vertical framework, by means of which a person is enabled to overlook an
object (a parapet, for instance) intervening between himself and any view
that he desires to see, the picture of the latter being reflected from a
higher to a lower mirror, where it is seen by the observer.
AL'TITUDE, in mathematics, the perpendicular height of the vertex or apex
of a plane figure or solid above the base. In astronomy it is the vertical
height of any point or body above the horizon. It is measured or estimated
by the angle subtended between the object and the plane of the horizon, and
may be either _true_ or _apparent_. The _apparent_ altitude is that which
is obtained immediately from observation; the _true_ altitude, that which
results from correcting the apparent altitude, by making allowance for
parallax, refraction, &c. Altitude is one of the main determining
influences of local climate. Its increase has the same effect on
temperature as an increase of distance north or south of the equator.
ALTITUDE-AND-AZIMUTH INSTRUMENT. See _Altazimuth_.
ALTO, in music, the highest singing voice of a male adult, the lowest of a
boy or a woman, being in the latter the same as _contralto_. The alto, or
_counter-tenor_, is not a natural voice, but a development of the
_falsetto_. It is almost entirely confined to English singers, and the only
music written for it is by English composers. It is especially used in
cathedral compositions and glees.
ALTOFTS, a town of England, West Riding of Yorkshire, on the south of the
Calder, 3 miles north-east of Wakefield, with a fourteenth-century Gothic
church, and extensive collieries adjoining. Pop. (1921), 5050 (urban
district).
AL'TON, a town of England, in Hampshire, 16 miles north-east of Winchester,
famous for its ale. Pop. (1921), 5580.
AL'TON, a town of the United States, in Illinois, on the Mississippi near
the mouth of the Missouri, with a state penitentiary, several mills and
manufactories, and in the neighbourhood limestone and coal. Pop. 23,783.
AL'TONA, an important commercial city of Schleswig-Holstein, on the right
bank of the Elbe, adjoining Hamburg, with which it virtually forms one
city. It is a free port, and its commerce, both inland and foreign, is
large, being quite identified with that of Hamburg. Pop. (1919), 168,729.
ALTOO'NA, a town of the United States, in Pennsylvania, at the eastern base
of the Alleghanies, 244 miles west of Philadelphia, with large
machine-shops and locomotive factories. Pop. (1920), 60,331.
AL'TORF, a small town of Switzerland, capital of the canton of Uri
beautifully situated, near the Lake of Lucerne, amid gardens and orchards,
and memorable as the place where, according to legend, Tell shot the apple
from his son's head. A colossal statue of Tell now stands here. The town
possesses a beautiful church containing a remarkable organ and a picture by
Van Dyck. Pop. 3837.
[Illustration: Alto-rilievo.--Soldiers of the Praetorian Guard, the
personal body-guard of the Emperor Augustus (in the Louvre, Paris).]
ALTO-RILIEVO ([.a]l't[=o]-r[=e]-l[=e]-[=a]"vo), high relief, a term applied
in regard to sculptured figures to express that they stand out boldly from
the background, projecting more than half their thickness, without being
entirely detached. In mezzo-rilievo, or middle relief, the projection is
one-half, and in basso-rilievo, or bas-relief, less than one-half.
Alto-rilievo is further distinguished from mezzo-rilievo by some portion of
the figures standing usually quite free from the surface on which they are
carved, while in the latter the figures, though rounded, are not detached
in any part.
ALTOETTING ([.a]lt-eut'ing), a famous place of pilgrimage, in Bavaria, 52
miles E.N.E. of Munich, near the Inn, with an ancient image of the Madonna
(the Black Virgin) in a chapel dating from 696, and containing a rich
treasure in gold and precious stones; and another chapel in which Tilly was
buried. Pop. 5408.
ALTRANST[:A]DT ([.a]lt'-r[.a]n-stet), a village of Saxony, where a treaty
was concluded between Charles XII, King of Sweden, and Augustus, Elector of
Saxony and King of Poland, 24th Sept., 1706, by which the latter resigned
the crown of Poland.
ALT'RINGHAM, or ALTRINCHAM, a town of England, in Cheshire, 8 miles
south-west of Manchester, resorted to by invalids; large quantities of
fruit and vegetables are raised; and there are several industrial works.
Pop. 20,461. Also a parliamentary division of the county.
AL'TRUISM, a term first employed by the French philosopher Comte, to
signify devotion to others or to humanity: the opposite of _selfishness_ or
_egoism_. It was adopted by the English positivists and applied to
sociological problems of the physical theory of organic evolution. Herbert
Spencer gives considerable space to the discussion of altruism and egoism
in his _Data of Ethics_.
