The Nuttall Encyclopaedia
by
Edited by Rev. James Wood
Part 2 out of 53
AKRON (27), a town in Ohio, U.S., seat of manufactures and centre
of traffic.
AKSAKOF`, a Russian litterateur and advocate of Panslavism
(1823-1886).
AKSU (20), a trading town in E. Turkestan, 250 m. NE. of Yarkand.
AK`YAB (37), the capital of Aracan, in British Burmah, 90 m. SE. of
Calcutta.
AL RAKIM, the dog that guarded the SEVEN SLEEPERS (q. v.),
and that stood by them all through their long sleep.
ALABA`MA (1,513), one of the United States of N. America, traversed
by a river of the name, a little larger than England, highly fertile and
a great cotton-growing country, and abounding in iron, coal, and marble,
bounded on the W. by the Mississippi, on the N. by Tennessee, and the E.
by Georgia.
ALABAMA, THE, a vessel built in Birkenhead for the Confederates in
the late American Civil War, for the devastation done by which, according
to the decision of a court of arbitration, the English Government had to
pay heavy damages of three millions of money.
ALACOQUE, MARIE, a French nun of a mystic tendency, the founder of
the devotion of the Sacred Heart (1647-1690).
ALAD`DIN, one of the chiefs of the Assassins in the 13th century,
better known by the name of the Old Man of the Mountain.
ALADDIN, a character in the "Arabian Nights," who became possessed
of a wonderful lamp and a wonderful ring, by rubbing which together he
could call two evil genii to do his bidding.
ALADINISTS, free-thinkers among the Mohammedans.
ALAGO`AS (397), a maritime province of Brazil, N. of Pernambuco,
with tropical products as well as fine timber and dye-woods.
ALAIN DE L'ISLE, a professor of theology in the University of Paris,
surnamed the _Doctor universel_ (1114-1203).
ALAINS. See ALANS.
ALAIS` (18), a town at the foot of the Cevennes, in the centre of a
mining district; once the stronghold of French Protestantism.
ALAMAN`NI, LUIGI, an Italian poet and diplomatist, born at Florence
(1495-1556).
ALAND ISLES, a group of 300 small islands in the Gulf of Bothnia, of
which 80 are inhabited; fortified by Russia.
ALANS, a barbarous horde from the East, who invaded W. Europe in the
4th and 5th centuries, but were partly exterminated and partly ousted by
the Visigoths.
ALAR`CON Y MENDO`ZA, JUAN RUIZ DE, a Spanish dramatist born in
Mexico, who, though depreciated by his contemporaries, ranks after 200
years of neglect among the foremost dramatic geniuses of Spain, next even
to Cervantes and Lope de Vega; he was a humpback, had an offensive air of
conceit, and was very unpopular; he wrote at least twenty dramas, some of
which have been translated into French; _d_. in 1639.
AL`ARIC I., the king of the Visigoths, a man of noble birth, who, at
the end of the 4th and beginning of the 5th century, ravaged Greece,
invaded Italy, and took and pillaged Rome; died at Cosenza, in Calabria,
in 412, at the early age of thirty-four.
ALARIC II., king of the Visigoths, whose dominions included all Gaul
and most of Spain; defeated by the Franks at Poitiers, and killed by the
hand of Clovis, their king, in 567.
ALARIC COTIN, Voltaire's nickname for Frederick the Great, the
former in recognition of him as a warrior, the latter as a would-be
litterateur, after an indifferent French poet of the name of Cotin.
ALAS`CO, JOHN, the uncle of Sigismund, king of Poland, and a zealous
promoter in Poland of the Reformation, the friend of Erasmus and
Zwinglius (1499-1560).
ALAS`KA (32), an immense territory belonging to the U.S. by
purchase from Russia, extending from British N. America to Behring
Strait; it is poor in resources, and the inhabitants, who are chiefly
Indians and Eskimos, live by hunting and fishing, and by the export of
salmon; seal fishery valuable, however.
ALASNAM, a hero related of in the "Arabian Nights" as having erected
eight statues of gold, and in quest of a statue for a ninth unoccupied
pedestal, finding what he wanted in the person of a beautiful woman for a
wife.
ALAS`TOR, an avenging spirit, given to torment families whose
history has been stained by some crime.
A`LAVA (97), the southernmost of the three Basque provinces of
Spain, largest, but least populous; rich in minerals, and fertile in
soil.
ALAVA, RICARDO DE, a Spanish general, born in Vittoria, joined the
national party, and was aide-de-camp to the Duke of Wellington, and
became eventually ambassador to London and Paris (1771-1843).
ALBA LONGA, a city of Latium older than Rome.
ALBACETE (229), a province in Spain, with a capital (30) of same
name, 173 m. SE. of Madrid.
ALBAN LAKE, near Alban Mount, 6 m. in circuit, occupying the basin
of an extinct volcano, its surface 961 ft. above the sea-level.
ALBAN MOUNT, a small mountain overlooking Alba Longa.
ALBAN, ST., the first martyr in Britain to the Christian faith in
303; represented in art as carrying his head between his hands, having
been beheaded.
ALBA`NI, an Italian painter, a disciple of Caracci, born at Bologna;
surnamed the Anacreon of painting; his pictures more distinguished for
grace than vigour.
ALBA`NI, an illustrious Roman family, members of which attained the
highest dignities in the Church, one, Clement XI., having been Pope.
ALBANI, MME., _nee_ Emma la Jeunesse, a well-known and highly
popular operatic singer of French-Canadian descent; _b_. 1847.
ALBA`NIA, a region in Balkan peninsula, on the Adriatic, extending
from Servia to Greece.
ALBANO, LAKE OF, a small crater-like lake 15 m. SE. of Rome, near
which rises the Castel Gandolfo, where the Pope has a villa.
ALBANY, the old Celtic name for the Scottish highlands.
ALBANY, a town in W. Australia, on King George Sound, 261 m. SE. of
Perth, a port of call for Australian liners; also the capital (94) of the
State of New York, on the Hudson River, a well-appointed city; seat of
justice for the State, with a large trade and numerous manufactures.
ALBANY, COUNTESS OF, wife of English pretender, Prince Charles
Stuart, a dissolute woman (1753-1824).
ALBANY, THE DUKE OF, a title formerly given to a member of the royal
family, and revived in the present reign.
ALBANY, DUCHESS OF, daughter of Prince Waldeck Pyrmont and widow of
Prince Leopold of England; _b_. 1861, widow since 1884.
ALBATEGNI, a distinguished Arabian astronomer, born in Mesopotamia
in the 9th or 10th century of our era; his observations extended over 50
years; he so improved the methods and instruments of observation as to
earn the title of the Ptolemy of the Arabs.
ALBATROSS, the largest and strongest of sea-birds, that ranges over
the southern seas, often seen far from land; it is a superstition among
sailors that it is disastrous to shoot one.
ALBERO`NI, an Italian of humble birth, became a Cardinal of the
Church and Prime Minister to Philip V. of Spain, wrought hard to restore
Spain to its ancient grandeur, was defeated in his project by the
quadruple alliance of England, France, Austria, and Holland, and obliged
to retire (1664-1752).
ALBERT, archbishop of Mainz, a dignity granted him by Pope Leo X. at
the ransom of L15,000, which he was unable to pay, and which, as the
Pope needed it for building St. Peter's, he borrowed, the Pope granting
him the power to sell indulgences in order to repay the loan, in which
traffic Tetzel was his chief salesman, a trade which roused the wrath of
Luther, and provoked the German Reformation (1450-1545).
ALBERT, the last Grandmaster of the Teutonic knights, who being
"religious in an eminent degree and shaken in his belief" took zealously
to Protestantism and came under the influence of Luther, who advised him
to declare himself Duke of Prussia, under the wing of Sigismund of
Poland, in defiance of the Teutonic order as no longer worthy of bed and
board on the earth, and so doing, became founder of the Prussian State
(1490-1568).
ALBERT, markgrave of Brandenburg, defined by Carlyle "a failure of a
Fritz," with "features" of a Frederick the Great in him, "but who burnt
away his splendid qualities as a mere temporary shine for the able
editors, and never came to anything, full of fire, too much of it
wildfire, not in the least like an Alcibiades except in the change of
fortune he underwent" (1522-1557).
ALBERT, PRINCE, second son of Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha,
born Aug. 26, 1819, an accomplished man with a handsome presence, who
became the consort of Queen Victoria in 1840, and from his prudence and
tact was held in the highest honour by the whole community, but died at
Windsor of typhoid fever, Dec. 14, 1861, to the unspeakable sorrow of
both Queen and country.
ALBERT, ST., bishop of Liege, was assassinated by the emissaries of
the Emperor Henry VI. in 1195. Festival, Nov. 21.
ALBERT EDWARD. See WALES, PRINCE OF.
ALBERT I., emperor of Germany from 1298 to 1308, eldest son of
Rudolf of Hapsburg, "a most clutching, strong-fisted, dreadfully hungry,
tough, and unbeautiful man, whom his nephew at last had to assassinate,
and did assassinate, as he crossed the river Reuss with him in a boat,
May 1, 1308."
