nacs. ALMANAC-ALMEIDA. At present, they become every year more full of statistical matter. Once they were almost entirely filled with subjects of a religious character. At another time they overflowed with astrological calculations and predictions. In the time of Napoleon, an almanac was published in France, in which, to every day, an achievement of the emperor, or something else relating to him, was added. Almanacs, in the petty principalities of Germany, exhibit the endless genealogical tables of the princes. Some almanacs in modern Greek, printed at Venice, where, formerly, all books in this language were published, we found full of astrological superstition, and matters relating to the Greek church. One of the most curious almanacs which we have seen is an Italian one for 1822, exhibiting, in a striking manner, the Italian vivacity. To the 30th of July is added, Sudano ancora le ossa! to the 11th of August, Oh! che noja; to July 12, Cascano le braccia; to January 2, Štivali e Ombrello! In Germany, almanach is the name given to annuals like those which appear in England, and the U. States of America, under the names of Souvenir, Forget me not, &c. In France, a work appears annually under the title of Alma nach des Gourmands, which is conducted with much spirit, and is in high repute among epicures. ALMANAC, Nautical. An important work of this kind is published in England annually, but two or three years in advance, bearing the name of Nautical Almanac, in which (besides most things essential to general use, that are to be found in other almanacs) are contained many interesting particulars; more especially, the distances of the moon from the sun, and from certain fixed stars, for every three hours of apparent time, adapted to the meridian of the royal observatory, Greenwich. By comparing these with the distances carefully observed at sea, the mariner may, with comparative ease and certainty, infer his longitude to a degree of accuracy unattainable in any other way, and sufficient for most nautical purposes. This almanac was commenced, in 1767, by Dr. Maskelyne, astronomer royal, and has been continued ever since. During 48 years, Dr. Maskelyne devoted the most sedulous attention to it, and it was distinguished for accuracy. Since his death, it has not been so well conducted, and the board of longitude, under whose auspices it was published, has been lately dissolved. The French Connais sance des Tems is published with the same views as the English Nautical Almanac, and nearly on the same plan. It commenced in 1698, and has been, in one or two instances, discontinued for short intervals. For many years, however, it has been published with great regularity, and in a manner highly creditable to the bureau de longitude. The most valuable of the nautical almanacs now existing, is that published at Berlin, under the superintendence of professor Encke, who has, within a short time past, taken charge of it. It is called Astronomisches Jahrbuch, and is the same which was conducted for 50 years by professor Bode, with great credit to himself. It is distinguished for completeness and accuracy. ÅLME, OF ALMA; girls in Hindostan and Egypt, whose profession is to tell stories, dance, sing, play, and appear as The latter accomplishimprovisatrici. ment is not of very difficult acquisition, as the extempore poetry of the East deals much in repetition, and is little constrained by rule. These arts are taught to female slaves, with a view to enhance their price in the market. The art of telling stories, of which the Asiatics are so fond, is undoubtedly carried to much greater perfection in the East, than with us. The Almes, in their dances, imitate the occurrences and actions of life, and often overstep the bounds of decency. Their singing, like Asiatic singing in general, is extremely poor; but in their dances, they show the greatest skill. They often amuse rich people at dinner. There are also Almes for the lower classes. ALMEIDA, Francisco and Lorenzo; faFrancisco was the first ther and son. viceroy of India, in 1505. After ravaging the coast of Africa in the course of his expedition, he subjected to the Portuguese dominion Quiloa, Onor, Cananor, with other petty states, and, in a desperate struggle, carried by storm and burned the strong fortress of Panama, though defended by a resolute garrison of 4000 men, while his own force scarcely exceeded 700. His son, who accompanied him, being now detached on a separate expedition, subdued the island of Ceylon, carried off 250,000 lbs. weight of cinna mon as the first fruits of his success, and imposed on the country an annual tribute In a subsequent exto the same amount. pedition against the combined fleets of the Arabians and Egyptians, he was slain. His father revenged his son in a bloody battle at Dabul. He then resigned his command to the famous Albuquerque, and sailed for Portugal, but was killed on the African coast, near the cape of Good Hope.