It is computed by the Agricultural Committee, that the cultivation of waste lands
would yield to the nation an income of above 20,000,000l. a-year. In the Report
on the inquiry into the state of the Irish poor, the commissioners remark, that while
in Great Britain the agricultural families constitute little more than a fourth, in
Ireland they constitute about two-thirds of the whole population; that there were,
in 1831, 1,055,982 agricultural labourers in Great Britain, and in Ireland 1,131,715;
while the cultivated land of Great Britain amounts to about 34,250,000 acres, and
that of Ireland only to about 14,000,000. There are in Ireland, therefore, about
five agricultural labourers for every two that there are for the same quantity of land
in Great Britain. See Wheat.

AGYNNIANS. This sect arose about A.D. 694, and alleged that God forbade the
eating of flesh, assuming the first chapter of Genesis to be the authority upon which
A revival of this ancient sect now flourishes at Man-
the doctrine was founded.
chester and other towns of England, and has been public there since 1814.
AILESBURY, reduced by the West Saxons in 571. St. O'Syth, beheaded by the
William the Conqueror invested his
Pagans in Essex, was buried here, A.D. 600.
favourites with some of its lands, under the tenure of providing " straw for his bed-
chamber; three eels for his use in winter; and in summer, straw, rushes, and two
green geese, thrice every year." Incorporated by charter in 1553.

AIR. Anaximenes of Miletus declared air to be a self-existent deity, and the first cause
The pressure of air was discovered by Torricelli,
of everything created, 530 B.C.
A.D. 1645. It was found to vary with the height by Pascal, in 1647. Halley,
Newton, and others, up to the present time, have illustrated the agency and influences
of this great power by various experiments, and numerous inventions have followed
from them; among others, the air-gun by Guter of Nuremberg in 1656; the air-
pump, invented by Otho Guericke at Magdeburg in 1650, and improved by the
illustrious Boyle in 1657; and the air-pipe, invented by Mr. Sutton, a brewer of
London, about 1756. See Balloon.

AIX-LA-CHAPELLE, PEACE OF. The first treaty of peace signed here, was between
France and Spain, when France yielded Franche-Comté, but retained her conquests
in the Netherlands, May 2, 1668. The second, or celebrated treaty, was between
Great Britain, France, Holland, Hungary, Spain, and Genoa. By this memorable
peace the treaties of Westphalia in 1648, of Nimeguen in 1678 and 1679, of Ryswick
in 1697, of Utrecht in 1713, of Baden in 1714, of the Triple Alliance 1717, of the
Quadruple Alliance in 1718, and of Vienna in 1738, were renewed and confirmed.
Signed on the part of England by John Earl of Sandwich, and Sir Thomas
Robinson, Oct. 7, 1748. A congress of the sovereigns of Austria, Russia, and
Prussia, assisted by ministers from England and France, was held at Aix-la-Chapelle,
and a convention signed, Oct. 9, 1818. The sum then due from France to the
allies, was settled at 265,000,000 of francs.

ALBA. Founded by Ascanius, 1152 B.C., and called Longa, because the city extended along the hill Albanus. This kingdom lasted 487 years, and was governed by a race of kings, the descendants of Æneas, in the order following; but little of their history

is known :

Ascanius, son of Eneas

Sylvius Posthumus

B.C. 1152

Eneas Sylvius

*

Reign of Latinus

Alba reigns

Atys, or Capetus

stream, is drowned, and hence this
. 1143
river is now called the Tiber
1114 | Agrippa

B.C. 895

Romulus

. 864

Aventinus

845

1043

Procas

1038

.808

Numitor

1002

795

.

Reign of Capys

976

Amulius, the brother of Numitor, seizes

the throne.
He is restored by his grandson, Romulus,
who puts Amulius to death
The kingdom is conquered by Tullius
Hostilius, who incorporates it with his
Roman dominions

794

754

. 665

a

When Amulius dethroned his brother, he condemned Ilia, the daughter of Numitor, to
life of celibacy, by obliging her to take the vows and office of a vestal, thereby to
assure his safety in the usurpation. His object was, however, frustrated; violence
was offered to Ilia, and she became the mother of twins, for which Amulius ordered

1

her to be buried alive, and her offspring to be thrown into the Tiber, 770 B.C. But the little bark in which the infants were sent adrift stopped near Mount Aventine, and was brought ashore by Faustulus, the king's chief shepherd, who reared the children as his own, and called them Romulus and Remus. His wife, Acca-Laurentia, was surnamed Lupa; whence arose the fable that Romulus and his brother were suckled by a she-wolf. At sixteen years of age, Romulus avenged the wrongs of Ilia and Numitor, 754 B.C., and the next year founded Rome.-Varro.

