given to Simon de Montfort, and by him were eventually ceded to Louis VIII. Raymond VI and Raymond VII disputed the possession of the land by the King, and after thousands had perished on both sides a peace was concluded in 1229, at which Raymond VII purchased relief from the ban of the Church by immense sums of money, gave up Narbonne and several lordships to Louis IX, and had to make his son-in-law, the brother of Louis, heir of his other possessions. The heretics were handed over to the proselyting zeal of the Order of Dominicans and the bloody tribunals of the Inquisition, and both used their utmost power to bring the recusant Albigenses to the stake. From the middle of the thirteenth century the name of the Albigenses gradually disappears.

Alexandrian Codex is an important manuscript of the Sacred Scriptures written in Greek. It is written on parchment, in finelyformed uncial letters, and is without accents, marks of aspiration, or spaces between the words. Its probable date is the latter half of the sixth century. With the exception of a few gaps it contains the whole Bible in Greek, along with the Epistles of Clemens Romanus. This celebrated manuscript, which is now in the British Museum, belonged, as early as 1098, to the library of the Patriarch of Alexandria. In 1628 it was sent as a present to Charles I of England by Cyrillus Lucaris, Patriarch of Constantinople, who declared that he got it from Egypt; and that it was written there appears from internal and external evidence.

Alexandrian Library contained in the time of Cleopatra about 700,000 volumes or rolls, and was founded at the suggestion of Demetrius Phalereus, a fugitive from Athens in the reign of Ptolemy Soter. The greater portion of this remarkable collection was destroyed during the Alexandrine war. This loss, however, was repaired by Marc Antony, who presented to Cleopatra the library taken at the siege of Pergamos. From this time until about the year 391 A. D. the library increased in size and reputation, and contained treasures of learning in all known tongues. At the burning of the Temple of Jupiter Serapis by the Christians under Theodosius the Great, about that year, a portion of the library was destroyed, and when the Arabs, under Caliph Omar, took the city in 640 A. D., the destruction of the remainder was completed.

Alexandrines.-The name Alexandrines is most probably derived from an old French poem on Alexander the Great, belonging to the twelfth or thirteenth century, and signifies rhyming verses consisting each of twelve syllables of six measures. This measure was first used in the poem referred to. The Alexandrine has become the regular epic or heroic verse of the French, among whom each line is divided in the middle into two hemistichs, the sixth syllable always ending a word. The only considerable English poem written wholly in Alexandrines is Drayton's Polyolbion.

Alhambra, The, is the name given to the fortress which forms

a sort of acropolis or citadel to the city of Granada, and in which stood the palace of the ancient Moorish Kings of Granada. The name is a corruption of the Arabic, Kal-at-al hamra, "the red castle." It is surrounded by a strong wall, more than a mile in circuit, and studded with towers. The towers on the north wall, which is defended by Nature, were used as residences connected with the palace. One of them contains the famous "Hall of the Ambassadors.” The remains of the Moorish palace are called by the Spaniards the Casa Real. It was begun by Ibn-al-Ahmar, and completed by his successors, 1248-1348. The portions still standing are ranged around two oblong courts, one called the "Court of the Fish-pond," and the other the "Court of the Lions." The Moorish palace, though severely plain upon the exterior, is exquisitely beautiful within. It has floors of the choicest marbles, fretted ceilings, partitions colored and gilt, and filigree stuccoes of vail-like transparency." Slender columns support the galleries, and gracefully-bending palm-leaves of marble form the arches, while beautiful fountains are scattered here and there. Beside the halls, courts, reception-rooms, and sleeping-apartments, the building contains a whispering-gallery, a labyrinth, and vaulted sepulchers. After the expulsion of the Moors from Spain their conquerors took pleasure in defacing and destroying their works of art, and the Alhambra was remodeled and partly blocked up. In 1812 the French blew up a portion of it, and in 1821 it was shaken by an earthquake. Attempts have been made from time to time to restore it, but the small amount of the money which has been contributed has rendered all such efforts practically futile.

All-Fools'-Day.-The origin of the custom of April fooling cannot be traced with any degree of certainty. In the literature of the last century there are found many references to it, and yet beyond that it is scarcely possible to go. One suggestion is that the custom of playing tricks on the first day of April was derived from some ancient pagan custom, such as the Huli festival among the Hindus, or the Roman Feast of the Fools. One fact, however, we do know, and that is that the practice prevails in many countries, under various names, which would seem to indicate that it dates away back to the early history of the race. [See April.]

