Chapter LXXXVIII: Act 1903: , the powers and duties of the Board of Trade under the (13)

ALBERT (FRANCIS CHARLES AUGUSTUS ALBERT EMMANUEL) (1819-1861), prince-consort of England, was born at Bosenau on the 26th of August 1819. He was the second son of the hereditary duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (belonging to the Ernestine or elder branch of the royal family of Saxony) by his first wife, the princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (d. 1831), from whom the duke was separated in 1824. His father's sister married the duke of Kent, and her daughter, afterwards Queen Victoria of England, Prince Albert's wife, was thus his first cousin. They were born in the same year. Albert and his elder brother, Ernest, were close companions in youth, and were educated under the care of Consistorialrath Florschutz, subsequently proceeding to the university of Bonn. There Prince Albert devoted himself especially to natural science, political economy and philosophy, having for teachers such men as Fichte, Schlegel and Perthes; he diligently cultivated music and painting, and excelled in gymnastic exercises, especially in fencing. The idea of a marriage between him and his cousin Victoria had always been cherished by their uncle, King Leopold I. of Belgium, and in May 1836 the duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and his two sons paid a visit to Kensington Palace, where Princess Victoria, as she then was, lived, for the purpose of making acquaintance for the first time. The visit was by no means to the taste of King William IV., who disapproved of the match and favoured Prince Alexander of Orange. But Leopold's plan was known to Princess Victoria, and William's objections were fruitless. Princess Victoria, writing to her uncle Leopold (May 23, 1836), said that Albert was ``extremely handsome''; and (June 7) thanked him for the ``prospect of great happiness you have contributed to give me in the person of dear Albert. He possesses every quality that could be desired to render me perfectly happy.', No formal engagement was entered into, but the situation was privately understood as one which in time would naturally develop. After the queen came to the throne, her letters show her interest in Albert's being educated for the part he would have to play. In the winter of 1838-1839 the prince travelled in Italy, accompanied by Baron Stockmar, formerly Leopold's doctor and private secretary, and now the queen's confidential adviser. On the 10th of October 1839 he and Ernest went again to England to visit the queen, with the object of finally settling the marriage. Mutual inclination and affection at once brought about the desired result. They became definitely engaged on the 15th of October, and on the 10th of February 1840 the marriage was celebrated at the chapel-royal, St James's.

The position in which the prince was placed by his marriage, while it was one of distinguished honour, was also one of considerable difficulty; and during his lifetime the tactful way in which he filled it was very inadequately appreciated. The public life of the prince-consort cannot be separated from that of the queen, and it is unnecessary here to repeat such details as are given in the article on her (see VICTORIA, QUEEN.) The prejudice against him, on account of what was regarded as undue influence in politics, was never fully dissipated till after his death. His co-operation with the queen in dealing with the political responsibilities which devolved upon the sovereign represented an amount of conscientious and self-sacrificing labour which cannot easily be exaggerated; and his wisdom in council could only be realized, outside a very small circle, when in later years the materials for the history of that time became accessible. He was indeed a man of cultured and liberal ideas, well qualified to take the lead in many reforms which the England of that day sorely needed. He was specially interested in endeavours to secure the more perfect application of science and art to manufacturing industry. The Great Exhibition of 1851 originated in a suggestion he made at a meeting of the Society of Arts, and owed the greater part of its success to his intelligent and unwearied efforts. He had to work for its realization against an extraordinary outburst of angry expostulations. Every stage in his project was combated. In the House of Peers, Lord Brougham denied the right of the crown to hold the exhibition in Hyde Park; in the Commons, Colonel Sibthorp prophesied that England would be overrun with foreign rogues and revolutionists, who would subvert the morals of the people, filch their trade secrets from them, and destroy their faith and loyalty towards their religion and their sovereign. Prince Albert was president of the exhibition commission, and every post brought him abusive letters, accusing him, as a foreigner, of being intent upon the corruption of England. He was not the man to be balked by talk of this kind, but quietly persevered, looking always to the probability that the manufacturing power of Great Britain would be quickened by bringing the best manufactured products of foreign countries under the eyes of the mechanics and artisans. A sense of the artistic was at this time almost wholly wanting among the English people. One day the prince had a conversation with a great manufacturer of crockery, and sought to convert him to the idea of issuing something better than the eternal willow-pattern in white with gold, red or blue, which formed the staple of middle and lower class domestic china. The manufacturer held out that new shapes and designs would not be saleable; but he was induced to try, and he did so with such a rapid success that a revolution in the china cupboards of England was accomplished from that time. The exhibition was opened by the queen on the 1st of May 1851, and was a colossal success; and the realized surplus of L. 150,000 went to establish and endow the South Kensington Museum (afterwards renamed ``Victoria and Albert'') and to purchase land in that neighbourhood. Similar institutions, On a smaller scale but with a kindred aim, always found in him warm advocacy and substantial support. It was chiefly at meetings in connexion with these that he found occasion for the delivery of addresses characterized by profound thought and comprehensiveness of view, a collection of which was published in 1857. One of the most favourable specimens of his powers as a speaker is the inaugural address which he delivered as president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science when it met at Aberdeen in 1859. The education of his family and the management of his domestic affairs furnished the prince with another very important sphere of action, in which he employed himself with conscientious devotedness.

The estates of the duchy of Cornwall, the hereditary appanage of the prince of Wales, were so greatly improved under his father's management that the rent-roll rose from L. 11,000 to L. 50,000 a year. Prince Albert, indeed, had a peculiar talent for the management of landed estates. His model farm at Windsor was in every way worthy of the name; and the grounds at Balmoral and Osborne were laid out entirely in conformity with his designs.