ALBAN'S, ST. The name of this town was anciently Verulam; it was once the capital of Britain, and previously to the invasion of Julius Cæsar was the residence of British princes. It takes its present name from St. Alban, who was born here, and who is said to have been the first person who suffered martyrdom for Christianity in Britain. He is hence commonly styled the proto-martyr of this country, and was decapitated during the persecution raised by Diocletian, June 23, A.D. 303. A stately monastery was erected here to his memory by Offa, king of Mercia, in 793. St. Alban's was incorporated by Edward VI. 1552.

ALBAN'S, ST., BATTLES OF. The first, between the houses of York and Lancaster, in which Richard duke of York obtained a victory over Henry VI., of whose army 5000 were slain, while that of the duke of York suffered no material loss, fought May 22, 1455. The second, between the Yorkists under the earl of Warwick, and the Lancastrians, commanded by queen Margaret of Anjou, who conquered: in this battle 2500 of the defeated army perished; fought on Shrove Tuesday, February 2, 1461.

ALBIGENSES. This sect had its origin about A.D. 1160, at Albigeois, in Languedoc, and at Toulouse; they opposed the disciples of the Church of Rome, and professed a hatred of all the corruptions of that religion. Simon de Montfort commanded against them, and at Bezières he and the pope's legate put friends and foes to the sword. At Minerba, he burnt 150 of the Albigenses alive; and at La Vaur, he hanged the governor, and beheaded the chief people, drowning the governor's wife, and murdering other women. They next defeated the court of Toulouse, with the loss of 17,000 men. Simon de Montfort afterwards came to England. See Waldenses. ALBION. The island of Great Britain is said to have been first so called by Julius Cæsar, on account of the chalky cliffs upon its coast, on his invasion of the country, 54 B.C. The Romans conquered it, and held possession about 400 years. On their quitting it, it was successively invaded by the Scots, Picts, and Saxons, who drove the original inhabitants from the plain country, to seek refuge in the steeps and wilds of Cornwall and Wales; the Danes and Normans also settled at various times in England and from a mixture of these nations, the present race of Englishmen is derived. See Britain.-New Albion, district of California, was taken possession of by sir Francis Drake, and so named by him, in 1578; explored by Vancouver in 1792.

ALBUERA, BATTLE OF, between the French, commanded by marshal Soult, and the British and Anglo-Spanish army, commanded by marshal, now lord Beresford, May 16, 1811. After an obstinate and sanguinary engagement, the allies obtained the victory, justly esteemed one of the most brilliant achievements of the Peninsular war. The French loss exceeded 9000 men previously to their retreat. ALCHEMY. This was a pretended branch of chemistry, which effected the transmutation of metals into gold, an alkahest, or universal menstruum, a universal ferment, and other things equally ridiculous. If regard may be had to legend and tradition, alchemy must be as old as the Flood: yet few philosophers, poets, or physicians, from Homer till 400 years after Christ, mention any such thing. Pliny says, the emperor Caligula was the first who prepared natural arsenic, in order to make gold of it, but left it off because the charge exceeded the profit. Others say, the Egyptians had this mystery; which if true, how could it have been lost? The Arabians are said to have invented this mysterious art, wherein they were followed by Ramond Lullius, Paracelsus, and others, who never found anything else but ashes in their furnaces. Another author on the subject is Zosimus, about A.D. 410.-Fab. Bib. Græc. A licence for practising alchemy with all kinds of metals and minerals granted to one Richard Carter, 1476.-Rymer's Fœd. Doctor Price, of Guildford, published an account of his experiments in this way, and pretended to success: he brought his specimens of gold to the king, affirming that they were made by means of a red and

ALC

[15]

white powder; but being a Fellow of the Royal Society, he was required, upon pain
of expulsion, to repeat his experiments before Messrs. Kirwan and Woulfe; but
after some equivocation, he took poison and died, August 1783.

