Page images
PDF
EPUB

by an edged head fixed upon a handle for striking. A" hatchet " is a small sort of axe.

AXHOLME, an island in the north-west part of Lincolnshire, England, lying between the rivers Trent, Idle and Don, and isolated by drainage channels connected with these rivers. It consists mainly of a plateau of slight elevation, rarely exceeding 100 ft., and comprises the parishes of Althorpe, Belton, Epworth, Haxey, Luddington, Owston and Crowle; the total area being about 47,000 acres. At a very early period it would appear to have been covered with forest; but this having been in great measure destroyed, it became in great part a swamp. In 1627 King Charles I., who was lord of the island, entered into a contract with Cornelius Vermuyden, a Dutchman, for reclaiming the meres and marshes, and rendering them fit for tillage. This undertaking led to the introduction of a large number of Flemish workmen, who settled in the district, and, in spite of the violent measures adopted by the English peasantry to expel them, retained their ground in sufficient numbers to affect the physical appearance and the accent of the inhabitants to this day. The principal towns in the isle are Crowle (pop. 2769) and Epworth. The Axholme joint light railway runs north and south through the isle, connecting Goole with Haxey junction; and the Great Northern, Great Eastern and Great Central lines also afford communications. The land is extremely fertile. The name, properly Axeyholm (cf. Haxey), is hybrid, Ax being the Celtic uisg, water; ey the Anglo-Saxon for island; and holm the Norse word with the same signification.

AXILE, or AXIAL, a term (=related to the axis) used technically in science; in botany an embryo is called axile when it has the same direction as the axis of the seed.

T

AXINITE, a mineral consisting of a complex aluminium and calcium boro-silicate with a small amount of basic hydrogen; the calcium is partly replaced in varying amounts by ferrous iron and manganese, and the aluminium by ferric iron: the formula is HCа,BAl2(SiO). The mineral was named (from ȧşivn, an axe) by R. J. Haüy in 1799, on account of the characteristic thin wedge-like form of its anorthic crystals. The colour is usually clove-brown, but rarely it has a violet tinge (on this account the mineral was named yanolite, meaning violet stone, by J. C. Delamétherie in 1792). The best specimens are afforded by the beautifully developed transparent glassy crystals, found with albite, prehnite and quartz, in a zone of amphibolite and chlorite-schists at Le Bourg d'Oisans in Dauphiné. It is found in the greenstone and hornblende-schists of Batallack Head near St Just in Cornwall, and in diabase in the Harz; and small ones in Maine and in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Large crystals have also been found in Japan. In its occurrence in basic rather than in acid eruptive rocks, axinite differs from the boro-silicate tourmaline, which is usually found in granite. The specific gravity is 3.28. The hardness of 64-7, combined with the colour and transparency, renders axinite applicable for use as a gemstone, the Dauphiné crystals being occasionally cut for this purpose. (L. J. S.)

AXIOM (Gr. akiwμa), a general proposition or principle accepted as self-evident, either absolutely or within a particular sphere of thought. Each special science has its own axioms (cf. the Aristotelian apxai, "first principles ") which, however, are sometimes susceptible of proof in another wider science. The Greek word was probably confined by Plato to mathematical axioms, but Aristotle (Anal. Post. i. 2) gave it also the wider significance of the ultimate principles of thought which are behind all special sciences (e.g. the principle of contradiction). These are apprehended solely by the mind, which may, however, be led to them by an inductive process. After Aristotle, the term was used by the Stoics and the school of Ramus for a proposition simply, and Bacon (Nov. Organ. i. 7) used it of any general proposition. The word was reintroduced in modern philosophy probably by René Descartes (or by his followers)

who, in the search for a definite self-evident principle as the basis of a new philosophy, naturally turned to the familiar science of mathematics. The axiom of Cartesianism is, therefore, the Cogito ergo sum. Kant still further narrowed the meaning to include only self-evident (intuitive) synthetic propositions, i.e. of space and time. The nature of axiomatic certainty is part of the fundamental problem of logic and metaphysics. Those who deny the possibility of all non-empirical knowledge naturally hold that every axiom is ultimately based on observation. For the Euclidian axioms see GEOMETRY.

AXIS (Lat. for "axle "), a word having the same meaning as axle, and also used with many extensions of this primary meaning. It denotes the imaginary line about which a body or system of bodies rotates, or a line about which a body or action is symmetrically disposed. In geometry, and in geometrical crystallography, the term denotes a line which serves to aid the orientation of a figure. In anatomy, it is, among other uses, applied to the second cervical vertebra, and in botany it means the stem.

