Armed soldier of Democracy, Napoleon Bonaparte.

Arme`nia, a country in Western Asia, W. of the Caspian Sea and N. of Kurdistan Mts., anciently independent, now divided between Turkey, Russia, and Persia, occupying a plateau interspersed with fertile valleys, which culminates in Mt. Ararat, in which the Euphrates and Tigris have their sources.

Armenians, a people of the Aryan race occupying Armenia, early converted to Christianity of the Eutychian type; from early times have emigrated into adjoining, and even remote, countries, and are, like the Jews, mainly engaged in commercial pursuits, the wealthier of them especially in banking.

Armentières (27), a manufacturing and trading town in France, 12 m. N. of Lille.

Armi`da, a beautiful enchantress in Tasso's "Jerusalem Delivered," who bewitched Rinaldo, one of the Crusaders, by her charms, as Circe did Ulysses, and who in turn, when the spell was broken, overpowered her by his love and persuaded her to become a Christian. The Almida Palace, in which she enchanted Rinaldo, has become a synonym for any merely visionary but enchanting palace of pleasure.

Arminianism. See Arminius.

Armin`ius, or Hermann, the Deliverer of Germany from the Romans by the defeat of Varus, the Roman general, in 9 A.D., near Detmold (where a colossal statue has been erected to his memory); killed in some family quarrel in his 37th year.

Arminius, Jacobus, a learned Dutch theologian and founder of Arminianism, an assertion of the free-will of man in the matter of salvation against the necessitarianism of Calvin (1560-1609).

Armor`ica, a district of Gaul from the Loire to the Seine.

Armstrong, John, a Scotch doctor and poet, born in Roxburghshire, practised medicine in London; friend of poet Thomson, as well as of Wilkes and Smollett, and author of "The Art of Preserving Health" (1709-1779).

Armstrong, William George, Lord, born at Newcastle, produced the hydraulic accumulator and the hydraulic crane, established the Elswick engine works in the suburbs of his native city, devoted his attention to the improvement of heavy ordnance, invented the Armstrong gun, which he got the Government to adopt, knighted in 1858, and in 1887 raised to the peerage; b. 1810.

Ar`naud, Henri, a pastor of the Vaudois, turned soldier to rescue, and did rescue, his co-religionists from their dispersion under the persecution of the Count of Savoy; but when the Vaudois were exiled a second time, he accompanied them in their exile to Schomberg, and acted pastor to them till his death (1641-1721).

Arnauld, Antoine, the "great Arnauld," a French theologian, doctor of the Sorbonne, an inveterate enemy of the Jesuits, defended Jansenism against the Bull of the Pope, became religious director of the nuns of Port Royal des Champs, associated here with a circle of kindred spirits, among others Pascal; expelled from the Sorbonne and banished the country, died at Brussels (1612-1694).

Arnauld, Marie Ange`lique, La Mère Angelique as she was called, sister of the preceding and abbess of the Port Royal, a victim of the persecutions of the Jesuits to very death (1624-1684).

Arndt, Ernst Moritz, a German poet and patriot, whose memory is much revered by the whole German people, one of the first to rouse his countrymen to shake off the tyranny of Napoleon; his songs and eloquent appeals went straight to the heart of the nation and contributed powerfully to its liberation; his "Geist der Zeit" made him flee the country after the battle of Jena, and his "Was ist des Deutschen Vaterland?" strikes a chord in the breast of every German all the world over (1710-1860).

Arndt, John, a Lutheran theologian, the author of "True Christianity," a work which, in Germany and elsewhere, has contributed to infuse a new spirit of life into the profession of the Christian religion, which seemed withering away under the influence of a lifeless dogmatism (1553-1621).

Arne, Thomas Augustine, a musical composer of versatile genius, produced, during over 40 years, a succession of pieces in every style from songs to sonatas and oratorios, among others the world-famous chorus "Rule Britannia"; Mrs. Cibber was his sister (1719-1778).