ALBERT II., a successor, "who got three crowns--Hungary, Bohemia,
and the Imperial--in one year, and we hope a fourth," says the old
historian, "which was a heavenly and eternal one," for he died the next
year, 1439.
ALBERT III., elector of Brandenburg. See ACHILLES OF GERMANY.
ALBERT MEDAL, a medal of gold and of bronze, instituted in 1866,
awarded to civilians for acts of heroism by sea or land.
ALBERT THE BEAR, markgrave of Brandenburg, called the Bear, "not
from his looks or qualities, for he was a tall handsome man, but from the
cognisance on his shield, an able man, had a quick eye as well as a
strong hand, and could pick what way was straightest among crooked
things, was the shining figure and the great man of the North in his day,
got much in the North and kept it, got Brandenburg for one there, a
conspicuous country ever since," says Carlyle, "and which grows more so
in our late times" (1100-1175).
ALBERT NYAN`ZA, a lake in Equatorial Africa, in the Nile basin,
discovered by Sir Samuel Baker in 1864, 150 m. long by 40 broad, and 2500
feet above sea-level.
ALBER`TA (26), a fertile region with large forests in British
America, on the E. slope of the Rocky Mountains, the south abounding in
cattle ranches, and the mountainous districts in minerals.
ALBERTI, an illustrious Florentine family, rivals of the Medicis and
the Albrizzi.
ALBER`TUS MAGNUS, one of the greatest of the scholastic philosophers
and theologians of the Middle Ages, teacher of Thomas Aquinas, supreme in
knowledge of the arts and sciences of the time, and regarded by his
contemporaries in consequence as a sorcerer (1190-1280).
ALBI, a town of some antiquity and note in S. of France, 22 m. NE.
of Toulouse.
ALBIGEN`SES, a religious sect, odious, as heretical, to the Church,
which sprung up about Albi, in the S. of France, in the 12th century,
against which Pope Innocent III. proclaimed a crusade, which was carried
on by Simon de Montfort in the 13th century, and by the Inquisition
afterwards, to their utter annihilation.
ALBINOS, persons or animals with preternaturally pale skin and fair
hair, also with pupils of a red or pink colour, and eyes too weak to bear
full light.
ALBINUS, an able professor of anatomy and therapeutics at Leyden
(1696-1770).
ALBION, a white cliff, the ancient name of Great Britain.
ALBOIN, king of the Lombards in the 6th century, from 561 to 573;
invaded Italy as far as the Tiber, and set up his capital in Pavia;
incurred the resentment of his wife, who had him assassinated for forcing
her to drink wine out of the skull of her father.
ALBORAK, a wonderful horse of Mahomet, an impersonation of the
lightning as his steed.
ALBOR`NOZ, a Spanish statesman, archbishop of Toledo, a bold
defender of the faith against the Moor and a plain-spoken man in the
interest of Christianity (1310-1367).
ALBRECHT. See ALBERT.
ALBRIZZI, a powerful Florentine family, rivals of the Medicis and
the Alberti.
ALBUE`RA, a Spanish village 12 m. SE. of Badajoz, scene of a victory
(May 16, 1811) of General Beresford over Marshal Soult.
ALBUFE`RA, a lake on the coast of Spain, 7 m. S. of Valencia, near
which Marshal Suchet gained a victory over the English in 1811.
AL`BULA, Swiss mountain pass in the canton of Grisons, 7595 ft.
high.
ALBUMEN, a glairy substance a constituent of plants and animals, and
found nearly pure in the white of an egg or in the serum of the blood.
ALBUQUERQUE`, ALFONSO D', a celebrated Portuguese patriot and
navigator, the founder of the Portuguese power in India, who, after
securing a footing in India for Portugal that he sought for, settled in
Goa, where his recall at the instance of jealous rivals at home gave him
such a shock that he died of a broken heart just as he was leaving. The
Indians long remembered his benign rule, and used to visit his tomb to
pray him to deliver them from the oppression of his successors
(1453-1513).
ALBYN, ancient Celtic name of Scotland.
ALCAE`US OF MITYLENE, a Greek lyric poet, an aristocrat by birth, a
contemporary and an alleged lover of Sappho, and much admired by Horace;
flourished about 600 B.C.
ALCA`LA DE HENA`RES (14), a town in Spain, the birthplace of
Cervantes, 21 m. E. of Madrid, long the seat of a famous university
founded by Cardinal Ximenes.
ALCAN`TARA, a town of Spain, on the Tagus, near Portugal, with a
bridge of six arches, 670 ft. long and 210 ft. high, built in honour of
Trajan in 104. The Order of Alcantara, a religious and military order,
was established in 1176 here, for defence against the Moors, and was
suppressed in 1835.
ALCESTE, the chief character in Moliere's _Misanthrope_.
ALCES`TIS, the wife of Admetus, who gave herself up to death to save
her husband. Hercules descended to the lower world and brought her back.
She is the subject of one of the tragedies of Euripides.
ALCHEMY, the early analysis of substances which has in modern times
developed into chemistry, and which aimed chiefly at the discovery of the
philosopher's stone, of a universal solvent, and of the elixir of life;
it has been defined to be "an art without art, which has its beginning in
falsehood, its middle in toil, and its end in poverty."
ALCIBI`ADES, an Athenian of high birth, and related to Pericles,
possessed of a handsome person, brilliant abilities, and great wealth,
but was of a wayward temper and depraved, whom Socrates tried hard to win
over to virtue, but failed. He involved his country in a rash expedition
against Sicily, served and betrayed it by turns in the Peloponnesian war,
and died by assassination in exile (450-404 B.C.).
ALCI`DES, the grandson of Alcaeus, a patronymic of Hercules.
ALCIN`OUS, a king of the Phaeacians, the father of Nausicaa, who
figures in the Odyssey as the host of Ulysses, who had been shipwrecked
on his shore.
ALCI`RA (18), a walled town in Spain, on an island 22 m. SW. of
Valencia.
ALCMAN, an early Greek lyric poet, born at Sardis.
ALCME`NE, the wife of Amphitryon and the mother of Hercules.
ALCMEONIDAE, a powerful Athenian family, of which Pericles and
Alcibiades were members, who professed to be descended from Alcmaeon, the
grandson of Nestor.
ALCOCK, JOHN, an eminent ecclesiastic of the reign of Edward IV.,
distinguished for his love of learning and learned men; _d_. 1500.
ALCOHOL, pure or highly rectified spirit obtained from fermented
saccharine solutions by distillation, and the intoxicating principle of
all spirituous liquors.
ALCOHOLISM, the results, acute or chronic, of the deleterious action
of alcohol on the human system.
ALCORAN`. See KORAN.
ALCOTT, LOUISA MARY, a popular American authoress, who acted as a
nurse to the wounded during the Civil War; her works mostly addressed to
the young (1832-1888).
ALCOY (30), a town in Spain, N. of Alicanti; staple manufacture,
paper.
AL`CUIN, a learned Englishman, a disciple of Bede; invited by
Charlemagne to introduce scholarly culture into the empire and establish
libraries and schools of learning; was one of those men whose work lies
more in what they influence others to do than in what they do themselves
(735-804).
ALCY`ONE, daughter of AEolus, who threw herself into the sea after
her husband, who had perished in shipwreck, and was changed into the
kingfisher.
ALDE`BARAN, the bull's-eye, a star of the first magnitude in the eye
of the constellation Taurus; it is the sun in the Arabian mythology.
ALDEHYDE, a limpid, very volatile liquid, of a suffocating odour,
obtained from the oxidation of alcohol.
AL`DERNEY (2), one of the Channel Islands, 3 or 4 m. long by 2
broad, celebrated for its breed of cows; separated from Cape de la Hogue
by the dangerous Race of Alderney.
AL`DERSHOT, a permanent camp, established in 1855, for instruction
in military manoeuvres, on a moorland 35 m. SW. of London.
ALDINE EDITIONS, editions, chiefly of the classics, issued from the
press of Aldus Manutius in Venice in the 16th century, and remarkable for
the correctness of the text and the beauty and clearness of the printing.
ALDINGAR, SIR, legendary character, the steward of Eleanor, wife of
Henry II., who accused her of infidelity, and offered to substantiate the
charge by combat, when an angel in the form of a child appeared and
certified her innocence.
ALDOBRANDINI, a Florentine jurisconsult (1500-1558).
AL`DRED, bishop of Worcester in the reign of Edward the Confessor,
made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, became archbishop of York, and crowned
the last of the Saxon and the first of the Norman kings of England; _d_.
1063.
AL`DRICH, dean of Oxford, an accomplished ecclesiastic; was a
skilful musician, and composed many services for the Church; wrote a
system of logic, long in use in Oxford University (1647-1710).
ALDROVAN`DI, ULYSSES, a famous Italian naturalist of Bologna, who
collected an immense body of interesting facts in natural history,
published partly in his lifetime and partly after his death (1522-1607).
ALDUS MANUTIUS, or ALDO MANUZIO, an Italian printer, born at
Bassano, established a printing-office in Venice in 1488, issued the
celebrated Aldine Editions of the classics, and invented the italic type,
for the exclusive use of which for many years he obtained a patent,
though the honour of the invention is more probably due to his
typefounder, Franciso de Bologna, than to him (1447-1515).
