort (1857). His foreign birth at first caused him to be regarded with
some suspicion, but his unfailing tact and genuine ability were not long in
gaining their due recognition. He always carefully abstained from party
politics, but his knowledge of the politics of his adopted country, both
domestic and foreign, was profound and accurate, and must often have been
of service to the queen and her advisers. He always took a deep and active
interest in the welfare of the people in general. His services to the cause
of science and art were very important; he presided over the commission
appointed in 1841 to consider the best means of rebuilding the Houses of
Parliament, and the great exhibition of 1851 owed much of its success to
his activity, knowledge, and judgment. The amendment of the Articles of War
in 1844 which ultimately put an end to duelling was due to his suggestion.
Cambridge University conferred upon him the degree of LL.D., and in 1847 he
was elected Chancellor. He presided and delivered the inaugural address at
the meeting of the British Association at Aberdeen in 1859. He died of
typhoid fever on 14th Dec., 1861, after a short illness. A collection of
his speeches and addresses was published in 1862. A biography of the prince
by Sir Theodore Martin was published in 5 volumes, London, 1875-80.

ALBERT, first Duke of Prussia, and last grand-master of the Teutonic Order,
was born in 1490; died in 1568. In 1511 he was chosen by the Teutonic
knights grand-master of their order. Being nephew of Sigismund, King of
Poland, the knights hoped by his means to be freed from the feudal
superiority of Poland, and placed under the protection of the empire. This
superiority, however, Sigismund refused to surrender, and war broke out
between uncle and nephew. He subsequently became reconciled to his uncle,
and obtained his investiture as hereditary Duke of Prussia under the Polish
Crown, the territorial rights of the Teutonic Order being thus set aside.
The latter years of his reign were spent in organizing the government and
promoting the prosperity of his duchy; he founded schools and churches,
established a ducal library, and opened the University of Königsberg in
1543.

AL'BERT I, Duke of Austria, and afterwards Emperor of Germany, son of
Rudolph of Hapsburg, was born in 1248. On the death of his father in 1292
he claimed the Empire, but his arrogant conduct drove the electors to
choose Adolphus of Nassau emperor. Adolphus, after a reign of six years,
having lost the regard of all the princes of the Empire, Albert was elected
to succeed him. A battle ensued near Göllheim, in which Adolphus was slain
by his adversary, who was elected and crowned. Pope Boniface VIII, however,
refused to acknowledge him as emperor, and ordered the electoral princes to
renounce their allegiance to him. On the other hand, Albert formed an
alliance with Philip le Bel of France, and offered so determined and
successful a resistance to the papal authority that Boniface was induced to
withdraw his opposition, on condition that Albert would break with his
French ally. During the subsequent years of his reign the Emperor was
engaged in unsuccessful wars with Holland, Hungary, Bohemia, and other
States. His measures still further to strengthen his authority over the
Swiss Forest Cantons of Unterwalden, Schwyz, and Uri drove the inhabitants
into open revolt in Jan. 1308. While on his way to crush the Swiss he was
assassinated, at Windisch in May, 1308, by his nephew John, Duke of Suabia,
called afterwards the Parricide, whose inheritance he had seized upon.

ALBERT I, King of the Belgians, born on 8th April, 1875, at Brussels. He is
the son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders (died 17th Nov., 1905), and
of Princess Marie of Hohenzollern (born 17th Nov., 1845). After the death
of his cousin, the Duke of Brabant, and of his father in 1905, Prince
Albert became heir apparent. In 1906 he became member of the Belgian Senate
and in 1907 was appointed by his uncle, Leopold II, Lieutenant-General. On
2nd Oct., 1900, he married Princess Elizabeth, daughter of Duke Charles
Theodor of Bavaria; there are three children. He ascended the Belgian
throne in Nov., 1909, after the death of his uncle Leopold II.

ALBERT EDWARD, or simply EDWARD, one of the equatorial lakes of Africa,
otherwise known as _Muta Nzige_ (q.v.).

ALBERT HALL, an amphitheatre in the Italian Renaissance style in
Kensington, London, built during 1867-71 for concerts and assemblies. It
can seat 9000 people, and its organ, which has nearly 9000 pipes, is one of
the largest in the world.

ALBERT MEMORIAL, the monument erected in Kensington Gardens, London, in
memory of Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria. It is the work of Sir
Gilbert Scott, and its style is Victorian Gothic.

ALBERT NYAN'ZA, a lake of Africa, one of the headwaters of the Nile, lying
(approximately) between lat. 2° 30' and 1° 10' N., and with its north-east
extremity in about lon. 28° E.; general direction from north-east to
south-west, surface about 2500 feet above sea-level. It is surrounded by
precipitous cliffs, and bounded on the west and south-west by great ranges
of mountains. It abounds with fish, and its shores are infested with
crocodiles and hippopotami. It receives the Victoria Nile from the Victoria
Nyanza, and the White Nile issues from its northern extremity.

ALBERT-BAPAUME. Along the great trunk road from Albert to Bapaume and on
either side of it, fierce fighting took place during the Somme offensive of
1916, marked by the stages La Boiselle, Pozières and Le Sars. When, in
Feb., 1917, the Germans began the great retreat, the fortified village of
Pys on the left of the road was seized at a rush. On the 26th the village
of Warlencourt fell, and two days later Thilley village 1½ miles from
Bapaume, was taken. The British troops, avoiding direct assaults, gradually
encircled the town, forcing the Germans to withdraw. It was entered on 17th
March.

ALBERTA, a province of Canada, established on 1st Sept., 1905, and
comprising the former territory of Alberta and the part of the former
territory of Athabasca lying west of the meridian 110°, and having the new
province of Saskatchewan on the east, British Columbia on the west, the
United States on the south, and Mackenzie territory on the north; area,
255,285 sq. miles. A large part of the area on the west is occupied by the
Rocky Mountains, which are shared in common with Alberta and British
Columbia, and consist mostly of a series of more or less parallel ridges.
One or two of the loftier summits are in the province, others on the
boundary. There is much valuable timber in this district. The general slope
of the surface is from west to east and north-east. The province is
intersected by numerous rivers and streams that have their sources in the
Rockies, some of them, such as the Peace River and the Athabasca, sending
their waters to the Arctic Ocean, while the others, such as the North and
South Saskatchewan and their tributaries, belong to the Hudson Bay basin.
In the extreme south are one or two small tributaries of the Missouri.
There are a number of lakes, the largest being the Lesser Slave Lake and
Lake Athabasca (partly in this province). Notwithstanding the number of the
streams, there are districts, especially in the south, where agriculture
cannot be successfully carried on without irrigation. Farther to the north
there are areas highly suitable for agriculture, and timber is also
abundant. Cattle ranching is successfully carried on in the south, but
tillage, with and even without irrigation, is also carried on, fine crops
of wheat being grown. The most valuable mineral is coal, which is found at
various places, but is chiefly mined in the south at Lethbridge, and
farther north in the Banff district. Here there are hot springs and grand
scenery, and a large tract of land has been set apart as a national park.
Near Edmonton, the capital, coal is found on the bank of the North
Saskatchewan, and is readily worked. Iron, petroleum, and other minerals
are found. The climate is very warm in summer, and in winter less severe
and prolonged than might be supposed. The warm _chinook_ winds from the
Pacific often blow in winter, and speedily melt the snow. The province is
crossed in the south by the Canadian Pacific Railway, running by way of
Calgary and Banff, and crossing the Rockies. From Calgary one branch runs
north to Edmonton, another runs south to McLeod, where other lines make a
connection with the States railroads and British Columbia. Edmonton, being
also on the Canadian Northern and the Grand Trunk Pacific, is bound to
become a great centre of trade and provincial development. It and Calgary
are the chief towns. The population in 1911 was returned at 374,663, the
latest estimate being nearly 500,000.

ALBERTITE, an asphaltic hydrocarbon compound, a soft black material,
obtained in Canada.

ALBER'TUS MAGNUS, or ALBERT THE GREAT, Count of Bollstädt, a distinguished
German scholar of the thirteenth century, born in 1193, or 1205, studied at
Padua, became a monk of the Dominican order, teaching in the schools of
Hildesheim, Ratisbon, and Cologne, where Thomas Aquinas became his pupil.
In 1245 he went to Paris and publicly expounded the doctrines of Aristotle,
notwithstanding the prohibition of the Church. He is called Doctor
Universalis, for he was one of the most proficient scholars of his day,
second only to Roger Bacon in his knowledge of nature. He became rector of
the school of Cologne in 1249; in 1254 he was made provincial of his order
in Germany; and in 1260 he received from Pope Alexander IV the appointment
of Bishop of Ratisbon. In 1263 he retired to his convent at Cologne, where
he composed many works, especially commentaries on Aristotle. He died in
1280. Owing to his profound knowledge he did not escape the imputation of
using magical arts and trafficking with the Evil One.

AL'BI. See _Alby_.

ALBIGENSES (al-bi-jen's[=e]z), a neo-Manichæan sect which spread widely in
the south of France and elsewhere about the twelfth century, and which
differed in doctrine and practice from the Roman Catholic Church, by which
they were subjected to severe persecution. They are said to have been so
named from Albi, on the banks of the Tarn, a tributary of the Garonne,
where, and about Toulouse, Narbonne, &c., they were numerous. They were
also known as Catharists (q.v.) and their doctrines were similar to those
of several other religious sects such as the Gnostics, Manichæans, and
Bogomils. Among the principal doctrines of the Albigenses was the belief in
the existence of two principles, good and evil, the creators of the
spiritual and material worlds. Since all matter is under the control of the
evil principle, maintained the Albigenses, all flesh is evil. The
extinction of bodily life, therefore, the deliverance of the soul from the
prison-house of the body, should be the aim of man. Suicide by means of
starvation was consequently highly meritorious. It is admitted even by
Catholic writers (see _Catholic Encyclopædia_, vol. i, p. 268) that the
Albigenses were principally antisacerdotal and opposed to the Roman Church
on account of the scandalous life led by the Catholic clergy. A crusade was
begun against them, and Count Raymond VI of Toulouse for tolerating them,
in 1209, the army of the cross being called together by Pope Innocent III.
The war was carried on with a cruelty which reflected deep disgrace upon
the Catholic Church. Béziers, the capital of Raymond's nephew Roger, was
taken by storm, and 20,000 of the inhabitants, without distinction of
creed, were put to the sword. Simon de Montfort, the military leader of the
crusade, was equally severe towards other places in the territory of
Raymond and his allies. After the death of Raymond VI, in 1222, his son,
Raymond VII, was obliged, notwithstanding his readiness to do penance, to
defend his inheritance against the papal legates and Louis VIII of France.
When hundreds of thousands had fallen on both sides, a peace was made in
1229, by which Raymond was obliged to cede Narbonne with other territories
to Louis IX, and make his son-in-law, a brother of Louis, his heir. The
heretics were now delivered up to the proselytizing zeal of the Dominicans,
and to the courts of the Inquisition, by which means it was brought about
that the Albigenses disappeared after the middle of the thirteenth century.
Cf. C. Schmidt, _Histoire et doctrine de la Secte des Cathares ou
Albigeois_ (2 vols.)

ALBINOS (al-b[=i]'n[=o]z), the name given to those persons from whose skin,
hair, and eyes, in consequence of some defect in their organization, the
dark colouring matter is absent. The skin of albinos, therefore, whether
they belong to the white, Indian, or negro races, is of a uniform pale
milky colour, their hair is white, while the iris of their eyes is pale
rose colour, and the pupil intensely red, the absence of the dark pigment
allowing the multitude of blood-vessels in these parts of the eye to be
seen. For the same reason their eyes are not well suited to endure the
bright light of day, and they see best in shade or by moonlight. The
peculiarity of _albinism_ or _leucopathy_ is hereditary and not confined to
the human race, having been observed also in horses, rabbits, rats, mice,
&c., birds (white crows or blackbirds are not particularly uncommon), and
fishes. Albinos are not of necessity lacking in mental vigour or capacity.
Cf. Karl Pearson, _A Monograph on Albinism in Man_.

AL'BION (Celtic _Albainn_), the earliest name by which the island of Great
Britain was known, employed already by writers of the sixth century B.C.,
who speak not of Britannia but of the land of the Albiones, and in poetry
still used for Great Britain. It is connected with Lat. _albus_, white, on
account, perhaps, of the chalk cliffs of Dover. The same word as _Albany_,
_Albyn_.

AL'BITE, or SODA-FELSPAR, a mineral, a kind of felspar, usually of a white
colour, to which property it owes its name (Lat. _albus_, white), but
occasionally bluish, greyish, greenish, or reddish white.

ALBIZZIA (al-bit'si-a), a genus of leguminous trees and shrubs, allied to
the genus Acacia, with doubly-pinnate leaves and white, yellow, or red
flowers often in globular heads, and broad, straight, flat pods. They
number over fifty species, and inhabit tropical and subtropical Asia,
Africa, and Australia. _A. lophanta_, a native of south-western Australia,
has a bark that contains tannin. _A. Lebbek_, a native of Asia and Africa,
yields valuable timber, and in Egypt is much cultivated as a shade tree.
_A. Julibrissin_, a tree with rose-red flowers, is found in Asia and
Africa, and has been introduced into Southern Europe.

AL'BOIN, King of the Lombards, succeeded his father Audoin in 561, and
reigned in Noricum and Pannonia. Narses, the general of Justinian, sought
his alliance, and received his aid, in the war against Totila, King of the
Ostrogoths. Alboin afterwards (in 568) undertook the conquest of Italy,
where Narses, who had subjected this country to Justinian, offended by an
ungrateful Court, sought an avenger in Alboin, and offered him his
co-operation. After a victorious career in Italy he was slain at Verona, in
573 or 574, by an assassin, instigated by his wife Rosamond, whose hatred
he had incurred by sending her, in one of his fits of intoxication, a cup
wrought from the skull of her father, and forcing her to drink from it.

ALBORAK, in Mohammedan mythology, the animal said to have been brought by
the angel Gabriel to carry Mohammed to the seventh heaven. It had the face
of a man, the body of a horse, the wings of an eagle, and spoke with a
human voice.

ALBRECHT ([.a]l'bre_h_t), the German form of _Albert_ (q.v.).

ALBRECHTSBERGER ([.a]l'bre_h_ts-ber-g[.e]r), Johann Georg, a German
composer and writer on music; a teacher of Beethoven, Moscheles, &c. Born
1736, died 1809.

ALBRET, Jeanne d' (zh[.a]n d[.a]l-br[=a]), Queen of Navarre, wife of
Antoine de Bourbon and mother of Henri IV of France, a zealous supporter of
the reformed religion, which she established in her kingdom; born 1528,
died (probably poisoned) 1572, shortly before the massacre of St.
Bartholomew.

ALBUERA ([.a]l-b[u:]-[=a]'r[.a]), a village of Spain, in Estremadura, 12
miles S.S.E. of Badajoz. A battle was fought here, 16th May, 1811, between
the army of Marshal Beresford (30,000) and that of Marshal Soult (25,000),
when the latter was obliged to retreat to Seville, leaving Badajoz to fall
into the hands of the allies.

ALBU'GO, an affection of the eye, consisting of a white opacity in the
cornea; called also _leucoma_.

AL'BUM, in ancient Rome a board painted white, on which edicts and public
notices were inscribed in black. It is now a name generally given to a
blank book for the reception of pieces of poetry, autographs, engravings,
photographs, &c. In law it is applied to rent paid in silver (white money).

ALBU'MEN, or ALBUMIN (Lat., from _albus_, white), a substance, or rather
group of substances, so named from the Latin for the white of an egg, which
is one of its most abundant known forms. It may be taken as the type of the
protein compounds or the nitrogenous class of food-stuffs. One variety
enters largely into the composition of the animal fluids and solids, is
coagulable by heat at and above 160°, and is composed of carbon, hydrogen,
nitrogen, and oxygen, with a little sulphur. It abounds in the serum of the
blood, the vitreous and crystalline humours of the eye, the fluid of
dropsy, the substance called coagulable lymph, in nutritive matters, the
juice of flesh, &c. The blood contains about 7 per cent of albumen. Another
variety, called vegetable albumen, exists in most vegetable juices and many
seeds, and has nearly the same composition and properties as egg albumen.
When albumen coagulates in any fluid it readily encloses any substances
that may be suspended in the fluid. Hence it is used to clarify syrupy
liquors. In cookery, white of eggs is employed for clarifying, but in large
operations, like sugar-refining, the serum of blood is used. From its being
coagulable by various salts, and especially by corrosive sublimate, with
which it forms an insoluble compound, white of egg is a convenient antidote
in cases of poisoning by that substance. With lime it forms a cement to
mend broken ware.

In botany the name albumen is given to the farinaceous matter which
surrounds the embryo, the term in this case having no reference to chemical
composition. It constitutes the meat of the coco-nut, the flour or meal of
cereals, the roasted part of coffee, &c.

ALBUMINU'RIA, a condition in which the urine contains albumen, evidencing a
diseased state of the kidneys.

ALBUÑOL ([.a]l-b[u:]-nyol'), a seaport of Southern Spain, province Granada,
on the Mediterranean. Pop. 7451.

ALBUQUERQUE ([.a]l-b[u:]-kerk'[=a]), Affonso de, surnamed 'the Great', an
eminent Portuguese admiral, born 1453, died in 1515. Portugal having
subjected to its power a large part of the western coast of Africa, and
begun to extend its sway in the East Indies, Albuquerque was appointed
viceroy of the Portuguese acquisitions in this quarter, and arrived in 1503
with a fleet on the coast of Malabar. His career here was extremely
successful, he having extended the Portuguese power over Malabar, Ceylon,
the Sunda Islands, and the Peninsula of Malacca, and made the Portuguese
name respected by all the nations and princes of India. Notwithstanding his
services and his virtues, he was unjustly superseded in his commands by his
personal enemy Lopez Soarez, and so severely did he feel the ingratitude of
his sovereign, King Emanuel, that he died a few days after receiving the
intelligence. His famous letter to the king was discovered and published in
1542 by J. M. de Fonseca. The first volume of his letters was published in
1884 by the Royal Academy of Lisbon.

[Illustration: Alburnum
_a a_, Alburnum or sapwood. _b b_, Heart-wood. _c_, Pith. _d_, Bark]

ALBUR'NUM, the soft white substance which, in trees, is found between the
liber or inner bark and the wood, and, in progress of time acquiring
solidity, becomes itself the wood. A new layer of wood, or rather of
alburnum, is added annually to the tree in every part just under the bark.

ALBURY (al'ber-i), a rising town of New South Wales on the borders of
Victoria, on the right bank of the Murray, 190 miles north-east of
Melbourne, in a good agricultural and wine-producing district. Pop. 6750.

ALBY, or ALBI ([.a]l'b[=e]), an old town of southern France, department of
Tarn, 42 miles north-east of Toulouse, on the Tarn, in an extensive plain.
It has a cathedral, a Gothic structure, begun in 1282. It manufactures
linens, cottons, leather, &c. Alby is said to have given the Albigenses
their name. Pop. 18,262.

ALCÆ'US, one of the greatest Grecian lyric poets, was born at Mitylene, in
Lesbos, and flourished there at the close of the seventh and beginning of
the sixth centuries B.C.; but of his life little is known. A strong manly
enthusiasm for freedom and justice pervades his lyrics, of which only a few
fragments are left. He wrote in the Æolic dialect, and was the inventor of
a metre that bears his name (Alcaics), which Horace has employed in many of
his odes.

ALCALA' DE GUADAIRA (gw[.a]-d[=i]'r[.a]; 'the castle of Guadaira'), a town
of southern Spain, on the Guadaira, 7 miles east of Seville, chiefly
celebrated for its manufacture of bread, with which it supplies a large
part of the population of Seville. Pop. 8930.

ALCALA' DE HENARES (en-ä'res), a beautiful city of Spain, 16 miles E.N.E.
of Madrid, 1 mile from the Henares. It has an imposing appearance when seen
from some distance, but on nearer inspection is found to be in a state of
decay. There was formerly a university here, at one time attended by 10,000
students; but in 1836 it was removed with its library to Madrid. Cervantes
was born here. Pop. 11,728.

ALCALA' LA REAL (r[=a]-[.a]l'), a town of Spain, 18 miles south-east of
Jaen, with a fine abbey and some trade. It was captured in 1340 by Alphonso
XI of Leon, from whence it derives the epithet Real ('Royal'). Pop. 15,901.

ALCALDE (Sp.; [.a]l-k[.a]l-d[=a]), or ALCAIDE (Port.; al-k[=i]'d[=a]; Ar.
_alqadi_ (Cadi), the judge, not to be confused with _alcaide_, the governor
of a fortress), the name of a magistrate in the Spanish and Portuguese
towns, to whom the administration of justice and the regulation of the
police is committed. His office nearly corresponds to that of justice of
the peace. The name and the office are of Moorish origin.

AL'CAMO, a city in the west of Sicily, 2½ miles south of the Gulf of
Castellamare, near the site of the ancient Segesta, the ruins of which,
including a well-preserved Doric temple and a theatre, as well as the
remains of Moorish occupation, are still to be found here. The district is
celebrated for its wine. Pop. 32,200.

ALCAÑIZ ([.a]l-k[.a]n-y[=e]th'), a town of north-eastern Spain (Aragon).
Pop. 8750.

ALCAN'TARA (Ar., 'the bridge'), an ancient town and frontier fortress of
Spain, on the Tagus, on a rocky acclivity, and enclosed by ancient walls.
Pop. 3224.--_Order of Alcantara_, an ancient Spanish order of knighthood
instituted for defence against the Moors in 1156, and made a military
religious order in 1197.

ALCARRAZA ([.a]l-k[.a]r-rä'th[.a]), a vessel made of a kind of porous,
unglazed pottery, used in Spain to hold drinking-water, which, oozing
slightly through the vessel, is kept cool by the evaporation that takes
place at the surface. Similar vessels have been long used in Egypt and
elsewhere.

ALCAZAR DE SAN JUAN ([.a]l-kä'th[.a]r d[=a] s[.a]n-_h_wän), a town of
Spain, province of Ciudad-Real (New Castile), with manufactures of soap,
saltpetre, gunpowder, chocolate, &c. Pop. 13,645.

ALCE'DO. See _Kingfisher_.

ALCES'TIS, in Greek mythology, wife of Admetus, King of Thessaly. Her
husband was ill, and, according to an oracle, would die unless someone made
a vow to meet death in his stead. This was secretly done by Alcestis, and
Admetus recovered. After her decease Hercules brought her back from the
infernal regions.

AL'CHEMY, or ALCHYMY, the art which in former times occupied the place of
and paved the way for the modern science of chemistry (as astrology did for
astronomy), but whose aims were not scientific, being confined solely to
the discovery of the means of indefinitely prolonging human life, and of
transmuting the baser metals into gold and silver. Among the alchemists it
was generally thought necessary to find a substance which, containing the
original principle of all matter, should possess the power of dissolving
all substances into their elements. This general solvent, or _menstruum
universale_, which at the same time was to possess the power of removing
all the seeds of disease out of the human body and renewing life, was
called the _philosophers' stone_, _lapis philosophorum_, and its pretended
possessors were known as _adepts_. Alchemy flourished chiefly in the Middle
Ages, though how old such notions might be as those by which the alchemists
were inspired it is difficult to say. There are many stories about the
mystic origin of alchemy. The art is said to have been taught by the fallen
angels, by Isis, or by Miriam, sister of Moses, or by John the Baptist.
According to Suidas, Egypt was the home of alchemy, and the mythical Hermes
Trismegistus of pre-Christian times was said to have left behind him many
books of magical and alchemical learning, and after him alchemy received
the name of the _hermetic art_. At a later period chemistry and alchemy
were cultivated among the Arabians, and by them the pursuit was introduced
into Europe. Many of the monks devoted themselves to alchemy, although they
were afterwards prohibited from studying it by the popes. Thus Albertus
Magnus is said to have been the author of a work _De Alchimia_, and several
treatises on the subject are attributed to Thomas Aquinas. But even Pope
John XXII is said to have worked at the science at Avignon. Raymond Lully,
or Lullius, a famous alchemist of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries,
is said to have changed for King Edward I a mass of 50,000 lb. of
quicksilver into gold, of which the first rose-nobles were coined. Among
other alchemists may be mentioned John Cremer, Abbot of Westminster
(1327-77), Nicholas Flamel (1330-80), Basilius Valentinus, Isaac of
Holland, and Paracelsus (1493-1541). With the growth of chemistry, the
recognition of the chemical elements as forming a large number of distinct
substances, and the conception of the fixed unalterable nature of the
atoms, attempts to transform the base metals into gold were largely
abandoned as being unscientific. But the most modern view of matter,
namely, that the atoms of all elements are composed of numerous electrons,
favours the idea of the transmutability of elements, and the production of
helium from radium (see these articles) by Ramsay shows the possibility of
this transmutation.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: Pattison-Muir, _Alchemy, or the
Beginnings of Chemistry_ (Hodder & Stoughton: Useful Knowledge Series);
H. S. Redgrove, _Alchemy, Ancient and Modern_.

ALCIBI'ADES (-d[=e]z), a famous Athenian statesman and general of high
family and of great abilities, but of no principle, was born at Athens in
the 82nd Olympiad, 450 B.C., being the son of Cleinias, and a relative of
Pericles, who also was his guardian. In youth he was remarkable for the
beauty of his person, no less than for the dissoluteness of his manners. He
came under the influence of Socrates, but little permanent effect was
produced on his character by the precepts of the sage. He acquired great
popularity by his liberality in providing for the amusements of the people,
and after the death of Cleon attained a political ascendancy which left him
no rival but Nicias. Thus he played an important part in the long-continued
Peloponnesian war. In 415 he advocated the expedition against Sicily, and
was chosen one of the leaders, but before the expedition sailed he was
charged with profaning and divulging the Eleusinian mysteries, and
mutilating the busts of Hermes, which were set up in public all through
Athens. Rather than stand his trial he went over to Sparta, divulged the
plans of the Athenians, and assisted the Spartans to defeat them. Sentence
of death and confiscation was pronounced against him at Athens, and he was
cursed by the ministers of religion. He soon left Sparta and took refuge
with the Persian satrap Tissaphernes, ingratiating himself by his
affectation of Persian manners, as he had previously done at Sparta by a
similar affectation of Spartan simplicity. He now began to intrigue for his
return to Athens, offering to bring Tissaphernes over to the Athenian
alliance, and after a while he was recalled and his banishment cancelled.
He, however, remained abroad for some years in command of the Athenian
forces, gained several victories, and took Chalcedon and Byzantium. In 407
B.C. he returned to Athens, but in 406, the fleet which he commanded having
suffered a severe defeat, he was deprived of his command. He once more went
over to the Persians, taking refuge with the satrap Pharnabazus of Phrygia,
and here he was assassinated in 404 B.C. The authorities for his life are
Thucydides, Xenophon, Plutarch, and Cornelius Nepos.

ALCINOUS (al-sin'o-us), King of the Phæacians. See _Ulysses_.

ALCIRA ([.a]l-th[=e]'r[.a]), a town of Spain, province of Valencia, on the
Jucar, founded by the Carthaginians. Fruits, rice, &c., are grown. Pop.
22,050.

ALC'MAN, the chief lyric poet of Sparta, a Lydian by birth, flourished
between 671 B.C. and 631, and wrote (in the Doric dialect) love songs,
hymns, pæans, &c., of which only fragments remain.

ALCME'NA. See _Amphitryon_.

ALCO, a small variety of dog, with a small head and large pendulous ears,
found wild in Mexico and Peru, and also domesticated.

ALCOBAÇA ([.a]l-k[=o]-bä's[.a]), a small town of Portugal, 50 miles north
of Lisbon, celebrated for a magnificent Cistercian monastery founded in
1148 by Don Alphonso I, and completed in 1222. It contains the tombs of
Alphonso II, Alphonso III, Pedro I and his wife Ines de Castro.

AL'COHOL, or ETHYL ALCOHOL, C_2H_6O, is a substance obtained by allowing
the juice of the grape to undergo a change known as fermentation. It is
only in modern times that alcohol has been isolated and its properties
examined. Alcohol is now prepared in enormous quantities, both for
industrial purposes and for the preparation of alcoholic beverages, from
substances rich in sugar or in starch. Potatoes and maize form the main
source of alcohol. These are treated with steam under pressure in
specially-constructed tanks to extract starchy materials. The starch so
liberated is then fermented by means of a substance diastase. This
treatment transforms sugar into alcohol and carbonic acid gas. The solution
is then filtered to remove all insoluble matter, proteids, &c., and from
this solid residue, cattle-feeding cakes are made. This treatment yields a
solution containing 9-10 per cent alcohol. The solution is fractionally
distilled, using a special form of distilling column. The most volatile
part of the distillate, first runnings, contains acetaldehyde, the second
fraction contains the bulk of the alcohol and some water, and the least
volatile portion, last runnings, fusel oil and higher alcohols. By this
means a liquid containing 80-95 per cent alcohol, rectified spirits, is
obtained. For preparation of beverages, fusel oil must be carefully
separated from alcohol, as fusel oil has an injurious effect
physiologically. The removal of the last traces of water from alcohol is
very troublesome. It is repeatedly distilled over quicklime or
freshly-ignited potassium carbonate, giving an alcohol containing 98-99 per
cent alcohol. The small quantity of water still contained is removed by
leaving it in contact with metallic calcium. An alcohol containing more
than 96 per cent alcohol is known as _absolute_. Pure alcohol is a
colourless poisonous liquid boiling at 78° C., possessing a strong odour
and a burning taste. It is inflammable and mixes with water in all
proportions and has a specific gravity 0.80625 at 0° C. Very low
temperatures convert it into a glassy solid, melting at -117° C., hence it
may be used in thermometers for low-temperature measurements. Alcohol burns
with a non-luminous flame and gives out great heat; it is used, therefore,
in various types of lamps for heating purposes. It is also used as a fuel
for motors and is a very valuable solvent for many substances such as
resin, oils, colouring-matter, varnishes, and ethereal essences. The
so-called 'solid alcohol' can be obtained by dissolving 30 to 40 parts of
collodion in 100 parts of alcohol, a solid which separates and burns like
alcohol, leaving no residue. Alcohol is the important constituent of all
alcoholic beverages and it is due to its presence that wine, whisky, &c.,
have a stimulating and intoxicating effect on the nervous system. Beverages
such as beer, wine, cider, &c., are prepared by direct fermentation of
sugars obtained in fruit juices in the case of wine and cider and from
barley in the case of beer. These contain varying amounts of alcohol, thus
wine may contain from 8 to 10 per cent of alcohol, whilst beer contains 3
to 5 per cent. Whisky, brandy, &c., contain more alcohol, 50-70 per cent,
and for the preparation of these the alcohol used must be distilled and
purified after fermentation. The alcohol content of an aqueous solution may
be deduced from a determination of the specific gravity of the solution or
directly by the Alcoholometer. This gives percentage by volume. The amount
of alcohol present in any alcoholic beverage cannot be obtained directly,
but if 1/3 of the liquid be distilled and the distillate made up to the
original volume, then the alcohol may be determined by the Alcoholometer.
The name alcohol is applied generally in chemistry to a large group of
substances, containing carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, which have chemical
properties analogous to those of ethyl alcohol.

AL'COHOLISM, a morbid condition of the body (especially of the nervous
system) brought on by the immoderate use of alcoholic liquors.

ALCOHOLOM'ETER, an instrument constructed on the principle of the
hydrometer, to determine from the specific gravity of spirituous liquors
the percentage of alcohol they contain, the scale marking directly the
required proportion. If the liquor contain anything besides water and
alcohol, previous distillation is necessary.

ALCO'RAN. See _Koran_.

AL'COTT, LOUISA MAY, a distinguished American authoress, born in 1833. She
wrote a number of books chiefly intended for the young: _Little Women_
(1867), _An Old-fashioned Girl_ (1869), _Little Men_ (1871), _Jack and
Jill_ (1880), &c. Died in 1888.

[Illustration: Alcove. French; late sixteenth century]

AL'COVE, a recess in a room, usually separated from the rest of the room by
columns, a balustrade, or by curtains, and often containing a bed or seats.

ALCOY', a town of Spain, in Valencia, 24 miles north by west of Alicante,
in a richly-cultivated district. There is a Roman bridge over the river,
and the town has a very picturesque appearance; its chief manufactures are
paper and woollen goods. On the 22nd of April an annual feast is celebrated
by the inhabitants of the town commemorating a victory over the Moors in
1257. Pop. 33,896.

ALCUDIA, Duke of. See _Godoy_.

ALCUIN (alk'win; in his native tongue _Ealhwine_), a learned Englishman,
the confidant, instructor, and adviser of Charles the Great (Charlemagne).
He was born at York in 735, and was educated at York School, of which he
subsequently was head master. Alcuin having gone to Rome, Charlemagne
became acquainted with him at Parma, invited him in 782 to his Court, and
made use of his services in his endeavours to civilize his subjects. To
secure the benefit of his instructions, Charlemagne established at his
Court a school, called _Schola Palatina_, or the Palace School. In the
royal academy Alcuin was called _Flaccus Albinus_. Most of the schools in
France were either founded or improved by him; thus he founded the school
in the abbey of St. Martin of Tours, in 796, after the plan of the school
in York. Alcuin left the Court in 801, and retired to the abbey of St.
Martin of Tours, but kept up a constant correspondence with Charles to his
death in 804. He left works on theology, philosophy, rhetoric, also poems
and letters, all of which have been published. His letters, 232 of which
were addressed to Charlemagne, form the most important part of his work. As
a philosopher, Alcuin, though lacking in originality, exercised a
considerable influence over his contemporaries. The expression of
'scholasticism' is attributed to him.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: C. J. B. Gaskoin,
_Alcuin, His Life and his Work_, J. B. Mullinger, _The Schools of Charles
the Great_.

ALCYONA'RIA, coelenterate animals forming a great division of the class
Actinozoa (see _Sea-anemone_). These animals are nearly all composite, and
the individual polyps have mostly eight tentacles. They include the
organ-pipe corals, sea-pens, fan-corals, &c., as also the red coral of
commerce. The polyps resemble those of the genus Alcyonium in structure,
and in the number and arrangement of the tentacles. See _Alcyonium_.

ALCYO'NIUM, a genus of coelenterate animals, one familiar species of which,
dredged around the British coasts--_A. digit[=a]tum_--is named 'Dead-Men's
Fingers', or 'Cow's Paps', from its lobed or digitate appearance. It grows
attached to stones, shells, and other objects. It consists of a mass of
little polyps, each polyp possessing eight little fringed tentacles
disposed around a central mouth. The Alcyonium forms the type of the
_Alcyonaria_.

