The American Cyclopaedia Vol1 | by George Ripley And Charles A. Dana

The American Cyclopaedia - Popular Dictionary Of General Knowledge. Vol1

Title	The American Cyclopaedia. Vol1
Author	George Ripley And Charles A. Dana
Publisher	D. Appleton And Company
Year	1873
Copyright	1873, D. Appleton And Company
Amazon	The New American Cyclopædia. 16 volumes complete.

The American Cyclopædia

Edited By George Ripley And Charles A. Dana.

Volume I. A-Ahser.

Other spellings could be: Cyclopaedia, Cyclopedia, Encyclopædia, Encyclopaedia, Encyclopedia

Preface: The work originally published under the title of The New American Cyclopaedia was completed in 1863, since which time the wide circulation which it has attained in all parts of the United States, and ...

Preface. Continued: The design of The American Cyclopaedia, then, as it was that of the origi-nal work on which it is founded, is to furnish a condensed exhibition of the present state of human knowledge on the most impo...

The American Cyclopaedia: REVISED EDITION, 1873. Editors-In-Chief George Ripley. CHARLES A. DANA. Associate Editors Robert Carter.. M. HEILPRIN. Alfred It. GUERNSEY. FRANCIS A. TEALL. STAFF OF REVISERS. WILLARD BARTLET...

The American Cyclopaedia. Part 2: Algoma, Archibald, A. G., and other Canadian articles. Prof. F. A. March, LL. D., Lafayette College, Easton, Pa. Anglo-Saxon Language and Literature. Prof. J. Orton, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie....

The American Cyclopaedia. Part 3: Capt. Walter M. Gibson, Salt Lake City. Prof. CHANDLER R. Gilman, M. D., College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York. D. C. Gilman, Librarian of Yale College, New Haven. Rev. E. W. Gilman, Bangor,...

Letter A: A THE first of the vowels, and the first letter of all written alphabets except the Amharic or Abyssinian, of which it is the thirteenth, and the Runic, of which it is the tenth. This almost universal...

AAA: AAA is the chemical abbreviation for amalgama. - A, in music, is the nominal of the sixth diatonic interval of the first octave of the modern scale. It corresponds to the La of Guido. A was the lowest...

AA: AA, the name of a number of small rivers in central and northern Europe, derived from the Celtic ach, or Teutonic aa, flowing water. The most important are: I. A river of the Netherlands, province of ...

Aalborg: Aalborg (Eel Town), a seaport and city of Denmark, in Jutland, capital of a district of the same name, on the S. shore of the Lym-fiord, 15 m. from its outlet in the Cattegat; pop. in 1870, 11,721. It...

Aalen: Aalen, a town of Würtemberg, capital of a bailiwick in the circle of Jaxt, on the Kocher, 45 m. E. N. E. of Stuttgart; pop. in 1871, 5,552. It has woollen factories, tanneries, and several iron works....

Aali Pasha: Aali Pasha, a Turkish statesman, horn in Constantinople in 1815, died there, Sept. 7, 1871. The son of a priest and a functionary, he entered the public service at an early age as a protégé of Reshid ...

Aaltex: Aaltex, a town of the Netherlands, province of Gelderland, district of Zutphen, situated On the Aa; pop. in 1867, 6,160, and increasing rapidly. It has many tanneries and factories. ...

Aar, Or Aarc: Aar, Or Aarc, the largest river of Switzerland after the Rhine and the Rhone. It rises in the glaciers of the Grimsel in the Bernese mountains, forms at Handeck a magnificent waterfall above 290 feet ...

Aarau: Aarau, a town of Switzerland, capital of the canton of Aargau, on the Aar; pop. in 1870, 5,449. The town is well built, and is celebrated for its manufactories of mathematical instruments. In August, ...

Aard-Vark: Aard-Vark (orycteropus capensis), a plantigrade animal of the class mammalia, order edentata, peculiar to Africa, and extremely common in the southern part of that continent, especially in the Cape Co...

Aard-Wolf: Aard-Wolf (earth wolf; proteles Lalan-dii, viverra cristata), a singular quadruped, of the digitigrade carnivorous mammalia, first brought from Caffraria by the traveller Dela-lande. To the external a...

Aargau: Aargau (Fr. Argovie), a Swiss canton, bounded by Zurich, Zug, Lucerne, Bern, Soleure, Basel, and the Rhine, which separates it from Baden; area, 542 sq.m.; pop. in 1870, 198,873, of whom 107,703 were ...

Aarhuus: Aarhuus, a seaport of Denmark, in East Jutland, capital of Aarhuus bailiwick, on the Cattegat, 37 m. S.E. of Viborg; pop. in 1870, 15,025. It contains one of the finest and largest cathedrals in Denma...

Aaron: I. Son of Amram, of the tribe of Levi, elder brother of Moses, his spokesman in the embassy to the court of Pharaoh, and subsequently the first high priest. He was recreant to his trust in the absence...

Frans Van Aarsens: Frans Van Aarsens, a Dutch diplomatist, born at the Hague in 1572, died in 1641. In 1599 he was appointed ambassador at the French court, and concluded (1609) the truce of 12 years between the United ...

Ivar Andreas Aasen: Ivar Andreas Aasen, a Norwegian philologist, born at Oersten, Aug. 5, 1813. The son of a poor farmer, he became well educated through his own efforts. He first devoted himself to botany, and then stud...

Aasvar: Aasvar, a group of small islands, below the arctic polar circle, about 12 m. from the Norwegian coast, forming part of the prefecture of Nordre Helgoland and of the parish of Don-naes, in the province...

Ababdeh, Or Ababdie: Ababdeh, Or Ababdie, tribes of N. E. Africa, tributary to Egypt, under the jurisdiction of a resident sheik, spread over the N. part of the desert between the Nile and the Red Sea, from Kenneh to Assw...

Great Abaco: Great Abaco, a long and crooked island, the largest of the Bahama group, 150 m. E. of Florida, 80 m. long by an average of 15 wide. Its N. point is in lat. 26 30' N., lon. 76o 57' W. Pop. about 2...

Abacus. Abaci's: I. In architecture, the upper part of the capital of a column, supporting the entablature, said to have been designed from a square tile laid over a basket. The shape of the abacus differs in differen...

Abad I: (Abu Amru ibn Habed), first Moorish king of Seville, and founder of the Abadite dynasty, born in the latter half of the 10th century, died about 1041. His ancestors, from Emesa in Syria, had settled a...

Abaka Khan: Abaka Khan, second Mongol king of Persia, of the family of Genghis Khan, succeeded his father, Hulaku Khan, in 1265, and died about 1280. He completed the conquests of his father, restored Bagdad, and...

Abana: Abana, mentioned in Scripture in connection with Pharpar as a river of Damascus, is now generally identified with the Barada, the Chry-sorrhoas of the Greeks, while the Awaj is considered identical wi...

Charles Xavier Joseph D Abancoirt: Charles Xavier Joseph D Abancoirt, minister of Louis XVI. of France, born at Douay, July 4, 1758, died Sept. 10, 1792. At the commencement of the revolution he was captain in the cavalry,- but was mad...

Pietro D'Abano. Petrus de Apono: Pietro D'Abano. (Lat. Petrus de Apono), an Italian philosopher, born at Abano in 1250, died in 1316. He studied at Constantinople and Paris, became professor of medicine at Padua, and wrote several wo...

Joaquin Abarca: Joaquin Abarca, a Spanish bishop, born in Aragon about 1780, died at Lanza, near Turin, June 21, 1844. Having been promoted in 1823 from a village priest to be bishop of Leon, for supporting the absol...

Abardi: Abardi, a mountain or range of highlands in eastern Palestine, facing Jericho. Its most elevated spot was Nebo, on which Moses died. ...

Jose Fernando Abascal: Jose Fernando Abascal, a Spanish statesman, born at Oviedo in 1743, died in Madrid, June 13, 1821. He entered the Spanish army in 1762, and distinguished himself as colonel in the war against the Fren...

Firmin Abauzit: Firmin Abauzit, a French theologian and antiquary, born at Uzes, Nov. 11, 1679, died in Geneva, March 20, 1767. The revocation of the edict of Nantes banished his mother to Geneva while he was yet a b...

Jacques Abbadie: Jacques Abbadie, a French Protestant divine, born at Nay, in Béam, in 1658, died in London, Oct. 6, 1727. After completing his studies at Sedan he went to Germany and Holland, and became pastor of the...

Abbas I: Abbas I., the Great, fifth shah of Persia of the dynasty of the Sofis, born in 1557, died Jan. 27, 1628. He succeeded to the throne on the murder of his two elder brothers in 1587. He conquered Gilan,...

Abbas Ben Abd-El-Mottalib: Abbas Ben Abd-El-Mottalib, paternal uncle of Mohammed, born at Mecca in 566, died in 652. He was the progenitor of the Abbasside dynasty, but not known as such until an adventurer, requiring a title t...

Abbas Mirza: Abbas Mirza, a Persian prince and warrior, born in 1783, died in 1833. He was the second and favorite son of Feth Ali, shah of Persia. He was the declared enemy of Russia, and commanded the armies of ...

Abbas Pasha: Abbas Pasha, viceroy of Egypt, grandson of Mehemet Ali, and nephew of Ibrahim Pasha, born in 1813, died July 12, 1854. He took an active part in the Syrian wars of his grandfather, but without disting...

Abbassides: Abbassides, caliphs of Bagdad, the third Mohammedan dynasty, founded by Abul Abbas as-Saffeh (the Bloody), who claimed the caliphate as lineal descendant of Mohammed's uncle Abbas, whence the name. He...

Jacques Pierre Abbatucci: Jacques Pierre Abbatucci, a French general, bora in Corsica in 1726, died in 1812. He was a rival and political opponent of Paoli, but submitted to his control in the war with the Genoese. After the F...

Abbe: Abbe, the French word for abbot. Before the revolution of 1789, any Frenchman who chose to devote himself to divinity, or even to finish a brief course of study in a theological seminary, became an ab...

Abbeokita, Or Abeakntah: Abbeokita, Or Abeakntah, an independent city of central Africa, in the Egba district of Yoruba, with a small territory containing several minor towns, on the Ogoon, which separates it on the W. from D...

Abbess: Abbess, the female superior of a convent of nuns ranking as an abbey, in some of the more ancient orders. An abbess is solemnly blessed and inducted into office by a bishop, and uses the ring, cross, ...

Abbeville: Abbeville, a well built, fortified town of France, in the department of Somme, on the river Somme and the Northern railway, 25 m. N. X. W. of Amiens; pop. in 1800, 19,385. The town contains a fine but...

Abbo Cernuus, Or Abbon The Crooked: Abbo Cernuus, Or Abbon The Crooked, a French monk of St. Germain des Prés, died in 923. He was the author of an epic poem of some historical value, in Latin, descriptive of the siege of Paris by the N...

Abbo Floriacensis, Or Abbon Of Flenry: Abbo Floriacensis, Or Abbon Of Flenry, a French monk, abbot of Fleury, and author of Lives of the Popes, born near Orleans about 945, slain Aug. 13, 1004, while striving to quell a fray. He was seve...

Abbot: Abbot (from the Semitic ab or abba, father), a prelate of high rank in the Roman Catholic church, who governs a principal monastery of one of the old religious orders, which may also have minor conven...

Abiel Abbot: Abiel Abbot, D. 1)., an American clergyman, born in Andover, Mass., Aug. 17, 1770, died on the return voyage from Havana, June 7, 1828. He graduated at Harvard university, and in 1794 became minister ...

Benjamin Abbot: Benjamin Abbot, LL. D., an American teacher, for 50 years principal of Phillips academy at Exeter, N. H., born about 1763, died at Exeter, Oct. 25, 1849. He graduated at Harvard college, and took char...

Charles Abbot: Charles Abbot, Lord Colchester, from 1802 till 1817 speaker of the British house of commons, born Oct. 14, 1757, died May 8, 1829. He served through a long and useful career in parliament, occupying a...

George Abbot: George Abbot, archbishop of Canterbury, born at Guildford, Oct. 29, 1562, died at Croydon, Aug. 5, 1633. In 1597 he was appointed master of University college, Oxford, and was three times vice chancel...

Gorham Dummer Abbot: Gorham Dummer Abbot, LL. D., an American teacher and author, brother of Jacob and J. S. C. Abbott, born in Brunswick, Me., Sept. 3, 1807. After studying theology at Andover he made the tour of the Uni...

Samuel Abbot: Samuel Abbot, a wealthy Boston merchant, one of the founders of the Andover theological seminary, born at Andover in 1732, died April 30, 1812. In 1807 he made a donation of $20,000 toward establishin...

Abbotsford: Abbotsford, the seat of Sir Walter Scott, from which his baronet's title was taken. It is situated in the parish of Melrose, in Roxburghshire and Selkirkshire, on the right bank of the Tweed, and in t...

Abbots-Lamley: Abbots-Lamley, a parish in Hertfordshire, England, 21 m. N. of London, noted as the birthplace of Nicholas Breakspear (Pope Adrian IV.), the only Englishman who ever occupied the holy see. The Bookse...

Abbott: Abbott, a family of American writers, whose name was originally spelled Abbot. I. Jacob, born at Hallowell, Me., Nov. 14, 1803. He graduated at Bowdoin college, Brunswick, Me., in 1820, and studied di...

Charles Abbott: Charles Abbott, Lord Tenterden, an English lawyer, born Oct. 7, 1762, died Nov. 4, 1832, He was appointed lord chief justice of the king's bench in 1818, and in 1827 was created a peer as Baron Tenter...

Abbreviations: Abbreviations, certain contractions of various words and phrases, effected by omitting some of the letters or syllables. The object in view is the saving of time and space. They are found in every wri...

Abd: Abd, an initial word in proper names common to the Semitic languages. It signifies servant, and is usually coupled with the name of the Divinity or of a moral attribute; thus, Abd-allah, the servan...

Abdallah Ben Abd-El-Mottalib: Abdallah Ben Abd-El-Mottalib, an Arab merchant, father of Mohammed, born at Mecca about 545, died in 570. In youth, according to the Moslem legend, he narrowly escaped sacrifice at his father's hands,...

Abdallah Ben Zobair: Abdallah Ben Zobair, ruler of Mecca, born about 022, died in 692. He was the first born of the disciples of Mohammed after the hegira, and his advent was a matter of great rejoicing. He was the son of...

Abd-El-Halim: Abd-El-Halim, known as Halim Pasha, an Egyptian prince, son of Mehemet Ali and a white slave woman, born at Cairo in 1826. He was educated at Paris, and of late resides near Cairo, in a magnificent pa...

Abd-El-Hamid: Abd-El-Hamid, the Arabic name adopted by Du Couret, a French traveller, on his becoming a Mohammedan. He was born in 1812 at Hüningen, in Alsace, travelled from 1834 to 1847 in the East, was sent in 1...

Abd-El-Kader: Abd-El-Kader, an Arab emir in Algeria, born near Mascara in 1806 or 1807. He was the descendant of an ancient family of Mara-bouts, and the son of Mahiddin, an influential emir, who, suspected of plot...

Abd-El-Wahab: Abd-El-Wahab, founder of the Mohammedan sect of Wahabees or Wahabites, born of poor parents, in the Arabian province of Nedjed, about 1691. After long travels through various parts of Arabia, Syria, a...

Abdera: Abdera (now Polystilo), an ancient city of Thrace, on the S. coast, at or E. of the mouth of the river Nestus. It was a flourishing town in the times of the Persian wars with Greece, and preserved its...

Abderrahman I: Abderrahman I., surnamed the Wise, the first ruler of the family of the Ommiyades in Spain, born at Damascus in 731, died in 787. After the massacre of his family in the East he retired to Mauritania,...

Abderrahman: Abderrahman, sultan of Morocco, born in 1778, died in August, 1859. He succeeded to the throne in 1823, on the death of his uncle, Muley Suleiman. At his succession the practice of paying tribute to t...

Abdias: Abdias, of Babylon, the supposititious author of a book called Historia Certaminis Apostolici (published at Basel in 1551), in which he asserted that he had seen Christ, that he was one of the 70 disc...

Abdication: Abdication, the abandonment of a throne by a crowned head, was rare and generally compulsory in ancient times. The abdication of Diocletian and Maximian is the best known case in antiquity. Among mode...

Abdomen: Abdomen (Lat., of undetermined etymology), the lower part of the body, included between the level of the diaphragm and that of the pelvis. The abdomen consists of its walls or boundaries, the cavity e...

Abdil-Aziz: Abdil-Aziz, sultan of Turkey, second son of Mahmoud II., born Feb. 9, 1830. He succeeded his brother Abdul-Medjid, June 25, 1861. Like all heirs to the Turkish throne, his life until his accession was...

Abdul-Medjid: Abdul-Medjid, sultan of Turkey, born April 23, 1823, died June 25, 1861. He succeeded to the throne on the death of his father Mahmoud II., July 1, 1839. Educated in the seclusion of the seraglio, his...

Abecedarians: Abecedarians, a sect which appeared among the Anabaptists of Germany in the 16th century, led by one Storck, previously a disciple of Luther. They held that without the aid of study the Holy Spirit wo...

Gilbert Abbott Abecket: Gilbert Abbott Abecket, an English humorous author, born in London in 1810, died in Boulogne, April 28, 1856. He was called to the English bar in 1841. He was a contributor to both the London Times ...

David Abeel: David Abeel, D. D., an American clergyman, born in New Brunswick, N. J., June 12, 1804, died in Albany, N. Y., Sept. 4, 1846. He studied theology at the seminary in New Brunswick, and after preaching ...

Julins Friedrich Heinrich Abegg: Julins Friedrich Heinrich Abegg, a German jurist, born in Erlangen, March 27, 1796, died in Breslau, May 29, 1868. In 1818 he received his legal doctorate, and in 1820 commenced delivering lectures at...

Abel: Abel, the second son of Adam. He was a shepherd, and was slain by his brother Cain, from envy. It has been maintained by some fathers of the church that Abel never married; hence the sect of Abelites....

Alexandre Denis Abel De Pujol: Alexandre Denis Abel De Pujol, a French painter, born in Valenciennes, Jan. 30, 1785, died in Paris, Sept. 28, 1861. He was a pupil of David, and achieved distinction as a historical painter of the ol...

Abelard, Or Abailard: Abelard, Or Abailard, Pierre, a French scholastic philosopher, born near Nantes, in Brittany, in 1079, died April21,1142. Havingmade early and rapid progress in the learning of the age, he relinquishe...

Abelians Abelites: Abelians Abelites, Abelonians, or Abelonites, a sect of Christians, probably of Gnostic origin, who, though practising marriage, denounced sexual intercourse as a service of Satan, maintaining that th...

Aven Aben: Aven Aben, Ebn, Ibn, Arabic patronymic prefixes to proper names, corresponding to the Hebrew ben, son of. (See Bex.) ...

Abenaquis, Or Abnakis (Men Of The Eastern Land): Abenaquis, Or Abnakis (Men Of The Eastern Land), a group of Indian tribes of the Algonquin family, originally occupying the present state of Maine, and comprising the Canibas or Abenaquis proper on th...

Abencerrages: Abencerrages (Arabic, Ibn Serraj or Zer-ragh), the name of a distinguished Moorish family, whose mortal feud with the Zegris, another noble family of Granada, contributed to the fall of the Granadian ...

Abendberg: Abendberg, one of the secondary elevations of the Bernese Alps, rising from the plateau of Interlachen or Bernese Oberland, in the canton of Bern, Switzerland, S. W. of the village of Interlachen, its...

Aben Ezra: Aben Ezra, properly Abraham ben Meir ben Ezra, one of the most esteemed biblical commentators among the Jews of the 12th century, born in Toledo, Spain, in 1093, died in Rome in 1167 or 1168. He was a...

Abensbero: Abensbero, a small town of Lower Bavaria, 18 m. S. W. of Ratisbon; pop. about 1,600. It is believed to have been the Abasinum of the Romans. It has a thermal spring, and contains the ruins of a fine c...

James Abercrombie: James Abercrombie, a British general, born in Scotland in 1706, died April 28, 1781. He was commander-in-chief in America in 1756, and again in 1758, on the retirement of Loudoun. He attacked Ticonder...

John Abercrombie: John Abercrombie, M. 1)., a Scottish physician, born in Aberdeen, Nov. 11, 1781, died in Edinburgh, Nov. 14, 1844. He contributed valuable papers to the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal. His p...

Sir Ralph Abercromby: Sir Ralph Abercromby, a British general, born in 1738, died March 28, 1801. He was descended from a good Scottish family, entered the army, and became major general in 1787. In 1793 he went to Holland...

Aberdare: Aberdare, a town and parish of Glamorganshire, S. Wales, at the junction of the river Bare with the Cynon, 20 m. N. N. W. of Cardiff, and 4 m. S. W. of Merthyr Tydvil; pop. of the parish (25 sq. m.) i...

Aberdeen: Aberdeen. I. New, the capital of the county of Aberdeen, Scotland, situated between the rivers Don and Dee, and near the mouth of the latter, 512 m. from London, and 114 m. N. by E.from Edinburgh; pop...

Earls Of Aberdeen: Earls Of Aberdeen, viscounts of Formartin and barons of Haddo, Methlic, Tarvis, and Kel-lie in the Scottish peerage, and Viscounts Gordon in that of the United Kingdom. The family is an offshoot of th...

Aberdeenshire: Aberdeenshire, a county of Scotland, on the N. E. coast, between lat. 56 52' and 57 42' N., and lon. 1 49' and 3 48' W.; length, 87 m.; greatest breadth, 36 m.; area, 1,985 sq. m.,...

Aberdevine: Aberdevine (carduelis spinus), also called the siskin, a small European song bird, which breeds in the north of Europe, and visits England, France, and Germany during the winter season only. It somewh...

John Abernethy: John Abernethy, an English surgeon, born either in Scotland or Ireland in 1764, died at Enfield, April 18, 1831. He was a pupil of Sir Charles Blick, surgeon to St. Bartholomew's hospital, London, and...

Aberration: I. Aberration of Light, the alteration of apparent position in a heavenly body, due to the fact that the observer is carried along by the earth's motion, the velocity of which is a measurable quantity...

Aberystwith: Aberystwith, a seaport town of Cardiganshire, Wales, near the outlet of the Ystwith and Rheidiol, 39 m. 1ST. E. of Cardigan; pop. in 1871, 6,896. It is a bathing place, and has considerable commerce a...

Abeyance: Abeyance (law Fr. abbayev, to expect, wait for; Fr. bayer, to gape), a law term implying expectation, suspense, though by the signification preferred by the best authors the thing in abeyance is conce...

Abiathar: Abiathar, a Hebrew high priest, the son of Ahimelech, who was slain by Saul for receiving David when a fugitive. He was for a long time faithful to David, especially during Absalom's rebellion, when h...

Abib: Abib (properly, Hodesh haabib, the month of the ears of corn), the first month of the Mosaic Hebrew year, corresponding nearly to our April. After the Babylonish captivity this month was called Nisan,...

Wilhelm Hermann Abich: Wilhelm Hermann Abich, a German-Russian naturalist, born in Berlin, Dec. 11, 1806. He graduated in 1831 at the university of Berlin, visited Italy and Sicily, and published Erlau-temde Abbildungen von...

Abimelech: I. A Philistine king of Gerar, into whose dominions Abraham removed after the destruction of Sodom. The latter, from motives of prudence, pretended that Sarah, his wife, was his sister, whereupon Abim...

James Abinger: James Abinger, Lord, an English lawyer, born in Jamaica about 1769, died in London, April 7, 1844. He is better known and remembered as Sir James Scarlett. He was a member of parliament for Peterborou...

Frances Abington: Frances Abington, an English actress, born about 1731, died in London, March 4, 1815. Her father was a common soldier named Barton. She was employed as a child in running errands, and afterward as a f...

Abipones: Abipones, a tribe of South American Indians who inhabited the district of Chaco in Paraguay, but now occupy the territory lying between Santa Fe and St. Jago, east of the Parana river. Our accounts of...

Oath Of Abjuration: Oath Of Abjuration, usually, an oath by which one renounces allegiance. But anciently in England, and before 21 James I., ch. 28, 17, one who had been guilty of a felony, and who had fled for s...

Abkhasia, Or Abchasia: Abkhasia, Or Abchasia, the country of the Abkhasians, a warlike tribe between the Black sea and the Caucasus, which has been conquered by the Russians. It is bounded N. and N. E. by the land of the Ci...

Ablution: Ablution, a religious ceremony in many portions of the world. In the Catholic church it means the cleansing of the cup after the Lord's supper, and is applied to the wine and water with which the prie...

Abner: Abner, the son of Ner, cousin of Saul and the general of his troops. He was greatly loved by Saul, and faithful to him until his death, and then transferred his allegiance to Ishbosheth, Saul's son, t...

Abo: Abo (Swed. Abo), a city of Russia, in Finland, capital of the government of Abo-Bjor-neborg, built on both sides of the Aurajoki, not far from where it flows into the gulf of Bothnia, 260 m. W. by X. ...

Abo-Bjorneborg: Abo-Bjorneborg, one of the governments of the grand duchy of Finland, situated on the Finnish and Bothnian gulfs; area, 9,869 sq. m.; pop. in 1867, 319,784, nearly all Lutherans. Capital, Abo. ...

Abomey: Abomey, the capital of the kingdom of Dahomey, Africa, in lat, 7 59' N., lon. 1 20' E., 100 m. N. N. W. of Badagry; pop. about 50,-000. It is about eight miles in circumference, surrounded b...

Abortion: Abortion (Lat. abortus, a miscarriage), the premature expulsion of the foetus or embryo, at so early a period that it is incapable of living, and the pregnancy is consequently unfruitful. In the human...

Abortion. Part 2: It is not to be understood, however, from this that very grave and even capital offences may not be involved in such an act as that referred to even at common law; for in such a case, as Chief Justice...

Abortion. Part 3: The latest statutes - for example, those of New Jersey, Illinois (1869), Kansas (1868), and New York (1869) - do not require that the woman be quick with child, but only that she be pregnant or wit...

Aboukir: Aboukir, an Egyptian port about 12 m. N. E. of Alexandria. In the bay of Aboukir was fought, Aug. 1, 1798, the famous battle of the Nile or of Aboukir, between the French fleet sent out from Toulon un...

Edmond About: Edmond About, a French author, born at Dieuze, Meurthe, Feb. 14, 1828. He was educated at Paris, and in the French school at Athens. His literary talents had already become noted when in 1855 he publi...

Abracadabra: Abracadabra, a magical word with the ancients, supposed to possess some talismanic properties when inscribed and partially repeated in a triangular form, so as to be read in different directions, upon...

Abraham A Sancta Clara: Abraham A Sancta Clara, a German preacher, whose proper name was Ulrich vox Me-gerle, born at Krähenheinistetten in Swabia in 1642, died in Vienna, Dec. 1, 1709. He was an Augustinian monk, and preach...

Abrantes: Abrantes, a town in Portuguese Estrema-dura, at the head of navigation on the Tagus, 80 m. N. E. of Lisbon; pop. in 1863, 5,590. It is surrounded by a very fertile and highly cultivated plain, dotted ...

Andoche Junot Abrantes: I. Andoche Junot, duke of, a French soldier, born at Bussy-le-Grand, Burgundy, Oct. 23, 1771, died in Montbard, July 29, 1813. He was educated for the law, but in 1792 enlisted in the army as a volunt...

Laure Permon Junot Abrantes: II. Laure Permon Junot, duchess of, wife of the preceding, born in Montpellier, Nov. 6, 1784, died at Chaillot, near Paris, June 7, 1838. Her mother, a Corsican, claimed descent from the Comnenus fami...

Abrabanel Abravanel: Abrabanel Abravanel, or Abarbancl, Isaac ben Judah, a Jewish author, born in Lisbon in 1437, died in Venice in 1508. His family boasted a lineal descent from the kings of Judah. He received an excelle...

Abraxas: Abraxas (Gr. or ), a mystical word employed by the Egyptian Gnostic Basil-ides to signify the Supreme Being as ruler of the 365 heavens of his system, which number is represented by its letters accord...

Abruzzo, Or The Abruzzi: Abruzzo, Or The Abruzzi, the northernmost division of the former kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now forming part of the kingdom of Italy, embracing the highest and wildest portion of the Apennines. The ...

Absalom: Absalom, the third son of David, his only one by Maachah, and especially distinguished for beauty. Instigated possibly by ambition, but ostensibly by the rape of his sister Tamar, he slew Amnon, his e...

Absalon, Or Axel: Absalon, Or Axel, a Danish statesman, soldier, and ecclesiastic, born in 1128, died in 1201. He was educated at the university of Paris. He was related to the royal family, and was the chief minister ...

Abscess: Abscess (Lat. abscedere, to separate), a collection of pus in a circumscribed cavity. (See Pus.) This cavity is usually of new formation, produced by the separation and destruction of the parts by the...

Absinth, Or Wormwood: Absinth, Or Wormwood, the tops and leaves of artemisia absinthium, a plant of the order compositae and tribe senecionideae. It contains a volatile oil and a very bitter, resinous substance called absi...

John Absolon: John Absolon, an English painter, born in London, May 6, 1815. He is a member of the New Water Color Society, to the annual exhibitions of which he is still a steady contributor. He paints history ...

Absolute: Absolute (Lat. absolutus, absolved, freed from all extrinsic conditions, complete in itself, and dependent on no other cause), a term much used in modern philosophy, especially by Schelling, Hegel, Co...

Absolution: Absolution, in the Roman Catholic church, the act of the priest in pronouncing the pardon and remission of the sins of a penitent. Absolution in foro interno is a part of the sacrament of penance, in ...

Absorption: Absorption (Lat. absorbere, to suck up). I. The process by which nutritious and other fluids are imbibed by animal and vegetable tissues, to be appropriated for their growth, activity, or modification...

Absorption. Continued: The most favorable condition for continued and active absorption would be that in which the two liquids were kept in constant motion and incessantly renewed, so that the first one should never be exha...

Absorption of Gases by Solids and Liquids: II. Absorption of Gases by Solids and Liquids. There are not only porous substances, as earth, charcoal, and animal membranes, which will absorb gases, but solid metals will in many instances do the s...

III. Absorption Of Heat: The capacity of bodies to absorb heat is in direct proportion to their capacity to emit heat. Light-colored, polished, or smooth surfaces possess this capacity in the least degree, while dark-colored ...

IV. Absorption Of Light: The apparent color of all objects is caused by the elective absorption of certain colored rays in the white light, while the remaining are reflected and determine the color of the object. Even the pur...

Abstinece: Abstinece, the partial or total deprivation of food. The phenomena which characterize life are connected with chemical changes occurring in portions of the blood or tissues of the body itself; the pre...

Abstinece. Continued: The average loss of weight in the animals experimented upon was 40 per cent., varying considerably in different cases, the variation depending chiefly on the relative amount of fat. Weighing the diffe...

Franz Abt: Franz Abt, a German composer, born at Eilenburg, Saxony, Dec. 22, 1819. His early studies were theological, but he abandoned divinity for music, and at the age of 22 became musical director at Zurich....

Abubekr: Abubekr, the first caliph, born at Mecca about 573, died in 634. Abubekr means father of the virgin, and this name was given to him when his daughter Ayesha became the favorite wife of Mohammed. His...

Abulfaragius, Or Abulfaraj: Abulfaragius, Or Abulfaraj, Mar Gregorins, surnamed, on account of his Jewish descent, Bar-Hebrseus, a Syriac and Arabic writer, born in 1226, died in 1286. He was a native of Armenia, and the son of ...

Ismail Ibn Ali Abulfeda: Ismail Ibn Ali Abulfeda, a Moslem prince and writer, born at Damascus about 1273, died in October, 1331. He was a descendant of Eyub (or Ayub), the founder of the Kurdish dynasty in Egypt; fought in t...

Abu Temam: Abu Temam, one of the greatest Arabic poets, born in Syria about 806, died at Mosul in 845 or 846. His poems are said to have procured him the favor of the Moslem courts and many thousand pieces of go...

Abydos: I. An ancient city of Asia Minor, on the narrowest part of the Hellespont, opposite Sestos, originally the possession of the Trojan prince Asius, and later occupied by the Thracians and Milesians. It ...

Abyla: Abyla, one of the pillars of Hercules, at the N. W. extremity of Africa, opposite Calpe (now Gibraltar) in Spain, the other pillar. It was believed by the ancients to have been formerly joined with Ca...

Abyssinia: Abyssinia (Arab. Habesh, signifying a mixture of peoples), a country of eastern Africa, lying S. W. of the Red sea. Its boundaries are not very accurately defined, especially as the name is frequently...

Abyssinia. Part 2: It is about 50 m. long by 25 m. wide, and its depth in some places is said to be 6OO ft, There are many other lakes, among which Ashangi, 4 m. long and 3 m. broad, in the country of the Azebo-Gallas, ...

Abyssinia. Part 3: At an elevation of 6,000 ft. occur juniper trees, which here grow tall and large, the jujube, wild olives, and several trees of the tig tribe. This vegetation is sub-alpine, and common to the plateaux...

Abyssinia. Part 4: Soon the independent chiefs of the other provinces refused to acknowledge his sway. Shoa, Tigre, and God-jam, the S. W. province of Amhara, were virtually separate sovereignties for many years. A line...

Abyssinian Church: According to the Chronicles of Axum, a work probably written by a Christian Abyssinian in the 4th century, the first apostle of Christianity in Abyssinia was the chamberlain of the Queen Candace of Et...

Acacia: Acacia, a genus of plants of the order legu-minosce, widely diffused over the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the earth; most abundant in Africa and Australia. They are trees or shrubs, rarely he...

Academy: Academy (Gr. ), originally the name of a public pleasure ground situate in the Ceramicus (tile field), a suburb of Athens, on the Oephissus, said to have belonged in the time of the Trojan war to Aca...

Academy. Part 2: Padua, Milan, Siena, Verona, Genoa, all have academies which publish transactions from time to time. The earliest academies of fine arts are also Italian. That of San Luca at Rome was established in 1...

Academy. Part 3: Its five sections are: philosophy; moral philosophy; legislation, public law, and jurisprudence; political economy and statistics; and general history and philosophy. The whole institute has one regul...

Academy. Part 4: In 1783 an institution on the model of the Academie frarncaise was established at St. Petersburg, for the cultivation of the national language, but it was soon amalgamated with the imperial academy. T...

Acadia, Or Aeadie: Acadia, Or Aeadie, the name of the peninsula now called Nova Scotia, from its first settlement by the French in 1604 till its final cession to the English in 1713. In the original commission of the ki...

Acalephae: Acalephae (Gr. nettle), a class of animals living in sea water, some species of which possess the nettle-like property of irritating and inflaming the skin. The animals are invertebrate, gelatinous, ...

Acanthi's: Under this name have been described by the classical writers three different plants: 1. A prickly tree, with smooth evergreen leaves and saffron-colored berries, believed to be the common holly. 2. A ...

Acapulco: Acapulco, a seaport town of Mexico, on the Pacific, in the state of Guerrero, 180 m. S. by W. of Mexico; lat. 16 50' N., lon. 99 48 W.; pop. about 4,000. It has one of the best harbors on th...

Acarnania: Acarnania, a province of ancient Greece, bounded X. by the Ambracian gulf and Am-philochia, which is by some included in Acar-nania, E. by Aetolia, and S. W. and W. by the Ionian sea. It is mountainou...

Acarus: Acarus, the name of a genus of insects, commonly called mites. They belong to the spider family. They are all extremely minute, and mostly microscopic insects. Some are parasitic, as the itch insect, ...

Acastus: Acastus, in mythology, son of Pelias, king of Iolcus. He took part in the Calydonian hunt and the expedition of the Argonauts. He revenged the murder of his father, in which his sisters were the instr...

Accad: Accad, one of the four cities in the land of Shinar or Babylonia, which, according to Gen. x. 10, were the beginning of Nimrod's kingdom. Among other places, it has been identified with Nisibis. Raw...

Acceleration: Acceleration, an increase in velocity of a moving body, either constant and uniform or variable. When the velocity receives equal increments in equal times, it is uniform. This is the case with bodies...

Acceptance: Acceptance, an agreement to pay a bill when due according to the tenor of the obligation assumed. A bill of exchange or draft is a written instrument by which A requests B to pay C a sum of money at a...

Acceptance. Continued: For, though the detention of a bill is not essentially an acceptance of it, yet when it takes place under such circumstances as fairly justify the holder in supposing that an acceptance is intended,, ...

Accessory: Accessory, properly, with reference to a felony, one who takes part in the act, but not such part as to be a principal. The law recognizes no accessory in treason, the highest of crimes, nor in misdem...

Acclimation, Or Acclimatization: Acclimation, Or Acclimatization, the process by which an individual or a species, on being removed to a different climate, becomes modified in constitution and adapted to the changed conditions. The t...

Benedetto Accolti: Benedetto Accolti, an Italian lawyer, born at Arezzo in 1415, died in 1466. He became secretary of the Florentine republic in 1459. He is said to have had so fine a memory that, having heard an ambass...

Accomack: Accomack, an E. county of Virginia, bordering on Maryland, and forming with Northampton county, from which it was set off in 1672, the peninsula on the E. side of Chesapeake bay; area, 480 sq. m.; pop...

Accordion: Accordion, a musical instrument, invented by Damian at Vienna in 1829, the sounds of which are produced by the action of the wind from bellows upon metallic reeds. It is played altogether by the hands...

Accra: Accra, a country in western Africa, on the Gold Coast, over which England and Denmark exercise jurisdiction. The British division consists of Fort St. James, in lat. 5 32' N., Ion. 0 12' W.,...

Accrington: Accrington, a town of Lancashire, England, 19 m. N. of Manchester, divided into Old and New, the latter the larger and of recent growth; pop. in 1861, 19,688; in 1851, 9,747. It is situated in a deep ...

Accubation: Accubation, a table posture, betwveen sitting and lying, invented by the Greeks and adopted by the Romans and Jews. About the low dining table were placed two or three long couches, furnished with mor...

Friedrich Accum: Friedrich Accum, a German chemist, born in Buckeburg, March 29, 1769, died in Berlin, June 28, 1838. In 1793 he went to London, where he was appointed in 1801 professor of chemistry and mineralogy in ...

Aceldama: Aceldama (Chaldaic, 'hakal dema, field of blood), the name given to the potter's field which was purchased with the money for which Judas betrayed Christ. It was afterward used as a place of burial fo...

Acephalocyst: Acephalocyst (Gr. a privative, head, and bladder; literally, a cyst without a head), a vesicular or hydatid growth, sometimes found in the substance of the liver, kidney, or other of the abdominal ...

Acetates: Acetates, compounds of which acetic acid is one of the principal constituents. They are generally soluble in water and alcohol, and some of them are deliquescent; those that are least soluble are acet...

Acetic Acid: Acetic Acid (Lat. acetum, vinegar, of which it constitutes about 6 per cent.) has been known in a dilute form from the remotest antiquity. It can be prepared in two conditions: acetic anhydride, or an...

Acetylene: Acetylene, a transparent colorless gas, of a peculiar disagreeable odor, perceptible when coal gas is imperfectly burned in the air. It burns with a bright smoky flame. Berthelot formed it by transmit...

Achaean League: Achaean League. The inhabitants of Achaia were a very inconsiderable member of the Hellenic family until about 251 B. C. They formed 12 separate self-governing communities, united together only by the...

Achaenas: Achaenas, in ancient history, the name of one of the main divisions of the Hellenic race. Originally they dwelt in Thessaly, whence they migrated to the Peloponnesus, of which they were the ruling nat...

Achaemenes: Achaemenes. I. The ancestor and founder of the Achaemenidae, the noblest family of the Pasargadaae, and from the time of Cyrus (third in descent from him, according to Herodotus) the royal family of P...

Achaia: Achaia, one of the ancient divisions of the Peloponnesus, extending along the coast of the gulf of Corinth; greatest length from E. to W. about 65 m.; breadth, 12 to 20 m.. Patras, formerly Patrae, is...

Franz Karl Achard: Franz Karl Achard, a Prussian natural philosopher and chemist, born in Berlin, April 28, 1753, died April 20, 1821. He devoted himself to the development of the beet sugar manufacture, repeating and i...

Louis Amedee Eugene Achard: Louis Amedee Eugene Achard, a French novelist, born at Marseilles in April, 1814. The first part of his life was employed in commerce and provincial administration, and he afterward became a journalis...

Achates: I. The companion of Aeneas in his flight from Troy, and in his subsequent wanderings, according to the account given by Virgil. He is always termed fidus Achates (the faithful Achates), whence the phr...

Acheen: Acheen, an independent sovereignty, comprising the X. W. portion of Sumatra; area, 25,500 sq. m. As early as 1509 the Portuguese visited this country, and in 1602 the English, in order to obtain a con...

Achelous: Achelous (now Aspropotamo), a river of Greece, which rises in Mount Pindus, flows S., separates Aetolia from Acarnania, and falls into the Ionian sea. Homer calls it the king of rivers. It is the la...

Achenbach: I. Andreas, a German landscape painter, born in Cassel, Sept. 29, 1815. He studied at Dusseldorf, under Schirmer and Schadow, and at the age of 18 produced landscapes of merit. He afterward travelled ...

Acheron: Acheron, in antiquity, the name of several rivers, all believed to be connected with the lower world. I. A river in Epirus, which flowed through Acherusia lake into the Ionian sea. II. A river in Eli...

Acherusia: Acherusia, in antiquity, the name of several lakes believed to be connected with the lower world. The principal ones were those in Epirus and Campania, the latter between Cuime and Cape Misenum. Acher...

Dom Jean Lue D Achery: Dom Jean Lue D Achery, a French savant, born in 1609, died April 24, 1685. He was a Benedictine monk, librarian of the abbey of St. Germain des Pres at Paris, and devoted his life chiefly to collectin...

Achilles: Achilles, properly Aehilleus, the hero of the Iliad, was the son of Peleus, king of the Myrmidons in Phthiotis in Thessaly, grandson of Aeacus, and thus third in descent from Zeus. His mother was the ...

Achilles Tatius: I. A Greek astronomer, supposed to have flourished in the 4th century of our era, and to be the author of a treatise on the sphere, a fragment of which is extant. II. A native of Alexandria, who wrot...

Achromatic Lens: Achromatic Lens (Gr. a, without, and color). When light is refracted by any transparent medium, dispersion always takes place; that is, the rays of different color contained in white light are not e...

Acid: Acid, a compound of hydrogen, in which that element is united to an electro-negative radical. In common language the term is equivalent to the Latin word acichis, meaning anything sour. Oxygen was for...

Manins Acilius Glabrio: Manins Acilius Glabrio, a Roman general, who became consul in 191 B. C. He was of plebeian origin, but rose by regular gradation. He supported Cornelius Scipio; commanded as consul against Antiochus t...

Aci Reale: Aci Reale, a seaport town on the E. coast of Sicily, in the province of Catania, celebrated for its mineral waters; pop. in 1871, 35,787. It is situated on a hill of lava with a precipice over G50 fee...

Acis: Acis, in Ovid, son of Faunus and Symsethis, beloved by the nereid Galatea, and through jealousy crushed to death under a huge rock by Polyphemus. Galatea changed his blood into the river Acis, on whic...

Ackermann: I. Konrad Ernst, a German comedian, regarded as one of the founders of the German stage, born in Schwerin in 1710, died in Hamburg, Nov. 13, 1771. In 1740 he made his debut as an actor under the auspi...

Acland: I. John Dyke, a British major, son of a baronet, commander of the grenadiers in the battle of Stillwater in the American revolution, Oct, 7, 1777, died in 1778. When overpowered by numbers the British...

Aclinic Line: Aclinic Line (Gr. a, without, and to incline), an imaginary line on the earth's surface between the tropics, where the compass needle has no inclination; that is, where the dipping needle is horizonta...

Acolyte: Acolyte (Gr. attending), a clergyman in the Roman Catholic church, and in the churches of the East, next in rank to the sub-deacon, whose principal office is to light the candles on the altar, and att...

Acoma: Acoma, a village of New Mexico, in lat. 35 24' K, Ion. 106 10' W., supposed by the abbe Domenech to be the Acuco of the ancient Spanish historians, and the oldest Indian town in the territor...

Aconcagua: I. A central province of Chili; area, about 6,000 sq. m.; pop. in 1868, 130,672. The entire eastern portion is occupied by rugged spurs of the Andes and very fertile valleys, watered by several rivers...

Aconite: Aconite (Gr. probably from a stone, because it grows in stony places), a genus of plants of the order ranunculaceae, one of the distinguishing marks of which, the hooded form of the upper sepal, give...

Winter (Eranthis Hyemails) Aconite: Winter (Eranthis Hyemails) Aconite, a small tuberous and herbaceous plant, growing without stem, and bearing in early spring bright yellow flowers of cup form. Its leaves are smooth, pale green, many-...

Acosta: I. Jose de, a Spanish writer, born about 1530, died Feb. 15, 1(500. He entered the society of Jesuits at 14, and on completing his course of study was appointed professor of theology at Ocafia. In 157...

Acoustics: Acoustics (Gr. to hear), that branch of physical science which explains the phenomena and laws of sound. For the production of these phenomena three conditions are required: 1, a sonorous body; 2, a m...

Acoustics. Continued: It is seen, by comparison with the numbers mentioned before, that this series gives C#, D, G, and G# too low, while the other eighth tones are too high. However, this is only the case when consideri...

Clandio De Acquaviva: Clandio De Acquaviva, a general of the Jesuits, born in Italy in 1542, died in 1615. He regulated the studies of the order of Jesuits in an ordinance promulgated at Koine in 1586, which became famous ...

Acquaviva Delle Fonti: Acquaviva Delle Fonti, a town of S. Italy, province of Terra di Bari, 18 m. S. of Bari; pop. in 1861, 6,517. It is surrounded by walls, and has a handsome parish church. ...

Acqui: Acqui (anc. Aquae Statiellae), a town of Italy, capital of a district of the same name, in the Piedmontese province of Alessandria, on the left bank of the Bormida, 18 m. S. of Alessandria; pop. about...

Acre: Acre (Lat. ager, Ger. acker, a cultivated field), a standard measure of land, consisting in England and the United States of 4,840 square yards, or 48,564 square feet. In surveying, it is composed of ...

Acre, Or St: Acre, Or St. Jean d'Aere (called Acca by the Turks, Accho in Scripture, and Ace and Ptolemais by the Greeks), a seaport town of Syria, N. of Mt. Carmel, 64 m. S. of Beyront, in lat. 32 54' N, lon...

Israel Acrelius: Israel Acrelius, a Swedish clergvman, born Dec. 25, 1714, died April 25, 1800. He studied in Upsal, and was ordained in 1743. In 1749 he was appointed provost of the Swedish congregations on the Delaw...

Acrocerainia: Acrocerainia (Gr. peak, and thunderbolt), in ancient geography, the N. W. extremity (now Cape Linguetta) of the Cerau-nian mountains in Epirus, so called from its being often struck by lightning. The...

Acropolis: Acropolis (Gr.), the highest point of a city, or its citadel, usually on a rock or hill. The ruins of the most celebrated, that of Athens, still exist for the delight of travellers. It had five gates,...

Acta Diurna: Acta Diurna (Lat., daily doings), the name of daily reports issued in ancient Rome, chiefly under the empire. They were published by authority, and contained a brief chronicle of the proceedings at pu...

Actaeon: Actaeon, in Greek mythology, a hunter, grandson of Cadmus, who, for the crime of watching Diana while bathing, was transformed into a stag, and devoured by his own hounds. ...

Acta Eruditorum: Acta Eruditorum (the transactions of the learned), the title of the first literary journal of Germany, founded in 1682 by Otto Mencke, professor in the university of Leipsic, and several associates, a...

Acta Martyrnm Acta Sanctorum: Acta Martyrnm Acta Sanctorum, Martyrology. The ancient church gave the name Acta Martyrum, or Acts of the Martyrs, to the records of the lives and sufferings of the martyrs which were kept for the e...

Actian Games: Actian Games, in Roman antiquity, solemn games instituted by Augustus in memory of his victory over Mark Antony at Actium, 31 B. C, held every fifth year, and celebrated in honor of Apollo, surnamed A...

Actinia: Actinia (Gr. ray), a genus of marine radiated animals, commonly called sea anemones, from their resemblance to flowers. They are fleshy polyps, termed zoanthoria by De Blainville, and zoophyta heliant...

Actinism: Actinism (Gr. a ray of light), the peculiar property or force of that portion of the sun's rays which produces the chemical effects shown in photography. That the actinic rays are different from those...

Actinometer: Actinometer, the name generally but improperly applied to a thermometer intended to measure the heat of the solar rays. The first so-called actinometer was made by Sir John Herschel in 1825, and consi...

Action: Action, the formal demand of one's right from another in a court. In the Roman law action is defined to be either the right which one has of seeking in a judicial tribunal that which is his due, or th...

Actum: Actum (now La Punta), a promontory and village in Acarnania, at the entrance of the Ambracian gulf, near which Octavius, afterward Augustus, vanquished Mark Antony, Sept. 2, 31 B. C, in a great naval ...

Sir John Francis Edward Acton: Sir John Francis Edward Acton, Neapolitan prime minister, born in 1736, died in Palermo, Aug. 12, 1811. He has been often erroneously called Joseph, the name of his brother. His immediate ancestors we...

Acton Burnell: Acton Burnell, an English statute, so named because the parliament at which it was passed was held at Acton Burnell, a little village in Shropshire. The date of the statute is Oct. 12, 1283. It is the...

Acts Of The Apostles: Acts Of The Apostles, the fifth book of the New Testament, and the last of those properly historical. It is recognized on all sides that the Acts were written by the same author as the third Gospel, a...

Cristobal De Acuna: Cristobal De Acuna, a Spanish Jesuit missionary in Chili and Peru, born at Burgos in 1597. He was one of the early explorers of the Amazons, being attached to Texeira's expedition to that river (1639-...

Acupuncture: Acupuncture (Lat. acus, a needle, and pun-gere, to prick), an operation introduced by the Chinese, who imagine that it gives vent to acrid vapors. The needles employed by them are of gold or silver, m...

Ada: Ada, a S. W. county of Idaho, separated from Oregon by the Snake river (here also called the Saptin); area, about 2,800 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 2,675. The county was organized in 1864. Mining is the pri...

Adair: I. A S. county of Kentucky, intersected by Green river; area, 450 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 11,065, of whom 1,836 were colored. The surface is hilly and abounds in good timber, and the soil is moderately ...

