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The prescriptions of physicians are written in Roman notation, a small j being used for small i when final. Thus, 2 scruples are written Dij; 7 drams, 3 vij; 12 ounces, 3 xij.

Ancient apothecaries and physicians carefully concealed from others all knowledge of the mixtures given as medicines, and hence Latin names were given, and arbitrary signs used to express the quantity.

In apothecaries' fluid measure the following signs are used:

Minim (about equal to a drop of water). f 3 Fluid dram.

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O. Pint. (Lat. octarius, one eighth.)
C. or Cong. Gallon. (Lat. congius.)

In medicine R means "take," M (Misce) is used for "mix," and ā or āā imports "of each " the same quantity.

ASTRONOMICAL SIGNS. See ASTRONOMY, Vol. II,

P. 771.

CHEMICAL SYMBOLS. The elements are represented by accepted abbreviations, termed symbols. See AB

BREVIATIONS, S. V.

COMMERCIAL SIGNS.

$

Dollar.

£ Pound sterling.

L/C

Letter of credit.

O. K.

Per.

All correct.

See Table under PROOF

# Number.
TYPOGRAPHICAL SIGNS.
READER, in these Supplements.
UNCLASSIFIED Signs.
& or & And.

&c.

*

Et cetera.
Capital.
O County seat.
Railroad.

On maps.

ABBT, THOMAS, a German writer; born at Ulm, in 1738. In his twenty-third year he was appointed to the chair of mathematics in the Rinteln University. In the same year he published On Dying for One's Fatherland; and the year before his early death his principal work, On Merit. He died at Bückeburg, Nov. 3, 1766.

ABD, an Arabic word meaning slave or servant. It is generally used in a religious sense, and is placed as a prefix to the names of persons; as, Abd-allah, "Servant of God"; Abd-el-Kader, "Servant of the Mighty One"; Abd-ullatif, or Abd-allatif, "Servant of the Gracious One." The Hebrew and Syriac word used in the same sense is "Ebed." ABD-AL-RAHMAN, ABD-EL-RAHMAN, Abd-erRAHMAN, or Abderame; four Spanish Mohammedan rulers.

314.

See SPAIN, Vol. XXII, pp. 310, 312, 313,

ABD-EL-HAMID, BEY, the adopted name of Du COURET, a noted French traveler; born at Huningue, in the department of the Haut-Rhin, France, in 1812. His first tour of importance was through Egypt, the Nile country, Abyssinia, and the Red Sea. He adopted the habits and customs of the East, changed his name, and became a Mohammedan. Later, while traveling in Persia, he was

Shilling; as, 5/6-five shillings and sixpence. held as a prisoner of state, and was released only

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upon the intervention of the French government, in whose interest he next undertook an expedition to the Soudan. In 1855 he published, in three volumes, Médina et la Mekke, also Mémoire à Napoléon III. Died in Cairo, Egypt, April 1, 1867.

ABD-EL-LATIF. See ABDALLATIF, Vol. I, p. 30. ABDOMINAL SURGERY. See SURGERY, Vol. XXII, pp. 690-91, and in these Supplements. ABDUL-AZIZ, SULTAN OF TURKEY, born Feb. 9, 1830. In 1861 succeeded his brother, AbdulMedjid, who was the thirty-second sultan of the Ottoman Turks. His reign was weak and corrupt, characterized by numerous insurrections. His professions of liberality upon accession to the throne lasted but a short time, and his people soon saw

