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tion utterly failed him; and being forced to confess himself an impostor, he was sent back in disgrace to his original obscurity.

AYMARAS, the name of an aboriginal people of South America, now chiefly in Bolivia, numbering about 200,000. They claim a very ancient origin from a people who came from the north and made the head of their government on the sacred island in lake Titicaca, and they also claim that they furnished the Quichian or Inca people with their religious ceremonies and knowledge of arts. It appears that the A. tilled the earth, built large and even splendid edifices, were familiar with painting and sculpture, and probably knew something of astronomy. They venerated the dead, putting them in a sitting position in large stone tombs that would hold a dozen, ranged so as to face each other, their feet meeting in the center of a circle. Some tombs were of brick; some of several stories with a body in each story; and all had openings facing the east, as the A. were sun worshipers. The present sun they called the fifth of a series, all of which had risen from the sacred lake. The Peruvian Incas gradually subdued the A. and took possession of their country. The existing A. are Roman Catholics. They are of ordinary Indian complexion, but of intelligent though melancholy expression. Agriculture is their chief reliance. See illus., PERU, ETC., vol. XI., figs. 1, 3, 17, 18.

AYMON, the surname of four brothers, called respectively Alard, Richard, Guiscard, and Renaud, sons of Aymon or Haimon, count of Dordogne, who figure among the most illustrious heroes of the chivalric poetry of the middle ages; but their historic existence must be considered problematical, as the deeds attributed to them possess in so large a measure a miraculous character. What basis of fact may underlie the fanciful accretions of mythology, it is now impossible to determine. Their career belongs to the cycle of marvels, of which Charlemagne is the central point, and their adventures furnished rich material to the romantic narratives of Italy in the 15th and 16th c., and, in fact, were the exclusive subject of some of these. A novel, entitled Les Quatre Fils Aymon, by Huon de Villeneuve, a French poet of the age of Philippe Auguste, details very minutely their exploits. Finally, Ariosto conferred a poetical immortality on the family by the publication of his Roland, in which Renaud, the bravest of the four brothers, plays continually the most distinguished part. The traditions concerning them are not uniform or consistent. Some have a Provençal origin; but the author or authors of the popular German book which Tieck has edited and published, entitled The Beauti ful and Entertaining History of the Four Brothers Aymon, and of their Horse Bayard, with the Deeds and Heroic Feats that they Accomplished against the Pagans, in the Time of Char lemagne, seem to have drawn from a different source. The most probable hypothesis, therefore, is, that the varieties in these poetic legends are due to the fancy and national predilections of the particular authors.

AYOOB KHAN, b. about 1851, son of Shere Ali, and bro. of Yakoob Khan. He was the leader of the rebels against the British occupancy of Afghanistan, and was a dangerous and troublesome enemy, with great power over the rebel clans. He was defeated by Gen. Roberts in 1880 and fled to Persia, but was several times afterwards the cause of alarm through reports of his return.

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AYO'RA, a t. of Spain, in the province of Valencia, and 50 m. s.w. from Valencia, on the upper part of a river of the same name, and situated in an extensive hollow at the base of a limestone mountain. It has four squares and wide streets. On the summit of the hill are the remains of an old castle, close to which the town once stood. Pop. 5412. AYR, the co. t. of Ayrshire, is situated on the left bank of the river Ayr, about the middle of the coast of Ayrshire, 40 m. s.s. w. of Glasgow by rail. It lies in a coal dis triet. A. is a clean and handsome town, and its principal streets are well built. To the south, between the town and the racecourse, numerous elegant villas have recently sprung up. The spire of the assembly rooms is 217 ft., and the Wallace tower 113 ft. high. Three bridges span the river and connect the town with Newton-upon-Ayr-the 66 auld brig" and the new brig (taken down in 1877, and rebuilt) of Burns, together with a railway bridge. Part of the tower of the old church of St. John, built in the 12th c., and turned into a fort by Cromwell, is still standing. A. harbor is formed by the estuary of the river, and is protected by piers and a breakwater. In 1874 and succeeding years many improvements were added, including the construction of a large wet dock. The coasting trade is considerable. The chief export is coal from the Ayrshire collieries. A considerable quantity of grain and timber is imported. At one time much wine was imported from France. At an early date A. was a commercial and military place of some importance. William the Lion made it a royal burgh about 1202. During the Scottish wars of independence it formed a regular center of military operations, and while in possession of an English garrison it was the scene (according to Blind Harry) of Wallace's first exploits. The principal objects of interest near A. are connected with the memory of Robert Burns. See ALLOWAY KIRK. Population in 1891, 23,835.

