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staate, herausgeg von Steph. Edl. von Kees. Vienna, 1824. Die Douanen und Quarantaineverfassung des Estreich. Kaiserstaats, in ihrer gegenw. Gestalt von A. A. Kronegger. Vienna, 1824. Handbuch für Reisende in dem Estreich. Kaiserstaate von R. E. von Jenny: to which Hormayr's Archiv., 1824, is a useful supplement. Gelehrten und Schriftsteller-Lexicon der Estreich. Monarchie von D. Sartori, which begins in 1801, and forms a valuable addition to De Luca's Gelehrtes Estreich.

AUTENRIETH, John Henry Ferdinand, chancellor of the university of Tübingen, and professor of medicine in the same institution, was born in the year 1772, and early evinced decided talent in the department of natural science. His imagination was lively, and his memory remarkably tenacious. After he had received his doctorate, he visited North America. During his travels in this part of the world, he was attacked by the yellow fever in a solitary place, at a distance from human assistance, and saved his life by bold and copious bleeding. After his return, he was appointed professor of medicine, particularly of anatomy and clinical medicine, at Tübingen. Here he labored zealously. His lectures were eloquent, and his attention to the sick unremitted. He published, likewise, several periodicals, partly alone, partly in connexion with Reil. The king of Wurtemburg appointed him chancellor of the university of Tübingen. AUTEUIL; a small town of France, at the entrance of the wood of Boulogne, somewhat less than a mile from Paris. Men of literary reputation have often resided there. The country-seat of the poet Boileau is still shown there, where the beaux esprits of France often banqueted. On a certain time, heated with wine at a supper, the literati complained of the degeneracy of the age, and lamented their misfortune in having been born at such a period. All agreed to plunge into the neighboring Seine, and the flower of the French writers were already on their way to the river, when the thought struck Molière, that such an act, by such men, ought not to be performed in the darkness of night. The companions stopped, found he was in the right, and agreed to drown themselves at day-break, after drinking the remainder of their wine. The ingenious Andrieux brought this anecdote upon the stage in the piece Molière avec ses Amis, ou le Souper à Auteuil. While the physician Gendron was in possession of this house, he was visited by his friend Voltaire, who wrote the following not

very poetical inscription for it :-C'est ici le vrai Parnasse des vrais enfans d'Apollon.-Sous le nom de Boileau ces lieux virent Horace; Esculape y paraît sous celui de Gendron. Madame Helvetius, his widow, finally occupied it. Her evening parties here were celebrated. All who were distinguished in the walks of literature or of active life, were always welcome, whether French or foreigners. All were without restraint. Her society was therefore called la société libre des égoistes. In 1798 or 1799, Bonaparte here became acquainted with several men of liberal minds, and often used to walk with the celebrated owner in her garden. She soon perceived his soaring ambition, and said to him one day with a smile, Vous ne vous doutez pas combien on peut trouver de bonheur dans trois arpents de terre.-The monuments of several illustrious men are to be seen in the churchyard at A.; among others, that of Nicolaï, president of the chambre des comptes, and the chancellor d'Aguesseau, remarkable as a great civilian and advocate of the rights of men.

AUTHENTICS; a name applied, in the civil law, to an extract from the Novels (see Corpus Juris), by which a law of the code is either changed or entirely abolished. They were extracted by the first doctors of the law, in the middle ages, from a manuscript copy of the Novels (liber authenticus), put among the altered passages of the code, and have thus remained in the editions of the Corpus Juris. Some laws, moreover, of the emperors Frederic I and II of Germany have been introduced in this way.

AUTO DA FÈ. (See Inquisition.)

AUTOCHTHONES (from the Greek) signifies men produced from the ground which they inhabit. Several ancient nations assumed this name, to indicate the antiquity of their origin; e. g. the Athenians.

AUTOCRATOR (from Greek avròs, himself, and κpáros, power); a name given to the Athenian general, when, in particular cases, unlimited authority over the troops was intrusted to him, and he was not bound to give account of his proceedings. Thus Aristides was an autocrator in the battle of Platea. Пpeoßeis avroкpáropes were Athenian ambassadors with full powers, corresponding to our plenipotentiaries. In modern times, the word autocrat is used, in politics, for a ruler with absolute power. Thus the emperor of Russia is styled autocrat of all the Russias. Some writers on morals apply this term to

man, to represent his power over his own conduct.