A character so pure. and a life so useful and well-directed in all its aims, could scarcely fail to win respect among those who were acquainted with the facts. As the prince became better known, public mistrust began to give way. In 1847, but only after a significantly keen contest with Earl Powis, he was elected chancellor of the university of Cambridge; and he was afterwards appointed master of the Trinity House. In June 1857 the formal title of prince-consort was conferred upon him by letters patent, in order to settle certain difficulties as to precedence that had been raised at foreign courts.

But in the full career of his usefulness he was cut off. During the autumn of 1861 he was busy with the arrangements for the projected international exhibition, and it was just after returning from one of the meetings in connexion with it that he was seized with his last illness. Beginning at the end of November with what appeared to be influenza, it proved to be an attack of typhoid fever, and, congestion of the lungs supervening, he died on the 14th of December. The grief of the queen was overwhelming and the sympathy of the whole nation marked a revulsion of feeling about the prince himself which was not devoid of compunction for earlier want of appreciation. The magnificent mausoleum at Frogmore, in which his remains were finally deposited, was erected at the expense of the queen and the royal family; and many public monuments to ``Albert the Good'' were erected all over the country, the most notable being the Albert Hall (1867) and the Albert Memorial (1876) in London. His name was also commemorated in the queen's institution of the Albert medal ( 1866) in reward for gallantry in saving life, and of the order of Victoria and Albert (1862).

By the queen's authority, her secretary, General Grey, compiled The Early Days of the Prince Consort, published in 1867; and The Life and Letters of the Prince Consort (ist vol., 1874; 2nd, 1880) mas similarly edited by Sir Theodore Martin. A volume of the Principal Specches and Addresses of Prince Albert, with an introduction by Sir Arthur Helps, was published in 1862. See also the Letters of Queen Victoria (ioo7). (H. CH.)

ALBERT I. (c. 1250-1308), German king, and duke of Austria, eldest son of King Rudolph I., the founder of the greatness of the house of Habsburg, was invested with the duchies of Austria and Styria, together with his brother Rudolph, in 1282. In 1283 his father entrusted him with their sole government, and he appears to have ruled them with conspicuous success. Rudolph was unable to secure the succession to the German throne for his son, and on his death in 1291, the princes, fearing Albert's power, chose Adolph of Nassau as king. A rising among his Swabian dependants compelled Albert to recognize the sovereignty of his rival, and to confine himself to the government of the Habsburg territories. He did not abandon his hopes of the throne, and, in 1298, was chosen German king by some of the princes, who were dissatisfied with Adolph. The armies of the rival kings met at Gollheim near Worms, where Adolph was defeated and slain, and Albert submitted to a fresh election. Having secured the support of several influential princes by extensive promises, he was chosen at Frankfort on the 27th of July 1298, and crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle on the 24th of August following. Albert sought to play an important part in European affairs. He seemed at first inclined to press a quarrel with France over the Burgundian frontier, but the refusal of Pope Boniface VIII. to recognize his election led him to change his policy, and, in 1299, a treaty was made between Albert and Philip IV., king of France, by which Rudolph, the son of the German king, was to marry Blanche, a daughter of the French king. He afterwards became estranged from Philip, and, in 1303, was recognized as German king and future emperor by Boniface, and, in return, admitted the right of the pope alone to bestow the imperial crown, and promised that none of his sons should be elected German king without the papal consent. Albert had failed in his attempt to seize Holland and Zealand, as vacant fiefs of the Empire, on the death of Count John I. in 1299, but in 1306 he secured the crown of Bohemia for his son Rudolph on the death of King Wenceslaus III. He also renewed the claim which had been made by his predecessor, Adolf, on Thuringia, and interfered in a quarrel over the succession to the Hungarian throne. His attack on Thuringia ended in his defeat at Lucka in 1307, and, in the same year, the death of his son Rudolph weakened his position in eastern Europe. His action in abolishing all tolls established on the Rhine since 1250, led to the formation of a league against him by the Rhenish archbishops and the count palatine of the Rhine; but aided by the towns, he soon crushed the rising. He was on the way to suppress a revolt in Swabia when he was murdered on the 1st of May 1308, at Windisch on the Reuss, by his nephew John, afterwards called ``the Parricide,'' whom he had deprived of his inheritance. Albert married Elizabeth, daughter of Meinhard IV., count of Gorz and Tirol, who bore him six sons and five daughters. Although a hard, stern man, he had a keen sense of justice when his selfish interests were not involved, and few of the German kings possessed so practical an intelligence. He encouraged the cities, and not content with issuing proclamations against private war, formed alliances with the princes in order to enforce his decrees. The serfs, whose wrongs seldom attracted notice in an age indifferent to the claims of common humanity, found a friend in this severe monarch, and he protected even the despised and persecuted Jews. The stories of his cruelty and oppression in the Swiss cantons first appear in the 16th century, and are now regarded as legendary.

See G. Droysen, Albrechts I. Bemuhungen um die Nachfolge im Reich (Leipzig, 1862); J. F. A. Mucke, Albrecht I. von IIabsburg (Gotha, 1865); A. L. J. Michelsen, Die Landgrafschaft Thuringen unter den Konigen Adolf, Albrecht, und Heinrich VII. (Jena, 1860).

ALBERT II. (1397-1439), German king, king of Bohemia and Hungary, and (as Albert V.) duke of Austria, was born on the 10th of August 1397, the son of Albert IV. of Habsburg, duke of Austria. He succeeded to the duchy of Austria on his father's death in 1404. After receiving a good education, he undertook the government of Austria in 1411, and succeeded, with the aid of his advisers, in adding the duchy of the evils which had arisen during his minority. He assisted the German king, Sigismund, in his campaigns against the Hussites, and in 1422 married Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Sigismund, who designated him as his successor. When the German king died in 1437, Albert was crowned king of Hungary on the 1st of January 1438, and although crowned king of Bohemia six months later, he was unable to obtain possession of the country. He was engaged in warfare with the Bohemians and their Polish allies, when on the 18th of March 1438 he was chosen German king at Frankfort, an honour which he does not appear to have sought. Afterwards engaged in defending Hungary against the attacks of the Turks, he died on the 27th of October 1439 at Langendorf, and was buried at Stuhlweissenburg. Albert was an energetic and warlike prince, whose short reign gave great promise of usefulness lor Germany.