ALEC`TO, one of the three Eumenides or Furies.
ALEMAN`, a Spanish novelist, author of the celebrated romance
_Guzman de Alfarache_, which in 6 years ran through 26 editions, was
translated several times into French; died in Mexico in 1610.
ALEMAN`NI, a confederacy of tribes which appeared on the banks of
the Rhine in the 3rd cent., and for long gave no small trouble to Rome,
but whose incursions were arrested, first by Maximinus, and finally by
Clovis in 496, who made them subject to the Franks, hence the modern
names in French for Germany and the Germans.
ALEMTE`JO (369), a southern province of Portugal; soil fertile to
the east.
ALENCON (17), a town in the dep. of Orne, 105 m. W. of Paris, once
famous for its lace.
ALENCON, COUNTS AND DUKES OF, a title borne by several members of
the house of Valois--e. g. CHARLES OF VALOIS, who fell at Crecy
(1346); JEAN IV., who fell at Agincourt (1415).
ALEP`PO (130), a city in Northern Syria, one of the finest in the
East, once one of the greatest trading centres in the world.
ALE`SIA, a strong place in the E. of Gaul, which, as situated on a
hill and garrisoned by 80,000 Gauls, cost Caesar no small trouble to take.
ALESIUS, or ALANE, a noted Reformer, born in Edinburgh,
converted to Protestantism by Patrick Hamilton; was driven first from
Scotland and then from England, till he settled as a theological
professor in Germany, and took an active part in the Reformation there
(1500-1563).
ALESSANDRIA (78), a strongly fortified and stirring town on the
Tenaro, in Northern Italy, the centre of 8 railways, 55 m. SE. of Turin.
ALESSI, architect, born at Perugia, architect of the monastery and
church of the ESCURIAL, q. v. (1500-1572).
ALETSCH GLACIER, THE, the largest of the glaciers of the Alps, which
descends round the south of the Jungfrau into the valley of the Upper
Rhone.
ALEU`TIAN ISLANDS (2) a chain of volcanic islands, 150 in number,
stretching over the N. Pacific from Alaska in N. America, to Kamchatka,
in Asia.
ALEXANDER THE GREAT, the king of Macedonia, son of Philip by
Olympias, daughter of Neoptolemus, king of Epirus; born at Pella,
356 B.C.; had the philosopher Aristotle for tutor, and being instructed
by him in all kinds of serviceable knowledge, ascended the throne on the
death of his father, at the age of 20; after subduing Greece, had himself
proclaimed generalissimo of the Greeks against the Persians, and in 2
years after his accession crossed the Hellespont, followed by 30,000 foot
and 5000 horse; with these conquered the army of Darius the Persian at
Granicus in 334 and at Issus in 333; subdued the principal cities of
Syria, overran Egypt, and crossing the Euphrates and Tigris, routed the
Persians at Arbela; hurrying on farther, he swept everything before him,
till the Macedonians refusing to advance, he returned to Babylon, when he
suddenly fell ill of fever, and in eleven days died at the early age of
32. He is said to have slept every night with his Homer and his sword
under his pillow, and the inspiring idea of his life, all unconsciously
to himself belike, is defined to have been the right of Greek
intelligence to override and rule the merely glittering barbarity of the
East.
ALEXANDER, ST., patriarch of Alexandria from 311 to 326, contributed
to bring about the condemnation of Arius at the Council of Nice;
festival, Feb 26.
ALEXANDER, SOLOMON, first Protestant bishop of Jerusalem, of Jewish
birth, cut off during a journey to Cairo (1799-1845).
ALEXANDER III., pope, successor to Adrian IV., an able man, whose
election Barbarossa at first opposed, but finally assented to; took the
part of Thomas a Becket against Henry II. and canonised him, as also St.
Bernard. Pope from 1159 to 1181.
ALEXANDER VI., called Borgia from his mother, a Spaniard by birth,
obtained the popehood by bribery in 1492 in succession to Innocent VIII.,
lived a licentious life and had several children, among others the
celebrated Lucretia and the infamous Caesar Borgia; _d_. in 1503, after a
career of crime, not without suspicion of poison. In addition to
Alexanders III. and VI., six of the name were popes: Alexander I., pope
from 108 to 117; Alexander II., pope from 1061 to 1073; Alexander IV.,
pope from 1254 to 1261; Alexander V., pope from 1409 to 1410; Alexander
VII., pope from 1653 to 1667, who was forced to kiss his hand to Louis
XIV.; Alexander VIII., pope from 1689 to 1691.
ALEXANDER I., king of Scotland, son of Malcolm Canmore and Margaret,
sister of Edgar Atheling, a vigorous prince, surnamed on that account
_The Fierce_; subdued a rising in the North, and stood stoutly in defence
of the independent rights of both Crown and Church against the claim of
supremacy over both on the part of England; _d_. 1124.
ALEXANDER II., of Scotland, successor of William the Lion, his
father, a just and wise ruler, aided the English barons against John, and
married Joan, the sister of Henry III.; _d_. 1249.
ALEXANDER III., son of the preceding, married a daughter of Henry
III., sided with him against the barons, successfully resisted the
invasion of Haco, king of Norway, and on the conclusion of peace gave his
daughter in marriage to Haco's successor Eric; accidentally killed by
falling over a cliff near Kinghorn when hunting in 1285.
ALEXANDER I., emperor of Russia, son and successor of Paul I., took
part in the European strife against the encroachments of Napoleon, was
present at the battle of Austerlitz, fought the French at Pultusk and
Eylau, was defeated at Friedland, had an interview with Napoleon at
Tilsit in 1813, entered into a coalition with the other Powers against
France, which ended in the capture of Paris and the abdication of
Napoleon in 1814. Under his reign Russia rose into political importance
in Europe (1777-1825).
ALEXANDER II., emperor of Russia, son and successor of Nicholas I.,
fell heir to the throne while the siege of Sebastopol was going on; on
the conclusion of a peace applied himself to reforms in the state and the
consolidation and extension of the empire. His reign is distinguished by
a ukase decreeing in 1861 the emancipation of the serfs numbering 23
millions, by the extension of the empire in the Caucasus and Central
Asia, and by the war with Turkey in the interest of the Slavs in 1877-78,
which was ended by the peace of San Stephano, revised by the treaty of
Berlin. His later years were clouded with great anxiety, owing to the
spread of Nihilism, and he was killed by a bomb thrown at him by a
Nihilist (1818-1881).
ALEXANDER III., emperor of Russia, son of the preceding, followed in
the footsteps of his father, and showed a marked disposition to live on
terms of peace with the other Powers; his reign not distinguished by any
very remarkable event. The present Czar is his son and successor
(1845-1894).
ALEXANDER I., king of Servia, _b_. 1876.
ALEXANDER NEVSKY, grand-duke of Russia, conquered the Swedes, the
Danes, and the Teutonic Knights on the banks of the Neva, freed Russia
from tribute to the Mongols, is one of the saints of the Russian Church.
ALEXANDER OF HALES, the _Doctor irrefragabilis_ of the Schools, an
English ecclesiastic, a member of the Franciscan order, who in his "Summa
Universae Theologiae" formulated, by severe rigour of Aristotelian logic,
the theological principles and ecclesiastical rites of the Romish Church;
_d_. in 1222.
ALEXANDER OF PARIS, a Norman poet of the 16th century, who wrote a
poem on Alexander the Great in twelve-syllabled lines, called after him
Alexandrines.
ALEXANDER OF THE NORTH, Charles XII. of Sweden.
ALEXANDER SEVE`RUS, a Roman emperor, a wise, virtuous, and pious
prince, conquered Artaxerxes, king of Persia, in an expedition against
him, but setting out against the Germans, who were causing trouble on the
frontiers of the empire, fell a victim, along with his mother, to an
insurrection among his troops not far from Mainz (205-235).
ALEXAN`DRIA (230), a world-famous city, the chief port of Egypt,
founded by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C., at one time a great centre
of learning, and in possession of the largest library of antique
literature in the world, which was burned by the Caliph Omar in 640; at
one time a place of great commerce, but that has very materially decayed
since the opening of the Suez Canal. Alexandria, from its intimate
connection with both East and West, gave birth in early times to a
speculative philosophy which drew its principles from eastern as well as
western sources, which was at its height on the first encounter of these
elements.
ALEXANDRIA (14), a town on the Potomac, 7 m. S. of Washington,
accessible to vessels of the largest size; also a thriving town (7) on
the river Leven, 3 m. N. of Dumbarton.
ALEXANDRIAN CODEX, an MS. on parchment of the Septuagint Scriptures
in Greek in uncial letters, which belonged to the library of the
patriarchs of Alexandra.
ALEXANDRIAN LIBRARY, the library burned by the Caliph Omar in 642,
said to have contained 700,000 volumes.
ALEXANDRI`NA LAKE, a lake in Australia into which the river Murray
flows.
ALEXANDRINE PHILOSOPHY, a Gnostic philosophy, combining eastern with
western forms of thought.
ALEXANDRINES. See ALEXANDER OF PARIS.
