66 ALCIBIADES-ALCOHOL. When Alcibiades, son of Clinias and Dinomache, b. at Athens to which the earth is subjected has led to the employment of 450 B.C. He lost his father in the battle of Charonea, and was educated in the house of Pericles, his uncle. In his youth he gave evidence of his future greatness, excelling both in mental and bodily exercises. His handsome person, his distinguished parentage, and the high position of Pericles procured him a multitude of friends and admirers. Socrates was one of the former, and gained considerable influence over him, but was unable to restrain his love of luxury and dissipation, which found ample means of gratification in the wealth that accrued to him by his union with Hipparete, the daughter of Hipponicus. After a distinguished career in military life in Greece and Persia he was put to death 404 B.C. Al'ciphron, the most distinguished of the Greek epistolary writers, fl. about 200 A.D. Alci'ra, anc. Sabaticula, a town of Spain, in the prov. of Valencia. The surrounding country is intersected by canals, exhibiting an admirable specimen of the system of irrigation introduced by the Moors; pop. 16,146. Alcmæ'on, a Gr. anatomist, said to be the first who dissected animals. Pythagoras was his instructor. He lived about 530 B.C. Alcmæon'idæ, an Athenian family expelled from the city because of the sacrilege of their chief, Megacles, 596 B.C., and again after their turbulent contest with Pisistratus. Clisthenes, Pericles, and Alcibiades were among them. Alc'man, an ancient lyric poet, b. at Sardis, the cap. of Lydia, in Asia Minor, but lived first as a slave and afterward as a freeman in Sparta. He is the earliest erotic poet, and is said to have introduced some new metrical forms called Alemanica metra; fl. B.C. 650. Alcme'ne, in classic myth., the daughter of Electryon, King of Messene, offered herself as the wife of him who would avenge the death of her brothers, who had been slain in a contest with the sons of Pterelaus, who had carried off the cattle of Electryon. Amphitryon undertook the task, but in his absence Jupiter, disguised as Amphitryon, visited A. and related how he had avenged her brother's death. She became the mother of Heracles by Jupiter, and of Iphicles by Amphitryon. Hera, jealous of A., delayed the birth of Heracles seven days, that Eurystheus might be born first, and thus be entitled to greater rights, according to a vow of Jupiter himself, as related by Homer. Al'co, a variety of dog domesticated in Mexico and Peru before the discovery of Am. by Europeans, and also found in a wild state in those countries. Al'cock, (SIR RUTHERFORD, K.C.B.,) British naval surgeon; consul at Foochow, Shanghai, and Canton; Minister to Japan 1859, and to China 1865; b. in London 1809. Al'cohol is a limpid, colorless liquid, of a hot, pungent taste, and having a slight but agreeable smell. It is the characteristic ingredient of fermented drinks, and gives them their intoxicating quality. The source of A. is the fermentation of sugar or other saccharine matter. Sugar is the produce of the vegetable world. Some plants contain free sugar, and still more contain starch, which can be converted into sugar. The best vegetable substances, then, for yielding A. are those that contain the greatest abundance of sugar or starch. Owing to the attraction of A. for water it is impossible to procure pure A. by distillation alone. Common spirits, such as brandy, whisky, etc., contain 50 or 52 per cent. of A.; in other words, they are about half A., half water. Proof-spirit, which is the standard by means of which all mixtures of A. and water are judged, contains 57.27 per cent. by volume, and 49.50 per cent. by weight of A. The sp. gr. of proof-spirit is 918.5; and when a spirit is called above proof it denotes that it contains an excess of A.; thus, spirit of wine, or rectified spirit, with sp. gr. 838, is 54 to 58 over proof, and requires 54 to 58 per cent of water to be added to it to bring the strength down to that of proof-spirit; while the term under proof has reference to a less strong spirit than the standard. The most primitive method of learning the strength of A. was to drench gunpowder with it, set fire to the spirit, and if it inflamed the gunpowder as it died out then the A. stood the test or proof, and was called proof-spirit. The highest concentration possible by distillation gives 90 per cent. of A., still leaving 10 per cent. of water. A. is used medicinally, both internally and externally. The more common form for internal use is brandy. A. boils at 173°, and has not been frozen by any cold hitherto produced. Reduced to a temperature of 130° A. becomes of an oily and greasy consistence; at 146° it assumes the aspect of melted wax; and at 166° it gets still thicker, but does not congeal at the lowest attainable temperature. This property of non-freezing at any degree of cold ❘ A., colored red by cochineal, in the thermometers sent out to the Arctic regions. It acts as a preservative by abstracting the water from the parts it touches. It is highly inflammable, its combustion yielding only carbonic acid and water. mixed with water heat is evolved, and a condensation takes place. In 100 lbs. of A. about 53 are carbon, 13 hydrogen, and 34 oxygen. Besides the A. consumed in wine, beer, and spirits, it is much employed in pharmacy and in the arts. It is a powerful solvent for resins and oils, and hence is employed in the preparation of varnishes. A. in a concentrated form exerts a local irritant action on the membranes and tissues of the animal body. It is well known that dilute A. in contact with animal matter at a temperature of from 60° to 90° undergoes acetic fermentation, and it was maintained by Leuret and Lassaigne that a