tion of the appellant as well founded, if a want of substantial validity, or an error in form, is pointed out, or if the sentence has manifestly been passed in violation of some existing law; and they refer the cause, for decision, to another court of assizes. ASSONANCE, in rhetoric and poetry; a term used when the words of a phrase or verse have the same sound or termination, and yet make no proper rhyme. This is usually a fault in English: the Romans sometimes used it with elegance. The Latins call this similiter desinens; the Greeks, Sμolorýλcutov. ASSONANT RHYMES is a term particularly applied to a kind of verses, common among the Spaniards, where the vowels only are required to rhyme; as, ligera, cubierta, tierra, mesa, may answer, each other in a kind of assonant rhyme. they take their seats upon a sort of stage, and the doors are thrown open, that their proceedings may be subject to public scrutiny. The president now administers the oath to the 12 jurymen: then the accusation and the accompanying documents, including the observations collected on the spot where the offence was committed, are read. The attorney for the government sets forth the essential points in the accusation, which are investigated with reference to the attendant circumstances, and the corpora delicti. The evidence on both sides is then read from the record of the former trial, but the question of guilt or innocence is determined by the oral testimony given in at the time. Moreover, the rest of the judges present, the jury, the state's attorney, the accused and his advocate, also the party who complains of the injury, have full ASSUMPSIT, in law, is an action to reliberty to propose further questions to the cover a compensation in damages for the witnesses. When the examination is non-performance of a parol promise; concluded, the state's attorney, the com- that is, a promise, whether verbal or plainant and the advocate, and, if he written, not contained in a deed under wishes it, the accused, speak, in succes- seal. For breach of a promise of the latsion, upon the question at issue, usually ter kind, assumpsit will not lie; but the twice each. The witnesses are often proper remedy is by action of covenant questioned anew in regard to any doubtor debt. The word assumpsit (Latin) ful expressions, and, if every thing neces- means he undertook, and has been taken sary for the sentence is accomplished dur- as the name of this action, from its occuring the session, the president, at the same rence in declarations; i. e., formal statesession, declares the process finished. ments of the plaintiff's cause of action, The presiding officer then briefly sums when these were in Latin. The common up the evidence on both sides, and gives law adopts the maxim, that a mere nude the jurymen a written copy of the points agreement and undertaking, without any to be decided. Upon this, they retire to quid pro quo, will not constitute a binding confer, and, on their return, declare pub- contract. This maxim is commonly said licly the result of their deliberations. If to have been borrowed from the civil only seven out of the twelve jurymen law, where we find it laid down, that er bring the accused in guilty, the judges nudo pacto non oritur actio: but this seems take up the question, and, if the majority rather to have referred to agreements of the judges coincide with the minority without certain formalities. (See Fonof the jury, the accused is acquitted. If blanque On Equity, i. p. 326.) What our all the judges are in favor of his acquittal, law requires, in order to sustain a promise, and the whole or more than seven of the is termed a consideration; and it must be jury are in favor of his condemnation, the either a benefit to the party promising, or cause is deferred till the next session, at to some third person, in whom he takes which it is finally decided. If the majori- an interest; or detriment sustained by the ty of the jury are for the acquittal of the party to whom the promise is made, at accused, the president orders him to be the request of the party making it. The set at liberty, unless some other accusation degree of benefit or detriment, or its relademands his further detention. If the tive proportion to the thing promised, is accused is brought in guilty, a new ques immaterial. A promise in remuneration tion arises, relating to the punishment of an act which the party is bound to suitable to be inflicted, or the satisfaction perform, as a promise to a sailor of extra to be made to the party injured. Upon pay for extraordinary exertion in extreme this the judges agree among themselves, peril of the ship, is void. The law reand then assign the grounds of their de- gards such exertion as the sailor's previcision. Against this sentence no appeal ous duty; the consideration, therefore, for can be made, except to the court of cassa- the promise, fails. Assumpsits are of two tion. (q. v.) This court receives