and July, they add much to the danger of a passage between North America and England. We do not know that there exists an exact comparison of the natural history of the A. with that of other

oceans.

ATLANTIDES; pillars, in the form of a man, used in building, to support a projection or a cornice. (See Caryatides.)

ATLANTIS; among the ancients, the name of an island in the Atlantic, of which vague accounts had been received from ships which had ventured into the ocean. Their descriptions of its situation were very indefinite, and, as they placed it in a spot where afterwards no island was found, it was supposed that it had sunk. But some persons imagine that Phoenician or Carthaginian merchantships (as we know happened to a Portuguese ship in the time of Columbus), being driven out of their course by storms and currents, were forced over to the American coasts, from which they afterwards fortunately returned to their country; and that, therefore, the island of A. mentioned by Plato, as well as the great nameless island spoken of by Diodorus, Pliny and Arnobius, was nothing more than what is now called America.-The most distinct account of the island of A. is in Plato's Timæus. (See Allantica.)

ATLAS; a chain of mountains which extends over a large part of Northern Africa. The Greater A. runs through the kingdom of Morocco, as far south as Sahara, and is more than 11,000 feet high. The Lesser A. extends from Morocco, towards the N. E., to the northern coast. -The mythology of the Greeks assigned this mountain to a Titan, son of Japetus and Clymene. Jupiter, the conqueror of the Titans, condemned him to bear the vault of heaven; which fable arose from his lofty stature. He was endowed with wisdom, and later accounts ascribe to him much knowledge, particularly of astronomy. By Pleione, the daughter of Ocennus, he had seven daughters, who, under the name of Pleiades (called, likewise, after their father, Atlantides), shone in the heavens. According to some, he was also the father of the Hyades.-Atlas, in anatomy, is the name of the first vertebra of the neck, which supports the head. Atlas, in commerce; a silk cloth manufactured in the East Indies. The manufacture is admirable, and, as yet, inimitable by Europeans; yet it has not that lustre, which the French know how to give to their silk stuffs.-Atlas; a name

given to collections of maps and charts; so called from the giant who supported heaven. This name was first used to signify a geographical system, by Gerard Mercator, in the 16th century.

ATMOSPHERE; commonly, the air in which our earth appears to swim; but, in the widest sense, it is that mass of thin, elastic fluid, with which any body is completely surrounded. Hence we speak of an atmosphere of the sun, of the moon, of the planets, of electric and magnetic bodies, &c., the existence of which may not be fully proved, but is more or less probable. It is certain that our earth has an atmosphere, by which, according to the preceding definition, we understand the surrounding body of air and vapor. By means of its weight, the air is inseparably connected with the earth, and presses on it according to the laws of heavy, elastic fluids. Its whole pressure is equal to its weight, and, like that of all other heavy, elastic fluids, is exerted equally on all sides. If, now, by any circumstance, a stronger pressure is exerted on one side, certain phenomena are observed, which continue till the equilibrium is restored. Thus, for instance, water ascends, in the bore of a pump, above its general level, as soon as a vacuum is made between it and the piston, which is drawn up. The cause of this is the disturbance of the equilibrium, since the air without the bore presses on the water without, while no air is present within. By means of this pressure, if the bore is long enough, the water may be raised to the height of 323 feet. This is the weight with which the atmosphere presses on the earth, and which is equal to the pressure of an ocean 324 feet deep, spread over the whole earth. Hence it follows, that, at 28 inches barometrical height, the atmosphere presses with a weight of 32,440 pounds on the human body, estimated at 15 square feet. The man does not perceive this pressure, because the air entirely surrounds him, and ís, besides, within him. On account of its elasticity, it presses in every direction, even from within the man outwards, and consequently counterbalances the air spread over the body. That the atmosphere has not a uniform density, may be inferred from this, that the lower strata of the air have to support the weight of the upper ones, on which account they must become more compressed and denser. According to the law of Mariotte, the density of the atmosphere diminishes in geometrical, while the height increases in arith