Sir Robert Adair: Sir Robert Adair, a British diplomatist, born in London, May 24, 1763, died Oct. 3, 1855. His father, Robert Adair, was sergeant-surgeon to George III. He was distantly related to Charles James Fox, a...

Adal, Or Adel: Adal, Or Adel, a portion of the E. coast of Africa, between the Abyssinian highlands and the Red sea, and extending from the bay of Tajurra to Cape Bab-el-Mandcb, and from thence 300 m. along the shor...

Adalbert: I. Or Aldebert, a Frankish bishop and missionary to the German pagans before the middle of the 8th century. He was accused of heresy by St. Boniface, who charged him among other things with collecting...

Heinrich Wilhelm Adalbert: Heinrich Wilhelm Adalbert, a Prussian prince, first cousin of the emperor William, commander-in-chief of the German navy, born Oct. 29, 1811. He travelled in Europe, the East, and Brazil, and printed ...

Adalia, Or Sattalieh: Adalia, Or Sattalieh. (Anc. Attalia in Pam-phylia), a seaport and the largest town on the S. coast of Asia Minor, on the gulf of Adalia, 250 m. S. E. of Smyrna; pop. about 12,000, of whom 3,000 are Gr...

Adam: Adam, the first man, the husband of Eve, and father of Cain, Abel, and Seth, and of unnamed sons and daughters. Various meanings have been ascribed to the name; the most generally recognized is eart...

Adolphe Charles Adam: Adolphe Charles Adam, a French composer, born in Paris, July 24, 1803, died May 3, 1856. In 1817 he entered the conservatory in Paris, became a skilful pianist, and studied composition under Reicha an...

Albreeht Adam: Albreeht Adam, a German painter of battle pieces, born at Nordlingen, April 16, 1786, died in Munich, Aug. 28, 1862. He studied painting at Nuremberg under Conrad Zweiger. He was engaged in the Austri...

Alexander Adam: Alexander Adam, a Scottish teacher and grammarian, born in Murrayshire in June, 1741, died Dec. 18, 1809. He acquired learning amid difficulties, and in 1768 was appointed rector of the high school of...

Adam Of Bremen: Adam Of Bremen, a German missionary and chronicler, from 1067 canon and schoolmaster it Bremen, died there about 1076. He is the uthor of Historia Eeclesiastiea, which is the principal literary author...

Adam De La Halle: Adam De La Halle, a trouvere of the 13th century, died at Naples about 1286. He was born at Arras, a town celebrated for its poets and minstrels, and was surnamed the Hunchback of Arras. He went to Na...

Adamawa: Adamawa, the Mohammedan name, while Fumbina is the pagan one, of a country of central Africa visited and described for the first time by Dr. Barth in the summer of 1851. It lies between lat. 6 30...

Adamites: Adamites, a sect of the second century, who held that the merits of Christ restored them to Adamic innocence. Consequently, they appeared naked in their assemblies, and rejected marriage. They soon di...

Adams: Adams, the name of eight counties in the United States. I. A S. county of Pennsylvania, on the Maryland border; area, 530 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 30,315. The head waters of Monocacy river take their ris...

Adams, Berkshire County, Mass: Adams, a township of Berkshire county, Mass., on both sides of the Hoosac river; pop. in 1870, 12,090. There are four villages in the town: North Adams, South Adams, Maple Grove, and Blackington. In i...

Charles Baker Adams: Charles Baker Adams, an American chemist and zoologist, born in Dorchester, Mass., Jan. 11, 1814, died in St. Thomas, Jan. 19, 1853. He graduated at Amherst college, and was associated with Professor ...

Charles Francis Adams: Charles Francis Adams, an American statesman, the only child of John Quincy Adams who survived him, born in Boston, Aug. 18, 1807. At the age of two years he was taken by his father to St. Petersburg,...

Edwin Adams: Edwin Adams, an American actor, born in Medford, Mass., Feb. 3, 1834. Since 1853, when he made his first appearance upon the stage in Boston, he has acted in many parts of the United States, acquiring...

Hannah Adams: Hannah Adams, one of the earliest female writers in America, born at Medlield, near Boston, in 1755, died at Brookline, Mass., Nov. 15, 1832. She showed at an early age a fondness for study, and acqui...

John Adams, Second President Of the United States: John Adams, second president of the United States, born Oct. 19, 1735 (O. S.), in that part of the town of Braintree, Mass., on the S. shore of Boston harbor, and some ten miles distant from Boston, w...

John Adams, Second President Of the United States. Part 2: But he entered with his customary energy upon his new office, becoming the chief legal adviser of the patriot party, and now for the first time an active and conspicuous leader among them. Partly perh...

John Adams, Second President Of the United States. Part 3: Adams, in his autobiography, claims the honor of having first proposed Washington for the chief command, a concession intended to secure the good will and firm cooperation of Virginia and the southern...

John Adams, Second President Of the United States. Part 4: Adams strongly opposed Lord Howe's invitation to a conference, sent to congress after the battle of Long Island, through his prisoner, Gen. Sullivan, He was, however, appointed one of the committee fo...

John Adams, Second President Of the United States. Part 5: The cause of sending for Adams, who still occupied, so far as was known at Paris, the position of sole negotiator for peace, was the offer of a mediation on the part of Russia and the German empire. B...

John Adams, Second President Of the United States. Part 6: Immediately on his arrival home, Mr. Adams was reappointed a delegate from Massachusetts to the continental congress; but he never resumed his seat in that body, which was now just about to expire. - ...

John Adams, Second President Of the United States. Part 7: The fear, however, that Pinckney might be chosen over Adams, led to the withholding from Pinckney of eighteen New England votes, so that the result was not only to make Jefferson vice president, as ha...

John Adams, Second President Of the United States. Part 8: In his message to congress announcing the expulsion of Pinckney and Marshall, Adams had declared that he would never send another minister to France without assurances that he would be received. Thi...

John Adams, Second President Of the United States. Part 9: The purport of this letter, written as long ago as May, 1792, was to give countenance to the favorite charge of the opposition that Washington's cabinet, and of course Adams's, which followed the same...

John Adams, Second President Of the United States. Part 10: But all these disappointments were more than made good by the oldest son, John Quincy Adams, who subsequently to his recall from the diplomatic service abroad, into which Washington had introduced him...

John Adams, Second President Of the United States. Part 11: A portion, embracing perhaps two thirds of the whole, was collected and published in pam-phlets, which, bound together, made an octavo volume, entitled Correspondence of the late President Adams, ori...

John Adams, Second President Of the United States. Part 12: In the interval' from 1804 to 1812, Mr. Cunningham, a maternal relative, had drawn him into a confidential correspondence, in which, still smarting under a sense of injury, he had expressed himself wi...

John Adams (Alexander Smith): John Adams, the assumed name of Alexander Smith, one of the mutineers of the British ship Bounty, born in London in 1764, died on Pitcairn island, March 29, 1829. In 1787 he joined the Bounty as a com...

John Adams: John Adams, LL.D ., an American teacher and philanthropist, born in Canterbury, Conn., in 1772, died in Jacksonville, 111., April 24, 1863. He was a son of John Adams, an officer in the revolutionary ...

John Conch Adams: John Conch Adams, an English astronomer, born of humble parentage near Bodmin, June 5, 1819. He is a fellow of Pembroke college, Cambridge, England, and shares with Lever-rier the honor of having calc...

John Quincy Adams: John Quincy Adams, sixth president of the United States, eldest son of President John Adams, born in Braintree, July 11, 1767, died in Washington, Feb. 23, 1848. The origin of his name was thus stated...

John Quincy Adams. Part 2: He arrived at Berlin shortly after his marriage, in the autumn of 1797. In 1798 he received an additional commission to negotiate a treaty of commerce with Sweden. While residing at Berlin, with a vie...

John Quincy Adams. Part 3: These dissatisfied members of congress, so Adams alleged, had proposed to have a meeting at Boston, at which Hamilton was to have been present. It was admitted that Hamilton disapproved of the scheme,...

John Quincy Adams. Part 4: Though as a senator Adams had voted against the Louisiana treaty, on the ground that the federal constitution gave no power to acquire territory, he now as secretary of state pushed American claims un...

John Quincy Adams. Part 5: The election resulted in giving to Adams all the votes of New England, 26 votes from New York, 1 from Delaware, 3 from Maryland, 2 from Louisiana, and 1 from Illinois - 84 in all; while Jackson had 99...

John Quincy Adams. Part 6: The congress of Panama, from which much had been hoped in the way of placing the United States at the head of a great American confederacy, was substantially defeated, as to any participation of the U...

John Quincy Adams. Part 7: This question was still pending, with a fair prospect of a decision in Adams's favor, when his speech in favor of reprisals on France, which did not correspond with the sentiment of Massachusetts, cau...

John Quincy Adams. Part 8: On Feb. 21, 1848, he had a second attack while occupying his seat in the house. He was taken to the speaker's private room, where he remained in a state seemingly of unconsciousness, though with occas...

Nehemiah Adams: Nehemiah Adams, D. D., an American clergyman, born in Salem, Mass., Feb. 19, 1806. He graduated at Harvard college in 1826, studied divinity at Andover, settled as colleague pastor with the Rev. Dr. H...

Samuel Adams: Samuel Adams, a leading actor in the American revolution, born in Boston, Sept. 27, 1722, died Oct. 2, 1803. His grandfather was a grandson of Henry Adams, the same emigrant from England to Massachuse...

Samuel Adams. Part 2: Besides taking a leading part in the debates, it devolved upon Adams to draw the larger part of the papers put forth by the house in its controversies with Bernard and Hutchinson - an office for which...

Samuel Adams. Part 3: Transferred thus to Philadelphia, and from the Massachusetts general court to a continental congress, Adams began now to act on a broader scene. His first act was one of conciliation. He was himself a...

William Adams: William Adams, D. D., an American clergyman, born in Colchester, Conn., Jan. 25, 1807. He received his early education from his father (see Adams, John, LL. D.), when principal of Phillips academy, An...

William T Adams: William T Adams. (pseudonyme, Oliver Optic), an American writer of juvenile books, born in Med way, Mass., July 30, 1822. He was for many years a public school teacher in Boston, and now edits Oliver...

Adams Pear, Or Hamazel: Adams Pear, Or Hamazel, a conical mountain in S. Ceylon, 45 m. S. S. E. of Colombo, 7,420 ft. high, and, with the exception of Pedrotalla-galla (which exceeds it by 860 ft.), the highest in the island...

Adana: Adana, a town of Turkey, in S. E. Asia Minor, capital of a sanjak, on the river Sihun (anc. Sarus), 25 m. N. E. of Tarsus and 60 m. N. W. of Alexandretta; pop. about 30,000. It commands the Cilician p...

Michel Adanson: Michel Adanson, a French naturalist, of Scotch descent, born at Aix, April 7, 1727, died in Paris, Aug. 3, 1806. At the age of 21 he went at his own cost, though of very limited fortune, to the French...

Adar: Adar, the name of the 6th month in the civil year of the Jews, and of the 12th in their ecclesiastical year, answering to parts of February and March. A fast for the death of Moses is observed on the ...

Adda: Adda (anc. Addua), a river of N. Italy, a tributary of the Po. It rises in the Rhaetian Alps, flows S. W., S., and S. E. through the Valtellina and Lombardy, and the lakes of Como and Lecce, and enter...

Addington, Ontario, Canada: Addington, a S. county of the province of Ontario, Canada, bordering on the bay of Quinte, near the E. end of Lake Ontario; area about 2,000 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, 21,312. The county is about 122 m. lo...

Henry Addington, Lord Sidmouth: I. Henry, Lord Sidmouth, an English statesman, born May 30, 1757, died Feb. 15, 1844. He was the son of Dr. Anthony Addington of Reading, known as the author of treatises on scurvy and on the mortalit...

Addison, Vermont: Addison, a W. county of Vermont, bounded W. by Lake Champlain and drained by Otter creek and its tributaries, which afford excellent water power; area, 750 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 23,484. Near the lake ...

Joseph Addison: Joseph Addison, an English author, born at Milton, Wiltshire, May 1, 1672, died in Holland house, Kensington, June 17, 1719. He was educated at the Charter House school and at Queen's and Magdalen col...

Adelaer Adelaar, or Adder (the Eagle): Adelaer Adelaar, or Adder (the Eagle), a surname given, on account of his gallantry, to Coet Sivertsen, born in Brevig, Norway, Dec. 16, 1622, died in Copenhagen, Nov. 5, 1675. He rose from the positi...

Adelaide: Adelaide, a city and the capital of South Australia, about 6 m. from the E. shore of St. Vincent's gulf, and 515 m. N.W. of Melbourne; pop. (with Port Adelaide and Albert Town) about 30,000. It is div...

Eugenie Louise Adelaide: Eugenie Louise Adelaide, princess of Orleans, daughter of Louis Philippe Joseph, duke of Orleans, surnamed Egalite, born in Paris, Aug. 25, 1777, died there, Dec. 31, 1847. In 1791 she went to England...

Saint Adelaide: Saint Adelaide, queen of Italy and empress of Germany, born in France in 933, died at Seltz, Alsace, Dec. 1G, 999. She was a daughter of Rudolph II., king of Burgundy, whose contest with King Hugo of ...

Adelsberg: Adelsberg, a small market town of Carniola, Austria, on the Semmering railroad, midway between Laybach and Trieste, near a celebrated cavern, which has five main divisions. The first, called Neptune o...

Adelung: I. Johaim Christoph, a German lexicographer, born at Spantekow, Pomerania, Aug. 8, 1732, died in Dresden, Sept, 10, 1806. He finished his studies at the university of Halle, and went to Leipsic, suppo...

Aden: Aden (anc. Adane, Attanae, or Arabia Felix), a fortified British seaport town on the S. coast of Arabia and on the gulf of Aden, about 120 m. E. of the entrance to the Red sea at Bab-el-Mandeb, lat. 1...

Aderno: Aderno (anc. Adranum), a town of Sicily, in the government and 17 m. N. W. of Catania; pop. in 1861,12,877. It is situated on a plateau at the S. W. foot of Mt. Etna, and is approached by a steep wind...

Pierre Angnste Adet: Pierre Angnste Adet, a French chemist and politician, born at Nevers in 1763, died about 1832. He was sent by the directory in 1795 to the United States as minister plenipotentiary, and presented to c...

Adhesion: Adhesion (Lat. ad, to, and haerere, to stick), the force by which the particles of different bodies stick together, distinguished from cohesion, which is the force that holds the molecules of the same...

Adhesion. Continued: Many solids have the property of condensing gases on their surface (see Absorption of Gases), and polished metallic surfaces, even when long exposed to the air, will be covered with such a gaseous fil...

Adige: Adige (anc. Athesis; Ger. Etsch), a river of the Tyrol and N. Italy, rises in the Swiss Alps, and flows E., S., S. E., and again E. about 220 m. to the Adriatic, S. of Chioggia. On its banks are the t...

Adipocere: Adipocere (Lat. adeps, fat, and cera, wax, from its fatty origin and waxy consistency), a white, solid, non-putrescible substance, into which human bodies are sometimes converted after burial. If the ...

Adipose Substances: Adipose Substances (Lat. adeps, fat), a class of substances of a fatty nature, which are present in greater or smaller quantity in most animal and vegetable organisms. Adipose substances are all compo...

Adipose Tissue: Adipose Tissue, the tissue in animal bodies containing the largest proportion of adipose substance, known in ordinary language as the fat of the animal, in distinction from the lean or muscular flesh....

Adirondack Mountains: Adirondack Mountains, the principal group of mountains in New York, extending from the extreme N. E. corner of the state in a S. S. W. direction toward its centre, occupying portions of Clinton, Essex...

Adit: Adit (Lat. aditus, entrance), a horizontal passage made into mines for the purpose of draining them, and also for the extraction of their products at the lowest convenient level. In very mountainous r...

Adjutant: Adjutant, a staff officer attached to the commander or to the headquarters of larger or smaller bodies of troops. Generally, the commander of every military post, battalion, regiment, brigade, divisio...

Adlerberg: I. Vladimir Fedorovitch, count, a Russian statesman, born in St. Petersburg in 1793. His mother, the widow of a colonel, and superior of a seminary for the daughters of the nobility, was much befriend...

Karl Johan Adlercrectz: Karl Johan Adlercrectz, count, a Swedish soldier, born April 27, 1757, died Aug. 21, 1815. He distinguished himself in the Finnish war against Russia in 1808, as adjutant general of Field Marshal Klin...

Adlersparre: I. Georg, count, a Swedish soldier and statesman, born March 28, 1760, died Sept. 23, 1835. He enjoyed the confidence of Gustavus III., after whose death (1792) he retired from the army, and edited fr...

Admetus: Admetus, in Greek mythology, a king of Pherae, in Thessaly, who took part in the Caly-donian hunt and the Argonautic expedition. He is said to have obtained, through the intercession of Apollo, delive...

Admiral: Admiral, a naval officer of the highest rank. The title was introduced by the Genoese and other Italians into Europe, and was probably derived from the Arabic word amir, which was also used in referen...

Admiralty: Admiralty. In England at a very early period the administration of the navy, and of all affairs pertaining to commerce, ships, and navigation, or connected in any way with the high seas or the navigab...

Admiralty. Part 2: That act extends the power of the court to all cases of salvage or damage, though arising within the body of a county; to questions of title in causes for possession; to cases of damages, bottomry, an...

Admiralty. Part 3: The European states afford no parallel to these, and to adopt literally the limits of the jurisdiction fixed by the practice of their admiralty courts was to exclude the ships and commerce of all thes...

Admiralty. Part 4: Thus it cannot entertain a bill for the specific performance of a contract for the sale of a ship, for the execution of a trust, for the correction of a mistake, or the reformation of an instrument, o...

Admiralty Islands: Admiralty Islands, a group in the S. Pacific, N. E. of New Guinea, between lat. 2 and 3 S., and lon. 146 and 148 E. They consist of one large island, Admiralty or Basko, in the cen...

Admonition: Admonition, a part of ancient church discipline. If the offence was of a private nature, the warning was given in private; otherwise before the assembled church. If the person censured did not amend h...

Adobe Houses: Adobe Houses, dwellings built of unburnt brick, in common use in Mexico, Texas, and Central America. Adobe bricks are made of loamy earth, containing about two thirds fine sand and one third clayey du...

Adolphus: I. John, an English advocate and author, born in London in 1766, died July 16, 1845. He studied in London, was admitted attorney and solicitor in 1790, and was called to the bar in 1807. He soon obtai...

Adolphus Frederick: Adolphus Frederick, of Holstein-Eutin, king of Sweden, born May 14, 1710, died Feb. 12,1771. In 1727 he was elected prince-bishop of Lubeck as successor of his father. On the death of his cousin Charl...

Adolphus Of Nassau: Adolphus Of Nassau, a German sovereign, born about 1250, fell in battle near Worms, July 2, 1298. He was the second son of Walram IV., count of Nassau, and was distinguished for valor in the service o...

Adoni: Adoni, one of the appellations of the Supreme Being in the Hebrew Scriptures, signifying Lord, or my Lord. The Jews, who refrain from uttering the name of Jehovah, pronounce Adonai in its place where ...

Adonia: Adonia, feasts anciently held in honor of Venus and Adonis. They lasted two days; the first was spent in tears and lamentations, the second in mirth and feasting. The festival typified the dying and r...

Adonis: Adonis, in Greek mythology, a beautiful youth beloved by Venus. According to the account received from the cyclic poet Panyasis, he was the son of Theias, king of Assyria, and his daughter Smyrna. Ven...

Adoptiani: Adoptiani, a Christian sect in Spain, founded by Elipandus. archbishop of Toledo, and Felix, bishop of Urgel, near the close of the 8th century. They affirmed that Jesus was really the son of God only...

Adoption: Adoption, the taking of another's child as one's own, still regulated by law in Germany and France, as it was in Rome. Where the party adopted is under age, and actually under the parents' power, it i...

Adour: Adour (anc. Aternvs), a river in the S. W. of France, about 180 m. in length, 70 of which are navigable. Its course is nearly semicircular. It rises in the Pyrenees, flows through the departments of H...

Adowa: Adowa, one of the chief towns of Abyssinia, capital of Tigr6, about 145 m. N. E. of Gondar; pop. about 8,000. It is the great depot of the trade in cattle, corn, salt, and slaves, between the coast an...

Adrastea: Adrastea (Gr. she whom none can escape), in Greek mythology, a goddess of just retribution, like Nemesis, or, according to gome of the poets, identical with her. ...

Adrastus: Adrastus, a legendary king of Argos, in the history of ancient Greece. His father was Talaus, king of Argos. Being expelled from Argos, he took refuge in Sieyon, and there succeeded to the throne, and...

Adria: Adria, a town of Italy, in the Venetian province of Rovigo, on the canale Bianco, between the mouths of the Adige and Po, 30 m. S. by W. of Venice; pop. 13,000. The inundation of these rivers graduall...

Adrian, Lenawee Co., Mich: Adrian, a city and the capital of Lenawee co., Mich., on the S. branch of the Raisin river, and on the Michigan Southern railway, 74 m. W. S. W. of Detroit; pop. in 1870, 8,438; in 1860, 6,213. The ci...

Adrian (Popes): Adrian, the name of several popes. I. Born at Rome, succeeded Stephen IV. in 772, died Dec. 25, 795. Desiderius, king of the Lombards, having invaded the provinces which Pepin had presented to the Rom...

Adrianople: Adrianople (anc. Hadrianopolis; Turk. Edirneh; Fr. Andrinople), a city of European Turkey, capital of the vilayet of Edirneh, situated on the Maritza (the ancient Hebrus), in ancient Thrace, about 180...

Adriatic Sea: Adriatic Sea, the portion of the Mediterranean lying between Italy on the W. and Turkey and Austria on the E., takes its name from the city of Adria. Its length from the strait of Otranto (which conne...

Adillam, Palestine: Adillam, a town of ancient Palestine, in the lowland of Judah, the seat of a Canaanitish king before the Hebrew conquest. It was fortified by King Rehoboam. Its location, like that of the cave of Adu...

Adulteration: Adulteration, a term applied to the deterioration of different articles of food, drugs, etc, by mixing them with cheap and inferior substances. The microscope has become a very important instrument in...

Adultery: Adultery, the voluntary sexual intercourse of a married person with another than the husband or wife. As a topic of the law, adultery may be considered, first, as a ground of divorce; second, as a cri...

Adultery. Continued: Sometimes the circumstantial evidence is very simple, but of a very convincing character; and sometimes the nature of the case requires the scrutiny, comparison, and interpretation of trains of circum...

Associations For The Advancement Of Science: Associations For The Advancement Of Science. The British association for the advancement of science was formed in 1831, principally through the energy of Sir David Brewster, supported by Sir Humphry D...

Advent: Advent, the period of four weeks preceding Christmas, appointed by several Christian churches to be observed in honor of the approach of the anniversary of Christ's nativity. It formerly occupied six ...

Advertisement: Advertisement, a public notification. Announcements in the public journals known as advertisements appeared while journalism was in its infancy. The Acta Diurna of the Romans, the Gazzetta of the Vene...

Advertisement. Continued: These exist to-day in England and continental Europe, but have by no means the importance which from the nature of the case they have attained in the United States. A few large houses - one of which s...

Advocatus Diaboli: Advocatus Diaboli, in the Catholic church, the speaker or writer who shows cause against the canonization of a person proposed for sainthood. The advocate who defends the proposed Aegina saint is call...

Advowson: Advowson, in English law, the right of presenting to a vacant living in the church. Ad-vowson, according to Blackstone, signifies taking into protection or patronage. When the lord of a manor built a ...

Aeacus: Aeacus, in Greek mythology, son of Jupiter and Aegina, and first king of the island of Aegi-na. He was renowned for his justice, so that he was called upon to settle disputes not only among men, but e...

Aediles: Aediles (Lat. Aedes, a building, temple), Roman magistrates charged with the supervision of public buildings, archives, streets, roads, aqueducts, markets, baths, eating houses, places of amusement, a...

Aedui, Or Hedui: Aedui, Or Hedui, a powerful people of Celtic Gaul, between the Saone and the upper Loire, which rivers separated their territory from the countries of the Sequani and Biturrges. They were the first Ga...

Aegaeus: Aegaeus, a legendary king of Athens, father of Theseus. Misled by a false signal to believe that his son had been killed in a contest with the Minotaur, he cast himself into the sea, which, according ...

Aegina, Or Egina (Turk: Aegina, Or Egina (Turk. Engia) a Greek island in the Saronic gulf (now gulf of .Aegina), 12 m. S. S. W. of the Piraeus, about 9 m. long from N. E. to S. W., and about 7 m. wide. Its western side consi...

Aegis: Aegis (Gr. she goat), the appellation of the shield of Jupiter, which was covered with the skin of the goat Amalthea, by which that god was nourished in infancy. Minerva also bore an regis, which, at...

Aegusthus: Aegusthus, king of Mycenae, son of Thyes-tes and cousin to Agamemnon, He formed an adulterous connection with Agamemnon's wife Clytemnestra during his absence at Troy, and contrived his murder on his ...

Aelia Capitolina: Aelia Capitolina, a name given to Jerusalem by the emperor Hadrian (Aelius Hadri-anus), who. after a rebellion of the Jews in his reign, drove them from the destroyed city and its environs, and repeop...

Claudius Aelianus: Claudius Aelianus, a writer of the early part of the 3d century, born at Prameste in Italy. His compilation, generally known under the Latin title Varia Historia, is still extant, as well as an origin...

Aelst, Or Aalst: Aelst, Or Aalst. I. Evert van, a Dutch painter, born in Delft in 1602, died in 1658. He was distinguished for painting flowers, dead birds, and game, and other inanimate objects. Few of his works are ...

Aemilius Paulus: Aemilius Paulus. I. See Paulus, L. Aemi-lius. II. (Paolo Emilio), an Italian historian, born in Verona, died in Paris, May 5, 1529. In consequence of his celebrity as a writer in Italy, Louis XII. ma...

Aeneas: Aeneas, son of Anchises and Venus, a Trojan prince, with whom tradition connects the origin of the Roman empire. Having fought for Troy till it fell, he quitted the burning city with his followers, ac...

Aenianes: Aenianes, an ancient tribe of upper Greece, of remote and uncertain origin, whose frequent migrations in early times are spoken of by many writers of antiquity, especially by Plutarch, in his Greek Q...

Aeolian Harp: Aeolian Harp, a musical instrument, the tones of which are produced by the sweeping of the wind over its strings. Its invention is ascribed to Athanasius Kircher. It is composed of a rectangular box m...

Aeolians: Aeolians, the name of one of the primitive divisions of the Hellenic race. They are said to have dwelt originally in the S. W. part of the plain of Thessaly, and thence to have spread over other regio...

Aeolipyle, Or Aeolipile: Aeolipyle, Or Aeolipile ( the gate of Aeoius; or, more probably, Aeolipila, the ball of Aeolus), a hollow metallic ball, containing a curved tube connected with a small orifice, and sometimes two such...

Aeolis: Aeolis, in ancient geography, a district in Asia Minor, originally settled by colonies of Aeolian Greeks. It was properly the coast land of Mysia, extending from Troas to the south bank of the river H...

Aeolus: Aeolus. I. In Greek mythological history, a son of Hellen, who, in the division by the latter of the government of the Hellenes or Greeks between him and his brothers Dorus and Xuthus, received the th...

Aequi: Aequi, also called Aeqnicoli and Aequiculani, an ancient warlike people of central Italy, dwelling in the mountainous region of N. E. Latiura, between Lake Fucinus (Lago di Celano) and the Anio (Tevcr...

Aerians: Aerians, a semi-Arian sect of the 4th century, named from Aerius, a monk of Pontus, and holding middle ground between the Arians and the Nicaeans. The Nicaeans were Homo-ousians, and the high Arians w...

Aeroe, Or Arroe: Aeroe, Or Arroe, an island belonging to the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein, in the Baltic, E. side of the entrance to the Little Belt, 10 m. S. of Funen; pop. 12,400. It is about 10 m. long b...

Aeroklinoscope: Aeroklinoscope, an instrument recently introduced on the continent of Europe, in connection with the weather signal departments. It is intended to give public information of the condition or rather di...

Aerolite: Aerolite (Gr. air, and stone), a stone or mineral mass of ultra-terrestrial origin which has fallen to the earth. The different bodies constituting our planetary system vary considerably in size. Jupi...

Aerolite. Continued: It is certain that such falls were just as frequent in former centuries as they are now, only the records are lacking. In regard to the ancient geological eras, there is no doubt that the falls of met...

Aerometer: Aerometer (Gr. air, and measure), an instrument invented by Dr. Marcus Hunt for ascertaining the mean bulk of gases and the density or rarity of air. It is now little used, and the whole doctrine of a...

Aeronautics: Aeronautics (Gr. air, and of or belonging to ships), or Aerostation (Gr. and standing), the art of sailing in and navigating the air, and of raising and sustaining substances by means of gases speci...

Aeronautics. Part 2: In 1819, having ascended from Tivoli garden in Paris with some fireworks, her balloon became accidentally ignited and she was precipitated to the earth and dashed to pieces in the rue de Provence. In ...

Aeronautics. Part 3: M. Flammarion calculated a mean abatement of 1 for every 345 feet when the sky is clear, and of 1 for every 354 feet when the heavens are overcast; but Mr. Glaisher's midday experiments show...

Aeronautics. Part 4: As no machine in the city was at that time considered sufficiently trustworthy to pass over the besieging lines in safety, balloon factories were established in two of the principal railway stations, ...

Aeronautics. Part 5: The question of the extreme altitude to which a balloon can ascend can therefore only be theoretically determined, since the vital powers, however strongly organized, must at 37,000 to 40,000 feet of ...

Aeschines: Aeschines. I. An Athenian orator, rival of Demosthenes, born at Athens in 389 B. C, died at Samos in 314. he was the son of Atro-metus and Glaucothea. Demosthenes says Atrometus was a freedman and Gla...

Aeschylus: Aeschylus, the eldest of the great Attic tragedians, the son of Euphorion, born at Eleusis in 525 B. C. (4th year of the 63d Olympiad), died in 456. He was of a noble family of the class of the Eupatr...

Aescilapius: Aescilapius (Gr. in Greek mythology, the god of medicine and the patron of physicians. In the Homeric poems he is only spoken of as the blameless physician, whose sons were serving in the Greek arm...

Aesop: Aesop (Gr. ). the fabulist, born about the year 620 B. C, was convicted of the crime of sacrilege while ambassador of Croesus at Delphi, and thrown from a precipice, about 564. His birthplace is not c...

Cladins Aesopus: Cladins Aesopus, a famous tragic actor at Rome, died at a great age about 50 B. C. He was the contemporary of Roscius, and with him the instructor of Cicero in oratory. He was accustomed to identify h...

Aesthetics: Aesthetics (Gr. perceptive, from I feel, or perceive by the senses), the science of the beautiful, first recognized as an independent branch of philosophy about the middle of the last century. Even ...

Aethrioscope: Aethrioscope (Gr. clear, and to observe), an instrument invented by Sir John Leslie for measuring the relative degrees of cold produced by the radiation toward a clear sky. In a metallic cup stand...

Aetion: Aetion, a famous Greek painter, supposed to have lived in the first half of the 2d century. He was distinguished for the beauty of his coloring, and esteemed the first painter of his time. Lucian give...

Aetius (Atheist): Aetius, surnamed the Atheist, from his supposed denial of the God of revelation, an oriental heresiarch, born in Antioch, died in Constantinople, A. D. 367. In early life he was successively the slave...

General Aetius: Aetius, a general of the western empire, born in Msia about A. D. 896, murdered in 454. He was brought up, owing to the influence of his high-bred Italian mother, in the imperial body guard of H...

Aetolia: Aetolia, a western division of the mainland of Greece, on the N. shore of the gulf of Corinth or of Lepanto, W. of Doris and Lo-cris, and E. of Acarnania, and divided by the narrow strait between Rhiu...

Alexander Nikolaieviteh Afamsieff: Alexander Nikolaieviteh Afamsieff, a Russian author, born in Moscow in 1826, died in October, 1871. He studied at the university of Moscow, and was secretary to the council of ma-gistrates in that cit...

Domitins Afer: Domitins Afer, a celebrated orator, the teacher of Quintilian, born at Nimes in the reign of Tiberius, died in the reign of Nero, A. D. 60. His pupil speaks highly of his pleadings, and mentions sever...

Affidavit: Affidavit (Lat., he has sworn or deposed), a statement in writing, signed by the deponent and verified by his oath or affirmation made before a person authorized to take it. The affidavit is the instr...

Affinity: Affinity, the imputed relationship which exists in consequence of marriage between the husband or wife and the kindred by blood of the other. Thus, for example, the wife's kindred bear the same relati...

Chemical Affinity: Chemical Affinity, the name given to the force which combines together chemical elements so as to form compounds. Of its real nature or essence we are entirely ignorant, as we are of the essential nat...

Affirmation: Affirmation, a mode of solemn verification permitted by the law, in the place of an oath, to persons who are unwilling from conscientious motives to be sworn. This departure from the usual rule of exa...

Denis Angnste Affre: Denis Angnste Affre, archbishop of Paris, born at St. Rome-de-Tarn, Sept. 27, 1793, died in Paris, June 27, 1848. He was educated in the seminary of St. Sulpice, and was made teacher of philosophy in ...

Afghanistan: Afghanistan, an extensive country of Asia, between lat. 28 30' and 36 N., and lon. 60 and 71 30' E., bounded N. by Turkistan, E. by the Punjaub and Sinde, S. by Beloochistan, and W...

Afghanistan. Part 2: He was soon involved in war with Lahore on the east, and on the west with the Persian invaders of Herat, who were believed to be abetted by Russia. In 1838 England declared war against Afghanistan, up...

Afghanistan. Part 3: As early as 1846 he availed himself of the experience he had gained during his captivity in British India to revive hostilities. Entering into an alliance with his former enemies the Sikhs, he set on ...

Afium Kara-Hissar: Afium Kara-Hissar (Black Castle of Opium, so called from its extensive trade in opium, which grows in its vicinity), or simply Kara-hissar, a city in the Turkish eyalet of Khu-davendikiar, in Asia Min...

Afragola: Afragola, a town of Italy, 5 m. X. E. of Naples, on the railroad to Rome; pop. in 1861, 16,129. It has manufactures of straw hats, and a great annual fair commencing on the second Sunday of May. ...

Latins Afranius: Latins Afranius, a Roman orator and writer of comedies, who flourished about 100 B. C. His genius and fluent style are praised by Cicero and Quintilian. In his plays he depicted Roman life, and chiefl...

Africa: Africa, one of the great continental divisions of the globe, situated in the eastern hemisphere, S. of Europe, from which it is separated by the Mediterranean sea, and S. W. of Asia, with which it was...

Africa. Part 2: The Cameroons rise from the shores of the bight of Biafra, and extend eastward to an unknown distance, with many lofty summits, some of which are estimated at 13,000 ft., though others do not exceed 4...

Africa. Part 3: Its average elevation above the sea level is only 600 ft. Although termed a desert, the Kalahari is not, wholly destitute of vegetation; indeed, light grass, an abundance of tuberous plants, and exten...

Africa. Part 4: The Bahr-el-Abiad, or White river, as the main stream of the Nile is called, issues' from the northern extremity of this lake, between lat. 2 and 3 N., at an altitude of 2,720 ft., and flows...

Africa. Part 5: A line of rocks of volcanic origin skirts the Red sea coast, along which there is also a fringe of coral, embracing Massowa and the neighboring islands. The precipitous gorges through which so many of...

Africa. Part 6: The ostrich inhabits the deserts and adjacent plains throughout the interior, and is also met with in Arabia, which is the only country of Asia where it occurs. Innumerable flocks of guinea fowls hau...

Africa. Part 7: Thus the English have Gambia on the river of the same name, with the main settlement at Bathurst; Sierra Leone, a peninsula 18 m. long and 12 m. broad, with a white population in 1867 of 129 persons; ...

Languages Of Africa: Languages Of Africa. The languages of Africa fall into five groups: 1. The Semitic idioms of Abyssinia, exhibiting special relations with the Himyaritic of southwestern Arabia, from which region the A...

Sextus Julius Africanus: Sextus Julius Africanus, a Christian writer of the 3d century. Though of African birth or descent, he lived in the city of Emmaus, Palestine, of which, in a mission to Borne about 220, he procured the...

Afzelius: I. Adam, a Swedish naturalist, born in West Gothland, Oct. 18, 1750, died Jan. 30, 1836. He was a pupil of Linnaeus. In 1792 he visited the English colony of Sierra Leone, and made some valuable colle...

Aga: Aga, originally the appellation of an elder brother, now a title of distinction, among the Turks and Tartars. The aga of the janissaries was the commandant of that corps. The title is also given to we...

Agadez: Agadez, the capital of the sultanate of Air or Asben, Africa, in lat. 16 40' N., lon. 7 30' E., about 400 m. N. W. of Lake Tchad; pop. about 8,000. It is believed to have been founded at the...

Agadir: Agadir, the southernmost seaport town of Morocco, on the Atlantic, in the province of Sus, 23 in. S. E. of Cape Ghir, in lat. 80 26' 35 N, lon. 9 35' 56 W.; pop. about 600. It has the best...

Agamemnon: Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, one of the foremost figures in the Iliad, was the son of Atreus according to Homer, but his grandson according to others. He commanded the combined forces of Greece at the ...

Agami: Agami (psophia crepitans), a bird of tropical America, also termed the gold-breasted trumpeter. It has been classed among the cranes, but subsequently among the pheasants. By Temminck it is classed as...

Aganippe: Aganippe, in ancient geography, a fountain of Botia, near Mount Helicon, flowing into the river Permessus. It was believed to have the powder of inspiring those who drank of it, and was sacred t...

Agapae: Agapae (Gr. plur. love; generally used in the plural), feasts of love, originally a simple meal, taken by the primitive Christians, at first in their places of worship and in connection with the eucha...

Agapemoae, Or Abode Of Love: Agapemoae, Or Abode Of Love (Gr. love, and abode), an establishment at Charlynch, Somersetshire, England, about 9 m. from Taunton, where a number of persons associated themselves together in 1846 ...

Agapetae: (Gr. beloved), in the early church, virgins and widows who, from pious motives, devoted their time to waiting upon ecclesiastics. Men holding the same relations to societies of women were called aga...

Arthur Agard: Arthur Agard, an English antiquary, born about 1540, died in London, Aug. 22, 1615. He held the office of deputy chamberlain 45 years. His name headed the list of members of the society of antiquaries...

Agardh: I. Karl Adolf, a Swedish naturalist, born at Bastad, Jan. 22, 1785, died in Carlstad, Jan. 28, 1859. In 1807 he was appointed teacher of mathematics in the university of Lund, and in 1812 professor of...

Mineral Agaric: Mineral Agaric, a marly earth, akin in color and texture to the vegetable of that name. AGARICl'S, the genus of fungi which comprises the common mushroom, A. campestris (see Mushroom), many of the to...

Agasias: Agasias, a Greek sculptor of Ephesus, who is presumed to have lived at or before the time of Alexander the Great. The statue now at Rome, known as the Borghese Gladiator, is his work. It represents...

Louis John Rudolph Agassiz: Louis John Rudolph Agassiz, an American naturalist, of French descent, born in Motiers, canton of Fribourg, Switzerland, on the lake of Morat, May 28, 1807. His family was among the Huguenots who were...

Louis John Rudolph Agassiz. Part 2: In 1833 he was enabled by the liberality of Humboldt, who had been his devoted friend since the commencement of their acquaintance in Paris, to begin the publication of the great work on the fossil fi...

Louis John Rudolph Agassiz. Part 3: It was obvious that such an accumulation of ice as would extend the glaciers from the Alps to the Jura, covering the valley of Switzerland to the depth of more than 2,500 feet, would require a depress...

Louis John Rudolph Agassiz. Part 4: To form an adequate idea of the extent of his collections, it ought to be known that besides his own efforts, and the assistance he has derived from the young men accompanying him everywhere, he has b...

Agate: Agate (from the river Achates, now Dirillo, ir. Sicily, near which it was found), one of the modifications in which silica presents itself nearly in a state of purity, deposited, not crystalline, but ...

Saint Agatha: Saint Agatha, a Christian martyr of Palermo. Her beauty attracting the attention of Quintianus, the pagan governor of Sicily, he made overtures to her. Enraged at their rejection, he subjected her to ...

Agatharchides, Or Agatharchns: Agatharchides, Or Agatharchns, a Greek geographical writer, a native of Cnidos in Asia Minor, who flourished about 130 B. C, and was guardian to one of the kings of Egypt during his minority. Of his n...

Agatharchus: Agatharchus, an Athenian artist of the early part of the 5th century B. C, said to have invented scene painting, and to have painted a scene for Aeschylus. Scene painting was, however, not generally u...

Agathias: Agathias, a Byzantine writer of the 6th century, surnamed Scholasticus on account of his extensive legal knowledge, born in Myrina, in Asia Minor. He received his early education at Alexandria, and in...

Agathocles: Agathocles, a Syracusan adventurer and military despot, died in 289 B. C. He was the son of a potter in the Sicilian town of Thermae, an exile from southern Italy, and in early life worked at his fath...

Agathon: Agathon, a tragic poet of Athens, a friend of Euripides, born about 447 B. C, died about 400. He won his first dramatic triumph in 416. Aristophanes ridicules his affectations, and brings him on the s...

Agave: Agave, a genus of plants of the order am-arylliclaceae, known as American aloes. The plant produces a circle of stiff, erect, fleshy leaves, often 7 to 10 inches long and 5 to 7 inches thick at the ba...

Agde: Agde (anc, Agatha), a city of southern France, department of Herault, 95 m. W. of Marseilles; pop. in 1866, 9,586. It lies a short distance from the Mediterranean, on the left bank of the river Heraul...

Age: Age, any particular period in the existence of organic beings, of collective humanity, of nations, or of the globe. The age of the world has been variously computed by geologists, but nothing positive...

Age. Part 2: The ages of the patriarchs before the flood have been a subject of critical dispute. With the exception ! of Enoch, whom God took at the age of 365, they are all represented in the Bible to have li...

Age. Part 3: A pike has been known to live in a pond 90 years; and Gesner relates that in 1497 an enormous pike was caught in a lake near Heilbronn, in Swabia, with a brass ring attached to it, recording that it w...

Age. Part 4: In the cow kind, the horns appear to grow uniformly during the first 3 years, and up to that period they are smooth and without wrinkles; but after the age of 3 years, each succeeding year adds a ring...

Agen: Agen (anc. Aqinnvm, or Agennum), the chief town of the department of Lot-et-Ga-ronne, France, on the right hank of the Garonne, 73 m. S. E. of Bordeaux; pop. in 1866, 18,222. The old quarter of the to...

Agent: Agent, in law, a person appointed to perform an act fur another, He may be either special or general, or may be appointed either expressly or impliedly. No form of appointment is required. An agent ma...

Ages: Ages, a term used to designate various epochs in the civilization of the human race. Hesiod mentions five, and Ovid four. The golden age, synchronous with the reign of Saturn, was a period of patriarc...

Agesilaus: Agesilaus, king of Sparta, was the son of Archidamus II., and the successor of Agis II. in 898 B. 0. He was not the legitimate heir to the throne, but Leotychides, his nephew, being suspected of illeg...

Aggerhuus, Or Akershnas: Aggerhuus, Or Akershnas, a S. E. bailiwick of Norway, in the diocese of Christiania; area, 2,012 sq. m.; pop. in 1865, 164,804. It abounds in beautiful scenery, mountains, lakes, and waterfalls. The c...

Aghrim, Or Anghrim: Aghrim, Or Anghrim, a village in the county of Galway, Ireland, 30 m. E. of Galway, famous for the crowning victory of William III. over James II., July 12, 1691. The marquis St. Ruth, a French genera...

Aglncourt: Aglncourt, now Azincourt, a village in the department of Pas de Calais, France, 7 m. N. E. of Hesdin, on the plains near which, on Oct. 25, 1415, Henry V. of England, with only 15,000 men, defeated th...

Jeaa Baptiste Lonis George Se-Roux D Agioourt: Jeaa Baptiste Lonis George Se-Roux D Agioourt, a French archaeologist, born at Beau-vais, April 5, 1730, died in Rome, Sept. 24, 1814. His reputation rests on a work executed in Rome, entitled Histoir...

Agis: Agis, the name of four kings of Sparta. - Agis 1., who gave name to the Agid line of the joint kings of Sparta, is of uncertain history, but is said to have reigned about 1,000 B. C, to have deprived ...

Agnolo Leonidas: Leonidas, joint king with Agis, who with a majority of the property holders was opposed to the scheme, was soon after condemned and deposed for having married a foreigner and resided in a foreign land...

Aglaophon: Aglaophon, a painter of the island of Thasos, flourished about 500 B. C. He was the father and instructor of Polygnotus and Aristophon. There was a later painter of the same name, probably his grandso...

Agmegue, Or Gagmegne: Agmegue, Or Gagmegne, the proper name of the Mohawks, one of the Five Nations of the Ho-tinonsionni or Iroquois. As a tribe they called themselves Ganniagwari, the She Bear, whence they were termed...

Agnano: Agnano, a lake between Naples and Poz-zuoli, about 60 feet deep. The waters are strongly impregnated with mineral matter, and the lake is probably the crater of an extinct volcano. Tradition says ther...

Saint Agnes: Saint Agnes, according to ecclesiastical tradition, a Christian martyr, of a noble Roman family, beheaded in the persecution of Diocletian in 303, at the age of 16. Her uncommon beauty had tempted a s...

Agnes Sorel: Agnes Sorel, mistress of Charles VII. of France, born at Fromenteau, Touraine, about 1409, died in 1450. She was introduced at court in 1431, soon captivated the king, though she for some time resiste...

Maria Gaetana Agnesi: Maria Gaetana Agnesi, a learned Italian lady, born in Milan, March 16,1718, died Jan. 9,1799. She was the daughter of a professor of mathematics at the university of Bologna. From her childhood she sp...

Agnoetae: Agnoetae (Gr. to be ignorant of), a sect of heretics in the 4th century, followers of Theophronius of Cappadocia, and another in the 6th, of Themistius of Alexandria. The former denied the omniscience...

Baeeio D Agnolo: Baeeio D Agnolo, a Florentine architect, born in 1460, died in 1543. His best works are the Villa Borgherini near Florence, and the campanile of the church of the Santo Spirito in that city. He first ...

Agnone: Agnone, a town of S. Italy, province of Mo-lise, 18 m. X. X. E. of Isernia; pop. in 1861, 9,355. It has five monts de piete, which make loans of seed corn to the peasants, and is the seat of the princ...

Agnus Dei: I. In the Roman Catholic church, a cake of wax bearing the image of a lamb holding the banner of the cross, and blessed by the pope. Fragments of such cakes, enclosed in the figure of a heart, are wor...

Saint Agobard: Saint Agobard, a Frankish theologian, born in 770, died June 6, 840. He became archbishop of Lyons in 816, and was deposed by the council of Thionville in 835 for the part he had taken in the revolt o...

Agonic Line: Agonic Line (Gr. a, without, and angle), a word introduced by the modern investigators of terrestrial magnetism, and applied to a line uniting all points where the declination of the compass needle is...

Agonistici: Agonistici, a sect of Donatist ascetics who inhabited the northern part of Africa in the 4th century. They were opposed to labor, and to marriage as well as to monasticism, which was then just beginni...

Agosta, Or Angusta: Agosta, Or Angusta, a seaport town on the E. coast of Sicily, 12 m. X. of Syracuse, and 18 m. S. of Catania; pop. in 1861, 9,223. It is built on a low peninsula in the Mediterranean, and in consequenc...

Agostino and Agnolo or Angele: AGOSTINO and Agnolo or Angele, two brothers, sculptors and architects, born at Siena about 1269. Educated in their profession by Giovanni, a Pisan architect, they were named architects of their native...

Marie Catherine Sophie De Flavigny Agoult: Marie Catherine Sophie De Flavigny Agoult, countess d', a French authoress, known by the pseudonyme of Daniel Stern, born in Frank-fort-on-the-Main in 1805. Her father, the viscount de Flavigny, emigr...

Agouti: Agouti (dasyprocta of Illiger; chloromys of Cuvier), a genus of animals belonging to the class mammalia, order rodentia, distinguished principally by their feet and toes, which are furnished with powe...

Agra: I. One of the six Northwestern Provinces of British India (which constitute one of the eight separate administrations into which India is divided), lying nearly in their centre; area, 9,479 sq. m.; po...

Agram: Agram (Croat. Zagreh; Hun. Zagrab), a town of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, capital of Croatia and of a county of its own name, about a mile from the river Save, and 1(30 m. S. of Vienna; pop. in 186...

Agrarian Laws: Agrarian Laws, enactments framed at various times by the Romans to regulate the ager publicus, or public domain. In the first epoch of the growth of Rome, when the city had not yet extended beyond the...

Maria De (Coronel) Agreda: Maria De (Coronel) Agreda, a Franciscan nun, lady superior of the convent of the Immaculate Conception (founded by her mother) at Agreda, in Spain, born in that town in 1602, died there, May 24, 1665....

Agreed Agrib: Agreed Agrib, or Gharib, Mount, a remarkable conical mountain in central Egypt, in lat. 28 12' N., lon. 32 42' E. It is situated about 16 miles inland from the gulf of Suez, opposite Mt. Sin...

Cneius Julius Agricola: Cneius Julius Agricola, a Roman general, born at Forum Julii (now Frejus in Provence), June 13, A. D. 37, died Aug. 23, 93. He received his education at Massilia (Marseilles), and his military trainin...

Agricola: I. Georg, a German mineralogist and physician, horn at Glauchau, Saxony, March 24, 1490, died in Chemnitz, Nov. 21, 1555. His name was originally Bauer (peasant), of which he adopted the Latin equival...

Agricultural Chemistry: Agricultural Chemistry, the study of the chemical relations of substances concerned in agricultural production. The whole natural science of vegetable and animal production is usually called agricultu...

Agricultural Chemistry. Part 2: The medium of their transmission into the vegetable organism is water, which is assisted in its solvent action by carbonic acid and ammonia. The same law of osmotic diffusion, which accumulates the ga...