similar change took place in the stomach. A. is, however, for the most part rapidly absorbed in an unchanged state, either in the form of liquid or vapor; and this absorption may take place through the cellular (or connective) tissue, the serous cavities, the lungs, or the digestive canal. It is, however, only with absorption from the intestinal canal that we have to deal in relation to man. Almost the whole of this absorption is effected in the stomach, and it is only when A. is taken in great excess or is mixed with a good deal of sugar that any absorption beyond the stomach occurs. The rapidity of the absorption varies according to circumstances. The mode of action of A. on the system and the various phenomena of drunkenness are sufficiently described in the article INTOXICATION. It seems to be proved beyond all doubt that "A. stays for a time in the blood; that it exercises a direct and primary action on the nervous centers, whose functions it modifies, perverts, or abolishes, according to the dose; that neither in the blood nor in the expired air are any traces to be found of its transformation or destruction; that it accumulates in the nervous centers and in the liver, and that it is finally discharged from the system by the ordinary channels of elimi nation." The A., when it has entered the blood, is diffused over the whole organism, remains during apparently different periods in different organs, and almost immediately begins to escape. The fact of the retention and accumula tion of A. in the nervous centers and liver tends to throw much light on the special diseases of drunkards. The action of any kind of alcoholic drink in moderate doses is that of a somewhat rapid stimulant. The bodily and mental powers are for a time excited beyond their ordinary strength, after which there is a corresponding depression. Although the A. which is introduced into the system cannot act as a true food it indirectly takes the place of food by diminishing the wear and tear of the system, thus rendering less food sufficient, a fact which is proved by chemical experiments showing that less carbonic acid and urea are given off when A. is administered in moderation than when it is totally withheld. The influence of an excessive dose of A. has been demonstrated by various series of experi ments on animals, and unfortunately by many observed cases in man. If a poisonous dose of A. is given to an animal its action on the nervous system is the first point that is noticed. The general sensibility becomes more or less abolished, and the animal can no longer see or feel. Soon afterward the respiration fails, and finally the circulation is arrested and life ceases. As cases are of frequent occur. rence in which it is almost impossible for non-professional persons (the police, for example) to distinguish between extreme drunkenness and certain other morbid conditions, as apoplexy, concussion of the brain, and opium-poisoning, it may be practically useful if we lay down a few rules on this subject. In concussion and in extreme intoxication there is profound coma or sleepiness; but in the latter case the odor of the breath removes all difficulty of diagnosis. The most difficult cases are those in which the symptoms of concussion or apoplexy are associated with an alcoholic odor of the breath; in such cases the head should be most carefully examined for marks of violence, and every effort should be made to obtain a history of the case from those who had previously seen the patient. In poisoning by opium or laudanum the peculiar smell of the drug may generally be detected in the breath, (a test which, however, fails if morphia has been taken.) In poisoning by opium the face is pale, and the pupils of the eyes are contracted; while in drunkenness the face is flushed, and the pupils are gener ally dilated. Another difference is this. that while perfect remissions are rare in poisoning by opium, in poisoning with ALCOHOLISM-ALDEHYDE. 67 Al'cott, (WILLIAM ALEXANDER, M.D.,) b. at Wolcott, Conn., 1798; d. at Auburndale, Mass., 1859. He assisted in editing the Juvenile Rambler and the Annals of Edu cation, and was identified with most of the reforms in education, etc., of this c. He wrote a number of books, among them The House I Live In, Young Women's Guide, etc. Al'cove, (Span. alcoba, which is derived from the Arab. el-kauf, a tent,") an architectural term, denoting a sort of niche or recess in a chamber where one may recline, or where a bed may be placed. Al'coy, a town of Spain, in the prov. of Alicante, a portion of the former kingdom of Valencia. "Here is made the papel de hilo, the Librito de fumar, which forms the entire demi-duodecimo library of nine tenths of Spaniards, and with which they make their papelitos, or little paper-cigars;' 200,000 reams are annually made, of which 10,000 are used for writing, 10,000 for packing, and 180,000 for the cigarettes; pop. 30,373. A. the patient often recovers his senses, and subse- his attention to natural theology and reform in education, quently dies. A sulphate of zinc emetic should be pre- diet, and social institutions. Returning from a visit to Enscribed if there is no stomach-pump at hand; and coffee gland (1842) he brought with him two friends, one of whom, and other strong stimulants should be given.