AXLE (in Mid. Eng. axel-tre, from O. Norweg. öxull-tre, cognate with the O. Eng. axe or eaxe, and connected with Sansk. |áksha, Gr. ăşwv, and Lat. axis), the pin or spindle on which a wheel turns. In carriages the axle-tree is the bar on which the wheels are mounted, the axles being strictly its thinner rounded prolongations on which they actually turn. The pins which pass through the ends of the axles and keep the wheels from slipping off are known as axle-pins or "linch-pins," "linch " being a corruption, due to confusion with "link," of the Old English word for "axle," lynis, cf. Ger. Lünse. AX-LES-THERMES, a watering place of south-western France, in the department of Ariège, at the confluence of the Ariège with three tributaries, 26 m. S.S.E. of Foix by rail. Pop. (1906) 1179. Ax (Aquae), situated at a height of 2300 ft., is well known for its warm sulphur springs (77°-172° F.), of which there are about sixty. The waters, which were used by the Romans, are efficacious in the treatment of rheumatism, skin diseases and other maladies.

AXMINSTER, a market-town in the Honiton parliamentary division of Devonshire, England, on the river Axe, 27 m. E. by N. of Exeter by the London & South-Western railway. Pop. (1901) 2906. The minster, dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, illustrates every style of architecture from Norman to Perpendicular. There are in the chancel two freestone effigies, perhaps of the 14th century, besides three sedilia, and a piscina under arches. Axminster was long celebrated for the admirable quality of its carpets, which were woven by hand, like tapestry. Their manufacture was established in 1755. Their name is preserved, but since the seat of this industry was removed to Wilton near Salisbury, the inhabitants of Axminster have found employment in brush factories, corn mills, timber yards and an iron foundry. Cloth, drugget, cotton, leather, gloves and tapes are also made. Coaxdon House, the birthplace in 1602 of Sir Symonds d'Ewes, the Puritan historian, is about 2 m. distant, and was formerly known as St Calyst.

Axminster (Axemystre) derives its name from the river Axe and from the old abbey church or minster said to have been built by King Æthelstan. The situation of Axminster at the intersection of also the numerous earthworks and hill-fortresses in the neighbourthe two great ancient roads, Iknield Street and the Fosse Way, and hood indicate a very early settlement. There is a tradition that the battle of Brunanburh was fought in the valley of the Axe, and that the bodies of the Danish princes who perished in action were buried in Axminster church. According to Domesday, Axminster was held by the king. In 1246 Reginald de Mohun, then lord of the manor, founded a Cistercian abbey at Newenham within the parish of Axminster, granting it a Saturday market and a fair on Midsummer day, and the next year made over to the monks from Beaulieu the manor and hundred of Axminster. The abbey was dissolved in 1539. The midsummer fair established by Reginald de Mohun is still held.

See Victoria County History-Devon: James Davidson, British and Roman Remains in the Vicinity of Axminster (London, 1833).

AXOLOTL, the Mexican name given to larvae salamanders of the genus Amblystoma. It required the extraordinary acumen of the great Cuvier at once to recognize, when the first specimens

of the Gyrinus edulis or Axolotl of Mexico were brought to him | fetching much higher prices than they did formerly, at least in by Humboldt in the beginning of the 19th century, that these England and in France. Batrachians were not really related to the Perennibranchiates, such as Siren and Proteus, with which he was well acquainted, but represented the larval form of some air-breathing salamander. Little heed was paid to his opinion by most systematists, and when, more than half a century later, the axolotl was found to breed in its branchiferous condition, the question seemed to be settled once for all against him, and the genus Siredon, as it was called by J. Wagler, was unanimously maintained and placed among the permanent gill-breathers.

It seemed impossible to admit that an animal which lives for years without losing its gills, and is able to propagate in that state, could be anything but a perfect form. And yet subsequent discoveries, which followed in rapid succession, have established that Siredon is but the larval form of the salamander Ambly stoma, a genus long known from various parts of North America; and Cuvier's conclusions now read much better than they did half a century after they were published. Before reviewing the history of these discoveries, it is desirable to say a few words of the characters of the axolotl (larval form) and of the Amblysloma (perfect or imago form).