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ABDUL HAMID-A'BECKETT

that his promise of governmental reform would come to naught. He taxed the people heavily, and with the money equipped his army extravagantly, beautified the capital, and went on pleasure-seeking journeys or costly hunting expeditions. In 1867 he paid a visit to western Europe, but his disappointed subjects gained no benefit from the expedition. During his reign the neglected government had a severe struggle to maintain its existence. First there broke out the Cretan insurrection; then came the struggle of Roumania and Servia to secure independence, and lastly, the treatment of Balkan Christians caused great disturbance. In 1871 the sultan attempted to secure the throne for his son in place of his nephew, to whom the Ottoman law of succession gave the right. At last his subjects became thoroughly dissatisfied, and in 1875, through his financial difficulties and the intrigues into which he had entered with Russia, revolts were raised in Bosnia, Herzegovina and Bulgaria. A conspiracy forced him first to dismiss his ministers, and afterward, May 30, 1876, to abdicate the throne. His death occurred mysteriously four days later. See TURKEY, Vol. XXIII, p. 651.

ABDUL HAMID I, SULTAN OF TURKEY, twenty-sixth ruler of the House of Othman, succeeded to the throne in 1774, Turkey being then engaged in that war with Russia which terminated disastrously for her a year later. The sultan concluded peace by the treaty made at Kutchuk-Kainardji, by which Turkey lost the Crimea. The encroachments of Catherine of Russia provoked so much discontent in Turkey that Abdul-Hamid was compelled by his subjects to declare war in 1787; but, Austria combining with Russia, the Turks were defeated and Abdul-Hamid overthrown in 1788. He was succeeded by Selim III. See TURKEY, Vol. XXIII, p. 647. ABDUL-HAMID II,

ABDUL-HAMID II.

the reigning Sultan or Padishah of Turkey, born Sept. 22, 1842 (15 Shaban, 1245), the second son of Sultan AbdulMedjid; succeeded to the throne on the deposition cf his insane elder brother, Sultan Murad V, Aug. 31, 1876.

The present Sultan is the thirty-fifth in descent from Othman, the founder of the empire, and the twenty-eighth sultan since the conquest of Constantinople. According to the Ottoman law of succession the crown descends among the male descendants of Othman, sprung from the imperial harem, but in strict order of seniority. The heir apparent of the Turkish empire is therefore the present Sultan's brother, MehemmedReshad Effendi, born Nov. 3, 1844, in preference to Abdul-Hamid's own children. The Sultan is succeeded by his eldest son only in case there are no uncles or cousins of greater age living.

It is mainly in relation to the Armenian question (q.v.) that the present occupant of the Turkish throne

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has attracted attention. He resisted every reform demanded by the European powers and has been accused of ordering the massacre of Christians in certain parts of his dominions. Outrage and rapine have followed his newly appointed governors to the disturbed provinces, and the civilized world has been not only aghast, but supine, at the merciless persecutions carried on by the present rule of the "unspeakable Turk."

ABD-ER-RAHMAN, sultan of Fez and Morocco; born Nov. 28, 1778. He ascended the throne upon the death of his uncle in 1822, and the first four years of his reign were spent in settling domestic disputes. The piratical propensities of his subjects involved him in serious difficulties with the European powers, which resulted in the abolition of the blackmail, which for ages had been paid for immunity from attack. The sultan afterward engaged in the religious war, under Abd-el-Kader, against the French in Algeria, which ended in the battle of Isly (1844). He died August, 1859.

ABDURRAHMAN KHAN, the reigning Ameer of Afghanistan; born about 1830; is a nephew of the late ameer, Shere Ali, and the eldest son of Mohammed Afzul Khan, grandson of Dost Mohammed. For joining in a revolt against his uncle he became, in 1869, a refugee in Russian territory. Ten years later he returned as a pretender, and being supported by the British was proclaimed Ameer in July, 1880. The Ameer's leanings are essentially toward alliance with the British, and against Russian encroachments in the East. He was appointed a K.G.C.S.I. in January, 1894, and in the following year sent his second son, the Shazada Nasrullah Khan, on an extended visit to England. See also AFGHANISTAN, these Supplements.

ABDY, JOHN THOMAS, an English jurist and writer; born July 5, 1822; educated at Cambridge University, where he subsequently, in 1854, was appointed regius professor of civil law. For several years he was a county court judge and published several standard legal works, especially commentaries upon the Roman civil law.