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metical progression. This law may not hold at the extreme limits of the atmosphere, because the air at that height, free from all pressure, must be completely in its natural state. The height of the atmosphere has been estimated, by natural philosophers, at from 30 to 40 miles partly from the pressure which it exerts, partly from the twilight; since it is to be supposed, that the air, as far as it reflects light or receives illumination, belongs to our planet. Delambre, however (Astronomie, vol. 3, p. 337), considers this height to be almost 46 miles, which, remarkably enough, Kepler has mentioned in the Cap. Astr., p. 73. In respect to its form, the atmosphere may be considered as a spheroid, elevated at the equator, on account of the diurnal motion of the earth, and also on account of the great rarefaction of the air by the sun's rays, which there exert a powerful influence. The constituent parts of the earth's atmosphere are nitrogen and oxygen, which are found every where, and at all times, nearly in the proportion 76: 23. Beside these, there is a small portion of carbonic acid, a variable portion of aqueous vapor, and a very small, indefinite quantity of hydrogen. (See Gas.) It also contains, in the form of vapor, a multitude of adventitious substances, in those injurious mixtures known under the name miasmata, the nature of which can hardly be investigated. As to the manner in which these different ingredients are united, various hypotheses have been formed, of which that of Dalton, which denies a chemical mixture, is one of the most celebrated, but also the most opposed. (For what has been written upon the atmosphere, see the article Atmosphere, in the new edition of Gehler's Dictionary of Natural Philosophy, 1 vol., Leipsic, 1825. De Luc's Recherches sur les Modifications de l'Atmosphère, 2 vols. 4to., Geneva, 1772 (in German, Leipsic, 1776-78), still continues to be held in high esteem. See the section d'Atmosphère, in Biot's Traité d'Astronomie Physique, 2d ed., Paris, 1810, 3 vols. On the atmosphere of the sun, › moon and the other planets, see the respective articles, See, also, Air.)

ATOMS; according to the hypothesis of some philosophers, the primary parts of elementary matter not any further divisible. Moschus of Sidon, who is said to have lived before the Trojan war, taught, as we are told, that the original matter is composed of small, indivisible bodies. Leucippus (510 B. C.) established a system respecting the origin of the

world, resting on the mixture of atoms, it which chance governed, in opposition to the immaterial system of the Eleatics, who contended, that whatever existed was only one being, and that all apparent changes in the universe are mere illusions of sense. Democritus and Epicurus extended this system: the latter, particularly, made many additions to it. Lucretius, and, among the moderns, Gassendi, have illustrated the doctrine of Epicurus. Descartes formed from this his system of the vortices. Newton and Boerhaave supposed that the original matter consists of hard, ponderable, impenetrable, inactive and immutable particles, from the variety in the composition of which, the variety of bodies originates. A system founded on the theory of atoms is called atomic, e. g., that of le Sage; sometimes it is also called corpuscular philosophy, and is opposed to the dynamic theory. (See this article.) In Germany, the theory of atoms finds very few adherents: it is generally thought, in that country, a gross conception of the universe, and a very unsatisfactory one, as it only removes the question respecting the nature of matter one step farther. In France and England, the number of believers in it is greater.

ATOOI, or ATTOWA, or ATTO Way, or Towi; one of the Sandwich islands, in the Pacific ocean; about 30 miles in length from E. to W., according to some; others make it 300 miles in circumference. It has a good road and anchoringplace on the S. W. side of the island, called Wymoa. It is supposed to contain 12,000 inhabitants. The natives make canoes of fine workmanship. Some of them, from the frequent visits of British and American navigators, are able to converse in English. Several Europeans reside here. Lon. 159° 40 W.; lat. 21° 57′ N. (See Sandwich Islands.)

ATREBATES; the ancient inhabitants of Gallia Belgica, who possessed that part of Gaul afterwards called Artois. A colony of them settled in Britain. Cæsar mentions them as one of the nations confederated against him, and as having engaged to furnish 15,000 troops to the allied army. The Atrebates, or Atrebatii, in Britain, resided next to the Bibroci in a part of Berkshire and Oxfordshire. They were one of the tribes which subinitted to Cæsar.