AL'DAN, a river of Eastern Siberia, a tributary of the Lena, 1200 miles in
length. The Aldan Mountains run along parallel to it on the left for 400
miles.

ALDEB'ARAN, a star of the first magnitude, forming the eye of the
constellation Taurus or the Bull, the brightest of the five stars known to
the Greeks as the Hyades. Spectrum analysis has shown it to contain
antimony, bismuth, iron, mercury, hydrogen, sodium, calcium, &c.

ALDEBURGH ([a:]ld'bu-ru), a municipal borough of England, on the coast of
Suffolk, more important formerly than it is now, having suffered from
encroachments of the sea. The poet Crabbe was born there in 1754. Pop.
2892.

AL'DEHYDE, in chemistry, the generic name given to the compounds of alcohol
intermediate between the alcohols and the acids. Common aldehyde (C_2H_4O)
is derived from spirit of wine by oxidation, and is a colourless, limpid,
volatile, and inflammable liquid, with a peculiar ethereal odour, which is
suffocating when strong; specific gravity, 0.79. Atmospheric oxygen
converts it into acetic acid. It decomposes oxide of silver, depositing a
brilliant film of metallic silver; hence it is used in silvering curved
glass surfaces.

[Illustration: Common Alder (_Alnus glutinosa_)]

ALDER ([a:]l'd[.e]r; Alnus), a genus of plants of the sub-ord. Betulaceæ
(Birch), (nat. ord. Amentaceæ). Fourteen species are known as small trees
or shrubs indigenous to temperate and colder regions of the globe; eight of
these are found in Central and Western Europe. The only species indigenous
to Britain is the common alder (_Alnus glutin[=o]sa_), a tree growing in
wet situations in Europe, Asia, and the United States. Its wood, light and
soft and of a reddish colour, is used for a variety of purposes, and is
well adapted for work which is to be kept constantly in water. Alder is
still largely used in gunpowder manufacture, and the roots and knots
furnish a beautifully-veined wood well suited for cabinet work; it is used
for cigar-boxes in East Prussia and West Russia. The bark is used in
tanning and leather-dressing, and by fishermen for staining their nets.
This and the young twigs are sometimes employed in dyeing, and yield
different shades of yellow and red. With the addition of copperas it yields
a black dye.

ALDERLEY EDGE, a town of England, Cheshire, about 8 miles south-west of
Stockport. Pop. (1921), 3072.

AL'DERMAN ([a:]l'd[.e]r-; Anglo-Saxon _ealdorman_, from _ealdor_, older,
and _man_), among the Anglo-Saxons a person of a rank equivalent to that of
an earl or count, the governor of a shire or county, and member of the
_witena-gemót_ or great council of the nation. Aldermen played an important
rôle already before the Constitution of Egbert, but reached their highest
power during the reign of Alfred the Great, who had married the daughter of
an alderman. Aldermen, at present, are officers associated with the mayor
of a city for the administration of the municipal government in England and
the United States.

AL'DERNEY (Fr. _Aurigny_), an island belonging to Britain, off the coast of
Normandy, 10 miles due west of Cape La Hogue, and 60 from the nearest point
of England, the most northerly of the Channel Islands, between 3 and 4
miles long, and about 1¼ broad. The coast is bold and rocky; the interior
is fertile. About a third of the island is occupied by grass lands; and the
Alderney cows, a small-sized but handsome breed, are famous for the
richness of their milk. The climate is mild and healthy. A judge, with six
'jurats', chosen by the people for life, and twelve 'douzainiers',
representatives of the people, form a kind of local legislature. The French
language still prevails among the inhabitants, but all understand and many
speak English. The _Race of Alderney_ is the strait between the coast of
France and this island. Pop. 2561.

ALDERSHOT (äl'd[.e]r-), a town and military station in England, the latter
having given rise to the former. The 'camp' was originated in 1854 by the
purchase by Government of a tract of moorland known as Aldershot Heath, on
the confines of Surrey, Hampshire, and Berkshire. The object was to
accustom both officers and soldiers to act more readily when drawn up in
brigades and divisions, their practice having been limited for the most
part, since the termination of the French war, to the movements of
battalions and companies. It was also deemed advisable to accustom the army
to camp life, and to exercise the men in all the evolutions and movements
which they might be required to perform when brought into actual contact
with the enemy. The accommodation provided for the army, officers as well
as men, consisted at first of wooden huts; but these have been superseded
by brick barracks, and altogether the money expended on the camp has
amounted to over £3,000,000. The men are exercised in marching,
skirmishing, and similar field operations, which are carried on during the
summer months with great activity; they are also instructed in the camp in
cooking and other duties. The troops at Aldershot in summer include a
number of Territorials, Senior and Junior O.T.C., &c. The town is in the
neighbourhood of the barracks, immediately beyond the Government ground,
and in Hampshire. It contains several churches, and has schools,
newspapers, literary institutes, music-halls &c. Aldershot gives its name
to a parliamentary division of Hants. Pop. (1921), 28,756.

ALD'HELM, an Anglo-Saxon scholar and prelate, Abbot of Malmesbury and
Bishop of Sherborne, born 640 (?), died 709. He was a great fosterer of
learning and builder of churches, and has left Latin writings on
theological subjects.

AL'DINE EDITIONS, the name given to the works which proceeded from the
press of Aldus Manutius and his family at Venice (1494-1592), Rome
(1562-70), and Bologna. (See _Manutius_.) Recommended by their value, as
well as by a splendid exterior, they have gained the respect of scholars
and the attention of book-collectors. Many of them are the first printed
editions (_editiones principes_) of Greek and Latin classics. Others are
texts of the modern Italian authors. These editions are of importance in
the history of printing. The editions printed by Aldus Manutius the Elder
are, however, much more valuable than those issued by his descendants.
Among the former are the first edition of the works of Aristotle in 5
vols., and the works of Virgil, Horace, and Petrarch. Aldus had nine kinds
of Greek type, and no one before him printed so much and so beautifully in
this language. Of the Latin character he procured fourteen kinds of type.

ALDOBRANDI'NI, the name of a Florentine family, subsequently of princely
rank (now extinct), which produced one Pope (Clement VIII) and several
cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and men of learning.--_Aldobrandini
Marriage_, one of the most beautiful ancient fresco paintings, belonging
probably to the time of Augustus, discovered in 1606 on Mount Aquilinus at
the very spot where once were the gardens of Mæcenas, and acquired by
Cardinal Aldobrandini, nephew of Clement VIII, now in the Vatican. It
represents a marriage scene in which ten persons are portrayed. There is a
beautiful copy of this fresco by Poussin in the Galleria Doria at Rome.

AL'DRED, or EALDRED, Anglo-Saxon prelate, Bishop of Worcester and
Archbishop of York, born 1000(?), died 1069. He improved the discipline of
the Church and built several monastic churches. On the death of Edward the
Confessor he is said to have crowned Harold. Having submitted to the
Conqueror, whose esteem he enjoyed and whose power he made subservient to
the views of the Church, he also crowned him as well as Matilda.

ALD'RICH, Henry, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford; born in 1647, died in 1710;
distinguished as a philosopher, an architect, and as a musician. His
_Compendium of Logic_ was a textbook till long past the middle of last
century. He adapted many of the works of the older musicians, such as
Palestrina and Carissimi, to the liturgy of the Church of England, and
composed many services and anthems, some of which are still heard in
English cathedrals.

ALDRICH, Thomas Bailey, the most conspicuous American poet of his
generation. Born at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on 11th Nov., 1836; died at
Boston in March, 1907. He edited _Every Saturday_ in Boston from 1865 to
1874, and the _Atlantic Monthly_ from 1881 to 1890. He was a poet of some
skill, the chief characteristic of his lyrics being refinement and finish.
Some of his short stories have been rarely surpassed by other American
writers. Among his volumes of verse are: _The Ballad of Babie Bell_ (1856);
_Cloth of Gold_ (1874); _Lyrics and Sonnets_ (1880); _Friar Jerome's
Beautiful Book_ (1881); _Unguarded Gates and other Poems_ (1895), &c. His
prose works include: _Story of a Bad Boy_ (1870); _Marjorie Daw and other
People_ (1873); _The Stillwater Tragedy_ (1880); _Two Bites of a Cherry_
(1893).

ALDROVAN'DI, Ulysses, a distinguished Italian naturalist; born 1522, died
1607. He was professor at Bologna, and established botanical gardens and a
museum of natural history there; wrote a work on natural history in 14
vols. His _Antidotarii Bononiensis epitome_ (1574) has served as a model
for all Pharmacopoeias published in later years.

ALE and BEER, well-known and extensively-used fermented liquors, the
principle of which is extracted from several sorts of grain but most
commonly from barley, after it has undergone the process termed malting.
Beer is a more general term than ale, being often used for any kind of
fermented malt liquor, including porter, though it is also used in a more
special signification. See _Brewing_.

ALEARDI ([.a]-l[=a]-[.a]r'd[=e]), ALEARDO, a distinguished Italian lyrical
and political poet and patriot, born 1812, died 1878; he was a member of
the Italian board of higher education and a senator. His best work is his
poem _Il Monte Circello_ (1844).

ALE-CONNER, formerly an officer in England appointed to assay ale and beer,
and to take care that they were good and wholesome, and sold at a proper
price. The duty of the ale-conners of London was to inspect the measures
used in public-houses, to prevent frauds in selling liquors. Four of these
were chosen annually by the liverymen, in common hall, on Mid-summer's Day.

ALE-COST. See _Costmary_.

ALEC'TO, in Greek mythology, one of the Furies (q.v.).

ALEMAN ([.a]-le-m[.a]n'), Mateo, a Spanish novelist, born about the middle
of the sixteenth century, died in 1610. His fame rests on his _Life and
Adventures of the Rogue Guzman de Alfarache_ (translated into French in
1600 and into English in 1623), one of the best of the _picaresque_ or
rogue novels, which give such a lively picture of the shady classes of
society in Spain during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The hero
becomes in succession stable-boy, beggar, porter, thief, man of fashion,
soldier, valet, merchant, student, robber, galley-slave, and lastly his own
biographer.

ALEMAN'NI, or ALAMANNI, a confederacy of several German tribes which, at
the commencement of the third century after Christ, lived near the Roman
territory, and came then and subsequently into conflict with the imperial
troops. Caracalla first fought with them in 213, but did not conquer them;
Severus was likewise unsuccessful. About 250 they began to cross the Rhine
westwards, and in 255 they overran Gaul along with the Franks. In 259 a
body of them was defeated in Italy at Milan, and in the following year they
were driven out of Gaul by Postumus. But the Alemanni did not desist from
their incursions, notwithstanding the numerous defeats they suffered at the
hands of the Roman troops. In the fourth century they crossed the Rhine and
ravaged Gaul, but were severely defeated by the Emperor Julian and driven
back. Subsequently they occupied a considerable territory on both sides of
the Rhine; but at last Clovis broke their power in 496 and deprived them of
a large portion of their possessions. Part of their territory was formed
into a duchy called Alemannia or Swabia, this name being derived from Suevi
or Swabians, the name which they gave themselves. It is from the Alemanni
that the French have derived their names for Germans and Germany in
general, namely, _Allemands_ and _Allemagne_, though strictly speaking only
the modern Swabians and northern Swiss are the proper descendants of that
ancient race.

ALEMBERT ([.a]-l[.a][n.]-b[=a]r), Jean le Rond d', a French mathematician
and philosopher, born in Paris, 16th Nov., 1717, and died there 29th Oct.,
1783. He was the illegitimate son of Madame de Tencin and Chevalier
Destouches, and was exposed at the Church of St. Jean le Rond (hence his
name) soon after birth. He was brought up by the wife of a poor glazier,
and with her he lived for more than forty years. His parents never publicly
acknowledged him, but his father settled upon him an income of 1200 livres.
He showed much quickness in learning, entered the College Mazarin at the
age of twelve, and studied mathematics with enthusiasm and success, but
received little encouragement from his teachers. Having left college he
studied law and became an advocate, but did not practise, and long
continued to occupy himself with mathematics, in which he made immense
advances by his own efforts, often arriving at results that other
mathematicians had previously arrived at unknown to him. A pamphlet on the
motion of solid bodies in a fluid, and another on the integral calculus,
which he laid before the Academy of Sciences in 1739 and 1740, showed him
in so favourable a light that the Academy received him in 1741 into the
number of its members. He soon after published his famous work on dynamics,
_Traité de Dynamique_ (1743) and another work dealing with fluids, _Traité
des Fluides_. His _Réflexion sur la cause générale des vents_ was also a
work that added to D'Alembert's reputation. He also took a part in the
investigations which completed the discoveries of Newton respecting the
motion of the heavenly bodies, and published at intervals various important
astronomical dissertations--on the perturbations of the planets, for
instance, and on the precession of the equinoxes--as well as on other
subjects. He also took part, with Diderot and others, in the celebrated
_Encyclopédie_ in 33 vols., for which he wrote the _Discours Préliminaire_,
as well as many philosophical and almost all the mathematical articles.
Literature, history, and philosophy also received attention from him, and
his _Éléments de Philosophie_ (1759), in which he agrees with the theories
of Condillac and Locke, was a work of much value. His great philosophical
aim seems to have been the idea of secularizing morality upon a rational
basis. Among his miscellaneous works are _Mélanges de Philosophie,
d'Histoire, et de Littérature_; _Traduction de quelques Morceaux choisis de
Tacite_; _Sur la Destruction des Jésuites_; _Histoire des Membres de
l'Académie Française_; _Éléments de Musique théorique et pratique_. He
received an invitation from the Russian empress Catherine II to go to St.
Petersburg (now Petrograd) as tutor to her son, a very large sum being
offered; and Frederick the Great invited him to settle in Berlin, but in
vain. From Frederick, however, he accepted a pension, and he also paid a
visit to Berlin. There was an intimate friendship between him and Voltaire.
He never married, but he was on terms of the closest friendship with Madame
L'Espinasse, and they occupied the same house for a number of years. He was
held in high esteem by David Hume, who left him a legacy of £200.

ALEM'BIC, a simple apparatus sometimes used by chemists for distillation,
and consisting of three main parts, body, head, and receiver. The
_cucurbit_, or body, contains the substance to be distilled, and is usually
somewhat like a bottle, bulging below and narrowing towards the top; the
_head_, of a globular form, with a flat under-ring, fits on to the neck of
the cucurbit, condenses the vapour from the heated liquid, and receives the
distilled liquid on the ring enclosing the neck of the lower vessel, and
thus causes it to find egress by a discharging-pipe into the third section,
called the _receiver_. See _Distillation_.

ALEMTEJO ([.a]-l[=a][n.]-t[=a]'zh[=o]; 'beyond the Tagus'), the largest
province of Portugal, and the most southern except Algarve; area, 9219 sq.
miles; pop. 478,584. The capital is Evora. It has about 30 miles of coast,
but no good harbour and no navigable river. Large areas are devoted to
pasturage, and the cultivated portions are comparatively limited, though in
the east there are fertile valleys where grain, fruits, &c., are
cultivated. There are valuable cork forests in this portion also. Excellent
horses are reared. Copper and iron mines are worked; but on the whole this
province is in a backward condition, and is the most thinly inhabited in
the country.

ALENÇON ([.a]-l[.a][n.]-s[=o][n.]), a town of France, capital of department
Orne, and formerly of the Duchy of Alençon, on the right bank of the
Sarthe, 105 miles west by south of Paris; well built; has a fine Gothic
church (fifteenth century) and interesting remains of the old castle of the
ducs d'Alençon. Alençon was long famed for its point-lace, called 'point
d'Alençon', an industry established at the instigation of Colbert in 1673
but now much fallen off; it has cotton and flax spinning and weaving, &c.
Fine rock-crystal, yielding the so-called 'diamants d'Alençon', is found in
the neighbouring granite quarries. Alençon is mentioned as a city for the
first time in 717. Pop. 16,590.--_Alençon_, originally a county, later a
dukedom, became united with the crown in 1221, and was given by Louis XI as
an appanage to his fifth son, with whom the branch of the Alençon-Valois
commenced. The first duke of the name lost his life at the battle of
Agincourt in 1415; another, called Charles IV, married the celebrated
Margaret of Valois, sister of Francis I. He commanded the left wing of the
French army at the battle of Pavia, where, instead of supporting the king
at a critical moment, he fled at the head of his troops, the consequence of
which was the loss of the battle and the capture of the king.

ALEP'PO, a city in North Syria, on the River Koik, in a fine plain 60 miles
south-east of Alexandretta, which is its port, and 129 miles N.N.E. of
Damascus. It has a circumference of about 7 miles, and consists of the old
town and numerous suburbs. Its appearance at a distance is striking, and
the houses are well built of stone. On a hill stands the citadel, and at
its foot the governor's palace. Previous to 1822 Aleppo contained about 100
mosques, but in that year an earthquake laid the greater part of them in
ruins, and destroyed nearly the whole city. The aqueduct built by the
Romans is the oldest monument of the town. Among the chief attractions of
Aleppo are its gardens, in which the pistachio-nut is extensively
cultivated. The branch railway to Hamah from the Beyrout-Damascus line has
been continued to Aleppo. Formerly the city was a great centre of trade and
manufactures, but the earthquake and other causes have combined greatly to
lessen its prosperity. It has still a trade, however, in the products of
the country, such as wool, cotton, silk, wax, skins, soap, tobacco, &c.,
and imports a certain quantity of European manufactures.--Aleppo was a
place of considerable importance in very remote times. By the Greeks and
Romans it was called _Beroea_. It was conquered by the Arabs in 638, and
its original name _Chalybon_ was then turned into _Haleb_, whence the
Italian form _Aleppo_. The town was occupied by British troops on 27th
Oct., 1918. Its population, 200,000 at the beginning of last century, is
now estimated at over 250,000. The language generally spoken is Arabic. The
vilayet of Aleppo has a pop. of 1,500,000.

ALESH'KI, a town of Southern Russia, government Taurida. Pop. 8915.

ALE'SIA, a town and fortress of ancient Gaul, at which in 52 B.C. Julius
Cæsar inflicted a crushing defeat on the Gauls under Vercingetorix. It is
now represented by the village of Alise, department Côte d'Or, near which
Napoleon III erected a colossal statue of Vercingetorix in 1865.

ALESSAN'DRIA, a town and fortress in North Italy, capital of the province
of the same name, in a marshy country, near the junction of the Bormida and
the Tanaro. It was built in 1168 by the Cremonese and Milanese, and was
named in honour of Pope Alexander III, who made it a bishop's see. It has a
cathedral, important manufactures of linen, woollen, and silk goods, and an
active trade. It ranks as one of the first fortresses of Europe, the
fortifications including a surrounding wall and bastions, and a strong
citadel on the opposite side of the Tanaro, connected by a bridge with the
town. Pop. (with suburbs) 78,159.

ALES'SI, Galeazzo, a distinguished Italian architect, born at Perugia,
1512, died there in 1572. Many palaces, villas, and churches were erected
after his designs, and at the request of Philip II of Spain he drew a plan
for the Escurial.

ALETSCH'-GLACIER, the greatest glacier in Switzerland, canton Valais, a
prolongation of the immense mass of glaciers connected with the Jungfrau,
the Aletschhorn (14,000 feet), and other peaks; about 15 miles long.

ALEURITES, a tree belonging to the nat. ord. Euphorbiaceæ, is found in
tropical and subtropical parts of the world. _Aleurites triloba_, the
'candleberry tree', is cultivated in the Moluccan Islands for its fruit.
The oil extracted from its seeds is valuable both for food and light.

ALEUROM'ETER, an instrument for indicating the bread-making qualities of
wheaten flour. The indications depend upon the expansion of the gluten
contained in a given quantity of flour when freed of its starch by
pulverization and repeated washings with water.

ALEU'TIAN ISLANDS, a chain of about eighty small islands belonging to the
United States, separating the Sea of Kamchatka from the northern part of
the Pacific Ocean, and extending nearly 1000 miles from east to west
between lon. 172° E. and 163° W.; total area, 6391 sq. miles; pop. 1220.
They are of volcanic formation, and in a number of them there are volcanoes
still in activity. Their general appearance is dismal and barren, yet
grassy valleys capable of supporting cattle throughout the year are met
with, and potatoes, turnips, and other vegetables are successfully
cultivated. They afford also an abundance of valuable fur and of fish. The
natives belong to the same stock with those of Kamchatka.

ALE'WIFE (corruption of the Indian name), the _Al[=o]sa tyrannus_, a fish
of the same genus as the shad, growing to the length of 12 inches, and
caught in great quantities in the mouths of the rivers of New England, New
Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, being salted and exported.

[Illustration: Coin of Alexander the Great]

ALEXANDER, surnamed THE GREAT, was the son of Philip of Macedon and his
queen Olympias, and was born at Pella, 356 B.C. In youth he had Aristotle
as instructor, and he early displayed uncommon abilities. The victory of
Chæronea in 338, which brought Greece entirely under Macedonia, was mainly
decided by his efforts. Philip having been assassinated, 336 B.C.,
Alexander, not yet twenty years of age, ascended the throne. His father had
been preparing an expedition against the Persians, and Alexander determined
to carry it out; but before doing so he had to chastise the barbarian
tribes on the frontiers of Macedon as well as quell a rising in Greece, in
which he took and destroyed Thebes, put 6000 of the inhabitants to the
sword, and carried 30,000 into captivity. Leaving Antipater to govern in
his stead in Europe, and being confirmed as commander-in-chief of the Greek
forces in the general assembly of the Greeks, he crossed over the
Hellespont into Asia, in the spring of 334, with 30,000 foot and 5000
horse. His first encounter with the Persian forces (assisted by Greek
mercenaries) was at the small river Gran[=i]cus, where he gained a complete
victory. Most of the cities of Asia Minor now opened their gates to the
victor, and Alexander restored democracy in all the Greek cities. In
passing through Gordium he cut the Gordian knot, on which it was believed
the fate of Asia depended, and then conquered Lycia, Ionia, Caria,
Pamphylia, and Cappadocia. A sickness, caused by bathing in the Cydnus (333
B.C.), checked his progress; but scarcely was he restored to health when he
continued his advance, and this same year defeated the Persian emperor
Darius and his army of 500,000 or 600,000 men (including 50,000 Greek
mercenaries) near Issus (inner angle of the Gulf of Alexandretta). Darius
fled towards the interior of his dominions, leaving his family and
treasures to fall into the hands of the conqueror. Alexander did not pursue
Darius, but proceeded southwards, and secured all the towns along the
Mediterranean Sea, though he only got possession of Tyre (taken 332 B.C.)
after besieging it for seven months. Palestine and Egypt now fell before
him, and in the latter he founded Alexandria, which became one of the first
cities of ancient times. Hence he went through the desert of Libya, to
consult the oracle of Zeus Ammon, and it was said that the god recognized
him as his son. On his return Alexander marched against Darius, who had
collected an immense army in Assyria, and rejected the proposals of his
rival for peace. A battle was fought at Gaugamela, about 50 miles from
Arbela, 331 B.C., and notwithstanding the immense numerical superiority of
his enemy, Alexander (who had but 40,000 men and 7000 horse) gained a
complete victory. Babylon and Susa opened their gates to the conqueror, who
marched towards Persepolis, the capital of Persia, and entered it in
triumph. He now seems for a time to have lost his self-command. He gave
himself up to arrogance and dissipation, and is said in a fit of
intoxication to have set fire to the palace of Persepolis, one of the
wonders of the world. Rousing himself up, however, he set out in pursuit of
Darius, who, having lost his throne, was kept prisoner by Bessus, satrap of
Bactriana. Bessus, on seeing himself closely pursued, caused Darius to be
assassinated (330 B.C.). Continuing his progress he subdued Bessus, and
advanced to the Jaxartes, the extreme eastern limit of the empire, but did
not fully subdue the whole of this region till 328, some fortresses holding
out with great tenacity. In one of these he took prisoner the beautiful
Roxana, daughter of Oxyartes, a nobleman of Sogdiana, and having fallen in
love with her he married her. Meantime disaffection had once or twice
manifested itself among his Macedonian followers and had been cruelly
punished; and he had also, to his lasting remorse, killed his faithful
friend Cleitus in a fit of drunken rage. Alexander now formed the idea of
conquering India, then scarcely known even by name. He passed the Indus
(326 B.C.), marched towards the Hydaspes (Jhelum), at the passage of which
he conquered a king named Porus in a fierce battle, and advanced
victoriously through the north-west of India, and intended to proceed as
far as the Ganges, when the murmurs of his army compelled him to return. On
the Hydaspes he built a fleet, in which he sent a part of his army down the
river, while the rest proceeded along the banks. By the Hydaspes he reached
the Acesines (Chenab), and thus the Indus, down which he sailed to the sea.
Nearchus, his admiral, sailed hence to the Persian Gulf, while Alexander
directed his march by land to Babylon, losing a great part of his troops in
the desert through which he had to pass. In Susa he married Statira, the
eldest daughter of Darius, and rewarded those of his Macedonians who had
married Persian women, because it was his intention to unite the two
nations as closely as possible. At Opis, on the Tigris, a mutiny arose
among his Macedonians (in 324), who thought he showed too much favour to
the Asiatics; by firmness and policy he succeeded in quelling this rising,
and sent home 10,000 veterans with rich rewards. Soon after, his favourite,
Hephæstion, died at Ecbatana, and Alexander's grief was unbounded. The
favourite was royally buried at Babylon, and here Alexander was engaged in
extensive plans for the future, when he became suddenly sick, after a
banquet, and died in a few days (323 B.C.), in his thirty-third year, after
a reign of twelve years and eight months. His body was after a time
conveyed to Egypt with great splendour by his general Ptolemy. He left
behind him an immense empire, which was divided among his chief generals,
and became the scene of continual wars. The reign of Alexander constitutes
an important period in the history of humanity. His career was not merely a
series of empty conquests, but was attended with the most important
results. The language, and much of the civilization of Greece, followed in
his track; large additions were made to the sciences of geography, natural
history, &c.; a road was opened to India; and the products of the farthest
east were introduced into Europe. Greek kingdoms, under his generals and
their successors, continued to exist in Asia for centuries.--BIBLIOGRAPHY:
B. I. Wheeler, _Alexander the Great_ (Heroes of the Nations Series:
Putnam); Grote, _History of Greece_; Holm, _History of Greece_; Dodge,
_Alexander_ (Great Captains Series).

ALEXANDER, the name of eight popes, the earliest of whom, ALEXANDER I, is
said to have reigned from 108 to 119. ALEXANDER III, elected 1159, died
1181, exercised his authority with great vigour against Henry II when the
latter was accused of the assassination of Thomas Becket. The most famous
(or infamous) is ALEXANDER VI (Borgia), who was born at Valencia, in Spain,
in 1431, and died in 1503. When he was only twenty-five years of age his
uncle, Pope Calixtus III, made him a cardinal, and shortly afterwards
appointed him to the dignified and lucrative office of vice-chancellor. By
bribery he prepared his way to the papal throne, which he attained in 1492,
after the death of Innocent VIII. Both the authority and revenues of the
popes being at this time much impaired, he set himself to reduce the power
of the Italian princes, and seize upon their possessions for the benefit of
his own family. To effect this end he is said not to have scrupled to use
the vilest means, including poison and assassination. His policy, foreign
as well as domestic, was faithless and base, and his private life was
stained by immorality. He understood how to extract immense sums of money
from all Christian countries under various pretexts. He sold indulgences,
and set aside, in favour of himself, the wills of several cardinals. His
excesses roused against him the powerful eloquence of Savonarola, who, by
pen and pulpit, urged his deposition, but had to meet his death at the
stake in 1498. Not long after his election Alexander had the honour of
deciding the dispute between the kings of Portugal and Castile concerning
their respective claims to the foreign countries recently discovered. It
must, however, be admitted that Pope Alexander, whilst striking the wealthy
and powerful, interested himself in the welfare of the people, and that he
was a patron of arts and letters. His son, Cesare Borgia, and his daughter,
Lucrezia, are equally notorious with himself.

ALEXANDER, the name of three Scottish kings. ALEXANDER I, a son of Malcolm
III, Canmore, and Margaret of England, succeeded his brother Edgar in 1107,
and governed with great ability till his death in 1124. He was a great
benefactor of the Church, and a firm vindicator of the national
independence.--ALEXANDER II was born in 1198, and succeeded his father,
William the Lion, in 1214. He was a wise and energetic prince, and Scotland
prospered greatly under him, though disturbed by the Norsemen, by the
restlessness of some of the Celtic chiefs, and by the attempts of Henry III
of England to make Alexander do homage to him. He helped Robert FitzWilliam
to capture London and compel King John to sign Magna Charta. Alexander
married Henry's sister, Joan, in 1221, who lived till 1238. In 1244 war
with England almost broke out, but was fortunately averted. Alexander died
in 1248 at Kerrera, an island opposite Oban, when on an expedition in which
he hoped to wrest the Hebrides from Norway. He was succeeded by his son,
ALEXANDER III, a boy of eight, who in 1251 married Margaret, eldest
daughter of Henry III of England. Like his father, he was eager to bring
the Hebrides under his sway, and this he was enabled to accomplish in a few
years after the defeat of the Norse King Haco at Largs, in 1263. The
mainland and islands of Scotland were now under one sovereign, though
Orkney and Shetland still belonged to Norway. Alexander was strenuous in
asserting the independence both of the Scottish kingdom and the Scottish
Church against England. He died in 1285 by the falling of his horse while
he was riding in the dark between Burntisland and Kinghorn. He left as his
heiress Margaret, the Maid of Norway, daughter of Eric of Norway, and of
Alexander's daughter, Margaret. Under him Scotland enjoyed greater
prosperity than for generations afterwards.

ALEXANDER I, Emperor of Russia, son of Paul I and Maria, daughter of Prince
Eugene of Würtemberg, was born in 1777, and died in 1825. On the
assassination of his father, in 1801, Alexander ascended the throne, and
one of his first acts was to conclude peace with Britain, against which his
predecessor had declared war. In 1803 he offered his services as mediator
between England and France, and two years later a convention was entered
into between Russia, England, Austria, and Sweden for the purpose of
resisting the encroachments of France on the territories of independent
States. He was present at the battle of Austerlitz (1805), when the
combined armies of Russia and Austria were defeated by Napoleon. In the
succeeding campaign the Russians were again beaten at Eylau (8th Feb.,
1807) and Friedland (14th June), the result of which was an interview
between Alexander and Napoleon, and the treaty at Tilsit. The Russian
emperor now for a time identified himself with the Napoleonic schemes, and
soon obtained possession of Finland and an extended territory on the
Danube. The French alliance, however, he found to be too oppressive, and
his having separated himself from Napoleon led to the disastrous French
invasion of 1812. In 1813 he published a manifesto which served as the
basis of the coalition of the other European powers against France, which
was followed by the capture of Paris (in 1814), the abdication of Napoleon
and the restoration of the Bourbons, and the utter overthrow of Napoleon
the following year. After Waterloo, Alexander, accompanied by the Emperor
of Austria and the King of Prussia, made his second entrance into Paris,
where they concluded the treaty known as the Holy Alliance. The remaining
part of his reign was chiefly taken up with measures of internal reform,
including the gradual abolition of serfdom, and the promotion of education,
agriculture, commerce, and manufactures, as well as literature and the fine
arts.

ALEXANDER II, Emperor of Russia, was born 29th April, 1818, and succeeded
his father Nicholas in 1855, before the end of the Crimean war. After peace
was concluded, the new emperor set about effecting reforms in the empire,
the greatest of all being the emancipation of the serfs in 1861, a measure
which gave freedom, on certain conditions, to 50,000,000 of human beings
who were previously in a state little removed from that of slavery. Under
him, too, representative assemblies in the provinces were introduced, and
he also did much to improve education, and to reorganize the judicial
system. During his reign the Russian dominions in Central Asia were
extended, a piece of territory south of the Caucasus, formerly belonging to
Turkey, was acquired, and a part of Bessarabia restored to Russia. The
latter additions resulted from the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-8. He was
killed by an explosive missile flung at him by a Nihilist in a street in
St. Petersburg (now Petrograd), 13th March, 1881. He was succeeded by his
son, Alexander III. His only daughter was married to the Duke of Edinburgh.

ALEXANDER III, Emperor of Russia, son of Alexander II, born in 1845, became
heir to the throne on the death of his eldest brother, Nicholas (1865). In
1863 he married Princess Dagmar of Denmark; he succeeded to the throne in
1881, on the assassination of his father, being crowned in Moscow in 1883.
He gave up the reforms begun by his father, and ruled in the old autocratic
fashion, restricting the liberties of Finland and the Baltic Provinces, and
encouraging persecution of the Jews. He spent much time in the
closely-guarded castle of Gatchina, to be safe from Nihilistic attempts,
several of which he narrowly escaped. He endeavoured to put down corruption
and underhand dealing among the bureaucracy, and in his own habits gave an
example of simplicity and economy. While showing himself suspicious of
Germany and Austria-Hungary, he entered on friendly relations with France.
He began to suffer from disease of the kidneys in 1893, and died at Livadia
on 1st Nov., 1894. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Nicholas II.

ALEXANDER I, King of Serbia, born in 1876. He was the son of King Milan,
and on the abdication of his father in 1889 was proclaimed king under a
regency. He married Madame Draga Mashin, a widow, who was much older than
himself. Both were assassinated on 11th June, 1903.

ALEXANDER OF HALES. See _Hales, Alexander de._

ALEXANDER, Boyd, British explorer and naturalist, born in 1873. He led many
expeditions for research and exploration to the Cape Verde Islands, the
Zambesi River, and various parts of the world. He also discovered many new
birds when he ascended the Mount St. Isabel. In 1908 he received the gold
medal of the Royal Geographical Society. He was murdered by natives in May,
1910, while exploring the French Congo. He wrote _From the Niger to the
Nile_ (1907), &c. _Boyd Alexander's Last Journey_ was published in 1912.

ALEXANDER NEVSKOI, a Russian hero and saint, son of the Grand-Duke
Jaroslav, born in 1219, died in 1263. He fought valiantly against assaults
of the Mongols, the Danes, Swedes, and Knights of the Teutonic Order. He
gained the name of _Nevskoi_ in 1240, for a splendid victory, on the Neva,
over the Swedes. The gratitude of his countrymen commemorated the hero in
popular songs, and raised him to the dignity of a saint. Peter the Great
built a splendid monastery at St. Petersburg (Petrograd) in his honour, and
in memory of him established the Order of Alexander Nevskoi.

