ALPACA. A species of the S. American quadruped the Llama, the soft hairy wool of which is now largely employed in the fabrication of cloths. It was introduced into this country about 1836, by the Earl of Derby. A gigantic factory, &c. (covering 11 acres) for this manufacture was erected at Saltaire, near Shipley in Yorkshire, by Mr. Titus Salt in 1852. ALPHABET. Athotes, son of Menes, was the author of hieroglyphics, and wrote thus the history of the Egyptians, 2122 B.C.-Blair. But Josephus affirms that he had seen inscriptions by Seth, the son of Adam; though this is doubted, and deemed a mistake, or fabulous. The first letter of the Phoenician and Hebrew alphabet was aleph, called by the Greeks alpha, and abbreviated by the moderns to A. The Hebrew is supposed to be derived from the Phoenician. Cadmus, the founder of Cadmea, 1493 B.C., brought the Phoenician letters (fifteen in number) into Greece; they were the following: A, B, г, A, I, K, A, M, N, O, п, Р, Σ, T, Y. These letters were originally either Hebrew, Phoenician, or Assyrian characters, and changed gradually in form till they became the ground of the Roman letters, now used all over Europe. Palamedes of Argos invented the double characters, , X,, Z about 1224 B.C.; and Simonides added Z, Y, H, , about 489 B.C.-Arundelian Marbles. When the E was introduced is not precisely known. The Greek alphabet consisted of sixteen letters till 399 B.C., when the Ionic, of 24 characters, was introduced. The small letters are of later invention, for the convenience of writing. The alphabets of the different nations contain the following number of letters : ALPHONSINE TABLES. Celebrated astronomical tables, composed by command, and under the direction of Alphonsus X. of Castile, surnamed the Wise. This learned prince is said to have expended upwards of 400,000 crowns in completing the work, whose value was enhanced by a preface, written by his own hand; he commenced his reign in 1252. ALPS. Roads over Mount Cenis and the Simplon were constructed by order of Napoleon between 1801-6, connecting France and Italy. See Simplon. ALT-RANSTADT, PEACE OF. The celebrated treaty of peace between Charles XII. of Sweden, and Frederick Augustus of Poland, was signed Sept. 24, 1706. Frederick Augustus, who was deposed in 1704, was afterwards restored to his throne. ALTAR. One was built by Noah, B.C. 2348. (Gen. viii. 20). They were raised to Jupiter, in Greece, by Cecrops, who also instituted and regulated marriages, 1556 B.C. He introduced among the Greeks the worship of those deities which were held in adoration in Egypt.-Herodotus. The term "altar" was applied to the Lord's table for the first three centuries after Christ. Christian altars in churches were instituted by pope Sixtus I. in 135; and they were first consecrated by Pope Sylvester. The first Christian altar in Britain was in 634.-Stow. The Church of England still retains the name, applying it to the table on which the elements are placed. Since the time of Elizabeth there has been much controversy on the subject, and the Puritans in the civil war destroyed many of the ancient stone altars, substituting wooden tables. ALTER EGO (another or second I), a term applied to Spanish Viceroys when exercising regal power; used at Naples when the crown prince was appointed vicar-general during an insurrection in July 1820. ALUM. Is said to have been first discovered at Rocha, in Syria, about A.D. 1300; it was found in Tuscany in 1460; was brought to perfection in England, in 1608: was discovered in Ireland in 1757; and in Anglesey in 1790. Alum is a salt used as a mordant in dyeing; it is used also to harden tallow, to whiten bread, and in the paper manufacture. It may be made of pure clay exposed to vapours of sulphuric acid, and sulphate of potash added to the ley; but it is usually obtained by means of ore called alum slate. Sir T. Challoner established large alum works at Whitby. ALUMINIUM, a new metal, the base of the earth alumina (clay), first obtained by F. Wöhler in 1827; and considered a scientific curiosity from the expense of the process. The mode of production was afterwards simplified by Bunsen, and others; and in 1856 M. Ste.