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feet was traversed by the sound. At the period of the experiment which gave the first of these results, there was a calm; during the second, the wind was light; during the third, a strong wind was blowing. The velocity per second, in feet, was, in the first instance, 1010.28; in the second, 1098.32; in the third, 1118.10. Omitting the last of the ten results (the last above given), on account of the strong wind, the mean of the other nine gives a velocity of 1035.19 feet, at the temperature of 17.72, Fahrenheit. The mean of a table of velocities formed from observations made at Fort Franklin, by lieutenant Kendall, who accompanied captain Franklin, in his second journey to the shore of the Polar sea, gives a velocity of 1069.28 feet per second, at the temperature of 9.14, Fahrenheit.—The science of acoustics, like the other physical sciences, has been in a constant state of advancement since the revival of learning. It appears that Pythagoras knew the relation between the length of strings and the musical sounds which they produce. Aristotle was not only aware of this relation, but, likewise, that the same relation subsists between the length of pipes and their notes, and that sound was transmitted by the atmosphere. This constituted the sum of ancient learning in this branch of science. These facts were taught by Galileo, and, moreover, that the difference in the acuteness of sounds depends on the different frequency of vibrations, and that the same string, if of uniform thickness and density, must perform its vibrations in equal times. But, without attempting a history of modern discoveries in acoustics, we can only mention, that the names of Taylor, Moreland, Newton, Daniel Bernouilli, D'Alembert, Euler, Robison, Lagrange, Laplace, Chladni, T. Young and Biot are all connected with it. Of these, Newton gave the law of transmission, which we have stated in this article, and the correction for heat was made by Laplace.

ACRE; a measure of land, containing four square roods, or 160 square poles or perches. The statute length of a pole or perch is 5 yards, or 163 feet; but the length of a pole, and, therefore, the size of the acre, varies in different counties in England. The Scottish acre contains also four square roods; one square rood is 40 square falls. The English statute acre is about three roods and six falls, standard measure of Scotland; or the English acre is to the Scottish as 78,694 to 100,000. The French acre, arpent, is

equal to 54,450 square English feet, of which the English contains only 43,560. The Welsh acre contains commonly two English ones. The Irish A. exceeds the English by two roods, 1921 perches, The U. S. of A. use the English statute A.

ACRE (Akka, St. Jean d'Acre); in the middle ages, Ptolemais, a city and harbor on the coast of Syria, capital of a Turkish pachalic, between the pachalics of Damascus and Tripoli, which contains 420,000 inhabitants, and 6275 sq. miles. This city, situated at the foot of mount Carmel, is the chief emporium of Syrian cotton, and contains about 16,000 inhabitants; its harbor, though full of sandbanks, is still one of the best on this coast. At the time of the crusades, A. was the principal landing place of the crusaders, and the seat of the order of the knights of St. John as late as 1291; hence the French name, St. Jean d'Acre. The Turks, under Djezzar, pacha of this place, who is famous for his cruelty, sustained, with the assistance of the British commodore Sidney Smith, a siege of 61 days, by the French army under Buonaparte. After a great loss of men on all sides, the French abandoned the siege. (See Egypt, landing of the French in.)

ACRIDOPHAGI (Gr., from uzgis, a locust, and gayw, to eat); an ancient Ethiopian people, who are said to have fed on lo-.

custs.

ACRISIUS; the father of Danaë. (See Danaë.)

ACROCERAUNIUM; in anc. geogr. a promontory of Epirus, on which are situated the Acroceraunia or montes Ceraunii. They run between the Ionian sea and the Adriatic, where Illyria ends and Epirus begins, and are the modern Monti della Chimera.