Arn`heim (51), the capital of Guelderland, is situated on the right bank of the Rhine, and has a large transit trade.

Arnim, Bettine von, sister of Clemens Brentano, wife of Ludwig Arnim, a native of Frankfort; at 22 conceived a passionate love for Goethe, then in his 60th year, visited him at Weimar, and corresponded with him afterwards, part of which correspondence appeared subsequently under the title of "Goethe's Correspondence with a Child" (1785-1859).

Arnim, Count, ambassador of Germany, first at Rome and then at Paris; accused in the latter capacity of purloining State documents, and sentenced to imprisonment; died in exile at Nice (1824-1881).

Arnim, Ludwig Achim von, a German poet and novelist (1781-1831).

Arno, a river of Italy, rises in the Apennines, flows westward past Florence and Pisa into the Mediterranean, subject to destructive inundations.

Arnobius, an African rhetorician who, in the beginning of the 4th century, embraced Christianity, and wrote a book in its defence, still extant, and of great value, entitled "Disputations against the Heathen."

Arnold, Benedict, an American military general, entered the ranks of the colonists under Washington during the War of Independence, distinguished himself in several engagements, promoted to the rank of general, negotiated with the English general Clinton to surrender an important post entrusted to him, escaped to the English ranks on the discovery of the plot, and served in them against his country; d. in England in 1801.

Arnold, Matthew, poet and critic, eldest son of Thomas Arnold of Rugby; professor of Poetry in Oxford from 1857 to 1867; inspector of schools for 35 years from 1851; commissioned twice over to visit France, Germany, and Holland, to inquire into educational matters there; wrote two separate reports thereon of great value; author of "Poems," of a highly finished order and showing a rich poetic gift, "Essays on Criticism," "Culture and Anarchy," "St. Paul and Protestantism," "Literature and Dogma," &c.; a man of culture, and especially literary culture, of which he is reckoned the apostle; died suddenly at Liverpool. He was more eminent as a poet than a critic, influential as he was in that regard. "It is," says Swinburne, "by his verse and not his prose he must be judged," and is being now judged (1822-1888).

Arnold, Sir Edwin, poet and journalist, familiar with Indian literature; author of the "Light of Asia," "Light of the World," and other works in prose and verse; b. 1832, at Gravesend.

Arnold, Thomas, head-master of Rugby, and professor of Modern History at Oxford; by his moral character and governing faculty effected immense reforms in Rugby School; was liberal in his principles and of a philanthropic spirit; he wrote a "History of Rome" based on Niebuhr, and edited Thucydides; his "Life and Correspondence" was edited by Dean Stanley (1795-1842).

Arnold of Brescia, an Italian monk, and disciple of Abelard; declaimed against the temporal power of the Pope, the corruptions of the Church, and the avarice of the clergy; headed an insurrection against the Pope in Rome, which collapsed under the Pope's interdict; at last was burned alive in 1156, and his ashes thrown into the Tiber.

Arnold of Winkelried, the Decius of Switzerland, a peasant of the canton of Unterwald, who, by the voluntary sacrifice of his life, broke the lines of the Austrians at Sempach in 1386 and decided the fate of the battle.

Arnott, Dr. Neil, a native of Arbroath, author of the "Elements of Physics" and of several hygienic inventions (1788-1874).

Arou`et, the family name of Voltaire; his name formed by an ingenious transposition he made of the letters of his name, Arouet l. j. (jeune).

Ar`pad, the national hero of Hungary; established for the Magyars a firm footing in the country; was founder of the Arpad dynasty, which became extinct in 1301; d. 907.

Arpi`no (Arpinium), an ancient town in Latium, S. of Rome, birthplace of Cicero and Marius.

Arqua, a village 12 m. SW. of Padua, where Petrarch died and was buried.

Arrack, a spirituous liquor, especially that distilled from the juice of the cocoa-nut tree and from fermented rice.

