The Venetians got possession of Athens in A. D. 1204, and the Turks in 1687.— Priestley. It became the capital of Livadia, a province of European Turkey; and is now that of the new kingdom of Greece, and the seat of its legislature, established under King Otho I., January 25th 1833.-See Greece.

ATHLONE. Once a place of great strength and beauty; the castle was founded by king John. The town was destroyed by fire during the fury of the war in 1641. The English army under general Ginckel stormed Athlone, which was then a town of prodigious strength, crossing the Shannon in the face of the Irish army, yet not losing more than fifty men. This bold and successful enterprise procured for Ginckel the title of Earl of Athlone, 1691.- Burn's Annals. ATMOSPHERE. Posidonius first calculated the height of the atmosphere, stating it to be 800 stadia, nearly agreeing with our modern ideas, about 79 B. c. Its weight was determined by Galileo and Terricellius, about 1630; its density and elasticity by Boyle; and its relation to light and sound by Hooke, Newton, and Derham. The composition of the atmosphere was ascertained by Hales, Black, Priestley, Scheele, Lavoisier, and Cavendish; and its laws of refraction were investigated by Dr. Bradley, 1737. ATMOSPHERIC RAILWAY. Experiments were made on a line of rail, laid down between Shepherd's-bush and the Great Western railroad across Wormwood Scrubs, London, by which to test the efficacy of atmospheric tubes, the working of the airpump, and speed of carriages upon this new principle of railroads; and its efficiency demonstrated, June 30, 1840. In Ireland an atmospheric railway has been since successfully established between Dalkey and Killiney, in the vicinity of Dublin; it was commenced in September, 1843.

ATTAINDER, ACTS OF, have been passed in numerous reigns: two witnesses in cases of high treason are necessary where corruption of blood is incurred, unless the party accused shall confess, or stand mute, 7 and 8 William III. 1694-5.-Blackstone. The attainder of Lord Russell, who was beheaded in Lincoln's-inn-Fields, July, 21, 1683, was reversed under William, in 1689. The rolls and records of the acts of attainder passed in the reign of king James II. were cancelled and publicly burnt, Oct. 2, 1695. Several acts were reversed in subsequent reigns. Among the last acts so reversed, not the least interesting was the attaint of the children of lord Edward Fitzgerald (who was implicated in the rebellion in Ireland of 1798), July 1, 1819. ATTILA, surnamed the "Scourge of God," and thus distinguished for his conquests and his crimes, ravaged all Europe, A. D. 447. He invaded the Roman empire with

an army of 500,000 Huns, and laid waste all the provinces. He died of an uncommon effusion of blood on the night of his nuptials with a beautiful virgin named Ildico, having retired late to bed, oppressed with wine, about A.D. 453.-Goldsmith. ATTORNEY-GENERAL. A great officer of the crown, appointed by letters patent. It is among his duties to exhibit informations and prosecute for the king in matters criminal; and to file bills in Exchequer, for any claims concerning the crown, in inheritance or profit; and others may bring bills against the king's attorney. The first Attorney-General was William de Gisilham, 7 Edward I. 1278.-Beatson.

ATTORNEYS. The number practising in Edward III.'s reign was under 400 for the whole kingdom. In the 32d of Henry V1. 1454, a law reduced the practitioners in Norfolk, Norwich, and Suffolk, from eighty to fourteen, and restricted their increase. The number of attorneys now practising in England, or registered, or retired, is about 13,000. The number sworn, and practising or retired in Ireland, is stated at 2000. ATTRACTION. Copernicus described attraction as an appetence or appetite which the Creator impressed upon all parts of matter, about 1520. It was described by Kepler to be a corporeal affection tending to union, 1605. In the Newtonian philosophy, it is an original power which restores lost motion; a principle whereby all bodies mutually tend to each other.-See Astronomy.