the peti- kinds, express and implied; the former are where the contracts are actually made, in word or writing; the latter are such as the law implies from the justice of the case; as, for instance, if I employ an artificer to do any work for me, the obvious justice of my paying him a reasonable sum for that work, when done, raises an implication, in the understanding of the law, of a promise on my part to pay him. ASSUMPTION; a city in Paraguay. (See Asuncion.) ASSUMPTION is the festival by which the Roman and Greek Catholic churches celebrate the miraculous ascent of the Virgin, on the 15th of August. One of Raphael's earlier pictures represents the empty coffin in which, according to the Catholic tradition, flowers were found after Mary had ascended to heaven. The picture is now in the Vatican. ASSURANCE. (See Insurance.) ASSYRIA; a kingdom of Asia, formerly of great celebrity. Its limits were dif ferent at different times. A., originally, was bounded on the N. by mount Niphates and Armenia the Greater; on the W. by Mesopotamia; on the S. by Susiana; and on the E. by Media. Ashur is said to have founded it. Its most famous monarchs are Ninus (q. v.) and his widow and successor, Semiramis. Ninus subdued the Babylonian, the Median and several other kingdoms, and united them to his own. In the time of Sardanapalus (about 900 years before the Christian æra, or, according to Volney, 717), Arbaces, governor of Media, made himself master of the kingdom of A. Herodotus, whose correctness has been proved by Volney, fixes the duration of the Assyrian empire in Upper Asia at 520 years. It was then divided into three kingdoms-the Median, Assyrian and Babylonian, the principal part of which were before included in the Assyrian. Soon after, A. rose again to a resemblance of its former splendor, while Media and Babylon again yielded to its superiority. Salmanassar was then the sovereign of the empire, and Nineveh the capital. About 700 B. C., Media again revolted. Cyaxares, the king of Media, afterwards forming an alliance with Nabopalassar, governor of Babylon, they marched against Nineveh, and destroyed it, B. C. 606. A. now became a province of Media; and Babylon, by the victories of Nebuchadnezzar, was made a powerful kingdom, B. C. 600. About 550 years before the Christian æra, the three kingdoms were united by the victorious Cyrus (q. v.) of Persia. ASTARTE; a Syrian goddess, probably corresponding to the Semele of the Greeks and the Astaroth of the Hebrews. According to Lucian, she had a very ancient temple in Phoenicia. Some also believe her to be the same with Here (the Juno of the Romans), and others with Aphrodite. ASTERIA, a gem, sometimes called the cat's eye, or oculus felis. It is a beautiful stone, and somewhat approaches to the nature of the opal. It is very small, and has only two colors, a pale-brown or white. It is hard, and will take a fine polish. The stone is found in the East and West Indies and in Europe. In Bohemia, they are often found imbedded in the same masses of jasper with opal. ASTERISK (a small star); a sign to refer to notes. The ancient critics made use of this sign, or of a cross (obelus), to point out an incorrect passage in the text of an author. Others used the same mark as a sign of the correctness of a passage. ASTHMA; a frequent, difficult and short respiration, joined with a hissing sound and a cough, especially during the night, and when the body is in a prone posture. ASTLEY, John; a native of Wem in Shropshire, who adopted the profession of a portrait painter, and was a pupil of Hudson, the master of sir Joshua Reynolds. He is known by his marriage with lady Daniel, a lady of large fortune, whom he had painted. He died in 1787. ASTLEY, Philip; the founder of the royal amphitheatre near Westminster bridge, London, and the author of some literary productions. He was born at Newcastle-under-Line, in 1742, served in the English cavalry, in Germany, for seven years, and, on his return, began to exhibit equestrian performances. In 1780, he erected a building which he called the amphitheatre riding-house, and for which he subsequently procured a license. He erected, afterwards, several amphitheatres in England and Paris, and wrote a treatise on horsemanship, also two works of a military character. He died at Paris, Oct. 20, 1814, aged 72. ASTRACHAN, or ASTRAKHAN, a viceroyalty of the Russian empire, extending from 46° to 52° N. lat., containing 293,000 sq. miles, with 2,600,000 inhabitants, is divided into three governments-Astrakhan (72,600 sq. miles; 223,000 inhabitants), Saratov and Orenburg. It is bounded on the N. by the country of the Bulgarians and Bashkeers; on the S. by the Caspian sea; on the W. by the Wolga, which separates it from the Nogai Tartars and the Cossacks of the Don; and on the E. 430 ASTRACAN-ASTROLOGY. by a long chain of mountains, which divides it from Tartary. The summer is long, and very hot; the winter lasts three months, and