It is the com-
ALCORAN. The book which contains the revelation and credenda of Mahomet: it is
confessedly the standard of the Arabic tongue, and as the Mahometans believe,
inimitable by any human pen; hence they assume its divine origin.
mon opinion of writers, that Mahomet was assisted by Batiras, a Jacobin, Sergius, a
Nestorian monk, and by a learned Jew, in composing this book, most of whose prin-
ciples are the same with those of Arius, Nestorius, Sabellius, and other heresiarchs.
The Mahometans say, that God sent it to their prophet by the Angel Gabriel: it
was written about A. D. 610.-See Koran, Mahometism, Mecca, &c.
At the time of
ALDERMEN. The word is derived from the Saxon Ealdorman, a senior, and among
the Saxons the rank was conferred upon elderly and sage, as well as distinguished
persons, on account of the experience their age had given them.
After the Danes were settled in England, the title
the Heptarchy, aldermen were the governors of provinces or districts, and are so
mentioned up to A. D. 882.
was changed to that of earl, and the Normans introduced that of count, which
though different in its original signification, yet meant the same thing. Henry III.
may be said to have given its basis to this city distinction. In modern British polity,
Present mode
an alderman is a magistrate next in dignity to the mayor. Appointed in London,
where there are twenty-six, in 1242; and in Dublin, where there are twenty-four,
Aldermen made justices of the peace
in 1323. Chosen for life, instead of annually, 17 Richard II. 1394.
of election established 11 George I. 1725.
15 George II. 1741.
ALDERNEY, RACE OF. Through this strait the French made their escape after
their defeat at the battle of La Hogue, by admiral Rooke, in 1692. It is celebrated
for two memorable and fatal occurrences: Henry of Normandy, son of Henry I. of
England, with a vast crowd of young nobility, (as many as 140 youths of the prin-
cipal families of France and Britain,) was overtaken by a storm, and all were lost,
The British man-of-war Victory, of 110 guns and 1100 men, was
also wrecked here, October 8, 1744, when the admiral, sir John Balchan, and all
his crew, perished on the rocks.

in 1119.

ALE AND WINE. They are said to have been invented by Bacchus; the former
where the soil, owing to its quality, would not grow grapes.-Tooke's Pantheon.
Ale was known as a beverage at least 404 B.C. Herodotus ascribes the first discovery
of the art of brewing barley-wine to Isis, the wife of Asyris. The Romans and
Germans very early learned the process of preparing a liquor from corn by means of
Booths were set up in England A.D. 728, when
fermentation, from the Egyptians.-Tacitus. Alehouses are made mention of in
the laws of Ina, king of Wessex.
laws were passed for their regulation. Ale-houses were licensed 1621; and excise
duty on ale and beer was imposed on a system nearly similar to the present, 13
Charles II., 1660. See Beer, Porter.

ALEMANNI, OR ALL MEN, (i. e. men of all nations,) a body of Suevi, defeated by
Caracalla, A.D. 214. On one occasion 300,000 of this warlike people are said to have
been vanquished, in a battle near Milan, by Gallienus, at the head of 10,000 Romans.
Their battles were numerous with the Romans and Gauls. They ultimately sub-
mitted to the Franks.-Gibbon.

men.

ALESSANDRIA, BATTLE OF, between the Austro-Russian army under Suwarrow,
and the French under Moreau, when the latter was defeated with the loss of 4000
The French had possessed themselves of Alessandria the year before, but
they were now driven out, May 17, 1799. It was again delivered up to them after
the battle of Marengo, in 1800.
ALEXANDER, ERA OF, dated from the death of Alexander the Great, November 12,
In the computation of this era, the period of the creation was con-
324 B.C.
sidered to be 5502 years before the birth of Christ, and, in consequence, the year
1 A.D. was equal to 5503. This computation continued to the year 284 A.D., which
was called 5786. In the next year (285 A.D.), which should have been 5787, ten
years were discarded, and the date became 5777. This is still used in the Abys-
The date is reduced to the Christian era by subtracting
sinian era, which see.
5502 until the year 5786, and after that time by subtracting 5492.