AY'RER, JACOB, next to Hans Sachs the most prolific and important German dramatic writer of the 16th century. His history is involved in obscurity; but it is known that he was a citizen of Nürnberg in 1594, and a procurator in the courts of law. After his death, in 1605, a collection of his pieces was published, consisting of 66 tragedies,

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comedies, and carnival plays (Nürnb. 1618). A. has the same garrulous breadth of dialogue as Hans Sachs, but is inferior to him in wit and humor. See Life, by C. Schmitt, Marburg, 1851.

AYRES, ROMEYN B., b. N. Y., 1825; a graduate of West Point; served in the Mexican and civil wars; for brave conduct in the Richmond campaign made brevet-maj. gen. of the U. S. army and of volunteers; col. 2d artillery, 1879; d. 1888.

AYR ́SHIRE, an extensive maritime co. in the s. w. of Scotland, bounded, n., by Renfrewshire; w., by the firth of Clyde and the North channel; s., by Wigton and Kirkcudbright; e. and n. e., by Dumfries and Lanark. Its greatest length is 78 m.; its greatest breadth, 26-average 141; area, 1128 sq. miles. It is the seventh in size of the Scottish counties. The general aspect of the county is undulating and hilly, the land attaining no great elevation, except a small portion in the n., and some considerable tracts in the s. and s. e., which are mountainous. None of the eminences exceed 2000 feet. A. contains a great number of lakes and small streams, the latter rising near the inland boundary of the county. The chief rivers-only 20 to 35 m. long-are the Ayr, with its tributary the Lugar, and the Doon, which flow across the center of the county; the Garnock and Irvine in the n.; and the Girvan and Stinchar in the south. A. to the s. of Girvan consists of lower Silurian rocks, and to the n. of that river, of patches of Devonian, carboniferous, and trap rocks. It is rich in valuable minerals, especially coal, ironstone, limestone, and freestone. The other minerals have been long wrought, but ironstone was not worked extensively till after 1850, and its production declined after 1880. On the banks of the Ayr is found an excellent species of whetstone, called water-of-Ayr stone. The climate of A. is mild and healthy, but moist. The soil along the coast is light and sandy, interspersed with deep loam; the most fertile districts are in the center of the county, where clay predominates. On the e. side are extensive mosses and moorlands. The three ancient divisions of the county areCarrick, s. of the Doon, mostly wild and hilly; Kyle, between the Doon and the Irvine, containing much rich level land, but towards the coast the soil is light, and, though well cultivated, is less productive; and Cunningham, comprising all the country n. of the Irvine, mostly fertile. The characteristics of these districts are rudely indicated in the old country rhyme:

Kyle for a man ;

Carrick for a coo;

Cunningham for butter and cheese;

And Galloway for woo.