ALBERT (1490-1545), elector and archbishop of Mainz, and archbishop of Magdeburg, was the younger son of John Cicero, elector of Brandenburg, and was born on the 28th of June 1490. Having studied at the university of Frankfort-on-the-Oder, he entered the ecclesiastical profession, and in 1513 became archbishop of Magdeburg and administrator of the diocese of Halberstadt. In 1514 he obtained the electorate of Mainz, and in 1518 was made a cardinal. Meanwhile to pay for the pallium of the see of Mainz and to discharge the other expenses of his elevation, Albert had borrowed a large sum of money from the Fuggers, and had obtained permission from Pope Leo X. to conduct the sale of indulgences in his diocese to obtain funds to repay this loan. For this work he procured the services of John Tetzel, and so indirectly exercised a potent influence on the course of the Reformation. When the imperial election of 1519 drew near, the elector's vote was eagerly solicited by the partisans of Charles (afterwards the emperor Charles V.) and by those of Francis I., king of France, and he appears to have received a large amount of money for the vote which he cast eventually for Charles. Albert's large and liberal ideas, his friendship with Ulrich von Hutten, and his political ambitions, appear to have raised hopes that he would be won over to the reformed faith; but after the Peasants' War of 1525 he ranged himself definitely among the supporters of Catholicism, and was among the princes who met to concert measures for its defence at Dessau in July 1525. His hostility towards the reformers, however, was not so extreme as that of his brother Joachim I., elector of Brandenburg; and he appears to have exerted himself in the interests of peace, although he was a member of the league of Nuremberg, which was formed in 1538 as a counterpoise to the league of Schmalkalden. The new doctrines nevertheless made considerable progress in his dominions, and he was compelled to grant religious liberty to the inhabitants of Magdeburg in return for 500,000 florins. During his latter years indeed he showed more intolerance towards the Protestants, and favoured the teaching of the Jesuits in his dominions. Albert adorned the Stiftiskirche at Halle and the cathedral at Mainz in sumptuous fashion, and took as his motto the words Domine, dilexi decorem domus tuae. A generous patron of ait and learning, he counted Erasmus among his friends. He died at Aschaffenburg on the 24th of September 1545.

See I. H. Hennes, Albrecht von Brandenburg, Erzbischofvon Mbinz und Magdeburg (Mai1iz, 1858); i. May, Der Kuriurst, Kardinal, und Erzbischof Albrecht II. von Mainz unid Mogdeburg (Munich, 1865--1875ai co. Schum, Kardinal Albrecht von Mainz und die Erfurter Kirchenreformation (Halle, 1878); P. Redlich, Kardinal Albrecht von Brandenburg, und das neue Stift zu Halte (Mainz, 1900).

ALBERT (1490-1568), Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, and first duke of Prussia, was the third son of Frederick of Hohenzollern, prince of Ansbach and Bayreuth, and Sophia, daughter of Casimir IV., king of Poland. Born at Ansbach on the 16th of May 1490, he was intended for the church, and passed some time at the court of Hermann, elector of Cologne, who appointed him to a canonry in his cathedral. Turning to a more active life, he accompanied the emperor Maximilian I. to Italy in 1508, and after his return spent some time in Hungary. In December, Frederick, grand master of the Teutonic Order, died, and Albert, joining the order, was chosen as his successor early in 1511 in the hope that his relationship to Sigismund I., king of Poland, would facilitate a settlement of the disputes over east Prussia, which had been held by the order under Polish suzerainty since 1466. The new master, however, showed no desire to be conciliatory, and as war appeared inevitable, he made strenuous efforts to secure allies, and carried on tedious negotiations with the emperor Maximilian I. The ill-feeling, influenced by the ravages of members of the order in Poland, culminated in a struggle which began in December 1519. During the ensuing year Prussia was devastated, and Albert consented early in 1521 to a truce for four years. The dispute was referred to the emperor Charles V. and other princes, but as no settlement was reached the master continued his efforts to obtain help in view of a renewal of the war. For this purpose he visited Nuremberg in 1522, where he made the acquaintance of the reformer, Andreas Osiander, by whose influence he was won over to the side of the new faith. He then journeyed to Wittenberg, where he was advised by Martin Luther to cast aside the senseless rules of his order, to marry, and to convert Prussia into an hereditary duchy for himself. This proposal, which commended itself to Albert, had already been discussed by some of his relatives; but it was necessary to proceed cautiously, and he assured Pope Adrian VI. that he was anxious to reform the order and punish the knights who had adopted Lutheran doctrines. Luther for his part did not stop at the suggestion, but in order to facilitate the change made special efforts to spread his teaching among the Prussians, while Albert's brother, George, prince of Ansbach, laid the scheme before Sigismund of Poland. After some delay the king assented to it provided that Prussia were held as a Polish fief; and after this arrangement had been confirmed by a treaty made at Cracow, Albert was invested with the duchy by Sigismund for himself and his heirs on the 10th of February 1525. The estates of the land then met at Konigsberg and took the oath of allegiance to the new duke, who used his full powers to forward the doctrines of Luther. This transition did not, however, take place without protest. Summoned before the imperial court of justice, Albert refused to appear and was placed under the ban; while the order, having deposed the grand master, made a feeble effort to recover Prussia. But as the German princes were either too busy or too indifferent to attack the duke, the agitation against him soon died away. In imperial politics Albert was fairly active. Joining the league of Torgau in 1526, he acted inunison with the Protestants, and was among the princes who banded themselves together to overthrow Charles V. after the issue of the Interim in May 1548. Forvarious reasons, however, poverty and personal inclination among others, he did not take a prominent part in the military operations of this period. The early years of Albert's rule in Prussia were faidy prosperous. Although he had some trouble with the peasantry, the lands and treasures of the church enabled him to propitiate the nobles and for a time to provide for the expenses of the court. He did something for the furtherance of learning by establishing schools in every town and by giving privileges to serfs who adopted a scholastic life. In 1544, in spite of some opposition, he founded a university at Konigsberg, where he appointed his friend Osiander to a professorship in 1549. This step was the beginning of the troubles which clouded the closing years of Albert's reign. Osiander's divergence from Luther's doctrine of justification by faith involved him in a violent quarrel with XIelanchthon, who had adherents in Konigsberg, and these theological disputes soon created an uproar in the town. The duke strenuously supported Osiander, and the area of the quarrel soon broadened. There were no longer church lands available with which to conciliate the nobles, the burden of taxation was heavy, and Albert's rule became unpopular. After Osiander's death in 1552 he favoured a preacher named John Funck, who, with an adventurer named Paul Scalich, exercised great influence over him and obtained considerable wealth at the public expense. The state of turmoil caused by these religious and political disputes was increased by the possibility of Albert's early death and the necessity in that event for a regency owing to the youth of his only son, Albert Frederick. The duke was consequently obliged to consent to a condemnation of the teaching of Osiander, and the climax came in 1566 when the estates appealed to Sigismund II., king of Poland, who sent a commission to Konigsberg. Scalich saved his life by flight, but Funck was executed; the question of the regency was settled; and a form of Lutheranism was adopted, and declared binding on all teachers and preachers. Virtually deprived of power, the duke lived for two years longer, and died at Tapiau on the 20th of March 1568. In 1526 he had married Dorothea, daughter of Frederick I., king of Denmark, and after her death in 1547, Anna Maria, daughter of Eric I., duke of Brunswick. Albert was a voluminous letterwriter, and corresponded with many of the leading personages of the time. In 1891 a statue was erected to his memory at Konigsberg.