ALEXANDRIA, in Egypt, the walls whereof were six miles in circuit, built by Alexander the Great, 332 B.C.; taken by Cæsar, 47 B.C., and the library of the Ptolemies, containing 400,000 valuable works in MS., burnt. Conquered by the Saracens, when the second library, consisting of 700,000 volumes, was totally destroyed by the victors, who heated the water for their baths for six months by burning books instead of wood, by command of the caliph Omar, A.D. 642. This was formerly a place of great trade, all the treasures of the East being deposited here before the discovery of the route by the Cape of Good Hope. Taken by the French under Bonaparte, when a massacre ensued, July 5, 1798; and from them by the British in the memorable battle mentioned in next article, in 1801. Alexandria was again

taken by the British, under general Frazer, March 21, 1807; but was evacuated by them, Sept. 23, same year. For late events, see Syria and Turkey. ALEXANDRIA, BATTLE OF, between the French, under Menou, who made the attack, and the British army, under sir Ralph Abercrombie, amounting to about 15,000 men, which had but recently debarked, fought March 21, 1801. The British were victorious, but sir Ralph Abercrombie was mortally wounded; and after the retreat of Menou, he was carried to the admiral's ship, and died on the 28th. The command devolved on major-general Hutchinson, who baffled all the schemes of Menou, and obliged him to surrender, Sept. 2 following, the victor guaranteeing the conveyance of the French (whose number exceeded 10,000) to a French port in the Mediterranean.

ALEXANDRINE VERSE. Verse of twelve feet, or syllables, first written by Alexander of Paris, and since called, after him, Alexandrines, about A.D. 1164.— Nouv. Dict. Pope, in his Essay on Criticism, has the following well-known couplet, in which an Alexandrine is happily exemplified :

"A needless Alexandrine ends the song,

That, like a wound-ed snake, drags its slow length a-long."

ALFORD, BATTLE OF. General Baillie with a large body of Covenanters defeated by the marquess of Montrose, July 2, 1645. There was discovered some years since, in one of the mosses near this place, a man in armour on horseback, supposed to have been drowned in attempting to escape from this battle.

ALGEBRA. Where algebra was first used, and by whom, is not precisely known. Diophantus_first wrote upon it, probably about A.D. 170; he is said to be the inventor. Brought into Spain by the Saracens, about 900; and into Italy by Leonardo of Pisa, in 1202. The first writer who used algebraical signs was Stifelius of Nuremberg, in 1544. The introduction of symbols for quantities was by Francis Vieta, in 1590, when algebra came into general use.-Moreri. The binomial theorem of Newton, the basis of the doctrine of fluxions, and the new analysis, 1668. ALGIERS. The ancient kingdom of Numidia, reduced to a Roman province, 44 B.C. It afterwards became independent, till, dreading the power of the Spaniards, the nation invited Barbarossa, the pirate, to assist it, and he seized the government, A.D. 1516; but it afterwards fell to the lot of Turkey.-Priestley. The Algerines for ages braved the resentment of the most powerful states in Christendom, and the emperor Charles V. lost a fine fleet and army in an unsuccessful expedition against them, in 1541. Algiers was reduced by admiral Blake, in 1653, and terrified into pacific measures with England; but it repulsed the vigorous attacks of other European powers, particularly those of France, in 1688, and 1761; and of Spain, in 1775, 1783, and 1784. It was bombarded by the British fleet, under lord Exmouth, Aug. 27, 1816, when a new treaty followed, and Christian slavery was abolished. Algiers surrendered to a French armament, under Bourmont and Duperré, after some severe conflicts, July 5, 1830, when the dey was deposed, and the barbarian government wholly overthrown. The French ministry announced their intention to retain Algiers, permanently, May 20, 1834. Marshal Clausel defeated the Arabs in two engagements (in one of which the duke of Orleans was wounded), and entered Mascara, Dec. 8, 1836. General Damremont attacked Constantina (which see), Oct. 13, 1837; since when various other engagements between the French and the natives, who are not yet wholly subdued, have taken place. See Morocco. ALI, SECT OF. Founded by a famous Mahometan chief, the son-in-law of Mahomet, (who married his daughter Fatima,) about A. D. 632. Ali was called by the Prophet, the Lion of God, always victorious;" and the Persians follow the interpretation of

ALI

[17]

the Alcoran according to Ali, while other Mahometans adhere to that of Abubeker
and Omar. It is worthy of remark, that the first four successors of Mahomet-
Abubeker, Omar, Othman, and Ali, whom he had employed as his chief agents in
establishing his religion, and extirpating unbelievers, and whom on that account he
styled the "cutting swords of God," all died violent deaths; and that this bloody im-
postor's family was wholly extirpated within thirty years after his own deceasc. Ali
was assassinated in 660.