-The action of Mr. Charles Lane, bought a farm near Harvard, Mass., and oxygen on A. requires a brief notice. In a nearly anhydrous proceeded to found a new community. The scheme failed, state A. has little tendency to oxidation, but when freely and Mr. A. thenceforward devoted himself to lecturing, or diluted and exposed to the air it rapidly becomes oxidized rather conversing, on a wide range of subjects, theoretical into acetic acid. This conversion is, however, not a direct and practical. His personal worth and his originality of one, an intermediate compound, termed aldehyde, being first thought always secured him a respectful hearing; he grad formed, which is rapidly oxidized into acetic acid. Chlorine ually came to be regarded as a leader among the tranand A. react singularly on each other-the final products scendentalists, but in later yrs. he was claimed as a convert being hydrochloric acid, and a very remarkable colorless oily to orthodox Christianity. He published several books, of fluid of a peculiarly penetrating and irritating odor, called which Concord Days, the latest, contains his personal remichloral. The four best tests for discovering the presence of niscences; b. at Wolcott, Conn., 1799, d. March 4, 1888. A. are (1) Its hot pungent taste, its odor, and its great Al'cott, (LOUISA MAY,) daughter of Amos Bronson A., a volatility. (2) Absorbed in asbestos, it burns with a pale justly famous Amer. authoress, b. in Germantown, Pa., 1832. blue flame, which deposits no carbon on white porcelain; Her first volume was Flower Fables, published in 1855. and when burned in the mouth of an inverted test-tube con- During the civil war Miss A. was a volunteer nurse at the taining a few drops of solution of baryta it produces a well- South, and wrote Hospital Sketches in 1863. Little Women marked deposit of carbonate of baryta-carbonic acid and was published in 1868, and was followed at short intervals water being the products of its combustion. (3) It dissolves by Little Men, Work, Rose in Bloom, Jo's Boys, etc.; d. camphor. (4) It sets free green oxide of chromium when March 6, 1888. boiled with a few drops of a saturated solution of bichromate of potash mixed with sulphuric acid. A. is of a double use to the chemist, inasmuch as it furnishes a cleanly and valuable fuel when used in the spirit-lamp, and possesses remarkable solvent powers without in general exerting chemcal action on the dissolved substances. It dissolves many of the gases more freely than water, as, for example, nitrous oxide, carbonic acid, phosphuretted hydrogen, cyanogen, and the hydrocarbons, as, for instance, ethylene. Among the mineral substances which it dissolves may be mentioned iodine, bromine, boracic acid, the hydrates of potash and soda, the chlorides of calcium, strontium, magnesium, zinc, platinum, and gold, the perchloride of iron, corrosive sublimate, the nitrates of lime, magnesia, etc.; while among organic matters it dissolves many organic acids, bases, and neutral bodies, resins, soaps, and fats, which latter, however, dissolve more freely in ether than in A. Alcoholic solutions of substances used in medicine are called tinctures. Al'coholism. This term is applied to the diverse pathological processes and attendant symptoms caused by the excessive ingestion of alcoholic beverages. These differ if a large quantity is consumed at one time or at short intervals, or if smaller quantities are taken habitually; and hence they are subdivided into those due to (a) Acute and (b) Chronic A. To the acute forms of A. belong the acute catarrh of the alimentary mucous membrane, rapid coma, some cases of delirium tremens, and certain special forms of acute insanity; whilst to the chronic class are referred the prolonged congestions, the fatty and connective tissue degenerations of the various organs and tissues, most cases of delirium tremens, nervous affections of slow onset and course, and the cachexia, which in varying combinations attend a continuously immoderate consumption of A. Treatment. In acute gastric catarrh, copious draughts of tepid water, followed by a saline purge will be of benefit. Delirium tremens must be treated differently in the young and in the old. In the first attacks in young subjects, complete abstention from alcoholics, milk diet and moderate purgation, with bromide at night if subject is sleepless. In older cases a mild purge should begin the treatment; light but very nourishing food should be given at short intervals. Milk, beef-tea, raw eggs beaten up with milk, strong soups, etc., are to be given freely. Sedatives should be given only with great caution, but, if necessary, a full dose of laudanum, 30 to 40 drops at bed-time, is of great value. In Chronic A. easily digested and nourishing foods should take the place of the stimulants. Bitter tonics, such as nux vomica, quinine in small doses, calumba gentian, with carminatives, Aldeb'aran, (Arab. ad dabaran, "he that follows,") the as chloroform, armoracia, and capsicum, come in service. If bright reddish star, Alpha Tauri, the brightest in the conthe stomach is irritable, alkalies, carbonated waters, or hydro-stellation of the Bull. It forms a part of the V-shaped figure, cyanic acid will be found useful. In long-standing cases, codliver oil, arsenic, iron, and very small doses of opium are found of great benefit. Alcoholom ́etry is the process of estimating the percentage of absolute alcohol in a sample of spirits. Alco'ra, a town of Spain in the prov. of Castellon, 11 m. N.