ATREUS; son of Pelops and Hippodamia. He and his brother Thyestes murdered their half-brother Chrysippus, from jealousy of the affection entertained for him by their father. Thereupon, they

filed to Eurystheus, with whose daughter, Erope, A. united himself, and, after the death of his father-in-law, became king of Mycene. Thyestes, yielding to an unlawful passion for the wife of his brother, dishonored his bed, and had two sons by her. A., after the discovery of this injury, banished Thyestes with his sons. Thirsting for revenge, Thyestes conveyed away secretly a son of his brother, and instigated him to murder his own father. This design was discovered, and the youth, whom A. thought to be the son of his brother, was put to death. Too late did the unhappy father perceive his mistake. A horrible revenge was necessary to give him consolation. He pretended to be reconciled to Thyestes, and invited him, with his two sons, to a feast, and, after he had caused the latter to be secretly slain, he placed a dish made of their flesh before Thyestes, and, when he had finished eating, brought the bones of his sons, and showed him, with a scornful smile, the dreadful revenge which he had taken. At this spectacle, the poets say, the sun turned back in his course, in order not to throw light upon such a horrible deed.

ATRIDES. (See Agamemnon.)

ATRIP (trepor, Fr.; trippen, Dutch) is applied indifferently to the anchor or to the sails. The anchor is atrip (derangée), when it is drawn out of the ground in a perpendicular direction, either by the cable or buoy-rope. The top-sails are said to be atrip, when they are hoisted up to the mast-head, or to their utmost extent.

ATROPHY is a deficient nourishment of the body. There are many diseases in which the body becomes daily more lean and emaciated, appears deprived of its common nourishment, and, for that reason, of its common strength. It is only, therefore, in those cases in which the emaciation constantly increases, that it constitutes a peculiar disease; for when it is merely a symptom of other common diseases, it ceases with the disease, as being merely a consequence of great evacuations, or of the diminished usefulness or imperfect digestion of the nourishment received. But, when emaciation or atrophy constitutes a disease by itself, It depends upon causes peculiar to this state of the system. These causes are, permanent, oppressive and exhausting passions, organic disease, a want of proper food or of pure air, exhausting diseases, as nervous or malignant fevers, suppurations in important organs, as the lungs, the liver, &c. Copious evacuations of

blood, saliva, semen, &c., are also apt to produce this disease, and, on this account, lying-in women, and nurses who are of slender constitution, and those who are too much addicted to venery, are often the subjects of this complaint. This state of the system is also sometimes produced by poisons, e. g., arsenic, mercury, lead, in miners, painters, gilders, &c. A species of atrophy takes place in old people, in whoin an entire loss of strength and flesh brings on a termination of life without the occurrence of any positive disorder. It is known as the marasmus senilis, or atrophy of old people. Atrophy is of frequent occurrence, in infancy, as a consequence of improper, unwholesome food, exposure to cold, damp or impure air, &c., producing a superabundance of mucus in the bowels, worms, obstructions of the mesenteric glands, followed by extreme emaciation, which state of things is often fatal, although the efforts of the physician are sometimes successful, when all the causes of the disease have been previously removed. A local state of the same kind is sometimes produced in single limbs, by palsies, or the pressure of tumors upon the nerves of the limb, &c., and is generally curable by removing the cause.

ATROPOS; one of the Fates. (q. v.)

ATTACCA, Italian (attach), signifies, in music, that a passage is to follow another immediately; e. g., attacca allegro.