ALEXANDER SEVE'RUS, a Roman emperor, born in 208, died A.D. 235. He was
raised to the imperial dignity in A.D. 222 by the prætorian guards, after
they had put his cousin the Emperor Heliogabalus to death. He governed ably
both in peace and war; and also occupied himself in poetry, philosophy, and
literature. He was very tolerant in religious matters, and although not
professing Christianity intended to erect a temple to Christ, but was
prevented by the pagan priests from carrying out this plan. In 232 he
defeated the Persians under Artaxerxes, who wished to drive the Romans from
Asia. When on an expedition into Gaul, to repress an incursion of the
Germans, he was murdered with his mother in an insurrection of his troops,
headed by the brutal Maximin, who succeeded him as emperor.

ALEXANDERS (_Smyrnium Olus[=a]trum_), an umbelliferous biennial plant, a
native of the Mediterranean region, but found in Great Britain and Ireland.
It was formerly cultivated for its leaf-stalks, which, having a pleasant
aromatic flavour, were blanched and used instead of celery--a vegetable
that has taken its place.

ALEXANDRA, the queen mother, widow of Edward VII, daughter of Christian IX,
King of Denmark, was born at Copenhagen on 1st Dec., 1844, and was married
on 10th March, 1863, being Princess of Wales up to the death of Queen
Victoria and the accession of King Edward in Jan., 1901. She was highly
popular from the first in the country of her husband, as she constantly
showed an interest in all benevolent causes. She has been the mother of six
children, one of whom died in infancy, while the eldest, Edward, Duke of
Clarence and Avondale, died in 1892 at the age of twenty-eight. Cf. S. A.
Tooley, _Queen Alexandra_.

ALEXANDRET'TA, or ISKANDEROON (ancient ALEXANDRIA AD ISSUM), a small
seaport in Asia Minor, on the Gulf of Iskanderoon, the port of Aleppo and
Northern Syria. Named after Alexander the Great, and founded in memory of
the battle of Issus. In 1832 Mehemet Ali won a victory over the Turks near
Alexandretta. There is a large export and import trade. It was occupied by
British and French troops in Nov., 1918. Pop. 10,000.

ALEXAN'DRIA, an ancient city and seaport in Egypt, at the north-west angle
of the Nile delta, on a ridge of land between the sea and Lake Mareotis.
Ancient Alexandria was founded by, and named in honour of, Alexander the
Great, in 332 B.C., and was long a great and splendid city, the centre of
commerce between the east and west, as well as of Greek learning and
civilization, with a population at one time of perhaps 1,000,000. It was
especially celebrated for its great library, and also for its famous
lighthouse, one of the wonders of the world, standing upon the little
island of Pharos, which was connected with the city by a mole. Under Roman
rule it was the second city of the empire, and when Constantinople became
the capital of the East it still remained the chief centre of trade; but it
received a blow from which it never recovered when captured by Amru,
general of Caliph Omar, in 641, after a siege of fourteen months. Its ruin
was finally completed by the building of Cairo (969) and the discovery of
the passage to India by the Cape of Good Hope (1498) which opened up a new
route for the Asiatic trade. See _Alexandrian Library_, _Alexandrian
School_.--Modern Alexandria stands partly on what was formerly the island
of Pharos, partly on the peninsula which now connects it with the mainland
and which was formed by the accumulation of soil, and partly on the
mainland. The streets in the Turkish quarter are narrow, dirty, and
irregular; in the foreign quarter they are regular and wide, and it is here
that the finest houses are situated. Here also are the principal shops and
hotels, banks, offices of companies, &c.; this part of the city being
supplied with gas, and with water brought by the Mahmudieh Canal from the
western branch of the Nile. Alexandria is connected by railway with Cairo,
Rosetta, and Suez. A little to the south of the city are the catacombs,
which now serve as a quarry. Another relic of antiquity is Pompey's Pillar,
98 feet 9 inches high. Alexandria has two ports, on the east and west
respectively of the isthmus of the Pharos peninsula, the latter having a
breakwater over 3000 yards in length, with fine quays and suitable railway
and other accommodation. The trade of Alexandria is large and varied, the
exports being cotton, beans, pease, rice, wheat, &c.; the imports chiefly
manufactured goods, machinery, timber, and coal. The origin of its more
recent career of prosperity it owes to Mohammed Ali. In 1882 the
insurrection of Arabi Pasha and the massacre of Europeans led to the
intervention of the British, and the bombardment of the forts by the
British fleet in July. The administrative district has an area of 19 sq.
miles; pop. 444,617 (or 23,401 per square mile).

ALEXANDRIA, a town and port of the United States, in Virginia, on the right
bank of the Potomac (which is of sufficient depth for large vessels), 7
miles south of Washington, carries on a considerable trade, chiefly in
flour. Pop. (1920), 18,060.

ALEXANDRIA, a town of Scotland, in Dumbartonshire, on the Leven, 4 miles
north of Dumbarton, with extensive cotton-printing and bleaching works.
Pop. 9850.

ALEXANDRIA, a town of the Ukraine, in the former Russian government of
Kherson, on a tributary of the Dnieper. Pop. 10,521.

ALEXANDRIAN LIBRARY, the largest and most famous of all the ancient
collections of books, founded by Ptolemy Soter (died 283 B.C.), King of
Egypt, and greatly enlarged by succeeding Ptolemies. The first librarian
was Zenodotus (234 B.C.). At its most flourishing period it is said to have
numbered 700,000 volumes, accommodated in two different buildings, one of
them being the Serapeion, or temple of Jupiter Serapis. The other
collection was burned during Julius Cæsar's siege of the city, but the
Serapeion library existed to the time of the Emperor Theodosius the Great,
when, at the general destruction of the heathen temples, the splendid
temple of Jupiter Serapis was gutted (A.D. 391) by a fanatical crowd of
Christians, and its literary treasures destroyed or scattered. A library
was again accumulated, but was burned by the Arabs when they captured the
city under the caliph Omar in 641. Amru, the captain of the caliph's army,
would have been willing to spare the library, but Omar is said to have
disposed of the matter in the famous words: "If these writings of the
Greeks agree with the Koran they are useless, and need not be preserved; if
they disagree they are pernicious, and ought to be destroyed". This story,
however, which rests solely on the authority of Abulfaragius, a writer who
lived six centuries later, is now generally discredited.

ALEXANDRIAN SCHOOL or AGE, the school or period of Greek literature and
learning that existed at Alexandria in Egypt during the three hundred years
that the rule of the Ptolemies lasted (323-30 B.C.), and continued under
the Roman supremacy. Ptolemy Soter founded the famous library of Alexandria
(see above) and his son, Philadelphus, established a kind of academy of
sciences and arts. Many scholars and men of genius were thus attracted to
Alexandria, and a period of literary activity set in, which made Alexandria
for long the focus and centre of Greek culture and intellectual effort. It
must be admitted, however, that originality was not a characteristic of the
Alexandrian age, which was stronger in criticism, grammar, and science than
in pure literature. Among the grammarians and critics were Zenodotus,
Eratosthenes, Aristophanes, Aristarchus, and Zoilus, proverbial as a
captious critic. Their merit is to have collected, edited, and preserved
the existing monuments of Greek literature. To the poets belong Apollonius,
Lycophron, Aratus, Nicander, Euphorion, Callimachus, Theocritus, Philetas,
&c. Among those who pursued mathematics, physics, and astronomy was Euclid,
the father of scientific geometry; Archimedes, great in physics and
mechanics; Apollonius of Perga, whose work on conic sections still exists;
Nicomachus, the first scientific arithmetician; and (under the Romans) the
astronomer and geographer Ptolemy. Alexandria also was distinguished in
philosophical speculation, and it was here that the New Platonic school was
established by Ammonius of Alexandria (about A.D. 193), whose disciples
were Plotinus and Origen. Being for the most part Orientals, formed by the
study of Greek learning, the writings of the New Platonists are strikingly
characterized--for example, those of Ammonius Saccas, Plotinus, Iamblicus,
Porphyrius--by a mixture of Asiatic and European elements. The connection
of Neo-Platonism with Alexandria is, however, less than is commonly
supposed.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: Mahaffy, _Greek Life and Thought from the Age of
Alexander to the Roman Empire_; Kingsley, _Alexandria and her Schools_;
Vacherot, _Histoire critique de l'école d'Alexandrie_ (3 vols.).

ALEXANDRIAN VERSION. See _Codex Alexandrinus_.

ALEXANDRINE, in prosody, the name given, from an old French poem on
Alexander the Great, to a species of verse, which consists of six iambic
feet, or twelve syllables, the pause being, in correct Alexandrines, always
on the sixth syllable; for example, the second of the following verses:--

A needless Alexandrine ends the song,
That, like a wounded snake, drags its slow length along.

In English Drayton's _Polyolbion_ is written in this measure, and the
concluding line of the Spenserian stanza is an Alexandrine. In France the
verse fell into disuse during the early part of the sixteenth century, but
was again revived by Jean Antoine de Baïf, one of the poets of the Pléiade.
Jodelle introduced the verse into the drama, and Ronsard made it very
popular. French epics and dramas being confined to this verse, it is
therefore called the _heroic_.

ALEXANDRO'POL, formerly a Russian town and fortress in the Transcaucasian
government of Erivan, near the highway from Erivan to Kars; now belonging
to Armenia; it has silk manufactories. Pop. 48,938.

ALEXAN'DROV, a town of Russia, government of Vladimir, with a famous
convent, in the church of which are interred two sisters of Peter the
Great; manufactures of steel and cotton goods. Pop. 7179.

ALEX'ISBAD, a bathing-place of Germany, Anhalt, in the Harz Mountains, with
two mineral springs strongly impregnated with iron.

ALEX'IS MIKHAI'LOVITSH (son of Michael), second Russian Tsar of the line of
Romanov, born in 1629, succeeded his father Mikhail Feodorovitsh in 1645,
and died in 1676. He did much for the internal administration and for the
enlargement of the empire; reconquered Little Russia from Poland, and
carried his authority to the extreme east of Siberia. He was father of
sixteen children, the most famous of them being Peter the Great and his
sister Sophia.

ALEXIS PETRO'VITSH, eldest son of Peter the Great and Eudoxia Lopukhina,
repudiated in 1698, was born in Moscow, 1690, and died in 1718. He opposed
the innovations introduced by his father, who on this account disinherited
him by a ukase in 1718, and when he discovered that Alexis was paving the
way to succeed to the crown he had his son tried and condemned to death. A
few days afterwards Alexis died, after having received twenty-five strokes
with the knout, leaving a son, afterwards the Emperor Peter II.

ALEX'IUS COMNE'NUS, Byzantine Emperor, was born in 1048, and died in 1118.
He was a nephew of Isaac the first emperor of the Comneni, and attained the
throne in 1081, at a time when the Empire was menaced from various sides,
especially by the Turks and the Normans. From these dangers he managed to
extricate himself by policy or warlike measures, and maintained his
position till the age of seventy, during a reign of thirty-seven years. His
daughter Anna wrote a life of him (_The Alexiad_), which is one continuous
eulogy, but all the Latin historians are very severe on him.

AL'FA. See _Esparto_.

ALFAL'FA, generally known in Britain as lucerne, a prolific forage plant
largely grown in California, &c.

ALFARA'BI, an eminent Arabian scholar of the tenth century; died at
Damascus in 950; wrote on Aristotelian philosophy, and compiled a kind of
encyclopedia.

AL'FENID, an alloy of nickel plated with silver, used for spoons, forks,
candlesticks, tea services, &c.

ALFIERI ([.a]l-f[=e]-[=a]'r[=e]), Vittorio, Count, Italian poet, was born
at Asti in 1749, and died in 1803. After extensive European travels he
began to write, and his first play, _Cleopatra_ (1775), being received with
general applause he determined to devote all his efforts to attaining a
position among writers of dramatic poetry. At Florence he became intimate
with the Countess of Albany, wife of Prince Charles Edward Stuart, and on
the death of the prince she lived with him as his mistress. This connection
he believed to have served to stimulate and elevate his poetic powers. He
died at Florence and was buried in the church of Santa Croce, between
Macchiavelli and Michael Angelo, where a beautiful monument by Canova
covers his remains. He wrote twenty-one tragedies and six comedies. His
theatrical work has been rightly styled a creation of his pride as much as
of his genius; he endeavoured to turn the theatre into a platform and was
constantly preaching from the stage. Anxious to use his characters as
exponents of his theories, and to make them _talk_, he often forgot to make
them _act_. Alfieri himself admitted that he was writing with a view to
"teaching men how to become free, strong, generous, and passionate for real
virtue", but such an attitude is opposed to true art. His tragedies are
full of lofty and patriotic sentiments, but the language is stiff and
without poetic grace, and the plots poor. Nevertheless he is considered the
first tragic writer of Italy, and has served as a model for his successors.
Alfieri composed also an epic, lyrics, satires, and poetical translations
from the ancient classics. He left an interesting autobiography. The best
edition of his works is that published at Pisa (1805-13) in 22 vols.

ALFON'SO. See _Alphonso_.

AL'FORD, Henry, D.D., Dean of Canterbury, an English poet, scholar, and
miscellaneous writer, was born in London in 1810. After attending various
schools he entered Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1827, graduated B.A. in
1832, was elected fellow in 1834, and next year became vicar of Wymeswold,
Leicestershire. In 1842 he was appointed examiner in logic and moral
philosophy to the University of London, and held the appointment till 1857.
He early began the great work of his life, his edition of the Greek
Testament with commentary, which occupied him for twenty years, the first
volumes being published in 1849, the fourth and last in 1861. In 1853 he
was transferred to Quebec Chapel, London, and in 1857 was appointed Dean of
Canterbury. He was the first editor of the _Contemporary Review_ (1866-70).
He died in 1871. Among other works he wrote _Chapters on the Poets of
Ancient Greece_, _Sermons_, _Psalms and Hymns_, _Homilies on the Acts of
the Apostles_, _Letters from Abroad_, _Poetical Works_, _Plea for the
Queen's English_.

AL'FRED (or ÆL'FRED) THE GREAT, King of England, was born at Wantage, in
Berkshire, A.D. 849, his father being Ethelwulf, son of Egbert, King of the
West Saxons. He succeeded his brother Ethelred in 872, at a time when the
Danes, or Northmen, had extended their conquests widely over the country,
and they had completely overrun the kingdom of the West Saxons by 878.
Alfred was obliged to flee in disguise. At length he gathered a small
force, and having fortified himself on the Isle of Athelney, formed by the
confluence of the Rivers Parret and Tone, amid the marshes of Somerset, he
was able to make frequent sallies against the enemy. It was during his
abode here that he went, according to legend, disguised as a harper into
the camp of King Guthrum (or Guthorm), and, having ascertained that the
Danes felt themselves secure, hastened back to his troops, led them against
the enemy, and gained such a decided victory that fourteen days afterwards
the Danes begged for peace. This battle took place in May, 878, near
Edington, in Wiltshire. Alfred allowed the Danes who were already in the
country to remain, on condition that they gave hostages, took a solemn oath
to quit Wessex, and embraced Christianity. Their king, Guthrum, was
baptized, with thirty of his followers, and ever afterward remained
faithful to Alfred. They received that portion of the east of England now
occupied by the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridge, as a place of
residence. The few years of tranquillity (886-93) which followed were
employed by Alfred in rebuilding the towns that had suffered most during
the war, particularly London; in training his people in arms and no less in
agriculture; in improving the navy; in systematizing the laws and internal
administration; and in literary labours and the advancement of learning. He
caused many manuscripts to be translated from Latin, and himself translated
several works into Anglo-Saxon, such as the _Psalms_, _Æsop's Fables_,
_Boethius on the Consolation of Philosophy_, the _History of Orosius_,
_Bede's Ecclesiastical History_, &c. He also drew up several original works
in Anglo-Saxon. These peaceful labours were interrupted, about 894, by an
invasion of the Northmen, who, after a struggle of three years, were
finally driven out. Alfred died in 901. He had married, in 868, Alswith or
Ealhswith, the daughter of a Mercian nobleman, and left two sons: Edward,
who succeeded him, and Ethelwerd, who died in 922.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: Plummer,
_Life and Times of Alfred the Great_; A. Bowker, _Alfred the Great,
Chapters on his Life and Times_; B. A. Lees, _Alfred the Great_.

ALGÆ (al'j[=e]), a nat. ord. of cryptogamic or thallogenous plants, found
for the most part in the sea and fresh water, or on the surface of damp
walls, rocks, the bark of trees, and in similar moist situations. They are
either some shade of bluish-green, green, brown, or red colour. The higher
forms have stems bearing leaf-like expansions, and they are often attached
to the rocks by roots, which, however, do not derive nutriment from the
rocks. A stem, however, is most frequently absent. The plants are nourished
through their whole surface by the medium in which they live. They vary in
size from the microscopic diatoms to forms whose stems resemble those of
forest trees, and whose fronds rival the leaves of the palm. They are
entirely composed of cellular tissue, and many are edible and nutritious,
as carrageen or Irish-moss, dulse, &c. Kelp, iodine, and bromine are
products of various species. The Algæ are also valuable as manure. They are
often divided into five orders: Diatomaceæ, Confervaceæ, Fucaceæ,
Ceramiaceæ, and Characeæ.

ALGAR'DI, Alessandro, one of the chief Italian sculptors of the seventeenth
century; born 1602, died 1654. He lived and worked chiefly at Rome;
executed the tomb of Leo XI in St. Peter's, a bronze statue of Innocent X,
and a marble relief with life-size figures over the altar of St. Leo there.

ALGARO'BA-BEAN. See _Carob Tree_.

AL'GAROT, a violently purgative and emetic white powder, precipitated from
chloride of antimony in water; it was used in medicine by the physician
Victor Algarotus in the sixteenth century.

ALGAROT'TI, Francesco, Count, born in 1712, died in 1764, an Italian writer
on science, the fine arts, &c. He lived for some years in France and for a
long time in Germany, Frederick the Great of Prussia having made him
chamberlain and count. He wrote _Neutonianismo per le donne_; _Saggi sopra
le belle arti_, his principal work on art; poems, letters, &c. Algarotti's
works published at Venice in 17 vols. (1791-4) and illustrated by Tesi and
Novelli are a _chef-d'oeuvre_ of typography. Frederick the Great erected at
Pisa a monument to his memory.

ALGARVE (al-g[.a]r'v[=a], meaning the land situated in the west), a
maritime province of Portugal occupying the southern portion of the
country, mountainous but with some fertile tracts. The title King of
Algarve was held by the Kings of Portugal. Area, 1937 sq. miles; pop.
274,122.

ALGAU ([.a]l'gou), a name for the south-western portion of Bavaria and the
adjacent parts of Würtemberg and Tyrol, intersected by the Algau Alps. The
Algau breed of cattle is one of the best in Germany.

ALGAZZALI ([.a]l-g[.a]z-ä'l[=e]), Abu Hamed Mohammed, an Arabian
philosopher, Persian by birth; born 1058, died 1111. He was a most prolific
author; an opponent of the prevailing Aristotelian philosophy of the day,
and wrote against it the _Destruction of the Philosophers_, answered by
Averroes in his _Destruction of the Destruction_.

AL'GEBRA (from the Arabic _al_, definite article, and _jabbara_, to make
equal), a kind of generalized arithmetic, in which numbers or quantities
and operations, often also the results of operations, are represented by
symbols. Thus the expression xy + cz + dy^2 denotes that a number
represented by x is to be multiplied by a number represented by y, a number
c multiplied by a number z, a number d by a number y multiplied by itself
(or squared), and the sum taken of these three products. So the _equation_
(as it is called) x^2 - 7x + 12 = 0 expresses the fact that if a certain
number x is multiplied by itself, and this result made less by seven times
the number and greater by twelve, the result is 0. In this case x must
either be 3 or 4 to produce the given result; but such an equation (or
formula) as (a + b)(a - b) = a^2 - b^2 is always true whatever values may
be assigned to a and b. Algebra is an invaluable instrument in intricate
calculations of all kinds, and enables operations to be performed and
results obtained that by arithmetic would be impossible, and its scope is
still being extended.

The beginnings of algebraic method are to be found in Diophantus, a Greek
of the fourth century of our era, but it was the Arabians that introduced
algebra to Europe, and from them it received its name. The first Arabian
treatise on algebra was published in the reign of the great Caliph Al Mamun
(813-33) by Mohammed Ben Musa. Italian merchants were the first algebraists
in Europe, and in 1202 Leonardo Fibonacci of Pisa, who had travelled and
studied in the East, published a work treating of algebra as then
understood in the Arabian school. From this time to the discovery of
printing considerable attention was given to algebra, and the work of Ben
Musa and another Arabian treatise, called the _Rule of Algebra_, were
translated into Italian. The first printed work treating on algebra (also
on arithmetic, &c.) appeared at Venice in 1494, the author being a monk
called Luca Pacioli da Bergo, a Minorite friar. Rapid progress now began to
be made, and among the names of those to whom advances are to be attributed
are Tartaglia and Geronimo Cardano. About the middle of the sixteenth
century the German Stifel introduced the signs +, -, [sqrt], and Robert
Recorde the sign =. The last-named wrote the first English work on algebra
in 1557. François Vieta, a French mathematician (1540-1603), first adopted
the method which has led to so great an extension of modern algebra, by
being the first who used general symbols for known quantities as well as
for unknown. It was he also who first made the application of algebra to
geometry. Albert Girard, a Flemish mathematician in the seventeenth
century, extended the theory of equations by the introduction of imaginary
quantities. The Englishman Harriot, early in the seventeenth century,
discovered negative roots, and established the equality between the number
of roots and the units in the degree of the equation. He also invented the
signs < >, and Oughtred that of ×. Descartes, though not the first to apply
algebra to geometry, has, by the extent and importance of his applications,
commonly acquired the credit of being so. The same discoveries have also
been attributed to him as to Harriot, and their respective claims have
caused much controversy. He obtained by means of algebra the definition and
description of curves. Since his time algebra has been applied so widely in
geometry and higher mathematics that we need only mention the names of
Fermat, Wallis, Newton, Leibnitz, De Moivre, MacLaurin, Taylor, Euler,
D'Alembert, Lagrange, Laplace, Fourier, Poisson, Gauss, Horner, De Morgan,
Sylvester, Cayley. Boole, Jevons, and others have applied the algebraic
method not only to formal logic but to political economy.--BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Chrystal, _Algebra_ (2 vols.); Hobson, _Trigonometry_; Hardy, _Pure
Mathematics_; Whittaker and Watson, _Modern Analysis_.

ALGECIRAS ([.a]l-_h_e-th[=e]'r[.a]s) (perhaps Portus Albus of the Romans),
a seaport of Spain, on the west side of the Bay of Gibraltar, a well-built
town carrying on a brisk coasting trade. It was the first conquest of the
Arabs in Spain (711), and was held by them till 1344, when it was taken by
Alphonso XI of Castile after a long siege. Near it, in 1801, Admiral Sir
James Saumarez defeated a Franco-Spanish fleet. Differences between France
and Germany regarding Morocco led to a conference of European Powers here
from 16th Jan.-7th April, 1906. Pop. 15,800.

ALGE'RIA, a French dependency in N. Africa, having on the north the
Mediterranean, on the east Tunis, on the west Morocco, and on the south the
Desert of Sahara; area, 122,878 sq. miles, or including the Algerian Sahara
343,500. The country is divided into three departments--Algiers, Oran, and
Constantine. The coastline is about 550 miles in length, steep and rocky,
and though the indentations are numerous, the harbours are much exposed to
the north wind. The country is traversed by the Atlas Mountains, two chains
of which--the Great Atlas, bordering on the Sahara, and the Little, or
Maritime Atlas, between it and the sea--run parallel to the coast, the
former attaining a height of 7000 feet. The intervals are filled with lower
ranges, and numerous transverse ranges connect the principal ones and run
from them to the coast, forming elevated tablelands and enclosed valleys.
The rivers are numerous, but many of them are mere torrents rising in the
mountains near the coast. The Shelif is much the largest. Some of the
rivers are largely used for irrigation, and artesian wells have been sunk
in some places for the same purpose. There are, both on the coast and in
the interior, extensive salt lakes or marshes (_Shotts_), which dry up to a
great extent in summer. The country bordering on the coast, called the
_Tell_, is generally hilly, with fertile valleys; in some places a flat and
fertile plain extends between the hills and the sea. In the east there are
_Shotts_ that sink below the sea-level, and into these it has been proposed
to introduce the waters of the Mediterranean. The climate varies
considerably according to elevation and local peculiarities. There are
three seasons: winter from November to February, spring from March to June,
and summer from July to October. The summer is very hot and dry. In many
parts of the coast the temperature is moderate and the climate so healthy
that Algeria is now a winter resort for invalids.

The chief products of cultivation are wheat, barley, and oats, tobacco,
cotton, wine, silk, and dates. Early vegetables, especially potatoes and
pease, are exported to France and England. A fibre called _alfa_, a variety
of esparto, which grows wild on the high plateaux, is exported in large
quantities. Cork is also exported. There are valuable forests, in which
grow various sorts of pines and oaks, ash, cedar, myrtle, pistachio-nut,
mastic, carob, &c. The Australian _Eucalyptus glob[)u]lus_ (a gum tree) has
been successfully introduced. Agriculture often suffers much from the
ravages of locusts. Among wild animals are the lion, panther, hyena, and
jackal; the domestic quadrupeds include the horse, the mule, cattle, sheep,
and pigs (introduced by the French). Algeria possesses valuable minerals,
including iron, copper, lead, sulphur, zinc, antimony, marble (white and
red), phosphate, and lithographic stone.

The trade of Algeria has greatly increased under French rule, France,
Spain, and England being the countries with which it is principally carried
on, and three-fourths of the whole being with France. The exports (besides
those mentioned above) are olive-oil, raw hides, wood, wool, tobacco,
oranges, &c.; the imports, manufactured goods, wines, spirits, coffee, &c.
The manufacturing industries are unimportant, and include morocco leather,
carpets, muslins, and silks. French money, weights, and measures are
generally used. The chief towns are Algiers, Oran, Constantine, Bona, and
Tlemsen. There are about 2800 miles of railways opened; there is also a
considerable network of telegraph lines.

The two principal native races inhabiting Algeria are Arabs and Berbers.
The former are mostly nomads, dwelling in tents and wandering from place to
place, though a large number of them are settled in the Tell, where they
carry on agriculture and have formed numerous villages. The Berbers, here
called Kabyles, are the original inhabitants of the territory and still
form a considerable part of the population. They speak the Berber language,
but use Arabic characters in writing. The Jews form a small but influential
part of the population. Various other races also exist. Except the Jews,
all the native races are Mahommedans. There are now a considerable number
of French and other colonists, provision being made for granting them
concessions of land on certain conditions. There are over 260,000 colonists
of French origin in Algeria, and over 200,000 colonists natives of other
European countries (chiefly Spaniards and Italians). Algeria is governed by
a governor-general, who is assisted by a council appointed by the French
Government. The settled portion of the country, in the three departments of
Algiers, Constantine, and Oran, is treated much as if it were a part of
France, and each department sends two deputies and one senator to the
French chambers. The rest of the territory is under military rule. The
colony costs France a considerable sum every year. Pop. of Algeria proper
in 1911, 5,523,449; of the Algerian Sahara, 40,379.

The country now called Algeria was known to the Romans as Numidia. It
flourished greatly under their rule, and early received the Christian
religion. It was conquered by the Vandals in A.D. 430-1, and recovered by
Belisarius for the Byzantine Empire in 533-4. About the middle of the
seventh century it was overrun by the Saracens. The town of Algiers was
founded about 935 by Yussef Ibn Zeiri, and the country was subsequently
ruled by his successors and the dynasties of the Almoravides and Almohades.
After the overthrow of the latter, about 1269, it broke up into a number of
small independent territories. The Moors and Jews, who were driven out of
Spain by Ferdinand and Isabella at the end of the fifteenth century,
settled in large numbers in Algeria, and revenged themselves on their
persecutors by the practice of piracy. On this account various expeditions
were made by Spain against Algeria, and by 1510 the greater part of the
country was made tributary. A few years later the Algerians invited to
their assistance the Turkish pirate Horush (or Haruj) Barbarossa, who made
himself Sultan of Algiers in 1516, but was not long in being taken by the
Spaniards and beheaded. His brother and successor put Algiers under the
protection of Turkey (about 1520), and organized the system of piracy which
was long the terror of European commerce, and was never wholly suppressed
till the French occupation. Henceforth the country belonged to the Turkish
Empire, though from 1710 the connection was little more than nominal. The
depredations of the Algerian pirates were a continual source of irritation
to the Christian Powers, who sent a long series of expeditions against
them. For instance, in 1815 a United States fleet defeated an Algerian one
and forced the Dey to agree to a peace in which he recognized the American
flag as inviolable. In 1816 Lord Exmouth with an English fleet bombarded
Algiers, and exacted a treaty by which all the Christian slaves were at
once released, and the Dey undertook for the future to treat all his
prisoners of war as the European law of nations demanded. But the piratical
practices of the Algerians were soon renewed.

At last the French determined on more vigorous measures, and in 1830 sent a
force of over 40,000 men against the country. Algiers was speedily
occupied, the Dey retired, and the country was without a government, but
resistance was organized by Abd-el-Kader, an Arab chief whom the emergency
had raised up. He began his warlike career of fifteen years by an attack on
Oran in 1832, and after an obstinate struggle the French, in Feb., 1834,
consented to a peace, acknowledging him as ruling over all the Arab tribes
west of the Shelif by the title of Emir of Maskara. War was soon again
renewed with varying fortune, and in 1837, in order to have their hands
free in attacking Constantine, the French made peace with Abd-el-Kader,
leaving to him the whole of Western Algeria except some coast towns.
Constantine was now taken, and the subjugation of the province of
Constantine followed. Meanwhile Abd-el-Kader was preparing for another
conflict, and in Nov., 1838, he suddenly broke into French territory with a
strong force, and for a time the supremacy of the French was endangered.
Matters took a more favourable turn for them when General Bugeaud was
appointed governor-general in Feb., 1841. In the autumn of 1841 Saida, the
last fortress of Abd-el-Kader, fell into his hands, after which the only
region that held out against the French was that bordering on Morocco.
Early in the following year this also was conquered, and Abd-el-Kader found
himself compelled to seek refuge in the adjoining empire. From Morocco
Abd-el-Kader twice made a descent upon Algeria, on the second occasion
defeating the French in two battles; and in 1844 he even succeeded in
raising an army in Morocco to withstand the French. Bugeaud, however,
crossed the frontier, and inflicted a severe defeat on this army, while a
French fleet bombarded the towns on the coast. The Emperor of Morocco was
at length compelled to agree to a treaty, in which he not only promised to
refuse Abd-el-Kader his assistance, but even engaged to lend his assistance
against him. Reduced to extremities Abd-el-Kader surrendered on 27th Dec.,
1847, and was at first taken to France a prisoner, but was afterwards
released on his promise not to return to Algeria. The country was yet far
from subdued. The Kabyles, and the Arabs in the south, made protracted
resistance, and rose again and again against the yoke which it was
attempted to impose upon them. The numerous risings that successively took
place thus rendered Algeria a school for French generals, such as
Pélissier, Canrobert, St. Arnaud, and MacMahon. In 1864 MacMahon succeeded
Pélissier as governor-general, and had as his first work to put down an
insurrection. About this time the Emperor Napoleon III, who had visited the
colony, introduced considerable modifications into the government,
recognizing that the native races had grievances to complain of, and that
the French rulers were in various ways astray in the methods of government
adopted. Fresh disturbances broke out in the south nearly every year till
1871, when, owing to the Franco-Prussian war, a great effort was made to
throw off the French yoke, the colony being nearly denuded of French
soldiers. It was, however, completely suppressed, and in order to remove
what was believed to be one principal cause of the frequent insurrections,
a civil government was established instead of the military government in
the northern parts of the colony. The southern parts, inhabited by nomadic
tribes, are still subject to military rule. When the French took in hand
the occupation of Tunis, a rising took place (in 1881) in the west of
Algeria, under a chieftain who was able to inflict some loss and damage on
the French forces and colonists, but with no permanent result. Since then
quietness has generally prevailed in the colony, where the French, however,
continue to maintain a considerable military force. Owing to this and other
expenditure Algeria has always formed a burden on the resources of France.
The great aid rendered by Algeria to France during the European War led the
French Government to introduce new laws. The law of 4th Feb., 1919, gives
French citizenship to all Algerian natives under certain
conditions.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: M. D. Stott, _The Real Algeria_; Sir R. Lambert
Playfair, _Handbook for Travellers in Algeria_ (Murray's Handbooks).

ALGESI'RAS. See _Algeciras_.

ALGHERO, or ALGHERI ([.a]l-g[=a]'r[=o], [.a]l-g[=a]'r[=e]), a fortified
town and seaport on the north-west coast of the island of Sardinia, 15
miles south-west of Sassari; the seat of a bishop, with a handsome
cathedral. One of the remarkable edifices of Alghero is the Casa Arbia,
where Charles V was lodged. The necropolis of Anghelu Ruju, situated in the
vicinity, was excavated in 1904.

ALGIERS (al'j[=e]rz; Fr., _Alger_), a city and seaport on the
Mediterranean, capital of the French colony of Algeria, is situated on the
west side of the Bay of Algiers, partly on the slope of a hill facing the
sea. The old town, which is the higher, is oriental in appearance, with
narrow, crooked streets, and houses that are strong, prison-like edifices.
Its crowning point is the Kasbah, or ancient fortress of the Deys, about
500 feet above the sea, now serving as barracks. The modern French town,
which occupies the lower slope and spreads along the shore, is handsomely
built, with broad streets and elegant squares. It contains the Government
buildings, the central military and civil establishments, the residence of
the governor-general and the officials of the general and provincial
Government, the superior courts of justice, the archbishop's palace and the
cathedral, various other churches, including an English church and library,
the great commercial establishments, &c. A fine boulevard built on a series
of arches, and bordered on one side by handsome buildings, runs along the
sea-front of the town overlooking the bay, harbour, and shipping. Forty
feet below are the quay and railway-station, reached by inclined roads
leading from the centre of the boulevard. The harbour is good and
capacious, enclosed by piers or jetties, and otherwise improved at great
expense, and it and the city are defended by a strong series of
fortifications. Algiers is well provided with educational institutions,
including high schools or colleges for law, medicine, literature,
mathematics, and natural science; besides normal schools, an observatory,
public library, &c. Algiers is in every way far the most important place in
Algeria. There is a large shipping trade carried on, especially with
Marseilles, Cette, and some of the Spanish ports. Trade routes from the
interior and also railways centre in Algiers, and the exports include
grain, wine, cattle, wool, ore, tobacco, fruit, olive-oil, &c. Algiers is
now an important coaling station The city possesses widely-extended
suburbs. The climate, though variable, makes it a very desirable winter
residence for invalids and others from colder regions. Though warm, it is
bracing. There is a considerable rainfall (average 29 inches), but the dry
air and absorbent soil prevent it from being disagreeable. The winter
months resemble a bright, sunny English autumn, while the heat of summer is
not so intense as that of Egypt. The sirocco or desert wind is troublesome,
however, during summer, but in the winter it is merely a pleasant, warm,
dry breeze. Hailstorms are not infrequent, but frost and snow in Algiers
are so rare as to be almost unknown. Pop. 172,397.