-A Portuguese bishop, a Jesuit, member of the same family, called Apollinarius, suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, whither he went as a missionary, in 1568. ALMEIDA, one of the strongest fortresses in Portugal, is situated in the province of Beira, near the Spanish border, on the Coa, and contains 2750 inhabitants. In 1762, it was taken by the Spaniards, after great loss, but was restored at the peace. When Ney, 24th July, 1810, attempted to pass over the Coa into Portugal, the English defended the fortress of A. against marshal Massena, till 27th August, when they were obliged to.capitulate. In his retreat from Portugal, March 1811, the evacuation of A. cost marshal Massena a bloody battle of two days with Wellington, the 3d and 4th of May, near Fuentes d'Onoro, when the French commander, general Brenier, blew up the fortress on the night of the 11th, and made his way through the midst of the besiegers. The English have restored the works. ALMENE; a weight of 2 pounds, used to weigh saffron in several parts of the East Indies. ALMOHEDES; the name of an African dynasty which succeeded that of the Almoravides, in Barbary, in the commencement of the 12th century. ALMONER, in its primitive sense, denoted an officer of any religious establishment, to whom belonged the distribution of alms. By the ancient canons, all monasteries were to spend at least a tenth part of their income in alms,-a rule which is still followed by several convents. Every bishop, also, was required to keep an almoner. The great almoner (grand aumonier) of France was the highest ecclesiastical dignitary in that kingdom before the revolution. Napoleon restored this office, and it has been kept up by the Bourbons, but we do not know its rank at present. To the almoner belonged the superintendence of all hospitals and houses of charity. The king received the sacrament from him, and he said mass at all grand solemnities. He still officiates at the performance of the mass called Veni, Spiritus, before the chamber of deputies. The lord almoner, or lord high almoner of England, is an ecclesiastical officer, generally a bishop, who formerly received all deodands and the goods of every felo de se, which he was to distribute among the poor. He had, also, the power of giving the first dish from the king's table to whatever poor person he pleased. The emperors of Germany, too, and most of the European monarchs, had their almoners. The almoner of the pope is one of the highest officers of his state.The name almoner has been given, by some writers, to the chaplains of ships, regiments, &c. ALMOND. The common or sweet almond is a soft and pleasantly-flavored kernel, contained in a nut, which is of flattish shape, and has a tender shell, with numerous small holes on the outside. The almond-tree (amygdalus communis) is usually 12 or 14 feet high. Its beautiful pink flowers, of five petals, grow in pairs, and appear very early in spring. The leaves are oval, pointed, and delicately serrated at the edges. Its flowers are remarkably beautiful, and form a great ornament of the English shrubberies, particularly as they appear in March and April,-a season when few other parts of the vegetable creation have recovered from their wintry state. Though known to the ancients from the most remote period of antiquity, the almond-tree has been cultivated in England only since 1562, and this almost wholly on account of the beautiful appearance of its flowers, since the climate of Great Britain is not sufficiently warm for the fruit to be perfected. The almonds which are consumed in that country and the U. States are imported, sometimes in the shell, and often without, from France, Spain, Italy and the Levant; and they are packed in casks, boxes or bales. The province of Valencia was formerly much celebrated for its almonds, but the cultivation of the trees in that part of Spain has for several years been much neglected. The chief uses of sweet almonds are in confectionary and cooking. They are also eaten with raisins in desserts after dinner; but they should be well chewed, since every piece that is swallowed entire is indigestible. By pressure, they yield a considerable proportion, sometimes nearly half their weight, of oil. Some preparations of almonds are used in medicine, particularly that called milk of almonds, which is formed of pounded almonds, loaf-sugar and water, well mixed together. In some parts of the East Indies, it is said that almonds supply the place of small money.-Bitter almonds resemble, in all respects, the sweet almonds, both in the appearance of the kernels themselves, and of the trees which produce them, excepting a slight difference in the size of the flowers and fruit. Like the sweet almonds, they yield a large portion of oil. This has no bitter aess, but the substance that remains after the pressure is intensely bitter. If these almonds be eaten freely, they occasion sickness and vomiting; and, to many quadrupeds and birds, they are fatal poison. There was formerly a notion, but it is quite erroneous, that the eating of them would prevent the intoxicating effects of wine. They are frequently used instead of apricot kernels in ratifia, and sometimes are employed in making a counterfeit cherry-brandy. The oil and emulsions of bitter almonds are used in medicine, and a powder and paste for washing the hands is made both from them and from sweet almonds. By confectioners, they are much used to give flavor to biscuits and other articles. The substance which gives their peculiar flavor to bitter almonds, and to the kernels of peaches, apricots, &c., as also to the leaves of all the species of cherry and peach, is the prussic acid, so well known as a powerful medicine and poison. It is this which renders a large draught of noyau, or other cordial of a similar kind, so often injurious, or even fatal. The Prussian medical police, therefore, which is remarkably vigilant, is in the habit of examining liquors of this sort exposed for sale. For a further account of this substance, see Cherry Laurel and Prussic Acid. ALNUS, in