ATTACHMENT denotes the apprehending a person, or seizing a thing, in virtue of a writ issuing from a court. An attachment of the person is more usually called an arrest. In respect to property, the word attachment more frequently refers to an arrest of it on mesne process, or before a judgment of court. In some of the U. States, a creditor may previously attach another person's property, real or personal, to satisfy the judgment he may recover in other states, no such previous attachment can ordinarily be made, and is

permitted only in case of absconding debtors, or other particularly excepted cases. And the more general and prevailing rule throughout the world is, that the property of a person can be seized only in pursuance of a judicial order or decree, made upon testimony being produced, and the party heard; and between a creditor and debtor, the more general and almost universal rule is, that the creditor cannot seize the goods or property of his alleged debtor until the debt is established by the proceedings of a judicial tribunal. In regard to the per

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son, attachments or arrests are made for a variety of causes, and, among others, for debt. But, in respect to an arrest of the person, as well as that of property, the laws of most countries do not permit the person of any citizen to be seized and imprisoned without a decree or judgment of a court directly authorizing the arrest. But in some of the U. States, any creditor to the amount of five dollars, or some other amount, greater or smaller, may arrest the person of his debtor, at the commencement of the process against him, in order that the creditor may have his body to levy execution upon, when the debt shall be established by a judicial decree or judgment. But attachment of the person for this cause is not permitted by the laws of most countries, except in cases of the apprehended absconding of the debtor; this being an exception to the rule most generally adopted, which is, that the creditor first establishes his debt, and gets judgment and execution upon it, before he can use it as an instrument for violating the personal liberty of his debtor. In cases of alleged crime, the person of the accused party is seized, and he is imprisoned, or compelled to give bail by the laws of all countries; but he is most generally first taken before a magistrate, and permitted to show cause against being imprisoned, or required to give bail.-Another cause of attachment is, the defendant's not appearing at court, after being summoned by subpoena (an order of court prescribing a penalty in case of disobedience) out of a court of chancery. His not obeying is considered to be a contempt of the court, which thereupon orders him to be arrested, and brought into court. But attachment for this cause is not made in a court of law; for if the defendant, being summoned, does not appear, on being called in court, his default is noted, and the court proceeds to give judgment against him, upon such testimony as the plaintiff may produce. One reason of this distinction between a court of equity and a court of law is, that the presence and agency of the defendant are requisite, in many equity cases, in order to carry into effect the judgment of the court; as when the court decrees the specific execution of an agreement, or the rendering of an account, or the disclosure of facts by the defendant upon his oath. Attachments are issued by courts for various other contempts, as against an officer of a court for abusing the process of the court, e. g., if he refuse to execute it without a bribe

from a party; against a witness who refuses to appear when summoned for the purpose of giving testimony, or who refuses to testify, after he has appeared, before a court of law or a grand jury, against any person, whether an officer of the court, a party, witness, or mere bystander, for disorderly conduct in the presence of the court, whereby its proceedings are disturbed and the administration of justice interrupted; for attempting to corrupt a juryman, or forcibly detain a witness who is summoned to testify in a case; for publishing an account of the proceedings of the court while a cause is pending, in such a manner that the minds of the judges or jurors may be prejudiced by such publication; for obstructing the service of any writ or process of the court; for taking out an execution where there is no judgment; and, in general, an attachment lies against any person who directly obstructs or interferes with the regular administration of justice. It lies against the judges of an inferior court who proceed in a case con trary to the order of a superior court.

ATTACHMENT, FOREIGN, is the attachment, by a creditor, of a debt due to his debtor from a third person; called foreign attachment, from its being one mode of securing debts due from foreigners. In Scotland, it is called assisting the debt. In London, the process is called a garnishment, or warning, the person summoned being the garnishee. The same process is, in some of the U. States, called the trustee process, and the person summoned is called the trustee, on the supposition of his having in his hands and possession, or being intrusted with, the money or goods of the principal debtor.-The general rule, as to arresting debts due from third persons, by foreign attachment, is, that only absolute debts can be so attached, not the claims which the principal debtor may have against the garnishee, or supposed trustee, for damages on account of trespasses and wrongs done to him by the garnishee or supposed trustee. As the process is instituted to recover a supposed debt due to the plaintiff from the principal defendant, by obtaining satisfaction of a debtor of that defendant, he must have notice, and be made a party to the suit, and have an opportunity to dispute the demand of the plaintiff; and the law, in some instances at least, allows the garnishee or trustee, if he be really a debtor to the principal defendant, to take upon himself the defence against the plaintiff's demand.