See J. Voigt, Briefwechsel der beruhmtested Gelehrten des Zeitalters der Reformation mit Herzog Albrecht von Preussen (Konigsberg, 1841); E. Joachim, Die Politik des letzten Hochmeisters in Preussen, Albrecht von Brandenburg (Leipzig, 1892); K. Lohmeyer, Herzog Albrecht von Preussen (Danzig, 1890).

ALBERT III. ( 1443-1500), duke of Saxony, surnamed ANIMOSUS or THE COURAGEOUS, younger son of Frederick II., the Mild, elector and duke of Saxony, was born on the 27th of January 1443, and after escaping from the hands of Kunz von Kaufungen, who had abducted him together with his brother Ernest, passed some time at the court of the emperor Frederick III. in Vienna. In 1464 he married Zedena, or Sidonia, daughter of George Podebrad, king of Bohemia, but failed to obtain the Bohemian Crown on the death of George in 1471. After the death of the elector Frederick in 1464, Albert and Ernest ruled their lands together, but in 1485 a division was made by the treaty of Leipzig, and Albert received Meissen, together,with some adjoining districts, and founded the Albertine branch of the family of Wettin. Regarded as a capable soldier by the emperor, Albert, in 1475, took a prominent part in the campaign against Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, and in 1487 led an expedition against Matthias Corvinus, king of Hungary, which failed owing to lack of support on the part of the emperor. In 1488 he marched with the imperial forces to free the Roman king Maximilian from his imprisonment at Bruges, and when, in 1489, the king returned to Germany, Albert was left as his representative to prosecute the war against the rebels. He was successful in restoring the authority of Maximilian in Holland, Flanders and Brabant, but failed to obtain any repayment of the large sums of money which he had spent in these campaigns. His services were rewarded in 1498 when Maximilian bestowed upon him the title of hereditary governor (potestat) of Friesland, but he had to make good his claim by force of arms. He had to a great extent succeeded, and was paying a visit to Saxony, when he was recalled by news of a fresh rising. Groningen was captured, but soon afterwards the duke died at Emden, on the 12th of September 1500. He was buried at Meissen. Albert, who was a man of great strength and considerable skill in feats of arms, delighted in tournaments and knightly exercises. His loyalty to the emperor Frederick, and the expenses incurred in this connexion, aroused some irritation among his subjects, but his rule was a period of prosperity in Saxony.

See F. A. von Langenn, Herzog Albrecht der Beherzte, Stammvater des koniglichen IIauses Sachsen (Leipzig, 1838); O. Sperling, Herzog Albrecht der Beherzte von Sachsen als Gubernator Frieslands (Leipzig, 1892).

