The New Gresham Encyclopedia. A to Amide
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Title: The New Gresham Encyclopedia. A to Amide
Author: Various
Release date: October 15, 2010 [eBook #34073]
Most recently updated: January 7, 2021
Language: English
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34073
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NEW GRESHAM ENCYCLOPEDIA. A TO AMIDE ***
Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Keith Edkins and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
Transcriber's note: In the pronunciation guides [=e] signifies "e macron";
[)e] "e breve"; [a:] "a with diaeresis below"; [.a] "a with dot above";
[n.] "n with dot below"; [:a] "a with diaeresis"; and so forth.
THE
NEW GRESHAM
ENCYCLOPEDIA
VOLUME I
* * * * *
_EDITORS_
ANGELO S. RAPPOPORT, Ph.D., B.es L.
R. F. PATTERSON, M.A.(Cantab.), D.Litt.(Glasgow).
JOHN DOUGALL, M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S.E.; Gold Medallist
of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
* * * * *
ALGAE
[Illustration: 1, The very broad Ulva. 2, Cornucopia. 3, Caulerpa
Cactoides. 4, Acetabularia Mediterranea. 5, Bladder-locks. 6, Long-stalked
Laminaria. 7, Sugared Laminaria. 8, Bladder Wrack. 9, Serrated Wrack. 10,
Gulf-weed. 11, Thalassiophyllum Clathrus. 12, Forked Dictyota. 13,
Medicinal Coralline. 14, Corallina Rubens. 15, Delesseria Lyalii. 16,
Nitophyllum Crosieri. 17, Membrane-leaved Phyllophira. 18, Peacock's-tail
Padina. 19, Banded Taonia.]
THE
NEW . GRESHAM
ENCYCLOPEDIA
VOLUME . I
[Illustration]
_The_ GRESHAM . PUBLISHING
COMPANY . _Limited_
66 CHANDOS STREET . STRAND
LONDON W.C.2.
1922
* * * * *
LIST OF PLATES AND MAPS
* * * * *
VOLUME I
* * * * *
PLATES
Page
ALGAE (_Coloured_) _Frontispiece_
AEROPLANE 44
AIR-SHIPS 72
ANATOMY (Human Skeleton and Muscles) 152
ARCHAEOLOGY (Antiquities of the Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages) 220
ARCHITECTURE 224
BACTERIA 348
MAPS IN COLOUR
AFRICA 52
ASIA 274
AUSTRALIA 316
* * * * *
CONTRIBUTORS TO VOLUME I
ADOLPHE ABRAHAMS, O.B.E., B.A., M.D., late Major, R.A.M.C.
GEORGE E. ALLAN, D.Sc., Lecturer in Electricity, University of Glasgow.
R. E. ANDERSON, Maker of Artificial Limbs.
F. L. ATTENBOROUGH, B.A., Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
F. F. P. BISACRE, O.B.E., M.A., B.Sc., A.M.I.C.E.
R. M. BROWN, B.Sc.
GRENVILLE A. J. COLE, F.R.S., Professor of Geology, Royal College of
Science, Ireland.
ARTHUR O. COOKE, Author of _A Book of Dovecotes_.
J. R. AINSWORTH DAVIS, M.A., F.C.P., former Principal of The Royal
Agricultural College, Cirencester.
MONTAGU DRUMMOND, M.A., Lecturer in Botany, University of Glasgow.
CHARLES J. FFOULKES, B.Litt., Major, R.M.; Curator of the Armouries, Tower
of London.
F. MORLEY FLETCHER, Director, College of Art, Edinburgh.
Rev. WILLIAM FULTON, D.D., B.Sc., Professor of Systematic Theology,
University of Aberdeen.
L. HADEN GUEST, M.C., M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P.
R. N. HAYGARTH, B.A., B.Sc., Queens' College, Cambridge.
W. A. HISLOP, M.B., late Captain, R.A.M.C.
DONALD A. MACKENZIE, Folklorist; Author of _Egyptian Myth and Legend_, &c.
MAGNUS MACLEAN, M.A., D.Sc., M.Inst.E.E., M.Inst.C.E., Editor of _Modern
Electrical Engineering_, &c.
W. LOCKWOOD MARSH, O.B.E., M.A., A.F.R.Ae.S., Lieutenant-Colonel; late
R.A.F.; Secretary of the Royal Aeronautical Society.
D. J. MACKELLOR, B.Sc., Lecturer in Electrical Engineering, Royal Technical
College, Glasgow.
R. F. PATTERSON, M.A., D.Litt., formerly Charles Oldham Shakespeare
Scholar, Cambridge University.
ANGELO S. RAPPOPORT, Ph.D., B. es L.
JAMES RITCHIE, M.A., M.D., Professor of Bacteriology, University of
Edinburgh.
W. D. ROBIESON, M.A.
JOHN J. ROSS, M.A., F.R.A.S.
GEORGE SMITH, Procurator Fiscal.
G. ELLIOT SMITH, M.A., M.D., F.R.S., Professor of Anatomy, University of
London.
C. S. STOOKS, D.S.O., Major, Indian Army; Instructor in Military
Organization, Royal Military College, Sandhurst.
M. M. J. SUTHERLAND, D.Sc., F.I.C.
THOMAS G. WRIGHT, LL.B., Professor of Mercantile Law, University of
Glasgow.
* * * * *
KEY TO PRONUNCIATION
* * * * *
The method of marking pronunciations here employed is either (1) by marking
the syllable on which the accent falls, or (2) by a simple system of
transliteration, to which the following is the Key:--
VOWELS
[=a], as in f_a_te, or in b_a_re.
[:a], as in _a_lms, Fr. _a_me, Ger. B_a_hn = a of Indian names.
[.a], the same sound short or medium, as in Fr. b_a_l, Ger. M_a_nn.
a, as in f_a_t.
[a:], as in f_a_ll.
_a_, obscure, as in rur_a_l, similar to _u_ in b_u_t, [.e] in h_e_r: common
in Indian names.
[=e], as in m_e_ = _i_ in mach_i_ne.
e, as in m_e_t.
[.e], as in h_e_r.
[=i], as in p_i_ne, or as _ei_ in Ger. m_ei_n.
i, as in p_i_n, also used for the short sound corresponding to [=e], as in
French and Italian words.
_eu_, a long sound as in Fr. j_eu_ne = Ger. long _oe_, as in S_oe_hne,
G_oe_the (Goethe).
eu, corresponding sound short or medium, as in Fr. p_eu_ = Ger. _oe_ short.
[=o], as in n_o_te, m_oa_n.
o, as in n_o_t, s_o_ft--that is, short or medium.
[:o], as in m_o_ve, tw_o_.
[=u] as in t_u_be.
u, as in t_u_b: similar to [.e] and also to a.
[u:], as in b_u_ll.
[:u], as in Sc. ab_u_ne = Fr. _u_ as in d_u_, Ger. _[:u]_ long as in
gr_ue_n, B_ue_hne.
[.u], the corresponding short or medium sound, as in Fr. b_u_t, Ger.
M_ue_ller.
oi, as in _oi_l.
ou, as in p_ou_nd; or as _au_ in Ger. H_au_s.
CONSONANTS
Of the _consonants_, B, D, F, H, J, K, L, M, N, NG, P, SH, T, V, Z, always
have their common English sounds, when used to transliterate foreign words.
The letter C is not used by itself in re-writing for pronunciation, S or K
being used instead. The only consonantal symbols, therefore, that require
explanation are the following:--
ch is always as in ri_ch_.
_d_, nearly as _th_ in _th_is = Sp. _d_ in Ma_d_ri_d_, &c.
g is always hard, as in _g_o.
_h_ represents the guttural in Scotch lo_ch_, Ger. na_ch_, also other
similar gutturals.
[n.], Fr. nasal _n_ as in bo_n_.
r represents both English _r_, and _r_ in foreign words, which is generally
much more strongly trilled.
s, always as in _s_o.
th, as _th_ in _th_in.
_th_, as _th_ in _th_is.
w always consonantal, as in _w_e.
x = ks, which are used instead.
y always consonantal, as in _y_ea (Fr. _ligne_ would be re-written
l[=e]ny).
zh, as _s_ in plea_s_ure = Fr. _j_.
* * * * *
THE NEW
GRESHAM ENCYCLOPEDIA
VOLUME I
A, the first letter in many alphabets. The sound most commonly belonging to
it, as in French, Italian, German, &c., is that which is heard in _father_,
pronounced short or long. In English the letter is made to represent at
least seven sounds, as in _father_, _mat_, _mate_, _mare_, _many_, _ball_,
_what_, besides being used in such digraphs as _ea_ in _heat_, _oa_ in
_boat_.--A, in music, is the sixth note in the diatonic scale of C, and
stands when in perfect tune to the latter note in the ratio of 3/5 to 1.
The second string of the violin is tuned to this note.
A 1, a symbol attached to vessels of the highest class in Lloyd's register
of shipping, A referring to the hull of the vessel, 1 to the rigging and
whole equipment. When A 1 has a number prefixed, as 100 A 1, 90 A 1, the
number denotes that the vessel is built according to certain
specifications. See _Shipbuilding_.
AA ([:a]) (Old Ger. _aha_, water; allied to Lat. _aqua_, water), the name
of a great many streams of Central and Northern Europe.
AACHEN ([:a]'_h_[.e]n). See _Aix-la-Chapelle_.
AALAND ISLANDS. See _Aland Islands_.
AALBORG ([=o]l'bor_h_: 'eel-town'), a seaport of Denmark, in Jutland, on
the Liimfiord, see of a bishop, with iron-founding, distilling, fishing,
&c. Pop. 33,449.
AALEN ([:a]'l[.e]n), a town of Germany in Wuerttemberg, which manufactures
woollen and linen goods. It has important iron-works and tanneries. Pop.
11,347.
AALESUND ([=o]'le-s[u:]nd), seaport and fishing centre on the west coast of
Norway, on a small island. Pop. 13,858.
AALI PASHA. See _Ali Pasha_.
AALST ([:a]lst). See _Alost_.
AAR, or AARE ([:a]r), the name of several European rivers, of which the
chief (180 miles long) is a tributary of the Rhine, next to it and the
Rhone the longest river in Switzerland. It has its origin from the Upper
and Lower Glaciers of the Aar, in the Bernese Alps, traverses Lakes Brienz
and Thun, and receives the Saane, Reuss, Limmat, &c. On it are Interlaken,
Thun, Bern, Solothurn, and Aarau, to which, as to the canton of Aargau, it
gives its name.
AARAU ([:a]'rou), a well-built and finely-situated town in Switzerland,
capital of canton Aargau, on the River Aar. Pop. 9536.
AARD-VARK ([:a]rd'v[.a]rk: earth-pig), Dutch name for a burrowing
insect-eating animal of South Africa, _Orycter[)o]pus capensis_, order
Edentata, resembling the ant-eater and armadillo. It is called also
_ground-hog_ and _Cape pig_.
[Illustration: Aardwolf (_Prot[)e]les crist[=a]tus_)]
AARDWOLF ([:a]rd'w[u:]lf: earth-wolf) (_Prot[)e]les crist[=a]tus_), a
burrowing carnivore of S. and E. Africa, allied to the hyenas and civets.
It feeds on carrion, small mammals, insects, &c.
AARE. See _Aar_.
AARGAU ([:a]r'gou), or ARGOVIE ([.a]r-go-v[=e]), a northern canton of
Switzerland; area, 543 sq. miles; hilly, well wooded, abundantly watered by
the Aar and its tributaries, and well cultivated. Pop. 236,860. German is
almost universally spoken. Capital, Aarau.
AARHUUS ([=o]r'h[:o]s), a seaport and ancient town of Denmark, on the east
coast of Jutland. It has a fine Gothic cathedral, a good harbour, and
manufactures woollens, gloves, hats, tobacco, &c. Pop. 65,858.
AARON ([=a]'ron), of the tribe of Levi, brother of Moses. At Sinai, when
the people became impatient at the long-continued absence of Moses, he
complied with their request by making a golden calf, and thus became
involved with them in the guilt of gross idolatry. The office of
high-priest, which he first filled, was made hereditary in his family. He
died at Mount Hor at the age of 123, and was succeeded by his son Eleazer.
AARON'S BEARD. See _Saint John's Wort_ and _Toad-flax_.
AARON'S ROD. See _Golden-rod_ and _Mullein_.
AASEN ([=o]'zen), Ivar Andreas, Norwegian poet and philologist, was born in
1813 and died in 1896. He wrote miscellaneous poems and a drama, but he is
chiefly known as the originator of the patriotic movement known as the
_Maulstroev_. He endeavoured to give Norway a literary language distinct
from the Danish, which has long served as the literary and official
language of the country. This he attempted to do mainly by the help of the
native dialects, which he studied thoroughly, setting forth their grammar
in special works and embodying their vocabulary in his _Norsk Ordbog med
Dansk Forklaring_ (Norse Dictionary, with Explanations in Danish, 1873),
supplemented by the _Norsk Ordbog_ of Hans Ross (1890-2). Numbers of poems,
tales, &c., have been written in the language, of which Aasen was in a
sense the inventor.
AASVAER ([=o]s'v[=a]r), a group of small islands off the Norwegian coast,
under the Arctic Circle, where there is an important herring-fishery.
AB, the eleventh month of the Jewish civil, the fifth of the
ecclesiastical, year--part of July and part of August.
ABABDA, or ABABDEH (abab'de) (GEBADEI of Pliny), a nomadic African race
inhabiting Upper Egypt and part of Nubia, between the Nile and the Red Sea,
dark-brown in colour. Their language is Arabic and they are Mahommedans in
religion. They number about 40,000.
AB'ACA, or MANILLA HEMP, a strong fibre yielded by the leaf-stalks of a
kind of plantain (_Musa text[)i]lis_) which grows in the Indian
Archipelago, and is cultivated in the Philippines. The outer fibres of the
leaf-stalks are made into strong and durable ropes, the inner into various
fine fabrics.
AB'ACO, GREAT and LITTLE, two islands of the Bahamas group, (q.v.). Pop.
about 4000.
[Illustration: Abacus for Calculations]
[Illustration: Norman Capital--_a_, the Abacus]
AB'ACUS, a Latin term applied to an apparatus used in elementary schools
for facilitating arithmetical operations, consisting of a number of
parallel cords or wires, upon which balls or beads are strung, the
uppermost wire being appropriated to units, the next to tens, &c.--The
uppermost member or division of the capital of a column, immediately under
the architrave.
ABAD'DON (Heb. destruction), the name given in _Rev._ ix. 11 as that of the
angel of the bottomless pit, otherwise called _Apollyon_. In _Job_, xxvi,
6, it designates the underworld, or Hades.
ABAKANSK', a fortified place in Siberia, near the Upper Yenisei, founded by
Peter the Great in 1707.
ABALONE (ab-a-l[=o]'ne), a name in California for a species of ear-shell
(Haliotis) that furnishes mother-of-pearl.
AB'ANA, or AMANAH, one of the two rivers of Damascus mentioned in the Bible
(2 _Kings_, v, 12). See _Barada_.
ABAN'DONMENT, a term of marine insurance, employed to designate the case
where the party insured gives up his whole interest in the property to the
insurer, and claims as for a total loss.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: G. G. Phillimore,
_Marine Insurance_, in _Encyclopedia of the Laws of England_, vol. viii;
C. R. Tyser, _Law relating to Losses under a Policy of Marine Insurance_.
AB'ANO, a village of North Italy, 5 miles from Padua, famous for its
mud-baths and warm springs. It is supposed to be the birthplace of Livy.
ABA'RIM, a mountain range of Eastern Palestine, including Nebo, on which
Moses died.
ABATEMENT, in law, has various significations. _Abatement of nuisances_ is
the remedy allowed to a person injured by a public or private nuisance, of
destroying or removing it himself. A _plea in abatement_ is brought forward
by a defendant when he wishes to defeat or quash a particular action on
some formal or technical ground. Abatement, in mercantile law, is an
allowance, deduction, or discount made for prompt payment or other reason.
AB'ATTIS, or ABATIS, in field engineering, a mass of trees cut down and
laid with their branches turned towards the enemy in such a way as to form
a defence for troops stationed behind them.
ABATTOIR (ab-at-w[:a]r'). See _Slaughter-house_.
ABAUZIT, Firmin ([.a]-b[=o]-z[=e]), a French Protestant scholar, was born
in 1679 and died in 1767. He lived chiefly at Geneva, but visited England
and was highly esteemed by Newton, who considered him not unfit to be judge
between himself and Leibnitz in the quarrel as to the invention of the
integral and differential calculus. Collections of his works were published
at Geneva (1770) and at London (1773).
ABBA, a Syrian word equivalent to 'father', which, being applied in the
Eastern Church to monks, superiors of monks, and other ecclesiastics, gave
rise to the word _abbot_. In the Syriac and Coptic Churches it is given to
bishops.
ABBADIE ([.a]b-[.a]-d[=e]), Antoine Thomson and Arnaud Michel d', French
travellers, born in Dublin in 1810 and 1815 respectively. They lived for
years in Abyssinia, and published valuable works on that country: Arnaud,
_Douze Ans dans la Haute-Ethiopie_; Antoine, _Geodesie de la
Haute-Ethiopie_, &c. Arnaud died in 1893, Antoine in 1897.
ABBAS I, the _Great_, Shah or King of Persia, born in 1557, ascended the
throne in 1586, at a time when the Turks and hordes of Usbek Tartars had
made great encroachments on the country. Having defeated the Usbeks,
recovered the provinces overrun by them, and reduced a great part of
Afghanistan, he made war against the Turks, and in 1605 defeated them near
Bussorah, thus getting back all the lost provinces. He extended his rule
beyond Persia proper, and at his death in 1628 his dominions stretched from
the Tigris to the Indus. He is looked upon by the Persians as their
greatest sovereign.
ABBAS II, HILMI, ex-Khedive of Egypt, was born in 1874. He is the eldest
son of Tewfik Pasha, and succeeded his father in 1892. During his reign he
adopted an unfriendly attitude towards England, but he failed in his
attempt to form an anti-British Cabinet in 1893. On 19th Dec., 1914, the
British Government issued a proclamation deposing Abbas Hilmi and
conferring the title of Sultan of Egypt upon Hussein Kamil, eldest living
prince of the family of Mohammed Ali-Hussein Kamil, who died in 1917. See
_Egypt_.
ABBAS MIRZA, a Persian prince and soldier, was the son of the shah Feth
Ali; born 1783, died 1833; he greatly distinguished himself in the wars
against Russia.
ABBASIDS, or ABBASSIDES (ab'as-sidz), the name of the second Arabian
dynasty which supplanted the Ommiades. It traced its descent from Abbas
(born 566, died 652), uncle of Mahomet, and gave thirty-seven caliphs to
Bagdad between 749 and 1258. Harun al Rashid was a member of this dynasty.
See _Caliphs_.
ABBATE ([.a]b-b[:a]'t[=a]), the Italian term corresponding to _Abbe_.
ABBE ([.a]b-[=a]), a French word for abbot, or for anyone regularly wearing
the clerical dress. Before the Revolution, all who had studied theology,
either with the view of becoming ordained clergymen or merely of obtaining
some ecclesiastical appointment or benefice, were generally so designated.
Marked out by their special dress, a short, violet-coloured robe, they were
seen everywhere--at court, the ball, the theatre, and in private families,
where they acted sometimes as tutors and sometimes as confidential
advisers. Others, again, adopted the literary profession or became teachers
in the higher educational establishments.
ABBE, Cleveland, American meteorologist and astronomer, born at New York in
1838, and educated at Harvard. He held various positions in connection with
observatories and other institutions in America, and was for some time
chief meteorologist in the United States Weather Bureau. He wrote much on
meteorology and kindred subjects. He died in 1916. His works include: _The
Mechanics of the Earth's Atmosphere_; _Relations between Climates and
Crops_, &c.
ABBEOKU'TA, a town of West Africa, in the Lagos Province of S. Nigeria, on
the Ogun River, and on the railway from Lagos to N. Nigeria, 45 miles north
of Lagos, consists chiefly of mud houses, surrounded by a mud wall. Pop.
50,000 to 100,000.
AB'BESS. See _Abbey_ and _Abbot_.
ABBEVILLE (ancient ABBATIS VILLA), a town of France, department of the
Somme, on the River Somme (which is here tidal), 108 miles N.N.W. of Paris.
The town is first mentioned in the ninth century, when it belonged to the
Abbey of St. Riquier. It has a Gothic church (St. Vulfran) (begun in the
fifteenth century and completed in the seventeenth), which has a
magnificent west front in the Flamboyant style. It manufactures woollens,
sail-cloth, chemicals, &c. Pop. 20,373.
AB'BEY, a monastery or religious community of the highest class, governed
by an _abbot_, assisted generally by a prior, sub-prior, and other
subordinate functionaries; or, in the case of a female community,
superintended by an _abbess_. An abbey invariably included a church. A
priory differed from an abbey only in being scarcely so extensive an
establishment, and was governed by a _prior_. In the English conventual
cathedral establishments, as Canterbury, Norwich, Ely, &c., the archbishops
or bishops held the abbot's place, the immediate governor of the monastery
being called a prior. Some priories sprang originally from the more
important abbeys, and remained under the jurisdiction of the abbots; but
subsequently any real distinction between abbeys and priories was lost. The
greater abbeys formed most complete and extensive establishments, including
not only the church and other buildings devoted to the monastic life and
its daily requirements, such as the refectory or eating-room, the
dormitories or sleeping-rooms, the room for social intercourse, the school
for novices, the scribes' cells, library, &c., but also workshops,
storehouses, mills, cattle and poultry sheds, dwellings for artisans,
labourers, and other servants, infirmary, guest-house, &c. Among the most
famous abbeys on the continent of Europe were those of Cluny, Clairvaux,
and Citeaux in France; St. Galle in Switzerland, and Fulda in Germany; the
most noteworthy English abbeys were those of Westminster, St. Mary's of
York, Fountains, Kirkstall, Tintern, Rievaulx, Netley; and of Scotland,
Melrose, Paisley, and Arbroath.
[Illustration: Plan of Fountains Abbey]
ABBIATEGRASSO ([.a]b-b[=e]-[:a]'t[=a]-gr[.a]s-s[=o]), a town in the north
of Italy, 15 miles W.S.W. of Milan. Pop. 13,148.
AB'BOT (from the Syriac _abba_, father), the head of an abbey (see
_Abbey_), the lady of similar rank being called _abbess_ (_abbatissa_). An
abbess, however, was not, like the abbot, allowed to exercise the spiritual
functions of the priesthood, such as preaching, confessing, &c.; nor did
abbesses ever succeed in freeing themselves from the control of their
diocesan bishop. In the early age of monastic institutions (_circ._ A.D.