ATTACK. Every combat consists of attack and defence: the first, with few exceptions, will always be more advan tageous: hence an experienced general chooses it, if possible, even in a defensive war. Nothing is more ruinous than to lose its advantage; and it is one of the most important objects to deprive an adversary of it, and to confine him to the defensive. The attack is directed according to the condition and position of the enemy, according to the purpose of the war, according to place, time and circumstances. Many modes and combinations are allowable. The simplest and most unexpected form will be the best. On the dexterity and courage of the troops, the correct and quick execution of the attack will depend. Those attacks are the best, where all the forces can be directed in concert towards that point of the enemy on which his position depends. If he be beaten at this point, the resistance at others will be without concert or energy. Sometimes it may be of advantage to attack the weakest side of the enemy, if in this way a fatal blow can be given to him; otherwise, an attack at this point is not advisable, because it leads to no decisive results, leaves the stronger points to be overcome afterwards, and divides the force of the assailant. In most cases, the enemy may be defeated, if his forces can be divided, and the several parts attacked in detail. The worst form of attack is that which extends the assailing troops in long, weak lines, or scatters them in diverging directions. It is always unfortunate to adopt half measures, and not aim to attain the object at any price. Instead of saving power, these consume it in fruitless efforts, and sacrifices are made in vain. Feeble assaults and protracted sieges are of this ruinous character. The forms of attack in a battle, which have been used from the earliest times, are divided by the tacticians into, 1, the parallel. This is the most natural form, and even the troops attacked strive as much as possible to preserve it; for as long as they can do so, they retain their connexion, and the power of applying their force as occasion may require; but, for this very reason, it is not the best form of attack, because it leaves the defensive party too long in possession of his advantages. 2. The form in which both the wings attack, and the centre is kept back. Where the front of the enemy is weak (the only case in which it is practicable), it appears, indeed, overpowering. 3. The form in which the centre

is pushed forward, and the wings kept back, will hardly ever be chosen, on account of several evident disadvantages. 4. The famous oblique mode, where one wing advances to engage, whilst the other is kept back, and occupies the attention of the enemy by pretending an attack. Epaminondas, if not the inventor of this form, knew, at least, how to employ it to the greatest advantage. Whilst the wing which remained behind engaged the attention of the enemy, he increased, continually, the strength of the one advancing, which he led against the flank of the enemy, with a view of overpowering it by numerical superiority. The success of this mode is almost certain, provided the enemy takes no measures against it. In our tiines, this form of attack is executed in another way-whilst engaging the enemy, his flank is surrounded by detached corps, which fall, at the same time, on his rear. If he suffers this quietly, he is vanquished. The enemy's attention is kept occupied, during such operations, mostly by feigned attacks or movements, which are called, in general, demonstrations, and are intended to keep him in error concerning the real object. (On the attack of fortresses, see the article Siege.) Field fortifications are attacked with columns, if possible, from several sides at the same time, and with impetuosity. Commonly, the artillery breaks a way beforehand, destroys the works, and disturbs the garrison.

ATTAINDER is, by the common law, the corruption of blood, or stain conse quent upon a person's being adjudged guilty of a capital offence, in which case the law set a note of infamy upon him, and put him out of its protection, taking no further concern about him, except that he should be executed. But this attainder does not take place until judgment is pronounced against him. It might be by confession, as when the party pleaded guilty, or by verdict, when he pleaded not guilty, and was found guilty by the jury. There were, formerly, by the English law, various forfeitures incident to attainder, such as incapacity to inherit or transmit property; but attainder is scarcely known at present in the laws of the U. States; at least, the term is of very rare occurrence in their laws, though there are some disabilities consequent upon conviction of perjury, or any other crime which makes a man infamous, such as incompetency to be a witness.

ATTAINT is a writ at the common law against a jury for a false verdict. It might