Chapter C: D E F G a B C' D' E' F' G' (11)

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.

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.

AMATIT'LAN, a town in Central America, State of Guatemala, about 15 miles south of the city of Guatemala, a busy modern town, the inhabitants of which are actively engaged in the cochineal trade. There is a small lake of the same name close to the town. Pop. 12,000.

AMAURO'SIS (Gr. _amauros_, dark), a species of blindness, formerly called _gutta serena_ (the 'drop serene', as Milton, whose blindness was of this sort, called it), caused by disease of the nerves of vision. The most frequent causes are a long-continued direction of the eye on minute objects, long exposure to a bright light, to the fire of a forge, to snow, or irritating gases, overfulness of blood, disease of the brain, &c. If taken in time it may be cured or mitigated; but, unless caused by loss of blood, by lead-poisoning, or debility, it is usually incurable.

AMAXICHI ([.a]-m[.a]ks'[=e]-h[=e]), the chief town and seaport of Santa Maura (Leukadia), one of the Ionian Isles, the seat of a Greek bishop; manufactures cotton and leather. Pop. 5500.

AM'AZON, or AM'AZONS, a river of South America, the largest in the world, formed by a great number of sources which rise in the Andes, the two head branches being the Tunguragua or Maranon and the Ucayali, both rising in Peru, the former from Lake Lauricocha, in lat. 10deg 29' S., the latter formed by the Apurimac and Urubamba, the headwaters of which are between lat. 14deg and 16deg S.; general course north of east; length, including windings, between 3000 and 4000 miles; area of drainage basin, 2,500,000 sq. miles. It enters the Atlantic under the equator by a mouth 200 miles wide, divided into two principal and several smaller arms by the large island Marajo and a number of smaller islands. In its upper course navigation is interrupted by rapids, but from its mouth upwards for a distance of 3300 miles (mostly in Brazil) there is no obstruction. It receives the waters of about 200 tributaries, 100 of which are navigable and seventeen of these 1000 to 2300 miles in length; northern tributaries: Santiago, Morona, Pastaca, Tigre, Napo, Putumayo, Japura, Rio Negro (the Cassiquiare connects this stream with the Orinoco), &c.; southern: Huallaga, Ucayali, Javari, Jutay, Jurua, Coary, Purus, Madeira, Tapajos, Xingu, &c. At Tabatinga, where it enters Brazilian territory, the breadth is 1-1/2 miles; below the mouth of the Madeira it is 3 miles wide, and where there are islands often as much as 7; from the sea to the Rio Negro, 750 miles in a straight line, the depth is nowhere less than 30 fathoms; up to the junction of the Ucayale there is depth sufficient for the largest vessels. The Amazonian water system affords some 50,000 miles of river suitable for navigation. The rapidity of the river is considerable, especially during the rainy season (Jan. to June), when it is subject to floods; but there is no great fall in its course. The tides reach up as far as 400 miles from its mouth. The singular phenomenon of the _bore_, or as it is called on the Amazon the _pororoca_, occurs at the mouth of the river at spring-tides on a grand scale. The river swarms with alligators, turtles, and a great variety of fish. The country through which it flows is extremely fertile, and is mostly covered with immense forests; it must at some future time support a numerous population, and be the theatre of a busy commerce. Steamers and other craft ply on the river, the chief centre of trade being Para, at its mouth. The Amazon was discovered by Vicente Yanez Pinzon in 1500, but the stream was not navigated by any European till 1541, when Francis Orellana descended it. Orellana stated that he found on its banks a nation of armed women, and this circumstance gave the name to the river.

AMAZ'ONAS, the largest state of Brazil, traversed by the Amazon and its tributaries; area, 731,000 sq. miles. Pop. 459,309.