Agriculture in A. till about 1800, was very backward; but since then, especially of late, extraordinary progress has been made in furrow-draining, improved rotation, and road-making; while the condition of the peasants has been much improved. Dairyhusbandry is carried to high perfection in Ayrshire, the breed of milch cows, of which it rears a greater number than any other Scotch county, being noted as the finest in the kingdom for the quantity and quality of their milk. The Dunlop cheese, so called from the parish of that name, is almost as celebrated as Stilton, but is now almost superseded by that made on the Cheddar process. The breed of horses is also excellent. Manufactures, especially woolen and cotton, are carried on to an important extent. At Catrine there are extensive cotton-works; at Kilmarnock, carpet and tweed factories, iron-foundries, etc.; and at Cumnock, a large pottery. Of the minor manufactures, the most characteristic is that of ornamental woodwork, often bearing tartan designs, which is extensively carried on at Mauchline. Great ironworks exist at Muirkirk, Hurlford, Kilwinning, Ardeer, Dalry, and Dalmellington, and there are many blastfurnaces in the county. Maybole manufactures shoes and agricultural implements. There are valuable fisheries on some parts of the coast. Troon, Ardrossan, Ayr, and Irvine are thriving ports. The Ayrshire district is visited every summer by a very large number of tourists from England and the United States. A. county returns two members to parliament, one for each of the divisions, North Ayr and South Ayr. The chief towns, besides Ayr, are Kilmarnock, Girvan, Maybole, Dalry, Kilwinning, Beith, Irvine, Stewarton, Ardrossan, Saltcoats, Troon, Mauchline, Galston, Newmilns, Kilbirnie, and Largs. Of antiquities, the most interesting are the ruins of Crossraguel Abbey, near Kirkoswald, and of the castles of Turnberry, the family seat of Robert the Bruce, Dunure, Loch Doon, Dean, Auchinleck, Dundonald, etc.; also the ruins of Alloway Kirk.

A. was inhabited, in the time of Agricola, by the Damnonii, with whom were afterwards mixed the Scots from the opposite coast of Kintyre. In the 8th c., the Northumbrian Saxons seized the territory; and afterwards came the Normans, whose traces still exist in local names. During the religious persecutions of the Stuarts, A. was a stronghold of the Covenanters. Pop. '91, 226,386.

AYSCUE, Sir George, 1616-76; an English naval commander. He was knighted by Charles I., and in the civil war took the side of the parliament, commanding in the waters around Ireland. In 1651 he reduced Barbadoes and Virginia to subjection, and the next year assisted Blake in the struggle with De Ruyter and Van Tromp. Fifteen years later he had command of a squadron in the "four days'" battle, in which the Royal Prince, his flag-ship, stranded and was surrendered to the Dutch, who kept him a prisoner for 15 months.

AY'TON, Sir ROBERT, a Scottish poet and favorite courtier in the reign of James VL He was a younger son of Andrew Ayton of Kinaldie, Fifeshire, where he was born in 1570. He was enrolled as a student in St. Leonard's college, St. Andrews, in 1584, and took his degree of M.A. in 1588. For purposes of study, he next visited France, from whence he addressed, in 1603, an elegant panegyric, in Latin verse, to king James, on his accession to the throne of England. This poem appears to have been the making of A.'s fortune, for we find him afterwards appointed, successively, one of the gentlemer. of the bedchamber, private secretary to the queen, and master of requests. Subsequently, he held the appointment of secretary to the queen of Charles I. King James employed him to convey copies of one of his works, conjectured to be his Apology for the Oath of Allegiance, to the German courts. A. was on terms of familiarity with all the most eminent men of his time-poets, wits, and philosophers alike-among others, Hobbes and Ben Jonson. He was himself a poet of considerable merit; but, unfortunately, a large number of his effusions being complimentary verses to his friends, are characterized by conceit and extravagant flattery. He was one of the first Scotsmen who wrote in English with any degree of elegance and purity. His verses on general topics are conceived in a refined and tender strain of fancy, that reminds us more of the fairy strains of Herrick than anything else." Burns had a great admiration of some of A.'s pieces, two or three of which he paraphrased. A. is also said to have written verses in Greek and French, as well as in English and Latin. Several of his Latin poems are preserved in the work called Delicia Poëtarum Scotorum, printed at Amsterdam in 1637. A. died in Whitehall palace, Feb., 1638.