-W. of Castellon. Fruits, pottery, and brandy are exported; pop. 5,600. Al'cott, (AMOS BRONSON,) an Amer. philosopher, who in early life showed a special talent for the instruction of young children. His system was denounced, however, by the press, and Mr. A. left Boston for Concord, Mass., where he gave Alcudi'a, Duke of, (MANUEL DE GODOY,) known as the "Prince of Peace;" b. at Badajos, in Spain, 1767; at the age of 20 entered the king's body-guard at Madrid, and soon became a favorite of the weak Charles IV., as well as of his queen. In 1801 he led the Spanish army against the Portuguese, and signed the treaty of Badajos. In 1804 he was made generalissimo of the Spanish forces on sea and land, and invested with unlimited power; d. at Paris 1851. Al'cuin, or Flac'cus Albi'nus, the most distinguished scholar of the 8th c., the confidant and adviser of Charlemagne, was b. at York about the yr. 735. At his death in 804 he left, besides numerous theological writings, a number of elementary works on philosophy, mathematics, rhetoric, and philology; also poems and a great number of letters. Alcy'one, (Gr. Alkuone,) one of the Pleiades, the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione. (See PLEIADES.) In the star-cluster called the Pleiades, the name A. is given to the brighest one, Eta Tauri, the Pleiades being a part of the constellation Taurus, the Bull. Alcyo'nium, a genus of zoophytes, the type of a family called Alcyonide, belonging to the class Anthozoa and order Asteroida, and consisting of a polyp mass with star-like pores and polypes, which protrude when undisturbed. Al'dan, a river of Siberia, the largest tributary of the Lena; 1. 1,300 m. Al'dan Mountains, range of mountains in the N.-E. part of Asia. Highest peak, Mount Kapitan, 4,200 ft. above sea-level. the face of Taurus, which the Greeks called the HYADES, (q. v.) Al'degrever, or Alde Grever, (HEINRICH,) engraver and painter, b. 1502 at Paderborn; was living in 1555. Formed his style on that of Albrecht Dürer, but was not his pupil. He is chiefly known by his engravings. Only a few paintings can be safely ascribed to him; many of those bearing his name are copied by inferior hands from his engravings. Al'dehyde is a volatile fluid produced by the oxidation and destructive distillation of alcohol and other organic compounds. Its discoverer, Döbereiner, called it light oxygen ether; its present term is an abbreviation of alcohol 68 ALDEHYDES-ALEMANNI. dehydrogenitum, its composition being represented by that of Al'den, (JOHN,) a Mayflower Pilgrim, for 50 yrs. magistrate of Plymouth. His proposal of marriage to a Puritan lady on behalf of Miles Standish and its result form the subject of a poem by Longfellow; b. in England 1599, d. at Duxbury 1689. Ál'den, (JOSEPH, D.D., LL.D.,) an Amer. Cong. divine, Pres. of Jefferson Coll. and Principal of N. Y. State Normal School; b. 1807, d. 1885. Al'den, (NOAH,) early advocate of religious freedom in Mass.; pastor of Baptist Church from 1766 for 30 yrs. Al'den, (TIMOTHY, D.D.,) Cong. divine, founder and sometime Pres. of Allegheny Coll., Pa.; b. 1771, d. 1839. Al'den, (WILLIAM L.,) an Amer. journalist and author, b. in Mass. 1837; he was for many yrs. on the staff of the New York Times, where his humorous editorials were justly famous; he has also been a constant contributor to the magazines, and has written a number of books for boys, among which are The Moral Pirates, The Cruise of the Ghost, and The Adventures of Jimmy Brown. In 1885 he was appointed U. S. Consul-Gen. to Rome. wrote Latin poetry. He was related to the King of the West Saxons; b. 656, d. 709. Al'dine Edi'tions, the name given to the works that issued from the press of Aldo Manuzio (Lat. Aldus Manutius) and his family in Venice, (1490-1597.) Recommended by their intrinsic value, as well as by their handsome exterior, they have been highly prized by the learned and by book collectors. No one had ever before used such beautiful Greek types, of which he got 9 different kinds made, and of Latin as many as 14; d. at Rome in 1597. The printing establishment founded by Aldo continued in active opera tion for 100 yrs. Aldobrandi'ni, a noted Ital. family which contained many distinguished men; among them were Ippolito, who became Clement VIII., Salvestro, Tomaso, and Francesco, fl. 16th c. Al'drich, (HENRY, D.D.,) stanch supporter of Protestantism during James II.'s reign, musical composer, and Dean of Christ Church Coll., Oxford; b. 1647, d. 1710. Al'drich, (THOMAS BAILEY,) Amer. poet and editor; b. 1836. While engaged in the office of a New York merchant he began to write verses, the success of which soon induced him to enter on a literary career. His first volume, miscellaneous poems, was published in 1855, and was called The Bells; since then he has published Babie Bell, several other volumes of poems, and The Story of a Bad Boy. Mr. A. has been an industrious contributor to our best periodicals, and was on the editorial staff of the Home Journal (185659) and Every Saturday. In 1881 he became editor of the Atlantic Monthly, but resigned in 1890. Al'dridge, (IRA,) a successful Amer. Negro tragedian; b. in Md. 1804, d. 1867. Aldrovan'dus, (ULYSSES,) one of the most distinguished naturalists of the 16th c.; b. at Bologna 1522; devoted himself to the study of botany, and having taken his degree in medicine at the University of Bologna in 1553 he was in the following yr. appointed to the chairs of Philosophy and Logic, and also to the lectureship on Botany. He estabemployed during many yrs. in forming a museum of natural history, which he finally bequeathed to the Senate of Bologna, and it became the foundation of the splendid public museum of that city, where many of A.'s specimens remain to this day; d. 1607. Al'der, (Alnus,) a genus of plants of the natural order Betulace, (regarded by many as a sub-order of Amentaceœ.) The genus consists entirely of trees and shrubs, natives of cold and temperate climates. The gray or white A., (A. incana,) a native of many parts of continental Europe, especially of the Alps, and also of N. Am. and Kamtchatka, differs from the common A. in having acute leaves, downy beneath, and not glutinous. The common or black A. (A.lished the Botanical Garden at Bologna in 1567. He was glutinosa) is a native of Britain, and of the N. parts of Asia and Am. It has roundish, wedge-shaped, obtuse leaves, lobed at the margin and serrated. The bark, except