AM'AZONS, according to an ancient Greek tradition, the name of a community of women, who permitted no men to reside among them, fought under the conduct of a queen, and long constituted a formidable State. They were said to burn off the right breast that it might not impede them in the use of the bow--a legend that arose from the Greeks supposing the name was from _a_, not, _mazos_, breast. It is probably from _a_, together, and _mazos_, breast, the name meaning therefore sisters. Several nations of Amazons are mentioned, the most famous being those who dwelt in Pontus, who built Ephesus and other cities. Their queen, Hippolyta, was vanquished by Hercules, who took from her the girdle of Mars. They attacked Attica in the time of Theseus. They came to the assistance of Troy under their queen, Penthesil[=e]a, who was slain by Achilles.

AMAZU'LU, a branch of the Zulu Kaffir race. See _Zulus_.

AMBA'LA, or UMBALL'A, a town of India, in the Punjab, in an open plain 3 miles from the Ghaggar, consisting of an old and a new portion, with a flourishing trade in grain and other commodities. The military cantonment is several miles distant. Total pop. 80,131.

AMBALE'MA, a town of S. America, Colombia, on the Magdalena; the centre of an important tobacco district. Pop. 6285.

AM'BAREE, a fibre similar to jute largely used in India, obtained from _Hibiscus cannab[=i]nus_.

AMBARVALIA, an ancient Roman festival held annually in May, and celebrated by the Arval Brothers (Fratres Arvales). Its object was to preserve the growing crops from harm of any kind.

AMBAS'SADOR, a minister of the highest rank, employed by one prince or State at the Court of another to manage the public concerns, or support the interests of his own prince or State, and representing the power and dignity of his sovereign or State. Ambassadors are _ordinary_ when they reside permanently at a foreign Court, or _extraordinary_ when they are sent on a special occasion. When _ambassadors extraordinary_ have full powers, as of concluding peace, making treaties, and the like, they are called _plenipotentiaries_. Ambassadors are often called simply _ministers_. _Envoys_ are ministers employed on special occasions, and are of less dignity than ambassadors. The term _ambassador_, however, is also used in a more general sense for any diplomatic agent or minister. An ambassador and his suite are not amenable to the laws of the country in which they are residing. See _Diplomacy_.

AM'BATCH (_Hermini[=e]ra elaphrox[)y]lon_), a thorny leguminous shrub with yellow flowers growing in the shallows of the Upper Nile and other rivers of tropical Africa, 15 to 20 feet high. Its wood is extremely light and spongy, and hence is made into floats or rafts. A raft capable of bearing eight persons can easily be carried by one.

AMBA'TO, a town of Ecuador, on the side of Chimborazo, 70 miles south of Quito. Pop. 12,000.

AM'BER, a semi-mineral substance of resinous composition, a sort of fossil resin, the produce of extinct Coniferae, used for the manufacture of ornamental objects. It is usually of yellow or reddish-brown colour; brittle; yields easily to the knife; is translucent, and possessed of a resinous lustre. Specific gravity, 1.065. It burns with a yellow flame, emitting a pungent aromatic smoke, and leaving a light carbonaceous residue, which is employed as the basis of the finest black varnishes. By friction it becomes strongly electric. It is found in masses from the size of coarse sand to that of a man's head, and occurs in beds of bituminous wood situated upon the shores of the Baltic and Adriatic Seas; also in Poland, France, Italy, and Denmark. It is often washed up on the Prussian shores of the Baltic, and is also obtained by fishing for it with nets. Sometimes it is found on the east coast of Britain, in gravel pits round London, also in the United States.

AM'BERG, a town of South Germany, in Bavaria, on the Vils, well built, with a Gothic church of the fifteenth century, royal palace, town house, &c.; it manufactures iron-wares, stone-ware, tobacco, beer, vinegar, and arms. Pop. 25,242.

AM'BERGRIS, a substance derived from the intestines of the sperm-whale, and found floating or on the shore; yellowish or blackish white; very light; melts at 140deg, and is entirely dissipated on red-hot coals; is soluble in ether, volatile oils, and partially in alcohol, and is chiefly composed of a peculiar fatty, substance. Its odour is very agreeable, and hence it is used as a perfume.