is very severe. The rich and fertile soil is not cultivated by the Tartars. On the W. and S. side are large heaths, which afford fine salt in abundance. The capital, Astrakhan, E. lon. 48° 2′ 15′′, N. lat. 46° 21′ 12", is on the island Seitza, in the Wolga, about 34 miles from the entrance of this river into the Caspian sea. It is the see of a Greek archbishop and of an Armenian bishop; has 25 Greek, 2 Armenian churches, 26 Tartar mosques, an Indian temple, a high school, a seminary for priests, a botanical garden, and many manufactures. The city, with the suburbs, is 43 miles in circumference. It contains, in 3800 houses, 30,000 inhabitants, consisting of Armenians, Tartars, Persians and Hindoos, besides 20,000 people who spend some time in the year there, on account of the fisheries. The houses are of wood, mean and inconvenient. The environs are covered with gardens and vineyards. The sturgeons, which are taken in the Wolga, are salted, and carried through all parts of Russia. In winter, they are transported without salting. The trade in caviar is of some importance. Besides sturgeons, seals and other fish are caught here. From July to Oct. large swarms of locusts are not unfrequent. Formerly, Astrakhan had commerce with Khiwa and Bukhara: at present, its trade is limited to Persia and the interior of Russia, but is still considerable. 60 vessels and 7 caravans arrive here annually. The exports are leather, linen, woollen cloth, and other European manufactures. Astrakhan imports from Persia silk ribbons worked with gold for sale in Poland, also silk and cotton stuffs, rice, raw cotton, rhubarb and some other drugs; chiefly, however, raw silk. The capital of the Ural-Cossacks, Uralskoi (containing 4000 wooden houses and 18,000 inhabitants), belongs also to this government. ASTROGNOSY (from derǹp, a star, and уivwow, I know); the science which teaches the constellations, ranks, &c., of the stars. (See Astronomy.) ASTROLABE (planisphere, analemma; from ἀστὴρ, a star, and λαμβάνω, I take); an instrument for measuring the degrees, minutes, and sometimes even the seconds, of angles. It generally consists of a horizontal circular plate of metal, having those divisions on its extreme circumfeThe utmost accuracy may be obtained in the measurement of angles, rence. by means of a peculiar contrivance (vernier), which consists of an arc, on which the smallest divisions of the circle are subdivided as minutely as is requisite in the observations, and as the skill of the maker can graduate it. This arc is movable, so that it can be fitted to the divisions of the circle. Fixed to this circle are two indexes, provided with telescopes. One of them is immovable; the other turns round the centre of the instrument. By taking sight from the vertex of the angle, at two fixed points in the direction of its sides, the arc, which measures the angle, is intersected on the circle of the instrument. In modern astronomy, this instrument is no longer used, except in the practical applications of geometry. The first application of the astrolabe to navigation was made by the physicians Roderic and Joseph, and Martin Behaim of Nuremberg, when John II, king of Portugal, desired them to invent a method of preserving a certain course at sea. They taught how to discover the situation of a vessel at sea without the use of the magnetic needle. ASTROLOGY; an art which pretends to foretell future events, especially the fate of men, from the position of the stars. It is among the oldest superstitions in the world, and, as Bailly conjectures, with great apparent probability, it owes its origin to the influence of the heavenly bodies, particularly the sun and moon, on the seasons, the weather, and the fertility of the earth. This led to the idea that these luminaries were created only for the use of the planet we inhabit, and that, as they have an influence upon the earth, they probably have some connexion with the destiny of individuals and of nations. The Egyptians have a tradition that Belus founded a colony from Egypt on the banks of the Euphrates, in Asia; and this colony was furnished with priests, according to the custom of the mother country, who were free from public taxes, and were called, by the Babylonians, Chaldees. Hence it may be conjectured, that astrology was invented by the Egyptians; among whom the inhabitants of Thebes particularly claimed the honor of the invention. Most of the ancient writers are agreed, that astrology was communicated by the Chaldees to other nations. From this circumstance, astrologers used to be called Chaldees by the ancient writers; sometimes Genethliaci (see Genethliacon); and, in later times, Chaldee has been synonymous with astrologer. (See Horoscope.) The great antiquity of this art may be inferred from the fact, that most astrological observations are founded on the position of the stars in reference to the horizon, which was the first circle recognised in the heavens; also from its being mentioned in the Mosaic history. As astrology, in later times, fell into disrepute on account of the cupidity and fraud of its practitioners, these assumed the name of mathematicians, by which they were generally known at the time of the Roman emperors. They caused so much trouble, that Tiberius at length banished them from Rome. The law relating to this banishment of astrologers, however, makes a distinction between geometry and the mathematical, i. e., astrological, art.