ALGIN, a viscous, gummy substance obtained from certain seaweeds, more
especially those of the genus Laminaria. It can be utilized for all
purposes where starch or gum is now required; may be used in cookery for
soups and jellies; and in an insoluble form it can be cut, turned, and
polished, like horn or vulcanite.

ALGO'A BAY, a bay on the south coast of the Cape Province, 425 miles east
of the Cape of Good Hope, the only place of shelter on this coast for
vessels during the prevailing north-west gales. It was the first
landing-place of British immigrants in 1820. The usual anchorage is off
Port Elizabeth, on its west coast, a place of large and increasing trade,
but open on the east and south-east.

ALGOL', Arabic name of a star in the constellation Perseus (head of
Medusa), remarkable as a variable star, changing in brightness from the
second to the fifth magnitude.

ALGO'MA, a district of Canada, on the north of Lake Superior, forming part
of the north-west portion of Ontario, rich in silver, copper, iron, &c.

ALGON'KINS, or ALGONQUINS, a family of North American Indians, formerly
spread over a great extent of territory, and still forming a large
proportion of the Indians of Canada. They consisted of four groups,
namely--(1) the eastern group, comprising the Massachusetts, Narragansets,
Mohicans, Delawares, and other tribes; (2) the north-eastern group,
consisting of the Abenakis, &c.; (3) the western group, made up of the
Shawnees, Miamis, Illinois, &c.; and (4) the north-western group, including
the Chippewas or Ojibbewas, the largest of all the tribes.

ALGORISM, or ALGORITHMUS, in arithmetic, a word derived from the name of
Algoritmi or Al-Khowarizmi, from whose works European scholars received
much of their early information concerning Hindu numerals. The word is now
used to designate any particular arrangement of numerical work.

ALGRAPHY. See _Lithography_.

ALGUACIL, or ALGUAZIL ([.a]l-gw[.a]-th[=e]l'), in Spain, an officer whose
business it is to execute the decrees of a judge; a sort of constable. In
ancient times the Alguacil was the great provost of the palace.

ALGUM. See _Almug_.

ALHA'GI. See _Camel's-thorn_.

ALHAMA ([.a]-lä'm[.a]; that is, 'the bath'), a town of Southern Spain,
province of Granada, on the Marchan, 25 miles south-west of Granada,
celebrated for its warm medicinal (sulphur) baths and drinking waters. It
formed a Moorish fortress, the recovery of which in 1482 by the Spaniards
led to the entire conquest of Granada. It was occupied by the French from
Feb., 1810-Aug., 1812, and thrown into ruins by an earthquake in Dec.,
1884. Pop. 8000.--There is also an _Alhama_ in the province of Murcia, with
a warm mineral spring. Pop. 6000.

[Illustration: Alhambra--The Court of the Lions]

ALHAM'BRA (Ar. _al_ and _hamrah_, 'the' and 'red'), a famous group of
buildings in Spain, forming the citadel of Granada when that city was one
of the principal seats of the empire of the Moors in Spain, situated on a
height, surrounded by a wall flanked by many towers, and having a circuit
of 2¼ miles. Within the circuit of the walls are two churches, a number of
mean houses, and some straggling gardens, besides the palace of Charles V
and the celebrated Moorish palace which is often distinctively spoken of as
the Alhambra. This building, to which the celebrity of the site is entirely
due, was the royal palace of the Kings of Granada. The greater part of the
present building belongs to the first half of the fourteenth century. In
the course of centuries, both through neglect and acts of vandalism, the
beauty of the Alhambra has suffered considerably. The work of restoration
was, however, undertaken in 1824 by the architect José Contreras, and
continued by his son Rafael from 1847-90. It consists mainly of buildings
surrounding two oblong courts, the one, called the Court of the Fishpond
(or of the Myrtles), 138 by 74 feet, lying north and south; the other,
called the Court of the Lions, from a fountain ornamented with twelve lions
in marble, 115 by 66 feet, lying east and west, described as being, with
the apartments that surround it, "the gem of Arabian art in Spain, its most
beautiful and most perfect example". Its design is elaborate, exhibiting a
profusion of exquisite detail gorgeous in colouring, but the smallness of
its size deprives it of the element of majesty. The peristyle or portico on
each side is supported by 128 pillars of white marble, 11 feet high,
sometimes placed singly and sometimes in groups. Two pavilions project into
the court at each end, the domed roof of one having been restored. Some of
the finest chambers of the Alhambra open into this court, and near the
entrance a museum of Moorish remains has been formed. On the opposite side
of the Court of the Lions is the Hall of the Abencerrages. The prevalence
of stucco or plaster ornamentation is one of the features of the Alhambra,
which becomes especially remarkable in the beautiful honeycomb 'stalactite
vaulting'. Arabesques and geometrical designs with interwoven inscriptions
are present in the richest profusion. Cf. Owen Jones's work, _The Alhambra_
(2 vols., London, 1842-5.

ALHAURIN ([.a]l-ou-r[=e]n'), a town of Southern Spain, province of Malaga,
with sulphureous baths. Pop. 7000.

ALI ([.a]'l[=e]), cousin and son-in-law of Mahomet, the first of his
converts, and the bravest and most faithful of his adherents, born A.D.
602. He married Fatima, the daughter of the prophet, but after the death of
Mahomet (632) his claims to the caliphate were set aside in favour
successively of Abu-Bekr, Omar, and Othman. On the assassination of Othman,
in A.D. 656, he became caliph, and after a series of struggles with his
opponents, including Ayesha, widow of Mahomet, finally lost his life by
assassination at Kufa in 661. A Mahommedan schism arose after his death,
and has produced two sects. One sect, called the Shiites, put Ali on a
level with Mahomet, and do not acknowledge the three caliphs who preceded
Ali. They are regarded as heretics by the other sect, called Sunnites. The
Turks hold his memory in abhorrence, whilst the Persians call him the Lion
of God, and venerate him as second only to the prophet. The _Maxims_ and
_Hymns_ of Ali are yet extant. See _Caliph_.

ALI, Pasha of Yan[)i]na, generally called _Ali Pasha_, a bold and able, but
ferocious and unscrupulous Albanian, born in 1741, son of an Albanian
chief, who was deprived of his territories by rapacious neighbours. Ali by
his enterprise and success, and by his entire want of scruple, got
possession of more than his father had lost, and made himself master of a
large part of Albania, including Yan[)i]na, which the Porte sanctioned his
holding, with the title of pasha. Among the travellers who visited his
Court at Yan[)i]na was Byron, who has left a record of his impressions in
_Childe Harold's Pilgrimage_. Ali Pasha was an apostle of European culture
in the East, and the first to feel the necessity for energetic reforms in
the old Moslem institutions. He displayed excellent qualities, putting an
end to brigandage and anarchy, making roads, and encouraging commerce. He
still farther extended his sway by subduing the brave Suliotes of Epirus,
whom he conquered in 1803, after a three years' war. Aiming at independent
sovereignty, he intrigued alternately with England, France, and Russia, and
became almost independent of the Porte, which at length determined, in
1820, to pronounce his deposition. Ali resisted several pashas who were
sent to carry out this decision, only surrendering at last in 1822, on
receiving assurances that his life and property would be granted him. Faith
was not kept with him, however; he was killed, and his head was cut off and
conveyed to Constantinople, while his treasures were seized by the Porte.

AL'IAS (Lat., 'at another time'), a word often used in judicial proceedings
in connection with the different names that persons have assumed, most
likely for prudential reasons, at different times, and in order to conceal
identity, as Joseph Smith _alias_ Thomas Jones.

ALIBERT ([.a]-l[=e]-b[=a]r), Jean Louis, Baron, a distinguished French
physician, born 1766, died 1837. He was a professor in Paris, and chief
physician at the Hospital St. Louis. He wrote many valuable works on
medical subjects, such as _Description des maladies de la peau_.

ALI BEY, a ruler of Egypt, born in the Caucasus in 1728, was taken to Cairo
and sold as a slave, but having entered the force of the Mamelukes, and
attained the first dignity among them, he succeeded in making himself
virtual governor of Egypt. He then refused the customary tribute to the
Porte, and coined money in his own name. In 1769 he took advantage of a
war, in which the Porte was then engaged with Russia, to endeavour to add
Syria and Palestine to his Egyptian dominion, and in this he had almost
succeeded, when the defection of his own adopted son Mohammed Bey drove him
from Egypt. Joining his ally Sheikh Daher in Syria, he still pursued his
plans of conquest with remarkable success, till in 1773 he was induced to
make the attempt to recover Egypt with insufficient means. In a battle near
Cairo his army was completely defeated and he himself taken prisoner, dying
a few days afterwards either of his wounds or by poison.

AL'IBI (Lat., 'elsewhere'), a defence in criminal procedure, by which the
accused endeavours to prove that when the alleged crime was committed he
was present in a different place.

ALICANTE ([.a]-l[=e]-k[.a]n't[=a]), a fortified town and Mediterranean
seaport in Spain, capital of the province of the same name, picturesquely
situated partly on the slope of a hill, partly on the plain at the foot,
about 80 miles south by west of Valencia. The lower town has wide and
well-built streets; the upper town is old and irregularly built. The
principal manufactures are cotton, linen, and cigars; the chief export is
wine, which largely goes to England. Alicante is an ancient town. In 718 it
was taken by the Moors, from whom it was wrested about 1240. In modern
times it has been several times besieged and bombarded, as by the French in
1709, and in 1812, and by the federalists of Cartagena in 1873. Pop.
58,088.--The province is very fruitful and well cultivated, producing wine,
silk, fruits, &c. The wine is of a dark colour (hence called _vino tinto_,
deep-coloured wine), and is heavy and sweet. Area, 2185 sq. miles. Pop.
502,607.

ALICATA, or LICATA ([.a]-l[=e]-kä't[.a], l[=e]-kä't[.a]), the most
important commercial town on the S. coast of Sicily, at the mouth of the
Salso, 24 miles E.S.E. of Girgenti, with a considerable trade in sulphur,
grain, wine, oil, nuts, almonds, and soda. It occupies the site of the town
which the Tyrant Phintias of Acragas erected and named after himself, when
Gela was destroyed in 280. Pop. 22,931.

ALICE MAUD MARY, Princess, second daughter of Queen Victoria, Duchess of
Saxony, and Grand-duchess of Hesse-Darmstadt, born 1843, died 1878. In 1862
she married Frederick William Louis of Hesse, nephew of the grand-duke,
whom he succeeded in 1877. She showed exemplary devotion to her father
Prince Albert during his fatal illness and to the Prince of Wales during
his attack of fever in 1871. During the Franco-Prussian war she organized
hospitals for the relief of the sick and wounded. She died from diphtheria
caught while nursing her husband and children. A selection of her letters
to her mother was published in 1883 by Dr. Carl Sell.

A'LIEN, in relation to any country, a person born out of the jurisdiction
of the country, and not having acquired the full rights of a citizen of it.
The position of aliens depends upon the laws of the respective countries,
but generally speaking aliens owe a local allegiance, and are bound equally
with natives to obey all general rules for the preservation of order which
do not relate specially to citizens. Aliens have been often treated with
great harshness by the laws of some States. Thus in France there long
existed what was known as the _droit d'aubaine_, a law which claimed for
the benefit of the State the effects of deceased foreigners leaving no
heirs who were natives. Aliens have been repeatedly the objects of
legislation in Britain, and the tendency at the present day is to
communicate some of the rights of citizenship to aliens, and to widen the
definition of subjects. According to the Act of 1870 that now regulates the
matter, real and personal property of every description may be acquired,
held, and disposed of by an alien, in the same manner in all respects as by
a natural-born British subject. No other right or privilege (such as the
right to hold any office or any municipal, parliamentary, or other
franchise) is by this Act conferred on an alien except such as are
expressly given in respect of property. Previously aliens could hold only
personal property; they were incompetent to hold landed property, except
under certain conditions of residence or business occupancy for a term of
years not exceeding twenty-one. The children of aliens born in Britain are
natural-born subjects. Formerly the only mode of naturalization was by Act
of Parliament; but now an alien who has resided in the United Kingdom for
not less than one year immediately preceding his application, and has
previously resided in any part of His Majesty's dominions for four years
during the last eight years before the application, or who has been in the
service of the Crown for not less than five years, and intends to reside in
the kingdom, or to serve the British Crown, may apply to the Secretary of
State for a certificate of naturalization, and on giving evidence of
particulars may obtain it, being thereby entitled to almost all the
political and other rights of a natural-born British subject. At present
the law is laid down in the British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act,
1914 and 1918. It used to be a principle in English law, that a
natural-born subject could not divest himself of his allegiance by becoming
naturalized in a foreign State (_nemo potest exuere patriam_); but it is
now laid down that a British subject who has voluntarily become naturalized
in a foreign State thereby ceases to be a British subject. Any British
subject who has become an alien may apply for a certificate of readmission
to British nationality on the same terms as those provided for aliens in
general. In the United States the position of aliens as regards acquisition
and holding of real property differs somewhat in the different States,
though in recent times the disabilities of aliens have been removed in most
of them. Personal property they can take, hold, and dispose of like native
citizens. Individual States have no jurisdiction on the subject of
naturalization, though they may pass laws admitting aliens to any privilege
short of citizenship. A naturalized citizen is not eligible for election as
president or vice-president of the United States, and cannot serve as
senator until after nine years' citizenship, nor as a member of the House
of Representatives until after seven years' citizenship. Five years'
residence in the United States and one year's permanent residence in the
particular State are necessary for the attainment of citizenship.

ALIEN IMMIGRATION. In various countries certain classes of aliens have long
been prohibited from gaining admission. In the United States, for instance,
admission is refused to such persons as idiots, epileptics, persons
suffering from loathsome or dangerous contagious diseases, paupers,
criminals (except political criminals), illiterate persons, &c. Chinese
labourers as a whole are excluded, and even any persons coming to America
under a definite agreement to engage in any kind of labour or service.
Similar laws are in force in Australia, where there is a test that a person
proposing to settle in the country must be able to write fifty words of a
European language. Towards the end of last century the great influx of
foreigners into Britain, and into London in particular, drew public
attention to the matter. A select committee appointed in 1888 reported in
favour of the exclusion of destitute aliens, in 1894 a bill was introduced
into the House of Lords, while in 1898 a bill to regulate the immigration
of aliens was passed in the Lords, but made no further progress. In 1902 a
royal commission was appointed, and drew up a report, published in 1903,
containing valuable information and various recommendations. Among these
were the establishment of an immigration department, and the granting of
powers to deport criminals, prostitutes, and other undesirable aliens, and
to prevent the landing of persons mentally unfit or suffering from
infectious or loathsome diseases. In 1904 an Aliens Immigration Bill was
introduced and read a second time in the House of Commons. It was based on
the recommendations of the commission, and in its favour it was argued that
a large amount of British labour had been displaced by aliens, in London
especially, that the prevalence of crime among aliens was out of proportion
to their numbers, that many of them were paupers, criminals convicted in
their own country, or other undesirables. In 1905 another bill on the
subject was introduced by the Government, which succeeded in passing it, so
that the matter can now be dealt with, and undesirable aliens kept out.
Since the European War (1914-8) and the new passport regulations it is easy
to ascertain the number of aliens that enter the country and settle. At the
census of 1901 the whole alien population was set down at 286,925, as
against 219,523 in 1891, but there has been a very large influx from 1901
to 1914, by far the largest number consisting of Russian and Polish Jews.
The restrictions imposed upon aliens during the European War are still in
force, so far as they prohibit landing by any alien, except at specified
ports by leave of an immigration officer, and, in case of former enemy
aliens, by special permission of the Home Secretary. Cf. J. M. Landa, _The
Alien Problem_.

ALIGANJ (_a_-l[=e]-g_a_nj'), a town of Bengal, 54 miles from Dinapur, noted
for its pottery. It has a trade in grain, indigo-seed, and cotton, and
contains two mosques, and a large mud fort. Pop. 7436.

ALIGARH (_a_-l[=e]-g_a_r'), a fort and town in India, in the United
Provinces, on the East Indian railway, 84 miles south-east of Delhi. The
town, properly called Koel or Coel, is distant about 2 miles from the fort,
and is connected with it by a beautiful avenue. It is handsome and well
situated, and has a trade in cotton, &c. The fort, which had been skilfully
strengthened by French engineers in the service of the Mahrattas, was taken
by storm after a desperate resistance in 1803 by the British forces under
Lord Lake, when the whole district was added to the British possessions.
Pop. 64,825. The district has an area of 1946 sq. miles. Pop. 1,165,680.

ALIGN'MENT (a-l[=i]n'ment), a military term, signifying the act of
adjusting to a straight line or in regular straight lines, or the state of
being so adjusted.

AL'IMENT, food, a term which includes everything, solid or liquid, serving
as nutriment for the bodily system. Aliments are of the most diverse
character, but all of them must contain nutritious matter of some kind,
which, being extracted by the act of digestion, enters the blood, and
effects by assimilation the repair of the body. Alimentary matter,
therefore, must be similar to animal substance, or transmutable into such.
All alimentary substances must, therefore, be composed in a greater or less
degree of soluble parts, which easily lose their peculiar qualities in the
process of digestion, and correspond to the elements of the body. The food
of animals consists for the most part of substances containing little
oxygen and exhibiting a high degree of chemical combination, in which
respects they differ from most substances that serve as sustenance for
plants, which are generally highly oxidized and exhibit little chemical
combination. According to the nature of their constituents most of the
aliments of animals are divided into nitrogenous (consisting of carbon,
hydrogen, and oxygen along with nitrogen, and also of sulphur and
phosphorus) and non-nitrogenous (consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen
without nitrogen). Water and salts are usually considered as forming a
third group, and, in the widest sense of the word aliment, oxygen alone,
which enters the blood in the lungs, forms the fourth. The articles used as
food by man do not consist entirely of nutritious substances, but with few
exceptions are compounds of various nutritious with indigestible and
accordingly innutritious substances. The only nitrogenous aliments are
albuminous substances, and these are contained largely in animal food
(flesh, eggs, milk, cheese). The principal non-nitrogenous substance
obtained as food from animals is fat. Sugar is so obtained in smaller
quantities (in milk). While some vegetable substances also contain much
albumen, very many of them are rich in starch. Among vegetable substances
the richest in albumen are the legumes (peas, beans, and lentils), and
following them come the cereals (wheat, oats, &c.). Sugar, water, and salts
may pass without any change into the circulatory system; but albuminous
substances cannot do so without being first rendered soluble and capable of
absorption (in the stomach and intestines); starch must be converted into
sugar and fat emulsified (chiefly by the action of the pancreatic juice).
One of the objects of cooking is to make our food more susceptible of the
operation of the digestive fluids.

The relative importance of the various nutritious substances that are taken
into the system and enter the blood depends upon their chemical
constitution. The albuminous substances are the most indispensable,
inasmuch as they form the material by which the constant waste of the body
is repaired, whence they are called by Liebig the substance-formers. But a
part of the operation of albuminous nutriments may be performed equally
well, and at less cost, by non-nitrogenous substances, that part being the
maintenance of the temperature of the body. As is well known, the
temperature of warm-blooded animals is considerably higher than the
ordinary temperature of the surrounding air, in man about 98° F., and the
uniformity of this temperature is maintained by the heat which is set free
by the chemical processes (of oxidation) which go on within the body. Now
these processes take place as well with non-nitrogenous as with nitrogenous
substances. The former are even preferable to the latter for the keeping up
of these processes; by oxidation they yield larger quantities of heat with
less labour to the body, and they are hence called the heat-givers. The
best heat-giver is fat. Albuminous matters are not only the tissue-formers
of the body; they also supply the vehicle for the oxygen, inasmuch as it is
of such matters that the blood corpuscles are formed. The more red blood
corpuscles an animal possesses, the more oxygen can it take into its
system, and the more easily and rapidly can it carry on the process of
oxidation and develop heat. Now only a part of the heat so developed passes
away into the environment of the animal; another part is transformed within
the body (in the muscles) into mechanical work. Hence it follows that the
non-nitrogenous articles of food produce not merely heat but also work, but
only with the assistance of albuminous matters, which, on the one hand,
compose the working machine, and, on the other hand, convey the oxygen
necessary for oxidation.

The wholesome or unwholesome character of any aliment depends, in a great
measure, on the state of the digestive organs in any given case, as also on
the method in which it is cooked. Very often a simple aliment is made
indigestible by artificial cookery. In any given case the digestive power
of the individual is to be considered in order to determine whether a
particular aliment is wholesome or not. In general, therefore, we can only
say that that aliment is healthy which is easily soluble, and is suited to
the power of digestion of the individual. Man is fitted to derive
nourishment both from animal and vegetable aliment, but can live
exclusively on either. The nations of the North incline generally more to
animal aliments; those of the South, and the Orientals, more to vegetable.
The inhabitants of the most northerly regions live almost entirely upon
animal food, and very largely on fat on account of its heat-giving
property. See _Dietetics_, _Digestion_, _Adulteration_, &c.

ALIMENTARY CANAL, a common name given to the oesophagus, stomach, and
intestines of animals. See _Oesophagus_, _Intestine_, _Stomach_.

ALI-MIRZA, Shah of Persia, son of Muzaffar-ed-Din, born in 1872. He
succeeded his father on 8th Jan., 1907. Although his European education had
given him sympathies for Western civilization, he showed himself despotic,
and became very unpopular. He was deposed by the National Assembly or
Mejliss in July, 1909, and his son proclaimed Shah in his place.

AL'IMONY (Lat. _alere_, to nourish), in law, the allowance to which a woman
is entitled while a matrimonial suit is pending between her and her
husband, or after a legal separation from her husband, not occasioned by
adultery or elopement on her part. It is either temporary or permanent, the
former being the provision made by the husband pending the suit, the latter
after the decree.

AL'IQUOT PART is such part of a number as will divide and measure it
exactly without any remainder. For instance, 2 is an aliquot part of 4, 3
of 12, and 4 of 20.

ALISMA'CEÆ, the water-plantain family, a natural order of endogenous
plants, the members of which are herbaceous, annual or perennial; with
petiolate leaves sheathing at the base, hermaphrodite (rarely unisexual)
flowers, disposed in spikes, panicles, or racemes. They are floating or
marsh plants, and many have edible fleshy rhizomes. They are found in all
countries, but especially in Europe and North America, where their rather
brilliant flowers adorn the pools and streams. The principal genera are
_Alisma_ (water-plantain) _Sagittaria_ (arrow-head), _Damasonium_
(star-fruit), and _Butomus_ (flowering-rush).

AL'ISON, Rev. Archibald, a theologian and writer on æsthetics, born at
Edinburgh in 1757; died there in 1839. He studied at Glasgow and at Balliol
College, Oxford, entered the English Church, and finally (1800) settled as
the minister of an Episcopal chapel at Edinburgh. He published 2 volumes of
sermons, and a work entitled _Essays on the Nature and Principles of Taste_
(1790), in which he maintains that all the beauty of material objects
depends upon the associations connected with them.

AL'ISON, Sir Archibald, lawyer and writer of history, son of the above, was
born in Shropshire in 1792, and died in 1867, near Glasgow. He was educated
at the University of Edinburgh, and in 1814 was admitted to the Scottish
bar. He spent the next eight years in Continental travel. On his return he
was appointed advocate depute, which post he held till 1830. In 1832 he
published _Principles of the Criminal Law of Scotland_, and in 1833 _The
Practice of the Criminal Law_. He was appointed sheriff of Lanarkshire in
1834, and retained this post till his death. He was made a baronet in 1852.
His chief work--_The History of Europe, from 1789 to 1815_--was first
issued in 10 vols., 1833-42, the narrative being subsequently brought down
to 1852, the beginning of the second French Empire. This work displays
industry and research, and is generally accurate, but not very readable. It
has been translated into French, German, Arabic, Hindustani, &c. Among Sir
Archibald's other productions are _Principles of Population_; _Free-trade
and Protection_; _England in 1815 and 1845_; _Life of the Duke of
Marlborough_, &c.

AL'ISON, General Sir Archibald, G.C.B., son of the above, was born 1826,
entered the army in 1846, and served in the Crimea, in India during the
mutiny, and in the Ashantee expedition of 1873-4. In Egypt, in 1882, he led
the Highland Brigade at the battle of Tel-el-Kebir, and in 1882-3 remained
in command of the army of occupation (of 12,000 men). He retired from the
army in 1893, and died in 1907.

ALIWAL', a village of Hindustan in the Punjab, on the left bank of the
Sutlej, celebrated from the battle fought in its vicinity, 28th Jan., 1846,
between the Sikhs and a British army commanded by Sir Harry Smith,
resulting in the total defeat of the Sikhs.

ALIWAL NORTH, a town in the eastern part of Cape Province, on the Orange
River, which here forms the boundary with the Orange Free State, and is
crossed by a fine bridge--the Frere Bridge. It stands at the height of 4350
feet, in a locality said to be highly suitable for consumptives, and the
warm sulphur springs in the neighbourhood also attract many invalids. It is
a well-built place, with churches, hotels, golf links, race-course, &c.;
and has railway connection with East London, Port Elizabeth, &c. Pop.
5557.--_Aliwal South_ was a name formerly given to Mossel Bay, the small
seaport midway between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth.

ALIZ'ARINE, a substance contained in the madder root (_Rubia tinctorum_),
and largely used in dyeing reds of various shades, as Turkey red, &c. Until
1868 it was obtained entirely from madder root, but the use of the root has
been almost superseded by the employment of alizarine itself, prepared
artificially from one of the constituents of coal-tar. It forms
yellowish-red prismatic crystals, nearly insoluble in cold, but dissolved
to a small extent by boiling water, and readily soluble in alcohol and
ether. It possesses exceedingly strong tinctorial powers.

AL'KAHEST, the so-called universal solvent or menstruum of the alchemists.
The word is believed to have been invented by Paracelsus.

AL'KALI (from Ar. _al-qali_, the ashes of the plant from which soda was
first obtained, or the plant itself), a term first used to designate the
soluble parts of the ashes of plants, especially of seaweed, and designated
_fixed alkali_, as marking a distinction from ammonia, which was termed
_volatile alkali_. Now the term is applied to various classes of bodies
having the following properties in common: (1) solubility in water; (2) the
power of neutralizing acids, and forming salts with them; (3) the property
of corroding animal and vegetable substances; (4) the property of altering
the tint of many colouring matters--thus, they turn litmus, reddened by an
acid, into blue; turmeric, brown; and syrup of violets and infusion of red
cabbages, green. The alkalies may be regarded as water in which part of the
hydrogen is replaced by a metallic radicle. The caustic alkalies are strong
alkalies which have a powerful corrosive action on the skin, and the common
ones are potassic hydroxide or caustic potash, sodic hydroxide or caustic
soda, and lithic hydroxide. _Volatile Alkali_, or ammonic hydroxide, is a
much feebler alkali than the others, and when the solution is heated all
the ammonia is driven off. Other alkalies are calcic hydroxide or slaked
lime, a solution of which in water is known as _lime-water_; baric
hydroxide and strontic hydroxide, derived from the metals barium and
strontium. Quicklime is the only alkali extensively used in agriculture.

ALKALIM'ETER, an instrument for ascertaining the quantity of free alkali in
any impure specimen, as in the potashes of commerce. These, besides the
carbonate of potash, of which they principally consist, usually contain a
portion of foreign salts, as sulphate and chloride of potassium, and as the
true worth of the substance, or price for which it ought to sell, depends
entirely on the quantity of carbonate, it is of importance to be able to
measure it accurately by some easy process. This process depends on the
neutralization of the alkali by an acid of known strength, the point of
neutralization being determined by the fact that neutral liquids are
without action on either red or blue litmus solution. The alkalimeter is
merely a graduated tube--a burette--with a stopcock at the lower extremity,
from which the standard acid is dropped into water in which a known weight
of the substance is dissolved. The quantity required to produce
neutralization being noted, the strength of the liquid tested is easily
arrived at. A process of neutralization, exactly the same in principle, may
be employed to test the strength of acids by alkalies, the one process
being called _alkalimetry_ the other _acidimetry_.

AL'KALOID, a term applied to a class of nitrogenous compounds having basic
properties, found in living plants, usually in combination with organic
acids. They are usually given names ending in _-ine_, as _morphine_,
_quinine_, _aconitine_, _nicotine_, _caffeine_, &c. Most alkaloids occur in
plants, but some are formed by decomposition. Most natural alkaloids
contain carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen, but a few contain no
oxygen. The nitrogen they contain imparts to them basic properties--they
are organic bases--and hence they all form salts with acids. They all
possess a pronounced bitter taste, and the poisonous nature of many plants,
e.g. hemlock, yew, deadly nightshade, &c., are due to the alkaloids they
contain. Although formed originally within the plant, it has been found
possible to prepare several of these alkaloids by artificial means.

AL'KANET, a dyeing drug, the bark of the root of the _Anch[=u]sa_ or
_Alkanna tinctoria_, a plant of the order Boraginaceæ, with downy and
spear-shaped leaves, and clusters of small purple or reddish flowers. The
plant is sometimes cultivated in Britain, chiefly on the east coast of
England, but most of the alkanet of commerce is imported from the Levant or
from southern France. It imparts a fine deep-red colour to all unctuous
substances and is used for colouring oils, plasters, lip-salve,
confections, &c.; also in compositions for rubbing and giving colour to
mahogany furniture, and to colour spurious port-wine.

ALKAN'NA, a name of henna. See also _Alkanet_.

ALKAR'SIN, an extremely poisonous liquid containing kakodyle, together with
oxidation products of this substance, and formerly known as _Cadet's fuming
liquor_, characterized by its insupportable smell and high degree of
spontaneous combustibility when exposed to air.

AL-KATIF, a town of Arabia, on the Persian Gulf, carrying on a considerable
trade. Pop. 6000.

ALKMAAR ([.a]lk'mär), a town of the Netherlands, province of North Holland,
on the North Holland Canal, and 20 miles N.N.W. of Amsterdam; regularly
built, with a fine church (St. Lawrence) and a richly decorated Gothic
town-house; manufactures of salt, sail-cloth, vinegar, leather, &c., and an
extensive trade in cattle, corn, butter, and cheese. Pop. 22,685.

AL-KO'RAN, or QU`RAN. See _Koran_.

ALLA BREVE (br[=a]'v[=a]), a musical direction expressing that a breve is
to be played as fast as a semibreve, a semibreve as fast as a minim, and so
on. It is also called a capella, as it is employed in church music.

AL'LAH, in Arabic, the name of God, a word of kindred origin with the
Hebrew word _Elohim_. _Alla Akbar_ (God is great) is a Mahommedan war-cry.

ALLAHAB[=A]D' ('city of Allah'), an ancient city of India, capital of the
United Provinces, on the wedge of land formed by the Jumna and the Ganges,
largely built of mud houses, though the English quarter has more of a
European aspect. Among the remarkable buildings are the fort, occupying the
angle between the rivers, and containing the remains of an ancient palace,
and now also the barracks, &c.; the mausoleum and garden of Khosru, the
tomb being a handsome domed building; the Government offices and courts;
Government house; the Roman Catholic cathedral; the Central College for the
United Provinces; the Mayo Memorial and town hall. Allahabad is one of the
chief resorts of Hindu pilgrims, who have their sins washed away by bathing
in the waters of the sacred rivers Ganges and Jumna at their junction; and
is also the scene of a great fair in December and January. There are no
manufactures of importance, but a large general and transit trade is
carried on. The town is as old as the third century B.C. In the mutiny of
1857 it was the scene of a serious outbreak and massacre. Pop.
171,697.--The division of _Allahabad_ contains the districts of Cawnpur,
Futtehpur, Hamirpur, Banda, Jaunpur, and Allahabad; area, 17,265 sq. miles.
Pop. 5,535,803.--The district contains an area of 2852 sq. miles, about
five-sixths being under cultivation. Pop. 1,487,904.

ALLAMAN'DA, a genus of American tropical plants, ord. Apocynaceæ, with
large yellow or violet flowers; some of them are grown in European
greenhouses. _A. cathartica_ has strong emetic and purgative properties.

ALLAN, David, a Scottish painter, born 1744, died 1796. He studied in
Foulis's academy of painting and engraving in Glasgow, and for sixteen
years in Italy; finally establishing himself at Edinburgh, where he
succeeded Runciman as master of the Trustees' Academy. His illustrations of
the _Gentle Shepherd_, _The Cotter's Saturday Night_, and other sketches of
rustic life and manners in Scotland are his best-known works.

ALLAN, Sir William, a distinguished Scottish artist, born in 1782, died in
1850. He was a fellow student with Wilkie in Edinburgh, afterwards a
student of the Royal Academy, London. After residing in Russia for ten
years, he returned to Scotland, and publicly exhibited his pictures, one of
which (_Circassian Captives_) made his reputation. He now turned his
attention to historical painting, and produced _Knox admonishing Mary Queen
of Scots_, _Murder of Rizzio_, _Exiles on their way to Siberia_, _The Slave
Market at Constantinople_, &c.; and afterwards also battle scenes, as the
_Battle of Prestonpans_, _Nelson boarding the San Nicolas_, and two
pictures of _The Battle of Waterloo_, the one from the British, the other
from the French position, and delineating the actual scene and the
incidents therein taking place at the moment chosen for the representation.
One of these Waterloo pictures was purchased by the Duke of Wellington. He
travelled extensively, visiting Italy, Greece, Asia Minor, Spain, and
Barbary. In 1835 he became a Royal Academician, in 1838 president of the
Scottish Academy, and in 1842 he was knighted.

ALLAN'TOIS, a structure appearing during the early development of
vertebrate animals--Reptiles, Birds, and Mammalia. It is largely made up of
blood-vessels, and, especially in Birds, attains a large size. It forms the
inner lining to the shell, and may thus be viewed as the surface by means
of which the respiration of the embryo is carried on. In Mammalia the
allantois is not so largely developed as in Birds, and it enters largely
into the formation of the placenta.

ALLEGHANY (al-le-g[=a]'ni), a river of Pennsylvania and New York, which
unites with the Monongahela at Pittsburg to form the Ohio; navigable nearly
200 miles above Pittsburg.

ALLEGHANY MOUNTAINS, or the ALLEGHANIES, a name sometimes used as
synonymous with Appalachians, but also often restricted to the portion of
those mountains that traverses the states of Virginia, Maryland, and
Pennsylvania from south-west to north-east, and consists of a series of
parallel ridges for the most part wooded to the summit, and with some
fertile valleys between. Their mean elevation is about 2500 feet; but in
Virginia they rise to 4473.