AMBLE, a town (urban district) of England, Northumberland, near the mouth of the River Coquet, with a harbour at which coal is exported, fishing also being carried on. Pop. 4851.

AMBLESIDE, an old market-town of England, Westmorland, near the head of Windermere, a great tourist centre. Pop. (1921), 2878.

AMBLETEUSE ([.a][n.]-bl-t_eu_z), a small seaport of France, 6 miles from Boulogne. After the capture of Boulogne in 1544 the English began to construct a military harbour here under the name of New Haven, but had to abandon the enterprise in 1554. Here James II landed on Christmas Day, 1688, after his flight from England; and from its harbour Napoleon I prepared to dispatch a flotilla of flat-bottomed boats for the invasion of Britain.

AMBLYOP'SIS, a genus of blind fishes, containing only one species, _A. spelaeus_, found in the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky.

AM'BLYOPY, dullness or obscurity of eyesight without any apparent defect in the organs; the first stage of amaurosis.

AM'BO, or AM'BON, in early Christian churches a kind of raised desk or pulpit, sometimes richly ornamented, from which certain parts of the service were read, or discourses delivered, there being sometimes two in one church. Some of the most ancient of these pulpits (fourth century) are at Salonica and at Ravenna (fifth and sixth centuries). The ambo constructed by Justinian in the Church of St. Sophia was destroyed by an earthquake.

AMBOINA. See _Amboyna_.

AMBOISE ([.a][n.]-bw[:a]z), a town of France, department Indre-et-Loire, 12 miles east of Tours, on the Loire, with an antique castle, the residence of several French kings, and manufactures of files and rasps. Near the Chateau d'Amboise is that of Cloux, which was given by Francis I to Leonardo da Vinci, and where the artist died in 1519. Pop. 4660.

AMBOY'NA, AMBOINA, or APON, one of the Molucca Islands in the Indian Archipelago, close to the large island of Ceram; area, about 360 sq. miles. Here is the seat of government of the Dutch residency or province of Amboyna, which includes also Ceram, Buru, &c. Its surface is generally hilly or mountainous, its general aspect beautiful, and its climate on the whole salubrious, but frequently visited by earthquakes. It affords a variety of useful trees, including the coco-nut and sago palms. Cloves and nutmegs are the staple productions. The soil in the valleys and along the shores is very fertile, but a large portion remains uncultivated. The natives are mostly of Malayan race. The capital, also called _Amboyna_, is situated on the Bay of Amboyna, and is well built and defended by a citadel. The streets are planted on each side with rows of fruit-trees. It is a free port. Pop. 10,000. In 1607 Amboyna and the other Moluccas were taken by the Dutch from the Portuguese, and it was for some years the seat of government of the Dutch East Indies. Trade with the Moluccas was secured to the British by treaty in 1619, but the British establishment was destroyed and several persons massacred in 1623, an outrage for which no satisfaction was obtained till Cromwell obtained it in 1654. Amboyna was taken by the British in 1796 and 1810, but each time restored to the Dutch. Pop. about 40,000. The Dutch residency of Amboyna, including the Banda group, Ceram, Buru, and other islands, has an area of 19,870 sq. miles and a population of about 300,000.

AMBOYNA WOOD, a beautiful curled orange or brownish coloured wood brought from the Moluccas, yielded by _Pterospermum indicum_.

AMBRA'CIA. See _Arta_.

AMBRINE, a preparation of paraffin, resin, and wax, used as a remedy in the treatment of burns and scalds and in rheumatic disorders. It was discovered by Barthe de Sandford, a French doctor, in 1904.