300-600) the monks were not priests, but simply laymen who retired from the
world to live in common, and the abbot was also a layman. In the course of
time the abbots were usually ordained, and when an abbey was directly
attached to a cathedral the bishop was also the abbot, but the functions
devolving on the head of a monastery were, in this case, performed by a
prior. At first the abbeys were more remarkable for their numbers than for
their magnitude, but afterwards many of them were large and richly endowed,
and the heads of such establishments became personages of no small
influence and power, more especially after the abbots succeeded (by the
eleventh century) in freeing themselves from the jurisdiction of the bishop
of their diocese. Hence families of the highest rank might be seen eagerly
striving to obtain the titles of abbot and abbess for their members. The
great object was to obtain control over the revenues of the abbeys, and for
this purpose recourse was had to the device of holding them under a kind of
trust, or, as it was called, _in commendam_. According to the original
idea, the abbot _in commendam_, or 'commendator', was merely a temporary
trustee, who drew the whole or part of the revenues during a vacancy, and
was bound to apply them to specific purposes; but ultimately the
commendator or lay abbot in many instances held the appointment for life,
and was allowed to apply the whole or a large portion of the revenues to
his own private use. Many of the abbots vied with the bishops and nobility
in rank and dignity. In England abbots long sat in the House of Lords,
ranking next after barons. Seventeen of them were present on 28th June,
1539, the last occasion when the abbots as a body sat in Parliament. The
Reformation introduced vast changes, not only in Protestant countries,
where abbeys and all other monastic establishments were generally
suppressed, but even in countries which still continued Roman Catholic;
many sovereigns, whilst displaying their zeal for the Roman Catholic Church
by persecuting its opponents, did not scruple to imitate them in the
confiscation of Church property.
ABBOT (or Lord) OF MISRULE, the personage who took the chief part in the
Christmas revelries of the English populace before the Reformation. In
Scotland he was called Abbot of Unreason.
ABBOT, George, Archbishop of Canterbury, was born in 1562 and died in 1633.
He studied at Oxford, assisted in the translation of the Bible, was made
Bishop of Lichfield in 1609, next year Bishop of London, and in 1611
Archbishop of Canterbury. He retained the favour of James I to the last,
but after the accession of Charles I his influence at Court was superseded
by that of Laud. He published several works, chiefly theological, and _A
Brief Description of the Whole World_ (1599).
AB'BOTSFORD, the country-seat of Sir Walter Scott, on the south bank of the
Tweed, in Roxburghshire, 3 miles from Melrose, in the midst of picturesque
scenery, forming an extensive and irregular pile in the Scottish baronial
style of architecture.--_Abbotsford Club_, a club established at Edinburgh
for printing works throwing light on matters of history or literature
connected with the writings of Sir Walter Scott; issued 34 vols. 1835-64.
AB'BOTT, Rev. Edwin, D.D., prolific writer on theological, educational, and
other subjects, born in London, 1838, was educated at the City of London
School and St. John's College, Cambridge, where he highly distinguished
himself; he was head master of the City of London School from 1865 to 1889,
when he retired. His _Shakespearian Grammar_ (1870) is one of his best
contributions to English philology. Among his theological and kindred
writings are: _Through Nature to Christ_; _Bible Lessons_; _Cambridge
Sermons_; _Oxford Sermons_; the elaborate article _Gospels_ in the
_Encyclopaedia Britannica_ (9th edition); _From Letter to Spirit_. Other
works are: _Philochristus_ and _Onesimus_, both romances on the history of
the Early Christian Church; _Francis Bacon, an Account of his Life and
Works_; _St. Thomas of Canterbury, his Death and Miracles_; _The Anglican
Career of Cardinal Newman_ (a very depreciatory estimate); _Flatland, a
Romance of Many Dimensions_. He also wrote: _Johannine Grammar_ (1906),
_The Message of the Son of Man_ (1909), _The Fourfold Gospel_ (1913-7).
AB'BOTT, Jacob, a popular American writer, especially of entertaining and
instructive books for the young. He was born in 1803 and died in 1879. For
a time he was a teacher and later a clergyman.
AB'BOTT, Thomas Kingsmill, D.D., biblical scholar and writer on philosophic
and other subjects, born at Dublin, 1829, died 18th Dec., 1913. He studied
with distinction at Trinity College, and was successively professor in
Dublin University of moral philosophy, 1867-72; of biblical Greek, 1875-88;
and of Hebrew, 1879-1900; he was at one time librarian of the College. He
has written _Sight and Touch_, directed against the Berkeleian theory of
vision; _Elements of Logic_; _Essays, chiefly on the Original Texts of the
Old and New Testaments_; _Notes on some Epistles of St. Paul_; _Elementary
Theory of the Tides_; _Translation of Kant's Theory of Ethics_; _Kant's
Introduction to Logic_; _Commentary on Ephesians and Colossians_; &c.
ABBREVIA'TIONS, devices used in writing and printing to save time and
space, consisting usually of curtailments effected in words and syllables
by the removal of some letters, often of the whole of the letters except
the first. The following is a list of the more important:--
A.B., _artium baccalaureus_, bachelor of arts (more commonly B.A.);
also, able-bodied seaman. Abp., archbishop. A.C., _ante Christum_,
before Christ. Ac., acre. Acc., A/c, or Acct., account. A.D., _anno
Domini_, in the year of our Lord: used also as if equivalent to 'after
Christ', or 'of the Christian era'. A.D.C., aide-de-camp. Ad lib., _ad
libitum_, at pleasure. A.D.O.S., assistant director of ordnance stores.
A.D.V.S., assistant director of veterinary services. Aet. or Aetat.
_aetatis_ (_anno_), in the year of his age. A.G., attorney-general,
adjutant-general. A.H., _anno Hegirae_, in the year of the Hegira.
A.I.A., associate of the Institute of Actuaries. A.Inst.C.E., associate
of the Institution of Civil Engineers. A.I.Mech.E., associate of the
Institute of Mechanical Engineers. A.M., _ante meridiem_, forenoon;
_anno mundi_, in the year of the world; _artium magister_, master of
arts. A.M.I.E.E., associate member of the Institute of Electrical
Engineers. A.M.I.Mech.E., associate member of the Institute of
Mechanical Engineers. A.M.Inst.C.E., associate member of the
Institution of Civil Engineers. Anon., anonymous. A.P.D., army pay
department. A.R.A., associate of Royal Academy (London). A.R.A.M.,
associate of the Royal Academy of Music. A.R.C.O., associate of the
Royal College of Organists. A.R.I.B.A., associate of the Royal
Institute of British Architects. A.R.S.A., associate of the Royal
Scottish Academy. A.U.C., _ab urbe condita_, from the building of Rome
(753 B.C.). A.V., authorized version; artillery volunteers.
B.A., bachelor of arts. Bart, or Bt., baronet. B.C., before Christ.
B.C.L., bachelor of civil law. B.D., bachelor of divinity. B.L.,
bachelor of law. B.M., bachelor of medicine. Bp., bishop. B.S.,
bachelor of surgery. B.Sc., bachelor of science. B.V.M., blessed Virgin
Mary.
C., cap., or chap., chapter. C.A., chartered accountant. Cantab.,
_Cantabrigiensis_, of Cambridge. Cantuar., _Cantuariensis_, of
Canterbury. C.B., companion of the Bath. C.B.E., commander of the
British Empire. C.C., Catholic curate; county councillor. C.D.V.,
_carte de visite_. C.E., civil engineer. Cf., _confer_, compare. Ch.B.,
_chirurgiae baccalaureus_, bachelor of surgery. C.I., order of the
Crown of India. C.I.E., companion of the order of the Indian Empire.
C.J., chief justice. C.M., _chirurgiae magister_, master in surgery;
common metre. C.M.G., companion of the order of St. Michael and St.
George. C.M.S., Church Missionary Society. Co., company or county.
C.O.D., cash on delivery. Col., colonel, colony. Coll., college. Cr.,
creditor. C.S., civil service; clerk to the signet. C.S.I., companion
of the Star of India. C.T.C., Cyclists' Touring Club. Curt., current,
the present month. C.V.O., commander of the Royal Victorian Order.
Cwt., hundredweight.
d., _denarius_, penny or pence. D.C.L., doctor of civil law. D.C.M.,
Distinguished Conduct Medal. D.D., doctor of divinity. Del.,
_delineavit_, drew it. D.F., defender of the faith. D.G., _Dei gratia_,
by the grace of God. D.L., deputy lieutenant. D.Lit., D.Litt., _doctor
litterarum_, doctor of letters or literature. Do., _ditto_, the same.
D.O.M., _Deo Optimo Maximo_, to God, the best and greatest. D.P.H.,
diploma in public health. D.Phil., doctor of philosophy. Dr., doctor,
also debtor. D.Sc., doctor of science. D.S.O., Distinguished Service
Order. D.V., _Deo volente_, God willing. Dwt., pennyweight.
E., east. Ebor., _Eboracensis_, of York. E.C., Established Church.
E.C.U., English Church Union. E.E., errors excepted. e.g., _exempli
gratia_, for example. Etc. or &c., _et cetera_, and the rest.
F. or Fahr., Fahrenheit's thermometer. F.A., Football Association.
F.A.S., fellow of the Antiquarian Society. F.B.A., fellow of the
British Academy. F.C., Free Church. F.C.P., fellow of the College of
Preceptors. F.C.S., fellow of the Chemical Society. F.D., _fidei
defensor_, defender of the faith. Fec., _fecit_, he made or did it.
F.F.A., fellow of the Faculty of Actuaries. F.F.P.S., fellow of the
Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons (Glasgow). F.G.S., fellow of the
Geological Society. F.H.S., fellow of the Horticultural Society.
F.I.A., fellow of the Institute of Actuaries. Fl., flourished. F.L.S.,
fellow of the Linnaean Society. F.M., field-marshal. F.O.B., free on
board (goods delivered). F.R.A.S., fellow of the Royal Astronomical
Society. F.R.C.O., fellow of the Royal College of Organists. F.R.C.P.,
fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. F.R.C.S., fellow of the
Royal College of Surgeons. F.R.G.S., fellow of the Royal Geographical
Society. F.R.I.B.A., fellow of the Royal Institute of British
Architects. F.R.S., fellow of the Royal Society. F.R.S.E., fellow of
the Royal Society of Edinburgh. F.S.A., fellow of the Society of Arts
or Antiquaries. F.S.S., fellow of the Statistical Society. Ft., foot or
feet. F.Z.S., fellow of the Zoological Society.
Gal., gallon. G.B.E., (knight) grand cross of the British Empire.
G.C.B., (knight) grand cross of the Bath. G.C.I.E., (knight) grand
commander of the Indian Empire. G.C.M.G., (knight) grand cross of St.
Michael and St. George. G.C.S.I., (knight) grand commander of the Star
of India. G.C.V.O., (knight) grand cross of the Royal Victorian Order.
G.R., Georgius Rex, King George. G.R.I., Georgius Rex Imperator;
George, King and Emperor. G.P.O., general post office.
H.B.M., his or her Britannic majesty. H.E.I.C.S., honourable East India
Company's service. Hhd., hogshead. H.I.H., his or her imperial
highness. H.M.I.S., his majesty's inspector of schools. H.M.S., his or
her majesty's ship. Hon., honourable. H.Q., Head-quarters. H.R.H., his
(her) royal highness. H.S.H., his (her) serene highness.
Ib. or Ibid., _ib[=i]dem_, in the same place. Id., _idem_, the same.
i.e., _id est_, that is. +I.H.S., _Jesus hominum salvator_, Jesus the
Saviour of men: originally it was [Greek: IES], the first three letters
of [Greek: IESOUS] (_I[=e]sous_), Greek for _Jesus_. Incog.,
_incognito_, unknown. Inf., _infra_, below. I.N.R.I., _Iesus Nazarenus
Rex Iudaeorum_, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. Inst., instant, or
of this month; institute. Inv., _invenit_, designed, invented.
I.O.G.T., Independent Order of Good Templars. I.O.U., I owe you.
I.S.O., Imperial Service Order.
J.P., justice of the peace. Jr., junior. J.U.D., _juris utriusque
doctor_, doctor both of the civil and the canon law.
K.B.E., knight commander of the British Empire. K.C., king's counsel.
K.C.B., knight commander of the Bath. K.C.M.G., knight commander of St.
Michael and St. George. K.C.I.E., knight commander of the Indian
Empire. K.C.S.I., knight commander of the Star of India. K.C.V.O.,
knight commander of the Royal Victorian Order. K.G., knight of the
Garter. K.P., knight of St. Patrick. K.T., knight of the Thistle. Kt.
or Knt., knight.
L., l, or L, pounds sterling. L.A., literate in arts. L.A.S.,
licentiate of the Apothecaries' Society. Lat., latitude; Latin. Lb. or
lb., _libra_, a pound (weight). L.C., _loco citato_, in the place
cited. L.C.J., lord chief-justice. L.C.P., licentiate of the College of
Preceptors. Ldp., lordship. L.D.S., licentiate in dental surgery.
Litt.D., _litterarum doctor_, doctor of literature. L.L., Low Latin.
L.L.A., lady literate in arts. LL.B., _legum baccalaureus_, bachelor of
laws. LL.D., _legum doctor_, doctor of laws (that is, the civil and the
canon law). LL.M., _legum magister_, master of laws. Lon. or long.,
longitude. Loq., _loquitur_, speaks. L.R.C.P., licentiate Royal College
of Physicians (with E., of Edinburgh). L.R.C.S., licentiate Royal
College of Surgeons (with E., of Edinburgh). L.R.C.V.S., licentiate of
the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. L.S., _locus sigilli_, the
place of the seal (on documents). L.S.A., licentiate of the Society of
Apothecaries. L.S.D., _librae, solidi, denarii_, pounds, shillings,
pence.
M.A., master of arts. M.B., _medicinae baccalaureus_, bachelor of
medicine. M.B.E., member of the British Empire. M.D., _medicinae
doctor_, doctor of medicine. M.E., mining engineer. Messrs., messieurs,
gentlemen. M.F.H., master of fox-hounds. M.Inst.C.E., member of the
Institution of Civil Engineers. M.I.E.E., member of the Institute of
Electrical Engineers. M.I.M.E., member of the Institute of Mining and
Mechanical Engineers. M.I.Mech.E., member of the Institution of
Mechanical Engineers. Mlle., mademoiselle. Mme., madame. M.P., member
of Parliament. M.R.C.S., member of the Royal College of Surgeons.
M.R.C.V.S., member of the Royal College of Veterinary surgeons.
M.R.I.A., member of the Royal Irish Academy. MS., manuscript; MSS.,
manuscripts. Mus.D., _musicae doctor_, doctor of music. M.V.O., member
of the Royal Victorian Order.
N., north. N.B., _nota bene_, take notice; also North Britain, New
Brunswick. N.D., no date. Nem. con., _nemine contradicente_, no one
contradicting, unanimously. No., _numero_, number. N.P., notary public.
N.S., new style, Nova Scotia. N.S.W., New South Wales. N.T., New
Testament. N.Y., New York. N.Z., New Zealand.
Ob., _obiit_, died. O.B.E., officer of the British Empire. Obs.,
obsolete. Obt., obedient. O.C., officer commanding. O.H.M.S., on his
majesty's service. O.M., Order of Merit. O.P., out of print. Op. cit.,
_opere citato_, in the work quoted. O.S., old style. O.T., Old
Testament. Oxon., _Oxoniensis_, of Oxford. Oz., ounce or ounces.
P., page; pp., pages. Par., paragraph. P.C., privy-councillor. P.E.,
Protestant Episcopal. Per cent., _per centum_, by the hundred. Ph.D.,
_philosophiae doctor_, doctor of philosophy. Pinx., _pinxit_, painted
(it). P.M., _post meridiem_, afternoon. P.O., post office. P.O.O., post
office order. P.P., parish priest. P.P.C., _pour prendre conge_, to
take leave. Prox., _proximo (mense)_, next month. P.R.A., president of
the Royal Academy. P.R.S.A., president of the Royal Scottish Academy.
P.S., postscript. P.T.O., please turn over (the leaf).
Q., question, queen. Q.E.D., _quod erat demonstrandum_, which was to be
demonstrated. Q.E.F., _quod erat faciendum_, which was to be done.
Q.M., quarter-master. Q.M.G., quarter-master-general. Qu., query.
Quant. suff., _quantum sufficit_, as much as is needful. Q.V., _quod
vide_, which see.
R., _rex, regina_, king, queen. R.A., royal academician; Royal
Artillery. R.A.M., Royal Academy of Music. R.A.M.C., Royal Army Medical
Corps. R.A.O.D., Royal Army Ordnance Department. R.A.S.C., Royal Army
Service Corps. R.C., Roman Catholic. R.C.P., Royal College of
Physicians. R.C.S., Royal College of Surgeons. R.E., Royal Engineers.
Rev., reverend. R.I.P., _requiescat in pace_, may he rest in peace.
R.M., Royal Marines. R.N., Royal Navy. R.S.A., royal Scottish
academician. R.S.E., Royal Society of Edinburgh. R.S.L., Royal Society
of Literature. R.S.V.P., _repondez s'il vous plait_, reply, if you
please. Rt. Hon., right honourable. Rt. Wpful., right worshipful. R.V.,
revised version.
S., south. S. or St., saint. Sc., _scilicet_, namely, viz. S.J.,
Society of Jesus (Jesuits). S.P.C.A., Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals. S.P.C.C., Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Children. S.P.C.K., Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. S.P.G.,
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. S.P.Q.R., _senatus
populusque Romanus_, the senate and people of Rome. S.S.C., solicitor
before the supreme courts. S.S.M., Society of the Sacred Mission. St.,
saint, street. S.T.D., _sacrae theologiae doctor_, doctor of divinity.
S.T.P., _sacrae theologiae professor_, an old-fashioned equivalent of
D.D.
T.C.D., Trinity College, Dublin. T.O., telegraph office.
U.F.C., United Free Church. U.K., United Kingdom. Ult., _ultimo_, last
(month). U.P., United Presbyterian. U.S., United States. U.S.A., United
States of America. U.S.N., United States Navy.
V., _vide_, see; also _versus_, against. V.C., Victoria Cross. Viz.,
_videlicet_, to wit, or namely. V.P., vice-president. V.S., veterinary
surgeon. W., west. W.I., West Indies. W.L.F., Women's Liberal
Federation. W.O., War Office. W.S.P.U., Women's Social and Political
Union. W.S. writer to the signet (Scotland).
Xmas, Christmas.
Y.M.C.A., Young Men's Christian Association. Y.W.C.A., Young Women's
Christian Association.
In LL.D., LL.B., &c., the letter is doubled, according to the Roman
system, to show that the abbreviation represents a plural noun.
ABD-EL-KA'DER, an Arab chief, born in Algeria, 1807; died at Damascus,
1883. He was the chief opponent of the French in their conquest of Algeria,
but at last surrendered to them in 1847, and was imprisoned till set at
liberty by Napoleon III in 1852. He afterwards resided chiefly at Damascus,
but made various journeys, and visited the Paris exhibition of 1867. He
wrote a religious philosophical work in Arabic which has been translated
into French.
ABDE'RA, an ancient Greek city on the Thracian coast, the birthplace of
Democritus (the laughing philosopher), Anaxarchus, and Protagoras. Its
inhabitants were proverbial for stupidity.
ABDICA'TION, properly the voluntary, but sometimes also the involuntary,
resignation of an office or dignity, and more especially that of sovereign
power. Abdication does not necessarily require the execution of a formal
deed, but may be presumed from facts and circumstances, as in the case of
the English Revolution in 1688, when, after long debate, it was resolved by
both Houses of Parliament that King James II, having endeavoured to subvert
the constitution of the kingdom, had "_abdicated_ the government, and that
the throne is thereby vacant". Yet the sovereign of Great Britain cannot
constitutionally abdicate without the consent of both Houses of Parliament.
The principal abdications in recent years were: Tsar Nicholas II of Russia,
14th March, 1917; King Constantine of Greece, 11th June, 1917; King
Ferdinand of Bulgaria, 6th Oct., 1918; Wilhelm II of Germany, 9th Nov.,
1918; Karl I of Austria, 13th Nov., 1918; and Marie Adelaide, Grand-Duchess
of Luxembourg, 15th Jan., 1919.
[Illustration: Abdominal Regions.]
ABDO'MEN, in man, the belly, or lower cavity of the trunk, separated from
the upper cavity or thorax by the diaphragm or midriff, and bounded below
by the bones of the pelvis. It contains the viscera belonging to the
digestive and urinary systems. What are called the _abdominal regions_ will
be understood from the accompanying cut, in which 1 is the _epigastric_
region, 2 the _umbilical_, 3 the _pubic_, 4 4 the right and left
_hypochondriac_, 5 5 the right and left _lumbar_, 6 6 right and left
_iliac_. The name is given to the corresponding portion of the body in
other animals. In insects it comprises the whole body behind the thorax,
usually consisting of a series of rings. See _Alimentary Canal_.
ABDOM'INAL FISHES (Abdomin[=a]les), a group of the soft-finned (or
malacopterous) fishes, having fins upon the abdomen, and comprising the
herring, pike, salmon, carp, &c.
ABDUC'TION, a legal term, generally applied to denote the offence of
carrying off a female either forcibly or by fraudulent representations.
Such a delinquency in regard to a man is styled _kidnapping_. There are
various descriptions of abduction recognized in criminal jurisprudence,
such as that of a child, of an heiress, or of a wife.
AB'DUL-AZ'IZ, Sultan of Turkey, was born in Feb., 1830, and succeeded his
brother Abdul-Mejid, in June, 1861. He concluded treaties of commerce with
France and England, both of which countries he visited in 1867. Deposed in
May, 1876, he committed suicide, or more probably was assassinated, in June
of the same year. He was succeeded by his son Murad V. See next article.
AB'DUL-HAM'ID, Sultan of Turkey, younger son of Abdul-Mejid, born 22nd
Sept., 1842, succeeded his brother Murad V, who was deposed on proof of his
insanity in 1876. At that time Turkey, which was at war with Serbia, was
compelled to agree to an armistice at the demand of Russia. The persecution
and oppression of the Christian population of Bulgaria had roused
remonstrances from other European countries, and a congress met at
Constantinople to consider a constitution which the Porte had proclaimed.
The conference was a failure, and in April, 1877, war was declared by
Russia. During the sanguinary struggle which ensued the Turks fought with
great bravery, but they had ultimately to sue for peace. A treaty was
signed at San Stefano in Feb., 1878, but its provisions were modified by a
congress of the Great Powers which met at Berlin. The island of Cyprus was
ceded to Britain. Serbia, Rumania, and Montenegro were freed from Turkish
suzerainty altogether; Bulgaria was left in nominal dependence; whilst
Bosnia and Herzegovina were placed under Austrian administration. In 1881
Thessaly was transferred to Greece; in 1885 E. Roumelia became united to
Bulgaria. Ever since the treaty of Berlin, Abdul Hamid saw in Germany the
future friend of Turkey. He therefore entrusted Germans with the
reorganization of his army and finances. Subsequently there were massacres
of Christians, a war with Greece (1897), and troubles in Crete and
Macedonia. In April, 1909, the Sultan was deposed, and his brother, Rashid
Effendi, proclaimed sultan as Mohammed V. Abdul Hamid died in captivity
10th Feb., 1918.
ABD-UL-LAT'IF, an Arab writer and physician, was born at Bagdad in 1161 and
died there in 1231. He was patronized by the celebrated Saladin, and
published an excellent description of Egypt, which is still extant. It was
translated into English by White, Oxford, 1800.
