The Nuttall Encyclopaedia Part 18

ALGEBRA, a universal arithmetic of Arabian origin or Arabian transmission, in which symbols are employed to denote operations, and letters to represent number and quant.i.ty.

ALGE'RIA, in the N. of Africa, belongs to France, stretches between Morocco on the W. and Tripoli and Tunis on the E., the country being divided into the Tell along the sea-coast, which is fertile, the Atlas Highlands overlooking it on the S., on the southern slopes of which are marshy lakes called "shotts," on which alfa grows wild, and the Sahara beyond, rendered habitable here and there by the creation of artesian wells; its extent nearly equal in area to that of France, and the population numbers about four millions, of which only a quarter of a million is French. The country is divided into Departments, of which Algiers, Oran, and Constantine are the respective capitals. It has been successively under the sway of the Carthaginians, the Romans, the Vandals, the Arabs, the Byzantines, and the Berbers, which last were in the 16th century supplanted by the Turks. At the end of this period it became a nest of pirates, against whom a succession of expeditions were sent from several countries of Europe, but it was only with the conquest of it by the French in 1830 that this state of things was brought to an end.

ALGESI'RAS (12), a town and port in Spain on the Bay of Gibraltar, 5 m. across the bay; for centuries a stronghold of the Moors, but taken from them by Alfonso IX. after a siege of twenty months.

ALGIERS' (75), the capital of Algeria, founded by the Arabs in 935, called the "silver city," from the glistening white of its buildings as seen sloping up from the sea, presenting a striking appearance, was for centuries under its Bey the head-quarters of piracy in the Mediterranean, which only began to cease when Lord Exmouth bombarded the town and destroyed the fleet in the harbour. Since it fell into the hands of the French the city has been greatly improved, the fortifications strengthened, and its neighbourhood has become a frequent resort of English people in winter.

ALGINE, a viscous gum obtained from certain sea-weeds, used as size for textile fabrics, and for thickening soups and jellies.

ALGO'A BAY, an inlet at the E. of Cape Colony, 20 m. wide, on which Port Elizabeth stands, 425 m. E. of the Cape of Good Hope.

AL'GOL, a double star in the constellation Perseus, of changing brightness.

ALGONQUINS, one of the three aboriginal races of N. American Indians, originally occupying nearly the whole region from the Churchill and Hudson Bay southward to N. Carolina, and from the E. of the Rocky Mts. to Newfoundland; the language they speak has been divided into five dialects.

ALHAM'BRA (Red Castle), an ancient palace and stronghold of the Moorish kings of Granada, founded by Muhammed II. in 1213, decorated with gorgeous arabesques by Usuf I. (1345), erected on the crest of a hill which overlooks Granada; has suffered from neglect, bad usage, and earthquake.

A'LI, the cousin of Mahomet, and one of his first followers at the age of sixteen, "a n.o.ble-minded creature, full of affection and fiery daring. Something chivalrous in him; brave as a lion; yet with a grace, a truth and affection worthy of Christian knighthood." Became Caliph in 656, died by a.s.sa.s.sination in the Mosque at Bagdad; the Sheiks yearly commemorate his death. See Carlyle's "Heroes."

ALI BABA. See BABA, ALI.

A'LI PASHA, pasha of Janina, a bold and crafty Albanian, able man, and notorious for his cruelty as well as craft; alternately gained the favour of the Porte and lost it by the alliances he formed with hostile powers, until the Sultan sentenced him to deposition, and sent Ha.s.san Pasha to demand his head; he offered violent resistance but being overpowered at length surrendered, when his head was severed from his body and sent to Constantinople (1741-1822).

ALICAN'TE (40), the third seaport-town in Spain, with a s.p.a.cious harbour and strongly fortified, in a province of the same name on the Mediterranean.

ALIGARH' (61), a town with a fort between Agra and Delhi, the garrison of which mutinied in 1857.

ALIGHIE'RI, the family name of Dante.

AL'IMA, an affluent on the right bank of the Congo, in French territory.

ALIMENTARY Ca.n.a.l, a pa.s.sage 5 or 6 times the length of the body, lined throughout with mucous membrane, extends from the mouth to the a.n.u.s, and includes mouth, fauces, pharynx, oesophagus, stomach, and small and large intestines.

ALISON, ARCHIBALD, an Episcopal clergyman in Edinburgh, of which he was a native, best known for his "Essay on the Nature and Principles of Taste" (1757-1839).

ALISON, SIR ARCHIBALD, son of the preceding, a lawyer who held several prominent legal appointments, and a historian, his great work being a "Modern History of Europe from the French Revolution to the Fall of Napoleon," afterwards extended to the "Accession of Louis Napoleon"

(1792-1867).

ALISON, W. PULTENEY, brother of the preceding, professor of medicine in Edinburgh University, and a philanthropist (1790-1859).

ALIWAL', a village in the Punjab, on the Sutlej, where Sir Harry Smith gained a brilliant victory over the Sikhs, who were provided with forces in superior numbers, in 1846.

AL'KAHEST, the presumed universal solvent of the alchemists.

ALKALIES, bodies which, combining with acids form salts, are soluble in water, and properly four in number, viz., potash, soda, lithia, and ammonia.

ALKALINE EARTHS, earths not soluble in water, viz., lime, magnesia, strontia, and baryta.

ALKALOIDS, bodies of vegetable origin, similar in their properties, as well as toxicologically, to alkalies; contain as a rule carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen; many of them are poisonous and invaluable in medicine.

ALKMAAR' (14), the capital of N. Holland, 25 m. NW. of Amsterdam, with a large trade in cattle, grain, and cheese.

ALKMER, HENRIK VAN, the reputed author of the first German version of "Reynard the Fox."

ALL THE TALENTS, ADMINISTRATION OF, a ministry formed by Lord Grenville on the death of Pitt in 1806.

AL'LAH, the Adorable, the Arab name for G.o.d, adopted by the Mohammedans as the name of the one G.o.d.

ALLAHABAD' (175), the City of G.o.d, a central city of British India, on the confluence of the Ganges and the Jumna, 550 m. from Calcutta, and on the railway between that city and Bombay.

ALLAN, DAVID, a Scottish portrait and historical painter, born at Alloa; ill.u.s.trated Ramsay's "Gentle Shepherd"; his greatest work is the "Origin of Painting," now in the National Gallery at Edinburgh (1744-1796).

ALLAN, SIR WILLIAM, a distinguished Scottish historical painter, born at Edinburgh, many of his paintings being on national subjects; he was a friend of Scott, who patronised his work, and in succession to Wilkie, president of the Royal Scottish Academy; painted "Circa.s.sian Captives" and "Slave-Market at Constantinople" (1782-1850).

ALLANTOIS, a membrane enveloping the foetus in mammals, birds, and reptiles.