Part 4

AB'SALON, or AXEL, a Danish prelate, statesman, and warrior, born in 1128, died 1201. He became the intimate friend and counsellor of his sovereign Waldemar I, who appointed him Archbishop of Lund. He cleared the sea of the Slavonic pirates who had long infested it, secured the independence of the kingdom by defeating a powerful fleet of the Emperor Barbarossa, and built the castle of Axelborg, the nucleus of Copenhagen. He ultimately became Primate of Denmark and Sweden. Turning his thoughts to literature he caused the _History of Denmark_ to be drawn up by Saxo Grammaticus and Svend Aagesen.

AB'SCESS, any collection of purulent matter or pus formed in some tissue or organ of the body, and confined within some circumscribed area, of varying size, but always painful and often dangerous.

ABSENTEEISM, a term applied to landlords who absent themselves from their estates and live and spend their money elsewhere; in its more extended meaning it refers to all those whose fixed residence is outside their own country but who derive their income from sources within it. The social, economic, political, and moral evils resulting from such a system are considerable and hurtful to the interests of a region, the absentee being apt to lose his interest in things and persons and the public welfare generally. Some economists, however, have adduced arguments in favour of it, as it may sometimes be for the good of the community that a rich and luxurious landlord should be absent from his estate.

The absenteeism of the Irish nobility, which became worse after the Union with Great Britain and the transfer of Parliament from Dublin to London, has been a constant source of mischief, whilst France before the Revolution, Russia under the Tsars Alexander I and Nicholas I, and Hungary in the eighteenth century suffered greatly from the practice. The first statute concerning absentees was passed in the English Parliament in 1379, and in 1729 a tax was levied on all moneys paid out of Ireland.

AB'SINTH, French _Absinthe_ ([.a]b-sa[n.]t), a liqueur consisting of an alcoholic solution strongly flavoured with an extract of several sorts of wormwood, oil of anise, &c. When taken habitually, or in excess, its effects are very pernicious. A favourite drink of the Parisians, it was suppressed entirely throughout France by a law passed on 12th Feb., 1915.

AB'SOLUTE, in a general sense, loosed or freed from all limitations or conditions. In politics, an _absolute_ monarchy is that form of government in which the ruler is unlimited or uncontrolled by constitutional checks. In modern metaphysics _the Absolute_ represents the unconditioned, infinite, and self-existent.

ABSOLU'TION, remission of a penitent's sins in the name of God. It is commonly maintained that down to the twelfth century the priests used only what is called the _precatory_ formula, "May God or Christ absolve thee", which is still the form in the Greek Church; whereas the Roman Catholic uses the expression "I absolve thee", thus regarding the forgiveness of sins as in the power of the priest (the _indicative_ form). This theory of absolution was confirmed by the Council of Trent. The passages of Scripture on which the Roman Catholic Church relies in laying down its doctrine of absolution are such as _Mat._ xvi. 19, xviii. 18; _John_, xx. 23. Among Protestants absolution properly means a sentence by which a person who stands excommunicated is released from that punishment.

ABSOLUTISM, a system of government in which the supreme power is vested in a ruler not controlled or limited by any constitution or laws. It has prevailed in Oriental countries, including Japan, until the latter part of the nineteenth century. There are now no absolute monarchies in Europe.

ABSOR'BENTS, the system of minute vessels by which the nutritive elements of food and other matters are carried into the circulation of vertebrate animals. The vessels consist of two different sets, called respectively _lacteals_ and _lymphatics_. The former arise from the digestive tract, the latter from the tissues generally, both joining a common trunk which ultimately enters the blood-vessel system. Absorbents in medicine are substances such as chalk, charcoal, &c., that absorb or suck up excessive secretion of fluid or gas.

ABSORP'TION, in physiology, one of the vital functions by which the materials of nutrition and growth are absorbed and conveyed to the organs of plants and animals. In vertebrate animals this is done by the lymphatics and lacteals, in plants chiefly by the roots. See _Absorbents_.

In physics, _absorption of colour_ is the phenomenon observed when certain colours are retained or prevented from passing through transparent bodies; thus pieces of coloured glass are almost opaque to some parts of the spectrum, while allowing other colours to pass through freely. In chemistry absorption is the taking up of a gas by a liquid, or by a porous solid.

AB'STINENCE. See _Fasting, Temperance_.

