ing to a considerable height above its surface; and this ocean of air is the great labratory in which most of the actions of life go on; and on the composition of which they depend. Though invisible, except in large masses, without smell or taste, yet it is a substance possessing all the principal attributes of matter; it is impenetrable, ponderable, compressible, dilatable, perfectly elastic, and its particles are operated on like those of other bodies, by chemical operations. It is indispensable to the life of all organic beings; animals respire it incessantly, and decompose it; a part of its oxygen is transformed into carbonic acid, and this combination produces caloric, which contributes principally to the preservation of animal heat. Vegetables imbibe the carbon which the carbonic acid, diffused through the air, contains. The air is the agent of combustion; the particles of bodies combine with its oxygen and evolve light and heat. Air is also the principal medium of sound.

AIR-GUN. An instrument by which air, after it is condensed into an enclosed cavity, may be let out in sufficient quantity to discharge a bullet through the barrel of the gun, with great force. Air may be condensed into ten or fifty times smaller space; its elastic force being thus rendered equal to gunpowder, which itself is merely concentrated air set at liberty by heat. Steam confined in the like manner is a less convenient variety of the same power.

AIR-PLANT. A singular plant, which grows suspended from the ceiling of a room, and derives its nutriment from the air.

AIR-PUMP. A machine for exhausting the air out of vessels, in the same manner as water is drawn up by a pump. The vessel from which the air is thus exhausted is called the receiver, and the space thus left vacant in the vessel, after withdrawing the air, is called a vacuum. It is one of the most curious and useful of philosophical instruments. By experiments with it, the weight, elasticity, and many other properties of the air inay be shown in a very simple and satisfactory manner. If any animal is placed under the receiver, and the air exhausted, it dies almost immediately; a lighted candle under the exhausted receiver immediately goes out. Air is thus shown to be necessary to animal life and combustion. A bell suspended from a silken thread beneath the exhausted receiver, on being struck, cannot be heard. If the bell be in one receiver, from which the air is not exhausted, but which is within an exhausted receiver, it still cannot be heard. Air is therefore proved necessary to the production and to the propagation of sound. A shrivelled apple or cranberry, placed beneath an exhausted receiver, becomes as plump as if quite fresh. They are thus shown to be full of elastic

air.

AJACIO. An extraordinary tree, that grows on the shores of the Autilles Islands. St. Pierre states, on the authority of Labat and du Tetre, that it grows to such a prodigious size, that out of one log of it a boat can be made capable of carrying forty men. This tree is also the only one, of those shores, which is never attacked by the sea worm, an insect so formidable to every other species of timber which

floats in those seas, that it devours whole squadrons in a very little time, and occasions the necessity of sheathing the bottoms of the vessels with copper.

ALABASTER. A well known mineral, used by architects, statuaries, plasterers and others. It is a sulphate of lime. Alabaster is found of various colors and kinds; snowy white, yellow, variegated, reddish, and in masses of various shapes and sizes. Most of the alabasters are interspersed with veins of different colors. Alabaster is found in many different parts of the world, and in abundance in several places of England. In general, it is so soft, that it can be cut with a knife; yet it admits of a fair polish. The clearness and fineness of this stone renders it in some measure transparent, whence it has been occasionally employed for windows. There is a church in Florence still illuminated by alabaster windows; instead of panes of glass, there are slabs of alabaster nearly fifteen feet high, each of which forms a window, through which the light is conveyed. When a candle or lamp is put into a vase of this kind, it diffuses a very agreeable and delicate light, and is therefore much used for that description of statuary.

war.