ALTST[:A]TTEN ([.a]lt'stet-n), a town of Switzerland, canton St. Gall, in
the valley of the Rhine, 10 miles south of the Lake of Constance, with
manufactures of cotton and woollen goods. Pop. 8743.
ALTWASSER ([.a]lt'v[.a]s-[.e]r), a town of Prussia, in Silesia, 35 miles
south-west of Breslau; here are made porcelain, machinery, iron, yarn,
mirrors, &c. Pop. 17,321.
AL'UM, a well-known crystalline, astringent substance with a sweetish
taste, a double sulphate of potassium and aluminium with water of
crystallization; formula, K_2SO_4.Al_2(SO_4)_3.24 H_2O. It crystallizes in
colourless regular octahedra. Its solution reddens vegetable blues. When
heated, its water of crystallization is driven off, and it becomes light
and spongy with slightly corrosive properties, and is used as a caustic
under the name of _burnt alum_. Alum is prepared in Great Britain at Whitby
from alum-slate--where it forms the cliffs for miles--and was once
manufactured near Glasgow from bituminous alum-shale and slate-clay,
obtained from old coal-pits. It is also prepared near Rome from alum-stone.
Common alum is strictly _potash_ alum; other two varieties are _soda_ alum
and _ammonia_ alum, both similar in properties. _Iron alum_ (pale mauve)
and _chrome alum_ (deep purple) are compounds containing iron and chromium
in place of aluminium. Alum is employed to harden tallow, to remove grease
from printers' cushions and blocks in calico manufactories, and in dyeing
as a mordant. It is also largely used in the composition of crayons, in
tannery, and in medicine (as an astringent and styptic). Wood and paper are
dipped in a solution of alum to render them less combustible.
ALUMBAGH (_a_-l_a_m-b[:a]g'), a palace and connected buildings in
Hindustan, about 4 miles south of Lucknow. On the outbreak of the Indian
Mutiny it was occupied by the revolted sepoys, and converted into a fort.
On the 23rd Sept., 1857, it was captured by the British, and during the
following winter a British garrison, under Sir James Outram, held out
there, though repeatedly attacked by overwhelming numbers of the rebels,
till in March, 1858, it was finally relieved. Sir Henry Havelock was buried
within the grounds.
ALU'MINA (Al_2O_3), the single oxide of the metal aluminium. As found
native it is called corundum, when crystallized ruby or sapphire, when
amorphous emery. It is next to the diamond in hardness. In combination with
silica it is one of the most widely distributed of substances, as it enters
in large quantity into the composition of granite, traps, slates, schists,
clays, loams, and other rocks. The porcelain clays and kaolins contain
about half their weight of this earth, to which they owe their most
valuable properties. It forms compounds with certain colouring matters,
which causes it to be employed in the preparation of the colours called
_lakes_ in dyeing and calico-printing. It combines with the acids and forms
numerous salts, the most important of which are the sulphate (see _Alum_)
and acetate, the latter of extensive use as a mordant.
ALUMIN'IUM (symbol Al, atomic weight 27.1), a metal discovered in 1827, but
nowhere found native, although its oxide, alumina (which see), is
abundantly distributed. The minerals _bauxite_ and _cryolite_ are sources
of aluminium, but the chief source is the pure oxide, from which the metal
is obtained by means of a strong electric current. It is a shining white
metal, of a colour between that of silver and platinum, very light
(specific gravity, 2.56 cast, 2.67 hammered), not liable to tarnish nor
undergo oxidation in the air, very ductile and malleable, and remarkably
sonorous. It forms several useful alloys with iron and copper; one of the
latter (_aluminium gold_) much resembles gold, and is made into cheap
trinkets. Another, known as _aluminium bronze_, possesses great hardness
and tenacity. Spoons, tea and coffee pots, dish-covers, musical and
mathematical instruments, trinkets, &c., are made of aluminium.
ALUM-ROOT, the name given in America to two plants from the remarkable
astringency of their roots, which are used for medical purposes:
_Ger[=a]nium macul[=a]tum_ and _Heuch[)e]ra americ[=a]na_ (nat. ord.
Saxifragaceae).
ALUM-SLATE, or ALUM-SCHIST, a slaty rock from which much alum is prepared;
colour greyish, bluish, or iron-black; often possessed of a glossy or
shining lustre; chiefly composed of clay (silicate of alumina), with
variable proportions of sulphide of iron (iron-pyrites), lime, bitumen, and
magnesia.
ALUM-STONE. See _Alunite_.