AM'BROSE, Saint, a celebrated father of the Church; born in A.D. 333 or 334, probably at Treves, where his father was prefect; died in 397. He was educated at Rome, studied law, practised as a pleader at Milan, and in 369 was appointed governor of Liguria and Aemilia (North Italy). His kindness and wisdom gained him the esteem and love of the people, and in 374 he was unanimously called to the bishopric of Milan, though not yet baptized. For a time he refused to accept this dignity, but he had to give way, and at once ranged himself against the Arians. In his struggles against the Arian heresy he was opposed by Justina, mother of Valentinian II, and for a time by the young emperor himself, together with the courtiers and the Gothic troops. Backed by the people of Milan, however, he felt strong enough to deny the Arians the use of a single church in the city, although Justina, in her son's name, demanded that two should be given up. He had also to carry on a war with paganism, Symmachus, the prefect of the city, an eloquent orator, having endeavoured to restore the worship of heathen deities. In 390, on account of the ruthless massacres at Thessalonica ordered by the emperor Theodosius, he refused him entrance into the church of Milan for eight months. The later years of his life were devoted to the more immediate care of his see. His writings, which are numerous, show that his theological knowledge extended little beyond an acquaintance with the works of the Greek fathers. He wrote Latin hymns, but the _Te Deum Laudamus_, which has been ascribed to him, was written a century later. He introduced the _Ambrosian Chant_, a mode of singing more monotonous than the Gregorian, which superseded it. He also compiled a form of ritual known by his name. The best edition of his works is that published in Paris, 1686-90, in 2 vols. fol., and reissued at Lyons in 1853.

AMBRO'SIA, in Greek mythology the food of the gods, as nectar was their drink.

AMBROSIAN CHANT. See _Ambrose_.

AMBROSIAN LIBRARY, a public library in Milan founded by the cardinal archbishop Federigo Borromeo, a relation of St. Charles Borromeo, who sent scholars, among them Antonio Olgiati, all over Europe to acquire books. The library was opened in 1609, now containing 230,000 printed books and many MSS., among the latter being the famous collection of Pinelli. It was named in honour of St. Ambrose, the patron saint of Milan.

AM'BRY, a niche or recess in the wall of ancient churches near the altar, fitted with a door and used for keeping the sacred utensils, &c.

AMBULA'CRAL SYSTEM, the locomotive apparatus of the Echinodermata (sea-urchins, star-fishes, &c.), the most important feature of which is the protrusible tube-feet that the animal can at will dilate with water and thus move forward.

AM'BULANCE (FIELD), a military medical unit attached to an army in the field for the purpose of providing medical and surgical first-aid to sick and wounded immediately behind the fighting-line. The term field-ambulance was adopted in the British service in 1905-6. The chief and most important duty of a field-ambulance is to relieve fighting troops of their sick and wounded and transfer them to the rear to the collecting-hospitals, known as Casualty Clearing Stations, situated at the head of the line of communications to the army's base. Three field-ambulances are attached to each division in the field, one to each brigade, and their officers and men are divided into bearer and nursing sections and equipped with horse or mule and motor transport for wounded and sick. In the East sick and wounded are often carried in litters on camel-back, two of the cacolets being balanced against each other. A medical ambulance is theoretically able to undertake any hospital work, but in practice it confines itself when in action with its division to clearing the front line, and when at rest to treating the minor maladies such as lice, scabies, and slight illnesses which do not require much time or equipment. The medical and surgical outfit of an ambulance is carried in panniers and is usually in excess of its requirements. The word ambulance is often used to designate the motors or other vehicles employed by military or civil authorities in carrying the sick and wounded.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: M. M. Bird, _The Errand of Mercy: a History of Ambulance Work upon the Battle-field_; G. H. Painton, _The Field Ambulance Guide_.

AMELAN'CHIER (-k[=e]-[.e]r), a genus of small trees natives of Europe and N. America, allied to the medlar. _A. vulg[=a]ris_, long cultivated in English gardens, has showy white flowers; _A. Botry[=a]pium_ (grape-pear) and _A. ov[=a]lis_, American species, yield pleasant fruits.

AMELAND ([:a]'me-l[.a]nt), an island off the north coast of Holland, 13 miles long and 3 broad; flat; inhabitants (about 2000 in number) chiefly engaged in fishing and agriculture.