AUTODIDACTI (Greek avròs, himself, and didáσkw, I teach); those who have obtained knowledge and skill in any art or science, without the personal instruction of others. AUTOGRAPHS (Gr.); manuscripts written by the author himself, in distinction from copies. They are more highly esteemed than the latter, not only as interesting relics, but also as more correct and free from faults than those copied by another hand. Some collections of autographs of famous men are very interesting.

AUTOMATON (from Gr. abróμatos, spontaneous); a self-moving machine, without life. Machines of this kind are kept in motion by means of springs or weights. When they represent human figures, they are called androides; but clocks, watches, &c. are also automata. We find very early mention of them. Homer describes Vulcan fabricating tripods, which moved on living wheels, instinct with spirit. The celebrated statue of Memnon, which emitted musical sounds at sunrise, the walking statues of Dædalus, the flying dove of Archytas (q. v.), are instances of ancient skill in this respect. In modern times, friar Bacon (q. v.) constructed a brazen head which spoke. Regiomontanus (q. v.) made a flying eagle, and an iron fly, which, after making the tour of the room, returned to its master. Albertus Magnus (q. v.), in the 13th century, spent thirty years in constructing a human figure, which advanced to the door when any one knocked, opened it, and saluted the visitor. In the water-clock presented by Charlemagne to Haroun al Raschid, twelve doors in the dial opened respectively at the hour which they represented: they continued open till noon, when 12 knights issued out on horseback, paraded round the dial, and then, returning, shut themselves in again. Camus constructed an ingenious toy for Louis XIV, consisting of a carriage drawn by two horses, containing a little figure of a lady, with a coachman and attendants. The coachman smacked his whip; the horses moved their legs naturally; and, when the carriage arrived opposite to the king's seat, it stopped; the page stepped down, and opened the door; the lady alighted, and presented a petition to Louis.The flute-player, the tambour-player, and the wonderful duck of Vaucanson (q. v.), are celebrated for the astonishing ingenuity displayed in their construction. The two brothers Droz (q. v.) have executed some admirable works of the kind. One

of them is a child, sitting at a desk, who dips his pen into the ink, shakes it, and writes, in French, whatever is dictated to him. This must be done, of course, by human intervention. A vase, presented to Bonaparte, when first consul, on being touched, exhibited a palm-tree, under which a shepherdess was spinning. The chess-player of von Kempelen (q. v.) has been supposed to be moved by a man concealed in the chest. The speaking machine of the same artist, the fluteplayer of Siegmeier, the trumpeters of Maelzel and Kaufmann, deserve mention among the later automata. One of the most ingenious automatical mechanists of the present day is the Swiss Maillardet. He constructed a female figure, which performs 18 tunes on the pianoforte; the bosom heaves, the eyes move, and the natural motions of the fingers are performed. The action of this machine continues an hour. Besides this figure, there is a magician, who answers any question taken from 20 medallions. The medallion selected is placed in a drawer, the magical books are gravely consulted, and the magician then strikes with his wand against a door, which opens, and displays an appropriate answer. His other automata are, a boy, which draws and writes; a little figure, a few inches in height, which dances to music produced in a glass case, in which it is enclosed; a humming-bird, which issues from a box, sings, and returns to the box again; a steel spider; a hissing serpent, &c. An engine has been made by Mr. Babbage capable of computing any table by the method of differences. The greater the number of differences, the more it will outstrip the most rapid calculator.

AUTOPSY (from Greek, avròs, himself, and is, sight); observation which one makes himself, in contradistinction from knowledge which we get from the accounts of others.