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AY TOUN, WILLIAM EDMONDSTOUNE, was a native of Edinburgh, having been b. there in 1813. He received his education at the metropolitan university, and was called to the Scottish bar in 1840. In 1845, he was appointed regius professor of rhetoric and belles-letters in the university of Edinburgh; and after the formation of the Derby administration, in 1852, he was promoted to the shrievalty of Orkney and Shetland He married a daughter of prof. Wilson. During many years, prof. Aytoun devoted himself to literary work. The earliest work of his with which we are acquainted is entitled The Life and Times of Richard I., published in 1840-a subject well treated, and singularly in consonance with his chivalrous and romance-loving nature. Despite his minstrel tendencies, he is a master of caricature and parody; and many of the most suc cessful of the Bon Gaultier Ballads are understood to be from his pen. In 1849, he published the Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers and other Poems, which established his reputation as a poet of the school of Sir Walter Scott, and which has run through many editions. Among his subsequent writings are-Firmilian, a Spasmodic Tragedy, published in 1854; and Bothwell, a narrative poem of considerable length, in the measure and manner of Sir Walter Scott, which was, after its first publication in 1856, to a large extent recast and improved. His edition of the Scottish Ballads, in 2 vols., appeared in 1858. In the ensuing year, he issued, in conjunction with his friend, Mr. Theodore Martin, translations of various minor poems of Goethe, in one volume. He was for many years one of the most frequent and brilliant contributors to Blackwood's Magazine. Prof. A. was successful in quite opposite departments of literature-he was distinguished at once as a poet and humorist. His poems exhibit a ballad-like simplicity, and a fiery flow of narration-the special merits of the poetical school in which he graduated; while his tales-the best known and appreciated of which are The Glenmutchkin Railway, and How I became a Yeoman-possess a certain robust humor and farcical abandonment, and are related to the writings of the great masters of humor much in the degree that the "screaming farce" is related to genteel comedy. His poetical powers appear in their greatest perfection in the Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers; the special merits of his humor are best exhibited in How I became a Yeoman. As a critic, he took up the knout of the dreaded Christopher North of the Noctes, which he wielded with considerable dexterity and force. Prof. A. died at Edinburgh, Aug. 4, 1865. His life has been written by Theodore Martin (Lond. 1867).

AYUNTAMIENTO is the name given in Spain to the councils or governing bodies of towns. Sprung from the institutions of the Romans, and firmly established during the long struggles with the Moors, the ayuntamientos acquired great influence and political power, the more so that the nobility were not excluded from them. Although this importance was impaired through the insurrection of Juan de Padilla in 1521; and at a later period, under the Bourbons, the last shadow of municipal freedom was lost; the remembrance of it continued to be cherished by the people. Accordingly, the Cortes of Cadiz, in 1812, took up the leading features of the former system, adapting then, by more democratic modifications, to the requirements of the time. On the return of Ferdinand VII., the ayuntamientos were abolished; they were again restored by the Cortes, in 1823; and after the invasion by France, once more set aside. During the civil war, various proposals were made regarding the ayuntamientos; but at last the arrangeme ats of 1812 were confirmed by the constitution of 1837. According to that statute, the A., with the alcalde as president, is appointed by the free choice of the people, and is entitled to exercise the highest functions within the circle of its jurisdiction. The government can provisionally annul its acts, but must afterwards procure the ratification of the Cortes, by which alone an A. can be dissolved. The ayuntamientos are empowered to

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make up the lists of electors and jurors, to organize the national guards, to command the police within their own bounds, to direct the apportionment and raising of taxes, and to manage the funds of the commune. In 1840, a bill was brought into the Cortes, formed on the model of the French law, proposing to deprive the ayuntamientos of all political power, and restrict their functions to purely municipal matters, and also to limit the franchise to the most highly taxed. But the insurrection which this step excited, and which ended in the expulsion of the queen, Maria Christina, prevented the project from being carried out. At last, in 1844, a law, similar to that proposed in 1840, was, through the intriguing of Christina, supported by French influence, adopted by the Cortes, then composed of moderados; and this law, with little alteration, continues in force to the present day.

AZAD ́IRINE, a bitter extract sometimes used in place of quinine. It is got from the bark of an East Indian tree known in America as the " Pride of China."