AUBURN. The scene of Goldsmith's exquisite poem of The Deserted Village is erroneously assumed by some to be a village of this name in Ireland, but others correctly state it to be Auburn, in Wiltshire. Two-thirds of the latter town were burnt in Sept. 1766; another fire consumed a vast number of houses in 1777. AUCTION, a kind of sale known to the Romans. The first in Britain was about 1700, by Elisha Yale, a governor of Fort George, in the East Indies, of the goods he had brought home with him. Auction and sales' tax began, 1779.

AUERSTADT, BATTLE OF. In this most sanguinary conflict between the French and Prussian armies, they were commanded by their respective sovereigus, and Napoleon obtained a decisive victory. The Prussians were routed on every side, and lost 200 pieces of cannon, thirty standards, and 28,000 prisoners, leaving 30,000 slain upon the field, Oct. 14, 1806. The French emperor immediately afterwards entered Berlin, from whence he issued his memorable Berlin decree.-See Berlin Decree. AUGHRIM, BATTLE OF, in Ireland, between the Irish, headed by the French general, St. Ruth, and the English, under general Ginckel, when the former lost 7000 men, the latter only 600 killed, and 960 wounded; fought July 12, 1691.

AUGMENTATION OF POOR LIVINGS' OFFICE was established 3 Anne 1704. As many as 5597 poor clerical livings of under £10, and not exceeding £50 per annum, were found by the commisioners under the act of Anne capable of augmentation, by means of the bounty then established by parliament for the benefit of the poorer clergy.-Chalmers.

AUGMENTATION COURT. At the suppression of the monastic institutions of England, Henry VIII. erected this court, whose business it was to increase the royal revenues by adding those of the various monasteries thereto, 1534.-Pardon. AUGSBURG, BATTLE OF, between the Imperialists and the French army, the latter commanded by Moreau, who obtained a victory so decisive in its consequences, that Augsburg and Munich were opened to him; fought August 24, 1796.

AUGSBURG CONFESSION OF FAITH. The confession or articles of faith drawn up at Augsburg by Melancthon, and by him and Luther presented to the emperor Charles V. in 1530. It was divided into two parts, the first consisting of twentyone articles, and the second of seven, directly opposed to the abuses that had crept into the Church of Rome. The elector of Saxony, his son, and several other princes of Germany, signed this confession, which was delivered to the emperor in the palace of the bishop of Augsburg, and hence it is called the Confession of Augsburg. AUGSBURG, LEAGUE OF. A memorable treaty concluded between Holland and other European powers, which had for its object the causing the treaties of Munster and Nimeguen to be respected, 1636.—See Munster and Nimeguen. AUGURY. Husbandry was in part regulated by the coming or going of birds, long before the time of Hesiod. Augurs instituted at Rome, with vestals and several orders of the priesthood, by Numa, 710 B.C. There was a community of them, appointed to foretell events by the flight of birds, and other circumstances. The king Car, from whom Caria in Asia Minor is named, was the inventor of augury by birds.-Vossius. The augurs of Rome drew omens from the phenomena of the heavens, the chirping and flight of birds, and various strange casualties.—Livy. AUGUST. The eighth month of the year. It was dedicated to the honour of Augustus Cæsar, from whom it was named in the year 8 B.C., because in this month he was born, was created consul, or chief magistrate, thrice triumphed in Rome, subdued Egypt to the Roman empire, and made an end of the civil wars. It was previously called Sextilis, or the sixth from March. AULIC COUNCIL. A sovereign court in Germany, established by the emperor Maximilian I., in 1506, being one of two courts, the first called the Imperial Chamber, formerly held at Spires, and afterwards at Wetzlar, and the other the Aulic Council, at Vienna. These courts having concurrent jurisdiction, were instituted for appeals in particular cases from the courts of the Germanic states. AURIFLAMMA, OR ORIFLAMME. The national banner so often mentioned in French history: it was a costly standard that belonged to the abbey of St. Denis, and which was suspended over the tomb of that saint, A.D. 1140. See Banner. AURORA BOREALIS, or NORTHERN LIGHTS. This sublime phenomenon, though rarely seen in the middle of Europe, is almost constant in the arctic and antarctic regions, covering the whole heavens, and eclipsing by its splendour the stars and planets. Memorable appearance of the Aurora Borealis, when it extended from the west of Ireland to the confines of Russia, March 1716. It overspread the whole horizon in the lat. of 57° N. in one continued fixed haze of a dismal red during the whole night, by which many people were much terrified, Nov. 1765. The electricity of the aurora borealis was discovered at Jena in 1769. Mr. Forster, the companion of Captain Cook, saw the aurora borealis in 58° S. lat.; it had been previously matter of doubt whether it ever appeared in the southern hemisphere.-Butler.