The axolotl has been known to the Mexicans from the remotest times, as an article of food regularly brought from neighbouring lakes to the Mexico market, its flesh being agreeable and wholesome. Francisco Hernandez (1514-1578) has alluded to it as Gyrinus edulis or atolocall, and as lusus aquarum, piscis ludicrus, or axolotl, which latter name has remained in use, in Mexico and elsewhere, to the present day. But for its large size-it grows to a length of eleven inches-it is a nearly exact image of the British newt larvae. It has the same moderately long, plump body, with a low dorsal crest, the continuation of the membrane bordering the strongly compressed tail; a large thick head with small eyes without lids and with a large pendent upper lip; two pairs of well-developed limbs, with free digits; and above all, as the most characteristic feature, three large appendages on each side of the back of the head, fringed with filaments which, in their fullest development, remind one of black ostrich feathers. These are the external gills, through which the animal breathes the oxygen dissolved in the water. The jaws are provided with small teeth in several rows, and there is an elongate patch of further teeth on each side of the front of the palate (inserted on the vomerine and palatine bones). The colour is blackish, or of a dark olive-grey or brownish grey with round black spots or dots. The genus Amblystoma was established by J. J Tschudi in 1838 for various salamanders from North America, which had previously been described as Lacerta or Salamandra, and which, so far as general appearance is concerned, differ little from the European salamanders. The body is smooth and shiny, with vertical grooves on the sides, the tail is but feebly compressed, the eye is moderately large and provided with movable lids, and the upper lip is nearly straight. But the dentition of the palate is very different; the small teeth, which are in a single row, as in the jaws, form a long transverse, continuous or interrupted series behind the inner nares or choanae. The animal leaves the water after completing its metamorphosis, the last stage of which is marked by the loss of the gills. One of the largest and most widely distributed species of this genus, which includes about twenty, is the Amblystoma tigrinum, an inhabitant of both the east and west of the United States and of a considerable part of the cooler parts of Mexico. It varies much in colour, but it may be described as usually brown or blackish, with more or less numerous yellow spots, sometimes arranged in transverse bands. It rarely exceeds a length of nine inches. This is the Amblystoma into which the axolotl has been ascertained to transform. It is generally admitted that the axolotls which were kept alive in Europe and were particularly abundant between 1870 and 1880. are all the descendants of a stock bred in Paris and distributed chiefly by dealers, originally, we believe, by the late P. Carbonnier. Close in-breeding without the infusion of new blood is probably the cause of the decrease in their numbers at the present day, specimens being more difficult to procure and

The original axolotls, from the vicinity of Mexico City, it is believed, arrived at the Jardin d'Acclimatation, Paris, late in 1863. They were thirty-four in number, among which was an albino, and had been sent to that institution, together with a few other animals, by order of Marshal Forey, who was appointed commander-in-chief of the French expeditionary force to Mexico after the defeat of General Lorencez at Puebla (May 5th, 1862), and returned to France at the end of 1863, after having handed over the command to Marshal (then General) Bazaine. Six specimens (five males and one female) were given by the Société d'Acclimatation to Professor A. Duméril, the administrator of the reptile collection of the Jardin des Plantes, the living specimens of which were at that time housed in a very miserable structure, situated at a short distance from the comparatively sumptuous building which was erected some years later and opened to the public in 1874. Soon after their arrival at the Jardin d'Acclimatation, some of the axolotls spawned, but the eggs, not having been removed from the aquarium, were devoured by its occupants. | At the same time, in the Jardin des Plantes, the single female axolotl also spawned, twice in succession, and a large number of young were successfully reared. This, it then seemed, solved the often-discussed question of the perennibranchiate nature of these Batrachians. But a year later, the second generation having reached sexual maturity, new broods were produced, and out of these some individuals lost their gills and dorsal crest, developed movable eyelids, changed their dentition, and assumed yellow spots,-in fact, took on all the characters of Amblystoma tigrinum. However, these transformed salamanders, of which twenty-nine were obtained from 1865 to 1870, did not breed, although their branchiate brethren continued to do so very freely. It was not until 1876 that the axolotl in its Amblystoma state, offspring of several generations of perennibranchiates, was first observed to spawn, and this again took place in the reptile house of the Jardin des Plantes, as reported by Professor E.. Blanchard.

The original six specimens received in 1864 at the Jardin des Plantes, which had been carefully kept apart from their progeny, remained in the branchiate condition, and bred eleven times from 1865 to 1868, and, after a period of two years' rest, again in 1870. According to the report of Aug. Duméril, they and their offspring gave birth to 9000 or 10,000 larvae during that period. So numerous were the axolotls that the Paris Museum was able to distribute to other institutions, as well as to dealers and private individuals, over a thousand examples, which found their way to all parts of Europe, and numberless specimens have been kept in England from 1866 to the present day. The first specimens exhibited in the London Zoological Gardens, in August 1864, were probably part of the original stock received from Mexico by the Société d'Acclimatation, but do not appear to have bred.

"White" axolotls, albinos of a pale flesh colour, with beautiful red gills, have also been kept in great numbers in England and on the continent. They are said to be all descendants of one albino male specimen received in the Paris Museum menagerie in 1866, which, paired with normal specimens in 1867 and 1868, produced numerous white offspring, which by selection have been fixed as a permanent race, without, according to L. Vaillant, showing any tendency to reversion. We are not aware of any but two of these albinos having ever turned into the perfect Amblystoma form, as happened in Paris in 1870, the albinism being retained.