ALUNITE, a mineral sulphate of aluminium and potassium, greyish or
yellowish white, from which alum is prepared in Sicily by roasting and
lixiviation. It is regarded as a possible source of potassium for
agriculture and also of aluminium. A considerable vein occurs in Utah.
ALUN'NO, Niccolo (real name NICCOLO DE LIBERATORE), an Italian painter of
the fifteenth century, the founder of the Umbrian School, born in Foligno
about 1430, died 1502. Vasari, interpreting wrongly the passage "Nicholaus
alumnus Fulginiae", gave him the name of Alunno.
AL'VA, a town of Scotland, in Clackmannanshire, 2-1/2 miles north of Alloa,
near the River Devon, at the foot of the Ochils. It manufactures woollen
shawls, tweeds, yarn, &c. Pop. (1921), 4107.
AL'VA, or AL'BA, Ferdinand Alvarez, Duke of, Spanish statesman and general
under Charles V and Philip II, was born in 1508; early embraced a military
career, and fought in the wars of Charles V in France, Italy, Africa,
Hungary, and Germany. He is more especially remembered for his bloody and
tyrannical government of the Netherlands (1567-73), which had revolted, and
which he was commissioned by Philip II to reduce to entire subjection to
Spain. Among his first proceedings was to establish the 'Council of Blood',
a tribunal which condemned, without discrimination, all whose opinions were
suspected, and whose riches were coveted. The present and absent, the
living and the dead, were subjected to trial and their property
confiscated. Many merchants and mechanics emigrated to England; people by
hundreds of thousands abandoned their country. The Counts of Egmont and
Horn, and other men of rank, were executed, and William and Louis of Orange
had to save themselves in Germany. The most oppressive taxes were imposed,
and trade was brought completely to a standstill. As a reward for his
services to the faith the Pope presented him with a consecrated hat and
sword, a distinction previously conferred only on princes. Resistance was
only quelled for a time, and soon the provinces of Holland and Zealand
revolted against his tyranny. A fleet which was fitted out at his command
was annihilated, and he was everywhere met with insuperable courage.
Hopeless of finally subduing the country he asked to be recalled, and
accordingly, in Dec., 1573, Alva left the country, in which, as he himself
boasted, he had executed 18,000 men. He was received with distinction in
Madrid, but did not long enjoy his former credit. He had the honour,
however, before his death (which took place in 1582) of reducing all
Portugal to subjection to his sovereign. It is said of him that during
sixty years of warfare he never lost a battle and was never taken by
surprise.
ALVARADO ([.a]l-v[.a]-r[:a]'d[=o]), Pedro de, one of the Spanish
'conquistadores', was born towards the end of the fifteenth century, and
died in 1541. Having crossed the Atlantic, he was associated (1519) with
Cortez in his expedition to conquer Mexico; and was entrusted with
important operations. In July, 1520, during the disastrous retreat from the
capital after the death of Montezuma, the perilous command of the
rear-guard was assigned to Alvarado. On his return to Spain he was received
with honour by Charles V, who made him governor of Guatemala, which he had
himself conquered. To this was subsequently added Honduras. He continued to
add to the Spanish dominions in America till his death.
ALVAREZ ([.a]l-v[.a]-reth'), Don Jose, a Spanish sculptor, born 1768, died
1827. His works are characterized by truth to nature, dignity, and feeling,
one of the chief representing a scene in the defence of Saragossa. The
Museo del Prado, in Madrid, contains some of his finest work.
ALVE'OLUS, one of the sockets in which the teeth of mammals are fixed.
Hence _alveolar arches_, the parts of the jaws containing these sockets.
ALVERSTOKE. See _Gosport_.
ALVERSTONE, Richard Everard Webster, first Viscount, eminent English
lawyer, born in 1842, died in 1915. Educated at King's College School, the
Charterhouse, and Trinity College, Cambridge, he was called to the bar in
1868, and made Q.C. in 1878. He was Member of Parliament for Launceston for
a short time in 1885, and from that year to 1900 represented the Isle of
Wight. He was Attorney-General from 1885-6, 1886-92, and 1895-1900, being
then made Lord Chief Justice and elevated to the peerage: he had been
created a baronet in 1899. He represented Britain in the arbitration with
the United States regarding the Behring Sea (1893), in the affair of the
Venezuelan and Guiana boundary (1898-9), and was one of three British
commissioners who, with three from the United States, settled the Canada
and Alaska boundary in 1903. Upon retiring in 1913 he was created viscount.
His book _Recollections of Bar and Bench_ was published in 1914.