AURORA FRIGATE.

On board of this ship there sailed a number of persons, many of them of great consideration and wealth, proceeding from England and Ireland to the East Indies; but after leaving the British shore they were never heard of, 1771.

AUSTERLITZ, BATTLE OF, between the French and Austrian armies, gained by the former. Three emperors commanded at this battle, Alexander of Russia, Francis of Austria, and Napoleon of France. The killed and wounded exceeded 40,000 on the side of the allies, who lost, besides, forty standards, 150 pieces of cannon, and many thousands of prisoners. This decisive victory of the French led to the treaty of Presburg, which was signed Dec. 26, same year. The battle was fought Dec. 2, 1805. See Presburg.

AUSTRALASIA, includes New Holland, Van Diemen's Land, New Guinea, New Britain, New Zealand, &c., mostly discovered within two centuries. Of a population of twenty-two millions, the native inhabitants are not supposed to exceed one hundred thousand. Several settlements from Europe have been made since the commencement of the present century. Act to provide for the government of Western Australia, 10 George IV. 1829. Act to erect South Australia into a British province, 4 and 5 William IV. 1834. New act, 5 and 6 William IV. 1835. Several companies and institutions connected with Australia have lately been formed in London.

AUSTRIA, anciently the Belgic Gaul of the Romans. It was taken from Hungary and annexed to Germany, when it received its present name, about A.D. 1040. This was after Charlemagne had re-established the Western Empire, Austria being a part of what was called Eastern France, which its name in the German language implies.

Rodolph, count of Hapsburg, seizes
Austria from Bohemia, and makes
himself arch-duke

Revolt of Switzerland from the house of
Austria, in the reign of Albert I.
Albert II., duke of Austria, succeeds to
three crowns, the imperial, and those
of Hungary and Bohemia; his family
still possess the empire
Burgundy accrues to Austria by the
marriage of Maximilian with the heir-
ess of that province
Also Spain, by the marriage of Philip I.
of Austria with the heiress of Aragon
and Castile
Charles V., reigning over Germany,
Austria, Bohemia, Hungary, Spain,
the Netherlands, and their dependen-
cies, abdicates, and retires from the
world, leaving his German dominions
to his brother Ferdinand, and Spain
and the Netherlands to his son, Philip
II.-See Spain.
The Protestant princes of Germany,
being oppressed by the house of Austria,
call in the aid of Gustavus Adolphus
of Sweden, and this leads to the treaty
of Westphalia.

. 1477

1496

. 1557

Treaty of Vienna

April 1, 1810

Oct. 2, 1814 Feb. 25, 1815

Death of Francis I., and accession of

1648 1658

July 3, 1838 Ferdinand is crowned with great splendour at Milan Sept. 6, 1838 (See Germany, Vienna, &c.)

Leopold I. reigns.-(See Germany) Accession of Francis, duke of Lorraine, Before the establishment of the Confederation of the Rhine in 1806, Francis ceased to be emperor of Germany, and became hereditary emperor of Austria, under the title of Francis I. Upon the formation of the Germanic Confederation in 1815, the emperor of Austria was declared hereditary head of that body. AUTHORS. For the laws securing copyright, see Copyright and Literary Property. AUTO DA FE. See Inquisition. The punishment, often by burning alive, of a heretic. This is called an act of faith, and is coeval with the Inquisition; and since its first practice in A.D. 1203, more than one hundred thousand victims have been sacrificed

