Airds Moss

Airds Moss, a moorish tract in Ayrshire to the NE. of Auchinleck, the scene of a Covenanting skirmish (1680).

Aire

Aire, a river in the West Riding of Yorkshire, flowing 70 miles to the Ouse.

Aire

Aire (anc. Vicus Julii), a French town in the dep. of Landes, on the Adour, 112 miles S. of Bordeaux, with an ancient cathedral; pop. 3892.

Aire-sur-Lys

Aire-sur-Lys, a fortified town in the French dep. of Pas-de-Calais, on the Lys, 37 miles W. of Lille by rail; pop. 8165.

Airlie

Airlie, in Forfarshire, 8 miles WSW. of Forfar, the seat of the Earl of Airlie, famous in song.

Airolo

Airolo, an Italian-Swiss village, in the upper valley of the Ticino, and 150 yards from the southern mouth of the great St Gothard Tunnel; pop. 2000.

Airthrey

Airthrey, a place with mineral springs near Bridge of Allan.

Aisne

Aisne (Ain), a French river, flowing 150 miles north-westward and westward through the deps. of Marne, Ardennes, Aisne, and Oise, till it falls into the river Oise, above Compiegne.

Aisne

Aisne, a dep. in the north of France, comprising parts of Picardy, Brie, and the Isle of France. Hilly in the south, level in the north, it belongs to the basin of the Seine, and is watered by the rivers Aisne, Marne, and Oise. Laon is the capital. Area, 2839 sq. m.; pop. (1891) 545,493; (1901) 535,583.

Aiwalyk

Aiwalyk, a seaport in the north-west of Asia Minor, on the Gulf of Edremid (Adramyti). Pop. 35,000.

Aix

Aix (Aiks), a French town, formerly capital of Provence, in the dep. of Bouches-du-Rhone, 20 miles N. of Marseilles. It is believed to have been founded by the Roman consul, C. Sextius (120 B.C.), on account of the mineral springs in the neighbourhood, and thence to have got the name Aquœ Sextiœ. Aix is the seat of an archbishop; and possesses a college with a public library of 150,000 volumes and 1100 MSS. The baptistery of the cathedral is believed to have been originally a temple of Apollo. There is also an old clock-tower with a quaint mechanical clock. The industry consists chiefly in cotton-spinning, leather-dressing, and trade in olive-oil, wine, almonds, etc. The warm springs are slightly sulphurous, with a temperature from 90° to 100° F. The field on which Marius defeated the Teutones lies in the plain between Aix and Aries. Pop. 25,000.

Alx-les-Bains

Alx-les-Bains (Aiks-le-Bang), a small town in the French dep. of Savoy, in a delightful valley near Lake Bourget, 8 miles N. of Chambery. It was a much-frequented bathing-place in the time of the Roman empire (Aquœ GratianAe), and among its many ancient remains are the arch of Carnpanus, the ruins of a temple, and of a vapour-bath. The two sulphurous hot springs are used both for drinking and as baths, and attract annually 5000 visitors. Pop. 4799.

Ajaccio

Ajaccio (Ayat'cho), capital of Corsica, on the west side of the island, at the head of the Gulf of Ajaccio. It has a fine cathedral, completed in 1585, and a spacious harbour, protected by a citadel; and was the birthplace of Napoleon. There is a statue of him as First Consul (1850), and an equestrian monument of him as emperor surrounded by his four brothers (1865). The house of the Bonapartes, the 'Casa Bonaparte,' is now national property. The chief employments are the anchovy and pearl fisheries, and the trade in wine and olive-oil. Ajaccio has become a winter-resort for consumptive patients. Pop. 21,200.