Ar`rah, a town in Bengal, 36 m. from Patna; famous for its defence by a handful of English and Sikhs against thousands during the Mutiny.

Arran (4), largest island in the Firth of Clyde, in Buteshire; a mountainous island, highest summit Goatfell, 2866 ft, with a margin of lowland round the coast; nearly all the property of the Duke of Hamilton, whose seat is Brodick Castle.

Arras (20), a French town in the dep. of Pas-de-Calais, long celebrated for its tapestry; the birthplace of Damiens and Robespierre.

Ar`ria, a Roman matron, who, to encourage her husband in meeting death, to which he had been sentenced, thrust a poniard into her own breast, and then handed it to him, saying, "It is not painful," whereupon he followed her example.

Ar`rian, Flavius, a Bithynian, a friend of Epictetus the Stoic, edited his "Enchiridion"; wrote a "History of Alexander the Great," and "Periplus," an account of voyages round the Euxine and round the Red Sea; b. 100, and died at an advanced age.

Arrow-headed characters, the same as the Cuneiform (q. v.).

Arru Islands (15), a group of 80 coralline islands, belonging to Holland, W. of New Guinea; export mother-of-pearl, pearls, tortoise-shell, &c.

Ar`saces I., the founder of the dynasty of the Arsacidæ, by a revolt which proved successful against the Seleucidæ, 250 B.C.

Arsacidæ, a dynasty of 31 Parthian kings, who wrested the throne from Antiochus II., the last of the Seleucidæ, 250 B.C.

Arsin`oë, the name of several Egyptian princesses of antiquity; also a prude in Molière's "Misanthrope."

Arta, Gulf of, gulf forming the NW. frontier of Greece.

Arts, The. There are three classes of these, the Liberal, the Fine, and the Mechanical: the Liberal, implying scholarship, graduation in which is granted by universities, entitling the holder to append M.A. to his name; the Mechanical, implying skill; and the Fine, implying the possession of a soul, discriminated from the mechanical by the word spiritual, as holding of the entire, undivided man, heart as well as brain.

Artaxer`xes, the name of several Persian monarchs: A. I., called the "Long-handed," from his right hand being longer than his left; son of Xerxes I.; concluded a peace with Greece after a war of 52 years; entertained Themistocles at his court; king from 465 to 424 B.C. A. II., Mnemon, vanquished and killed his brother Cyrus at Cunaxa in 401, who had revolted against him; imposed in 387 on the Spartans the shameful treaty of Antalcidas (q. v.); king from 405 to 359 B.C. A. III., Ochus, son of the preceding, slew all his kindred on ascending the throne; in Egypt slew the sacred bull Apis and gave the flesh to his soldiers, for which his eunuch Bagsas poisoned him; king from 359 to 338 B.C. A. IV., grandson of Sassan, founder of the dynasty Sassanidæ; restored the old religion of the Magi, amended the laws, and promoted education; king from A.D. 223 to 232.

Arte`di, a Swedish naturalist, assisted Linnæus in his "Systema Naturæ"; his own great work, "Ichthyologia," published by Linnæus after his death (1703-1735).

Ar`tegal, the impersonation and champion of Justice in Spenser's "Faërie Queene."

Ar`temis, in the Greek mythology the daughter of Zeus and Leto, twin sister of Apollo, born in the Isle of Delos, and one of the great divinities of the Greeks; a virgin goddess, represented as a huntress armed with bow and arrows; presided over the birth of animals, was guardian of flocks, the moon the type of her and the laurel her sacred tree, was the Diana of the Romans, and got mixed up with deities in other mythologies.

Artemi`sia, queen of Halicarnassus, joined Xerxes in his invasion of Greece, and fought with valour at Salamis, 440 B.C. A. II., also queen, raised a tomb over the grave of her husband Mausolus, regarded as one of the seven wonders of the world, 355 B.C.

Artemi`sium, a promontory N. of Euboea, near which Xerxes lost part of his fleet, 480 B.C.

Artemus Ward. See C. F. Browne.

