Ab-stract', v.

ABSOLVE (ab-zolv').
AB'STRACT, a. and n.
Ac'CESSORY, n. and adj.
ACHAIAN (ǎ-ka'yăn), belonging to
Achaia, a name anciently applied
to Northern Greece.

ADAMS, JOHN, the second President

of the United States, was born at Braintree, Mass., October 19, 1735. He was an early and active friend of American independence, and in 1785 was appointed the first minister to England; a post filled by his son, John Quincy Adams, in 1815, and by his grandson, Charles Francis Adams, in 1861. He was an able and eloquent man, intrepid, patriotic, incorruptible, and true; and was one of the committee of five which reported the immortal "Declaration of Independence." He died, on the same day as Jefferson, July 4, 1826. His last words were, "It is the glorious 4th of July God bless it, God bless you all!" See pp. 97, 193, 407. ADDISON, JOSEPH, the eldest son of a clergyman, was born in 1672 at the rectory of Milston in Wiltshire,

England. He was graduated at Queen's College, Oxford, in 1693. He wrote Latin verses which gained him considerable reputation, which was increased by a poetical Letter to Lord Halifax. But Addison owes his fame chiefly to his contributions to the "Spectator," a daily sheet which was started in 1711 by his schoolfellow, Richard Steele. The passage marked 3, page 47 of this volume, is from one of these charming essays. In 1713 his play of Cato was produced at Drury Lane theatre in London, and was highly successful. Time has somewhat abated its reputation, but it contains many passages that the world will not willingly let die. Addison died in 1719, at the age of forty-eight. As he lay upon his death-bed, "See," said he to his son-in-law," how a Christian can die!" See Johnson's remarks on Addison, p. 424. ADIEU (ă-du'), a greeting at parting: from the French à Dieu, to God. ESCHINES (es'ke-neez), a celebrated orator of antiquity, born at Athens, 327 B. C. He was the rival of De

|

mosthenes, but the latter nobly gave himself to the service of the people, while Eschines favored the aristocracy. AGAIN (a-ghen'). ALBERT, PRINCE, consort of Queen Victoria of England, was born Aug. 26, 1819, and died 1862. He was a worthy and noble prince. ALBI-ON, the name by which Great Britain was known to the Romans. AL-LY' (from the Latin alligo, to unite).

AL'MO-NER, a distributor of alms. ANARCHICAL (ǎ-nark'ik-al), without

rule or order.

ANIMAL CU-LE, the Latin plural of animalcula, an animalcule. Animalcula is also sometimes used as the plural of animalculum. ANOTHER (an-uth'er). ANTIPODES (an-tip'o-deez), a Latin plural noun, having no singular. The irregularly Anglicized word anti-pode is sometimes used for the singular, and Webster authorizes the pronunciation an'ti-pōdz for the plural.

ARAB (ar'rab or a'răb), relating to
Arabia.

ARCHANGEL (ark-).
ARCHITECTURE (är'ki-těkt-yŭr).
ARISTOCRAT (a-ris'to-krat or ǎr'is-to-
krat).

ARMADA (är-ma'da), a large fleet of armed ships.

AUGURY (aw'gu-re).
AU-GUST', adj. August, n.
AVAUNT (a-vawnt'), interj., hence !
begone!

A-VER'NUS, a celebrated lake, sup-
posed in ancient mythology to be
the entrance to the infernal regions.
It is now called Averno, and occu-
pies the crater of an extinct vol-
cano, about nine miles west of Na-
ples near the Mediterranean.
AXE or Ax. Webster prefers the last,
to make it conform with other mono-
syllables ending in x.
AYE (a), adv., always.
BACON, FRANCIS, usually known as
Lord Bacon, was born in London,
England, Jan. 22, 1560, and died
1626. He was famous as a scholar,
a wit, a lawyer, a judge, a states-
man, a politician, but chiefly as a
philosopher. With all his great ac-
quirements he was morally weak,
being found guilty of having re-
ceived money for grants of office
and privileges under the seal of state.

BANE, to poison: thus used as a verb by Shakespeare (p. 244). BANNOCKBURN, a village in Scotland, twenty-nine miles from Edinburgh, famous for a great battle fought on the 24th of June, 1314, between Edward II. and King Robert Bruce, by which the independence of Scotland was established. BAN-IAN' or BAN-YAN', the Indian fig tree, remarkable for sending down from its branches roots which, striking into the ground become trunks, so that a single tree sometimes occupies a circumference of 1500 feet. BATON (bă-tăng or băton), a mar

shal's staff. BEACON (bē'kn).