botany. (See Alder.) ALOADIN; prince of the Assassins, or Arsacides; commonly called the Old Man of the Mountains. He was the sheik of a Syrian tribe professing the Mohammedan religion, but blindly devoted to the will of their chief, with whose temporal superiority was also mingled a sort of ecclesiastical character. Uniting, as it were, in his own person the pretensions of prince and prophet, the slightest of his commands is said to have been always executed, though at the expense of certain loss of life to the emissary. Many fabulous stories are related of this prince, from whose followers the word assassin has its derivation. ALOES are an extensive tribe of plants, some of which are not more than a few inches, whilst others are 30 feet and upwards, in height. All the leaves are fleshy, thick, and more or less spinous at the edges, or extremity. These plants, which are chiefly inhabitants of hot climates, have flowers of a single petal, the mouth expanded, the base nectariferous, and the filaments of the stamens inserted into the receptacle. Some of the Larger kinds of aloes are of great impor tance to the inhabitants of countries in which they grow. Beset as the leaves. are with strong spines, they form an impenetrable fence. The Negroes of the western coast of Africa make ropes and weave nets of the fibrous parts of these leaves. The Hottentots hollow out the stems of one of the kinds into quivers for their arrows. In Jamaica, there is a species of aloe, which supplies the inhabitants with bow-strings, fishing-lines, and materials from which they are able to weave stockings and hammocs. An aloe which grows in the kingdom of Mexico is applied by the inhabitants to almost every purpose of life. It serves to make hedges for enclosures; its trunk supplies beams for the roofs of houses, and its leaves are used instead of tiles. From this plant they make their thread, needles, and various articles of clothing and cordage; whilst from its juices they manufacture wine, sugar and vinegar. Some parts of it they eat, and others they apply in medicine. The juice of aloes was formerly used in Eastern countries, in embalming, to preserve dead bodies from putrefaction; and, as the resinous part of this juice is not soluble in water, it is sometimes adopted, in hot climates, as a preservative to ships' bottoms against the attacks of marine worms. One ounce of it, mixed with turpentine, tallow and white lead, is considered sufficient for covering about two superficial feet of plank; and about 12 pounds as sufficient for a vessel of 50 tons' burthen. In proof of the efficacy of this method, two planks of equal thickness, and cut from the same tree, were placed under water, one of them in its natural state, and the other smeared with this composition. They were suffered to continue in the water 8 months, and when, at the end of that time, they were taken out, the former was perforated in every part, and in a state of absolute decay, whilst the latter was as perfect as at first. In the East Indies, the juice of these plants is used as a varnish to preserve wood from the attacks of destructive insects; and skins, and even living animals, are sometimes smeared with it for the same purpose. There is a tract of mountains about 50 miles north of the cape of Good Hope, which is wholly covered with aloes. Among the Mohammedans, and particularly in Egypt, the aloe is a kind of symbolic plant; it is dedicated to the offices of religion, and pilgrims, on their return from Mecca, suspend it over their doors, to show that they have performed that holy journey. The inspissated juice of several species of aloes is used in medicine, under the name of aloes. The medicinal properties of aloes have been long known and established, and their extensive application in medicine is, perhaps, the best proof that can be adduced of their utility. In the arts, aloes are in several respects useful. Particularly, a beautiful violet color is afforded by the leaves of the Socotrine aloe, which does not require the aid of any mordant to fix it; the same also is capable of being formed into a fine transparent color for painting in miniature. ALOE, the great or American (agave Americana), is a large plant, the leaves of which are thick, fleshy and spinous at the edge, and the stem branched, and of great height. The flowers have the tube of the corolla narrowed in the middle, the stameus longer than the corolla, and the style longer than the stamens. This magnificent native of North America is by no means an uncommon plant in English gardens, but is seldom seen there in flower. There is, indeed, a notion, but an erroneous one, that the American aloe does not bloom until it is 100 years old. The fact is, that the time of flowering depends almost wholly on the rapidity of its growth. In hot countries, it will flower in a few years; but in colder climates, the growth being slower, it is necessarily longer in arriving at maturity. The stem, which bears the blossoms, rises from the centre of the leaves, and, when the plant is in a vigorous state, it frequently exceeds the height of 20 feet. An American aloe, in the garden of the king of Prussia, was 40 feet high. Branches issue from every side, and in such a manner as to form a kind of pyramid, composed of greenish-yellow flowers, which stand erect, and are seen in thick clusters at every joint. When in full flower, its appearance is extremely splendid; and, if the season be favorable, and the plant be sheltered from the cold in autumn, a