THE INTERNATIONAL CYCLOPÆDIA.

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UDHUMLA (Norse auar, desert and hum, darkness), in Norse mythology, a cow brought into existence simultaneously with the giant Ymir, whom she nourished, and from whose body the gods formed the world. She licked the salt frost-covered rocks, and the mighty Bure, grandfather of Odin, was created. See BURE.

AUDIOMETER, an instrument for the measurement of the faculty of hearing, invented by Prof. Hughes, of London, 1879. It consists of a battery of two Lechanché cells, a microphone, two fixed primary coils, a graduated insular bar, to which at each end one of the fixed coils is attached, a secondary induction coil which moves along the graduated bar, and a telephone, the terminals of which are connected with the terminals of the induction coil. When the battery is in action the noise can be gradually increased by slowly moving the induction coil from the center toward either one of the primary coils, and diminished by moving it toward the center.

AU DIPHONE, an instrument to assist the hearing of persons in whom the auditory nerve is not entirely destroyed. It was invented by Richard S. Rhodes, of Chicago, in 1879, and consists of a thin sheet of ebonite rubber, hard vulcanite, or even glazed mil board or birchwood veneer, fan-shaped, and having strings leading from the outer edge to the base of the handle, so that it may be focussed to different degrees of convexity. When the outer edge is pressed against the upper front teeth and the convex side is outward, sound vibrations are conveyed to the auditory nerve through the teeth and bones of the head.

AUDITA QUERELA, a form of action which lies for a defendant to recall or prevent an execution, who has grounds to show that such execution ought not to issue against him, or on account of some matter occurring after judgment amounting to a discharge, which could not have been and cannot be taken advantage of otherwise. In the U. S. it has been in some states entirely superseded by relief granted upon motion, in others it is recognized by statute and is of frequent use. The writ of A. Q. does not lie against the government.

AUDITOR, an officer elected or appointed to examine and certify to the correctness of the accounts of a government, municipality, or private corporation. It is his duty to compare all records of receipts and payments with the vouchers therefor, to ascertain that the methods of keeping the accounts are correct, to prove the accuracy of the accounts, and to certify to their correctness or point out the errors. In the United States, the Treasury Department in its auditor's office has a complete and thoroughly systematized method of counter-checking all public accounts. There are six auditors of the Treasury; of these, the first auditor has charge of the accounts of customs, the civil service, the judiciary, and the public debt; the second audits the accounts of the Indian Bureau and in part of the army; the third audits the accounts of the Quartermaster-General, of the Engineer corps, of the Commissary-General, and war claims; the fourth, the accounts of the navy; the fifth, those of the Internal Revenue Office, the Census and the Patent Offices, and the State Department; the sixth, those of the Post Office Department. The several states have auditors, usually elected, but sometimes appointed, whose duty it is to audit the public accounts, either at certain established intervals, or from time to time at their own pleasure. So with municipal corporations, and with many private corporations, such as railway and insurance companies. In addition to auditors regularly appointed to a term of office, there may be in any of the cases mentioned special auditors appointed for a particular occasion. Referees or commissioners appointed by courts of law to examine or report upon accounts are sometimes called auditors. Such an auditor usually receives power to take testimony bearing on the accounts under examination. It is customary for churches, benevolent and other societies to appoint auditors for the inspection of their financial statements. In Great Britain the Audit Office is subsidiary to the Lords of the Treasury. The appointment of public auditors in Great Britain dates from 1785. The accounts of the army and navy and of the Revenue Office are now submitted to the Audit Office; the working force consisting of a chairman, five commis.