ABSTRAC'TION, the operation of the mind by which it disregards part of what is presented to its observation in order to concentrate its attention on the remainder. It is the foundation of the operation of generalization, by which we arrive at general conceptions. In order, for example, to form the conception of a horse, we disregard the colour and other peculiarities of the particular horses observed by us, and attend only to those qualities which all horses have in common. In rising to the conception of an animal we disregard still more qualities, and attend only to those which all animals have in common with one another.

ABU (a-b[:o]'), a granitic mountain of India in Sirohi State, Rajputana, rising precipitously from the surrounding plains, its top forming a picturesque and varied tract 14 miles long and 2 to 4 broad; highest point 5653 ft. It is a hot-weather resort of Europeans, and is the site of two most beautiful Jain temples, built in 1031 and 1200.

ABU-BEKR, or FATHER OF THE VIRGIN, born 570 died 634, the father-in-law and first successor of Mahomet. His right to the succession was unsuccessfully contested by Ali, Mahomet's son-in-law, and a schism took place, which divided the Mahommedans into the two great sects of Sunnites and Shiites, the former maintaining the validity of Abu-Bekr's and the latter that of Ali's claim.

ABUKIR'. See _Aboukir_.

ABU KLEA, a group of wells, surrounded by steep, black mountains, about 120 miles from Khartoum, in the Sudan, where, on the 17th Jan., 1885, Sir Herbert Stewart, with 1500 men, defeated the Mahdi's troops numbering 10,000.

ABULFARA'GIUS, Gregory, a distinguished scholar, a Jew by birth (hence the name of _Barhebraeus_, often given him), author of numerous works in Arabic and Syriac, was born in Armenia in 1226, died in 1286. About 1264 he was consecrated Bishop of Gubas; he was afterwards translated to Aleppo and was appointed primate of the Jacobite Christians. His principal work is a _History of the World_ from the Creation to his own day, written in Syriac, with an abridged version in Arabic, entitled _The Abridged History of the Dynasties_.

ABUL'FEDA, Arab writer, Prince of Hamah, in Syria, of the same family as Saladin, famous as an historian and geographer, was born at Damascus 1273, died 1331. Amid the cares of government he devoted himself with zeal to study, drew the learned around him, and rendered his power and wealth subservient to the cause of science. His most important works are his _History of the Human Race_ (the portion from the birth of Mahomet to his own time being valuable), and his geography called _The True Situation of Countries_.

ABUNDA, a Bantu race of Angola, living on the coastlands and on the terraces rising towards the interior, and divided into 'highlanders' and 'lowlanders'. They speak Portuguese and Umbunda, a trade language.

ABUSHEHR ([:a]-b[:o]-sh[=a]r'). See _Bushire_.

ABU-SIMBEL. See _Ibsambul_.

ABU'TILON, a genus of plants, order Malvaceae, sometimes called Indian mallows, found in the East Indies, Australia, Brazil, Siberia, &c. Several of them yield a valuable hemp-like fibre, as _A. indicum_ and _A. Avicennae_. The latter, now a troublesome weed in the Middle United States, has been recommended for cultivation, and is sometimes called American jute.

ABUT'MENT, the part of a bridge which receives and resists the lateral outward thrust of an arch; the masonry, rock, or other solid materials from which an arch springs.

ABY'DOS, 1, an ancient city of Asia Minor, on the Hellespont, at the narrowest part of the strait, opposite Sestos. Leander, say ancient writers, swam nightly from Abydos to Sestos to see his loved Hero--a feat in swimming accomplished also by Lord Byron.--2, an ancient city of Upper Egypt (Egyptian Abotu), about 6 miles west of the Nile, now represented only by ruins of temples, tombs, &c. It was celebrated as the burial-place of the god Osiris, and its oldest temple was dedicated to him. Here, in 1818, was discovered the famous _Abydos Tablet_, now in the British Museum, and containing a list of the predecessors of Rameses the Great, which was supplemented by the discovery of a similar historical tablet in 1864. The tomb of Osiris was discovered in 1898 by Amelinau. Cf. Flinders Petrie, _The Royal Tombs of the Earliest Dynasties_ (2 vols.), London, 1900-9.