AMELIE-LES-BAINS ([.a]-m[=a]-l[=e]-l[=a]-ba[n.]), a village of France, department Pyrenees-Orientales, frequented as a winter residence for invalids, and for its warm sulphureous springs. The place was known to the Romans, as it has been proved by the discovery of Roman medals there.

AMEN ([=a]-men'), a Hebrew word, signifying 'verily', 'truly', transferred from the religious language of the Jews to that of the Christians, and used at the end of prayers as equivalent to 'so be it', 'may this be granted'.

AMEND'MENT, a proposal brought forward in a meeting of some public or other body, either in order to get an alteration introduced into some proposal already before the meeting, or entirely to overturn such proposal. In Parliament an amendment denotes an alteration made in the original draft of a Bill whilst it is passing through the houses. Amendments may be made so as totally to alter the nature of the proposition; and this is a way of getting rid of a proposition, by making it bear a sense different from what was intended by the movers, who are thus compelled to abandon it.

AMENO'PHIS (or AMENHOTEP) III, a king of ancient Egypt about 1500 B.C.; warred successfully against Syrians and Ethiopians; built magnificent temples and palaces at Thebes, where the so-called Memnon statue is a statue of this king. He was the only Egyptian king deified during his lifetime.

AMENORRHOE'A, absence or suspension of menstruation. The former may arise from general debility or from defective development, the latter from exposure to cold, from attacks of fever or other ailment, violent excitement, &c.

AMENTA'CEAE, an order of plants having their flowers arranged in amenta or catkins; now broken up into several orders, the chief of which are Betulaceae (the birch), Salicaceae (the willow), Fagaceae (the beech), Juglandaceae (the walnut), and Myricaceae (bog-myrtle).

AMEN'TIA, imbecility from birth, especially when extreme; idiocy.

AMEN'TUM, in botany, that kind of inflorescence which is commonly known as a catkin (as in the birch or willow), consisting of unisexual apetalous flowers in the axil of scales or bracts.

AMER'ICA, or the NEW WORLD, the largest of the great divisions of the globe except Asia, is washed on the west by the Pacific, on the east by the Atlantic, on the north by the Arctic Ocean, while on the south it tapers to a point. On the north-west it approaches within about 50 miles of Asia, while on the north-east the island of Greenland approaches within 370 miles of the European island Iceland; but in the south the distance between the American mainland and Europe or Africa is very great. Extreme points of the continent--north, Boothia Felix, at the Strait of Bellot, lat. 72deg N.; south, Cape Horn, lat. 56deg S.; west, Cape Prince of Wales, long. 168deg W.; east, Point de Guia, long. 35deg W. America as a whole forms the two triangular continents of North and South America, united by the narrow Isthmus of Panama, and having an entire length of about 10,000 miles; a maximum breadth (in North America) of 3500 miles; a coast-line of 44,000 miles; and a total area, including the islands, of over 16,000,000, of which N. America contains about 8,300,000 sq. miles. South America is more compact in form than N. America, in this respect resembling Africa, while N. America more resembles Europe. Between the two on the east side is the great basin which comprises the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and the West India Islands. Like Europe also N. America possesses numerous islands, while those of S. America are less important and confined almost to the southern extremity.