Agricultural Chemistry. Part 3: In average crops of the usually cultivated plants, those portions which are removed from the field as the valuable part of the crops do not carry off more than 200 to 600 lbs. of ash ingredients per a...

Agricultural Chemistry. Part 4: Again, there are numerous instances of soils naturally sterile, which, after application of 400 lbs. of guano, manifested a wonderful productiveness. Now, the largest of the active ingredients of guan...

Agricultural Chemistry. Part 5: The most combustible portions of their food are, in consequence of the respiratory process, exhaled as water and carbonic acid gas; while the ash ingredients, and the larger share of the nitrogen, are...

Agricultural Chemistry. Part 6: As these plants (the last named especially) will grow on poor soils, it is possible by their help to reclaim the lightest sands, and bring them up to a fair degree of productiveness in the course of a...

Agriculture: Agriculture, the art of cultivating the ground, and of obtaining from it the products necessary for the support of animal life. The change from a state of nature, in which the human race must have fir...

Agriculture. Part 2: In the earlier days of the state, as we have seen, it was honored, but then the nation was in its infancy, extremely rude, and with a small population and a small territory. It was a time, too, when c...

Agriculture. Part 3: The suffering among the people was often intense, famines frequently occurred, and so little was done to furnish suitable winter food and shelter for the stock, that a large part of the cattle perishe...

Agriculture. Part 4: His system of husbandry found very few followers at first, and those who adopted it were in many cases obliged to return to the old methods, for want of the necessary mechanical instruments for follow...

Agriculture. Part 5: It brought men together from all parts of the kingdom, made them acquainted with each other's views, I and with the modes of culture prevailing in sections of which they had previously been ignorant. ...

Agriculture. Part 6: Many years elapsed before the habit of reading became sufficiently common among the masses of the actual tillers of the soil to justify an expectation of immediate profit from the annual publication o...

Agriculture. Part 7: Even the Atlantic states of the Union, where the system of cultivating the soil without maintaining its fertility by a proper treatment prevailed for many years, are not an exception, since the condit...

Agrigentum: Agrigentum (called by the Greeks Acragas; now Girgenti), an ancient Sicilian city, the rival of Syracuse, on a lofty eminence on the S. W. coast. It was settled by a Doric colony from Gela, about 580 ...

Agrionia: Agrionia, a yearly festival in honor of Bacchus Agrionius, anciently held at Orchomenus, Botia, exclusively by women and priests. The women would make a pretended search for the god, and finally...

Agrippa: I. Herodes. See Herod. II. Marcus Vipsanins, a Roman general and statesman, born in 68 B. C, of an obscure family, died in March, 12 B. C. He was a schoolmate of Octavius (afterward Octavianus and Au...

Heinrieh Cornelius Agrippa Von Nettesheim: Heinrieh Cornelius Agrippa Von Nettesheim, a German philosopher, born at Cologne, Sept. 14, 1486, died at Grenoble, Feb. 18, 1535. He was a linguist, statesman, soldier, physician, theologian, and che...

Agrippina: I. Youngest daughter of Agrippa and Julia, and wife of Germanicus, born before 12 B. C, died A. D. 33. She was a woman of great ability, beauty, and virtue. She accompanied Germanicus in his campaigns...

Agua: Agua (Sp., water), Volean de, a mountain in Guatemala, Central America, 25 m. S. W. of the capital, New Guatemala. In form it is a graceful cone, its base extending over nearly all the western part of...

Alexandre Marie Aguado: Alexandre Marie Aguado, a Parisian banker, born at Seville, June 29, 1784, died April 14, 1842. In early life he joined the Napoleonic party in Spain, held a commission in the French army, and fought ...

Aguas Calientes: I. The smallest state of the Mexican republic, nearly enclosed by Zaca-tecas, and bounded S. by Jalisco; area, 2,946 sq. m.; pop. in 1868, 140,630. The eastern districts consist of elevated table land...

Ague: Ague, a word denoting tremor, which has been used by medical writers in the sense of chill or rigor. Fever and ague is a popular name for intermittent fever. (See Fevers.) Cases of intermittent fever,...

Henri Francois D Aguesseau: Henri Francois D Aguesseau, a French jurist, born at Limoges, Nov. 27, 1668, died Feb. 9, 1751. In 1690, when only 22 years old, Louis XIV. appointed him advocate general, and in 1700 he became procur...

Aguilar, Or Aguilar De La Frontera: Aguilar, Or Aguilar De La Frontera, a town of Spain, in the province and 22 m. S. by E. of Cordova, on the Cabra; pop. about 12,000. It has a trade in corn and wine, and is remarkable for its white ho...

Grace Aguilar: Grace Aguilar, an English authoress, born at Hackney, near London, June 2, 1816, died in Frankfort on-the-Main, Sept. 16,1847. She was descended from a family of Jewish merchants in Spain, who lied fr...

Aguirre: I. Jose Saenz de, a learned Spanish Benedictine, born in Logrono, March 24, 1630, died in Home, Aug. 19,1699. He was professor of theology at Salamanca, afterward secretary of the inquisition, and fin...

Agulhas: Agulhas (Port., needles), a cape and bank on the southernmost point of Africa, about 100 m. E. S. E. of the Cape of Good Hope, in lat. 34 51' S., lon. 20 2' E. Its extreme height is 455 feet...

Agustina: Agustina, known as the maid of Saragossa, died at Cueta, Spain, in June, 1857, at a very advanced age. She was an itinerant seller of cool drinks in Saragossa in her youth, and during the siege of tha...

Agyniani, Or Agynii: Agyniani, Or Agynii (Gr. a, without, and woman), a sect so called from their rejection of marriage. They flourished about the close of the 7th century, belonging to the later representatives of the G...

Ahab: Ahab, son and successor of Omri, king; of Israel, reigned from 918 to 897 B. C. ' He married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians. Through her influence the intercourse between Phoe...

Ahanta: Ahanta, a narrow strip of the Gold Coast, in the kingdom of Ashantee, Africa, between lon. 3 and 2 10' W. On the west it is bounded by a river called Ancobra by the Portuguese, and Seenna by...

Ahasieris: Ahasieris, the name of the Persian king whose actions are described in the book of Esther. (See Esther.) Two other kings of the same name are mentioned in Ezra iv. 6, and Dan. ix. 1, and supposed to b...

Ahaziah: I. Son and successor of Ahab, king of Israel, reigned 897-895 B. C. The most signal event of his reign was the revolt of the Moabites. Ahaziah, like his lather Ahab, was controlled by the ambitious Je...

Ahimelech: Ahimelech, son of Ahitub, a Jewish high priest dwelling at Nob. David, fleeing from Saul, came to Ahimelech, and by a misrepresentation induced him to supply his wants with the shew-bread which was ke...

Ahithophel: Ahithophel, the confederate and adviser of Absalom in his rebellion against his father David. He was famed for his sagacity and almost considered infallible. The advice of Cushai having been preferred...

Charlotte Sophie Luise Wilhelmine Von Ahlefeld: Charlotte Sophie Luise Wilhelmine Von Ahlefeld, a German novelist, born near Weimar, Dec. 6,1781, died at Teplitz, July 27,1849. She married Herr von Ahlefeld, of Schleswig-Hol-stein, in 1798, and was...

Johaun Friedrich Ahlfeld: Johaun Friedrich, a German clergyman, born at Mehringen, Nov. 1, 1810. He has been celebrated since 1851 as a pulpit orator at the St. Nicholas church in Leipsic. Nearly 20 volumes of his sermons have...

August Engelbert Ahlquist: August Engelbert Ahlquist, a Finnish philologist and poet, professor of philology and Finnish literature at Helsingfors, born at Kuo-pio, Aug. 7, 1826. He is distinguished for his philological and eth...

Theodor Wilhelm Ahlwardt: Theodor Wilhelm Ahlwardt, a German orientalist, born at Greifswald, July 4, 1828. He is the son of the philologist and Hellenist Christian Wilhelm Ahlwardt (1760-1830), and has been since 1861 profess...

Ahmed Shah: Ahmed Shah, founder of the Afghan monarchy, born about 1724, died in 1773. Ahmed was the son of Sammaun Khan, the amir of the great tribe of the Abdallis and of the family of the Suddosis. At his fath...

Ahmedabad, Or Ahmadabad: Ahmedabad, Or Ahmadabad, a fortified town of British India, capital of a district of the same name, in the presidency of Bombay, on the Subbermutti, 50 m. N. of the bay of Cambay, and 309 m. by railwa...

Ahmednuggur, Or Ahmadnagar: Ahmednuggur, Or Ahmadnagar. I. A district, familiarly called Nagar, including the sub-collectorate of Nasik, in the Poona division of the presidency of Bombay, British India; area about 10,000 sq. m.;...

Ahn: Ahn, .JohannFranz, a German grammarian, born in Aix-la-Chapelle, Dec. 15, 1796, died at Neuss, Aug. 21, 1865. He was for many years a teacher in the Realschule at Neuss. His method for the acquisition...

Heinrich Ahrens: Heinrich Ahrens, a German jurist and psychologist, born at Kniestedt, Hanover, July 14, 1808. He studied at Gottingen, and was implicated in the political disturbances of 1831, afterward lectured in P...

Ahriman: Ahriman, the name of the evil principle in the ancient Persian religion. See Ormuzd. ...

Ahwaz, Or Ahwuz: Ahwaz, Or Ahwuz, a small town on the river Karun in Persia, province of Khuzistan, 70 m. N. N. E. of Bassorah, and 45 m. S. S. W. of Sinister. It is a very insignificant place, containing about 1,600 ...

Aidan: Aidan, St., an Irish missionary to the Northumbrians, died Aug. 31, 651. He was sent into Northumbria at the request of King Oswald about 635, and appointed bishop, with a see at Lindisfarne, where he...

Aidin: I. A Turkish province, one of the eyalets of Asia Minor, embracing ancient Lydia, Caria, the western part of Lycia, and southwestern Phrygia; pop. 450,000. II. A city (surnamed Ouzel Hissar, beautifu...

Aiguebelle: Aiguebelle, a small town of France, in Savoy, on the left side of the river Arc, 15 m. E. of Chambery, where the Spanish and French forces gained a victory over the troops of the king of Sardinia in 1...

Panl Alexandre Nevene D Aiguebelle: Panl Alexandre Nevene D Aiguebelle, a Franco-Chinese naval commander, born in France, Jan. 7, 1831. He entered the French navy in 1846, rose to the rank of lieutenant in 1858, and afterward entered th...

Aiguille: Aiguille (Fr., needle), a name given to certain narrow and sharp-pointed peaks of the Alps, some of which rise to a great height. Also the special name of a mountain in Isere, France, between Grenoble...

Armand Viguerot Duplessis Richelieu Aiguillon: Armand Viguerot Duplessis Richelieu Aiguillon, due d', minister of foreign affairs under Louis XV., born in 1720, died in 1782. When in 1758 the English made a descent upon the coast of Brittany, the ...

Aigies-Mortes: Aigies-Mortes (Lat. Aqua Mortuae, dead waters), a town of France, department of Gard, 3 m. from the Mediterranean and 20 m. S. S. W. of Nimes; pop. in 1866, 3,932. It owes its name to the malarious ma...

Aiken: Aiken, a township and village in Aiken county (recently formed), S. C, on the S. C. railroad, 120 m. N. W. of Charleston, and 17 m. E. N. E. of Augusta, Ga.; pop. in 1870, 2,259, of whom 1,096 were co...

Aikin: I. John, an English author, son of Dr. John Aikin, tutor in divinity at the dis-senters' academy in Warrington, born in Leicestershire, Jan. 15, 1747, died Dec. 7, 1822. In 1798 he gave up the medical...

William Aikman: William Aikman, a Scottish portrait painter, born Oct. 24, 1682, died in London, June 4, 1731. He spent three years in Italy, travelled in Turkey, practised his art some years in Edinburgh, and in 172...

Ailantus: Ailantus (Malay, ailanto, tree of heaven, the name of one species in the Moluccas), a tree of the sub-family ailanteae, which is one of the four divisions of simarubaceae of Lindley. The species A. gl...

Pierre D Ailly: Pierre D Ailly, or Petrus de Alliaeo, a French prelate and theologian, surnamed the Hammer of Heretics and the Eagle of the Doctors of France, born in 1350, died in 1420 or 1425. He was distinguished ...

Ealred Ailred: Ealred Ailred, or Ethelred, an English historian and theologian, born in 1104, died June 12, 1166. He was educated at the Scottish court, entered the Cistercian order, and became abbot of Revesby in L...

Ailsa Craig: Ailsa Craig, an isolated rocky islet of Ayrshire, Scotland, 10 m. off the coast at Girvan, and 25 m. S. S. W. of Ayr; lat. 55 15' 12 N., lon. 5 7' W. It is of conical shape, about two miles...

Gustave Aimard: Gustave Aimard, a French novelist, born about 1818. He made a voyage as a cabin boy to America, and spent ten adventurous years aime-martin in Arkansas, Mexico, and other parts of this continent. He n...

Louis Aime-Martin: Louis Aime-Martin, a French author, born in Lyons in 1781, died in Paris, June 22, 1847. In 1815 he was appointed editing secretary of the chamber of deputies, and soon afterward professor of belles-l...

Aimon, Or Union: Aimon, Or Union, the four sons of, Alard, Richard, Guiscard, and Renaud, are among the most illustrious of the warriors and heroes celebrated in the mediaeval romances of chivalry. Aimon is variously ...

Ain: Ain, a department of France in Burgundy, bounded by Saone-et-Loire, Jura, Switzerland, Haute-Savoie, Savoie, Isere, and Rhone; area, 2,239 sq. m.; pop. in 1872, 336,290. The Rhone flows on its eastern...

Ain-Madhi: Ain-Madhi, a walled town and oasis of the Algerian desert, about 200 m. S. S. W. of Algiers; pop. about 2,000. The town is built on a rocky eminence amid gardens, surrounded by an arid plain. It is a ...

Maximilian Emanuel Aimiuller: Maximilian Emanuel Aimiuller, a German artist, founder of the modern school of glass painting, born in Munich, Feb. 14, 1807, died there, Dec. 8, 1870. His talent as a decorative and monumental archit...

Ainos, Or Ainns: Ainos, Or Ainns(i. e., men), tribes inhabiting Saghalien, Yesso, and the Kurile islands, and various adjacent regions, partly under Japanese and partly under Russian jurisdiction, the latter being gen...

Henry Ainsworth: Henry Ainsworth, an English nonconformist divine, the date and place of whose birth are unknown, died in Amsterdam in 1622. In 1590 he attached himself to the Brownist sect, and was afterward compelle...

Robert Ainsworth: Robert Ainsworth, an English teacher and scholar, born in Lancashire in September, 16G0, died in London, April 4, 1743. He taught private schools in and near London, and early retired with a competenc...

Ainsworth: I. William Francis, an English traveller, geologist, and physician, born in Exeter, Nov. 9, 1807. After having studied medicine at Edinburgh, he made geological excursions into Auvergne and the Pyrene...

Aintab: Aintab (according to some, the ancient Anti-ocMa ad Taurum), a city of Asiatic Turkey, in the vilayet of Aleppo, and about 70 m. N. by E. from Aleppo; pop. estimated at from 35,000 to 43,000, includin...

Air: Air (Gr. Lat. aer), a term now limited to the atmospheric air. See Atmosphere. ...

Air, Or Asben: Air, Or Asben, an oasis in the desert of Sahara, situated between lat. 16 and 20 N., and lon. 5 and 10 E. It is bordered by the territory of the Kelowi Tuariks on the north, and by...

Air Bladder: Air Bladder, an organ in some kinds of fishes, commonly called by fishermen the swim.'1 Fishes endowed with great powers of locomotion, and accustomed to pass rapidly from the surface to the bottom o...

Air Cells: Air Cells, hollow spaces within the cellular tissue of the stems, leaves, and other parts of plants, containing air only, the sap and other matters being contained in different receptacles. They most ...

Airdrie: Airdrie, a borough town of Lanarkshire, Scotland, 11 m. E. of Glasgow; pop. in 1861, 12,922. It is well built, and has recently grown into importance from the extensive coal and iron mines in the neig...

Aire River: Aire, a river of Yorkshire, England, rises near Settle, flows S. E., passes Leeds, and receives the Calder at Castleford; and the two, having been widened and deepened, form one of the links in the ca...

Aire, France: I. A fortified city of N E. France, department of Pas-de-Calais, on the Lys, 8 m. S. S. E. of St. Omer; pop. in 1866, 8,803. It is well built, and has a highly ornamented church. There are manufacture...

Air Gun: Air Gun, a pneumatic engine resembling a musket, for the purpose of discharging bullets by means of compressed air. It consists of a lock, stock, barrel, and ramrod. The stock is made hollow, and prov...

Air Plants: Air Plants, a term applied to some species of the families of Bromeliaceae (Tillandsia us-neo'ides, hanging in festoons from the forest trees of tropical America, moss-like, and T. xiphioides, perfumi...

Air Pump: Air Pump, in natural philosophy, a machine for exhausting the air from a vessel. The J first machine of this kind was made in 1650 by Otto von Guericke, burgomaster of Magdeburg, shortly after Galileo...

Air Pump. Continued: In order to ease the labor when such a pump has to be used continuously, a fly wheel may be attached, working by means of one or more cranks one or more pistons, as in fig. 4. Babinet made such pumps,...

Air Vessels, Or Properly Spiral Vessels: Air Vessels, Or Properly Spiral Vessels, are supposed by some botanists to be the only formation by which air is conveyed into the vegetable system; but air has access to many parts of the plant by me...

George Biddell Airy: George Biddell Airy, astronomer royal of England, born at Alnwick, July 27, 1801. He was a fellow of St. John's college, Cambridge, and afterward of Trinity. He was appointed Plu-merian professor of a...

Aisae: Aisae, a department in the north of France which takes its name from the river Aisne, an affluent of the Oise. It consists of portions of He de France, Brie, and Picardy, and is bounded by the departm...

Mlle Aisse: Mlle Aisse., a Circassian lady, born in 1694, died in Paris in 1733. When she was four years old the count de Ferriol, French ambassador at Constantinople, purchased her from a slave dealer, who state...

Aitkin: Aitkin, a new county of E. Minnesota; area, about 950 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 178. Part of Lake Mille Lacs occupies its W. corner. The route of the Northern Pacific railroad extends through the N. part ...

William Aiton: William Aiton, a Scotch gardener and botanist, born near Hamilton in 1731, died at Kew palace, Feb. 1, 1793. He emigrated to England in 1754, and in 1759 obtained the management of the royal botanical...

Lieuwe Van Aitzema: Lieuwe Van Aitzema, a Dutch historian, born at Dokkum, Nov. 19, 1600, died at the Hague, Feb. 23, 1669. His great work is Zaaken van Stoat en Oorlog in Ende omtrent de Vereenigde Nederlanden (14 vols....

Aix: Aix, a town of southern France, department of Bouches-du-Rhone, 15 m. N. of Marseilles; pop. in 1866, 28,152. It is the see of an archbishop, and possesses a museum and one of the best provincial libr...

Aix-La-Chapelle: Aix-La-Chapelle (Ger. Aachen), a town of Rhenish Prussia, capital of the administrative district of the same name, 43 m. by railway W. S. W. of Cologne; pop. in 1871, 74,238. it is pleasantly situated...

Aix-Les-Bains, Or Aix: Aix-Les-Bains, Or Aix (Anc. Aquae Allobrogum, A. Gratianae, or A. Domitianae), a bathing place of S. E. France, in the department of Savoie, 8 m. N. of Chambery; pop. in 1866, 4,430. The waters are wa...

Aizani, Or Azani: Aizani, Or Azani, an ancient city of Asia Minor, in Phrygia, mentioned by Strabo, but historically unknown. Its numerous remains at Tchavdyr, 30 m. S. W. of Kutaieh, have been described by several tra...

Ajaccio: Ajaccio, capital of the island and French department of Corsica, a seaport on the W. const, in lat. 41 55' N., lon. 8 44'E.; pop. in 1866, 14,558. It has a cathedral, college, museum, librar...

Ajalon, Or Aijalon: Ajalon, Or Aijalon, a town of ancient Palestine, about 14 m. N. E. of Jerusalem, allotted to the tribe of Dan, but also spoken of as belonging to Ephraim, to Benjamin, and to Ju-dah. It was of little ...

Ajan: Ajan, an extensive tract on the E. coast of Africa. It extends from Zanguebar to Cape Guardafui, about 10 degrees of latitude, the southern extremity being near the equator. The S. coast is sandy and ...

Ajax: Ajax, the name of two Greek chiefs in the Trojan war, distinguished as the greater and the lesser. The greater was the son of Tela-mon, king of Salamis, and third in direct male descent from Jupiter. ...

Ajmeer, Or Ajmere: Ajmeer, Or Ajmere. I. A non - regulation district of Rajpootana, subject to the lieutenant governor of the Northwest Provinces of Bengal, between lat. 25 4:)' and 26o 42' N., and lon. 74 22'...

Akabah: Akabah, a fortified village of Arabia, situated in an extensive date grove, or oasis, near the northern extremity of the gulf of Akabah. It is believed to occupy the site of either the Scriptural Elat...

Akbar, Or Akber: Akbar, Or Akber, Jelal-ed-Deen Mohammed, the greatest of all the Mogul emperors of Hindo-stan, born Oct. 14, 1542, died in September, 1605, after reigning half a century. At the time of his accession ...

Mark Akenside: Mark Akenside, an English physician and poet, born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Nov. 9, 1721, died in London, June 23, 1770. He was the sou of a butcher, and was injured for life when very young by his fat...

Johan David Akerblad: Johan David Akerblad, a Swedish philologist, especially skilled in oriental languages, born in 1700, died in Rome in 1819. When a young man he was made an attache of the Swedish embassy to Constantino...

Akerman, Or Akjerman: Akerman, Or Akjerman (Gr. Monkastron; anc. Tyras), a town in Bessarabia, on the estuary of the Dniester, near its mouth in the Black sea, and 35 m. S. W. of Odessa; pop. in 1869, 29,373. It is situate...

Benjamin Paul Akers: Benjamin Paul Akers, an American sculptor, born in Saccarappa, near Portland, Me., July 10, 1825, died in Philadelphia, May 21, 1861. At the age of 18 he went to Portland. After working for some time ...

Akhalzikh Akhaltzikh: Akhalzikh Akhaltzikh, Achalzik, or Akhyskha, a strongly fortified town of Transcaucasian Russia, in the government of Kutais, on an affluent of the Kur, about 95 m. W. of Tiflis; pop. in 1869, 11,616,...

Akhissar, Or Ek-Hissar: Akhissar, Or Ek-Hissar (Anc. Thyatira) a town of Asia Minor, in the eyalet of Aidin, 58 m. N. E. of Smyrna; pop. about 12,000. It is built on somewhat elevated ground, and contains about 1,000 Turkish...

Akhlat: Akhlat, a town of Asiatic Turkey, in the eyalet of Van, at the base of the Sipan Dagh, on the W. shore of Lake Van; pop. about 5,000. Near it are the magnificent ruins of an ancient residence of the A...

Arhtyrka, Or Achtyrka: Arhtyrka, Or Achtyrka, a town of Russia, in the government and 60 m. W. N. W. of Kharkov; pop. in 1866, 17,544. It is situated on three lakes, has many manufactures, and ten churches, one of which att...

Akiba Ben Joseph: Akiba Ben Joseph, a Jewish rabbi of the early part of the 2d century, one of the principal fathers of the Mishna. A native of Syria, he travelled in Arabia, Gaul, Cyrene, Egypt, and other countries, a...

Akmolinsk: Akmolinsk, a province of Siberia, organized by a ukase of Oct. 21 (Nov. 2), 1868. It is composed of Koktchetav, Atbassar, and Akmo-linsk (three of the five districts into which the land of the Siberia...

Akron: Akron, a city and the capital of Summit county, Ohio, 36 m. S. of Cleveland, at the junction of the Ohio and Erie and Ohio and Pennsylvania canals, and at the intersection of the Atlantic and Great We...

Ak-Shehr: Ak-Shehr (the White City), a town in the eyalet of Karaman, in Asia Minor, about 5 m. S. of a lake of the same name, and 65 m. N. W. or Konieh; pop. about 15,000. It is the seat of a pasha, and a stat...

Aksu, Or Oksu: Aksu, Or Oksu, a commercial and manufacturing town of East Turkistan, about 250 m. N. E. of Cashgar; pop. estimated at about 50,000. It is situated in a fertile valley at the terminus of a road leadin...

Aryab: Aryab, a town of British Burmah, capital of the province of Aracan, situated in lat. 20 8' N., lon. 92 54' E., on the E. side of the island of Akyab, at the mouth of the Aracan river, 50 m. ...

Alabama: Alabama (Indian, Here we rest), one of the southern states of the American Union, situated between lat. 30 10' and 35 X., and lon. 84 53' and 88 30' W., bounded N. by Ten-nessee,...

Alabama. Part 2: About two thirds of the counties of the state are bounded or intersected by navigable rivers, the principal of which are the Mobile, Alabama, Tombigbee, Chattahoochee, Coosa, and Tennessee. The last n...

Alabama. Part 3: There were 78,962 horses, 75,644 mules and asses, 165,663 milch cows, 57,237 working oxen, 248,943 other cattle, 234,607 sheep, and 701,346 swine. The number of manufacturing establishments in the sta...

Alabama. Part 4: The right of suffrage is given to all male citizens and those who have declared their intention to become citizens, who have attained the age of 21 years and resided in the state six months next prece...

Alabama. Part 5: In January, 1871, there were 4 professors and 21 students. - In 1871 there were 71 newspapers and periodicals published in the state, of which 58 were weekly. 2 tri-weekly, 10 daily (which also issued...

Alabama. Part 6: The federal forces were soon compelled to abandon the territory south of the Tennessee river, but, having burned the railroad bridges at Decatur and Bridgeport, held all of Alabama north of hat river....

Alabama River: Alabama, a river of the state of Alabama, formed by the union of the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers about 10 m. (direct) N. N. E. of Montgomery. It has a westerly course as far as Selma, whence it flows ...

Alabaster: Alabaster, the name frequently given to two different mineral substances - the one a sulphate of lime, a pure variety of gypsum, and the other a carbonate of lime, of the same chemical composition as ...

Alachua: Alachua, a county of Florida, in the N. part of the peninsula, bounded N. by the Santa Fe river and W. by the Suwanee; area, 1,000 sq. in.; pop. in 1870, 17,328, of whom 12,393 were colored. Orange la...

Margnerite Marie Alacoque: Margnerite Marie Alacoque, a French nun, to whom the festival of the Sacred Heart of Jesus owes its origin, born at Lauthecour, diocese of Autun, July 12, 1647, died Oct. 17, 1690. She took the veil i...

Ala Dagh: I. A lofty mountain chain in Asiatic Turkey, on the northerly side of which the eastern Euphrates takes its rise. Its main portion is situated on the N. edge of the basin of Lake Van, between lat. 39&...

Dos Alagoas: Dos Alagoas, a province of Brazil, on the Atlantic coast, bounded N. and W. by Pernambu-co, and separated from Sergipe on the S. by the San Francisco river; area about 11,000 sq. m.; pop. about 300,00...

Alain De Lille: Alain De Lille (Lat. Alanus de Insults), a Cistercian scholar, born in 1114, died about 1203. He was called the Universal Doctor, and was one of the most profound savants of the 12th century. He was a...

Alais: Alais, a city of S. France, department of Gard, on the Gardon, 25 m. N. N. W. of Nimes; pop. in 1866, 19,964. There are numerous iron furnaces, silk mills, and glass works; and coal is mined in the vi...

Alajuela: Alajuela, a city of Costa Rica, Central America, 14 m. N. W. of San Jose, the capital; pop., including suburbs, about 10,000. It is a place of considerable commercial importance, and is connected with...

Lucas Alaman: Lucas Alaman, a Mexican statesman, born in the latter part of the 18th century, died June 2, 1855. He was a member of the cabinet under Bustamente in 1829, and in 1853 Santa Anna appointed him ministe...

Alamance: Alamance, a N. county of North Carolina; area, 500 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 11,874, of whom 3,640 were colored. The river Haw, a branch of the Cape Fear, runs through the centre of the county, and throug...

Alamami, Or Alemanni: Alamami, Or Alemanni, Luigi, an Italian-poet, born at Florence in 1495, died at Amboise, France, in 1556. His father was devoted to the party of the Medici. Suspected of conspiring against the life of...

Alameda: Alameda, a W. county of California, on San Francisco bay; area, 820 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 24,237, of whom 1,939 were Chinese. The San Francisco and Alameda, and the San Jose and Stockton railroads run...

Alamo: Alamo, a fort in Bexar county, Texas, near San Antonio, on the left bank of the San Antonio river, celebrated in the Texan war for independence. It was an oblong structure, about an acre in extent, su...

Real De Los (Camp Of The Poplars) Alamos: Real De Los (Camp Of The Poplars) Alamos, a town in the southern part of Sonora, Mexico, 175 m. S. W. of Chihuahua, and about 45 m. E. of the gulf of California; pop. about 11,000. The houses are buil...

Allen Alan: Allen Alan, or Allyn, William, an English theologian, born in Lancashire in 1532, died in Rome, Oct. 6, 1594. Being a zealous Catholic, he left England soon after the accession of Elizabeth, and settl...

Aland Islands: Aland Islands, a group of about 200 rocky islets, of which 80 are inhabited, situated at the entrance of the Bothnian gulf, between lat. 59 55o and (60 32 N., and lon. 19 and 21 E...

Alani: Alani, a tribe of Scythians, frequently appearing in connection with the various German invaders of the Roman world during the great migration of the nations of the north. Their origin is uncertain, t...

Al-Araf: Al-Araf, in Mohammedan theology, the wall of separation between heaven and hell, corresponding somewhat to the purgatory of the Latin church. Sitting astride of this wall are those whose good and evil...

Hernando De Alarcon: Hernando De Alarcon, a Spanish navigator of the 16th century, to whom we owe the first certain knowledge concerning the configuration of the peninsula of California. This had previously been held to b...

Alarcon, Or Alarcon Y Mendoza: Alarcon, Or Alarcon Y Mendoza, Juan Rniz dc, a Spanish dramatist, born in Mexico of a noble Spanish family, died in Spain in 1639. In 1628 he published the first volume of his dramas, on the title pag...

Alaric: I. King of the Visigoths, born about 376, died in 410. Previous to his reign the Goths north of the Danube (mostly Arians), being pressed by the Huns, claimed the protection of the Roman emperors, who...

Alarm: Alarm, an instrument to give notice by sound. In its most ordinary form it consists of a bell and a hammer, combined with an escapement that lets it free at the proper time, when a descending weight o...

Ala-Shehr: Ala-Shehr, a city of Turkey, in Asia Minor, in the eyalet of Aidin, at the N. E. base of the Boz Dagh (the ancient Mt. Tmolus), 75 m. E. by S. of Smyrna; pop. about 13,000, of whom 3,000 are Greeks. I...

Alaska: Alaska, a territory belonging to the United States, formerly known as Russian America. It comprises all that portion of the North American continent lying W. of the 141st parallel of W. longitude, tog...

Alaska. Part 2: Next to the Yukon in size is the Kuskoquim, which also flows into Behring sea, somewhat further S. It has been explored by the Russians some 600 m. above its mouth, and is a very crooked and moderatel...

Alaska. Part 3: Along the Pacific coast glaciers, some of them remarkable for their extent and grandeur, fill the principal mountain gorges, and terminate at the sea in magnificent masses of overhanging ice. The fact...

Alava: Alava, one of the Basque provinces of Spain, separated from Old Castile on the S. W. by the Ebro, and from Biscay and Guipuzcoa on the N. by mountain ranges; area, 1,203 sq. m.; pop. in 1867 (estimate...

Alb: Alb, a vestment of white linen or linen and lace, reaching to the feet, and bound around the waist by a cincture, worn by sub-deacons and all the superior orders of the clergy in the Roman Catholic ch...

Alba: Alba, a city of Italy, province of Cuneo, on the Tanaro, 33 m. S. S. E. of Turin; pop. about 10,000. It is a bishop's see, and has an ancient cathedral. There is a large trade in cattle. ...

Albacete: I. A S. E. province of Spain, forming a part of the old kingdom of Murcia; area, 5,965 sq. m.; pop. in 1867 (estimated), 221,000. Large portions of the province are level, and the soil is in general v...

Alba Longa: Alba Longa, one of the most ancient cities of Latium, and the mother of Rome, was, according to the Roman legends, built by As-canius or lulus, the son of Aeneas. It is said to have been called Alba f...

Saint Alban: Saint Alban, said to have been the first martyr for Christianity in Britain. He was born in the town of Verulamium, went to Rome in company with Amphibalus, a monk of Caer-leon, became a Christian, an...

Albanenses: Albanenses, the name given by some writers to that division of the Catharists who believed in an absolute dualism, in opposition to the Concorrezenses and Bagnolenses, who believed in one supreme prin...

Albani, Or Albano: Albani, Or Albano, Francesco, an Italian painter, born in Bologna, March 17, 1578, died Oct. 4,1660. He studied under Denis Calvaert and Ludovico Carracci. His frescos in the national church of the Sp...

Albania: Albania, in ancient geography, a country of Asia, bordering on the Caspian sea, and bounded W. by Iberia, N. by the Ceraunian branch of the Caucasus, and S. by the Cyrus (Kur) and the Araxes (Aras). I...

Albama: Albama (called by the natives Shkiperia, and by the Turks Arnautlik), a province of European Turkey, between lat. 39 and 43 N. and lon. 19 and 21 30' E., extending for about 290 mi...

Albano: Albano (anc. Albanum), a city of Italy, in the province of Rome, near the southern extremity of Lake Albano, 14 m. S. E. of Rome; pop. 5,200. It occupies the site of Pompey's villa, and is on the oppo...

Albany: I. An E. county of New York, bounded E. by the Hudson river and N. in part i by the Mohawk; area, 509 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 133,052. Normanskill and Catskill creeks furnish it with good water power. T...

Albany City, New York: Albany, a city, capital of Albany county and of the state of New York, at the head of sloop navigation and near the head of tide water, on the W. bank of the Hudson river, in lat. 42 39' 3 N., l...

Albany City, New York. Continued: It gives exact time by telegraph to the city and to various railroads. The young men's association, formed in 1833, supports a lecture course during the winter, and has a library of above 12,000 volum...

Albany, An Eastern District of Cape Colony: Albany, an eastern district of Cape Colony, on the coast, traversed by the Sneeuw (snow) mountains and some other ranges, and by the Great Fish river; area, 1,792 sq. m.; pop. in 1865, 16,264, includi...

Louise Marie Caroline Heloise Albany: Louise Marie Caroline Heloise Albany, countess of, wife of the last of the Stuarts, and celebrated for her association with the poet Alfieri, born in Mons, Belgium, Sept. 20, 1753, died in Florence, J...

Albategnius, Or Albategni (Mohammed Ben Geber Albatani): Albategnius, Or Albategni (Properly Mohammed Ben Geber Albatani), an Arabian prince and astronomer, died about A. D. 929. He is also called Muhamedes Aractsnsis. His principal astronomical work - main...

Albatross: Albatross (diomedea), a genus of web-footed sea birds, which has three species - the common albatross, D. exulans, the albatross of China, D. fuliginosa, and the yellow and black-beaked albatross, D. ...

Abul Hassan Ahmed Al-Beladori: Abul Hassan Ahmed Al-Beladori, an Arabian historian, died about 895. He was minister of religion at Bagdad, resided at the court of the caliph Motawakkel, and was intrusted with the education of one o...

Albemarle: Albemarle, a central county of Virginia, bounded N. W. by the Blue Ridge mountains and S. by the James river, and watered by its branches; area, 700 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 27,544, of whom 14,994 were c...

Albemarle Sound: Albemarle Sound, a large inlet of the sea on the northern part of the coast of North Carolina, extending 60 m. into the country, and having a width of from 4 to 15 m. It is separated from the sea by a...

Francesco Albergati-Capacelli: Francesco Albergati-Capacelli, marchese d', an Italian dramatic writer and actor, born in Bologna, April 29, 1728, died March 16, 1804. He has been called the Garrick of Italy. His youth was wasted in...

Alberic I: Alberic I., a ruler of Rome in the early part of the 10th century. He was originally a Lombard nobleman, but obtained through the aid of Berengarius of Friuli the marquisate of Camerino, and by his ma...

Ciulio Alberoni: Ciulio Alberoni, a Spanish statesman, born near Piacenza, Italy, May 31, 1664, died in Rome, June 16, 1752. He was the son of a vinedresser, and was brought up to the church. In the war of the Spanish...

Joliaim Friedrich Hermann Albers: Joliaim Friedrich Hermann Albers, a German physician, born at Dorsten, Nov. 14, 1805, died in Bonn, May 12, 1867. He practised several years as assistant physician, afterward delivered lectures on pat...

Albert, New Brunswick, Canada: Albert, a S. E. county of the province of New Brunswick, Canada, bounded S. and S. E. by the bay of Fundy and Chignecto bay; area, 677 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, 10,672. The land is good, and there are ext...

Albert (Alexandre Martin): Albert, the pseudonyme of Alexandre Martin, a member of the French provisional government of 1848, born at Bury, department of Oise, April 27, 1815. He was a maker of mechanical models, and continued ...

Albert I: (Ger. Albrecht), archduke of Austria and emperor of Germany, born in 1248, died May 1, 1308. He was the son of Rudolph of Hapsburg, and succeeded to his hereditary estates, but the succession to the c...

Albert, The First Duke Of Prussia: Albert (Ger. Albrecht), the first duke of Prussia, son of Frederick, margrave of Anspach and Baireuth, and grandson of Albert Achilles, elector of Brandenburg, born May 17, 1490, died March 21, 1568. ...

Francis Albert Angustus Charles Emanuel, Prince Consort Of Great Britain: Albert (Francis Albert Angustus Charles Emanuel), prince consort of Great Britain, prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, born at Coburg, Aug. 20, 1819, died in Windsor Castle, Dec. 14, 1861. Lender the auspice...

Friedrieli August Albert: Friedrieli August Albert, crown prince of Saxony, a German general, son of the reigning king John, born in Dresden, April 23, 1828. As the people over whom he is destined to rule are Protestants, whil...

Albert Edward: Albert Edward, prince of Wales, duke of Saxony, and prince of Coburg-Gotha, heir apparent to the British throne, second child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, born in Buckingham palace, London, No...

Leone Battista Albert: Albert, Leone Battista, an Italian architect, poet, painter, and sculptor, born in 1404, died in Rome in April, 1472. His essays on painting and sculpture are greatly admired. His most famous work, ho...

Mariotto Albertinelli: Mariotto Albertinelli, a Florentine painter, born about 1475, died about 1520. He was a friend and pupil of Fra Bartolommeo, and an imitator of his style. There is a beautiful painting by him in the g...

Albertus Magnus: Albertus Magnus (Albert the Geeat), a scholar of the 13th century. He was of a noble Swabian family, studied at Padua, and entered the Dominican order. He was employed as a teacher in various schools,...

Albi, Or Alby, Albiga: Albi, Or Alby. (Anc. Albiga), a town of France, capital of the department of Tarn, on the Tarn, 41 m. N E. of Toulouse; pop. in 1860, l6,596. It has a cathedral, a museum, and a library, but is one of...

Albigenses: Albigenses, the collective name of various sects of heretics in the 12th and 13th centuries, who left the Catholic church and called themselves Catharists or Cathari (the pure). The word is derived fr...

Albinos: Albinos, individuals in whom, by some defect in their organization, the substance which gives color to the skin, hair, and eyes is absent. These persons, whether Indian, negro, or white, appear of a u...

Albinus: Albinus (Ger. Weiss), Bernhard Siegfried, a German anatomist, born in Frankfort-on-the-Oder, Feb. 24, 1697, died in Leyden, Sept. 7, 1770. He was educated by his father, professor of medicine at Frank...

Albion: Albion, the appellation by which Great Britain was originally known to the Greeks and Romans. It is a Celtic word, meaning high island or mountain land, and was probably applied originally to the nort...

Albion, Orleans: Albion, a village, the capital of Orleans co., N. Y., about 40 m. N. E. of Buffalo; pop. in 1870, 3,322. The Erie canal and the Niagara Falls and Suspension Bridge branch of the New York Central railr...

New Albion: New Albion, a name originally bestowed by Sir Francis Drake on the territory now known as California and the adjacent coast, which he visited in June, 1579, but now restricted by Humboldt and other ge...

Albirco: Albirco, a star in the head of the constellation Cygnus. It is one of the double stars, and has lately attracted the especial attention of spectroscopists by the difference in the lines between its tw...

Alboin: Alboin, king of the Lombards, succeeded his father in Pannonia about 560, and died in 574. After aiding Narses against the Ostrogoths, and defeating and slaying Cunimond, king of the Gepidse, he invad...

Marietta Alboni: Marietta Alboni, an Italian contralto singer, born at Cesena, March 10, 1826, or, according to some authorities, at Forli in 1824. Her musical education was completed under Rossini, in Bologna, and sh...

Al-Borak: Al-Borak, the name of the camel on which Mohammed made his imaginary journeys from the temple at Jerusalem to the celestial regions. ...

Gil Alvarez Carillo Albornoz: Gil Alvarez Carillo Albornoz, a Spanish prelate and warrior, born in Cuenca, died in Viter-bo, Aug. 24, 1367. As archbishop of Toledo, he took part in the contest with the Moors; and having saved the ...

Friedrieh Rudolph Albrecht: Friedrieh Rudolph Albrecht, archduke of Austria, born Aug. 3, 1817. He is the eldest son of the late archduke Charles, second son of the emperor Leopold II., and is consequently first cousin of the re...

Johann Georg Albrechtsberger: Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, one of the first modern masters of counterpoint, born in the neighborhood of Vienna, Feb. 3, 1736, died in that city, May 7, 1809. He was a pupil of the organist Mann. In...

Albret: Albret, an ancient town and castle of Gas-cony, in a district of the same name, now included in the arrondissement of Mont-de-Mar-san, department of Landes. It gave the title of viscount and afterward...

Jeanne D Albret: Jeanne D Albret, queen of Navarre, born in Pau, Jan. 7, 1528, died in Paris, June 9,1572. She was the only daughter of Henry II. of Navarre and Margaret of Angouleme, sister of Francis I. and wife of ...

Bulcasimos Albicasis: Bulcasimos Albicasis, or, properly, Abul-easim, an Arabian physician, born near Cordova, died in that city about 1106. He is known only by his medical work, Al-Tasriff, the surgical part of which has ...

Albuera: Albuera, a village of Spain, situated on a river of the same name, in the province and about 12 m. S. S. E. of the town of Bada-joz. It was the scene of a battle, May 16, 1811, between Beresford with ...

Albufera: Albufera, the name of a lagoon near Valencia, on the E. coast of Spain. It is partly dried up in summer, and a resort for wild fowl, whose capture is a source of revenue. The lagoon, with an estate on...

Albumen: Albumen (from Lat. albus, white, because the albumen of the fowl's egg, on being coagulated by cooking, turns white), an organic substance, more or less fluid in its natural condition, which is coagul...

Albuminuria, Or Blight's Disease: Albuminuria, Or Blight's Disease, a disease characterized by the presence of albumen in the urine, a more or less general dropsy both of the cellular tissue and the internal cavities, and an organic c...

Albuminuria, Or Blight's Disease. Continued: The patient should be clothed in flannel, and if possible confined to bed; the room should be of a comfortable and equable temperature, and the patient should be most sedulously guarded against exposu...

Albuquerque, Spain: Albuquerque, a town and fortress of Spain, in the province and 25 m. N. of Badajoz, and 9 m. from the Portuguese frontier; pop. 7,500. It is the seat of the dukes of Albuquerque, and has a large trade...

Port Albuquerque: Albuquerque (Port. Alboquerque), Affonso d, called the Great, and also the Portuguese Mars, one of the first Portuguese conquerors and second viceroy of India, born near Alhan-dra, in the province of ...

Alburnum: Alburnum, that part of the stern of trees which timber merchants call sap wood, in contradistinction to heart wood. It is the newly formed wood, lying next below the bark, and is a delicate fibrous ti...

Alcaeus: Alcaeus, a Greek lyric poet and warrior, a native of Mitylene in the island of Lesbos, flourished toward the close of the 7th century B. C. He served in the war which took place in 606 between the Ath...

Alcaide: Alcaide, an executive officer among the Spaniards, Portuguese, and Moors, appointed to take charge of a castle or fort, or to superintend a prison. (See Alcalde.) ...

Alcala: Alcala, the name of several towns in Spain, derived from the Moorish El Khalaat, the castle. I. Alcala de Henares (anc. Complutum), a town on the river Henares, in New Castile, 17 m. E. N. E. of Madri...

Alcalde: Alcalde, in Spanish, the title of a civil dignitary, either judicial or administrative, with which alcaide is sometimes confounded. (See Alcaide.) Both terms are probably derived from the Arabic al-ca...

Alcameaes: Alcameaes, a Greek sculptor, flourished in the latter half of the 5th century B. C. He was the most famous pupil of Phidias, and is said to have unsuccessfully competed with him in a statue of Minerva...

Alcamo: Alcamo, a city of Sicily, in the province of Trapani, 23 ra. S. W. of Palermo; pop. in 1872, 20,890. It was originally a Saracenic town, built on the summit of a neighboring hill. The Saracens were ex...

Alcanara: Alcanara (Arab., the bridge; anc, Norba CAesarea). I. A small town in Spanish Estre-madura, near the Portuguese frontier, on the left bank of the Tagus, in the province and 34 m. W. N. W. of Caceres; ...

Alcavala, Or Aleabala: Alcavala, Or Aleabala, a duty imposed in Spain and its colonies on all transfers of property. It was originally laid in 1341 as an ad valorem tax of 10 per cent., and was afterward increased to 14 per...

Alcazar: Alcazar (Arab., the royal castle). I. In Spanish, the general name for a castle or citadel - applied to the castles at Seville and Segovia, and to many others. II. Alcazar de San Juan, a town of Spai...

Alchemy: Alchemy (Arab. al-kimia, from al, the, and Gr. chemistry), the ancient name for the science of chemistry. It is sometimes called the hermetic art, from Hermes Trismegistus, anciently reputed its disco...

Giovanni Paolo Alciati: Giovanni Paolo Alciati, a theologian, born in Piedmont, died in Dantzic about 1570. He embraced Protestantism, and figured in Geneva, but soon afterward promulgated doctrines about the Trinity which w...

Alcibiades: Alcibiades, an Athenian statesman and general, son of Clinias and Dinomache, born in Athens in 450 B. C, died in Bithynia in 404. He boasted his descent from the Telamonian Ajax, and through him from ...

Alcinous: Alcinous, in Greek mythology, son of Nau-sithous and grandson of Neptune. In the story of the Argonauts he is king of the island of Drepane, where he entertained Jason and his companions. In the Odyss...

Alciphron: Alciphron, a Greek writer, supposed to have been a contemporary of Lucian, flourishing about A. D. 170. He was the author of 113 fictitious letters, in which certain representative characters - fisher...

Alcira: Alcira, an old walled town of Spain, on an island in the river Jucar, in the province and 24 m. S. of Valencia; pop. about 14,000. It is irregularly built, but is adorned by several churches and bridg...

Alcmaeon: Alcmaeon. I. In ancient Greek legends, a son of Amphiaraus and Eriphyle of Argos, and brother of Amphilochus. Eriphyle having been bribed by Polynices with the necklace and robe of Harmonia to induce ...

Alcmaeonidae: Alcmaeonidae, a noble Athenian family, descendants of Alcmaeon, the great-grandson of Nestor. The whole family were expelled from Athens about 596 B. C. by a council of 300 nobles, to whom, by the adv...

Alcman, Or Akmaeon: Alcman, Or Akmaeon, a Spartan lyric poet, flourished about 650 B. C. He is said to have been by birth a Lydian, and originally a slave, and to have died at a very advanced age. He wrote chiefly in Spa...

Alcmena: Alcmena, in Greek mythology, a daughter of Electryon, king of Mycenae. She had ten brothers, who, save one, were slain by the sons of Pterelaus. Alemena had been betrothed to Amphitryon, but she never...

Sir Rutherferd Alcock: Sir Rutherferd Alcock, a British diplomatist, born in London in 1809. He was a surgeon in the navy in Portugal in 1833-4, inspector of hospitals under Sir de Lacy Evans in Spain, in 1835-'7, and audit...

Alcohol: Alcohol, in popular language, the intoxicating principle of fermented liquors. The word is of Arabic origin, and means to paint, probably in reference to the use of this compound to dissolve pigment...

Alcona: Alcona, a N. E. county of Michigan, on Lake Huron; area, G30 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 696. It is drained by the Ausable and one of its branches. Alcona lake, in the N. part, empties through Thunder Bay r...

Alcorn: Alcorn, a N. E. county of Mississippi, bordering on Tennessee; pop. in 1870, 10,431, of whom 2,768 were colored. It was organized in 1870 from portions of Tippali and Tishemin-go counties, and...

Amos Bronson Alcott: Amos Bronson Alcott, an American educator, born at Wolcott, Conn., Nov. 29, 1799. Like many farmers' sons in Connecticut, while still a boy, he was intrusted by a local trader with a trunk of merchand...

William Alexander Alcott: William Alexander Alcott, M. D., an American author, cousin of the preceding, born at Wolcott, Conn., Aug. 6, 1798, died at Auburn-dale, Mass., March 29, 1859. He supported himself until he reached th...

Alcoy: Alcoy, a town of Spain, in Valencia, in the province and 23 m. N. of Alicante; pop. about 25,000. It is well built, in a picturesque site between two streams, and has extensive manufactures of paper, ...

Alcun: Alcun (Lat. Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus), an English scholar and churchman, born probably in York about 735, died May 19, 804. He was master of the school and keeper of the cathedral library at York, unt...

Alcyone: Alcyone, the brightest of the star group of the Pleiades, and the supposed centre of the arc in which our sun and planets appear to be moving through the interstellar space. ...

Aldan: I. A name applied by some geographers to the whole range of mountains in eastern Siberia, from the Altai chain to Beh-ring strait. Others limit its application to a branch of this mountain system, ext...

Aldboroigh: Aldboroigh, a market town and parish of Yorkshire, England, on the Ure, 16 m. W. N. W . of York. The town is a place of great antiquity, supposed to have been the capital of the Brigantes, known to th...