AB'DUL-MEJ'ID KHAN, Sultan of Turkey, born in 1823, succeeded his father,
Mahmud II, 1st July, 1839. At the time of his accession Mehemet, Pasha of
Egypt, had risen a second time against the Turkish yoke; his son Ibrahim
had inflicted a severe defeat on the Turks at Nizib (24th June, 1839), and
was advancing on Constantinople. But the intervention of the leading
European Powers checked the designs of Mehemet Ali, and saved the Turkish
empire. Abdul-Mejid was desirous of carrying out reforms, but most of them
were not enforced, or caused bloody insurrections where attempts were made
to carry them out. Owing to disputes between the Latin and Greek Churches
regarding the rights of precedence and possession of the 'holy places' in
Palestine, and to demands made by the Tsar virtually implying the right of
protectorate over the Christian subjects of the Sultan, war broke out
between Turkey and Russia in 1853. In the following year the Porte effected
an alliance with France and England (hence the Crimean War), and later on
with Sardinia. (See _Crimean War_.) Abdul-Mejid died 25th June, 1861, and
was succeeded by his brother, Abdul-Aziz.
ABECEDA'RIAN, a term formed from the first four letters of the alphabet,
and applied to the followers of Storch, a German Anabaptist (1522), because
they rejected all worldly knowledge, even the learning of the alphabet.
A BECKET, Thomas. See _Becket_.
A BECK'ETT, Gilbert Abbott, English writer, born near London in 1811. He
studied for the bar, and became one of the original staff of _Punch_, was
long a leader-writer to the _Times_ and the _Morning Herald_, and
contributed articles to the _Illustrated London News_. He wrote _Comic
History of England_, _Comic History of Rome_, and _Comic Blackstone_, and
between fifty and sixty plays. In 1849 he was appointed a metropolitan
police magistrate, which office he retained till his death in 1856.
ABEL, properly _Hebel_ (Heb. breath, vapour, vanity), the second son of
Adam. He was a shepherd, and was slain by his brother Cain from jealousy
because his sacrifice was accepted while Cain's was rejected. Several of
the fathers, among others St. Chrysostom and Augustine, regard him as a
type of the new, regenerate man.
ABEL, Sir Frederick Augustus, chemist, was born in London, 1827; died 1902.
Having adopted chemistry as a profession, he studied under Hofmann at the
Royal College of Chemistry, became professor of chemistry at the Royal
Military Academy in 1851, and was chemist to the War Department and
chemical adviser to the Government from 1854 to 1888. He did useful work in
connection with the chemistry of explosives (especially gun-cotton), the
flash-point of petroleum, &c.; was joint-inventor of cordite along with
Dewar; and was also an authority on the manufacture of steel. He was
honoured with a baronetcy, and was also a K.C.B. and a K.C.V.O. He wrote
works on gunpowder, gun-cotton, and explosives generally, and on
electricity as applied to explosive purposes. His works include: _The
Modern History of Gunpowder_; _Electricity applied to Explosive Purposes_,
&c.
ABELARD (ab'e-l[:a]rd), or ABAILARD, Peter, a celebrated scholastic
teacher, born near Nantes, in Brittany, in 1079. He made extraordinary
progress with his studies, and, ultimately eclipsing his teachers, he
opened a school of scholastic philosophy near Paris, which attracted crowds
of students from the neighbouring city. His success in the fiery debates
which were then the fashion in the schools made him many enemies, among
whom was Guillaume de Champeaux, his former teacher, chief of the cathedral
school of Notre-Dame, and the most advanced of the Realists. Abelard
succeeded his adversary in this school (in 1113), and under him were
trained many men who afterwards rose to eminence, among them being the
future Pope Celestin II, Peter Lombard, and Arnold of Brescia. While he was
at the height of his popularity, and in his fortieth year, he fell
violently in love with Heloise--then eighteen years of age--niece of
Fulbert, a canon of Paris. They obtained a home in Fulbert's house under
the pretext of teaching Heloise philosophy, and their intercourse at length
became apparent. Abelard, who had retired to Brittany, was followed by
Heloise, who there gave birth to a son, named Astrolabius. A private
marriage took place, and Heloise returned to her uncle's house, but,
refusing to make public her marriage (as likely to spoil Abelard's career),
she was subjected to severe treatment at the hands of her uncle. To save
her from this Abelard carried her off and placed her in a convent at
Argenteuil, a proceeding which so incensed Fulbert that he hired ruffians
who broke into Abelard's chamber and subjected him to a shameful
mutilation. Abelard, filled with grief and shame, became a monk in the
abbey of St. Denis, and Heloise took the veil. When time had somewhat
moderated his grief, he resumed his lectures; but trouble after trouble
overtook him. His theological writings were condemned by the Council of
Soissons, and he retired to an oratory called the Paraclete, subsequently
becoming head of the abbey of St. Gildas-de-Rhuys in Brittany. For a short
time he again lectured at Paris (1136), but his doctrines once more brought
persecution on him, and St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the most powerful man in
the Church in those days, had him condemned by the Council of Sens and
afterwards by the Pope. Abelard did not long survive this, dying at St.
Marcel, near Chalon-sur-Saone, 21st April, 1142. Heloise, who had become
abbess of the Paraclete, had him buried there, where she herself was
afterwards laid by his side. Their ashes were removed to Paris in 1800, and
in 1817 they were finally deposited beneath a mausoleum in the cemetery of
Pere la Chaise. According to John of Salisbury, Abelard is credited with
the invention of a new philosophical system, midway between Realism and
Nominalism. In Ethics, Abelard seems to have attached importance to the
psychological element in the action, rather than to the action itself. "The
intention of sinning", he maintained, "is worse than the actual physical
sin." A complete edition of his works was published by Cousin (2 vols.,
Paris, 1849-59), and the letters of Abelard and Heloise have been often
published in the original and in translations. Pope's _Eloisa to Abelard_
is founded on them. Abelard's autobiography, entitled _Story of my
Calamities_, is still extant.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: Charles de Remusat, _Abelard_
(2 vols.); J. McCabe, _Life of Abelard_.
ABELE (a-b[=e]l'), a name of the white poplar.
A'BELITE, or Abe'lian, a member of a religious sect in Africa which arose
in the fourth century after Christ. They married, but lived in continence,
after the manner, as they maintained, of Abel, and attempted to keep up the
sect by adopting the children of others.
ABELMOSCHUS (-mos'kus), a genus of tropical plants of the mallow family.
_A. esculentus_, cultivated in India, Algeria, &c., yields edible pods and
also a valuable fibre. The fruit, called _okro_ or _ochro_, is used in
soups.
ABENCERRAGES (ab-en-ser'a-jez), a powerful and distinguished Moorish family
of Granada, the chief members of which, thirty-six in number, are said to
have been massacred in the Alhambra by the king Abu-Hassan (latter half of
the fifteenth century) on account of the attachment of his sister to one of
them. There is a room in the Alhambra which is still called 'the hall of
the Abencerrages'. The legend has furnished the subject of many poems both
Arabic and Spanish (_Las Guerras Civiles de Granada_, by Gines Perez de
Hita), and formed the basis for Chateaubriand's _Aventures du dernier des
Abencerages_.
AB'EN EZRA (Ibn Ezra), a celebrated Jewish rabbi, born at Toledo about
1093, travelled in pursuit of knowledge in England, France, Italy, and
Greece, and is supposed to have died in Rhodes about 1167. He is best known
as a commentator on Scripture.
ABENSBERG ([:a]'b[.e]ns-ber_h_), a village of Bavaria, in the Danube
valley, below Ingolstadt, celebrated for Napoleon's victory over the
Austrians, 20th April, 1809.
ABEOKU'TA. See _Abbeokuta_.
AB'ER, a prefix in Celtic geographical proper names signifying the mouth or
entrance of a river into the sea, or into another stream. It is used
chiefly in Wales and Scotland, having the same meaning as _inver_.
ABERA'VON, a municipal borough of Wales in Glamorganshire, near the mouth
of the Avon in Swansea Bay, embracing Aberavon proper and its harbour Port
Talbot. There are collieries, ironworks, copper-works, &c. Since 1918
Aberavon gives its name to a parliamentary division of the county. Pop.
(municipal borough) (1921), 15,370.
ABERBROTH'OCK. See _Arbroath_.
ABERCARN', an urban district or town of England, Monmouthshire, 10-1/2
miles north-west of Newport, with collieries, ironworks, &c. Pop. (1921),
20,123.
AB'ERCROMBIE, John, M.D., a Scottish writer on medical and moral science,
and an eminent physician, born in Aberdeen, 1781, died at Edinburgh in
1844. He graduated at the university of Edinburgh in 1803, and subsequently
pursued his studies in London, returning to Edinburgh in 1804, where he
acquired an extensive practice as a physician. Apart from medical
treatises, he is known from his _Inquiries concerning the Intellectual
Powers_ and his _Philosophy of the Moral Feelings_.
AB'ERCROMBIE, Patrick, a Scottish historical writer and antiquary, born at
Forfar, 1656; date of death uncertain. Educated at St. Andrews and abroad,
he took the degree of M.D., and practised as a physician in Edinburgh. In
1685 he was appointed physician to James II. His chief work is _Martial
Atchievements of the Scots Nation_, 2 vols. folio, 1711-6.
AB'ERCROMBY, Sir Ralph, a British general, born in 1734 in
Clackmannanshire, Scotland. He entered the army in 1756 as cornet in the
3rd Dragoon Guards; and he gradually passed through all the ranks of the
service until he became a major-general in 1787. He served as
lieutenant-general in Flanders, 1793-5, and was then appointed
commander-in-chief of the forces in the West Indies, where he captured the
islands of Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and Trinidad, with the
settlements of Demerara and Essequibo. On his return in 1798 he was
appointed commander-in-chief in Ireland; and he afterwards held a
corresponding command in Scotland. His next and concluding service was in
the expedition to Egypt, of which he was commander-in-chief. He landed,
after a severe fight, at Aboukir, 8th March, 1801; and on the 21st of the
same month the battle of Alexandria was fought, in which Sir Ralph was
mortally wounded.
ABERDARE (-d[=a]r'), a town of South Wales, in Glamorganshire, pleasantly
situated at the junction of the Cynon and Dare, 4 miles south-west of
Merthyr-Tydfil, with extensive coal and iron mines in the vicinity. It
belongs to the parliamentary borough of Merthyr-Tydfil. Pop. (1921),
55,010.
ABERDEEN', a university city and royal, municipal, and parliamentary burgh
of Scotland, capital of the county of same name, mainly on the north bank
of the Dee at its entrance into the North Sea, and between this river and
the Don, with a part also on the south bank of the Dee, while the municipal
limits include the adjacent Woodside. The site is in places somewhat hilly.
Aberdeen is one of the oldest towns in Scotland, and was constituted a
royal burgh by William the Lion in 1179. The streets are generally spacious
and regular, the houses built of fine grayish-white granite. There are many
handsome public buildings, as the County and Municipal Buildings, Marischal
College, Grammar School, Infirmary, Arts School, Art Gallery, Music Hall
Buildings, public library, &c. The finest street, Union Street, made in
1800, is carried over a valley by a granite bridge having an arch of 132
feet span. The small portion of the city called Old Aberdeen, long a
separate town, consists mainly of a single street, stretching northwards to
the River Don. Its chief buildings are King's College and St. Machar's
Cathedral. Noteworthy features of the college buildings are the crown-tower
and the chapel, the latter containing some very fine old carved woodwork.
The cathedral, now used as a parish church, was commenced about 1357. There
are several bridges over the Dee and Don. Over the latter is a fine old
bridge (Brig o' Balgownie) of one arch, erected according to some accounts
by Robert Bruce. There are docks 34 acres in area, an extensive tidal
harbour and basin, and a graving-dock. The shipping trade is extensive. The
industries embrace wool, jute, linen, combs, soap, preserved provisions,
chemicals, paper, shipbuilding, engineering, and especially the cutting and
polishing of granite. The fishing industry is of great importance. The city
of Aberdeen returns two members to Parliament. Pop. 158,969.--_The County
of Aberdeen_ forms the north-eastern portion of Scotland, and is bounded on
the east and north by the North Sea. Area, 1,261,521 acres. It is divided
into six districts (Mar, Formartine, Buchan, Alford, Garioch, and
Strathbogie), and is generally hilly, there being in the south-west some of
the highest mountains in Scotland, as Ben Macdhui (4295 feet), Cairntoul
(4245), Cairngorm (4090), Lochnagar, &c. Its most valuable mineral is
granite, large quantities of which are exported. The principal rivers are
the Dee and the Don, both of which enter the sea at the town of Aberdeen.
Cereals (except wheat) and other crops succeed well, and the number of
acres under cultivation is nearly double that of any other Scottish county.
Great numbers of cattle are fattened and sent to London and the south. On
the banks of the upper Dee is situated Balmoral, a favourite residence of
Queen Victoria. Aberdeenshire and Kincardine unite in sending three members
to Parliament. Pop. 300,980.--_Aberdeen University_, as now constituted,
derives its origin from two different foundations; one, the University and
King's College (Old Aberdeen), founded in 1494 by Bishop Elphinstone (who
was bishop of Aberdeen from 1483-1514) under the authority of a papal bull
obtained at the instance of James IV; the other, Marischal College and
University (New Aberdeen), founded in 1593 by Geo. Keith, Earl Marischal,
by a charter ratified by act of Parliament. The two foundations existed as
separate universities, both having the right of conferring degrees, till
1860, when they were united and incorporated into one university, the
University of Aberdeen. Holding the funds of both colleges and dating as
from the foundation of King's College in 1494, the university has about 300
bursaries or exhibitions, mostly open to public competition, and a number
of money prizes and scholarships. The classes for arts and divinity are
held in King's College, and those for law and medicine in Marischal
College. There is a full teaching staff in the faculties of arts, medicine,
science, and divinity, and two professors in that of law. There are in all
25 professors and some 900 matriculated students. The constitution of the
university is similar to that of Edinburgh and the other Scottish
universities. The library contains over 80,000 volumes. The university
unites with those of Edinburgh, Glasgow, and St. Andrews in sending three
members to Parliament.
ABERDEEN', George Hamilton Gordon, Earl of, British statesman, born 28th
Jan., 1784, died 14th Dec., 1860. He began his diplomatic life in 1801 as
attache to Lord Cornwallis's embassy to France, which resulted in the
signing of the treaty of Amiens. In 1806 he entered Parliament as a
Scottish representative peer, and in 1813 was entrusted with a successful
mission to Austria for the purpose of inducing the emperor to join the
coalition of sovereigns against Bonaparte. In 1814 he was created a British
peer, and in 1828 he became foreign secretary in the Duke of Wellington's
administration. During the short premiership of Sir Robert Peel in 1834-5
he acted as colonial secretary, and when Sir Robert again became premier in
1841 he took office as Secretary for Foreign Affairs. He was a warm
supporter of Catholic Emancipation, and endeavoured, though without result,
to bring in a compromise bill in 1846, during the struggle which divided
the Established Church of Scotland. Quitting office with his chief in 1846,
he came, on the death of Peel in 1850, to be regarded as the leader of the
Conservative free-trade party. On the Derby ministry failing to maintain
its place, Lord Aberdeen returned to office in the end of 1852 as head of a
coalition ministry. The principal event which marked his administration was
the Crimean war; but the bad management of this irritated the country, and
the ministry resigned in 1855. This event marks the close of Lord
Aberdeen's public career. From his travels and his acquaintance with Greece
and its antiquities he was called by Byron "the travelled thane, Athenian
Aberdeen".
AB'ERDEVINE. See _Siskin_.
ABERGAVEN'NY (sometimes pron. ab-[.e]r-ge'ni, the Roman GOBANNIUM), a
municipal borough and market town of England, in Monmouthshire, situated
amid delightful scenery in the beautiful valley of the Usk. It manufactures
woollens and shoes, and has considerable trade. Pop. (1921), 9252.
ABERNETHY (ab-[.e]r-neth'i), John, an eminent English surgeon, of somewhat
eccentric habits, born in 1764 in London, a pupil of the celebrated John
Hunter. In 1787 he became assistant surgeon at St. Bartholomew's Hospital,
and shortly after lecturer on anatomy and surgery. In 1815 he was elected
principal surgeon, and under his auspices the hospital attained a celebrity
which it had never before enjoyed. He published _Surgical Observations_;
_The Constitutional Origin and Treatment of Local Diseases_; and
_Lectures_, explanatory of Hunter's opinions of the vital processes;
besides smaller essays. He died in 1831.
ABERRA'TION, in astronomy, the difference between the true and the observed
position of a heavenly body, the result of the combined effect of the
motion of light and the motion of the eye of the observer caused by the
annual or diurnal motion of the earth; or of the motion of light and that
of the body from which the light proceeds. When the auxiliary cause is the
annual revolution of the earth round the sun it is called _annual
aberration_, in consequence of which a fixed star may appear as much as
20.4" from its true position; when the auxiliary cause is the diurnal
rotation of the earth on its axis it is called _diurnal aberration_, which
amounts at the greatest to 0.3"; and when the auxiliary cause is the motion
of the body from which the light proceeds it is called _planetary
aberration_.
ABERSYCHAN (ab-[.e]r-sik'an), a town of Monmouthshire, England, about 10
miles north of Newport, in a rich coal-mining district. Pop. (1921),
27,089.
ABERTIL'LERY, an urban district or town of England, Monmouthshire, 16 miles
north-west of Newport, with tinplate works, coal-mines, &c. Since 1918 it
gives its name to a parliamentary division of the county. Pop. (1921),
38,805.
ABERYSTWITH (ab-[.e]r-ist'with), a seaport and fashionable watering-place
of Wales, county of Cardigan, on Cardigan Bay. The town is well built, and
the surrounding country is picturesque. There is here a University College
of the University of Wales, occupying a handsome Gothic building. Pop.
(1921), 12,289.
ABEYANCE, in law, a legal term meaning that the title to dignity, office,
or real or personal property is not vested in anyone, but is suspended
until the right thereto is determined by the appearance of the true owner.
Under English law, when a nobleman dies leaving no male issue, the title,
if descendible to his heirs general, as in the case of baronies by writ, is
said to be in abeyance, until the king, by his prerogative, terminates the
abeyance in favour of one of the co-heiresses. See _Property_.
ABGAR, title of the Syrian rulers at Edessa. The fourteenth prince of the
dynasty, a contemporary of the Roman emperor Tiberius (A.D. 14-37), is said
to have written a letter to our Saviour.
ABHOR'RERS, in English history a name given to the Court party in 1679-80,
who, on petitions being presented to Charles II praying him to summon
Parliament, signed counter-petitions expressing _abhorrence_ for those who
were thus attempting to encroach on the royal prerogative.
A'BIB, the first month of the Jewish ecclesiastical year, and the seventh
of the civil year, corresponding to the latter part of March and the first
of April. Also called _Nisan_.
ABIES (ab'i-es), a genus of trees. See _Fir_ and _Spruce_.
AB'INGDON, a town of England, in Berkshire, 50 miles north-west of London,
on the right bank of the Thames. It was an important place in Anglo-Saxon
times, and Offa, King of Mercia, had a palace in it. Formerly a
parliamentary borough, it now gives name to a parliamentary division of
Berks. Pop. (1921), 7167.
ABIOGENESIS (a-b[=i]-o-jen'e-sis), the doctrine or hypothesis that living
matter may be produced from non-living; spontaneous generation. See
_Generation (Spontaneous)_.
ABJURA'TION, Oath of, an oath which by an English Act passed in 1701 had to
be taken by all holders of public offices, clergymen, teachers, members of
the universities, and lawyers, abjuring and renouncing the exiled Stuarts:
superseded in 1858 by a more comprehensive oath, declaring allegiance to
the present royal family.--_Abjuration of the realm_ was an oath that a
person guilty of felony, who had taken sanctuary, might take. This oath
permitted him to go into exile, and not return on pain of death, unless by
the king's permission. In ecclesiastical language the term is applied to
renunciation of heresy.
ABKHA'SIA, a Russian district, at the western extremity and south of the
Caucasus, between the mountains and the Black Sea. The Abkhasians form a
race distinguished from their neighbours in various respects. At one time
they were Christians, but afterwards adopted Mahommedanism. Many of them
migrated into Turkish territory in 1864 and 1878.
ABLAINCOURT. See _Somme_.
AB'LATIVE, a term applied to a case of nouns, adjectives, and pronouns in
Latin, Sanskrit, and some other languages; originally given to the case in
Latin because separation from (_ab_, from _latus_, taken) was considered to
be one of the chief ideas expressed by the case.
ABNAKI, a Confederacy of Algonquin tribes, formerly occupying what is now
Maine and Southern New Brunswick. Their territory, to which they removed
after 1724, is in Canada on the St. John River and at St. Francis.
ABO ([=o]'b[=o]), a town and port in Finland, the see of an archbishop, and
the capital of Finland till 1819, when it was supplanted by Helsingfors.
Pop. (1919), 56,168.
ABOLITIONISTS. See _Slavery_.
ABOMA'SUM, or ABOMA'SUS, the fourth stomach of ruminating animals, next the
_omasum_ or third stomach.
ABO'MEY, or AGBO'MEY, the capital of the French territory and former
kingdom of Dahomey, in West Africa, in a fertile plain, near the coast of
Guinea. Pop. 11,000.
ABORIGINES (ab-o-rij'i-n[=e]z), the name given in general to the earliest
known inhabitants of a country, those who are supposed to have inhabited
the land from the beginning (Lat. _ab origine_). (The singular of the word
is _Aboriginal_, or sometimes _Aborigine_.)
ABORTION, in medicine, the expulsion of the foetus before it is capable of
independent existence. This may take place at any period of pregnancy
before the completion of the twenty-eighth week. A child born after that
time is said to be _premature_. Abortion may be the result of the general
debility or ill-health of the mother, of a plethoric constitution, of
special affections of the uterus, of severe exertions, sudden shocks, &c.
Various medicinal substances, generally violent emmenagogues or drastic
medicines, are believed to have the effect of provoking abortion, and are
sometimes resorted to for this purpose. Attempts to procure abortion are
punishable by law in all civilized states. When the death of the woman
ensues as a result of the attempt, the crime is murder.--The term is
applied in botany to denote the suppression by non-development of one or
more of the parts of a flower, which consists normally of four
whorls--namely, calyx, corolla, stamens, and pistil.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: Sir
W. O. Russell, _Crimes and Misdemeanours_ (3 vols.); A. S. Taylor,
_Principles and Practice of Medical Jurisprudence_.
ABOUKIR ([.a]-b[:o]-k[=e]r'; ancient ZEPHYRION, near ruins of Can[=o]pus),
a small village on the Egyptian coast, 10 miles east of Alexandria. In
Aboukir Bay took place the naval battle in which Nelson annihilated a
French fleet on the night of 1st and 2nd Aug., 1798, thus totally
destroying the naval power of France in the Mediterranean. Near this place,
on 25th July, 1799, Napoleon defeated the Turks under Mustapha; and on 8th
March, 1801, Sir Ralph Abercromby effected the landing of a British army
against the French.
ABOU-SIMBEL. See _Ipsambul_.
ABOUT ([.a]-b[:o]), Edmond Francois Valentin, a French novelist and
miscellaneous writer, born 14th Feb., 1828, died 17th Jan., 1885. He was
educated at the Lycee Charlemagne and the Ecole Normale, Paris; and was
sent at Government expense to the French school at Athens; on his return to
Paris, he devoted himself to literature. Principal novels: _Tolla_, _Le Roi
des Montagnes_, _Germaine_, _Madelon_, _Le Fellah_, _La Vieille Roche_,
_L'Infame_, _Les Mariages de Province_, _Le Roman d'un Brave Homme_
(against Zola and the naturalist school), &c.; miscellaneous works: _La
Grece Contemporaine_, _La Question Romaine_, _La Prusse en 1860_, _Rome
Contemporaine_, &c. In 1884 he was elected a member of the Academy. About
wrote in a bright, humorous, and interesting style, and his novels have
been very popular.