-Claire Deville succeeded in procuring considerable quantities of this metal. It is very light (sp. g. 2-25), malleable, and sonorous: it does not rust, and is not acted on by sulphur or any acid except hydrochloric. These qualities will render it very useful when improved processes render it cheaper. In March 1856, it was £3 the ounce; it is now 11s. or 128. (June 1857). The eagles of the French colours have been made of it, and many other articles. AMAZON, West India mail steam-ship, left Southampton on her first voyage, Friday, Jan. 2, 1852, and on Sunday morning, Jan. 4, was destroyed by fire at sea, about 110 miles W. S. W. of Scilly, (supposed by the spontaneous ignition of combustible matter placed near the engine-room). Out of 161 persons on board (crew and passengers, women and children), 102 persons must have perished by fire or drowning. 21 persons were saved by the life-boat of the ship; 25 more were carried into Brest harbour by a Dutch vessel passing by; and 13 others were picked up in the bay of Biscay, also by a Dutch galliot. Eliot Warburton, a distinguished writer in general literature, was among those lost. AMAZONIA. Discovered by Francisco Orellana, in 1580. Coming from Peru, Orellana sailed down the river Amazon to the Atlantic, and observing companies of women in arms on its banks, he called the country Amazonia, and gave the name of Amazon to the river, which had previously been called Maranon. AMAZONS. Their origin is fabulous. They are said to have been the descendants of Scythians inhabiting Cappadocia, where their husbands, having made incursions, were all slain, being surprised in ambuscades by their enemies. Their widows resolved to form a female state, and having firmly established themselves, they decreed that matrimony was a shameful servitude.-Quintus Curtius. They were said to have been conquered by Theseus, about 1231 B.C. The Amazons were constantly employed in wars; and that they might throw the javelin with more force, their right breasts were burned off, whence their name from the Greek, a, no, and paços, a breast. About 330 B.C. their queen, Thalestris, visited Alexander the Great, while he was pursuing his conquests in Asia; three hundred females were in her train.-Herodotus. AMBASSADORS. Accredited agents and representatives from one court to another are referred to early ages, and to almost all nations. In most countries they have great and peculiar privileges; and in England, among others, they and their servants are secured against arrest. The Portuguese ambassador was imprisoned for debt in 1653; and the Russian, by a lace-merchant, in 1709; when a law, the statute of 8 Anne, passed for their protection. Two men were convicted of arresting the servant of an ambassador: they were sentenced to be conducted to the house of the ambassador, with a label on their breasts, to ask his pardon, and then one of them to be imprisoned three months, and the other fined, May 12, 1780.-Phillips. AMBASSADORS, INTERCHANGE OF. England usually has twenty-five ambassadors or envoys extraordinary, and about thirty-six chief consuls, resident at foreign courts, exclusive of inferior agents: the ambassadors and other agents from abroad at the court of London exceed those numbers. Among the more memorable instances of interchange may be recorded, that the first ambassador from the United States of America to England was John Adams, presented to the king, June 2, 1785: and the first from Great Britain to America was Mr. Hammond, in 1791. AMBER. A carbonaceous mineral, principally found in the northern parts of Europe, of great repute in the world from the earliest time; esteemed as a medicine before the Christian era: Theophrastus wrote upon it, 300 B.C. Upwards of 150 tons of amber have been found in one year on the sands of the shore near Pillau.-Phillips. Much diversity of opinion still prevails among naturalists and chemists, respecting the origin of amber, some referring it to the vegetable, others to the mineral, and some to the animal kingdom; its natural history and its chemical analysis affording something in favour of each opinion. It is considered by Berzelius to have been a resin dissolved in volatile oil. It often contains delicately formed insects. Sir D. Brewster concludes it to be indurated vegetable juice. When rubbed it becomes electrical, and from its Greek name λEKтρov, the term Electricity is derived. AMBOYNA. One of the Molucca isles discovered by the Portuguese about 1515; taken by them in 1564, and from them by the