Aldebaran: Aldebaran, the chief star in the constellation of Taurus, forming the eye, and one of the group of live called the Hyades. Huggins has lately proved by means of the spectroscope that this star has nea...

Sainte Aldegonde: Sainte Aldegonde, Philip van Marnix, baron of, a Dutch statesman and scholar, born in Brussels in 1538, died in Leyden, Dec. 15, 1598. x\t Geneva, where he was educated, he imbibed from Calvin a stron...

Aldegrever, Or Aldegraf: Aldegrever, Or Aldegraf, Heinrich, a German painter and engraver, born at Paderborn in Westphalia in 1502, died about 1560. He was a pupil and imitator of Albert Durer. His prints, which are very nume...

Aldehyde: Aldehyde, a liquid obtained from alcohol. Liebig was the first to study the products formed by abstracting hydrogen from alcohol, and to give the name of alcohol dehydrogenated to the first of the ser...

John Alden: John Alden, one of the first settlers of Plymouth, New England, was a magistrate in that colony for more than half a century, and died in 1687, aged about 89. On behalf of Miles Standish, Alden once p...

Aldenhoven: Aldenhoven, a town in Rhenish Prussia, on the road from Julich to Aix-la-Chapelle; pop. in 1807, 3,041. It is noted for a victory of the Austrians under the prince of Coburg over a part of the French ...

Alder: Alder (alnus), a genus of plants belonging to the natural order betulace. It has four stamens, and its fruit is without wings, by which characteristics it is distinguished from the birch, with w...

Alderman: Alderman, a title derived from the Saxon ealdorman (elder man). The term ealdor was in itself a title of honor, used like the word elder in Scripture; but the title ealdorman implied a higher degree...

Alderney: Alderney (Fr. Aurigny), the northernmost of the Channel islands, and the nearest to the French coast, separated from it by the race of Alderney (a strait which is very dangerous in stormy weather), ab...

Aldershott: Aldershott, an English military camp of instruction, in Hampshire, 50 m. by rail S. W. from London, established in 18541'5 on Alder-shott common, *a broad tract of sandy land. Near the site of the old...

Aldhelm: Aldhelm, an English divine and writer during the Saxon heptarchy, born about 050, died in 709. He was a relative of the king of the West Saxons. He is said to have been the first Englishman who wrote ...

Aldine Editions: Aldine Editions, works which proceeded from the press of the Manutii (Aldus the Elder, Paulus, and Aldus the Younger), a celebrated family of printers in Venice during the 15th and 10th centuries. (Se...

Aldini: I. Antonio, count, an Italian statesman, born in Bologna in 1750, died in Pavia, Oct. 5, 1820. When Bologna in 1797 was wrested by General Bonaparte from the papal government, Aldini, who was then pro...

Aldobrandini: Aldobrandini, a noble family of Florence in the 16th and 17th centuries. Silvestro, a celebrated jurist, was born at Florence in 1499, and died in Rome in 1558. Being opposed to the duke Alexander de'...

Thomas Bailey Aldrich: Thomas Bailey Aldrich, an American poet, born in Portsmouth, N. H., in 1836. After commencing a course of study preparatory to entering college, upon the .death of his father he abandoned this purpose...

Ira Aldridge: Ira Aldridge, called the African Roscius, an American actor, born at Bellair, near Baltimore, Md., about 1810, died in Poland, Aug. 7, 1867. He was a mulatto, whose real name is said to have been Hewl...

Ulysses (Itab Ulisse Aldro-Vandi) Aldrovandis: Ulysses (Itab Ulisse Aldro-Vandi) Aldrovandis, an Italian naturalist, born at Bologna, Sept. 11, 1522, died Nov. 10, 1607. He took his degree in medicine in 1553, was made lecturer on natural history,...

Girolamo Aleandro: Girolamo Aleandro, an Italian prelate and scholar, born Feb. 13, 1480, died Jan. 31, 1542. He was early distinguished for great and varied learning, and was associated with Aldus Ma-nutius and Erasmus...

Philippe Alegambe: Philippe Alegambe, a Belgian Jesuit, born in Brussels, Jan. 22, 1592, died in Rome, Sept. 0, 1652. He taught philosophy at the college of Gratz, but finally settled at Rome, where he became superior o...

Mateo Aleman: Mateo Aleman, a Spanish novelist, born in Seville about the middle of the 10th century, died probably in Mexico. In 1568 he was commissioner of finance in his native land, but being falsely accused of...

Alemanni, Or Alamanni: Alemanni, Or Alamanni. (Ger. all men), a confederacy of warlike German tribes, with whom the Romans first came into collision in the reign of Caracalla, They then dwelt on the Main, and subsequently s...

Jean Le Rond D Alembert: Jean Le Rond D Alembert, a French mathematician and man of letters, born in Paris, Nov. 10, 1717, died there, Oct, 29, 1783. He was the illegitimate child of the poet Des-touches, commissary of artill...

Alembic: Alembic (Arab, al, the, and Gr. a cup), one of the oldest forms of vessels used for distillation, and the type of all later kinds of apparatus for the same purpose. It consists of a vessel in the for...

Alemtejo: Alemtejo, the largest province of Portugal, bounded by Estremadura, Beira, Spain, Al-garve, and the Atlantic ocean; area, 9,416 sq. m.; pop. in 1808, 382,237. The surface on the E. is traversed by irr...

Alencon: Alencon, a town of France, in Normandy, capital of the department of Orne, on the Sarthe, 116 m. W. S. W. of Paris; pop. in 1866, 16,116. It has a considerable inland trade, and is known for the famou...

Aleppo: Aleppo (Arab. Haleb; anc. Chalylon, afterward Bera), a city of N. Syria, capital of a Turkish vilayet of the same name, in lat. 36* 11' N., lon. 37 10'E., on the borders of the Syro-Arabian...

Aleshki: Aleshki (formerly Dnieprovsk), a town in S. Russia, in the government of Taurida, on an arm of the Dnieper, 5 m. S. E. of Kherson;' pop. in 1870, 8,484, and rapidly increasing. ...

Alesia: Alesia, a fortified town of the Mandubii, in Celtic Gaul, renowned for its siege by CAesar in 52 B. C. It was a very old town, built on a high hill, washed by the Lutosa and Osera (believed to be the ...

Gregory Alessandresku: Gregory Alessandresku, a Roumanian poet, born at Tergovist, Wallachia, about 1812. After a short service in the army, he became conspicuous as a liberal politician, and was banished to a monastery for...

Basil Alessandri: Basil Alessandri, a Roumanian poet of Venetian origin, born in Moldavia in 1821. He was educated at Jassy and Paris, joined the party of young Roumania, and produced ballads and plays which are popula...

Alessandria: Alessandria. I. A N. W. province of Italy, in Piedmont, embracing the former duchy of Montferrat; area, 1,952 sq. m.; pop. in 1872, 683,473. It is traversed E. and W. by the Turin and Stradella, and N...

Aleutian Islands: Aleutian Islands, a chain of islands situated between Alaska and Kamtchatka, and separating Behring sea from the North Pacific-ocean, between lat. 51 and 56 N., and lon. 163 and 188°...

Alewife: Alewife, a fish of the genus alosa (A. tyrannies, Latrobe), also called spring herring, and in the British provinces gaspereau, or American alewife. It appears in great numbers in Chesapeake bay from ...

Alexander, North Carolina: I. A N. W. county of North Carolina, bounded S. by the Catawba river; area, 300 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 6,868, of whom 611 were colored. The staple products are wheat, corn, and oats. There are 19 churc...

Alexander the Great: Alexander, surnamed the Great, son of Philip of Macedon and of Olympias of Epirus, born in 356 B. C, died in 323. His first tutor was a Greek, Lysimachus, and the first thing which he learned was the ...

Alexander the Great. Continued: He had now become very intemperate, and, full of suspicion, opened the letters of his officers and soldiers to their relations in Europe. He reduced Arachosia and the Paropamisus region (modern Afghan...

Alexader: Alexader, the name of eight popes. I. Saint, a Roman by birth, according to ecclesiastical tradition, governed the church from 108 to 119, and was beheaded by order of the emperor Hadrian. A beautiful...

Alexander I: Alexander I., Pavlovitch, emperor of Russia, eldest son of Paul I. and Maria Feodorovna, princess of Wurtemberg, born Dec. 23, 1777, died Dec. 1, 1825. His grandmother, Catharine II., designed to plac...

Alexander I. Part 2: The Prussian forces were annihilated at Jena and Auer-stadt (Oct. 14, 1800), the Russian Marshal Ben-ningsen was beaten at Eylau (Feb. 8, 1807) and Friedland (June 14), and Kamenski was defeat-ed at P...

Alexander I. Part 3: Before seeing foreign countries, according to the wish of Nicholas, he travelled all over Russia. When he approached manhood, the prince de Lieven, formerly Russian ambassador in London, was made his ...

Alexander I. Part 4: He began a partial abolition of serfdom by emancipating the serfs in the German Baltic provinces, but without allowing the peasantry the liberty of migrating from one province to another. In 1818 he v...

Alexander II: Alexander II., JVicolaievitch, emperor of Russia, son of the czar Nicholas and Alexandra Feodorovna (originally Charlotte), a sister of Frederick William IV. and William I. ...

Alexander, the King of Scotland: Alexander, the name of three kings of Scotland. I. Succeeded his brother Edgar, Jan. 8, 1107, and died April 27, 1121. He was a prince of singular energy and capacity, which stood him in good stead du...

Alexander Humphreys Alexander: Alexander Humphreys Alexander, a claimant of the earldom of Stirling, born in Birmingham, England, about 1783. In 1824 he obtained the royal license to assume the name of Alexander, on the ground that...

Archibald Alexander: Archibald Alexander, D. D., an American Presbyterian divine, born in Augusta county (now Rockbridge), Va., April 17, 1772, died in Princeton, N. J., Oct. 22, 1851. His grandfather, Archibald Alexander...

Sir James Edward Alexander: Sir James Edward Alexander, a British soldier and writer, born in Scotland in 1803. He is descended from the Stirling family, studied at Sandhurst, served in the Burman war (1825), in the Russian serv...

James Waddel Alexander: James Waddel Alexander, D. D., eldest son of Dr. Archibald Alexander, bora in Louisa county, Va., March 13, 1804, died at the Red Sweet Springs, Va., July 31, 1859. He graduated at the college of New ...

Joseph Addison Alexander: Joseph Addison Alexander, D. D., third son of Dr. Archibald Alexander, born in Philadelphia, April 24, 1809, died at Princeton, N. J., Jan. 28, 1800. He graduated at the college of New Jersey in 1820,...

Ludwig Christian Geerg Friedrich Emil Alexander: Ludwig Christian Geerg Friedrich Emil Alexander, prince of Hesse, son of Louis II. of Hesse-Darmstadt, and brother of the present empress of Russia, born July 15, 1823. He served in the Russian army i...

Stephen Alexander: Stephen Alexander, LL. D., an American astronomer, born in Schenectady, N. Y., Sept. 1, 1800. He was educated at Union college and at Princeton theological seminary, was appointed tutor in the college...

William Alexander: William Alexander. I. First earl of Stirling, a Scottish poet, courtier, and speculator, born about 1580, died in 1640. He was the son of a private gentleman, was at an early age travelling tutor to t...

Alexander Of Aphrodisias: Alexander Of Aphrodisias (in Caria), sur-named the Expounder from his commentaries on Aristotle, flourished at the beginning of the 3d century of the Christian era. His most important work, On Fate,...

Alexander Balas: Alexander Balas, king of Syria from 150 to 146 B. C. He pretended to be a natural son of Antiochus Epiphanes, and his claim to succeed him was supported by the Romans and several of the princes of Asi...

Alexander Of Hales: Alexander Of Hales, an English theologian, surnamed the Irrefragable Doctor, died Aug. 27, 1245. A great part of his life was passed at Paris, where he taught philosophy and theology. In 1222 he beca...

Alexander Jannaeus: Alexander Jannaeus, king of the Jews, of the house of the Asmoneans, from 105 to 78 B. C. (See Hebbews.) ...

Alexander John I: Alexander John I., prince of Roumania, of the house of Cuza, born in Galatz, March 20, 1820. He was educated in Paris, became a colonel in the Moldavian service, and held several civil offices, resign...

Alexander Karageorgevitch: Alexander Karageorgevitch, a Servian prince, born at Topola. Oct. 11, 1806. After the execution of his father, Czerny or Kara George, at Belgrade in 1817, his mother went with him to Wallachia. He was...

Alexander Nevskoi: Alexander Nevskoi, a Russian hero and saint, son of the grand duke Yaroslav II. of Novgorod and Vladimir, born in 1219, died in 1263. In his youth he fought against the Tartars, who, however, in 1208 ...

Roman Emperor Alexander Severus: Roman Emperor Alexander Severus. From A.D. 222 to 235, the son of Gessius Marcianus and Julia Mammaea, born at Arce in Phoenicia, in the temple of Alexander the Great, during the attendance of his par...

Aaron Alexandre: Aaron Alexandre, a chess player, born at Hohenfeld, Bavaria, about 1766, died in London, Nov. 16, 1850. He was for some time rabbi at Furth, and afterward teacher of German at Paris, where he establis...

Alexandretta: Alexandretta (Turk. Iskanderun; anc. Alexandria ad Issum), a Turkish seaport on the N. coast of Syria, in the vilayet of Aleppo, situated on the E. side of the bay of Iskanderun, in lat. 36 35' N...

Alexandria, Virginia: Alexandria, a N. E. county of Virginia, on the Potomac, opposite Washington; area, 36 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 16,755, of whom 7,310 were colored. It was once a part of the District of Columbia, and was ...

Alexandria City: Alexandria, a port of entry and capital of Alexandria county, Va., on the right bank of the Potomac, 7 m. below Washington; pop. in 1860, 12,652; in 1870, 13,570, of whom 5,300 were colored. The Potom...

Alexandria Town, Rapides: Alexandria, a town, capital of the parish of Rapides, La., on the Red river, about 50 m. (direct) from its junction with the Mississippi; pop. in 1870, 1,218, of whom 448 were colored; in 1860, 1,401....

Alexandria, Egypt: Alexandria (Turk. Iskanderiyeh), a city of Egypt, on the Mediterranean, 112 m. N. W. of Cairo, founded by Alexander the Great after the destruction of Tyre, 332 B. C. Dinocrates or Dinochares was the ...

Alexandrian Codex: Alexandrian Codex, an uncial manuscript of the Old and New Testament, so named from the fact that it was found at Alexandria by Cyrillus Lucaris, the patriarch of Constantinople, who presented it in 1...

Alexandrian Library: Alexandrian Library, a collection of books formed by Ptolemy I. and Ptolemy II. of Egypt, and probably the largest prior to the invention of printing. It was founded, it is said, at the suggestion of ...

Alexandrian School: Alexandrian School, a term vaguely applied to a development of Neo-Platonism by the philosophers of Alexandria in Egypt about the end of the 2d century. The characteristic of the school was a broad ec...

Alexandrine, Or Alexandrian: Alexandrine, Or Alexandrian, in poetry, a metre consisting of 12 syllables, or 12 and 13 alternately; so called, according to some, from a poem on the life of Alexander written in this kind of verse b...

Alexandropol: Alexandropol (formerly Gumri), an important fortress and town in Russian Armenia, near the frontier of Turkey, 54 m. N. W. of Erivan; pop. in 1870, 17,272. Near it the Russians under Bariatinski obtai...

Alexandrov: Alexandrov, a town of Russia, in the government of Vladimir, 58 m. N. E. of Moscow, on the river Seraya; pop. in 1870, 5,810. It contains dye works and manufactories of iron ware and muskets. Among th...

Alexandrovsk: Alexandrovsk, a town of Little Russia, on the left bank of the Dnieper, below its cataracts, in the government and 48 m. S. of Ye-katerinoslav; pop. in 1870, 4,001. It is the place of shipment by the ...

Alexis, or Alexins, Emperor of Trebizond: Alexis (or Alexins) I., Comnenus, emperor of Trebizond (Trapezus), born in 1182, died in February, 1222. The enmity of Isaac Angelus to the family of the Comneni threatened the entire extermination of...

Alexis, or Alexins I., Comnenus, Emperor of Constantinople: Alexis (or Alexins) I., Comnenus, emperor of Constantinople, born in 1048, died Aug. 15, 1118. He was the son of John Comnenus, who refused the succession bequeathed to him by his brother Isaac. Alexi...

Alexis Mikhailovitch: Alexis Mikhailovitch, second czar of Russia of the Romanoff lineage, born March 10, 1629, succeeded his father Michael Fedoro-vitch July 12,1645, died Jan. 29,1676. During the earlier years of his rei...

Alexis Petrovitch: Alexis Petrovitch, the eldest son of Peter the Great and of Eudoxia Lapukhin, born in Moscow, Feb. 18, 1690, died July 7,1718. Surrounded from childhood by the relations of his mother, he was the cent...

Alfaini: Alfaini, the name of two Italian painters, Domenico di Paris, born in Perugia about 1483, died after 1540; and Orazio di Paris, son of the former, born in Perugia in 1510, died in 1583. Their pictures...

Alfarabius: Alfarabius, an Arabian philosopher, died about 950. He travelled, acquired the knowledge of a large number of languages, and settled at Damascus, where he was joyfully received by the Abbasside caliph...

Vittorio Alfieri: Vittorio Alfieri, count, an Italian tragic poet, born at Asti, Piedmont, Jan. 17, 1749, died in Florence, Oct. 8, 1803. He received a very imperfect education at the college of nobles in Turin, which ...

Alfonso: Alfonso, the name of several kings of Spain and Portugal, also written Alonso, Alonzo, Alphonso, and in Portuguese Affonso. There were five in Aragon, six in Portugal, and twelve in Leon and Castile. ...

Alfonso V. of Aragon and Alfonso I. of Naples and Sicily: Alfonso of Aragon, and I. of Naples and Sicily, surnamed the Magnanimous, born about 1390, died June 27, 1458. He succeeded his father Ferdinand I. in 1416, and the first act of his reign displayed th...

Alfonso I: Alfonso I., the first king of Portugal, son of Henry of Burgundy, count of Portugal, died in 1185. He was several times at war with the kingdom of Castile; but on the establishment of peace he turned ...

Alfoxso V: Alfoxso V., king of Portugal, surnamed the African, born in 1432, succeeded his father Duarte in 1438, died at Cintra, Aug. 28, 1481. During his minority the regency was held first by his mother and a...

Henry Alford: Henry Alford, an English author and clergyman, born in London in 1810, died Jan. 12, 1871. He was educated at Ilminster, and at Trinity college, Cambridge. In 1833 he was appointed curate of Ampton, S...

Alfort: Alfort, a village of France, department of Seine, 5 m. S. E. of Paris, on the Marne, opposite Charenton, forming with the village of Maisons the commune of Maisons-Alfort; pop. 2,500. It is the seat o...

Alfred The Great: Alfred The Great, king of the West Saxons, born at Wantage in Berkshire in 849, died probably in 901 (Oct. 26 or 28). He was the fifth and youngest son of Ethelwolf, king of the West Saxons, and seems...

Algae: Algae, a large family of cellular flowerless plants, in which there is a complete series of forms, from plants of merely one or two cells to most complicated and extensive growths, as seen in many sea...

Alessandro Algardi: Alessandro Algardi, an Italian sculptor, horn in Bologna about the year 1600, died in 1654. Domenichino obtained employment for him at Rome. By a statue of St. Philip Neri in the sacristy of the Orato...

Francesco Algarotti: Francesco Algarotti, an Italian scholar, born in Venice, Dec. 11, 1712, died in Leghorn, March 3, 1764. After studying in Rome and Bologna, he visited France and England, and in Paris wrote Newtonia...

Algarovilla: Algarovilla, an astringent substance, produced by the tree juga Marth, an acacia, found at Santa Marta in New Granada. The portions taken to England, and examined by Dr. Ure, were pods bruised a...

Algarve: The southernmost province of Portugal, bounded by Alemtejo, Spain, and the Atlantic; area, 1,872 sq. m.; pop. in 1868, 177,-342. It is watered by several small rivers and by the Guadiana, which divide...

Abu Hamed Mohammed Algazzali: Abu Hamed Mohammed Algazzali, a Moslem philosopher, born at Tus, Persia, about 1058, died in 1111. His father was a dealer in cotton thread (gazzal, whence the name Algazzali), and on his death the so...

Algebra: Algebra (Arab. al-jaber, the science of solution), originally, a kind of higher arithmetic in which the numbers are replaced by symbols; but by later applications the symbols are used as well for geom...

Algeciras: Algeciras, a seaport and town of Spain, in Andalusia, province of Cadiz, on the W. side of Gibraltar bay, opposite and 6 m. W. of Gibraltar; pop. 18,000. Charles III. rebuilt it in 1760, as a point of...

Algerba: Algerba, the third star in the constellation of Leo. It is a noted star among astronomers, being used as a test for telescopes, which prove it to be double. One of its constituents is orange, the othe...

Horatio Alger: Horatio Alger, Jr., an American author, born at Revere, near Boston, Mass., Jan. 13, 1834. He graduated at Harvard college in 1852, and was afterward engaged partly in teaching and partly in writing, ...

William Rounseville Alger: William Rounseville Alger, an American clergyman and author, cousin of the preceding, born at Freetown, Mass., in 1823. He graduated at Harvard college in 1847, studied for the ministry, and became pa...

Algeria: Algeria, a division of N. Africa, formerly the Turkish pashalic of Algiers, but since 1831 included in the foreign dominions of France, bounded N. by the Mediterranean, E. by Tunis, W. by Morocco, S. ...

Algeria. Part 2: The Moors are probably the least respectable of the inhabitants. Living in the towns, and more luxurious than either the Arabs or Kabyles, they are, from the constant oppression of their Turkish ruler...

Algeria. Part 3: In 1500 the Spaniards took Bona, and in 1509 the capture of Oran by Cardinal Ximenes, and of the city of Algiers itself, completed the subjection of nearly the entire province. The Spaniards erected f...

Algeria. Part 4: In consequence of such cruelties the entire nation again flew to arms, under the lead of Abd-el-Kader, who maintained the struggle through the reign of Louis Philippe. (See Abd-el-Kader.) In December,...

Alghero, Or Algheri: Alghero, Or Algheri. a strongly fortified seaport town on the X. W. coast of Sardinia, in the province and 11 m. S. W. of Sassari; pop. 8,000. It was a favorite residence of Charles V. The coral found...

Algiers: Algiers (Arab. Al-Jezireh, the island, because there was originally an island before the city, which has been joined by a mole), a seaport and city of X. Africa, in lat. 36 47' N., lon. 3.4'...

Algoa Bay: Algoa Bay, an indentation of the S. E. coast of Africa, in Cape Colony, about 425 m. E. of the Cape of Good Hope. It has excellent anchorage, and receives the Sunday river. Near Cape Recife, the W. po...

Algoma: Algoma, a judicial district of the province of Ontario, Canada, forming the extreme N. W. part of the province, bordering on Lakes Superior and Huron, and extending E. as far as the most westerly bra...

Algonquins: Algonquins, a family of Indian tribes in North America, which at the commencement of the 17th century covered a vast region, bounded on the north and northeast by the Esquimaux, on the northwest by th...

Alguazil, Or Algnaiil: Alguazil, Or Algnaiil, in Spain, an inferior officer of the law, answering to a constable or bailiff. The alguazils are appointed by the judges, the alguazil mayor or head constable by the town counci...

Alhama: Alhama, the name of several towns in Spain, from the Arabic al and hammiyat, a warm bath. The most important is about 25 m. S. W. of Granada, picturesquely situated in the Sierra de Tejada; pop. about...

Alhambra: Alhambra (Ar. Kal'-al-hamrah, the red castle), a suburb of Granada, fortified in the strongest manner known to the middle ages, capable of containing 40,000 men, and enclosing the exquisite remains of...

Alhondega: Alhondega, a fortified granary in the suburbs of Guanajuato, Mexico, which gives its name to the first battle between the insurgents and the troops of the mother country in 1810. After the priest Hida...

Ali, Pasha of Janina: Ali, pasha of Janina, born at Tepeleni, Albania, about 1741, executed in February, 1822. His family had for generations held the town and territory of Tepeleni as a fief from the pasha of Berat. His f...

Ali, Ali Ben Abu Taleb: Ali (Ali ben Abu Taleb), a Mohammedan caliph, reigned G55-661. He was adopted and brought up by Mohammed, his blood relation, married the prophet's daughter Fatima, and is believed to have been his fi...

Louis Alibaud: Louis Alibaud, a Frenchman notorious for his attempt to murder Louis Philippe, born at Nimes in 1810, died on the scaffold, July 11, 1836. In his 18th year he entered the army as a volunteer. During t...

Jean Louis Alibert: Jean Louis Alibert, a French physician, known for his study of cutaneous diseases, born in Villefranche, May 26, 1776, died in Paris, Nov. 6, 1837. His inaugural thesis, on Pernicious Intermittent Fe...

Ali Bey: Ali Bey, a Caucasian slave, who, by the favor of his master, Ibrahim Bey, rose to wealth and importance in Egypt, and became one of the Mameluke beys, born in 1728, died in 1773. He became chief of th...

Alicante: I. A S. E. maritime province of Spain, forming a part of the former kingdom of Valencia; area, 2,096 sq. m.; pop. in 1867 (estimated), 426,656. One half of the province consists of a bare chain of hig...

Alien: Alien, a person who was born out of the jurisdiction and allegiance of a country, and who is not a citizen of that country. Not all foreign-born persons are aliens by our law, because they may be with...

Alighur, Or Allygurh: Alighur, Or Allygurh. I. A district of British India, in the Meerut division of the Northwestern Provinces, between lat. 27 27' and 28 11' N., and lon. 77 32' and 78 47' E.; area, ...

Aliment, Or Food: Aliment, Or Food, all the solid and liquid substances requisite for the nourishment of the body. The living body is in a constant state of change. Every one of its motions, every exertion of the volun...

Aliment, Or Food. Continued: These substances, like starch and sugar, consist of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen as their chemical elements, but the proportions in which the elements are combined are not analogous to those in the fo...

Alimentary Canal: Alimentary Canal, a tubular passage, existing in man and all the higher animals, composed principally of a muscular layer and a mucous membrane, extending from the mouth to the anus, and designed for ...

Lucius Cincius Alimentus: Lucius Cincius Alimentus, a Roman historian and jurist, praetor in Sicily 209 B. C. He was for some time a prisoner in the hands of Hannibal, who appears to have treated him with kindness, giving him ...

Alimony: Alimony (Lat. alimonium, nourishment), in law, the allowance which a husband, by order of the court, makes to his wife for her maintenance during her separation from him. Of alimony, as of all matters...

Archibald Alison: Archibald Alison, a Scottish clergyman and author, born in Edinburgh, Nov. 13, 1757, died there, May 17, 1839. He was educated at the university of Glasgow, and at Balliol college, Oxford, took orders...

Sir Archibald Alison: Sir Archibald Alison, Bart., a British historian, eldest son of the preceding, born at Ken-ley, Shropshire, Dec. 29, 1792, died near Glasgow, May 23, 1867. He was educated in the schools and universit...

Alizarine: Alizarine, the coloring principle of madder, so called from alizari, the name by which that plant is known in the Levant. Madder is the root of several species of rubia, among which the rubia tinctorv...

Alkali: Alkali (Arabic, al-qali, the ashes of the plant glasswort, yielding soda), the general name of a class of substances, such as cassia, rubidia, potash, soda, lithia, and ammonia, whose distinguishing p...

Alkalimetry: Alkalimetry, the process employed to estimate the quantity of alkali present in any mixture. Its principle consists in exactly neutralizing a certain weight of the alkali, and knowing the quantity of ...

Alkaloid: Alkaloid, vegetable alkali, a name given to vegetable extracts possessing the property of uniting with acids to form salts in the same manner as ammonia. The first alkaloid was discovered by Serturner...

Alkanet: Alkanet, the commercial name of two different plants. True alkanet consists of the roots and leaves of the Lausonia inermis, which grows wild in the Levant. The leaves pulverized and made into a paste...

Alkindi, Or Alchindus: Alkindi, Or Alchindus, an Arabian physician and philosopher, born in Bassorah at the end of the 8th century, died in the middle of the 9th. Some, however, place his life two or three centuries later. ...

Alkmaar: Alkmaar, a well built and strongly fortified town of the Netherlands, in North Holland, on the Helder ship canal, about 18 m. N. by W. of Amsterdam; pop. in 1867, 11,609. Its environs are laid out in ...

Heinrich Von Alkmaar: Heinrich Von Alkmaar, a poet of the 15th century, a native of Alkmaar, celebrated principally in connection with his supposed authorship of the famous poem Reineke Vos or Rei-neke Fuchs; but, from Alk...

Allah: Allah (Arab, al, the, and Illah, God), the Mohammedan name of the Supreme Being. The unity of the Deity is the great postulate of the Mohammedan creed. His attributes are thus summed up by the Koran: ...

Allahabad: I. A division of the Northwestern Provinces of British India, bounded N. by Agra and Oude, E. by Behar, S. by Gund-wana, and W. by Malwah; area, 11,826 sq. m.; pop. about 3,800,000. It is one of the r...

Allamakee: Allamakee, a county forming the N. E. extremity of Iowa, bordering on Minnesota, and separated from Wisconsin by the Mississippi river; area, 667 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 17,868. It is intersected in the...

Jean Nicolas Sebastien Allamand: Jean Nicolas Sebastien Allamand, a naturalist, born in Lausanne in 1713, died in Leyden, March 2, 1787. He was professor of philosophy and natural history at the university of Leyden, member of the Lo...

David Allay: David Allay, a Scottish painter and engraver, born at Alloa, in Clackmannanshire, Feb. 13, 1744, died in Edinburgh, Aug. 6, 1796. In 1755 he entered as an apprentice the art academy of Robert Foulis ...

Sir William Allan: Sir William Allan, a Scottish historical painter, born in Edinburgh in 1782, died Feb. 22, 1850. Failing to obtain patronage in London, he went to Russia, where he spent ten years, and made visits to ...

Hippolyte Leon Dcnizard Allan-Kardec: Hippolyte Leon Dcnizard Allan-Kardec, a French spiritualist, born in Lyons, Oct. 3, 1803, died April 1, 1869. He established in 1858 a periodical review on spiritualism (Revue spi-rite), and the socie...

Jean Francois Allard: Jean Francois Allard, a French soldier, born at St. Tropez, Provence, in 1785, died in Pesh-awer, Jan. 23, 1839. In 1815 he served on the staff of Marshal Brune, after whose murder he went to Egypt, a...

Allegan: Allegan, a W. S. W. county of Michigan, on Lake Michigan; area, 840 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 32,105. The Kalamazoo river (navigable by small steamboats) intersects it, and it is drained by the Black and ...

Allegany: I. A W. S. W. county of New York, bordering on Pennsylvania; area, 1,045 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 40,814. The Genesee river and its tributaries furnish motive power for numerous mills. On each side of th...

Alleghany: I. A W. county of Virginia, bordering on West Virginia, and bounded 1ST. W. by the main chain of the Alleghanies and S. E. by Middle mountain; area, 500 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 3,674, of whom 579 were c...

Alleghany River: Alleghany River rises in Potter county, N. Pennsylvania, flows circuitously westward through New York, returns to Pennsylvania, and after a southerly course unites at Pittsburgh with the Monongahela r...

Allegheny: Allegheny, a S. W. county of Pennsylvania; area, 750 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 262,204. Near the centre of the county the Ohio is formed by the confluence of the Alleghany and Monongahela rivers. The Youg...

Allegheny City: Allegheny City, a manufacturing city of Allegheny county, Pa., opposite Pittsburgh, on the W. side of the Alleghany river, at its junction with the Monongahela; pop. in 1860, 28,702; in 1870, 53,180. ...

Allegiance: Allegiance (Lat. alligare, to bind to), the subject's duty of obedience to the sovereign under whose protection he is. Allegiance is correlative with protection, and the duty of allegiance is in retur...

Allegiance. Continued: During the war with England then existing, the prince regent announced that every native-born Briton, taken prisoner while fighting in the American army, should be executed for treason to his lawful s...

Gregorio Allegri: Gregorio Allegri, an Italian ecclesiastic and composer of church music, born in Rome about 1580, died there in February, 1652. He was the pupil of Nanini, and on terms of intimacy with Palestrina. His...

Allelne, Or Allein: Allelne, Or Allein. I. Joseph, an English nonconformist, minister and author, born at Devizes in 1683, died in 1668. He received his education at Oxford, and was a man of extensive literary acquiremen...

Zacharie Jacqnes Theodore Allemand: Zacharie Jacqnes Theodore Allemand, count, a French vice admiral, born at Port Louis (island of Mauritius) in 1762, died at Toulon, March 2, 1826. He entered the navy at the age of 12, was one of the ...

Allen: I. A S. county of Kentucky, bor-dering on Tennessee, bounded N. E. by Big Barren river, and intersected by Trammel's creek; area, 300 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 10,296, of whom 1,104 were colored. There ar...

Ethan Allen: Ethan Allen, an American revolutionary partisan, born in Connecticut in 1739, died in Burlington, Vt., Feb. 13, 1789. About 1763 he settled, with four younger brothers, in the township of Bennington, ...

Ira Allen: Ira Allen, brother of Ethan, born in 1752, died in Philadelphia, Jan. 7, 1814. He served in the American army during the revolution, although at first a tory, was a member of the constitutional conven...

Joseph Ay Allen: Joseph Ay Allen., an English landscape painter, born in Lambeth, London, in 1803, died Aug. 26, 1852. He was for a time usher in a school, but soon went to London to study art. At this time he used to...

Paul Allen: Paul Allen, an American editor and author, born in Providence, R. I., Feb. 15, 1775, died in Baltimore in 1826. After graduating at Brown university, he went to Philadelphia, and was employed to write...

Samuel Allen: Samuel Allen, a London merchant and acting governor of New Hampshire, born about 1635, died May 5, 1705. He purchased from Mason's heirs in 1691 a large tract of land in New Hampshire, including Ports...

Solomon Allen: Solomon Allen, an American revolutionary soldier, born in Northampton, Mass., Feb. 23, 1751, died Jan. 20, 1821. He rose to the rank of major during the revolution, commanded the guard which took char...

Thomas Allen: Thomas Allen, an American clergyman, born in Northampton, Mass., Jan. 17, 1743, died in Pittsfield, Feb. 11, 1810. He graduated at Harvard college in 1702, and was ordained in 1704 at Pittstield, of w...

Wiliiam Allen: Wiliiam Allen, D. D., an American clergyman and author, son of the preceding, born in Pittsfield, Mass., Jan. 2, 1784, died in Northampton, July 16, 1868. He graduated at Harvard college in 1802, and ...

William Allen: William Allen, an English chemist, born Aug. 29, 1770, died near Lindfield, Sussex, Dec. 30, 1843. He was the son of a Quaker silk manufacturer in Spitalfields, and learned chemistry in the pharmacy o...

William Henry Allen, An Officer Of The American Navy: William Henry Allen, an officer of the American navy, born in Providence, R. L, Oct. 21, 1784, died in Plymouth, Eng., Aug. 15, 1813. He was a son of Major William Allen, entered the navy as a midship...

William Henry Allen, An American Scholar And Educator: William Henry Allen, LL. D., an American scholar and educator, born in Readfield (now Manchester), Kennebec county, Me., March 27, 1808. After preparatory study in the Maine conference seminary, he en...

Jose Allende: Jose Allende, an officer in the Spanish army, of Mexican birth, to whom Hidalgo first intrusted his plan of revolt in September, 1810. Allende was at that time a captain of the Mexican regiment of La ...

Allentown: Allentown, capital of Lehigh county. Pa., on the W. bank of Lehigh river, 18 m. above its junction with the Delaware, and 59 m. by railroad N. N. W. of Philadelphia; pop. in 1860, 8,025; in 18T0. 13,8...

Allestree, Or Allestrey: Allestree, Or Allestrey, Richard, an English divine, born in Uppington, Shropshire, in March, 1610, died in January, 1681. During the civil war he left his studies at Oxford to serve as a soldier in t...

Edward Alleyn: Edward Alleyn, an English actor, born in London, Sept. 1, 1566, died at Dulwich college, of which institution he was the founder, Nov. 25, 1626. He was the friend of Jonson and Shakespeare, and partne...

All-Fours: All-Fours, a game played by two or four persons with an entire pack of cards. It derives its name from the four chances therein, for each of which a point is scored; these are: high, the best trump ou...

Johann Allgaier: Johann Allgaier, a German chess player and writer on the game, died at Prague in 1826. For some years he was a captain in the Austrian service. He spent most of his life in Vienna. His work Anweisung ...

Samuel Austin Allibone: Samuel Austin Allibone, LL. D. an American author and bibliographer, born in Philadelphia, April 17, 1816. After some years spent in collecting materials for the purpose, he began in 1853 the composit...

Allier: Allier, a central department of France, part of the old province of Bourbonnais, bounded by Nievre, Saone-et-Loire, Puy-de-dome, Creuse, and Cher; area, 2,822 sq. m.; pop. in 1872, 390,812. It takes i...

Alligator: Alligator (Fr. alligator, It. alligatore, corrupted from the Sp. el lagarto, the lizard), a large carnivorous, amphibious reptile, of the saurian family, peculiar to America. The name was first given ...

William Allingham: William Allingham, a British poet, born at Ballyshannon in Ireland about 1828. His father, a banker in his native town, gave him a good education in Irish schools; and He early showed a taste for lite...

Pierre Allix: Pierre Allix, a French Protestant divine, born in Alencon in 1631, died in London, March 3, 1717. While pastor of a reformed congregation at Charenton he assisted Claude in preparing a new French vers...

Alloa: Alloa, a seaport town of Clackmannanshire, Scotland, 30 m. E. N. E. of Edinburgh, at the head of the frith of Forth; pop. about 7,000. It has an excellent harbor, and a dry dock capable of containing ...

Allobroges: Allobroges, a people of Gaul, whose territory comprehended parts of what is now called Dauphiny and Savoy, chiefly between the Isere and the Rhone. Their principal town was Vienna, now Vienne, on the ...

Allodium: Allodium, in law, a landed possession freed from all feudal tenure or service. Several explanations have been given of the etymology of the word, but they are all only more or less ingenious conjectur...

Thomas Allom: Thomas Allom, an English architect and landscape painter, born in 1804. His reputation rests chiefly on his published works illus-trating the scenery, architecture, and antiquities of England, France,...

Allopathy: Allopathy, a word created by homopa-thists to distinguish other systems of medical practice from their own. Having adopted the opinion that like cures like (similia simi-libus curantur) as the...

Allori: I. Alessandro, a Florentine painter, born in 1535, died in 1007. He was a nephew and pupil of Agnolo Bronzino, whose name is sometimes given to him. Michel Angelo was his chief model, and he is repute...

Allotropism: Allotropism (Gr. in another manner), a word first employed by Berzelius to denote the property in virtue of which the same element can have different chemical characters. There exists a vast series of...

Claude Jean Alloitz: Claude Jean Alloitz, one of the earliest Jesuit explorers of the northwest, horn in France in 1620, died in 1690. He went to Quebec in 1658, and, after some years' training in the Algonquin missions o...

Alloy: Alloy (Fr. aloi standard of coin, from a la loi, according to law), a compound of two or more metals fused together. When one of the metals is mercury, the compound is called- an amalgam. (See Amalgam...

All Saints Bay, Or Bahia De Todos Santos: All Saints Bay, Or Bahia De Todos Santos, in the province of Bahia, Brazil, one of the largest and finest natural harbors in the world. It is 37 m. long and 27 wide, and its surface is dotted with isl...

All Saints Day: All Saints Day, a festival in honor of all the angels and saints of heaven, observed in the Roman Catholic church on Nov. 1, and also in the Protestant Episcopal and Lutheran churches. In the eastern ...

Allsouls: Allsouls, the day after All Saints, set apart by the Catholic church for the commemoration of all the faithful departed, for whom the mass of requiem is said, and the office of the dead recited. In Ge...

Allspice, Or Jamaica Pepper: Allspice, Or Jamaica Pepper, the immature berry of the Eugenia pimenta, so named from its being supposed to combine the flavor of several other spices, such as cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. The allspi...

Washington Allston: Washington Allston, an American painter, born at Waccamaw, S. C, Nov. 5, 1779, died in Cambridge, Mass., July 9, 1843. From considerations of health he was removed in his early boyhood to Newport, P. ...

Alluvium: Alluvium (Lat., from alluere, to wash upon or against), the deposits of sand, gravel, marl, etc, brought down by running streams of the present geological period. Other recent accumulations also, as t...

Alma: Alma, a small river in the Crimea, running from the high ground in the neighborhood of Bakhtchisarai in a westerly direction to Kala-mita bay, between Eupatoria (or Kozlov) and Sebastopol. The souther...

Almacks: Almacks, a suite of assembly rooms situated at No. 26 King street, St. James's, London, so called after Almack, a tavern-keeper, whose original name was M'Call, and who founded the establishment in 17...

Almaden, Or Almaden Del Azogue (The Mine Of Quicksilver): Almaden, Or Almaden Del Azogue (The Mine Of Quicksilver), a town of Spain, in the province of Ciudad Real, about 50 m. N. of Cordova; pop. about 9,000. It is simply one long street, built on a ridge o...

Almagest: Almagest (Arab, al, the, and Gr. greatest), a name given by the Arabians to Ptolemy's compend of astronomy, written at Alexandria in the 2d century, translated from Greek into Arabic in the 9th, and...

Almagro: Almagro, a city of Spain, in the province and 12 m. E. S. E. of Ciudad Real; pop. about 11,000. It is celebrated for its laces, in the manufacture of which thousands of women are engaged in the town a...

Diego De Almagro: Diego De Almagro. I. One of the associates of Pizarro in the conquest of Peru, born of unknown parents about 1404, and picked up as a foundling near the Spanish town from which he derived his name, di...

Almali, Or Elmaln: Almali, Or Elmaln, a city of Turkey, in Asia Minor, 40 m. W. S. W. of Adalia; pop. about 12,000. It lies in a beautiful valley among the northern offshoots of the Lycian range of the Taurus. The small...

Abu Abbas Abdallah Al-Mamoun: Abu Abbas Abdallah Al-Mamoun, an Abbasside caliph, son of Haroun-al-Rashid, reigned from 813 to 833. After the death of his father in 809 he contested the throne with his brother Al-Amin, who was kill...

Almanac: Almanac (probably from the Arabic al-manah, the reckoning), a publication of the calendar, generally containing chronological records of religious festivals and memorable events, and astronomical data...

Abu Jaffar Abdallah Al-Mansour: Abu Jaffar Abdallah Al-Mansour, the second Abbasside caliph, born about 712, died Oct. 18, 775. He succeeded his brother Abul Abbas in 754. On his accession the sovereignty was claimed by Abdallah, hi...

Almaric, Or Amalric Of Bene, or Amaury of Chartres: Almaric, Or Amalric Of Bene, or Amaury of Chartres, a French theologian and philosopher, born at Bene near Chartres, died about 1209. He was one of the most celebrated teachers of dialectics and the a...

Almeh: Almeh (properly alimeh, pi. avalim.) an Arabic name given to the better class of public singers and dancers in Egypt, and sometimes erroneously applied also to the lower prostitutes and dancers, the g...

Almeida: Almeida, a strongly fortified town of Portugal, in the province of Beira, near the Spanish frontier, 20 m. W. of Ciudad Ro-drigo, on the river Coa; pop. about 8,000. One of the foremost strongholds of...

Francisco De Almeida: Francisco De Almeida, the first Portuguese viceroy of India, born about the middle of the 15th century, died March 1, 1510. He distinguished himself in the peninsular wars with the Moors, and on his a...

Almeria: I. A S. E. province of Spain, in Andalusia, on the Mediterranean; area, 3,299 sq. m.; pop. in 1867 (estimated), 352,946. The greater part of the province is broken by mountains and ravines, with small...

Hdefonso Diaz De Ribera Almodovar: Hdefonso Diaz De Ribera Almodovar, count of, a Spanish statesman, born about 1777, died in having authorized a crusade, the clergy exerted themselves to repel the invasion; and on June 12, 1212, the b...

Almohades: Almohades, a Moslem dynasty of northern Africa and Spain, which reigned in the latter half of the 12th century and in the earlier half of the 13th. The term is an abbreviation of Al-Mo\vahedun, which ...

John Almon: John Almon, an English political writer, born in Liverpool in 1738, died Dec. 12, 1805. In 1759 he established himself as a bookseller in London. On the death of George II. he published a review of hi...

Almond: Almond (amygdalus), a genus of plants, the type of the sub-order amygdaleae, comprehending the almond, plum, peach, cherry, nectarine, and a few unimportant bushes of a somewhat gay appearance. The co...

Philippns Van Almonde: Philippns Van Almonde, a Dutch vice admiral, born at Briel in 1646, died near Ley den, Jan. 6, 1711. He served under Admiral Ruy-terin the memorable sea fights of July, 1666; and after Ruvter's death,...

Almoner: Almoner (anciently written amner), an officer appointed to distribute alms to the needy, generally an ecclesiastic. Such officers were from very early times in Europe attached to the households of sov...

Juan Nepomnceno Almonte: Juan Nepomnceno Almonte, a Mexican general and diplomatist, born in Valladolid in 1804, died in Paris, March 22, 1869. He was of partly Indian origin and the reputed son of Morelos. He held diplomatic...

Almora: Almora, a town of X. India, capital of the British district of Kumaon, Northwestern Provinces, situated among the Himalayas, 5,337 feet above the sea level, 90 m. N. by E. of Bareilly. It is built alo...

Almoravides: Almoravides, a Moslem dynasty in X. Africa and Spain, which owes its origin to Abdallah ibn Yasim, who preached Islam among the Arabian tribes of northern Morocco, became the chieftain of the Al-Murab...

Karl Jonas Ludvig Almquist: Karl Jonas Ludvig Almquist, a Swedish author, born in 1793, died in Bremen, Oct. 26, 18G6. He studied theology, and was for some time a teacher. Besides miscellaneous works, he published novels and po...

William Almy: William Almy, an American philanthropist, born Feb. 17, 1761, died Feb. 5, 1836. He belonged to the society of Friends, and was a public teacher. Having made a fortune in partnership with his brother-...

Alnwick: Alnwick, the county town of Northumberland, England, on the river Alne, 30 m. N. of Newcastle; pop. about 8,000. It is well built, chiefly of stone, with broad, well paved streets, lighted with gas. I...

Aloe: Aloe, a genus of succulent plants belonging to the natural order liliaceae and tribe asphode-leae, with long, fleshy, narrow, toothed leaves, growing in tropical countries. It has been divided into a ...

Aloes: Aloes, the inspissated juice of the leaves of different species of aloe. Several varieties are known in commerce, some much superior in quality to others. Cape aloes, obtained from the aloe spicata, g...

Aloidae: Aloidae, in classical mythology, the gigantic sons of Neptune by the wife of Aloeus. Their names were Otus and Ephialtes. At the age of 9 their bodies measured 9 cubits in breadth and 27 in height, an...

Alompra: Alompra, the founder of the reigning dynasty of Burmah, born about 1710, died May 15, 1760. He was originally chief of a small village. The king of Burmah having been captured and the country conquere...

Alost, Or Aelst: Alost, Or Aelst, a town of Belgium, province of East Flanders, about half way between Brussels and Ghent; pop. in 1866, 18,978. The Dender, an affluent of the Scheldt, which has been made into a canal...

Alpaca: Alpaca, a species of the genus lama of Fr. Cuvier (properly llama), and auchenia of Illiger, which with the genus camelus constitutes the family of camelidae, of the order of bisulca ruminantia. The a...

Alp Arslan: Alp Arslan (Valiant lion), sultan of the Sel-jukian Turks, born in Turkistan about 1028, assassinated in 1072. He was descended from Seljuk, succeeded his uncle Togrul in 10G3, and was also appointed ...

Alpem: Alpem, a county of E. N. E. Michigan, on Lake Huron and Thunder bay, drained by Thun-der Bay river; area, 700 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 2,750. In 1870 there were only 319 acres of improved land. Capital, ...

Alpes-Maritimes: Alpes-Maritimes, a S. E. department of France, formed from the circle of Nice, ceded to France by Italy in 1860, and the arrondisse-inent of Grasse, taken from the department of Var; area 1,482 sq. m....

Alpha And Omega: Alpha And Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. The book of Revelation three times designates Jesus Christ by the title Alpha and Omega, perhaps in imitation of Isaiah (xliv. 6), wh...

Alphabet: Alphabet (from the names of the first two Greek letters, alpha and beta, and therefore the equivalent of our A, B, C), the scheme of signs by which a language is written; as also, less properly, the s...

Alphabet. Part 2: The additions and changes went on by degrees, and differently in different parts and colonies of Greece; the final form is that given by the Ionians of Asia Minor, and adopted throughout the whole of ...

Alphabet. Part 3: Probably it is not by accident that the three sonant mutes, b, g, d, come together, next after the aleph; nor that the three liquids, I, m, n, are also found side by side later; but all attempts at ex...

Alpheus: Alpheus, the ancient name of the Ruphia, a river of Peloponnesus, which rises in southern Arcadia, and, flowing through Elis and the Olympian plain, discharges itself into the Ionian sea. The Alpheus,...

Alpine: Alpine, an E. county of California, bounded N. E. by Nevada; area, 1,000 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 685. The western portion is occupied by the Sierra Nevada range, including Carson's pass and Pyramid peak...

Alps: Alps, the highest and most remarkable chain of mountains in Europe, forming the watershed between the rivers which discharge their waters into the Mediterranean, and those which run to the Atlantic oc...

Alps. Part 2: Often these glaciers present a comparatively smooth surface, the pieces of ice of which they are composed varying in size from a pea to a walnut, but not unseldom they are rent by huge fissures, which...

Alps. Part 3: At the height of 6,500 feet all the vegetation of the plains, including maize and the cereal grains, has disappeared; the common fruit and forest trees have ceased, and dwarfish larch, alder, and birc...

Alpujarras, Or Alpuxarras: Alpujarras, Or Alpuxarras(Ar. Al-Busha-rat, Pasture Mountains), a mountainous region in the old province of Granada, Spain, lying between the Sierra Nevada and the Mediterranean, and including part of...