ABRACADAB'RA, a word of Eastern origin used in incantations. When written
on paper so as to form a triangle, the first line containing the word in
full, the one below it omitting the last letter, and so on each time until
only one letter remained, and worn as an amulet, it was supposed to be an
antidote against certain diseases.
A B R A C A D A B R A
A B R A C A D A B R
A B R A C A D A B
A B R A C A D A
A B R A C A D
A B R A C A
A B R A C
A B R A
A B R
A B
A
A'BRAHAM, originally ABRAM (Assyrian _Aburamu_, lofty father), the greatest
of the Hebrew patriarchs, was born at Ur in Chaldea in 2153 B.C. according
to Hales, in 1996 B.C. according to Ussher, while Bunsen says he lived 2850
B.C. He migrated, accompanied by his wife Sarah and his nephew Lot, to
Canaan, where he led a nomadic life, which extended over 175 years. His two
sons, Isaac and Ishmael, were the progenitors of the Jews and Arabs
respectively.
ABRAHAM, Heights or Plains of. See _Quebec_.
ABRAHAM A SANTA CLARA, a German pulpit orator, whose real name was Ulrich
Megerle, born in 1644. As a preacher he acquired so great a reputation
that, in 1669, he was appointed court-preacher in Vienna, where he died in
1709. His sermons are full of homely, grotesque humour, often of coarse
wit, and impartial severity towards all classes of society. His principal
work and masterpiece is _Judas, the Archknave_ (4 vols.), 1686-95.
ABRAHAMITES, 1, A sect of Syrian Deists of the ninth century, whose
doctrines were allied to those of the Paulicians.--2, A sect of Bohemian
Deists of the late eighteenth century, who professed to be followers of
John Huss and claimed that they followed the religion of Abraham before his
circumcision. Believing in one God, they rejected the Trinity, and accepted
nothing of the Bible except the Ten Commandments and the Lord's Prayer.
Refusing to join either the Jewish or Christian folds, they were excluded
from the edict of toleration promulgated by the Emperor Joseph II, and
expelled to Transylvania in 1783. Some were martyred, others became Roman
Catholics.
ABRAHAM-MEN, originally a set of vagabonds who had been discharged from
Bethlehem Hospital, London; but as many assumed, without right, the badge
worn by them, the term came to signify an impostor who travelled about the
country seeking alms, under the pretence of lunacy.
ABRAM, a town (urban district) of England, Lancashire, 3-1/2 miles from
Wigan; a colliery centre. Pop. (1921), 6858.
AB'RAMIS, a genus of fishes. See _Bream_.
ABRAN'TES, a fortified town of Portugal, on the right bank of the Tagus
(here navigable), 73 miles north-east of Lisbon, with which it carries on
an active trade. Pop. 8000.
ABRANTES, Duke of. See _Junot_.
ABRAX'AS (or ABRASAX) STONES, the name given to stones or gems found in
Syria, Egypt, and elsewhere, cut into almost every variety of shape, but
generally having a human trunk and arms, with a cock's head, two serpents'
tails for the legs, &c., and the mystico-theosophical word Abraxas or
Abrasax in Greek characters engraved upon them. Eventually they came to be
used as charms and amulets. Basilides (A.D. 130) and other gnostics gave
the name of Abraxas to Almighty God, the Supreme Deity, since the numerical
value of its letters in Greek gave the sum of 365, and they believed that
365 orders of spirits emanated from God. Not all abraxas stones, however,
are of gnostic origin, just as the name of abraxas cannot be applied to all
gnostic stones. Cf. King: _The Gnostics and their Remains_, London, 1887.
ABRIN, or ABRINE, a poisonous substance, being the active principle in the
seeds of _Abrus precatorius_ (see _Abrus_). A minute quantity introduced
into the blood is fatal to many animals, but it is employed in ailments of
the eyes, and as a remedy for lupus and certain skin diseases.
ABROGA'TION, the repealing of a law by a competent authority.
ABROLHOS (a-brole'-yoce) a group of rocky islands 50 miles off the east
coast of Brazil, the largest of which is Santa Barbara. Another group
called Abrolhos lies off the west coast of Australia.
ABRO'MA, a genus of small trees, natives of India, Java, &c., one species
of which, _A. augusta_, has a bark yielding a strong white fibre, from
which good cordage is made.
ABRUPT', in botany, terminating suddenly, as if a part were cut short off.
AB'RUS, a genus of papilionaceous plants, order Leguminosae, one species of
which, _Abrus precatorius_, a delicate twining shrub, a native of the East
Indies, and found also in tropical parts of Africa and America, has round
brilliant scarlet seeds, used to make necklaces and rosaries. Its root is
sweetish and mucilaginous, and is used as a substitute for liquorice
_(Indian liquorice_). The seeds yield a strong poison.
ABRUZZI ([.a]-br[u:]t's[=e]), a division of Italy on the Adriatic, between
Umbria and the Marches on the north, and Apulia on the south. It is united
with Molise to form a _compartimento_, comprising the four provinces of
Aquila degli Abruzzi, Campobasso, Chicti, and Teramo. The sea-coast of
about 80 miles does not possess a single harbour. The interior is rugged
and mountainous, being traversed throughout by the Apennines. The lower
parts consist of fertile plains and valleys, yielding corn, wine, oil,
almonds, saffron, &c.; area, 6387 sq. miles. Pop. 1,480,748.
AB'SALON, or AXEL, a Danish prelate, statesman, and warrior, born in 1128,
died 1201. He became the intimate friend and counsellor of his sovereign
Waldemar I, who appointed him Archbishop of Lund. He cleared the sea of the
Slavonic pirates who had long infested it, secured the independence of the
kingdom by defeating a powerful fleet of the Emperor Barbarossa, and built
the castle of Axelborg, the nucleus of Copenhagen. He ultimately became
Primate of Denmark and Sweden. Turning his thoughts to literature he caused
the _History of Denmark_ to be drawn up by Saxo Grammaticus and Svend
Aagesen.
AB'SCESS, any collection of purulent matter or pus formed in some tissue or
organ of the body, and confined within some circumscribed area, of varying
size, but always painful and often dangerous.
ABSENTEEISM, a term applied to landlords who absent themselves from their
estates and live and spend their money elsewhere; in its more extended
meaning it refers to all those whose fixed residence is outside their own
country but who derive their income from sources within it. The social,
economic, political, and moral evils resulting from such a system are
considerable and hurtful to the interests of a region, the absentee being
apt to lose his interest in things and persons and the public welfare
generally. Some economists, however, have adduced arguments in favour of
it, as it may sometimes be for the good of the community that a rich and
luxurious landlord should be absent from his estate.
The absenteeism of the Irish nobility, which became worse after the Union
with Great Britain and the transfer of Parliament from Dublin to London,
has been a constant source of mischief, whilst France before the
Revolution, Russia under the Tsars Alexander I and Nicholas I, and Hungary
in the eighteenth century suffered greatly from the practice. The first
statute concerning absentees was passed in the English Parliament in 1379,
and in 1729 a tax was levied on all moneys paid out of Ireland.
AB'SINTH, French _Absinthe_ ([.a]b-sa[n.]t), a liqueur consisting of an
alcoholic solution strongly flavoured with an extract of several sorts of
wormwood, oil of anise, &c. When taken habitually, or in excess, its
effects are very pernicious. A favourite drink of the Parisians, it was
suppressed entirely throughout France by a law passed on 12th Feb., 1915.
AB'SOLUTE, in a general sense, loosed or freed from all limitations or
conditions. In politics, an _absolute_ monarchy is that form of government
in which the ruler is unlimited or uncontrolled by constitutional checks.
In modern metaphysics _the Absolute_ represents the unconditioned,
infinite, and self-existent.
ABSOLU'TION, remission of a penitent's sins in the name of God. It is
commonly maintained that down to the twelfth century the priests used only
what is called the _precatory_ formula, "May God or Christ absolve thee",
which is still the form in the Greek Church; whereas the Roman Catholic
uses the expression "I absolve thee", thus regarding the forgiveness of
sins as in the power of the priest (the _indicative_ form). This theory of
absolution was confirmed by the Council of Trent. The passages of Scripture
on which the Roman Catholic Church relies in laying down its doctrine of
absolution are such as _Mat._ xvi. 19, xviii. 18; _John_, xx. 23. Among
Protestants absolution properly means a sentence by which a person who
stands excommunicated is released from that punishment.
ABSOLUTISM, a system of government in which the supreme power is vested in
a ruler not controlled or limited by any constitution or laws. It has
prevailed in Oriental countries, including Japan, until the latter part of
the nineteenth century. There are now no absolute monarchies in Europe.
ABSOR'BENTS, the system of minute vessels by which the nutritive elements
of food and other matters are carried into the circulation of vertebrate
animals. The vessels consist of two different sets, called respectively
_lacteals_ and _lymphatics_. The former arise from the digestive tract, the
latter from the tissues generally, both joining a common trunk which
ultimately enters the blood-vessel system. Absorbents in medicine are
substances such as chalk, charcoal, &c., that absorb or suck up excessive
secretion of fluid or gas.
ABSORP'TION, in physiology, one of the vital functions by which the
materials of nutrition and growth are absorbed and conveyed to the organs
of plants and animals. In vertebrate animals this is done by the lymphatics
and lacteals, in plants chiefly by the roots. See _Absorbents_.
In physics, _absorption of colour_ is the phenomenon observed when certain
colours are retained or prevented from passing through transparent bodies;
thus pieces of coloured glass are almost opaque to some parts of the
spectrum, while allowing other colours to pass through freely. In chemistry
absorption is the taking up of a gas by a liquid, or by a porous solid.
AB'STINENCE. See _Fasting, Temperance_.
ABSTRAC'TION, the operation of the mind by which it disregards part of what
is presented to its observation in order to concentrate its attention on
the remainder. It is the foundation of the operation of generalization, by
which we arrive at general conceptions. In order, for example, to form the
conception of a horse, we disregard the colour and other peculiarities of
the particular horses observed by us, and attend only to those qualities
which all horses have in common. In rising to the conception of an animal
we disregard still more qualities, and attend only to those which all
animals have in common with one another.
ABU (a-b[:o]'), a granitic mountain of India in Sirohi State, Rajputana,
rising precipitously from the surrounding plains, its top forming a
picturesque and varied tract 14 miles long and 2 to 4 broad; highest point
5653 ft. It is a hot-weather resort of Europeans, and is the site of two
most beautiful Jain temples, built in 1031 and 1200.
ABU-BEKR, or FATHER OF THE VIRGIN, born 570 died 634, the father-in-law and
first successor of Mahomet. His right to the succession was unsuccessfully
contested by Ali, Mahomet's son-in-law, and a schism took place, which
divided the Mahommedans into the two great sects of Sunnites and Shiites,
the former maintaining the validity of Abu-Bekr's and the latter that of
Ali's claim.
ABUKIR'. See _Aboukir_.
ABU KLEA, a group of wells, surrounded by steep, black mountains, about 120
miles from Khartoum, in the Sudan, where, on the 17th Jan., 1885, Sir
Herbert Stewart, with 1500 men, defeated the Mahdi's troops numbering
10,000.
ABULFARA'GIUS, Gregory, a distinguished scholar, a Jew by birth (hence the
name of _Barhebraeus_, often given him), author of numerous works in Arabic
and Syriac, was born in Armenia in 1226, died in 1286. About 1264 he was
consecrated Bishop of Gubas; he was afterwards translated to Aleppo and was
appointed primate of the Jacobite Christians. His principal work is a
_History of the World_ from the Creation to his own day, written in Syriac,
with an abridged version in Arabic, entitled _The Abridged History of the
Dynasties_.
ABUL'FEDA, Arab writer, Prince of Hamah, in Syria, of the same family as
Saladin, famous as an historian and geographer, was born at Damascus 1273,
died 1331. Amid the cares of government he devoted himself with zeal to
study, drew the learned around him, and rendered his power and wealth
subservient to the cause of science. His most important works are his
_History of the Human Race_ (the portion from the birth of Mahomet to his
own time being valuable), and his geography called _The True Situation of
Countries_.
ABUNDA, a Bantu race of Angola, living on the coastlands and on the
terraces rising towards the interior, and divided into 'highlanders' and
'lowlanders'. They speak Portuguese and Umbunda, a trade language.
ABUSHEHR ([:a]-b[:o]-sh[=a]r'). See _Bushire_.
ABU-SIMBEL. See _Ibsambul_.
ABU'TILON, a genus of plants, order Malvaceae, sometimes called Indian
mallows, found in the East Indies, Australia, Brazil, Siberia, &c. Several
of them yield a valuable hemp-like fibre, as _A. indicum_ and _A.
Avicennae_. The latter, now a troublesome weed in the Middle United States,
has been recommended for cultivation, and is sometimes called American
jute.
ABUT'MENT, the part of a bridge which receives and resists the lateral
outward thrust of an arch; the masonry, rock, or other solid materials from
which an arch springs.
ABY'DOS, 1, an ancient city of Asia Minor, on the Hellespont, at the
narrowest part of the strait, opposite Sestos. Leander, say ancient
writers, swam nightly from Abydos to Sestos to see his loved Hero--a feat
in swimming accomplished also by Lord Byron.--2, an ancient city of Upper
Egypt (Egyptian Abotu), about 6 miles west of the Nile, now represented
only by ruins of temples, tombs, &c. It was celebrated as the burial-place
of the god Osiris, and its oldest temple was dedicated to him. Here, in
1818, was discovered the famous _Abydos Tablet_, now in the British Museum,
and containing a list of the predecessors of Rameses the Great, which was
supplemented by the discovery of a similar historical tablet in 1864. The
tomb of Osiris was discovered in 1898 by Amelinau. Cf. Flinders Petrie,
_The Royal Tombs of the Earliest Dynasties_ (2 vols.), London, 1900-9.
ABYSSIN'IA (Ar. _Habesha_), a country of Eastern Africa, which, with
dependencies, may be said to extend from lat. 5deg to 15deg N. and long.
35deg to 42deg E., having the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan on the W., British E.
Africa on the S., and on the S.E. and E. Somali-land and Eritrea (Italian
Red Sea coast); area, 350,000 sq. miles. Pop. over 8,000,000. The country
is now divided into 9 provinces, the principal being Harrar, Tigre, Amhara
or Gondar. Each province is governed by a ras, or prince, but Ras Michael,
the governor of Wollo and father of the deposed negus, Lij Yasu, was
crowned king on 1st June, 1914. Abyssinia proper is an elevated region,
with a general slope to the north-west. The more marked physical features
are a vast series of tablelands, of various and often of great elevations,
and numerous masses or ranges of high and rugged mountains, dispersed over
the surface in apparently the wildest confusion. Along the deep and
tremendous ravines that divide the plateaux rush innumerable streams, which
impart extraordinary fertility to the plains and valleys below. The
mountains in various parts of the country rise to 12,000 and 13,000 feet,
while some of the peaks are over 15,000 feet (Ras Dashan being 15,160), and
are always covered with snow. The principal rivers belong to the Nile
basin, the chief being the impetuous Tacazze ('the Terrible') in the north,
and the Abai in the south, the latter being really the upper portion of the
Blue Nile. The principal lake is Lake Tzana or Dembea (from which issues
the Abai), upwards of 6000 feet above the sea, having a length of about 45
and a breadth of 35 miles. Round this lake lies a fertile plain, deservedly
called the granary of the country.--According to elevation there are
several zones of vegetation. Within the lowest belt, which reaches an
elevation of 4800 feet, cotton, wild indigo, acacias, ebony, baobabs,
sugar-canes, coffee trees, date palms, &c., flourish, while the larger
animals are lions, panthers, elephants, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses,
jackals, hyenas, bears, numerous antelopes, monkeys, and crocodiles. The
middle zone, rising to 9000 feet, produces the grains, grasses, and fruits
of southern Europe, the orange, vine, peach, apricot, the bamboo, sycamore
tree, &c. The principal grains are millet, barley, wheat, maize, and teff,
the latter a small seed, a favourite bread-stuff of the Abyssinians. Two,
and in some places three, crops are obtained in one year. All the domestic
animals of Europe, except swine, are known. There is a variety of ox with
immense horns. The highest zone, reaching to 14,000 feet, has but little
wood, and generally scanty vegetation, the hardier corn-plants only being
grown; but oxen, goats, and long-woolled sheep find abundant pasture.--The
climate is as various as the surface, but as a whole is temperate and
agreeable; in some of the valleys the heat is often excessive, while on the
mountains the weather is cold. In certain of the lower districts malaria
prevails.--The chief mineral products are sulphur, copper, coal, and salt,
the last-named serving to some extent as money. Iron is very abundant and
is manufactured into knives, hatchets, and spears. There has been a great
intermixture of races in Abyssinia. Those who may be considered the
Abyssinians proper seem to have a blood-relationship with the Bedouin
Arabs. Their complexion varies from very dark through different shades of
brown and copper to olive, and they are usually well built. Other races are
the black Gallas from the south; the Falashas, who claim descent from
Abraham and retain many Jewish characteristics; the Agows, Gongas, &c. The
great majority of the people profess Christianity, belonging, like the
Copts, to the sect of the Monophysites. The head of the church is called
the Abuna ('our father'), and is consecrated by the Coptic patriarch of
Alexandria. Geez or Ethiopian is the language of their sacred books: it has
long ago ceased to be spoken. The chief spoken language is the Amharic; in
it some books have been published. Mohammedanism appears to be gaining
ground in Abyssinia. A corrupt form of Judaism is professed by the
Falashas.--The bulk of the people are devoted to agriculture and
cattle-breeding. The trade and manufactures are of small importance. A good
deal of common cotton cloth and some finer woven fabrics are produced.
Leather is prepared to some extent, silver filagree-work is produced, and
there are manufactures of common articles of iron and brass, pottery, &c.
Trade is carried on through Zeila and Djibouti (French Ethiopian Railway
was completed in 1915) on the Gulf of Aden, and Massowa on the Red Sea
(Italian), exports being hides, coffee, wax, gum, ivory, &c., imports
textile fabrics, &c. The Abyssinians were converted to Christianity in the
fourth century, by some missionaries from Alexandria. In the sixth century
the power of the sovereigns of their kingdom, which was generally known as
Ethiopia, had attained its height; but before another had expired the Arabs
had invaded the country, and obtained a footing. For several centuries
subsequently the kingdom continued in a distracted state, being now torn by
internal commotions and now invaded by external enemies (Mahommedans and
Gallas). To protect himself from the latter the Emperor of Abyssinia
applied, about the middle of the sixteenth century, to the King of Portugal
for assistance, promising, at the same time, implicit submission to the
Pope. The solicited aid was sent, and the empire saved. The Roman Catholic
priests endeavoured to induce the emperor and his family to renounce the
tenets and rites of the Coptic Church, and to adopt those of Rome. This
attempt, however, was resisted by the ecclesiastics and the people, and
ended, after a long struggle, in the expulsion of the Catholic priests
about 1630. The kingdom gradually fell into a state of anarchy, and was
broken up into several independent States. An attempt to revive the power
of the ancient kingdom of Ethiopia was made by King Theodore about the
middle of the last century. He introduced European artisans, and went to
work wisely in many ways, but his cruelty and tyranny counteracted his
politic measures. In consequence of a slight, real or fancied, which he had
received at the hands of the British Government, he threw Consul Cameron
and a number of other British subjects into prison, in 1863, and refused to
give them up. To effect their release an army of nearly 12,000 men, under
Sir Robert (afterwards Lord) Napier, was dispatched from Bombay in 1867.
The force landed at Zoulla on the Red Sea, and marching up the country came
within sight of the hill-fortress of Magdala in April, 1868. After being
defeated in a battle, Theodore delivered up the captives and shut himself
up in Magdala, which was taken by storm on the 13th April, Theodore being
found among the slain. After the withdrawal of the British, fighting
immediately began among the chiefs of the different provinces, but at last
the country was divided between Kasa, who secured the northern and larger
portion (Tigre and Amhara) and assumed the name of King Johannes, and
Menelek, who gained possession of Shoa. Latterly Johannes made himself
supreme and in 1881 assumed the title of emperor (_negus negusti_--king of
kings), having under him the Kings of Shoa and Gojam. Debra Tabor, about 30
miles east of Lake Dembea, was his chief residence. During the troubles in
Abyssinia the Egyptians annexed Massowa and the region adjacent, Abyssinia
being thus shut out from the sea. Afterwards the Italians gained and still
hold Massowa and the Red Sea littoral (Eritrea). Johannes fell at Metemmeh
in 1889, whilst fighting against the Mahdists, and was succeeded by Menelek
II. In 1916 Lij Yasu, who succeeded Menelek II in 1913, was deposed and
Waizeru Zauditu (born 1876) became empress.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: R. P. Skinner,
_Abyssinia of Today_. A. B. Wylde, _Modern Abyssinia_.
[Illustration: Acacia arabica, showing leaves, flowers, and fruit]
ACA'CIA, a genus of plants, nat. ord. Leguminosae, sub-order Mimoseae,
consisting of trees or shrubs with compound pinnate leaves and small
leaflets, growing in Africa, Arabia, the East Indies, Australia, &c. The
flowers, usually small, are arranged in spikes or globular heads at the
axils of the leaves near the extremity of the branches. The corolla is
bell- or funnel-shaped; stamens are numerous; the fruit is a dry unjointed
pod. Several of the species yield gum-arabic and other gums; some having
astringent barks and pods, used in tanning. _A. Catechu_, an Indian
species, yields the valuable astringent called catechu; _A. dealb[=a]ta_,
the wattle tree of Australia, from 15 to 30 feet in height, is the most
beautiful and useful of the species found there. Its bark contains a large
percentage of tannin, and is exported in large quantities. Some species
yield valuable timber; some are cultivated for the beauty of their flowers.
ACAD'EMY, an association for the promotion of literature, science, or art;
established sometimes by Government, sometimes by the voluntary union of
private individuals. The name Academy was first applied to the
philosophical school of Plato, from the place where he used to teach, a
grove or garden at Athens which was said to have belonged originally to the
hero Acad[=e]mus. The home of Academies as associations of learned men (not
institutes for instruction), was Hellenized Egypt and afterwards Italy of
the Renaissance. The flourishing Academies at Florence, Naples, and Rome
became the models of academies in other countries. Academies devote
themselves either to the cultivation of science generally or to the
promotion of a particular branch of study, as antiquities, language, and
the fine arts. The most celebrated institutions bearing the name of
academies, and designed for the encouragement of science, antiquities, and
language respectively, are the French Academie des Sciences (founded by
Colbert in 1666), Academie des Inscriptions (founded by Colbert in 1663),
and Academie Francaise (founded by Richelieu in 1635), all of which are now
merged in the National Institute. The most celebrated of the academies
instituted for the improvement of language is the Italian Accademia della
Crusca, or Furfuratorum (now the Florentine Academy), formed in 1582, and
chiefly celebrated for the compilation of an excellent dictionary of the
Italian language (_Vocabulario della Crusca_, Venice, 1612), and for the
publication of several carefully-prepared editions of ancient Italian
poets. The (Imperial) Academy of Science of St. Petersburg was projected by
Peter the Great and established by Catherine I in 1725. The Academy of
Science in Berlin was founded by Frederick I in 1700. It was opened in 1711
and had Leibnitz as its first president. In Britain the name of academy, in
the more dignified sense of the term, is confined almost exclusively to
certain institutions for the promotion of the fine arts, such as the Royal
Academy of Arts and the Royal Scottish Academy. The Royal Academy of Arts
(usually called simply the Royal Academy) was founded in London in 1768,
"for the purpose of cultivating and improving the arts of painting,
sculpture, and architecture". The number of academicians is now limited to
forty-two, among whom are two engravers. There are also thirty associates,
from whom the academicians are elected. Of the associates five are
engravers. Any person who is possessed of sufficient proficiency may be
admitted as a student and receive instruction gratis, and prizes are
annually bestowed on meritorious students. The annual exhibition of the
Academy is open to all artists whose works show sufficient merit. The Royal
Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture was founded in
1826 and incorporated in 1838. It consists of thirty academicians and
twenty associates. The Royal Hibernian Academy at Dublin was incorporated
in 1823 and reorganized in 1861. It consists of thirty members and ten
associates. A British Academy for the Promotion of Historical,
Philosophical, and Philological Studies was incorporated in 1902. (See
_British Academy_.) In the United States, the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences at Boston was founded in 1780, and since then various other
societies of similar character and name have been instituted, as the New
York Academy of Sciences, the Chicago Academy of Science, &c.