by the sentence of the Inquisitions of Roman Catholic countries on the burning pile. One of the last executions of this kind was at Goa, where, for the glory of the Christian religion (!) and in vindication of the Catholic faith, twenty sufferers perished in the flames, 1787. These horrible sacrifices have ceased in Spain.-Ashe. AUTOMATON FIGURES, OR ANDROIDES. They are made to perform human actions, and are of early invention. Archytas' flying dove was formed about 400 B.C. Friar Bacon made a brazen head that could speak, A.D. 1264. Albertus Magnus spent thirty years in making another. A coach and two horses, with a footman, a page, and lady inside, were made by Camus, for Louis XIV. when a child; the horses and figures moved naturally, variously, and perfectly, 1649. Vaucanson made an artificial duck, which performed every function of a real one, even an im. perfect digestion, eating, drinking, and quacking. Vaucanson also made a fluteplayer, 1738. The writing androides, exhibited in 1769, was a pentograph worked by a confederate out of sight; so were also the automaton chess-player, exhibited the same year, and "the invisible girl," exhibited in 1800.

“AVE MARIA!" the salutation of the angel Gabriel to the Virgin.-Luke i. 26, 27, 28. A formula of devotion in the Roman church, ordered by pope John XXII. in the fourteenth century.-Butler. This prayer to the Virgin is repeated in Catholic countries daily at the ringing of the matin and the vesper bell.-Ashe. Although of universal use in the Catholic church, it can be traced no higher than the beginning of the fifteenth century, when Vicentius Ferrerius used it before his discourses.-Bingham.

AVIGNON, ceded by Philip III. of France to the Pope in 1273. The papal seat was removed for seventy years to Avignon, in 1308. It was seized several times by the French, by whom it was taken from the pope in 1769, but was restored on the suppression of the Jesuits, 1773. Declared to belong to France by the National Assembly, 1791. Horrible massacres in October of that year. Continued to France by the Congress of sovereigns, in 1815.

AXE, WEDGE, WIMBLE, &c.

These instruments, with the lever, and various others of a coarse construction, and still in common use, are said to have been invented by Daedalus, an artificer of Athens, to whom also is ascribed the invention of masts and sails for ships, 1240 B.C.

AZORES, OR WESTERN ISLES, supposed to be the site of the ancient Atalantis : they were discovered by Vandenburg, A.D. 1439; and were settled by the Portuguese, in 1448. Martin Behem found one of them covered with beech-trees, and he called it therefore Fayal; another abounding in sweet flowers, and he therefore called it Flores; and all full of hawks, and he therefore named them the Azores. A violent concussion of the earth took place here for twelve days, in 1591. A devastating earthquake, in 1757. Here are fountains of boiling water. A volcano at St. George's destroyed the town of Ursulina, May 1808; and in 1811, a volcano appeared near St. Michael's in the sea, where the water was eighty fathoms deep. An island called Sabrina gradually disappeared, Dec. 1812.

B.

BABEL, THE TOWER OF, built by Noah's posterity, 2247 B.C.

The temple of Belus,

originally this celebrated tower, was the most magnificent in the world; it had lofty spires, and was enriched with many statues of gold, one of them forty feet high. In the upper part of this temple was the tomb of the founder, Belus (the Nimrod of the sacred Scriptures), who was deified after death; and in an adjoining apartment was a magnificent bed, whither the priests daily conducted a female, who, as they pretended, was there honoured with the company of the god.-Blair. BABINGTON'S CONSPIRACY, formed in the cause of Mary against Elizabeth, for which the chief conspirator, with thirteen others, suffered death. Babington was a gentleman of Derbyshire, and he associated with persons of his own persuasion (the Roman Catholic), with a design to assassinate the queen, and deliver Mary. He seems to have been principally induced to this rash conspiracy by a romantic hope that Mary, in gratitude, would accept of him as a husband. 1586.

BABYLON, EMPIRE OF, founded by Belus, supposed to be the Nimrod of holy writ, the son of Chus, and grandson of Ham, 2245 B.C.-Lenglet. Ninus of Assyria seized on Babylon, and established what was properly the Assyrian empire, by