ALEXAN`DROPOL (22), the largest town in the Erivan district of
Russian Armenia, and a fortress of great strength.
ALEXIS, ST., the patron saint of beggars and pilgrims, represented
in art with a staff and in a pilgrim's habit; sometimes lying on a mat,
with a letter in his hand, dying.
ALEXIS MICHAELOVITCH, czar of Russia, the father of Peter the Great,
the first czar who acted on the policy of cultivating friendly relations
with other European states (1630-1677).
ALEXIS PETROVITCH, son of Peter the Great, conspired against his
father as he had broken the heart of his mother, was condemned to death;
after his trial by secret judges he was found dead in prison (1695-1718).
ALEXIUS COMNE`NUS, emperor of the East, began life as a soldier, was
a great favourite with the soldiers, who, in a period of anarchy, raised
him to the throne at the period of the first crusade, when the empire was
infested by Turks on the one hand and Normans on the other, while the
crusaders who passed through his territory proved more troublesome than
either. He managed to hold the empire together in spite of these
troubles, and to stave off the doom that impended all through his reign
of thirty-seven years (1048-1118).
ALFA, an esparto grass valuable for making paper.
AL`FADUR, the All-Father or uncreated supreme in the Norse
mythology.
ALFARA`BI, an Arabian philosopher of the 10th century, had Avicenna
for a disciple, wrote on various subjects, and was the first to attempt
an encyclopedic work.
ALFIE`RI, an Italian dramatist, spent his youth in dissipation
before he devoted himself to the dramatic art; on the success of his
first drama "Cleopatra," met at Florence with the Countess of Albany, the
wife of Charles Edward Stuart, on whose death he married her; was at
Paris when the Revolution broke out, and returned to Florence, where he
died and was buried. Tragedy was his _forte_ as a dramatist (1749-1803).
ALFONSINE TABLES, astronomical tables drawn up at Toledo by order of
Alfonso X. in 1252 to correct the anomalies in the Ptolemaic tables; they
divided the year into 365 days, 5 hours, 49 minutes, 16 seconds.
ALFONSO I., the "Conqueror," founder of the kingdom of Portugal, was
the first king, originally only count, as his father before him; in that
capacity took up arms against the Moors, and defeating them had himself
proclaimed king on the field of battle, a title confirmed to him by the
Pope and made good by his practically subjecting all Portugal to his sway
(1110-1185).
ALFONSO X., the Wise, or the Astronomer, king of Castile and Leon,
celebrated as an astronomer and a philosopher; after various successes
over the Moors, first one son and then another rose against him and drove
him from the throne; died of chagrin at Seville two years later. His fame
connects itself with the preparation of the Alfonsine Tables, and the
remark that "the universe seemed a crank machine, and it was a pity the
Creator had not taken advice." It was a saying of his, "old wood to burn,
old books to read, old wine to drink, and old friends to converse with"
(1226-1284).
ALFONSO III., surnamed the Great, king of Asturias, ascended the
throne in 866, fought against and gained numerous victories over the
Moors; the members of his family rose against him and compelled him to
abdicate, but on a fresh incursion of the Moors he came forth from his
retreat and triumphantly beat them back; died in Zamora, 910.
ALFORD, HENRY, vicar of Wymeswold and afterwards Dean of Canterbury;
his works and writings were numerous, and included poems and hymns. His
great work, however, was an edition of the Greek New Testament, with
notes, various readings, and comments (1810-1871).
ALFORD, MICHAEL, a learned English Jesuit, left two great works,
"Britannia Illustrata" and "Annales Ecclesiastici et Civiles
Britannorum."
ALFRED, DUKE OF SAXE-COBURG AND GOTHA, son of Prince Albert and
Queen Victoria; _b_. 1844.
ALFRED THE GREAT, king of the West Saxons, and the most celebrated
and greatest of all the Saxon kings. His troubles were with the Danes,
who at the time of his accession infested the whole country north of the
Thames; with these he fought nine battles with varied success, till after
a lull of some years he was surprised by Gunthrum, then king, in 878, and
driven to seek refuge on the island of Athelney. Not long after this he
left his retreat and engaged Gunthrum at Edington, and after defeating
him formed a treaty with him, which he never showed any disposition to
break. After this Alfred devoted himself to legislation, the
administration of government, and the encouragement of learning, being a
man of letters himself. England owes much to him both as a man and a
ruler, and it was he who in the creation of a fleet laid the first
foundation of her greatness as monarch of the deep. His literary works
were translations of the "General History" of Orosius, the
"Ecclesiastical History" of Bede, Boethius's "Consolations of
Philosophy," and the "Cura Pastoralis" of Pope Gregory, all executed for
the edification of his subjects (849-901).
ALGAE, sea-weeds and plants of the same order under fresh water as
well as salt; they are flowerless, stemless, and cellular throughout.
ALGAR`DI, an Italian sculptor of note, born at Bologna; his greatest
work is an alto-relievo, the largest existing, of Pope Leo restraining
Attila from marching on Rome (1602-1654).
ALGARO`TTI, FRANCESCO, a clever Italian author, born at Venice,
whom, for his wit, Frederick the Great was attached to and patronised,
"one of the first _beaux esprits_ of the age," according to Wilhelmina,
Frederick's sister. Except his wit, it does not appear Frederick got much
good out of him, for the want of the due practical faculty, all the
faculty he had having evaporated in talk (1712-1764).
ALGAR`VE (240), the southernmost province of Portugal, hilly, but
traversed with rich valleys, which yield olives, vines, oranges, &c.
ALGEBRA, a universal arithmetic of Arabian origin or Arabian
transmission, in which symbols are employed to denote operations, and
letters to represent number and quantity.
ALGE`RIA, in the N. of Africa, belongs to France, stretches between
Morocco on the W. and Tripoli and Tunis on the E., the country being
divided into the Tell along the sea-coast, which is fertile, the Atlas
Highlands overlooking it on the S., on the southern slopes of which are
marshy lakes called "shotts," on which alfa grows wild, and the Sahara
beyond, rendered habitable here and there by the creation of artesian
wells; its extent nearly equal in area to that of France, and the
population numbers about four millions, of which only a quarter of a
million is French. The country is divided into Departments, of which
Algiers, Oran, and Constantine are the respective capitals. It has been
successively under the sway of the Carthaginians, the Romans, the
Vandals, the Arabs, the Byzantines, and the Berbers, which last were in
the 16th century supplanted by the Turks. At the end of this period it
became a nest of pirates, against whom a succession of expeditions were
sent from several countries of Europe, but it was only with the conquest
of it by the French in 1830 that this state of things was brought to an
end.
ALGESI`RAS (12), a town and port in Spain on the Bay of Gibraltar, 5
m. across the bay; for centuries a stronghold of the Moors, but taken
from them by Alfonso IX. after a siege of twenty months.
ALGIERS` (75), the capital of Algeria, founded by the Arabs in 935,
called the "silver city," from the glistening white of its buildings as
seen sloping up from the sea, presenting a striking appearance, was for
centuries under its Bey the head-quarters of piracy in the Mediterranean,
which only began to cease when Lord Exmouth bombarded the town and
destroyed the fleet in the harbour. Since it fell into the hands of the
French the city has been greatly improved, the fortifications
strengthened, and its neighbourhood has become a frequent resort of
English people in winter.
ALGINE, a viscous gum obtained from certain sea-weeds, used as size
for textile fabrics, and for thickening soups and jellies.
ALGO`A BAY, an inlet at the E. of Cape Colony, 20 m. wide, on which
Port Elizabeth stands, 425 m. E. of the Cape of Good Hope.
AL`GOL, a double star in the constellation Perseus, of changing
brightness.
ALGONQUINS, one of the three aboriginal races of N. American
Indians, originally occupying nearly the whole region from the Churchill
and Hudson Bay southward to N. Carolina, and from the E. of the Rocky
Mts. to Newfoundland; the language they speak has been divided into five
dialects.
ALHAM`BRA (Red Castle), an ancient palace and stronghold of the
Moorish kings of Granada, founded by Muhammed II. in 1213, decorated with
gorgeous arabesques by Usuf I. (1345), erected on the crest of a hill
which overlooks Granada; has suffered from neglect, bad usage, and
earthquake.
A`LI, the cousin of Mahomet, and one of his first followers at the
age of sixteen, "a noble-minded creature, full of affection and fiery
daring. Something chivalrous in him; brave as a lion; yet with a grace, a
truth and affection worthy of Christian knighthood." Became Caliph in
656, died by assassination in the Mosque at Bagdad; the Sheiks yearly
commemorate his death. See Carlyle's "Heroes."
ALI BABA. See BABA, ALI.
A`LI PASHA, pasha of Janina, a bold and crafty Albanian, able man,
and notorious for his cruelty as well as craft; alternately gained the
favour of the Porte and lost it by the alliances he formed with hostile
powers, until the Sultan sentenced him to deposition, and sent Hassan
Pasha to demand his head; he offered violent resistance but being
overpowered at length surrendered, when his head was severed from his
body and sent to Constantinople (1741-1822).
ALICAN`TE (40), the third seaport-town in Spain, with a spacious
harbour and strongly fortified, in a province of the same name on the
Mediterranean.