-However objectionable astrology may be in itseif, it has been of essential use to astronomy. It has excited more interest in, and led to more careful observations of, the heavenly bodies. During the middle ages, astrology and astronomy were cultivated in connexion by the Arabs, and their works on the subject are still extant. Pico of Mirandola, who manfully combatted the errors of astrology towards the close of the 15th century, found but little attention paid to his labors. Even in the 16th and 17th centuries, astrology could boast of literary men, such as Cardano, and even Kepler, among its adherents. The Copernican system, the correctness of which experience has been continually confirming, has shaken the foundations of the ancient science; but the disease is not wholly eradicated. A full account of astrological terminology is given in Lalande's Astronomy, vol. i. (2nd edition), sect. 497. ASTRONOMY (from dopov, a heavenly body, and vópos, law) is the science of the heavenly bodies and their motions. It is founded on observation, but it receives its last perfection from calculation. What an interval from the imperfect notions of the Chaldean shepherd and the Phoenician mariner to the Celestial Mechanics of a Laplace! How many centuries of observations were necessary to render the motion of the earth suspected! How slow the progress to the laws of planetary motion, and from those laws to a universal principle of gravitation! Founded on geometrical considerations, this great principle explains all the celestial phenomena in their minutest details: there is not a single seeming irregularity which does not necessarily result from it. Outrunning the cautious advances of observation, it descends from causes to phenomena, and renders astronomy a great me chanical problem, of which the only data necessary are the motions, figures and magnitudes of the heavenly bodies. That part of the science which relates to their motions, magnitudes and periods of revolution, is called descriptive astronomy; that part which explains the causes of their motions, and demonstrates the laws by which those causes operate, is called physical astronomy. From a simple view of the heavens, we see stars, with which the blue vault above us is sprinkled, appear regularly in a certain point, rise with a uniform motion to a certain elevation, and then descend, and disappear in the opposite quarter of the heavens. This motion is common to all the heavenly bodies, and is performed in equal times, though they appear to pass through arcs of very different magnitudes. At a certain point, this motion appears to cease: this point is called the pole, which signifies a pivot, on which the heavens appear to turn. The celestial vault being conceived as forming a sphere, there are two of these points: that which is visible in our hemisphere is the north celestial pole; and that which is visible in the opposite hemisphere is the south celestial pole. The circle which bounds our view on all sides is called the horizon, or boundary: its plane passes through the centre of the earth: it is also called the celestial or rational horizon, to distinguish it from the sensible horizon, which limits the view of objects on the surface of the earth. A circle perpendicular to the horizon, passing through the poles, is called the meridian. It divides the celestial hemisphere into two equal parts, so that the heavenly bodies, at the moment they arrive at this circle, are at the middle of their apparent course: the passage of the sun over this circle determines the instant of noon. The period occupied by the stars in passing from this circle through the celestial sphere, and returning to the same point, is called a siderial day, and is a little less than 24 hours. As we remove from the poles, the arcs described by the stars gradually increase, and at an equal distance between them, we find the largest, which, dividing the celestial sphere into two equal parts, is called the celestial equator. A line drawn from the centre of the globe, through the place of the observer, ascertains a point in the heavens, perpendicularly over his head, which is called the zenith: the same line produced in the opposite direction determines a point in the opposite part of the heavens, which is called the nadir. We have thus far spoken of the ascend ing and descending of the heavenly bod- and which is the apparent path of the sun, ies in the heavenly vault. But does all