Dutch in 1607, who have since retained it. The English factors at this settlement were cruelly tortured and put to death by the Dutch on an accusation of a conspiracy to expel them from the island, where the two nations resided and jointly shared in the pepper trade of Java, Feb. 17, 1623. Amboyna was seized by the English, Feb. 16, 1796, but was restored by the treaty of Amiens, in 1802. It was again seized by the British, Feb. 17, 1810; and was restored at the peace of 1814. AMEN. The word is as old as the Hebrew language itself. In that language it means true, faithful, certain. Employed in devotions, at the end of a prayer, it implies, so be it; at the termination of a creed, so it is. It has been generally used, both in the Jewish and Christian Churches, at the conclusion of prayer. AMENDE HONORABLE, originated in France in the ninth century. It was first an infamous punishment inflicted on traitors and sacrilegious persons: the offender was delivered into the hands of the hangman; his shirt was stripped off, a rope put about his neck, and a taper in his hand; he was then led into court, and was obliged to beg pardon of God, the king, and the country. Death or banishment sometimes followed. Amende honorable is now a term used for making recantation in open court, or in the presence of the injured party. AMERCEMENT, IN LAW. A fine assessed for an offence done, or pecuniary punishment at the mercy of the court: thus differing from a fine directed and fixed by a statute. By Magna Charta a freeman cannot be amerced for a small fault, but in proportion to the offence he has committed, 9 Henry III., 1224. AMERICA. Discovered by Cristoforo Colombo, a Genoese, better known as Christopher Colombus, A.D. 1492, on the 11th of October, on which day he came in sight of the island of St. Salvador. See Bahama Islands. The continent of America was discovered by Columbus in 1497, and the eastern coasts by Amerigo Vespucci (Americus Vespucius) in 1498; from this latter the whole of America is named. See United States. Mendoza conquers Buenos Ayres, &c. 1535 1537 1763 March 22, 1765 The memorable American Stamp Act The obnoxious duty on tea, paper, Thirteen colonies declare themselves American independence is recognised April 19, 1782 French in 1534; they built Quebec in 1759 1763 April 19, 1775 armies June 16, 1775 AMERICA, continued. And ratified by congress. Jan. 4, 1784 from America by George III. June 2, 1785 sador from Great Britain to the United [For the later occurrences of the Union, 1791 "AMERICA," an American yacht, schooner-built, 171 tons burthen, on Aug. 22, 1851, at Cowes regatta, in a match round the Isle of Wight, for a cup worth 1007. open to all nations, came in first by 8 miles, owing to her superior construction. AMERICA, CENTRAL, including the states of Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Salvador and Costa Rica, which declared their independence Sept. 21, 1821; and separated from the Mexican confederation July 21, 1823. The states made a treaty of union between themselves March 21, 1847. There has been among them since much anarchy and bloodshed, aggravated greatly by the irruption of American fillibusters under Kenney and Walker in 1854 and 1855. See Nicaragua. AMERICA, SOUTH. The Spaniards, as being the first discoverers of this vast portion of the Western world, had the largest and richest share of it. When they landed in Peru, A.D. 1530, they found it governed by sovereigns called Incas, who were revered by their subjects as divinities, but they were soon subdued by their invaders under the command of Francis Pizarro. The cruelties practised by the new adventurers, wherever they appeared, will be a reproach to Spain for ever.* Spanish America has successfully asserted its freedom within the present century: it first declared its independence in 1810; and the provinces assembled, and proclaimed the sovereignty of the people in July, 1814; since when, although the wars of rival and contending chiefs have been afflicting the country, it has released itself from the yoke of Spain for ever. Its independence was recognised by England, in sending consuls to the several new states, Oct. 30, 1823, et seq; and by France, Sept. 30, 1830. See Brazil, Buenos Ayres, Colombia, Lima, Peru, &c. AMETHYSTS. When the amethyst was first discovered, or first prized, is not known; it was the ninth in place upon the breastplate of the Jewish high priests; and the name Issachar was engraved upon it. It is of a rich violet colour, and, according to Plutarch, takes its name from its hue, resembling wine mixed with water. One worth 200 rix-dollars, having been rendered colourless, equalled a diamond in lustre, valued at 18,000 gold crowns.