succession of blossoms will sometimes be produced for near three months. In the warmer parts of Europe, the American aloe is cultivated as an object of consider able utility. They are frequently set out in rows, as fences for enclosures, particularly in Spain, Portugal and Italy. In Algarvia, the leaves are employed for scouring pewter, kitchen utensils and floors, and, being cut into slices, are used for the feeding of cattle. The juice of these leaves is made into cakes, which are used for washing, and will make lather with salt-water as well as with fresh. The fibres of the leaves, when properly prepared, may be separated into threads, which are useful in various ways. This is sometimes done by bruising and steeping them in water, and afterwards beating them. The process in some parts of Portugal is, after plucking the largest and best leaves, to place them on a square board, which a person presses obliquely between his breast and the ground, and then scrapes with a square iron bar, held in both hands. By this operation, all the juices are pressed out, and only the fibres and some of the membranous parts of the leaves remain, which are easily detached. The fibres are employed for all the purposes to which thread can be applied; but they are neither strong nor durable, and, if exposed to moisture, soon decay. ALOIDES (SO called from their supposed father, Aloëus). Otus and Ephialtes, sons of Iphimedia and Neptune, were enormous giants. They attempted to storm heaven with the other giants, but were killed by Apollo. As a punishment, they were bound to a stake in Tartarus, and gnawed by snakes, while an owl, on the top of the stake, disturbed them with its cries. (See Giants.) This fable, which is also differently related, originated with the Baotians, who maintain that the Aloides introduced the worship of the Muses. ALPHA and OMEGA, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, in the Holy Scriptures, signify the beginning and the end, or the first and the last; i. e. before and after all things. These two letters are, therefore, used as a symbol of the Divine Being. They were also formerly the symbol of Christianity, and engraved accordingly on the tombs of the ancient Christians, to distinguish them from those of idolaters. ALPHABET (from aga and Bira, the two first letters of the Greek alphabet); the ordinary series of the letters or syllables (in syllabic alphabets) of a language. (For the hypotheses respecting their origin, the relation between the different alphabets, and the different systems on which they are based, see the article Writing, Art of)-The number of letters and their meaning varies in the different tongues very much. The English alpha bet (including j and v) contains 26 letters; the French, 23; the Italian, 20; the Spanish, 27; the German, 26, or 24, if some compound letters are not reckoned; the Dutch, 26; the Bohemian, or that of the Czechian Slavonic dialect, 42; the Rus sian, 41; the Ethiopic, Abyssinian or Tar ALPHABET-ALPHONSO. tarian, 202, as has been asserted, but this subject needs further investigation; the Turkish, 33; the Georgian, 36; the Bengalese, 21; the Baramese, 19; the Coptic, 32; the Persic, 32; the Arabic, 28; the Armenian, 38; the Sanscrit, 50; the Japanese, 50; the Hebrew, Chaldee, Syriac and Samaritan, 22 each; the ancient and modern Greek, 24; the Latin, 22; the Cherokee, 82 syllables. Almost all alphabets begin with A. (See article A.) -For further information, see the articles on the different languages and letters. ALPHEUS; one of the largest rivers of Greece, which rises near the source of the Eurotas, in Arcadia, flows by Olympia, and falls into the Ionian sea. In mythology, a son of Oceanus and his sister Thetis. When a river-god, he fell in love with Diana, who, in order to escape him, disfigured with mire her own face, and the faces of her nymphs. He was enamored of and pursued the nymph Arethusa, but Diana concealed her in a cloud, and changed her into a fountain. Upon this, Alpheus resumed his own form of a river, and mingled his waters with hers. This fable probably arose from the circumstance, that the river Alpheus, at a certain place, is lost in the earth; the fable makes it come to light again in Sicily, where it unites with the fountain Arethusa. ALPHONSO III, king of Leon and Asturias, called the Great, succeeded his father, Ordogno, in 866, at the age of 18 years; according to some, in 862, when 14 years old. After having subdued by force the powerful nobles of his kingdom, who saw with jealousy the royal dignity remain hereditary in a family, he turned his arms against his foreign enemies, and distinguished his reign by more than 30 campaigns, and numerous victories obtained over the Moors. He crossed the Duero, overthrew the walls of Coimbra, passed the Tajo into Estremadura, added to his dominions a part of Portugal and Old Castile, and peopled Burgos anew. But all these successes did not conciliate his subjects, and he had the grief of seeing his own son, don Garcia, at the head of the malcontents, endeavoring to tear the crown from his head. A. defeated the rebels, took his son prisoner, and kept him in close confinement at the castle of Gauson. The queen, donna Ximena, then formed a dangerous conspiracy in Garcia's favor, and armed both her other sons against the king. A bloody war desolated the kingdom, until A., defeated by his own son, abdicated the crown, and placed it on don Garcia's 17 head. He afterwards commanded an ar- ALPHONSO X, king of Leon and Cas- " |