ABYSSIN'IA (Ar. _Habesha_), a country of Eastern Africa, which, with dependencies, may be said to extend from lat. 5deg to 15deg N. and long. 35deg to 42deg E., having the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan on the W., British E. Africa on the S., and on the S.E. and E. Somali-land and Eritrea (Italian Red Sea coast); area, 350,000 sq. miles. Pop. over 8,000,000. The country is now divided into 9 provinces, the principal being Harrar, Tigre, Amhara or Gondar. Each province is governed by a ras, or prince, but Ras Michael, the governor of Wollo and father of the deposed negus, Lij Yasu, was crowned king on 1st June, 1914. Abyssinia proper is an elevated region, with a general slope to the north-west. The more marked physical features are a vast series of tablelands, of various and often of great elevations, and numerous masses or ranges of high and rugged mountains, dispersed over the surface in apparently the wildest confusion. Along the deep and tremendous ravines that divide the plateaux rush innumerable streams, which impart extraordinary fertility to the plains and valleys below. The mountains in various parts of the country rise to 12,000 and 13,000 feet, while some of the peaks are over 15,000 feet (Ras Dashan being 15,160), and are always covered with snow. The principal rivers belong to the Nile basin, the chief being the impetuous Tacazze ('the Terrible') in the north, and the Abai in the south, the latter being really the upper portion of the Blue Nile. The principal lake is Lake Tzana or Dembea (from which issues the Abai), upwards of 6000 feet above the sea, having a length of about 45 and a breadth of 35 miles. Round this lake lies a fertile plain, deservedly called the granary of the country.--According to elevation there are several zones of vegetation. Within the lowest belt, which reaches an elevation of 4800 feet, cotton, wild indigo, acacias, ebony, baobabs, sugar-canes, coffee trees, date palms, &c., flourish, while the larger animals are lions, panthers, elephants, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, jackals, hyenas, bears, numerous antelopes, monkeys, and crocodiles. The middle zone, rising to 9000 feet, produces the grains, grasses, and fruits of southern Europe, the orange, vine, peach, apricot, the bamboo, sycamore tree, &c. The principal grains are millet, barley, wheat, maize, and teff, the latter a small seed, a favourite bread-stuff of the Abyssinians. Two, and in some places three, crops are obtained in one year. All the domestic animals of Europe, except swine, are known. There is a variety of ox with immense horns. The highest zone, reaching to 14,000 feet, has but little wood, and generally scanty vegetation, the hardier corn-plants only being grown; but oxen, goats, and long-woolled sheep find abundant pasture.--The climate is as various as the surface, but as a whole is temperate and agreeable; in some of the valleys the heat is often excessive, while on the mountains the weather is cold. In certain of the lower districts malaria prevails.--The chief mineral products are sulphur, copper, coal, and salt, the last-named serving to some extent as money. Iron is very abundant and is manufactured into knives, hatchets, and spears. There has been a great intermixture of races in Abyssinia. Those who may be considered the Abyssinians proper seem to have a blood-relationship with the Bedouin Arabs. Their complexion varies from very dark through different shades of brown and copper to olive, and they are usually well built. Other races are the black Gallas from the south; the Falashas, who claim descent from Abraham and retain many Jewish characteristics; the Agows, Gongas, &c. The great majority of the people profess Christianity, belonging, like the Copts, to the sect of the Monophysites. The head of the church is called the Abuna ('our father'), and is consecrated by the Coptic patriarch of Alexandria. Geez or Ethiopian is the language of their sacred books: it has long ago ceased to be spoken. The chief spoken language is the Amharic; in it some books have been published. Mohammedanism appears to be gaining ground in Abyssinia. A corrupt form of Judaism is professed by the Falashas.