Three-fourths of the area of America is comparatively flat, and this portion of the surface is bounded on the west by lofty mountain systems which stretch continuously from north to south between the extremities of the continent, generally at no great distance from the west shore. In North America the Rocky Mountains, a broad series of masses partly consisting of plateaux, form the most important portion of the elevated surface, being continued southward in the mountains and tableland of Mexico and the ranges of Central America. Separated by depressions from the Rocky Mountains proper, and running close to and parallel with the western coast, are several lofty ranges (Sierra Nevada, Cascade Mountains, &c.). Near the eastern coast, and forming an isolated mass, are the Appalachians, a system of much inferior magnitude. The loftiest mountains in N. America are McKinley (20,470 feet), in Alaska; Logan (19,514 feet), in N. W. Canada; and Popocatepetl (18,000 feet). The depression of the Isthmus of Panama (about 260 feet) forms a natural separation between the systems of the north and the south. In S. America the Andes form a system of greater elevation but less breadth than the Rocky Mountains, and consist of a series of ranges (_cordilleras_) closely following the line of the west coast from the Isthmus of Panama to Cape Horn. The highest summits are Aconcagua (23,080 feet), Sorata or Illampu (21,484), and Sahama (21,054). Volcanoes are numerous. Isolated mountain groups of minor importance are the highlands of Venezuela and of Brazil, the latter near the eastern coast, reaching a height of 10,000 feet.

The fertile lowlands which lie to the east of the Rocky Mountains and the Andes form a depression extending through both continents from the northern to the southern oceans. They have somewhat different features and different names in different portions; in N. America are _prairies_ and _savannahs_, in S. America _llanos_, _selvas_, and _pampas_.

Through these low grounds flow the numerous great rivers which form so characteristic a feature of America. The principal are the Mackenzie, Coppermine, and Great Fish Rivers, entering the Northern Ocean; the Churchill, Nelson, Severn, and Albany, entering Hudson's Bay; the St. Lawrence, entering the Atlantic; Mississippi and Rio del Norte, entering the Gulf of Mexico (all these being in N. America); the Magdalena, Orinoco, Amazon, Paranahiba, Rio de la Plata, Colorado, and Rio Negro, entering the Atlantic (all in S. America); and the Yukon, Fraser, Colombia, San Joaquin, Sacramento, and Colorado, entering the Pacific. The rivers which flow into the Pacific, however, owing to the fact that the great backbone of the continent, the Rocky Mountains and the Andes, lies so near the west coast, are of comparatively little importance, in S. America being all quite small. Sometimes rivers traversing the same plains, and nearly on the same levels, open communications with each other, a remarkable instance being the Cassiquiari in S. America, which, branching off from the Rio Negro and joining the Orinoco, forms a kind of natural canal, uniting the basins of the Orinoco and the Amazon. The Amazon or Maranon in S. America, the largest river in the world, has a course of about 3500 miles, and a basin of 2,300,000 sq. miles; the Mississippi-Missouri, the largest river of North America, runs a longer course than the Amazon, but the area of its basin is not nearly so great. North America has the most extensive group of lakes in the world--Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, which through the St. Lawrence send their drainage to the Atlantic. Thus by means of lakes and rivers the interior of both N. and S. America is opened up and made accessible.

In regard to climate N. America naturally differs very much from S. America, and has more resemblance to the continents of Europe and Asia (regarded as a whole). In N. America, as in the older continent, the eastern parts are colder than the western, and hence the towns on the Atlantic coast have a winter temperature about 10deg lower than those in corresponding latitudes of Europe. The winter temperature of the greater part of N. America is indeed severe, though the intense cold is less felt on account of the dryness of the air. There is no regular season of rainfall unless in the south. Although two-thirds of S. America lies within the tropics the heat is not so great as might be expected, owing to the prevailing winds, the influences of the Andes, and other causes. The highest temperature experienced is probably not more than 100deg in the shade; at Rio de Janeiro the mean is about 74deg, at Lima 72deg. Over a great part of S. America there is a wet and a dry season, varying in different regions; on the upper Amazon the rains last for ten months, being caused by the prevailing easterly winds bringing moisture from the Atlantic, which is condensed on the eastern slopes of the Andes. In each of the Americas there is a region in which little or no rain falls; in N. America it extends over a part of the United States and Northern Mexico, in S. America over a part of the coast region of Peru and Chile.

America is rich in valuable minerals. It has supplied the world with immense quantities of gold and silver, which it still yields in no small amount, especially in the United States. It possesses inexhaustible stores of coal (United States), with iron, copper, lead, tin, mercury, &c. Petroleum may be called one of its specialities, its petroleum wells having caused whole towns to spring into existence. Diamonds and other precious stones are found.