in very young trees, is nearly black. It succeeds best in moist soils, and helps to secure swampy river-banks against the effects of floods. It attains a h. of 30 to 60 ft. Its leaves are somewhat glutinous. The wood is of an orange-yellow color, not very good for fuel, but affording one of the best kinds of charcoal for the manufacture of gunpowder, upon which account it is often grown as coppice wood. Great numbers of small A. trees are used in Scotland for making staves for herring barrels. The wood is also employed by turners and joiners; but it is particularly valuable on account of its property of remaining for a long time under water without decay, and is therefore used for the piles of bridges, for pumps, sluices, pipes, cogs of mill-wheels, and similar purposes. The bark is used for tanning and for dyeing, also for staining fishermen's nets. It produces a yellow or red color. Al'derman, a title derived from the A.-S. ealdorman, compounded of ealdor (elder) and man. Whether any definite and invariable functions were connected with the ancient rank of ealdorman does not seem to be very clearly ascertained. In modern times Aldermen are officers invested with certain powers in municipal corporations. The corresponding title in Scotland is baillie. Alderney, (Fr. Aurigny, Lat. Aurinia,) an island in the English Channel, separated from the coast of Normandy by a strait about 7 m. in w., through which the remnant of the French fleet escaped after their defeat at La Hogue in 1692. The 1. of the island is about 4 m., the w. about 1. The pop. has been on the decrease for some time. It is now 1,843. A. is a dependency of Guernsey, and subject to the British crown. Al'dershot Camp is a permanent British military camp, with barracks and huts instead of canvas tents, and provided with all the appliances for a military school valuable to officers as well as to privates. A dreary waste on the confines of Surrey, Hants, and Berks, called Aldershot Heath, was purchased by the government as the locality for the camp. The area is 7,063 acres. There are usually from 10,000 to 15,000 troops at the camp. A thriving town (pop. 20,000) has sprung up around it. Ald'helm, the first Abbot of Malmesbury and first Bishop of Sherborne, is said to have been the first Englishman who Ald'stone, or Al'ston, sometimes called Alston Moor, a market town of Cumberland, Eng., contains extensive and very productive lead mines, formerly belonging to the Earls of Derwentwater, and now to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty; pop. 5,680. Ale would seem to have been the current name in England for malt liquor in general before the introduction of hops. This took place as late as the reign of Henry VIII., about the yr. 1524. As the use of hops was derived from Germany, the German name of malt liquor, (bier,) beer, was used at first to distinguish the hopped liquor from ale, the unhopped. The word ale had in all likelihood been introduced by the Danes and other Scandinavian settlers-for öl (allied probably to oil) is still the name for malt liquor in the Scandinavian tongues-and must have driven out the beor of the Anglo-Saxons, which that people had in common with the other Teutonic nations. As now used, A. signifies a kind of beer distinguished chiefly by its strength and the quantity of sugar remaining undecomposed. The Scotch As. are distinguished for the smallness of the quantity of hops they contain and for their vinous flavor. They are fermented at an unusually low temperature. Alean'dro, (GIROLAMO,) an Ital. cardinal; librarian of the Vatican; sent by Leo X. to Germany as an opponent of Luther; b. 1480, d. 1542. A-lee, expressed by the French sous le vent, or "under the wind," is a maritime term applied to the position of the helm when so worked as to bring the head of the ship to windward. Aleman', (MATEO,) a Span. novelist; b. about the middle of the 16th c. at Seville; d. in Mexico during the reign of Philip III. Aleman'ni, (that is, "all-men,") the name of a military confederacy of several German tribes which began to appear on the Lower and Middle Main about the beginning of the 3d c. Clovis, King of the Franks, broke their power in 496, and made them subject to the Frankish dominion. The S. part of their territory was formed into a duchy, called Alemannia. The name of Swabia came afterward to be applied to the part of the duchy lying E. of the Rhine. ALEMANY-ALEXANDER THE GREAT. From the A. the French have given the name of Allemands and Allemagne to Germans and Germany in general, though the inhabitants of the N. of Switzerland, with those of Alsace and Swabia, are the proper descendants of the A. Ale'many, (JOSEPH SADOE, D.D., O.S.D.,) an Amer. prelate; R. C. Bishop of Monterey 1850; promoted to See of San Francisco 1853; resigned 1884; b. 1814. 69 Alessandres'ku, (GREGORY,) political poet of Roumania; b. 1812; d. 1886. Alessan'dri, (BASIL,) celebrated poet of Roumania; Minister of Foreign Affairs 1859-60; b. 1821; d. 1890. Alessan'dria, the principal fortress and town of the prov. of the same name in the N. of Italy, is situated near the confluence of the Bormida and Tanaro; pop. 30,761. It was built in 1168. Its original name was Cæsarea, but it was afterward called A. in honor of Pope Alexander III., who established a bishopric in it. The town has frequently been the object of sanguinary strife. It was taken and plundered in 1522 by Duke Sforza, besieged by the French under the Prince of Conti in 1657, and taken, in spite of an obstinate resistance, by Prince Eugene in 1707. After the prostration of Austria at the battle of Marengo in 1800 Bonaparte concluded an armistice at A. with his enemies, and it was the head-quarters of Napoleon III. and Victor Emmanuel