--The bulk of the people are devoted to agriculture and cattle-breeding. The trade and manufactures are of small importance. A good deal of common cotton cloth and some finer woven fabrics are produced. Leather is prepared to some extent, silver filagree-work is produced, and there are manufactures of common articles of iron and brass, pottery, &c. Trade is carried on through Zeila and Djibouti (French Ethiopian Railway was completed in 1915) on the Gulf of Aden, and Massowa on the Red Sea (Italian), exports being hides, coffee, wax, gum, ivory, &c., imports textile fabrics, &c. The Abyssinians were converted to Christianity in the fourth century, by some missionaries from Alexandria. In the sixth century the power of the sovereigns of their kingdom, which was generally known as Ethiopia, had attained its height; but before another had expired the Arabs had invaded the country, and obtained a footing. For several centuries subsequently the kingdom continued in a distracted state, being now torn by internal commotions and now invaded by external enemies (Mahommedans and Gallas). To protect himself from the latter the Emperor of Abyssinia applied, about the middle of the sixteenth century, to the King of Portugal for assistance, promising, at the same time, implicit submission to the Pope. The solicited aid was sent, and the empire saved. The Roman Catholic priests endeavoured to induce the emperor and his family to renounce the tenets and rites of the Coptic Church, and to adopt those of Rome. This attempt, however, was resisted by the ecclesiastics and the people, and ended, after a long struggle, in the expulsion of the Catholic priests about 1630. The kingdom gradually fell into a state of anarchy, and was broken up into several independent States. An attempt to revive the power of the ancient kingdom of Ethiopia was made by King Theodore about the middle of the last century. He introduced European artisans, and went to work wisely in many ways, but his cruelty and tyranny counteracted his politic measures. In consequence of a slight, real or fancied, which he had received at the hands of the British Government, he threw Consul Cameron and a number of other British subjects into prison, in 1863, and refused to give them up. To effect their release an army of nearly 12,000 men, under Sir Robert (afterwards Lord) Napier, was dispatched from Bombay in 1867. The force landed at Zoulla on the Red Sea, and marching up the country came within sight of the hill-fortress of Magdala in April, 1868. After being defeated in a battle, Theodore delivered up the captives and shut himself up in Magdala, which was taken by storm on the 13th April, Theodore being found among the slain. After the withdrawal of the British, fighting immediately began among the chiefs of the different provinces, but at last the country was divided between Kasa, who secured the northern and larger portion (Tigre and Amhara) and assumed the name of King Johannes, and Menelek, who gained possession of Shoa. Latterly Johannes made himself supreme and in 1881 assumed the title of emperor (_negus negusti_--king of kings), having under him the Kings of Shoa and Gojam. Debra Tabor, about 30 miles east of Lake Dembea, was his chief residence. During the troubles in Abyssinia the Egyptians annexed Massowa and the region adjacent, Abyssinia being thus shut out from the sea. Afterwards the Italians gained and still hold Massowa and the Red Sea littoral (Eritrea). Johannes fell at Metemmeh in 1889, whilst fighting against the Mahdists, and was succeeded by Menelek II. In 1916 Lij Yasu, who succeeded Menelek II in 1913, was deposed and Waizeru Zauditu (born 1876) became empress.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: R. P. Skinner, _Abyssinia of Today_. A. B. Wylde, _Modern Abyssinia_.