Alsace: Alsace (Ger. Elsass), formerly a province of France, bounded by Lorraine, the Palatinate, Baden, Switzerland, and Franche-Comte, and constituting the departments of Haut-Rhin and Bas-Rhin; since the t...

Alsace-Lorraine: Alsace-Lorraine (Ger. Elsass-Lothringen), a division of the German empire, officially designated as the German Reichsland (imperial territory), and composed of Alsace and those portions of Lorraine co...

Alsen: Alsen, a Baltic island in the Little Belt, in lat. 55 N., lon. 10 E. It was taken from the Danes by the Prussians, June 29, 1864, and now constitutes, together with a portion of the opposite...

Johann Heinrich Alsted: Johann Heinrich Alsted, a German Protestant divine and author, born in 1588, died in 1638. He was for some time professor of philosophy and divinity at Herborn in Nassau, and afterward at Carlsburg in...

John Alston: John Alston, a merchant of Glasgow, and director of the asylum for the blind in that city, died in 1846. In 1832 the society for the encouragement of the useful arts in Scotland offered a gold medal f...

Alstromer: I. Jonas, a public-spirited Swede, born of poor parents at Alingsas in West Gothland, Jan. 7, 1685, died June 2,1761. He made a fortune in England by commercial speculations, and introduced into Swede...

Altai: Altai, a mountain range on the boundary between Russia and China, divided into various groups. The mountains were long designated as the Great and the Little Altai, and the name Altai is still occasio...

Altamaha: Altamaha, a river of Georgia., about 140 m. long, which is formed by the confluence of the Oconee and the Ocmulgee, in the S. E. central part of the state. Its course is S. E. through sandy plains and...

Altahira: Altahira, a town of S. Italy, capital of a district of the same name, in the province of Terra di Bari, 28 m. S. W. of Bari; pop. about 18,000. It is walled and beautifully situated in a fertile pasto...

Altar: Altar (Lat. alius, high), a place or structure, usually elevated, on which to perform certain religious services. The use of altars in religious worship reaches back beyond the historical era. The ear...

Altdorf, Or Altorf: Altdorf, Or Altorf, a town of Bavaria, in the circle of Middle Franconia, 13 m. S. E. of Nuremberg, on the Schwarzach; pop. about 3,000. It contains an old palace, and manufactories of wooden toys and...

Albreclit Altdorfer: Albreclit Altdorfer, a German painter and engraver, born at Altdorf, Bavaria, in 1488, died at Ratisbon in 1538. He is supposed to have been a pupil of Albert Durer, and is distinguished in Germany fo...

Altena: Altena, a town of Westphalia, Prussia, on the Ruhr and Sieg railroad, in the district and 17m. W. S. W. of Arnsberg; pop. in 1871, 7,122. It is situated in a beautiful valley surrounded on all sides b...

Altenburg: I. Or Saxe-Altenburg, a sovereign duchy of the German empire, bounded by Prussia, Saxony, Weimar, Meiningen, Rudolstadt, and Reuss-Gera, the last of which divides it into two parts, the E. division co...

Alten-Oetting, Or Alt-Getting (The Aulinga Villa Of The Middle Ages): Alten-Oetting, Or Alt-Getting (The Aulinga Villa Of The Middle Ages), a small town in one of the most beautiful and fertile valleys of Upper Bavaria, 50 m. E. N. E. of Munich, and 2 m. S. of Neu-Oetti...

Altenstein: Altenstein, a mountain castle in Saxe-Meiningen, not far from Eisenach, on the S. W. slope of the Thuringian Forest. It was the residence of Boniface, the apostle to the Germans, in the 8th century, a...

Karl Altenstein: Karl Altenstein, baron von Stein zum Al-tenstein, a Prussian minister of state, born in Anspach, Oct, 7, 1770, died in Berlin, May 14, 1840. He was called by Hardenberg into the ministry at Berlin in ...

Alteratives: Alteratives, a term applied by modern writers on medical science in a somewhat obscure manner. A certain class of substances are denominated alteratives in manuals of therapeutics. The effects produ...

Althaea: Althaea (Gr. to cure), a genus of plants belonging to the natural order malvaceae. They have a double calyx, the outer whorl with from 6 to 9 sepals, and the inner with 5. A. officinalis is the mars...

Ehan Althen: Ehan Althen, a Persian who introduced madder into France, born in 1711, died in 1774. He was sold to an Anatolian planter, who for 14 years kept him working on cotton and madder. On effecting his esca...

Altitide: Altitide, the scientific or technical word for height. The altitude of a triangle is the distance from either corner of the triangle to the opposite side, when that side is considered as the base of t...

Altkireii: Altkireii, a town of the new German department of Upper Alsace, on the 111, 16 m. E. of Belfort, France, and 70 m. S. of Strasburg; pop. about o,200. It is a manufacturing town of some importance, and...

Altmuhl: Altmuhl, a river of Bavaria, 150 m. long, rising 7 m. N. E. of Rothenburg in Middle Franconia, and emptying into the Danube at Kelheim, S. W. of Ratisbon. The Ludwig's canal connects it with the Regni...

Alton, Madison County: Alton, a city and port of entry of Madison county, 111., on the left bank of the Mississippi river, 3 m. above the mouth of the Missouri, about 20 m. below the mouth of the Illinois, and 25 m. N. of S...

Alton Family: Alton, an Austrian noble family, of Irish descent. I. Richard, count d', a general, born in Ireland in 1732, died in Treves, Feb. 19, 1790. He entered the Austrian service very young, rapidly rose to ...

Altona: Altona, the most important city of the duchy of Holstein, North Germany, situated on the right bank of the Elbe, below and immediately adjoining Hamburg, and for commercial purposes forming with it a ...

Altoona: Altoona, a city of Blair co., Penn., 244 m. by railroad W. N. W. of Philadelphia, and 115 m. E. of Pittsburgh; pop. in 1860, 3,595: in 1870, 10,610. It was laid out in 1849, and is situated at the hea...

Altorf: Altorf, or. Altdorf, capital of the canton of Uri, Switzerland, in a deep, narrow valley on the Reuss, near the S. E. extremity of Lake Lucerne, at the X. E. terminus of the St. Gothard road; pop. in ...

Alto-Rilievo: Alto-Rilievo, a term designating that species of sculpture in which the figure stands completely out from the ground, being attached to it only in some places, and in others worked entirely round like...

Alturas: Alturas, a S. county of Idaho, bordering on Montana, and bounded S. and S. E. by Snake river; pop. in 1870, 689, of whom 314 were Chinese. The Salmon river, a branch of the Columbia, is the principal ...

Alum: Alum, a name given to a remarkable series of double salts, of which potash alum may be taken as the type. The alums are more or less soluble in water, crystallize in regular oc-tahedra, and differ fro...

Alum. Continued: The rock, broken into small pieces, is laid on a horizontal bed of fuel, composed of brushwood, etc. When about four feet in height of the rock is piled on, fire is set to the bottom, and fresh rock c...

Alumina: Alumina, the only known oxide of aluminum. It occurs colorless as corundum, and colored by traces of oxide of chromium and cobalt in the ruby and sapphire. It is found in a few places in larger quanti...

Aluhnum, Or Aluminium: Aluhnum, Or Aluminium, one of the metals of the earths never found native, but occurring in combination with other elements in 105 different species of minerals, and consequently constituting a large ...

Alumnus: Alumnus (Lat., from alere), to nourish, originally the designation of a student who was supported and educated at the expense of the alumnat, an institution which, especially after the reformation, wa...

Nicolo Alunno: Nicolo Alunno, of Foligno, an Italian painter of the 15th century, one of the masters of the Umbrian school, which was the forerunner of the Roman. His earliest known work bears the date of 1458, and ...

Aired Alured: Aired Alured, or Alfred of Beverley, an English historian, died probably in 1129. He is said to have been a native of Yorkshire and one of the canons and treasurer of the church of St. John in Beverle...

Alt Aluta: Alt Aluta, or Olt, a northern affluent of the Danube, which rises in the Carpathians of eastern Transylvania, and, after flowing S. and then W., crosses the Carpathians S. of Hermann-stadt, traverses ...

Alva, Or Alba: Alva, Or Alba, Fernando Alvarez dc Toledo, duke of, a Spanish general and statesman, born in 1508, died Jan. 12, 1582. He was descended from a family which boasted its extraction from Byzantine empero...

Alwur Alvar: Alwur Alvar, or Machery, a native state of Hindostan, in Rajpootana, between lat. 27 4' and 28 13' N., and lon. 76o 7' and 77 14' E.; area, 3,573 sq. m.; pop. about 280,000. It is a hil...

Alvarado: Alvarado, a river and town in Mexico, in the state of Vera Cruz. The town is situated on the left bank of the river, about 3 m. from its mouth, and 35 m. S. E. of Vera Cruz; pop. about 2,000. It consi...

Pedro De Alvarado: Pedro De Alvarado, one of the conquerors of Spanish America, born at Badajoz toward the end of the 15th century, died in 1541. In 1518 he sailed with his four brothers for Cuba, whence he accompanied ...

Francisco Alvarez: Francisco Alvarez, a Portuguese traveller, born in Coimbra, died after 1540. He was chaplain of King Emanuel, and in 1515 accompanied his embassy to the negus or emperor of Abvssinia, then known to th...

Jnan Alvarez: Jnan Alvarez, a Mexican general, leader of the revolution which in 1855 drove Santa Anna from power, born about 1790, died in 1870. He was of Indian blood, and always exercised an extraordinary influe...

Joseph Alvinczy: Joseph Alvinczy, baron, an Austrian field marshal, born in Transylvania, Feb. 1, 1735, died in Buda, Sept. 25, 1810. He distinguished himself during the seven years' war at Torgau, at the capture of S...

Johann Baptist Von Alxinger: Johann Baptist Von Alxinger, a German poet, born in Vienna, Jan. 24,1755, died May 1,1797. Though he was a lawyer, and held the title of court advocate, he availed himself of his legal station only to...

Alzey: Alzey, a town in the grand duchy of Hesse, province of Rhenish Hesse, situated on the Selz, 18 m. S. by W. of Mentz; pop. in 1867, 5,358. The chief industries are tanning and the manufacture of tobacc...

Amadeus: Amadeus, a name very common in the ruling family of Savoy, and first borne by the eldest son of Count Humbert, in the beginning of the 11th century. The most noteworthy rulers of this name are: I. Ama...

Amadeus I. Amadeo Ferdinando Maria: (Amadeo Ferdinando Maria), king of Spain, duke of Aosta, second son of King Victor Emanuel of Italy, born May 30, 1845. He early held the rank of lieutenant general in the Italian army and that of rea...

Amadis Of Gaul: Amadis Of Gaul, the mythical hero of one of the early romances of chivalry, written by Vasco de Lobeira, a gentleman of the Portuguese court, who died in 1403. The Portuguese original is lost, and the...

Amador: Amador, an E. county of California, bordering on the Sierra Nevada, bounded S. E. by the Amador river, a tributary of the Sacramento, and drained by the branches of the San Joaquin; pop. in 1870, 9,58...

Amalaric: Amalaric, the son of Alaric II., and last Visigothic king of Spain, born in 501, died in 531. He was not yet six years old at his father's death, and his bastard brother would have supplanted him had ...

Amalasontha, Or Amalasuintha: Amalasontha, Or Amalasuintha, daughter of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths, born in 498, died in 535. Her husband Eutha-ric having died, her intellect and learning decided Theodoric to make...

Amalekites: Amalekites, a Bedouin tribe, who, according to Arabian traditions, lived in very early times near the Persian gulf, but were gradually driven westward by the Assyrians. When they were first known by t...

Amalfi: Amalfi, a city and seaport of S. Italy, in Prin-cipato Citra, on the gulf of Salerno, 24 m. S. E. of Naples; pop. about 5,000, and with several independent villages about 7,000. It is encircled by mou...

Amalgam: Amalgam (Gr. together, and to marry; or according to some, an emollient, from to soften), an alloy of two or more metals, one of which must be mercury. This metal has a remarkable power of dissolv...

Amalgamation: Amalgamation, the process of extracting gold and silver from the gangues in which they occur in nature by combining them with mercury. The ores are crushed and then washed through different machines ...

Anna Amalia: Anna Amalia, duchess of Saxe-Weimar, second daughter of Duke Charles of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel, born Oct. 24, 1730, died April 10, 1807. She was married to Duke Ernest of Weimar in 1756. After her hus...

Marie Friederike Amalie: Marie Friederike Amalie, queen of Greece, born Dec. 21, 1818. She is a daughter of the late grand duke Paul, and half sister of the reigning grand duke Nicholas of Oldenburg, and was married to King O...

Marie Friederike Angnste Amalie: Marie Friederike Angnste Amalie, duchess, a German dramatist, eldest sister of King John of Saxony, born in Dresden, Aug. 10, 1794, died in the palace of Pillnitz, Sept. 18, 1870. She wrote two dramas...

Amals, Or Amali: Amals, Or Amali, the name of the royal family of the Goths. Of this family were all the sovereigns of this nation until the division into Ostrogoths and Visigoths. After that event the Ostrogothic kin...

Amalthaea: Amalthaea, in Greek mythology, the nurse of the infant Zeus. She is commonly supposed to have been a goat, who, with her two young ones, was translated to the skies, where all three were metamorphosed...

Amanus: Amanus, the ancient name of a mountain range, a branch of Mount Taurus, extending in a N. E. direction from the gulf of Issus toward the Euphrates, and separating Cilicia from Syria, which it bounds o...

Amar: Amar, J. P. Andre, a French revolutionist, born in Grenoble about 1750, died in Paris in 1816. Elected in 1702 to the convention for the department of Isere, he voted for the execution of Louis XVI. w...

Amaranth: Amaranth (amarantus; Gr. unfading, because the flowers retain their bright colors when dead), a genus of plants of the family of amarantaceae. This genus is rich in species, most of which grow withi...

Amarapura, Or Ummerapura: Amarapura, Or Ummerapura, a city of the Burinan empire, 6 m. N. E. of Ava, near the left bank of the Irrawaddy. It was founded in 1783, and made the capital of the country, but in 1819 the seat of gov...

Amasia, Amasieh, or Amasiyah: Amasia, Amasieh, or Amasiyah, a city of Asia Minor, in the pashalic of Sivas, on the Yeshil-Irmak, 50 m. S. S. W. of Samsun on the Black sea; pop. about 25,000. It is situated in a deep valley enclose...

Amasis, Or Amosis, Ahames Or Alimes: Amasis, Or AmosisE.g. Ahames or Alimes, the new moon, or engendered by the moon), the name of two Egyptian kings. I. The first Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty. He reigned from 1525 to 1499 B. C. He led th...

Amati: Amati, a family of Cremona, celebrated for the perfection attained by many of its members in the construction of violins and instruments of that class. I. Andrea, born in Cremona between 1500 and 1520...

Amatitlan: Amatitlan, a town of Guatemala, Central America, about 18 m. S. of the city of Guatemala, in lat. 14 30' N., lon. 90 17' W.; pop. about 15,000. It lies in a volcanic region, near and somewha...

Amatus Lusitanus: Amatus Lusitanus (that is, the Portuguese), whose proper name was Joao Rodriguez de Castel Branco, a Jewish physician, born in Portugal in 1511, after the expulsion of all unconverted Jews from the co...

Amaurosis: Amaurosis (Gr., from dark), partial or complete loss of sight, dependent on a change in the nerve structure of the eye. The term was formerly used to denote any loss of sight the cause of which coul...

Amaury, Or Amarric: Amaury, Or Amarric, the name of two kings of Jerusalem. I. Count of Joppa, born in 1135, died July 11, 1173. He was crowned king of Jerusalem in 1162, on the death of his brother Baldwin III. He was a...

Amaxichi, Or Amakuki: Amaxichi, Or Amakuki, a seaport town of Greece, capital of the nomarchy of Leucas, at the N. E. extremity of Santa Maura, Ionian Islands, separated by a narrow channel from Acarnania; lat. 38 50'...

Amazon, Or Amazons. Rio das Amazonas: Amazon, Or Amazons. (Port. Rio das Ama-zonas), the largest river on the globe, flowing easterly from the Andes to the Atlantic, and draining about a third of South America, or an area variously estima...

Amazons. Amazonas: I. The northernmost province of Brazil, bounded N. by Guiana and Venezuela, N. W. by Colombia, W. by Ecuador and Peru, S. by Peru, Bolivia, and the Brazilian province of Matto Grosso, and E. by the pr...

Amazonia: Amazonia, a title given by the geographers of the 17th and 18th centuries to an unexplored tract in the central portion of the Amazon basin, supposed to be inhabited by a tribe of warlike women, who g...

Amazons: Amazons (Gr. a privative and breast), a race of warlike women, whose original seat is said to have been in the country adjoining the Caucasus. They were believed to be governed by a queen, and to prop...

Ambassador, Or Embassador: Ambassador, Or Embassador, a term generally applied to the highest class of diplomatic representatives in foreign countries. In an official sense it designates only those who are accredited by one pot...

Amber: Amber, a hard, light, nearly transparent resinous substance, found in loose pieces in alluvial deposits, or scattered along the coast after severe storms. It was regarded by the ancient Greeks and Rom...

Amberg: Amberg, a town of Bavaria, formerly capital of the Upper Palatinate, on both sides of the Vils, 35 m. E. of Nuremberg; pop. in 1871, 11,688. It is a neat and well built town, with a great number of ch...

Christoph Amberger: Christoph Amberger, a famous German painter of Amberg (whence the name), born at Nuremberg about 1490, died at Augsburg in 1568. His best productions are his portraits, in the style of Holbein, whom h...

Ambergris: Ambergris, a perfume, generally used in its alcoholic solution. It is a morbid secretion of the liver of the spermaceti whale, and is principally found floating upon the seas of warm climates intermix...

Ambiorix: Ambiorix, one of the most famous of the Gallic chiefs who fought against Julius Caesar toward the middle of the first century B. C. Conjointly with the superannuated Cativolcus, he was ruling over the...

Ambleteuse: Ambleteuse, a small decayed seaport of France, on the English channel, in the department of Pas-de-Calais, 5 m. N. of Boulogne. Here James II. landed on his flight from England in 1689. Napoleon, whil...

Amboise: Amboise, a town of France, in the department of Indre-et-Loire, on the left bank of the Loire, 14 m. E. of Tours; pop. in 1866, 4,188. The town was rendered conspicuous at the opening of the French re...

George D Amboise: George D Amboise, a French statesman and cardinal, born at Chaumont-sur-Loire in 1460, died in Lyons, May 25, 1510. As a younger son he was destined for the church, and was titular bishop of Montauban...

Amboyna, Or Amboina, Ambon: Amboyna, Or Amboina, (Malay. Ambon, dews). An island in the Malay archipelago, the most important though not the largest of the Moluccas or Spice Islands, between lat. 3 26' and 3 48' S., an...

Ambracia: Ambracia (now Arta), a town of ancient Greece, on the left bank of the Arachthus, N. of the Ambracian gulf (now gulf of Arta), which separated Epirus from Acarnania, though originally the town was inc...

Ambriz: Ambriz, one of the divisions of the Portuguese colony of Angola in W. Africa; area, 89,300 sq. m.; pop. reported at about 2,100,-000, but much less according to the official statements of the Portugu...

Ambrones: Ambrones, a nation of Gaul, who lived near the Alps between Switzerland and Provence. They joined the Cimbri and Teutones in their invasion of the Roman territories, and were routed, together with the...

Saint Ambrose: Saint Ambrose, one of the fathers of the Latin church, born at Treves, in Gaul, in 340, died at Milan in 397. His father was the Roman governor of Gaul, but his mother was a Christian. He was trained ...

Ambrosia: Ambrosia, in Greek mythology, the food of the gods, which was brought to Zeus by pigeons, and which conferred upon the dwellers on Olympus eternal youth and immortality. It supplied the place of all t...

Ambrosian Chant: Ambrosian Chant, a method of singing hymns first introduced into the western church by St. Ambrose, about 386. Although generally supposed to be the foundation of all church music, it was in fact deri...

Ambrosian Library: Ambrosian Library, a collection founded in Milan in 1609 by Cardinal Federigo Borromeo, archbishop of that city, and named in honor of St. Ambrose. It is especially rich in MSS., for the collection of...

Ambulance: Ambulance (Lat. ambulare, to walk), a temporary and movable military hospital, formed on the field of battle for the immediate succor of the sick and wounded. The word is technically applied to covere...

Amelia: Amelia, a S. E. county of Virginia, drained by the branches of the Appomattox river, which almost encircles it; area, 300 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 9,878, of whom 6,823 were colored. It is intersected by ...

Amelot De La Houssaye, Abraham Nicolas: Amelot De La Houssaye, Abraham Nicolas, a French author, born in Orleans in 1034, died in Paris, Dec. 8, 1700. After his return from Venice, whither he went in 1669 as secretary of an embassy, he devo...

Denis Amelotte: Denis Amelotte, a French writer, born in Saintes in 1606, died in Paris, Oct. 7, 1078. His life of Charles de Coudren, second general of the congregation of the Oratory, of which he was a member, cont...

Amnnoph Amenophis: Amnnoph Amenophis, or Amen-hotep, a name borne by three Egyptian kings belonging to the 18th dynasty, which commenced with Amasis or Aahmes I., about 1525 B. C. I. The second Pharaoh of that dynasty, ...

Johann Amerbauch: Johann Amerbauch, a German printer, born in Swabia, died about 1520. He was educated in Paris, and established his press at Basel in 1481, publishing the works of St. Armbrose (1402). and the first co...

America: America, one of the four great recognized continental divisions of the globe. It is bounded X. by the Arctic ocean; E. by the Atlantic, which separates it from Europe and Africa; W. by the Pacific, wh...

America. Part 2: Maize is the only important cereal native to the new world. Nearly all the fruits of the old world have been introduced into America, where they nourish in their appropriate latitudes. The vine is a n...

America. Part 3: This swell, starting from the eastern base of the Rooky mountains in about i lat. 50 N., runs eastward, separating the waters which fall into the Arctic ocean and Hudson bay from those which find...

America. Part 4: II. Central America, occupying the greater part of the isthmus of Darien, comprises the states of Guatemala, San Salvador, Honduras. Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, which since 1803 have formed a loose pol...

America. Part 5: IV. Islands of America. The islands not immediately adjacent to the mainland, which may be properly considered as belonging to the American continent, are grouped as follows: 1, the Greater Antilles, ...

America. Part 6: In 1775 began the series of revolts which in less than half a century almost entirely expelled the European governments, except Great Britain, from the continent of America. The thirteen British colon...

American Antiquities: American Antiquities. A large part of what are called the antiquities of America consist only of the architectural and other remains of the aboriginal tribes and nations, which were displaced or subju...

American Antiquities. Part 2: The neck of the figure is stretched out and slightly curved, and its mouth is opened wide, as if in the act of swallowing or ejecting an oval figure, which rests partly between the distended jaws. Thi...

American Antiquities. Part 3: Those of undoubtedly high antiquity are most massive in character, and display remarkable evidences of taste and skill. It would seem that during the aboriginal rule the bulk of the inhabitants dwelt ...

American Antiquities. Part 4: Serpent-shaped Mound, Adams County, Ohio. Mexican Teocalli. Torquemada estimates the number of temples in the Mexican empire at 40,000, and Clavigero places the number far higher. The architectu...

American Antiquities. Part 5: It was attended by 4,000 priests. The ground, says La Vega, for 200 paces around the temple, was considered holy, and no one was allowed to pass within this boundary but with naked feet, Nor even ...

American Antiquities. Part 6: A distinguishing and peculiar feature of the remains at Tiahuanaco are a number of monolithic doorways, the largest of which is 13 ft. 5 in. long by 7 ft. 2 in. high above ground, and 18 in. thick. Th...

American Antiquities. Part 7: Instead of being faced with stone, elaborately carved with the symbols of their religion, the green turf covered the high places of the mound-builders; they ascended them by graded avenues or winding ...

American Antiquities. Part 8: During the last century and early in this a number of writers, treating many early usages of mankind as peculiarly Jewish, endeavored to prove the Indians to be descended from the ten tribes. Others, ...

American Antiquities. Part 9: War was carried on rather by treachery and surprise, and by small bands, than by set battles or large armies. Those who fell were in the north scalped, the hair of the head with the skin being torn of...

American Antiquities. Part 10: Their intestine wars were arrested, agriculture was introduced or improved slightly, and morality raised to a higher standard, so that they resemble the lower grade of peasantry, simple, indolent, and...

American Antiquities. Part 11: The New England occupancy of Maine brought on new hostilities connected with the wars between France and England. The French in Canada proposed neutrality and an agreement to employ no Indians on eith...

American Antiquities. Part 12: In some parts marriage between Indians and whites was severely punished. The disabilities have recently been removed, and Indians are enabled to leave their tribes or renounce the tribal system as a b...

Languages Of The American Indians: Languages Of The American Indians. The languages spoken by the natives received little attention in the English colonies; but in French, Spanish, and Portuguese America a more or less extended Indian ...

Languages Of The American Indians. Part 2: For their study we have Maillard's Micmac grammar (New York, 1864), Rale's Abenaki dictionary (Cambridge, 1833), Eliot's Massachusetts grammar (Cambridge, 1G6G; Boston, 1822), Roger Williams's Narraga...

Languages Of The American Indians. Part 3: There is a dual first person, we (thou and I), but there is no incorporated pronoun for the third person in either number, so that the third person singular is the simplest form of the verb. Verbs hav...

Languages Of The American Indians. Part 4: Parts of the Bible and books of elementary instruction and newspapers constitute the Cherokee literature. - Below the Cherokees were the Muskokees or Creeks, the Choctaws and Chickasaws, the last two ...

Languages Of The American Indians. Part 5: In our time extensive studies have been made as to it by Squier, Behrendt, and Brasseur de Bourbourg. It resembles the Otomi in monosyllabism and tones; it has six gutturals which are extremely rough;...

Languages Of The American Indians. Part 6: In the eastern parts of Colombia there are Caribbean dialects. Grammars have been prepared by Fathers Anisson, De Tauste, and De Lugo, and a vocabulary by De Tauste (1680). - The Andi-Peruvian family ...

Languages Of The American Indians. Part 7: Examples of phrases: Co nanga xe reminbota (Lat. haec omnino mihi voluntas), I wish it; Ne marangatu (mihi boni-tas), I am good; Ori rub ybaqype tec-oar, imo-ete-pyram nde rera, Our Father heaven-in b...

Americanisms: There were peculiarly strong influences in America to cause variations in the English language from the standard of the mother country, such as the thinness of population; the novelty of numerous obje...

Americanisms. Continued: Declination, the refusal to accept a nomination to office. Dry goods, a general term used by Americans to signify such articles as are sold by linen drapers, haberdashers, mercers, drapers, hosiers. ...

American River: American River, in N. central California, is formed by the union of its N. and S. forks near the W. boundary of El Dorado county, 30 miles above Sacramento city, flows S. W. between the counties of Pl...

American Wines: From the first settlement of America, the vine attracted the attention of the colonists, and as early as 1565 wine was made from native grapes in Florida. The first vineyard in the British colonies wa...

American Wines. Part 2: Very promising, though bat little wine has yet been made of it. Sp. gr. 95; acid, 5. The Salem, Rogers's No. 22, of the same origin. Wine straw color, too aromatic to be pleasant, though of heavy...

American Wines. Part 3: It has much of the aestivalis character, and may be a hybrid between labrusca and aestivalis. Sp. gv. 75; acid, 5. The Hartford prolific is an old variety, raised by Mr. Steele of Hartford, Conn....

American Wines. Part 4: Sp. gr. 105; acid 4. - Wines of the Southern Atlantic States. There are two species of the vine exclusively confined to the southern states, which will not succeed north of the Potomac, and on th...

American Wines. Part 5: It is rather too heavy in body, however, and lacks the sprightliness and ethereal qualities of the best imported French and German sparkling wines, as also of the sparkling Catawbas, Concords, and oth...

Amersfoort: Amersfoort, a town of the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht, with a port on the river Eem, about 10 m. from its mouth in the Zuyder-Zee, and 12 m. E. N. E. of Utrecht; pop. in 1867, 13,258, near...

Edward R Ames: Edward R Ames., I). D., an American clergyman, bishop of the Methodist Episcopal church, born at Amesville, Ohio, May 20, 1806. In 1826 he entered the Ohio university at Athens, and in 1828 opened a h...

Fisher Ames: Fisher Ames, an American orator, statesman, and political writer, born in Dedham, Mass., April 9, 1758, died there, July 4, 1808. His father, who was a physician, died when the son was but 6 years old...

Joseph Ames, An American Portrait Painter: Joseph Ames, an American portrait painter, born in Rosebury, N. H., about 1825, died Oct. 30, 1872. He practised his art many years in Boston. Among his chief works are portraits of Pius IX., Rachel, ...

Joseph Ames, an English Antiquary: Joseph Ames, an English antiquary, born in Yarmouth, Jan. 23, 1689, died Oct, 7, 1759. He was a ship chandler or an ironmonger in Wapping, London, and wrote a work entitled Typographical Antiquities...

William Ames: William Ames, D. D., an English Independent divine, born in Norfolk county in 1570, died in Rotterdam in November, 1(333. He was educated at Christ's college, Cambridge, of which he became a fellow. I...

Amesbury: Amesbury, a town of Essex county, Mass., about 40 m. N. of Boston, and 6 m. N. W. of Newburyport, extending from the N. bank of the Merrimack river to the New Hampshire line; pop. in 1870, 5,581. A br...

Amethyst: Amethyst (Gr. preventing intoxication, so named because it was supposed by the ancient Persians that cups made of it would prevent the liquor they contained from intoxicating), a stone consisting of c...

Amga: Amga, a river in Siberia, which rises in the Yablonnoy mountain range, flows in a N. N. E. direction nearly 460 m., and falls into the Aldan, the principal eastern affluent of the Lena. At its passage...

Amharic Language: Amharic Language, the language of Am-hara, the largest division of Abyssinia, including all that portion which lies between the Blue Nile and the Tacazze rivers, and having Lake Tzana in the centre. I...

Amherst, Virginia: Amherst, a W. central county of Virginia, bounded S. E. and S. W. by the James river, and N. W. by the Blue Ridge; area, 418 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 14,900, of whom 6,704 were colored. It abounds in fin...

Amherst, Hampshire: Amherst, a town of Hampshire county, Mass.. 82 m. W. of Boston, on a branch of the Connecticut river; pop. in 1870, 4,035. The situa tion of the town affords extensive views of the Connecticut valley ...

Amherst, British Burmah: Amherst, a town of British Burmah, in lat. 16 5' N., lon. 97 25' E., on a triangular peninsula N. E. of the gulf of Martaban, 30 m. S. of Maulmain; pop. increased from 5,000 in 1838 to 20,00...

Amherst: I. Jeffery, baron, an English general, born in Kent, Jan. 29, 1717, died Aug. 3, 1797. He entered the army at the age of 14, was present at Dettingen and Fontenoy on the staff of Gen. Ligonier, and in...

Amice, Or Amict: Amice, Or Amict. (Lat. amictus, girt around), a vestment worn by priests in the Roman Catholic church during the celebration of mass. It consists of a square linen cloth tied over the neck and shoulde...

Giovanni Battista Amici: Giovanni Battista Amici, an Italian optician and astronomer, born in Modena, March 25, 1784, died in Florence, April 10,1863. He became eminent at an early age for his mathematical and general scienti...

Philip Amidas: Philip Amidas, an English discoverer, born in Hull in 1550, of a Breton family, members of which had been for nearly a generation domesticated in England, died about 1618. He commanded one of the two ...

Amiens: Amiens, a town of France, capital of the department of Somme, 70 m. N. of Paris, on the Somme, which is navigable for small craft; pop. in 1866, 61,063. The old ramparts have been converted into fine ...

Amiot, Or Amyot: Amiot, Or Amyot, Joseph, a French Jesuit and missionary to China, born in Toulon in 1718, died in Peking in 1794. He was early distinguished for great scientific attainments and indefatigable industry...

Amite, Mississippi: Amite, a river rising in S. W. Mississippi, passes into Louisiana, and reaches Ascension parish by a southerly course; it then turns and flows S. E. and E. to Lake Maurepas. It is navigable by small s...

Amlwch: Amlwch, a seaport town on the N. shore of the island of Anglesea, Wales, the terminus of the Chester and Holyhead railway; pop. in 1861, 5,949. The celebrated Parys copper mines, in its vicinity, whic...

Amman: I. Johann Konrad, a Swiss physician, born at Schaffhausen in 1669, died at War-mund, near Leyden, about 1725. He studied at Basel, but established himself in Holland. In 1692 he published an essay ent...

Ammianus Marcellinus: Ammianus Marcellinus, a Roman soldier and historian, born in Antioch, of a Greek family, died about A. D. 395. In his youth he embraced the military profession, and served under Ursicinus, one of the ...

Ammon: Ammon, a deity extensively worshipped in ancient times in many countries of Africa and Europe. The Egyptians called him Amen or Amen-Ra (Amnion the Sun), the Hebrews Amon, the Greeks Zeus Ammon, and t...

Christoph Friedrich Von Ammon: Christoph Friedrich Von Ammon, a German Protestant theologian and pulpit orator, born in Baireuth, Jan. 16, 1766, died in Dresden, May 21, 1850. He studied theology in Erlan-gen, in 1789 became profes...

Ammonia: Ammonia, volatile alkali. The origin of the word is uncertain; some authors suppose it to be from the god Amnion, near whose temple in Upper Egypt it was produced; others from Ammonia, a Cyrcnaic terr...

Ammoniac: Ammoniac, the concrete juice of dorema am-moniacum, an umbelliferous plant, a native of Persia. It occurs in masses of a brownish color containing opaque, yellowish, homogeneous tears, or the same tea...

Ammonites: Ammonites, a genus of fossil shells allied to the nautilus. The fossils are in the form of a coil or of a ram's horn, and the name is given to them from their resemblance to the horns upon the statues...

Ammonium: Ammonium, the hypothetical radical of ammonia, supposed to be metallic. What is called an amalgam of mercury and ammonium was first obtained by Berzelius and Pontin from the aqueous solution of ammoni...

Ammonius: Ammonius, a Grecian philosopher, surnamed Saccas or the Sack-carrier, because his official employment was that of public porter of Alexandria, died A. D. 243. By some he is regarded as the founder of ...

Upper And Lower Or Great Ammonoosuck: Upper And Lower Or Great Ammonoosuck, two small rivers of New Hampshire, tributary to the Connecticut. The former is entirely in Coos county, and empties in the town of Northumberland. The latter rise...

Ammunition: Ammunition, military stores or provisions for attack or defence. In modern usage, the signification of the term is confined to the articles which are used in charging firearms and ordnance of all kind...

Amnesty: Amnesty (Gr. forgetting, oblivion), an act of oblivion; a general pardon of the offences of subjects against the government, or the proclamation of such pardon. Bouvier, in his Law Dictionary, disting...

Amnesty. Part 2: As to the objection that there was a difference in the English law between amnesty and pardon, it seems to be less sound than the other. Amnesty was never a specific term of the common law. and indeed...

Amnesty. Part 3: At all events, in his next message President Lincoln asserted his exclusive authority under the constitution, and his independence of congress in respect to the pardoning power, even more emphatically...

Guillaume Amontons: Guillaume Amontons, a French physicist, born in Paris, Aug. 31, 1663, died Oct, 11,1705. He was deprived of hearing in early life by disease. It is said that he refused to make any effort to relieve h...

Amur Amoor: Amur Amoor, or Saghalien, a river in N. E. Asia, formed by the confluence of the river Shilka, flowing N. E. from the Trans-Baikal region in central Siberia, and the river Argoon, coming from Mongolia...

Amoor Country: Amoor Country, that part of Mantchuria recently annexed to Russia. It embraces all the territory on the left bank of the Amoor, together with the coast districts east of it and of its affluent the Usu...

Amoretti: I. Carlo, an Italian scholar, born at Oneglia, March 13, 1741, died in Milan, March 24, 1816. In 1757 he joined the order of St. Augustine, and some years later became professor of canon law in the un...

Amorites: Amorites (according to Simonis and Ewald, highlanders), the most powerful tribe of the Canaanites, to all of whom the name is occasionally applied in the Hebrew Scriptures. They dwelt W. of the Jordan...

Amortization, Or Amortizement: Amortization, Or Amortizement (Law Lat. amortisare), in old English law, the alienation or conveyance of real estate to corporations. It was prohibited by a series of statutes, the earliest of which, ...

Thomas Amory: Thomas Amory, an English author, born about 1691, died Nov. 25, 1788. He was educated as a physician, but lived chiefly in retirement on a small income. In 1755 he published Memoirs of several Ladies...

Amos: Amos, one of the minor prophets, who prophesied in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and Jeroboam II. of Israel, toward the close of the 9th century B. C. He was a native of Tekoah in Judah. He does ...

Amoy: Amoy (Chin. Hia-men or Sya-min; Fr. Emouy), a seaport town of the province of Fokien, China, situated at the S. end of an island of the same name, in lat. 24 40' N., lon. 118 13' E., opposit...

Ampere: I. Andre Marie, a French physicist and mathematician, born in Lyons, Jan. 20, 1775, died in Marseilles, June 10, 1830. As a boy he showed a singular passion for mathematics, in which at 10 years of ag...

Ampfing: Ampfing, a village of southern Bavaria, on the Isen, 5 m. W. of Muhldorf, noted as the scene of a terrible conflict in 1322 between the emperor Louis the Bavarian and Frederick of Austria, generally k...

Amphiaraus: Amphiaraus, a mythical hero and seer of Greece, the son of Oicles and Hypermnestra. He was married to Eriphyle, sister of Adrastus, king of Argos, by whom he had numerous sons. Having sworn that he wo...

Amphibia: Amphibia, animals which frequent both land and water. There is probably no truly amphibious animal, as that would imply the possibility of living and breathing equally well in air and in water. The ol...

Amphibia. Continued: In the adult amphibia the gullet is wide and short; the stomach is a simple sac, elongated in the aquatic species; the intestine is but slightly convoluted, and terminates in a cloaca, or pouch, which...

Amphictyons: Amphictyons, members of an amphictyony, a term used by the ancient Greeks to designate an association of neighboring tribes or cities for the observance of the law of nations toward each other, and th...

Amphilochus: Amphilochus, a legendary hero of Greece, the son of Amphiaraus and Eriphyle, and brother of Alcmaeon. He took part in the war of the epigoni against Thebes, aided his brother in the murder of their mo...

Amphion: Amphion, in Greek mythology, a son of Zeus and Antiope, the wife of Lycus, king of Thebes. He and his brother Zethus were exposed on Mount Cithaeron, but were found and brought up by shepherds. Mercur...

Amphipolis: Amphipolis (now Jenikeui), a city of ancient Macedonia, on the Strymon (now Struma, or Kara Su), near its mouth. It was originally called Ennea Hodoi (Nine Ways), and held by the Thracian Edonians, an...

Amphisbaena: Amphisbaena (Gr. an animal that can move or walk in both directions), the name of a genus of saurians. The head is so small and the tail so thick and short that it is difficult to distinguish one fro...

Amphitheatre: Amphitheatre, with the Romans, an open elliptical building, with an elliptical space in the centre called the arena, from the low wall surrounding which rose tiers of seats, supported on arches, reced...

Amphitrite: Amphitrite, a nereid or oceanid, the wife of Neptune and goddess of the sea, mother of Triton, Rhode or Rhodos, and Benthesicyme. Jealous of Scylla, she threw some magic herbs into the well in which h...

Amphitryon: Amphitryon, in Greek legends, a son of Aleaeus and Hipponome. Having accidentally killed his uncle Electryon, he was expelled from Mycenae, and forced to take refuge in Thebes. To win the hand of Alcm...

Amphora: Amphora (Gr. from on both sides, and to carry), a large two-handled vase, commonly made of earthenware, of various forms, but generally tall and narrow, with a contracted neck, and ending nearly in a...

Ampulla: Ampulla, a Roman vessel, like a bottle, used for holding wine, oil, or water. The ampulla Rhemensis (la sainte ampoule) was a glass flask filled with holy oil, which, according to tradition, was broug...

Amputation: Amputation (Lat. amputare, to cut off), a surgical operation by which a limb or portion of a limb, or a naturally projecting part of the body, is removed. The cutting away of a tumor is spoken of as a...

Amritsir, Or Umritsir: Amritsir, Or Umritsir, a town of the Punjaub, Hindostan, between the Ravee and the Bens, an affluent of the Sutlej, 36 m. E. of Lahore; pop. about 130,000. There is in the town an extensive tank, buil...

Amru Ibn El-Aas: Amru Ibn El-Aas, one of Mohammed's early proselytes, died in 663. He belonged to the Koreishites, and in early life was furiously opposed to Mohammed, ridiculing him in epigrams and satirical verses, ...

Amrul-Kais, Or Amrnlcais: Amrul-Kais, Or Amrnlcais, an Arabian poet, author of one of the seven Moallacahs, poems, of the pagan pre-Mohammedan era, which were suspended to the Caaba, whence then-name (pl. Moallacat, suspended)...

Nikolaus Von Amsdorf: Nikolaus Von Amsdorf, a German reformer, bishop of Naumburg, born near Wurzen, Saxony, Dec. 3, 1483, died at Eisenach, May 14, 1505. He was educated for the church, and early acquired distinction in t...

Samuel Amsler: Samuel Amsler, one of the greatest German engravers, born at Schinznach, Switzerland, Dec. 17, 1791, died in Munich, May 18, 1849. He passed several years in Rome, and in 1829 was appointed professor ...

Amstel: Amstel, a small river of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland, formed by the union of the Drecht and Mydrecht. It passes through the city of Amsterdam, entering it on the S. E., and, afte...

Amsterdam: Amsterdam, the largest city of Holland, capital of the kingdom of the Netherlands and of the province of North Holland, situated on the S. bank of the Y, an inlet or arm of the Zuyder-Zee, where that ...

Amuck: Amuck (Javanese, amoak, to kill). The running amuck is a Malay custom. The natives by a long-continued and excessive use of opium at length have their features sharpened, their skin drawn over their b...

Amulet: Amulet (Ar. hamalat, a thing worn), a preservative against occult and mischievous influences. Amulets are made of various substances, and were first known, it is believed, among the Arabs. The early C...

Amurath, Or Murad: Amurath, Or Murad, the name of several Turkish sultans. I. Born in 1326, died June 15, 1389. He succeeded his father Orkhan in 1359 in the government of the Turkish dominions in Asia. The first act of...

Jean Znlema Amussat: Jean Znlema Amussat, a French surgeon, born at St. Maixent, department of Deux-Sevres, Nov. 21, 1796, died May 14, 1856. He commenced his career as a sub-assistant surgeon in the French army, and afte...

Amygdaloid: Amygdaloid, a rock containing almond-shaped cavities. The term is for the most part limited to rocks of the trap variety. The vesicular cavities in these, as in the lavas, are the result of the escape...

Amyl: Amyl (Gr. starch), C5H11, the radical of amylic alcohol or potato spirit, a colorless liquid, with a somewhat aromatic odor, prepared by Frankland in 1849 by heating the iodide of amyl with an amalgam...

Amylene: Amylene, a transparent, colorless, thin liquid, with the odor of decaying cabbage, boiling at 102 F., vapor density 2.43, sp. gr. 0.65. It is produced by the dehydration of amylic alcohol by sulp...

Amyntas: Amyntas, the name of three Macedonian kings. I. The son and successor of Alcetas, reigned from 537 to about 498 B. 0. During his reign Megabazus, the general of Darius, sent ambassadors to demand from...

Jacques Amyot: Jacques Amyot, a French author, bishop of Auxerre, born at Melun, Oct. 30, 1513, died at Auxerre, Feb. 6, 1593. After many arduous struggles with poverty and obscurity, he succeeded in acquiring some ...

Moise Amyraut: Moise Amyraut, a French Calvinist theologian, born in 1596, died in July, 1664, at Bour-gueil, in the province of Anjou. He was educated at Saumur, where he was afterward a professor of divinity. By h...

Ana: Ana, as a prefix, a Greek word signifying over again, against, and the like. Its use is exemplified in Anabaptist, anachronism, and analysis. As a suffix, it is the Latin termination of the neuter plu...

Anabaptists: Anabaptists (Gr. a rebaptizer), a name sometimes applied to all those sects of modern times of which rebaptism has been a distinguishing mark. The justice of the appellation has never been acknowledge...

Anabas Scandens: Anabas Scandens (Cuv.), an acanthopte-rygious fish, of the family of labyrinthibran-chidae, and the only species of the genus. This family, which has been known from remote antiquity, is remarkable fo...

Anabasis: Anabasis, a Greek word signifying originally ascension, then a campaign or march from a lower to a superior region; for example, from the shores of a sea to the interior of a country. In this signific...

Anableps: Anableps, a genus of soft-rayed fishes of the carp family (cyprnidae), so named because the division of the cornea and iris by transverse ligaments gives the appearance of double eyes, from the dumb-b...

Anacharsis: Anacharsis, a Scythian philosopher who made his appearance at Athens in the early part of the 6th century B. C. He became very intimate with Solon, and was so esteemed for his virtue, learning, and sa...

Anacletus: I. A saint and pope of the Roman church, according to some, the second after St. Peter, and a martyr under Domitian in 91; according to others, martyred about 109, having succeeded Clement I. as the f...

Anaconda: Anaconda (eunectes murinus, Wagler), a large serpent of the boa family, found in most parts of intertropical America. The genus boa, which contains the large American serpents, has been made to includ...

Anacreon: Anacreon, a Greek lyric poet, born at Teos in Ionia about 561 B. C. When that city was taken by the Persians, about 540 B. C., he emigrated to Abdera in Thrace, whence he afterward went to Samos, and ...

Anadyomene: Anadyomene (Gr., emerging), a surname given to a picture of Venus rising from the ocean. Apelles was the first who painted her in this posture as she rose from the sea, and was drying her hair with he...

Anadyr, Or Anadir: Anadyr, Or Anadir. I. An extensive gulf or sea of Asia, at the N. E. extremity of Siberia, lying between Cape St. Thaddee and Cape Tchukotskoi, of late years much resorted to for whales. II. A river ...

Anaesthetics: Anaesthetics (Gr. av, privative, and I feel), substances which can produce a general or partial suspension of nervous sensibility. In the common acceptation of the term should be included all drugs ...

Anaesthetics. Continued: They have also been employed in the treatment of many inflammatory diseases, fevers, etc. They are found very useful in the detection of feigned diseases, as affected paralysis, dumbness, or contracti...

Anagni: Anagni (anc. Anagnia), a town of Italy, about 40 m. S. E. of Rome; pop. about 7,500. Anagnia was one of the most ancient cities of Latium, the capital of the Hernici, and an early antagonist of Rome. ...

Anagram: Anagram (Gr. ava, backward, and letter), the transposition of the letters forming a word or sentence into a new word or sentence having some bearing upon the subject of the former one; as, Honor est ...

Anahuac: Anahuac, an aboriginal name, signifying, in the Nahuatl or ancient Mexican language, by or near the water; from att, water, and nahuac, near. The name has come to be applied specifically to the valley...

Anaitis, Or Anahid: Anaitis, Or Anahid, an oriental goddess, anciently worshipped by the Lydians, Armenians, Cappadocians, and Assyrians. The classical writers identify her sometimes with Diana, sometimes with Venus, and...

Analytical Geometry: Analytical Geometry, a branch of mathematical science which consists in the application of algebra to geometry. It may be divided into three parts, according to the branch of geometry to which the alg...

Anam, Or Annam: Anam, Or Annam, sometimes called from one of its provinces Cochin China, an empire occupying the eastern portion of the Indo-Chinese peninsula, between lat. 8 30' and 23 30' N., and lon. 100...

Anamboe: Anamboe, a seaport town on the Gold Coast of Africa, 10 m. E. of Cape Coast Castle; pop. about 5,000. It is the seat of considerable trade, and formerly had a large traffic in slaves. The British fort...

Manias: Manias, the name of three persons mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. I. A disciple at Jerusalem, who, having sold his property for the common cause, conspired with his wife Sapphira to give in a p...

Anastasia: Anastasia, the name of several saints of the Roman and Greek churches. I. Anastasia the Eider was a martyr of the time of Nero, a pupil of St. Peter and St. Paul. Her festival day is April 15. II. An...

Pope Anastasius: Anastasius, the name of four popes. I. Saint, occupied the Roman see 398-402. He was contemporary with Jerome, Chrysostom, and Augustine, and is remarkable for having condemned various axioms and writ...

Anastasius, Emperor of Constantinople: Anastasius, the name of two emperors of Constantinople. I. Surnamed Dicorus, born about 430, died in 518. He was a member of the lifeguard (silentiarii) of the emperor Zeno, on whose death in 491 he w...

Anastomosis: Anastomosis (Gr. ava, through, and mouth), the communication or inosculation of different blood vessels by opening one into the other. In the arteries it is comparatively rare, as these vessels divid...

Anathema: Anathema (Gr. from I set apart), in the Greek classics, anything set apart as an offering to the gods, applied to the numerous votive gifts which were suspended upon the walls of temples or expose...

Anathoth: Anathoth, a town of ancient Palestine, the birthplace of Jeremiah, about 4 m. N. of Jerusalem. It was in the possession of the tribe of Benjamin, and a city of priests. It was once a considerable plac...

Anatomical Preparations: Anatomical Preparations, the skeleton and other portions of the dead body preserved from decomposition by various artificial methods, for the use of medical schools or science. The soft parts are usua...

Anatomy: Anatomy (Gr. dissection), the science which treats of the structure of organized bodies as learned from dissection. During the primitive ages of the world anatomy was little cultivated as a science, ...

Anatomy. Part 2: Animal anatomy was scantily and almost exclusively studied by the ancients; human anatomy was fairly commenced by the Italian schools of the 14th, loth, and 16th centuries; the descriptive branch was ...

Anatomy. Part 3: Bichat made 21 distinctions of animal texture, but later anatomists have modified his method of distinction. It will suffice here to say that the sheath or covering membranes of bones, muscles, nerves...

Anaxagoras: Anaxagoras, a Grecian philosopher, born at Clazomenae in Ionia, about 500 B. 0., died in 428. He rejected wealth and honors that he might indulge his love of meditation and philosophy. From Clazomenae...

Anaxarchus: Anaxarchus, a Grecian philosopher, a native of Abdera in Thrace, who attended Alexander the Great into Asia, and succeeded in winning his friendship by his wit and servility. After the death of Alexan...