ALAY, or Triumph. The name of a ceremony practised by the Turks at the commencement of We are informed by baron Tott, who saw the ceremony which accompanied the breaking out of the war between Russia and the Porte, that the alay consists of a kind of masquerade, in which the different tradesmen exhibit to the spectators the implements of their respective arts, and their mode of operation. The husbandman guides his plough; the joiner handles his plane; and these motley groups, seated in splended cars, begin the procession. Then follows the standard of their prophet Mahomet, brought from the seraglio to be carried to the Ottoman army. This sacred banner is viewed with the most stupid fanaticism. None but the emirs are allowed to touch it; and the very look of an infidel is sufficient to profane the consecrated standard. The alay having been almost forgotten, from the long peace which preceded the war, which we have mentioned, the Christians imprudently crowded to witness the exhibition. The emir, who preceded the holy standard cried with a loud voice, "Let no infidel profane with his presence the banner of the Prophet; and let every Mussulman who perceives an unbeliever, make it known, under the pain of reprobation.

At the sound of these words, the brutal fanaticism of the Turks was roused. A thirst for Christian blood seized every breast, and a scene of massacre ensued, which language is too feeble to describe. Neither the helplessness of infancy, nor the infirmities of age, nor the most affecting circumstances of female distress, could save the devoted Christians from the knives of their religious assassins.

ALBINO. A term which appears to have been first employed by the Portuguese, to designate a variety in the human species that occurs among the negroes, the peculiarity of which consists in their hair and skin being perfectly white, in every circumstance except color, these persons resemble the other natives of Africa. We are informed by Wafer, who accompanied Dampier in his voyage

round the world, that the same variety is occasionally found among the Indians who inhabit the isthmus of Darien; and albinos are also described as occurring among the natives of Java and Ceylon. The skin of the albino is, as the name imports, literally white, approaching to the color of milk, or to that of a recently dead body, without that intermixture of red which is found in the complexion of Europeans. Another peculiarity of the Albinos is the state of the eye, which is so sensible to light that they are scarcely able to keep it open in sunshine; although in the shade, or in the dark of the evening, their vision seems to be sufficiently perfect. It is probable, that this peculiar color of the skin depends upon a morbid condition of the body, induced by some cause hitherto undiscovered. The proof of this seems complete, for albinos are known to be born from parents whose skin has nothing unusual in its appearance.

Individuals are occasionally found in Europe to whom the title of albino is applied. The European albino has nothing peculiar in his features, or in the formation of his body; but his skin is of the most delicate hue, his hair is white and silky, the colored part of the eye is of a beautiful pink color; and, like the African albinos, they are unable to bear the light. The skin of the European albino does not, however, exhibit that perfect whiteness which is described in the African, nor does it appear that he has necessarily any general weakness of constitution, or deficiency of strength. We have a very accurate account given by Saussure of two albinos that were born at Chamouin in Switzerland. These young men had the white skin and hair; the rose colored eye; and their sight was delicate. What it is in the constitution and habits of the parent, which sometimes gives rise to the peculiarity in their offspring, is totally unknown.

ALBUMEN. The white of an egg, and any viscous fluid without taste or smell that is like it, as the serous part of the blood.

ALBURNUM. A white soft substance, intermediate, both in position and in texture, to the bark and the wood of trees; or it is the inner layer of the bark, which has not yet attained the solidity of the wood.

ALCHEMY. The obsolete branch of chemistry which had for its object the transmutation of metals into gold; the finding the panacea, or universal remedy; and some other things equally ridiculous.

ALCOHOL. The purely spiritous part of all liquors that have undergone the vinous fermentation. It is a colorless, transparent liquor, appearing to the eye like pure water, and consisting of hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen. It is extremely light and inflammable, and is a powerful stimulant. This is the usual sense of the word; but, originally, in Arabic, it signified a fine impalpable powder, in which sense it is still used.

ALDER. The alder is a tree which grows in wet situations, and is distinguished for its flowering stalks being branched. The roots and knots furnish beautifully veined wood, nearly of the color of Mahogany, and well adapted to cabinet work. The

ALDERMAN.

Among the Saxons, this title denoted the second order of nobility; and was derived from a word, signifying elder, and man. In England and the United States, aldermen, at present, are officers associated with the mayor of a city, for the administration of the municipal government. In some places they act as judges in certain civil and criminal cases. In London, there are twentysix aldermen, who preside over the twenty-six wards of the city, and from whose number the mayor is elected annually.