ALLEGHENY (al-le-gen'i), a city of the United States, in Pennsylvania, on
the River Allegheny, opposite Pittsburg, of which it may be considered
virtually to be a suburb, and with which it is connected by six bridges.
The principal industries are connected with iron and machinery. Pop.
132,283. Also called Allegheny City.

ALLE'GIANCE (from mid-Eng. _ligeaunce_, formed from _liege_), according to
Blackstone, is "the tie or _ligamen_ which binds the subject to the
sovereign in return for that protection which the sovereign affords the
subject", or, generally, the obedience which every subject or citizen owes
to the Government of his country. It used to be the doctrine of the English
law that natural-born subjects owe an allegiance which is intrinsic and
perpetual, and which cannot be divested by any act of their own (_Nemo
potest exuere patriam_); but this is no longer the case since the
Naturalization Act passed in 1870, A British subject, however, or a child
who has acquired a British domicile by the naturalization of an alien
parent, cannot in time of war divest himself of British nationality for the
purpose of becoming an enemy alien. Aliens owe a temporary or local
allegiance to the Government under which they for the time reside. Usurpers
in undisturbed possession of the Crown are entitled to allegiance; and thus
treasons against Henry VI were punished in the reign of Edward IV, though
the former had, by Act of Parliament, been declared a usurper.

AL'LEGORY, a figurative representation in which the signs (words or forms)
signify something besides their literal or direct meaning. In rhetoric,
allegory is often but a continued simile. Parables and fables are a species
of allegory. Sometimes long works are throughout allegorical, as Spenser's
_Faerie Queene_ and Bunyan's _Pilgrim's Progress_. When an allegory is thus
continued it is indispensable to its success that not only the allegorical
meaning should be appropriate, but that the story should have an interest
of its own in the direct meaning apart from the allegorical significance.
Allegories are frequent in the Old Testament, whilst in the New they take
the form of parables. One of the best-known allegories in classical
literature is the story of the stomach and the members of the body in the
speech attributed to Menenius Agrippa by Plutarch and Livy. (Cf.
Shakespeare, _Coriolanus_, i, 1.) Allegory is often made use of in painting
and sculpture as well as in literature.

ALLEGRI ([.a]l-l[=a]'gr[=e]), Gregorio, an Italian composer, born at Rome
in 1560 or 1585, died there about 1650; celebrated for his _Miserere_, a
setting of the fifty-first psalm (the fiftieth in the _Vulgate_), which in
the Latin version begins with that word. Allegri's _Miserere_ is annually
performed in the Sistine Chapel at Rome.

ALLEGRO (It., [.a]l-l[=a]'gr[=o]), a musical term expressing a more or less
quick rate of movement, or a piece of music or movement in lively time.
_Allegro moderato_, moderately quick; _allegro maestoso_, quick but with
dignity; _allegro assai_ and _allegro molto_, very quick; _allegro con
brio_ or _con fuoco_, with fire and energy; _allegrissimo_, with the utmost
rapidity.

ALLEIN (al'en), Joseph, English Nonconformist divine; born 1633, died 1668;
the author of a popular religious book entitled, _An Alarm to Unconverted
Sinners, or The Sure Guide to Heaven_ (1672).

ALLEIN (al'en), Richard, English Nonconformist divine; born in 1611, died
1681; rector for twenty years of Batcombe (Somerset); deprived of his
living at the Restoration, and imprisoned for preaching. He wrote, among
other things, _Vindiciæ Pietatis_ ('A Vindication of Godliness'), published
in 1660, which was condemned to be burned in the royal kitchen.

ALLELUIA. See _Halleluia_.

ALLEMANDE ([.a]l-m[.a][n.]d), a kind of slow, graceful dance, invented in
France in the time of Louis XIV, and again in vogue in the time of the
First Empire. The name is also given to pieces of music based on the dance
movement. Bach and Handel have composed a great number of Allemandes, and
Beethoven has written twelve for orchestra.

ALLEN, Bog of, the name applied to a series of bogs in Ireland (not to one
continuous morass), dispersed, often widely apart, with extensive tracts of
dry cultivated soil between, over a broad belt of land stretching across
the centre of the country, the bogs being, however, all on the east side of
the Shannon.

ALLEN, Ethan, an American revolutionary partisan and general; born 1737,
died 1789. He surprised and captured Ticonderoga Fort (1775); attacked
Montreal, and was captured and sent to England, being exchanged in 1778;
wrote against Christianity, _Reason, the only Oracle of Man_ (1784).--His
younger brother, Ira (1751-1814), was also prominent in the revolutionary
era.

ALLEN, Grant, writer on scientific subjects and novelist, was born at
Kingston, Canada, 1848, died in 1899. His earlier education he received in
America, but he also studied in France and graduated at Oxford with honours
in 1870. From 1873 to 1879 he was connected with Queen's College, Jamaica,
but afterwards resided chiefly in England, and became well known as an
exponent of evolutionary science, and as a novelist. His first important
work, _Physiological Æsthetics_, appeared in 1877; his other scientific or
semi-scientific works include _The Colour Sense_; _The Evolutionist at
Large_; _Colin Clouts Calendar (the record of a summer)_; _Vignettes from
Nature_; _The Colours of Flowers_; _Flowers and their Pedigrees_; and
_Force and Energy, a Theory of Dynamics_. Other works by him are:
_Anglo-Saxon Britain_; _Charles Darwin_; and _The Evolution of the Idea of
God_. His novels, about thirty in number, include: _The Devil's Die_; _The
Woman Who Did_, &c.

ALLEN, John, a Scottish political and historical writer; born in 1771, died
in 1843. He studied medicine, and became M.D. of Edinburgh University. In
1801 he went abroad with Lord Holland and family, and henceforth he
maintained this connection, being long an inmate of Holland House (London)
and a member of the brilliant society that assembled there. He contributed
many articles to the _Edinburgh Review_; and wrote _An Inquiry into the
Rise and Growth of the Royal Prerogative in England_; _Vindication of the
Ancient Independence of Scotland_; &c.

ALLEN, Ralph, celebrated as a philanthropist, and as the friend of Pope,
Fielding, and the elder Pitt, was born in 1694, died in 1764. He lived
mostly at Bath, where he made a large income as farmer of a system of posts
and as owner of quarries. He is the prototype of Squire Allworthy in
Fielding's _Tom Jones_; and after the novelist's death he took charge of
his family. Pope, who received many kindnesses at his hands, referred to
him in the lines:

Let humble Allen, with an awkward shame,
Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame.

With Pitt he was on intimate terms, and left him £1000 in his will. Hurd,
Sherlock, and Warburton were also his friends.

ALLEN, Thomas, an English mathematician, philosopher, antiquarian, and
astrologer, born in 1542, died in 1632. He studied at Oxford, and lived the
greater part of his life in learned retirement, corresponding with many of
the famous men of his time. In his own day he was generally reputed a
dealer in the black art.

ALLEN, William, cardinal, an English Roman Catholic of the time of Queen
Elizabeth. Influenced by the Jesuit Robert Parsons, he became a strenuous
opponent of Protestantism and supporter of the claims of Philip II to the
English throne; born 1532, died 1594. It was by his efforts that the
English college for Catholics at Douai was established. He was made
cardinal in 1587. His numerous writings include: _The Declaration of the
Sentence of Sixtus V_, and _An Admonition to the Nobility and People of
England_.

ALLEN, William, D.D., American clergyman and author; born 1784, died 1868.
He was president of Bowdoin College, 1820-39; author of _American
Biographical and Historical Dictionary_; _Junius Unmasked_; &c.

ALLENBY, VISCOUNT, Edmund Henry Hynman, British soldier, born on 23rd
April, 1861, and educated at Haileybury. He joined the Inniskilling
Dragoons, and in 1884 served with that regiment in the Bechuanaland
Expedition. He was with the British forces in Zululand in 1888, took part
in the South African war, and commanded the 4th Cavalry Brigade, 1905-10.
In the European War he at first commanded the British Third Army,
contributing largely to the victories of the Somme and the Aisne. After a
reverse, south of Gaza, suffered on 26th March, 1917, by the British troops
under the command of Sir Archibald Murray, the latter was relieved, and
General Allenby was placed in command of the operations. He made thorough
preparations for the next offensive, and his progress was very rapid.
Beersheba and Gaza were captured, and on 9th Dec., 1917 Jerusalem, the Holy
City, was surrendered to the general by the mayor. His formal entry took
place on the 11th. He was awarded the G.C.M.G. on 16th Dec., 1917, and is a
Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour. In Aug., 1919, he was voted a sum of
£50,000 and created a viscount, adopting the title of Viscount Allenby of
Megiddo and of Felixstowe in Suffolk. In Oct., 1919, he was appointed High
Commissioner for Egypt.

ALLENSTEIN ([.a]l'len-st[=i]n), a town in East Prussia, 65 miles south of
Königsberg, on the Alle, with breweries and manufactures of iron and
lucifer matches. Pop. 24,295.

ALLENTOWN, a town in the United States, Pennsylvania, on Lehigh River, 18
miles above its junction with the Delaware. It has an important trade in
coal and iron ore, with large blast-furnaces, rolling-mills, &c. Pop.
(1920), 73,502.

ALLEP'PI. See _Aulapolay_.

ALLEYN (al'len), Edward, an actor and theatre proprietor in the reigns of
Elizabeth and James I, friend of Ben Jonson and Shakespeare; born 1566,
died 1626. Nashe called him "the famous Ned". Having become wealthy, he
built Dulwich College, under the name of "The College of God's Gift",
between 1613-17, at a cost of £10,000. See _Dulwich_.

ALL-FOURS, a game at cards, which derives its name from the four chances of
which it consists, for each of which a point is scored. These chances are
_high_, or the ace of trumps, or next best trump out; _low_, or the deuce
of trumps, or next lowest trump out; _jack_, or the knave of trumps;
_game_, the majority of pips collected from the tricks taken by the
respective players. The player who has all these is said to have
_all-fours_. It is played by two or four persons with the full pack. The
ace counts four, the king three, queen two, knave one, ten ten. The game is
known in America as _Seven-up_, _Old-sledge_, or _High-low Jack_.

ALL-HALLOWS, or ALL-HALLOWMAS, a name for All-saints' Day.

AL'LIA, a small affluent of the Tiber, joining it about 12 miles from Rome,
famous for the victory won by the Gauls, under Brennus, over the Roman
army. This battle resulted in the capture and sack of Rome in 390 B.C.

ALLIA'CEOUS PLANTS, plants belonging to the genus Allium (ord. Liliaceæ),
that to which the onion, leek, garlic, shallot, &c., belong, or to other
allied genera, and distinguished by a certain peculiar pungent smell and
taste characterized as _alliaceous_. This flavour is also found in a few
plants having no botanical affinities with the above, as in the _Alliaria
officin[=a]lis_, or Jack-by-the-hedge, a plant of the order Cruciferæ.

ALLI'ANCE, a league between two or more Powers. Alliances are divided into
offensive and defensive. The former are for the purpose of attacking a
common enemy, and the latter for mutual defence. An alliance often unites
both of these conditions. Offensive alliances, of course, are usually
directed against some particular enemy; defensive alliances against anyone
from whom an attack may come. Among the more famous alliances in history
are: The Triple Alliance of 1688 between Great Britain, Sweden, and the
Netherlands; The Grand Alliance of 1689 between the Emperor, Holland,
England, Spain, and Saxony; The Quadruple Alliance of 1814 between Great
Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia; The Triple Alliance of 1882 between
Germany, Austria, and Italy; and The Dual Alliance between Russia and
France.

ALLIANCE, HOLY. See _Holy Alliance_.

ALLIANCE ISRAÉLITE UNIVERSELLE, an association founded in Paris in 1860 for
the protection of the Jews all over the world, but particularly with a view
to advocating by various means the emancipation of the Jews in those
countries where they did not enjoy equal civil and political rights with
the other inhabitants. It was established by six Jews of Paris: Aristide
Astruc, Isidore Cahen, Jules Carvallo, Narcisse Leven, Eugène Manuel, and
Charles Netter. Adolphe Crémieux and Salomon Munk were among the first
presidents of the association. It is managed by a central committee
resident in Paris, and consisting of 62 members, 23 of whom live in Paris.
The Alliance has done a great deal towards raising the status of the Jews
in the East by establishing educational institutions and industrial and
agricultural schools, especially in Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, Persia,
Bulgaria, Tunis, and Abyssinia. The chief sources of its income are the
subscriptions and donations of the members. Its annual income amounts to
about 200,000 francs. It also manages a fund of about £400,000 founded by
Baron and Baroness de Hirsch for the establishment of Jewish Schools in
Turkey. The Alliance Israélite works in unison with the Anglo-Jewish
Association and the Board of Deputies in London, two organizations pursuing
the same aims.

ALLIA'RIA, a genus of plants, ord. Cruciferæ, containing two species, one
of which (_A. officin[=a]lis_), commonly called Jack-by-the-hedge, is
widely spread in Europe, and often used as a pot-herb. See _Alliaceous
Plants_.

AL'LIBONE, Samuel Austin, LL.D., American author, born 1816, died 1889. He
compiled a most useful _Critical Dictionary of English Literature and
British and American Authors_ (3 vols., 1859, 1870, 1871, containing 50,000
biographies, 2 vols. of supplement by J. F. Kirk, 1891).

ALLICE, a name of the common shad.

ALLIER ([.a]l-l[=e]-[=a]), a central department of France, intersected by
the River Allier, and partly bounded by the Loire; its surface is
diversified by offsets of the Cevennes and other ranges, rising in the
south to over 4000 feet, and in general richly wooded. It has extensive
beds of coal as well as other minerals, which are actively worked, there
being several flourishing centres of mining and manufacturing enterprise;
mineral waters at Vichy, Bourbon, L'Archambault, &c. Large numbers of sheep
and cattle are bred. Area, 2848 sq. miles. Capital, Moulins. Pop. (1921),
370,950.--The River Allier flows northward for 200 miles through Lozère,
Upper Loire, Puy de Dôme, and Allier, and enters the Loire, of which it is
the chief tributary.

ALLIGA'TION, a rule of arithmetic, chiefly found in the older books,
relating to the solution of questions concerning the compounding or mixing
together of different ingredients, or ingredients of different qualities or
values. Thus if a quantity of tea worth 10d. the pound and another quantity
worth 18d. are mixed, the question to be solved by alligation is, what is
the value of the mixture by the pound?

[Illustration: Alligators--1, Mississippi Alligator; 2, Banded Cayman; 3,
Chinese Alligator]

ALLIGA'TOR (a corruption of Sp. _el lagarto_, lit. the lizard--Lat.
_lacertus_), a genus of reptiles of the family Crocodilidæ, differing from
the true crocodiles in having a shorter and flatter head, in having
cavities or pits in the upper jaw, into which the long canine teeth of the
under jaw fit, and in having the feet much less webbed. Their habits are
less perfectly aquatic. They are confined to the warmer parts of America,
where they frequent swamps and marshes, and may be seen basking on the dry
ground during the day in the heat of the sun. They are most active during
the night, when they make a loud bellowing. The largest of these animals
grow to the length of 18 or 20 feet. They are covered by a dense armour of
horny scales, impenetrable to a bullet, and have a large mouth, armed with
strong, conical teeth. They swim with wonderful celerity, impelled by their
long, laterally-compressed, and powerful tails. On land their motions are
proportionally slow and embarrassed because of the length and unwieldiness
of their bodies and the shortness of their limbs. They live on fish, and
any small animals or carrion, and sometimes catch pigs on the shore, or
dogs which are swimming. They even sometimes make man their prey. In winter
they burrow in the mud of swamps and marshes, lying torpid till the warm
weather. The female lays a great number of eggs, which are deposited in the
sand or mud, and left to be hatched by the heat of the sun, but after this
has taken place the mother alligator is very attentive to her young. The
most fierce and dangerous species is that found in the southern parts of
the United States (_Alligator Lucius_), having the snout a little turned
up, slightly resembling that of the pike. The alligators of South America
are there very often called _Caymans_. _A. sclerops_ is known also as the
_Spectacled Cayman_, from the prominent bony rim surrounding the orbit of
each eye. The flesh of the alligator is sometimes eaten, the tail being
considered a great delicacy by the negroes. Among the fossils of the south
of England are remains of a true alligator (_A. Hantoniensis_) in the
Eocene beds of the Hampshire basin.

ALLIGATOR-APPLE (_An[=o]na palustris_), a fruit allied to the
custard-apple, growing in marshy districts in Jamaica, little eaten on
account of its narcotic properties.

ALLIGATOR-PEAR (_Pers[=e]a gratissima_), an evergreen tree of the nat. ord.
Lauraceæ, with a fruit resembling a large pear, 1 to 2 lb. in weight, with
a firm marrow-like pulp of a delicate flavour; called also avocado-pear, or
subaltern's butter. It is a native of tropical America and the West Indies.

AL'LINGHAM, William, an Irish poet, born in Ireland in 1824 or 1828, died
in 1889. He published his first volume (_Poems_) in 1850; _Day and Night
Songs_ in 1855; _Lawrence Bloomfield in Ireland_, narrative poem, in 1864;
_Songs, Poems, and Ballads_ in 1877 (including a number of new poems). He
was a frequent contributor to periodicals, and for some time edited
_Fraser's Magazine_.

ALLITERA'TION, the repetition of the same letter at the beginning of two or
more words immediately succeeding each other, or at short intervals; as
"_m_any _m_en _m_any _m_inds"; "_d_eath _d_efies the _d_octor". "_A_pt
_a_lliteration's _a_rtful _a_id" (_Churchill_). "_P_uffs, _p_owders,
_p_atches, _b_ibles, _b_illet-doux" (_Pope_). "_W_eave the _w_arp and
_w_eave the _w_oof" (_Gray_). In the ancient German and Scandinavian and in
early English poetry alliteration took the place of terminal rhymes, the
alliterative syllables being made to recur with a certain regularity in the
same position in successive verses. In the _Vision of William Concerning
Piers the Ploughman_, for instance, it is regularly employed as in the
following lines:--

Hire _r_obe was ful _r_iche . of _r_ed scarlet engreyned,
With _r_ibanes of _r_ed gold . and of _r_iche stones;
Hire a_rr_aye me _r_avysshed . such _r_icchesse saw I nevere;
I had _w_ondre _w_hat she _w_as . and _w_has _w_yf she _w_ere.

Alliteration was known to the Latin authors: "O _T_ite _t_ute, _T_ati,
_t_ibi _t_anta, _t_yranne _t_ulisti" (_Ennius_). In the hands of some
English poets and prose writers of later times alliteration became a mere
conceit. It is still employed in Icelandic and Finnish poetry. So far has
alliteration sometimes been carried that long compositions have been
written every word of which commenced with the same letter. It may also be
employed in the middle of words: "Un _f_rais par_f_um sortait des tou_ff_es
d'as_f_odile" (_Victor Hugo_).

AL'LIUM, a genus of plants, ord. Liliaceæ;, containing numerous well-known
species of pot-herbs. They are umbelliferous, and mostly perennial,
herbaceous plants, but a few are biennial. Among them are garlic (_A.
sat[=i]vum_), onion (_A. Cepa_), leek (_A. Porrum_), chives (_A.
Schoenopr[)a]sum_), shallot (_A. ascalon[)i]cum_). The peculiar alliaceous
flavour that belongs to them is well known.

AL'LOA, a river port of Scotland, on the north bank of the Forth (where
there is now a bridge), 7 miles from Stirling, county of Clackmannan. It
carries on brewing, distilling, and shipbuilding; has manufactures of
woollens, bottles, &c., and a shipping trade. Pop. (1921), 12,421.

ALLOCU'TION, an address, a term particularly applied to certain addresses
on important occasions made by the Pope to the cardinals, and through them
to the Church in general.

ALLO'DIUM (probably derived from _all_ and _odh_, property), land held in
one's own right, without any feudal obligation to a superior or lord. In
England, according to the theory of the British constitution, all land is
held of the crown (by _feudal_ tenure); the word _allodial_ is, therefore,
never applied to landed property there.

ALLOGAMY (from the Gr. _allos_, other, and _gamos_, wedding), meaning the
transfer of the pollen of one flower to the pistil of another. The opposite
of allogamy is _autogamy_, or self-pollination.

ALLOPHANE, a hydrous aluminium silicate, with the composition Al_2SiO_5 +
5H_2O, forming crusts in the cavities of various rocks and commonly of a
delicate blue colour.

ALLOT'MENT SYSTEM, the system of allotting small portions of land (an acre
or less) to farm-labourers or other workers, to be cultivated after their
regular work by themselves and their families, a system believed by many to
be calculated greatly to improve their condition. An Allotment Act for
England, passed in 1887, authorizes the sanitary authorities in any
locality to determine if there is a sufficient demand for allotments there,
and to acquire land to be let to the labouring population resident in their
district. Such land may be compulsorily acquired, due compensation being
given; but land belonging to a park, pleasure-ground, &c., is not to be so
acquired. No person is to hold more than 1 acre as an allotment; and the
rents are to be fixed at such amount as may reasonably be deemed sufficient
to guarantee the sanitary authority from loss. No building is to be erected
on any allotment other than a tool-house, pig-sty, shed, or the like. In
the Allotment Acts of 1887 and 1892 (Scotland) the definition is applied to
a plot of land not exceeding 1 acre, but the Local Government Act of 1894
authorized the letting of an allotment up to the area of 4 acres to one
person, while the Small Holdings and Allotments Act of 1907 definitely
extends the limit of an allotment to 5 acres. The distinction between
allotments and small holdings has therefore been obliterated, at least as
far as England and Wales are concerned. County councils will let plots of 1
to 5 acres as small holdings, and parish councils as allotments. During the
European War 183,000 allotments were registered under the Cultivation of
Lands Order, and the number of allotments in Great Britain not exceeding 1
acre now amounts to over 1,000,000. In proportion to the total agricultural
area or population it is much smaller in Scotland than in England. The
rents of allotments vary greatly, and near towns, or even villages, they
are very high, often from £4 to £8 per acre. A measure corresponding to the
English Small Holdings and Allotments Act of 1907 was passed for Scotland
in 1911, and came into operation in 1912. In recent years a large number of
co-operative allotment associations have come into existence.

ALLOT'ROPY (Gr. _allos_, other, _tropos_, manner), a term used by Berzelius
to express the fact that one and the same element may exist in different
forms, differing widely in external physical properties. Thus carbon occurs
as the diamond, and as charcoal and plumbago, and is therefore regarded as
a substance subject to allotropy.

AL'LOWAY, a parish of Scotland, now included in Ayr parish. Here Burns was
born in 1759, and the "auld haunted kirk", near his birthplace, was the
scene of the dance of witches in _Tam o' Shanter_.

ALLOY' is the substance produced by melting together two or more metals.
Sometimes a chemical compound is formed, but more generally one metal is
interspersed throughout the other, much as sugar is through water in which
it is dissolved. In this case the alloy is called a 'solid solution' of one
metal in another. Many metals mix together in all proportions, others only
in certain proportions, while some will not mix in any proportion.

Scientific research has led to great advances in the use of alloys
industrially. An alloy differs from its components in most of its physical
properties, such as its hardness, ductility, strength, melting-point, and
colour. The minutest trace of certain metals frequently produces an
extraordinary change in the property of the body with which it is mixed.
For instance, if bismuth is present in copper to the extent of more than
0.5 per cent, the copper cannot be used successfully in the construction of
electrical machinery. Frequently the addition of a small proportion of a
metal produces highly-desirable effects in one direction, but is
deleterious in other directions. For instance, the presence of a small
amount of manganese in cast-iron gives clean castings, but the magnetic
qualities of the material are impaired.

Alloys are classified as ferrous and non-ferrous alloys.

_Ferrous Alloys._--These alloys are of great industrial importance, as they
include cast irons and steels. Pure iron is very little used in industry.
Ordinary _cast iron_ contains iron and about 3 per cent of carbon. The
ordinary wrought iron of the blacksmith contains less than 0.25 per cent of
carbon. Cast iron is brittle, and unreliable when used to sustain tensile
stresses, and it cannot be forged; but wrought iron can be safely used in
tension, is not brittle, and can be forged. The raw material from which
steel is made is cast iron or wrought iron. (For manufacture of steel see
_Steel_.) The properties of steel can be varied within very wide limits by
adding to it traces of certain metals. For instance, the addition of nickel
up to 5 per cent makes the steel much stronger and tougher; the addition of
tungsten up to about 19 per cent makes it hard (tool-steel, magnet steel),
while molybdenum has a similar effect. Chromium and vanadium have a
'stabilizing' effect, i.e. tend to make large masses of the alloy
homogeneous, and to make the alloy retain its hardness over wide ranges of
temperature. Cobalt has a similar stabilizing effect. Molybdenum high-speed
steel is more expensive than tungsten high-speed steel, but is said to wear
better.

_Non-ferrous Alloys._--Of the non-ferrous alloys the most important have
copper as the basic metal. They do not become rusty on exposure. Copper,
when used for electrical purposes, must be nearly pure. It is deposited
electrolytically (see _Electrolysis_) and then made into bars (electrolytic
copper).

_Brass_ is an alloy of copper and zinc and varies much in composition. The
best-known varieties are:--

Best brass Copper 70%, Zinc 30%.
Admiralty brass Copper 70%, Zinc 29%, Tin 1%.
Ordinary brass Copper 67%, Zinc 30%, Lead 3%.

Gun-metal is a mixture of copper, tin, and zinc. The standard Admiralty
mixture is copper 88, tin 10, zinc 2. It possesses a tensile strength of 14
tons per sq. inch.

_Bronzes._--The bronzes are alloys of copper, with zinc or tin mainly. They
can be cast easily, and when heated to a dull red the metal can be forged,
stamped, rolled, pressed, or extruded. They are largely free from
corrosion.

_Phosphor Bronze._--This is a specially strong bronze. A typical
composition is copper 89.5, tin 10, phosphorus 0.5. The tensile strength is
higher than that of pure copper or brass (about 15 tons per sq. inch), and
it has about one-half the electrical conductivity of pure copper. It is
used for small castings, and it can be drawn into wire, which is used in
alternating-current electric-railway construction for the overhead
conductor.

_Delta metals_ are bronzes of specially high tensile strength (30-50 tons
per sq. inch).

_Manganese bronzes_ are bronzes of high tensile strength and ductility, and
are largely used for marine propellers. Manganese bronze is not affected by
sea-water. It usually contains copper, zinc, and manganese, with a little
aluminium and tin.

A recently-discovered copper alloy is known as _monel metal_. It is a
naturally-occurring alloy of copper, nickel, iron, and manganese (copper
27-29 per cent, nickel 68-70 per cent, iron and manganese 4-5 per cent),
and possesses, roughly, the qualities of a mild steel and copper. It has a
high tensile strength, which it retains over a wide range of temperature
change. It is ductile, is not affected by immersion in sea-water, and can
be machined. It is used for pump-valves, pump-pistons, turbine blading, &c.

In the British silver coinage silver is alloyed with 7.5 per cent copper,
which renders it harder and more durable. British gold coinage contains 8.3
per cent of copper.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: Law, _Alloys_; Osmond and Stead,
_Microscopic Analysis of Metals_; Mellor, _Crystallization of Iron and
Steel_; Desch, _Metallography_.

ALL SAINTS' DAY, a festival of the Christian Church, instituted in 835, and
celebrated on 1st Nov. in honour of the saints in general.

ALL SOULS' COLLEGE, a college of Oxford University, founded in 1437 by
Henry Chichele, Archbishop of Canterbury. Attached to it are the Chichele
Professorship of International Law and the Chichele Professorship of Modern
History.

ALL SOULS' DAY, a festival of the Roman Catholic Church, instituted in 998,
and observed on 2nd Nov. for the relief of souls in purgatory.

[Illustration: Allspice (_Myrtus Pimenta_)]

ALLSPICE ([a:]l'sp[=i]s), or PIMENTA, is the dried and ground berry of a
West Indian species of myrtle (_Myrtus Pimenta_), a beautiful tree with
white and fragrant aromatic flowers and leaves of a deep shining green. The
tree is often 30 feet high, and may yield 150 lb. of raw berries,
equivalent to 100 lb. of dried spice. Pimenta is thought to resemble in
flavour a mixture of cinnamon, nutmegs, and cloves, whence the popular name
of _allspice_; it is also called Jamaica pepper, the trees being cultivated
there extensively. It is employed in cookery, also in medicine as an
agreeable aromatic, and forms the basis of a distilled water, a spirit, and
an essential oil.

ALL'STON (äl'stun), Washington, an American painter, born 1779, died 1843.
He studied in London and Rome, and is most celebrated for his pictures on
scriptural subjects. Among his pictures _The Angel Uriel_ is at Stafford
House; _The Prophet Jeremiah_ at Yale College, Newport. A portrait of
Coleridge by Allston is in the National Gallery. He also wrote poems and a
tragical romance (_Monaldi_).

ALLU'VIUM (Lat. _alluvium_--_ad_, to, and _luo_, to wash), deposits of soil
collected by the action of water, such as are found in valleys and plains,
consisting of loam, clay, gravel, &c., washed down from the higher grounds.
Great alterations are often produced by alluvium--deltas and whole islands
being often formed by this cause. Much of the rich land along the banks of
rivers is alluvial in its origin. There are great tracts of alluviums lying
along the banks of the Derwent, the Ouse, and the Trent, and the Romney
Marsh of Kent along the banks of the Thames.

ALLYGURH. See _Aligarh_.

ALMA, a small river of Russia, in the Crimea, celebrated from the victory
gained by the allied British and French over the Russians, 20th Sept.,
1854.

AL'MACK'S, the name formerly given to certain assembly-rooms in King
Street, St. James's, London, derived from Almack, a tavern-keeper, by whom
they were built, and whose real name is said to have been McCall, of which
Almack is an anagram; afterwards called _Willis's Rooms_. They were first
opened about 1770, and became famous for the extreme exclusiveness
displayed by the lady patronesses in regard to the admission of applicants
for tickets to the balls held here--only those of the most assured social
standing being admitted. They were turned into a restaurant in 1890.

ALMA'DA, a town of Portugal, on the Tagus, opposite Lisbon. Pop. 7913.

AL'MADEN, a place in California, United States, about 60 miles S.E. of San
Francisco, with rich quicksilver-mines, the product of which has been
largely employed in gold and silver mining.

ALMADEN', a town of Spain, province of Ciudad-Real, celebrated both in
ancient and modern times for its mines of quicksilver (in the form of
cinnabar). Pop. 7410.

ALMADEN PROCESS. See _Mercury_.

AL'MAGEST (Ar. _al_, the, and Gr. _megist[=e]_, greatest, _sc._ 'treatise')
the name of a celebrated astronomical work composed by Claudius Ptolemy.

ALMA'GRO, an old town of Spain, province of Ciudad-Real (New Castile), with
important lace manufactures. Pop. 7700.

ALMA'GRO, Diego de, Spanish 'Conquistador', a foundling, born in 1475,
killed 1538. He took part with Pizarro in the conquest of Peru, and after
frequent disputes with Pizarro about their respective shares in their
conquests led an expedition against Chile, which he failed to conquer. On
his return a struggle took place between him and Pizarro, in which Almagro
was finally overcome, taken prisoner, strangled, and afterwards beheaded.
He was avenged by his son, born in 1520, who raised an insurrection, in
which Pizarro was assassinated, in 1541. The younger Almagro was put to
death at Cuzco in 1542 by De Castro, the new Viceroy of Peru.

ALMALEE', a town of Asia Minor, 50 miles from Adalia, with thriving
manufactures and a considerable trade. Pop. 3500.

AL'MA MA'TER (Lat., fostering or bounteous mother), a term familiarly
applied to their own university by those who have had a university
education.

AL-MAMUN (m[.a]-mön'), a caliph of the Abasside dynasty, son of
Harun-al-Rashid, born 786, died 833. Under him Bagdad became a great centre
of art and science.

AL'MANAC, a calendar, in which are set down the rising and setting of the
sun, the phases of the moon, the most remarkable positions and phenomena of
the heavenly bodies, for every month and day of the year; also the several
fasts and feasts to be observed in the Church and State, &c., and often
much miscellaneous information likely to be useful to the public. The term
is of Arabic origin, but the Arabs were not the first to use almanacs,
which indeed existed from remote ages. In England they are known from the
fourteenth century, there being several English almanacs of this century
existing in MS. They became generally used in Europe within a short time
after the invention of printing; and they were very early remarkable, as
some are still, for the mixture of truth and falsehood which they
contained. Their effects in France were found so mischievous, from the
pretended prophecies which they published, that an edict was promulgated by
Henry III in 1579 forbidding any predictions to be inserted in them
relating to civil affairs, whether those of the State or of private
persons. In the reign of James I of England letters-patent were granted to
the two universities and the Stationers' Company for an exclusive right of
printing almanacs, but in 1775 this monopoly was abolished. During the
civil war of Charles I, and thence onward, English almanacs were
conspicuous for the unblushing boldness of their astrological predictions,
and their determined perpetuation of popular errors. The most famous
English almanac was _Poor Robin's Almanack_, which was published from 1663
to 1775. Gradually, however, a better taste began to prevail, and in 1828
the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, by publishing the
_British Almanac_, had the merit of taking the lead in the production of an
unexceptionable almanac in Great Britain. The example thus set has been
almost universally adopted. The circulation of almanacs continued to be
much cramped by the very heavy duty of one shilling and threepence per copy
till 1834, when this duty was abolished. About 200 new almanacs were
started immediately on the repeal. Almanacs, from their periodical
character, and the frequency with which they are referred to, are now more
and more used as vehicles for conveying statistical and other useful
information, some being intended for the inhabitants of a particular
country or district, others for a particular class or party. Some of the
almanacs that are regularly published every year are extremely useful, and
are indeed almost indispensable to men engaged in official, mercantile,
literary, or professional business. Such in Great Britain are _Thom's
Official Directory of the United Kingdom_, _The British Almanac_, _Oliver
and Boyd's New Edinburgh Almanac_, and _Whitaker's Almanac_, started in
1868. In the United States is published _The American Almanac_, a useful
compilation. The _Almanach de Gotha_, which has appeared at Gotha since
1764, contains in small bulk a wonderful quantity of information regarding
the reigning families and Governments, the finances, commerce, population,
&c., of the different States throughout the world. Since 1871 it is
published both in a French and in a German edition. Among French almanacs
the most famous was the _Almanach Liégeois_, whilst the _Almanach
National_, first published in 1679 as _Almanach Royal_, is the most
important of modern almanacs in France. Almanacs that pretend to foretell
the weather and occurrences of various kinds are still popular in Britain,
France, and elsewhere.--_The Nautical Almanac_ is an important work
published annually by the British Government, two or three years in
advance, in which is contained much useful astronomical matter, more
especially the distances of the moon from the sun, and from certain fixed
stars, for every three hours of apparent time, adapted to the meridian of
the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. By comparing these with the distances
carefully observed at sea the mariner may, with comparative ease, infer his
longitude to a degree of accuracy unattainable in any other way, and
sufficient for most nautical purposes. This almanac was commenced in 1767
by Dr. Maskelyne, Astronomer Royal. The French _Connaissance des Temps_ is
published for the same purpose as the English _Nautical Almanac_, and
nearly on the same plan. It commenced in 1679. Of a similar character is
the _Astronomisches Jahrbuch_ published at Berlin.