Artesian wells, wells made by boring for water where it is lower than its source, so as to obtain a constant supply of it.

Ar`tevelde, Jacob van, a wealthy brewer of Ghent, chosen chief in a revolt against Count Louis of Flanders, expelled him, made a treaty with Edward III. as lord-superior of Flanders, was massacred in a popular tumult (1300-1345).

Artevelde, Philip van, son of the preceding, defeated Louis II. and became king; but with the help of France Louis retaliated and defeated the Flemings, and slew him in 1382.

Artful Dodger, a young thief, an expert in the profession in Dickens' "Oliver Twist."

Ar`thur, a British prince of wide-spread fame, who is supposed to have lived at the time of the Saxon invasion in the 6th century, whose exploits and those of his court have given birth to the tradition of the Round Table, to the rendering of which Tennyson devoted so much of his genius.

Arthur, Chester Alan, twenty-first president of the United States, a lawyer by profession, and a prominent member of the Republican party (1830-1886).

Arthur, Prince, Duke of Brittany, heir to the throne of England by the death of his uncle Richard I.; supplanted by King John.

Arthur Seat, a lion-shaped hill 822 ft., close to Edinburgh on the E., from the top of which the prospect is unrivalled; "the blue, majestic, everlasting ocean, with the Fife hills swelling gradually into the Grampians behind it on the N.; rough crags and rude precipices at our feet ('where not a hillock rears its head unsung'), with Edinburgh at their base, clustering proudly over her rugged foundations, and covering with a vapoury mantle the jagged, black, venerable masses of stone-work, that stretch far and wide, and show like a city of fairyland"—such the view Carlyle had in a clear atmosphere of 1826, whatever it may be now.

Articles, The Thirty-Nine, originally Forty-Two, a creed framed in 1562, which every clergyman of the Church of England is bound by law to subscribe to at his ordination, as the accepted faith of the Church.

Artist, according to a definition of Ruskin, which he prints in small caps., "a person who has submitted to a law which it was painful to obey, that he may bestow a delight which it is gracious to bestow."

Artists, Prince of, Albert Dürer, so called by his countrymen.

Ar`tois, an ancient province of France, comprising the dep. of Pas-de-Calais, and parts of the Somme and the Nord; united to the crown in 1659.

Artois, Monseigneur d', famed, as described in Carlyle's "French Revolution," for "breeches of a new kind in this world"; brother of Louis XVI., and afterwards Charles X. (q. v.).

Ar`undel (2), a municipal town in Sussex, on the Arun, 9 m. E. of Chichester, with a castle of great magnificence, the seat of the Earls of Arundel.

Arundel, Thomas, successively bishop of Ely, Lord Chancellor, archbishop of York, and archbishop of Canterbury; a persecutor of the Wickliffites, but a munificent benefactor of the Church (1353-1414).

Arundel marbles, ancient Grecian marbles collected at Smyrna and elsewhere by the Earl of Arundel in 1624, now in the possession of the University of Oxford, the most important of which is one from Paros inscribed with a chronology of events in Grecian history from 1582 to 264 B.C.; the date of the marbles themselves is 263 B.C.

Aruns, son of Tarquinus Superbus, who fell in single combat with Brutus.

Aruwi`mi, an affluent of the Congo on the right bank below the Stanley Falls.

Arva`tes, Fratres, a college of twelve priests in ancient Rome whose duty it was to make annual offerings to the Lares for the increase of the fruits of the field.

Arve, a river that flows through the valley of Chamouni and falls into the Rhône below Geneva.

Arveyron, an affluent of the Arve from the Mer de Glace.

Ar`yans, or Indo-Europeans, a race that is presumed to have had its primitive seat in Central Asia, E. of the Caspian Sea and N. of the Hindu-Kush, and to have branched off at different periods north-westward and westward into Europe, and southward into Persia and the valley of the Ganges, from which sprung the Greeks, Latins, Celts, Teutons, Slavs, on the one hand, and the Persians and Hindus on the other, a community of origin that is attested by the comparative study of their respective languages.