ACA'DIA (Fr. _Acadie_), the name formerly given to Nova Scotia. It received
its first colonists from France in 1604, being then a possession of that
country, but it passed to Britain, by the Peace of Utrecht, in 1713. In
1756, 18,000 of the French inhabitants were forcibly removed from their
homes on account of their hostility to the British, an incident on which is
based Longfellow's _Evangeline_. Many Acadians afterwards wandered back to
their old homes, and their descendants are at present supposed to number
270,000, 100,000 of them living in French Canada.
ACALE'PHA (Gr. _akal[=e]ph[=e]_, a nettle, from their stinging properties),
a term formerly used to denote the Medusae, or jelly-fishes, and allied
species.
ACANTHA'CEAE, or ACANTHADS, a nat. ord. of dicotyledonous herbaceous plants
or shrubs, with opposite leaves and monopetalous corolla, mostly tropical;
species about 1400. See _Acanthus_.
[Illustration: _a_, _b_, _c_, Spines of the dorsal, anal, and ventral fins
of Acanthopterygii]
ACANTHOP'TERI, ACANTHOPTERYGII (Gr. _akantha_, a spine, _pterygion_, a
fin), a group of fishes, distinguished by the fact that at least the first
rays in each fin exist in the form of stiff spines; it includes the perch,
mullet, mackerel, gurnard, wrasse, &c.
[Illustration: Acanthus. Examples of Greek and Roman decorative treatment]
ACANTH'US, a genus of herbaceous plants or shrubs, order Acanthaceae,
mostly tropical, two species of which, _A. mollis_ and _A. spin[=o]sus_
(the bear's-breech or brankursine), are characterized by large white
flowers and deeply-indented shining leaves. They are favourite ornamental
plants in British gardens.--In architecture the name is given to a kind of
foliage decoration said to have been suggested by this plant, and much
employed in Greek, Roman, and later styles.
ACAPUL'CO, a seaport of Mexico, on the Pacific, with a capacious,
well-sheltered harbour; a coaling station for steamers, but with no great
trade. Pop. 5950.
ACAR'IDA, a division of the Arachnida, including the mites, ticks, and
water-mites. See _Mite_.
ACARNA'NIA, the most westerly portion of Northern Greece, together with
Aetolia now forming a nomarchy with a pop. of 188,597. The Acarnanians of
ancient times were behind the other Greeks in civilization, living by
robbery and piracy.
AC'ARUS, the genus to which the mite belongs.
ACCA'DIANS (Akkad), the primitive inhabitants of Northern Babylonia
(Akkad), who had descended from the mountainous region of Elam on the east,
and to whom the Assyrians ascribed the origin of Chaldean civilization and
writing. This race is believed to have belonged to the Turanian family, or
to have been at any rate non-Semitic. What is known of them has been
learned from the cuneiform inscriptions. See _Babylonia_ and _Summerians_.
ACCELERA'TION is the rate of change of the velocity of a body under the
action of a force. A body falling from a height is one of the most common
instances of acceleration.--_Acceleration of the Moon_, the increase of the
moon's mean angular velocity about the earth, the moon now moving rather
faster than in ancient times. This phenomenon has not been fully explained,
but it is known to be partly owing to the slow process of diminution which
the eccentricity of the earth's orbit is undergoing, and from which there
results a slight diminution of the sun's influence on the moon's
motions.--_Diurnal acceleration of the fixed stars_, the apparent greater
diurnal motion of the stars than of the sun, arising from the fact that the
sun's apparent yearly motion takes place in a direction contrary to that of
his apparent daily motion. The stars thus seem each day to anticipate the
sun by nearly 3 minutes 56 seconds of mean time.
AC'CENT, a term used in several senses. In English it commonly denotes
superior stress or force of voice upon certain syllables of words, which
distinguishes them from the other syllables. Many English words, as
_as'pi-ra"tion_, have two accents, a secondary and primary, the latter
being the fuller or stronger. Some words, as _in-com'pre-hen'si-bil"i-ty_,
have two secondary or subordinate accents. When the full accent falls on a
vowel, that vowel has its long sound, as in _vo'cal_; but when it falls on
a consonant, the preceding vowel is short, as in _hab'it_. This kind of
accent alone regulates English verse, as contrasted with Latin or Greek
verse, in which the metre depended on _quantity_ or length of syllables. In
books on elocution three marks or accents are generally made use of, the
first or _acute_ (') showing when the voice is to be raised, the second or
_grave_ (`), when it is to be depressed, and the third or _circumflex_ (^)
when the vowel is to be uttered with an undulating sound. In some languages
there is no such distinct accent as in English (or German), and this seems
to be now the case with French.--In music, accent is the stress or emphasis
laid upon certain notes of a bar. The first note of a bar has the strongest
accent, but weaker accents are given to the first notes of subordinate
parts of the bars, as to the third, fifth, and seventh in a bar of eight
quavers.
ACCEN'TOR (_Accentor modul[=a]ris_), or HEDGE ACCENTOR, a British bird of
the warbler family. See _Hedge Warbler_.
ACCEP'TANCE, in law, the act by which a person binds himself to pay a bill
of exchange drawn upon him. (See _Bill_.) No acceptance is valid unless
made in writing on the bill, but an acceptance may be either absolute or
conditional, that is, stipulating some alteration in the amount or date of
payment, or some condition to be fulfilled previous to payment.
AC'CESSARY, or AC'CESSORY, in law, a person guilty of an offence by
connivance or participation, either before or after the act committed, as
by command, advice, concealment, &c. An accessary _before the fact_ is one
who procures or counsels another to commit a crime, and is not present at
its commission; an accessary _after the fact_ is one who, knowing a felony
to have been committed, gives assistance of any kind to the felon so as to
hinder him from being apprehended, tried, or suffering punishment. An
accessary before the fact may be tried and punished in all respects as if
he were the principal. In high treason, all who participate are regarded as
principals.
ACCIDEN'TALS, notes introduced in the course of a piece of music in a
different key from that in which the passage where they occur is
principally written. They are represented by the sign of a sharp, flat, or
natural immediately before the note which is to be raised or lowered.
ACCIPITRES (ak-sip'i-tr[=e]z), the name given by Linnaeus and Cuvier to the
rapacious birds now usually called Raptores (q.v.).
ACCLIMATIZA'TION, the process of accustoming plants or animals to live and
propagate in a climate different from that to which they are indigenous, or
the change which the constitution of an animal or plant undergoes under new
climatic conditions, in the direction of adaptation to those conditions.
The systematic study of acclimatization has only been entered upon in very
recent times, and the little progress that has been made in it has been
more in the direction of formulating anticipative, if not arbitrary
hypotheses, than of actual discovery and acquisition of facts. The
best-known society founded, for the purpose of naturalizing animals and
plants, is the Societe d'Acclimatation in Paris. It opened the Jardin
d'Acclimatation in 1860. See _Tropical Hygiene_. The term is sometimes
applied to the case of animals or plants taking readily to a new country
with a climate and other circumstances similar to what they have left, such
as European animals and plants in America and New Zealand: but this is more
properly _naturalization_ than acclimatization.--In agriculture the word is
used with reference to stock, principally sheep, 'acclimatized' to a
particular area, a special allowance being made by the landlord on
transference of the farm and stock in respect of the acclimatization of the
sheep. The value assigned to the advantages resulting from acclimatization
of stocks varies considerably. In Argyllshire, for instance,
Dumbartonshire, and the western portion of Perthshire the rates are high,
while in the south of Scotland and the north of England they are much
lower.
ACCOLADE (ak-o-l[=a]d'; Fr., from Lat. _ad_, to, _collum_, the neck), the
ceremony used in conferring knighthood, anciently consisting either in the
embrace given by the person who conferred the honour of knighthood or in a
light blow on the neck or the cheek, latterly consisting in the ceremony of
striking the candidate with a naked sword.
ACCOL'TI, Benedetto, an Italian lawyer, born at Arezzo in Tuscany in 1415,
died at Florence in 1466. He was secretary to the Florentine republic,
1459, and author of a work on the Crusades which is said to have furnished
Tasso with matter for his _Jerusalem Delivered_.
ACCOMMODA'TION BILL, a bill of exchange drawn and accepted to raise money
on, and not given, like a genuine bill of exchange, in payment of a debt,
but merely intended to accommodate the drawer: colloquially called a _wind
bill_ and a _kite_.
ACCOMMODA'TION LADDER, a light ladder hung over the side of a ship at the
gangway to facilitate ascending from, or descending to, boats.
ACCOM'PANIMENT, in music, is that part of music which serves for the
support of the principal melody.
ACCOR'DION, a keyed musical wind-instrument similar to the concertina,
being in the form of a small box, containing a number of metallic reeds
fixed at one of their extremities, the sides of the box forming a folding
apparatus which acts as a bellows to supply the wind, and thus set the
reeds in vibration, and produce the notes both of melody and harmony. The
accordion was invented by Damian of Vienna in 1829.
ACCOUNTANT, a person whose chief business is with accounts and the drawing
up of financial statements and balance-sheets. An accountant is an
important official in banks, railways, and certain other institutions, and
many persons carry on the business of accountant as a distinct profession,
auditing the books of merchants, joint-stock companies, &c. There are
several bodies of accountants in the United Kingdom incorporated by royal
charter, and hence specially distinguished as 'chartered accountants'
(C.A.). Since 1919 women are admitted as members of the Society of
Incorporated Accountants.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: L. R. Dicksee, _Advanced
Accounting_; G. Lisle, _Encyclopaedia of Accounting_ (8 vols.).
AC'CRA, a British settlement in Africa, in a swampy situation, capital of
Gold Coast, about 75 miles east of Cape Coast Castle. Exports gold-dust,
ivory, gums, palm-oil; imports cottons, cutlery, &c. Pop. 20,000.
AC'CRINGTON, a municipal borough of England, Lancashire, 5 miles east of
Blackburn, with large cotton factories, print-works and bleaching-greens,
and coal-mines. Pop. 43,610. Accrington was created a parliamentary borough
in 1918.
ACCU'MULATOR, a name applied to a kind of electric battery by means of
which electric energy can be stored and rendered portable. In the usual
form each battery forms a cylindrical leaden vessel, containing alternate
sheets of metallic lead and minium wrapped in felt and rolled into a spiral
wetted with acidulated water. On being charged with electricity the energy
may be preserved till required for use.
ACCU'SATIVE CASE, in Latin and some other languages, the term applied to
the case which designates the object to which the action of any verb is
immediately directed, corresponding, generally speaking, to the _objective_
in English.
ACE, in aviation the name 'ace' is given to a flying-man who has
distinguished himself by bringing down a large number (sometimes given as
ten) of enemy machines. The word is used colloquially, and was borrowed
from the French Air Force during the European War.
ACEPH'ALA, in zoology, the headless Mollusca or those which want a distinct
head, corresponding to those that have bivalve shells and are also called
_Lamellibranchiata_.
A'CER, the genus of plants (nat. ord. Aceraceae) to which belongs the
maple.
ACERRA ([.a]-cher'[.a]), a town in South Italy, 9 miles north-east of
Naples, the see of a bishop, in a fertile but unhealthy region. Pop.
17,878.
ACETAB'ULUM, an anatomical term applied to any cup-like cavity, as that of
a bone to receive the protuberant end of another bone, the cavity, for
instance, that receives the end of the thigh-bone.
ACETATES (as'e-t[=a]ts), salts of acetic acid. The acetates of most
commercial or manufacturing importance are those of aluminium and iron,
which are used in calico-printing; of copper, which as verdigris is used as
a colour; and of lead, best known as sugar of lead. The acetates of
potassium, sodium, and ammonium, of iron, zinc, and lead, and the acetate
of morphia, are employed in medicine.
ACET'IC ACID, an acid produced by the oxidation of common alcohol, and of
many other organic substances. Pure acetic acid has a very sour taste and
pungent smell, burns the skin, and is poisonous. From freezing at ordinary
temperatures (58deg or 59deg) it is known as _glacial acetic acid_. Vinegar
is simply dilute acetic acid. Acetic acid is largely used in the arts, in
medicine, and for domestic purposes. See _Vinegar_.
ACET'IC ETHERS, or ACETIC ESTERS, acetates of alcohol radicals. The common
ester--ethyl acetate--is a volatile colourless liquid, manufactured by
distilling a mixture of alcohol, oil of vitriol, and acetic acid, and used
for flavouring purposes.
ACETONE (as'), a constituent of ordinary wood spirit, a colourless volatile
liquid used as a solvent, the simplest of the _ketones_.
ACET'YLENE, C_2H_2, is a substance composed of two elements, carbon and
hydrogen, and belonging to a class of compounds known as hydrocarbons. It
is formed in the incomplete combustion of many hydrocarbons and also of
coal-gas, and may be produced in a variety of ways, but is now made almost
entirely from calcium carbide. Acetylene has been known for a long time,
but only since 1870 has it been produced in any quantity. After the
development of the electric furnace it was found that calcium oxide,
quicklime, heated with carbon to the high temperature possible in such a
furnace, is transformed into calcium carbide, and this compound reacts with
water, generating acetylene. A great deal of heat is developed on adding
water to calcium carbide, so that care has to be taken in generating
acetylene. Various devices are in use for bringing the two substances in
contact slowly, and for keeping the temperature low. When carbon and
hydrogen combine to form acetylene a large amount of heat is used up, so
that much heat is evolved when acetylene decomposes again, and once
decomposition starts sufficient heat is developed to decompose the whole
volume of gas.
Acetylene is a colourless gas slightly soluble in water and very sparingly
soluble in brine. When pure it has little or no odour, but as ordinarily
prepared it has a strong unpleasant odour due to traces of impurities such
as sulphuretted hydrogen, phosphine, &c. The gas can be liquefied easily,
and in the liquid state is highly explosive. It burns with an exceedingly
sooty flame, but if it is allowed to pass through a very small orifice the
carbon liberated becomes incandescent and acetylene burns with an intense
white flame. It is largely used as an illuminant and for the production of
great heat. As an illuminant the gas is produced in specially-constructed
generators. It is led through iron pipes and burned from an acetylene
burner, or it may be used with special types of incandescent mantles.
Acetylene readily combines with copper and with silver to form metallic
acetylides which are very explosive, hence pipes through which acetylene is
passing must not be made of brass or copper. Acetylene mixed with air and
brought in contact with an ignited body explodes even more violently than a
mixture of air and coal-gas.
Large quantities of acetylene are generated and stored for oxy-acetylene
welding. Acetylene, burning in oxygen, gives an intensely hot flame (about
2000deg-3000deg C.), sufficiently hot to melt iron. Although liquid
acetylene is unstable, and even the gas, under slight pressure, is also
unstable, it may be transported safely if dissolved in acetone. Acetone
dissolves a large volume of acetylene, and this solution is quite stable
and may be stored in iron cylinders and used for various purposes. If it is
to be stored it must be carefully purified from phosphine, which is apt to
cause sudden decomposition. Recently, numerous patents have been taken out
for the preparation of compounds such as acetaldehyde, acetic acid, acetic
anhydride, &c., using acetylene as starting-point, so that many substances
may be prepared from acetylene just as many substances may be prepared from
benzene.
ACHAEANS (a-k[=e]'anz), one of the four races into which the ancient Greeks
were divided. In early times they inhabited a part of Northern Greece and
of the Peloponnesus. They are represented by Homer as a brave and warlike
people, and so distinguished were they that he usually calls the Greeks in
general Achaeans. Afterwards they settled in the district of the
Peloponnesus, called after them Achaia, and forming a narrow belt of coast
on the south side of the Gulf of Corinth. From very early times a
confederacy or league existed among the twelve towns of this region. After
the death of Alexander the Great it was broken up, but was revived again,
280 B.C., and from this time grew in power till it spread over the whole
Peloponnesus. It was finally dissolved by the Romans, 147 B.C., and after
this the whole of Greece, except Thessaly, was called Achaia or Achaea.
Achaia with Elis now forms a nomarchy of the kingdom of Greece. Pop.
254,728. Cf. Freeman, _History of Federal Government in Greece and Italy_,
London, 1893.
ACHAEMENIDAE (ak-[=e]-men'i-d[=e]) a dynasty of ancient Persian kings,
being that to which the great Cyrus belonged.
ACHAIA (a-k[=a]'ya). See _Achaeans_.
ACHALZIK. See _Akhalzik_.
ACHARD ([.a]_h_'[.a]rt), Franz Karl, a German chemist, born 1753, died
1821, principally known by his invention (1789-1800) of a process for
manufacturing sugar from beetroot. In 1801 the first beet-sugar factory
ever established was started by him in Silesia.
ACHARD ([.a]-sh[:a]r), Louis Amedee Eugene, born 1814, died 1875, French
journalist, novelist, and playwright. He was best known as a novelist;
wrote the novels _Belle Rose_, _La Chasse royale_, _Chateaux en Espagne_,
_Robe de Nessus_, _Chaines de fer_, &c. His _Lettres Parisiennes_ were
published in 1838 under the pseudonym of Grimm.
ACHATES (a-k[=a]'t[=e]z), a companion of Aeneas in his wanderings
subsequent to his flight from Troy. He is always distinguished in Virgil's
_Aeneid_ by the epithet _fidus_, 'faithful', and has become typical of a
faithful friend and companion.
ACHEEN, or ATCHIN ([.a]-ch[=e]n') (Du. _Atjeh_), a native State of Sumatra,
with a capital of the same name, in the north-western extremity of the
island, now nominally under Dutch administration. Though largely
mountainous, it has also undulating tracts and low fertile plains. By
treaty with Britain the Dutch were prevented from extending their territory
in Sumatra by conquest; but this obstacle being removed, in 1871 they
proceeded to occupy Acheen. It was not till 1879, however, after a great
waste of blood and treasure, that they obtained a general recognition of
their authority. But they have not been able to establish it firmly, and
have had to put down many determined risings, sometimes costing them losses
both in men and guns. In the seventeenth century Acheen was a powerful
State, and carried on hostilities successfully against the Portuguese, but
its influence decreased with the increase of the Dutch power. The principal
exports are rice and pepper. Area, 20,471 sq. miles; pop. 789,664.
ACHELOUS (ak-e-l[=o]'us) (now ASPROPOT[)A]MO), the largest river of Greece,
rising on Mount Pindus, separating Aetolia and Acarnania, and flowing into
the Ionian Sea. In Greek legend, Achel[=o]us, the son of Oceanus and
Tethys, was the river-god.
ACHENBACH ([.a]'_h_en-b[.a]ch), Andreas, was a distinguished German
landscape and marine painter, born in 1815, died in 1910.
ACHENBACH, Oswald, born 1827, died 1905, brother of above, was also a
distinguished landscape painter. Both are of the Duesseldorf school, and
pupils of the famous painter Schadow.
[Illustration: Achene of Buttercup (magnified)
E, Embryo. En, Endosperm. T, Testa and pericarp.]
ACHENE, or ACHENIUM (a-k[=e]n', a-k[=e]'ni-um), in botany, a small, dry
carpel containing a single seed, the pericarp of which is closely applied
but separable, and which does not open when ripe. It is either solitary, or
several achenia may be placed on a common receptacle as in the buttercup.
ACHENSEE, a lake in Tyrol, 20 miles north-east of Innsbruck and 3018 feet
above sea-level. On its shores are beautiful villas and hotels frequented
as summer resorts.
ACHERON (ak'e-ron) (modern FANARIOTICOS), the ancient name of several
rivers in Greece and Italy, all of which were connected by legend with the
lower world. The principal was a river of Thesprotia in Epirus, which
passes through Lake Acherusia and flows into the Ionian Sea. Homer speaks
of Acheron as a river of the lower world, and late Greek writers use the
name to designate the lower world.
ACHEULIAN, a term applied by archaeologists to the late stage of Chellean
civilization in the Pleistocene Age. It is named after St. Acheul in the
Somme valley, where relics of it were found. The geological horizon,
according to Professor James Geikie, is late Second Interglacial and Third
Glacial periods.
ACH'IAR, or AT'CHAR, an Indian condiment made of the young shoots of the
bamboo pickled.
ACHIEVEMENT (a-ch[=e]v'ment), in heraldry, a term applied to the shield of
armorial bearings generally, or to a hatchment (q.v.).
ACHILL (ak'il), the largest island on the Irish coast, separated from the
mainland of Mayo by a narrow sound, now bridged over. The chief occupation
is fishing. The island is mountainous, has fine scenery, and is visited by
many tourists, there being now a railway terminus here, and many recent
improvements. Pop. nearly 7000.
ACHILLAE'A, the milfoil genus of plants.
ACHILLEION, famous castle at Corfu, which used to belong to the Empress
Elizabeth of Austria. It was acquired by the ex-Kaiser William II, who
bought it from the Archduchess Gisela, wife of Prince Leopold of Bavaria.
ACHILLES (a-kil'[=e]z), a Greek legendary hero, the chief character in
Homer's _Iliad_. His father was Peleus, ruler of Phthia in Thessaly, his
mother the sea-goddess Thetis. When only six years of age he was able to
overcome lions and bears. His guardian, Cheiron the Centaur, having
declared that Troy could not be taken without his aid, his mother, fearing
for his safety, disguised him as a girl, and introduced him among the
daughters of Lycomedes of Scyros. Her desire for his safety made her also
try to make him invulnerable when a child by anointing him with ambrosia,
and again by dipping him in the River Styx, from which he came out proof
against wounds, all but the heel, by which she held him. His place of
concealment was discovered by Odysseus (Ulysses), and he promised his
assistance to the Greeks against Troy. Accompanied by his close friend,
Patroclus, he joined the expedition with a body of followers (Myrmidons) in
fifty ships, and occupied nine years in raids upon the towns neighbouring
to Troy, after which the siege proper commenced. On being deprived of his
prize, the maiden Briseis, by Agamemnon, he refused to take any further
part in the war, and disaster attended the Greeks. Patroclus now persuaded
Achilles to allow him to lead the Myrmidons to battle dressed in his
armour, and he having been slain by Hector, Achilles vowed revenge on the
Trojans, and forgot his anger against the Greeks. He attacked the Trojans
and drove them back to their walls, slaying them in great numbers, chased
Hector, who fled before him three times round the walls of Troy, slew him,
and dragged his body at his chariot-wheels, but afterwards gave it up to
Priam, who came in person to beg for it. He then performed the funeral
rites of Patroclus, with which the _Iliad_ closes. He was killed in a
battle at the Scaean Gate of Troy by an arrow from the bow of Paris which
struck his vulnerable heel. In discussions on the origin of the Homeric
poems the term _Achilleid_ is often applied to those books (i, viii, and
xi-xxii) of the _Iliad_ in which Achilles is prominent, and which some
suppose to have formed the original nucleus of the poem. See _Iphigenia_.