Thus we see that in our aquariums most of the axolotls remain in the branchiate condition, transformed individuals being on the whole very exceptional. Now it has been stated that in the lakes near Mexico City, where it was first discovered, the axolotl never transforms into an Amblystoma. This the present writer is inclined to doubt, considering that he has received examples of the normal Amblystoma tigrinum from various parts of Mexico, and that Alfred Dugès has described an Amblystoma from mountains near Mexico City; at the same time he feels very

[ocr errors]

suspicious of the various statements to that effect which have is found in classical and early Christian writers in the forms of appeared in so many works, and rather disposed to make light | Auxome, Axumis, Axume, &c., the first mention being in the of the ingenious theories launched by biological speculators who Periplus Maris Erythraci (c. A.D. 67), where it is said to be the have never set foot in Mexico, especially Weismann's picture seat of a kingdom, and the emporium for the ivory brought from of the dismal condition of the salt-incrusted surroundings which the west. For the history of this kingdom see ETHIOPIA. J. T. were supposed to have hemmed in the axolotl—the brackish Lago Bent conjectured that the seat of government was transferred to de Texcoco, the largest of the lakes near Mexico, being evidently Axum from Jeha, which he identified with the ancient Ava; in the philosopher's mind. and according to a document quoted by Achille Raffray the third Christian monarch transferred it from Axum to Lalibela. This second transference probably took place very much later; in spite of it, the custom of crowning Abyssinian kings at Axum continued, and King John was crowned there as late as 1871 or 1872. A. B. Wylde conjectures that it had become unsuitable for a royal seat by having acquired the status of a sacred city, and thus affording sanctuary to criminals and political offenders within the chief church and a considerable area round it, where there are various houses in which such persons can be lodged and for goods of all sorts in times of danger, the chief church forming a sort of bank. The present town, containing less than a thousand houses, is supposed to occupy only a small portion of the arca covered by the ancient city; it lies in a kloof or valley, but the old town must have been built on the western ridge rather than in the valley, as the traces of well-dressed stones are more numerous there than elsewhere.

Thanks to the enthusiasm of H. Gadow during his visit to Mexico in the summer of 1902, we are now better informed on the conditions under which the axolotl lives near Mexico City. First, he ascertained that there are no axolotls at all in the Lago de Texcoco, thus disposing at once of the Weismannian explanation; secondly, he confirmed A. Dugès's statement that there is a second species of Amblystoma, which is normal in its metamorphosis, near Mexico but at a higher altitude, which may explain Velasco's observation that regularly transforming Amblystomas occur near that city; and thirdly, he made a care-entertained. This same sanctity makes it serve as a depository ful examination of the two lakes, Chalco and Xochimilco, where the axolotls occur in abundance and are procured for the market. The following is an abstract of Gadow's very interesting account. "Lakes Chalco and Xochimilco are a paradise, situated about 10 ft. higher than the Texcoco Lake and separated from it by several hills. High mountains slope down to the southern shores, with a belt of fertile pastures, with shrubs and trees and little streams, here and there with rocks and ravines. In fact, there are thousands of inviting opportunities for newts to leave the lake if they wanted to do so. Lake Xochimilco contains powerful springs, but away from them the water appears dark and muddy, full of suspended fresh and decomposing vegetable matter, teeming with fish, larvae of insects, Daphniae, worms and axolotl. These breed in the beginning of February. The native fishermen know all about them; how the eggs are fastened to the water plants, how soon after the little larvae swarm about in thousands, how fast they grow, until by the month of June they are all grown into big, fat creatures ready for the market; later in the summer the axolotls are said to take to the rushes, in the autumn they become scarce, but none have ever been known to leave the water or to metamorphose, nor are any perfect Amblystomas found in the vicinity of the two lakes."

In Gadow's opinion, the reason why there are only perennibranchiate axolotls in these lakes is obvious. The constant abundance of food, stable amount of water, innumerable hidingplaces in the mud, under the banks, amongst the reeds and roots of the floating islands which are scattered all over them,-all these points are inducements or attractions so great that the creatures remain in their paradise and consequently retain all those larval features which are not directly connected with sexual maturity. There is nothing whatever to prevent them from leaving these lakes, but there is also nothing to induce them to do so. The same applies occasionally to European larvae, as in the case observed in the Italian Alps by F. de Filippi. Nevertheless, in the axolotl the latent tendency can still be revived, as we have seen above and as is proved by the experiments of Marie von Chauvin. When once sexually ripe the axolotl are apparently incapable of changing, but their ancestral course of evolution is still latent in them, and will, if favoured by circumstances, reappear in following generations. BIBLIOGRAPHY.-G. Cuvier, Mém. Instit. Nation. (1807), p. 149, and in A. Humboldt and A. Bompland, Observ. zool. i. (1811), p. 93; L. Calori, Mem. Acc. Bologna, iii. (1851), p. 269; A. Duméril, Comptes rendus, Ix. (1865), p. 765, and N. Arch. Mus. ii. (1866), p. 265; E. Blanchard, Comptes rendus, lxxxii. (1876), p. 716; A. Weismann, Z. wiss. Zool. xxv. (Suppl. 1875). 297; M. von Chauvin, Z. wiss. Zool. xxvii. (1876), p. 522; F. de Filippi, Arch. p. la zool. i. (1862), 206; G. Hahn, Rev. Quest. Sci. Brussels (2), i. (1892), p. 178; Hi. Gadow, Nature, lxvii. (1903), p. 330. (G. A. B.)