ALBERT, FREDERICK AUGUSTUS, king of Saxony (18281902), was born on the 23rd of April 1828, being the eldest son of Prince John, who succeeded to the throne in 1854. His education was, as is usual with German princes, to a great extent military, but he attended lectures at the university of Bonn. His first experience of warfare was in 1849,'when he served as a captain in the campaign of Schleswig-Holstein against the Danes. When the war of 1866 broke out, the crown-prince was placed in command of the Saxon forces opposing the Prussian army of Prince Frederick Charles. No attempt was made to defend Saxony; the Saxons fell back into Bohemia and effected a junction with the Austrians. They took a prominent part in the battles by which the Prussians forced the line of the Iser and in the battle of Gitchin. The crown-prince, however, succeeded in effecting the retreat in good order, and in the decisive battle of Koniggratz (see SEVEN WEEKS' WAR) he held the extreme loft of the Austrian position. The Saxons maintained their post with great tenacity, but were involved in the disastrous defeat of their allies. During these operations the crown-prince won the reputation of a thorough soldier; after peace was made and Saxony had entered the North German confederation, he was placed in command of the Saxon army, which had now become the XII. army corps of the North German army, and in this position carried out the necessary reorganization. He was a firm adherent of the Prussian alliance. On the outbreak of war in 1870 he again commanded the Saxons, who were included in the 2nd army under Prince Frederick Charles, his old opponent. At the battle of Gravelotte they formed the extreme left of the German army, and with the Prussian Guard carried out the attack on St Privat, the final and decisive action in the battle. In the reorganization of the army which accompanied the march towards Paris the crown-prince was given a separate command over the 4th army (army of the Meuse) consisting of the Saxons, the Prussian Guard corps and the IV. (Prussian Saxony) corps. He was succeeded in command of the XII. corps by his brother Prince George, who had served under him in Bohemia. He took a leading part in the operations which preceded the battle of Sedan, the 4th army being the pivot on which the whole army wheeled round in pursuit of Macmahon; and the actions of Buzancy and Beaumont on the 29th and 30th of August were fought under his direction; in the battle of Sedan itself, with the troops under his orders, he carried out the envelopment of the French on the east and north. His conduct in these engagements won for him the complete confidence of the army, and during the siege of Paris his troops formed the north-east section of the investing force. After the conclusion of the armistice he was left in command of the German army of occupation, a position which he held till the fall of the Commune. On the conclusion of peace he was made an inspector-general of the army and field-marshal. On the death of his father on the 29th of October 1873 he succeeded to the throne. His reign was uneventful, and he took little public part in politics, devoting himself to military affairs, in which his advice and experielice were of the greatest value, not only to the Saxon corps but to the German army in general. In 1897 he was appointed arbitrator between the claimants for the principality of Lippe. King Albert married in 1853 Carola, daughter of Prince Gustavus of Vasa, and granddaughter of the last king of Sweden of the house of Holstein. He died on the 19th of June 1902.

ALBERT, surnamed THE DEGENERATE (c. 1240-1314), landgrave of Thuringia, was the eldest son of Henry III., the Illustrious, margrave of Meissen. He married Margaret, daughter of the emperor Frederick II., in 1254, and in 1265 received from his father Thuringia and the Saxon palatinate. His infatuation for Kunigunde of Eisenberg caused his wife to leave him, and after her death in 1270 he married Kunigunde, who had already borne him a son, Apitz or Albert. He wished to make Apitz his successor in Thuringia, a plan which was resisted by his two elder sons, and a war broke out which lasted until 1307, when he abandoned Thuringia, in return for a yearly payment, but retained the title of landgrave (see THURINGIA.) Albert, who had married Elizabeth, daughter of Hermann III., count of Orlamunde, after the death of his second wife in 1286, died on the 13th of November 1314.

See F. X. Wegele, Friedrich der Friedige, Markgraf von Meissen, und die Wettiner seiner Zeit (Nordlingen, 1820); F. W. Tittmann, Geschichte Heinirich des Erlauchten Markgraven zu Meissen (Leipzig, 1863).

ALBERT (FRIEDRICH RUDOLF ALBRECHT), ARCHDUKE (1817-1895), Austrian field-marshal, was the eldest son of the archduke Charles (Karl Friedrich), and was born on the 3rd of August 1817 at Vienna. After being educated under the careful superintendence of his father, he entered the Austrian (H.K.) army as a colonel of infantry in 1837, and was transferred to the cavalry arm in 1839, becoming a major-general in 1840. A brief period of leave in this year he spent at the great n:an0-uvres in Italy, to learn the art of troop-leading from the first soldier in Europe, Radetzky. He then took over the command of a brigade of all arms at Graz. In 1844 he married Trincess Hildegarde of Bavaria. He had been made a lieutenant field-marshal in the previous year, and was now placed in command of the forces in Upper and Lower Austria. In this position he did much to maintain and improve the efficiency of the troops under his command, at a time when nearly all armies in Europe, with the exception of Radetzky's in Italy, had sunk to the lowest level. The influence of Radetzky over the young archduke was indeed remarkable. At this time the Austrian generals and staff officers had committed themselves blindly to the strategical method of the archduke Charles, the tradition of whose practical soldiership survived only in Radetzky and a few others. Albert chose to follow the latter, and was thus saved from the pseudoscientific pedantry which brought defeat to the Austrian arms in 1359 and in 1866. His first serious service came in March 1848, when it became his duty, as district commander, to maintain order in Vienna by force, and at the outbreak of revolution in Vienna during the month of March he was in command of the troops who came into collision with the rioters. Owing to the collapse of the government it was impossible to repress the disturbances, and he was relieved from a post which brought much unpopularity and was not suitable to be held by a member of the imperial family. He went at once to the seat of war in Italy, and fought under Radetzky as a volunteer throughout the campaign of 1848, being present at the action of bastrengo and the battles of Santa Lucia and Custozza. In the following campaign he applied for and obtained the command of a division in the II. corps (FZM. d'Aspre), though his previous grade had been that of a general commanding-in-chief. The splendid fighting of the corps at Novara was decisive of the war, and Radetzky named d'Aspre, Count Thurn, and the archduke as the general officers worthy of the greatest rewards. The field-marshal indeed recommended, and almost insisted, that Albert should receive the much-prized order of Maria Theresa. In 1850 he became a general of cavalry, and in 1851 military and civil governor of Hungary. In this important and difficult position he remained until 1860, when he was relieved at his own request. Shortly afterwards he was appointed to succeed Radetzky as commander-in-chief in Italy, and in 1863 he was promoted field-marshal. In the following year the archduke lost his wife, soon after the marriage of their elder daughter to Duke Philip of Wurttemberg. In 1859 and 1864 he was sent on important military and diplomatic missions to Berlin. When war became imminent in 1866, the archduke took command of the field army in Italy. The story of the campaign of 1866 in Italy will be found under ITALIAN WARS (1848-1870); the operations of the archduke, who disposed of greatly inferior forces, were crowned with success in the brilliant victory of Custozza (June 23), and his reputation as a general-in-chief was firmly established by only eight days of field operations, though it is possible that his chief of staff, Lieut. Field-Marshal von John, contributed not a little to the success of the Austrian arms. The result of Custozza was the retreat and complete immobilization of the whole Italian army, so that Albert was able to despatch the greater part of his troops to reinforce the Bohemian army, when, after being defeated by the Prussians, it fell back on Vienna. On the 10th of July the archduke was summoned to Vienna to take supreme command of the forces which were being collected to defend the capital, but peace was made before further hostilities took place. From this time, under various titles, he acted as inspector-general of the army. Like his father, and with better fortune, he was called upon to reorganize the military system of his country on an entirely new pian, learned, as before, by defeat. The principle of universal short service, and the theory of the armed nation, were necessarily the groundwork of the reforms, and the consequent preparation of all the national resources for their task in war, by the superintendence of peace administration, by the skilful conduct of man0-uvres, was thenceforward the task of his lifetime. In 1870 he conducted the military negotiatio:1s preparatory to an alliance with France, which, however, was not concluded. The tragic death of his daughter, Princess Mathilde, in 1867, and the death of his brother, Archduke Karl Ferdinand, in 1874, narrowed still further his family circle, and impelled him to even greater activity in his military duties, and to effective participation in the work of many military charities. IUe retained personal control of the army until his last illness, which he contracted at the funeral of his nephew Francis, ex-king of Naples. His only remaining brother, the archduke Wilhelm, had died a few months before, as the result of an accident. He himself died on the 18th of February 1895. His only son died in childhood, and his nephew Archduke Frederick (born 1856) inherited his great possessions, including the Albertina, a famous collection of books, manuscripts, engravings and maps, founded by Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen.