ACHILLES' TENDON, or TENDON OF ACHILLES, the strong tendon which connects
the muscles of the calf with the heel, and which may be easily felt with
the hand. The origin of the name will be understood from the above article.
ACHILLES TATIUS (a-kil'[=e]z t[=a]'shi-us), a Greek romance writer of the
fifth century A.D., belonging to Alexandria; wrote a love story in 8 books
called _Leucipp[=e] and Cleitophon_.
ACHIMENES (a-kim'e-n[=e]z), a genus of tropical American plants, with scaly
underground tubers, nat. ord. Gesneraceae, now cultivated in European
greenhouses on account of their white, blue, and red flowers.
ACHLAMYDEOUS (ak-la-mid'i-us), in botany, wanting the floral envelopes,
that is, having neither calyx nor corolla, as the willow.
ACHOR ([=a]'kor), a disease of infants, in which the head, the face, and
often the neck and breast become incrusted with thin, yellowish or greenish
scabs, arising from minute, whitish pustules, which discharge a viscid
fluid.
ACHROMAT'IC (Gr. _a_, priv., and _chr[=o]ma, chr[=o]matos_, colour), in
optics, transmitting colourless light, that is, not decomposed into the
primary colours, though having passed through a refracting medium. A single
convex lens does not give an image free from the prismatic colours, because
the rays of different colour making up white light are not equally
refrangible, and thus do not all come to a focus together, the violet, for
instance, being nearest the lens, the red farthest off. If such a lens of
crown-glass, however, is combined with a concave lens of flint-glass--the
curvatures of both being properly adjusted--as the two materials have
somewhat different optical properties, the latter will neutralize the
chromatic aberration of the former, and a satisfactory image will be
produced. Telescopes, microscopes, &c., in which the glasses are thus
composed are called _achromatic_.
ACID (Lat. _acidus_, sour), a name applied to a number of compounds, having
more or less the qualities of vinegar (itself a diluted form of acetic
acid). Their general properties are sour taste, the power of changing
vegetable blues into reds, of evolving hydrogen in presence of magnesium,
of decomposing chalk with effervescence, and of being in various degrees
neutralized by alkalies. An acid has been defined as a compound of
hydrogen, the whole or a part of which is replaceable by a metal when this
is presented in the form of a hydroxide; being _monobasic_, _dibasic_, or
_tribasic_, according to the number of replaceable hydrogen atoms in a
molecule. See _Chemistry_.
ACIERAGE ([=a]'s[=e]-[.e]r-[=a]j), (Fr. _acier_, steel), a process by which
an engraved copper-plate or an electrotype from an engraved plate of steel
or copper has a film of iron deposited over its surface by electricity in
order to protect the engraving from wear in printing. By this means an
electrotype of a fine engraving, which, if printed directly from the
copper, would not yield 500 good impressions, can be made to yield 3000 or
more; and when the film of iron becomes so worn as to reveal any part of
the copper, it may be removed and a fresh coating deposited so that 20,000
good impressions may be got.
ACIPENSER (as-i-pen's[.e]r), the genus of cartilaginous ganoid fishes to
which the sturgeon belongs.
ACI REALE ([:a]'ch[=e] r[=a]-[:a]'l[=a]), a seaport of Sicily, north-east
of Catania, a well-built town, with a trade in corn, wine, fruit, &c. Pop.
35,587.
A'CIS, according to Ovid, a beautiful shepherd of Sicily, loved by Galatea,
and crushed to death by his rival the Cyclops Polyphemus. His blood,
flowing from beneath the rock which crushed him, was changed into a river
bearing his name, and renowned for the coldness of its water. It has been
identified as the Fiume di Jaci.
ACLIN'IC LINE (Gr. priv. _a, klin[=o]_, to incline), the magnetic equator,
an irregular curve in the neighbourhood of the terrestrial equator, where
the magnetic needle balances itself horizontally, having no dip. See
_Magnetism_.
ACNE (ak'n[=e]), a skin disease, consisting of small hard pimples, usually
on the face, caused by congestion of the follicles of the skin.
[Illustration: Acolyte]
ACOLYTES (ak'o-l[=i]ts), in the ancient Latin and Greek Churches, persons
of ecclesiastical rank next in order below the subdeacons, whose office it
was to attend the officiating priest. The name is still retained in the
Roman Church. Cf. Duchesne, _Christian Worship, its Origin and Evolution_.
ACONCAGUA ([.a]-kon-k[:a]'gw[.a]), a province, a river, and a mountain of
Chile. The peak of Aconcagua, whose summit is just within the Argentine
Republic, rises to the height of 23,080 feet, and is probably the highest
mountain of the western hemisphere. Area of province, 5406 sq. miles. Pop.
(1919), 132,165.
AC'ONITE (_Acon[=i]tum_), a genus of hardy herbaceous plants, nat. ord.
Ranunculaceae, represented by the well-known wolf's-bane or monk's-hood,
and remarkable for their poisonous properties and medicinal qualities,
being used internally as well as externally in rheumatism, gout, neuralgia,
&c.
ACON'ITINE, an alkaloid extracted from monk's-hood and some other species
of aconite; used medicinally, though a virulent poison.
ACONQUIJA ([.a]-kon-k[=e]'_h_[.a]), a range of mountains in the Argentine
Republic; the name also of a single peak, 17,000 feet high.
A'CORN, the fruit of the different kinds of oak. The acorn-cups of one
species are brought from the Levant under the name of _valonia_, and used
in tanning.
ACORN-SHELL. See _Balanus_.
AC'ORUS, a genus of plants, including the sweet-flag. See _Sweet-flag_ and
_Calamus_.
ACOS'TA, Gabriel, afterwards Uriel, a Portuguese of Jewish descent, born at
Oporto in 1590, died by his own hand 1640. Brought up a Christian, he
afterwards embraced Judaism. Having gone to Amsterdam, where he attacked
the practices of the Jews, and denied the divine mission of Moses, he
suffered much persecution at the hands of the Jews. He left an
autobiography, published in 1687, under the title _Exemplar Humanae Vitae_.
He is the hero of a novel, _Die Sadducaeer von Amsterdam_, and of a
tragedy, _Uriel Acosta_, both by Gutzkow.
ACOTYLE'DONS, plants not furnished with cotyledons or seed-lobes. They
include ferns, mosses, seaweeds, &c., and are also called flowerless plants
or cryptogams.
ACOUSIMETER, or ACOUMETER (Gr. _akouein_, to hear, and _metron_, measure),
an instrument used to determine the acuteness of hearing. It consists of a
small bar which gives a uniform sound when struck by a hammer.
ACOUSTICS (a-kou'stiks), the science of sound. It deals with the production
of sound, its propagation and velocity in various media; the reflection,
refraction, and interference of sound waves; the properties of musical
notes; and the general phenomena of such vibrations of elastic bodies as
affect the organ of hearing.
In order that a sound may be heard, it is necessary that an uninterrupted
series of particles of elastic matter should extend from the sounding body
to our ear. Sound is propagated by a longitudinal wave-motion in the medium
(gaseous, liquid, or solid), that is, the particles oscillate along the
line in which the wave is travelling, giving rise to regular series of
condensations and rarefactions.
The velocity of sound varies directly as the square root of the elasticity,
and inversely as the square root of the density, of the medium in which it
is propagated. The velocity of sound in air at 0deg C. is 330.6 metres per
second, or 1085 feet per second; in water 1.49 kilometres per second, or
0.926 mile per second; in copper 5.01 kilometres per second, or 3.12 miles
per second.
The intensity of sound varies inversely as the square of the distance from
the sounding body. Recently sound-ranging instruments have been produced by
means of which the position of a gun can be determined.
A note produced by a musical instrument consists of a _fundamental_ of a
certain frequency, together with a number of _overtones_ of various higher
frequencies and much smaller amplitude. The _timbre_ of a note depends on
the overtones present, the _loudness_ depends on the amplitude of the
vibrations, and the _pitch_ depends on the frequency. The musical scale
consists of eight notes, C D E F G A B C, whose frequencies are in the
proportion of the numbers 24, 27, 30, 32, 36, 40, 45 and 48. The interval
between two notes is the ratio of the frequency of the higher note to the
frequency of the lower note. In order that the intervals may be the same in
all keys, a tempered scale is used in music. (See Table, p. 25.)
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Lord Rayleigh, _Theory of Sound_; H. Smith, _The Making of
Sound in the Organ and Orchestra_; J. W. Capstick, _Sound_ (Cambridge
Natural Science Manuals); E. H. Barton, _Text-book of Sound_.
ACQUI ([.a]k'w[=e]), a town of Northern Italy, 18 miles S.S.W. of
Alessandria, a bishop's see. It has warm sulphurous baths, which were known
to the Romans, and which still attract a great many visitors. Pop. 16,500.
ACRE, a standard British measure of land, also used in the colonies and the
United States. The imperial statute acre consists of 4840 sq. yards,
divided into 4 roods. The old Scotch acre contains 6146.8 sq. yards, the
old Irish acre 7840 sq. yards.
ACRE ([=a]'k[.e]r) (ancient ACCHO and PTOLEMAIS), a seaport of Syria, in
Northern Palestine, on the Bay of Acre, early a place of great strength and
importance. Taken from the Saracens under Saladin in 1191 by Richard I of
England and Philip of France; bravely defended by the Turks, assisted by
Sir Sidney Smith, in 1799 against Napoleon; in 1832, taken by Ibrahim
Pasha; in 1840, bombarded by a British, Austrian, and Turkish fleet, and
restored to the Sultan of Turkey. The town was occupied by British troops
under General Allenby in September, 1918. Pop. 10,000.
* * * * *
MUSICAL INTERVALS.--See _Acoustics_
Intervals in Intervals in
Perfect Diatonic Diatonic Scale. Tempered Scale--
Scale. Perfect on System of Mean tone.
Diatonic Scale Equal (2^{1/6} = 1.123).
Temperament. Semitone.
(2^{1/12}= 1.059).
---------------------------------------------------------------------
C 1 1.000
9/8 major tone tone.
D 9/8 = 1.125 2-2/12 = 1.123
10/9 minor tone tone.
E 5/4 = 1.250 2-4/12 = 1.260
16/15 limma semitone.
F 4/3 = 1.333 2-5/12 = 1.335
9/8 major tone tone.
G 3/2 = 1.500 2-7/12 = 1.498
10/9 minor tone tone.
A 5/3 = 1.667 2-9/12 = 1.682
9/8 minor tone tone.
B 15/8 = 1.875 2-11/12 = 1.888
16/15 limma semitone.
C' 2 2.000
Major tone ratio = 9/8 = 1.125 Limma tone ratio = 16/15 = 1.067
Minor " " = 10/9 = 1.111 Semitone " = 2^{1/12} = 1.059
Mean " " = 2^{2/12} = 1.123
NOTES OF PERFECT DIATONIC SCALE (WITH THEIR FREQUENCIES)
C,, 64. Ut_1 C, 128. Ut_2 C 256. Ut_3 C' 512. Ut_4
D,, 72 D, 144 D 288 D' 576
E,, 80 E, 160 E 320 E' 640
F,, 85.3 F, 170.7 F 341.3 F' 682.7
G,, 96 G, 192 G 384 G' 768
A,, 106.6 A, 213.3 A 426.7 A' 853.2
B,, 120 B, 240 B 480 B' 960
C'' 1024. Ut_5
PERFECT DIATONIC SCALES (TRANSITION TO KEY OF DOMINANT)
_Example_--Key of C to Key of G
C D E F G A B C' D' E' F' G'
1 9/8 5/4 4/3 3/2 5/3 15/8 2 9/4 5/2 8/3 3
G A` B C' D' E' F'# G'
1 9/8 5/4 4/3 3/2 5/3 15/8 2
A = 10/9 G. F' = 16/9 G.
A`= 9/8 G. F'# = 15/8 G.
A`= 81/80 A. = 15/8 X 9/16 F'.
= (1 + 1/18{2/7}) F'.
* * * * *
ACRI ([=a]'kr[=e]), a town of S. Italy, province of Cosenza. Pop. 4000.
AC'RITA (Gr. _akritos_, undistinguishable, doubtful), a name sometimes
given to the animals otherwise called Protozoa.
ACROCEPH'ALI, tribes of men distinguished by pyramidal or high skulls.
ACROCERAU'NIA (thunder-smitten peaks) (now CAPE GLOSSA or LINGUETTA), a
promontory of Western Greece, in Epirus, running into the Adriatic.
ACROCORIN'THUS, a steep rock in Greece, nearly 1900 feet high, overhanging
ancient Corinth, and on which stood the acropolis or citadel, the sacred
fountain of Pir[=e]n[=e] being also here. This natural fortress has proved
itself of importance in the modern history of Greece.
AC'ROGENS (-jenz), lit. summit-growers, a term applied to the ferns,
mosses, and lichens (cryptogams), as growing by extension upwards, in
contradistinction to endogens and exogens.
AC'ROLITH, an early form of Greek statuary in which the head, hands, and
feet only were of stone, the trunk of the figure being of wood draped or
gilded.
ACROP'OLIS (Gr. _akros_, high, and _polis_, a city), the citadel or chief
place of a Grecian city, usually on an eminence commanding the town. That
of Athens contained some of the finest buildings in the world, such as the
Parthenon, Erechth[=e]um, &c.
ACROS'TIC, a poem of which the first or last, or certain other, letters of
the line, taken in order, form some name, motto, or sentence. A poem of
which both first and last letters are thus arranged is called a double
acrostic. In Hebrew poetry, the term is given to a poem of which the
initial letters of the lines or stanzas were made to run over the letters
of the alphabet in their order, as in _Psalm_ cxix.--Acrostics have been
much used in complimentary verses, the initial letters giving the name of
the person eulogized. They were very popular among French poets of the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In modern times Edgar Allen Poe has
written quite remarkable acrostic verses.
ACT, in special senses: (1) In dramatic poetry, one of the principal
divisions of a drama, in which a definite and coherent portion of the plot
is represented; generally subdivided into smaller portions called _scenes_.
The Greek dramas were not divided into acts. The dictum that a drama should
consist of five acts was first formally laid down by Horace, and is
generally adhered to by modern dramatists in tragedy. In comedy, especially
since the time of Moliere, more freedom is allowed, and a division into two
or three acts is common.--(2) Something formally done by a legislative or
judicial body; a statute or law passed.--(3) In universities, a thesis
maintained in public by a candidate for a degree. See _Act of God_, _of
Parliament_, _of Settlement_.
ACTA DIUR'NA (Lat., proceedings of the day), a daily Roman newspaper which
appeared under both the republic and the empire.
ACTAE'A. See _Baneberry_.
ACTAE'ON, in Greek mythology, a great hunter, turned into a stag by
Art[)e]mis (Diana) for looking on her when she was bathing, and torn to
pieces by his own dogs.
ACTA ERUDITO'RUM (Lat., acts of the learned), the first literary journal
that appeared in Germany (1682-1782). It was started by Otto Mencke, after
the model of the _Journal des Savants_. Among the contributors, the most
distinguished was Leibnitz.
ACTA SANCTORUM (Lat., acts of the saints), a name applied to all
collections of accounts of ancient martyrs and saints, both of the Greek
and Roman Churches, more particularly to the valuable collection begun by
John Bolland, a Jesuit of Antwerp, in 1643, and which, being continued by
other divines of the same order (_Bollandists_), now extends to sixty
volumes, the lives following each other in the order of the calendar.
ACTIN'IA, the genus of animals to which the typical sea-anemones belong.
See _Sea-anemone_.
AC'TINISM, the property of those rays of light which produce chemical
changes, as in photography, in contradistinction to the light rays and heat
rays. The actinic property or force begins among the green rays, is
strongest in the violet rays, and extends a long way beyond the visible
spectrum.
ACTINIUM, an element or elementary substance obtained in minute quantities
in connection with the study of radioactivity. It was discovered by
Debierne in 1899. In 1902 Giesel discovered another substance which he
called _emanium_, and which was considered to be identical with _actinium_.
Marckwald, however, came to the conclusion that these two substances are
not identical but closely related to each other. See _Radium_, _Chemistry_.
ACTIN'OLITE, a mineral nearly allied to hornblende.
ACTINOM'ETER, an instrument for measuring the intensity of the sun's
actinic rays. See _Actinism_.
ACTINOZO'A (lit. ray-animals), a class of animals belonging to the
sub-kingdom Coelenterata, and including sea-anemones, corals, &c., all
having rayed tentacles round the mouth.
ACTION, the mode of seeking redress at law for any wrong, injury, or
deprivation. Actions are divided into civil and criminal, the former again
being divided into real, personal, and mixed.
AC'TIUM (now LA PUNTA), a promontory on the western coast of Northern
Greece, not far from the entrance of the Ambracian Gulf (Gulf of Arta),
memorable on account of the naval victory gained here by Octavianus
(afterwards the Emperor Augustus) over Antony and Cleopatra, 2nd Sept., 31
B.C., in sight of their armies encamped on the opposite shores of the
Ambracian Gulf. Soon after the beginning of the battle Cleopatra escaped
with sixty Egyptian ships, and Antony basely followed her, and fled with
her to Egypt. The deserted fleet was not overcome without making a brave
resistance. Antony's land forces soon went over to the enemy, and the Roman
world fell to Octavianus. In 1538 a victory was gained at Actium by the
Turks over the Spanish and Venetian fleets.
ACT OF GOD, a legal term defined as "a direct, violent, sudden, and
irresistible act of nature, which could not, by any reasonable cause, have
been foreseen or resisted". No one can be legally called upon to make good
loss so arising.
ACT OF PARLIAMENT, a law or statute proceeding from the Parliament of the
United Kingdom passed in both houses, and having received the royal assent.
Before it is passed it is a _Bill_ and not an Act. Acts are either public
or private, the former affecting the whole community, the latter only
special persons and private concerns. The whole body of public Acts
constitutes the _statute law_. An Act of Parliament can only be altered or
repealed by the authority of Parliament. Acts are usually cited in this
way, "13 and 14 Vict. c. (or chap.) 21", which means the 21st Act in
succession passed in year 13th-14th of the queen's reign (that is, 1850).
Short titles, such as "the Merchant Shipping Act, 1854", are also used. Up
to the time of Edward I Acts of Parliament were in Latin; then French was
introduced, and for some time was exclusively employed. It was not till
Henry VII's reign that all Acts were in English.
ACT OF SETTLEMENT, an Act passed by the English Parliament in 1700, by
which the succession to the throne of the three kingdoms, in the event of
King William and Princess (afterwards Queen) Anne dying without issue, was
settled on the Princess Sophia, electress of Hanover, and the heirs of her
body, being Protestants. The Princess Sophia was the youngest daughter of
Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, daughter of James I. By this act George I, son
of the Princess Sophia, succeeded to the crown on the death of Queen
Anne.--Another Act of Settlement was that by which, under Cromwell's
government, a new allotment was made of almost all landed property in
Ireland, in 1652.
ACT OF TOLERATION, an Act of Parliament Passed in 1689, by which Protestant
dissenters from the Church of England, on condition of their taking the
oaths of supremacy and allegiance, and repudiating the doctrine of
transubstantiation, were relieved from the restrictions under which they
had formerly lain with regard to the exercise of their religion according
to their own forms.
ACT OF UNIFORMITY, an English Act passed in 1662, enjoining upon all
ministers to use the _Book of Common Prayer_ on pain of forfeiture of their
livings. See _Nonconformity_.
[Illustration: Quilted Acton of the fifteenth century]
ACTON, a kind of padded or quilted vest or tunic formerly worn under a coat
of mail to save the body from bruises, or used by itself as a defensive
garment. Jackets of leather or other material plated with mail were also so
called. _Gambeson_ was an equivalent term.
ACTON, a name of various places in England, one of them a western suburb of
London, pop. (1921), 61,314. Since 1918 Acton gives its name to a
parliamentary division of Middlesex, returning one member to Parliament.
ACTON, John Emerich Edward Dalberg, first Baron Acton, born 1834, died
1902, was son of Richard Acton (seventh baronet) and the daughter of the
Duc de Dalberg, afterwards wife of Earl Granville, Mr. Gladstone's
colleague. As a Roman Catholic he was educated at Oscott, and afterwards on
the Continent, partly under Doellinger, and acquired a special taste for
and profound knowledge of history. He conducted the _Home and Foreign
Review_ from 1862 to 1864, and, in doing so, showed himself a strong
opponent of ultramontane pretensions. He next edited the _North British
Review_, which under him was rather overweighted with learning, and soon
came to an end. In 1869 he was raised to the peerage. He strongly opposed
the papal-infallibility movement, and took the side of Mr. Gladstone in his
attacks on Vaticanism. In 1895 he accepted the professorship of modern
history at Cambridge, delivered lectures, and planned and undertook the
editorship of the great work on modern history, _The Cambridge Modern
History_, comprising a series of contributions by various scholars, and
issued by the university press. Except essays, letters, or articles for
periodicals, he himself wrote little. Since his death have been published:
_Lectures in Modern History_ (1906); _The History of Freedom and other
Essays_ (1907); _Lectures on the French Revolution_ (1910). His library of
60,000 volumes he left to Mr. (now Lord) Morley, who handed it over to the
University of Cambridge.
ACTOR, one who represents some part or character on the stage. Actresses
were unknown to the Greeks and Romans in the earliest times, men or boys
always performing the female parts. They appeared under the Roman empire,
however. Charles II first encouraged the public appearance of actresses in
England; in Shakespeare's time there were none. See _Drama_.--BIBLIOGRAPHY:
C. F. Armstrong, _Century of Great Actors_; H. Simpson, _Century of Great
Actresses_.
ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, fifth of the books of the New Testament, written in
Greek and assigned to the author of the gospel of St. Luke. Its date is
probably A.D. 63 or 64. It embraces a period of about thirty years,
beginning immediately after the resurrection, and extending to the second
year of the imprisonment of St. Paul in Rome. Very little information is
given regarding any of the apostles, excepting St. Peter and St. Paul, and
the accounts of them are far from being complete. It describes the
gathering of the infant Church; the fulfilment of the promise of Christ to
his apostles in the descent of the Holy Ghost; the choice of Matthias in
the place of Judas, the betrayer; the testimony of the apostles to the
resurrection of Jesus in their discourses; their preaching in Jerusalem and
in Judea, and afterwards to the Gentiles; the conversion of Paul, his
preaching in Asia Minor, Greece, and Italy, his miracles and
labours.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: R. T. Knowling, _The Expositor's Greek Testament_;
J. Moffatt, _The Historical New Testament_; J. M. Wilson, _Origin and Aim
of the Acts of the Apostles_.
AC'TUARY, an accountant whose business is to make the necessary
computations in regard to a basis for life assurance, annuities,
reversions, &c.
ACU'LEUS, in botany, a prickle, or sharp-pointed process of the epidermis,
as distinguished from a thorn or spine, which is of a woody nature.
ACUPRESS'URE, a means of arresting bleeding from a cut artery introduced by
Sir James Simpson in 1859, and consisting in compressing the artery above
the orifice, that is, on the side nearest the heart, with the middle of a
needle (Lat. _acus_, a needle) introduced through the tissues.
