Algiers
Algiers' (arabic, Al-jezira, The Island), The Capital Of Algeria, Was Built About 935 A.d. By An Arab Chief. It Rises From The Sea-shore Up The Sides Of A Precipitous Hill In The Form Of An Equilateral Triangle. The Apex Is Formed By The Casbah, The Ancient Fortress Of The Deys, ...
Ali Pasha
Ali Pasha, One Of The Most Ferocious And Unscrupulous Men That Even The East Has Produced, Was Descended From An Albanian Pasha, Who Perished At The Siege Of Corfu In 1716. He Was B. At Tepelen, A Small Place At The Foot Of The Klissoura Mountains, In Albania, In 1741. ...
Alibaud
Alibaud, Louis, Notorious For His Attempt To Murder King Louis-philippe, Was, At The Revolution Of July, Quarter-master In The 15th Regiment Of The Line. Having Been Degraded Subsequently For An Accidental Brawl In The Streets Of Strasbourg, He Demanded His Discharge In 1834, And Went To Live At Perpignan, And ...
Alien
A'lien (ante). In The United States, An A. Is A Person Born Out Of The National Jurisdiction Of The Country, Who Has Not Been Made A Citizen According To Law. Chil Dren Of U. S. Ministers, Born Abroad, Are Citizens ; So Are Children Born Abroad Whose Father Has Been ...
Aliitym
Aliitym, A Genus Of Plants Of The Natural Order Liliaceo3 (q.v.) Containing A Large Number Of Species, Perennial—more Rarely Biennial—herbaceous Plants, More Or Less Decidedly Bulbous-rooted, Natives Chiefly Of The Temperate And Colder Regions Of The Northern Hemisphere. The Flowers Are Umbellate, Inclosed In A Spathe, And The Umbel Often ...
Aliquot Part
Aliquot Part. One Quantity Or Number Is Said To Be An A. P. Of Another, When It Is Contained In This Other An Exact Number Of Times Without Remainder. Thus 2, 24, 4, And 5 Are A. Parts Of 20, Being Contained In It 10, 8, 5, And 4 Times. ...
Alison
Al'ison, Sir Archibald, Bart., B. At Kenley, Shropshire, In 1792, Was The Younger Son Of The Rev. Archibald A.. Author Of The Essays On The Nature And Principles Of Taste. Ills Mother Was D3rothea Gregory, Daughter Of Dr. John Gregory Of Edinburgh. In 1800, His Father Removed To The Scottish ...
Alkalimeter
Alkalim'eter. Commercial Potash And Soda Always Contain Greater Or Less Quan Tities Of Foreign Substances, Such As Sulphate Of Potash, Common Salt, Silicates, Oxide Of Iron, Water, Etc., Which Diminish The Percentage Of Real Alkali In A Given Weight. It Is Important, Then, For The Manufacturer To Have Some Simple ...
Alkaloids
Alkaloids Form An Important Class Of Substances Discovered By Modern Chemistry. They Are Divided Into Two Classes—namely, Natural And Artificial. The Natural A. Are Found In Plants And Animals, And Are Often Designated Organic Bases. Those Obtained From Plants Are Likewise Called They Are Composed Essentially Of Carbon, Hydrogen, And ...
All Souls Day
All-souls'-day, A Festival Of The Roman Catholic Church, Which Falls On The 2d Of Nov. The Object Of It Is By Prayers And Almsgiving To Alleviate The Sufferings Of The Souls In Purgatory. It Was First Instituted In The Monastery Of Clugny, 993, And The Following Is The Account Given ...
Alla Breve
Al'la Breve. In Old Music, The Breve, As The Longest Note, Was Equivalent To Our Semi-breve, The Longest Note Commonly Used In Modern Music. Consequently, The Minims Anciently Used Were Equivalent To Our Crotchets. Music Written With Four Minims In A Bar Is Signed Alla Breve, Which Implies That The ...
Allahabad
Al'lahabad (" City Of God "), The Seat Of The Government Of The N.w. Provinces Of British India, Occupies The Fork Of The Ganges And Juin Na, Lat. 25° 20' N., Long. 81* 85' E., Thus Forming The Lowest Extremity Of The Extensive Region Which, As Lying Between Those Natural ...
Allan
Allan, Sir William, A Distinguished Scottish Historical Painter, Was B. In Edin Burgh In 1782. He Was Educated At The High School; And Having Early Displayed A Taste For Drawing, Was Entered As A Pupil In The School Of Design Connected With The Royal Institution, With The Intention Of Becoming ...