-De Boot, Hist. Gemmarum. Amethysts were discovered at Kerry, in Ireland, in 1775.-Burns. AMIENS, PEACE of. Between Great Britain, Holland, France, and Spain. The preliminary articles of this memorable peace, fifteen in number, were signed in London by lord Hawkesbury and M. Otto, on the part of England and France, Oct. 1, 1801; and the definitive treaty was subscribed at Amiens, on March 27, 1802, by the marquess Cornwallis for England, Joseph Bonaparte for France, Azara for Spain, and Schimmelpenninck for Holland. AMMONITES. Descended from Ammon, the son of Lot: they invaded the land of Canaan and made the Israelites tributaries, but they were defeated by Jephthah, 1188, B.C. They again invaded Canaan in the reign of Saul, with an intention to put out the right eye of all those they subdued; but Saul overthrew them, 1093 B.C. They were afterwards many times vanquished: and Antiochus the Great took Rabboath their capital, and destroyed all the walls, 198 B.C.-Josephus. AMNESTY. Oblivion and pardon as applied to enemies and nations: first acted on in Greece by Thrasybulus, the Athenian general and patriot, who commenced the expulsion of the thirty tyrants with the assistance of only thirty of his friends: having succeeded, the only reward he would accept was a crown made with two branches of olive, 409 B.C.-Hume's Essays. AMPHICTYONIC COUNCIL. Established at Thermopylae by Amphictyon, for the management of all affairs relative to Greece. The celebrated council, which was composed of the wisest and most virtuous men of various cities of Greece, consisted of twelve delegates, 1498 B.C. Other cities in process of time sent also some of their * Las Casas, in describing the barbarity of the Spaniards while pursuing their conquests, records many instances of it that fill the mind with horror. In Jamaica, he says, they hanged the unresisting natives by thirteen at a time, in honour of the thirteen apostles! and he has beheld them throw the Indian infants to their dogs for food! "I have heard them," says Las Casas, "borrow the limb of a human being to feed their dogs, and have seen them the next day return a quarter of another victim to the lender!" two nations resided and jointly shared in the pepper trade of Java, Feb. 17, 1623. Amboyna was seized by the English, Feb. 16, 1796, but was restored by the treaty of Amiens, in 1802. It was again seized by the British, Feb. 17, 1810; and was restored at the peace of 1814. AMEN. The word is as old as the Hebrew language itself. In that language it means true, faithful, certain. Employed in devotions, at the end of a prayer, it implies, so be it; at the termination of a creed, so it is. It has been generally used, both in the Jewish and Christian Churches, at the conclusion of prayer. AMENDE HONORABLE, originated in France in the ninth century. It was first an infamous punishment inflicted on traitors and sacrilegious persons: the offender was delivered into the hands of the hangman; his shirt was stripped off, a rope put about his neck, and a taper in his hand; he was then led into court, and was obliged to beg pardon of God, the king, and the country. Death or banishment sometimes followed. Amende honorable is now a term used for making recantation in open court, or in the presence of the injured party. AMERCEMENT, IN LAW. A fine assessed for an offence done, or pecuniary punishment at the mercy of the court: thus differing from a fine directed and fixed by a statute. By Magna Charta a freeman cannot be amerced for a small fault, but in proportion to the offence he has committed, 9 Henry III., 1224. AMERICA. Discovered by Cristoforo Colombo, a Genoese, better known as Christopher Colombus, A.D. 1492, on the 11th of October, on which day he came in sight of the island of St. Salvador. See Bahama Islands. The continent of America was discovered by Columbus in 1497, and the eastern coasts by Amerigo Vespucci (Americus Vespucius) in 1498; from this latter the whole of America is named. See United States. |