Amongst the military works of the Archduke Albert may be named Uber die Verantworllichkeil im Kriege (a work which created a great sensation, and was translated into English and French), Gledanken uber dem Militargeist, Uber die hohere Heitung im Kriege, and Kritische Betrachtunger uber den Feldzug 1866 in Italien. He also was the principal editor of the military works of his father.

See Duncker, F. M. Erzherzog Albrecht (Vienna and Prague, 189; Mathes v. Bilabruck, ``Gedenkrede auf Weiland Sr. K. u. K. H. Erzh. Albrecht,'' Mil.-Wissenschaftl. Verein, 1895; Teuber, F. M. Erzh. Albrecht, ein Lebensbild (Vienna, 1895).

ALBERT, MADAME (c. 1805-1846), French actress, whose maiden name was Theresc Vernet, was born of a family of players. She first appeared in children's and ingenile parts, and in comic opera, and it was not until 1827, two years after her Paris debut, that her great talents were seen and appreciated. In Caleb Valentine, Henry V., Madame Dubarry, Catherine II., Leontine,, Un duel sous le cardinal de Richelieu, and many other plays, her grace, beauty and distinction of manner made her the idol of Paris, and her circle of admirers was widened by long tours of the provinces and abroad. Ill-health compelled her to retire in 1846. She was twice married, about 1825 to Albert Rodrigues, an actor who played under his Christian name, and in 1846 to Eugene Bignon (1812-1858), the actor and playwright.

ALBERT OF AIX (fl. c. A.D. 1100), historian of the first crusade, was born during the later part of the 11th century, and afterwards became canon and custos of the church of Aix-la-Chapelle. Nothing else is known of his life except that he was the author of a Historia Hierosolymitanae expeditionis, or Chronicon Hierosolymitanum de bello sacro, a work in twelve books, written between 1125 and 1150. This history begins at the time of the council of Clermont, deals with the fortunes of the first crusade and the earlier history of the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem, and ends somewhat abruptly in 1121. It was well known during the middle ages, and was largely used by William, archbishop of Tyre, for the first six books of his Belli sacri historia. In modern times its historical value has been seriously impugned, but the verdict of the best scholarship seems to be that in general it forms a true record of the events of the first crusade, although containing some legendary matter. Albert never visited the Holy Land, but he appears to have had a considerable amount of intercourse with returned crusaders, and to have had access to valuable correspondence. The first edition of the history was published at Helmstadt in 1584, and a good edition is in the Recueil des historiens des croisades, tome iv. (Paris, 1841-1887).

See F. Krebs, Zur Kritik Alberts von Aachen (Munster, 1881); B. Kugler, Albert von Aachen (Stuttgart, 1885); M. Figeonneau, Le Cycle de la croisade et de la famine de Bouillon (Paris, 1877); H. von Sybel, Geschichte des ersten Kreuzzuges (Leipzig, 1881): F. Vercruysse, Essai critique sur la chronique d'Albert d'Aix (Liege, 1889).