AXUM, or AKSUM, an ancient city in the province of Tigré, Abyssinia (14° 7′ 52′′ N., 38° 31' 10" E.; altitude, 7226 ft.), 12 m. W. by S. of Adowa. Many European travellers have given descriptions of its monuments, though none of them has stayed there more than a few days. The name, written Aksm and Aksum in the Sabaean and Ethiopic inscriptions in the place,

[ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors]

Most of the antiquities of Axum still await excavation; those that have been described consist mainly of obelisks, of which about fifty are still standing, while many more are fallen. They form a consecutive series from rude unhewn stones to highly finished obelisks, of which the tallest still erect is 60 ft. in height, with 8 ft. 7 in. extreme front width; others that are fallen may have been taller. The highly finished monoliths are all representations of a many-storeyed castle, with an altar at the base of each. They appear to be connected with Semitic sun-worship, and are assigned by Bent to the same period as the temple at Baalbek, though some antiquarians would place them much earlier; the representation of a castle in a single stone seems to bear some relation to the idea worked out in the monolith churches of Lalibela described by Raffray. The fall of many of the monuments, according to Bent, was caused by the washing away of the foundations by the stream called Mai Shum, and indeed the native tradition states that "Gudert, queen of the Amhara," when she visited Axum, destroyed the chief obelisk in this way by digging a trench from the river to its foundation. Others attribute it to religious fanaticism, or to the result of some barbaric invasion, such as Axum may have repeatedly endured before it was sacked by Mahommed Gran, sultan of Harrar, about 1535.

LITERATURE.-Classical references to Axum are collected by Pietschmann in Pauly's Realencyclopädie (2nd ed.); for the history as derived from the inscriptions sce D. H. Müller, Appendix to J. T. Bent's Sacred City of the Ethiopians (London, 1893), and E. Glaser, Die Abessinier in Arabien (Munich, 1895). For the antiquities, Bruce's Travels (1790); Salt, in the Travels of Viscount Valentia (London, 1809), iii. 87-97 and 178-200; J. T. Bent, Lc.; and A. B. Wylde, Modern Abyssinia (London, 1901). For geology. Schimper, in the Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Erdkunde (Berlin, 1869)." (D. S. M.*)

[ocr errors]

AY, AYE. The word "aye," meaning always (and pronounced as in "day"; connected with Gr. dei, always, and Lat. acvum, an age), is often spelt "ay," and the New English Dictionary prefers this. Aye," meaning Yes (and pronounced almost like the word "eye"), though sometimes identified with "yea," is probably the same word etymologically, though differentiated by usage; the form "ay" for this is also common, but inconvenient; at one time it was spelt simply I (e.g. in Michael Drayton's Idea, 57; published in 1593).

AYACUCHO, a city and department of central Peru, formerly known as Guamanga or Huamanga, renamed from the small plain of Ayacucho (Quichua, "6 corner of death "). This lies near the village of Quinua, in an elevated valley 11,600 ft. above sea-level, where a decisive battle was fought between General Sucré and the Spanish viceroy La Serna in 1824, which resulted in the defeat of the latter and the independence of Peru. The city of Ayacucho, capital of the department of that name