Allegiance
Allegiance. In 1792 And 1793, In Consequence Of The Influx Of Foreigners Caused By The French Revolution, Several Acts Of Parliament Were Passed, Which Are Known By The Name Of The Alien Acts. The Object Of These Acts Was Expressly To Confer On The Crown The Power Of Banishing Aliens ...
Allegiance_2
Allegiance (fr. Allegeance, From Lat. Alligo Or Ad-ligo, To Bind To, Or Attach), "a." Says Blackstone, "is The Tie Or Ligamcn Which Hinds The Subject To The Sovereign, In Re Turn For That Protection Which The Sovereign Affords The Subject. A. Is The Highest Legal Duty Of The Subject, And ...
Allegiance_3
Allegiance (ante). It Is But Recently That Foreign Governments Have Come To Recognize The Right Of Persons To Change Their Allegiance As Well As Their Residence. The United States Always Held It To Be A Natural Right, And Our Legislation So Recognizes It. The Difference Was Strikingly Manifest In The ...
Allegorical Interpretation
Allegorical Interpretation Is That Kind Of Interpretation By Which The Literal Significance Of A Passage Is Either Transcended Or Set Aside, And A More Spiritual And Pro Found Meaning Elicited Than Is Contained In The Form Or Letter. The Common Idea Is That It Originated With The Alexandrine School, But ...
Alligator
Alligator, A Genus Of Saurian Reptiles, Of The Family Of The Crocodilidee, And Still Regarded By Some Naturalists As A Mere Sub-genus Of Crocodilus; Although It Has Recently Been Proposed To Constitute A Family Or Sub-family Of Alligatoridce, And To Divide It Into The Genera Jaeare, Alligator, And Caiman. The ...
Alliteration
Allitera'tion Is The Frequent Occurrence In A Composition Of Words Beginning With The Same Letter. Iu Old German, Anglo-saxon, And Scandinavian Poetry, A Took The Place Of Rhyme. This Kind Of Verse, In Its Strict Form, Required That In The Two Short Lines Forming A Couplet, Three Words Should Begin ...
Allotment Of Land
Allotment Of Land, Although Not A Technical, Is A Well-understood Expression In The Law Of England; And Under The General Inclosure Act (41 Geo. Iii., C. 109), Is Used To Denote The Kind Of Conveyance Or 'distribution Directed To Be Made To The Person Or Persons Who At The Time ...
Allotropy
Allotropy Is The Term Applied In Chemistry To The Existence Of The Same Element In Various Forms, Each Of Which, Though Containing No Extraneous Substance, Possesses Dif Ferent Properties From The Others. The Various Conditions In Which A Single Element Can Be Obtained Are Known As Its Allotropic Modifications, And ...
Allowances
Allowances, Officers'. In The British Army—and To Various Degrees In The Armies Of Other Countries—military Officers, Besides Their Recognized Pay, Receive Certain A. For Special Duties, Or When Placed Under Exceptional Circumstances. Without Detail Ing The Actual Amount Of These A., It May Be Well To Enumerate The Principal Modes ...
Alloy
Alloy' (in Chemistry) Is A Mixture Of Two Or More Metals, Either Natural,or Produced Artificially By Melting Them Together. The A., Or Mixture, Has Often Different Properties From The Component Metals, And Bears A Distinct Name. Thus, Bell-metal Is An A. Of Copper And Tin; Tombak, Of Copper And Zinc; ...
Alma Mater
Alma Ma'ter (lat., Nourishing Mother) Is A Name Given To A University In Relation To Those Who Have Studied At It, To Distinguish It From Inferior Schools Of Learning. The Word Alma (nourishing, Sustaining, Or Kind) Was Applied By The Latin Authors To Such Of The Deities As Were Friendly ...
Almanac
Almanac, From The Arabic Article Al, And Manah, To Count, A Word Received By The European Nations From Tire East, Denoting A Book Or Table Containing A Calendar Of The Civil Divisions Of The Year, The Times Of The Various Astronomical Phenomena, And Other Useful Or Entertaining Information. Till A ...
Almansg
Almansg, A T. Of Murcia, Spain, In The Province Of Albacete, And 43 M. E. By S. From Albacete, On The Madrid And Alicante Railway. It Is Situated In A Wide Plain, And Is Tolerably Well Built, And Rather Flourishing. The Vega, Or Plain Around The T. Is Irrigated By ...