ACROCORINTHUS; a steep rock, about 2100 feet high, near the city of Corinth, of a gray color, and picturesque form, crowned with the remains of old Venetian fortifications, repaired a little by the Greeks, since the commencement of their revolution. It was famous, in ancient times, for its citadel, and on its top stood, according to Pausanias, a temple of Venus. At its foot is a fountain, the ancient Pyrene. The shape of the A. is that of a truncated cone. This little fortress has been several times taken and retaken in the war between the Greeks and Turks. The view from the top is one of the most charming in the world. It is thus described in the "Journal of Dr. Lieber," before whom no Christian traveller, in modern times, had probably visited it, as the

Turks did not allow Christians to ascend it while it was in their hands:-"The view from this spot amply rewarded me for my trouble. To the north lay the high and snowy summits of Helicon and Parnassus, as described by Strabo, extending far under the clear blue of a southern sky. On the west was seen the bay of Crissa, mount Citharon, and the promontory of Olmiæ. On the east the Saronic gulf washes the islands of Salamis and Ægina. To the north-east lay the shore of Attica. There we could see Pentelicus, Hymettus and Laurion, and even down to the cape of Sunium. The day was very clear, so that I could discern the acropolis of Athens. To the south I could see far into the territory of Argolis. To the west Achaia and Sicyonia lay in sight. The view comprehended the scenes of the best displays of Grecian art, science and valor."

ACROPOLIS (Greek); the highest part or citadel of a city, particularly that of Athens, where the treasury and public records were kept. It is situated on a rock, and has often been the subject of contest in the late war between the Greeks and the Turks.

ACROSTIC (Greek); a poem, of which the first, and sometimes the final letters of the lines or verses form some particular word or words. The middle letters, also, are sometimes used for the same purpose. An example of the three kinds united may be seen in the following Latin hexameters: Inter cuncta micans I gniti sidera cœl I, Expellit tenebras E toto Phoebus ut orb E; Sic cæcas removet IESUS caliginis umbra S, Vivificansque simul Vero præcordia mot U, S olem justitiæ S ese probat esse beati S. The French abbés and nobles, before the revolution, often exercised their ingenuity in the composition of these poetical trifles. The French Encyclopédie moderne says, L'acrostiche était alors un poëme de cour ou de ruelle.

ACT, in law; an instrument in writing for declaring or justifying, the truth of any thing. In this sense, records, decrees, sentences, reports, certificates, &c. are called acts. The French lawyers distinguish between, 1, private records (actes sous seing privé), which must be acknowledged by the parties, in order to have legal force; 2, public documents (actes authentiques), which have legal force, without being acknowledged by the parties, as long as they are not proved spurious; and, 3, executive acts (actes exécutoires), which, until their genuineness is called in question (inscription à faux), are also binding

without acknowledgment by the parties subject to their operation. Of this kind are the records of the public notaries (actes notariés), and all the official documents of the French courts of justice. In England and the United States, act implies decree; hence, an act of parliament is a decree of parliament, confirmed by the king, a statute. (See Great Britain.) At the close of each annual session, the decrees or acts of parliament are collected into one body, which forms the statute of that session, the several decrees of which are contained in separate chapters. They are quoted according to the year of the king's reign, and according to the chapter; e. g. the act of habeas corpus is the second chapter of the statute of the year 1680, the 31st year of the reign of Charles II, and is quoted, 31 Ch. II, c. 2. In America, there is no uniform mode of quoting statutes: each separate act is deemed a distinct statute. Generally, the acts are cited by their date and year; and, if more particularity is necessary, by the chapter, when the statutes are divided into chapters. Acts in Germany are the records and documents of any transaction, especially of a lawsuit. The whole process, in that country, is carried on in writing. Nothing is received as evidence, unless laid before the court on paper. When a criminal process begins, the prisoner is brought before a judge or assistant and a writer. The judge questions: the question is written on the left side of a folio sheet; on the right side the answer of the prisoner is set down. The same takes place with every witness. The reader can imagine to what an immense bulk these acts often increase in the course of a single process. If there are witnesses in other places, an order to examine them is sent, and the papers containing the minutes of their testimony are transmitted to the place of trial. The examining judge is called the judge of inquisition (inquisitions-richter). At the close of each stage of the examination, the prisoner subscribes the minutes made during that time with the words, "read in my hearing, approved and signed." He also signs his name, as do likewise the judge and the writer. When the acts are completed (closed), they are delivered to the court, who appoint another judge to report on them and move for judgment, while another still acts as counsel for the prisoner. Afterwards, the whole court in pleno decides. In fact, in Germany, the whole course of administration is conducted in writing. In Saxony, such acts are almost

endless. In Prussia, also, they are very numerous. All acts are preserved in archives. After sentence passed in one court, the whole pile of acts is sent to a court of appeal.