and of the province of Guamanga, is situated on an elevated | act play in verse, Un Hombre de Estado, was accepted by the plateau, 8911 ft. above sea-level, between the western and central managers of the Teatro Español, was given on the 25th of Cordilleras, and on the main road between Lima and Cuzco, 394 January 1851, and proved a remarkable success. Henceforward m. from the former by way of Jauja. Pop. (1896) 20,000. It Ayala's position and popularity were secure. Within a twelvehas an agreeable, temperate climate, is regularly built, and has month he became more widely known by his Castigo y Perdón, considerable commercial importance. It is the seat of a bishopric and by a more humorous effort, Los dos Guzmanes; and and of a superior court of justice. It is distinguished for the shortly afterwards he was appointed by the Moderado governnumber of its churches and conventual establishments, although ment to a post in the home office, which he lost in 1854 on the the latter have been closed. The city was founded by Pizarro accession to power of the Liberal party. In 1854 he produced in 1539 and was known as Guamanga down to 1825. It has been Rioja, perhaps the most admired and the most admirable of all the scene of many notable events in the history of Peru. his works, and from 1854 to 1856 he took an active part in the The department of AYACUCHO extends across the great plateau political campaign carried on in the journal El Padre Cobos. A of central Peru, between the departments of Huancavelica and zarzuela, entitled Guerta a muerte, for which Emilio Arrieta Apurimac, with Cuzco on the E. and Ica on the W. Area, composed the music, belongs to 1855, and to the same collabora18,185 sq. m.; pop. (1896) 302,469. It is divided into six tion is due El Agente de Matrimonios. At about this date Ayala provinces, and covers a broken, mountainous region, partially passed over from the Moderates to the Progressives, and this barren in its higher elevations but traversed by deep, warm, political manœuvre had its effect upon the fate of his plays. fertile valleys. It formed a part of the original home of the Incas The performances of Los Comuneros were attended by members and once sustained a large population. It produces Indian corn of the different parties; the utterances of the different characters and other cereals and potatoes in the colder regions, and tropical were taken to represent the author's personal opinions, and fruits, sweet potatoes and mandioca (Jatropha manihot, L.) in every speech which could be brought into connexion with the low tropical valleys. It is also an important mining region, current politics was applauded by one half of the house and having a large number of silver mines in operation. Its name derided by the other half. A zarzuela, named El Conde de was changed from Guamanga to Ayacucho by a decree of 1825. Castralla, was given amid much uproar on the 20th of February AYAH, a Spanish word (aya) for children's nurse or maid, 1856, and, as the piece seemed likely to cause serious disorder introduced by the Portuguese into India and adopted by the in the theatre, it was suppressed by the government after the English to denote their native nurses. third performance. Ayala's rupture with the Moderates was now complete, and in 1857, through the interest of O'Donnell, he was elected as Liberal deputy for Badajoz. His political changes are difficult to follow, or to explain, and they have been unsparingly censured. So far as can be judged, Ayala had no strong political views, and drifted with the current of the moment. He took part in the revolution of 1868, wrote the "Manifesto of Cadiz," took office as colonial minister, favoured the candidature of the duc de Montpensier, resigned in 1871, returned to his early Conservative principles, and was a member of Alfonso XII.'s first cabinet. Meanwhile, however divided in opinion as to his political conduct, his countrymen were practically unanimous in admiring his dramatic work; and his reputation, if it gained little by El Nuevo Don Juan, was greatly increased by El Tanto por Ciento and El Tejado de Vidrio. His last play, Consuelo, was given on the 30th of March 1878. Ayala was nominated to the post of president of congress shortly before his death, which occurred unexpectedly on the 30th of January 1879. The best of his lyrical work, excellent for finish and intense sincerity, his Epistola to Emilio Arrieta, and had he chosen to dedicate himself to lyric poetry, he might possibly have ranked with the best of Spain's modern singers; as it is, See Rafael Floranes, "Vida literaria de Pedro Lopez de Ayala," he is a very considerable poet who affects the dramatic form. in the Documentos inéditos para la historia de España, vols. xix. and In his later writings he deals with modern society, its vices, xx.; F. W. Schirrmacher, "Über die Glaubwürdigkeit der Chronik Ayalas," in Geschichte von Spanien (Berlin, 1902), vol. v. pp. 510-disciple of Calderon. He has the familiar Calderonian limitations; ideals and perils; yet in many essentials he is a manifest AYALA Y HERRERA, ADELARDO LOPEZ DE (1828-1879), Spanish writer and politician, was born at Guadalcanal on the 1st of May 1828, and at a very early age began writing for the theatre of his native town. The titles of these juvenile performances, which were played by amateurs, were Salga por donde saliere, Me voy á Sevilla and La Corona y el Puñal. As travelling companies never visited Guadalcanal, and as ladies took no part in the representations, these three plays were written for men only. Ayala persuaded his sister to appear as the heroine of his comedy, La primera Dama, and the innovation, if it scandalized some of his townsmen, permitted him to develop his talent more freely. In his twentieth year he matriculated at the university of Seville, but his career as a student was undistinguished. In Seville he made acquaintance with Garcia Gutierrez, who is reported to have encouraged his dramatic ambitions and to have given him the benefit of his own experience as a playwright. Early in 1850 Ayala removed his name from the university books, and settled in Madrid with the purpose of becoming a professional dramatist. Though he had no friends and no influence, he speedily found an opening. A four

AYALA, DON PEDRO LOPEZ DE (1332-1407), Spanish statesman, historian and poet, was born at Vittoria in 1332. He first came into prominence at the court of Peter the Cruel, whose cause he finally deserted; he greatly distinguished himself in subsequent campaigns, during which he was twice made prisoner, by the Black Prince at Nájera (1367) and by the Portuguese at Aljubarrota (1385). A favourite of Henry II. and John I. of Castile, he was made grand chancellor of the realm by Henry III. in 1398. A brave officer and an able diplomat, Ayala was one of the most cultivated Spaniards of his time, at once historian, translator and poet. Of his many works the most important are his chronicles of the four kings of Castile during whose reigns he lived; they give a generally accurate account of scenes and events, most of which he had witnessed; he also wrote a long satirical and didactic poem, interesting as a picture of his personal experiences and of contemporary morality. The first part of his chronicle, covering only the reign of Peter the Cruel, was printed at Seville in 1495; the first complete edition was printed in 1779-1780 in the collection of Crônicas Españolas, under the auspices of the Spanish Royal Academy of History. Ayala died at Calahorra in 1407.