As regards vegetation America may be called a region of forests and verdure, vast tracts being covered by the grassy prairies, llanos, and pampas where the forests fail. In N. America the forests have been largely made use of by man; in S. America vast areas are covered with forests, which as yet are traversed only by the uncivilized Indian. In the north is the region of pines and firs; farther south come the deciduous trees, as the oak, beech, maple, elm, chestnut, &c. Then follow the evergreen forests of the tropical regions. The useful timber trees are very numerous; among the most characteristic of America are mahogany and other ornamental woods, and various dyewoods. In the tropical parts are numerous palms, cacti in great variety, and various species of the agave or American aloe. In the virgin forests of S. America the trees are often bound together into an impenetrable mass of vegetation by various kinds of climbing and twining plants. Among useful plants belonging to the American continent are maize, the potato, cacao, tobacco, cinchona, vanilla, Paraguay tea, &c. The most important plants introduced are wheat, rice, and other grains, sugar-cane, coffee, and cotton, with various fruits and vegetables. The vine is native to the continent, and both the American and introduced varieties are now largely cultivated.

The animals of America include, among carnivora, the jaguar or American tiger, found only in S. America; the puma or American lion, found mostly in S. America; the grizzly bear of N. America, fully as powerful an animal as either; the black bear, the skunk, the racoon, the American or prairie wolf, several species of foxes, &c. The rodents are represented by the beaver, the porcupine, and squirrels of several species; the marsupials by the opossum. Among ruminants are the bison, or, as it is commonly called, the buffalo, the moose or elk, the Virginian stag, the musk-ox; and in S. America the llama (which takes the place of the camel of the Old World), the alpaca, and the vicuna. Other animals most distinctive of S. America are sloths, fitted to live only in its dense and boundless forests; ant-eaters and armadillos; monkeys with prehensile tails, in this and other respects differing from those of the Old World; the condor among the heights of the Andes, the nandu, rhea or three-toed ostrich, beautiful parrots and humming-birds. Among American reptiles are the boa-constrictor, the rattlesnake, the alligator or cayman, the iguana and other large lizards, large frogs and toads. The domestic animals of America, horses, cattle, and sheep, are of foreign origin. The electrical eel exists in the tropical waters.

The population of America consists partly of an aboriginal race or races, partly of immigrants or their descendants. The aboriginal inhabitants are the American Indians or red men, being generally of a brownish-red colour, and now forming a very small portion of the total population, especially in N. America, where the white population has almost exterminated them. These people are divided into branches, some of which have displayed a considerable aptitude for civilization. When the Europeans became acquainted with the New World, Mexico, Central America, and part of S. America were inhabited by populations which had made great advances in many things that pertain to civilized life, dwelling in large and well-built cities under a settled form of government, and practising agriculture and the mechanical arts. Ever since the discovery of America at the close of the fifteenth century Europeans of all nations have crowded into it; and the comparatively feeble native races have rapidly diminished, or lost their distinctive features by intermixtures with whites, and also with negroes brought from Africa to work as slaves. These mixed races are distinguished by a variety of names, as Mestizos, Mulattoes, Zambos, &c. In North America the white population is mainly of British origin, though to a considerable extent it also consists of Germans, Scandinavians, &c., and the descendants of such. In Central and South America the prevailing white nationality is the Spanish and Portuguese. In the extreme north are the Eskimos--a scattered and stunted race closely allied to some of the peoples of Northern Asia. That the aboriginal inhabitants of America passed over from Asia is tolerably certain, but when and from what part we do not know. The total population of the New World is estimated at 180,000,000, of which perhaps 124,000,000 are whites, 28,000,000 mixed races, 15,000,000 negroes, and 13,000,000 Indians. As regards religion, the bulk of the population of N. America is Protestant; of Central and S. America the religion is almost exclusively Roman Catholic. Several millions of the Indians are heathens.--The independent States of America are all republican in form of government, Brazil having become a republic in 1889. See _North America_, _Central America_, _South America_, _West Indies_, &c.