ACT, in the universities, signifies a thesis maintained in public by a candidate for a degree.

ACT OF FAITH. (See Inquisition.) ACTA ERUDITORUM; the first literary journal that appeared in Germany. It enjoyed a long existence and great popularity. The example set by the Journal des Savans, and by the Giornale de' Litterati, but especially the increasing spirit of enterprise and activity among the German booksellers, induced Otto Mencke, professor at Leipsic, to lay the foundation of this periodical publication, in 1680. faving formed the necessary connexions, on his travels through Holland and England, and being assisted by the most eminent German scholars, he commenced the journal in 1682, which increased in popularity from year to year. Among the contributors were Carpzov, Leibnitz, Thomasius, &c. Its object was, to give a faithful and particular account of books; and it was conducted on the same plan, even after a better taste in composition and greater independence were introduced into literary discussions in the French journals published in Holland. The German journal began, however, to decline gradually in value, and in the number of its subscribers, particularly after 1754; and the irregularity of its appearance became at length so great, that the last volume, for 1776, was published in 1782, exactly a century from the time when the journal was commenced. The whole consists of 117 volumes in 4to., including the supplementary volumes and indices. Leibnitz, in this journal, first gave to the world his notions respecting the differential calculus.

ACTA SANCTORUM; a name sometimes applied to all collections of accounts of ancient martyrs and saints, both of the Greek and Roman churches. It is used more particularly as the title of a voluminous work, comprising all those accounts, which was commenced at the instigation of the Jesuits, in 1643, by John Bolland, a Jesuit of Antwerp, and after his death continued by other divines of the same order, known by the name of Bollandists, (q. v.) to the year 1794, but not yet finished, (Antwerp, Brussels and Tongerloo, 1643-1794, 53 volumes in folio.) Some imperfect notices of persons distinguished for their holy lives and religious constan

The

cy, during the period of the persecution of Christian believers, are found as early as the second and third centuries; particular narratives and biographies commenced with the 4th century, and were infinitely multiplied till the close of the middle ages. Since the 6th century, many works have been compiled from this immense mass of materials. first critical collection of original legends was edited by Boninus Mombritius, in 1474. The above-mentioned collection, however, surpasses all others of the kind in extent, fidelity and impartiality. It is likewise distinguished for sound criticism and excellent illustrations, which will make it forever a most valuable storehouse of ecclesiastical history, if truth is critically separated from fiction and superstition, by the historian who describes the manners and the spirit of those ages.

ACTEON; in fabulous history, the son of Aristaus and Autonoë; a great hunter. He was turned into a stag, by Diana, for looking on her when she was bathing, and was torn to pieces by his own dogs. Also, a Corinthian youth, killed by Archias, one of the Heraclidæ, in an attempt to carry him off from his father's house.

ACTION (law) a term including private suits and public prosecutions. Actions are, therefore, criminal or civil; criminal, for the punishment of crime; civil, for the obtainment of right. Civil actions are divided into real, personal and mixed. Action real is that whereby a man claims title to lands or tenements in fee or for life. Action personal is brought upon contracts, or injury to person or estate. Action mixed lies for a thing and against the person who has it. It seeks an object, and a penalty for its detention. Many personal actions die with the person. Real actions survive. In all actions merely personal, for wrongs actually committed by the defendant, as trespass, battery, slander, the action dies with the person, and never can be revived, either by or against the executors or other representatives. But in actions on contracts, where the right descends to the representatives of the plaintiff, and those of the defendant have received effects from the deceased sufficient to answer the demand, though the suits abate by the death of the parties, yet they may be revived against or by the executors. Again, actions are either local or transitory. Actions, real or mixed, for the recovery of the freehold, or for damage done to it, are to be brought in the same county where the land lies. Actions on