Anaximander: Anaximander, a Grecian philosopher of the Ionian school, born at Miletus in 610, died about 547 B. 0. He is said to have led a colony to Apollonia in Illyria, and many wonderful deeds and inventions a...

Anaximenes: I. A Grecian philosopher, born at Miletus, flourished in the latter half of the 6th century 13. 0. He taught that the essence of all things is air, whence all things are produced by condensation and r...

Ancach: Ancach, a N. W. department of Peru, be-tween the Andes and the Pacific, bounded X. E. by the Maranon; area, about 18,000 sq. m.; pop. 317,000. It is one of the most fertile portions of Peru, producing...

Ancelot: I. Jaeqnes Arsene Francois Polyearpe, a French dramatist, born in Havre, Feb. 9, 1794, died in Paris, Sept, 7, 1854. He held an office in the ministry of the marine, which he lost after the revolution...

Anchises: Anchises, a legendary Trojan prince, the father of Aeneas. He was related to the family of Priam, and was king of Dardanus in Troas. Venus was enamored of him, and, visiting him in the disguise of a P...

Anchor: Anchor (Gr. Lat. anchora, Ger. Anker), a metal hook of suitable form and of sufficient weight and strength to enable a ship, by means of a chain or cable attachment, to lay hold of the bottom, and ...

Anchor. Continued: A sufficient number of wrought-iron bars made from the best scrap iron, or from Welsh mine iron, are bound together by iron hoops, forming the faggot; this is placed in a specially contrived furnace...

Anchoret: Fro. 4 - Grapnel and Mushroom Anchors. ...

Anchorite Anchoret: Anchorite Anchoret, or more properly Aua-cliorct (Gr. ), a person retired from society, especially one who has withdrawn himself with the specific purpose of attaining a higher degree of spirituality....

Anchovy: Anchovy, a small fish of the genus engraulis of Cuvier, the peculiar features of which are the opening of the mouth extending behind the eyes, and the long sharp head and projecting upper jaw. It is d...

Anchylosis: Anchylosis (Gr. a bending), that condition of a joint in which its natural mobility is greatly impaired or entirely lost. The derivation of the word would imply that the joint is bent, but it is used ...

Anciene Lorette: Anciene Lorette, a village of Canada, 7 m. W. S. W. of Quebec; pop. in 1871, 2,333. It is a place of historical interest, as the refuge of a portion of the Huron Indians after they were defeated and d...

Ancillon: I. David, a French Protestant divine, born in Metz, March 18, 1017, died in Berlin, Sept. 3, 1092. He was the son of a lawyer, and received his first education at a college of Jesuits, who endeavored ...

Anckarstroem, Or Ankarstrom: Anckarstroem, Or Ankarstrom, Johan Jakob, the assassin of Gustavus III. of Sweden, born about 1760, executed at Stockholm, April 29, 1792. The son of a superior officer, he became a page at the court ...

Ancona: I. One of the four provinces of the department of the Marches, Italy, bounded E. by the Adriatic and traversed by branches of the Apennines, with fertile valleys, and by the small rivers Misa, Esino, ...

Concino De Coneini Ancre: Concino De Coneini Ancre, marshal and marquis d', a Florentine adventurer and prime minister of France, shot in Paris, April 24, 1617. He was the son of a notary, and went to France in 1600 in the sui...

Ancus Marchs: Ancus Marchs, the fourth king of Rome, said to have been the grandson of Numa, and to have reigned from 640 to 616 B. C. He revived the religious ceremonies which his grandfather had established, but ...

Ancyra: Ancyra (now Angora), an ancient city of Asia Minor, originally in Phrygia, said to have been built by Midas, and to have derived its name from an anchor found on the place where it stood. It was enlar...

Andalusia: Andalusia (Span. Andalucia, originally Vandalusia, from the Vandals who settled there in the 5th century; in antiquity, BAetica), the most southern grand division of Spain, lying between lat. 86 ...

Andaman Islands: Andaman Islands, a long, narrow group of small islands in the E. part of the bay of Bengal, in lon. 92 50' E., and between lat. 10 and 14 N., about 150 m. S. by W. of Cape Ne-grais, 100...

Les Andelys: Les Andelys, a town of France, in the department of Eure, on the Seine, 18 m. S. S. E. of Rouen. It properly consists of two towns, Grand Andely on the Gambon and Petit An-dely on the Seine; pop. in 1...

Andenne: Andenne, a town of Belgium, in the province of Namur, near the right bank of the Meuse, 10 m. E. of Namur; pop. in 1866, 6,278. Tt has a convent of the Beguines, and manufactories of pipes and earthen...

Anderlecht: Anderlecht, a town of Belgium, in the immediate vicinity of Brussels, of which it may be regarded as a suburb; pop. in 1866, 11,663. At Anderlecht Dumouriez defeated the Aus-trians on Nov. 13, 1792. ...

Anderloni: I. Pietre, an Italian engraver, born at Santa Eufemia, near Brescia, Oct. 12, 1784, died in Milan, Oct. 13, 1849. After preparatory studies under his father, who was himself an engraver, he entered th...

Hans Christian Andersen: Hans Christian Andersen, a Danish author, born in Odense, April 2, 1805. His father was a shoemaker in needy circumstances, but possessing literary taste. Andersen's scanty education was chiefly acqui...

Anderson: I. A N. W. county of South Carolina, separated from Georgia by the Savannah river, bounded N. E. by the Saluda and drained by a number of smaller streams; area, 800 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 24,040, of wh...

Alexander Anderson: Alexander Anderson, the first wood engraver in America, born in New York, April 21, 1775, died in Jersey City, N. J., Jan. 17, 1870. He was the son of a Scotch printer, who just before the outbreak of...

Sir Edmund Anderson: Sir Edmund Anderson, an English judge, born in Lincolnshire about 1540, died Aug. 1, 1005. He was made chief justice of the com-mon pleas in 1582, and distinguished himself by his zeal for the establi...

James Anderson, a Scottish Antiquary And A Lawyer: James Anderson, a Scottish antiquary and a lawyer, born in Edinburgh, Aug. 5, 1662, died April 3, 1728. In 1705 he published An Essay showing that the Crown of Scotland is Imperial and Independent, ...

James Anderson, a Scottish Writer: James Anderson, a Scottish writer on agriculture, political economy, and natural science, born at Hermiston, near Edinburgh, in 1739, died Oet. 15, 1808. At the age of 15, having lost his parents, he ...

John Anderson: John Anderson, a Scottish professor, founder of the Andersonian university at Glasgow, born in the parish of Roseneath, Dumbartonshire, in 1720, died Jan. 13, 1796. In 1756 he was appointed professor ...

Martin Brewer Anderson: Martin Brewer Anderson, LL. D., an American educator, born in Brunswick. Me., Feb. 12, 1815. He graduated in 1840 at Waterville college, Me., where, after studying about a year in the theological semi...

Robert Anderson: Robert Anderson, an officer of the U. S. army, born at Soldiers' Retreat, near Louisville, Ivy., June 14, 1805, died at Nice, France. Oct, 26, 1871. He graduated at West Point in 1825, entered the 3...

Andersonville: Andersonville, a village of Sumter co., Ga., on the Southwestern railroad, 62 m. S. of Macon; pop. in 1870, 1,346. It was during the war the seat of a Confederate States military prison, established b...

Andersonville. Continued: In August, 1865, a special military commission was convened by the secretary of war to try Wirz. The indictment charged him with injuring the health and destroying the lives of soldiers confined as pr...

Adolph Anderssen: Adolph Anderssen, a German chess player, born in Breslau, July 6, 1818. He was a teacher of mathematics, acquired in Berlin a high reputation as a chess player, and attended in 1851 the chess tourname...

Carl Jolian Andersson: Carl Jolian Andersson, a Swedish traveller, born in the province of Wermland in 1827, died in the territory of the Ovacuambi, S. W. Africa, July 5, 1867. He was the natural son of Mr. L. Lloyd, an Eng...

Nils Johan Andersson: Nils Johan Andersson, a Swedish botanist, born Feb. 20, 1821. He made a voyage round the world in the Swedish frigate Eugenie in 1851-'3, and published Verldsomsegling (3 vols., Stockholm, 1853-'4). h...

Andes: Andes, the range of mountains which extends along the northern and western coasts of South America, from the southern extremity of the continent to the Caribbean sea. It is the most compact mountain s...

Andes. Part 2: In a day's journey into the interior from the port of Iquique in Peru, not a sign of vegetation is met with except lichens strewed loosely upon the sand with nothing to attach them to the surface; nor...

Andes. Part 3: N. of the equator, the other cordillera separates into two chains, of which the easternmost, Suma Paz, runs by hake Maracaibo and terminates near Caracas on the Caribbean sea. The central chain of Qui...

Andes. Part 4: No volcanoes are spoken of in it, but they may be there and have escaped the observation of civilized man. The volcanoes of Quito extend from 100 m. S. of the equator to 130 m. N. of it; and from thei...

Franz Xaver Von Andlaw: Franz Xaver Von Andlaw, a German diplomatist, born at Freiburg, Baden, Oct. 6, 1799. He served in the foreign office and diplomatic service of Baden, and was for many years ambassador at Vienna retiri...

Andocides: Andocides, an Athenian orator, born in 407 B. C. Accused in 415 of aiding Alcibiades in profaning the mysteries and mutilating the Hermae, he was banished after revealing the names of four of the guil...

Andorra: Andorra, a small republic situated between the French town of Foix, in the department of Ariege, and the Spanish town of Urgel, in the province of Lerida, in valleys shut in on all sides by the Pyrene...

Andover, Hampshire, England: Andover, a market town of Hampshire, England, 20 m. N. of Southampton; pop. in 1871, 5,501. Its name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon Andeafaran (ferry over the river Ande). Andover has a large malt tr...

Andover, Essex County: Andover, a town of Essex county, Mass., on the Merrimack and Shawsheen rivers, 21 m. N. of Boston; pop. in 1870, 4,873. The village is pleasantly situated in an elevated and healthy district, and has ...

Antonio D Andrada: Antonio D Andrada, a Portuguese missionary, born about 1580, died in Goa, Aug. 20, 1633. He entered the society of Jesus at Coimbra in 1596, joined the East Indian mission, arrived at Goa in 1600, and...

Bonifacio Joze D Andrada E Sylva: Bonifacio Joze D Andrada E Sylva, a Brazilian statesman and naturalist, born in Santos, June 13, 1765, died near Rio de Janeiro, April 6, 1838. Under the patronage of the Lisbon royal academy he was e...

Gabriel Andral: Gabriel Andral, a French physician, horn in Paris, Nov. 6, 1707. His father, Guillaume, was a member of the academy and chief physi-cian to the French army in Italy and to Murat, and afterward to Loui...

Gycla (Julius) Andrassy: Gycla (Julius) Andrassy, count, a Hungarian statesman, born in the county of Zemplen, March 8, 1823. His ancestors were known from the 11th century in Bosnia, and from the 16th in Hungary, where they ...

Johann Anton Andre: Johann Anton Andre, a German composer, born at Offenbach, near Frankfort-on-the-Main, Oct. 6, 1775, died there, April 5, 1842. His father was Johann Andre, founder of the celebrated musical establishm...

John Andre: John Andre, a British officer, born in London in 1751, executed at Tappan, Rockland co., N. Y., Oct. 2,1780. At 18 years of age he embarked in a mercantile career, but being disappointed in a love aff...

Girolamo D A Roman Cardinal Andrea: Girolamo D A Roman Cardinal Andrea, born in Naples, April 12,1812, died in Rome, May 15, 1808. He was a member of an old patrician family, and was intrusted by Pius IX. with important diplomatic and e...

Andrea Pisano: Andrea Pisano, an Italian sculptor and architect, born in Pisa in 1270, died in Florence in 1345. He was one of the first to depart from the Gothic style in art. After having been employed at the cath...

Andreae: Andreae. I. Jakob, a German theologian, born at Waiblingen in Wurtemberg, March 25, 1528, died June 7, 1590. He studied at Stuttgart and Tubingen, and was ordained a pastor in the former town in 1540....

Laurentius Andreae: Laurentius Andreae, or Lars Andersson, a Swedish scholar, born in 1482, died at Streng-nas, April 29, 1552. He studied in Rome, and upon his return to Sweden was appointed archdeacon of the cathedral ...

Andrea Andreani: Andrea Andreani, an Italian painter and engraver, surnamed II Mantuano, born in Mantua about 1540, died in Rome in 1623. He devoted himself principally to wood engraving, and exerted a marked influenc...

Karl Theodor Andree: Karl Theodor Andree, a German geographer, born in Brunswick, Oct, 20, 1808. His studies at Jena were interrupted by his trial (1838) for revolutionary proceedings, and being acquitted, he thenceforwar...

Andreini: I. Francesco, an Italian comedian of the 10th and 17th centuries, chief of the celebrated troupe called I Gelosi. He published Le bravure del capitan Spavento (Venice, 1609), Ragionamcnti fantastici (...

Antoinc Francois Andreossi: Antoinc Francois Andreossi, count d', a French general and savant, born at Castelnau-dary, March 0, 1701, died at Montauban, Sept. 10, 1828. He entered the artillery at an early age, and served under ...

Jnan Andres: Jnan Andres, a Spanish scholar, born of a noble family at Planes in Valencia, Feb. 15, 1740, died in Rome, Jan. 17, 1817. He early entered the society of the Jesuits, and on their expulsion from Spain...

Andrew, Missouri: Andrew, a N. W. county of Missouri, separated from Kansas by the Missouri river, and intersected by the Platte and several other streams; area, 425 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 15,137, of whom 401 were color...

Andrew, Hungarian king of the Family of Arpad: Andrew, the name of three Hungarian kings of the family of Arpad, the founder of the Magyar monarchy. - Andrew I., a cousin of St. Stephen, who introduced Christianity among his subjects, and successo...

Saint Andrew: Saint Andrew, one of the twelve apostles, born at Bethsaida. The name of his father was Jonas. He was a disciple of John the Baptist, and the first called of the disciples of Jesus Christ, to whom he ...

James Osgood Andrew: James Osgood Andrew, I). D., an American clergyman, one of the bishops of the Methodist Episcopal church South, born in Wilkes county, Ga., May 3, 1794, died in Mobile, Ala., March 2, 1871. At the age...

John Albion Andrew: John Albion Andrew, 21st governor of Massachusetts since the adoption of the constitution of 1780, born in Windham, Me., May 31, 1818, died in Boston, Mass., Oct. 30, 1867. He graduated at Bowdoin col...

James Pettit Andrews: James Pettit Andrews, an English historian, born near Newbury, Berkshire, in 1737, died in London, Aug. 6, 1797. His most important work (which he did not live to complete) was his History of Great B...

Lancelot Andrews: Lancelot Andrews, an English scholar and prelate, born in London in 1555, died in Winchester house, Sept. 25, 1626. He was a favorite of James I., who made him his lord almoner, and successively bisho...

Andria: Andria, a town of S. Italy, in the Neapolitan province of Bari, situated in a fine plain, 82 m. W. N. W. of Bari; pop. in 1871, 34,084. It has a royal college, a small Gothic palace, and a superb cath...

Francois Guillaume Jean Stanislas Andrieux: Francois Guillaume Jean Stanislas Andrieux, a French author, born in Strasburg, May 6, 1759, died in Paris, May 10, 1833. He studied law, and distinguished himself as the advocate of the Abbe Mulot in...

Andriscus, Or Pseudo Philip: Andriscus, Or Pseudo Philip, a native of Adramyttium, of humble origin, who in 154 B. C. assumed the name of Philip, proclaiming himself the natural son of Perseus, the last king of Macedon, whom he s...

Androclus: Androclus, a Roman slave of the early part of the first century, of whom Aulus Gellius says that having fled from the tyranny of his master and been recaptured, he was sentenced to be devoured by wild...

Andromache: Andromache, the daughter of Eëtion, king of Cilician Thebe and wife of Hector, by whom she had a son named Scamandrius or Astyanax. She lost her father and her seven brothers at the capture of Thebe, ...

Andromeda: Andromeda, a mythical princess, daughter of Cepheus the Ethiopian king and Cassiopea. Her mother having boasted that the beauty of her daughter surpassed that of the nereids, the latter prevailed on N...

Andronicus, Emperor of Constantinople: Andronicus, the name of four emperors of Constantinople. - Andronicns I. Comnenns, grandson of Alexis I., born in 1110, died Sept. 12, 1185. He distinguished himself by his martial ability, dissolute ...

Livius Andronicus. Andronicus Of Rhodes: I. Livius, the most ancient of the Latin poets, died about 221 B. C. He was an Italian Greek, whom the fortune of war had thrown into the hands of the Romans, and made the slave of M. Livius Salinator...

Andros, An Island Of Greece: Andros, an island of Greece, in the archipelago, the northernmost of the Cyclades, 21 by 8 m.; pop. in 1870, 19,674. It is mountainous, but has many fertile valleys, yielding wine, oil, silk, oranges,...

Andros, An Island Of The Bahamas: Andros, an island of the Bahamas, giving name to a small group of islands which are but thinly inhabited, and the passages between which are intricate and difficult. The main island, 20 m. W. of New P...

Sir Edmund Andros: Sir Edmund Andros, an English colonial governor, born in London, Dec. 6, 1637, died there, Feb. 24, 1714. He was brought up at court, his father being an officer of the royal household. He was a major...

Androscoggin: Androscoggin, a S. W. county of Maine; area, 400 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 35,866. It has a fertile soil, and in agriculture ranks among the foremost in the state. The productions in 1870 were 7,800 bushe...

Androscoggin, Or Ameriscoggin: Androscoggin, Or Ameriscoggin, a river of New Hampshire and Maine. It is formed in Coos county, N. II., near the Maine boundary, by the union of the Margalloway river with the outlet of Umbagog lake,...

Alexandre Andryana: Alexandre Andryana, a French champion of Italy, born in 1797, died in January, 1863. He was an officer of the French army till 1814, and subsequently joining the Italian revolutionists, he became a fe...

Andujar, Or Andnxar: Andujar, Or Andnxar, a town of Spain, in Andalusia, province of Jaen, at the foot of the Sierra Morena, and on the right bank of the Guadalquivir, 50 m. E. N. E. of Cordova; pop. about 13,000. It is a...

Anegada: Anegada, a British West Indian island, the northernmost of the Virgin group and of the Lesser Antilles, 18 m. N. of Virgin Gorda; length 10 m., greatest breadth 4 1/2 m. It has but few inhabitants, wh...

Dominique Anel: Dominique Anel, a French surgeon, born in Toulouse about 1679, died about 1730. He acquired great fame by his invention of the probe and syringe still known by his name, and is also celebrated for his...

Anemometer: Anemometer (Gr. wind, and measure), an instrument for measuring the force of the wind. Attention was first given to this subject by Dr. Croune in 1667, and instruments were contrived by him and by Wo...

Anemone: Anemone (Gr. wind, as many species grow in elevated windy places), a genus of plants of the family of ranunculaceae, Jussieu. The leaves of the stem are generally ternate, forming an involucre which i...

Anemoscope: Anemoscope (G r. wind, and to look), a wind indicator, or weathercock. The term is, however, only applied when the weathercock is attached to a spindle which passes from the vane into an apartment be...

Anerio: I. Felice, an Italian musician, born in Rome about 1560, died about 1630. In 1594 he succeeded Palestrina as composer of the pontifical chapel. A great number of his compositions have been published, ...

Aneurin: Aneurin, a Welsh bard, who was the leader of the mediaeval Britons in the battle of Cat-traeth, and who celebrated in heroic verse the deeds of that day. His work is still preserved in the literature ...

Aneurism: Aneurism (Gr. a widening or extension), a term used in surgery to signify a vascular tumor or enlargement, arising from the morbid distention of an artery It is much more common in some arteries than ...

Pasquale Anfossi: Pasquale Anfossi, an Italian composer, born in Naples in 1729, died in Rome in 1797. He was a pupil of Sacchini and Piccini, the latter of whom in 1771 procured him an engagement in Rome. His first su...

Angara: Angara, a river of Siberia, which enters Lake Baikal at its N. extremity, under the name of Upper Angara, leaves it near the S. W. end as the Lower Angara or Upper Tunguska, flows past Irkutsk, pursue...

Angel: Angel (Gr. a messenger), a name given in Jewish and Christian theology to certain spiritual beings endowed with superhuman powers of intelligence and of will. They are frequently mentioned in the Ol...

Angel, Coin: Angel (in French ange d'or, angelot, angclot-tus, angelus), a coin so named from the figure of the archangel Michael and the dragon stamped on one side of it. It was originally a French coin, first st...

Angel Fish: Angel Fish, the common name of the squa-tina angelus (Dum.), a representative of the family of squatinidae, intermediate between the sharks and rays. The body is flattened above and below, and discoid...

Filippo Angeli: Filippo Angeli, an Italian painter, born in Rome, lived in his youth in Naples, whence he is sometimes called the Neapolitan, and died in Florence about 1645. He excelled in landscape painting, and wa...

Fra Angelico: Fra Angelico, the familiar appellation of one of the most celebrated of the early Italian painters, born at Mugello, Tuscany, in 1387, died in Rome about 1455. At the age of 20 he entered the monaster...

Angelina: Angelina, an E. county of Texas, bounded N. E. by Angelina river, and S. W. by the Neches; area, 1,059) sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 3,985. of whom 742 were colored. The county abounds in heavy timber, oak, ...

Joseph R Angell: Joseph R Angell., an American writer on law, born in Providence, R. I., April 30, 1794, died in Boston, May 1, 1857. He graduated at Brown university in 1813, edited the United States Law Intelligenc...

Angeln, Or Anglen: Angeln, Or Anglen (Lat. Anglia Minor; Dan. Angel), a district about 300 sq. m. in extent, in Schleswig, bordering on the Baltic and the bay of Flensburg. It is the only territory on the continent whic...

Angelis Domini: Angelis Domini, a short form of prayer which Catholics are accustomed to recite in honor of the incarnation, at sunrise, noon, and sunset, at the ringing of a bell, called the Angelas bell. This custo...

Angelus Silesius: Angelus Silesius, whose real name was Johann Scheffler, a German philosophical poet, born at Breslau, in Silesia, in 1624, died there, July 9, 1677. After receiving a medical degree, he travelled thro...

Angerman-Aa Angerman: Angerman-Aa Angerman, or Angerman-elf, a river of northern Sweden, rises in the lake of Kult, on the Norwegian frontier, and, after flowing S. E. through the provinces of Wester-botten and Westernorrl...

Angermunde: Angermunde, a town of Prussia, in the Potsdam district of the province of Brandenburg, on Lake Munde and about 40 m. by railway N. E. of Berlin; pop. in 1871, 6,412/ It trades in wool, tobacco, and ya...

Angers: Angers (anc. Juliomagus, in the territory of the Andecavi or Andegavi), an old city of France, capital of the department of Maine-et-Loire, situated on the Mayenne, 4 m. from its junction with the Loi...

Pietro Maitire D'Anghiera, Peter Martyr: Pietro Maitire D (Called In English Peter Martyr) Anghiera, an Italian historian and geographer, born at Arona on Lago Maggiore in 1455, died in the city of Granada in 1526. He was of noble extraction...

Saint Angilbert: Saint Angilbert, minister of Charlemagne, and the most distinguished poet of his age, born in Neustria, now Normandy, died Feb. 18, 814. He studied under Alcuin with Charlemagne; received Bertha, the ...

Angina Pectoris: Angina Pectoris (Lat, angere, to suffocate), a disease so named from a sense of suffocating contraction or tightening of the chest, over the sternum, causing anguish and fear of sudden death. A sudden...

Angle: Angle, a portion of space between two lines or between two or more surfaces intersecting each other. Geometry distinguishes four kinds of angles: plane, spherical, dihedral, and polyhedral. 1. Plane a...

Angles, Or Angli: Angles, Or Angli, an ancient German tribe which, after various migrations, settled in Denmark, and thence passed over in great numbers to England, to which they gave their name. Tacitus in his Germani...

Anglesea, Or Anglesey: Anglesea, Or Anglesey, a small island in the Irish sea, on the coast of Wales, from which it is separated by the Menai strait, constituting a county; area, 302 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, 50,919. The chief ...

Henry William Paget Anglesey: Henry William Paget Anglesey, first marquis of, and second earl of Uxbridge, a British general, born May 17, 1768, died April 29, 1854. He received his education at Westminster and at Christ Church, O...

Angling: Angling, the art of taking fish by means of the rod, line, and hook. It probably was never a popular recreation with any of the more civilized peoples of antiquity, but in England it early became a fa...

Anglo-Saxons: Anglo-Saxons, the Teutonic people who in the 5th and 6th centuries passed over from their territory in and near the Cimbric (Danish) peninsula to the island of Britain, then just abandoned by the Roma...

Anglo-Saxons. Continued: The lowest class of all was that of the theowm or slaves, made up of those prisoners of war who had been reduced to servitude, of the descendants of Roman slaves, and of those made seivile as a punish...

Langnage And Literature Of The Anglo-Saxons: Langnage And Literature Of The Anglo-Saxons. The language of the German tribes who conquered and peopled Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries was by them called Anglise, Englise (English); but since E...

Langnage And Literature Of The Anglo-Saxons. Part 2: Singular. Plural. Dual. Nom. ic,I. we, we. wit, we two. Gen. min. mine, of me. user, ure, our. uncer, of us two. Dat. ...

Langnage And Literature Of The Anglo-Saxons. Part 3: Each perfect line contains three alliterating words, two in the first section, and one in the first part of the second section. Cy'ning sceal' mid cea'pe cwene' gebic'gan, bu'num and bea'gum: bu' sce...

Langnage And Literature Of The Anglo-Saxons. Part 4: The description of Satan, his first speech, some striking expressions in the description of his fall, of heaven, hell, Adam and Eve, strongly suggest that Milton borrowed from CAedmon, but they may be...

Angola: Angola, in its wider sense, a Portuguese colony on the W. coast of South Africa, Lower Guinea, between lat, 7 30' and 17 S. It was discovered by the Portuguese in 1488, and they have ever si...

Angora: Angora (Turk. Engurieh; anc. Ancyra), a city of Asia Minor, capital of a Turkish eyalet of the same name, 220 m. E. S. E. of Constantinople; pop. about 45,000, including about 30,000 Turks, 10,000 Arm...

Angorno: Angorno, a town of Bornoo, in central Africa, near the S. W. shore of Lake Tchad; pop. said to be above 30,000. Weekly markets are held, at which a very extensive trade is carried on in cotton, amber,...

Angostura, Or Cindad Bolivar: Angostura, Or Cindad Bolivar, a city of Venezuela, capital of the province of Guayana, on the right bank of the river Orinoco, at a pass (angostura) where it is confined between high rocks, about 260 ...

Angostura Bark: Angostura Bark, the bark of galipea officinalis a South American tree of the rue family, growing on the river Orinoco, and especially on the Caroni, Venezuela. It possesses a peculiar and disagreeable...

Angot, Or Ango: Angot, Or Ango, Jean, a French merchant of Dieppe, died in 1551. He made trading voyages to Africa and the East Indies, and secured a large fortune, which he used with liberality. Some of his ships ha...

Angouleme, Bordeaux, France: Angouleme (anc. Inculisma, or Civitas Eco-lisamensium), a town of France, capital of the department of Charente and of the ancient province of Angoumois, situated on the Charente, 66 m. N. E. of Borde...

Angouleme Family: I. Charles de Valois, duke of, natural son of Charles IX. of France by Marie Touehet, born April 28, 1573, died Sept. 24, 1650. He received from Catharine de' Medici the counties of Auvergne and Laura...

Angoumois: Angoumois, one of the old provinces of France, between Poitou and Guienne, bounded W. by Saintonge, with which it was joined to form a military government. Capital, Angouleme. It nearly corresponded t...

Angra: Angra, a seaport town on the S. side of the island of Terceira, one of the Azores; pop. 13,000. It is well built on a hill rising from the water's edge, has wide but dirty streets, and is generally th...

Angussola Angiisciola: Angussola Angiisciola. or Agnosciola, Sofonisba, an Italian female painter, born at Cremona about 1530, died about 1620. After executing a number of portraits and some fine historical pieces, she went...

Anhalt: Anhalt, a duchy of the German empire, situated on both banks of the Elbe and the Saale, and bounded by Prussian Saxony, Brandenburg, and Brunswick; area, 897 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, 203,354. It was form...

Anhydrides: Anhydrides, compounds which become acids upon the addition of water. In technical language, they are the oxides of acid radicals, and stand in the same relation to acids as the oxide of potassium, K2O...

Am, Or Anni: Am, Or Anni, a ruined city of Turkish Armenia, on the Arpi Tchai, about 25 m. E. S. E. of Kars. Its ancient name appears to have been Abnicum, but its history is only imperfectly known. In the 5th cen...

Anicet-Bougeois: Anicet-Bougeois, the popular name of Augusts Anicet Bouegeois, a French playwright, born in Paris, Dec. 25, 1806, died at Pau, Jan. 12, 1871. He was a clerk in a lawyer's office, when he wrote in 1825...

Ancietus: Ancietus, a freedman and preceptor of Nero, and commander of the Praetorian fleet at Cape Misenum, A. D. 59. At Nero's instigation he had a false bottom made for a ship which Agrippina was enticed to ...

Anilic Acid: Anilic Acid (Spanish anil, indigo), an acid produced by the action of diluted nitric acid upon indigo; also called indigotic acid. Carbonic acid is produced with it, and remains in solution, the anili...

Amline: Amline, a substance discovered in 1826 by O. Unverdorben, in the distillation of indigo. At the present time it is almost exclusively prepared by the deoxidation of nitro-benzole by means of nascent h...

Animal: It is difficult to define the word animal, and even a scientific definition distinguishing an animal from a vegetable is scarcely less so. The assertion of Linnaeus, that plants live and grow, whil...

Animal. Part 2: The boxista gigantea, a species of fungus, has been known to increase its size more than a million times during a single night; and Ehrenberg speaks of an animalcule which prop-agates so rapidly that ...

Animal. Part 3: For instance, the pigeon in its wild state broods but twice a year, but when do-mesticated six, and sometimes even nine times. In the latter case, a single pair would in four years produce 14,762 desc...

Animal. Part 4: The dragoon pigeon has flown from Bury to London, 72 miles, in 2 1/2 hours. Spallanzani states that two swallows flew from Milan to Pavia, 18 miles, in 13 minutes. The precision and rapidity of muscu...

Animalcules: Animalcules, a name familiarly applied to the more minute forms of animal life, for the knowledge of which we are mainly indebted to the microscope. Leeuwenhoeck led the way in this as in most other b...

Animalcules. Part 2: There are some exceptions to this rule also, but they are not numerous, nor do they greatly detract from its practical value. Agassiz has satisfied himself that very many of Ehrenberg's genera are ger...

Animalcules. Part 3: Here it is digested, and its nutritive portions absorbed; and when this is accoraplished, the undigested portion, if any such remain, is protruded toward the surface, and finally emerges from the body...

II. Rotifera Or Wheel Animalcules: These have little in common with the order of infusoria of which we have spoken, being both more highly organized and formed on a different plan. Even in respect to size they differ, being generally m...

Animal Electricity: Animal Electricity, electricity produced in the bodies of animals. Of this electricity there arc two kinds, the dynamical or galvanic and the statical. I. The production of dynamic electricity. Few di...

Animal Electricity. Part 2: He owes his success in a great measure to his galvanometer, which admirable instrument, made by himself, is so sensitive that the exceedingly weak current from two parts of the skin, even very near ea...

Animal Electricity. Part 3: It is known that when a continuous current passes through a nerve there is a contraction in the muscle which it enters in the beginning of the passage and on its cessation, and also when there is any ...

Animal Electricity. Part 4: Hence it must be concluded that the electro-motive force of the parelectronomic layer remains constant in the act of contraction. 13. If any part of a nerve is submitted to the action of a permanent c...

Ammal Heat: Ammal Heat, the heat produced in the interior of animal bodies by the nutritive changes going on in the blood and the tissues. Living animals, as a general rule, if not invariably, have the power of g...

Ammal Heat. Continued: Not only is the temperature of the muscular system itself raised, but the rapidity of the circulation is accelerated, a larger quantity of warm blood is brought to the skin in a giventime, and the sen...

Animal Magnetism, Or Mesmerism: Animal Magnetism, Or Mesmerism, an influence analogous to terrestrial and metallic magnetism, supposed to reside in animal bodies and to be capable of transmission from one to another. It was first br...

Animal Magnetism, Or Mesmerism. Continued: His system had indeed become so popular that he ventured to address a note to the French government, stating that he had discovered an agent by which most of the diseases of the human frame could be c...

Anime Resin: Anime (Fr., animated), a resin supposed to be derived from the hymenaea courbaril of South America. It exudes from wounds in the bark, and collects between the principal roots. This resin is soft and ...

Anise Seed: Anise Seed, the fruit of the pimpinella ani-sum, a native of Europe and Africa. It is extensively employed as a carminative medicine, and for the purpose of flavoring liqueurs or medicines. It yields ...

Anjou: Anjou, an ancient province of N. W. France, chiefly constituting the present department of Maine-et-Loire, with Angers for its capital. In the time of the Romans it was inhabited by the Andegavi. Duri...

Anklam: Anklam, an old town of Germany, in the Prussian province of Pomerania, on the river Peene, 6 m. from its mouth in the Stettin-IIaff, 45 m. N. W. of Stettin, and 91 m. by railway N. of Berlin; pop., i...

Mikolaj Ankwitz: Mikolaj Ankwitz, count, a Polish politician, executed in 1794. He was ambassador at Copenhagen, and deputy to the diet from Cracow. In the diet of Grodno, which was forced to sanction the second disme...

Anna Carlovna: Anna Carlovna, grand duchess of Russia, originally called Elizabeth Catharine Christina, daughter of Charles Louis, prince of Mecklenburg, and Catharina Ivanovna, daughter of the eldest brotherof Pete...

Anna Comnena: Anna Comnena, daughter of Alexis Comne-nus, emperor of Constantinople, and the empress Irene, born Dec. 1, 1083, died in 1148. She was married to Nicephorus Bryennius, a Greek nobleman of distinction,...

Anna Ivanovna: Anna Ivanovna, empress of Russia, born in 1693, died Oct. 28, 1740. She was the daughter of Ivan, the eldest brother of Peter the Great, and married the duke of Courland, who died previous to her asce...

Annaberg: Annaberg, a town of Saxony, in the Erzge-birge, 2,000 feet above sea level, in the district of Zwickau, 19 m. by railway S. of Chemnitz; pop. in 1871, 11,639. The mining, formerly of great importance,...

Annals: Annals (Lat. annates, that is, libri annates, year books), a concise and unadorned narrative of events, written in the order of time. In the early days of Rome the pontifex maximus kept a record of st...

Annapolis: Annapolis, a city of Anno Arundel county, Md., capital of the county and of the state, 28 m. S. by E. of Baltimore, and 40 m E. by N. of Washington; lat. of the state house, 38 58' N., Ion. 76&de...

Ann Arbor. Annapolis: I. A W. county of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada, bounded N. W. by the bay of Fundy; area, about 1,700 sq. m.; pop. in 1871,18,121. The principal river is the Annapolis, which flows S. W. about 6...

Ann Arbor: Ann Arbor, a city of Michigan, capital of Washtenaw county, Iying on both sides of Huron river, in lat. 42 15' N., Ion. 83 43' W., 38 m. by railroad W. of Detroit; pop. in 1870, 7,363. The H...

Annats, Or Annates: Annats, Or Annates, originally certain funds which by ecclesiastical law were paid by a new incumbent of a church living to the pope or bishop. As the name indicates, they amounted to the first year's...

Anne: Anne, queen of Great Britain and Ireland, the last member of the house of Stuart who sat upon the English throne, born at Twickenham, near London, Feb. 6, 1664, died Aug. 1, 1714. She was the second d...

Annealing: Annealing (Sax. anaelan, to heat), a process of softening and toughening certain metals and glass by heating them, and then cooling them very slowly. In working some of the metals under the hammer, or...

Anne Arundel: Anne Arundel, a central county of Maryland, on the W. shore of Chesapeake bay, bounded N. by the Patapsco river, W. by the Patuxent, and watered in the eastern half by the South and Severn rivers; are...

Anne Of Austria: Anne Of Austria, queen of France, daughter of Philip III. king of Spain, born Sept. 22, 1601, died Jan. 20, 1666. She was married in 1615 to Louis XIII., and in 1638, 23 years after her marriage, beca...

Bullen Anne Boleyn: Bullen Anne Boleyn, or Bouleyne, queen of England, one of the wives of Henry VIII., beheaded May 19, 1536. The date of her birth is uncertain, some authorities placing it as early as 1500, others as l...

Anne Of Brittany: Anne Of Brittany, queen of France, born in Nantes, June 26, 1476, died in the castle of Blois, Jan. 9,1514. She was the daughter and heiress of Francis II., duke of Brittany. That duchy was her dowry ...

Anne Of Cleves: Anne Of Cleves, daughter of Duke John III., and fourth wife of Henry VIII. of England, died at Chelsea, July 16, 1557. To please the Protestant party, and to make friends among the Protestant German p...

Annecy: Annecy, an old town of Savoy, capital of the French department of Haute-Savoie, pleasantly situated near the lake of its name, 22 m. S. of Geneva; pop. in 1866, 11,551. It has various factories, cotto...

Annelida: Annelida (Lat. annellus, a small ring), red-blooded worms, such as the earth worm, the lug worm, and the leech. They are the only section of invertebrate animals which have red blood. They form an ext...

Arthur Annesley: Arthur Annesley, first earl of Anglesey, born in Dublin in 1614, died April 6, 1686. He was the eldest son of Sir Francis Anneslev, afterward Baron Mountnorris and Viscount of Va-lentia. He was among ...

Annius Of Viterbo: Annius Of Viterbo, an Italian Dominican, born at Viterbo about 1432, died Nov. 13, 1502. His real name was Giovanni Nanni, which he Latinized into Johannes Annius. He enjoyed the especial favor of Pop...

Anno, Or Hanno: Anno, Or Hanno, Saint, archbishop of Cologne, died Dec. 4, 1075. He belonged to a noble family, and was destined at first to the profession of arms. He was chancellor under the emperor Henry III., and...

Annonay: Annonay, a town of southern France, department of Ardeche, 37 m. S. of Lyons, noted as the birthplace of the Montgolfiers, inventors of the air balloon, and for its paper made at mills erected by thes...

Annatto Annotto: Annatto Annotto, or Arnatto, a red coloring matter extracted from the outer part of the seeds of a Brazilian evergreen, called the bixa Orellana. Dissolved in an alkali, as a crude pearl-ash, its colo...

Annuity: Annuity, a yearly payment, subject to various conditions. The payment may be stipulated without regard to any contingency, in which case it is called an annuity certain. If limited in time, it is call...

Annunciation: Annunciation, the announcement to Mary by the angel (Luke i. 30-33) that she should conceive and bear the child Jesus. In commemoration of this event, the church instituted the feast of the Annunciati...

Anodyne: Anodyne (Gr. av privative and pain), a term properly applied, not to medicines which relieve pain by removing its cause, but to those which merely diminish the conducting power of the nerves of sensat...

Anointing: Anointing, an ancient custom of pouring aromatic oils on persons as a token of honor. It was employed in consecrating priests, prophets, kings, and the places and instruments appointed for worship. In...

Anoka: Anoka, an E. county of Minnesota, hounded S. W. by the Mississippi river, and intersected by Rum river, one of its branches; area, 420 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 3,940. The productions in 1870 were 27,390 ...

Anolis: Anolis (anolius), a reptile of the saurian family, peculiar to America, belonging to that section of the iguanas which Cuvier distinguishes as having teeth on the palate of the mouth as well as on the...

Louis Pierre Anqietil: Louis Pierre Anqietil, a French historian, brother of Anquetil-Duperron, born in Paris, Feb. 21, 1723, died Sept. 0, 1808. He was an ecclesiastic, and published a history of Rheims (1750), a history o...

Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron: Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron, a French oriental scholar, born in Paris, Dec. 7, 1731, died there, Jan. 17, 1805. He was educated for the church, but preferred to devote himself to oriental lite...

Giordano Ansaloni: Giordano Ansaloni, a Sicilian Dominican missionary, died by torture at Nagasaki, Japan, Nov. 18. 1634. Hearing that in the Japanese islands Christians were persecuted with the utmost barbarity, he wen...

Ansaries, Or Ansarians: Ansaries, Or Ansarians (Arab. Anscriych), also called Nossairians, an Arab tribe or sect inhabiting the mountainous district between the northern part of the Lebanon and Antioch, Syria. This range, ca...

Saint Anscarius, Or Ansgar: Anscarius, Or Ansgar. (Fr. Anschaire), Saint, the apostle of the north, born in Picardyin 801, died at Bremen m 864. Educated in the old Benedictine monastery of Corbie, near Amiens, he was early tr...

Richard An Sdell: Richard An Sdell, an English painter, born in Liverpool in 1815. He is known chiefly as a painter of animals and field sports, although occasionally attempting a historical work, such as The Battle o...

Anselm: Anselm, a saint and doctor of the Latin church, born at Aosta in Piedmont about 1033, died in Canterbury, England, April 21, 1109. His youth was dissolute, until, at the age of 27, he entered the Bene...

Anson: Anson, a S. county of North Carolina, bordering on South Carolina, bounded N. by Rocky river, and E. by the Yadkin; area, 650 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 12,428, of whom 6,951 were colored. The Yadkin furni...

Lord George Anson: George Anson, lord, an English admiral and navigator, born at Shugborough, Staffordshire, April 23, 1697, died June 6, 1762. He entered the navy when a boy, was made a post captain in 1724, and receiv...

George Anson: George Anson, British commander-in-chief in India, born in London, Oct. 13, 1797, died of cholera at Kurnaul, May 27,1857. He was the second son of the first Viscount Anson, and uncle of the first ear...

Ansonia: Ansonia, a manufacturing village in the town of Derby, New Haven co., Conn., on the E. bank of the Naugatuck river and on the Naugatuck railroad, 9 m. W. N. W. of New Haven; pop. in 1870, 2,749. It wa...

Anspach: Anspach (Ger. Ansbach, formerly Onolz-bach; Lat. Onoldum), a town of Bavaria, capital of the government of Middle Franconia, and formerly of the principality of Anspach-Baireuth, which gave the title ...

Elizabeth Anspach: Elizabeth Anspach, margravine of, youngest daughter of the fourth earl of Berkeley, born in December, 1750, died in Naples in January, 1828. She was married in her 17th year to Mr. Craven, afterward e...

David Thomas Ansted: David Thomas Ansted, an English physicist, born in London in 1814. He was educated at Cambridge, and has been professor of geology at King's college, London, and the college of civil engineers at Putn...

John Anster: John Anster, an Irish poet, born at Charle-ville, in the county of Cork, about 1798, died in June, 1867. He was educated at Trinity college, Dublin, and published in 1819 a volume of Poems and Trans...

Christopher Anstey: Christopher Anstey, an English satirical poet, bornatBrinkley, Cambridgeshire, Oct. 31,1724, died at Chippenham in 1805. He is only remembered for his amusing satire called The New Bath Guide, the ...

Thomas Chisholm Anstey: Thomas Chisholm Anstey, an English author, born in London in 1816. He was called to the bar in 1839, removed to Ireland, was member of parliament for Youghal from 1847 to 1852, and from 1854 to 1858 w...

Ant: Ant, an insect belonging to the family for-micidcB (or formicari, Latreille), of the suborder hymenoptera or membranous-winged insects. There are numerous genera and several hundred species know...

Antacids: Antacids, certain drugs used to neutralize acid, either in the alimentary canal or circulating in the blood. For the former indication, the carbonates and bicarbonates of soda and potassa, lime water,...

Antae: Antae, in ancient geography, a Sarmatian people, between the Dniester and the Don, a branch of the Slavic Venedae or Wends. Justinian overcame them when he caught them in the Roman territory, and gave...

Antaeus: Antaeus, a mythological giant of Libya, son of Neptune and Terra, a mighty wrestler, and invincible while he continued in contact with the earth. Whoever visited Libya was bound to wrestle with him, a...

Antalcidas: Antalcidas, a Spartan, who, at the end of the Corinthian war, was sent on an embassy to Tinbazus, governor of Sardis, to negotiate a peace with Persia. He succeeded, and the peace, concluded in 387 B....

Antar: Antar, properly Antarah, an Arabian prince and poet of the 6th century, author of one of the Moallakat, the seven poems suspended on the Caaba at Mecca. A copy of a work called Antar, celebrating th...

Antarctic Discovery: The ancient geographers, among others the Greek Ptolemy, supposed a continent to exist near the south pole, and to extend to a great distance around it. On nearly all maps published before the middle ...

Ant-Eater: Ant-Eater, the popular name of the South American species of the old genus myrmeco-phaga, of the edentate order of mammals, from the principal food of these animals. The ordinal characters are given u...

Antelope: Antelope, an animal of the family antiIope, ruminating mammalia, with hollow horns, conical, bent back, cylindrical or compressed, ringed at the base. The occipital plane forms an obtuse angle w...

Antennae: Antennae, horn-like members on the head of insects and crustaceous animals. The an-tennae are commonly called feelers, but their functions are not understood. In insects they are two in number; in cra...

Antenor: Antenor, a Trojan prince, son of Aesyetes and Cleomestra, and one of the wisest among the elders of Troy. He counselled his fellow citizens to give Helen up to the Greeks. It is said that, having been...

Antequera: Antequera (anc. Antiquaria or Anticaria), a city of Spain, in the province and 25 m. N. by W. of Malaga, with which it is connected by railroad, on the Guadalorce; pop. 25,900. It is situated in a fru...

Anthemius: I. Emperor of the West from A. D. 407 to 472. He was the son-in-law of the emperor Mercian, and was invested with the purple at the suggestion of Ricimer, who ultimately became his son-in-law. Anthemi...

Anther: Anther (Gr. flowery), the male organ of the flower. Considered morphologically, it is a modified leaf, the petiole or stem of the leaf becoming the filament of the stamen, and the leaf blade by the se...

Charles Anthon: Charles Anthon, LL. D., an American classical scholar, born in New York in 1797, died there, July 29, 1867. His father, Dr. G. C. Anthon, a German by birth, was surgeon general in the British army, an...

Henry B Anthony: Henry B Anthony., an American journalist and senator, born at Coventry, R. L, April 1, 1815. He was educated at Brown university, became in 1838 editor of the Providence Journal, was governor of Rho...

Saint Anthony: Saint Anthony. I. Surnamed the Great, born in Upper Egypt in 251, died in 356. He was rich and well educated, but sold all his possessions, gave the money to the poor, and retired into the desert, whe...

Susan Brownell Anthony: Susan Brownell Anthony, an American reformer, born in South Adams, Mass., Feb. 15, 1820. Her father was a member of the society of Friends. She was employed in his cotton factory, completed her educat...

Anthracene: Anthracene (C14 H10), formerly called para-naphthaline, a solid hydrocarbon which accompanies naphthaline in the last stages of the distillation of coal tar, and which has acquired great importance as...

Anthracite: Anthracite (Gr. like coals, from coal), the most condensed variety of mineral coal, containing the largest proportion of carbon and the smallest quantity of volatile matter. Excepting the diamond, ...

Exhibiting Its Relations To The Principal Mar Engineer Of Mixes: Exhibiting Its Relations To The Principal Mar Engineer Of Mixes. etc. They arc generally made from picked specimens, by many men and many methods, each giving widely diverse results even from the sam...

Exhibiting Its Relations To The Principal Mar Engineer Of Mixes. Part 2: The coals of the lower beds are most hard and dense. The middle beds produce the purest coal, and the coal of the upper beds is most soft and friable under heat. The same description would apply to th...

Exhibiting Its Relations To The Principal Mar Engineer Of Mixes. Part 3: The coal beds in the Wyoming portion extend to K (fig. 1), but in the Lackawanna the number is less, extending only to II or I. The coal of the entire field is anthracite. - The first or southern and ...

Exhibiting Its Relations To The Principal Mar Engineer Of Mixes. Part 4: Since then28,700,015 tonshave passed through it, of which 1,010,171 tons were shipped in 1871. The first railway built in the United States, except one of three miles at Quincy, Mass., was a gravity r...

Exhibiting Its Relations To The Principal Mar Engineer Of Mixes. Part 5: The coal of Price's mountain basin is a true anthracite, but less dense, lustrous, and pure than that of Pennsylvania. The Brush mountain basin lies at the E. base of the North mountain, and resembles...

Exhibiting Its Relations To The Principal Mar Engineer Of Mixes. Part 6: An analysis of this anthracite gave 04.234 per cent. carbon. Anthracite also exists in Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Norway, Persia, India, China, and South America; and generally anthracite is f...

Exhibiting Its Relations To The Principal Mar Engineer Of Mixes. Part 7: The preceding are such as are strictly denominated faults in the Pennsylvania anthracite fields; but the ever-varying dip of the strata, the change of strike incident thereto, and the general irregula...

Anthropology: Anthropology, the science of man. See Anatomy, Archeology, Comparative Anatomy, Ethnology, Moral Philosophy, Philosophy, and Physiology. ...

Anthropomiorphites: Anthropomiorphites (Gr. man, and form), those who believe that God possesses a human shape. Audius, a Syrian layman (340), taught that God essentially exists in human form, and opposed the authority o...

Axtibes: Axtibes (anc. Autipolits), a town and seaport of France, department of Alpes-Maritimes, built on a promontory jutting into the Mediterranean, 15 m. S. W. of Nice; pop. in 1866, 6,829. It has fortifica...

Antichlor: Antichlor, in chemistry, any substance ca-pable of eliminating the excess of chlorine or of free hypochlorous acid left in goods and paper after the process of bleaching by chloride of lime. Several a...

Antichrist: Antichrist (Gr. against, or in place of, and Christ), a term which occurs five times in the Bible, but only in the first and second epistles of John. These passages recognize the previous teaching tha...

Anticosti: Anticosti, an uncultivated island in the gulf of St. Lawrence, 120 m. long and 30 m. wide in the centre, narrowing toward both ends. It divides the gulf into a N. and a S. channel. The E. point is in ...

Antietam. Anticyra: I. An ancient city of southern Thessaly, on the Spercheus, famous for producing the best hellebore, which was regarded by the ancients as a cure for madness. II. A city of Phocis on the Corinthian gu...