532.

the substitution of types for characters, of eloquence for vital dialogue. Nor can he equal the sublime lyrism of his model; but he is little inferior in poetic conception, in dignified idealization, and in picturesque imagery. And it may be fairly claimed for him that in El Tejado de Vidrio and El Tanto por Ciento he displays a very exceptional combination of satiric intention with romantic inspiration. By these plays and by Rioja and Consuelo he is entitled to be judged. They will at least ensure for him an honourable place in the history of the modern Spanish theatre.

A complete edition of his dramatic works, edited by his friend and rival Tamayo y Baus, has been published in seven volumes (Madrid, 1881-1885). (J. F.-K.)

AYE-AYE, a word of uncertain signification (perhaps only an exclamation), but universally accepted as the designation of the most remarkable and aberrant of all the Malagasy lemurs (see PRIMATES). The aye-aye, Chiromys (or Daubentonia) madagascariensis, is an animal with a superficial resemblance to a longhaired and dusky-coloured cat with unusually large eyes. It has a broad rounded head, short face, large naked eyes, large hands, and long thin fingers with pointed claws, of which the

third is remarkable for its extreme slenderness. The foot resembles that of the other lemurs in its large opposable great toe with a flat nail; but all the other toes have pointed compressed claws. Tail long and bushy. General colour dark brown, the outer fur being long and rather loose, with a woolly under-coat. Teats two, inguinal in position. The aye-aye was discovered by Pierre Sonnerat in 1780, the specimen brought to Paris by that traveller being the only one known until 1860. Since then many others have been obtained, and one lived for several years in the gardens of the Zoological Society of London. Like so many lemurs, it is completely nocturnal in its habits, living either alone or in pairs, chiefly in the bamboo forests. Observations upon captive specimens have led to the conclusion that it feeds principally on juices, especially of the sugar-cane, which it obtains by tearing open the hard woody circumference of the stalk with its strong incisor teeth; but it is said also to devour certain species of wood-boring caterpillars, which it obtains by first cutting down with its teeth upon their burrows, and then picking them out of their retreat with the claw of its attenuated middle finger. It constructs large ball-like nests of dried leaves, lodged in a fork of the branches of a large tree, and with the opening on one side.

Till recently the aye-aye was regarded as representing a family by itself-the Chiromyidae; but the discovery that it resembles the other lemurs of Madagascar in the structure of the inner ear, and thus differs from all other members of the group, has led to the conclusion that it is best classed as a subfamily (Chiromyinae) of the Lemuridae. (R. L.*) AYLESBURY, a market-town in the Aylesbury parliamentary division of Buckinghamshire, England, 38 m. N. W. by W. of London; served by the Great Central, Metropolitan and Great Western railways (which use a common station) and by a branch of the London & North-Western railway. Pop. of urban district (1901) 9243. It has connexion by a branch with the Grand Junction canal. It lies on a slight eminence in a fertile tract called the Vale of Aylesbury, which extends northward from the foot of the Chiltern Hills. Its streets are mostly narrow and irregular, but picturesque. The church of St Mary, a large cruciform building, is primarily Early English, but has numerous additions of later dates. The font is transitional Norman, a good example; and a small pre-Norman crypt remains beneath part of the church. There are some Decorated canopied tombs, and the chancel stalls are of the 15th century. The central tower is surmounted by an ornate clock-turret dating from the second half of the 17th century. The county-hall and town-hall, overlooking a broad market-place, are the principal public buildings. The grammar school was founded in 1611. Aylesbury is the assize town for the county, though Buckingham is the county town. There is a large agricultural trade, the locality being especially noted for the rearing of ducks; strawplaiting and the manufacture of condensed milk are carried on, and there are printing works. The Jacobean mansion of Hartwell in the neighbourhood of Aylesbury was the residence of the French king Louis XVIII. during his exile (1810-1814).