ALE. A fermented liquor obtained from an infusion of malt; differing from beer chiefly in having a less proportion of hops. We first hear of ale in Egypt. The natives of Spain, the inhabitants of France, the aborigines of Britain and Germany, all used an infusion of barley; and, it was called by various names signifying in their respective languages, strong water.

ALGEBRA. This is a general method of resolving mathematical problems by means of equations, or it is a method of performing the calculations of all sorts of quantities by means of general signs or characters. Some authors define algebra as the art of resolving mathematical problems; but this is the idea of analysis, or the analytic art in general, rather than of algebra, which is only a species of it. In the application of algebra to the resolution of problems we must first translate the problem out of common into algebraic language, by expressing all the conditions and quantities, both known and unknown, by their proper characters, arranged in an equation, or several equations, if necessary, and treating the unknown quantity as if it were a known one. This forms the composition. Then the resolution or analytic part is the disentangling the unknown quantity from the several others with which it is connected, so as to retain it alone on one side of the equation, while all the known quantities are collected on the other side, thus obtaining the value of the unknown.

ALIBI. This is a Latin term, meaning elsewhere, and is used in criminal proceedings, to signify the absence of the accused with respect to the place where he is charged with having committed an offence. Thus, to allege and prove an alibi, is to protest and establish, by good testimony, that when the crime was committed, the party was in a different place from that in which it is said to have happened.

ALICONDA. An African tree of Congo, of immense bulk. Of the bark a coarse thread is made; the shell or rind of the fruit may be made into a nourishing pap, serves for vessels of various kinds, and gives an aromatic taste to water preserved in it. The small leaves are used as food in time of scarcity, the large ones to cover huts, and, being burned, makes good soap.

ALIEN. A person born out of the country, and therefore under the dominion of a foreign power, from the Latin word, alienus, signifying foreigner, is called an alien. The children of citizens of the United States, though born abroad, are entitled to the rights and privileges of natural born citizens. So are the children of naturalized citizens, who were under age at the time of their father's naturalization, provided they reside in the United States. The states, with a few exceptions, have adopted the principle of the English common law, by which not only aliens are not permitted to hold real estate, but if they take it by deed or conveyance, it is immediately forfeited to the state. There is no instance, however, on record that we know of, of an alien's land having been actually confiscated. A more liberal spirit prevails through the Union, and has for some years been gradually displaying itself by legislative acts in several of the states.

Some countries treat aliens with unreasonable severity, by throwing obstacles in the way of their admission, by rendering naturalization difficult, and by depriving them of personal liberty. They can neither become guardians, nor the witnesses of a will. All uncivilized nations treat the alien as an enemy, and out of the protection of the law. Aliens are forbid the right of entering China and Japan under pain of death. But even here, as civilisation advances, the policy of exercising such a prohibition will be doubted. This has already operated in favor of the foreigners disposed to visit, at least, the former of these places.

ALKALIES. Alkalies are saline substances possessing a hot and caustic taste, and readily corrode the flesh of animals; they also convert vegetable blue to a green color, are soluble in water, and combine in various ways with acids, forming a variety of new bodies of very different qualities. With oils they form soaps. They are known under two forms, the fixed and volatile. The fixed akalies are potash and soda; the volatile alkali or Ammonia, is obtained from animal matter; and latterly, it has also been procured in large quantities from the distillation of coal for gas. The fixed alkalies, potash and soda, are products of the vegetable kingdom; and used largely both in medicine and the arts, chiefly in medicine, in combination with acids forming neutral salts. Soda is also obtained from the salt of the sea and that of mines.