in 1859. At present the citadel is one of the strongest fortresses in Europe. Alessan'dria Della Roc'ca, a town of Sicily, in the prov. of Girgenti; pop. of commune 5,214. Alembert, d', (JEAN LE ROND,) distinguished mathematician and writer of the 18th c., was b. in Paris 1717. He was exposed by his mother on the steps of the church of St. Jean-le-Rond, and the policeman who found him committed the seemingly dying infant to the care of the wife of a poor glazier, thinking it too weak to be taken to the depot. The father, without publicly avowing the child, secured to him an allowance of 1,200 francs. In 1741, at the age of 23, he was admitted a member of the Academy of Sciences. Two yrs. later appeared his Treatise on Dynamics, founded on a new and fertile principle which makes an epoch in mechanical philosophy. It reduces all the laws of motion to the consideration of equilibrium. Among the more important of his other scientific works are his Theory of the Winds, which gained the prize of the Academy of Berlin, 1746, and which contains the first conception and use of the Calculus of Partial Differences; a treatise on the Precession of the Equinoxes, giving for the first time an analytical solution of that phenomenon, as well as of the nutation of the earth's axis; Essay on the Resistance of Fluids, 1752; Researches on Some Important Points in the System of the Universe, 1754 and 1756. Frederick II. of Prussia offered him the presidency of the Academy of Berlin 1752, but he declined to leave France. In 1762 Catherine II. of Russia invited him to undertake the education of her son with a salary of 100,000 francs; and when he declined she wrote urging that to refuse to contribute to the education of a whole nation was inconsistent with his own principles, and inviting him, if he could not reconcile himself to the break-The islands abound in springs and are overrun with foxes, ing off of his pursuits and friendships, to bring all his friends with him, and she would provide both for them and for him. But A. remained steadfast. When the grand duke afterward visited Paris he good-humoredly reproached A. with his refusal; and to the excuse of the rigor of the climate and feeble health, the prince replied with the compliment, "In truth, monsieur, it is the only false calculation you have made in your life." D. 1783. Alem'bic, (formed by the Arabs from their article al and Gr. ambir, "a goblet,") is a form of still introduced into chemistry by the alchemists. The A. has been entirely superseded by the retort and receiver, or by the flask attached to a Liebig's condenser. Alemte'jo, or Alente'jo, a prov. in the S. of Portugal; area 9,431 sq. m.; pop. 367,169. The chief towns are Evora, (the cap.,) Elvas, Portalegre, Beja, Estremoz, and Mertola. Alembic. Alen'çon, chief town of the Dept. of Orne, France, is situated on the Sarthe. The inhabitants produce excellent woolen and linen stuffs, embroidered fabrics, straw-hats, lace-work, artificial flowers, hosiery, etc. The manufacture of point-lace, although still important, is not carried on to the same extent as formerly; pop. 15,939. The old DUKES OF A. were a branch of the royal family of Valois, and were descended from Charles of Valois, who perished at the battle of Crecy in 1346. Alep'po, a town in the N. of Syria, cap. of a Turkish vilayet of the same name, between the Orontes and the Euphrates, on the banks of the little desert stream, Nahr-elHaleb. It is a telegraph station in connection with Damascus and Diarbekir, on the Indo-European line, and with 120,000 inhabitants. Formerly it supplied a great part of the East with fabrics of silk, cotton, and wool, and gold and silver stuffs; but in 1822 an earthquake swallowed up two thirds of the inhabitants and transformed the citadel into a heap of ruins. The plague of 1827, the cholera of 1832, and the oppression of the government all but completed its destruction. It was once the center of Saracenic power, still retains much of the Arabic character, and its citizens are famed throughout the East for their elegant manners. Alesh 'ki, Russian town, in the Govt. of Tauria, 8 m. E. of Kherson; pop. 8,484. Ale'sia, a town of ancient Gaul, the siege and capture of which form one of Cæsar's exploits. Near the site of the ancient A., W. of Dijon, stands the modern village of Alise, or Sainte-Reine. Aleu'tian Islands, is the name of a group of about 150 islands, consisting of several clusters, which belong to the U. S., and form an insular continuation of the N. Amer. peninsula of Alaska in the shape of an arch or bridge between the former continent and Asia. They separate the Sea of Kamtchatka from the Pacific, and naturally subdivide themselves into five groups: (1) The Komandorski Islands; (2) The Sasignan, or "Nearest" Islands, (3) The Rat Islands; (4) The Andreianowski; (5) The Fox Islands, among which is Unimak, the largest in the archipelago. The islands are all craggy, and have a desolate appearance from the sea. They exhibit traces of violent internal commotion. Several volcanoes are still periodically active. The whole chain or group forms a connecting link between the volcanic range of the W. coast of Am. and Kamtchatka. dogs, and reindeer, while the coasts swarm with fish, seals, and otters. The natives, numbering only about 2,000, though once numerous, are variously regarded as of Asiatic or Amer. origin. Their occupation is hunting and fishing Their trade is chiefly in furs and fish, of which the prin cipal entrepôt is Alexandria, in the island of Rojak. Ale'wife, (Alosa tyrannus,) a fish of the same genus as the shad, which, in the end of spring and beginning of summer, appears in great numbers on the E. coast of N. Am., and enters the mouths of rivers to spawn. It