ALBERTA, a province of western Canada, established in 1905. Area 260,000 sq. m. It is bounded S. by the United States boundary line, 49 deg. N.; E. by 110 deg. W., vhich divides it from the province of Saskatchewan; N. by 60 deg. N., which separates it from the North-West Territories; and W. by the line of peaks of the Rocky Mountains range, vhich runs northwesterly, and divides it from British Columbia. A fertile province, in the eastern and southern portions its surface consists chiefly of plains almost entirely treeless. As the slopes of the Rocky Mountains to the west are reached 1rore trees are found, until in the foot-hills of the mountains bcdies of forest timber occur. Trees become more numerous also northward in the province, until in the region north of the North Saskatchewan river forests are again met with.. From the southern boundary line for two and a half degrees north the prairie is dry, but of good soil, which grows excellent crops when irrigated. North of this region the surface of the province is of itost fertile soil, the ordinary rainfall sufficing for agriculture. The appearance of the prairie section of the province is that cf undulating meadows, with rounded sloping ridges covered with shorter . grasses, which serve for the support of great herds of cattle and horses. The.wooded portions of the terrain are dotted with clumps and belts of trees of moderate size, giving them a parklike appearance. In winter the snowfall is very light, and even this is frequently removed by warm winds from the west. Within a hundred miles of the mountains there is constanlly in view, in clear weather, the beautiful line of snowy peaks along the western horizon. This continues for hundreds of miles north-westward. The Rocky Mountains, vhich give its charm to Alberta, are ascended by a gradual approach from the east, but are exceedingly abrupt on their transalpine slope in British Columbia. The peaks of these mountains are 1rajestic, many of them reaching a height of more than two niles above the sea. Among the more notable of these are Lcbscn peak, 13,700 ft.; Athabasca, 13,700; Assiniboine, 11,8s0; Fyell, 12,000; Mummery, 12,000; Temple, 11,658; and Geikie, 11,000. Mt. Brown reaches 9050.

Through these Rocky Mountains the explorers and furtraders, by ascending the streams running down the eastern declivities of the mountains, and crossing by short portages to the streams of the western slope, have succeeded in discovering passes by which the mountain chain can be crossed, the range rarely exceeding 60 m. in breadth. The most noted of the Alberta passes are (1) the Crow's Nest Pass, near the southern boundary line, through which a branch of the Canadian I,acific' railway runs; (2) the Kicking Horse Pass, through which the main line of the Canadian Pacific railway is built; 80 m. from the eastern end of this pass is the Rocky Mountains Park, with the famous watering-place of Banff as its centre; (3) the Yellow Head Pass, running west from the northern branch of the Saskatchewan river; this pass was discovered by Capt. Pallise1 (1858), was crossed by Lord Milton and Dr W. B. Cheadle (1861), and by Sandford Fleming (1871-1872) in the Ocean to Ocean expedition; (4) Peace River Pass. By this pass Alexander Mackenzie made his celebrated voyage. There are other minor passes, and no doubt more to be discovered.

With the exception of the southern section, the province of Alberta may be said to be well watered. Rising from numerous valleys on the Alberta declivity of the Rocky Mountains between the international boundary line and 52 deg. N. are streams which unite to form the Belly river, and farther north the Bow river. Running eastward these two rivers unite about 112 deg. W;, and flow on under the name of the South Saskatchewan river. North of 52 deg. N. many small streams unite to form the Red Deer river, which flowing south-eastward joins the South Saskatchewan near 110 deg. W. Between 52 deg. and 53 deg. N. rises the great river, the North Saskatchewan. It receives a southern tributary, the Battle river, which joins it about 108 deg. W. Pursuing their courses eastward the North and South Saskatchewan rivers unite in the Saskatchewan (Cree, rapid-flowing river), which finds its way to Lake Winnipeg, and thence by way of Nelson river to Hudson Bay. It is one of the mightiest rivers of the continent.

Between 53 deg. and 54 deg. N. begins the height of land running north-easterly, north of which all the waters of Alberta flow toward the Arctic Sea. In northern Alberta, on the northern slope, gathering its tributaries from rills in the Rocky Mountains, the river Athabasca runs north and empties into Lake Athabasca near 58 deg. N. North of 56 deg. N. flows through and from the Rocky Mountains the Peace river. After descending north-eastward to within a few miles of Lake Athabasca, it is met by a stream emerging from that lake. The united river carrying down the waters of the Athabasca slope is called the Slave river, which, passing through Great Slave Lake, emerges as the great Mackenzie river, which falls into the Arctic Sea. Alberta thus gives rise to the two great rivers Saskatchewan and Mackenzie. While a number of fresh-water, or in some cases brackish, lakes each less than 100 sq. m. in extent are situated in Alberta, two of more considerable size are found. These are Lake Athabasca, 3085 sq. m. in extent, of which a part is in the province of Saskatchewan, and the other Lesser Slave Lake some 600 sq. m. in area.

Climate.--As Alberta extends for 750 m. from north to south---as great a distance as from Land's End in England to the north of the Shetland Isles--it is natural that the climate should vary considerably between parallels of 40 deg. and 60 deg. N.. and also between 110 deg. and 120 deg. W. It is also further influenced by the different altitudes above the sea of the several parts of the province. Dividing the province into three equal parts of 250 m. each from north to south, these may be called (A) the south, (B) the centre, (C) the north. The following data may be considered:--

CLIMATIC TABLE
Climate Places Above the Sea Mean Winter Temp
(A) Moderate and Medicine Hat, 2171 ft. 14.3 deg. F.
changeable lat. 50 deg. N.
Calgary, lat. 51 deg. 3432 " 15.4 deg. "
Banff, lat. 51 1/2 deg. 4515 " 15.9 deg. "

(B) Steady Edmonton, lat. 53 1/2 deg. 2210 " 10.3 deg. "

(C) Severe Fort Chipewyan, lat. 600 " 7.2 deg. "
lat. 59 deg. N.

Climate (A) allows, in what is a great ranching district, cattle and horses to run at large through the whole winter. Through the mountain passes come at times dry winds from the Pacific coast, which lick up the snow in a few hours. These winds are known as Chinook winds. While elevating the temperature they bring more moisture into the air and produce a change not entirely desirable.