Amazons. According to ancient writers the Amazons were a nation of female warriors, who allowed no men to live among them, but marched to battle under command of their Queen. They held occasional intercourse with the men of the neighboring states. If boys were born to them, they either sent them to their fathers or killed them. But the girls were brought up for war, and their right breasts were burned off that they might not be prevented from bending the bow. From this custom they received the Three nations of Ama1. The Asiatic AmaThese dwelt on the

name of Amazons, which is "breastless." zons have been mentioned by the ancients: zons, from whom the others branched off. shores of the Black Sea and among the mountains of the Cau

casus, especially in the neighborhood of modern Trebizond, on the river Thermodon (now Termeh). They are said to have at one time subdued the whole of Asia, and to have built Smyrna, Ephesus, Cumæ, and other cities. Their Queen, Hippolyte, or according to others Antiope, was killed by Hercules, as the ninth of the labors imposed on him by Eurystheus consisted in taking from her the shoulder-belt bestowed on her by Mars. On one of their expeditions the Amazons came to Attica, in the time of Theseus. They also marched under command of their Queen, Penthesilea, to assist Priam against the Greeks. 2. The Scythian Amazons, who, in aftertimes, married among the neighboring Scythians and withdrew farther into Sarmatia. 3. The African Amazons, who, under command of their Queen, Myrina, subdued the Gorgans and Atlantes, marched through Egypt and Arabia, and founded their capital on the Lake Tritonis, but were then annihilated by Hercules. At this same time, too, the Lake Tritonis disappeared as such, and became part of the ocean, the intervening land having been swallowed up.

Amber is a pale yellow, sometimes reddish or brownish, sub stance, analogous to the vegetable resins, and is in all probability derived from an extinct coniferous tree, although now appearing, like coal, in connection with beds of which it is usually found, as a product of the mineral kingdom. It is sometimes transparent, and sometimes almost opaque. It formerly had a high reputation as a medicine, but the virtues ascribed to it were purely imaginary. Amber is employed in the arts for the manufacture of many ornamental articles, and for the preparation of a kind of varnish. It was obtained by the ancients from the coasts of the Baltic Sea, where it is still found, especially between Konigsberg and Memel, in greater abundance than anywhere else in the world. It sometimes incloses insects of species which no longer exist. Leaves have also been found inclosed in it. Specimens which contain insects or leaves are very highly valued. According to an ancient fable, amber is the tears of the sisters of Phaethon, who, after his death, were changed into poplars. Pieces of amber have occasionally been found of twelve or thirteen pounds weight, but such pieces are extremely rare. Great quantities are consumed in Mohammedan worship at Mecca, and it is in great demand throughout the east. The beauty and hardness of amber have caused it to be long esteemed by smokers for mouth-pieces of pipes and tubes for cigar-holders. In Turkey as much as $1,500 has been given for a single mouth-piece. It is particularly esteemed by the Turks, in the belief that no infectious disease can be communicated through it. The value of amber differs greatly according to its tint and opacity. The bright-yellow transparent amber is least valuable. Dark, nearly opaque yellow has a much higher value; and the best of all is the opaque lemon-colored. It is said that one of the most esteemed talismans or amulets belonging to the Shah of Persia is a cube of amber reported to have fallen from heaven in Mohammed's time

Amen is a Hebrew word signifying "Yes," "Truly." In Jewish synagogues the amen is pronounced by the congregation at the conclusion of the benediction. Among the early Christians the prayer offered by the presbyter was concluded by the word amen, uttered by the congregation. Justin Martyr is the earliest of the fathers who alludes to the use of the response. According to Tertullian, none but the faithful were permitted to join in the response. A somewhat noisy and irreverent practice prevailed in the celebration of the Lord's Supper until the sixth century, after which it was discontinued. 66 Upon the reception both of the bread and of the wine, each person uttered a loud amen;' and at the close of the consecration by the priest, all joined in shouting a loud' amen. The same custom was observed at baptism, when the sponsors and witnesses responded vehemently. In the Greek Church the amen was pronounced after the name of each person of the Trinity; and at the close of the baptismal formula the people responded. At the conclusion of prayer it signifies (according to the English Church Catechism) so be it; after the repetition of the Creed, so it is.