ALMAN'DINE, a mineral of a reddish or violet colour, a variety of precious
or noble garnet.

ALMAN'SA, a town of south-eastern Spain (Murcia), near which was fought
(25th April, 1707) a decisive battle in the War of the Spanish Succession,
when the French, under the Duke of Berwick, defeated the Anglo-Spanish army
under the Earl of Galway. Pop. 11,887.

ALMAN'ZUR, or ALMANSUR, a caliph of the Abasside dynasty, reigned 754-75.
He was cruel and treacherous and a persecutor of the Christians, but a
patron of learning.

ALMA-TAD'EMA, Sir Lawrence, Dutch painter, born in 1836, resided since 1870
in England, where he became a naturalized subject. He was made A.R.A. in
1876, R.A. in 1879, knighted in 1899, and awarded the Order of Merit in
1905. He died at Wiesbaden, 25th June, 1912. He is especially celebrated
for his pictures of ancient Roman, Greek, and Egyptian life, which are
painted with great realism and archæological correctness.

AL'MEH, the name given in Egypt to a class of girls whose profession is to
sing for the amusement of the upper classes, as distinguished from the
_gawasi_, who perform before the lower classes. They perform at feasts and
other entertainments (including funerals), and many of them are skilful
improvisatrici. One of their most famous dances is called 'The Bee'.

ALMEIDA ([.a]l-m[=a]'i-d[.a]), one of the strongest fortresses in Portugal,
in the province of Beira, near the Spanish border, on the Coa. Pop. 2350.
Taken by Masséna from the English in 1810, retaken by Wellington in 1811.

ALMEIDA (d[.a]l-m[=a]'i-d[.a]), Francisco d', first Portuguese viceroy of
India, son of the Conde de Abrantes, born about the middle of the fifteenth
century. He fought with renown against the Moors, and being appointed
governor of the new Portuguese settlements on the African and Indian
coasts, he sailed for India in 1505, accompanied by his son Lorenzo and
other eminent men. In Africa he took possession of Quiloa and Mombas, and
in the East he conquered Cananor, Cochin, Calicut, &c., and established
forts and factories. His son Lorenzo discovered the Maldives and
Madagascar, but perished in an attack made on him by a fleet sent by the
Sultan of Egypt, with the aid of the Porte and the Republic of Venice.
Having signally defeated the Mussulmans (1508), and avenged his son, and
being superseded by Albuquerque, he sailed for Portugal, but was killed in
a skirmish on the African coast in 1510.

ALMELO', a town of Holland, province of Overyssel, on the Vechte; with
manufactures of linen. Pop. 7360.

ALMENDRALEJO (-[=a]'h[=o]), a town of Spain, province of Badajoz, in a
district rich in grain, wine, and fruits, with many brandy distilleries.
Pop. 12,587.

ALMERIA ([.a]l-m[=a]-r[=e]'[.a]), a fortified seaport of Southern Spain,
capital of province of Almeria, near the mouth of a river and on the gulf
of same name, with no building of consequence except a Gothic cathedral,
but with a large trade, exporting grapes, iron ore, lead, esparto, &c. The
province, which has an area of 3360 sq. miles, is generally mountainous,
and rich in minerals. Pop. of town, 48,614; of province, 393,689.

ALMODO'VAR, a town of Spain, province of Ciudad-Real (New Castile), near
the Sierra Morena. Pop. 12,640.

ALMOHADES (al'mo-h[=a]dz), a Moorish dynasty that ruled in Africa and Spain
in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, founded by Mohammed Ibn Tumart, a
religious enthusiast, who assumed the title of _Mahdi_. They overthrew the
Almoravides in Spain, but themselves received a defeat in 1212 from which
they did not recover, and in 1269 were overthrown in Africa, when Idris
El-Wathik, their last emir, was murdered by a slave.

AL-MOKANNA. See _Mokanna_.

ALMOND ([.a]'mund), the fruit of the almond tree (_Amygd[)a]lus
comm[=u]nis_), a tree which grows usually to the height of 20 feet, and is
akin to the peach, nectarine, &c. (ord. Rosaceæ). It has beautiful pinkish
flowers that appear before the leaves, which are oval, pointed, and
delicately serrated. It is a native of Africa and Asia, naturalized in
Southern Europe, and cultivated in England for its beauty, as it seldom
produces edible fruit even in the warmer portions of Southern England. The
fruit is a drupe, ovoid, and with downy outer surface; the fleshy covering
is tough and fibrous; it covers the compressed wrinkled stone enclosing the
seed or almond within it. There are two varieties, one sweet and the other
bitter; both are produced from _A. communis_, though from different
varieties. Most of the sweet almonds imported into Britain come from
Southern Europe, the Levant, and California, the finest being the
Valencian, Jordan, and Malaga. They contain a bland fixed oil, consisting
chiefly of olein. Bitter almonds come from Mogador, and besides a fixed oil
they contain a substance called _emulsin_, and also a bitter crystalline
substance called _amygdalin_, which, acting on the emulsin, produces
prussic acid, whence the aroma of bitter almonds when mixed with water.
_Almond-oil_, a bland fixed oil, is expressed from the kernels of either
sweet or bitter almonds, and is used by perfumers and in medicine. A
poisonous essential oil is obtained from bitter almonds, which is used for
flavouring by cooks and confectioners, also by perfumers and in medicine.
The name _almond_, with a qualifying word prefixed, is also given to the
seeds of other species of plants; thus _Java almonds_ are the kernels of
_Canarium commune_.

ALMONDBURY ([.a]'mund-be-ri), a town of England, West Riding of Yorkshire,
S.E. of Huddersfield, in which it is now included, with manufactures of
woollens, cotton and silk goods.

AL'MONER, an officer of a religious establishment to whom belonged the
distribution of alms. The grand almoner (_grand aumonier_) of France was
the highest ecclesiastical dignitary in that kingdom before the revolution.
The lord almoner, or lord high almoner of England, is generally a bishop,
whose office is well-nigh a sinecure. He distributes the sovereign's doles
to the poor on Maundy Thursday.

ALMO'RA, a town and fortress of India, in the United Provinces, capital of
Kumaon, 170 miles E.N.E. of Delhi, a thriving little place. Pop. about
10,560.

ALMO'RAVIDES (-v[=i]dz), a Moorish dynasty which arose in North-Western
Africa in the eleventh century, and reigned from 1055-1147. The town of
Marrakesh, built in 1062, became the capital of this dynasty. Having
crossed the Straits of Gibraltar, the family gained possession of all
Arabic Spain, but was overthrown by the Almohades in the following century.

AL'MUG (or AL'GUM) TREE, names which occur in _1 Kings_, x, 11, 12, and _2
Chron_., ii, 8, and ix, 10, 11, as the names of trees of which the wood was
used for pillars in the temple and the king's house, for harps and
psalteries, &c. They are said in one passage to be hewn in Lebanon, in
another to be brought from Ophir. They have been identified by critics with
the red sandalwood of India. Some of them may possibly have been
transplanted to Lebanon by the Phoenicians.

ALMUÑECAR ([.a]l-m[u:]n-ye-kär'), a seaport of Spain, Granada, on the
Mediterranean. Pop. 8000.

AL'NAGER, formerly, in England, an official whose duty it was to inspect,
measure, and stamp woollen cloth.

AL'NUS. See _Alder_.

ALNWICK (an'ik), a town of England, county town of Northumberland, 34 miles
north of Newcastle, near the Aln. It is well built, and carries on tanning,
brewing, and a general trade. The town is famous for the curious ceremonies
which take place there annually during the election of the common council
(25th March). Alnwick Castle, residence of the Dukes of Northumberland, for
many centuries a fortress of great strength, stands close to the town. Pop.
(1921), 6991.

[Illustration: Socotrine Aloe (_Aloe socotr[=i]na_)]

ALOE (al'[=o]), the name of a number of plants belonging to the genus Aloë
(ord. Liliaceæ), some of which are not more than a few inches, whilst
others are 30 feet and upwards in height; natives of South Africa and
Socotra; leaves fleshy, thick, and more or less spinous at the edges or
extremity; flowers with a tubular corolla. Some of the larger kinds are of
great use, the fibrous parts of the leaves being made into cordage, fishing
nets and lines, cloth, &c. The inspissated juice of several species is used
in medicine, under the name of _aloes_, forming a bitter purgative. The
medicinal value of bitter aloes was known to the Greeks in the fourth
century B.C. According to the Arabian historian Edrisi, the occupation of
Socotra by the Macedonians was due to Aristotle's persuading Alexander the
Great to secure the monopoly of the supplies of the drug. The drug is said
to have been commended to Alfred the Great by the Patriarch of Jerusalem,
but a direct trade in it between Socotra and Britain was opened only in the
seventeenth century. The principal drug-producing species are the Socotrine
aloe (_A. Socotr[=i]na_); the Barbados aloe (_A. vulg[=a]ris_), first
imported into Britain in 1693; the Cape aloe (_A. spic[=a]ta_), 1780; and
Natal aloes, 1870; &c. A beautiful violet colour is yielded by the leaves
of the Socotrine aloe. The American aloe (see _Agave_) is a different plant
altogether; as are also the aloes or lign-aloes of Scripture, which are
supposed to be the _Aquilaria Agall[)o]chum_, or aloes-wood (q. v.). _Aloe
fibre_ is obtained from species of Aloë, Agave, Yucca, &c., and is made
into coarse fabrics, ropes, &c.

ALOES-WOOD, EAGLE-WOOD, or AGILAWOOD, the inner portion of the trunk of
_Aquil[=a]ria ov[=a]ta_ and _A. Agall[)o]chum_, forest trees belonging to
the ord. Aquilariaceæ, found in tropical Asia, and yielding a fragrant
resinous substance, which, as well as the wood, is burned for its perfume.
Another tree, the _Aloex[)y]lon Agall[)o]chum_ (ord. Leguminosæ), also
produces aloes-wood. This wood is supposed to be the lign-aloes (a
corruption of the Lat. _lignum aloe_) of the Bible.

ALOPE'CIA, a variety of baldness in which the hair falls off from the beard
and eyebrows, as well as the scalp.

ALOPECU'RUS, a genus of grasses. See _Foxtail-grass_.

ALO'RA, a town of Southern Spain, province of Malaga. Pop. 6200.

ALOST, or AALST (ä'lost, älst), a town of Belgium, 15 miles W.N.W. of
Brussels, on the Dender (here navigable), with a beautiful, though
unfinished, church, and an ancient town hall (thirteenth century);
manufactures of lace, thread, linen and cotton goods, &c., and a
considerable trade. In the market-place stands a statue of Thierry
Maartens, who introduced the art of typography into the Netherlands in
1473. The town was occupied by the Germans in 1914. Pop. 35,603.

[Illustration: Alpaca (_Auch[=e]nia Paco_)]

ALPAC'A, a ruminant mammal of the camel tribe, and genus Auch[=e]nia (_A.
Paco_), a native of the Andes, especially of the mountains of Chile and
Peru, and closely allied to the llama. Llamas and alpacas are mutually
fertile when crossed, and this explains the existence of intermediate forms
between the two breeds. It has been domesticated, and remains also in a
wild state. In form and size it approaches the sheep, but has a longer
neck. It is valued chiefly for its long, soft, and silky wool, which is
straighter than that of the sheep, and very strong, and is woven into
fabrics of great beauty, used for shawls, clothing for warm climates,
coat-linings, and umbrellas, and known by the same name. Cloth made from
imported alpaca wool is manufactured in England, principally in Yorkshire.
Attempts have been made to introduce and acclimatize the alpaca in Europe
and in Australia, but no measure of success has attended the experiments.
Its flesh is pleasant and wholesome.

ALPE'NA, a town of the United States, Michigan, at the entrance of the
Thunder into Lake Huron, with saw-mills, woollen factories, &c. Pop.
12,706.

ALPEN-HORN, or ALP-HORN (Ger.), a long, nearly-straight horn, curving
slightly, and widening towards its extremity, used in the Alps to convey
signals, or notice of something.

ALPEN-STOCK (Ger.), a strong, tall stick shod with iron, pointed at the end
so as to take hold in, and give support on, ice and other dangerous places
in climbing the Alps and other high mountains.

ALPES ([.a]lp), the name of three departments in the south-east of France,
all more or less covered by the Alps or their offshoots:--_Basses-Alpes_
(bäs-[.a]lp; Lower Alps) has mountains rising to a height of 8000 to 10,000
feet, is drained by the Durance and its tributaries, and is the most
thinly-peopled department in France; area, 2697 sq. miles; capital, Digne.
Pop. (1921), 91,882.--_Hautes-Alpes_ ([=o]t-[.a]lp; Upper Alps), mostly
formed out of ancient Dauphiné, traversed by the Cottian and Dauphiné Alps
(highest summits 12,000 feet), drained chiefly by the Durance and its
tributaries. It is the lowest department in France in point of absolute
population; area, 2178 sq. miles; capital, Gap. Pop. (1921),
89,275.--_Alpes-Maritimes_ ([.a]lp-m[.a]-ri-t[=e]m; Maritime Alps) has the
Mediterranean on the south, and mainly consists of the territory of Nice,
ceded to France by Italy in 1860. The greater part of the surface is
covered by the Maritime Alps; the principal river is the Var. It produces
in the south, cereals, vines, olives, oranges, citrons, and other fruits;
and there are manufactories of perfumes, liqueurs, soap, &c., and valuable
fisheries. It is a favourite resort for invalids; area, 1443 sq. miles;
capital, Nice. Pop. 357,759.

AL'PHA and O'MEGA, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet,
sometimes used to signify the beginning and the end, or the first and the
last of anything; also as a symbol of the Divine Being (_Rev._ i, 8; xxi,
6; xxii, 13). They were also formerly the symbol of Christianity, and
engraved accordingly on the tombs of the ancient Christians. Some of these
engravings are to be seen in the Louvre.

AL'PHABET (from _Alpha_ and _Beta_, the two first letters of the Greek
alphabet), the series of characters used in writing a language, and
intended to represent the sounds of which it consists. The English
alphabet, like most of those of modern Europe, is derived directly from the
Latin, the Latin from the ancient Greek, and that from the Phoenician,
which again is believed to have had its origin in the Egyptian
hieroglyphics, although Egyptologists are not unanimous on this point.
There is little evidence in support of the theory that the Phoenician
alphabet had developed from the Assyrian cuneiform. Some scholars, like Sir
Arthur Evans, are of opinion that the Philistines established on the coast
of Palestine had brought the alphabet over from Crete, and that from them
it passed to the Phoenicians. The names of the letters in Phoenician and
Hebrew must have been almost the same, for the Greek names, which, with the
letters, were borrowed from the former, differ little from the Hebrew. By
means of the names we may trace the process by which the Egyptian
characters were transformed into letters by the Phoenicians. Some Egyptian
character would, by its form, recall the idea of a house, for example, in
Phoenician or Hebrew _beth_. This character would subsequently come to be
used wherever the sound b occurred. Its form might be afterwards
simplified, or even completely modified, but the name would still remain,
as _beth_ still continues the Hebrew name for b, and _beta_ the Greek. Our
letter m, which in Hebrew was called _mim_, water, has still a considerable
resemblance to the zig-zag wavy line which had been chosen to represent
water, as in the zodiacal symbol for _Aquarius_. The letter o, of which the
Hebrew name means eye, no doubt was originally intended to represent that
organ. While the ancient Greek alphabet gave rise to the ordinary Greek
alphabet and the Latin, the Greek alphabet of later times furnished
elements for the Coptic, the Gothic, and the old Slavic alphabets. The
Latin characters are now employed by a great many nations, such as the
Italian, the French, the Spanish, the Portuguese, the English, the Dutch,
the German, the Hungarian, the Polish, &c., each nation having introduced
such modifications or additions as are necessary to express the sound of
the language peculiar to it. The Greek alphabet originally possessed only
sixteen letters, though the Phoenician had twenty-two. The original Latin
alphabet, as it is found in the oldest inscriptions, consisted of
twenty-one letters; namely, the vowels a, e, i, o, and u (v), and the
consonants b, c, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, x, z. The Anglo-Saxon
alphabet had two characters for the digraph th, which were unfortunately
not retained in later English; it had also the character æ. It wanted j, v,
y (consonant), and z. The German alphabet consists of the same letters as
the English, but the sounds of some of them are different. Anciently
certain characters called _Runic_ were made use of by the Teutonic nations,
to which some would attribute an origin independent of the Greek and Latin
alphabets. Wimmer, the Danish scholar, is, however, of opinion that the
_runes_ were developed from the Latin alphabet. While the alphabets of the
west of Europe are derived from the Latin, the Russian, which is very
complete, is based on the Greek, with some characters borrowed from the
Armenian, &c; it is called _azbouka_, from the first two letters _az_, a,
and _bouki_, b. Among Asiatic alphabets, the Arabian (ultimately of
Phoenician origin) has played a part analogous to that of the Latin in
Europe, the conquests of Mohammedanism having imposed it on the Persian,
the Turkish, the Hindustani, &c. The Sanskrit or Devan[=a]gari alphabet is
one of the most remarkable alphabets of the world. As now used it has
fourteen characters for the vowels and diphthongs, and thirty-three for the
consonants, besides two other symbols. Our alphabet is a very imperfect
instrument for what it has to perform, being both defective and redundant.
An alphabet is not essential to the writing of a language, since ideograms
or symbols may be used instead, as in Chinese. See
_Writing_.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: E. Clodd, _The Alphabet_ (Useful Knowledge
Series, Hodder & Stoughton); Canon J. Taylor, _The Alphabet_; Philippe
Berger, _Histoire de l'Écriture dans l'Antiquité_.

ALPH[=E]'US (now RUFIA), the largest river of Peloponnesus, flowing
westwards into the Ionian Sea. In Greek mythology Alph[=e]us is supposed to
have been the son of Oceanus and Tethys.

ALPHON'SO, the name of a number of Portuguese and Spanish kings. Among the
former may be mentioned ALPHONSO I, the Conqueror, first King of Portugal,
son of Henry of Burgundy, the Conqueror and first Count of Portugal; born
1110, fought successfully against the Spaniards and the Moors, named
himself King of Portugal, and was as such recognized by the Pope; died
1185.--ALPHONSO V, the African, born in 1432; succeeded his father, Edward
I, 1438; conquered Tangiers in 1471; died 1481. During his reign Prince
Henry the Navigator continued the important voyages of discovery already
begun by the Portuguese. Under him was drawn up an important code of
laws.--Among kings of Spain may be mentioned ALPHONSO X, King of Castile
and Leon, surnamed the _Astronomer_, the _Philosopher_, or the _Wise_ (El
Sabio); born in 1226; succeeded in 1252. Being grandson of Philip of
Hohenstaufen, son of Frederick Barbarossa, he endeavoured to have himself
elected Emperor of Germany, and in 1257 succeeded in dividing the election
with Richard, Earl of Cornwall. On Richard's death in 1272 he again
unsuccessfully contested the imperial crown. Meantime his throne was
endangered by conspiracies of the nobles and the attacks of the Moors. The
Moors he conquered, but his domestic troubles were less easily overcome,
and he was finally dethroned by his son Sancho, and died two years after,
1284. Alphonso was the most learned prince of his age. Under his direction
or superintendence were drawn up a celebrated code of laws, valuable
astronomical tables which go under his name (_Alphonsine Tables_), the
first general history of Spain in the Castilian tongue, and a Spanish
translation of the Bible.--ALPHONSO V of Aragon, I of Naples and Sicily,
born in 1385, was the son of Ferdinand I of Aragon, the throne of which he
ascended in 1416, ruling also over Sicily and the Island of Sardinia. Queen
Joanna of Naples made him her heir, but after her death in 1435 her will
was disputed by René of Anjou. Alphonso now proceeded to take possession of
Naples by force, which he succeeded in doing in 1442, and reigned till his
death in 1458. He was an enlightened patron of literary men, by whom, in
the latter part of his reign, his Court was thronged.--ALPHONSO XII, King
of Spain, the only son of Queen Isabella II and her cousin Francis of
Assisi, was born in 1857 and died in 1885. He left Spain with his mother
when she was driven from the throne by the revolution of 1868, and till
1874 resided partly in France, partly in Austria. In the latter year he
studied for a time at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, being then
known as Prince of the Asturias. His mother had given up her claims to the
throne in 1870 in his favour, and in 1874 Alphonso came forward himself as
claimant, and in the end of the year was proclaimed by General Martinez
Campos as king. He now passed over into Spain and was enthusiastically
received, most of the Spaniards being by this time tired of the republican
Government, which had failed to put down the Carlist party. Alphonso was
successful in bringing the Carlist struggle to an end (1876), and
henceforth he reigned with little disturbance. His minister Canovas del
Castillo ruined, however, Alphonso's popularity when he advised the king to
conclude an alliance with Bismarck and Germany. He married first his cousin
Maria de las Mercedes, daughter of the Duc de Montpensier; second, Maria
Christina, Archduchess of Austria, whom he left a widow with two daughters
and a son.--ALPHONSO XIII, King of Spain, born in 1886, the posthumous son
of Alphonso XII. His mother was appointed regent during his minority, and
acted as such until 1902. On attaining his sixteenth year, the king assumed
personal charge of the Government. In 1906 (31st May) he married Princess
Ena, daughter of Princess Henry of Battenberg, a daughter of Queen
Victoria.

ALPINE CLUB, an association of English gentlemen, originating in 1856 or
1857, having as their common bond of union a delight in making the ascent
of mountains, in the Alps or elsewhere, difficult to ascend, and in
investigating everything connected with mountains. Similar associations now
exist in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and France.

ALPINE CROW, or ALPINE CHOUGH (_Pyrrhoc[)o]rax alp[=i]nus_), a European
bird closely akin to the chough of England.

ALPINE MUSEUM, a museum established at Munich in 1911 by the German and
Austrian Alpine Club. Its purpose is to spread knowledge about the Alps,
and to disseminate the results of scientific research by means of exhibits
and literary publications. Not only alpine geology, botany, and zoology,
but also industry, custom, and costumes are well demonstrated in the
exhibits.

ALPINE PLANTS, the name given to those plants whose habitat is in the
neighbourhood of the snow, on mountains partly covered with it all the year
round. As the height of the snow-line varies according to the latitude and
local conditions, so also does the height at which these plants grow. The
mean height for the alpine plants of Central Europe is about 6000 feet; but
it rises in parts of the Alps and in the Pyrenees to 9000 feet, or even
more. The high grounds clear of snow among these mountains present a very
well marked flora, the general characters of the plants being a low
dwarfish habit, a tendency to form thick turfs, stems partly or wholly
woody, and large brilliantly-coloured and often very sweet-smelling
flowers. They are also often closely covered with woolly hairs. In the Alps
of Middle Europe the eye is at once attracted by gentians, saxifrages,
rhododendrons, primroses of different kinds, &c. Ferns and mosses of many
kinds also characterize these regions. Some alpine plants are found only in
one locality. Considerable success has attended the attempt to grow alpine
plants in gardens, the first necessity being a situation where there is
plenty of sunlight, and which is free from the shade of trees.

ALPINE WARBLER (_Accentor alp[=i]nus_), a European bird of the same genus
as the hedge-sparrow.

ALPIN'IA, a genus of plants. See _Galanga_.

ALPS, the highest and most extensive system of mountains in Europe,
included between lat. 44° and 48° N., and long. 5° and 18° E., covering
great part of Northern Italy, several departments of France, nearly the
whole of Switzerland, and a large part of Austria, while its extensive
ramifications connect it with nearly all the mountain systems of Europe.
The culminating peak is Mont Blanc, 15,781 feet high, though the true
centre is the St. Gothard, or the mountain mass to which it belongs, and
from whose slopes flow, either directly or by affluents, the great rivers
of Central Europe--the Danube, Rhine, Rhone, and Po. Round the northern
frontier of Italy the Alps form a remarkable barrier, shutting it off from
the mainland of Europe, so that formerly it could hardly be approached from
France, Germany, or Switzerland, except through high and difficult passes.
In the west this barrier approaches close to the Mediterranean coast, and
near Nice there is left a free passage into the Italian peninsula between
the mountains and the sea. From this point eastward the chain proceeds
along the coast till it forms a junction with the Apennines. In the
opposite direction it proceeds north-west, and afterwards north to Mont
Blanc, on the boundaries of France and Italy; it then turns north-east and
runs generally in this direction to the Gross Glockner, in Central Tyrol,
between the Rivers Drave and the Salza, where it divides into two branches,
the northern proceeding north-east towards Vienna, the southern towards the
Balkan Peninsula. The principal valleys of the Alps run mostly in a
direction nearly parallel with the principal ranges, and therefore east and
west. The transverse valleys are commonly shorter, and frequently lead up
through a narrow gorge to a depression in the main ridge between two
adjacent peaks. These are the passes or _cols_, which may usually be found
by tracing a stream which descends from the mountains up to its source.

The Alps in their various great divisions receive different names. The
_Maritime Alps_, so called from their proximity to the Mediterranean,
extend westward from their junction with the Apennines for a distance of
about 100 miles; culminating points Aiguille de Chambeyron, 11,155 feet,
and Grand Rioburent, 11,142 feet; principal pass, the Col di Tende (6158
feet), which was made practicable for carriages by Napoleon I. Proceeding
northward the next group consists of the _Cottian Alps_, length about 60
miles; principal peaks: Monte Viso, 12,605 feet; Pic des Écrins, 13,462;
Pelvoux, 12,973. Next come the _Graian Alps_, 50 miles long, with extensive
ramifications in Savoy and Piedmont; principal peaks: Aiguille de la
Sassière, 12,326 feet; Grand Paradis, 13,300; Grande Casse, 12,780. To this
group belongs Mont Cenis (6765 feet), over which a carriage road was
constructed by Napoleon I, while a railway now passes through the mountain
by a tunnel nearly 8 miles long. These three divisions of the Alps are
often classed together as the _Western Alps_, while the portion of the
system immediately east of this forms the _Central Alps_. The _Pennine
Alps_ form the loftiest portion of the whole system, having Mont Blanc (in
France) at one extremity and Monte Rosa at the other (60 miles), and
including the Alps of Savoy and the Valais. In the east the valley of the
Upper Rhone separates the Pennine Alps from the great chain of the _Bernese
Alps_ running nearly parallel, the great peaks of the two ranges being
about 20 miles apart. The principal heights of the Pennine Alps are Mont
Blanc, 15,781 feet; Monte Rosa, 15,217; Mischabelhörner (Dom), 14,935;
Weisshorn, 14,804; Matterhorn, 14,780. In the Bernese Alps, the
Finsteraarhorn, 14,026; Aletschhorn, 13,803; Jungfrau, 13,671. The pass of
Great St. Bernard is celebrated for its hospice. The most easterly pass is
the Simplon, 6595 feet, with a carriage road made by Napoleon I, and a
tunnel leading into Italy, fully 12 miles long. Farther east are the
_Lepontine Alps_, which give off a number of streams that feed the Italian
lakes--Maggiore, Como, &c. The principal pass is the St. Gothard (6936
feet), over which a carriage road leads to Italy, while through this
mountain mass a railway tunnel more than 9 miles long has been opened.
Highest peaks: Tödi, 11,887 feet; Monte Leone, 11,696. The _Rhætian Alps_,
extending east to about lat. 12° 30', are the most easterly of the Central
Alps, and are divided into two portions by the Engadine, or valley of the
Inn, and also broken by the valley of the Adige; principal peaks: Piz
Bernina, 13,294 feet; Ortlerspitze, 12,814; Monte Adamello, 11,832. The
Brenner Pass (4588 feet), from Verona to Innsbruck, and between the Central
and the Eastern Alps, is crossed by a railway. On the railway from
Innsbruck to the Lake of Constance is the Arlberg Tunnel, over 6 miles
long. The _Eastern Alps_ form the broadest and lowest portion of the
system, and embrace the _Noric Alps_, the _Carnic Alps_, the _Julian Alps_,
&c.; highest peak, the Gross Glockner, 12,405 feet. The height of the
south-eastern continuations of the Alps rapidly diminishes, and they lose
themselves in ranges having nothing in common with the great mountain
masses which distinguish the centre of the system.

The Alps are very rich in lakes and streams. Among the chief of the former
are the Lakes of Geneva, Constance, Zürich, Thun, Brienz, on the north
side; on the south Maggiore, Como, Lugano, Garda, &c. The drainage is
carried to the North Sea by the Rhine, to the Mediterranean by the Rhone,
to the Adriatic by the Po, to the Black Sea by the Danube.

In the lower valleys of the Alps the mean temperature ranges from 50° to
60°. Half-way up the Alps it averages about 32°--a height which in the
snowy regions it never reaches. But even where the temperature is lowest
the solar radiation produced by the rocks and snow is often so great as to
raise the photometer to 120° and even higher. The exhilarating and
invigorating nature of the climate in the upper regions during summer has
been acknowledged by all.

In respect to vegetation the Alps have been divided into six zones,
depending on height modified by exposure and local circumstances. The first
is the olive region. This tree flourishes better on sheltered slopes of the
mountains than on the plains of Northern Italy. The vine, which bears
greater winter cold, distinguishes the second zone. On slopes exposed to
the sun it flourishes to a considerable extent. The third is called the
mountainous region. Cereals and deciduous trees form the distinguishing
features of its vegetation. The mean temperature about equals that of Great
Britain, but the extremes are greater. The fourth region is the sub-Alpine
or coniferous. Here are vast forests of pines of various species. Most of
the Alpine villages are in the two last regions. On the northern slopes
pines grow to 6000, and on the southern slopes to 7000 feet above the level
of the sea. This is also the region of the lower or permanent pastures
where the flocks are fed in winter. The fifth is the pasture region, the
term _alp_ being used in the local sense of high pasture grounds. It
extends from the uppermost limit of trees to the region of perpetual snow.
Here there are shrubs, rhododendrons, junipers, bilberries, and dwarf
willows, &c. The sixth zone is the region of perpetual snow. The line of
snow varies, according to seasons and localities, from 8000 to 9500 feet,
but the line is not continuous, being often broken in upon. Few flowering
plants extend above 10,000 feet, but they have been found as high as 12,000
feet.

At this great elevation are found the wild goat and the chamois. In summer
the high mountain pastures are covered with large flocks of cattle, sheep,
and goats, which are in winter removed to a lower and warmer level. The
marmot, and white or Alpine hare, inhabit both the snowy and the woody
regions. Lower down are found the wild-cat, fox, lynx, bear, and wolf; the
last two are now extremely rare. The vulture, eagle, and other birds of
prey frequent the highest elevations, the ptarmigan seeks its food and
shelter among the diminutive plants that border upon the snow-line.
Excellent trout and other fish are found; but the most elevated lakes are,
from their low temperature, entirely destitute of fish.

The geological structure of the Alps is highly involved, and is far, as
yet, from being thoroughly investigated or understood. In general three
zones can be distinguished, a central, in which crystalline rocks prevail,
and two exterior zones, in which sedimentary rocks predominate. The rocks
of the central zone consist of granite, gneiss, hornblende, mica slate, and
other slates and schists. In the western Alps there are also considerable
elevations in the central zone that belong to the Jurassic (Oolite) and
Cretaceous formations. From the disposition of the beds, which are broken,
tilted, and distorted on a gigantic scale, the Alps appear to have been
formed by a succession of disruptions and elevations extending over a very
protracted period. Among the minerals that are obtained are iron and lead,
gold, silver, copper, zinc, alum, and coal.

Extensive views of alpine scenery are now commanded by means of special
railways climbing to the summit of Mont Blanc, the Jungfrau, and other
mountains. The Rigi railway was one of the earliest constructed of these.
Here there are hotels at the top, 5905 feet above the level of the sea, and
4468 above the Lake of Lucerne. A favourite view from hence is to watch the
sun rise over the Bernese Alps. The Becca di Nona (8415 feet), south of
Aosta, gives, according to some authorities, the finest panoramic view to
be obtained from any summit of the Alps. The most accessible glaciers are
those of Aletsch, Chamonix, and Zermatt.

ALPUJARRAS ([.a]l-pö-_h_[.a]r'r[.a]s), a district of Spain, in Andalusia,
between the Sierra Nevada and the Mediterranean, mountainous, but with rich
and well-cultivated valleys, yielding grain, vines, olives, and other
fruits. The inhabitants are Christianized descendants of the Moors.

ALQUIFOU (al'ki-fö), a sort of lead ore used by potters as a green varnish
or glaze.

ALSACE ([.a]l-s[.a]s; Ger. _Elsass_), before the French revolution a
province of France, on the Rhine, afterwards constituting the French
departments of Haut- and Bas-Rhin, and subsequently to the Franco-Prussian
war of 1870-1 annexed by Germany, and incorporated in the province of
Elsass-Lothringen (Alsace-Lorraine). Alsace is generally a level country,
though there are several ranges of low hills richly wooded. The principal
river is the Ill. Corn, flax, tobacco, grapes, and other fruits are grown.
Area, 3202 sq. miles. Pop. 1,218,803. Alsace was originally a part of
ancient Gaul. It afterwards became a dukedom of the German Empire. In 1268,
the line of its dukes becoming extinct, it was parcelled out to several
members of the empire. By the peace of Westphalia, in 1648, a great part of
it was ceded to France, which afterwards seized the rest of it, this
seizure being recognized by the peace of Ryswick, in 1697.

ALSACE-LORRAINE, the imperial territory, or Reichsland of
Elsass-Lothringen, taken by Germany from France in 1871, and restored to
France in 1919. The province is partly bounded by the Rhine; area, 5605 sq.
miles. Pop. 1,874,014. Under the German system the province was divided
into three districts, namely, Lorraine, Upper Alsace, and Lower Alsace, and
governed by a Statthalter, having his seat at Strassburg. By the law of
31st May, 1911, a constitution was granted to Alsace-Lorraine, by which it
received three votes in the Federal Council. After the signing of the
armistice, French troops occupied Alsace-Lorraine, and the French
Government, by a decree of 26th Nov., 1918, took over the administration of
the restored territories, and French officials were installed. The three
chief towns are Strassburg, Mulhausen, and Metz. About 76 per cent of the
inhabitants are Roman Catholics, 22 per cent Evangelical, and between 1 and
2 per cent Jews. The chief crops are wheat, rye, barley, oats, potatoes,
and hay; the potash deposits of Alsace are superior to and more extensive
than those of Strassfurt, Germany. _See France; Moselle._--BIBLIOGRAPHY: M.
Harrison, _The Stolen Lands: a Study on Alsace-Lorraine_; G. W. Edwards,
_Alsace-Lorraine_.