Climate (B) is the steady winter climate of Edmonton district. This while averaging a lower temperature than (A) is not so subject to change; it retains the snow for sleighing, which is a boon to the farmer. This climate is much less influenced by the Pacific winds than (A).

Climate (C), that of Fort Chipewyan, having a mean winter temperature of 22.6 deg. lower than Calgary, is a decidedly sub-arctic climate. It is the region in winter of constant ice and snow, but its lower altitude gives it a summer climate with a mean temperature of only 1.6 deg. less than Calgary, and 1.8 deg. less than Edmonton. It will thus be seen that the agricultural capabilities of the Athabasca and Peace river districts, not yet fully known, are full of promise.

Fauna.--The three climatic regions of Alberta have naturally a varying fauna. The south and central region was the land of the bison, its grasses affording a great pasture ground for tens of thousands of ``buffaloes.'' They were destroyed by whites and Indians in 1870-1882 on the approach of the Canadian Pacific railway. Grizzly, black and cinnamon bears are, found in the mountains and wooded districts. The coyote or small wolf, here and there the grey wolf, the fox and the mountain lion (panther) occur. The moose and red deer are found in the wooded regions, and the jumping deer and antelope on the prairies. Wild sheep and goats live in the Rocky Mountains. The lynx, wolverine, porcupine, skunk, hare, squirrel and mouse are met. The gopher is a resident of the dry plains. District (C) is the fur-trader's paradise. The buffalo is replaced by the mountain buffaloes, of which a few survive. The musk-ox comes in thousands every year to the great northern lakes, while the mink, marten, beaver, otter, ermine and musk-rat are sought by the fur-trader. Fort Chipewyan was long known in Hudson's Bay Company history as the great depot of the Mackenzie river district. Northern Alberta and the region farther north is the nesting-ground of the migratory birds. Here vast numbers of ducks, geese, swans and pelicans resort every year. Cranes, partridges and varieties of singing birds abound. The eagle, hawk, owl and crow are plentiful. Mosquitoes and flies are everywhere, and the wasp and wild bee also. In the rivers and lakes pike, pickerel, white fish and sturgeon supply food for the natives, and the brook trout is found in the small mountain streams. The turtle and frog also appear.

Flora.--In central and northern Alberta the opening spring brings in the prairie anemone, the avens and other early flowers. The advancing summer introduces many flowers of the sunflower family, until in August the plains are one blaze of yellow and purple. The southern part of Alberta is covered by a short grass, very nutritive, but drying up in the middle of summer until the whole prairie is brown and unattractive. The trees in the wooded sections of the province are seen in clumps and belts on the hill sides. These are largely deciduous. On the north side of the Saskatchewan river forests prevail for scores and even hundreds of miles. They contain the poplar Or aspen (Populus tremuloides), balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera), and paper or canoe birch (Fetula papyrifera.) The Coniferae are found northward and in the mountain valleys. Some of these are: Jack pine (Pinus Banksiana), Rocky Mountain pine (Pinus flexilis), black pine (Pinus Murrayana), white spruce (Picea alba), black spruce (Picea nigra), Engelman's spruce (Picea Engelmanni), mountain balsam (Abies subalpina), Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga Douglasii), mountain larch (Larix Lyallis.)

Population.--By the census of 1906 the population of Alberta was found to be 185,412. It has grown from 73,022 in 1901 (the area of Alberta being then slightly different). The basis of the population is Canadian, and the immigration has been chiefly from (1) the British Isles, (2) United States, (3) continent of Europe (chiefly Austria, Hungary and Russia). Of the population in 1901, 17,245 had immigrated thither from the three mentioned sources. The following table shows the percentages of origins:--

1901.

Canadian and native born . . . 54 %
The British Isles . . . . . 6.8%
United States . . . . . . 16.6%
Continent of Europe . . . . 24.4%

Of the Indian and Indian half-breed population there were in 1901, 14,669 of the former and 11,635 of the latter. The Indians of central Alberta are chiefly plain Crees, a tribe of Algonquin stock. In southern Alberta are several thousands of Indians on reserves south and west of Calgary, consisting of the Blackfoots of Algonquin stock, Sarcees, Piegans and a few Assiniboins.

The chief cities and towns of Alberta are Edmonton (11,167), Calgary (i1,967), Medicine IIat (3020), Lethbiidge (2948) and Strathcona (2927).

Industries.--- The chief industries of the people are farming and ranching. Cattle, horses and sheep are largely reared in the southern prairie region on ranches or smaller holdings. In this region irrigation is widely used. Red winter wheat is now produced to a considerable degree. In the town of Raymond is a large beet sugar manufactory, and in the vicinity great quantities of beets are grown by irrigation. In central Alberta coarse grains---oats and barley----and some wheat are grown, in conjunction with mixed farming. While washing out the sands of the North Saskatchewan for gold is still somewhat resorted to, the only real mining in Alberta is that for coal. Vast beds of coal are found extending for hundreds of miles, a short distance below the surface of the plains. The coal belongs to the Cretaceous beds, and while not so heavy as that of the Coal Measures is of excellent quality. In the valley of the Bow river, alongside the Canadian Pacific railway, valuable beds of anthracite coal ale worked, and the coal is carried by railway as far east as Winnipeg. The usual coal deposits of Alberta are of bituminous or semi-bituminous coal. These are largely worked at Lethbridge in southern Alberta and Edmonton in the centre of the province. Many other parts of the province have pits for private use. The Athabasca river region, as well as localities far north on the Mackenzie river, has decided indications of petroleum, though it is not yet developed. Natural gas has been found at several points. The most notable gas discovery is that at Medicine Hat, which has wells with unlimited quantities. The gas is excellent, is used for lighting the town, supplies light and fuel for the people, and a number of industries are using the gas for manufacturing.