ALIENS. In England, aliens were grievously coerced up to A. D. 1377. When they
were to be tried criminally, the juries were to be half foreigners, if they so desired,
Act to Register Aliens, 1795.
1430. They were restrained from exercising any trade or handicraft by retail, 1483.
The celebrated Alien Bill passed, January 1793.
Bill to Abolish their Naturalization by the holding of Stock in the Banks of Scot-
William IV. 1836. The celebrated baron
land, June, 1820. New Registration Act, 7 George IV. 1826. This last act was
repealed, and another statute passed,
Geramb, a conspicuous and fashionable foreigner, known at court, was ordered out of
England, April 6, 1812.

ALL SAINTS. The festival instituted A. D. 625. All Saints, or All Hallows, in the
Protestant church, is a day of general commemoration of all those saints and martyrs
in honour of whom, individually, no particular day is assigned. The church of Rome
and the Greek church have saints for every day in the year. The reformers of the
English church provided offices only for very remarkable commemorations, and struck
out of their calendar altogether a great number of anniversaries, leaving only those which
at their time were connected with popular feeling or tradition. " Our reformers," says
Nicholls, in his Paraphrase on the Common Prayer, "having laid aside the cele-
bration of a great many martyrs' days, which had grown too numerous and cumber-
some to the church, thought fit to retain this day (All Saints') wherein, by a general
commemoration, our church gives thanks for them all."

On the death of Mr. Pitt,
(Jan. 23, 1806) Lord Grenville succeeded to the ministry, and united with Mr. Fox,
and his friends. This administration consisted of lord Grenville, lord Henry Petty,
earl Fitzwilliam, viscount Sidmouth (late Mr. Addington), Mr. Fox, earl Spencer,
Mr. Windham, lord Erskine, lord Ellenborough, lord Minto, right hon. Charles
Grey (afterwards earl Grey), right hon. Richard Fitzpatrick, lord Moira, as master
of the ordnance; and Mr. Sheridan, as treasurer of the navy. The friends of this
ministry gave it the appellation of "All the Talents," which, being echoed in derision
by the opposition, became fixed upon it ever after, Feb. 5, 1806.
ALLEGIANCE. The oath of allegiance, as administered in England for 600 years,
contained a promise "to be true and faithful to the king and his heirs, and truth and
faith to bear of life and limb and terrene honour; and not to know or hear of any
ill or damage intended him, without defending him therefrom." A new oath of
allegiance was administered in 1605. Altered by the convention parliament, 1688.
ALLEGORY. Of very ancient composition. The Bible abounds in the finest instances,
of which Blair gives Psalm lxxx. ver. 8, 16, as a specimen. Spenser's Faerie
Queene is an allegory throughout; Addison, in his Spectator, abounds in allegories;
and the Pilgrim's Progress of Bunyan, 1663, is perfect in this way. Milton, among
other English poets, is rich in allegory.

"ALL THE TALENTS" ADMINISTRATION.

ALLIANCES, TREATIES OF, between the high European Powers: The following are the principal treaties distinguished by this name, and which are most commonly

See Coalition, Treaties, &c.

referred to.
Alliance of Leipsic
Alliance of Vienna
Alliance, the Triple

April 9, 1631

Alliance of Warsaw

Alliance, the Grand

Alliance, the Hague

Alliance, the Quadruple.
Alliance of Vienna

May 27, 1657
Jan. 28, 1668
March 31, 1683
May 12, 1689
Jan. 4, 1717
Aug. 2, 1718
March 16, 1731

Alliance of Versailles
Germanic Alliance
Alliance of Paris
Alliance of Petersburg
Austrian Alliance
Alliance of Sweden

Alliance of Toplitz

Alliance, the Holy

May 1, 1756

July 23, 1785

May 16, 1795

April 8, 1805

March 14, 1812

March 24, 1812

Sept. 9, 1813 Sept. 25, 1815

ALMANACKS. The Egyptians computed time by instruments. Log calendars were anciently in use. Al-mon-aght, is of Saxon origin. In the British Museum and universities are curious specimens of early almanacks. Michael Nostrodamus, the celebrated astrologer, wrote an almanack in the style of Merlin, 1566.-Dufresnoy.

C