ALIGARH` (61), a town with a fort between Agra and Delhi, the
garrison of which mutinied in 1857.
ALIGHIE`RI, the family name of Dante.
AL`IMA, an affluent on the right bank of the Congo, in French
territory.
ALIMENTARY CANAL, a passage 5 or 6 times the length of the body,
lined throughout with mucous membrane, extends from the mouth to the
anus, and includes mouth, fauces, pharynx, oesophagus, stomach, and small
and large intestines.
ALISON, ARCHIBALD, an Episcopal clergyman in Edinburgh, of which he
was a native, best known for his "Essay on the Nature and Principles of
Taste" (1757-1839).
ALISON, SIR ARCHIBALD, son of the preceding, a lawyer who held
several prominent legal appointments, and a historian, his great work
being a "Modern History of Europe from the French Revolution to the Fall
of Napoleon," afterwards extended to the "Accession of Louis Napoleon"
(1792-1867).
ALISON, W. PULTENEY, brother of the preceding, professor of medicine
in Edinburgh University, and a philanthropist (1790-1859).
ALIWAL`, a village in the Punjab, on the Sutlej, where Sir Harry
Smith gained a brilliant victory over the Sikhs, who were provided with
forces in superior numbers, in 1846.
AL`KAHEST, the presumed universal solvent of the alchemists.
ALKALIES, bodies which, combining with acids form salts, are soluble
in water, and properly four in number, viz., potash, soda, lithia, and
ammonia.
ALKALINE EARTHS, earths not soluble in water, viz., lime, magnesia,
strontia, and baryta.
ALKALOIDS, bodies of vegetable origin, similar in their properties,
as well as toxicologically, to alkalies; contain as a rule carbon,
hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen; many of them are poisonous and invaluable
in medicine.
ALKMAAR` (14), the capital of N. Holland, 25 m. NW. of Amsterdam,
with a large trade in cattle, grain, and cheese.
ALKMER, HENRIK VAN, the reputed author of the first German version
of "Reynard the Fox."
ALL THE TALENTS, ADMINISTRATION OF, a ministry formed by Lord
Grenville on the death of Pitt in 1806.
AL`LAH, the Adorable, the Arab name for God, adopted by the
Mohammedans as the name of the one God.
ALLAHABAD` (175), the City of God, a central city of British India,
on the confluence of the Ganges and the Jumna, 550 m. from Calcutta, and
on the railway between that city and Bombay.
ALLAN, DAVID, a Scottish portrait and historical painter, born at
Alloa; illustrated Ramsay's "Gentle Shepherd"; his greatest work is the
"Origin of Painting," now in the National Gallery at Edinburgh
(1744-1796).
ALLAN, SIR WILLIAM, a distinguished Scottish historical painter,
born at Edinburgh, many of his paintings being on national subjects; he
was a friend of Scott, who patronised his work, and in succession to
Wilkie, president of the Royal Scottish Academy; painted "Circassian
Captives" and "Slave-Market at Constantinople" (1782-1850).
ALLANTOIS, a membrane enveloping the foetus in mammals, birds, and
reptiles.
ALLARD`, a French general, entered the service of Runjeet Singh at
Lahore, trained his troops in European war tactics, and served him
against the Afghans; died at Peshawar (1785-1839).
ALLEGHA`NY (105), a manufacturing city in Pennsylvania, on the Ohio,
opposite Pittsburg, of which it is a kind of suburb.
ALLEGHA`NY MOUNTAINS, a range in the Appalachian system in U.S.,
extending from Pennsylvania to N. Carolina; do not exceed 2400 ft. in
height, run parallel with the Atlantic coast, and form the watershed
between the Atlantic rivers and the Mississippi.
ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION, assigning a higher than a literal
interpretation to the Scripture record of things, in particular the Old
Testament story.
ALLEGORY, a figurative mode of representation, in which a subject of
a higher spiritual order is described in terms of that of a lower which
resembles it in properties and circumstances, the principal subject being
so kept out of view that we are left to construe the drift of it from the
resemblance of the secondary to the primary subject.
ALLEGRI, the family name of Correggio; the name of an Italian
composer, born at Rome, the author of a still celebrated _Miserere_
(1580-1652).
AL`LEINE, JOSEPH, a Puritan writer, author of a book once, and to
some extent still, much in favour among religious people, entitled "Alarm
to the Unconverted" (1632-1674).
ALLEN, BOG OF, a dreary expanse of bogs of peat E. of the Shannon,
in King's Co. and Kildare, Ireland; LOUGH OF, an expansion of the
waters of the Shannon.
ALLEN, ETHAN, one of the early champions of American independence,
taken prisoner in a raid into Canada; wrote a defence of deism and
rational belief (1738-1789).
ALLEN, GRANT, man of letters, born in Kingston, Canada, 1848, and a
prolific writer; an able upholder of the evolution doctrine and an
expounder of Darwinism.
ALLEN, JOHN, an M.D. of Scotch birth, and a contributor to the
_Edinburgh Review_ (1771-1843).
ALLEN, WM., a distinguished chemist and philanthropist, son of a
Spitalfields weaver, a member of the Society of Friends, and a devoted
promoter of its principles (1770-1843).
ALLENTOWN (34), a town on the Lehigh River, 50 m. NW. of
Philadelphia, the great centre of the iron trade in the U.S.
ALLE`RION, in heraldry, an eagle with expanded wings, the points
turned downwards, and without beak or feet.
ALLEYN, EDWARD, a celebrated actor in the reigns of Elizabeth and
James I., the founder of Dulwich College, and was voluntarily along with
his wife one of its first beneficiaries and inmates; was a contemporary
of Shakespeare (1566-1626).
AL`LIA, a stream flowing into the Tiber 11 m. from Rome, where the
Romans were defeated by the Gauls under Brennus, 387 B.C.
ALLIANCE, THE TRIPLE, in 1668, between England, Holland, and Sweden
against Louis XIV.; the QUADRUPLE, in 1718, between France, England,
Holland, and the Empire to maintain the treaty of Utrecht; the HOLY,
in 1815, between Russia, Austria, and Prussia against Liberal ideas; the
TRIPLE, in 1872, between Germany, Austria, and Russia, at the
instigation of Bismarck, from which Russia withdrew in 1886, when Italy
stepped into her place. Under it the signatories in 1887 guarantee the
integrity of their respective territories.
ALLIER, a confluent of the river Loire, in France, near Nevers; also
the department through which it flows.
ALLIES, the name generally given to the confederate Powers who in
1814 and 1815 entered France and restored the Bourbons.
ALLIES, THOMAS WILLIAM, an English clergyman who turned Roman
Catholic, and wrote, in defence of the step, among others, the "See of
St. Peter, the Rock of the Church."
ALLIGATOR, a N. American fresh-water crocodile, numerous in the
Mississippi and the lakes and rivers of Louisiana and Carolina; subsists
on fish, and though timid, is dangerous when attacked; is slow in
turning, however, and its attacks can be easily evaded.
ALLINGHAM, WILLIAM, a poet and journalist, born in Ireland, of
English origin; his most celebrated works are "Day and Night Songs" and
"Lawerence Bloomfield in Ireland"; was for a time editor of _Fraser's
Magazine_ (1824-1889).
ALLMAN, GEORGE J., M.D., Emeritus Professor of Natural History in
Edinburgh, an eminent naturalist; born in Ireland (1812-1898).
ALLOA (12), a thriving seaport on north bank of the Forth, in
Clackmannan, 6 m. below Stirling, famous for its ale.
ALLOB`ROGES, a Celtic race troublesome to the Romans, who occupied
the country between the Rhone and the Lake of Geneva, corresponding to
Dauphine and Savoy.
ALLOPATHY, in opposition to homoeopathy, the treatment of disease by
producing a condition of the system different from or opposite to the
condition essential to the disease to be cured.
ALLOTROPY, the capability which certain compounds show of assuming
different properties and qualities, although composed of identical
elements.
ALLOWAY, the birthplace of Burns, on the Doon, 2 m. from Ayr, the
assumed scene of Tam o' Shanter's adventure.
ALLOWAY KIRK, a ruin S. of Ayr, celebrated as the scene of the
witches' dance in "Tam o' Shanter."
ALL-SAINTS' DAY, the 1st of November, a feast dedicated to all the
Saints.
ALL-SOULS' DAY, a festival on the 2nd November to pray for the souls
of the faithful deceased, such as may be presumed to be still suffering
in Purgatory.
ALLSPICE, the berry of the pimento, or Jamaica pepper.
ALLSTON, WASHINGTON, an American painter and poet, whose genius was
much admired by Coleridge (1779-1843).
ALMA, a river in the Crimea, half-way between Eupatoria and
Sebastopol, where the allied English, French, and Turkish armies defeated
the Russians under Prince Menschikoff, Sept. 20, 1854.
ALMACK'S, a suite of assembly rooms, afterwards known as Willis's
Rooms, where select balls used to be given, admission to which was a
certificate of high social standing.
ALMADEN (9), a town on the northern slope of the Sierra Morena, in
Spain, with rich mines of quicksilver.