[Illustration: Acacia arabica, showing leaves, flowers, and fruit]

ACA'CIA, a genus of plants, nat. ord. Leguminosae, sub-order Mimoseae, consisting of trees or shrubs with compound pinnate leaves and small leaflets, growing in Africa, Arabia, the East Indies, Australia, &c. The flowers, usually small, are arranged in spikes or globular heads at the axils of the leaves near the extremity of the branches. The corolla is bell- or funnel-shaped; stamens are numerous; the fruit is a dry unjointed pod. Several of the species yield gum-arabic and other gums; some having astringent barks and pods, used in tanning. _A. Catechu_, an Indian species, yields the valuable astringent called catechu; _A. dealb[=a]ta_, the wattle tree of Australia, from 15 to 30 feet in height, is the most beautiful and useful of the species found there. Its bark contains a large percentage of tannin, and is exported in large quantities. Some species yield valuable timber; some are cultivated for the beauty of their flowers.

ACAD'EMY, an association for the promotion of literature, science, or art; established sometimes by Government, sometimes by the voluntary union of private individuals. The name Academy was first applied to the philosophical school of Plato, from the place where he used to teach, a grove or garden at Athens which was said to have belonged originally to the hero Acad[=e]mus. The home of Academies as associations of learned men (not institutes for instruction), was Hellenized Egypt and afterwards Italy of the Renaissance. The flourishing Academies at Florence, Naples, and Rome became the models of academies in other countries. Academies devote themselves either to the cultivation of science generally or to the promotion of a particular branch of study, as antiquities, language, and the fine arts. The most celebrated institutions bearing the name of academies, and designed for the encouragement of science, antiquities, and language respectively, are the French Academie des Sciences (founded by Colbert in 1666), Academie des Inscriptions (founded by Colbert in 1663), and Academie Francaise (founded by Richelieu in 1635), all of which are now merged in the National Institute. The most celebrated of the academies instituted for the improvement of language is the Italian Accademia della Crusca, or Furfuratorum (now the Florentine Academy), formed in 1582, and chiefly celebrated for the compilation of an excellent dictionary of the Italian language (_Vocabulario della Crusca_, Venice, 1612), and for the publication of several carefully-prepared editions of ancient Italian poets. The (Imperial) Academy of Science of St. Petersburg was projected by Peter the Great and established by Catherine I in 1725. The Academy of Science in Berlin was founded by Frederick I in 1700. It was opened in 1711 and had Leibnitz as its first president. In Britain the name of academy, in the more dignified sense of the term, is confined almost exclusively to certain institutions for the promotion of the fine arts, such as the Royal Academy of Arts and the Royal Scottish Academy. The Royal Academy of Arts (usually called simply the Royal Academy) was founded in London in 1768, "for the purpose of cultivating and improving the arts of painting, sculpture, and architecture". The number of academicians is now limited to forty-two, among whom are two engravers. There are also thirty associates, from whom the academicians are elected. Of the associates five are engravers. Any person who is possessed of sufficient proficiency may be admitted as a student and receive instruction gratis, and prizes are annually bestowed on meritorious students. The annual exhibition of the Academy is open to all artists whose works show sufficient merit. The Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture was founded in 1826 and incorporated in 1838. It consists of thirty academicians and twenty associates. The Royal Hibernian Academy at Dublin was incorporated in 1823 and reorganized in 1861. It consists of thirty members and ten associates. A British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical, and Philological Studies was incorporated in 1902. (See _British Academy_.) In the United States, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences at Boston was founded in 1780, and since then various other societies of similar character and name have been instituted, as the New York Academy of Sciences, the Chicago Academy of Science, &c.

ACA'DIA (Fr. _Acadie_), the name formerly given to Nova Scotia. It received its first colonists from France in 1604, being then a possession of that country, but it passed to Britain, by the Peace of Utrecht, in 1713. In 1756, 18,000 of the French inhabitants were forcibly removed from their homes on account of their hostility to the British, an incident on which is based Longfellow's _Evangeline_. Many Acadians afterwards wandered back to their old homes, and their descendants are at present supposed to number 270,000, 100,000 of them living in French Canada.

ACALE'PHA (Gr. _akal[=e]ph[=e]_, a nettle, from their stinging properties), a term formerly used to denote the Medusae, or jelly-fishes, and allied species.

ACANTHA'CEAE, or ACANTHADS, a nat. ord. of dicotyledonous herbaceous plants or shrubs, with opposite leaves and monopetalous corolla, mostly tropical; species about 1400. See _Acanthus_.

[Illustration: _a_, _b_, _c_, Spines of the dorsal, anal, and ventral fins of Acanthopterygii]

ACANTHOP'TERI, ACANTHOPTERYGII (Gr. _akantha_, a spine, _pterygion_, a fin), a group of fishes, distinguished by the fact that at least the first rays in each fin exist in the form of stiff spines; it includes the perch, mullet, mackerel, gurnard, wrasse, &c.

[Illustration: Acanthus. Examples of Greek and Roman decorative treatment]

ACANTH'US, a genus of herbaceous plants or shrubs, order Acanthaceae, mostly tropical, two species of which, _A. mollis_ and _A. spin[=o]sus_ (the bear's-breech or brankursine), are characterized by large white flowers and deeply-indented shining leaves. They are favourite ornamental plants in British gardens.--In architecture the name is given to a kind of foliage decoration said to have been suggested by this plant, and much employed in Greek, Roman, and later styles.

ACAPUL'CO, a seaport of Mexico, on the Pacific, with a capacious, well-sheltered harbour; a coaling station for steamers, but with no great trade. Pop. 5950.

ACAR'IDA, a division of the Arachnida, including the mites, ticks, and water-mites. See _Mite_.

ACARNA'NIA, the most westerly portion of Northern Greece, together with Aetolia now forming a nomarchy with a pop. of 188,597. The Acarnanians of ancient times were behind the other Greeks in civilization, living by robbery and piracy.

AC'ARUS, the genus to which the mite belongs.

ACCA'DIANS (Akkad), the primitive inhabitants of Northern Babylonia (Akkad), who had descended from the mountainous region of Elam on the east, and to whom the Assyrians ascribed the origin of Chaldean civilization and writing. This race is believed to have belonged to the Turanian family, or to have been at any rate non-Semitic. What is known of them has been learned from the cuneiform inscriptions. See _Babylonia_ and _Summerians_.

ACCELERA'TION is the rate of change of the velocity of a body under the

## action of a force. A body falling from a height is one of the most common