Alnwick
Aln'wick (t. Upon The Alne), The Co. T. Of Northumberland, Is Situated In Lat. 55° 25' N., Long. 1° 42' W., And Is Distant About 34 In. From Newcastle. The Streets Are Broad, Well Paved, And Well Lighted, The Houses Modern, Built Of Stone, And In Some Instances Handsome. A ...
Aloes
Aloes Is A Drug Of Great Antiquity, For We Find Dioscorides (50 A.d.) Making Mention Of Aloe As A Substance Obtained From A Plant, And Possessing Cathartic Properties. The Feat Demand For A. In Britain Has Led To Its Importation From Numerous Sources, Includ Ing Bombay, Arabia, Socotra, Madagascar, The ...
Aloes Wood
Aloes Wood (called Also Agila Wood, Eagle Wood, Or Agallocbum) Is The Inner Part Of Of The Trunk Of Aquilaria Mita And A. Agallochum, Trees Of The Natural Order Aquilarkeem (q.v.), Natives Of The Tropical Parts Of Asia, And Supposed To Be The Aloes Or Lien Aloes Of The Bible. ...
Aloysia
Aloy'sia, A Genus Of Plants Of The Natural Order Rerbenacem (q.v.), To Which Belongs A Shrub, A. Citriodora, Much Cultivated In Greenhouses And Apartments In Britain For The Grateful Fragrance Its Leaves Emit When Slightly Bruised. It Is Frequently To Be Seen In The Windows Of Cottagers, And Is By ...
Alpes
Alpes Is The Name Of Two Departments In France, The Basses-alpes (or Lower Alps) And The 'mutes-alpes (or Upper Alps). The Department Of The Basses-alpes Occupies The N.e. Part Of Provence, And Includes An Area Of 2680 Sq.m. It Is, For The Most Part, Mountainous, Consisting Of Spurs Or Offshoots ...
Alpes Maritimes
Alpes Maritimes, A Dep. Of France, In The Extreme S.e., On The Shores Of The Medi Terranean And Confines Of Italy, Formed In 1860, Of The Ancient Co. Of Nice, Then Ceded To France, And Formerly Belonging To The Kingdom Of Sardinia, And Of The Arrondissement Of Grasse, Detached From ...
Alphabet
Alphabet. The A. Of Any Language Is The Series Of Letters, Arranged In A Fixed Order, With Which That Language Is Written. Picture-writing Was Doubtless The Earliest Method Invented Of Conveying Thought Through The Eye. The Idea Of An Ox Was Readily Expressed By A Sketch Of The Animal, -or, ...
Alpheius
Alphe'ius (now Rufea, Rufla, Or Rofiii) Is The Chief River Of Peloponnesus (mores), Rising In The S.e. Of Arcadia. And Flowing W. Through Elis, And Past The Famous Olympia, Into The Ionic Sea. This River Is One Of The Most Celebrated In Ancient Song, And Is Con Nected With A ...
Alpine Husbandry
Alpine Husbandry. The Characteristic Feature Of. A. Farming Is, That The Prepa Ration Of Fodder Is The Chief Object, And The Cultivation Of Grain Only Secondary. In The Less Elevated Regions Bprdering On The Flat Country, It Is The Practice To Break Up The Grass From Time To Time, And ...
Alpine Plants
Alpine Plants. This Appellation Is Given Not Only To Those Plants Which Are Found At Elevations Approaching The Limit Of Perpetual Snow In The Alps Of Central Europe, But Also To Plants Belonging To Other Mountainous Regions In Any Part Of The World, Whose Natural Place Of Growth Is Near ...
Alps
Alps, The Most Extensive System Of Lofty Mountains In Europe, Raise Their Giant Masses On A Basis Of 90,000 Sq.m., Between 6° 40' And 18° E. Long., And Extending In Some Places From The 44th To The 48th Parallel Of Latitude. The Word Alp Or Alb, Signifying In The Celtic ...
Altai
Altai' (i.e., Gold Mountain) Is The • Term Vaguely Applied To The High Range In The 0. Of Asia, Forming The Northern Border Of That Vast Table-land Known By The Name Of 'chinese Tartary, And Extending From 80' To 142'e. Long. The A. Mountains Constitute The Boundary Between The Russian ...