He

AZAIS, PIERRE HYACINTHE, 1766-1845; a French author and philosopher. was a teacher in the college at Tarbes, but not liking the duties he became secretary to the bishop of Oleron; he soon gave up the place, and supported himself by playing the organ in a church. When the revolution of 1792 broke out, A. was one of its warmest advocates, but the horrors perpetrated made him a vehement opponent, and a pamphlet severely condemning the movement made immediate flight necessary. He returned to Paris in 1806, and in 1809 published his Des Compensations dans les Destinées Humaines, an optimist's view that good and evil are about fairly balanced, and that it is the duty of good citizens to submit to a fixed government. The idea naturally pleased Napoleon, who made A. professor at St. Cyr. At a later period he was in the public libraries at Avignon and Nancy. His Bonapartism kept him out of place for some years after the restoration, but he finally got a pension which placed him beyond the reach of want. According to A., all existence, whose cause is God, is the product of two factors, matter and force. Matter consists of primitive atoms. Force is expansive and subject to the law of equilibrium. All the phenomena of the universe are successive stages of the dovelopment of this one force acting on the primitive atoms; and this is traced in three orders of facts: 1, the physical; 2, the psychological; and, 3, the intellectual, moral, and political. In the physical, development can be traced from the simplest mechanical motion up through the more complex forces of light, heat, and electricity to the power of magnetic attraction, by means of which the second great order of facts is produced out of the first; for magnetic force acting on elastic bodies creates the primitive living globule, which is shaped like a tube open at both ends. From this first vital element a gradual ascent can be traced, culminating in man, who differs from other animals in the possession of intellect, or consciousness of the ideas which external things impress upon him. The immaterial in man, or his soul, is the expansive force inherent in him. Moral and political phenomena are the results of two primitive instincts, progressive and self-conservative, corresponding to the forces of expansion and represssion. From the reciprocal relations of these instincts may be deduced the necessary conditions of political and social life. The ultimate goal of life is the fulfillment of the law of equilibrium, the establishment of universal harmony. When that is accomplished, the destiny of man will have been achieved, and he will vanish from the earth, and that event may be looked for in 7000 years. For establishing complete universal equilibrium, 5000 years more will be requisite, at which period the present system of things will end.

AZA LEA, a genus of plants belonging to the natural order Ericea, and distinguished from rhododendron (q.v.) chiefly by the flowers having five stamens instead of ten. Most of the species of A. also differ from the rhododendrons in having thin deciduous leaves. Some botanists unite the genus A. to rhododendron. One of the species best deserving of notice is A. pontica, a shrub from 3 to 5 ft. high, a native of the countries around the Black sea, with large obovate or oblongolanceolate shining leaves and umbellate yellow flowers, which are externally covered with glutinous hairy glands, and are very fragrant. It may be regarded as, like many of the other ericea (heaths, etc.), a social plant; and its golden flowers give great brilliancy to the landscape in many parts of the Crimea, the s.e. of Poland, the Caucasus, etc. It covers many mountain slopes, but does not ascend to great elevations, giving place to the more alpine rhodo dendron ponticum. It is common in gardens and shrubberies in Britain, and varies with orange, red, and almost white flowers. The whole plant is narcotic and poisonous, and the honey collected by bees from its flowers, which very much abound in honey, is said to cause stupefaction and delirium, as happened to Xenophon's soldiers in their famous retreat in Asia.-North America abounds in azaleas as well as in rhododendrons, and some of the species have been long cultivated in Britain, particularly A. nudiflora and A. viscosa, which, with A. pontica, have become the parents of many hybrids. The former has pink, the latter, pure white flowers of delicious fragrance. A. viscosa has the flowers covered with glutinous hairs like A. pontica; but the flowers of A. nudi flora are nearly destitute of them. Both species abound from Canada to the southern parts of the United States. They are taller shrubs than A. pontica. A. arborescens, a mountainous species, from 3 to 10 ft. high, has large rose-colored flowers. A. calen dulacea, a native of the southern parts of the United States, is described as frequently clothing the mountains with a robe of living scarlet.-India and China produce several

Azincourt.

species of A., of which one of the finest is A. Indica, well known in Britain as a green house shrub. Its flowers exhibit great brilliancy of colors. Many hybrids exist between the more hardy species and this. Another extremely beautiful species is A. liliflora, an evergreen, which has been introduced into Britain from China.

A diminutive, procumbent, evergreen shrub, a native of alpine regions in Europe and North America, plentiful on high mountains in Scotland, was long known as A. procumbens, but is now called Loiseleuria procumbens. The flowers are small and rosecolored. The whole appearance of the plant widely differs from that of the genus of Azalea.