ascends rivers only as far as the tide extends, and after spawning returns to the sea in the middle of summer. It prefers a soft, muddy bottom. Its length is not more than 12 in. The A. is called spring herring in some places, and gasperau by the French Canadians. Alexan'der the Great, son of Philip of Macedon and Olympias, daughter of Neoptolemus, b. at Pella 356 B.C. His boyish exclamation, "My father will leave nothing for me to do!" indicated his early and lofty ambition. His education was committed first to Leonidas, then to Lysimachus, and afterward to Aristotle. This great philosopher withdrew him to a distance from the court and instructed him in every branch of human learning, especially in what relates to the art of government, while at the same time he disciplined and invigorated his body by gymnastic exercises. A. was 16 yrs. of age when his father marched against Byzantium, and left the government in his hands during his absence. Two yrs. afterward he displayed singular courage at the battle of Chæronea, (338 B.C.,) where he overthrew the Sacred Band of Thebans. Philip, being appointed generalissimo of the Greeks, was preparing for a war with Persia, when he was assassinated, (336 B.C.,) and A., not yet twenty yrs. of age, ascended the throne. After punishing his father's murderers he went into the Peloponnesus, and in a general assembly of the Greeks he caused himself to be appointed to the command of the forces against Persia, and, having appointed Antipater his deputy in Europe, prepared to prosecute the war. He crossed the Hellespont in the spring of 334 B.C. with 30,000 foot and 5,000 horse, attacked the Persian satraps at the river Granicus, and gained a complete victory, overthrowing the son-in-law of Darius with his own lance. Egypt hailed him as its deliverer, and the battle of Arbela made him master of Asia. The victory of Issus placed the whole of Persia in his power. The marvelous successes of A. now began to dazzle his own judgment and to inflame his passions. He became a slave to debauchery, and his caprices were as cruel as they were ungrateful 70 ALEXANDER I.-ALEXANDER OF HALES. his father, William the Lion, in 1214. He early displayed that wisdom and strength of character for which he holds so high a place in history among Scottish kings. A. d. of fever at Kerrera, a small island opposite Oban, on the W coast of Argyleshire, in the 35th yr. of his reign. In a fit of drunkenness, and at the instigation of Thais, an Athenian courtesan, he set fire to Persepolis, the wonder of the world, and reduced it to a heap of ashes. Having discovered a conspiracy in which the son of Parmenio was implicated he put both father and son to death, though Parmenio himself was innocent of all knowledge of the affair. In 329 he penetrated to the furthest known limits of northern Asia, and overthrew the Scythians on the banks of the Jaxartes. In the following yr. he subdued the whole of Sogdiana, and married Roxana, whom he had taken prisoner. She was the daughter of Oxyartes, one of the enemy's captains, and was said to be the handsomest of the virgins of Asia. In the yr. 327 B.C. A proceeded to the conquest of India, then known only by name. He crossed the Indus, near to the modern Attock, and pursued his way under the guidance of a native prince to the Hydaspes, (modern Jelum,) where he was opposed by Porus, another native prince, whom he overthrew after a bloody contest. Thence he marched as lord of the country through that part of India which is now called the Punjab, establishing Greek colonies.nated the Maiden of Norway, whose untimely death, on her As he was returning from Ecbatana to Babylon it is said that the Magi foretold that the latter city would prove fatal to him; but A. despised their warnings, and, in spite of the advice of his friends, marched to Babylon, before reaching which, however, he was met by embassadors from all parts of the world-Libya, Italy, Carthage, Greece, the Scythians, Celts, and Iberians. Here he again occupied himself with gigantic plans for the future, both of conquest and civilization, when he was suddenly taken ill after a banquet and died eleven days afterward, 323 B.C. He diffused the language and civilization of Greece wherever victory led him, and planted Greek kingdoms in Asia which continued to exist for some centuries. To A the ancient world owed a vast increase of its knowledge in geography, natural history, etc. He taught Europeans the road to India and gave them the first glimpses of the magnificence and splendor which have dazzled and captivated their imagination for two thousand yrs. Alexan'der III. succeeded his father, A. II., on the Scottish throne at the age of eight, and two years later, in 1251, he married the Princess Margaret, eldest daughter of Henry III. of England. Very shortly after he had come of age his energies were summoned to the defense of his king. dom against the invasion of Haco, King of Norway, (1263,) who claimed the sovereignty of the Western Isles. In at tempting a landing at Largs, on the coast of Ayr, the Norwegian prince sustained a total defeat, and A. secured the allegiance both of the Hebrides and of the Isle of Man. The alliance between Norway and Scotland was strengthened in 1282 by the marriage of A.'s only daughter, Margaret, to Eric, King of Norway. This princess died in the following yr., leaving an infant daughter, Margaret, commonly desig way to take possession of her throne, was the occasion of so many calamities to Scotland. In 1285, while riding on a dark night between Burntisland and Kinghorn, A. III. fell with his horse over a precipice and was killed on the spot. Alexan'der VI., (BORGIA,) the most celebrated of the eight popes of this name, but the most infamous