Ar`zew, a seaport in Algeria, 22 m. from Oran, with Roman remains; exports grain and salt.

Asafoe`tida, a fetid inspissated sap from an Indian umbelliferous tree, used in medicine.

Asaph, a musician of the temple at Jerusalem.

Asaph, St., a town in Flintshire, 20 m. from Chester; seat of a bishopric.

Asbes`tos, an incombustible mineral of a flax-like fibrous texture, which has been manufactured into cloth, paper, lamp-wick, steam-pipes, gas-stoves, &c.

Asbjörn`sen, a Dane, distinguished as a naturalist, and particularly as a collector of folk-lore, as well as an author of children's stories (1812-1885).

As`bury, Francis, a zealous, assiduous Methodist preacher and missionary, sent to America, was consecrated the first bishop of the newly organised Methodist Church there (1745-1816).

As`calon, one of the five cities of the Philistines, much contested for during the Crusades.

Asca`nius, the son of Æneas, who trotted non passibus æquis ("with unequal steps") by the side of his father as he escaped from burning Troy; was founder of Alba Longa.

As`capart, a giant conquered by Bevis of Southampton, though so huge as to carry Bevis, his wife, and horse under his arm.

Ascension, a bare volcanic island in the Atlantic, rising to nearly 3000 ft., belonging to Britain, 500 m. NW. of St. Helena, and 900 m. from the coast of Africa; a coaling and victualling station for the navy.

Aschaf`fenburg (14), an ancient town of Bavaria, on the Main, 20 m. from Frankfort, with an old castle and cathedral.

Ascham, Roger, a Yorkshireman, Fellow of Cambridge, a good classical, and particularly Greek, scholar; wrote a book on archery, deemed a classic, entitled "Toxophilus," for which Henry VIII. settled a pension on him; was tutor and Latin secretary to Queen Elizabeth, and much esteemed by her; his chief work, the "Schoolmaster," an admirable treatise on education, held in high regard by Dr. Johnson, the sum of which is docendo discas, "learn by teaching" (1515-1560).

Aschersle`ben (22), a manufacturing town in the Magdeburg district of Prussia.

Asclepi`ades, a Bithynian who practised medicine with repute at Rome in Cicero's time, and was great in hygiene.

As`cot, a racecourse in Berks, 6 m. SW. of Windsor, the races at which, instituted by Queen Anne, take place a fortnight after the Derby.

As`gard, the garden or heaven of the Asen or gods in the Norse mythology, in which each had a separate dwelling, and who held intercourse with the other spheres of existence by the bridge Bifröst, i. e. the rainbow.

Asgill, John, an eccentric Englishman, wrote a book to prove that death was due to want of faith, and to express his belief that he would be translated, and translated he was, to spend 30 years, apparently quite happily, writing pamphlets, and end his days in the debtors' prison.

Ash, John, a dissenting divine, author of an English dictionary, valuable for the number of obsolete and provincial words contained in it (1724-1779).

Ash`anti, or Ashantee, a negro inland kingdom in the Upper Soudan, N. of Gold Coast territory, wooded, well watered, and well cultivated; natives intelligent, warlike, and skilful; twice over provoked a war with Great Britain, and finally the despatch of a military expedition, which led to the submission of the king and the appointment of a British Resident.

Ashburnham, John, a member of the Long Parliament, a faithful adherent and attendant of Charles I., and assistant to him in his troubles (1603-1671).

Ashburnham, 5th Earl of, collected a number of valuable MSS. and rare books known as the Ashburnham Collection; d. 1878.

Ashburton, Alexander Baring, Lord, second son of Sir Francis Baring, a Liberal politician, turned Conservative, member of Peel's administration in 1834-35, sent special ambassador to the United States in 1842; concluded the boundary treaty of Washington, known as the Ashburton Treaty; in his retirement "a really good, solid, most cheery, sagacious, simple-hearted old man" (1774-1848).