ALLEGORY. This is a figure of rhetoric, which consists in representing one subject by another analogous to it. The subject thus represented is kept out of view; and we are left to discover it by reflection. It may be considered as a continued simile: it is a picture that is intended to attract by the objects it presents, and instruct by its obvious meaning. Allegory is fable. Thus, orators and poets have represented a state under the figure of a vessel; and the troubles that agitate it, under those of unruly winds and waves: by pilots they mean sovereigns and magistrates; and by a haven, peace or concord. Allegory was a favorite method of delivering instructions in ancient times; for what we call fables or parables, are no other than allegories. By words and actions attributed to beasts or inanimate objects, the dispositions of men were figured; and

what we call the moral, is the unfigured sense or meaning of the allegory.

ALLIANCE. This is an agreement entered into between two nations, or the sovereigns which represent them, for their mutual safety and defence. When the contracting parties bind themselves to assist each other only in repelling the attack of the common enemy, it is called a defensive alliance; if they agree to aid each other in carrying war into the enemy's country, and assailing him in every vulnerable part of his dominions, the alliance is said to be offensive.

ALLIGATION. The arithmetical rule that teaches to adjust the price of a compound of several ingredients of different value.

ALLIGATOR, or American Crocodile. A formidable species of animals which are seen in great multitudes in several of the rivers of Georgia and the Floridas.-The alligator, when full grown, is of prodigious strength, activity, and swiftness in the water. Some grow from twenty to twentythree feet in length; their body is as large as that of a horse, and nearly resembles a lizard. Their scales, when the animal is alive, are impenetrable even to a rifle ball, except about their head, and just behind their fore legs, where only they are vulnerable. The head resembles, at a distance, a great chump of wood floating about upon the water; the mouth of a very large one opens about three feet in width, displaying two rows of very long, thick, strong teeth, which are as white as the finest polished ivory. When they clap their jaws together it causes a surprising noise, and may be heard at a great distance. They have a loud and terrible roar, which most resembles very heavy distant thunder; and when hundreds of them are roaring together, it seems as if the earth itself were agitated. These river monsters are often seen lying in great numbers upon the banks, where they seize hogs and other animals, which go to the river to drink. They sometimes attack small boats with such fury, as to put the lives of the boatmen in great jeopardy.

The females make their nests in a curious manner upon the banks of rivers or lagoons, generally in marshes, along which, at a short distance from the water, the nests are arranged somewhat like an encampment. They are obtuse cones, four feet high, and about four feet in diameter at the base, built of mud and grass. From 100 to 200 eggs are found in one nest. The females keep near the nests, and take the young under their care as soon as they are hatched, defending them with great perseverance and courage. The young are seen following the mother through the water like a brood of chickens following a hen. When basking in the sun on the shore, the young are heard whining and yelping about the mother, not unlike young puppies. When first hatched, they are very feeble and helpless, and large numbers of them are devoured by birds of prey and turtles, as well as by the male alligators, until they grow old enough to defend themselves. Many of the eggs also are destroyed by vultures and other animals, so that the race would become speedily extinct, were it not for the great fecundity of the females.

ALLITERATION. A figure in poetry, which consists in the repetition of the same letter. It is sometimes a very great ornament. It will equally contribute to softness, to energy, and to solemnity. each letter of the alphabet has a peculiar character; thus the R will generally be found to begin words that imply violence; or, by metaphor, something that does violence to the imagination; as, rend, roar, rugged: the s, such as have a reference to quiet; as still, stand, stone. These ideas may be pursued by the reader; but they open too large a field for inquiry, to be discussed in this work. The following examples will explain what is called alliteration, and show, so far as they go, its influence on the expression:

"Fields ever fresh, and groves forever green." "Ruin seize thee, ruthless king."

"To high-born Hoel's harp, or soft Llewellyn's lay."

"Stamp we our vengeance deep, and ratify his doom."

ALLOY. A proportion of a baser metal mixed with a finer one. Silver and gold are alloyed, in order to render them of such a degree of hardness, free from brittleness, as will fit them for use. The principal reasons alleged for alloying national coin, are these: 1. The natural mixture of metals, which, when melted from the mine, are not perfectly pure. 2. The saving the expense that must ensue, if they were to be refined. 3. The necessity of rendering them hard, by mixing some parts of other metals with them, to prevent the diminution of weight in passing from hand to hand. 4. The melting of foreign gold, or coin, that is alloyed. 5. The charges of coinage, which must be made good by the profits arising from the money coined, &c.