BEATTIE, JAMES (beet'y), a Scotch poet and moralist, born 1735, died 1803. He owes his reputation chiefly to his poem of "The Minstrel," from which see a stanza, p. 64. BEAUMONT, GUSTAVE-AUGUSTE DE, & French writer and politician, was born in the department of Sarthe, France, Dec. 2, 1802. In 1831 he accompanied his friend De Tocqueville to the United States. He is the author of a novel, entitled

66

Mary, or Slavery in the United States" ; also of a life of De Tocqueville, from which the eloquent extract, p. 132, is taken. His wife is a granddaughter of Lafayette.

BEEN (bin), from Be. BEGUILE. See remarks § 21, page 15, on the sound of long i after g. BENGER, ELIZABETH OGILVY, a writer of historical works, and author of a Life of Mary Queen of Scots, was born in England; died .1827.

zerland, from 1530 to 1536. His of-
fense was his manly resistance to
the arbitrary infringements of the
Duke of Savoy upon popular liberty.
See Byron's lines, p. 42.
BOUQUET (boo-kā').
BRAKE, obsolete preterit of to break.
BRITTANY, one of the thirty-three
provinces into which France was
divided before the Revolution of
1789. Its inhabitants retain their
ancient language, which resembles
the Welsh.

BROOKE, HENRY, a political and liter-
ary writer, was born in Ireland in
1706, and died in Dublin 1783. His
principal work is "The Fool of
Quality." See extract, page 204.
Brooke was the author of "Gus-
tavus Vasa" and other plays of
more than ordinary merit. He was
an ardent friend of popular liberty,
and his writings breathe a pure and
noble spirit.
BROUGHAM, LORD HENRY (broom),
was born in Edinburgh, Sept. 1788,
and was educated to the bar. He
entered Parliament in 1810, and dis-
tinguished himself in letters as well
as in politics. In the early part of
his career he was the strenuous foe
of slavery, but in 1863 he spoke in
opposition to the efforts of the gov-
ernment of the United States in an-
nihilating the slaveholders' rebel-
lion. Quotation from p. 410.
BRUTUS, LUCIUS JUNIUS, a celebrated

character of ancient Rome. Taking
the occasion of the outrage of Sex-
tus Tarquin upon Lucretia, he
roused the people, banished the
king, and established a republic.
MARCUS JUNIUS, an illustrious Ro-
man, and one of the conspirators
against Cæsar. Defeated at the
battle of Philippi, he persuaded
Strato, one of his friends, to kill
him. See dialogue by Shakespeare,
p. 140.

BRYANT, WM. CULLEN, one of the
inost eminent poets of America, was
born at Cummington, Mass., Nov. 3,
1797. He displayed early in life an
extraordinary literary taste. Grad-
uating at Williams College in 1812,
he commenced the practice of law
in 1815. Before he was nineteen
appeared his poem of "Thanatop-
sis," an extraordinary production
for one so young, and stamping him
as a writer of no ordinary promise.
In 1825 he removed to New York,

I

and the following year became
editor of the N. Y. Evening Post,
with which journal he has ever
since been connected. Several col-
lections of his poems have been
published, and they will undoubt-
edly hold an enduring place in Eng-
lish literature. In his descriptions
of natural scenery he shows the
power of a great artist, and his
writings overflow with the religious
fervor and insight which devout
communion with God's material
works is fitted to augment. His
style is elegant and correct without
failing in vigor, and his versification
is always musical and appropriate.
His sympathies and labors have al-
ways been on the side of universal
freedom. Our Country, p. 111.
Not Yet, p. 147. The Poet, p. 313.
BUOYANT (bwoy'ant).
BURGH'ER (burg'er), an inhabitant of
a borough or corporate town.
BURGER, GODFREY AUGUSTUS, a cel-
ebrated German poet, born near
Halberstadt, 1748, died 1794 at Göt-
tingen. He is chiefly celebrated
for his ballads, which are bold and
spirited. For a translation of one
of these, The Brave Man, see p. 382.
BURGOYNE, JOHN, a lieut.-general of
the British army, in the war of the
American Revolution, led the army
which was to penetrate from Can-
ada into the revolted provinces.
At first successful, he was finally
compelled to surrender at Saratoga.
He died 1792. See Chatham's re-
marks, p. 113.
BURKE, EDMUND, a celebrated states-
man and writer, was born at Car-
low, in Ireland, Jan. 1, 1730. He
was educated at Dublin, went to
London, and became a contributor
to the newspapers and periodical
publications. He entered Parlia-
ment in 1765, having carefully
trained himself for political life.
He strenuously opposed the Ameri-
can war, and distinguished himself
at the trial of Warren Hastings.
He made a large contribution to
the parliamentary oratory of his
day, and his speeches were remark-
able for their richness of language
and abundance of imagery. He
died July 8, 1797. See extracts
from, pp. 65, 464; mentioned by
Sydney Smith, p. 375.
BUTLER, SAMUEL, an English poet
and wit, author of "Hudibras," a