ALWAR (_a_l-w_a_r'), a State of north-western Hindustan, in Rajputana;
area, 3141 sq. miles; surface generally elevated and rugged, and much of it
of an arid description, though water is generally found on the plains by
digging a little beneath the surface, and the means of irrigation being
thus provided, the soil, though sandy, is highly productive. This
semi-independent State has as its ruler a rajah with a revenue of L232,000;
military force, about 5000 infantry and 2000 cavalry. Pop.
791,688.--_Alwar_, the capital, is situated at the base of a rocky hill
crowned by a fort, 80 miles S.S.W. of Delhi. It is surrounded by a moat and
rampart, and is poorly built, but has fine surroundings; it contains the
rajah's palace and a few other good buildings. Pop. 41,305.
ALYS'SUM (_A. saxatile_, L.), a native of Crete, a genus of cruciferous
plants, several species of which are cultivated on account of their white
or yellow coloured flowers; madwort.
ALYTH ([=a]'lith), a town of Scotland, Perthshire, near the eastern
boundary, with linen and jute manufactures. Pop. (1921), 1710.
AMAD'AVAT (_Estrilda amand[=a]va_), a small Indian singing bird allied to
the finches and buntings; the female is olive-brown, and the male, in
summer, largely crimson.
AMADE'US, the name of several counts of Savoy. The first was the son of
Humbert I, and succeeded him in 1048, dying about 1078; others who have
occupied an important place in history are the following:--AMADEUS V, 'the
Great', succeeded in 1285; gained great honour in defending Rhodes against
the Turks; increased his possessions by marriage and war; was made a prince
of the empire; died in 1323.--AMADEUS VIII succeeded his father, Amadeus
VII, in 1391, and had his title raised to that of duke by the Emperor
Sigismund. He was chosen regent of Piedmont; but after this elevation
retired from his throne and family into a religious house. He now aspired
to the papacy, and was chosen by the Council of Basel (1439), becoming
Pope, or rather anti-Pope, under the name of Felix V, though he had never
taken holy orders. He was recognized as Pope by only a few princes, and
resigned in 1449, being the last of the anti-Popes. He died in 1451.
AMADE'US, Duke of Aosta, for a short time King of Spain, second son of
Victor Emanuel of Italy, and brother of Humbert I, King of Italy. He was
born in 1845, and, thanks to the influence of Marshals Prim and Serrano,
was chosen by the Cortes King of Spain in 1870, Queen Isabella having had
to leave the country in 1868. He made his entrance into Madrid as king on
2nd Jan., 1871, and took the oath to the constitution. His position was far
from comfortable, however, and, having little hope of becoming acceptable
to all parties, he abdicated in 1873 (11th Feb.). He died in 1890.
AMADE'US, Lake, a large salt lake or salt swamp in South Australia, and
nearly in the centre of Australia. It was discovered by Giles in 1872, and
is seldom visited, being in a dreary, arid region.
AM'ADIS, a name belonging to a number of heroes in the romances of
chivalry, Amadis de Gaul being the greatest among them, and represented as
the progenitor of the whole. The Spanish series of Amadis romances is the
oldest. It is comprised in fourteen books, of which the first four narrate
the adventures of Amadis de Gaul, this portion of the series having
originated about the end of the thirteenth or beginning of the fourteenth
century, and the subsequent books being added by various hands. An abridged
English translation of _Amadis of Gaul_ was published by Southey in 1803.
AMADOU (am'a-d[:o]), a name of several fungi, genus Polyp[)o]rus, of a
leathery appearance, growing on trees. See _German Tinder_.
AMAGER ([.a]m'a-ger), a small Danish island in the Sound, opposite
Copenhagen, part of which is situated on it. Rural pop. 25,000.
AMAKO'SA, one of the Kaffir tribes of S. Africa.
AMALASUN'THA, daughter of Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, and after his
death regent of Italy for her son Athalarich. Athalarich died in 534, after
which Amalasuntha married her cousin Theodahad, but retained the power in
her own hands. Mainly on this account she was imprisoned and strangled in
her bath by order of her second husband, A.D. 535.
AMAL'EKITES, an ancient tribe occupying the peninsula between Egypt and
Palestine, named after a grandson of Esau. They were denounced by Moses for
their hostility to the Israelites during their journey through the
wilderness, and they seem to have been all but exterminated by Saul and
David. The Kenites seem to have been a branch of the Amalekites.