ALLSPICE. Pimento is called allspice, from its flavor, which unites that of the cinnamon, of the nutmeg, and of the clove. It is, to most persons, an agreeable spice; and, in medicine, it is used as an aromatic. The pimento tree grows to the height of 20 feet and upwards, has numerous branches, deep shining green leaves, and is adorned with white flowers. In the whole vegetable creation there is scarcely a tree more beautiful or more fragrant than this about the month of July. Branched on all sides, richly clad with deep-green leaves, which are relieved by an exuberance of white and richly aromatic flowers, it attracts the notice of all who approach it.

Pimento-trees grow spontaneously, and in great abundance, in many parts of Jamaica; but they cannot be propagated without difficulty. About the month of September, and not long after the blossoms have fallen, the berries are in a fit state to be gathered. At this time, though not quite ripe, they are full grown, and about the size of pepper-corns. When the berries are quite ripe, they are of a dark purple color, and filled with sweet pulps. They are gathered by hand; and one laborer on a tree will strip them off so quickly, as to employ three below in picking them up; and an industrious picker will fill a bag of seventy pounds' weight in a day. The berries are then spread in a terrace, in the sun, to be Jried, but this is an operation which requires great care, from the necessity of keeping them entirely

free from moisture. By the drying they lose their green color, and become a reddish brown. The process is known to be completed by their change of color, and by the rattling of the seeds within the berries. They are then packed into bags or hogsheads for the market.

ALMANAC. A book, or diary, containing the days of the year; the feasts of the calendar; the phenomena of the tides; the rising, southing, and setting of the sun, moon, and other planets; the occultation of the planets and stars; and the position and aspect of the heavenly bodies. It is supposed to derive its name from the Arabic al and manach to count. Others are of opinion, that it comes from almonat, a word of German origin.

If almanacs, as is generally thought, were first constructed by the Arabians, they were doubtless introduced into Europe by the Saracens. The celebrated astronomer Regiomontanus seems to have been the first who computed an almanac, resembling those which now exist. It is said to have appeared in 1474. The most valuable almanac published in this country is called the American Almanac, printed in Boston. It first made its appearance in 1830, and contains a valuable mass of miscellaneous and statistical information, in addition to the matter usually found in almanacs.

Almanacs became generally used in Europe within a short time after the invention of printing; and they were very early remarkable, as some now are, for the mixture of truth and falsehood which they contained. In 1579, their effects in France were found so mischievous, from the pretended prophecies which they published, that an edict was promulgated by Henry III, forbidding any predictions to be inserted in them relating to civil affairs, whether those of the state or of private persons.

ALMOND. The almond-tree grows twelve or fourteen feet high. Its pink flowers, connected in pairs, are remarkably beautiful, and form a great ornament of the English shrubberies, particularly as they appear in March and April, a season when few other parts of the vegetable creation have recovered from their wintry state. Though known to the ancients from the most remote periods of antiquity, the almond-tree has been cultivated in England, only since 1562, and this almost wholly on account of the beautiful appearance of its flowers, since the climate of Great Britain is not sufficiently warm for the fruit to be perfected. The almonds which are consumed in that country and the United States are imported, sometimes in the shell, and often without, from France, Spain, Italy, and the Levant; and they are packed in casks, boxes, or bales. The province of Valencia was formerly much celebrated for its almonds, but the cultivation of the trees in that part of Spain has for several years been much neglected. The chief' uses of sweet almonds are in confectionary and cooking. They are also used with raisins in desserts after dinner; but they should be well chewed, since every piece that is swallowed entire is indigestible.

ALMONER. This is the name of an officer in religious houses, or in the household of a sovereign, who dispenses charity, to the poor. The lord high almoner of England is an officer of this description.