The merit of first opening up the American continent to modern Europe belongs to the Genoese navigator Christopher Columbus, who discovered, in Oct., 1492, one of the Bahamas, and named it San Salvador. Europeans, however, had on different former occasions discovered the American coasts, and the coasts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island were visited by Northmen and named Vinland in the year 1000. Still these discoveries had no influence on the enterprise of Columbus, and cannot detract in the least from his merit; they were forgotten, and had never been made known to the inhabitants of the rest of Europe. Though Columbus was the first of his time who set foot in the New World, it has taken its name not from him, but from Amerigo Vespucci. The mainland was first seen in 1497 by Sebastian Cabot, who sailed under the patronage of Henry VII of England. For further particulars of discovery see _North America_ and _South America_.

The known history of America hardly goes beyond the period of its discovery by Columbus; but it possesses many monuments of antiquity that might take us many centuries backward, could we learn anything of their origin or of those by whom they were produced. Among such antiquities are great earthworks in the form of mounds, or of raised enclosures, crowning the tops of hills, river peninsulas, &c., and no doubt serving for defence. They enclose considerable areas, are surrounded by an exterior ditch, and by ramparts which are composed of mingled earth and stones, and are often of great extent in proportion to the area enclosed. They are always supplied either naturally or artificially with water, and give other indications of having been provided for a siege. Barrows and tumuli containing human bones, and bearing indications of having been used both as places of sepulture and as temples, are also numerous. They are in geometrical forms--circles, squares, parallelograms, &c. A mound on the plain of Cahokia in Illinois, opposite the city of St. Louis, is 700 feet long, 500 feet broad, and 90 feet high. Earth mounds of another class represent gigantic animal forms in bas-relief on the ground. One is a man with two heads, the body 50 feet long and 25 feet broad across the breast; another represents a serpent 1000 feet in length, with graceful curves. The monuments of Mexico, Central America, and Peru are of a more advanced state of civilization, approach nearer to the historical period, and make the loss of authentic information more keenly felt. Here there are numerous ruined towns with most elaborate sculptures, lofty pyramidal structures serving as temples or forts, statues, picture writing, hieroglyphics, roads, aqueducts, bridges, &c. Some remarkable prehistoric remains discovered in recent years are what are known as the abodes of the 'cliff-dwellers'. These consist of habitations constructed on terraces and in caves high up and steep sides of canons in Colorado and other parts of the western states of N. America. Some of these buildings are several stories high. See also _Mexico_, _Peru_, &c.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: L. Farrand, _The American Nation_; Prescott, _The Conquest of Mexico_ and _The Conquest of Peru_; Winsor, _Narrative and Critical History of America_; F. W. Halsey, _Great Epochs in American History_ (11 vols.).

AMERICAN INDIANS. See _Indians_.

AMERICANISM, a term, phrase, or idiom peculiar to the English language as spoken in America, and not forming part of the language as spoken in England. The following is a list of a few of the more noteworthy Americanisms, some of them being rather slangy or vulgar.

_Approbate_, to approve.

_Around_ or _round_, about or near. To _hang around_ is to loiter about
a place.

_Backwoods_, the partially-cleared forest regions in the western
States.

_Bee_, an assemblage of persons to unite their labours for the benefit
of an individual or family, or to carry out a joint scheme.

_Boss_, an employer or superintendent of labourers, a leader.

_Bug_, a coleopterous insect, or what in England is called a _beetle_.

_Buggy_, a four-wheeled vehicle.

_Bulldose_, to; to intimidate voters.

_Bunkum_ or _buncombe_, a speech made solely to please a constituency;
talk for talking's sake, and in an inflated style.

_Bureau_, a chest of drawers, a dressing-table surmounted by a mirror.