ALSA'TIA, formerly a cant name for Whitefriars, a district in London
between the Thames and Fleet Street, and adjoining the Temple, which,
possessing certain privileges of sanctuary, became for that reason a nest
of mischievous characters who were liable to be arrested. These privileges
were abolished in 1697. The name Alsatia is a Latinized form of Alsace,
which, being on the frontiers of France and Germany, was a harbour for
necessitous or troublesome characters from both countries.

AL'SEN, an island on the east coast of Schleswig-Holstein; length, 20
miles, breadth, from 5 to 7 miles, diversified with forests, lakes,
well-cultivated fields, orchards, and towns. Pop. 25,000.

AL SIRAT (s[=e]'rat), in Mahommedan belief the bridge extending over the
abyss of hell, which must be crossed by everyone on his journey to heaven.
It is finer than a hair, as sharp as the edge of a sword, and beset with
thorns on either side. The righteous will pass over with ease and
swiftness, but the wicked will fall into hell below.

ALSTROEME'RIA, a genus of South American plants, ord. Amaryllidaceæ, some
of them cultivated in European greenhouses and gardens. _A. Salsilla_ and
_A. ov[=a]ta_ are cultivated for their edible tubers.

ALTAIC LANGUAGES (also called URAL-ALTAIC and TURANIAN), a family of
languages occupying a portion of Northern and Eastern Europe, and nearly
the whole of Northern and Central Asia, together with some other regions,
and divided into five branches, the Ugrian or Finno-Hungarian, Samoyedic,
Mongolic, Turkic, and Tungusic.

ALTAI MOUNTAINS ([.a]l't[=i]), an important Asiatic system on the borders
of Siberia and Mongolia, partly in Russian and partly in Chinese territory,
between lat. 46° and 53° N., long. 83° and 91° E., but having great eastern
extensions. The Russian portion is comprised in the governments of Tomsk
and Semipalatinsk, the Chinese in Dsungaria. The rivers of this region,
which are large and numerous, are mostly headwaters of the Obi and Irtish.
The mountain scenery is generally grand and interesting. The highest summit
is Byeluka ('white mountain', from its snowy top), height 11,000 feet. The
area covered by perpetual snow is very considerable, and glaciers occupy a
large area. In the high lands the winter is very severe, but on the whole
the climate is comparatively mild and is also healthy. The flora of the
Altai Mountains greatly resembles that of the Alps, about five-sixths of
the latter being found here. The mountain forests are composed of birch,
alder, aspen, fir, larch, stone-pine, &c. The wild sheep has here its
native home, and several kinds of deer are found. The Altai is exceedingly
rich in minerals, including gold, silver, copper, and iron. The name Altai
means 'gold mountain'. The inhabitants are chiefly Russians and Kalmuks.
The chief town is Barnaul.

ALTAMU'RA, a town of South Italy, province of Bari, at the foot of the
Apennines, walled, well built, and containing a magnificent cathedral. Pop.
25,616.

ALTAR ([a:]l'tar), any pile or structure raised above the ground for
receiving sacrifices to some divinity. Amongst the Semites the altar was
primarily the place where the victim was slaughtered, and amongst the
Indo-Germanic peoples the place where it was burnt. The Greek and Roman
altars were various in form, and often highly ornamental; in temples they
were usually placed before the statue of the god. In the Jewish ceremonial
the altar held an important place, and was associated with many of the most
significant rites of religion. Two altars were erected in the tabernacle in
the wilderness, and the same number in the temple. In most sections of the
Christian Church the communion-table, or table on which the eucharist is
placed, is called an altar. In the primitive Church it was a table of wood,
but subsequently stone and metal were introduced with rich ornaments,
sculpture, and painting. After the introduction of Gothic art the altar
frequently became a lofty and most elaborate structure. Originally there
was but one altar in a church, but later on there might be several in a
large church, the chief or _high altar_ standing at the east end. Over an
altar there is often a painting (an _altar-piece_), and behind it there may
be an ornamental _altar-screen_ separating the choir from the east end of
the church.

ALTAZ'IMUTH (also called UNIVERSAL INSTRUMENT), an astronomical instrument
similar to a theodolite, having a telescope so mounted that it can be
turned round in a plane perpendicular to the horizon, while it and the
graduated vertical circle connected can also be turned horizontally to any
point of the compass above a graduated horizontal circle. The altazimuth
can thus determine the altitude and azimuth of objects, hence the name.

ALTDORF. See _Altorf_.

AL'TENA, a town of Prussia, Westphalia, 40 miles N.N.E. of Cologne; it has
wire-works, rolling-mills, chain-works, manufactories of needles, pins,
thimbles, &c. Pop. 14,579.

AL'TENBURG, a town of Germany, capital of Saxe-Altenburg, 23 miles south of
Leipzig. It has some fine streets and many handsome buildings, including a
splendid palace; it manufactures cigars, woollen yarn, gloves, hats,
musical instruments, glass, brushes, &c. Pop. 39,976.

ALTERATIVES ([a:]l'-), medicines, as mercury, iodine, &c., which,
administered in small doses, gradually induce a change in the habit or
constitution, and imperceptibly alter disordered secretions and actions,
and restore healthy functions without producing any sensible evacuation by
perspiration, purging, or vomiting.

ALTER EGO (Lat., 'another I'), a second self, one who represents another in
every respect. This term was formerly given, in the official style of the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, to a substitute appointed by the king to
manage the affairs of the kingdom, with full royal power.

[Illustration: Alternate leaves]

ALTER'NATE, in botany, placed on opposite sides of an axis at a different
level, as leaves.--_Alternate generation_, the reproduction of young not
resembling their parents, but their grandparents, continuously, as in the
jelly-fishes, &c. See _Generations, Alternation of_.

ALTERNATOR. See _Electricity_.

ALTHÆ'A, a genus of plants. See _Hollyhock_ and _Marsh-mallow_.

ALTHORN, one of the instruments of the sax-horn family, the tenor sax-horn.
See _Sax-horn_.

AL'TISCOPE, an instrument consisting of an arrangement of mirrors in a
vertical framework, by means of which a person is enabled to overlook an
object (a parapet, for instance) intervening between himself and any view
that he desires to see, the picture of the latter being reflected from a
higher to a lower mirror, where it is seen by the observer.

AL'TITUDE, in mathematics, the perpendicular height of the vertex or apex
of a plane figure or solid above the base. In astronomy it is the vertical
height of any point or body above the horizon. It is measured or estimated
by the angle subtended between the object and the plane of the horizon, and
may be either _true_ or _apparent_. The _apparent_ altitude is that which
is obtained immediately from observation; the _true_ altitude, that which
results from correcting the apparent altitude, by making allowance for
parallax, refraction, &c. Altitude is one of the main determining
influences of local climate. Its increase has the same effect on
temperature as an increase of distance north or south of the equator.

ALTITUDE-AND-AZIMUTH INSTRUMENT. See _Altazimuth_.

ALTO, in music, the highest singing voice of a male adult, the lowest of a
boy or a woman, being in the latter the same as _contralto_. The alto, or
_counter-tenor_, is not a natural voice, but a development of the
_falsetto_. It is almost entirely confined to English singers, and the only
music written for it is by English composers. It is especially used in
cathedral compositions and glees.

ALTOFTS, a town of England, West Riding of Yorkshire, on the south of the
Calder, 3 miles north-east of Wakefield, with a fourteenth-century Gothic
church, and extensive collieries adjoining. Pop. (1921), 5050 (urban
district).

AL'TON, a town of England, in Hampshire, 16 miles north-east of Winchester,
famous for its ale. Pop. (1921), 5580.

AL'TON, a town of the United States, in Illinois, on the Mississippi near
the mouth of the Missouri, with a state penitentiary, several mills and
manufactories, and in the neighbourhood limestone and coal. Pop. 23,783.

AL'TONA, an important commercial city of Schleswig-Holstein, on the right
bank of the Elbe, adjoining Hamburg, with which it virtually forms one
city. It is a free port, and its commerce, both inland and foreign, is
large, being quite identified with that of Hamburg. Pop. (1919), 168,729.

ALTOO'NA, a town of the United States, in Pennsylvania, at the eastern base
of the Alleghanies, 244 miles west of Philadelphia, with large
machine-shops and locomotive factories. Pop. (1920), 60,331.

AL'TORF, a small town of Switzerland, capital of the canton of Uri
beautifully situated, near the Lake of Lucerne, amid gardens and orchards,
and memorable as the place where, according to legend, Tell shot the apple
from his son's head. A colossal statue of Tell now stands here. The town
possesses a beautiful church containing a remarkable organ and a picture by
Van Dyck. Pop. 3837.

[Illustration: Alto-rilievo.--Soldiers of the Prætorian Guard, the personal
body-guard of the Emperor Augustus (in the Louvre, Paris).]

ALTO-RILIEVO ([.a]l't[=o]-r[=e]-l[=e]-[=a]"vo), high relief, a term applied
in regard to sculptured figures to express that they stand out boldly from
the background, projecting more than half their thickness, without being
entirely detached. In mezzo-rilievo, or middle relief, the projection is
one-half, and in basso-rilievo, or bas-relief, less than one-half.
Alto-rilievo is further distinguished from mezzo-rilievo by some portion of
the figures standing usually quite free from the surface on which they are
carved, while in the latter the figures, though rounded, are not detached
in any part.

ALTÖTTING ([.a]lt-eut'ing), a famous place of pilgrimage, in Bavaria, 52
miles E.N.E. of Munich, near the Inn, with an ancient image of the Madonna
(the Black Virgin) in a chapel dating from 696, and containing a rich
treasure in gold and precious stones; and another chapel in which Tilly was
buried. Pop. 5408.

ALTRANSTÄDT ([.a]lt'-r[.a]n-stet), a village of Saxony, where a treaty was
concluded between Charles XII, King of Sweden, and Augustus, Elector of
Saxony and King of Poland, 24th Sept., 1706, by which the latter resigned
the crown of Poland.

ALT'RINGHAM, or ALTRINCHAM, a town of England, in Cheshire, 8 miles
south-west of Manchester, resorted to by invalids; large quantities of
fruit and vegetables are raised; and there are several industrial works.
Pop. 20,461. Also a parliamentary division of the county.

AL'TRUISM, a term first employed by the French philosopher Comte, to
signify devotion to others or to humanity: the opposite of _selfishness_ or
_egoism_. It was adopted by the English positivists and applied to
sociological problems of the physical theory of organic evolution. Herbert
Spencer gives considerable space to the discussion of altruism and egoism
in his _Data of Ethics_.

ALTSTÄTTEN ([.a]lt'stet-n), a town of Switzerland, canton St. Gall, in the
valley of the Rhine, 10 miles south of the Lake of Constance, with
manufactures of cotton and woollen goods. Pop. 8743.

ALTWASSER ([.a]lt'v[.a]s-[.e]r), a town of Prussia, in Silesia, 35 miles
south-west of Breslau; here are made porcelain, machinery, iron, yarn,
mirrors, &c. Pop. 17,321.

AL'UM, a well-known crystalline, astringent substance with a sweetish
taste, a double sulphate of potassium and aluminium with water of
crystallization; formula, K_2SO_4.Al_2(SO_4)_3.24 H_2O. It crystallizes in
colourless regular octahedra. Its solution reddens vegetable blues. When
heated, its water of crystallization is driven off, and it becomes light
and spongy with slightly corrosive properties, and is used as a caustic
under the name of _burnt alum_. Alum is prepared in Great Britain at Whitby
from alum-slate--where it forms the cliffs for miles--and was once
manufactured near Glasgow from bituminous alum-shale and slate-clay,
obtained from old coal-pits. It is also prepared near Rome from alum-stone.
Common alum is strictly _potash_ alum; other two varieties are _soda_ alum
and _ammonia_ alum, both similar in properties. _Iron alum_ (pale mauve)
and _chrome alum_ (deep purple) are compounds containing iron and chromium
in place of aluminium. Alum is employed to harden tallow, to remove grease
from printers' cushions and blocks in calico manufactories, and in dyeing
as a mordant. It is also largely used in the composition of crayons, in
tannery, and in medicine (as an astringent and styptic). Wood and paper are
dipped in a solution of alum to render them less combustible.

ALUMBAGH (_a_-l_a_m-bäg'), a palace and connected buildings in Hindustan,
about 4 miles south of Lucknow. On the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny it was
occupied by the revolted sepoys, and converted into a fort. On the 23rd
Sept., 1857, it was captured by the British, and during the following
winter a British garrison, under Sir James Outram, held out there, though
repeatedly attacked by overwhelming numbers of the rebels, till in March,
1858, it was finally relieved. Sir Henry Havelock was buried within the
grounds.

ALU'MINA (Al_2O_3), the single oxide of the metal aluminium. As found
native it is called corundum, when crystallized ruby or sapphire, when
amorphous emery. It is next to the diamond in hardness. In combination with
silica it is one of the most widely distributed of substances, as it enters
in large quantity into the composition of granite, traps, slates, schists,
clays, loams, and other rocks. The porcelain clays and kaolins contain
about half their weight of this earth, to which they owe their most
valuable properties. It forms compounds with certain colouring matters,
which causes it to be employed in the preparation of the colours called
_lakes_ in dyeing and calico-printing. It combines with the acids and forms
numerous salts, the most important of which are the sulphate (see _Alum_)
and acetate, the latter of extensive use as a mordant.

ALUMIN'IUM (symbol Al, atomic weight 27.1), a metal discovered in 1827, but
nowhere found native, although its oxide, alumina (which see), is
abundantly distributed. The minerals _bauxite_ and _cryolite_ are sources
of aluminium, but the chief source is the pure oxide, from which the metal
is obtained by means of a strong electric current. It is a shining white
metal, of a colour between that of silver and platinum, very light
(specific gravity, 2.56 cast, 2.67 hammered), not liable to tarnish nor
undergo oxidation in the air, very ductile and malleable, and remarkably
sonorous. It forms several useful alloys with iron and copper; one of the
latter (_aluminium gold_) much resembles gold, and is made into cheap
trinkets. Another, known as _aluminium bronze_, possesses great hardness
and tenacity. Spoons, tea and coffee pots, dish-covers, musical and
mathematical instruments, trinkets, &c., are made of aluminium.

ALUM-ROOT, the name given in America to two plants from the remarkable
astringency of their roots, which are used for medical purposes:
_Ger[=a]nium macul[=a]tum_ and _Heuch[)e]ra americ[=a]na_ (nat. ord.
Saxifragaceæ).

ALUM-SLATE, or ALUM-SCHIST, a slaty rock from which much alum is prepared;
colour greyish, bluish, or iron-black; often possessed of a glossy or
shining lustre; chiefly composed of clay (silicate of alumina), with
variable proportions of sulphide of iron (iron-pyrites), lime, bitumen, and
magnesia.

ALUM-STONE. See _Alunite_.

ALUNITE, a mineral sulphate of aluminium and potassium, greyish or
yellowish white, from which alum is prepared in Sicily by roasting and
lixiviation. It is regarded as a possible source of potassium for
agriculture and also of aluminium. A considerable vein occurs in Utah.

ALUN'NO, Niccolo (real name NICCOLO DE LIBERATORE), an Italian painter of
the fifteenth century, the founder of the Umbrian School, born in Foligno
about 1430, died 1502. Vasari, interpreting wrongly the passage "Nicholaus
alumnus Fulginiæ", gave him the name of Alunno.

AL'VA, a town of Scotland, in Clackmannanshire, 2½ miles north of Alloa,
near the River Devon, at the foot of the Ochils. It manufactures woollen
shawls, tweeds, yarn, &c. Pop. (1921), 4107.

AL'VA, or AL'BA, Ferdinand Alvarez, Duke of, Spanish statesman and general
under Charles V and Philip II, was born in 1508; early embraced a military
career, and fought in the wars of Charles V in France, Italy, Africa,
Hungary, and Germany. He is more especially remembered for his bloody and
tyrannical government of the Netherlands (1567-73), which had revolted, and
which he was commissioned by Philip II to reduce to entire subjection to
Spain. Among his first proceedings was to establish the 'Council of Blood',
a tribunal which condemned, without discrimination, all whose opinions were
suspected, and whose riches were coveted. The present and absent, the
living and the dead, were subjected to trial and their property
confiscated. Many merchants and mechanics emigrated to England; people by
hundreds of thousands abandoned their country. The Counts of Egmont and
Horn, and other men of rank, were executed, and William and Louis of Orange
had to save themselves in Germany. The most oppressive taxes were imposed,
and trade was brought completely to a standstill. As a reward for his
services to the faith the Pope presented him with a consecrated hat and
sword, a distinction previously conferred only on princes. Resistance was
only quelled for a time, and soon the provinces of Holland and Zealand
revolted against his tyranny. A fleet which was fitted out at his command
was annihilated, and he was everywhere met with insuperable courage.
Hopeless of finally subduing the country he asked to be recalled, and
accordingly, in Dec., 1573, Alva left the country, in which, as he himself
boasted, he had executed 18,000 men. He was received with distinction in
Madrid, but did not long enjoy his former credit. He had the honour,
however, before his death (which took place in 1582) of reducing all
Portugal to subjection to his sovereign. It is said of him that during
sixty years of warfare he never lost a battle and was never taken by
surprise.

ALVARADO ([.a]l-v[.a]-rä'd[=o]), Pedro de, one of the Spanish
'conquistadores', was born towards the end of the fifteenth century, and
died in 1541. Having crossed the Atlantic, he was associated (1519) with
Cortez in his expedition to conquer Mexico; and was entrusted with
important operations. In July, 1520, during the disastrous retreat from the
capital after the death of Montezuma, the perilous command of the
rear-guard was assigned to Alvarado. On his return to Spain he was received
with honour by Charles V, who made him governor of Guatemala, which he had
himself conquered. To this was subsequently added Honduras. He continued to
add to the Spanish dominions in America till his death.

ALVAREZ ([.a]l-v[.a]-reth'), Don José, a Spanish sculptor, born 1768, died
1827. His works are characterized by truth to nature, dignity, and feeling,
one of the chief representing a scene in the defence of Saragossa. The
Museo del Prado, in Madrid, contains some of his finest work.

ALVE'OLUS, one of the sockets in which the teeth of mammals are fixed.
Hence _alveolar arches_, the parts of the jaws containing these sockets.

ALVERSTOKE. See _Gosport_.

ALVERSTONE, Richard Everard Webster, first Viscount, eminent English
lawyer, born in 1842, died in 1915. Educated at King's College School, the
Charterhouse, and Trinity College, Cambridge, he was called to the bar in
1868, and made Q.C. in 1878. He was Member of Parliament for Launceston for
a short time in 1885, and from that year to 1900 represented the Isle of
Wight. He was Attorney-General from 1885-6, 1886-92, and 1895-1900, being
then made Lord Chief Justice and elevated to the peerage: he had been
created a baronet in 1899. He represented Britain in the arbitration with
the United States regarding the Behring Sea (1893), in the affair of the
Venezuelan and Guiana boundary (1898-9), and was one of three British
commissioners who, with three from the United States, settled the Canada
and Alaska boundary in 1903. Upon retiring in 1913 he was created viscount.
His book _Recollections of Bar and Bench_ was published in 1914.

ALWAR (_a_l-w_a_r'), a State of north-western Hindustan, in Rajputana;
area, 3141 sq. miles; surface generally elevated and rugged, and much of it
of an arid description, though water is generally found on the plains by
digging a little beneath the surface, and the means of irrigation being
thus provided, the soil, though sandy, is highly productive. This
semi-independent State has as its ruler a rajah with a revenue of £232,000;
military force, about 5000 infantry and 2000 cavalry. Pop.
791,688.--_Alwar_, the capital, is situated at the base of a rocky hill
crowned by a fort, 80 miles S.S.W. of Delhi. It is surrounded by a moat and
rampart, and is poorly built, but has fine surroundings; it contains the
rajah's palace and a few other good buildings. Pop. 41,305.

ALYS'SUM (_A. saxatile_, L.), a native of Crete, a genus of cruciferous
plants, several species of which are cultivated on account of their white
or yellow coloured flowers; madwort.

ALYTH ([=a]'lith), a town of Scotland, Perthshire, near the eastern
boundary, with linen and jute manufactures. Pop. (1921), 1710.

AMAD'AVAT (_Estrilda amand[=a]va_), a small Indian singing bird allied to
the finches and buntings; the female is olive-brown, and the male, in
summer, largely crimson.

AMADE'US, the name of several counts of Savoy. The first was the son of
Humbert I, and succeeded him in 1048, dying about 1078; others who have
occupied an important place in history are the following:--AMADEUS V, 'the
Great', succeeded in 1285; gained great honour in defending Rhodes against
the Turks; increased his possessions by marriage and war; was made a prince
of the empire; died in 1323.--AMADEUS VIII succeeded his father, Amadeus
VII, in 1391, and had his title raised to that of duke by the Emperor
Sigismund. He was chosen regent of Piedmont; but after this elevation
retired from his throne and family into a religious house. He now aspired
to the papacy, and was chosen by the Council of Basel (1439), becoming
Pope, or rather anti-Pope, under the name of Felix V, though he had never
taken holy orders. He was recognized as Pope by only a few princes, and
resigned in 1449, being the last of the anti-Popes. He died in 1451.

AMADE'US, Duke of Aosta, for a short time King of Spain, second son of
Victor Emanuel of Italy, and brother of Humbert I, King of Italy. He was
born in 1845, and, thanks to the influence of Marshals Prim and Serrano,
was chosen by the Cortes King of Spain in 1870, Queen Isabella having had
to leave the country in 1868. He made his entrance into Madrid as king on
2nd Jan., 1871, and took the oath to the constitution. His position was far
from comfortable, however, and, having little hope of becoming acceptable
to all parties, he abdicated in 1873 (11th Feb.). He died in 1890.

AMADE'US, Lake, a large salt lake or salt swamp in South Australia, and
nearly in the centre of Australia. It was discovered by Giles in 1872, and
is seldom visited, being in a dreary, arid region.

AM'ADIS, a name belonging to a number of heroes in the romances of
chivalry, Amadis de Gaul being the greatest among them, and represented as
the progenitor of the whole. The Spanish series of Amadis romances is the
oldest. It is comprised in fourteen books, of which the first four narrate
the adventures of Amadis de Gaul, this portion of the series having
originated about the end of the thirteenth or beginning of the fourteenth
century, and the subsequent books being added by various hands. An abridged
English translation of _Amadis of Gaul_ was published by Southey in 1803.

AMADOU (am'a-dö), a name of several fungi, genus Polyp[)o]rus, of a
leathery appearance, growing on trees. See _German Tinder_.

AMAGER ([.a]m'a-ger), a small Danish island in the Sound, opposite
Copenhagen, part of which is situated on it. Rural pop. 25,000.

AMAKO'SA, one of the Kaffir tribes of S. Africa.

AMALASUN'THA, daughter of Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, and after his
death regent of Italy for her son Athalarich. Athalarich died in 534, after
which Amalasuntha married her cousin Theodahad, but retained the power in
her own hands. Mainly on this account she was imprisoned and strangled in
her bath by order of her second husband, A.D. 535.

AMAL'EKITES, an ancient tribe occupying the peninsula between Egypt and
Palestine, named after a grandson of Esau. They were denounced by Moses for
their hostility to the Israelites during their journey through the
wilderness, and they seem to have been all but exterminated by Saul and
David. The Kenites seem to have been a branch of the Amalekites.

AMAL'FI, a seaport in Southern Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno, 23 miles from
Naples, the seat of an archbishop. In the early part of the Middle Ages it
was a place of great commercial importance, and it long enjoyed a
republican constitution of its own. Quarrels with its neighbours,
encroachments of the sea, and other causes led to its downfall, but it is
still much visited by tourists. The road from Salerno to Amalfi is a
magnificent carriage-way, partly hewn in the cliffs, and affords charming
views. Amalfi is surrounded by rocky heights, and its harbour was choked up
by a landslip in 1900. Here arose the _Amalfian Code_ of maritime law,
composed in 1010 and containing 66 articles, which once had great influence
in the maritime affairs of the Mediterranean trading peoples. The MS. was
discovered by the Prince of Andorra, in 1844, in the imperial library at
Vienna. Pop. 7472.

AMAL'GAM, a name applied to the alloys of mercury with the other metals.
One of them is the amalgam of mercury with tin, which is used to silver
looking-glasses. Mercury unites very readily with gold and silver at
ordinary temperatures, and advantage is taken of this to separate them from
their ores, the process being called _amalgamation_. The mercury dissolves
and combines with the precious metal and separates it from the waste
matters, and is itself easily driven off by heat. An amalgam made of
cadmium and copper is frequently used in dentistry, and an amalgam of zinc
and tin is used for the rubbers of frictional electric machines.

[Illustration: Amanita.--Two forms of fly-agaric]

AMANI'TA, a genus of fungi, one species of which, _A. musc[=a]ria_, or
fly-agaric, is extremely poisonous.

AMA'NUS, a branch of the Taurus Mountains in Asia Minor.

AMAPALA ([.a]-m[.a]-pä'l[.a]), a seaport of Central America, State of
Honduras, on a small island.

AMARANTHA'CEÆ, the amaranths, a nat. ord. of apetalous plants, chiefly
found in tropical countries, where they are often troublesome weeds. They
are remarkable for the white or sometimes reddish scales of which their
flowers are composed. Amaranthus, the typical genus, comprises _A.
caud[=a]tus_, or love-lies-bleeding, a common plant in gardens, with
pendulous racemes of crimson flowers; and _A. hypochondri[)a]cus_, or
prince's feather. The blossoms keep their bloom after being plucked and
dried (hence the name: Gr. _a_, not, and _marain[=o]_, to wither).

AMARAPURA (_a_-m_a_-r_a_-pö'r_a_), a deserted city, once the capital of the
Burmese Empire, on the left bank of the Irawadi, quite close to Mandalay.
In 1810, when the city had about 175,000 inhabitants, it was completely
destroyed by fire; in 1839 it was visited by a destructive earthquake. In
1857 the seat of government was removed to Mandalay. Pop. 6500.

AMARYLLIDA'CEÆ, an order of monocotyledonous plants, generally bulbous,
occasionally with a tall, cylindrical, woody stem (as in Agave); with a
highly-coloured flower, six stamens, and an inferior three-celled ovary;
natives of Europe and most of the warmer parts of the world. The order
includes the snowdrop, the snow-flake, the daffodil, the belladonna-lily
(belonging to the typical genus Amaryllis), the so-called Guernsey-lily
(probably a native of Japan), the Brunsvigias, the blood-flowers
(Hæmanthus) of the Cape of Good Hope, different species of Narcissus, Agave
(American aloe), &c. Many are highly prized in gardens and hot-houses; the
bulbs of some are extremely poisonous.

AMASIA ([.a]-m[.a]-s[=e]'[.a]), a town in the north of Asia Minor, on the
Irmak, 60 miles from the Black Sea, surmounted by a rocky height in which
is a ruined fortress; has numerous mosques, richly-endowed Mahommedan
schools, and a trade in wine, silk, &c. Amasia was a residence of the
ancient kings of Pontus. A few miles from Amasia, on the road leading to
Zilleh, is the famous battle-field where Cæsar defeated Pharnaces, King of
Pontus, and whence he sent his famous message to Rome: _Veni, vidi, vici_.
Pop. 30,000.

AMA'SIS, King of Egypt from 569 to 526 B.C., obtained the throne by
rebelling against his predecessor and benefactor Apries, and is chiefly
known from his friendship for the Greeks, and his wise government of the
kingdom, which, under him, was in the most prosperous condition. He was
succeeded by his son Psammetik.

AMATI ([.a]-mä't[=e]), a family, almost a dynasty, of Cremona who
manufactured violins in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Andrea
(about 1540-1600) was the founder of the business, which was carried on by
his sons Geronimo and Antonio, and by Niccolo the son of Geronimo. The
first instrument signed Amati bears the date 1546. Most of the violins made
by them are of comparatively small size and flat model, and the tone
produced by the fourth or G string is somewhat thin and sharp. Many of
Niccolo Amati's violins are, however, of a larger size and have all the
fulness and intensity of tone characteristic of those manufactured by
Stradivario and Guarnerio.

AMATIT'LAN, a town in Central America, State of Guatemala, about 15 miles
south of the city of Guatemala, a busy modern town, the inhabitants of
which are actively engaged in the cochineal trade. There is a small lake of
the same name close to the town. Pop. 12,000.

AMAURO'SIS (Gr. _amauros_, dark), a species of blindness, formerly called
_gutta serena_ (the 'drop serene', as Milton, whose blindness was of this
sort, called it), caused by disease of the nerves of vision. The most
frequent causes are a long-continued direction of the eye on minute
objects, long exposure to a bright light, to the fire of a forge, to snow,
or irritating gases, overfulness of blood, disease of the brain, &c. If
taken in time it may be cured or mitigated; but, unless caused by loss of
blood, by lead-poisoning, or debility, it is usually incurable.

AMAXICHI ([.a]-m[.a]ks'[=e]-h[=e]), the chief town and seaport of Santa
Maura (Leukadia), one of the Ionian Isles, the seat of a Greek bishop;
manufactures cotton and leather. Pop. 5500.

AM'AZON, or AM'AZONS, a river of South America, the largest in the world,
formed by a great number of sources which rise in the Andes, the two head
branches being the Tunguragua or Marañon and the Ucayali, both rising in
Peru, the former from Lake Lauricocha, in lat. 10° 29' S., the latter
formed by the Apurimac and Urubamba, the headwaters of which are between
lat. 14° and 16° S.; general course north of east; length, including
windings, between 3000 and 4000 miles; area of drainage basin, 2,500,000
sq. miles. It enters the Atlantic under the equator by a mouth 200 miles
wide, divided into two principal and several smaller arms by the large
island Marajo and a number of smaller islands. In its upper course
navigation is interrupted by rapids, but from its mouth upwards for a
distance of 3300 miles (mostly in Brazil) there is no obstruction. It
receives the waters of about 200 tributaries, 100 of which are navigable
and seventeen of these 1000 to 2300 miles in length; northern tributaries:
Santiago, Morona, Pastaça, Tigre, Napo, Putumayo, Japura, Rio Negro (the
Cassiquiare connects this stream with the Orinoco), &c.; southern:
Huallaga, Ucayali, Javari, Jutay, Jurua, Coary, Purus, Madeira, Tapajos,
Xingu, &c. At Tabatinga, where it enters Brazilian territory, the breadth
is 1½ miles; below the mouth of the Madeira it is 3 miles wide, and where
there are islands often as much as 7; from the sea to the Rio Negro, 750
miles in a straight line, the depth is nowhere less than 30 fathoms; up to
the junction of the Ucayale there is depth sufficient for the largest
vessels. The Amazonian water system affords some 50,000 miles of river
suitable for navigation. The rapidity of the river is considerable,
especially during the rainy season (Jan. to June), when it is subject to
floods; but there is no great fall in its course. The tides reach up as far
as 400 miles from its mouth. The singular phenomenon of the _bore_, or as
it is called on the Amazon the _pororoca_, occurs at the mouth of the river
at spring-tides on a grand scale. The river swarms with alligators,
turtles, and a great variety of fish. The country through which it flows is
extremely fertile, and is mostly covered with immense forests; it must at
some future time support a numerous population, and be the theatre of a
busy commerce. Steamers and other craft ply on the river, the chief centre
of trade being Para, at its mouth. The Amazon was discovered by Vicente
Yañez Pinzon in 1500, but the stream was not navigated by any European till
1541, when Francis Orellana descended it. Orellana stated that he found on
its banks a nation of armed women, and this circumstance gave the name to
the river.

AMAZ'ONAS, the largest state of Brazil, traversed by the Amazon and its
tributaries; area, 731,000 sq. miles. Pop. 459,309.

AM'AZONS, according to an ancient Greek tradition, the name of a community
of women, who permitted no men to reside among them, fought under the
conduct of a queen, and long constituted a formidable State. They were said
to burn off the right breast that it might not impede them in the use of
the bow--a legend that arose from the Greeks supposing the name was from
_a_, not, _mazos_, breast. It is probably from _a_, together, and _mazos_,
breast, the name meaning therefore sisters. Several nations of Amazons are
mentioned, the most famous being those who dwelt in Pontus, who built
Ephesus and other cities. Their queen, Hippolyta, was vanquished by
Hercules, who took from her the girdle of Mars. They attacked Attica in the
time of Theseus. They came to the assistance of Troy under their queen,
Penthesil[=e]a, who was slain by Achilles.

AMAZU'LU, a branch of the Zulu Kaffir race. See _Zulus_.

AMBA'LA, or UMBALL'A, a town of India, in the Punjab, in an open plain 3
miles from the Ghaggar, consisting of an old and a new portion, with a
flourishing trade in grain and other commodities. The military cantonment
is several miles distant. Total pop. 80,131.

AMBALE'MA, a town of S. America, Colombia, on the Magdalena; the centre of
an important tobacco district. Pop. 6285.

AM'BAREE, a fibre similar to jute largely used in India, obtained from
_Hibiscus cannab[=i]nus_.

AMBARVALIA, an ancient Roman festival held annually in May, and celebrated
by the Arval Brothers (Fratres Arvales). Its object was to preserve the
growing crops from harm of any kind.

AMBAS'SADOR, a minister of the highest rank, employed by one prince or
State at the Court of another to manage the public concerns, or support the
interests of his own prince or State, and representing the power and
dignity of his sovereign or State. Ambassadors are _ordinary_ when they
reside permanently at a foreign Court, or _extraordinary_ when they are
sent on a special occasion. When _ambassadors extraordinary_ have full
powers, as of concluding peace, making treaties, and the like, they are
called _plenipotentiaries_. Ambassadors are often called simply
_ministers_. _Envoys_ are ministers employed on special occasions, and are
of less dignity than ambassadors. The term _ambassador_, however, is also
used in a more general sense for any diplomatic agent or minister. An
ambassador and his suite are not amenable to the laws of the country in
which they are residing. See _Diplomacy_.

AM'BATCH (_Hermini[=e]ra elaphrox[)y]lon_), a thorny leguminous shrub with
yellow flowers growing in the shallows of the Upper Nile and other rivers
of tropical Africa, 15 to 20 feet high. Its wood is extremely light and
spongy, and hence is made into floats or rafts. A raft capable of bearing
eight persons can easily be carried by one.