Antidotes: Antidotes (Gr. against, and to give), a term formerly used to signify remedies or preservatives against sickness, but now applied only to means for counteracting the effect of poisons. To get rid at ...

Battle Of Antietam: Battle Of Antietam, fought by the national army of the Potomac, under Gen. George B. McClellan, and the confederate army of North Virginia, under Gen. Robert E. Lee, between Sharpsburg and the Antieta...

Antigone, Antigonus: Antigone, one of the tragic characters in the Greek legends, a daughter of dipus by his mother Jocasta. When dipus, after discovering that he had killed his father and married his mother, ...

Antigonus: I. The Cyclops (so called from having lost an eye in battle), a Macedonian officer of Alexander the Great, and subsequently king of Asia, slain at the battle of Ipsus in Phrygia in 301 B. C. At the di...

Antigua: Antigua, one of the British West India islands, in the Leeward group, 40 m. N. of Guadeloupe, about 18 m. in diameter; area, 108 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, with the adjacent island of Barbuda, 35,157, incl...

Anti-Libanus, Or Anti-Lebanon: Anti-Libanus, Or Anti-Lebanon, a mountain ridge of Palestine, one of the two offsets of the Taurus which are thrown off from that range as it passes the X. E. point of the Mediterranean and take a sou...

Antilles: Antilles, a name of somewhat loose application, but generally given to two groups of the West India islands. The name of Antilla is sometimes supposed to have been applied by Columbus to his first dis...

Anti-Masonry: Anti-Masonry, a political movement which originated in the state of New York in 1827. In the autumn of 1820 William Morgan, a mechanic of Batavia, N. Y., who was reported to be about to publish a volu...

Antimony: Antimony, a metal first extracted from the ore in 1490 by Basil Valentine, a monk of Erfurt. It is of a silver-white color, slightly bluish, of strong lustre, and of a peculiar taste and smell. Its te...

Antinomians: Antinomians (Gr. against, and law), those who reject the moral law as not binding upon Christians. Some go further and affirm that a child of God cannot sin; that the moral law is abrogated as a rule...

Antinous: Antinous, a beautiful Bithynian youth, the favorite of the emperor Hadrian, accompanied that prince on his journey through Egypt, and was drowned in the Nile A. D. 132. According to Dion Cassius, he d...

Antioch: Antioch (anc. Antiochia; Turk. Antakia or Antakieh), a city of Syria, was the most magnificent of 16 cities of the same name built by Seleucus Nicator, about300 B. C, in memory of his father Antiochu...

Antioch College: Antioch College, a seat of learning at Yellow Springs, Green county, Ohio, 75 m. N. E. of Cincinnati. It was incorporated in 1852, and its buildings, erected at an expense of $150,000, occupy a beauti...

Antiociiis: Antiociiis, the name of several kings of Syria, of whom the following are the most important in its history: I. Antiochns I., Soter, born about 325 B. C, died in 261. He was the son of Seleucus Nicato...

Antioquia: Antioquia, one of the nine states of the United States of Colombia, between lat. 5 3' and 8 9' N., and Ion. 74 3' and 76 13' W., touching the gulf of Darien on the N. TV., and boun...

Antiparos: Antiparos (anc. Oliarus or Olearus), an island of the Grecian archipelago, one of the Cyclades, forming part of the eparchy of Naxos, Greece, about 3 by 7 m., separated from Paros by a strait 1 1/2 m....

Antipater: Antipater, a Macedonian general, one of the successors of Alexander, born about 390 B. C, died in 319. He was educated by Aristotle. Appointed viceroy of Macedonia and Greece when Alexander made his e...

Antiphon: Antiphon, an Athenian orator, son of So-philus the sophist, born at Rhamnus in Attica about 480 B. C, died in 4ll. He taught rhetoric at Athens, composed orations for others, was the first who receive...

Antiphony: Antiphony (Gr. response), the response which, in the Roman Catholic service, one side of the choir makes to the other in the chant. Antiphonal or responsive singing is the most ancient form of church ...

Anti-Rentism: The Dutch West India company authorized its members in New York to take up land upon the banks of the streams and rivers, on condition of introducing within a limited time 50 settlers for every mile o...

Antisana: Antisana, a volcanic mountain of Ecuador, in the eastern Cordillera, 35 rn. S. E. of Quito, according to Humboldt, 19,148 ft. high; according to Wisse, 19,279. An eruption in 1590 is recorded; and Hum...

Antiseptics: Antiseptics (Gr. against, and putrid), substances or means which prevent or arrest putrefaction. Putrefaction is a process which highly complex organic bodies undergo when subjected to the proper co...

Antispasmodics: Antispasmodics, the means of removing spasm. Spasm or cramp occurs in muscular structures, and is caused by irritation of the nerves. Spasm consists in an irregular and sometimes excessive action of a...

Antisthenes: Antisthenes, an Athenian philosopher, the founder of the sect of the Cynics, flourished about 380 B. C. He was a pupil of Gor-gias, and afterward one of the most faithful disciples of Socrates, remain...

Antium: Antium, an ancient city of Latium, built on a rocky promontory which projects into the Mediterranean,;12 m. S. of Rome. One legend ascribed its foundation to a son of Ulysses and Circe, another to Asc...

Antliox, Or Lion Ant: Antliox, Or Lion Ant, a species of neuropter-ous insect, of the genus myrmeleon (Linn.), which has become celebrated for the singular manner in which the larva obtains a living prey. The perfect insec...

Antoine De Bourbon: Antoine De Bourbon, duke of Vendome, and afterward king of Navarre, the father of Henry IV. of France, born in 1518, died Nov. 17, 1502. He married in 1548 Jeanne d'Albret, only child of Henry II., ki...

Carlo Francesco Antommarchi: Carlo Francesco Antommarchi, physician to Napoleon at St. Helena, born in Corsica, died at San Antonio de Cuba, April 3, 1838. He was professor of anatomy at Florence, where in 1818 Letitia Bonaparte ...

Giacomo Antonelli: Giacomo Antonelli, an Italian cardinal and statesman, born at Sonnino, near Terracina, April 2, 1806. He was educated at the great seminary of Rome, and having early distinguished himself by his abili...

Antonello Da Messina: Antonello Da Messina, an Italian painter, born at Messina in 1414, died about 1493. According to Vasari and other authorities, he was the first Italian who painted in oil, learning the art under Van E...

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus: Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, a Roman emperor, son-in-law and successor of Antoninus Pius, born A. I). 121, ascended the throne in 101, died March 17, 180. His original name was Marcus Annius Verus. Afte...

Titns Anrelins Fulvius Antoninus Pius: Titns Anrelins Fulvius Antoninus Pius, a Roman emperor, born near Rome, Sept. 19, A. D. 86, began to reign in 188, died in 161. He was descended from a respectable provincial family of Nemausus (Nimes...

Nicolas Antonio: Nicolas Antonio, a Spanish bibliographer of Flemish origin, born at Seville in 1617, died in Madrid in 1684. He lived in Rome 20 years (1659-79) as agent of Philip IV. and in other official capacities...

Marcus Antonus: Marcus Antonus, a Roman orator, born in 143 B. C, killed in 87. In 104 he was praetor, in 99 consul, and in 97 censor. He was famed for his eloquence in the forum, rendering Italy, according to Cicero...

Mark Antony (Marcus Antonius): Mark (Marcus Antonius) Antony, the Roman triumvir, horn in 83 B. C, died in 30. He was the son of Marcus Antonius Oreticus and Julia, daughter of the former consul Lucius Julius Caesar. During his boy...

Emmanuel Louis Henri De Launay Antraigues: Emmanuel Louis Henri De Launay Antraigues, count d; a French adventurer and secret agent, born at Villeneuve-de-Berg about 1755, assassinated near London, July 22, 1812. He was a patron of science, le...

Antrim, Ireland: I. A county forming the N. E. extremity of Ireland, in the province of Ulster, bounded N. by the Atlantic ocean, E. by the North channel, S. by Belfast Lough and county Down, and W. by Lough Neagh and...

Antrim, Michigan: Antrim, a county of Michigan, in the N. W. of the main peninsula, bordering on Grand Traverse bay, Lake Michigan; area, 700 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 1,985. There are several small lakes in the county. Th...

Antwerp: Antwerp (Fr. Anxers; Span. Amberes; Ger. and Flem. Antwerpen). I. A province of Belgium, bounded N. by Holland, and E., S., and W. by the Belgian provinces of Limburg, Brabant, and East Flanders; area...

Anubis: Anubis (Eg. Anepu), one of the principal Egyptian deities of the second cycle. He was represented either as a dog or a man with a dog's or a jackal's head. Sometimes he wore a double crown. A white an...

Anvil: Anvil, an iron block with a smooth face on which smiths hammer and shape their work. The smallest anvils, called bickerns, are mostly made of steel. The largest, used with tilt, trip, or steam hammers...

Jean Baptiste Bourgnignon D Anville: Jean Baptiste Bourgnignon D Anville. a French geographer, born at Paris in 1697, died there in 1782. At the age of 15 he published a map of ancient Greece. In his 22d year he was appointed royal geogr...

Aorta: Aorta (Gr. air vessel), the largest artery in the body. The aorta and arteries were first named air vessels by Greek anatomists, because until the time of Galen they were supposed to contain air inste...

Aosta: Aosta (anc. Augusta Pratoria), a town of Piedmont, in the province and 49 m. N. N. W. of Turin, on the Dora-Baltea, at the foot of the Great St. Bernard, and the southern termination of the Alpine pas...

Apaches: Apaches, a fierce nomadic nation of the great Athabascan family, roaming over portions of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona in the United States, and Sonora. Chihuahua, and Durango in Mexico. The Apaches...

Ape: Ape, a quadrumanous animal of the class mammalia, nearly approaching the human race in anatomical structure. A common distinction between the monkey, baboon, and ape is. that the first has a long and ...

Apeldoorn: Apeldoorn, a town of Holland, province of Gelderland, 15 m. N. of Arnhem; pop. in 1868, 12,087. In 1871 it had 42 manufactories of papier mache. Near it is the royal castle of Loo. ...

Apelles: Apelles, the most celebrated of Greek painters, born, according to Pliny and Ovid, in the island of Cos; according to Suidas, at Colophon. Strabo and Lucian call him an Ephe-sian, but he appears to ha...

Ernst Friedrich Apelt: Ernst Friedrich Apelt, a German metaphysician, born at Reichenau, March 3, 1812, died in Jena, Oct. 27, 1859. He was a professor at Jena, and a disciple of Jacob Friedrich Fries, whose theories he sup...

Apennines: Apennines, a chain of mountains in Italy, extending, with but trilling intervals between its principal groups, through the entire length of the Italian peninsula, from the Maritime Alps to the straits...

Apenrade: Apenrade, a seaport town in the Prussian province of Schleswig, situated on the Baltic, 20 m. N. of Flensburg; pop. in 1871, 5,932. On March 30, 1848, there was here an encounter between the Prussians...

Aphis: Aphis, the plant louse, or puceron, a genus of insects included in the order homoptera. The number of species is very large; 326 are described in Francis Walker's list of specimens of homopterous inse...

Apicius: Apicius, the name of three noted Roman epicures. I. Lived in the earlier part of the 1st century B. C. He spent much of his time at intervals in Latium, on account of its excellent lobsters, but havin...

Apis: Apis (Egyp. Hapi, a name closely resembling that of the Nile), a bull worshipped by the Egyptians. In their mythology the soul of Osiris, murdered by the evil spirit Typhon, migrated into this bull. I...

Aplantic Lens: Aplantic Lens (Gr. a privative and wandering), a lens made in such a way as to correct the spherical aberration. When rays come from a great distance, this may he done by making the curve of a lens ...

Apocalypse: Apocalypse (Gr. unveiling), or Revelation of St. John, the name of the last book of the ]New Testament. The church at an early period appears to have ascribed the authorship of the book to John the e...

Apocrypha: Apocrypha (Gr. concealed), hidden or unpublished books. This term is variously applied in the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches. The Roman Catholic church gives the name Apocrypha to those books...

Apolda: Apolda, a town in the grand duchy of Saxe-Weimar, on the Thuringia railway, about 12 m. E. N E. of Weimar; pop. in 1867, 8,882. It is remarkable for its manufacture of hosiery, which has been develope...

Apollliarians: Apollliarians, an heretical sect, founded about 302 by Apollinaris, bishop of Laodicea, who, in his zeal against the Arians, sought to impress the following modifications on the Nicene creed: 1. That ...

Apollo: Apollo, one of the principal gods of Grecian mythology, called also Phoebus, and in Homer and Hesiod generally designated as Phbus Apollo. He was the son of Jupiter and La-tona, and twin brother...

Apollo Belvedere: Apollo Belvedere, a statue, perhaps the greatest existing work of ancient art, representing the god Apollo at the moment of his victory over the Python. It was found in 1503 among the ruins of ancient...

Apollodoris Of Charystus: Apollodoris Of Charystus, a comic poet of the new Attic comedy, flourished about the middle of the 3d century B. C. Terence took from him the plots of several of his plays. ...

Apollonia: Apollonia, a city of ancient Illyria or New Epirus, near the mouth of the river Aous (now the Voyutza in Albania). It was founded by colonists from Corinth and Corcyra. The place, having suffered much...

Apollonius Pergaeus: Apollonius Pergaeus, an ancient geometer of Alexandria, born at Perga in Pamphylia, flourished about 230 B. 0. His work upon the conic sections gained for him from his contemporaries the title of the ...

Apollonius Rhodius: Apollonius Rhodius, the author of the Argonautics, an epic poem on the voyage of the Argo, flourished at the close of the 3d century B. 0. He spent much of his youth in Alexandria, of which he is supp...

Apollonius Tyanaeus: Apollonius Tyanaeus, a Pythagorean philosopher, born at Tyana, Cappadocia, about 4 B. C. He travelled for many years through Asia Minor and the East, disputing everywhere concerning the mysteries of n...

Apollos: Apollos, an Alexandrian Jew, converted to Christianity about A. D. 54. He began (Acts xviii. 24) to preach at Ephesus, knowing only the baptism of John, and was afterward instructed by Aquila and Pr...

Apollyon: Apollyon (Gr. the destroyer), used in Rev. ix. 11 as a translation of the Hebrew abaddon. In the Old Testament abad-don signifies the subterranean region, or place of the dead, equivalent to the Gree...

Apostles: Apostles (Gr. the sent, messengers), a title bestowed in the New Testament upon all who were commissioned to preach the gospel of Christ, but especially upon the twelve whom Jesus chose from the whol...

Apostles Creed: Apostles Creed, the oldest, most comprehensive, and most universally accepted creed of Christendom, interesting from its antiquity, and still more from its general adoption by the Greek, Roman, and Pr...

Apostolici: I. A sect of the 2d century, mentioned by St. Augustine, concerning which very little is known. They considered marriage and individual possession of property mortal sins. II. A sect of the 12th cent...

Apothecary: Apothecary (Lat. apothecarius, from Gr. a shop or store), one who prepares and dispenses medicines. Apothecaries formerly sold herbs and drugs and spices, and by long practice in the art of preparing...

Appalachee Bay: Appalachee Bay, a large open bay on the S. W. coast of Florida in the gulf of Mexico, having a breadth of about 45 m.. and an extent inland of 18 m. There is a wide passage from the bay, 10 feet deep,...

Appalachees: Appalachees, an Indian tribe of Florida, living on a bay which still bears their name. They were of the same family as the Choctaws, and were very numerous. They were at first not friendly to the Span...

Appalachian Mountains: Appalachian Mountains, the great range of mountains, called also the Alleghanies, which extends from that part of Canada lying between the New England states and the St. Lawrence river, through the wh...

Appalachian Mountains. Part 2: Toward the north and the south from this central portion, the plateau becomes more elevated, as well as the summits that rise up from it. In North Carolina, near the borders of Tennessee, and in the n...

Appalachian Mountains. Part 3: These faults,1' however, are met with in several of the states, but particularly in S. W. Virginia, where they extend for about 100 m. in length, their course being the same as that of the anticlinal...

Appalachicola: I. A river of W. Florida, formed by the union of the Chattahoochee and Flint rivers at the S. W. angle of Georgia, flows S. about 75 m. into St. George's sound, through an estuary called Appalachicola...

Appanoose: Appanoose, a S. county of Iowa, adjoining Missouri; area, 510 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 16,-456. The North Missouri railroad traverses it. The river Chariton, which flows through it, and numerous smaller ...

Apparatus: Apparatus, in physiology, a group or collection of different organs, which are associated in the performance of some function in which each one bears a particular part. Thus, the heart, arteries, vein...

Apparition: Apparition, a spectral illusion, by which imaginary objects are presented to the senses with such vividness that they are believed to be real. This form of illusion, the result of some abnormal state ...

Appeal: Appeal, in law, the proceeding by which a decision of a court or judge is taken to a superior tribunal for review. Though appeal is commonly used in the law to describe all revisory proceedings, yet t...

Appeal. Part 2: The constitution of the United States provides that no person shall be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb, and no state can by any statutory provision take away f...

Appeal. Part 3: The first regularly organized tribunals of appeal in France were about the reign of Louis IX. The French right of appeal, especially in criminal cases, seems to American or English observers to be oft...

Appenzell: Appenzell, a N. E. canton of Switzerland, entirely surrounded by the canton of St. Gall; area, 163 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 60,639. The surface is irregular and hilly, but there are no considerable mount...

Charles James Apperley: Charles James Apperley, an English sporting writer, born in Denbighshire in 1777, died in London, May 19, 1843. After serving for a short time in a cavalry regiment, he began contributing under the na...

Benjamin Nicolas Marie Appert: Benjamin Nicolas Marie Appert, a French philanthropist, born in Paris in 1797. At the age of 18 he formed the idea of establishing schools for mutual instruction in the department of Le Nord, and appl...

Appetite: Appetite (Lat, appetere, to desire or seek earnestly), in physiology, the natural desire and relish for nutritious food. The desire for food returns, in man and animals, with a certain degree of regul...

Appian: Appian (Lat. Appiamis), a Greek historian of the 2d century, born at Alexandria in Egypt. He removed to Home in the reign of* Trajan, and continued there under Hadrian and Antoninus Pius, lie was by p...

Andrea Appiani: Andrea Appiani, an Italian painter, born at Bosisio, near Milan, in 1754, died in 1817 or 1818. His best works are frescoes in the palace at Milan and the cupola of Santa Maria di San Celso. Apollo ...

Appiano: Appiano, the name of an Italian family which ruled over Pisa and Piombino from the 14th to the 17th century. I. Jacopo I., the founder of the family, died Sept. 5, 1398. Having attached himself to the...

Appian Way: Appian Way (Lat. Via Appia), a celebrated road which with its branches connected Rome with all parts of southern Italy. The main road was laid out as far as Capua by Appius Claudius CAecus (312-307 B....

Apple: Apple, the fruit of pyrvs malus, of the natural order rosacea. Although the apple is mentioned in the Bible, and by Theophras-tus, Herodotus, and other ancient writers, it is probable that other fruit...

Apple. Continued: Of ornamental blossoming apple trees, the common crab and the double-flowered Siberian crab, both red and white, are much cultivated. - The wood of the apple tree in its wild state is tine-grained, ha...

Apples Of Sodom: Apples Of Sodom, a fruit supposed to grow near the Dead sea, fair to the sight, but when plucked dissolving into smoke and ashes. A general opinion, supported by Hasselquist, is that the apples of So...

Appleton: Appleton, a city of Wisconsin, capital of Outagamie county, situated on an eminence overlooking Fox river, 30 m. from its mouth, and 5 m. N. of Lake Winnebago, and on the Wisconsin division of the Chi...

Daniel Appleton: Daniel Appleton, the founder of the publishing house of D. Appleton and company, in New York, born in Haverhill, Mass., Dec. 10, 1785, died March 27, 1849. He commenced business as a retail trader in ...

Jesse Appleton: Jesse Appleton, D.D., president of Bow-doin college, born in New Ipswich, N. H., Nov. 17, 1772, died in Brunswick. Me., Nov. 12, 1819. He graduated at Dartmouth college in 1792, was licensed to preach...

Nathan Appleton: Nathan Appleton, an American merchant and political economist, born in New Ipswich, X. II., Oct. 6, 1779, died in Boston, July 14, 18(51. In 1813 he was associated with Francis C. Lowell and Patrick ...

Samuel Appleton: Samuel Appleton, an American merchant and philanthropist, brother and partner of the preceding, born in New Ipswich, N. II., June 22, 1700, died in Boston, July 12, 1853. His opportunities for study ...

Appling: Appling, a S. E. county of Georgia, bounded N. and E. by the Altamaha river, and drained by the affluents of the Santilla; area, 1,060 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 5,080, of whom 976 were colored. It has rai...

Appold: Appold, J. George, an English inventor, born in 1799, died at Clifton, Aug. 31, 1804. The paying-out apparatus used in laying submarine telegraphs was chiefly his invention. His centrifugal pumps for ...

Appomattox: Appomattox, a county of Virginia S. E. of the centre of the state, bounded N. W. by the James river, and drained by the sources of the Appomattox; area, 200 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 8,950, of whom 4,536 ...

Appomattox Court House: Appomattox Court House, a village, capital of Appomattox county, Va. (locally called ! Clover Hill), 20 m. E. of Lynchburg. On April 9, 1865, Gen. Lee here surrendered the army of northern Virginia to...

Appomattox River: Appomattox River rises in Appomattox and Prince Edward's counties, Va., and flows circuitously E. about 120 m. to the James river at City Point. It has a narrow and deep channel, and is navigable for ...

Apponyi: Apponyi, one of the oldest noble families of Hungary, several members of which have achieved considerable prominence in the Hungarian or Austrian service, among them the following: I. Gyorgy Antal, co...

Appraisement: Appraisement (Lat. appretiare, to set a price upon), a valuation of property by persons authorized to make it by the law or by stipulation between the parties. The three principal kinds of appraisemen...

Apprentice: Apprentice (Fr. apprendre, to learn), a person bound to service for a term of years, and receiving in return for such service instruction in his master's business. Apprenticeship had its origin in the...

Apprentice. Continued: The executor of a father's last will, who has been directed to bring up the child to some trade or calling, may also bind the infant to an apprenticeship. Superintendents and overseers of the poor of ...

Apprentice. Apraxin: I. lector, a Russian grand admiral, born in 1671, died Nov. 10, 1728. He was one of the leading men of the reign of Peter the Great, and is especially remarkable as the creator of the Russian navy. Du...

Apricot: Apricot (old Eng. apricock, Fr. abricot, Ger. Aprihose; probably from Lat. arbor prcox, early tree), the fruit of prunus Armeniaca or Armeniaca vulgaris, of the order rosacea. It is a small, rap...

Apries: Apries (Eg. Uahprahet, the sun enlarges his heart), a king of Egypt of the 26th dynasty, the Hophra of the Bible, and the Uaphris of Mane-tho, succeeded his father Psammis (Psamatik II.) about 588 B. ...

April: April (Lat. Aprilis), the 4th month of the year, consisting of 30 days. With the Romans it was the 2d month of the year. Julius Caesar added the 30th day to it. In the time of Nero it was called Neron...

Afteral: Afteral (Gr. a privative and wing), an architectural term used particularly with reference to the temples of the ancient Greeks and Romans. It is applied to buildings which have no lateral columns, bu...

Apteryx: Apteryx, a struthious bird of New Zealand, called by the natives kiwi-kiwi from its peculiar cry. It belongs to the family which contains the living cassowary, emu, mooruk, and ostrich, and the extinc...

Apuleius, Or Appnleius: Apuleius, Or Appnleius, a Roman satirist, born at Medaura in Africa about A. D. 130. By his mother he was a descendant of Plutarch. After studying at Carthage, he began to travel for the purpose of le...

Apulia: Apulia, a division of ancient Italy, comprising nearly all that territory now included in the provinces of Capitanata and Terra di Bari, near the S. E. extremity of the peninsula, bounded by the Adria...

Apure: Apure, a river of Venezuela, has its sources in Colombia, in the eastern chain of the Andes, flows between the provinces of Varinas and Apure in an E. N. E. direction, receiving the waters of the Port...

Apurimac: Apurimac, a river of Peru, which rises in lat. 15 21' E., lon. 72 10' W., not far from the sources of the river Camana, in a lake situated between spurs of the mountains of Cay-lloma. It flo...

Aqua: Aqua (Lat. water), a favorite prefix of the old alchemists to various fluid mixtures, as aqua fortis, now called nitric acid; aqua regia, the mixture of nitric and muriatic acids, used to dissolve gol...

Aqua Tofana: Aqua Tofana (Ital. acqua della, Toffanina), a secret poison employed in Italy during the latter part of the 17th century, and said to have been invented by a woman named Tofana, a native of Sicily, wh...

Aquarians, Or Hydroparastatae: Aquarians, Or Hydroparastatae, a sect of ascetics in the early Christian church who, from scruples against the use of wine, were in the habit of consecrating water for sacramental purposes. It was fou...

Aquarium, Or Aquavivarium: Aquarium, Or Aquavivarium, a term applied to certain artificial arrangements for the exhibition and study of living animals and plants inhabiting either fresh or salt water. To Mrs. Power, a lady of F...

Aquarium, Or Aquavivarium. Continued: This, together with certain animalcules that, contrary to rule, are also oxygen producers, will be all that is needed to preserve the desired balance. The absence of direct sunlight and the presence o...

Aqueduct: Aqueduct (Lat. aqu, of water, and ductus, a channel; formerly spelled aquduct), a channel for the conveyance of water, or, in the more general acceptation of the word, a structure raised a...

Aqueduct. Continued: It is estimated that the lead alone used in these three inverted syphons would now be worth $2,500,000. In modern aqueducts the system of gradual descent is only partially followed, the use of cast-ir...

Aqiila: Aqiila, a fortified city of Italy, capital of the province of Abruzzo Ulteriore II., on the Aterno, 56 m. N. E. of Rome; pop. about 12,000. It was built by the emperor Frederick II. in 1240, from the ...

Kaspar Aqula: Kaspar Aqula, a German reformer, who thus Latinized his name Adler, born in Augsburg, Aug. 7, 1488, died in Saalfeld, Nov. 12, 1560. He studied theology in Germany and Italy, became chaplain of Franz ...

Aquileia: Aquileia, a village of the Austrian Coast-land, circle of Gorz, a few miles from the Adriatic and from the Italian frontier. It occupies a portion of the site of ancient Aqui-leia, a city founded abou...

Thomas Aquinas: Thomas Aquinas, a saint and doctor of the Latin church, surnamed the Angelic Doctor, born according to some authorities at Aquino in the kingdom of Naples in 1224, according to others at Belcastro in ...

Aquitania: Aquitania, the southwestern division of ancient Gaul, situated between the Garonne, the Pyrenees, and the bay of Biscay. It was the smallest of the earlier divisions of Gaul, and Augustus, in order to...

Arabesque: Arabesque, a kind of ornamentation, either sculptured or painted, which was at first a characteristic of Moorish architecture, but has in modern times been largely used in decorations of every style. ...

Arabgheer Arabgir: Arabgheer Arabgir, or Arabkir, a town of Asia Minor, in the eyalet and 102 m. E. S. E. of Sivas, on the caravan road from Aleppo to Trebizond; pop. about 30,000, one fourth of whom are Armenians, and ...

Arabia: Arabia (by the Arabs called Jeziret el-Arab, the island or peninsula of the Arabs), a peninsula forming the S. W. extremity of Asia, between lat. 12 40' and 34 N, and Ion. 32 30' and G0...

Arabia. Part 2: The monarch or chief of Nedjed has subjected Hasa on the east, lower Kasim on the northwest, and the surrounding Bedouin tribes. The population of Nedjed and Hasa, including the Bedouin tribes, is com...

Arabia. Part 3: Mines of iron, lead, copper, and rock salt are still worked. - Although but a small portion of Arabia is susceptible of cultivation, its vegetable productions have always been greatly famed. The date ...

Arabia. Part 4: Joktan or Kahtan was the first king of Yemen. His successors reigned 2,000 years in that country. Saba, the fourth after him, built the capital and called it alter his name; hence the Sabaeans. He con...

Arabic Language And Literature: The Arabic belongs to the southern branch of the Semitic family of languages, and after the He-brew is the most important member of the family. The other members of the southern branch are the Himyari...

Arabic Language And Literature. Part 2: Among the other European lexicographers, the chief are Golius (Leyden, 1053) and Freytag (Halle, 1830-37). - The Arabs have produced a literature of vast extent, and after large reductions from the ex...

Arabic Language And Literature. Part 3: The most celebrated digest of the Hanefite code is the Hidaya, translated into English by Hamilton (Calcutta, 1791); another, the Multaka al-Abkar, translated into French, is contained in D'Ohsson's E...

Aracinida: The Oriental Geography of Ibn Haukal, by Ouseley (London, 1800), is translated from a Persian version in which the works of Al-stakhri and Ibn Haukal have been recast and combined in one. Especially...

Arabic, Or Arabians: Arabic, Or Arabians, a Christian sect of the 3d century, founded by Beryllus, bishop of Bostra in Arabia. They denied the divinity of Christ, and affirmed that the soul dies with the body, and is rais...

Aracan, Or Arracan: Aracan, Or Arracan. I. A division of British Burmah, including; the districts of Akyab, San-doway, and Ramree, bounded W. by the bay of Bengal, S. by Pegu, and separated by the You-madoung mountains o...

Aracati: I. A port of Brazil, in the province of Ceara, on the Rio Jaguaribe, about 10 m. from the sea, lat. 4 31' S., lon. 37 48' W.; pop. about 20,000. It has five churches, and a very fine town ha...

Arachne: Arachne, in Greek mythology, a Lydian maiden, famous for her skill in weaving. She challenged Minerva, and wove a piece of cloth on which the amours of the gods were represented. This work was so faul...

Arachnida: Arachnida, a class of invertebrate animals belonging to the articulata, and including spiders, mites, and scorpions. The arachnida differ from insects in having no antennae; in the number of eyes bein...

Arid: Arid, a town of Hungary, capital of the county of the same name, on the right bank of the Maros, 19 m. N. of Temesvar; pop. in 1869, 32,725. It is the seat of a Greek bishop, and contains a gymnasium ...

Aradus: Aradus (now Ruad), a rocky islet, about a mile in circumference, lying 2 m. off the Syrian coast, in lat. 35 N., 35 m. N. of Tripoli. It was early occupied as a stronghold by the Phoenicians, kno...

Arafat, Or Orphat: Arafat, Or Orphat (Arabic, gratitude), a granitic hill in Arabia, near Mecca, a pilgrimage to which is enjoined upon all who visit that city. It rises about 200 feet above the plain. The pilgrimage oc...

Arago: I. Dominique Francois, a French physicist and statesman, bom at Estagel, near Perpignan, Feb. 26, 1786, died in Paris, Oct. 2, 1853. After studying mathematics at the college of Perpignan, he entered ...

Aragon: Aragon, formerly a kingdom, now a royal captaincy general in the northeast of Spain, bounded N. by the Pyrenees, separating it from France, E. by Catalonia, S. E. by Valencia, S. W. by New Castile, an...

Aragona: Aragona, a town of Sicily, in the province and 8 m. N. by E. of Girgenti; pop. about 8,000. It is a very poor place, situated on a bare plain, backed by steep hills; but it has a large castle of the p...

Araguay, Or Aragnaya: Araguay, Or Aragnaya, a river of Brazil, rises in lat. 18 10' S. and lon. 51 30' W., flows northward, between the provinces of Matto Grosso and Goyaz, to Sao Joao, lat. 6 5' S., where i...

Alexei Araktcheyeff: Alexei Araktcheyeff, count, a Russian statesman, born in 1769, died May 3,1834. He was of an obscure family, was educated in the military school of St. Petersburg, entered the artillery, and reached i...

Sea Of Aral: Sea Of Aral, a large inland sea or lake of Asiatic Russia and Turkistan, between lat. 42 30' and 47 N., and lon. 57 30' and 61 30' E. It lies about 40 feet above the ocean, and mor...

Aram: Aram (Latinized Arama), the Hebrew name of the region lying N. and E. of Palestine and Phoenicia, and extending to the Tigris, the northern and southern boundaries never having been accurately d...

Eugene Aram: Eugene Aram, an English scholar, born at Ramsgill, Yorkshire, in 1704, executed at York for murder, Aug. 6, 1759. Aram enjoyed a remarkable reputation for extensive scholarship acquired under the grea...

Pedro Pablo Ibarra Y Bolea Aranda: Pedro Pablo Ibarra Y Bolea Aranda, count of, a Spanish statesman, born in Saragossa in December, 1718, died in 1799. He first served in the army, but subsequently devoted himself to the civil service....

Aranjuez: Aranjuez (ane. Ara Jovis), a town of Spain, in the province and 30 m. by railway S. of the city of Madrid, on the left bank of the Tagus; pop. 3,800. It is the site of a royal palace of great beauty f...

Janos Arany: Janos Arany, a Hungarian poet, born at Nagy-Szalonta, in the county of Bihar, in 1817. He is the son of a poor Protestant, who educated him for the church. After leaving college he roamed for a while ...

Arapahoe: Arapahoe, an E. county of Colorado territory; area, 4,600 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 6,829. The Kansas Pacific railroad passes through the county and terminates at Denver, and is connected by a branch from...

Arapahoes: Arapahoes, an Indian tribe which has for many years resided near the head waters of the Arkansas and Platte rivers. They are known also as Fall Indians, and were called by the French the Gros Ventres ...

Ararat: Ararat (Arm. Masis; Turk. Agri Dagh), a mountain of western Asia, considered a portion of the mountains of Ararat on which, according to Gen. viii. 4, Noah's ark rested after the deluge. It is divi...

Ararat, Or Pilot Mountain: Ararat, Or Pilot Mountain, a mountain of North Carolina, in Surrey county, between the Ararat and Dan rivers. It is of a pyramidal form and one third of a mile high; and its top is a plateau one acre ...

Aratus: I. A Greek poet, born at Soli in Cilicia, flourished about 270 B. C. He was educated under Dionysius of Heraclea, a Stoic, the principles of which sect he embraced. He was a friend of Ptolemy Philadel...

Araucanians: Araucanians, an Indian nation inhabiting the provinces of Arauco and Valdivia, Chili. The name is derived from the Indian word auca, meaning frank, or free. As offering the most successful example of ...

Arauco: Arauco, a southern province of Chili, divided into the three departments of Arauco, Laja, and Nacimiento; area, 13,500 sq. m.; pop. in 1868, 82,709, besides some 35,000 Indians. Capital, Arauco, on a ...

Araxes: Araxes (now Aras), a river in Armenia, rising about 25 m. from Erzerum, in lat. 41 30' N., Ion. 41 10' E., between the E. and W. branches of the Euphrates. It flows E., S. E., and N. E., and...

Arbaces: Arbaces, the founder of the Median empire, according to Ctesias, who asserts that Arbaces, jointly with Belesis of Babylon, captured Nineveh and overthrew the empire of Sardanapa-lus (876 B. C), that ...

Arbela: Arbela, the ancient name of Arbil or Erbil, a small village in Turkish Kurdistan, which lies on the usual route between Bagdad and Mosul, about 40 m. E. by S. of the latter city, in lat. 36 11' N...

Arbiter: Arbiter, a Roman umpire, chosen by an agreement (in the Roman law compromissum) between contending parties, to decide their differences. His decision was called the arbi-trium. Such a judge, chosen by...

Arbitration: Arbitration, the decision by a private person of matters of difference submitted to him by the parties. References differ from arbitrations in that they are made with the sanction of the court, or at ...

Arbitration. Continued: All the arbitrators must concur in the award, unless it is otherwise provided by statute or by the submission; and when it is provided that, in case of their disagreement, the decision of the umpire s...

Madame D'Arblay, Frances Burney: Madame D'Arblay, Frances Burney, an English novelist, daughter of Charles Burney, born at Lynn in June, 1752, died Jan. 0, 1840. In her childhood she was silent and timid, and was considered uncomnonl...

Arbogast: Arbogast (Arbogastes), a Gaul in the military service of the Romans during the latter half of the 4th century. In 388 he accompanied Theodosius on his expedition to support Valentinian II. against the...

Arbois: Arbois, a town of France, in the department of Jura, situated in the deep valley of the Cui-sance, 25 m. N. E. of Lons-le-Saulnier; pop. in 18GG, 5,895. The town has a college, and produces a noted wi...

Arbor Vitae: Arbor Vitae, a coniferous tree (thvja), with compressed evergreen foliage forming flattened branches, strongly aromatic. Varieties are found throughout the northern temperate regions of both continent...

Robert Of Arbrissel: Robert Of Arbrissel, founder of the order of Fontevrault, born at Arbrissel, Brittany, in 1047, died at Orsan in 1117. In 1085, upon his appointment as vicar general of the bishop of Rennes, he began ...

Aberbrothwick Arbroath: Aberbrothwick Arbroath, or Aberbrothock, a royal and municipal burgh of Forfarshire, Scotland, on the North sea, at the mouth of the Brothwick or Brothock, 58 m. N. N. E. of Edinburgh; pop. in 1871, 1...

John Arbutiinot: John Arbutiinot, a Scottish physician and writer, born in Kincardineshire about 1675, died in London, Feb. 27, 1735. He was the son of a Presbyterian clergyman, took his doctor's degree at the univers...

Arbutus: Arbutus, a genus of evergreen shrubs belonging to the natural order ericace. The fruit is a berry containing many seeds. The most remarkable species of this genus is the arbutus of Virgil, calle...

Arc: Arc (Lat. arcvs, a bow), the name of any portion of a curved line; thus, an arc of a circle is a portion of the circumference. To rectify an arc is to give the length of the straight line to which it ...

Arcachon: Arcachon, a village of France, in the department of Gironde, 35 m. by railway W. S. W. of Bordeaux; pop. about 2,000. It is situated on a landlocked bay or lake (bassin d'Arcachon), about 60 m. in cir...

Arcadia: Arcadia, the central and, next to Laconia, largest of the ancient divisions of the Peloponnesus; area about 1,700 sq. m. It included the most picturesque and beautiful portion of Greece. The country e...

Arcadius: Arcadius, the first of the Byzantine emperors, born in Spain, A. D. 383, died in Constantinople, May 1, 408. He was the elder son of Theodosius the Great, the last ruler of the whole Roman empire. In ...

Arcesilaus: Arcesilaus, a Greek philosopher, the founder of the Middle Academy, born at Pitane in Aeolis about 316 B. C, died about 241. He was originally intended for a rhetorician, but v-iiile pursuing his stud...

Arch: Arch (Lat. are us, a bow), a curved structure supported by its own curve. An arch is distinguished from a vault by its length being much less than its width, as is the case with the arch forming the r...

Archaeology: Archaeology (Gr. ancient things, and discourse), the science of antiquities, and especially of human antiquities in general. The primeval period of man has been divided into the stone, the bronze, an...

Archaeology. Continued: No bones of the reindeer nor of the great extinct mammals are found with the polished implements, and nothing made of metals; arrow heads and rough chisels would continue to be made in this, and even ...

Archaeopteryx: Archaeopteryx (Gr. ancient, and wing), the name given by Owen to the recently discovered long-tailed or reptilian bird of Solenhofen, one of the connecting links between the reptile and the bird, w...

Archangel: Archangel (Russ. Arkhangelsk). I. The northernmost government of European Russia, bounded X. by the White and Polar seas, E. by the Ural mountains, and S. and W. by Vologda, Olonetz, and Finland. It i...

Archbishop: Archbishop (Lat. arehiepiscopus), the chief of the bishops of an ecclesiastical province. The first formal sanction of this authority was by the council of Nice, in 325, which distinguished the bishop...

Archdeacon: Archdeacon (Gr. chief minister), an ecclesiastical dignitary, the assistant of the bishop. At the beginning of the 4th century there was in almost every diocese an archdeacon, invested with authority ...

Archduke: Archduke (Ger. Erzlierzog), a German title in use from very early times. We find among the Franks archdukes of Austrasia. The title also existed in Lorraine and Brabant, and was especially assumed by ...

Archelaus: I. Surnamed Physicus, or the Naturalist, a Greek philosopher, supposed by some to have been a native of Athens, by others of Miletus. He flourished about the middle of the 5th century B. C, and was a ...

Johann Wilhelm Archenholz: Johann Wilhelm Archenholz, baron, a German author, born at Langenfurt, a suburb of Dantzic, Sept. 3, 1745, died near Hamburg, Feb. 28, 1812. He served in the Prussian army from 1760 to 1763, and after...

Archer: Archer, an unorganized county in N. W. Texas, near the Indian territory, watered by branches of the Wichita river; area. 900 sq. m. This county was returned as having no population in 1870, its settle...

Archery: Archery, the art of shooting with the bow, which is probably the oldest weapon for use in other than hand-to-hand combats, and the earliest implement of the chase. The mention of the bow in the oldest...

Court Of Arches: Court Of Arches, one of the ten English ecclesiastical courts, so called because its sittings were formerly held in the church of St. Mary-le-Bow (Sancta Maria de Arcubus)in London, whence they were i...

Aulus Licinins Archil. Archias: Aulus Licinins, a Greek poet, born at Antioch toward the close of the 2d century B. C, and well known to us only through the oration of Cicero in his defence. When a young man he went to Koine, and wa...

Archiater: Archiater (Gr. chief physician), a title which seems in the first place to have been purely honorary and not official. In the times of the Roman emperors Greek physicians were encouraged to come to Ro...

Adams G Archibald: Adams G Archibald., a British colonial statesman, born at Truro, Nova Scotia, May 18, 1814. He studied law in Halifax, was called to the bar in 1830, was elected a member of the legislature of Nova Sc...

Archidamus: Archidamus, the name of five kings of Sparta, of the Proclid or Eurypontid line. The first of the name, son of Anaxidamus, lived during the war with Tegea, about 668 B. C. The second, son of Zeuxidamu...

Archil, Or Orchil: Archil, Or Orchil, (Span. orchilla; Fr. or-seille). The red, violet, and blue colors which are known in commerce under the names of archil, cudbear, and litmus are supplied by different species of lic...

Archilochus Of Paros: Archilochus Of Paros, one of the earliest Ionic poets, and the first who wrote in the iambic measure, flourished 714-676 B. C. His father was of noble descent; his mother was a slave. After he had acq...

Archimandrite: Archimandrite (Gr. prefix and fold or cloister), a superior or general abbot in the Greek church, exercising supervision over several abbeys and monasteries. In the Greek church the archimandrite is...

Archimedean Screw: Archimedean Screw, an apparatus used for raising water. It consists of a screw blade turned around a solid axis, similar to a winding staircase, and enclosed in a hollow cylinder. When placed in an in...

Archimedes: Archimedes, the most celebrated mechanician of antiquity, born in Syracuse, Sicily, about 287 B. C, died in 212. He is saidto have visited Egypt in early life, and to have invented there several usefu...

Archipelago: Archipelago (Or. prefix main, and sea), originally a specific name applied to the Aegean sea, but now a generic term designating any body of water containing a great number of islands, and applied...

Architecture: Architecture (Lat. architecture from Gr. a master workman), the art of building. This term embraces every kind of structure except works of defence and ships. The styles of architecture, like other h...

I. Egyptian Architecture: The architectural types of all other structures of antiquity sink into insignificance when compared with those of Egypt. The obelisks, pyramids, temples, palaces, tombs, and other structures with whic...

II. Grecian Architecture: The Pelasgians appear to have been the first people settled in Greece numerous remains of whose structures are still extant. Subsequently, from the knowledge possessed by the indigenous tribes, togeth...

II. Grecian Architecture. Part 2: The oldest example extant is at Corinth. To the lonians, likewise, is attributed the honor of having first employed the Ionic order, no example of which is to be found in Greece prior to the Macedonia...

II. Grecian Architecture. Part 3: The height of the pediment is generally about 1 1/2 diameter. The cornice crowning the inclined sides of the tympanum differs from the horizontal one at its base, inasmuch as the mutules are left out,...

III. Etruscan Architecture: The polygonal formations observed in the walls of Etruria belong to the Pelasgic civilization, and are similar to those of Greece and of Asia Minor. The commercial relations existing between the Etrus...

IV. Roman Architecture: IV. Roman Architecture. The history of Roman architecture under its kings and at the beginning of the republic is somewhat obscure, as but few of the monuments of that period remain. The Roman kings f...

IV. Roman Architecture. Continued: They generally consist of a bead, a cyma reversa, and a fillet, a vertical member dentilled or not, another bead, and an ovolo, | supporting a plain vertical face, one third of bed mouldings in height...

V. Architecture of The Middle Ages: The architecture of this period, although it was derived from Greek and Roman models, applied new principles, forming structures wholly different from the antique originals. Through many successive ce...

V. Architecture of The Middle Ages. Part 2: Oftentimes a greater arch encompassed several smaller ones, supported by pillars which intersected each other in various ways. Their openings were quite elongated and often coupled; the circular windo...

V. Architecture of The Middle Ages. Part 3: The sculpture, wherein the national flora is introduced, supersedes altogether the ornamentation previously employed; rosaces, trefoils, quatrefoils, and panelling are introduced to ornament their wor...

VII. Modern Architecture: The admirable architectural forms brought in by these men continue in use in all civilized countries to this day, and have been carried wherever European civilization has extended. Their reign has not...

Archon: Archon (Gr. ruler), a chief magistrate of ancient Athens, first chosen instead of a king after the death of Codrus, about 1068 B. C. Medon, the son of Codrus, was the first archon, and the office was...

Archytas Of Tarentum: Archytas Of Tarentum, an Italian Greek philosopher, mathematician, general, and statesman, in the early part of the 4th century B. C. He is said to have been seven times general of the Tarentine force...

Arcis-Sur-Aube: Arcis-Sur-Aube, a town of France, in Champagne, department of Aube, 16 m. X. by E. of Troves; pop. in 1866, 2,820. It contains cotton and spinning manufactories and manufactories of cotton hosiery, an...

Arcole: Arcole, a village of Venetia, on the Alpone, a small affluent of the Adige, 15 m. E. S. E. of Verona; pop. about 1,600. It is famous for the victory gained there by Napoleon in his ! first Italian cam...

Arcos De La Frontera: Arcos De La Frontera (anc. Arcobriga), a town of Spain, in the province and 29 m. N. E. of Cadiz, situated on the Guadalete; pop. i 11,500. The town is in a very strong position, and portions of its a...

Arcot: I. A district of the Carnatic, in the presidency of Madras, British India, divided into two collectorates, North and South Arcot, and lying between lat. 11 and 14 N. and lon. 78 and 80&...

Arctic Discovery: Until within a recent period it was believed that Columbus and Cabot were the actual first discoverers of the American continent. Careful researches on the part of northern antiquaries, however, would...

Arctic Discovery. Part 2: In 1741 Behring set sail with an expedition from the harbor of St. Peter and St. Paul (Petropav-lovsk) in Kamtchatka. After various buffet-ings before severe gales, having twice made the American coas...

Arctic Discovery. Part 3: Mr. Back, after innumerable hardships, returned to Fort Enterprise March 17, 1821, having travelled over 1,100 m., sometimes two or three days without tasting food, with no covering at night but a bla...

Arctic Discovery. Part 4: It was June 20, 1827, before Parry started with his boats, which contained 71 days' provisions. They met with many difficulties from the outset - thin ice, rough ice, short tracts of water intersperse...

Arctic Discovery. Part 5: In fact, they joined their discoveries very nearly to those of Ross, and were at one time within 90 m. of the place he fixed upon as the locality, during that year, of the magnetic pole. - The entire ...

Arctic Discovery. Part 6: The expedition returned to England Nov. 3, 1849, without having fallen upon any traces of Franklin. The general opinion of those best acquainted with arctic navigation, and with Sir John Franklin, was...

Arctic Discovery. Part 7: Dr. Kane's opinion, on examining the sledge tracks about Cape Riley, was that Sir John Franklin had passed to the north, with his ships, on the breaking up of the ice in 1846; had gone through Welling...

Arctic Discovery. Part 8: They were dragging a boat and sledges with them. They could not speak Esquimaux, but the natives gathered that their ships had been crushed, and they were now going where they could find deer to shoot...

Arctic Discovery. Part 9: Capt. Hartstene, who commanded this expedition, reached lat. 78 32', and then found his onward progress stopped by a firm barrier of ice. Returning, he found Kane and his crew at Upernavik, and r...

Arctic Discovery. Part 10: After separating from McClintock he had tracked the N. and W. shores of King William land almost to Cape. Herschel. Near Cape Felix, the northermost point of the island, he found a ruined cairn, three...

Arctic Discovery. Part 11: After encountering difficulties of every kind, and after sending back nearly all of the party and several sledges, with the life boat, whichcould be carried no further, Hayes and three of his men succ...

Arctic Discovery. Part 12: Their discoveries seem also to confirm the theory originally advanced by Capt. Silas Bent of the II. S. navy, that the pole can best be reached by following the course of the Gulf stream northward bet...

Arcturus: Arcturus (Gr. bear, and guard, or tail), formerly a constellation near the Great Bear. Later the name was confined to the largest star in the constellation, which was afterward called Bootes. It is ...

Arcueil: Arcueil, a village of France, department of - Seine, on the Bievre, 3 1/2 m. S. of Paris; pop. in 1866, 5,024. It is celebrated for an aqueduct constructed there by the Roman emperor Julian during his...

Grotto Of Arcy: Grotto Of Arcy, a vast and beautiful sta-lactitic cavern, which consists of many compartments, near Vermenton, department of Yonne, in France, 12 m. S. S. E. of Auxerre. The hill in which this remarka...

Ardebil Ardabil: Ardebil Ardabil, or Erdebil, a town of Persia, in the province of Azerbijan, 110 m. E. of Tabriz, and 35 m. W. of the Caspian, situated 5,000 feet above the sea, at the foot of the Sa-valan mountains;...

Ardeche: Ardeche, a S. E. department of France, bounded E. by the Rhone; area, 2,134 sq. m.; pop. in 1872. 380.277. The river Ardeche, from which it has its name, rises near its centre and flows S. S. E. to th...

Ardennes: Ardennes, a N. E. department of France, bounded N. by Belgium; area, 2,021 sq. m.; pop. in 1872, 320,217. The forest of the Ardennes, an elevated wooded tract, from which it is named, begins in its N...

Ardshir Ardeshir: Ardshir Ardeshir, or Artaxerxes, Babegaa, founder of the Persian dynasty of the Sassan-ides in A. D. 226, died about 240. According to a critical opinion not fully established, he was the son of Babek...