this is called the ecliptic. The axis of the earth train of worlds actually move round the remaining always parallel to itself, the earth daily? Or can it be proved that opposite poles will be directed towards our senses deceive us, and that this ap- the sun once in each revolution. When a parent motion is an illusion? The true pole is directed towards the sun, it receives cause of these appearances is the motion more light and heat, and for a longer peof the earth round its own axis, from W. riod, than at any other portion of the revoto E., in the space of nearly 24 hours. A lution. It is then the summer solstice in moment's reflection will convince us that that hemisphere; the days are longest, the the horizon of the observer, as it turns nights shortest, and the heat greatest. Six along with him during the rotation of the months, or, rather, half a year from that earth, must advance towards the stars period, every thing is reversed; the same successively, so as to give them the ap- pole is turned from the sun; the light and pearance of gradually approaching the heat is received in small quantities, and horizon; as a vessel leaving the shore for a short period; the days are short, the causes it to appear to recede to a person nights long; the cold intense: it is the on board. As the meridian turns at the winter solstice. At two other points of the same time, it must arrive successively at orbit, equidistant from each other and the same stars, which will then appear to from the solstices, the poles are equally have ascended to the middle part of the inclined to the sun; they receive an course they describe above the horizon. equal supply of heat and light, and durAs soon as the star touches the western ing equal periods; the days and nights verge of the horizon, it appears to set, and are equal all over the globe: it is the verceases to be visible until the motion of the nal or autumnal equinox. The diurnal earth again brings it back on the eastern rotation of the earth on its own axis proboundary of the same circle. But has duces, therefore, the alternation of day the earth no other motion? Every one and night. The annual revolution round must have observed that the sun, besides the sun, and the obliquity of the ecliptic its apparent diurnal motion, which it has to the equator, causes the changes of the in common with all the stars, appears in seasons. The daily rotation of the earth the course of a year to change its place in produces, also, the phenomena of tides a twofold manner. First, appears to in the ocean and the atmosphere. (See rise and sink alternately towards one or Tides. Let us now take a more general other of the poles; and, secondly, if we view of the celestial phenomena. The observe its place among the stars, it ap- discovery of peculiar qualities common to pears either that the sun recedes daily to- a number of heavenly bodies, has led to wards the east, or that the stars advance the formation of classes (see Planets, Satdaily towards the west; for the stars, ellites, Comets, Fixed Stars); or convenience which we see at one time set immediately of description has clustered them into after the sun, are, on the following even- groups with fanciful names (see Constellaing, lost in his rays: some days after, they tions); or their peculiar influence on hureappear in the east, and their rising man affairs has given a name to indiprecedes daily more and more that of viduals (see Sun, Moon, Earth, &c.). At the sun. At last, after a year, or about first view, the stars in general do not seem 365 days, the sun and stars are again to change their relative positions; and, if seen in the same relative position. The they have particular motions, a long series complexity of these motions is increased of observations is necessary to render them by the confusion presented by the appa- sensible. But, by continuing to compare rent motion of the other planets: some- the heavens at different epochs, we pertimes they seem to be hurried along with ceive that some of them are distinguished great rapidity; at other times they appear by relative motions, and by the nature stationary, and, at still others, retrograde. of the light which they transmit to us. All this seeming chaos of motions is re- These we call planets, that is, wandering duced to order by a knowledge of the stars, in distinction from those, which, fact, that, while the earth turns on its axis, maintaining always the same relative poit advances, at the same time, in absolute sitions, are called fixed stars. The planets space from west to east, and performs an transmit to us a soft, mild, steady light, entire revolution round the sun in the never exhibiting any change of color. course of a year, in a plane inclined to They are opaque bodies, and their light the equator. The circle which the centre is only a reflection of that which they reof the earth describes in this revolution, ceive from the sun, around which they |