ACUPUNC'TURE, a surgical operation, consisting in the insertion of needles
into certain parts of the body for alleviating pain, or for the cure of
different species of rheumatism, neuralgia, eye diseases, &c. It is easily
performed, gives little pain, causes neither bleeding nor inflammation, and
seems at times of surprising efficacy.
ADAGIO (It. [.a]-d[:a]'j[=o]), a musical term, expressing a slow time,
slower than _andante_ and less so than _largo_, _lento_, and _grave_.
ADAL', a country in Africa, east of Abyssinia and north-westward of
Tajurrah Bay, inhabited by a dark-brown race of the same name, a tribe of
the Danakils, Mahommedans in religion; towns Aussa and Tajurrah. Part of
the coast here is held by the French.
AD'ALBERT OF PRAGUE, called the apostle of the Prussians, son of a Bohemian
nobleman named Slavnik, born about 939. His real name was Voitech, but he
assumed the name of the Archbishop Adalbert, under whom he studied at
Magdeburg. He was appointed Bishop of Prague in 983, laboured in vain among
the heathenish Bohemians, resolved to convert the pagans of Prussia, but
was murdered in the attempt (997). _Boga-Rodzica_, a Polish war-song, is
said to have been composed by him.
ADA'LIA, a seaport on the south coast of Asia Minor. Pop. 28,000. The
district of Adalia has a population of over 200,000.
ADAM ([.a]-d[.a][n.]), Adolphe Charles, a French composer, more especially
of comic operas; born 1803, died 1856. Wrote _Le postillon de Longjumeau_,
_Le Brasseur de Preston_ (Brewer of Preston), _La Rose de Peronne_, _Le roi
d'Yvetot_, &c.
ADAM, Albrecht, a German painter of battles and animals, born 1786, died
1862. Three sons of his have also distinguished themselves as painters,
especially Franz, born 1815, died 1886, among whose best pictures are
several representing scenes of the Franco-Prussian war.
ADAM, Alexander, a Scottish classical scholar, born in 1741; became in 1768
rector of the High School of Edinburgh, and died there in 1809. Wrote
_Principles of Latin and English Grammar_; _Roman Antiquities_, a useful
school-book; _Summary of Geography and History_; _Classical Biography_, &c.
ADAM, Robert, an eminent Scottish architect, born in 1728, a son of William
Adam, architect. He resided several years in Italy, visited Spalatro, in
Dalmatia, and published a work on the ruined palace of Diocletian there. In
conjunction with his brother James he was much employed by the English
nobility and gentry in constructing modern and embellishing ancient
mansions. Among their works are the Register House and the University
Buildings, Edinburgh, and the Adelphi Buildings, London. Robert Adam died
in 1792, and was buried in Westminster Abbey; his brother James died in
1794.
ADAM AND EVE, the names given in Scripture to our first parents, an account
of whom and their immediate descendants is given in the early chapters of
_Genesis_. Cain, Abel, and Seth are all their sons that are mentioned by
name; but we are told that they had other sons as well as daughters. There
are numerous Rabbinical additions to the Scripture narrative of an
extravagant character, such as the myth of Adam having a wife before Eve,
named _Lilith_, who became the mother of giants and evil spirits. Other
legends or inventions are contained in the Koran.
ADAM DE LA HALE, an early French writer and musician, born 1235, died 1287.
His _Jeu de Robin et de Marion_ (first produced at Naples), may be regarded
as the first comic opera ever written. Cf. H. Guy, _Bibliographie Critique
du Trouvere_, Paris, 1900.
AD'AMANT, an old name for the diamond; also used in a vague way to imply a
substance of impenetrable hardness.
ADAMAN'TINE SPAR, a name of the mineral corundum or of a brownish variety
of it.
ADAMA'WA (also called FUMBINA), a region of West Africa, between lat. 6deg
and 10deg N., and lon. 11deg and 17deg E. Much of the surface is hilly or
mountainous, Mount Atlantika being 9000 or 10,000 feet. The principal river
is the Benue. A great part of the country is covered with thick forests.
The oil palm and bananas are staple products. Chief town Yola (Nigeria).
ADAMELLO. See _European War_.
AD'AMITES, a religious sect dating from the second century, probably of
Gnostic origin. It was so called because both men and women were said to
appear naked in their assemblies, either to imitate Adam in the state of
innocence or to prove the control which they possessed over their passions.
Practices similar to those of the Adamites arose several times in later
ages. See _Beghards_.
ADAM'NAN, St., born in Ireland about 624, was elected abbot of Iona in 679,
and died there about 703 or 704. He is best known from his _Life of St.
Columba_, valuable as throwing light on the early ecclesiastical history of
Scotland. (There are editions by Reeves, 1857; reissued with English
translation 1874; and by Fowler, 1895.) His feast is celebrated on 23rd
Sept.
ADAMS, Charles Francis, American litterateur and statesman, was a son of
John Quincy Adams, and was born in 1807. His boyhood was spent in Europe,
partly in England; but he finished his education at Harvard, and afterwards
studied law. After serving some years in the Massachusetts legislature he
was sent to Congress in 1859. In 1861 Lincoln sent him to England as
American minister, and here he remained for seven years, performing the
arduous duties of his office with the utmost tact and ability. Between 1874
and 1877 he edited a complete edition of his grandfather's works in 12
vols. He was one of the arbitrators on the _Alabama_ claims. Died in 1886.
ADAMS, John, second president of the United States, was born at Braintree
(now Quincy), Massachusetts, 19th Oct., 1735. He was educated at Harvard
University, and adopted the law as a profession. His attention was directed
to politics by the question as to the right of the English Parliament to
tax the colonies, and in 1765 he published some essays strongly opposed to
the claims of the mother country. As a member of the new American congress
in 1774, 1775, and 1776 he was strenuous in his opposition to the home
Government, and in organizing the various departments of the colonial
Government. On 13th May, 1776, he seconded the motion for a declaration of
independence proposed by Lee of Virginia, and was appointed a member of
committee to draw it up. The declaration was actually drawn up by
Jefferson, but it was Adams who fought it through Congress. In 1778 he went
to France on a special mission, but soon came back and again returned, and
for nine years resided abroad as representative of his country in France,
Holland, and England. After taking part in the peace negotiations he was
appointed, in 1785, the first ambassador of the United States to the Court
of St. James. He was recalled in 1788, and the following year elected
vice-president of the republic under Washington. In 1792 he was re-elected
vice-president, and at the following election in 1797 he became president
in succession to Washington. The commonwealth was then divided into two
parties, the Federalists, who favoured aristocratic and were suspected of
monarchic views, and the Republicans. Adams adhered to the former party,
with which his views of government had always been in accordance, but the
real leader of the party was Hamilton, with whom Adams did not agree, and
who tried to prevent his election. His term of office proved a stormy one,
which broke up and dissolved the Federalist party. His re-election in 1801
was again opposed by the efforts of Hamilton, which ended in effecting the
return of the Republican candidate Jefferson. Thus it happened that when
Adams retired from office his influence and popularity with both parties
were at an end, and he sunk at once into the obscurity of private life. He
had the consolation, however, of living to see his son president. He died
4th July, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the declaration of
independence, and on the same day as Jefferson. His works have been ably
edited by his grandson Charles Francis Adams.
ADAMS, John Couch, English astronomer, born 1819, died 1892, studied at
Cambridge, and was senior wrangler in 1843. His investigations into the
irregularities in the motion of the planet Uranus led him to the conclusion
that they must be caused by another more distant planet, and the results of
his labours were communicated in September and October, 1845, to Professor
Challis and Airy the Astronomer Royal. The French astronomer Leverrier had
by this time been engaged in the same line of research, and had come to
substantially the same results, which, being published in 1846, led to the
actual discovery of the planet Neptune by Galle of Berlin. In 1858 Adams
was professor of mathematics at Aberdeen University, and in 1859 was
appointed Lowndean professor of astronomy and geometry at Cambridge.
ADAMS, John Quincy, sixth president of the United States, son of John
Adams, second president, was born 11th July, 1767. Accompanying his father
to Europe he received part of his education there, but graduated at Harvard
in 1788. Having adopted the legal profession, in 1791 he was admitted to
the bar. He now began to take an active interest in politics, and some
letters that he wrote having attracted general attention, in 1794
Washington appointed him minister to the Hague. He afterwards was sent to
Berlin, and also on a mission to Sweden. In 1798 he received a commission
to negotiate a treaty of commerce with Sweden. On the accession of
Jefferson to the presidency in 1801 he was recalled. The Federalist party
(that of his father), which was now declining, had sufficient influence in
Massachusetts to elect him to the senate in 1803. On an important question
of foreign policy, that of embargo, he abandoned his party, and having lost
his re-election on this account, he retired to the professorship of
rhetoric at Cambridge, which he held from 1806 to 1809. In 1809 he went as
ambassador to Russia. He assisted in negotiating the peace of 1814 with
England, and was afterwards appointed resident minister at London. Under
Monroe as president he was secretary of state, and at the expiration of
Monroe's double term of office he succeeded him in the presidency (1825).
He was not very successful as president, and at the end of his term (1829)
he was not re-elected. In 1831 he was returned to Congress by
Massachusetts, and continued to represent this State till his death, his
efforts being now chiefly on behalf of the Abolitionist party. He died 21st
Feb., 1848.
ADAMS, Samuel, an American statesman, second cousin of President John
Adams, was born in Boston, 27th Sept., 1722, and was educated at Harvard
College. He early devoted himself to politics, and in connection with the
dispute between America and the mother country he showed himself one of the
most unwearied, efficient, and disinterested assertors of American freedom
and independence. He was one of the signers of the declaration of 1776,
which he laboured most indefatigably to bring forward. He sat in congress
eight years; from 1789-94 was lieutenant-governor of Massachusetts; from
1794-7 governor, when he retired from public life. He died 2nd Oct., 1803.
ADAM'S APPLE, the popular name of the prominence seen in the front of the
throat in man, and which is formed by the portion of the larynx known as
the _thyroid cartilage_. It is much smaller and less visible in females
than in males, and is so named from the supposition that it was caused by a
piece of the forbidden fruit having stuck in Adam's throat. In botany it is
the name given to the plantain tree and the _Citrus pomum_. It is the Heb.
_Ethrog_, which, according to Hebrew legend, was the fruit Adam and Eve ate
in the garden of Eden.
ADAM'S BRIDGE, a chain of reefs, sandbanks, and islands stretching between
India and Ceylon; so called because the Mohammedans believe that when Adam
was driven from paradise he had to pass by this way to Ceylon (where is
also Adam's Peak). The Brahmans call it the bridge of Rama, the hero of the
Indian Epic, the _Ramayana_.
ADAM'S NEEDLE, a popular name of the Yucca plant.
ADAM'S PEAK, one of the highest mountains in Ceylon, 45 miles
east-south-east of Colombo, conical, isolated, and 7420 feet high. On the
top, a rocky area of 64 feet by 45, is a hollow in the rock 5 feet long
bearing a rude resemblance to a human foot, which the Brahmans believe to
be the footprint of Siva; the Buddhists, who call it Sri-pada (sacred
footmark), that of Buddha; the Mahommedans that of Adam. The last-named
believe that Adam stood here on one foot for a thousand years, lamenting
his exclusion from Eden. Devotees of all creeds meet here and present their
offerings (chiefly rhododendron flowers) to the sacred footprint. The
ascent is very steep, and towards the summit is assisted by steps cut and
iron chains riveted in the rock.
ADAMSON, Patrick, a Scottish divine and Latin poet, born 15th March, 1536,
died 19th Feb., 1592. He was educated at St. Andrews, lived some years in
France, was minister of Paisley, and afterwards Archbishop of St. Andrews,
in which position he made himself very obnoxious to the Presbyterian party.
Deprived of the revenues of the see, he died in indigence. He turned
portions of the Bible into Latin verse.
AD'ANA, town and capital of Adana vilayet, Asia Minor, on the Seihun-Irmak;
served by the Bagdad Railway. The district is claimed by Armenia. Cotton,
rice, wine, and fruit are exported. Pop. (town), 70,000; (vilayet),
1,000,000.
ADANSON ([.a]-d[.a]n-s[=o][n.]), Michel, French naturalist and traveller
(of Scottish extraction), born 1727; died 1806. He lived five years in
Senegal, and wrote a natural history of this region as well as works on
botany. The baobab genus is named _Adansonia_ after him. Adanson's statue
was erected in the Jardin des Plantes, Paris, in 1856.
ADANSO'NIA. See preceding article and _Baobab_.
ADAPTATION (from the Lat. _ad_, to, and _apt[=a]re_, to fit), the process
of modification or alteration of a thing so as to change its original
purpose and adapt it to other uses. Adaptation in biology is the power and
process by which an organism or species of animals or plants changes and
becomes modified, so as to suit the conditions of its life. In other words
it is the adjustment, or favourable reaction, of the living world to its
environment, the advantageous variation of animals and plants under changed
conditions. The term now includes both that which is hereditary and that
which is acquired. The powers of lower forms of life to adapt themselves to
changes of environment are limited, and frequently, when the conditions
vary suddenly, they are either arrested in their development or die
altogether.--In literature it is the process by which an author modifies
the work of another not in its essence but in its form and details, either
in the original or in a foreign language.
A'DAR, the twelfth month of the Hebrew sacred and sixth of the civil year,
answering to part of February and part of March.
ADDA (ancient ADDUA), a river of North Italy, which, descending from the
Rhaetian Alps, falls into Lake Como, and leaving this joins the Po, after a
course of about 170 miles. On the banks of the Adda Napoleon won the battle
of Lodi in 1796.
ADDA, a species of lizard, more commonly called Skink.
AD'DAX, a species of antelope (_Hippotr[)a]gus nasomacul[=a]tus_) of the
size of a large ass, with much of its make. The horns of the male are about
4 feet long, beautifully twisted into a wide-sweeping spiral of two turns
and a half, with the points directed outwards. It has tufts of hair on the
forehead and throat, and large broad hoofs. It inhabits the sandy regions
of Nubia and Kordofan, and is also found in Caffraria.
[Illustration: Adder (_Vipera communis_)]
ADDER, a name often applied to the common viper as well as to other kinds
of venomous serpents. See _Viper_.
ADDER-PIKE (_Trach[=i]nus vip[)e]ra_), a small species of the weever fish,
called also the Lesser Weever or Sting-fish. See _Weever_.
ADDER-STONE, the name given in different parts of Britain to certain
rounded perforated stones or glass beads found occasionally, and supposed
to have a kind of supernatural efficacy in curing the bites of adders. They
are believed to have been anciently used as spindle-whorls, that is, a kind
of small fly-wheels to keep up the rotatory motion of the spindle.
ADDER'S-TONGUE, a species of British fern (_Ophioglossum vulg[=a]tum_),
whose spores are produced on a spike, supposed to resemble a serpent's
tongue.
ADDER'S-WORT, a name of snakeweed or bistort (_Polyg[)o]num Bistorta_),
from its supposed virtue in curing the bite of serpents.
AD'DINGTON, Henry, Viscount Sidmouth, born 1757, died 1844. Entered
Parliament, 1783, as a warm supporter of Pitt. Was elected speaker of the
House of Commons, 1789, and in 1801 invited by the king to form an
administration, chiefly signalized by the conclusion of the Peace of
Amiens. Quarrelled with Pitt, whom he bitterly attacked. Was home secretary
from 1812 till 1822, his repressive policy making him remarkably unpopular
with the nation at large. Retired from official life in 1824.
ADDIS ABE'BA, or ADIS ABBA'BA, a town in the south of Abyssinia, in Shoa,
ranking as capital of the country, being chief residence of the negus or
sovereign. It stands among mountains, at the height of 10,000 feet, and is
a primitive place, but now has telegraphic connection with Jibouti and
Massawa, and since 1917 is the terminus of the railway running inland from
Jibouti by way of Harar. Pop. 50,000.
AD'DISON, Rt. Hon. Christopher, P.C., M.D., Cabinet Minister. Dr. Addison
was born 19th June, 1869, and educated at Trinity College, Harrogate, and
St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London, where he was a lecturer for a time. He
was elected Member of Parliament for the Hoxton Division, Shoreditch, in
1910, and was parliamentary secretary to the Board of Education from 1914
to 1915. From 1916 to 1917 he was Minister of Munitions; he was President
of the Local Government Board from January to June, 1919, when he became
Minister of Health. He has written and edited several works on medical
subjects.
AD'DISON, Joseph, an eminent English essayist, son of the Rev. Lancelot
Addison, afterwards Dean of Lichfield, born at Milston, Wiltshire, 1st May,
1672, died 17th June, 1719. He was educated at the Charterhouse, where he
became acquainted with Steele, and afterwards at Oxford. He held a
fellowship from 1697 till 1711, and gained much praise for his Latin verse.
He secured as his earliest patron the poet Dryden, who inserted some of his
verses in his _Miscellanies_ in 1693. A translation of the fourth
_Georgic_, with the exception of the story of _Aristaeus_, by Addison,
appeared in the same collection in 1694, and he subsequently translated for
it two and a half books of Ovid. Dryden also prefixed his prose essay on
Virgil's _Georgics_ to his own translation of that poem, which appeared in
1697. An early patron of his was Charles Montague, afterwards Earl of
Halifax; another was Lord Somers, who procured him a pension of L300 a year
to enable him to qualify for diplomatic employments by foreign travels. He
spent from the autumn of 1699 to that of 1703 on the Continent, where he
became acquainted with Malebranche, Boileau, &c. During his residence
abroad his tragedy of _Cato_ is supposed to have been written. During his
journey across Mont Cenis he wrote his _Letter from Italy_, esteemed the
best of his poems, and in Germany his _Dialogues on Medals_, which was not
published till after his death. His _Remarks on Several Parts of Italy in
the Years 1701-3_ was published in 1705. His political friends lost power
on the death of William III, but _The Campaign_, a poem on the battle of
Blenheim, procured him an appointment as a commissioner of appeal on
excise. In 1706 he received an under-secretaryship, in 1707 accompanied
Halifax on a mission to Hanover, in 1709 became secretary to the Viceroy of
Ireland, and keeper of the records. In 1708 he was elected Member of
Parliament for Lostwithiel, a seat he exchanged in 1710 for Malmesbury,
which place he continued to represent till his death. From Oct., 1709, to
Jan., 1711, he contributed 75 papers to the _Tatler_, either wholly by
himself or in conjunction with Steele, thus founding the new literary
school of the Essayists. For the _Spectator_ (2nd Jan., 1711, to 6th Dec.,
1712) he wrote 274 papers, all signed by one of the four letters C., L.,
I., O. His tragedy of _Cato_, produced April, 1713, ran for twenty nights,
and was translated into French, Italian, German, and Latin. His other
contributions to periodicals included 51 papers to the _Guardian_ (May to
Sept., 1713), 24 papers to a revived _Spectator_ conducted by Budgell, and
2 papers to Steele's _Lover_. On the death of Queen Anne he successively
became secretary to the lords justices, secretary to the Irish viceroy, and
one of the lords commissioners of trade. He published the _Freeholder_
(23rd Dec., 1715, to 9th June, 1716), a political _Spectator_. In August,
1716, he married the Countess of Warwick, a marriage which did not increase
his happiness. He retired from public life, March, 1718, with a pension of
L1500 a year. He formed a close friendship with Swift, and was chief of a
distinguished literary circle. He had literary quarrels with Pope and Gay,
the former of whom in revenge wrote the satire contained in his lines on
Atticus in the _Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot_. He also had a paltry quarrel
over politics with his old friend Steele. His death took place at Holland
House, its cause being dropsy and asthma. He was buried in Westminster
Abbey. Of his style as a writer so much has been said that nothing remains
to say but to quote the dictum of Johnson: "Whoever wishes to attain an
English style, familiar but not coarse, and elegant but not ostentatious,
must give his days and nights to the volumes of Addison". He had great
conversational powers, and his intimates speak in the strongest terms of
the enjoyment derived from his society, but he was extremely reserved
before strangers. His _Dialogues on Medals_ and _Evidences of the Christian
Religion_ were published posthumously in Tickell's collected edition of his
works.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: W. J. Courthope, _Addison_ (English Men of Letters
Series); _Essays from the Spectator_, edited by Henry Morley.
ADDISON'S DISEASE (from Dr. Addison, Guy's Hospital, London, who traced the
disease to its source), a fatal disease, the seat of which is the two
glandular bodies placed one at the front of the upper part of each kidney,
and called _suprarenal capsules_. It is characterized by anaemia or
bloodlessness, extreme prostration, and the brownish or olive-green colour
of the skin. Death usually results from weakness, and commonly takes place
within a year.
ADDLED PARLIAMENT, a Parliament called 5th April, 1614, in order to
legalize the customs duties imposed by James I, but which, proceeding to
the redress of grievances instead of granting supply, was dissolved, 7th
June, without passing a single Bill.
ADDRESS, a document containing an expression of thanks, congratulation,
satisfaction, or dissatisfaction, &c. It is the custom of the British
Parliament to return an address to the speech delivered by the Sovereign at
the commencement of every session.
ADDRESS, Forms of. The following are the principal modes of formally
addressing titled personages or persons holding official rank in Great
Britain:--
_The King or Queen._--Address in writing: To the King's (Queen's) most
excellent Majesty. Say: Sire or Madam, Your Majesty.
_The Royal Family._--His Royal Highness (H.R.H.) the Prince of Wales,
His Royal Highness the Duke of C----, His Royal Highness Prince A----.
A royal duke should be addressed as Sir, not My Lord Duke; and referred
to as Your Royal Highness. A princess is addressed Her Royal Highness
the Duchess of ----, Her Royal Highness Princess A----; and personally
as Madam, Your Royal Highness.
_Duke and Ducal Family._--His Grace the Duke of ----; My Lord Duke,
Your Grace. Her Grace the Duchess of ----; Madam, Your Grace. The
duke's eldest son is in law only an esquire, but in courtesy takes a
secondary title of his father, and is addressed as if he held it by
right. A younger son is addressed Lord J---- B----; My Lord, Your
Lordship; a daughter, Lady M---- B---- (Christian and surname); Madam,
Your Ladyship. A duke's, marquis's, or earl's daughter marrying a
commoner simply changes her surname for his.
_The Lord-lieutenant of Ireland_ is styled His Excellency, or, if a
duke, His Grace, and addressed according to his titular rank.
_Marquess._--The Most Honourable the Marquess of ----; My Lord
Marquess, My Lord. The eldest son has a secondary title of his father,
as in the case of a duke's eldest son; the younger sons and the
daughters are all addressed as the younger sons and daughters of a
duke.
_Earl._--The Right Honourable the Earl of ----; My Lord, Your Lordship.
The Right Honourable the Countess of----; Madam, Your Ladyship. The
eldest son is addressed by a secondary title of his father; younger
son, The Honourable G---- T----; Sir; the daughter, as duke's and
marquess's daughter.
_Viscount._--The Right Honourable the Viscount ----; My Lord, Your
Lordship. The Right Honourable the Viscountess ----; Madam, Your
Ladyship. Son: The Honourable A---- B---- (Christian and surname); Sir.
Daughter: The Honourable J---- C---- (Christian and surname); Madame;
if married, The Honourable Mrs. ---- (married name).