AUTUMN; that one of the seasons, which, in the northern temperate zone, begins when the sun, in its apparent descent to the southern hemisphere, touches the equator. The end of autumn is at the time of the sun's greatest south declination, or when he enters Capricorn. According to our computation of time, the beginning of autumn is Sept. 23, when, for the second time in the year, the days and nights are equal; and the end is Dec. 21, at the time of the shortest day. The autumn of the southern hemisphere takes place at the time of our spring. From this astronomical autumn the physical or

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popular autumn differs according to the climate.-Autumnal equinox. (See Equinox.)-Autumnal point is called, by astronomers, that point where the equator cuts the ecliptic: the sun reaches it Sept. 23. It is said to be at the beginning of Libra, and is continually marked so, notwithstanding the point has long since receded from this constellation, and is now near the stars of the left shoulder of Virgo. It is opposite to the vernal point; therefore its ascension amounts to 180°, and its longitude also to as many, or six signs; its declination and latitude = 0. AUVERGNE; a ci-devant province of France, which took its name from the ancient inhabitants, called Averni. It was surrounded by Velay and Forez, Limousin, Bourbonnais, Berry, Rouergue and Gevaudan, in the heart of France. Upper and Lower Auvergne contained together, on 500 square leagues, 800,000 inhabitants. The mountains of Auvergne are among the most noted of France. The northern part is called Puy de Dome; the southern, Puy de Cantal; while the centre is formed of the Mont d'Or. The revolution divided this province into three departments. (See Department.)Auvergne was celebrated in the time of ancient Gaul, and has always remained a very important part of France.

AUVERNAS; a deep-colored wine, made of black raisins, so called at Orleans. It is not fit to drink until a year old, but, if kept two or three years, becomes excellent.

AVA, or AUNGWA; a town in Asia, formerly the capital of Ava, or Birmah, on the Irrawaddy, 4 miles W. S. W. of Ummerapoora, 500 miles E. Calcutta; lon. 95° 58′ E.; lat. 21° 51′ N. It was divided into the upper and lower city; both fortified. The lower was about four miles in circumference, protected by a wall 30 feet high, with a deep and broad ditch; an embankment of earth supports the wall within. The upper town, which may be called the citadel, does not exceed a mile in circumference, and is much stronger and more compact than the other. The walls are now mouldering, and a great part of the timber of which the houses were built has been carried away to be used in a new town, called Ummerapoora. Numerous temples are falling, and the few houses built of brick become the abode of bats. In the temple of Logathero Praw is still to be seen a gigantic image of Godama, of marble. The height of the idol, from the top of the head to the pedestal on which it sits, is

nearly 24 feet; the head is eight feet in diameter, and across the breast it measures 10 feet. The Birmans assert that it is composed of one entire block of marble; nor can any junction be perceived. (For the country of Ava, see Birmah.) A short time ago, Mr. Crawford's Embassy to Ava, one vol., 4to., was advertised in the London papers as on the eve of appearance, which must contain much valuable information.

AVA-AVA; a plant so called by the inhabitants of Otaheite, who make an intoxicating juice out of it. Their chiefs vie with each other in drinking the greatest number of draughts, as the German students do in drinking beer.

AVADONTAS; a sect of Bramins, who, in austerity, surpass all the rest. They even reject the earthen vessels to hold provisions, and the stick to lean on-luxuries which the other sects allow themselves. Some Avadontas go perfectly naked: when hungry, they beg for something to eat: others go to the holy rivers, and there expect the peasants to feed them.

AVAL, or BAHHREIN; the largest of the Bahhrein islands in the gulf of Persia, 30 miles in length, and 12 wide, where it is broadest. Besides the fortified town of Bahhrein, it contains some poor villages. Lon. 48° 4' E.; lat. 26° 36′ Ñ.

AVALANCHES (in German, Lavinen, or Lauwinen); large masses of snow, which roll down from the mountains, causing great damage by their fall. There are three kinds. The wind or dust avalanches are so called because they are occasioned by the wind, which carries along the fresh fallen snow, and throws it, in the form of dust, into the valleys. The rapidity with which they come would render this kind the most dangerous of all, were it not for their great lightness, which renders it easy to extricate one's self from them. There have been instances of people remaining 24 hours under such avalanches without being suffocated. The second kind are called mountain, snow, hail or thunder avalanches (Schrund-Lavinen). These are not blown off by the wind, but fall by their own weight, bringing down with them all the ground on which they lie, together with the trees, rocks, &c., which are there. They generally fall in the spring, when the increasing warmth has rendered the snow more damp and heavy. Their fall makes mountain and valley tremble, and is accompanied with a noise like thunder. The third kind, earth avalanches, or land

slips, occur when the soil has been weakened by long-continued and deep-penetrating rains, when it slides down into the valleys, with all the houses, trees and entire forests which stand thereon, and causes the most horrible destruction.