Ashburton, William Bingham Baring, son of the preceding, "a very worthy man," an admirer, and his wife, Lady Harriet, still more, of Thomas Carlyle (1797-1844).

Ashby-de-la-Zouch, a small market-town 17 m. W. of Leicester, figures in "Ivanhoe," with the ruins of a castle in which Queen Mary was immured.

Ashdod, a maritime Philistine city 20 m. S. of Jaffa, seat of the Dagon worship.

Ashe`ra, an image of Astarte (q. v.), and associated with the worship of that goddess.

Ash`mole, Elias, a celebrated antiquary and authority on heraldry; presented to the University of Oxford a collection of rarities bequeathed to him, which laid the foundation of the Ashmolean Collection there (1617-1692).

Ashmun, Jehudi, an American philanthropist, founder of the Negro Republic of Liberia, on the W. coast of Africa (1794-1828).

Ash`taroth. See Astarte.

Ash`ton-under-Lyne (47), a cotton-manufacturing town near Manchester.

Asia, the largest of the four quarters of the globe, and as good as in touch with the other three; contains one-third of all the land, which, from a centre of high elevations, extensive plains, and deep depressions, stretches southward into three large peninsulas separated by three immense arms of the sea, and eastward into three bulging masses and three pronounced peninsulas forming seas, protected by groups of islands; with rivers the largest in the whole world, of which four flow N., two SE., and eight S.; with a large continental basin, also the largest in the world, and with lakes which though they do not match those of America and Africa, strikingly stand at a higher level as we go E.; with every variety of climate, with a richly varied flora and fauna, with a population of 840,000,000, being the half of that of the globe, of chiefly three races, Caucasian, Mongolian, and Malay, at different stages of civilisation, and as regards religion, by far the majority professing the faith of Brahma, Buddha, Mahomet, or Christ.

Asia Minor, called also Anatole`, a peninsular extension westward of the Armenian and Kurdistan highlands in Asia, bounded on the N. by the Black Sea, on the W. by the Archipelago, and on the S. by the Levant; indented all round, mainland as well as adjoining islands, with bays and harbours, all more or less busy centres of trade; is as large as France, and consists of a plateau with slopes all round to the coasts; has a population of over 28,000,000.

Askew, Anne, a lady of good birth, a victim of persecution in the time of Henry VIII. for denying transubstantiation, tortured on the rack and burnt at the stake, 1546.

Askew, Antony, a physician and classical scholar, a collector of rare and curious books (1722-1774).

Asmode`us, a mischievous demon or goblin of the Jewish demonology, who gloats on the vices and follies of mankind, and figures in Le Sage's "Le Diable Boiteux," or the "Devil on Two Sticks," as lifting off the roofs of the houses of Madrid and exposing their inmost interiors and the secret doings of the inhabitants.

Asmonæ`ans, a name given to the Maccabees, from Asmon, the place of their origin.

Aso`ka, a king of Behar, in India; after his accession in 264 B.C. became an ardent disciple of Buddha; organised Buddhism, as Constantine did Christianity, into a State religion; convened the third great council of the Church of that creed at Patna; made a proclamation of this faith as far as his influence extended, evidence of which is still extant in pillars and rocks inscribed with his edicts in wide districts of Northern India; d. 223 B.C.

Asp, a poisonous Egyptian viper of uncertain species.

Aspa`sia, a woman remarkable for her wit, beauty, and culture, a native of Miletus; being attracted to Athens, came and settled in it; became the wife of Pericles, and her home the rendezvous of all the intellectual and wise people of the city, Socrates included; her character was often both justly and unjustly assailed.

As`pern, a village in Austria, on the Danube, 4 m. NE. of Vienna, where a charge of the Austrians under the Archduke Charles was defeated by Napoleon, May 21, 1809, and Marshal Lannes killed.