American Clocks and Watches.-The first attempt to manufacture watches or clocks on a large scale in America was made by Eli Terry, a Connecticut Yankee, who invented wooden wheels for clocks in 1792. In 1837 Chauncey Jerome, of Massachusetts, first applied machinery to the making of metal-wheeled clocks, and as a result drove the wooden-wheeled clocks out of the market. The manufacture of watches by machinery, which has since become such an important business, was begun at Roxbury, Mass., in 1850, and was continued there until 1854, when the works were removed to Waltham.

American Coinage, Early.-The earliest coinage that can be called American, in the sense of Anglo-American, was ordered by the original Virginia Company only five years after the founding of Jamestown. The coin was minted at Somers Island, now known as the Bermudas. For a long while the standard currency of Virginia was tobacco, as in many of the early settlements of the Northwest it was beaver skins, and other pelts reckoned as worth such a fraction of a beaver skin or so many beaver skins. In 1645 the Assembly of the Virginia Colony, after a preamble reciting that "It had maturely weighed and considered how advantageous a quoine would be to this colony, and the great wants and miseries which do daily happen unto it by the sole dependency upon tobacco," provided for the issue of copper coins of the denomination of twopence, threepence, sixpence and ninepence; but this law was never carried into effect, so that the first colonial coinage of America was that struck off by Massachusetts under the order of the General Court of that colony, passed May 27, 1652, creating a "mint house" at Boston, and providing for the mintage of "twelvepence, sixpence and threepence pieces, which shall be for forme flatt, and stamped on the one side with N. E., and on the

other side with xiid., vid., and iiid., according to the value of each pence." In 1662 from this same mint appeared the famous "pinetree shillings," which were twopenny pieces, having a pine-tree on one side. This mint was maintained for thirty-four years. In the reign of William and Mary copper coins were struck in England for New England and Carolina. Lord Baltimore had silver shillings, sixpences and fourpences made in England to supply the demand of his province in Maryland. Vermont and Connecticut established mints in 1785 for the issue of copper coin. New Jersey followed a year later. But Congress had the establishment of a mint for the confederated States under advisement, and in this same year agreed upon a plan submitted by Thomas Jefferson, and the act went into operation on a small scale in 1787. After the adoption of the Constitution of the United States in 1789 all the State mints were closed, as the Constitution specifically places the sole power of coining money in the Federal Government.

American Commanders.-Since 1775 the American army has been under the command of the following generals: MajorGeneral George Washington, July 15, 1775, to December 23, 1783; Major-General Henry Knox, December 23, 1783, to June 20, 1784; Lieutenant-Colonel Josiah Harmer, General-in-Chief by brevet, September, 1788, to March, 1791; Major-General Arthur St. Clair, March 4, 1791, to March, 1792; Major-General Anthony Wayne, April 11, 1792, to December 15, 1796; Major-General James Williamson, December 15, 1796, to July, 1798; Lieutenant-General George Washington, July 3, 1798, to December 14, 1799; MajorGeneral James Wilkinson, June, 1800, to January, 1812; MajorGeneral Henry Dearborn, January 27, 1812, to June, 1815; MajorGeneral Jacob Brown, June, 1815, to February 21, 1828; Major-General Alexander Macomb, May 24, 1828, to June, 1841; Major-General Winfield Scott (brevet Lieutenant-General), June, 1841, to November 1, 1861; Major-General George B. McClellan, November 1, 1861, to March 11, 1862; Major-General Henry W. Halleck, July 11, 1862, to March 12, 1864; Lieutenant-General Ulysses S. Grant, March 12, 1864, to July 25, 1866, and as General to March 4, 1869; General Wm. T. Sherman, March 4, 1869, to November 1, 1883; Lieutenant-General Philip_H. Sheridan, November 1, 1883, to August, 1888; Major-General John M. Schofield, August, 1888.

American Flags.-It is related that the flag which was raised at Cambridge, January 2, 1776, by Washington, was composed of thirteen red and white stripes, with the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew emblazoned on the blue canton in place of the stars. This flag was also carried by the fleet under command of Commander Esek Hopkins when it sailed from the Delaware Capes February 17, 1776. In the following year, June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed a resolution "That the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the Union be thirteen stars, white on a blue field, representing a