ABECEDARIANS, a sixteenth century sect of Anabaptists in Germany, founded by Nicholas Stork, a weaver of Zwickau. They were especially noted for their fanatical ideas with regard to education, teaching that the merest rudimentary learning was unnecessary, and led to evil consequences. The Lord, they said, would communicate sufficient understanding to such as desired to read the Bible.

A'BECKETT, ARTHUR WILLIAM, an English journalist, dramatist and miscellaneous writer, son of Gilbert Abbott A'Beckett (see Vol. I, p. 33), the London police magistrate and man of letters; born at Hammersmith, Oct. 25, 1837. He edited several comic publications and periodicals, and was special correspondent for the Standard and Globe during the Franco-Prussian War. He was on the staff of Punch, and in 1891 became the editor of the Sunday Times. He wrote several novels and some popular comedies. Died in London, Oct. 15, 1891.

A'BECKETT, SIR WILLIAM, an Australian judge, brother of G. A. A'Beckett (Vol. I, p. 33); was born in London and went to New South Wales soon after

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ABEEL ABERCROMBIE

his call to the bar. He was in succession solicitorgeneral, attorney-general and judge at Port Philip. He served as chief justice of the colony of Victoria for many years, and returning to London, died there June 27, 1869.

ABEEL, DAVID, American missionary, born at New Brunswick, New Jersey, June 12, 1804. He He graduated at Rutgers College, entered the ministry, and became a missionary to China. He was one of the most successful of the early Americans in the missionary field, but his health gave way and he returned to die, at Albany, New York, Sept. 4, 1846. ABEGG, JULIUS FRIEDRICH HEINRICH, a German writer on jurisprudence, born at Erlangen, Bavaria, March 27, 1796. From 1826 until his death in 1868 he was professor at Breslau. His works on criminal legislation are numerous and important, and have exercised considerable influence, especially in Germany and the Scandinavian peninsula. Died at Breslau, Prussia, May 29, 1868.

ABEL, SIR FREDERICK AUGUSTUS, an English chemist and expert on explosives, was born in London, 1827. His main study was the science of explosives, in which he made numerous discoveries, and in 1866 published them in a work called GunCotton. Subsequently, he wrote The Modern History of Gunpowder; On Explosive Agents; Researches in Explosives, and in 1884, Electricity Applied to Explosive Purposes. He also wrote, with the assistance of Colonel Bloxam, a Handbook of Chemistry. After protracted experiments he produced, by solidifying blasting-gelatin, a very powerful and more easily manageable explosive. He was knighted in 1883, and the same year received at Oxford the degree of D.C.L. He has been elected associate member of the ordnance committee, chemist to the war department, and chemical referee to the government. Was made baronet in 1893.

ABEL, KARL, a German comparative philologist; born in Berlin, Nov. 25, 1837. He studied at the Universities of Berlin, Munich and Tübingen, and for some time acted as the Berlin correspondent of the London Times and Standard. He held the position of Ilchester lecturer at Oxford University for a period, and is the author of several works on comparative philology, among which may be mentioned his Linguistic Essays (1880).

ABELASIE, an aromatic tuber used as a food by certain of the inhabitants of Alexandria. It is small, fleshy and somewhat oily, and is said to stimulate the lacteal glands of females.

ABELITES OR ABELIANS. See ABEL, Vol. I,

p. 33.

ABELL, ARUNAH SHEPHERDSON, an American journalist, founder of the Philadelphia Public Ledger and of the Baltimore Sun, was born at East Providence, Rhode Island, Aug. 10, 1806, and learned the printer's trade in the office of the Providence Patriot. He worked for some time in Boston and in New York, whence he removed to Philadelphia, and afterward to Baltimore. He was associated with Professor Morse in establishing the electric telegraph, published the first message sent over the wires, between Washington and Baltimore, in 1844, and received for publication the first presidential

25

message ever transmitted by wire, May 11, 1846. He died in Baltimore, Maryland, April 19, 1888.