Asphalt, a mineral pitch of a black or brownish-black colour, consisting chiefly of carbon; also a limestone impregnated with bitumen, and more or less in every quarter of the globe.

Asphaltic Lake, the Dead Sea (q. v.), so called from the asphalt on its surface and banks.

As`phodel, a lily plant appraised by the Greeks for its almost perennial flowering, and with which they, in their imagination, covered the Elysian fields, called hence the Asphodel Meadow.

Asphyx`ia, suspended respiration in the physical life; a term frequently employed by Carlyle to denote a much more recondite, but a no less real, corresponding phenomenon in the spiritual life.

Aspinwall, a town founded by an American of the name in 1800, at the Atlantic extremity of the Panama railway; named Colon, since the Empress Eugenie presented it with a statue of Columbus.

Aspromon`te, a mountain close by Reggio, overlooking the Strait of Messina, near which Garibaldi was defeated and captured in 1862.

Asquini, Count, a rural economist who did much to promote silk culture in Italy (1726-1818).

Assab Bay, a coaling-station belonging to Italy, on the W. coast of the Red Sea.

Assam` (5,500), a province E. of Bengal, ceded to Britain after the Burmese war in 1826; being an alluvial plain, with ranges of hills along the Brahmapootra, 450 m. long and 50 broad; the low lands extremely fertile and productive, and the hills covered with tea plantations, yielding at one time, if not still, three-fourths of the tea raised in India.

Assarotti, an Italian philanthropist, born at Genoa; the first to open a school for deaf-mutes in Italy, and devoted zealously his fortune and time to the task (1753-1821).

As`sas, Nicolas, captain of the French regiment of Auvergne, whose celebrity depends on a single act of defiance: having entered a wood to reconnoitre it the night before the battle of Kloster Kampen, was suddenly surrounded by the enemy's (the English) soldiers, and defied with bayonets at his breast to utter a cry of alarm; "Ho, Auvergne!" he exclaimed, and fell dead on the instant, pierced with bayonets, to the saving of his countrymen.

Assassins, a fanatical Moslem sect organised in the 11th century, at the time of the Crusades, under a chief called the Old Man of the Mountain, whose stronghold was a rock fortress at Alamut, in Persia, devoted to the assassination of all enemies of the Moslem faith, and so called because they braced their nerves for their deeds of blood by draughts of an intoxicating liquor distilled from hashish (the hemp-plant). A Tartar force burst upon the horde in their stronghold in 1256, and put them wholesale to the sword.

Assaye`, a small town 46 m. NE. of Aurungabad, where Sir Arthur Wellesley gained a victory over the Mahrattas in 1803.

Assegai, a spear or javelin of wood tipped with iron, used by certain S. African tribes with deadly effect in war.

Assembly, General, the chief court of the Presbyterian Church, a representative body, half clergymen and half laymen, which sits in Edinburgh for ten days in May, disposes of the general business of the Church, and determines appeals.

Assembly, National, the Commons section of the States-General of France which met on May 5, 1789, constituted itself into a legislative assembly, and gave a new constitution to the country.

Assembly, Westminster, a body composed of 140 members, of which 117 were clergymen, convened at Westminster to determine questions of doctrine, worship, and discipline in the National Church, and which held its sittings, over 1100 of them, from July 1, 1643, to Feb. 22, 1649, with the result that the members of it were unanimous in regard to doctrine, but were divided in the matter of government.

Assemani, Giuseppe, a learned Syrian Maronite, librarian of the Vatican, wrote an account of Syrian writers (1687-1768); Stephano, nephew, held the same office, wrote "Acta Sanctorum Martyrum" (1707-1782).

Asser, John, monk of St. David's, in Wales, tutor, friend, and biographer of Alfred the Great; is said to have suggested the founding of Oxford University; d. 909.

Assien`to, a treaty with Spain to supply negroes for her colonies, concluded in succession with the Flemings, the Genoese, a French company, the English, and finally the South Sea Company, who relinquished their rights in 1750 on compensation by Spain.