AZARA, DON FELIX DE, 1746-1811; a Spanish general; wounded in a fight with the pirates of Algiers in 1775. Six years afterwards he was one of the commissioners to settle the boundaries between the Spanish and Portuguese settlements in South America. He was there for twenty years, and developed a strong taste for natural history, publishing an important work on the Quadrupeds, Reptiles and Birds of Paraguay and La Plata, 1802. His chief work, issued in 1809, is the story of the discovery and conquest of Paraguay and the river La Plata.

AZARI'AH, a frequent name among the Hebrews, signifying "helped by Jehovah." Eleazer has the same meaning. A number of A.'s are mentioned in the scripture, the most important being the prophet who met Asa on his return from a victory over the Cushites, and warned the king to suppress the worship of idols; 2, a son of Jehoida, who made special effort to restore the worship of the temple and put down Athaliah's usurpation; 3, a high priest who assisted Hezekiah in purifying the services of the temple; 4, called in Chaldaic “Abednego,” one of the three cast into the fiery furnace.

AZAZEL, the word inscribed upon the lots cast by the high priest of the ancient Hebrews on the day of atonement, to determine which of the goats selected for a sinoffering should be the scape-goat, and which one should be sacrificed. Critics are unable to decide upon the meaning of the word.

AZE GLIO, MAS'SIMO Marquis d', famous as an artist, a publicist, a romance-writer, and a statesman, was the descendant of an ancient and noble family of Piedmont. He was b. in 1798 at Turin, where his father held a high military position. In his fifteenth year, A. followed his father to Rome, where he had been appointed ambassador, and there contracted a love for the fine arts; but his study of music and painting was cut short by his father procuring him an appointment in a Piedmontese cavalry regiment. Here A. devoted his leisure with such intensity to scientific pursuits, that he brought on an illness which forced him to quit the service. A journey to Rome, from which he returned to Turin in 1820, restored his health, but deepened his passion for painting. After some difficulty, he got his father's permission to devote himself entirely to this art. A year had hardly elapsed ere A. had made himself a name in Rome as an artist. In landscape-painting he soon attained complete artistic skill. After a residence of eight years at Rome, during which he had pursued the study of history along with painting, he returned to Turin. On the death of his father in 1830, he went to Milan, where painting was then flourishing. In Milan he made the friendship of Alexander Manzoni, whose daughter he married. A. now began to make himself favorably known also in literature, his novels, Ettore Fieramosco (1833) and Niccolo de' Lapi (1841), having done much to fan the national spirit of the Italians. The political affairs of Italy soon occupied him exclusively; he traversed the provinces, cities, and villages, seeking to stir up the spirit of patriotism, and to conciliate the unhappy party divisions, and was everywhere received with rejoicing and acclamation. A. never belonged to a secret political society, but opposed conspiracies as mischievous, and exhorted the impatient to moderation. While in Florence, he wrote his famous piece, Degli ultimi Casi di Romagna, in which he lashed the miserable papal government, denounced the vain attempts at insurrection, and proved to the Italian princes the necessity of a national policy. After the election of Pius IX. as pope, A. returned to Rome, and to his influence were ascribed the reforms with which Pius began his government. He was intensely active at this time, and wrote much on public questions. (An edition of his political writings, collected in one volume, appeared at Turin 1851.) When Charles Albert, after the rising of Lombardy, crossed the Ticino, A. left Rome with the papal troops destined to support the Italian contest. In the battle of Vicenza, where he commanded a legion, he was severely wounded in the leg while fighting at the head of his troops. Scarcely was he recovered, when with his pen he courageously opposed the republican party, now intoxicated with victory. On the opening of the Sardinian parliament, he was chosen a member of the chamber of deputies. After the unfortunate event of the battle of Novara, the young king, Victor Emanuel II., appointed him (1849) president of the cabinet, an office which he undertook solely out of love to his king and country. His influence in this high position was most beneficial. At the close of the war in 1859, A. was appointed pro tempore general and commissioner extraordinary, purely military, for the Roman states. On his retirement, he issued a proclamation to the people, which greatly tended to strengthen their resolution by its noble yet temperate advice. He died on the 15th of Jan., 1866. Since his death, Political Correspondence,