ABENAKIS OR ABNAKIS, a confederation of North American Indians, comprising the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, and Amalicite tribes. They were allies of the French, and occupied all the land comprising the present state of Maine and the valley of the St. John's River, ranging as far northwest as the banks of the St. Lawrence. Colonial writers and the autochthonal tribes of New England called the members of this confederation by the name of Tarrenteen | Indians. Shortly after the downfall of French supremacy in North America the majority of the Abenakis withdrew to Canada. Their number does not exceed 1,600 at the present day.

ABENDBERG, a mountain in the canton of Berne, Switzerland, rising abruptly out of the south side of Lake Thun. Height, 4,124 feet. It is interesting as the site of an institution established in 1842 by Dr. Gugenbuhl for the cure of cretinism, but long since abandoned.

ABER, an ancient word of Celtic origin, signifying the emptying of a smaller body of water into a larger one. It also means the mouth of a river, or a conflux of waters.

ABERBROTHOCK, same as ARBROATH. Vol. II, p. 324.

See

ABERCORN, a hamlet in Linlithgowshire, Scotland, near the Firth of Forth, and about ten miles west of Edinburgh. Here stood the monastery of Aebbercurnig, or Eoricorn, which, founded about 675, was from 681 to 685 the seat of a bishopric, the earliest in Scotland.

ABERCORN, JAMES HAMILTON, FIRST DUKE of, an English statesman, born Jan. 21, 1811. He held the appointment of lord-lieutenant of Ireland from 1866 to 1868, and again from 1874 to 1876. His administration was extremely successful, in spite of repeated Fenian plots. He died Oct. 31, 1885.

ABERCORN, JAMES HAMILTON, SECOND DUKE OF, an English statesman; born 1838, and succeeded to the title 1885; appointed lord-lieutenant of county Donegal, which he represented in the House of Commons from 1860 to 1880. The Duke of Abercorn is chairman of the British South African Company.

ABERCROMBIE, JAMES, British general and statesman, born at Glasshaugh, Scotland, in 1706. He entered the army and became colonel in 1746, major-general in 1756, lieutenant-general in 1759, and general in 1772. On July 8, 1758, he attacked Fort Ticonderoga with 15,000 men, of whom 9,000 were colonial troops, and was completely defeated by 3,600 Frenchmen under General Montcalm, losing about 2,000 followers. In 1759 he returned to England, and as a member of Parliament opposed the rights of the American colonists. He died at Stirling, Scotland, April 28, 1781.

ABERCROMBIE, JAMES, American clergyman, was born in Philadelphia in 1758. After graduation at the University of Pennsylvania in 1776, he was compelled to forsake divinity for mercantile pursuits until 1793. Then he was ordained and became associate pastor of Christ Church in his native city. He published several works, and, retiring from

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ABERCROMBIE-ABERT

the ministry in 1833, died in Philadelphia, June

26, 1841.

ABERCROMBIE, JOHN JOSEPH, an American general, was born in Tennessee in 1802; was educated at West Point, and served as captain of infantry in the Seminole War. During the Mexican War he distinguished himself at Cerro Gordo and at Vera Cruz, being wounded at Monterey. He was brigadier-general of volunteers during the Civil War, and was wounded at Fair Oaks. He died at Roslyn, New York, Jan. 3, 1877.

ABERDARE, a manufacturing and mining town in Glamorganshire, South Wales, distant about five miles southwest of Merthyr-Tydvil. There are many coal and iron mines in this locality. Population 1891, 38,513.