Altai Mountains
Altai' Mountains. Since The Article Altai Was Originally Written, The Explora Tions Of Russian Surveyors Have Led To A More Definite Knowledge Of The Form And Limits Of This Important Range. Now Described As A Separate System, One Of The Four Parallel Chains Which Constitute The Skeleton Of Eastern High ...
Altar
Altar (lat. Altare, From Altua, High), The Place Whereon Offerings Were Laid Both By Jews And Heathens. The First On Record Is That Which Noah Built On Leaving The Ark. The Israelites, After The Giving Of The Law, Were Commanded To Make One. We Find, From The Old Testament (1 ...
Alteratives
Alteratives, In Medicine, A Term Applied To Remedies That Have The Power Of Changing The State Of The Living Solids Of The Body, And Consequently Altering The Func Tions Which They Perform. It Is Generally Applied, However, To Medicines Which Are Irritant In Full Doses, But Which Almost Imperceptibly Alter ...
Altorf
Al'torf, The Chief T. In The Swiss Canton Uri, Is Situated In A Sheltered Spot At The Base Of The Grunberg, About 2 M. From The Head Of The Lake Of The Four Cantons, And Contains (1s70) 2724 Inhabitants. It Is A Well-built Town, Having Several Open Places, A Church, ...
Alum
Alum, A Whitish, Astringent, Saline Substance; Properly It Is A Double Salt, Being Com Posed Of Sulphate Of Potash And Sulphate Of Alumina, Which, Along With A Certain Pro Portion Of Water, Crystallize Together In Octahedrons Or In Cubes. Its Formula Is A. Is Soluble In 18 Times Its Weight ...
Alum_2
Alum A Fort Rendered Famous, During The Battles And Sieges Arising Out Of The Indian Mutiny In 1857, By The Indomitable Resolution Of Its Defenders. The A. B. ("garden Of The Lady Alum, Or Beauty Of The Soul") Was A Domain About 4 Tn. From The City Of Lucknow, Near ...
Alumina
Alumina, The Most Abundant Of The Earths (q.v.), Is The Oxide Of The Metal Alumin Ium (q.v.), The Formula Being It Occurs In Nature Abundantly In Combination With Silica, Associated With Other Bases. The Most Familiar Of Its Native Compounds Is Felspar, A Silicate Of A., And Potass This Is ...
Am Adou
Am Adou, A Name Given To Polyporus Igniarius And P. Fomentarius, Fungi Of The Tribe Or Division Hymenomycetes, And Formerly Included In The Genus Boletus. They Grow Upon Old Trees In Britain, And On The Continent Of Europe. The Pileus Is Completely Blended With The Hymenium, Which Is Pierced With ...
Am Ides
Am Ides Are A Group Of Organic Compounds, Derived, Under Certain Conditions, From Ammonia Or Niiiiii), By The Exchange Of One Or More Atoms Of Hydrogen For A Corresponding Number Of Atoms Of A Metal. Or A Compound Radical. The First Of These Compounds That Was Discovered Was That In ...
Amadeus
Amade'us (i.e., Love-god), A Common Name In The House Of Savoy. The First Who Bore It Was Count A., Eldest Son Of Count Humbert, Who Lived About The Commencement Of The 11th Century. His Successors Gradually Enlarged Their Paternal Dominions; But The First To Make An Important Figure In History ...
Amalgam
Amalgam Is The Term Applied To That Class Of Alloys (q.v.) In Which One Of The Com Bining Metals Is Mercury. On The Nature Of The Union, It Has Been Observed That "on Adding Successive Small Quantities Of Silver To Mercury, A Great Variety Of Fluid Amalgams Are Apparently Produced; ...
Amanita
Amani'ta, A Genus Of Fungi, Nearly Allied To Agarievs, But Bursting From A Zolva. A. I Muscarza, Which Is Pretty Common In Woods, Especially Of Fir And Beech, In Britain, Is One Of The Most Dangerous Fungi. It Is Sometimes Called Ply Agar1c, Being Used In Sweden And Other Countries ...
Amaurosis
Amauro'sis (gr. Anzauros, Obscure) Is A Blindness Or Obscurity Of Vision Caused Byl Disease Of The Optic Nerve, And This Cause May Be Situated Either At The Origin Of The Nerve In The Brain, In Some Part Of Its Course, Or At Its Termination In The Retina ; And Of ...