_Baron._--The Right Honourable Lord ----; My Lord, Your Lordship. The
Right Honourable the Lady ----; Madam, your Ladyship. Son: The
Honourable J---- C----; Sir. Daughter: The Honourable M---- H----; if
married, The Honourable Mrs. ----, same as viscount's daughter.
_Baronet._--Sir A---- B----, Baronet; Sir; more familiarly Dear Sir
A----.
_Knight._--Sir C---- D----, Kt., or K.C.S.I., K.C.B., G.C.B., &c.,
according to rank. The wives of baronets and knights are styled Lady,
Lady ----.
_Archbishop._--His Grace the Lord Archbishop of ----; My Lord
Archbishop; Your Grace. An archbishop is also styled Most Reverend.
_Bishop._--The Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of ----; My Lord. The wives
of prelates have no special title. Bishops not connected with the
English established church may be addressed--The Right Reverend Bishop
----; Right Reverend Sir.
_Dean._--The Very Reverend; Sir; Mr. Dean.
Members of the Privy Council, members and ex-members of cabinet, the
Speaker of the House of Commons, the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Chief
Justice and the Lords Justices, the Lord Advocate, the lords of the
treasury and admiralty, are called Right Honourable; the justices (not
being _lords_ justices) are styled Honourable. Ambassadors, governors
of colonies, &c., are styled Excellency.
The Lord Mayors of London, York, Dublin, &c., and the Lord Provost of
Edinburgh, are styled Right Honourable; the Lord Provost of Glasgow,
Honourable. A Mayor is addressed as Right Worshipful. Lords of Session
(Scotland) have the courtesy title of Lord, are addressed as My Lord,
Your Lordship, and also called Honourable. Sheriffs and their
substitutes are addressed in their courts in Scotland as My Lord.
In the United States persons holding official rank are similarly
addressed; thus the President is styled His Excellency, as are also
governors of states and foreign ministers; the vice-president,
lieutenant-governors, senators, representatives, judges, and mayors are
styled Honourable.
ADDUC'TOR, a muscle which draws one part of the body towards another:
applied in zoology to one of the muscles which bring together the valves of
the shell of the bivalve molluscs.
ADEL'. See _Adal._
ADELA, born 1062, died 1137, fourth daughter of William the Conqueror, wife
of Stephen, Count of Blois and Chartres, and mother of Stephen, King of
England. She proved herself an able ruler and a generous patroness of
learning while her husband was abroad with the First Crusade; and after his
death she acted as regent for his sons.
ADELAIDE (ad'e-l[=a]d), the capital of South Australia, 6 miles east from
Port Adelaide (on St. Vincent Gulf), its port, with which it is united by
railway, founded in 1837, and named after the queen of William IV. Situated
on a large plain, it is built nearly in the form of a square, with the
streets at right angles, and is divided into North and South Adelaide,
separated by the river Torrens, which is crossed by several bridges, and by
means of a dam is converted into a fine sheet of water. The public
buildings comprise the Government House, the town hall, the post and
telegraph offices, the Government offices, court-houses, the houses of
legislature, the University, South Australian Institute, &c. There is a
good service of tramway cars. Adelaide is connected by railway with
Melbourne, and is the terminus of the overland telegraph to Port Darwin. It
has a large trade. Pop. (including suburbs), (1919), 256,660.
ADELAIDE, daughter of George, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Meiningen, and wife of
the Duke of Clarence, afterwards William IV, King of England; born 1792,
died 1849; married 11th July, 1818, had two daughters, who died in infancy.
She became queen-consort on William attaining the throne in 1830, and was
for a time unpopular from being supposed to be averse to reform. On the
death of William she passed into private life, with an allowance of
L100,000 a year.
ADELARD OF BATH, an English philosophical writer of the twelfth century. He
travelled through Spain, the north of Africa, Greece, and Asia Minor, and
acquired from the Arabs much knowledge, which he put in systematic shape.
Chief works, _Perdifficiles Quaestiones Naturales_ and _De Eodem et
Diverso._
ADELSBERG ([:a]'d[.e]lz-ber_h_), a small town of North Italy, in Carniola,
midway between Trieste and Laibach, remarkable for the wonderful stalactite
cave in its vicinity. The most extended of the ramifications which compose
it reaches to over 2 miles from the entrance, at which the River Poik
disappears, and is heard rushing below. The stalactites and stalagmites are
of the most varied and often beautiful forms, and have received fanciful
appellations, as they resemble columns, statues, &c.
ADELUNG ([.a]d'e-l[u:]ng), Friedrich von, nephew of J. C. Adelung, was a
distinguished philologist. He was tutor to the Grand-duke Nicholas,
afterwards Emperor of Russia, and became president of the Academy of
Sciences at St. Petersburg (now Petrograd). Born 1768, died 1843.
ADELUNG, Johann Christoph, a German philologist, born 1732, died 1806. In
1759 he was appointed professor in the Protestant academy at Erfurt, and
two years after removed to Leipzig, where he applied himself to the works
by which he made so great a name, particularly his German dictionary,
_Grammatisch-kritisches Woerterbuch der hochdeutschen Mundart_ (Leipzig,
1774-86), and his _Mithridates_, a work on general philology. In 1787 he
was appointed librarian of the public library in Dresden--an office which
he held till his death.
A'DEN, a seaport town and territory belonging to Britain, on the south-west
coast of Arabia, in a dry and barren district, the town being almost
entirely closed in by an amphitheatre of rocks, and possessing an admirable
harbour. Occupying an important military position, Aden is strongly
fortified and permanently garrisoned. It is of importance also as a coaling
station for steamers, and carries on a great amount of commerce, forming an
entrepot and place of transhipment for goods valued at L6,000,000 a year.
Its greatest drawback is the scarcity of fresh water, which is obtained
partly from wells, partly from rock-cisterns that receive the rain, and
partly by condensation from salt water--the only unfailing means of supply.
The peninsula on which it stands somewhat resembles the rock of Gibraltar,
and could be rendered as formidable. Aden was a Roman colony, and in the
Middle Ages it was a great entrepot of the Eastern trade. It was acquired
by Britain in 1839, after which it was attacked repeatedly by the Arabs.
With the additional territory latterly acquired, the total British area is
75 sq. miles (or with the island of Perim, 80); while a large tract is
under British influence. Aden is attached to the Bombay Presidency. Pop.
46,165.
ADENANTHE'RA, a genus of trees and shrubs, natives of the East Indies, nat.
ord. Leguminosae. _A. pavon[=i]na_ is one of the largest and handsomest
trees of India, and yields hard solid timber called red sandal-wood. The
bright scarlet seeds, from their equality in weight (each=4 grains), are
used by goldsmiths in the East as weights.
ADENI'TIS (Gr. _ad[=e]n_, a gland), in medicine, inflammation of one or
more of the lymphatic glands.
AD'ENOIDS, small growths often occurring in the back wall of the throat in
children, blocking the nostrils and commonly causing deafness. They can be
removed by a simple operation.
ADERER'. See _Adrar_.
ADERNO', a town of Sicily, 18 miles N.W. of Catania and about 10 miles
W.S.W. of Mount Etna. Pop. 25,000.
ADESSENA'RIAN, one of a sect of Christians which holds that there is a real
presence of Christ in the Eucharist, but denying that it is effected by
transubstantiation.
ADHESION, the tendency of two bodies to stick together when put in close
contact, or the mutual attraction of their surfaces; distinguished from
_cohesion_, which denotes the mutual attraction between the particles of a
homogeneous body. Adhesion may exist between two solids, between a solid
and a fluid, or between two fluids. A plate of glass or of polished metal
laid on the surface of water and attached to one arm of a balance will
support much more than its own weight in the opposite scale from the force
of adhesion between the water and the plate. From the same force arises the
tendency of most liquids, when gently poured from a jar, to run down the
exterior of a vessel or along any other surface they meet.
ADIAN'TUM, a genus of ferns; the maiden-hair fern.
ADIAPH'ORIST (Gr. _adiaphoros_, indifferent), a name given in the sixteenth
century to Melanchthon's party, who held some opinions and ceremonies to be
indifferent which Luther condemned as sinful or heretical.
ADIGE ([:a]'d[=e]-j[=a]), Ger. _Etsch_ (ancient ATH[)E]SIS), a river of
Northern Italy, which rises in the Rhaetian Alps, and after a south and
east course of about 180 miles, during which it passes Verona and Legnago,
falls into the Adriatic, forming a delta connected with that of the Po.
AD'IPOCERE (-s[=e]r) (Lat. _adeps_, fat, and _cera_, wax), a substance of a
light-brown colour formed by animal matter when protected from atmospheric
air, and under certain circumstances of temperature and humidity. It was
first observed by Fourcroy, and a quantity discovered at the Cimetiere des
Innocents, Paris. A similar substance is found in peat-bogs in Wales and
Ireland.
AD'IPOSE TISSUE, the cellular tissue containing the oily or fatty matter of
the body. It underlies the skin, surrounds the large vessels and nerves,
invests the kidneys, &c., and sometimes accumulates in large masses.
ADIRON'DACK MOUNTAINS, in the United States, a group belonging to the
Appalachian chain, extending from the N.E. corner of the State of New York
to near its centre. The scenery is wild and grand, diversified by numerous
beautiful lakes, and the whole region is a favourite resort of sportsmen
and tourists.
AD'IT, a more or less horizontal opening, giving access to the shaft of a
mine. It is made to slope gradually from the farthest point in the interior
to the mouth, and by means of it the principal drainage is usually carried
on. See _Mine_.
AD'JECTIVE, in grammar, a word used to denote some quality in the noun or
substantive to which it is accessory. The adjective is indeclinable in
English (but has _degrees_ of comparison), and generally precedes the noun,
while in most other European languages it follows the inflections of the
substantive, and is more commonly placed after it, though in German it
precedes it, as in English.
ADJUDICA'TION, in English law, is the decree of the court in bankruptcy
declaring a person bankrupt.
ADJUST'MENT, in marine insurance, is the settling of the amount of the loss
which the insurer is entitled under a particular policy to recover, and if
the policy is subscribed by more than one underwriter, of the amounts which
the underwriters respectively are liable to pay.
AD'JUTANT, an officer appointed to each regiment or battalion, whose duty
is to assist the commander. He is charged with instruction in drill, and
all the interior discipline, duties, and efficiency of the corps. He has
the charge of all documents and correspondence, and is the channel of
communication for all orders.
[Illustration: Adjutant-bird (_Leptopt[)i]lus arg[)a]la_)]
ADJUTANT-BIRD (_Leptopt[)i]lus arg[)a]la_), a large grallatorial or wading
bird of the stork family, native of the warmer parts of India, where it is
known as Hurg[)i]la or Arg[)a]la. It stands about five feet high, has an
enormous bill, nearly bare head and neck, and a pouch hanging from the
under part of the neck. It is one of the most voracious carnivorous birds
known, and in India, from its devouring all sorts of carrion and noxious
animals, is protected by law. From underneath the wings are obtained those
light downy feathers known as _marabou_ feathers, from the name of an
allied species of bird (_L. marabou_) inhabiting Western Africa, and also
producing them.
ADJUTANT-GENERAL, in Great Britain the second military member of the Army
Council, and styled Adjutant-general to the Forces. He is a general
officer, and at the head of his department at the War Office, which is
charged with all duties relative to personnel.--Among the Jesuits this name
was given to a select number of fathers, who resided with the general of
the order, and had each a province or country assigned to him.
AD'JUTATORS, in English history, representatives elected by the
parliamentary forces in 1647 to act with the officers in compelling
Parliament to satisfy the demands of the army.
ADLER, Victor, Austrian socialist leader, born in 1852. Educated as a
physician, he gave up his profession for socialist propaganda. He visited
England, and wrote a book on factory inspection in this country. He was the
founder and editor of the _Arbeiter-Zeitung_; was a member of the Lower
Austrian Diet and of the Imperial Council in 1907. His son, Dr. Friedrich
Adler, assassinated Count Stuergkh, the Austrian premier, on 20th Oct.,
1916. He died in 1918.
AD'LINGTON, a straggling place in Lancashire to the south-east of Chorley,
engaged in the cotton manufacture. Pop. (1921), 4393.
ADME'TUS, in Greek mythology, King of Pherae, in Thessaly, and husband of
Alcestis, who gave signal proof of her attachment by consenting to die in
order to prolong her husband's life. See _Alcestis_.
ADMINISTRA'TION, in politics, the executive power or body, the ministry or
cabinet.
ADMIN'ISTRATOR, in law, the person to whom the goods of a man dying
intestate are committed by the proper authority, and who is bound to
account for them when required.
AD'MIRAL, the commander-in-chief of a squadron or fleet of ships of war, or
of the entire naval force of a country, or simply a naval officer of the
highest rank. In the British navy admirals are of four ranks--admiral of
the fleet, admiral, vice-admiral, and rear-admiral. They were also divided
formerly into three classes, named after the colours of their respective
flags, admirals of the _red_, of the _white_, and of the _blue_. In 1864,
however, this distinction was given up, and now there is one flag common to
all ships of war, namely, the white ensign divided into four quarters by
the cross of St. George, and having the union in the upper corner next the
staff.--The title _admiral of the fleet_ is conferred on a few admirals,
and carries an increase of pay along with it.--A _vice-admiral_ is next in
rank and command to the admiral: he carries his flag at the
foretop-gallant-mast head, while an admiral carries his at the main. A
_rear-admiral_, next in rank to the vice-admiral, carries his flag at the
mizzentop-gallant-mast head.--_Lord high admiral_, in Great Britain, an
officer who (when this rare dignity is conferred) is at the head of the
naval administration of Great Britain. There have been few high admirals
since 1632, when the office was first put in commission. James Duke of York
(afterwards James II) held it for several years during Charles II's reign.
In the reign of William and Mary it was vested in lords commissioners of
the admiralty, and since that time it has been held for short periods only
by Prince George of Denmark (1702-8) in the time of Queen Anne, and by
William IV, then Duke of Clarence, in 1827-8.
AD'MIRALTY, that department of the Government of a country that is at the
head of its naval service. In Britain the board of Admiralty now consists
of the First Lord of the Admiralty and seven other commissioners, four of
them being Sea Lords, and one a Civil Lord. The First Lord is always a
member of the cabinet, and it is he who principally exercises the powers of
the department. Under the 1912 Admiralty Organization Scheme, the various
members of the board are responsible for special business. Several changes
in Admiralty organization were made during the European War, but after the
cessation of hostilities the system reverted to that of peace time.
ADMIRALTY CHARTS are charts issued by the hydrographic department of the
Admiralty of Britain; they are prepared by specially appointed surveyors
and draughtsmen, and besides being supplied to every ship in the fleet, are
sold to the general public at prices much less than their cost. In
connection with these charts there are published books of sailing
directions, lists of lights, &c. The navigating charts are generally on the
scale of half an inch to a mile, and show all the dangers of the coasts
with sufficient distinctness to enable the seamen to avoid them; the charts
of larger size exhibit all the intricacies of the coast.
ADMIRALTY COURT, a court which takes cognizance of civil and criminal
causes of a maritime nature, including captures made in war, and offences
committed on the high seas, and has to do with many matters connected with
maritime affairs. In England the Admiralty Court was once held before the
Lord High Admiral, and at a later period was presided over by his deputy or
the deputy of the Lords Commissioners. It now forms a branch of the
Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty division of the High Court of Justice.
There is a separate Irish Admiralty Court. In Scotland Admiralty cases are
now prosecuted in the Court of Session, or in the Sheriff Court. In the
United States, Admiralty cases are taken up in the first instance by the
district courts.
ADMIRALTY ISLAND, an island belonging to the United States off the
north-west coast of North America, 80 or 90 miles long and about 20 broad,
covered with fine timber and inhabited by Sitka Indians.
ADMIRALTY ISLANDS, a cluster of 40 islands, north of New Guinea, in what
was once called the Bismarck Archipelago. Discovered by the Dutch explorer
Shouten in 1616, they were in German possession from 1884 to 12th Sept.,
1914, when they were occupied by an Australian force. They have since been
in British occupation. The largest is about 60 miles in length; the rest
are much smaller. They are covered with a luxuriant vegetation, and possess
dense groves of coco-nut trees. There are valuable pearl and other shell
fisheries. Capital, Lorengau. Pop. (native), 4000; (European), 50.
[Illustration: Stipule adnated to Leaf-stalk of Rose]
AD'NATE, in botany, applied to a part growing attached to another and
principal part by its whole length, as stipules adnated to the leaf-stalk.
ADOBE ([.a]-d[=o]'b[=a]), the Spanish name for a brick made of loamy earth,
containing about two-thirds fine sand and one-third clayey dust, sun-dried;
in common use for building in Mexico, Texas, and Central America. Building
material in ancient Egypt and Assyria was adobe.
ADOL'PHUS, John, 1768-1845, an able English criminal lawyer, and author of
the _History of England from the Accession of George III_ and _Biographical
Memoirs of the French Revolution_.
ADOLPHUS OF NASSAU, elected Emperor of Germany, 1292. In 1298 the college
of electors transferred the crown to Albert of Austria, but, Adolphus
refusing to abdicate, a war ensued in which he fell, after a heroic
resistance, 2nd July, 1298.
ADONAI (ad'o-n[=i]), a name bestowed upon God in the Old Testament. See
_Jehovah_.
ADO'NI, a town and district in Madras; pop. of former 30,416, of latter
179,418. It is well known for excellent silk and cotton fabrics.
ADO'NIS, son of Myrrha, a mythological personage, originally a deity of the
Phoenicians, but borrowed into Greek mythology. He was represented as being
a great favourite of Aphrodit[=e] (Venus), who accompanied him when engaged
in hunting, of which he was very fond. He received a mortal wound from the
tusk of a wild boar, and when the goddess hurried to his assistance she
found him lifeless, whereupon she caused his blood to give rise to the
anemone. The worship of Adonis, which arose in Phoenicia, was afterwards
widely spread round the Mediterranean. He is the reproductive principle,
nature's decay in winter and its revival in spring. The name Adonis is akin
to the Heb. _Adonai_, Lord. See _Tammuz_.
ADO'NIS, a small river rising in Lebanon and flowing to the Mediterranean.
When in flood it is tinged with a red colour, and so is connected with the
legend of Adonis.
ADO'NIS, a genus of ranunculaceous plants. In the corn-adonis or pheasant's
eye (_A. autumn[=a]lis_) the petals are bright scarlet like the blood of
Adonis, from which the plant is fabled to have sprung.
ADOPTIANISM, the theory according to which Christ as a man is the adopted
Son of God. Elipandus, Archbishop of Toledo, and Felix, Bishop of Urgella,
asserted this double sonship in Christ, maintaining that He was indeed the
Son of God in His divine nature, but as man He was the Son of God only by
grace and adoption. 'The Man Christ' is therefore only the adopted and not
the natural Son of God. The doctrine was vigorously opposed by Alcuin, and
condemned by the councils of Ratisbon (792) and Frankfort (794). The
theory, however, found advocates during the Middle Ages, and has given rise
to theological disputes in modern times. Adoptianism was attributed both to
Abelard and Duns Scotus.
ADOP'TION, the admission of a stranger by birth to the privileges of a
child. Among the ancient Greeks and Romans, and also some modern nations,
adoption is placed under legal regulation. In Rome the effect of adoption
was to create the legal relation of father and son, just as if the person
adopted was born of the blood of the adopter in lawful marriage. The
adopted son took the name of his adopter, and was bound to perform his new
father's religious duties. Adoption is not recognized by the law of England
and Scotland; there are legal means to enable a person to assume the name
and arms, and to inherit the property of another. In some of the United
States adoption is regulated by laws not very dissimilar to those which
prevailed among the Romans.
ADOUR ([.a]-d[:o]r), a river of France, rising in the Hautes Pyrenees, and
falling into the sea a little below Bayonne; length about 200 miles; partly
navigable.
ADO'WA, a town of Abyssinia, in Tigre, at an elevation of 6270 feet; the
chief commercial depot on the caravan route from Massawa to Gondar. Pop.
about 4000. Here the Italians suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of
the Abyssinians, 1st March, 1896.
ADRA ([:a]'_d_r[.a]), a seaport of Southern Spain, in Andalusia, near the
mouth of the Adra, on the Mediterranean; with marble quarries and lead
works. Pop. 9000.
ADRAMIT'TI (ancient ADRAMYTTIUM; Turk. _Edremid_), a town of Turkey in
Asia, near the head of the gulf of the same name, 80 miles north of Smyrna.
Pop. about 5000.
ADRAR', a district in the Western Sahara, peopled by Berbers possessing
camels, sheep, and oxen, and cultivating dates, wheat, barley, and melons.
Chief towns, Wadan and Shingit, which has inexhaustible beds of rock-salt.
ADREN'ALIN, or SUPRARENIN, a crystalline substance obtained from the
adrenals or suprarenal capsules of cattle and sheep, which possesses the
property of checking bleeding by its styptic or contractive powers, and is
used in medical practice, more especially in the case of bleeding at the
nose and nervous catarrh.
ADRIA ([:a]'dri-[.a]), a cathedral city of Northern Italy, province of
Rovigo, between the Po and the Adige, on the site of the ancient town of
same name, whence the Adriatic derives its appellation. Owing to alluvial
deposits the sea is now 17 miles distant. Pop. 11,878.
A'DRIAN, the name of six Popes. The first, a Roman, ruled from 772-795; a
contemporary and friend of Charlemagne. He expended vast sums in rebuilding
the walls and restoring the aqueducts of Rome.--ADRIAN II, a Roman, was
elected Pope in 867, at the age of seventy-five years. He died in 872, in
the midst of conflicts with the Greek Church.--ADRIAN III, a Roman, elected
884, was Pope for one year and four months only. He was the first Pope who
changed his name on the occasion of his exaltation.--ADRIAN IV, originally
named NICOLAS BREAKSPEAR, the only Englishman who ever occupied the papal
chair, was born about 1100, and died 1159. He is said to have been a native
of Hertfordshire, studied in France, and became abbot of St. Rufus in
Provence, cardinal and legate to Norway. Chosen Pope in 1154, his reign is
chiefly remarkable for his almost constant struggle for supremacy with
Frederick Barbarossa, who on one occasion had been forced to hold his
stirrup, and had been crowned by him at Rome (1155). He issued the famous
bull (1158) granting the sovereignty of Ireland, on condition of the
payment of Peter's pence, to Henry II.--ADRIAN V, previously called
OTTOBUONO FIESCHI, of Genoa, settled, as legate of the Pope, the dispute
between King Henry III of England and his nobles, in favour of the former;
but died a month after his election to the papal chair (1276).--ADRIAN VI
(the last pontifice barbaro), born at Utrecht in 1459, was elected to the
papal chair, 9th Jan., 1522. He tried to reform abuses in the Church, but
opposed the zeal of Luther with reproaches and threats, and even attempted
to excite Erasmus and Zuinglius against him. Died 1523, after a reign of
one year and a half.
A'DRIAN, a town of the United States, in Michigan, 70 miles W.S.W. of
Detroit. Its extensive water-power is employed in works of various kinds.
Pop. 9654.
A'DRIAN, Publius Aelius Hadrianus. See _Hadrian_.
ADRIANO'PLE (Turk. _Edreneh_), an important city in the Balkans, about 135
miles W.N.W. from Constantinople, on the Maritza (ancient _Hebrus_), at its
junction with the Tundja and the Arda. It has a great mosque, among the
most magnificent in the world; a palace, now in a state of decay; a grand
aqueduct, and a splendid bazaar; manufacture
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