AMAL'FI, a seaport in Southern Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno, 23 miles from
Naples, the seat of an archbishop. In the early part of the Middle Ages it
was a place of great commercial importance, and it long enjoyed a
republican constitution of its own. Quarrels with its neighbours,
encroachments of the sea, and other causes led to its downfall, but it is
still much visited by tourists. The road from Salerno to Amalfi is a
magnificent carriage-way, partly hewn in the cliffs, and affords charming
views. Amalfi is surrounded by rocky heights, and its harbour was choked up
by a landslip in 1900. Here arose the _Amalfian Code_ of maritime law,
composed in 1010 and containing 66 articles, which once had great influence
in the maritime affairs of the Mediterranean trading peoples. The MS. was
discovered by the Prince of Andorra, in 1844, in the imperial library at
Vienna. Pop. 7472.
AMAL'GAM, a name applied to the alloys of mercury with the other metals.
One of them is the amalgam of mercury with tin, which is used to silver
looking-glasses. Mercury unites very readily with gold and silver at
ordinary temperatures, and advantage is taken of this to separate them from
their ores, the process being called _amalgamation_. The mercury dissolves
and combines with the precious metal and separates it from the waste
matters, and is itself easily driven off by heat. An amalgam made of
cadmium and copper is frequently used in dentistry, and an amalgam of zinc
and tin is used for the rubbers of frictional electric machines.
[Illustration: Amanita.--Two forms of fly-agaric]
AMANI'TA, a genus of fungi, one species of which, _A. musc[=a]ria_, or
fly-agaric, is extremely poisonous.
AMA'NUS, a branch of the Taurus Mountains in Asia Minor.
AMAPALA ([.a]-m[.a]-p[:a]'l[.a]), a seaport of Central America, State of
Honduras, on a small island.
AMARANTHA'CEAE, the amaranths, a nat. ord. of apetalous plants, chiefly
found in tropical countries, where they are often troublesome weeds. They
are remarkable for the white or sometimes reddish scales of which their
flowers are composed. Amaranthus, the typical genus, comprises _A.
caud[=a]tus_, or love-lies-bleeding, a common plant in gardens, with
pendulous racemes of crimson flowers; and _A. hypochondri[)a]cus_, or
prince's feather. The blossoms keep their bloom after being plucked and
dried (hence the name: Gr. _a_, not, and _marain[=o]_, to wither).
AMARAPURA (_a_-m_a_-r_a_-p[:o]'r_a_), a deserted city, once the capital of
the Burmese Empire, on the left bank of the Irawadi, quite close to
Mandalay. In 1810, when the city had about 175,000 inhabitants, it was
completely destroyed by fire; in 1839 it was visited by a destructive
earthquake. In 1857 the seat of government was removed to Mandalay. Pop.
6500.
AMARYLLIDA'CEAE, an order of monocotyledonous plants, generally bulbous,
occasionally with a tall, cylindrical, woody stem (as in Agave); with a
highly-coloured flower, six stamens, and an inferior three-celled ovary;
natives of Europe and most of the warmer parts of the world. The order
includes the snowdrop, the snow-flake, the daffodil, the belladonna-lily
(belonging to the typical genus Amaryllis), the so-called Guernsey-lily
(probably a native of Japan), the Brunsvigias, the blood-flowers
(Haemanthus) of the Cape of Good Hope, different species of Narcissus,
Agave (American aloe), &c. Many are highly prized in gardens and
hot-houses; the bulbs of some are extremely poisonous.
AMASIA ([.a]-m[.a]-s[=e]'[.a]), a town in the north of Asia Minor, on the
Irmak, 60 miles from the Black Sea, surmounted by a rocky height in which
is a ruined fortress; has numerous mosques, richly-endowed Mahommedan
schools, and a trade in wine, silk, &c. Amasia was a residence of the
ancient kings of Pontus. A few miles from Amasia, on the road leading to
Zilleh, is the famous battle-field where Caesar defeated Pharnaces, King of
Pontus, and whence he sent his famous message to Rome: _Veni, vidi, vici_.
Pop. 30,000.
AMA'SIS, King of Egypt from 569 to 526 B.C., obtained the throne by
rebelling against his predecessor and benefactor Apries, and is chiefly
known from his friendship for the Greeks, and his wise government of the
kingdom, which, under him, was in the most prosperous condition. He was
succeeded by his son Psammetik.
AMATI ([.a]-m[:a]'t[=e]), a family, almost a dynasty, of Cremona who
manufactured violins in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Andrea
(about 1540-1600) was the founder of the business, which was carried on by
his sons Geronimo and Antonio, and by Niccolo the son of Geronimo. The
first instrument signed Amati bears the date 1546. Most of the violins made
by them are of comparatively small size and flat model, and the tone
produced by the fourth or G string is somewhat thin and sharp. Many of
Niccolo Amati's violins are, however, of a larger size and have all the
fulness and intensity of tone characteristic of those manufactured by
Stradivario and Guarnerio.