AVANTURINE. (See Quartz.) AVANT-LA-LETTRE (French; before the letter). It is customary to strike off from a copper-plate a number of impressions before the name, dedication, or any other words are cut under the engraving; and, as these impressions are of course the best, they are distinguished in Europe by the name avant-la-lettre, and bear always a higher price than the common impressions. Some avant-la-lettre are extremely dear. (See Proof Impression.)

AVARES; a nation, the remains of the Scheu-Schen, driven from their country by the Turks. They came, 100 years later than the Bulgarians, to the regions around the Don, the Caspian sea and the Wolga. A part remained in Circassia, where they still exist; another portion advanced to the Danube in 555, and settled in Dacia, served in Justinian's army, aided the Lombards in destroying the kingdom of the Gepidæ, and gradually conquered (especially under the powerful khan Bajan, in 582) the region of Pannonia. Under his successors, they made themselves masters of Dalmatia, pressed into Thuringia and Italy, where they fought with the Franks and Lombards, and extended their dominion over the Sclavonians dwelling on the Danube, and farther north, as well as over the Bulgarians, on the Black sea. But they were soon divided, and lost Dalmatia in 640. Limited to Pannonia, they were at length overcome by Charlemagne, 796, and expelled from Moravia and Petschenegern. After 827, they disappear from history.

AVATÁR, in Hindoo mythology; an incarnation of the Deity. Innumerable incarnations have taken place, according to the Hindoos, but ten are peculiarly distinguished, and four of them are the subjects of Puránas, or sacred poems. These ten are the incarnations of Vishnú, the supreme God. The Matsya avatar was the descent of the Deity in the form of a fish; Kachyapa, or Kúrma, in that of a tortoise; Varáha, as a boar; Nara-singha, as a monster, half man, half lion; Vámana, as a dwarf; Parasù-Ráma, as the son of Jamadagni. All these took place in the Satya Yuga, or golden age. The others are more recent. The seventh incarnation is called Ráma-chandra avatár, the descent of Vishnu to destroy a giant.

Their contests are the subject of the celebrated epic called the Rámáyana. The eighth avatár, called Bala-Ráma, was in order to chastise other giants; the ninth, Buddt'ha, had a similar object. The Kalkì, or tenth avatár, is yet to come, at the end of the Kali Yuga, or the iron age. (See Indian Mythology.)

AVELLINO (Furca Caudina); a passage lying between a city of the same name (25 miles N. E. from Naples) and Benevento, in the valley Di Gargano. A Roman army, having entered this pass with its rear exposed, was surrounded by the Samnites, who better understood mountain warfare, and, having laid down its arms, was sent under the yoke, like slaves, B. C. 321. The surrounding country yields the mountain productions of the south (which often serve the frugal peasants for bread), sweet chestnuts and walnuts on the north side of the mountains, where they are protected against night frosts and too early blossoming. The gloomily-built city Avellino, with 11,300 inhabitants, in the Principato Ultra, contains manufactories of maccaroni, in which mountainmaize is used with chestnuts, &c. They belong to the princes Caraccioli, who have established a granary there for their vassals, and derive considerable revenues from the profitable business of dyeing, which is favored by the soft water of the surrounding country.

AVE MARIA, also AVE MARY, among the Catholics; the beginning of a prayer to the holy Virgin, whence the whole prayer is called Ave Maria. Ave, in Latin, means hail. Ave, Maria! is Hail, Mary! It is the beginning of the salutation which the angel addressed to the Virgin, when he announced to her that she should be the mother of the Savior (Luke i. 28. Ave, gratia plena: Dominus tecum; benedicta tu in mulieribus). The name Ave Maria is also given to those little balls in rosaries, each of which denotes a prayer, called Ave Maria (see Rosary); while the larger balls denote a Pater-noster. As, in Italy, a bell tolls at sun-down, which admonishes the people to address their prayers to the Queen of heaven, the close of the 24th hour, which, according to the Italian division of time, coincides always with sun-down, is called Ave Maria; and it is usual to say, at Ave Maria, half past Ave Maria, &c., instead of at 24 o'clock, half past 24, &c.