Amazones Amazons
Amazons, Amazo'nes. According To A Very Ancient Tradition, The A. Were A Nation Of Women, Who Suffered No Men To Remain Among Them, But Marched To Battle Under The Command Of Their Queen, And Formed For A Long Time A Formidable State. They Held Occasional Intercourse With The Men Of ...
Ambala
Ambala, A City In India, Capital Of The District Of A., 30° 24' N., 76° 49' E.; An Im Portant Station On The Scinde, Punjab, And Delhi Railway. It Is A Large Walled Town In A Level And Well Cultivated Country. The Pop. Is 50,662, Including The English Military Station ...
Amber
Amber, A Substance Analogous To The Vegetable Resins, And, In All Probability, Derived From An Extinct Coniferous Tree, Although Now Appearing, Like Coal, In Connection With Beds Of Which It Is Usually Found, As A Product Of The Mineral Kingdom. It Is Usually Of A Pale-yellow Color, Sometimes Reddish Or ...
Amen
Amen', A Hebrew Word Of Asseveration, Is Equivocal To "yea," "truly," And Has Been Commonly Adopted In The Forms Of Christian Worship. In Jewish Synagogues, The A. Is Pronounced By The Congregation At The Conclusion Of The Benediction Given At Parting: Among The Early Christians, The Prayer Offered By The ...
Ameri Go Vespijoci
Ameri Go Vespijo'ci, A- Naval Astronomer, From Whom America Aecidentallyreeeived Its Name, Was B. At Florence, Mar. 9, 1451. His Father Was A Notary. The Education Of A. Was Intrusted To His Uncle, Giorgio Antonio Vespucci, A Monk And Apparently A Man Of Superior Enlightenment. The Youth Made But Indifferent ...
America
America, 13itursir. From The Small Beginnings Specified In The General Article Above, British A., In The Proper Sense Of The Words, Is Now, In Mere Extent, At Least Equal To The American Republic, And Vastly Superior To Any Other State In The Western Hemis Phere—occupying, As It Does, A Breadth ...
America
Amer'ica, One Of The Four Quarters Of The Globe; Being Smaller Than Asia, But Larger, Perhaps, Than Both Europe And Africa Taken Together. It Is The Only One Of The Four Main Divisions Of The Land That Is Washed By All The Four Great Oceans--the Northern, The Atlantic, The Southern,hnd ...
American Institute Of Architects
Architects, American Institute Of. An Attempt Was Made Among Leading Architects To Organize This Institution About 1836, And Again In 1857, But It Was Not Estab Lished On A Permanent Footing Until 1867. The Office And Library Are In Trinity Build Ing, New York, And It Has Chapters In Many ...
American Journalism
American Journalism Is Too Important To• Be Passed Over Without Especial Notice. If In England The Press Can Claim To Be " The Fourth Estate," It Is At. Least Second In Point Of Power And Influence In The United States, Where The Only Superior Power Is The People Themselves. There ...
American Literature
American Literature. That The Earliest Literature Of The Part Of America Now Comprising The United States Should Be Distinctly English Was Inevitable. This Was The Case Until Near The Close Of The 17th C., When The Vigorous And Prolific Increase Mather Came Before The World With His Theological Works, Numbering ...
American Wines
American Wines Are Now An Important And Rapidly Increasing Product. When The Northmen From Iceland And Greenland Visited The Coast Of Massachusetts And Rhode Island, Between 995 And 1000 A.d., One Of Their Sailors Was A German, Named Tyrker. One Day He Came From A Stroll In The Woods In ...
Americanisms
Americanisms Are Words And Phrases Current In The United States Of America, And Not Current In England. These Peculiarities Arc Much More Prominent In Con Versa Sation Than In Writing; Indeed, In The American Writers That Arc Usually Considered Classical, It Is Difficult To Detect Anything Of The Kind. The ...
Americanisms
Americanisms (ante). This Term Can No Longer Be Used As A Reproach. It Must Be Taken As Indicative Merely Of The Usage Of The English Language In A New English-speaking Nation, With No Reference To The Question As To The Propriety And Worthiness Of The New Usage. While Many A. ...
Ammonia
Ammonia, Harcrsnowx, Or The Volatile Alkali, Was One Of The Few Substances Known To The Chemistry Of The Ancients; Being Referred To By Pliny Under The Name Of Vehement Odor, Which He Evolved By Mixing Lime With Nitrum (probably Sal Ammoniac). It Derives Its Name A. From Its Being Obtained ...