ABERDARE, HENRY AUSTIN BRUCE-PRYCE, LORD, was born at Duffryn, in Glamorganshire, April 16, 1815. He was called to the bar in 1837, and in 1852 was returned as a Liberal member for Merthyr-Tydvil in the House of Commons. He was home secretary under Gladstone in 1868, and carried an important licensing act; raised to the peerage as Lord Aberdare in 1873, when he became Lord president of the council. He was elected president of the Royal Geographical Society in 1880, and was governor of the Royal Niger Company. He died Feb. 25, 1895.

ABERDEEN, a town, capital of Monroe County, Mississippi, on the west bank of the Tombigbee River, has considerable trade in cotton and general merchandise; is an educational center, and contains the Federal courthouse and the public buildings of Monroe County. Population 1890, 3.449.

ABERDEEN, county seat of Brown County, South Dakota, about 120 miles northeast of Pierre, and in the northeastern portion of the state. It is a railroad and trading center in a fertile region. Population, 1895, 3,335.

ABERDEEN, JOHN CAMPBELL HAMILTON GORDON, SEVENTH EARL OF, was born Aug. 3, 1847. He was the grandson of the fourth Earl, under whom, as premier, the Crimean war was carried on (see Vol. I, p. 46). He succeeded to the title and estates on the death of his brother, Jan. 27, 1870. He was educated at College Hall, Aberdeen University, and at University College, Oxford. He began his political career as a member of the Tory or Conservative party, but early in Beaconsfield's last government, 1874-80, he began to show signs of discontent with the policy of the premier. Earl Aberdeen was a member of, and subsequently chairman of, a royal commission to enquire into the subject of railway accidents, 1875; three years later he was one of a House of Lords' committee upon the

JOHN CAMPBELL HAMILTON GORDON.-EARL

ABERDEEN.

OF

question of temperance. When Gladstone came into office in 1880 he appointed him Lord-Lieutenant of Aberdeenshire, and High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. In 1886 he was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, and in his few weeks of service gained an immense popularity in that island. In 1893 Mr. Gladstone appointed him Governor-General of the Dominion of Canada, where his government was successful. Lady Aberdeen is noted for her interest in the advancement of women, and in the Irish.

ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY was founded at Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1495 by Bishop Elphinstone as a studium generale, in which he constituted a college in 1505, known as King's College. In 1593 George Keith, fifth Earl Marischal, founded Marischal College there. These two universities were in 1860 united in one institution, and now form the University of Aberdeen. There are 23 professors and upward of 700 students on the books of the university, which, with Glasgow, sends one representative to Parliament. Co-education is in operation, and degrees are conferred in arts, science, divinity, law and medicine. (See Vol. I, p. 39.) ABERDEVINE, same as ABADAVINE. See SISKIN, Vol. XXII, p. 99.

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ABERGAVENNY, a market town of Monmouthshire. Population 1891, 7,640. See Vol. I, p. 46.

ABERGELDIE CASTLE, the Highland seat of the Prince of Wales, on the Dee's right bank, 6 miles W. of Ballater, and 2 N.E. of Balmoral, in the county of Aberdeen.

ABERNETHY, JAMES, a celebrated English civil engineer; born in Aberdeen in 1815. Commencing his professional career as an assistant to his father, on the engineering-works at the London docks extension, he was soon after resident engineer in charge of the Aberdeen harbor-works. Later he was professionally connected with some of the most important engineering-works of the day, including the dock-works at Swansea, Newport and Hull. In 1874 he superintended the reclamation of Lake Aboukir, in Egypt, and from 1882 until its completion was the consulting engineer for the great Manchester ship canal. Mr. Abernethy was elected president of the Institute of Civil Engineers in 1881.

ABERT, JOHN JAMES, American military topographical engineer, born at Shepherdstown, Virginia, Sept. 17, 1788. He graduated at West Point in 1811, and was employed in the War Department. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1813. He volunteered for the defense of the capital in the War of 1812, and in 1814 was reappointed to the army as brevet major JOHN JAMES ABERT. of the United States Topographical Engineers. In 1829 he took charge of the topographical bureau at Washington, and in 1861 retired, after "long and

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