AMBA'TO, a town of Ecuador, on the side of Chimborazo, 70 miles south of
Quito. Pop. 12,000.

AM'BER, a semi-mineral substance of resinous composition, a sort of fossil
resin, the produce of extinct Coniferæ, used for the manufacture of
ornamental objects. It is usually of yellow or reddish-brown colour;
brittle; yields easily to the knife; is translucent, and possessed of a
resinous lustre. Specific gravity, 1.065. It burns with a yellow flame,
emitting a pungent aromatic smoke, and leaving a light carbonaceous
residue, which is employed as the basis of the finest black varnishes. By
friction it becomes strongly electric. It is found in masses from the size
of coarse sand to that of a man's head, and occurs in beds of bituminous
wood situated upon the shores of the Baltic and Adriatic Seas; also in
Poland, France, Italy, and Denmark. It is often washed up on the Prussian
shores of the Baltic, and is also obtained by fishing for it with nets.
Sometimes it is found on the east coast of Britain, in gravel pits round
London, also in the United States.

AM'BERG, a town of South Germany, in Bavaria, on the Vils, well built, with
a Gothic church of the fifteenth century, royal palace, town house, &c.; it
manufactures iron-wares, stone-ware, tobacco, beer, vinegar, and arms. Pop.
25,242.

AM'BERGRIS, a substance derived from the intestines of the sperm-whale, and
found floating or on the shore; yellowish or blackish white; very light;
melts at 140°, and is entirely dissipated on red-hot coals; is soluble in
ether, volatile oils, and partially in alcohol, and is chiefly composed of
a peculiar fatty, substance. Its odour is very agreeable, and hence it is
used as a perfume.

AMBLE, a town (urban district) of England, Northumberland, near the mouth
of the River Coquet, with a harbour at which coal is exported, fishing also
being carried on. Pop. 4851.

AMBLESIDE, an old market-town of England, Westmorland, near the head of
Windermere, a great tourist centre. Pop. (1921), 2878.

AMBLETEUSE ([.a][n.]-bl-t_eu_z), a small seaport of France, 6 miles from
Boulogne. After the capture of Boulogne in 1544 the English began to
construct a military harbour here under the name of New Haven, but had to
abandon the enterprise in 1554. Here James II landed on Christmas Day,
1688, after his flight from England; and from its harbour Napoleon I
prepared to dispatch a flotilla of flat-bottomed boats for the invasion of
Britain.

AMBLYOP'SIS, a genus of blind fishes, containing only one species, _A.
spelæus_, found in the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky.

AM'BLYOPY, dullness or obscurity of eyesight without any apparent defect in
the organs; the first stage of amaurosis.

AM'BO, or AM'BON, in early Christian churches a kind of raised desk or
pulpit, sometimes richly ornamented, from which certain parts of the
service were read, or discourses delivered, there being sometimes two in
one church. Some of the most ancient of these pulpits (fourth century) are
at Salonica and at Ravenna (fifth and sixth centuries). The ambo
constructed by Justinian in the Church of St. Sophia was destroyed by an
earthquake.

AMBOINA. See _Amboyna_.

AMBOISE ([.a][n.]-bwäz), a town of France, department Indre-et-Loire, 12
miles east of Tours, on the Loire, with an antique castle, the residence of
several French kings, and manufactures of files and rasps. Near the Château
d'Amboise is that of Cloux, which was given by Francis I to Leonardo da
Vinci, and where the artist died in 1519. Pop. 4660.

AMBOY'NA, AMBOINA, or APON, one of the Molucca Islands in the Indian
Archipelago, close to the large island of Ceram; area, about 360 sq. miles.
Here is the seat of government of the Dutch residency or province of
Amboyna, which includes also Ceram, Buru, &c. Its surface is generally
hilly or mountainous, its general aspect beautiful, and its climate on the
whole salubrious, but frequently visited by earthquakes. It affords a
variety of useful trees, including the coco-nut and sago palms. Cloves and
nutmegs are the staple productions. The soil in the valleys and along the
shores is very fertile, but a large portion remains uncultivated. The
natives are mostly of Malayan race. The capital, also called _Amboyna_, is
situated on the Bay of Amboyna, and is well built and defended by a
citadel. The streets are planted on each side with rows of fruit-trees. It
is a free port. Pop. 10,000. In 1607 Amboyna and the other Moluccas were
taken by the Dutch from the Portuguese, and it was for some years the seat
of government of the Dutch East Indies. Trade with the Moluccas was secured
to the British by treaty in 1619, but the British establishment was
destroyed and several persons massacred in 1623, an outrage for which no
satisfaction was obtained till Cromwell obtained it in 1654. Amboyna was
taken by the British in 1796 and 1810, but each time restored to the Dutch.
Pop. about 40,000. The Dutch residency of Amboyna, including the Banda
group, Ceram, Buru, and other islands, has an area of 19,870 sq. miles and
a population of about 300,000.

AMBOYNA WOOD, a beautiful curled orange or brownish coloured wood brought
from the Moluccas, yielded by _Pterospermum indicum_.

AMBRA'CIA. See _Arta_.

AMBRINE, a preparation of paraffin, resin, and wax, used as a remedy in the
treatment of burns and scalds and in rheumatic disorders. It was discovered
by Barthe de Sandford, a French doctor, in 1904.

AM'BROSE, Saint, a celebrated father of the Church; born in A.D. 333 or
334, probably at Trèves, where his father was prefect; died in 397. He was
educated at Rome, studied law, practised as a pleader at Milan, and in 369
was appointed governor of Liguria and Æmilia (North Italy). His kindness
and wisdom gained him the esteem and love of the people, and in 374 he was
unanimously called to the bishopric of Milan, though not yet baptized. For
a time he refused to accept this dignity, but he had to give way, and at
once ranged himself against the Arians. In his struggles against the Arian
heresy he was opposed by Justina, mother of Valentinian II, and for a time
by the young emperor himself, together with the courtiers and the Gothic
troops. Backed by the people of Milan, however, he felt strong enough to
deny the Arians the use of a single church in the city, although Justina,
in her son's name, demanded that two should be given up. He had also to
carry on a war with paganism, Symmachus, the prefect of the city, an
eloquent orator, having endeavoured to restore the worship of heathen
deities. In 390, on account of the ruthless massacres at Thessalonica
ordered by the emperor Theodosius, he refused him entrance into the church
of Milan for eight months. The later years of his life were devoted to the
more immediate care of his see. His writings, which are numerous, show that
his theological knowledge extended little beyond an acquaintance with the
works of the Greek fathers. He wrote Latin hymns, but the _Te Deum
Laudamus_, which has been ascribed to him, was written a century later. He
introduced the _Ambrosian Chant_, a mode of singing more monotonous than
the Gregorian, which superseded it. He also compiled a form of ritual known
by his name. The best edition of his works is that published in Paris,
1686-90, in 2 vols. fol., and reissued at Lyons in 1853.

AMBRO'SIA, in Greek mythology the food of the gods, as nectar was their
drink.

AMBROSIAN CHANT. See _Ambrose_.

AMBROSIAN LIBRARY, a public library in Milan founded by the cardinal
archbishop Federigo Borromeo, a relation of St. Charles Borromeo, who sent
scholars, among them Antonio Olgiati, all over Europe to acquire books. The
library was opened in 1609, now containing 230,000 printed books and many
MSS., among the latter being the famous collection of Pinelli. It was named
in honour of St. Ambrose, the patron saint of Milan.

AM'BRY, a niche or recess in the wall of ancient churches near the altar,
fitted with a door and used for keeping the sacred utensils, &c.

AMBULA'CRAL SYSTEM, the locomotive apparatus of the Echinodermata
(sea-urchins, star-fishes, &c.), the most important feature of which is the
protrusible tube-feet that the animal can at will dilate with water and
thus move forward.

AM'BULANCE (FIELD), a military medical unit attached to an army in the
field for the purpose of providing medical and surgical first-aid to sick
and wounded immediately behind the fighting-line. The term field-ambulance
was adopted in the British service in 1905-6. The chief and most important
duty of a field-ambulance is to relieve fighting troops of their sick and
wounded and transfer them to the rear to the collecting-hospitals, known as
Casualty Clearing Stations, situated at the head of the line of
communications to the army's base. Three field-ambulances are attached to
each division in the field, one to each brigade, and their officers and men
are divided into bearer and nursing sections and equipped with horse or
mule and motor transport for wounded and sick. In the East sick and wounded
are often carried in litters on camel-back, two of the cacolets being
balanced against each other. A medical ambulance is theoretically able to
undertake any hospital work, but in practice it confines itself when in
action with its division to clearing the front line, and when at rest to
treating the minor maladies such as lice, scabies, and slight illnesses
which do not require much time or equipment. The medical and surgical
outfit of an ambulance is carried in panniers and is usually in excess of
its requirements. The word ambulance is often used to designate the motors
or other vehicles employed by military or civil authorities in carrying the
sick and wounded.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: M. M. Bird, _The Errand of Mercy: a
History of Ambulance Work upon the Battle-field_; G. H. Painton, _The Field
Ambulance Guide_.

AMELAN'CHIER (-k[=e]-[.e]r), a genus of small trees natives of Europe and
N. America, allied to the medlar. _A. vulg[=a]ris_, long cultivated in
English gardens, has showy white flowers; _A. Botry[=a]pium_ (grape-pear)
and _A. ov[=a]lis_, American species, yield pleasant fruits.

AMELAND (ä'me-l[.a]nt), an island off the north coast of Holland, 13 miles
long and 3 broad; flat; inhabitants (about 2000 in number) chiefly engaged
in fishing and agriculture.

AMÉLIE-LES-BAINS ([.a]-m[=a]-l[=e]-l[=a]-ba[n.]), a village of France,
department Pyrénées-Orientales, frequented as a winter residence for
invalids, and for its warm sulphureous springs. The place was known to the
Romans, as it has been proved by the discovery of Roman medals there.

AMEN ([=a]-men'), a Hebrew word, signifying 'verily', 'truly', transferred
from the religious language of the Jews to that of the Christians, and used
at the end of prayers as equivalent to 'so be it', 'may this be granted'.

AMEND'MENT, a proposal brought forward in a meeting of some public or other
body, either in order to get an alteration introduced into some proposal
already before the meeting, or entirely to overturn such proposal. In
Parliament an amendment denotes an alteration made in the original draft of
a Bill whilst it is passing through the houses. Amendments may be made so
as totally to alter the nature of the proposition; and this is a way of
getting rid of a proposition, by making it bear a sense different from what
was intended by the movers, who are thus compelled to abandon it.

AMENO'PHIS (or AMENHOTEP) III, a king of ancient Egypt about 1500 B.C.;
warred successfully against Syrians and Ethiopians; built magnificent
temples and palaces at Thebes, where the so-called Memnon statue is a
statue of this king. He was the only Egyptian king deified during his
lifetime.

AMENORRHOE'A, absence or suspension of menstruation. The former may arise
from general debility or from defective development, the latter from
exposure to cold, from attacks of fever or other ailment, violent
excitement, &c.

AMENTA'CEÆ, an order of plants having their flowers arranged in amenta or
catkins; now broken up into several orders, the chief of which are
Betulaceæ (the birch), Salicaceæ (the willow), Fagaceæ (the beech),
Juglandaceæ (the walnut), and Myricaceæ (bog-myrtle).

AMEN'TIA, imbecility from birth, especially when extreme; idiocy.

[Illustration: Amentum
Hazel (_Corylus Avellana_) showing Catkins and Nuts.]

AMEN'TUM, in botany, that kind of inflorescence which is commonly known as
a catkin (as in the birch or willow), consisting of unisexual apetalous
flowers in the axil of scales or bracts.

AMER'ICA, or the NEW WORLD, the largest of the great divisions of the globe
except Asia, is washed on the west by the Pacific, on the east by the
Atlantic, on the north by the Arctic Ocean, while on the south it tapers to
a point. On the north-west it approaches within about 50 miles of Asia,
while on the north-east the island of Greenland approaches within 370 miles
of the European island Iceland; but in the south the distance between the
American mainland and Europe or Africa is very great. Extreme points of the
continent--north, Boothia Felix, at the Strait of Bellot, lat. 72° N.;
south, Cape Horn, lat. 56° S.; west, Cape Prince of Wales, long. 168° W.;
east, Point de Guia, long. 35° W. America as a whole forms the two
triangular continents of North and South America, united by the narrow
Isthmus of Panama, and having an entire length of about 10,000 miles; a
maximum breadth (in North America) of 3500 miles; a coast-line of 44,000
miles; and a total area, including the islands, of over 16,000,000, of
which N. America contains about 8,300,000 sq. miles. South America is more
compact in form than N. America, in this respect resembling Africa, while
N. America more resembles Europe. Between the two on the east side is the
great basin which comprises the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and the
West India Islands. Like Europe also N. America possesses numerous islands,
while those of S. America are less important and confined almost to the
southern extremity.

Three-fourths of the area of America is comparatively flat, and this
portion of the surface is bounded on the west by lofty mountain systems
which stretch continuously from north to south between the extremities of
the continent, generally at no great distance from the west shore. In North
America the Rocky Mountains, a broad series of masses partly consisting of
plateaux, form the most important portion of the elevated surface, being
continued southward in the mountains and tableland of Mexico and the ranges
of Central America. Separated by depressions from the Rocky Mountains
proper, and running close to and parallel with the western coast, are
several lofty ranges (Sierra Nevada, Cascade Mountains, &c.). Near the
eastern coast, and forming an isolated mass, are the Appalachians, a system
of much inferior magnitude. The loftiest mountains in N. America are
McKinley (20,470 feet), in Alaska; Logan (19,514 feet), in N. W. Canada;
and Popocatepetl (18,000 feet). The depression of the Isthmus of Panama
(about 260 feet) forms a natural separation between the systems of the
north and the south. In S. America the Andes form a system of greater
elevation but less breadth than the Rocky Mountains, and consist of a
series of ranges (_cordilleras_) closely following the line of the west
coast from the Isthmus of Panama to Cape Horn. The highest summits are
Aconcagua (23,080 feet), Sorata or Illampu (21,484), and Sahama (21,054).
Volcanoes are numerous. Isolated mountain groups of minor importance are
the highlands of Venezuela and of Brazil, the latter near the eastern
coast, reaching a height of 10,000 feet.

The fertile lowlands which lie to the east of the Rocky Mountains and the
Andes form a depression extending through both continents from the northern
to the southern oceans. They have somewhat different features and different
names in different portions; in N. America are _prairies_ and _savannahs_,
in S. America _llanos_, _selvas_, and _pampas_.

Through these low grounds flow the numerous great rivers which form so
characteristic a feature of America. The principal are the Mackenzie,
Coppermine, and Great Fish Rivers, entering the Northern Ocean; the
Churchill, Nelson, Severn, and Albany, entering Hudson's Bay; the St.
Lawrence, entering the Atlantic; Mississippi and Rio del Norte, entering
the Gulf of Mexico (all these being in N. America); the Magdalena, Orinoco,
Amazon, Paranahiba, Rio de la Plata, Colorado, and Rio Negro, entering the
Atlantic (all in S. America); and the Yukon, Fraser, Colombia, San Joaquin,
Sacramento, and Colorado, entering the Pacific. The rivers which flow into
the Pacific, however, owing to the fact that the great backbone of the
continent, the Rocky Mountains and the Andes, lies so near the west coast,
are of comparatively little importance, in S. America being all quite
small. Sometimes rivers traversing the same plains, and nearly on the same
levels, open communications with each other, a remarkable instance being
the Cassiquiari in S. America, which, branching off from the Rio Negro and
joining the Orinoco, forms a kind of natural canal, uniting the basins of
the Orinoco and the Amazon. The Amazon or Marañon in S. America, the
largest river in the world, has a course of about 3500 miles, and a basin
of 2,300,000 sq. miles; the Mississippi-Missouri, the largest river of
North America, runs a longer course than the Amazon, but the area of its
basin is not nearly so great. North America has the most extensive group of
lakes in the world--Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario,
which through the St. Lawrence send their drainage to the Atlantic. Thus by
means of lakes and rivers the interior of both N. and S. America is opened
up and made accessible.

In regard to climate N. America naturally differs very much from S.
America, and has more resemblance to the continents of Europe and Asia
(regarded as a whole). In N. America, as in the older continent, the
eastern parts are colder than the western, and hence the towns on the
Atlantic coast have a winter temperature about 10° lower than those in
corresponding latitudes of Europe. The winter temperature of the greater
part of N. America is indeed severe, though the intense cold is less felt
on account of the dryness of the air. There is no regular season of
rainfall unless in the south. Although two-thirds of S. America lies within
the tropics the heat is not so great as might be expected, owing to the
prevailing winds, the influences of the Andes, and other causes. The
highest temperature experienced is probably not more than 100° in the
shade; at Rio de Janeiro the mean is about 74°, at Lima 72°. Over a great
part of S. America there is a wet and a dry season, varying in different
regions; on the upper Amazon the rains last for ten months, being caused by
the prevailing easterly winds bringing moisture from the Atlantic, which is
condensed on the eastern slopes of the Andes. In each of the Americas there
is a region in which little or no rain falls; in N. America it extends over
a part of the United States and Northern Mexico, in S. America over a part
of the coast region of Peru and Chile.

America is rich in valuable minerals. It has supplied the world with
immense quantities of gold and silver, which it still yields in no small
amount, especially in the United States. It possesses inexhaustible stores
of coal (United States), with iron, copper, lead, tin, mercury, &c.
Petroleum may be called one of its specialities, its petroleum wells having
caused whole towns to spring into existence. Diamonds and other precious
stones are found.

As regards vegetation America may be called a region of forests and
verdure, vast tracts being covered by the grassy prairies, llanos, and
pampas where the forests fail. In N. America the forests have been largely
made use of by man; in S. America vast areas are covered with forests,
which as yet are traversed only by the uncivilized Indian. In the north is
the region of pines and firs; farther south come the deciduous trees, as
the oak, beech, maple, elm, chestnut, &c. Then follow the evergreen forests
of the tropical regions. The useful timber trees are very numerous; among
the most characteristic of America are mahogany and other ornamental woods,
and various dyewoods. In the tropical parts are numerous palms, cacti in
great variety, and various species of the agave or American aloe. In the
virgin forests of S. America the trees are often bound together into an
impenetrable mass of vegetation by various kinds of climbing and twining
plants. Among useful plants belonging to the American continent are maize,
the potato, cacao, tobacco, cinchona, vanilla, Paraguay tea, &c. The most
important plants introduced are wheat, rice, and other grains, sugar-cane,
coffee, and cotton, with various fruits and vegetables. The vine is native
to the continent, and both the American and introduced varieties are now
largely cultivated.

The animals of America include, among carnivora, the jaguar or American
tiger, found only in S. America; the puma or American lion, found mostly in
S. America; the grizzly bear of N. America, fully as powerful an animal as
either; the black bear, the skunk, the racoon, the American or prairie
wolf, several species of foxes, &c. The rodents are represented by the
beaver, the porcupine, and squirrels of several species; the marsupials by
the opossum. Among ruminants are the bison, or, as it is commonly called,
the buffalo, the moose or elk, the Virginian stag, the musk-ox; and in S.
America the llama (which takes the place of the camel of the Old World),
the alpaca, and the vicuña. Other animals most distinctive of S. America
are sloths, fitted to live only in its dense and boundless forests;
ant-eaters and armadillos; monkeys with prehensile tails, in this and other
respects differing from those of the Old World; the condor among the
heights of the Andes, the nandu, rhea or three-toed ostrich, beautiful
parrots and humming-birds. Among American reptiles are the boa-constrictor,
the rattlesnake, the alligator or cayman, the iguana and other large
lizards, large frogs and toads. The domestic animals of America, horses,
cattle, and sheep, are of foreign origin. The electrical eel exists in the
tropical waters.

The population of America consists partly of an aboriginal race or races,
partly of immigrants or their descendants. The aboriginal inhabitants are
the American Indians or red men, being generally of a brownish-red colour,
and now forming a very small portion of the total population, especially in
N. America, where the white population has almost exterminated them. These
people are divided into branches, some of which have displayed a
considerable aptitude for civilization. When the Europeans became
acquainted with the New World, Mexico, Central America, and part of S.
America were inhabited by populations which had made great advances in many
things that pertain to civilized life, dwelling in large and well-built
cities under a settled form of government, and practising agriculture and
the mechanical arts. Ever since the discovery of America at the close of
the fifteenth century Europeans of all nations have crowded into it; and
the comparatively feeble native races have rapidly diminished, or lost
their distinctive features by intermixtures with whites, and also with
negroes brought from Africa to work as slaves. These mixed races are
distinguished by a variety of names, as Mestizos, Mulattoes, Zambos, &c. In
North America the white population is mainly of British origin, though to a
considerable extent it also consists of Germans, Scandinavians, &c., and
the descendants of such. In Central and South America the prevailing white
nationality is the Spanish and Portuguese. In the extreme north are the
Eskimos--a scattered and stunted race closely allied to some of the peoples
of Northern Asia. That the aboriginal inhabitants of America passed over
from Asia is tolerably certain, but when and from what part we do not know.
The total population of the New World is estimated at 180,000,000, of which
perhaps 124,000,000 are whites, 28,000,000 mixed races, 15,000,000 negroes,
and 13,000,000 Indians. As regards religion, the bulk of the population of
N. America is Protestant; of Central and S. America the religion is almost
exclusively Roman Catholic. Several millions of the Indians are
heathens.--The independent States of America are all republican in form of
government, Brazil having become a republic in 1889. See _North America_,
_Central America_, _South America_, _West Indies_, &c.

The merit of first opening up the American continent to modern Europe
belongs to the Genoese navigator Christopher Columbus, who discovered, in
Oct., 1492, one of the Bahamas, and named it San Salvador. Europeans,
however, had on different former occasions discovered the American coasts,
and the coasts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island were visited by Northmen
and named Vinland in the year 1000. Still these discoveries had no
influence on the enterprise of Columbus, and cannot detract in the least
from his merit; they were forgotten, and had never been made known to the
inhabitants of the rest of Europe. Though Columbus was the first of his
time who set foot in the New World, it has taken its name not from him, but
from Amerigo Vespucci. The mainland was first seen in 1497 by Sebastian
Cabot, who sailed under the patronage of Henry VII of England. For further
particulars of discovery see _North America_ and _South America_.

The known history of America hardly goes beyond the period of its discovery
by Columbus; but it possesses many monuments of antiquity that might take
us many centuries backward, could we learn anything of their origin or of
those by whom they were produced. Among such antiquities are great
earthworks in the form of mounds, or of raised enclosures, crowning the
tops of hills, river peninsulas, &c., and no doubt serving for defence.
They enclose considerable areas, are surrounded by an exterior ditch, and
by ramparts which are composed of mingled earth and stones, and are often
of great extent in proportion to the area enclosed. They are always
supplied either naturally or artificially with water, and give other
indications of having been provided for a siege. Barrows and tumuli
containing human bones, and bearing indications of having been used both as
places of sepulture and as temples, are also numerous. They are in
geometrical forms--circles, squares, parallelograms, &c. A mound on the
plain of Cahokia in Illinois, opposite the city of St. Louis, is 700 feet
long, 500 feet broad, and 90 feet high. Earth mounds of another class
represent gigantic animal forms in bas-relief on the ground. One is a man
with two heads, the body 50 feet long and 25 feet broad across the breast;
another represents a serpent 1000 feet in length, with graceful curves. The
monuments of Mexico, Central America, and Peru are of a more advanced state
of civilization, approach nearer to the historical period, and make the
loss of authentic information more keenly felt. Here there are numerous
ruined towns with most elaborate sculptures, lofty pyramidal structures
serving as temples or forts, statues, picture writing, hieroglyphics,
roads, aqueducts, bridges, &c. Some remarkable prehistoric remains
discovered in recent years are what are known as the abodes of the
'cliff-dwellers'. These consist of habitations constructed on terraces and
in caves high up and steep sides of cañons in Colorado and other parts of
the western states of N. America. Some of these buildings are several
stories high. See also _Mexico_, _Peru_, &c.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: L. Farrand,
_The American Nation_; Prescott, _The Conquest of Mexico_ and _The Conquest
of Peru_; Winsor, _Narrative and Critical History of America_; F. W.
Halsey, _Great Epochs in American History_ (11 vols.).

AMERICAN INDIANS. See _Indians_.

AMERICANISM, a term, phrase, or idiom peculiar to the English language as
spoken in America, and not forming part of the language as spoken in
England. The following is a list of a few of the more noteworthy
Americanisms, some of them being rather slangy or vulgar.

_Approbate_, to approve.

_Around_ or _round_, about or near. To _hang around_ is to loiter about
a place.

_Backwoods_, the partially-cleared forest regions in the western
States.

_Bee_, an assemblage of persons to unite their labours for the benefit
of an individual or family, or to carry out a joint scheme.

_Boss_, an employer or superintendent of labourers, a leader.

_Bug_, a coleopterous insect, or what in England is called a _beetle_.

_Buggy_, a four-wheeled vehicle.

_Bulldose_, to; to intimidate voters.

_Bunkum_ or _buncombe_, a speech made solely to please a constituency;
talk for talking's sake, and in an inflated style.

_Bureau_, a chest of drawers, a dressing-table surmounted by a mirror.

_Calculate_, to suppose, to believe, to think.

_Camp-meeting_, a meeting held in the fields or woods for religious
purposes, and where the assemblage encamps and remains several days.

_Cane-brake_, a thicket of canes.

_Car_, a carriage or wagon of a railway train. The Englishman 'travels
by rail' or 'takes the train'; the American takes or goes by the
_cars_.

_Carpet-bagger_, a needy political adventurer who carries all his
worldly goods in a carpet-bag.

_Caucus_, a private meeting of the leading politicians of a party to
agree upon the plans to be pursued in an approaching election.

_Chalk_: a _long chalk_ means a great distance, a good deal.

_Clever_, good-natured, obliging.

_Cocktail_, a stimulating drink made of brandy or gin mixed with
bitters, sugar, and water.

_Corn_, maize (in England it means wheat, or grain in general).

_Corn-husking_, or _corn-shucking_, an occasion on which a farmer
invites his neighbours to assist him in stripping the husks from his
Indian corn.

_Cow-hide_, a whip made of twisted strips of raw hide.

_Creek_, a small river or brook; not, as in England, a small arm of the
sea.

_Cunning_, small and pretty, nice, e.g. 'It was such a _cunning_ baby'.

_Dander_; to get one's _dander raised_, to have one's _dander up_, is
to have been worked into a passion.

_Dead-heads_, people who have free admission to entertainments, or who
have the use of public conveyances, or the like, free of charge.

_Depot_, a railway station.

_Down east_, in or into the New England States. A _down-easter_ is a
New Englander.

_Drummer_, a bagman or commercial traveller.

_Dry goods_, a general term for such articles as are sold by
linen-drapers, haberdashers, hosiers, &c.

_Dutch_, the German language.--_Dutchman_, a German.

_Fix_, to; to put in order, to prepare, to adjust. To fix the hair, the
table, the fire, is to dress the hair, lay the table, make up the fire.

_Fixings_, arrangements, dress, embellishments, luggage, furniture,
garnishings of any kind.

_Gerrymander_, to arrange political divisions so that in an election
one party may obtain an advantage over its opponent, even though the
latter may possess a majority of votes in the State; from the deviser
of such a scheme, named _Gerry_, governor of Massachusetts.

_Given name_, a Christian name.

_Guess_, to; to believe, to suppose, to think, to fancy; also used
emphatically, as 'Joe, will you liquor up?' 'I guess I will.'

_Gulch_, a deep abrupt ravine, caused by the action of water.

_Happen in_, to; to happen to come in or call.

_Help_, a servant.

_High-falutin_, inflated speech, bombast.

_Hoe-cake_, a cake of Indian meal baked on a hoe or before the fire.

_Indian summer_, the short season of pleasant weather usually occurring
about the middle of November.

_Johnny Cake_, a cake made of Indian corn meal mixed with milk or water
and sometimes a little stewed pumpkin; the term is also applied to a
New Englander.

_Julep_, a drink composed of brandy or whisky with sugar, pounded ice,
and some sprigs of mint.

_Log-rolling_, the assembly of several parties of wood-cutters to help
one of them in rolling their logs to the river after they are felled
and trimmed; also employed in politics to signify a like system of
mutual co-operation.

_Lot_, a piece or division of land, an allotment.

_Lumber_, timber sawed and split for use; as beams, joists, planks,
staves, hoops, &c.

_Lynch law_, an irregular species of justice executed by the populace
or a mob, without legal authority or trial.

_Mail letters_, to; to post letters.

_Make tracks_, to; to run away.

_Mitten_; to _get the mitten_ is to meet with a refusal.

_Mizzle_, to; to abscond, or run away.

_Mush_, a kind of hasty-pudding.

_Muss_, a state of confusion.

_Notions_, a term applied to every variety of small-wares.

_One-horse_: a one-horse thing is a thing of no value or importance, a
mean and trifling thing.

_Picaninny_, a negro child.

_Pile_, a quantity of money.

_Planks_, in a political sense, are the several principles which
appertain to a party; _platform_ is the collection of such principles.

_Reckon_, to; to suppose, to think.

_Rock_, a stone of any size; a pebble; as to throw _rocks_ at a dog.

_Scalawag_, a scamp, a scapegrace.

_Shanty_, a mean structure such as squatters erect; a temporary hut.

_Skedaddle_, to; to run away; a word introduced during the civil war.

_Smart_, often used in the sense of considerable, a good deal, as a
_smart chance_.

_Soft sawder_, flattering, coaxing talk.

_Span_ of horses, two horses as nearly as possible alike, harnessed
side by side.

_Spread-eagle style_, a compound of exaggeration, bombast, mixed
metaphor, &c.

_Store_, a shop, as a book _store_, a grocery _store_.

_Strike oil_, to; to come upon petroleum: hence to make a lucky hit,
especially financially.

_Stump speech_, a bombastic speech calculated to please the popular
ear, such speeches in newly-settled districts being often delivered
from stumps of trees.

_Sun-up_, sunrise.

_Tall_, great, fine (used by Shakespeare much in the same sense); _tall
talk_ is extravagant talk.

_Ticket_: to vote the _straight ticket_ is to vote for all the men or
measures your party wishes.

_Truck_, the small produce of gardens; _truck patch_, a plot in which
the smaller fruits and vegetables are raised.

_Ugly_, ill-tempered, vicious.

_Vamose_, to; to run off (from the Sp. _vamos_, let us go).

BIBLIOGRAPHY: T. Pickering, _Vocabulary of Words and Phrases Supposed to be
Peculiar to America_; J. R. Bartlett, _Dictionary of Americanisms_; Schele
de Vere, _Americanisms_.

AMERICAN JUTE. See _Abutilon_.

AMERICAN ORGAN. See _Organ_.

AMER'ICUS, a town of the United States, Georgia, in a good cotton and corn
district. Pop. 11,000.

AMERIGO VESPUCCI ([.a]-mer-[=e]'go vesp[u:]t'ch[=e]), a maritime
discoverer, after whom America has been named, born, 1451, at Florence;
died, 1512, at Seville. In 1499 he coasted along the continent of America
for several hundred leagues, and the publication of his narrative, while
the prior discovery of Columbus was yet comparatively a secret, led to the
giving of his name to the new continent.

AMERONGEN, a village in Holland. Here, at the château belonging to Count
Goddard Bentinck, the ex-Kaiser Wilhelm II took up his residence after
signing his letters of abdication at Spa on 9th Nov., 1918.

AMERSFOORT (ä'merz-f[=o]rt), a town in Holland, province of Utrecht,
communicating by the Eem with the Zuider-Zee; manufactures woollen goods,
tobacco, glass, and silk yarn. Pop. 28,777.

AMES, Fisher, American statesman, born 1758, died 1808; studied law, and
became prominent in his profession--distinguished as a political orator and
essayist.

AMES, Joseph, English antiquary, born at Yarmouth, 1689, died 1759. He
became a ship-chandler at Wapping, devoted himself to antiquarian pursuits,
and was for many years secretary to the Society of Antiquaries. His chief
publication is, _Typographical Antiquities: being an historical account of
Printing in England_ (1749).

AMETAB'OLA (Gr. _ametabolos_, unchangeable), a division of insects,
including only the apterous or wingless insects, as lice, spring-tails,
&c., which do not undergo any metamorphosis, but which escape from the egg
nearly under the same form which they preserve through life.

AM'ETHYST, a violet-blue or purple variety of quartz, generally occurring
crystallized in hexahedral prisms or pyramids, also in rolled fragments,
composed of imperfect prismatic crystals. It is wrought into various
articles of jewellery. The _oriental amethyst_ is a rare violet-coloured
gem, a variety of alumina or corundum, of much brilliance and beauty. The
name is generally said to be of Greek origin, and expresses some supposed
quality in the stone of preventing or curing intoxication. The gem was one
of the twelve stones in the breastplate of the Jewish high-priest.

AMHARA ([.a]m-hä'r[.a]), a district of Abyssinia, lying between the Tacazzé
and the Blue Nile, but of which the limits are not well defined. The
Amharic language, developed from the ancient Gheez, and written since the
sixteenth century, has gradually gained ground in Southern and Central
Abyssinia, and has also become the Court language.

AMHERST (am'[.e]rst), a seaport of Canada, in Nova Scotia, on an arm of
Chignecto Bay, with flourishing industries, and trade by railway and sea.
Pop. 10,320. Also a port of Burmah, 31 miles south of Moulmein, a health
resort of Europeans. Pop. 3750.

AMHERST, Jeffrey, Lord, born 1717, died 1797; distinguished British
general, who fought at Dettingen and Fontenoy, and commanded in America,
where he took Louisburg, Ticonderoga, and Quebec, and restored the British
prestige in Canada. He was raised to the peerage, became
commander-in-chief, and ultimately field-marshal.

AMHERST, William Pitt, first earl, nephew of the above; Governor-General of
India, 1823; prosecuted the first Burmese war, and suppressed the
Barrackpore mutiny. Born 1773, died 1857.

AMIAN'THUS, a kind of flexible asbestos. See _Asbestos_.

AMICE (am'is), an oblong piece of linen with an embroidered apparel sewed
upon it, worn under the alb by priests of the Roman Catholic Church when
engaged in the sacrifice of the mass.

AMIDE, or AMINE (am'id, am'in), names used in chemistry. The amines are
compounds formed by the introduction of alcohol radicles into ammonia, e.g.
C_2H_5NH_2, which is known as ethylamine. They closely resemble ammonia in
properties. The amides are formed by replacing one of the hydrogen atoms of
ammonia by an acid radicle, e.g. C_2H_3ONH_2, which is called acetamide.
They are not strongly basic, and are usually crystalline, and have high
boiling-points.

*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 1 - A to Amide" ***

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