[ocr errors]

AYLESFORD, HENEAGE FINCH, 1st EARL OF (c. 1649-1719), 2nd son of Heneage Finch, 1st earl of Nottingham, was educated at Westminster school and at Christ Church, Oxford, where he matriculated on the 18th of November 1664. In 1673 he became a barrister of the Inner Temple; king's counsel and bencher in 1677; and in 1679, during the chancellorship of his father, was appointed solicitor-general, being returned to parliament for Oxford University, and in 1685 for Guildford. In 1682 he represented the crown in the attack upon the corporation of London, and next year in the prosecution of Lord Russell, when, according to Burnet, "and in several other trials afterwards, he showed more of a vicious eloquence in turning matters with some subtlety against the prisoners than of strict or sincere reasoning." He does not, however, appear to have exceeded the duties of prosecutor for the crown as they were then understood. In 1684, in the trial of Algernon Sidney, he argued that the unpublished treatise of the accused was an overt act, and supported the opinion of Jeffreys that scribere est agere. The same year he was counsel for James in his successful action against Titus Oates for libel, and in 1685 prosecuted Oates for the crown for perjury. Finch, however, though a Tory and a crown lawyer, was a staunch churchman, and on his refusal in 1686 to defend the royal dispensing power he was summarily dismissed by James. He was the leading counsel in June 1688 for the seven bishops, when he "strangely exposed and very boldly ran down" the dispensing power, but his mistaken tactics were nearly the cause of his clients losing their case. He sat again for Oxford University in the convention parliament, which constituency he represented in all the following assemblies except that of 1698, till his elevation to the peerage. He was, however, no supporter of the House of Orange, advocated a regency in James's name, and was one of the few who in the House of Commons opposed the famous vote that James had broken the contract between king and people and left the throne vacant. He held no office during William's reign, and is described by Macky as "always a great opposer of the administration. In 1689 he joined in voting for the reversal of Lord Russell's attainder, and endeavoured to defend his conduct in the trial, but was refused a hearing by the House. He opposed the Triennial Bill of 1692, but in 1696 spoke against the bill of association and test, which was voted for the king's protection, on the ground that though William was to be obeyed as sovereign he could not be acknowledged "rightful and lawful king." In 1694 he argued against the crown in the bankers' case. In 1703 he was created baron of Guernsey and a privy councillor, and after the accession of George I. on the 19th of October 1714, earl of Aylesford, being reappointed a privy councillor and made chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, which office he retained till February 1716. He died on the 22nd of July 1719. According to John Macky (Memoirs, p. 71; published by Roxburghe Club, 1895) he was accounted "one of the greatest orators in England and a good common lawyer; a firm asserter of the prerogative of the crown and jurisdiction of the church; a tall, thin, black man, splenatick." He married Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of Sir John Banks of Aylesford, by whom, besides six daughters, he had three sons, of whom the eldest, Heneage, succeeded him as 2nd earl of Aylesford. The 2nd earl died in 1757, and since this date the earldom has been held by his direct descendants, six of whom in succession have borne the Christian name of Heneage.

Aylesbury (Eylesburge, Eilesberia, Aillesbir) was famous in Saxon times as the supposed burial-place of St Osith. In A.D. 571 it was one of the towns captured by Cuthwulf, brother of Ceawlin, king of the Saxons. At the time of the Domesday survey the king owned the manor. In 1554, by a charter from Queen Mary, bestowed as a reward for fidelity during the rebellion of the duke of Northumberland, Aylesbury was constituted a free borough corporate, with Many of his legal arguments are printed in State Trials (see esp. a common council consisting of a bailiff, 10 aldermen and 12 chief burgesses. The borough returned two members to parliament viii. 694, 1087, ix. 625, 880, 996, x. 126, 319, 405, 1199, xii. 183, 353. from this date until the Redistribution Act of 1885, but the other 365). Wood attributes to him on the faith of common rumour the privileges appear to have lapsed in the reign of Elizabeth. Ayles-printed by Lady (Rachel) Russel (1683), ascribed in State Trials (ix. authorship of An Antidote against Poison...Remarks upon a Paper bury evidently had a considerable market from very early times, the tolls being assessed at the time of Edward the Confessor at £25 710) to Sir Bartholomew Shower; but see the latter's allusion to it and at the time of the Domesday survey at £10. In 1239 Henry III. made a grant to John, son of Geoffrey FitzPeter of an annual fair at the feast of St Osith (June 3rd), which was confirmed by Henry VI. in 1440. Queen Mary's charter instituted a Wednesday market and fairs at the feasts of the Annunciation and the Invention of the Holy Cross. In 1579 John Pakington obtained a grant of two annual fairs to be held on the day before Palm Sunday and on the feast of the Invention of the Holy Cross, and a Monday market for the sale of horses and other animals, grain and merchandise.

on p. 753.

1 Hist. of His Own Times, i. 556. Swift has appended a note," an arrant rascal," but Finch's great offence with the dean was probably his advancement by George I. rather than his conduct of state trials as here described.

Ibid. 572, and Speaker Onslow's note.
N. Luttrell's Relation, i. 447.

• State Trials, xii. 353.

« PreviousContinue »