AVENTINE, John (properly, Thurmayr), a historian, born at Abensberg, in Bavaria, in 1477, studied at Ingoldstadt and at Paris, and afterwards gave lectures at

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Cracow and Ingoldstadt. In 1512, he was appointed tutor to two Bavarian princes, with one of whom he visited foreign countries. In 1517, he was appointed Bavarian historiographer, and wrote his famous Annales Bojorum (last edition by Gundling, Leipsic, 1710, folio), and his Bavarian Chronicle, both standard works for German_history. His Rudimenta Grammatica Latina were published in 1512, and contributed much to advance the study of philology in Germany. He died Jan. 9, 1534.

AVENZOAR, OF EBN ZOHAR; an Arabian physician of the 12th century, born at Seville, in Spain, where his father practised medicine. He became eminent in his profession, travelled much, and passed through many adventures, among which was a long imprisonment at Seville. He had the care of an hospital, and composed a work entitled Al Theiser, containing a compendium of medical practice, and including many facts and observations not found in preceding writers, which were probably the result of his own experience. He died at Morocco, in 1169. The report of his having lived to the age of 135 is probably an error, arising from his having been confounded with his son, of the same name and profession, who lived at Morocco, and was the author of a treatise on the regimen of health.

AVERAGE, common, customary, or petty. In case of shipments of goods, the bills of lading often contain a stipulation that the shipper shall, besides a certain rate or amount of freight-money, also pay "primage and average." The word average, in this place, originally denoted several petty charges, such as towage, beaconage, &c., which are to be borne by the ship, freight and cargo, the kind and amount of which are very various, being determined by the marine ordinances of some countries, and, in others, by the usage of particular ports. There is often a great variety in the usages at the different ports of the same country in this respect. But the practice has come very much into use in Great Britain, and is general in the United States, to allow a certain rate per cent. on the amount of the freight for primage and average, where the bill of lading provides for the payment of these. The printed form of bills of lading usually contains the words primage and average, with a blank space, so that, when filled up, it reads either with or without primage and average, according to the agreement of the parties. The laws of the United States have not hitherto

regulated the amount of these charges.Average, general or gross, consists of expenses incurred, sacrifices made, or damage sustained, for the common benefit of ship, freight and cargo, and comprehends jetson (the loss sustained by throwing overboard a part of the cargo, or of the provisions, tackle or furniture of the ship, for the general safety), or the cutting away of a mast, and also ransom paid to pirates, compromise with captors (if permitted by the laws), the damage occasioned by purposely running the vessel on shore, and, by the usage of some countries, the expense of getting a stranded vessel afloat, though it was accidentally stranded, and the expenses of delaying the voyage to seek a port to refit. The expenses and damage that are the subjects of contribution in general average, must be divided among all the parties to whom the ship, freight and cargo belong, in the proportion of their several interests. Contribution for jetson was provided for in the maritime laws of Rhodes, and thence adopted into the Roman code.-Average, particular, is the loss, expense and damage sustained on a ship, freight or cargo, which is to be borne by the party to whom the interest belongs, without any claim upon the other interests for contribution, and, in general, comprehends loss or damage that happens accidentally, and is not incurred voluntarily and purposely. It is also called partial loss, which description is likewise applied to a loss of only a part of the value of the interest at risk, in distinction from a total loss.

AVERNUS; a lake in the kingdom of Naples, between ancient Cuma and Puteoli. It is circular, in some places 180 feet deep, and surrounded by hills of a moderate height, which used to be covered with immense woods, so that gloom and darkness surrounded the lake, and accumulated effluvia filled the air with contagion. These woods no longer stand, but the regions about the lake are still unhealthy. In ancient times, a savage people fled hither, who only ventured out by night. Their conduct struck terror into the neighboring people, whose stories gave rise to the fable of the Cimmerians, who lived in perpetual darkness; and the idea arose, that the dead were here called up from the infernal world. Homer makes this lake the entrance to hell, and describes the visit of Ulysses to it. Virgil has followed in his steps. Afterwards, certain priests also took up their residence at this lake, who dealt in conjurations, exorcised spirits, &c., and carried on