ALMA`GRO, DIEGO D', a confederate of Pizzaro in the conquest of
Peru, but a quarrel with the brothers of Pizzaro about the division of
the spoil on the capture of Cuzco, the capital of Chile, led to his
imprisonment and death (1475-1538).--DIEGO D', his son, who avenged
his death by killing Pizzaro, but being conquered by Vaca de Castro, was
himself put to death (1520-1542).
AL-MAMOUN, the son of HAROUN-EL-RASCHID, the 7th Abbaside
caliph, a great promoter of science and learning; _b_. 833.
ALMANACH DE GOTHA, a kind of European peerage, published annually by
Perthes at Gotha; of late years extended so as to include statesmen and
military people, as well as statistical information.
ALMANSUR, ABU GIAFAR, the 2nd Abbaside caliph and the first of the
caliphs to patronise learning; founded Bagdad, and made it the seat of
the caliphate; _d_. 775.
ALMANSUR, ABU MOHAMMED, a great Moorish general in the end of the
10th century, had overrun and nearly made himself master of all Spain,
when he was repulsed and totally defeated by the kings of Leon and
Navarre in 948.
AL`MA-TAD`EMA, LAURENCE, a distinguished artist of Dutch descent,
settled in London; famous for his highly-finished treatment of classic
subjects; _b_. 1836.
ALMAVIVA, a character in Beaumarchais' _Marriage de Figaro_,
representative of one of the old noblesse of France, recalling all their
manners and vices, who is duped by his valet Figaro, a personification of
wit, talent, and intrigue.
ALMEIDA, a strong fortress in the province of Beira, on the Spanish
frontier of Portugal.
ALMEIDA, FRANCESCO, the first Portuguese viceroy of India, a firm
and wise governor, superseded by Albuquerque, and killed on his way home
by the Kaffirs at the Cape in 1510.--LORENZO, his son, acting under
him, distinguished himself in the Indian seas, and made Ceylon tributary
to Portugal.
ALMERIA (37), a chief town and seaport in the S. of Spain, an
important and flourishing place, next to Granada, under the Moors, and at
one time a nest of pirates more formidable than those of Algiers.
ALMIGHTY DOLLAR, the Almighty whom the Americans are charged with
worshipping, first applied to them, it would seem, by Washington Irving.
ALMOHADES, a Moslem dynasty which ruled in N. Africa and Spain from
1129 to 1273.
ALMO`RA, a high-lying town at the foot of the Himalayas, 85 m. N. of
Bareilly.
ALMORAVIDES, a Moslem dynasty which subdued first Fez and Morocco,
and then S. Spain, from 1055 to 1147.
ALNWICK, the county town of Northumberland, on the Aln; at the north
entrance is Alnwick Castle, the seat of the Duke of Northumberland, one
of the most magnificent structures of the kind in England, and during the
Border wars a place of great strength.
ALOE, a genus of succulent plants embracing 200 species, the
majority natives of S. Africa, valuable in medicine, in particular a
purgative from the juice of the leaves of several species.
ALOES WOOD, the heart of certain tropical trees, which yields a
fragrant resinous substance and admits of high polish.
ALOST (25), a Belgian town on the Dender, 19 m. NW. from Brussels,
with a cathedral, one of the grandest in Belgium, which contains a famous
painting by Rubens, "St. Roche beseeching Christ to arrest the Plague at
Alost."
ALOYSIUS, ST., See GONZAGA.
ALOYSIUS, ST., an Italian nobleman, who joined the Society of Jesus;
canonised for his devotion to the sick during the plague in Rome, to
which he himself fell a victim, June 21, 1591.
ALPACA, a gregarious ruminant of the camel family, a native of the
Andes, and particularly the tablelands of Chile and Peru; is covered with
a long soft silky wool, of which textile fabrics are woven; in appearance
resembles a sheep, but is larger in size, and has a long erect neck with
a handsome head.
ALP-ARSLAN (Brave Lion), a sultan of the Seljuk dynasty in Persia,
added Armenia and Georgia to his dominions (1030-1072).
ALPES, three departments in SE. France: the BASSES-A, in NE.
part of Provence, bounded by Hautes-Alpes on the N. and Var on the S.,
sterile in the N., fertile in the S., cap. Digne; HAUTES-A., forming
part of Dauphine, traversed by the Cottian Alps, climate severe, cap.
Gap; A. MARITIMES, E. of the Basses-A., bordering on Italy and the
Mediterranean, made up of the territory of Nice, ceded by Italy, and of
Monaco and Var; cap. Nice.
ALPHE`US, a river in the Peloponnesus, flowing west, with its source
in Arcadia; also the name of the river-god enamoured of the nymph
Arethusa, and who pursued her under the sea as far as Sicily, where he
overtook her and was wedded to her.
ALPINE CLUB, a club of English gentlemen devoted to mountaineering,
first of all in the Alps, members of which have successfully addressed
themselves to attempts of the kind on loftier mountains.
ALPINE PLANTS, plants whose natural habitat approaches the line of
perpetual snow.
ALPS, THE, the vastest mountain system in Europe; form the boundary
between France, Germany, and Switzerland on the N. and W., and Italy on
the S., their peaks mostly covered with perpetual snow, the highest being
Mont Blanc, within the frontiers of France. According to height, they
have been distributed into _Fore, Middle_, and _High:_ the Fore rising to
the limit of trees; the Middle, to the line of perpetual snow; and the
High, above the snow-line. In respect of range or extent, they have been
distributed into _Western, Middle_, and _Eastern:_ the Western, including
the Maritime, the Cottian, the Dauphine, and the Graian, extend from the
Mediterranean to Mont Blanc; the Middle, including the Pennine and
Bernese, extend from Mont Blanc to the Brenner Pass; and the Eastern,
including the Dolomite, the Julian, and the Dinaric, extend from the
Brenner and Hungarian plain to the Danube. These giant masses occupy an
area of 90,000 sq. m., and extend from the 44th to the 48th parallel of
latitude.
ALPUJAR`RAS, a rich and lovely valley which stretches S. from the
Sierra Nevada in Spain.
ALRUNA-WIFE, the household goddess of a German family.
ALSACE-LORRAINE` (1,640), a territory originally of the German
empire, ceded to Louis XIV. by the peace of Westphalia in 1648, but
restored to Germany after the Franco-German war in 1870-71, by the peace
of Frankfort; is under a governor general bearing the title of
"Statthalter"; is a great wine-producing country, yields cereals and
tobacco, its cotton manufacture the most important in Germany.
ALSA`TIA, Whitefriars, London, which at one time enjoyed the
privilege of a debtors' sanctuary, and had, till abolished in 1697,
become a haunt of all kinds of nefarious characters.
ALSEN (25), a Danish island adjacent to Sleswig, one of the finest
in the Baltic, now ceded to Germany.
AL-SIRAT, the hair-narrow hell-bridge of the Moslem, which every
Mohammedan must pass to enter Paradise.
ALSTEN, an island off the coast of Northland, Norway, with seven
snow-capped hills, called the Seven Sisters.
ALTAI` MOUNTAINS, in Central Asia, stretching W. from the Desert of
Gobi, and forming the S. boundary of Asiatic Russia, abounding, to the
profit of Russia, in silver and copper, as well as other metals.
ALTDOR`FER, ALBRECHT, a German painter and engraver, a distinguished
pupil of Albert Duerer, and as a painter, inspired with his spirit; his
"Battle of Arbela" adorns the Muenich Picture Gallery (1488-1538).
AL`TEN, KARL AUGUST, a distinguished officer, native of Hanover, who
entered the British service, bore arms under Sir John Moore, was chief of
a division, under Wellington, in the Peninsular war, and closed his
military career at the battle of Waterloo (1763-1840).
AL`TENBURG (33), capital of Saxe-Altenburg, and 4 m. S. of Leipsic;
its castle is the scene of the famous "PRINZENRAUB" (q. v.),
related by Carlyle in his "Miscellanies."
ALTHEN, a Persian refugee, who introduced into France the
cultivation of madder, which became one of the most important products of
the S. of France.
ALTON LOCKE, a novel, by Charles Kingsley, written in sympathy with
the Chartist movement, in which Carlyle is introduced as one of the
personages.
ALTO`NA (148), a town and seaport of Sleswig-Holstein, now belonging
to Germany, close to Hamburg, on the right bank of the Elbe, and
healthier, and as good as forming one city with it.
ALTO-RELIEVO, figures carved out of a tablet so as to project at
least one half from its surface.
AL`TORF, an old town in the canton Uri, at the S. end of the Lake of
Lucerne; associated with the story of William Tell; a place of transit
trade.
ALTRUISM, a Comtist doctrine which inculcates sacrifice of self for
the good of others as the rule of human action.
ALUMBRA`DO, a member of a Spanish sect that laid claim to perfect
enlightenment.
ALURED OF BEVERLEY, an English chronicler of the 12th century; his
annals comprise the history of the Britons, Saxons, and Normans up to his
own time; _d_. 1129.
ALVA, DUKE OF, a general of the armies of Charles V. and Philip of
Spain; his career as a general was uniformly successful, but as a
governor his cruelty was merciless, especially as the viceroy of Philip
in the Low Countries, "very busy cutting off high heads in Brabant, and
stirring up the Dutch to such fury as was needful for exploding Spain and
him" (1508-1582).