one that ever lived, as well as the most vicious prince of his age, was b. at Valencia, in Spain, in 1430. In spite of his talents and his love of art and science he disdained no means of gratifying his lust-not even perjury, murder, and poisoning. His own name was Rodrigo Lenzuoli, but he assumed the ancient and famous one of his mother's family, Borgia. He had five children by Rosa Vanozza, a woman celebrated for her beauty, two of whom equaled himself in criminality, Cæsar and Lucretia. A. was made a cardinal by his uncle Calixtus III., and on the death of Innocent VIII. was elevated to the papal chair, which he had previously secured by flagrant bribery. A. endeavored to break the power of the Italian princes, and to appropriate their possessions for the benefit of his own family. To gain this end he em Alexan ́der 1., (PAVLOVITCH,) Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias, (1801-1825,) b. 1777. With a humane and benevolent disposition the "Northern Telemaque" was imployed the most execrable means Under his pontificate bued by Laharpe with the enlightened principles of the age. Prof. Kreft instructed him in experimental physics, and Pallas in botany In 1793 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Karl Ludwig, Crown Prince of Baden, and, on the assassination of his father, Paul, on the 24th of March, 1801, succeeded him upon the throne; d. 1825. the censorship of books was introduced, and Savonarola, the earnest and eloquent Florentine priest who had advocated his deposition, was condemned to be burned as a heretic. D. 1503. Alexan'der Alexan'drovitch, son of Alexander II. of Russia. See ALEXANDER III. Alexan'der Balas, noted for his usurpation of the Syrian throne, rival of Demetrius Soter, lived 2d c. B.C. Alexan'der John I., Roumanian prince, united Walla chia and Moldavia; forced to resign 1866; b. 1820, d. 1873. Alexan'der Karageorge'vitch, elected first Prince of Servia 1842, deposed 1858, imprisoned in 1871 on suspicion of abetting the murder of his successor; b. 1806, d. 1888. Alexan'der II., Emperor of Russia, b. 1818. At sixteen he was declared of age, made commandment of the Lancers of the Guard, hetman of the Cossacks, first aide-decamp of the emperor, and subjected daily to a life of maneuvering, reviewing, and military parade, which at last seriously injured his health. It is said that he witnessed with regret the attitude which his father (Nicholas) assumed | toward Europe, and that he disapproved of the Crimean War. On his accession to the throne, March 2, 1855, he found himself in a very critical position. He had two parties to conciliate at home-the old Muscovite party, blindly zealous for war, and the more peaceable and intelligent portion of the nation. He pursued a course calculated to encourage both; spoke of adhering to the policy of his "illustrcus ancestors,' and at the same time concluded peace. He sharply rebuked the corruptions of public functionaries and severely punished some as a warning to the rest. Public instruction he placed under his own superintendence. By a ukase of May 27, 1856, he granted to all Polish exiles permission to return home; but though desirous of preserving the nationality of Poland he would not have it separated from "the great Russian family." The grand achievement of his reign, however, was the emancipation of the serfs-23,000,000 souls -by a ukase of March 3, 1861. This marks an epoch in Russian national history. He carried on wars against Bokhara in 1866, Khiva in 1873, and Khokan in 1875-76. The czar took the field during the war between Russia and Turkey in 1877-78. He was assassinated 1881. See NIHILISTS. Alexan'der III., Emperor of Russia, second son of the preceding, whom he succeeded in 1881, was b. 1845. He was crowned at Moscow 1883. He died in 1894, and was suc-ology there, when (1222) he suddenly entered the order of ceeded by his son, Nicholas II. Alexan'der I., King of Scotland, a younger son of Malcolm Ceanmor, (Big-head,) succeeded his brother, Edgar, in 1107, and, amid incessant disturbances, governed Scotland for seventeen years with great ability; d. at Stirling in 1124. Alexan'der II., King of Scotland, b. in 1198, succeeded Alexan ́der New'ski, or Nev'ski, a Russian hero and saint, b. at Vladimir in 1219 A.D., was the son of the Grand Duke Jaroslav, of Novgorod. He received the surname of Newski on account of the splendid victory over the Swedes which he achieved in 1240 on the Neva, in the prov. where St. Petersburg now stands. In 1243 A.D., on the ice of Lake Peipus, he defeated the Livonian Knights of the Sword. At the death of his father, in 1247, he became Grand Duke of Vladimir, when Pope Innocent IV. made a diplomatic attempt to reunite the Greek and Roman Churches, and with this view sent an embassy to A. N. which proved ineffectual. To the end of his life he remained a vassal of the Tartars or Mongols, d. 1263 A.D., at Kassimcow, and the gratitude of the nation perpetuated his memory in popular songs and even canonized him. Peter the Great honored his memory by building a magnificent convent on the spot where A. had fought his great battle, and by founding the knightly order of A. N. Alexan'der of Hales, (in Latin, Alexander Halensis,) a famous theologian, known as the "Irrefragable Doctor;" d. 1245. He attended the schools of Paris, got the degree of doctor, and was a noted prof. of philosophy and thethe Minorite Friars. From that time he lived the life of a studious recluse. His chief and only authentic work is the Summa Universa Theologiæ. He refused any toleration to heretics, and would have them deprived of all property; absolved subjects from all obligation to obey a prince that was not obedient to the Church. In ecclesiastical affairs, also, he |