Luigi Arditi: Luigi Arditi, an Italian violinist and composer, born at Crescentino in Piedmont, July 22, 1822. He received his musical education in the conservatory at Milan, and first made himself known in public ...

Ark, The Unit Of Surface In The French System Of Measures: Ark (from Lat. area, a broad piece of level ground), the unit of surface in the French system of measures, equivalent to a square decametre, or 1,076.44 English square feet. Parts of an are are expres...

Arendal: Arendal, a town of S. E. Norway, on a river of the same name, in the province and 40 m. N. E. of Christiansand; pop. in 1865, 7,181. It is built on piles and islands, and has been called Little Venic...

Areopagus: Areopagus, the hill (Gr. of Ares or Mars, a craggy eminence in ancient Athens, not far from the Acropolis, famous as the spot where the celebrated council or court of the same name held its sittings...

Arequipa: I. A S. department of Peru, bounded S. W. by the Pacific; area, about 45,000 sq.'m.; pop. about 200,000. It is divided into the provinces of Arequipa, Islay, Castella, Camana, Union, Condesuyos, and C...

Aretaeus: Aretaeus, a Greek physician of Cappado-cia, flourished about A. D. 100. His contemporaries rank him next to Hippocrates. He wrote a comprehensive treatise, in eight books, on acute and chronic disease...

Arethusa: Arethusa, a fountain in the island of Orty-gia, which formed a part of the ancient Syracuse, in Sicily. The ancients supposed its waters to be united with those of the river Al-pheus in Peloponnesus. ...

Aretino: I. Guido, or Gnido d'Arezzo, a Benedictine monk, born at Arezzo near the end of the 10th century. He early occupied himself in devising new methods of writing and teaching music. Instead of a group or...

Arezzo: I. A province of Italy, in Tuscany; area, 1,276 sq. m.; pop. in 1872, 239,901. It is watered by the Arno, and includes the valley of the Chiana, 20 m. long, formerly a vast and pestilential marsh, but...

Samuel Argall: Samuel Argall, one of the early adventurers to Virginia, born in Bristol, England, in 1572, died in 1639. His first public exploit was the abduction of Pocahontas, in 1612, from the care of a chief wh...

Friedrich Wilbelm Angnst Argelander: Friedrich Wilbelm Angnst Argelander, a German astronomer, born at Memel, March 22, 1799. He attended the university of Konigs-berg, where he at first devoted himself to political science. His attentio...

Jean Baptiste De Boyer Argeens: Jean Baptiste De Boyer Argeens, marquis d', a French writer, born in Aix, June 24, 1704, died in Toulon, June 11, 1771. He entered the army, but in consequence of an escapade with an actress his relat...

Voyer D Argenson: Voyer D Argenson, a distinguished French family of Touraine. I. Rene Louis, marquis d', born Oct. 18, 1694, died Jan. 10, 1757. In 1741 Louis XV. appointed him minister of foreign affairs, and he held...

Argentan: Argentan, a town of France, in the department of Orne, in Normandy, situated on the river Orne, 22 m. N. by W. of Alencon; pop. in 1866, 5,401. It is finely situated on a hill in the midst of fertile ...

Argenteuil, France: Argenteuil, a town of France, in the department of Seine-et-Oise, on the Seine, 5 m. N. W. of Paris; pop. in 1866, 8,176. It carries on an active trade in wine of inferior quality. Among the adjoining...

Argenteuil, Quebec: Argenteuil, a W. county of the province of Quebec, Canada, bounded S. by the Ottawa river; area, 850 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, 12,806. The soil is in many parts of exceptionally good quality. There is a q...

Argenteus Codex: Argenteus Codex, an old uncial MS. of the four gospels in the Mso-Gothic dialect, written or stamped in silver letters (except the initials, which are in gold) on violet-colored vellum. It is s...

Argentine Republic: Argentine Republic (La Republica Argentina; formerly more commonly called Argentine Confederation), an independent state of South America, between lat. 21 and 41 S., and lon. 53 and 71&...

Argentine Republic. Part 2: The vast tract of the pampas, over 300,000 sq. m. in area, is itself distinguishable into several subdivisions, differing in climate and products, although under the same parallel. Proceeding from Bue...

Argentine Republic. Part 3: No rivers run into it, but it supplies four of some magnitude. The Ibera during the season of the floods extends over an estimated area of 1,000 sq. m., but is navigable only for canoes. The chief per...

Argentine Republic. Part 4: A disease called el mal de siete dias (the seven days' sickness), mainly prevalent among the lower classes, carries off an immense number of infants in the first week after birth. The following table ...

Argentine Republic. Part 5: In 1869 there entered the principal ports 1,337 sailing vessels, with an aggregate of 401,070 tons, and 1,158 steamers; and there cleared 970 sailing vessels, with a total of 308,325 tons, and 1,158 s...

Argentine Republic. Part 6: In 1869 it was estimated that there were 10,000 Protestants among the English, Scotch, American, and German settlers. - The mouth of the Rio de la Plata was discovered in 1512 by Juan Diaz de Solis; a...

Argentine Republic. Part 7: Rivadavia, successor to Las Heras, seeing himself powerless to establish a unitarian constitution, and aware that he could neither carry on the war against the Brazilians nor obtain a peace, resigned ...

Argentine Republic. Part 8: Having to attend congress at Santa Fe, he had hardly left the capital when (Sept. 11, 1852) a revolution broke out, and Valentine Alsina was chosen governor of Buenos Ayres. The province of Buenos Ayr...

Argentine Republic. Part 9: During the first two months the war was chiefly carried on in Cor-rientes, generally with heavy losses to the Paraguayans, who, however, had by August succeeded in taking one or two towns in the adjac...

Argives: Argives (Gr. ), the inhabitants of Argos or Argolis, in ancient Greece. During the Trojan war they were the most prominent among the Greek tribes, as Agamemnon, the Greek commander-in-chief, was an A...

Argonauts: Argonauts, a name given from that of their ship, the Argo, to a band of heroes of Greek antiquity, who, according to the legend, first navigated unknown and dangerous seas. The poets have given differ...

Argonne: Argonne, a mountainous and wooded region of X. E. France, forming a part of French Lorraine and Champagne, extending along the rivers Meuse and Aisne nearly 47 m. from Sedan (Ardennes) to beyond Ste. ...

Augoon, Or Argna: Augoon, Or Argna, one of the two chief branches of the Amoor river. Under the name of Kerulun or Kerlon, it rises about 30 m. S. E. of the sources of the Onon, S. of the Kentei mountains in Mongolia, ...

Argos, Or Argolis (Anciently Also Argia And Argolice): Argos, Or Argolis (Anciently Also Argia And Argolice), the N. E. part of the Peloponnesus, between the bays of Aegina and Nauplia, the Saronic and Argolic gulfs of the ancients. The eastern continuati...

Angnstin Arguelles: Angnstin Arguelles, a Spanish statesman, born at Ribade Sella, in Asturias, in 1775, died in Madrid, March 23, 1844. He was one of the committee of the cortes of Cadiz which drew up the constitution o...

Argus: Argus, in Greek mythology, a wondrous person with a hundred eyes, or, as others have it, eyes all over his body, of which only two slept at a time. Set by Juno to watch the priestess lo, transformed i...

Augyleshire, Or Argyllshire: Augyleshire, Or Argyllshire, a western county of Scotland, including several islands near the coast, and bounded on the land side by the counties of Inverness, Perth, and Dumbarton; area, 3,255 sq. m....

Argyll, Or Argyle: Argyll, Or Argyle, Earl and Duke of, titles in the Scottish peerage held respectively since 1457 and 1701 by the heads of the family of Campbell (called by their Gaelic dependants Mac Galium More, Ca...

Argyro-Kastro: Argyro-Kastro, a town of Turkey, in Albania, on the river Deropuli, an affluent of the Voyutza, 46 m. N. W. of Janina; pop. about 7,000. It is built on the side of a mountain, and the streets are so s...

Johannes Argyropulos: Johannes Argyropulos, one of the principal revivers of Greek learning in the 15th century, born in Constantinople about 1415, died in Rome, where he held a professorship of philosophy, about 1486. He ...

Ariadne: Ariadne, according to Homer, daughter of Minos, king of Crete, and of Pasiphae. When Theseus landed at Crete, with the tribute of the Athenians for the Minotaur, Ariadne fell in love with him and gave...

Arialdus: Arialdus, a deacon and martyr of the church of Milan, born near Milan in the first half of the 11th century, died in that city, June 28, 1066. He began to preach against the corruptions of the clergy ...

Ariamsm: Ariamsm, a theological system in the early Christian Church, named after Arius, a presbyter at Alexandria. In opposition to his bishop Alexander, Arius asserted that there was a time when the Son was ...

Ariano: Ariano, a town of southern Italy, in the province of Principato Ultra, 15 m. E. N. E. of Benevento; pop. about 12,000. It is built upon a steep hill, in one of the most frequented passes of the Apenni...

Benedictus Arias Montanus. Benito Arias Montano: Benedictus Arias Montanus., (Benito Arias Montano) a Spanish ecclesiastic and oriental scholar, born in a village of Estremadura in 1527, died in Seville in 1598. Philip II. sent him to Antwerp in 156...

Arica: Arica, a seaport town of Peru, in a province of the same name, department of Moquegua, in lat. 18 26' S., lon. 70 24' W., 640 m. S. E. of Lima, and 30 m. S. of Tacna, with which it is connec...

Ariege: Ariege, a southern department of France, formed chiefly of the old territory of Foix, and named after the Ariege river, which, rising in the eastern Pyrenees, flows N. N. W., and empties into the Gar...

Ariel: Ariel, a Hebrew word, signifying lion of God, occurs as a personal name in the Old Testament, as well as a poetical designation of the altar of burnt offerings (Ezek. xliii.), and, according to gen...

Arion: Arion, a musician of Lesbos, the reputed inventor of dithyrambic poetry, was a friend of Periander, the ruler of Corinth (about 000 B. 0.). Having spent some time in Sicily and Italy, he amassed great...

Ludovico Ariosto: Ludovico Ariosto, an Italian poet, born in Reggio, near Modena, Sept. 8, 1474, died in Fer-rara, June 6, 1533. His father was a member of the highest tribunal of Ferrara, and a friend of the duke. Lud...

Ariovistus: Ariovistus, a chief of the Mareomanni, a German tribe, crossed the Rhine with 15,000 warriors at the call of the Sequani, who were oppressed by the Aedui, defeated the .Aedui in 72 13. C, but took one...

Mariano Arista: Mariano Arista, a Mexican general, born in the state of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, July 16, 1802, died in Spain, Aug. 9,1855. Having distinguished himself in the successive wars which established first ...

Aristaeus: Aristaeus, in Greek mythology, son of Apollo and Cyrene, and father of Actaeon. He fell in love with Eurydice, the wife of Orpheus, whom he pursued into the fields, where she was bitten by a serpent. ...

Aristarchu's: I. An ancient grammarian and critic, born in Samothrace, flourished in the 2d century B. C. He was educated at Alexandria in the school of Aristophanes of Byzantium, and founded a critical school, whi...

Aristides: I. An Athenian statesman, called the Just, died probably in 468 B. C. Of his early life little is positively known. He was one of the ten leaders of the Athenians at the time of the Persian invasion u...

Aristippus: Aristippus, a Greek philosopher, disciple of Socrates, born in Cyrene, flourished about 380 B. C. He was luxurious, sensual, and avaricious, and prided himself on extracting pleasure from both prosper...

Aristobulus: I. A Jewish writer of Alexandria, who flourished under Ptolemy Philome-tor, about 160 B. C. He wrote philosophical commentaries upon the Pentateuch, composed in the purest Greek, in which he undertook...

Aristomenes: Aristomenes, a Messenian general and statesman, the hero of the second Messenian war, of the royal line of Aepytus. The Mes-senians, having determined to free themselves from the tyranny of their Spar...

Aristophanes: Aristophanes, the only writer of comedy in ancient Greece any of whose entire works are still extant, probably born between 450 and 444 B. C, died not later than 380. Very little is known of his life ...

Aristotle: Aristotle (Gr. perhaps the greatest ancient philosopher, founder, of the school of Peripatetics, born in Stagira, a. Greek colony of Macedonia, near the mouth of the Strymon, in 384 B. C., died at C...

Aristoxenus: Aristoxenus, a Greek writer on philosophy and music, a pupil of Aristotle, born at Taren-tum, Italy, flourished about 320 B. C. According to Suidas, he published 450 works on all imaginable subjects. ...

Arithmetic: Arithmetic (Gr. from to count), the science of the properties and relations of numbers when expressed with figures or relations of figures. The accepted opinion is that we have derived this science f...

Arius: Arius, the founder of Arianism, according to some a Libyan, according to others a native of Alexandria, died in 336. He joined the Me-letians in Alexandria, but left them, and in 306 was ordained a de...

Arizona: Arizona, a territory of the United States, situated between lat. 31 and 37 N. and lon. 109and 114 40' W., bounded N. by Utah, E. by New Mexico, S. by Mexico, and \V. by California ...

Arizona. Continued: Lime of a superior quality exists in large quantities near Prescott and Tucson, and is found at other points. Beds of gypsum exist in the San Pedro valley. The salt mountains near Callville and a few ...

Mt. Argaeus, or Erjish Dagh: Arjisii or Erjish Dagh (anc. Argus), the loftiest mountain of Asia Minor, lying 13 m. S. of Kaisariyeh (anc. Mazaca Csarea in Cappa-docia), and 117 m. N. by W. from the head of the bay of ...

Noah's Ark: Ark. I. The vessel (Heb. tebah) constructed by Noah, according to Gen. vi., for the preservation of his family and of the different species of animals during the deluge. The form of the ark was that o...

Arkansas, the Ouquapas, a Tribe of Indians of the Dakota Family: Arkansas, the name given by the Algonquins to the Ouquapas, a tribe of Indians of the Dakota family. According to Gravier, a Jesuit missionary in Illinois about the year 1700, the Arkansas had previou...

Arkansas River: Arkansas, a S. W. river of the United States, the largest tributary of the Mississippi except the Missouri. Its extreme sources, which were first explored in 1806 by Lieut. Pike, U. S. A., lie in the ...

Arkansas: Arkansas, one of the states of the American Union, situated between lat. 33 and 36 30' X.. and lon. 89 45' and 94 40' W., having an extent of 240 m. from N. to S., and varying from...

Arkansas. Part 2: The first flows S. and joins White river 30 or 40 m. below Batesville, and is navigable for steamers during the greater part of the year a distance of 100 m. The Washita or Ouachita rises in the W. pa...

Arkansas. Part 3: The Cairo and Fulton road extends from Cairo, 111., S. W. across Arkansas past Little Rock to Fulton in Hempstead county, and thence to the Texas line; 301 m. of this road will lie in Arkansas. The Li...

Arkansas. Part 4: A free school must be kept in each school district for not less than three months during the year. The legis-lature is also required to establish and maintain a state university, with departments for ...

Arkansas County: Arkansas, a S. E. county of Arkansas, bounded E. by White river and intersected by the Arkansas; area, about 1,200 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 8,268, of whom 4,212 were colored. The surface is level, and ab...

Sir Richard Arkwright: Sir Richard Arkwright, an English inventor, born at Preston, Lancashire, Dec. 23, 1732, died at Cromford, Derbyshire, Aug. 3, 1792. He was the youngest child of a family of 13, and his parents were to...

Arles: Arles (Celtic Ar-lait, near the waters; Lat. Arelate), a town of France, in Provence, department of Bouches-du-Rhone, on the left bank of the lower Rhone, at the point where the river divides and form...

Victor Arlincourt: Victor Arlincourt, viscount d', a French poet and.novelist, born in 1789, died Jan. 22, 1856. His father, a farmer of the public revenue, died by the guillotine in the revolution. Victor commended him...

Arlon: Arlon (anc. Orolaunum), a town of Belgium, capital of the province and 1(5 m. W. N. W. of the city of Luxemburg; pop. in 1867, 5,779. It is situated in the midst of forests on a ridge of the Ardennes,...

Spanish Armada: Spanish Armada, the great naval armament sent by King Philip II. of Spain, in 1588, for the conquest of England. The fullest account of this armament is given in a book published about the time it set...

Armadillo: Armadillo (dasypus, Linn.), a genus of the class mammalia and order edentata, forming a small family, intermediate between the sloths and ant-eaters, and having an affinity to the families chlamyphoru...

Armageddon: Armageddon (Heb. har, hill, and Megiddo), the name probably given to the whole table land of Esdraelon in Galilee and Samaria, from the town of Megiddo, which stood near the centre of it, upon the sit...

Armagh: I. A county of northern Ireland, in the province of Ulster, between Lough Neagh on the north and the county of Louth on the south; area, 512 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, 171,355. In the S. W. part are severa...

Armagnac: Armagnac, an ancient territory of France, in the province of Gascony, now forming the department of Gers, and a part of Lot-et-Ga-ronne, Tarn-et-Garonne, and Haute-Garonne. It was successively include...

Joseph Louis Armansperg: Joseph Louis Armansperg, count, a Bavarian statesman, regent of Greece, born in Lower Bavaria, Feb. 28, 1787, died April 3, 1853. In the war of 1813-'14 he was commissioner of Bavaria in the allied ar...

Christian Captains Commanding Bands Of Klephts Or Brigands Armatoles: Christian Captains Commanding Bands Of Klephts Or Brigands Armatoles, who, after the establishment of the Ottoman empire in Europe, succeeded in maintaining themselves independent in the possession of...

Jean Germain Desire Armengaud: Jean Germain Desire Armengaud, a French art historian, born at Castres, department of Tarn, in 1797, died at Passy, near Paris, in March, 1869. He is the author of Histoire des pein-tres de toutes les...

Armentieres: Armentieres, a town of France, in the department of Le Nord, situated on the Lys, opposite the Belgian frontier, 10 m. N. E. of Lille; pop. in 1866,15,579. It has a college, an insane asylum, and impo...

Armenia: Armenia, an inland region of western Asia, mostly * within the present limits of Asiatic Turkey, but extending into the adjacent dominions of Russia and Persia. Its boundaries have varied greatly at d...

Armenian Church: According to the Ar-menians, the early patriarchal religion existed in Armenia till about 1700 B. C.;then Assyrian influence brought in Sabaism, which about 725 B. C. became Magism; and- this after Al...

Armenian Church. Continued: Persia has an archbishop at Ispahan, with a suffragan bishop at Calcutta in India; and an arch-bishop at Tabreez with two suffragan bishops. The catholicos is at present elected by his synod, all the...

Armenian Language And Literature: The ancient Armenian language, which is still the literary and church idiom of the Armenians, belongs to the Indo-European family, is enriched very considerably from the Sanskrit, abounds in gutturals...

Robert Armin: Robert Armin, an English player, author, and associate of Shakespeare. His name appears in the original list of the performers of Shakespeare's plays, given in the first folio edition of his works, He...

Arminians: Arminians, a religious sect deriving their name from James Arminius (see Arminius), before whose death (1609) the Reformed in Holland were divided into Arminians and Go-marists, the doctrine of predes...

Arminius: Arminius (in German improperly called Hermann), prince of the Cherusci, a German tribe, and the liberator of Germany, born about 16 B. C. In his youth he became a Roman citizen of the equestrian order...

Jacob Harmzen James, Arminius, Heemanszoon: James Jacob Harmzen(In Dutch Arminius, or Heemanszoon), a Dutch theologian, born at Oudewater, South Holland, in 1560, died at Ley-den, Oct. 19, 1609. In his infancy his father died, leaving him with ...

Edward Armitage: Edward Armitage, an English painter, born in London in 1817. He was a pupil of Paul Delaroche, whom he assisted in the decoration of the Hemicycle in the school of fine arts at Paris. He first broug...

Armor: Armor, a defensive covering for the head, body, and limbs, used as a protection in battle. Armor of some kind seems to have been used by almost every civilized and savage people, from the earliest his...

Armorica: Armorica, the name anciently given to the N. W. coast of Gaul, from the Loire to the Seine. It had a considerable fleet and carried on a large intercourse with Britain. Maxim us, a Roman officer, havi...

Arms: Arms, instruments or weapons of offence, as opposed to defensive armor. Arms may in this sense be separated into two broad divisions of ancient and modern, reckoning the latter from the adaptation of ...

Armstrong: Armstrong, a W. county of Pennsvlvania, intersected and partly bounded by Alleghany river; area, 750 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 43,382. The surface is undulating and the soil gener-ally fertile. The Pennsy...

John Armstrong, An American Officer In The Revolutionary War: John Armstrong, an American officer in the revolutionary war, born at Carlisle, Pa., in 1758, died at Red Hook, Dutchess county, X. Y., April 1, 1843. At the age of 18 he entered the army as a volunte...

John Armstrong, a British Physician, Poet: John Armstrong, a British physician, poet, and miscellaneous writer, born in Castleton parish, Roxburghshire, about 1709, died in 1779. His father was a clergyman. He studied at the university of Edin...

John Armstrong, An English Physician And Author: John Armstrong, an English physician and author, born at Bishop-Wearmouth, May 8, 1784, died in London, Dec. 12, 1829. He graduated at Edinburgh university, and practised at Sunderland, where he wrote...

Sir William George Armstrong: Sir William George Armstrong, an English engineer and inventor, born at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Nov. 26, 1810. He was educated at Bishop-Auckland, and early busied himself with experiments in the physica...

Army: Army, the organized body of armed men which a state maintains for the purposes of war. Of the armies of ancient history, the first of which we know anything positive is that of Egypt. Its epoch of glo...

Army. Part 2: For expeditions of magnitude this armament was considered insufficient, and a general levy from all the provinces of the empire took place. The mass of these various contingents formed a truly orienta...

Army. Part 3: The Athenian cavalry was introduced at a time when the republic was already rich and powerful. The mountainous ground of Attica was unfavorable to this arm, but the neighborhood of Thessaly and BÅ“...

Army. Part 4: At the battle of Leuctra, Epaminondas had to oppose with a small force of Thebans the far more numerous and hitherto invincible Spartan phalanx. The plain, parallel front attack here would have been e...

Army. Part 5: His light infantry consisted of argyraspides, with small silver-plated shields, and of numerous peltast, both of which troops were organized in semi-phalanxes of normally 8,192 men, being able t...

Army. Part 6: The legion was commanded in the earlier times in turns by its six military tribunes; each of them held the command for two months. After the first civil war, legates were placed as standing chiefs at ...

Army. Part 7: On the march, when an attack was to be apprehended, it formed the legio quadrata, a sort of lengthened column with a wide front, baggage in the centre. This was of course possible in the open plain on...

Army. Part 8: The cohors milliaria was commanded by a military tribune, the | others by tribunes or prpositi; the rank of centurio was thus confined to subalterns. The admission of liberated or non-liberated ...

Army. Part 9: Toward the 14th century a kind of lighter cavalry was introduced, and a portion of the archers were mounted to facilitate their manoeuvring; but these and other changes were soon rendered useless, aba...

Army. Part 10: It sent its bullet through the strongest breastplate, and was therefore decisive against the heavy cavalry, which got into disorder as soon as the men began falling. Ten or 15 musketeers were placed w...

Army. Part 11: At the battle of Leipsic, Gustavus Adolphus had 19,000 infantry and 11,000 cavalry; Tilly had 31,000 infantry and 13,000 cavalry. At Lutzen. Wallenstein had 24,000 infantry and 16,000 cavalry in 170 s...

Army. Part 12: By the exertions of Seydlitz, the cavalry of Frederick was made superior to any other then existing or ever existing before it; and its bold riding, close order, dashing charge, and quick rallying hav...

Army. Part 13: In tactical organization, the principle of mixing infantry, cavalry, and artillery in the smaller portions of an army, in corps and divisions, became the rule. Every division thus became a complete ar...

Army. Part 14: In the mean time, great efforts were made in various quarters still further to improve small arms, and to produce a musket of superior range which could be given to the whole of the infantry. The Prus...

Army. Part 15: France is the most strik-ing example of the first, Prussia of the second system. Even in England, where both line and militia are generally recruited by voluntary enlistment, the conscription (or ball...

Army. Part 16: With the regiment the formation of most armies in time of peace is generally considered complete. The larger bodies, brigades, divisions, and army corps, are mostly formed when war breaks out. The Rus...

Army. Part 17: It is generally di-vided into a historical section (collecting mate-rials relative to the history of war, the forma-tion of armies, etc, past and present), a topo-graphical section (intrusted with the...

Arnauld: Arnauld, a French family, several members of which are noted in connection with the convent of Port Royal and the Jansenist controversy. I. Antoine, born in Paris in 1500, died there, Dec. 29, 1619. H...

Vincent Antoine Arnault: Vincent Antoine Arnault, a French author, born in Paris in January, 1766, died near Havre, Sept. 16, 1834. He became first known to fame by two tragedies, Marius d Minturnes and Lucrece. After the mas...

Arnd, Or Arndt: Arnd, Or Arndt, Johann, a German theologian, born at Ballenstedt, Anhalt, Dec. 27, 1555, died at Celle, May 11, 1621. He was pastor successively at Paderborn and Quedlinburg, and in 1599 was appointed...

Ernst Moritz Arndt: Ernst Moritz Arndt, a German patriot, professor of history at the university of Bonn, born at Schoritz, on the island of Rugen, Dec. 26, 1769, died in Bonn, Jan. 29, 1860. He studied at Greifswald and...

Thomas Augnstiue Arse: Thomas Augnstiue Arse, an English composer of music, born in London in 1710, died March 5, 1778. His father, an upholsterer, gave him a good education at Eton, and bound him apprentice to an attorney,...

Arnhem, Or Aruheim: Arnhem, Or Aruheim (Anc. Arenacum), a city of Holland, capital of the province of Gelder-land, on the right bank of the Rhine, 30 m. E. by S. of Utrecht; pop. in 1871, 33,181, half Roman Catholics, an...

Arnica: Arnica, a genus of plants of the natural order composit. The arnica montana or leopard's bane grows in the mountainous districts of the north and middle of Europe, blossoming in June and July. I...

Arnim, Or Arnheim: Arnim, Or Arnheim, Johann Georg, a German soldier, born at Boitzenburg in 1581, died in Dresden, April 18, 1641. He fought under Gustavus Adolphus against Russia, and in the Polish service against the...

Karl Otto Ludwig Von Arnim: Karl Otto Ludwig Von Arnim, a German author, born in Berlin, Aug. 1, 1779, died there, Feb. 9, 1861. His books of travel in France, Italy, Spain, Russia, and the East (Berlin, 6 vols., 1838-'50) are m...

Arnim: I. Ludwig Achim (Joachim) von, a German poet, one of the leaders of the romantic school in German literature, born in Berlin, Jan. 26, 1781, died at his estate Wie-persdorf, near Dahme, Jan. 21, 183...

Arno: Arno, a river of Tuscany, rises on the S. slope of Monte Falterona in the Apennines, 6 m. N. of Prato Veccbio, flows S. to the neighborhood of Arezzo, where it is joined by the Chianassa and the Chian...

Arnobius: Arnobius, an African rhetorician, born in Sicca Veneria (supposed to be the Tunisian Keff), on the eastern border of Numidia, flourished at the beginning of the 4th century. He was a violent opponent ...

Benedict Arnold: Benedict Arnold, an officer in the American revolutionary army, born in Norwich, Conn., Jan. 3, 1740, died in London, June 14, 1801. He was trained to mercantile pursuits, but, being of a restless and...

Arnold Of Brescia: Arnold Of Brescia (Arnaldo da Brescia), a religious reformer, born at Brescia in Italy about the beginning of the 12th century, executed at Rome in 1155. He first appears in history as a scholar of Ab...

Christoph Arnold: Christoph Arnold, a German astronomer, born at Sommerfeld, near Leipsic, Dec. 17, 1G50, died April 15, 1695. He was a farmer, but devoted his leisure to astronomy, erected an observatory at his own ho...

Edwin Arnold: Edwin Arnold, an English author, born June 10, 1831. In 1852 he obtained at Oxford the Newdegate prize for one of his poems, became in 1834 second master in a principal school of Birmingham, and subse...

Matthew Arnold: Matthew Arnold, an English poet, son of Thomas Arnold, born at Laleham, Dec. 24, 1822. He was educated at Winchester, Rugby, and Oxford; won the Newdegate prize for English verse by a poem entitled C...

Samuel Arnold: Samuel Arnold, Mus. Doc, an English composer, born in London, Aug. 10,1740, died there, Oct. 22, 1802. At the age of 23 he became composer to Covent Garden theatre, and in 1766 also to the Haymarket, ...

Thomas Arnold: Thomas Arnold, D. D., an English teacher and historian, born at West Cowes, Isle of Wight, June 13, 1795, died at Rugby, June 12, 1842. When 8 years old he was sent to Warminster, and at 12 to Winches...

Thomas Kerchever Arnold: Thomas Kerchever Arnold, an English cler-gvman and author, born in 1800, died March 9, 1858. He was educated at Trinity college, Cambridge, and in 1838 published the first of a numerous list of introd...

Neil Arnott: Neil Arnott, a Scotch physician and popular writer upon science, born near Montrose in 1788. He studied medicine in Aberdeen and London, paying special attention to natural philosophy, and through the...

Sophie Arnoild: Sophie Arnoild, a French actress, born in Paris, Feb. 14, 1744, died in 1803. Her father, an innkeeper, gave her a good education, in addition to which she possessed a charming face and figure, a voic...

Arnsberg: Arnsberg, a town of Prussia, capital of a district of the same name in the province of Westphalia, situated on a hill partly surrounded by the Ruhr, 44 m. S. S. E. of Minister; pop. in 1871, 4,734. Th...

Arnstadt: Arnstadt, a town of Germany, in the principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, situated on the Gera and on the northern slope of the Thuringian Forest, 10 m. S. of Erfurt; pop. in 1871, 8,603. Among t...

Arnswalde: Arnswalde, a town of Prussia, in the province of Brandenburg, 41 m. S. E. of Stettin, between three lakes; pop. in 1871, 6,522. The town has a church celebrated for its bells, a large chemical manufac...

Juan Arolas: Juan Arolas, a Spanish poet, born in Barcelona, June 20, 1805, died in Valencia in November, 1849. He was a member of the order of the Piarists, and chaplain in the normal school of Valencia, and beca...

Arolsen: Arolsen, a town of Germany, capital of the principality of Waldeck (which according to the convention of 18G7 is now administered by the king of Prussia), on the Aar, 12 m. N. of Wal-deck; pop. in 186...

Aroostook: Aroostook, a county comprising the N. and' N. E. portions of Maine, and bordering on the provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick; area, 6,800 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 29,609. The surface is undulating, wit...

Arpad: Arpad, the Magyar national hero, son of Al-mos, who led the Magyars into Hungary, died, after a reign of about 18 years, in 907. He completed the conquest begun by his father, carried on wars with the...

Arpino: Arpino (anc. Arpinum), a town of S. Italy, in the province of Terra di Lavoro, 8 m. S. of Sora; pop. about 6,500. It has manufactures of woollen cloth, paper, and parchment. It was originally a town o...

Arqua, Or Arquata: Arqua, Or Arquata, a village of northern Italy, among the Euganean hills, 12 m. S. W. of Padua; pop. 2,600. It is famous for containing the house and tomb of Petrarch. He died here at his villa in Jul...

Arrack: (Arabic, literally perspiration), a strong spirituous liquor distilled from fermented rice and from toddy, the fermented sap of the cocoanut tree, and also from rice and sugar or rice and molasses fer...

Arran: Arran, an island forming part of the Scotch county of Bute, and lying in the great bay between the peninsula of Canty re and the main coast of Scotland, 5 m. E. of the former, from which it is separat...

Isles Of Arran: Isles Of Arran, three small islands lying at the entrance of Galway bay, off the W. coast of Ireland; total area, about 18 sq. m. The largest is Inishmore, the northern island; the next in size, Inish...

Earl Of Arran: Earl Of Arran, the title of the holders of the Scotch peerage of Arran, created for Sir Thomas Boyd in 1467, but in 1503 passing by royal decree from his son, who had displeased the king, to the house...

Arras: Arras (anc. Nemetocenna or Nemetacum, capital of the Atrebates), a city of France, capital of the department of Pas-de-Calais, and formerly of the province of Artois, on the river Scarpe, 100 m. 1ST. ...

Arrawaks, Or Lokono: Arrawaks, Or Lokono, a tribe on the Berbice and Surinam rivers, Guiana, noted for their mild and peaceful disposition and friendship for Europeans. They were, however, formerly a large, powerful, and ...

Arrest: Arrest, the taking a person or thing by authority of the law and into its custody. I. In civil cases, arrest is the apprehension of a person by lawful authority for the purpose of compelling him to an...

Arrest. Continued: And if a private person make an arrest for a felony, without a warrant, in good faith and upon a reasonable suspicion that the person whom he arrested had committed the offence, he will not be liable ...

Philip Arrhidaeus: Philip Arrhidaeus, a natural son of Philip of Macedon and the dancing girl Philinna of Larissa, died in 317 B. C. After the death of Alexander the Great in 323, the Macedonian troops in the East nomin...

Arria: Arria, a Roman woman who immortalized herself by suicide, A. D. 42. Her husband, CAecina PAetus, was condemned, as a traitor to the emperor Claudius, to put an end to his own life. As CAecina hesitate...

Arrian: Arrian (Flavius Arrianus), a Greek philosopher and historian, born in Nicomedia, Bithynia, about A. D. 100. He served under Hadrian and the Antonines, obtained the Roman citizenship, was prefect of Ca...

Giovanni Arrivabene: Giovanni Arrivabene, count, an Italian political economist, born in Mantua in 1789. In 1821 he was imprisoned seven months in Venice for refusing to denounce Silvio Pellico, of which 40 years later he...

Ann Arroo: Ann Arroo, or Aroe, a group of about 80 islands in the Malay archipelago, north of Australia, between lat. 5 and 7 S., and lon. 134 and 135 E. At the end of them is a considerable ...

Arrowroot: Arrowroot, a name loosely applied to the starch extracted from a number of roots and grains, as the maranta, manihot, tacca, arum, potato, etc. It was originally limited to the starch of the maranta a...

Arsenic: Arsenic (Gr. or male, from its power in destroying), the common name of the white oxide of arsenic, or arseni-ous acid. In ancient times the name was applied to a reddish-colored mineral compound ...

Arsenic. Continued: If it contain any traces of arsenious acid, it will be shown by the bluish-white color of the flame, by the fumes of the acid, and brown shining spots of arsenic of metallic appearance will be deposit...

Arsinoe: Arsinoe. I. A concubine of Philip, the son of Amyntas, who became the wife of Lagus, a Macedonian general, and the mother of Ptolemy I., king of Egypt. She was said to have been pregnant at the time o...

Arsinoe, Egypt: I. An ancient city of Egypt, capital of the nome or district of Arsinoitis, W. of the Nile, and not far from Lake Mris. Ptolemy Philadelphia gave it that name in honor of his favorite sister and...

Arson: Arson (Lat. ardere, to burn), at common law, the wilful and malicious burning of another's house. House is to be understood in general to mean a dwelling house, and it included at common law all the o...

Ars-Sur-Moselle: Ars-Sur-Moselle, a town in Alsace-Lorraine, administrative division of Lorraine, formerly belonging to the French department of Moselle, 5 m. S. W. of Metz, at the junction of the Mance with the Mosel...

Arta: Arta (anc. Ambracia), a town at the southern extremity of Albania, Turkey, near the northern boundary of Greece, on the left bank of the river Arta, and 7 m. N. of the gulf of the same name; pop. abou...

Artabanus: Artabanus, a native of Hyrcania, commander of the bodyguard of Xerxes, whom he assassinated 465 B. C. He persuaded one of the king's sons, Artaxerxes, to kill another, Darius, and then attempted to mu...

Artabazus: I. A Persian general, son of Pharnaces, lived in the reign of Xerxes I. He commanded the Parthians and Chorasmians in the expedition of Xerxes against Greece, 480 B. C., and returned to Pallene after ...

Artaxata: Artaxata (Arm. Ardashad), an ancient city on the Araxes, capital of Armenia, 68 m. S. S. E. of Erivan. It was built under the direction of Hannibal while a refugee at the court of Artaxias, after whom...

Artaxerxes, Or Artoxerxes, Artahshashta Or Artahshasta: Artaxerxes, Or Artoxerxes (In The Hebrew Scriptures Artahshashta Or Artahshasta), the name of three kings of ancient Persia, signifying, according to Herodotus, great warrior. I. Surnamed Longimanus...

Artemidorus Of Ephesis: Artemidorus Of Ephesis, a Greek geographer, flourished at the end of the 2d and the beginning of the 1st century B. C. He is said to have travelled in Spain and Gaul, and to have made voyages in the E...

Artemisia: I. A queen of Halicarnassus, in Caria, who, as a vassal of the Persian crown, joined the expedition of that monarch against Greece with a squadron of five ships, and shone by her valor and prudence in...

Artemisias: Artemisia, a genus of plants of the order composit, noted for bitter, tonic, or aromatic properties. A. absinthium, or wormwood, is a perennial plant with woody stems in clusters two or three fe...

Artemisium: Artemisium, properly a temple of Artemis (Diana), the name of several places in ancient geography. The most important of them was the promontory on the N. coast of Euba, off which the Greek ship...

Artery: Artery (Gr. from air, and to keep), a blood vessel conveying the blood outward from the heart to the organs; so called because the ancients supposed these vessels to contain spirits or air. An ar...

Artesian Wells: Artesian Wells, small holes sunk in the earth, through which currents of water, struck at great depths, rise toward the surface, and sometimes flow over; so named from the province of Artois in France...

Artesian Wells. Part 2: The yield at the mouth was greatly decreased when raised through a tube 25 ft. high; a like result followed at Grenelle, where the yield was 440 gallons per minute at the surface, but decreased to 135...

Artesian Wells. Part 3: In 1848 the last operation was commenced under the direction of Maj. Welton. The strata first penetrated were alluvial sands, saturated with water, which caused them to run as quicksand. These were sh...

Artesian Wells. Part 4: Directly over the site of the proposed well a wooden derrick or open tower is erected, 14 to 16 ft. square at the base and 30 to 60 ft. high, the four corner posts converging so as to form a square at...

Artevelde: I. Jacob van, a citizen and popular leader of Ghent, and for a time almost ruler of Flanders, born about 1300, killed in a popular insurrection, July 17, 1345. He was of noble family, but caused himse...

Arthritis: Arthritis (Gr. belonging to the joints, from a joint), inflammation of the joints, of which there are three kinds, traumatic arthritis, rheumatic arthritis, and gouty inflammation of the joints. For...

Arthur: Arthur, a hero of British mythology, believed by many to have been identical with an actual sovereign in England in the 6th century. Nennius, the most ancient Cymric poetry, the Triads, and the Welsh ...

Timothy Shay Arthur: Timothy Shay Arthur, an American author, born near Newburgh, Orange county, N. Y., in 1809. He was about eight years old when his parents removed to Baltimore. He was apprenticed to a trade, was for s...

William Arthur: William Arthur, an Irish Wesleyan clergyman and author, born in the county of Antrim in 1819. After a thorough classical training and special studies in Italian literature, he entered the Wesleyan the...

Artichoke: Artichoke, an edible plant of the genus cynara, order composit, resembling a large thistle, known in the south of Europe as early as 1548. C. scolymus and its variety C. her-tensis are the green...

Articulata: Articulata, the third great division of the animal kingdom in the classification of Cuvier, and by him subdivided into four classes. Other naturalists have added four more, making the following eight ...

Articulation: Articulation, a term in anatomy, denoting the various modes of union between the bones of the skeleton. We may class articulations under three general heads, viz., movable joints, immovable joints, an...

Jose Artigas: Jose Artigas, a South American general, born at Montevideo, in Uruguay, in 1755, died in Paraguay in 1851 (not, as often stated, about 1826). The son of a wealthy landed proprietor, he led for a time ...

Artillery: Artillery, the cannon employed in war, and the troops organized to use them. The Chinese as early as A. D. 969; under the emperor Tai-tsu, tied rockets to their arrows to propel them to greater distan...

Artillery. Part 2: The cannon belonging to an army, together with the wagons loaded with implements and ammunition, were collected into an artillery train, to which certain officers and artillerists were attached. The l...

Artillery. Part 3: To his age belong also the important i inventions of the elevating screw, the prolonge, and the priming tube filled with powder, the old method being to work powder into the vent. - During the first p...

Artillery. Part 4: Two guns were still assigned to each infantry battalion, which were served by detachments from a company of artillery attached to each brigade of four regiments. The rest of the field artillery was or...

Artillery. Part 5: Their adoption into almost every service, with the consequent development of horizontal shell fire, was beyond question the most important event in the history of artillery since Gribeau-val's time, a...

Artillery. Part 6: To practically obtain this result in cast-iron guns, Rodman had them cast on a hollow core and cooled from within by passing a stream of water through them. In 1850 Admiral Dahlgren proposed a new sys...

Artillery. Part 7: Their projectiles, too, were not effective, many bursting in the air or burying themselves in the ground without producing any effect, while the German percussion shells almost invariably exploded on ...

Artillery. Part 8: The Frazer gun is a modification of the Armstrong; the number of coils being lessened, cheaper iron used for the outer coils, which are shrunk on with the trunnion piece, and the arrangement of should...

Artillery. Part 9: The Krupp guns are made of cast steel, composed of puddled steel and pure wrought iron, melted in crucibles and then run into large ingots, which are worked under powerful steam hammers; the fermature...

Artillery. Part 10: The 8-inch Krupp is now included among her heavy guns, and in Cuba she has in service a great many large American cannon, Parrott rifles and Rodman smooth-bores. Belgium has Krupp fours and sixes with...

Artillery. Part 11: The counterpoise being heavier than the gun, the cannoneers have no difficulty in making it run up into battery after throwing the eccentric wheels into gear. An improved form of the ribaudequin or or...

Artiodactyles: Artiodactyles, a name given by Owen to the even-toed division of the ungulata or hoofed, herbivorous animals, including the ruminants or the two-toed animals which chew the cud, like the cow, sheep, a...

Artois: Artois, a former province of northern France, which, with a small portion of Picardy, now forms the department of Pas-de-Calais. It lay principally between Flanders on the X. E. and E. and Picardy on ...

Joseph Artot: Joseph Artot, a Belgian violinist, born in Brussels in 1815, died in Paris, July 20, 1845. When a mere child, he was able to execute very difficult pieces on the violin. In the conservatoire at Paris,...

Thomas Howard Arundel: Thomas Howard Arundel, earl of Arundel and Surrey, an English patron of art, born July 7, 1592, died in Padua, Oct. 4, 1646. Under Elizabeth he enjoyed by courtesy the title of Lord Maltravers. The ti...

Blanch Arundell: Blanch Arundell, daughter of the earl- of Worcester, and wife of Lord Thomas Arnndell, died in 1649, aged 66. With only 25 men she for nine days defended Wardour castle against 1,300 of the parliament...

Adolf Ivar Arwidsson: Adolf Ivar Arwidsson, a Swedish poet, born at Padasjoki in Finland, Aug. 7, 1791, died at Viborg, June 21, 1858. He was instructed in history at the university of Abo, where he founded in 1821 the Abo...

Aryan Race And Language: Arya (Sanskrit, dry a; Zend, airya) is a name by which the cultivated race of parts of S. W. Asia (Iran and India) anciently called itself, by way of distinction from the ruder aborigines by whom it w...

Aryan Race And Language. Continued: The apparatus of noun and adjective derivation, in both primary and secondary suffixes, was already elaborated in its principal features; conspicuous examples are the endings of comparative and superl...

Abraham Arzachel: Abraham Arzachel, a Jewish astronomer, born at Toledo, Spain, flourished about 1060. He wrote a work on the obliquity of the zodiac, and determined the apogee of the sun. The famous Alfonsine astronom...

Arzamas, Or Arsamas: Arzamas, Or Arsamas, a town of European Russia, capital of a district, in the government and 60 m. S. of the city of Nizhni Novgorod, on the Tyesha; pop. in 1867, 10,517. It is an old town, and has 34...

As, Or Asa: As, Or Asa (Norse, plur. Aesir; Ger. plur. Asen), in northern mythology, a member of the ruling race of gods, 12 male and 12 female, including Odin, Thor, Baldur, Freyr, Frigga, Freyja, Idunna, Eira, ...

Asa: Asa, the third king of Judah, reigned 41 years, about 957-916 B. C. He was the son and successor of Abijam, and great-grandson of Solomon. He distinguished himself by his opposition to the forms of id...

Asafoetida: Asafoetida (also called stercus diaboli and cibus deorum), a resinous gum derived from the root of the narthex asaftida, a plant of the family umbellifer, which grows in Persia, Afghanista...

Asaph: Asaph, a Levite, appointed by David as leading chorister in the musical services which he organized in connection with divine worship. The duty thus assigned him descended by a certain succession in h...

Asbestus: Asbestus (Gr. a substance unaffected by fire, from a privative and to quench), a term used rather to denote a peculiar form assumed by several minerals than to designate any particular species. Tremo...

Francis Asbury: Francis Asbury, the first bishop of the Methodist Episcopal church ordained in America, born at Handsworth, Staffordshire, England, Aug. 20,1745, died at Spottsylvania, Va,, March 31,1816. At the age ...

Ascalon: Ascalon (Heb. Ashkelon; Arab. Askalan), one of the five leading or princely cities of Philistia, was situated midway between Gaza and Ashdod, on the Mediterranean, about 37 m. S. W. of Jerusalem. Thou...

Ascarides: Ascarides (Gr. , a term used by Hippocrates, and now applied to several nematoid worms which infest the intestines of man and animals: the ascaris vermicularis, mawworm or pin worm, which infests the ...

Ascension: Ascension, a S. E. parish of Louisiana, intersected by the Mississippi river and bounded N. E. by the Amite river and E. by Lake Maure-pas; area, 420 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 11,577, of whom 7,310 were c...

Ascension Day: Ascension Day, a festival of the Roman Catholic and Episcopal churches, kept in commemoration of the ascension of Jesus, recorded by the evangelist to have happened on the 40th day after his resurrect...

Ascension Island: Ascension Island, an island about 8 m. in length and 6 in width, lying in the south Atlantic ocean, in lat. 7 56' S., Ion. 14 25' W. It is of volcanic formation, mountainous, and was barren ...

Ascii: Ascii, a town of Bohemia, situated near the frontiers of Saxony and Bavaria, 14 m. N. W. of Eger; pop. in 1869, 9,405. It is the seat of an important industry, especially in silk and woollen goods. Fo...

Aschaffenburg: Aschaffenburg, a city of Bavaria, in the circle of Lower Franconia, on the right bank of the river Main, which is here crossed by a handsome stone bridge, 23 m. E. S. E. of Frankfort; pop. in 1871, 9,...

Roger Ascham: Roger Ascham, an English scholar, born in Yorkshire in 1515, died Dec. 30, 1568. He was of humble parentage, and was brought up by Sir Anthony Wingfield, with whose sons he was educated. In 1534 he gr...

Aschersleben: Aschersleben, a town of Prussia, in the province of Saxony, about 32 m. S. by W. of Magdeburg, on the river Eine; pop. in 1871, 16,734. It has manufactures of woollen and linen. In the middle ages the...

Asclepiades: Asclepiades, called from his native country Bithynus, a physician, born at Prusa in Bithy-nia in the 2d century B. C, flourished in Rome in the early part of the 1st. He first studied rhetoric and phi...

Ascoli: I. A city (anc. Asculum Picenum) of central Italy, capital of the province of Ascoli Piceno, on the right bank of the Tronto, 18 m. W. of the Adriatic and 87 m. N. E. of Rome; pop. about 11,000. It ...

Ascot Heath: Ascot Heath, a race course in Berkshire, England, 26 m. from London and 6 m. from Windsor, near the London and Southwestern railway. The annual meeting in June is one of the principal events of the tu...

Aselli, Or Asellio: Aselli, Or Asellio, Gasparo, an Italian anatomist, born in Cremona about 1580, died in Milan in 1626. He was professor of anatomy in the university of Pavia. In 1622, while demonstrating the recurrent...

John Asgill: John Asgill, an English lawyer and writer, born about 1655, died in London in 1738. After acquiring considerable reputation in London in his profession and as a political and legal pamphleteer, he wen...

Ash: Ash, a name applied to four genera of forest trees. I. Fraxinus (Gr. separation, from the wood being used for fences, or from the facility with which it splits), of the family oleace, Juss., di...

John Ash: John Ash, an English Baptist divine, born in 1724, died in 1779. He was pastor of a congregation at Pershore, in Worcestershire, and published A New and Complete English Dictionary (2 vols. 8vo., Lo...

Ashantee: Ashantee, the most notable of the existing savage kingdoms on the W. coast of Africa. Its boundaries are not accurately defined; but approximately the kingdom may be considered the region fronting the...

Alexander Baring Ashburton: Alexander Baring Ashburton, baron, an English merchant and statesman, born Oct. 27, 1774, died May 13, 1848. He was the second son of Sir Francis Baring, who sent him to the United States, where he ma...

Ashby De La Zouch: Ashby De La Zouch, a market town of Leicestershire, England, 15 1/2 m. N. W. of Leicester; pop. 3,800. It is a place of resort for its saltwater baths, and has an ancient church and the remains of a f...

Ashdod: Ashdod (the Azotus of the Greeks and Romans; now called Esdud), one of the five chief Philistine cities on the Mediterranean coast, lying midway between Ascalon and Ekron, about 10 miles from each. It...

Ashe: Ashe, a N. W. county of North Carolina, bordering on Virginia and Tennessee, bounded E. and S. E. by New river; area, about 300 sq. m.; pop. in. 1870, 9,573, of whom 582 were colored. It is a mountain...

John Ashe: John Ashe, an officer in the war of the American revolution, born in England in 1721, died in North Carolina in October, 1781. He was six years old when his father emigrated to America and took up his...

Asher: Asher, the eighth of the sons of Jacob, and the second by Zilpah, the handmaid of Leah. The name signifies happy. The tribe of Asher at the exodus numbered 41,500 males over 20 years of age, being e...

References A: Alleghany Mountains See Appalachian Mountains. Balir El Abiad See Nile. Abraham (originally Abeam), the first patriarch of the Hebrews. See Hebrews. Total Abstinence See Total Abstixexce. Act ...

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