ALVARA`DO, PEDRO DE, one of the Spanish conquerors of Mexico, and
comrade of Cortez; was appointed Governor of Guatemala by Charles V. as a
reward for his valiant services in the interest of Spain; was a generous
man as well as a brave.
ALVAREZ, FRANCESCO, a Portuguese who, in the 15th century, visited
Abyssinia and wrote an account of it.
ALVAREZ, DON JOSE, the most distinguished of Spanish sculptors, born
near Cordova, and patronised by Napoleon, who presented him with a gold
medal, but to whom, for his treatment of his country, he conceived so
great an aversion, that he would never model a bust of him (1768-1827).
ALVIANO, an eminent Venetian general, distinguished himself in the
defence of the republic against the Emperor Maximilian (1455-1515).
AMADEUS, LAKE, a lake in the centre of Australia, subject to an
almost total drying-up at times.
AMADE`US V., count of Savoy, surnamed the Great from his wisdom and
success as a ruler (1249-1323).
AMADEUS VIII., 1st duke of Savoy, increased his dominions, and
retired into a monastery on the death of his wife; he was elected Pope as
Felix V., but was not acknowledged by the Church (1383-1451).
AMADEUS I., of Spain, 2nd son of Victor Emmanuel of Italy, elected
king of Spain in 1870, but abdicated in 1873 (1845-1890).
AM`ADIS DE GAUL, a celebrated romance in prose, written partly in
Spanish and partly in French by different romancers of the 15th century;
the first four books were regarded by Cervantes as a masterpiece. The
hero of the book, Amadis, surnamed the Knight of the Lion, stands for a
type of a constant and deferential lover, as well as a model
knight-errant, of whom Don Quixote is the caricature.
AMADOU, a spongy substance, consisting of slices of certain fungi
beaten together, used as a styptic, and, after being steeped in
saltpetre, used as tinder.
AMAIMON, a devil who could he restrained from working evil from the
third hour till noon and from the ninth till evening.
AMALARIC, king of the Visigoths, married a daughter of Clovis; _d_.
581.
AMALEKITES, a warlike race of the Sinaitic peninsula, which gave
much trouble to the Israelites in the wilderness; were as good as
annihilated by King David.
AMAL`FI, a port on the N. of the Gulf of Salerno, 24 m. SE. of
Naples; of great importance in the Middle Ages, and governed by Doges of
its own.
AMALFIAN LAWS, a code of maritime law compiled at Amalfi.
AMA`LIA, ANNA, the Duchess of Weimar, the mother of the grand-duke;
collected about her court the most illustrious literary men of the time,
headed by Goethe, who was much attached to her (1739-1807).
AMALRIC, one of the leaders in the crusade against the Albigenses,
who, when his followers asked him how they were to distinguish heretics
from Catholics, answered, "Kill them all; God will know His own;" _d_.
1225.
AMALTHE`A, the goat that suckled Zeus, one of whose horns became the
cornucopia--horn of plenty.
AMA`RA SINHA, a Hindu Buddhist, left a valuable thesaurus of
Sanskrit words.
AMA`RI, MICHELE, an Italian patriot, born at Palermo, devoted a
great part of his life to the history of Sicily, and took part in its
emancipation; was an Orientalist as well; he is famous for throwing light
on the true character of the Sicilian Vespers (1806-1889).
AMARYL`LIS, a shepherdess in one of Virgil's pastorals; any young
rustic maiden.
AMA`SIA (25), a town in Asia Minor, once the capital of the kings of
Pontus.
AMA`SIS, king of Egypt, originally a simple soldier, took part in an
insurrection, dethroned the reigning monarch and assumed the crown,
proved an able ruler, and cultivated alliances with Greece; reigned from
570 to 546 B.C.
AMA`TI, a celebrated family of violin-makers; Andrea and Niccolo,
brothers, at Cremona, in the 16th and 17th centuries.
AMATITLAN (10), a town in Guatemala, the inhabitants of which are
mainly engaged in the preparation of cochineal.
AMAUROSIS, a weakness or loss of vision, the cause of which was at
one time unknown.
AMAZON, a river in S. America and the largest on the globe, its
basin nearly equal in extent to the whole of Europe; traverses the
continent at its greatest breadth, rises in the Andes about 50 m. from
the Pacific, and after a course of 4000 m. falls by a delta into the
Atlantic, its waters increased by an immense number of tributaries, 20 of
which are above 1000 m. in length, one 2000 m., its mouth 200 m. wide;
its current affects the ocean 150 m. out; is navigable 3000 m. up, and by
steamers as far as the foot of the Andes.
AMAZONS, a fabulous race of female warriors, who had a queen of
their own, and excluded all men from their community; to perpetuate the
race, they cohabited with men of the neighbouring nations; slew all the
male children they gave birth to, or sent them to their fathers; burnt
off the right breasts of the females, that they might be able to wield
the bow in war.
AMBASSADOR, "an honest man sent to lie abroad for the commonwealth"
(_Wotton_).
AMBER, a fossil resin, generally yellow and semi-transparent,
derived, it is presumed, from certain extinct coniferous trees; becomes
electric by friction, and gives name to electricity, the Greek word for
it being _electron_; has been fished up for centuries in the Baltic, and
is now used in varnishes and for tobacco pipes.
AMBERGER, a painter of Nuernberg in the 16th century, a disciple of
Holbein, his principal work being the history of Joseph in twelve
pictures.
AMBERGRIS, an ashy-coloured odorous substance used in perfumery,
presumed to be a morbid fragment of the intestines of the spermaceti
whale, being often found floating on the ocean which it frequents.
AMBERLEY, LORD, son of Lord John Russell, wrote an "Analysis of
Religious Belief," which, as merely sceptical, his father took steps to
secure the suppression of, without success.
AMBLESIDE, a small market-town near the head of Lake Windermere, in
the Wordsworth or so-called Lake District.
AMBLYOPSIS, a small fish without eyes, found in the Mammoth
Cave, U.S.
AMBOISE (5), a town on the Loire, 14 m. E. of Tours, with a castle,
once the residence of the French kings. The Conspiracy of A., the
conspiracy of Conde and the Huguenots in 1560 against Francis II.,
Catharine de Medici, and the Guises. The Edict of A. (1563) conceded the
free exercise of their worship to the Protestants.
AMBOISE, GEORGE DE, CARDINAL, the popular Prime Minister of Louis
XII., who, as such, reduced the Public burdens, and as the Pope's legate
in France effected a great reform among the religious orders; is said to
have died immensely rich (1460-1510).
AMBOYNA (238), with a chief city of the name, the most important of
the Moluccas, in the Malay Archipelago, and rich before all in spices; it
belongs to the Dutch, who have diligently fostered its capabilities.
AM`BROSE, ST., bishop of Milan, born at Treves, one of the Fathers
of the Latin Church, and a zealous opponent of the Arian heresy; as a
stern puritan refused to allow Theodosius to enter his church, covered as
his hands were with the blood of an infamous massacre, and only admitted
him to Church privilege after a severe penance of eight months; he
improved the Church service, wrote several hymns, which are reckoned his
most valuable legacy to the Church; his writings fill two vols. folio. He
is the Patron saint of Milan; his attributes are a _scourge_, from his
severity; and a _beehive_, from the tradition that a swarm of bees
settled on his mouth when an Infant without hurting him (340-397).
Festival, Dec. 7.
AMBRO`SIA, the fragrant food of the gods of Olympus, fabled to
preserve in them and confer on others immortal youth and beauty.
AMELIA, a character in one of Fielding's novels, distinguished for
her conjugal affection.
AMENDE HONORABLE, originally a mode of punishment in France which
required the offender, stripped to his shirt, and led into court with a
rope round his neck held by the public executioner, to beg pardon on his
knees of his God, his king, and his country; now used to denote a
satisfactory apology or reparation.
AMERBACH, JOHANN, a celebrated printer in Basel in the 15th century,
the first who used the Roman type instead of Gothic and Italian; spared
no expense in his art, taking, like a true workman, a pride in it; _d_.
1515.
AMERICA, including both North and South, 9000 m. in length, varies
from 3400 m. to 28 m. in breadth, contains 161/2 millions of sq. m., is
larger than Europe and Africa together, but is a good deal smaller than
Asia; bounded throughout by the Atlantic on the E. and the Pacific on the
W.
AMERICA, BRITISH N., is bounded on the N. by the Arctic Ocean, on
the E. by the Atlantic, on the S. by the United States, and on the W. by
the Pacific; occupies one-third of the continent, and comprises the
Dominion of Canada and Newfoundland.
AMERICA, CENTRAL, extends from Mexico on the north to Panama on the
south, and is about six times as large as Ireland; is a plateau with
terraces descending to the sea on each side, and rich in all kinds of
tropical vegetation; consists of seven political divisions: Guatemala,
San Salvador, British Honduras, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mosquitia, and Costa
Rica.
AMERICA, NORTH, is 4560 m. in length, contains over 81/2 millions sq.
m., is less than half the size of Asia, consists of a plain in the centre
throughout its length, a high range of mountains, the Rocky, on the W.,
and a lower range, the Appalachian, on the E., parallel with the coast,
which is largely indented with gulfs, bays, and seas; has a magnificent
system of rivers, large lakes, the largest in the world, a rich fauna and
flora, and an exhaustless wealth of minerals; was discovered by Columbus
in 1492, and has now a population of 80 millions, of which a fourth are
negroes, aborigines, and half-caste; the divisions are British North
America, United States, Mexico, Central American Republics, British
Honduras, the West Indian Republics, and the Spanish, British, French,
and Dutch West Indies.
AMERICA, RUSSIAN, now called Alaska; belongs by purchase to the
United States.
AMERICA, SOUTH, lies in great part within the Tropics, and consists
of a high mountain range on the west, and a long plain with minor ranges
extending therefrom eastward; the coast is but little indented, but the
Amazon and the Plate Rivers make up for the defect of seaboard; abounds
in extensive plains, which go under the names of Llanos, Selvas, and
Pampas, while the river system is the vastest and most serviceable in the
globe; the vegetable and mineral wealth of the continent is great, and it
can match the world for the rich plumage of its birds and the number and
splendour of its insect tribes.
AMERICA, SPANISH, the islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico, till lately
belonging to Spain, though the designation is often applied to all the
countries in N. America where Spanish is the spoken language.
AMERICAN FABIUS, George Washington.
AMERICAN INDIANS, a race with a red or copper-coloured skin, coarse
black straight hair, high cheek-bones, black deep-set eyes, and tall
erect figure, limited to America, and seems for most part fast dying out;
to be found still as far south as Patagonia, the Patagonians being of the
race.
AMERI`GO-VESPUC`CI, a Florentine navigator, who, under the auspices
first of Spain, and afterwards of Portugal, four times visited the New
World, just discovered by Columbus, which the first cartographers called
America, after his name; these visits were made between 1499 and 1505,
while Columbus's discovery, as is known, was in 1492 (1451-1512).
AMES, JOSEPH, historian of early British typography, in a work which
must have involved him in much labour (1689-1759).
AMHA`RA, the central and largest division of Abyssinia.
AMHERST, LORD, a British officer who distinguished himself both on
the Continent and America, and particularly along with General Wolfe in
securing for England the superiority in Canada (1717-1797).
AMICE, a flowing cloak formerly worn by pilgrims, also a strip of
linen cloth worn over the shoulder of a priest when officiating at mass.
AM`IEL, a professor of aesthetics, and afterwards of ethics at
Geneva, who is known to the outside world solely by the publication of
selections from his Journal in 1882-84, which teems with suggestive
thoughts bearing on the great vital issues of the day, and which has been
translated into English by Mrs. Humphrey Ward.
AMIENS` (88), the old capital of Picardy, on the Somme, with a
cathedral begun in 1220, described as the "Parthenon of Gothic
architecture," and by Ruskin as "Gothic, clear of Roman tradition and of
Arabian taint, Gothic pure, authoritative, unsurpassable, and
unaccusable"; possesses other buildings of interest; was the birthplace
of Peter the Hermit, and is celebrated for a treaty of peace between
France and England concluded in 1802.
AMIRAN`TES, a group of small coral islands NE. of Madagascar,
belonging to Britain; are wooded, are 11 in number, and only a few feet
above the sea-level.
AMMANA`TI, BARTOLOMEO, a Florentine architect and sculptor of note,
was an admirer of Michael Angelo, and executed several works in Rome,
Venice, and Padua (1511-1592).
AMMIA`NUS MARCELLI`NUS, a Greek who served as a soldier in the Roman
army, and wrote a history of the Roman Empire, specially valuable as a
record of contemporary events; _d_. 390.
AMMIRATO, an Italian historian, author of a history of Florence
(1531-1601).
AM`MON, an Egyptian deity, represented with the head of a ram, who
had a temple at Thebes and in the Lybian Desert; was much resorted to as
an oracle of fate; identified in Greece with Zeus, and in Rome with
Jupiter.
AMMONIA, a pungent volatile gas, of nitrogen and hydrogen, obtained
from sal-ammonia.
AMMONIO, ANDREA, a Latin poet born in Lucca, held in high esteem by
Erasmus; sent to England by the Pope, he became Latin secretary to Henry
and a prebendary of Salisbury; _d_. 1517.
AMMONITES, a Semitic race living E. of the Jordan; at continual feud
with the Jews, and a continual trouble to them, till subdued by Judas
Maccabaeus.
AMMONITES, a genus of fossil shells curved into a spiral form like
the ram-horn on the head of the image of Ammon.
AMMO`NIUS SACCAS, a philosopher of Alexandria, and founder of
Neo-Platonism; Longinus, Origen, and Plotinus were among his pupils; _d_.
243, at a great age.
AMNION, name given to the innermost membrane investing the foetus in
the womb.
AMOEBA, a minute animalcule of the simplest structure, being a mere
mass of protoplasm; absorbs its food at every point all over its body by
means of processes protruded therefrom at will, with the effect that it
is constantly changing its shape.
AMOMUM, a genus of plants, such as the cardamom and grains of
paradise, remarkable for their pungency and aromatic properties.
AMORITES, a powerful Canaanitish tribe, seemingly of tall stature,
NE. of the Jordan; subdued by Joshua at Gibeon.
AMORY, THOMAS, an eccentric writer of Irish descent, author of the
"Life of John Buncle, Esq.," and other semi-insane productions; he was a
fanatical Unitarian (1691-1789).
AMOS, a poor shepherd of Tekoa, near Bethlehem, in Judah, who in the
8th century B.C. raised his voice in solitary protest against the
iniquity of the northern kingdom of Israel, and denounced the judgment of
God as Lord of Hosts upon one and all for their idolatry, which nothing
could avert.
AMOY` (96), one of the open ports of China, on a small island in the
Strait of Fukien; has one of the finest harbours in the world, and a
large export and import trade; the chief exports are tea, sugar, paper,
gold-leaf, &c.
AMPERE`, ANDRE MARIE, a French mathematician and physicist, born at
Lyons; distinguished for his discoveries in electro-dynamics and
magnetism, and the influence of these on electro-telegraphy and the
general extension of science (1775-1836).
AMPERE, JEAN JACQUES, son of the preceding; eminent as a
litterateur, and a historian and critic of literature; attained to the
rank of a member of the French Academy (1800-1864).
AMPHIC`TYONIC COUNCIL, a council consisting of representatives from
several confederate States of ancient Greece, twelve in number at length,
two from each, that met twice a year, sitting alternately at Thermopylae
and Delphi, to settle any differences that might arise between them, the
decisions of which were several times enforced by arms, and gave rise to
what were called _sacred wars_, of which there were three; it was
originally instituted for the conservation of religious interests.
AMPHI`ON, a son of Zeus and Antiope, who is said to have invented
the lyre, and built the walls of Thebes by the sound of it, a feat often
alluded to as an instance of the miraculous power of music.
AMPHISBAENA, a genus of limbless lizards; a serpent fabled to have
two heads and to be able to move backward or forward.
AM`PHITRITE, a daughter of Oceanus or Nereus, the wife of Neptune,
mother of Triton, and goddess of the sea.
AMPHIT`RYON, the king of Tiryns, and husband of Alcmene, who became
by him the mother of Iphicles, and by Zeus the mother of Hercules.
AMPHITRYON THE TRUE, the real host, the man who provides the feast,
as Zeus proved himself to the household to be when he visited Alcmene.
AM`RAN RANGE, pronounced the "scientific frontier" of India towards
Afghanistan.
AMRIT`SAR (136), a sacred city of the Sikhs in the Punjab, and a
great centre of trade, 32 m. E. of Lahore; is second to Delhi in Northern
India; manufactures cashmere shawls.
AM`RU, a Mohammedan general under the Caliph Omar, conquered Egypt
among other military achievements; he is said to have executed the order
of the Caliph Omar for burning the library of Alexandria; _d_. 663.
AMSTERDAM (456), the capital of Holland, a great trading city and
port at the mouth of the Amsel, on the Zuyder Zee, resting on 90 islands
connected by 300 bridges, the houses built on piles of wood driven into
the marshy ground; is a largely manufacturing place, as well as an
emporium of trade, one special industry being the cutting of diamonds and
jewels; birthplace of Spinoza.
AMUR`, a large eastward-flowing river, partly in Siberia and partly
in China, which, after a course of 3060 m., falls into the Sea of
Okhotsk.
AMURNATH, a place of pilgrimage in Cashmere, on account of a cave
believed to be the dwelling-place of Siva.
AMYOT, JACQUES, grand-almoner of France and bishop of Auxerre; was
of humble birth; was tutor of Charles, who appointed him grand-almoner;
he was the translator, among other works, of Plutarch into French, which
remains to-day one of the finest monuments of the old literature of
France, it was much esteemed by Montaigne (1513-1593).
AMYOT, JOSEPH, a French Jesuit missionary to China, and a learned
Orientalist (1713-1794).
ANABAPTISTS, a fanatical sect which arose in Saxony at the time of
the Reformation, and though it spread in various parts of Germany, came
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